Theological Tuesdays: The RAPTURE

This week's "Word we hear in Church, but don't know much about it" is : RAPTURE.

Now the purpose of this weeks blog is not to examine matters of eschatological theory, that could be an entire dissertation for your Doctorate in Theology. In case your wondering, eschatology is the branch of theology which relates to the End Times/ Second Coming/ End of the World. We are going to look at the word "rapture" and define it and see how it relates to our Christian faith.

Rapture can be defined as the "catching up of believers by Christ at the time of His return." In other words the rapture is viewed as the time when Jesus returns back to earth and the believers in Christ are shipped straight on up to heaven before all that bad stuff mentioned in Revelation happens (some have differing views on this as well). You know, the seals, AntiChrist, headed beasts, and all that crazy stuff we don't talk about much in church.

Something important to note here. The word "rapture" is NEVER used in the Bible!! If you don't believe me, go to biblegateway.com and do a key word search for rapture and see how many results come popping back on the screen. Now some of yall are reading this and saying, "well, By George, haven't you read the "Left Behind" series? Obviously if you had then you would know that the Rapture does exist and all of us Christians are going to get whisked away into heavenly saftey while everyone else is left during the Tribulation and subject to all kinds of plagues and super nastiness."

To answer your question: No I've not read the Left Behind books and I don't really plan to. The one thing I do know is that the word Rapture is not used in the Bible. It's a term that we use a lot to describe a future event, and we aren't sure how its going to happen. Now this whole idea of a Rapture was probably first drawn out from 1 Thessalonians 4 and in particular v. 17. Others say that the Book of Revelation talks about a Rapture and tells us how the end of the world is going to happen. So if your interested in this topic do some research. I have a whole .pdf file of a Revelation Commentary. If you would like for me to send it to you, just contact me.


By now you should have an idea of what the word "Rapture" means or the event it describes.

So my challenge is this:

Where does the Rapture happen in Scripture? Is the Rapture mentioned in Revelation but in different terms? Is their even going to be a Rapture? Does it really matter?


I think that what is important to know about this term and how it relates to our faith, is that none of this really matters if we are saved and our faith is in Christ. We don't have to worry about how the world is going to come to an end. Our salvation is secure, or place is reserved in heaven, and so what, if we get stuck around down here on earth during all the Tribulation mess; we will be with Jesus one day!




You'ins comment now ya hear!

The Cage

Upon request of Big Spoon, I will post something I wrote some two years ago. It is a good illustration and might help someone. It is a little long, but read through if you have time.

The Cage

“Don't you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as a slave, you are slaves to the one whom you obey- whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were entrusted. You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness." Romans 6: 16-18

There is a land, and that land is as a great wide field, it is endless. And in this field there are a countless number of cages, steel bared with no doors. In each cage lives a man or a woman. These men and women have lived their whole lives not knowing of their captivity. They have never seen true freedom, thus did not see the bars that enslaved them.
But one day on a road passing through the field walked a free man, not chained or bound. Seeing this man free those in the cages saw the bars of their captivity for the first time. Many became frantic, many angry, and all were in sorrow, because of the realization of their bondage. They yelled and screamed at the free man, cursing him for they thought he had put them in their cage. Many knew he had not but still cursed him, because he was free and they were not. But in a cage closer to the road, there was a man who saw this free man in a different light. In his heart he had neither anger nor fear of this free man. He had a tugging in his heart to ask the man about his new found enslavement.
“Pardon Sir, could I please talk to you?” the caged man asked.
The freeman hearing this walked quickly to the caged man and said “Of course.”
“How is it Sir that you are free to walk on that road, and I am here in this cage? I never knew of it before I saw you, how did it come that I am bound?”
“Dear friend, it has always been there, you were born into captivity and never knew of it, you and all the others have lived in a cage since your birth, and most of them will not leave. For they have not accepted the truth, and many will die without knowing freedom.”
“What truth is this that makes men free?” the caged man asked.
“It is a simple truth, that you are not your own. That you through your own choices have built this cage stronger the longer you have lived. When you were born the cage was small as you were, but the longer with out knowing the truth it grew as you did, further keeping you from freedom.” He responded.
“How then is it that you are free then? I have not seen any other free men.” the caged man asked.
“I was let out of my cage. We can not let our selves out, for there are no doors, nor any tools to free ourselves. We are only at the mercy of the Master to let us out.” He said.
“Master, I have never heard of this Master, nor have I seen or spoken with him, who may I ask is he?”
“He has always been here waiting for the day that you would; search, look for, call for, and ask that he may come into your life. He is a good and gentle Master, one that does not beat or bruise those who serve him but one who loves and frees the ones that follow him. But for those that have separated themselves form him by their cage, he can not free them unless they call upon him.” The free man told him.
All of this revelation did not seem new to the man, he knew the tugging in his heart to question the free man had not come to him by chance, but by another. He then asked the free man, “How do I call upon the Master, how do I ask him to free me, that I might serve him and not my self.”
The free man said, “However you say it, through words or thoughts, or a simple cry, he will hear you and will come if your heart is pure in wanting to receive him. For no bars, no cage, nothing can stop his mercy for those who are willing to receive it.”
The man in the cage, saying in words what his heart felt asked the master to open his cage, to let him be free that he may serve Him. When he finished, his cage was gone, and so was the freeman who was on the road. The caged man now a freeman began walking the road. Some time later he passed a section in the endless field where there were more cages. Those in their cages saw him, and yelled curses at him, but through the hectic sounds of the angry prisoners, he heard a small voice ask him “Sir Pardon, can I speak to you.”…


Sin is like a cage it holds us in captivity and separates us from God. The field is the world, full of false ideals, a waste land were nothing fruitful can be found. The road is a separation from the world, the Christian life. The road, that those who have found the truth may walk on it and show others freedom in their lives that others might seek the source for their own redemption. The mockers and cursers in their cage are those who are presented with the truth and deny it, but the one who calls out to question is the lost sheep who wants to come home to the Shepard, and learns to walk the road spreading the Good News.
The cage of sin, it is a tool of separation, a device of captivity, binding those within its hold. But by the grace of God are we redeemed. His love and mercy has washed the sin from our spirits that we may have freedom, and eternal life.
So dear friends if you are still in bondage call out for help, and if you are on the road of freedom do not walk with out stopping when someone calls out and ask to talk to you. For by your walk with God will men see the Truth in this world, Christ lives in us and will use you for the building of his kingdom if you will only let him.

Peace in Christ!

