Bride,Body,Church

2 Peter 1:4-8

2010-11-10T09:34:00.000-08:00

2 Peter 1:4
Have you ever set your mind to be the best at something? What does it take to be the best at anything? It takes time, resources, coaching, and even natural ability! Did you know that God wants you to be the Best Christian you can be, and all we have to do is just spend the time with Him! He has given us all the resource we need in His Word, He is the expert in relationships and we have the supernatural ability through His Holy Spirit to conform us into the best!
(4) Partakers of the divine nature.
Partaker: fellowship, companion, sharer, partner
Divine: godlike
Nature: growth, natural production, native disposition.

We are partakers of the divine nature because of the promises that God has given us! (3) "According as His divine power power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue"

(5) Besides this... diligence, faith, virtue, knowledge (6) temperance, patience, godliness (7) brotherly kindness, charity
Diligence: eagerness, speed
Faith: moral conviction (reliance on Christ for salvation)
Virtue: manliness, valor, excellence
Knowledge: knowing(the act of)
Temperance: self control
Patience: cheerful endurance, waiting
Godliness: holiness
Brotherly kindness: love of brothers and sisters in Christ
Charity: love, dear, affection, benevolence

Each one of these adds to the other, we are told to grow in this way. First we grow in eagerness, it is a passion to grow in the LORD. I say that when I know who God is then I will be eager to grow, we will want to do it as quick as possible.

(8) Ye shall be...
When we are given a promise from God we can take it to the bank and cash it in! So if I grow like above stated then I will never be barren nor unfruitful, PRAISE THE LORD!!!

Humanism/Humanitarianism

2010-08-04T13:04:00.000-07:00

The Definition of Humanism given by Merriam Webster's dictionary online

"1 a : devotion to the humanities : literary culture b : the revival of classical letters, individualistic and critical spirit, and emphasis on secular concerns characteristic of the Renaissance
2 : humanitarianism
3 : a doctrine, attitude, or way of life centered on human interests or values; especially : a philosophy that usually rejects supernaturalism and stresses an individual's dignity and worth and capacity for self-realization through reason"

If we desire to give the Gospel for the sole reason of saving man's lost soul, then our efforts become strictly humanistic. As stated in my previous post, Christ came to this earth not for the soul's of man but for the glory of God. When we seek the lost it is because Christ loves them and loved them to the point of death on the cross! We do it for His glory, we do it so that His death will not be in vain. We recognize that we all deserve hell, but Christ died for the glory of God and that is why He came to earth; to fulfill the will of the Father and by doing it, the only way of salvation was prepared. ....

Revival

2010-08-02T11:25:00.000-07:00

The Lamb of God is worthy of the reward of His suffering!
12Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing.

Why is it that the angels is heaven and creatures of the earth and the creation as a whole can bring glory to God? But it has to be dragged out of man, that we have to be put in a choke hold and made to give praise to Him that is worthy.

1In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the LORD sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple.

2Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly.

3And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.

We don't praise God because we will receive a reward for it, the Martr doesn't glorify his Savior because they know that God will reward them for it one day, the preacher doesn't preach Christ and is glorious death, burial, and resurrection for his own benefit or even for the lost souls that may be around to hear the Gospel, but for the only reason and that is because the Lamb of God is worthy of the reward of His suffering!

Christ came to this earth wrapped in flesh not to save souls but to glorify His Father in heaven. When will we stand in the fact that we are His creation created for His glory Isaiah 43:7 says "...I have created him for my glory..."

Revival will come when my heart sees that He is worthy of my praise, of my worship, or my tithe, of my service, of my all. If I never received anything from Him then He would still be worthy and I would still give Him all of those things. Right now we all live for ourselves we are caught up in tomorrow and the things of this world, that we can't see God at all.
We have before us the living Word of God. What do we know about it? John 1:1-3 says

1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

2The same was in the beginning with God.

3All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.

" It is sharper than any two edged sword, it is Jesus Christ! If we want to know God then we need to know this book! If we want to withstand the fiery arrows that the devil fires at us then we need to be in this book! We need to put on the whole armor of God which is Jesus Christ. If we are standing fast in Him then we will not fail.

We are not trying to be revived back to working for our salvation or working to make God happy. We can't make God happy He doesn't look down on us and say man what a great job they are doing I am in awe of there work. We need to be woken up and realize who Jesus Christ is, He is the king of glory, the Lamb of God, the Righteous One.
When my heart realizes these things then I will see revival in my life, because true reverence for the only true God will require me to live in light of who He is. He is worthy of my all. He suffered so that God would be glorified, I live because He suffered and died and rose again.

On "UnknownTongues"

2010-04-14T19:25:00.000-07:00

I am working on a paper for a leadership class I am taking at church. The topic is "unknown tongues" mentioned in 1 Corinthians 14. I am looking at a rule in hermeneutics which our text book calls "The Law of First Mention", the law is the first mention of any given subject gives the key to its subsequent meaning. So using this "law" I am to refute the idea that charismatic theology imposes on "unknown tongue" meaning a language given for a heavenly language. When I go to Acts 2:4-11 I see the first mention of tongues at the inception of the church. The apostles were given the gift of tongues in order to share the Gospel at that unique time. Several nations and people were represented there because of their journey to Jerusalem for Pentecost, the men spoken in recognizable dialects of each person represented there, thus the Gospel spread back to their homelands. When I go to I Corinthians 14 I see the term "unknown tongues", thus Charismatic theology implies that this tongue is given for edification of the one speaking it and it is directed to God. I would disagree based on the context of the passage. Prophecy is also mentioned and its purpose is for edification of the saints where as an unknown tongues is for personal edification or it only edifies the speaker personally because there is no interpreter nor anyone that understands that tongue. The words used in the Acts and Corinthians passage for tongue are defined as dialects and languages, not unknown languages or heavenly languages. In verse 2 of Corinthians 14 we see that it is a mystery and no man understands. I would conclude that it is not a mystery because it is a heavenly language unknown to man and meant for God, but it is a mystery because there is no interpreter or anyone that speaks the dialect. It edifies the man because he is the only one that understands what is being said.

2010-02-20T16:39:00.001-08:00

Well, the Lord laid a theme on my heart for this year for thr youth, Evangelism. Share Jesus Without Fear is a book that I am going through, lets see how it reads.

Our babies

2009-12-19T18:46:00.000-08:00

Two beautiful babies are now apart of my wife and my life. Chayah and Cherith were born on December 17th 2009 weighing 4lbs 7oz each.

Fellowship

2009-11-04T21:29:00.000-08:00

There is nothing like taking time out to fellowship with brothers and sisters in Christ! Tonight I spent time with a friend of mine from HBC in Payson, we enjoyed some guitar and banjo playing and like minded conversation. This is just another thing that you don't really learn about in college but you experience in ministry. I want to Praise God for it!

