are you ready?

if Jesus Christ where to return in the next 12 hours, and you knew it with out a doubt. what would be the things you would want to set right, what would you stop doing or what would you start to do? if your thinking of something right now then the chance is that there is something you may need to work on(everyone should be thinking of something). now we know that no one gets into heaven by just having a cleaned up life, by no means is that what i am implying here. we are all redeemed one way and one way only, by the grace of God! by Grace through faith, not of works lest any man should boast (eph 3:8-9). so that's not what i mean when i ask "are you ready?" what i mean is, if He came and you stood face to face with the sovereign Lord of all that is, He who knows all your darkest thoughts, could you say i lived as best i knew how? i do not expect to be perfect when i die, Isaiah was a mighty prophet and he cursed himself when he saw God! his sin was manifest before his face instantly and he is totally destroyed by it. Praise God we have the righteousness of Christ to cover our filthy lives. but, if we can glorify God better, or give up a sin, or be more zealous for his Gospel... we ought to! lets not just do what we think is enough to get by and still call ourselves Christian. lets not fall into a cold emotionless orthodoxy where we simply do what we have always done because it's what we have always done. make every moment of your life a striving to be closer to Him, to follow Him, to worship Him, to praise Him, to love Him, and to Glorify Him! for he is worthy to receive honor and Glory and Praise forever and ever! lets not be taken by surprise when our Lord comes. let's be ready and waiting, with the prayer on our lips... even so come Lord JESUS!!!

now what?

Psa 33:8, Let all the earth fear the LORD: let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him. 9,For he spake, and it was [done]; he commanded, and it stood fast. 10,The LORD bringeth the counsel of the heathen to nought: he maketh the devices of the people of none effect. 11,The counsel of the LORD standeth for ever, the thoughts of his heart to all generations. 12,Blessed [is] the nation whose God [is] the LORD; [and] the people [whom] he hath chosen for his own inheritance. 13,The LORD looketh from heaven; he beholdeth all the sons of men. 14,From the place of his habitation he looketh upon all the inhabitants of the earth. 15,He fashioneth their hearts alike; he considereth all their works. 16,There is no king saved by the multitude of an host: a mighty man is not delivered by much strength. 17,An horse [is] a vain thing for safety: neither shall he deliver [any] by his great strength. 18,Behold, the eye of the LORD [is] upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy; 19,To deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine. 20,Our soul waiteth for the LORD: he [is] our help and our shield. 21, For our heart shall rejoice in him, because we have trusted in his holy name. 22, Let thy mercy, O LORD, be upon us, according as we hope in thee.

Hope in God, not man. no matter what happens in America in the up and coming term, God is still in Heaven, still in control, still Lord of His creation. he builds up and tears down the rulers of men, and if this is His will (and it must be because it happened) then it's good. we must pray for our leaders, pray for Obama's safety, pray for his wisdom, but most of all pray for his salvation!

Hope in God, and may God get the Glory, great things he hath done!

vote vote vote, kill kill kill

Mat 18:3 And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.
Mat 18:4 Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
Mat 18:5 And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me.
Mat 18:6 But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.
Mat 18:7 Woe unto the world because of offenses! for it must needs be that offenses come; but woe to that man by whom the offense cometh!
Mat 18:8 Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off, and cast them from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire.
Mat 18:9 And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire.

with the election a week away, it is all we hear over and over.... Vote Obama, he is the one, the saviour of America, republicans bad democrats good bla bla bla!

listen, i really could care less about his economic plans and taxes that reflect socialism. the man has supported the most radical abortion laws ever purposed. and on that one single point alone he is disqualified for my vote. i can not and will not ever vote for a pro choice candidate. the man has innocent blood on his hands and i will not take part in the slaughter of babies!

say what you will, and support what ever political party you want. but do not vote pro choice! listen to your conscience and follow what God tells you.

if Jesus Christ said it is better that you tie a huge rock to your neck and toss yourself into the lake, rather then offend....not kill... just offend one of these little ones. what do you think the happens to those who kill the little ones?

that the minisry be not blamed!