Monday Munchies...Food for Thought: Alcohol

Sorry I’m late guys, was doing some interesting conversating with my roommates. Anywho, thanks to popular demand, here it is…the Alcohol Monday Munchies. First an additional disclaimer to my blog, What I say is not Gospel…just my opinions. That being said, I’m gonna give some facts about what the bible says about alcohol, what C.S. Lewis says, and what I think. Its prolly gonna make several people mad... good. My desire is that you study, think about, and pray about this issue so that you understand where God stands, not that you agree with me. If you want to argue or defend another opinion, feel free to post up my comments section.
We’ll start with the central truth of the Christian faith…Jesus. What did Jesus have to say about alcohol? I guess yall saw this coming, but in Chapter 2 of John, Jesus performs His first miracle. He turns water into wine. Now this has several implications, not the least of which were His mother pushing Him to do it and the embarrassment He saved the bride’s father. How ever I think it is critically important that in verse 10, it says that most people wait till the end to serve bad wine, because everyone has drunk so much they can’t tell the difference. Speaking from personal experience, bad/cheap wine is very easy to tell from good wine. This leads me to believe that these people in order to not be able to tell the difference had a lot of wine…in other words they were very tipsy if not drunk.
Later, Jesus commands His disciples to take the wine cup as His blood as part of what we now know as Communion (Luke 22:14-18). Not really as big of a statement, but I think it’s important to note that Jesus was sitting around drinking wine.
This is pretty biased towards drinking as an ok thing. The Old Testament does say that it is not wise to get drunk in Proverbs.
C.S. Lewis says that Christianity is the religion of moderation; therefore we should take things in moderation, including alcohol. He says a little isn’t bad, but a lot is.

Here’s what I think. I don’t see it as a sin to drink. I don’t see it as a sin to get drunk (although I do find it highly unwise). I believe that we are responsible for our actions weather we are drunk or sober. So if we commit a sin when we are drunk, we are still held accountable for that action. Let me clarify that being drunk once and being addicted to alcohol are different things. Alcoholics should not drink, period. Dont confuse me sayin someone who is drunk with someone who is a drunkard. (I suppose it could be argued where you draw the line)
Just something to think about…I bet people are a little upset so light up my comments with why I’m wrong. If you think I am, if you think I’m right, let me hear that too.

PS. Make sure you read the comments to see what other people think too!

Jesus Loves Strippers

I was forwarded this article by the Rev. Wesley about a ministry for strippers. These ladies called JC's Girls go around to strip clubs, pay for a lapdance, and spend that time to talk to the girls about God and not a dance. What do ya think? I don't reckon a man could pull this off without sinning but I'm sure he would quickly volunteer for this ministry outreach, haha. So check out the article HERE and see what you think. Read about the first time the ladies went to the club and their experiences talking to the girls.

So whats the verdict? Should we as Christians be going into the most sinful of places and sharing the Good News? What does the Bible say? Let us know-Comment

"God First- Time is now"

"Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water." - (Hebrews 10:22)

The Lord was a perfect man. Perfect! Let us draw near to Him! The scripture does not say 1/2 way, slightly, as we please. It states to "draw near with a true heart in FULL ASSURANCE of FAITH". In Hebrews 11:1, scriptures says: "Now faith is substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." It is like the wind, you can not see it... but you can feel it.

What are you waiting for? I hope not for Jesus to be more perfect or loving! When will it be time to dedicate your lives to the Lord? I hope not the day the Lord appears, for it will be too late! What in your life is going to change to better fit Him into your schedule? Get your priorities straight... GOD FIRST... THE TIME IS NOW and It's not about fitting Him... it's about living and breathing Him. When you accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, He now lives within you as you live within Him. No longer is it your life, but it is our life. When you begin or still have excluded God from the picture, picture yourself far away from the Lord in darkness... because there's no midpoint between Heaven and hell. Which place will better fit your schedule now? I pray not the fiery pits of hell...

Christ our Eternal Fountain

A man heard a tale that there was a fountain that if you drank from it you would have eternal life. The man sold all of his possession, took out a loan and set out on this journey to find the fountain. All of his family said he was foolish, they called him ridiculous, but he wouldn’t let anything stop him from obtaining eternal life. He crossed the ocean, rode on horseback through a desert, and climbed the highest mountain, all in search of this fountain. He came to an old village high in the hills, and heard a man say that he was near the fountain. But the man said if you want to see it you’ll have to pay me. The weary traveler had no money, but said to the old man take me to the fountain, I will do anything just take me. The man told him if he worked for him for five years, he would take him. So the young man worked for the old man for five years, never once complaining, never once regretting his choice. When the five years were up, he went to the old man and said, please now take me to the fountain. The old man agreed, and they set off. A few days later, after traveling deep into the woods they came on a clearing. There a spring came forth, the man ran as fast as he could to the fountain. Before he took a drink, he thought about all he had given up just to be at this spot. He had given up his possessions, his family, his friends, his time, all for a hope, a dreamer’s chance at eternal life.

This is just an illustration; once he drank from the spring did he receive eternal life? Ask yourself that question. Have you not gone to the well that never runs dry, have you not received the drink? Some of us most certainly have, but if we have we have died to ourselves, we have given up everything and cast our hopes on something higher, and we have set our desires on Christ Jesus. It is strange when we compare ourselves to a certain rich young man in the Bible, who also was searching for eternal life.

“Now a man came up to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?’
“Why do you ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, obey the commandments.”
“Which ones?” the man inquired.
Jesus replied, “Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother, and lover your neighbor as yourself.”
“All these I have kept,” the young man said. “What do I still lack?”
Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come follow me.”
When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.”
(Matthew 19:16-22)

How many of us let something come between us and eternity? How many of us let something come between us and a personal and intimate relationship with God? The real heart wrenching part of this passage is when it says, “the young man heard this, he went away sad”. Why, because he just gave up a chance to follow Christ, the very thing he wanted most was eternal life and because of his unwillingness to give up wealth he denied himself what he wanted. The really pathetic part was he was just “sad”, to look at eternity and turn your back on it, is more than sad, it is devastating, depressing, and most of all a self condemnation, but he could not see this because of his “wealth”, he was just sad that he couldn’t have what he wanted.

*(I assume that those reading this are saved; if you are not, do not let eternity slip past you. Christ is “the way, the truth, and the life”; do not pass the chance to follow Him.)

For those of you who are reading this and are saved, if anything in your life such as worldly things are hindering you from following Jesus; if your unable to follow Jesus close up, being right with him; if you are struggling to keep up with the Christian Walk, examine what might be holding you back. What ever it is, bad relationship, possessions, thoughts, anything, let it go and hold fast to Christ’s hand and follow close. Don’t let your journey end by getting to the spring and never tasting the refreshing water, which is an eternity with God!