Continuing on liberty 2 Peter 2:19-22

2009-10-06T07:53:00.000-07:00

Going back to an earlier post "Call it what it is SIN" I would like to continue with some thoughts on the same strain. 2 Peter 2:19-22 " While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage. 20 For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. 21 For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them. 22 But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again, and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire."
I believe this could be a good picture of where today's road to Christian "liberties" is going down. In those verses mentioned above Peter was not talking about those who do not know Christ, but to those who have known him and have turned once again unto the world and the satisfaction of their flesh. Earlier in the chapter God tells us of false teachers and their heresies, then He progresses to how they have entangled the believer with "while they promise them liberty, they themselves are servants of corruption.". They promise liberty, but not in Christ, because these liberties are a bondage, once again unto sin, where the absolute definition of liberty in Christ is to be set free from our bondage of sin. God says that it would be better for us not to have known the way of righteousness then to have known it and turned back to bondage of sin. You see sin doesn't look like a bondage when you are in it. It looks pleasurable, it is pleasurable, it is deceitful because its father, Satan is the Deceiver.
Our liberties in Christ aren't to establish a better life for us here on earth, but are to set us free from the sins of these world and its strangle hold on us, so that we may have something to offer in eternity to Christ who set us free! Satan wants us fixed on now and how we can feel good on earth, he fixes our eyes on today " eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die" that is his mentality. But for a Christian we must set our affections on things above, our joy is in Christ we should be longing to be with Him and to enjoy the treasure with Him in heaven that we have stored up while here on earth. You see our home is not this world, our conversation/citizenship is in heaven with Christ, we are a new creation, aliens to this present world to this present estate. Our lives should be spent like Paul said, to live is Christ but to die is gain. This is our calling as new creatures not old creatures.
When we start coveting what the world has we start slipping into the state that Peter was talking about "they are entangled again therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning.". We forget where we came from, the things that Christ saved us from and we slip into the old nature again. You see the very word "saved" means that we need someone to take us from the old things, it was a drastic state, we were in bondage to those things, why would we go back to the things that wanted to destroy us? Why?

Ministry is from the heart!

2009-09-04T13:22:00.000-07:00

" They don't care how much you know, until they know how much you care." Here is a quote that I am not sure who it comes from but it is very true. I work with teens and younger aged kids and this statement hits home. I am sure it is true with any people or age group that you may minister too. I have come to understand that formal training is a great thing because it gives you the tools to answer just about any question, but experience is a wonderful teachers and that is something that you just can not get in a formal setting!

Where to begin

2009-09-03T16:00:00.000-07:00

I have been in Utah for 7 months, and I have not had a great deal of interaction (religiously) with the LDS people. A few things that I have come to realize about them is that they do not call themselves Mormons, but LDS, I do not know if there is any reason behind this or if it is just a preference? I have worked at a few different places while I have been here and all of them had some LDS people and/or influence. I worked for one company that had a special day so that they could christen the building. Today I cleaned carpets at a mans house who was a devout LDS, and like all of my other experiences he held strongly to the good works that he had accomplished, while on the other hand he explained how difficult it is for someone to come to Christ when they are in dyer physical need.
I know that all of Satan's lies work well when a little bit of truth is there to tangle up the person who is faced with them. I sat there today and listened to the man explain his lament over souls that need Christ, while he praised his good works and I wondered where do you works stand, before your need for Christ or after your need is met? I know that LDS theology is apostate and all that the LDS church believes is damnable apostasy, but like most people that practice a religion, they are not familiar with all their religion believes. I struggled today thinking where do you begin to witness to these people, when you share the loving sacrifice of Christ with them, they know they even know what the bible says about it and they say they believe, but what do you say?
That is why I can only trust in the unsearchable wisdom of God and trust in his grace towards man and how He causes the increase, and I just share Jesus Christ and preach only Him crucified.

2009-09-02T11:27:00.001-07:00

Just wanted to do a post from my phone

Wisdom is the principle thing

2009-09-02T09:10:00.000-07:00

Proverbs 2:1-5
" My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee; So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding; Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding; If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for treasures; then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God." The following two verses go on to say (paraphrased) that God will give it to the righteous He has it stored up for them! Well I have been trying to read proverbs in my devotions in the morning, I have been going through a lull in my personal time with God and He has been recently speaking to me from proverbs. How many times do we see the words Wisdom, Understanding, and Knowledge together, they are synonyms yet have their own meaning about them. I have always understood them to mean Wisdom = facts with common sense, Knowledge= facts, and Understanding = using the previous two together. There is probably a more suitable definition to them, but that is how my mind grasps them.
How often do we does as Solomon and James said to do, to seek after them and God will supply it, it is like He is just waiting for you to ask so that He can open up the floodgate and drowned you in them. You see God is wisdom, He is knowledge and understanding so when we ask Him for them we are asking to be like Him. He gives these with a heart to follow after Him as well. To just have knowledge, well that is useless, we need Wisdom and Understanding to follow right behind because that is where our hearts interact with the facts. How often do you pray for wisdom to minister to the people God sets before you? Or do you just try to minister with just knowledge and experience? God will give you wisdom if you just ask and He will give you the heart to present the facts.

Nostalgia

2009-08-26T21:25:00.000-07:00

I just finished the movie " Krull " and old favorite of mine. It has no theological significance, but I believe is worth watching.

Lighter note from last post

2009-08-15T11:31:00.000-07:00

We are having twin girls. I am pretty excited about that and can't wait to see them in person. We have names picked out for them, so getting to the point they are.

Chayah Leigh Payton
Cherith Elleigh Payton

the middle names are from Dannah, her name is Dannah Leigh. The first names are Hebrew or derived from atleast. Chayah means life and Cherith is where Elijah once stayed, in the brook Cherith. Now Cherith means cutting, covenant, bound. I decided on Elleigh, because I wanted something with Dannah's name in it and it has El, from Elohim in it. So Cherith Elleigh would mean bound to God.

Call it what it is SIN!

2009-08-15T11:10:00.000-07:00

I have not had the opportunity nor taken the time to post anything on my blog for the past few months. I cpost today on some things that God has brought into my life from men that I have had the opportunity to hear, who speak from God's Word. The subject I would like to talk about, which should be easy to recognize from the title of this blog, is SIN. It seems that in these times Sin is taking everyone over, the Body of Christ is enamored with sin, we give it a different name so that we may sooth or sear, which ever you prefer, our conscience. God is clear in His Word what He thinks of sin, He sent His Son Jesus Christ to take care of it, Christ (God) paid the ultimate price for our sins. When is it time for us to say I am done with living a lukewarm life, I am sick of having one foot in the world and one foot with God?! We are bought with a price, be sold out for Christ. So you want to live it up in this world go ahead, but let me remind you that all that traveling on the broad road leads to destruction. You maybe saved but you will destroy your friends, family, all relationships in your life and will destroy your testimony. Sure go ahead justify what you want to do so that you can satisfy your flesh, but remember God isn't uncertain about sin, He has a clear definition, keep living like there are no consequences, but remember no matter what your take on it is, eternity exists and the rewards are real. Do you want them now (rewards) or something that lasts? It is clear in the Gospel of Matthew that if you want your treasures here on earth you can have them, but they will not last, and if you treasure sin it will destroy you. Look at Samuel, Saul, and Amelek. Saul wanted to treat his sin against God as a pet, he wanted to have it with him and control it, Christian you can't control sin, flesh, or the world, they WILL control you. Or are you going to be like Samuel and take the sin and cut it into pieces, hate sin and remove it from your life. Sin is Sin and there are consequences, eternal and temporal, and when you sin your are not the only one effected, who is looking at your life Christian, do they see Christ or do they see a compromiser, do they want to serve the true and living God or do they want to serve the God of this world. When you justify the flesh you are serving Satan, he wants you to live in a gray world with gray morals, gray ideals. The life of a Christian is black and white.

2009-06-11T16:02:00.000-07:00

We found out on Tuesday that my wife is going to have twins. Needless to say this is very exciting to use. I feel a tremendous amount of responsibility heading my way, but through all of it God is gracious and in my weakness His strength is made perfect. I know that this is something that will be difficult to remember during the difficult times, but if I trust Him now and continue to grow in His grace then it will make life easier. Well we better start now on thinking of names, I thought naming one child was difficult, now we are going to have two , at one time!!!

Resting in Him
Justin

2009-05-28T12:54:00.001-07:00

Well I started my job today at Nu Skin. The table that I work with has a few LDS and a young man that is not LDS as I can tell. Pray for me as I seek to witness.