2Cr 6:3 Giving no offense in any thing, that the ministry be not blamed:

when i first read this, the thought that came rushin in was of the great scandals that our faith has endured through the years. prostitutes, homosexual relationships, drugs and fornication, as well as major financial scandals within the Christian leadership. when the world looks in at such things they do not blame man kind, or the depraved nature of man. they point to the Christian ministry and say it's all this way. and so the offense is made and the ministry gets the blame. a solid Christian testimony is more to be protected then any other point of your walk (other then your relati0nship with God, which always comes first!)it can take a life time to earn the trust of people and one mistake to lose it forever. people tend toward remembering the bad that people do and not the Good. they assume the worst.

the very next thing i thought:

what was the one thing that takes place in churches that brings offense, and blame to the ministry? hypocrisy! i know that most of the so called hypocrisy that the world slaps on the Church is misunderstandings gone bad. but my friends... not all. i am guilty of reading this text and thinking about major sin and the cataclysmic falls of high profile preachers. and as i do so there is strife and divisions among us. they see it, and sometimes get caught up in it. nothing stumbles a new Christian (or a potential convert) more then to find out that the people they are going to for help, are no better then they are. and when they see us as Christians who are no better then lost men the ministry takes the blame!

let us not spend to much time worrying about the pastors who are on a direct path toward disaster. they have been and always will be there. but we can make a major difference in the way the world see's the Church by being Christ to them. by Loving sacrificially. And when they come into the Church by being what the bible says we are and what they come looking for, Christians. that the Lamb who was slain may receive the reward of his suffering, and God may be glorified!

quick thought

as i study the institutes of the christian religion, i have come across a wealth of knowledge. i could write about the first ten chapters for the next year i suppose and not run out of things to say. instead of doing that, i have decided to just give a quick thought that is sparked in my reading.

right now i am in the 13th chapter of the first book, knowledge of God. the Trinity.

Calvin brings up a good point about using extra biblical words to explain God and scripture. it's totally fine! well, he does not use those words...but, in so many words that's what he says. there is nothing wrong with using words that do not appear in the bible just so long as the truth they convey is there. we can no deny that there is a Father, Son, and Spirit. but we need words that can qualify these truths for us. so, feel free to explain things in your own words.
just but be sure your clearing up a truth that really is there.

let us not forget today - tomorrow!

today is 9/11, we as Americans all know what that means. we all remember the very spot we where when we heard the words, " America is under attack!" let us not forget to pray today, pray for the families of those lost that day and in the war that followed. let us pray for the safety of our nation. you know nations rise and fall, no nation lasts forever. that was a hard thing for me to come to terms with, but i settled when i remembered that God is in control. He is the one who lets nations rise and fall and in the end His Will will be done! all of the nations of this world will come to an end in that day. and though that sounds scary it's not. Because God will be our temple and the light of that kingdom. with that said i do want to remind everyone that this does not mean we stop praying. God had ordained that through Christian prayers and actions His Will is done. let us not forget today - tomorrow! let us pray! and let us take hope in Him, rest in Him, and continue to trust in Him!

God is so in control

so i bought a poster in Venice beach like ten years ago. i was lost at the time and the poster was not godly in anyway. in fact it may have been a bit on the dark side. it was not totally evil but it was abstract art that had some darker images in it. because i got it on my first trip to L.A. i did want to keep it. it was getting beat up and i wanted to make sure it would not get totally destroyed so i took it to a framing place. i decided to have it plagued, and to do that i had to send it out. long story short, it was lost or stolen in shipping after the work was done. because the place that did the work was the shipper that lost it they had to do another one for free, and the lady that i went to offered to pay for a new print. so, i lost the questionable art and had it replaced with the pic that i put on here. it depicts the last judgment of mankind, and i think Glorifies God where as the other might have been a stumbling block to a weaker brother. this was totally out of my control, i believe that God is in Control of every molecule in his creation. therefor, God took my print that belonged to a lost person and gave me a religious based print for a saved person and did it at no cost to me what so ever!!!! amen!!