May the Peace of Christ be with you!!

I got a little fired up the other night

This blog is a little tough for me to write because some of the things that I’m going to say won’t sound too friendly, but they are things that I feel have been laid on my heart for me to say. It will be long and if you are not willing to read it and see what I’ve felt convicted to say then don’t bother. I’m directing this blog towards the people who are truly serious about their religion and the things that I say I am talking to myself as well. In other words I’m gonna say things that I’m going to listen to too. I’m directing this towards people that are truly devoted to their religion because if you’re not then I doubt that you’d be willing to do the things that I’m going to ask. But I’m laying it all on the table and I’m not holding anything back. Even though it is directed towards a certain group anyone is welcome to read it.

First off if you are truly a Christian then you need to start acting like it. The main reason why non-believers find religion a joke is because they see people claiming to be Christians with them all the time doing the same things that they are doing. And guess what, you shouldn’t. You should be set apart from everyone else out there in the world and live the life that God asks for you to live. So many people find Christianity to be full of hypocrites because it is full of hypocrites, and I’m sorry this is just how I feel but if you are not seriously trying to live a Godly life then you should quit saying that you are something you are not! In Revelation 3 God himself says that one thing he can not stand is a lukewarm Christian and that he will spit you out of his mouth, he’d rather you are hot or cold. So if you are not willing to be hot then you need to just be cold and quit trying to be in between because the only one you are fooling is yourself. Quit being stupid and get straight or quit giving Christianity a bad name and start giving the ones that are truly trying to live the way they should a chance to make a good name for God.

Next thing goes along with what Christians need to do if they see someone slipping away. James 4:17 says, “Remember, too, that knowing what is right to do and then not doing it is a sin.” Now this is one of my biggest pet peeves when you see one of your friends doing stuff they shouldn’t but you are afraid to confront them about it. I owe my life to Nathan Sapoch for busting my balls when he saw my slipping. Now I was mad at him for awhile because I was too stupid to understand that he was looking out for me but if it wasn’t for him I don’t know where I’d be right now, I know that I probably wouldn’t be sitting here typing this out. They will get mad at you for a little bit but it will all be alright in the end. Like it says in James that if you know what you should do and you do not do it you are sinning! Something else from James that goes along with that is 5:19, it says, ”Dear brothers, if anyone has slipped away from God and no longer trusts the Lord, and someone helps him understand the Truth again, that person who brings him back to God will have saved a wandering soul from death, bringing about the forgiveness of his many sins.” Listen to that, you know that if one of your friends is acting stupid then you should say something to them because it is the right thing to do, but you will also be rewarded for doing it! Everyone has a friend like this so don’t be afraid to confront them! Everyone needs to be set straight every now and then because no one is perfect. So don’t sit back and watch your friends and family go to hell.

Next off are the things that I was talking about in the second paragraph about how Christians seem to be in the same place as non-believers doing the same things. 1 John 2:15-17 says, “Stop loving this evil world and all that it offers you, for when you love these things you show that you do not really love God; for all these worldly things, these evil desires—the craze for sex, the ambition to buy everything that appeals to you, and the pride that comes from wealth and importance—these are not from God. They are from this evil world itself. And this world is fading away, and these evil, forbidden things will go with it, but whoever keeps doing the will of God will live forever.” Also read 1 peter 4: 1-6, "Since Christ suffered while he was in his body; strengthen yourselves with the same way of thinking Christ had. The person who has suffered in the body is finished sin. Strengthen yourselves so that you will live here on earth doing what God wants, not the evil things people want. In the past you wasted too much time doing what nonbelievers enjoy. You were guilty of sexual sins, evil desires, drunkenness, wild and drunken parties, and hateful idol worship. Nonbelievers think it is strange that you do not do the wild and wasteful things they do, so they insult you. But they will have to explain this to God, who is ready to judge the living and the dead." I shouldn’t even have to explain this one. If you can read then you should be able to understand what this is saying, it’s not hard. But still we find these “Christians” with the non-believers doing these things, and you know what, you’re going to have explaining to do.

Next off is the importance of who we choose to hang around. We all know the saying that we are who we hang out with. Well that is true. 2 Corinthians says, “Don’t be teamed with those who do not love the Lord, for what do the people of God have in common with the people of sin? How can light live with darkness? And what harmony can there be between Christ and the devil? How can a Christian be a partner with one who doesn’t believe? And what union can there be between God’s temple and idols? For you are God’s temple, the home of the living God, and God has said of you, ‘I will live in them and walk among them, and I will be their God they will be my people’ that is why the Lord has said, ‘leave them; separate yourselves from them; don’t touch their filthy things, and I will welcome you, and be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters.” Now don’t get me wrong it’d be hard to lead people to God if you shunned yourself away from all non-believers but you gotta realize that you don’t need to do the things that they do. We are called to be set apart from them.

Another thing Christians need work on is our knowledge of God’s word. I’m sorry but I know that if I went to church and asked 50 people to give me 20 bible verses, less then half would be able to do it. Now I’m included in this group too. I could probably give you more quotes from a Metallica cd then I could the bible. But if we are so serious about this then why do we not know more. Could you tell me the difference between John Mark and John the Baptist? If not then maybe you should go do some studying. It’s time that we get serious. Why would you be able to tell me exactly what happened last week on American idol or Laguna Beach but not tell me what the preacher talked about last week? Like I said it’s time to get serious.

I’m gonna start this last point with a question. It was the hardest question that I have ever been asked, not because the answer was hard to think of but because I knew the answer and it just shows how selfish we are as humans. The question was, if you were not promised Heaven would you still be a Christian? Well I know that the answer is no. And it was hard for me to accept that because no matter how many excuses I tried to come up with, I couldn’t. I’m leading this into the idea of Christians being content. One of the worst sins that Christians commit is not being content with what God has given them. Get off your high horse. We already have more then what we deserve. Don’t believe me? Well you are able to sit at your house and read a blog on the internet. Not only are you blessed because you have a computer, an internet connection, a house or some sort of shelter, but you are also able to read and you are alive! And you know what; we don’t deserve any of that stuff. But it’s been given to us because of the love that God has for us. So be happy with what you have. Don’t get me wrong its ok to ask God for things, but don’t be upset if you don’t get what you want, just be happy with what he’s allowed.