Faith as a Mustard Seed

2009-05-15T23:47:00.000-07:00

I have enjoyed my time here at the Master's Men Conference in CA. We heard from several preachers today and will go through several more tomorrow. David Gibbs of the CLA gave a message that the Holy Spirit used to convict my heart. We know in Hebrews 11:1 that faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things unseen. He gave the example of Sears, we order something from Sears and we have faith that they will deliver there product. We know their name and trust them, because they are Sears, we go to the door and look on our porch ( substance of things unseen) we have faith in them. Do we have that faith with God? We know who God is and we can trust and have faith that He delivers. Bro. Gibbs said he has a friend that prayed that God would let him lead one soul to the Lord EVERY DAY!!! You know what happened, This man has faith in God and for the past 20 years he has lead someone to the Lord, EVERY DAY!!! We hear of that and think, 1.) that isn't real, 2.) He has super powers, or 3.) he is some sort of evangelist, but the truth is he has real faith. We pray to God and do not expect Him to do anything. We just need to pray and expect Him to work. Bro. Gibbs made another point that I want to state, He said we need to live in a way that if all that God says isn't true then we will look like fools. He challenged us to have faith like that to live in a way that we have to trust God. All of this is not for the sake of personal gain or glory or piousness, NO not at all, but for the glory of God. I don't want to lead a person to the Lord so that I might make a name for myself, but that I might make His name known. Are you willing to pray that you might lead a soul to the Lord every day? Are you willing to step out in faith? Can you have faith in God like you do in Sears?

Water and blood

2009-05-15T12:44:00.000-07:00

I was reading a little the other day and the thought about when Christ's side was pierced while He was on the cross. We know that water and blood flowed out of the wound. I understand that that was a physical sign of a heart attack, but does it have a spiritual meaning to it as well? We know that during the sacrifices that take place in the Temple and Tabernacle that the water played the role of cleansing and the blood was for covering (Day of Atonement). Does this thought carry through to what Christ did on the cross? In Levi's book on the Tabernacle, every piece of furniture had pictured in some way Christ, it represented something. Well the blood of Christ covers our sins and makes us righteous to God, does the water represent a cleansing. Now I do not want to give you the idea that the water is necessary for our salvation, but what was it's significance. I John 5 deals with the water, and water has a role throughout scripture. Please share your thoughts with me!

On a side note, one of my youth asked me a question the other day about Jesus. When Christ was born, Herod had all the children killed, was Jesus the only child, youth, man, His age in that area?

2009-05-14T13:07:00.001-07:00

I am heading to Fresno CA, for a two day men's conference. I am looking forward to the preaching and fellowship.

2009-05-11T08:40:00.002-07:00

Psalm 19:14 says " Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in they sight, O LORD, my strength and my redeemer." David was know as the "Man after God's own heart", a title that never left him even after his sin with Bathsheba. David was always seeking God's glory, I believe that was his whole life aim. Now David was filled with the Holy Spirit, but not indwelt. Today we can be filled with the Holy Spirit, who is God. We have God residing in our hearts. Romans 8:9 says " But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his." the Spirit's indwelling is what sets us apart, it identifies us as Christ. Ephesians 1:13,14 " In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with the holy Spirit of Promise, (vs.14) Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of His glory." Then having been bought with the blood of Christ and given the promise that He will return for us some day (the earnest of the Holy Spirit) "unto the praise of His glory." It is for the glory of God.
I tend to dwell on living righteously, but it is for the sake of His glory. When we go through life and try to find all of the advantages of our salvation we are walking down a humanistic road. I encourage you to watch that video "Revival Hymn" it puts a spin on old thoughts that needs to be spun around. If we say that we are seeking His glory then it should consume all that we do. Salvation of man was not for the sake of man, so that he would not go to Hell, it is for the glory of God, it was because the Lamb is worthy of the reward of His suffering. Revelation 5:12 " Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing."
So how are the words of our mouths and the meditations of our hearts? Are they acceptable in His sight? Are you concerned with who they are in His sight? It may be difficult to talk our eyes off of ourselves, to ignore for a day the burdens in our lives, the burdens that are very real, but how worthy is Christ of the glory? He will receive all the glory one day, but it is our privilege to give it to Him everyday.

1 Corinthians 10:31 "... do all to the glory of God."
Justin

2009-05-11T08:40:00.001-07:00

Just checking to see how this works

Here is a good video

2009-04-29T21:04:00.001-07:00

I do not do a lot of recommending on my blog, but this is a video that will change your heart if you listen. It is a DVD put together of men preaching about revival.

It is called Revival Hymn, it is on youtube.

Every word

2009-04-27T10:14:00.000-07:00

When we read God’s word it is so important to understand and believe everything that is said. I am reading from a book that was highly recommended to me, on the book of Romans. It is a verse by verse commentary, not something someone just sits down and reads for pleasure, but this is an exception. One thing the author mentions is how Paul claims to be the least of all men, the chief of sinners, when Paul says this I would, in the past, have just though ok he is humbling himself, but in reality, he is not setting an example of humility he is speaking through the Holy Spirit’s inspiration. If you look at it this way then, you must accept that Paul was truly the chief of sinners, the least of all men.
With that in mind how do you and I read God’s Word? When God had man record, through Holy Spirit inspiration, His Word, then every word is important, remembering also the context of those words is also of utmost importance. I am studying the books of I and II Samuel. In the 7th chapter God tells David that his house will be established forever. God promises these things and David later in the chapter acknowledges God’s promise and believes it. What good is a promise if it cannot be trusted? God’s promises are true and we can claim them to be true!
Now this may seem a little sporadic, but apply that principle to every promise that God says in His Word, “I will never leave thee nor forsake thee.” (Heb. 13:5). We believe that, but we do not always trust it. Now we look at Israel, some say that God is done with that nation or that the Church is become or was always spiritual Israel, but Romans 11 is clear that God is not through with Israel and going back to God’s everlasting promise to David and his house and throne and to His people forever, “For thou hast confirmed to thyself thy people Israel to be a people unto thee forever and thou, the LORD art become their God.” (2Sam. 7:24) It is clear that God was talking about Israel the actual nation and people because in the previous verse it was an actual nation that was redeemed from Egypt.

Return from the Missions Trip 2009

2009-04-20T11:57:00.000-07:00

Well, the missions trip to Ferron Utah's Three 777 Ranch was very profitable. I was able to minister as a 'go-for" for those who knew what they were doing in the carpentry field. At the ranch there is a lot of ministry revolving around horses. I was blessed by a missionary there who gave a lesson involving a horse and it's rider. The illustration was the rider(God) and the horse(man) and the boundaries that God(rider) puts on man(horse). I never looked at it in this manner, God places the boundaries (the bit & reins) on the man in order that He may take the man in the direction that He wants him to go. God places boundaries in our lives to protect us and to keep us on track with His will. When we fight against God's leading, He graciously pulls us back in line with His will.

I was also able to lead the group devotions for the week, where we studied spiritual disciplines, the focus was on spending time with God. We have to discipline ourselves in ways that our flesh fights against. We may have to wake up and hour earlier than we normally do, in order that we spend that quite time, still, away from the cares of life. We also learned in Psalm 119:11 that we hide God's word in our hearts, not only because it protects us from making bad decisions, but just like the psalmist, because we love God. The word hide means to " hoard up". If you read through the 8 verse context of this passage you see that David loves God's word, he loves it and can;t get enough of it. Ultimately this love for God's Word is a love for God. When we hide it in our hearts we give us the ability to make the right choice not to sin against God. When we sin against God it is not so much a failure to keep from sinning, but it is a success in sinning against God. We do not fall into sin we are given the choice and the way for escape 1 Corinthians 10:13. When we sin against God it is a choice to do so.