This is about all that I’ve wanted to say and it’s getting pretty long so I’m gonna end here and just save some of the other stuff for another blog. I hope that by reading this that most of you will feel convicted and will re-evaluate the way that you are living. Because we all have to admit that we’re not living the way God asks for us too, otherwise we’d be perfect. And to clarify again I am talking to myself here too. I need to be listening to this just as much as anyone, but I also know how important it is to have someone say something to help set us straight every now and then because we all need it. And as a Christian I feel that it is my duty to be your accountability partner even if it is in an indirect way as a blog, because it is my responsibility to do what is right. And I’m hoping that someway this has helped you out. Or at least helped you decide if you are willing to be hot or just be cold.

Theological Tuesdays: Justification vs. Sanctification, Is there a Difference?

Today I’m gonna talk some about the difference between justification and sanctification and the importance of this difference. Sometimes you here these words a lot in church and they begin to loose meaning or they begin to be used interchangeably. Understanding this difference is really important and can be the dividing line between what is Christian and what is not, and what saves and what doesn’t save.

Justification can be defined as the work of God in the life of the sinner, by which he pardons all the sins of those who believe in Christ, and accounts, accepts, and treats them as righteous in the eye of the law. Justification occurs instantly and is based completely on Jesus' sacrifice on the cross (1 Pet. 2:24). It is a free gift (Rom. 6:23) and is received by faith alone (Eph. 2:8-9). No works are necessary whatsoever to obtain justification (Romans 5:1). This is what makes Christianity unique, and what makes it so loved and so hated.

“1Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand… 6You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. 8But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:1-2, 6-8)

No other religion has this. Take Islam for example. Ask a muslim what allah has done for them. They can reply that he loves them or gave them the Koran or food and water, or safety. They can’t say for sure they are found guiltless and justified before allah, because they don’t know until they die and meet him. They believe in a work salvation. We have a God who claimed that the greatest act of love is laying down your life for your friend (John 15:13). He not only said this but he demonstrated this on the Cross. Jesus (a mere man and prophet to the muslims) performed an even greater act of love then their god. The muslim god is relaxing up in heaven never sacrificing a thing for his people, just sending food or rain when needed. I can’t serve a God like that. We have a God that loves us and proves that by making himself nothing and becoming like us (Philippians 2:5-11), and dying for us even when we were still sinners. He went through what we go through. He was hot and cold, hungry, tired, he wept, he was tempted, and he died. No other religion has this.

We are justified by Christ alone through faith and anything more undermines the sacrifice that He paid for our sins.

Sanctification, on the other hand involves the work of the person. It is still God working in the believer (Philippians 2:13) but requires effort on the part of the justified person to produce a more godly character and life. Sanctification is not instantaneous because it is not the work of God alone. It is a process where the justified person is resisting sin, seeking holiness, working to be godlier, and submitting to God's will. (Gal. 5:22-23). Justification does not depend on sanctification. This means even if we don’t live a perfect life, we are still justified.

Justification comes from God outside of us; sanctification comes from God within us by the work of the Holy Spirit. In other words, we contribute to sanctification through our efforts but we cannot contribute to justification.

Does this mean that those justified by grace can sin as much as they want?

Romans 6:1-2 says, "What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer in it?" The Scriptures continually teach us that we are to live holy lives and avoid sin. Just because we are saved and eternally justified before God (John 10:28), is no excuse to continue in the sin from which we were saved. But we all sin and none of us are perfect, and there is a constant battle between the spirit and the flesh (Romans 7:14-20) and it won't be until the return of Jesus that we will be delivered from this body of death (Rom. 7:24). To use this free gift of grace as an excuse to keep sinning, is to reduce the blood and sacrifice of Christ to almost nothing (Heb. 10:29 and Heb. 12:15) and reveal the person's true sinful nature (1 John 2:4).

The importance of this difference:

Some religions mix these two together and form what is called works righteousness or works salvation. This is not what is taught in scriptures and cannot result in salvation. (Gal. 2:16). Paul says in Galatians 5:1-6 that when we try to be justified by the law we have been alienated from Christ and have fallen from grace. I mean think about it, even our best deeds are still stained and filthy before God (Isaiah 64:6). What makes us think that we can contribute to something that God alone can only do? (Galatians 2:20-21).

If it is having a works salvation such as in Roman Catholicism (not all Roman Catholics but a good many), Islam, Judaism, Jehovah's Witnesses, or Mormonism. Or denying any of the main Christian doctrines (the deity of Christ, the resurrection of Christ, and Salvation by grace alone) is to miss salvation.

Anything other than accepting God’s free gift of grace through our faith is not Christian and does not save you.

Well I hope you learned something today. It is easy to forget the meaning or mix the meaning of words we use commonly. I think learning this can have a great impact on your life and how you interpret what the Bible says. Anyway, respond with some thoughts and ideas, what you think, or whether you agree or disagree.

Monday Munchies...food for thought: Predetermination v. Free will

So…something to think on for today. I was thinking I was gonna write on alcohol and ask some questions for yall to ponder about on that, but I figure most people already think about that at least some, so that will be for another time maybe. Instead I’m gonna write on something that might be a little more complicated, the concept of predetermination vs. freewill. Buckle up, it might be a bumpy ride.

In reading my bible it is very hard to argue against the concept of predetermination. If God is omniscient and omnipotent and therefore knows what is going to happen it must already be determined what is going to happen, right? And if the future is predetermined then there is no freewill, because freewill would mean we have a choice and that things can’t be predetermined, right?

I suggest both. I believe that God is omniscient and omnipotent and does know exactly what’s going to happen. I also believe that God was gracious enough to give us freewill. It works like this. (I think it works like this, this isn’t exactly taken straight from the bible, it’s a combination of things I’ve learned (I hope through the Holy Spirit) and some of C.S. Lewis’ (or Dewy as I like to call him) writings.) God doesn’t see time as we do, God sees all of time at once. To dive into geometry, let’s think about a line. Let’s even say it’s between two points. Geometry says that there are infinite points on that line, yet we have no problem seeing the whole line. It’s like that with time to God. He sees us making choices, the consequences of those choices and the overall outcome all at the same time. He sees me thinking about this blog, writing this blog, posting this blog, and forgetting about this blog two weeks later, all right now! From our prospective where we can only see the point on the line, it seems as if predetermination is the only answer. In fact it is free will that wins out. God can just see our choices already. Some cool implications if I am right, like I said, this isn’t gospel, its just something cool to think about, in fact, in the grand scheme of things, this really isn’t even all that important. Anyway, some of these implications include the fact that Jesus was able to see me being born, live, sin, repent, struggle, be worthless, and die all at the same time that He was dieing on the cross. Despite being able to see everything wrong I was gonna do, He died for me. Another implication is that this helps to explain the whole idea of God’s elect and His desire to save the entire world. Anymore and I would stop reading someone else’s blog, so I think I’ll quit here. Think about it, pray about it, and let me know what you think.

Put all things to the test: keep what is good and avoid every kind of evil.
1 Thess. 5:21-22

To Sing or Not to Sing WHY is the Qusetion?

Hey guys it is me here Pastor Case with something that has been on my mind latly. You know as well as I do that singing is a huge part of my life and most everyone's. This brings me to my first passage of scripture, Psalm 33.Psalm 33

1 Sing joyfully to the LORD, you righteous;
it is fitting for the upright to praise him.
2 Praise the LORD with the harp;
make music to him on the ten-stringed lyre.
3 Sing to him a new song;
play skillfully, and shout for joy.
4 For the word of the LORD is right and true;
he is faithful in all he does.
5 The LORD loves righteousness and justice;
the earth is full of his unfailing love.

When we look here at the Psalm it tells us that we should not only sing, but sing joyfully. So many times I look around at my own church and when we are singing a hymn or even a praise song and the look on most people's faces just looks like they can't wait till they get to sit back down. The mouths are moving, but the joy element is missing. One thing that I can't help but think about when I talk about this is the people ask themselves what if I mess up or do something wrong or any other thing that makes me look bad or stupid, and the point that I would like to make to that is that I would rather look stupid to other people and be praising my Father then look like everyone else and depriving my God of the parise taht he deserves. I think that another thing that causes this is the fact that people don't really understand exactly what God sent his son to do for us. He DIED folks and do you know WHY?!? FOR US, ALL OF US!! Just take a moment and let that sink in. This brings me to my second point, we have to look at who we are singing to. In the Psalm once again we see that we are singing to our LORD, we are not just riding in the car singing along with the back street boys, notice there was no capitalzation because they are of no importance at least not on the scale of which I am concerned with addressing right now. The word of God has given us an instruction and we should follow it if for none other reason than that, but the real reason that we should follow it should be because we can not help but want to sing out to God. When you look at verse to it tells us to not only use our voices, but to also use instruments to praise God the Father. What this says to me is that we should use our whole being not just one part of it. When you think about going to the movies or hearing a band play it just isn't the same if the movie has no words and the band has no drummer, it just takes away from what could be. This is one of that I think troubles the Church today. I think it happens a lot through the aspect of music or at least that is the way I feel about it at my church. Then when you look at verse three in Psalm 33 it says to sing to him a new song and to play skillfully and then what does it say...it says to shout for joy to the LORD. When was the last time you were in church and you heard someone shout out for joy to the LORD and the preacher doesn't count. I bet for the most of us we never get past a quiet amen if we ever get that. This brings me to my last topic for this blog (just hang in there it is almost over). This is the big question WHY should we or do we praise God through song and also other aspect of our life? Well I stated above that he Died fo US, but if thats not enough then maybe this will help. Psalm 139
1 O LORD, you have searched me
and you know me.
2 You know when I sit and when I rise;
you perceive my thoughts from afar.
3 You discern my going out and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways.
4 Before a word is on my tongue
you know it completely, O LORD.
5 You hem me in—behind and before;
you have laid your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too lofty for me to attain.
7 Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, [a] you are there.
9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
10 even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast.
11 If I say, "Surely the darkness will hide me
and the light become night around me,"
12 even the darkness will not be dark to you;
the night will shine like the day,
for darkness is as light to you.
13 For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother's womb.
14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
All you have to do is read this and ponder it and you will see that he is God the one and the only. For he says that you know everything about me when I rise and when I sit. He knows all and as verse 6 says this knowledge is to high up to lofty for me to attain, you know WHY, because he is GOD and we are not. For this reason we should SING!!

Sunday Scoop.......$ True wealth $

"One man pretends to be rich, yet has nothing; another pretends to be poor, yet has great wealth."-(Proverbs 13:7)

Today I would like to discuss "true wealth". I have lived life richly, moderately, poorly, and such. I have had my fair share of rewards yet sacrifices too. I have literally had everything you can think of from a go- cart and track- to the huge barbie house- to my batting cage in the backyard, all of which I was determined to get. I've had to experience losing all those materialistic things years ago. I was heartbroken, not because my house burnt down, but because of the things inside the house. This is no joke. I was attending elementary school, in which the students there donated money, clothing, items like teddy bears, even food. At the time, I didnt know any better, so I wasn't embarrassed or stressed... because I was only a kid! I got over it pretty quickly. When I think back as a child, I remember being so humble and always having an open- mind about things. I was never "USED TO HAVING".
I think just recently, after all these years, I have realized that all these things that I'm "used to having" will burn away just like they did back then. One day. And if this were to happen tomorrow... what will I be left with? Am I still a humble child of the Lord? Will I have His Holy Spirit inside that can not be touched or burnt away, but will live on forever and ever! Wealthy, poor, whatever- If you want to talk about wealth... just how much "true wealth" do you possess? Close your bill fold and lay out the scriptures... Cut the dollar bills if you aint got God to bless them because they're going straight to the devil's cause... and if you think you're rich or poor now... wait till judgment day, cuz you can't pay your way to Heaven!!!!!

Blog Schedule

Hey ya'll what's goin on? I know we haven't had a post in a couple days, but keep checking, we are still trying to get a schedule ironed out so people don't all post on one day. Here's what we got so far though.

Sunday: Sunday Scoop by Jordan, an awesome gal and writer that will blog every week from Louisiana .

Monday: Monday Munchies... Food for Thought by Aaron Simmons. Anyone that knows Aaron knows that he is a little hmmm.... "spaced out" but he has great ideas and very thought provoking material the he will write on every week, a must read. Disclaimer: Aaron's views are exactly that, Aaron's views, haha. His posts are meant to make you think, so if you disagree let him know. In fact I'll probably disagree with some of em, but that's what makes this a blog.

Tuesday: Theological Tuesday..Defining the words you hear in church but have no clue what they mean: by Chance Witherspoon. I'll try to write weekly on words we always hear but don't really know what the mean, like; Pre-millenial Second Coming, Postmodernism, Exogesis vs. Isogesis, etc...

Wednesday: Words of Wisdom from Bishop El Chupacabra by Justin Witherspoon aka "El Chupacabra" or "MiniSpoon" A weekly blog from Justin on material he fills convictied to write about.

Thursday: Tidbits of Truth from the Right Rev. Sapock by Nate Sapoch . A weekly free thought blog where Nathan will share with us little "brownies" of good stuff that he has learned in his Spiritual Adventure with Jesus.

Friday and Saturday: These days are still open. As you can see we have more than 7 contributors and some of them may post on Friday or Saturday and they might also post during the week sometime, so keep checking the site.



Thanks to everyone for the support so far and feedback. Continue to read and share the site with others and if we miss a day, we are sorry, so please check back later, we'll be around.