Choice not to sin against God, hide His word in your heart!

Missions trip

2009-04-10T15:56:00.000-07:00

Well I am about to embark on a journey that I have never been before, a missions trip as a leader. We are going to a place in Utah called the 777 Ranch (three 7's Ranch). I am pretty excited about what will lie ahead. I am gradually understanding the there is a lot of work involved in youth ministry, but it is wonderful work. I am excited to see the Lord work and what His plans for these teens is in their future.

Growing Pains

2009-02-21T12:10:00.000-08:00

The Lord is working in my wife and my hearts. We have been looking for an apartment to live in and there have been several places that have fit what we have wanted, but the Lord's will has not been with these places. It is difficult to pass over things when your heart is set on a place, but it is another reminder that our hearts should be focused on heavenly things and not caught up in the thicket of worldly things. I do not find it wrong to desire nice things, but when your heart gets tied up in them, that is when your focus has been diverted. Praise the Lord for growth in Christ, because if we do not grow such things as these would not be so easy to set aside. Praise the Lord for His Word, because it is the milk and meat that our souls long for. To quote H.A. Ironsides father "God will supply all our needs, someday He will supply my need of starving." It is the pains of grow that are a sign that we are growing, but I believe it is the flesh dying that causes the pain.

Christ's virgin bride, Satan's great whore

2009-02-09T20:33:00.000-08:00

As I was studying for a sermon I am going to do on our enemy, Satan I came across something interesting. Christ is building His Church, His bride. In II Cor.11:2 she is called a "chasted virgin". In contrast in Revelation 17:1 we find Satan's counterfeit to Christ bride the "great whore". Ephesians 5:26 says " That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word." speaking of the Church. The water refers to the Word of God. Having said that lets go back to Rev. 17:1 where we find the "great whore" and it says "...the great whore that sitteth upon many waters." God calls Satan's counterfeit a whore which would contrast to His Son's bride the "chasted virgin" when we look at this counterfeit religion of Satan's we see that it sits on many waters, where I draw the conclusion that the waters refer to many religious scriptures, a great ecuminecal work.
Just some thoughts that I had concerning those passages. I hope this could be of some help.

Resting in Christ
Justin

Psalm 1:1 & 2

2009-02-05T15:58:00.000-08:00

Vs. 1 The three different verbs that are used in this first verse are all saying the same thing "remaining or abiding". They carry with them the idea of making these sinful actions a lifestyle. God is telling us that we must not have a lifestyle of wickedness in our walk our stance or our seat. It covers all areas of life.

Vs. 2 What we ought to do is to find our pleasure in the Word of God, to the Jew the Law was his direction for life, to live a godly life all the Jew had to do was to follow the Law, salvation was not found in the law though. Now that Christ has fulfilled the Law we must follow after Christ. Christians are not bound to the Law, but we are bound to Christ, bought with a price. We find our delight in Him and we meditate in His word day and night. Why do we do this? 2 Tim 2:15 "Study to show thyself approved unto God a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth; 2Tim 2:2 "And the things that thou hast heard of me...commit thou to faithful men..." and finally 2Tim3:15-17. Vs. 17 "That the man of God may be perfect , throughly furnished unto all good works." It is for our growth towards Christ likeness!

Vs. 3 The Psalmist goes on to tell the benefits of this. "And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper." When your life is planted in God's word, your growth will be steady, pure, and abundant. The principle of water, a type for God's word can be brought out here. When we are planted in His word daily we will bear fruit consistently, the world will quicken us for use by God and our work will prosper because our focus is on heavenly things not earthly things.

Discussion of Ephesians

2009-02-04T21:37:00.000-08:00

I would like to have an open dicussion on the book of Ephesians. A chapter by chapter, verse by verse walkthrough of what God was saying through Paul. We will look at it's grammatical and historical context and try to dive into it head long for a fruit growing experience.

Arrived

2009-02-04T21:26:00.000-08:00

Well my wife and I have arrived at our new home, Utah. We have see God's hand at work in many different ways and we pray that we will not forget what He has done for us. We have a great work ahead and are eager to get started. For all those who read my post please keep praying for us to find a house or an apartment and please continue to comment on post and discussion topics

Resting in Christ my Lord
Justin

Stand Up

2009-01-19T16:14:00.000-08:00

Well once again I see that online there is apparently no one in the blogging realm that holds to Dispensationalism. I would make the assumption that it is the Covenant led seminaries that have tarnished the minds of the unwitting bible college student. I say this with the experience of graduating from a bible college myself, we tend to think that we have all the answers to the theological realm. This is a dangerous place because when you decide to go to a seminary, unless you have spent the majority of your free time reading from dispensationally minded authors ie, those on stempublishing or from withchrist.org, you get swallowed up in covenant theology. The typical thought is that dispensationalism started with J.N.Darby C.H. Mackintosh, but as a dispensationalist, I believe that you can trace God's distinct dispensations throughout the Bible. I encourage any and every Dispensationalist to stand up and be heard.

P.S. I know that this was a little quickly thrown together, but for lack of time and for necessity it will stay this way.

Resting in Christ

How separate are we supposed to be?

2009-01-19T16:08:00.000-08:00

This is a post that is just as much for me as it is for anyone that wants to read it. I have always thought about separation of the Christian from the World. Some facts that are to be taken into account in thinking about separation are:

I. We are new creatures. 2 Cor. 5:17; Eph. 4:24; Col 3:10
II. Our works will be judged. Rom. 14:10; 2 Cor. 5:10

In light of these facts we must take into account our days on this earth and how we spend them. I choose to separate myself from certain things of this world so that I might be a more able minister of the gospel. When you get tangled up in the world your focus on God becomes dim and your purpose becomes unclear. We minister to people not so that they can live a more comfortable life on earth, but so that they may spend eternity with God. Being a new creature we are destined for heaven and no longer destined for Hell.

I realize that this is a topic often discussed in may realms of Christianity, but there is never any true headway made. Just as John the Baptist said of Christ “He must increase, but I must decrease” John 3:30 and the center of that mindset is to glorify God. Also we must set our affections on things above, not on things on the earth (Col. 3:2).

I place the challenge out there for anyone to discuss.

Resting in Christ

God's provision

2009-01-13T17:35:00.000-08:00

Well the Lord has answered our prayers in ways we didn't even think to ask. I know that the move all the way across the country will be difficult. I will miss being with my family and friends tremendously, but I know that the Lord has called us to this work.

Resting in Christ

Continued from last post

2009-01-01T09:01:00.000-08:00

This is a clear picture of what our lives here on this earth should consist of while we wait on the glorious appearing of our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ.

Titus 2:12-14 show that I should be working for God's glory to abstain from the world. In verse 14 I should be zealous for good works. Our works do not count towards our salvation, but are expected after our salvation as part of our sanctification. Paul tells Titus to speak these things in exhortation and in rebuke, to encourage people to do them and to correct them if they are not. The chapter as a whole consist of what the character of men and women in Christ should be like, the old and the young. Young men are to show a pattern of good works in your life.

In Titus 3 right after Paul exhorted Titus to be zealous for good works he tells him to be subject to principalities and powers, to obey magistrates ... in order to be ready to every good work. (Our government today is not worse then what Paul was facing) in verses 4 & 5 it is made very clear that the works that we are to be zealous in are not of any use towards salvation, but salvation is by His mercy and Holy Spirit. I understand also in Ephesians 2:8-9 that it is by grace through faith we are saved... . Our justification is by His grace, not our works vs. 7, keeping in mind why we are zealous for good works and how marvelous a salvation we have, because we will be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life! Paul goes as far to say that we need to affirm constantly these things "that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works" we must form a lifestyle of good works, not just on occasion but constantly.