It's all for the King...

In honor of Valentines day

This past week at church Justin Webb did a lesson about the qualities expressed in the bible of the perfect partner in a relationship. These are qualities that I feel should be shared with everyone, so with his permission I'm sharing the verses and then the notes that he gave everyone that night that show his interpretations of the verses. Lord knows that I'm definitely no love doctor but I hope that by sharing this stuff that maybe it will help you with looking for the right person for you and show you the type of person that you should be. I'll be using The Way version of the bible because I think that it uses modern day language that is easy to understand and will probably use it from now on.

Proverbs 31:10-31 says, "If you can find a truly good wife, she is worth more than precious gems!(*side note-AMEN!) Her husband can trust her, and she w ill richly satisfy his needs. She will not hinder him, but help him all her life. She finds wool and flax and busily spins it. She buys imported foods, brought by ship from distant ports. She gets up before dawn to prepare breakfast for her household, and plans the days' work for her servant girls. She goes out to inspect a field, and buys it; with her own hands she plants a vineyard. She is energetic, a hard worker, and watches for bargains. She works far into the night! She sews for the poor, and generously gives to the needy. She has no fear of winter for her household, for she has made warm clothes for all of them. She also upholsters with finest tapestry; her own clothing is beautifully madea purple gown of pure linen. Her husband is well known, for he sits in the council chamber with the other civic leaders. She makes belted linen garments to sell to the merchants. She is a woman of strength and dignity, and has no fear of old age. When she speaks, her words are wise, and kindness is the rule for everything she says. She watches carefully all that goes on throughout her household, and is never lazy. Her children stand and bless her; so does her husband. He praises her with these words: 'There are many fine women in the world, but you are the best of them all!' Charm can be deceptive and beauty doesn't last, but a woman who fears and reverences God shall be greatly praised. Praise her for the many fine things she does. These good deeds of hers shall bring her honor and recognition from even the leaders of the nation."

Qualities to look for in a woman/man

Qualities I must adopt to be the godly wife/husband

Verse 11-He/She is trustworthy.

Verse 12-He/She brings good not harm to the other person.

Verse 13- He/She works with eager hands.

Verse 14-15- He/She provides for others.

Verse 16- He/She is savvy and has good business sense.

Verse 17- He/She is a strong person.

Verse 18- His/Her lamp does not go out.

Verse 20- He/She extends their hands to the needy.

Verses 21-22- He/She is well prepared.

Verse 23- He/She brings respect to the other person.

Verse 24- He/She is innovative and has knowledge.

Verse 25- He/She has dignity.

Verse 26- He/She has wisdom and faithful instruction.

Verse 27- He/She has situational awareness.

Verses 28-29- He/She is praiseworthy.

Verse 30- He/She fears the LORD.

Well that was about all that Webb shared with us but I figured that it'd be good to talk about that considering the day and everything. Hopefully someone will take it to heart.

Where do you look for God?

Many times when the sun is going down, and the sky has a golden haze my mind marvels at God’s beautiful work. When my feet are in the cool water of a moving tide, the sand is soft, and the heat is blown away by the wind I feel God’s beautiful work. Even when I look at the dark clouds of a summer storm, I can feel God’s beauty as the lighting crashes on the land. But in all of this have I really seen God fully, or have I been missing something?

Often times we look for God in the big things, the things to which we have no control over. We marvel at them, yet the “greater reality is beyond what we see, but what we don’t see”. The place we as Christians often forget to look for God is in the eyes of our brothers and sisters, in the hurting, suffering, and the lonely lives that they live every day. Why don’t we look for God there? How do we as Christians become blind to the reality of this? Why do so many who have so much walk around each day and not share? Why do so many who profess the Gospel but do not reflect it? Christ’s said this;

“For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me….
I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for the least of these you did not do for me.” (Matthew 25:42-45)

As Christians in a world that says we should make and take, where many of the “religious right” are less hospitable to sharing their wealth with the needy, it becomes a question of are they really looking for God? If God the Father is so rich in mercy and grace too look at you in the eyes, and say I give you my Son, can you not look into your brothers or sisters eyes and give him something they need? Sometimes all they need is comfort, a hug and someone to listen, yet we often pass them by because we think we see God in something “grander”. Can you have true faith in God and yet pass by a brother in need and do nothing? James writes;

“Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, “Go I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action is dead.” (James 2: 15-17)

So, I challenge you the reader, don’t stop looking for God in the big things, but do not forget that God has challenged us to look for him in the people we pass by everyday. Our brothers and our own lives can reflect God if He truly lives in our hearts. Don’t forget a brother or sister in need, and always remember God can reveal His will in a grand view atop a mountain, or in a single tear. Look for God in all things.

May the Peace of Christ be with You!!!

Valentine's Day Bologna

Well first off let me say that I kinda have a very biased opinion when it comes to Valentine's Day, well actually when it comes to anything, but if you are offended that I bash this corporate-commercial-bologna-holiday, I'm sorry, but this is a blog, haha, read at your own risk.

So my spill on Valentine's Day: The reason why this holiday is no different than any other day to me is probably because I celebrate the holiday as being, "Singles Awareness Day," (a holiday I celebrate everyday, haha) the term which is becoming very popular in Western Culture for Feb 14. This is basically because I never really have had to worry about buying a girl chocolate, roses, and dinner on Feb. 14 becuase I've always had the great joy of being single when it comes to the big V-day (That's right all 21 years of my life, I've never had a gf on Valentine's Day, what a lucky guy). So to my point and how this relates to this God-blog:

St. Valentine's day can be traced back to a Catholic Church feast day in honor of St. Valentine. The important thing to note here is that there are at least 3 different St. Valentine's in the Catholic Encyclopedia who are listed as early martyrs under the date Feb. 14. So we don't know who exactly Valentine is and the day's association with romantic love didn't arrive until after the High Middle Ages. The first recorded, "romantic" written valentine note dates to the 1300's in England and Feb. 14 was traditionally held as the day when birds paired off to mate. So anyways, my point is this, this holiday is a purely Corporate America, Commercial holiday with it's sole purpose of making money. There isn't any kind of Christian connotation which somehow merits this holiday, and in fact, I would bet that many Baptist's would denounce Christian connonations when they found out it was related to the Catholic Church! (Yes that was a diss on Baptists, but I am one, so I can do it). It wasn't till the mid-1900's that people started buying chocolate and sending rose's to their lovers on Feb. 14 and it wasn't until the 1980's that the diamond industry started promoting V-day as a holiday to give jewelry. And why do we send so many cards? In fact there are over 1 Billion Cards sent on V-day and that makes it the 2nd largest "card day" behind another now-commercialized holiday, Christmas.

My point is this: Valentine's day really doesn't mean anything. It's shallow. Its a commercial holiday which helps stimulate our economy. Valentine's day has become nothing more than an experience that we look forward to having once a year. Girl's look forward to the experience of getting cards, flowers, chocolate, and a date. While guy's look forward to sadly enough, 'scoring' with their woman.

Many people have done the same thing to Christianity and following Jesus. We have made it simply an experience. If we don't "feel" something or experience something then we have missed out and we don't know God. Many people turn away from the faith when they don't feel God, or see Him work in 'signs and wonders.' In a sense, we have turned going to Church into something thats not much different than a "shallow-holiday" when we go seeking an experience and not the Divine God of this Universe. Following Jesus isn't about doing it when your all tingly inside or its easy, anyone can do that. We only deepin our faith when we follow Christ through the trials and hard times. So let's not turn Jesus into just an experience and make Him into another once-a-week bologna-holiday!

Check out Perry's blog on "hooked on a feeling"

Monday Munchies...food for thought: Anti-Dualism

Monday munchies…food for thought. I hope every one is looking forward to my weekly blog as much as I am. Before we get into this stuff, a little bit about me and where I’m coming from. I’ve known Jesus for as long as I can remember, I’ve always been very close to Him. I grew up in a United Methodist Church and my theological views are somewhat liberal (or very liberal depending on how conservative you are). But the purpose of my Monday Munchies is to throw some thoughts out there and see if I can get anyone to question what they believe or just look at some things in a different light. Please respond; argue, agree, tell me I’m stupid, just think about these things and your faith. Through questioning, your faith can become stronger. So I guess I should just jump right into it.

Way back in the day Plato came up with this idea of Dualism (later called Platonic Dualism). It basically said that there were two worlds, the spiritual and the physical. Things that were non-materialistic belonged to the spiritual and all physical things belonged to the physical world. When you die you go back to the spiritual world. This seems like a really good idea to a point, that point seems to be that the two worlds can’t combine. This idea was so popular that the Greeks in Athens laughed at Paul for the idea of Jesus being fully God and fully man.

That being said, I propose an idea. I propose that spiritual and physical are intricately woven. Now I’m not like the pagans thinking every tree is a god or spirit. What I’m saying is that our physical world is spiritual. Look at creation, God made everything. What we see is physical and what we touch is physical. God made the spiritual too, but we experience both physical and spiritual at the same time, not in the same way, but at the same time. God made everything, and saw that it was good. God likes physical things. God likes spiritual things. Why was it ever thought to separate the two? Does our spiritual condition not effect how we feel physically, and does our physical condition not effect how we feel spiritually (self-esteem, state of mind, ect.)? How many sins are physical in their nature? Now because I believe that spiritual and physical are interwoven, that means I believe heaven is a very physical place. I also believe our souls and our bodies are interwoven, and that when we do meet with Jesus it will be a physical meeting and we will have our own bodies that Jesus has already given us. That means we had better take good care of our bodies. I don’t know what exactly the implications for this are, but its just a little something to munch on through the week. Hollar at me and let me know what you think.

Get straight before its too late.

Over the past two weeks there's been something that's been hitting me really hard that I wish people around in my age group would realize: We are NOT promised tomorrow! In the past week and a half one person that I graduated with died in a car wreck, one of my good friends found out that a tumor he's had is malignant and someone half of my age, a fourth grader at Boiling Springs died. Probably what hit me the hardest was when I found out that the guy I graduated with died. He had just graduated from Barber School and was planning on opening up his own shop.
This brings me to my first scripture. James 4:13-17 says, "Come now, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a town and spend a year there, doing business and making money.' Yet you do not even know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, 'If the Lord wishes, we will live and do this or that.' As it is, you boast in your arrogance; all such boasting is evil. Anyone, then, who knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, commits sin."

After reading this a couple times over, what it speaks out to me is that no matter how short life can be, it is a gift. And since we were given this gift we need to use it to it's full potential. And it's full potential is doing the good works and the will that God calls us to do, which brings me to another part of scripture I'll talk about in a minute. I can not stress enough how important it is with having a growing relationship with God or even have one for that matter. And to act like we have one. I heard someone say the other day, "Why should we not act up, we have the rest of our lives to be good." As I heard that I thought to myself, is this girl stupid? How long is the rest of your life? Again, we are NOT promised tomorrow.

This brings me to the get straight part of this blog. 1 Corinthians 7:17 says, "However that may be, let each of you lead the life the Lord has assigned, to which God called you. This is my rule in all the churches." Reading this you have to see that we weren't given this life to live on our own. Even though we were given free will we were still put on the Earth to do God's work and to glorify him. Sometimes it just kills me when I look around and see some of the people I've cared about so much in my life running around like fools. Remember the best way to lead is by example. Like my momma always said we need to act like we got some raisin's.

Another piece of scripture that goes along with the concept of getting straight before it's too late is 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11,
"Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers and sisters, you do not need to have anything written to you. For you yourselves know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. When they say,'There is peace and security,' then sudden destruction will come upon them, as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and there will be no escape! But you, beloved, are not in darkness, for that day to surprise you like a thief; for you are all children of light and children of the day; we are not of the night or of darkness. So then let us not fall asleep as others do, but let us keep awake and sober; for those who sleep sleep at night, and those who are drunk get drunk at night. But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, and put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. For God has destined us not for wrath but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep we may live with him. Therefore encourage one another and build up each other, as indeed you are doing."

Reading this piece of scripture is almost relaxing. Especially the last verse because it helps me to realize exactly how much encouragement I get from people around me. And it acts as a reminder for me too, that I should be encouraging others as well. Sometimes it's hard for the people around my age with what the world is telling you to do and what your friends are doing and the changes going on in yourself but for the ones out there reading this if you ever need encouragement don't be afraid to come to me. If I can't act as an encouragement I know a lot of people that will.

The last piece of scripture I'm gonna share will deal with why it is so important to get your life straight. I personally believe that in order to get to Heaven we as Christians will have to do more then just proclaim that we know the Lord. We will have to show it and people will be able to see the Lord by looking at us. James 2:14-22 says, "What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but do not have works? Can faith save you? If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food, and one of you says to them, 'Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill,' and yet you do not suppy their bodily needs, what is the good of that? So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead. But someone will say, 'You have faith and I have works.' Show me your faith apart from your works, and I by my works will show you my faith. You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe-and shudder. Do you wnat to be shown, you senseless person, that faith apart from works is barren? Was not our ancestor Abraham justified by works when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that fiath was active along with his works, and fiath was brought to completion by the works."