Well, having looked at this exhortation to a new pastor Paul makes clear the side of Christianity that is so misunderstood today, WORK! We must all be working till Christ return (Titus 2:13).

Preparing for His coming

2008-12-24T06:01:00.001-08:00

In relation to End times and the involvement of the Church, I think we need to remember one thing, we will be raptured before the Tribulation. Now that does not mean that we will not face tribulation but not the wrath of God. The Church will go before Christ at the Bema seat and will be directly involved in the Marriage supper of the Lamb, while on earth the 7 years Tribulation will occur. In relation to the coming of this time, it is our commandment from the Lord to be witnesses to all the earth and that command does not cease until we are no longer on this earth. We are not responsible for straightening out the world and its governments to prepare the earth for the 2nd advent of Christ, but we are to understand that all rulers and leaders on the earth are setup by Him, and we are to respect them in light of that fact. Romans 13 explains that clearly, and this was in a time when extreme persecution was coming against the church.

Joseph's Coats

2008-12-13T19:15:00.000-08:00

I recently was studying in Genesis about Joseph and picked up on some similarities that I have never notice before. When he was thrown into the pit, by his brothers, his coat of many colors (one that would represent prominence) was taken from him and covered with goat's blood and used as "evidence" of his slaughter by wild animals. Later on in his life while at Potiphar's house I see a similarity. Potiphar's wife begs Joseph, this one last time to sleep with her and Joseph responds by running away. She is left with his coat in her hands, which she uses as "evidence" that Joseph tried to force himself on her.

Now I do not know right now if there is any meaning behind this, but it is an interesting similarity that shows up in God's word. There are so many things that you can find if you just pay attention to the details that are on the page.

Rapture & End Times Discussion Forum

2008-12-07T11:05:00.000-08:00

Through generations past, now doubt have men believe that the Rapture of the Church would happen before their death, I would also fall into this category. The world scene looks to be heading in this direction. We know that prophetic scriptures in Daniel, 1&2 Thessalonians, Revelation, and Ezekiel shed light on later times world events, as well as other books in scripture. My heart waits in anticipation and I feel the adrenaline flowing in my veins as I read or hear preached, passages concerning Christ return for the Church and His second Advent to this earth. As always my spirit longs for the day when this corrupt body will be glorified and when I might reign with Christ and be with Him for the beginning of forever.

This post is the beginning of, what I hope to be, a long and edifying discussion of our blessed hope and future. As always I invite anyone who will come to discuss these matters. From the onset, I prefer not to use this blog as a debating forum, that is why I filter comments. I am aware of the many different opinions that are involved in these topics, but please fill free to share what invigorates you as you study escatology(End Times Events).

In Complete Rest in my Savior

Back again

2008-11-22T08:22:00.000-08:00

I apologize for the long interval in between my postings. My wife and I have been without a computer or any other source of entertainment for about a month now. The Lord allowed a thief to break through and still our earthly treasures. I was exceptionally upset over the situation, but none the less it happened. One lesson that I did learn from this is that maybe God intended this for good. Who'd a thunk! We previously owned a Nintendo Wii and some other odds and ends of the electrical fashion, that were stolen. Our computer was decrepit and I always complained about getting a new one, so the Lord in His perfect wisdom, sold my Wii, PDA, watch, and old computer, through the work of a thieving thief, and gave me the money for a new computer. My thoughts on the matter are that He is preparing us for the work in Utah, and gave us a new computer. Praise the Lord. Principlely speaking, the Lord says in Jeremiah 29:11 " I know the plans I have for you..." One great comfort that believers can rest assured on is that the Lord has a plan for us. We must be diligent in seeking His particular will for our lives and to remain in fellowship with Him through prayer and bible reading.

A Praise

2008-10-31T17:00:00.000-07:00

The Lord has called my wife and I to minister in Spanish Fork, Utah. I will be the youth pastor of Faith Baptist Church, and my wife will work along side of me there. I want to take this post to mention that it is a tremedous blessing to have a wife that wants to help me in every way she possibly can. I believe this is vital in full time christian servants, that are married. I ask that who ever reads my post, would pray for us as we follow the Lord in this direction.

What are the perimeters of our liberties in Christ?

2008-10-15T05:42:00.000-07:00

Once again we have to remember that in everything we do we are to glorify God! I believe that the use of our liberties are to be judged on how they are going to affect those around us, saved and unsaved. If our aim is to glorify God, to edify believers, and to keep our testimony in condition to present a gospel message then our liberties will be in subjection to those things. So believe that when they are in Christ, they can go on to do anything and live in any lifestyle. I will exclude extremes like murderous behaviors, but it is the little things that kept us in bondage to sin that are being walked back into. I encourage you to read all of the passages that deal with our liberties/freedoms in Christ, look at the immediate context and see what it says. It speaks clearly to how we are to use these freedoms.

an attachment for the last post

2008-10-07T11:27:00.000-07:00

I want to get across the fact that I know that what I write will be a "challenge" to some, but I do not intend on it being an open challenge. My blog is more for teaching than debate and if you agree or disagree with me I will write back, but it may not appear on my blog. I like to reserve the right to post only comments that will be beneficial to the readers. I know that the flesh desires a good debate, but in our "reasoning" together we must have at the core a desire for unity and to reveal the truth in love. I personally struggle with that, I tend to take criticism as an attack on my person, but the Lord is working with me and I know my fault. We are all on this earth to bring glory to God in our words and actions and that also involves thoughts in our minds.

Watch what you preach

2008-10-07T05:46:00.000-07:00

One thing that I have noticed over the past few years is that those of us who claim to be Dispensationalist have a fatal flaw. We do not carry our dispensational "beliefs" with us everywhere we go. I hear from different preacher a mixing of Israel and the Church, now it may be a very suttle mixing, but it is that very mixture that causes fatal error. I believe with this confusion that comes from our puplits is what makes it easy for seminaries and bible colleges that teach reformed theology to sweep our sheep astray, while they attend this institutions. We know how the best sellers in the Christian realm are the favorites of the immature and mature believers at our churches, but if they do not have the spiritual wisdom to separate reformed teachings from dispensational teachings then they will get swept away. The maturing mind thrist for spiritual wisdom, but that does not mean that they can discern every teaching and make distinctions between truth and heresies. Also I believe that we must be careful as we quote from the pulpit, if we like something that a writer from a different theological persuasion says, then let us be sure to give the credentials of that person so that our congregations will not assume that all that they have to say is truth. That is why we went to seminary or bible college, so that we may discern these things. We need to remember that they did not. In several of the general epistles, we learn that those who would teach false doctrine and even apostate teachings will creep into our churches and will try to subvert the truth, causing doubt in the minds of our congregations. It is easy for a Baptist to diswayed his congregations from believing a buddist, muslim, or hindu from teaching or even a charismetic. It is when the theologies that would come from baptist with reformed flare that can confuse and ultimately lead astray our concregations. I know that some of the things that I say are not comfortable to listen to and are quite frankly offensive to some, but I do not desire to attack those who teach reformed theology at a personal level, but a theological level.

A desire I hope to soon be fulfilled

2008-10-02T06:30:00.000-07:00

Once again I find myself aching to be with Christ, to have my sanctified body, removed from the world which is ruled by sin. But I realize that in the Lord's good and perfect and acceptable will His timing is best. I sat down to do my devotions this morning in the book of Philippians reading about Christ humbling Himself and further on about Timothy, whom Paul wants to send to the Philippian believers, because Timothy does not desire exaltation and praise of man 2:19-24 and Epaphroditus a real man who was "full of heaviness" (vs. 26) because the Philippian believers caught wind of the fact that he was "sick unto death" (27). I think of what Paul wrote to Timothy in his second epistle to him in 1:7,8. Timothy had every reason to be afraid in the human mindset. The ruler of that time was impaling christians in the colosium as lighting for the evening games, which was also a mass slaughter of Christians. To be bold held a new meaning, well to us it does, but frankly this was the way the times were during their lives. I struggle with boldness and all I face would be a debate or ridicule. I still long for the day when Christ raptures His people, when the blessed hope of the Church comes. I long for the day of the appearing of the Lord "Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knowth us not, because it knew him not. Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that when He shall appear, we shall like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself even as He is pure." 1John 3:1-3 But I am here right now according to God's perfect will and timing and He would have me stand in boldness of the Holy Spirit and bring hope to a dying world lost in bondage to sin. I must be real like Timothy and Epaphroditus and Paul, and I must carry on even though I long to be free.

a commentary on commentaries

2008-10-01T08:57:00.001-07:00

In my last post I intended on making the point that commentaries are useful tools, but they are not the end all. I in no way was intending on putting across the idea that learning from preachers and teachers (past and present) are a was of time and a lack of faith and diligence on a bible students part. What I did intended on getting across was the cult following that some have for these theologians. I would be ignorant and fool hearted to say that you should not study from other men, I would not have gon to bible college to attain a degree if this was my heart. Just as many other things in society dumb down the abilities of a person, if you can't sit down with God's Word alone to study then, you are at a great disadvantage in your spiritual walk. Once again I am speaking of extreme position some one who takes a commentary alone with them and uses it like the cultist would use Mary Baker Eddy's works or the Pearl of Great Price. The Bible is the final authority it has the answers to all of life's questions. One thought that has entered my mind is what did the first century christians rely on and the apostles and those closer to them rely on when commentaries did not exist? We must rely on the Holy Spirit as all men and women were meant to do!

Continuing the last post.

2008-09-29T09:27:00.000-07:00

Two other things to remember when you are interpreting your bible; is to look at the Historical-Grammatical context of the text. Also remember the Scripture interprets Scripture principle. God's word will never contradict itself, it always agrees with itself. When looking at Historical and grammatical context we try to remember the time in which that book was written and we look at the language that is used in the verses. I have found that my grammer has improved dramatically since my high school days. Pronouns, participles, direct objects, etc jump out of the page as I look at God's Word indepth. Going back to God's word not contradicting itself, we have to remember to interpret based on context, starting from the ultimate context, God's purpose in giving us His word and His overall purpose to glorify Himself throught all the ages past, present, and future. The Bible is intended to be understood by the most immature mind up to the most intelligent minds, it always has applicable truths that change our lives in what ever time period we live in. I recommend reading God's Word with only you and the Holy Spirit, you can learn so much if you are willing to dive into the Bible. There are times that commentaries open up hard to understand passages, but those are only intended for you when you have exhaused your own abilities. I have found that people tend to rely on men of old to explain God's word to them and when something does not agree with what they have said, they write it off as false teaching. God never intended us to trust men over the Holy Spirit's teaching. The only way that we are going to mature is if we spend time in His word, learning what He has to teach us and praying for direction as we do this.

What makes you who you are

2008-09-25T17:52:00.001-07:00

One of the reasons for this post is to let people know who I am and what I believe. Hermneutics is the foundation of your theology. Hermneutics in its simpliest definition is: the science of interpretation. There are many things that are involved in interpretation, but one of the prime things in interpreting is "Context". I personally believe that the correct way to interpret is literally. Now we do have to realize that there are portions of scripture that are not meant for exact literal translations, such as Nebuchadnezzer's dream of the "man", but in situations like this we are not left to our own minds to explain what this means, the bible has the interpretation. There will be more to come in the future...

Spotless what we will be...

2008-09-17T14:03:00.000-07:00

I spend the majority of my days doing nothing, I once complained that I did not have enough time to study God's word, to prepare lessons and sermons so that God could us me. Now I do not have a job, which may be the answer that I was wanting, and I spend the majority of my free time doing nothing. Oh wretched man that I am. That does not exactly fit into Paul's context, but I understand that I will not always do what my spirit desires and what the Holy Spirit convicts me to do. We are free creatures, left to do what we will with our lives, but those who are saved have the freedom from the former bondage of sin to live righteously in Christ. Peter tells us that we have been given all things for life and godliness, of which I am extremely thankful for. But I do not always live godly. I always think about the Bema seat judgment that I will face one day. I realize that I will stand before the one that I love above all else, Jesus Christ, and I will have to give an account for the sins that I willing committed. The sins that the Holy Spirit, urged me not to commit and I ignored Him. Tears are the first thing that I can think of when I think of that moment, I understand that I have been forgive for all my sins, but each sin that will be questioned all that I can think of is the sacrifice that Christ made so that I did not have to be in bondage to sins. I believe that I do not have to commit a single sin after I am saved, that does not me that I won't, but before my salvation I could do nothing but live in sin. I also know that there is a wonderful event that occurs after that time, the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. This is the time when the Church is married to her bridegroom, Jesus Christ, to live with Him for the rest of eternity. They say that he Rapture is our blessed hope, and it is. Why is it, maybe because it is the starting point for the events leading to the marriage. I encourage everyone to think of these things that were mentioned, we are a heavenly people and our citizenship is in heaven, we are a new creation, which does not belong in this world, but in heaven. Focus on heaven, on the moment when we will be presented as the spotless Bride to Christ the spotless Lamb.

Working with youth

2008-09-02T11:45:00.000-07:00

I have spent the last 3 1/2 to 4 years working with the youth in my local church, before that I had little to no experience working with youth in that capacity. I can say that I have learned a lot during these years and I am trying to shape my philosophy around events I have experienced through those years along with all of the technical things that I have learned throughout my bible college career. There are several things that come to my mind at first.
1. Youth (believers) are just as responsible to "work out their own salvation with fear and trembling" as adults are. They have received their spiritual gifts and are expected to use them just as adults. We all stand before Christ after the rapture and will given an account for what we have done. Now with youth, just as with an immature believer there needs to be direction by a more mature believe to guide them along. It is very important for teens and children to have an accountability partner to help them along, and I would say a peer would be the best at this, along with a parent or adult in the congregation.
2. I believe that music tends to affect teens in a more persuasive way than it does an adult. Teens are defined by their peers by the music that they listen too. If a teen chooses to separate himself or herself from the world in dress, music, and attitude in general, then they will need someone to encourage them along this narrow, seldom traveled road. If they have a peer that makes that choice with them, that can make all of the difference. When we minister to youth it is very important to be separate from the world because they are at that age when the world and their flesh is constantly tempting them to come along and enjoy all it has to offer. The last thing they need is a confirmation from their youth leader or church that the world is an okay place to be in.
3. I believe that when we teach teens and children, that we must not sacrifice doctrine for entertainment. Now it can be difficult to teach youth about foundational doctrines if we don't make it interesting at their level, but try and remember what made doctrine interesting to you and apply those same attractions. I tend to believe that teaching on the supernatural things of the rapture and millennium, glorified bodies and the war of Armageddon attract a lot of attention for a youth. If they are interested in the bible then teaching it is not difficult at all.

Finally we have to remember that ultimately the Holy Spirit does the teaching and the person makes the decision if they are going to learn or apply those things taught, to their lives. I struggle with that part tremendously. If we can instill a passion for God's word in their lives and a passion for doing what is right then they will grow in Christ-likeness without a doubt.

Using the previously posted diagram

2008-08-26T08:08:00.001-07:00

The Rapture and Millennial Kingdom diagram that was previously posted gives a very meager look at Eschatology. Diagrams are helpful to some that learn better seeing pictures, like myself. In saying all that, I gave it so that you could see a time line of what is to come and it helps to keep things in place in order that we understand what is going on right now. It is a common idea that Christ's reign is happening now, we see it in the hymns we sing, and in the contemporary music (CCM) that is sung. (This is one of the reason I do not listen to CCM) We also can see that it is pervading many local churches and the vast majority of seminaries. If we have a way that we look at theology, then that way should show up in every area that we are involved in, church wise. Christ is not the King over the Bride, He is our bridegroom and His kingdom, is not now!

Spell Check

2008-08-25T06:11:00.001-07:00

I am really bad about checking my spelling! I image everyone that has read any of my posts will understand that. I apologize for that, I know that even in that I show a representation of Christ. Please bare with me as I work on this problem. Thank you.

Diagram on the Rapture and Millennial Kingdom

2008-08-25T05:52:00.000-07:00

Taking a look at the Church at Ephesus

2008-08-19T11:13:00.000-07:00

Understanding Ephesians.

Vs.1
Paul explains that His apostleship is:
a. By the will of God
He goes on to say that this letter is to the saints which are at Ephesus and to the faithful in Christ Jesus.
When I take a look at this in its immediate context I realize that Paul is writing to the Church (universal) and Local (Ephesus). Now we can assume that this letter may have gone to a specific church at Ephesus, a house church, but it very well could have gone to a group of churches(houses). It would infer that it would go to other believers as well because of the "faithful in Christ Jesus".

Vs.2
Paul gives his usually greeting "grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ." When you read in context every word is very important to understand who this letter is addressed too. We address God's as Father, because of our relationship that we have with Him.

Vs.3
1. Praise is given to God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ... We give praise to where it rightfully belongs. We also recognize with reverence God as God, in His might, Holiness, Righteousness, Justice, and other attributes given to Him, yet we recognize Him as the abba Father figure (Rom.8:15) that reflects His love, patience, mercy, and kindness.
2. "who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ. This is where some separation of thought comes into play. We understand that all the blessings that we have can be traced to Christ and His work on the cross. When we were given the adoption of sons we were placed into the family of God. Now once again understanding the separations that the Church has with Israel, this relationship is one of future reigning with Christ unlike that of ruled over by Christ in the future, literal, millennial kingdom. We also must recognize that these blessings are not of this earth, they are spiritual blessings. Where Israel's promised blessings by God, to be avenged of it's enemies and given a promised land. The Churches blessings in Christ are those of reigning, being married to Christ, our conforming to His image.

Vs.4
Here is a portion of scripture that always makes some uneasy. I believe it is of the utmost importance to understand who the addressees are and the context in this particular case, we also must understand the pronouns in light of that context. "according as he hath chosen us in him before the foundations of the world...". Some look at this portion of scripture and see only the "chosen", which is an important aspect, but not to the neglecting of "us". Who is the us?
a. some would say that the "us" is all of the saints of all times. They would hold to a soteriological or salvation context of this passage.
b. I personally would say, in light of the context, that the "us" would refer to the Church. The context of Paul's writings were to the Church, as the Body of Christ, the Bride of Christ, in its entirety. He was writing to the local church at Ephesus, immediately, but was talking to the universal church in relation to the dispensation that he lived in Eph. 3:2-5.
We see that we are chosen "in him before the foundations of the world. This relationship is unique among the dispensations of God being the bride to Christ, instead of the people of God. Throughout several of the other dispensations previous to the age of the Church, the people that God deals with is the nation of Israel.
We are exhorted to be "holy and without blame before him in love:" Holy and without blame speak of purity. When you think of a bride, adorn for her bridegroom, you have a picture of her purity in the white dress that she wears. She has kept herself pure from a promiscuous life to be presented to her groom as blameless. Every saint must keep this in mind, continuously. We are to abstain from the filthy things of this world, fornication, lies, etc. A sinful lifestyle does not fit the life of a pure bride.

Vs.5
"having predestined us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,"
Predestined us(Church) unto the adoption of children. These terms also get swept under the Reformed theology rug. We know that we are brought into the family of God through adoption. We are not like the nation Israel, Children of God, but we are adopted into this family. Remember that Context tells us that we are talking about the Church here, not all saints of all dispensations.

Personal ramblings on our capabilities

2008-08-18T07:13:00.000-07:00

I am so thankful that I can understand God's word, with the teaching and leading of the Holy Spirit. I feel that to many of us depend solely on being taught by commentators and by our pastors, without realizing that we also can learn a great deal if we spend time in God's word. I use commentaries and listen to my pastor to lead me as they have been lead by the Holy Spirit, but I can not neglect my responsibility of communing with God. If you look at some of the older men that have written and published studies that they have done we must realize that they did not have more of the Holy Spirit than we do. We must do as Phil. 2:12 says and " ... work out your own salvation with fear and trembling."
We are given everything for life and godliness as 2 Peter 1:3 says, therefore we need to be diligent.

Some minor corrections

2008-08-16T06:50:00.000-07:00

I wanted to make a clarification on being apart of the Bride of Christ. We are just that in our local churches. To be apart of this great standing, you must be saved. Now I took this for granted, that everyone would know this, but taking things for granted is exactly what I am trying not to do.

When are we?

2008-08-14T11:23:00.000-07:00

Why is it that we are the only dispensation that seeks to live in every other dispensation. There are those that seek to put themselves under the Law, to live according to works of their own hands. They seek to justify themselves by their own unrighteous sacrifices. There are those who say that the Kingdom of God is now, with Christ ruling in our hearts and are not willing to take a literal view of the 1000 year reign of Christ. When I see this, I say if Christ is ruling now, He is not doing a good job. Also when did this thousand year reign start, if at the death or ascension then it has been more than a 1000 years. If we believe that Christ is reigning now then His position is that of King and not intercessor, I need the intercessor now more than the King. Why is it so hard to take His word at face value?

Worship

2008-08-13T13:54:00.000-07:00

I think there is a lot to be said about worship. I also think that there is a lot being said about worship that is wrong. If you look at the Old Testament example of worship, that occurred in the tabernacle, we see a great picture. When the priest went into the the "holy place" there was a lot of preparation. After he made all of the sacrifices of the day he would then go to the Laver and prepare himself for worship. The Laver was a piece of furniture, much like a sink, it contained water in it's basin and it's bottom was made of mirrors. The priest would look at himself as he washed all of the filth off of his body, the dust of the earth which was the tabernacles floor, the blood of the sacrifices of the day, etc. I see a great picture of how a christian prepares him or herself for worship. We must come to God, clean of the filth of the world, our sins. This also speaks of how worship to God is not tainted by the world. You see, worship back then is the same now, we worship a Holy God, one of Jealousy and Righteousness. Yes He is Love, but that mentality that God is Love, tends to stop right there, and ignore the other attributes of God. I believe that the philosophy that we can worship God in anyway that we see fit, without meeting any standard, is a very unrighteous philosophy. I know that there is no prescribed manner given to us for worship, but there are plenty of principles to follow and we worship God for who He is, Holy, Loving, Righteous, Forgiving, Jealous, Longsuffering. Remember Worship and Praise belong to God alone, and when we seek to worship Him and try to find what will personally benefit us while we do that our focus is turned the wrong way. Worship is a matter of our hearts, our hearts must be contrite, but when you come to Him in that state, and you love Him, then you will do what He wants and worry less about what you want.

What a Relationship we have...

2008-08-11T07:59:00.001-07:00

When you look at what we are, The Bride of Christ, what do you think. We are apart of a very unique relationship, one that has never occurred in the history of man. Israel is God's people, a relationship of citizens in the kingdom of God. The Church on the other hand is altogether different. We have a marital relationship with Christ, being heirs with Him, throughout eternity. Where Israel has the blessing of being ruled by God, we have the blessings of ruling with Him. I wonder how this will affect our relationship to the Father, since we are His Son's bride. This is why I stated in an earlier post, the possibility of "election" in Ephesians 1 could refer to the choosing or predestining of "us"(Church) as Paul says, as being chosen to be a part of the Church, that unique relationship.

Who I am

2008-08-07T08:09:00.000-07:00

I have decided to write down my Philosophy of, well everything.

This is not a doctrinal statement, but will focus on doctrines. It is what you would call a philosophy of Ministry, although I believe this relates to my entire life as well. I do not wish to compartmentalize any part of my life, this is a mistake that many people make. What I mean by compartmentalize is: to separate my church life from my private life. I am a part of the Church and there is no separating me from that, thus I must be the same in every area of my life in order to be glorifying to God and real as a person.
I have a conservative view in music. I believe first and foremost that all of my worship must be truthful(based on truth) and from my heart(real). The words that I sing must hold to the doctrines that I believe, which can make for a very interesting experience, even in the hymns I sing in my hymnal. I believe that the notes play just as an important part as the lyrics. If I was to ignore the fact that music(notes) do not move the human emotions, then I would be ignorant. I am not one that believes that I must have that "right" feeling in order to say that I have worshiped, because worship belongs to God, but when I sing lyrics that are true according to God's word it does move the heart.
I take a literal hermeneutic in translating my bible, therefore when I teach, whether in a bible study, S.S. class, or from a pulpit I prepare according to that conviction. I am not concerned with numbers I would be more quality vs quantity. I believe that when a person gets saved they must understand the core doctrines of scripture, before you put them out into service such as teaching. I am dispensational in my theology and Premillenial. When I teach through a passage I like to teach in an expository fashion. I will use topical styles, but in studying and teaching, I believe an expository approach is best. I believe it is very key to keep all of your teachings in context, historically and grammatically, so that you can properly bring out principles to the people that you are teaching. As I said earlier, I am a dispensationalist, therefore when I teach it is very important for me to keep Israel and the Church separate.
When I work with teens and younger children I understand that attention levels differ from adults, but entertainment can never take the place of doctrine. It may seem hard to understand to some, but when you are working with any age group teaching style may vary, but you must also remember if they are saved then they are accountable to God and will stand before the Bema seat of Christ, just as you will, and if they are not saved then why make them think that church is just like the world when it is not.
My vision for the future ministry that God has for me is like this. I do not desire to have a huge church, I actually prefer a smaller group so that I may be more involved in individual lives. I would like to pastor a flock and bring them along in the knowledge of God's word, an in depth knowledge of His word. I prefer a smaller group of people so that I can teach them so that they may then go out and start a work of their own, according to God's will for their life. I want to be faithful with what God's has given me instead of making an empire for myself. I do not care if I leave a legacy for myself, but rather a history for God.

I would say that if I had a primary focus in my ministry it would be to remind the saints of who they are. We are the Bride of Christ, and when we keep that concept in the front of our minds then we will make all the necessary choices for personal sanctification. There is so much involved in being the Bride of Christ that is not "really" taught; blessings, our place with Christ, our place in the millennium, our place in eternity in relation to other saints throughout human history. I want to focus on who we are an not mix other dispensations with the present one (the Church). We are a part of a relations with God and with Christ that is like no other.

I realized, with the help of my wife, that I have not mentioned anything about evangelism. I believe that all saints should have a continual focus on evangelizing the lost. I enjoy working with people one on one, discussing things, and bringing salvation into any topic when dealing with a lost soul. The idea that we must use whatever means necessary to reach the lost is wrong. I believe that through living a different life from the world will draw attention to those around you, opening an opportunity to witness. If I am going to call myself a Christian then I must exhibit some Christ-like character.

There will be more to follow in this philosophy in the future, but it gives a surface understanding of who I am.

2008-07-17T12:37:00.000-07:00

Do you ever wonder why Jesus always answered questions with asking a question? When people do that it seems like they are avoiding the question or do not have the answer to it, but not so in Christ's case. I have been reading a book that is going through the life of Christ and this question came into my head. The graciousness of Jesus is seen so clearly in this if you just take a look, He has all the answers but He was more interested in the people understanding on their own than He was with answering all the mysteries of all time while He was here on earth. I believe it just gives a little more insight on free choice/free will, Jesus gave us the opportunity to answer instead of making us robots to His will.
Just like the questions the unbeliever asks of God " If He is a God of love then why doesn't He solve all of the problems in the world?" There are many ways of dealing with that question and I believe one of them is, because He wants us to choice Him ourselves. If Christ came to save the world, which He did, then why would He force it and at the same time die the death He did? Just as Christ was not interested in the easy ways out that Satan presented to Him in the desert during His temptations, with Peter , when Christ rebuked Him" Get thee behind me Satan..." and when on the Cross with the jeers of the crowd "If you are God then save yourself...". In a world that is interested in " Your life now" and "how can we make the best of this life, now", Christians have to remember that this is but a vapor and life only begins when it ends for us here on earth. We store up for ourselves treasures in heaven where moth and rust can't corrupt and where thieves cannot break in and steal, then why do we cling to all of the things around us. Life would be much more joyful if we understood where our citizenship is.
Well this post really didn't have a theme I guess and it took two different turns in the end, but think about them...

Exhibiting the Fruits of the Spirit

2008-07-14T20:56:00.000-07:00

Why is it so hard for us to exhibit the fruits of the Spirit. I know that we are works in progress, but it seems, as well, that we can live in a way that it glorifying to God. I don't believe that the fruits are set out there for us to dream about or to wish that we could be like that, but they are a mark to pattern ourselves after. We have the Holy Spirit in us, yet we lack the understanding of what that means I am afraid. I have seen through different times in my life that the more you search after wisdom, for wisdom's sake, the more you are removed from those fruits. I love theology and studying doctrine, but those are to work hand in hand. When we become wise in those two things it seems that our love for people, brethren and the lost, starts to shrink away.

So much more...

2008-07-14T13:17:00.000-07:00

One of the many things that I glean in my years at bible college, which was not to long ago, was that of context and its importance in reading the bible. I personally believe the ultimate context of scripture is that of glorifying God. As you can now see I believe in a Doxiologically centered purpose of God. So when I study God's Word that is what comes to my mind foremost. I also am a Dispensationalist and I find it very important to know, when I am reading, Who God is speaking to and When is He speaking. When I read Paul's writings I realize that God is speaking to the Church, the age in which He is focused on the Bride of Christ and its sanctification. So taking the scenic route to the point I was getting at, I believe that it is very possible that Paul was speaking of "us" the Church as being chosen in Him before the foundations of the world in Eph. 1:3 and following that idea to verse 5. It is so strange to me that the Church, not all of, but a large portion are enamored with having the blessings that were given to Israel, when we have so much more to look forward to with the "spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ". Why would we want to take the place of Israel and gain her earthly blessings when we can be the Bride of Christ, and rule with Christ?

Bride Body Church

2008-07-14T07:50:00.001-07:00

Well, this is my first attempt at blogging and my main purpose was to present my website as well through this. I believe that I am going to use this blog to post discussions which I can not on my site.(www.bridebodychurch.synthasite.com) Lets see what happens.

Topic #1
Looking at the Epistle of Ephesians. Paul is writing to the church at Ephesus, during the dispensation of the Church. Is it possible that in verses 3-5 of chapter 1, in relation to election and predestination is that of the dispensation of the church? Could it be that the election that we talk about, that unto salvation, is actually elections to live in the dispensation of the Church?
Tell me what you think and we will go from there.