If that does not make you understand that we need to start living straight then I don't know what will. I know that I've been all over the Bible in this one but a lot of these tied together and I hope that I made the point I was trying to get across easy to understand. If you didn't understand much of it I'll give you two main things that you should get from this, we are not promised tomorrow or we are not guranteed anything in the future, and I want you to ask yourself are you absolutely, positively, without a shadow of a doubt sure of where you are going after you die? Are you sure that from your actions and works that you will go to heaven after reading this? Cause remember faith without good works, is dead.

Random Thought Thursday

Well this is a new idea for a weekly post. I guess we'll see how it goes huh? Random Thought Thursday.

1. God seems to use people who say "never" to impact His kingdom forever. Cheesy, but true. Just when we get to the point to say, "God would never call me to do this or that," God says, "Say I won't, and I will." Not literally of course, but atleast thats how I have Him saying it in my head.

2. At church on Sunday, (Hope Community Church, if you are ever in the Cary, NC area you should definitely check out this innovative, growing church), an elder was leading a prayer and he said something like; "God help make this place not a museum for the Saints, but a hospital for the sick." For some reason that thought stuck in my head. So I have kinda adopted the "1/3's mentality" for a church with the same illustration in the prayer. I think the ideal church should be; 1/3 museum for the saints, 1/3 school for the new student, 1/3 hospital for the sick. To help this make sense, ideally I think you should have 1/3 of the people in your church being mature believers (saints) in Christ who are serving in ministry. Another 1/3 should be new believers (new students) who are just starting out in their spiritual walk with Christ, and 1/3 seekers (the sick, or lost) who are testing the waters of Christianity but are not saved. This last group is what most churches are lacking and yet its the group that should be targeted maybe even the most.

3. Why are we so inconsistent? It seems like the only thing consistent we do as Christians is live our spiritual walk inconsistently. Ironic huh? So we are consistently inconsistent, then that makes us what? Useless, maybe? After all who is going to wanna be like a hypocrit?

4. Podcasts are awesome. Everyone download ITunes and start getting Christian Podcasts. I'll do a whole blog on them later, so stay tuned!


5. Its 11:50, before long random thought Thursday will suddenly be tired rambling Friday, so I'm going to bed. God is Awesome!

Words of Wisdom from Bishop El Chupacabra

Lately a lot of my lessons at Sunday School at church and on Wednesday nights and a lot of the things that I've been reading in the bible lately deal with what we as Christians are called to do. Each and every Christian is called by God to do something. Just because we have a calling from Christ doesn't mean that everyone will be a preacher or a sunday school teacher or missionary.

Everyone is given a special gift from God and we should use this gift in order to do his works. For instance if you are a good writer maybe you could write essays or even a blog like I am doing, or if you are a good people person and it's easy for you to talk to someone then we should not be afraid to say something to someone and talk to them about God. However, I feel that the best way for Christians to be set apart and to minister is by our actions.

In Sunday School this morning it was mentioned about how easy it is to be a Christian nowadays and I fully agree. It seems that anyone could claim to be a Christian just because they attend church every now and then or maybe own a bible. But we have to ask ourselves can we really be considered a child of Christ? I'm speaking about myself here also, just to clarify. Recently at Crossroads they mentioned a few statitstics, and I'm not sure if what I'm about to say were the exact numbers but over 60 percent of people in America that were surveyed said that they were Christians. However, only a little over 30 percent had been to church regularly the past 4 weeks. And only 4 percent said that their relationship with God was the most important thing in their life. Because it is so easy to be considered a Christian in the present day I feel like we have been misled. Christians are no longer persecuted because Christianity has been watered down so much that it's as if the church was modernized so it would fit in with the world. If Christians were to be persecuted today as they were in the time of Jesus and during early Roman times or even as they were when settlers first moved to America would we still consider ourselves Christians and openly proclaim it?

Its as if people today believe that by just saying that they are Christians they deserve the love and mercy that God has granted us! I'm sorry but no human deserves his grace! But we have the opportunity to recieve it yet so many people pass it up and even more completely disregard the things that God has told us to do. How many of us out there actually have a close relationship with Him? How many of us go to Him with our problems and talk to Him everyday? Pray everyday? Read His teachings everyday? Are content with what He has given us? How many of us honestly feel that if we were not able to tell people we were Christians that they would be able to tell from our actions? Can people tell that we are different and filled with the Spirit? Can they tell that the Spirit is working within us? Can we tell? A quote that has popped into my head a lot lately is Does Jesus know that you are saved? Now if you ask me that's some tough beans to swallow because if He can't tell then how will other people be able to tell?

I'm issuing a challenge for everyone out there who is serious about their beliefs and I will also accept this challenge. There seems to be a large emphasis on mission work and I feel like the best way to lead more people is by our actions. I also feel that a lot of the mission work that needs to be done is not outside the country, or even outside the state but within our church and even more within ourselves. In Galations 5 19-23 it talks of the ways of the world and how we should stay away from such things. "Now the works of the flesh are obvious: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these. I am warning you, as I warned you before: those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control. There is no laws against such things." So my challenge is that we should live the way that God wants us to live by following what he says in the Bible. It could not be anymore clearer then what it was in Galations. My challenge is also that we will try and have a true relationship with God and have His fire constantly burning in us. The fire that will always have us wanting to do more for Him.

I'm going to end with Revelations 3: 15-20 because I believe that it sums up most of my ramblings. Stating that we must not let God control only part of our lives but all of our lives. That we do not need to be lukewarm Christians. "I know your works; you are neither cold nor hot. I wish that you were either cold or hot. So, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I am about to spit you out of my mouth. For you say, 'I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing.' You do not realize that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. Therefore I counsel you to buy from me the gold refined by fire so that you may be rich; and white robes to clothe you and to keep the shame of your nakedness from being seen; and salve to annoint your eyes so that you may see. I reprove and discipline those whom I love. Be earnest, therefore, and repent. Listen! I am standing at the door, knocking; if you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to you and eat with you, and you with me." So come on people how much more clearer does it have to be? He's at your door, He is knocking and all He wants is for you to let Him in. People quit being so dang hard headed! Let Him in, eat with Him, and invite others! Let the light from His fire burn through you so everyone can see.

Special thanks to Justin Webb for talking on self control and showing me the Galations passage. Also to Nate Sapok for being such an inspiration and never ceasing to amaze me with his passion for Christ.

The Foundation

1 Corinthians 3.11 - For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.


On this first ever Foundation blog, let me say this: everything we do must start and end with the God-Man, Jesus Christ. Everything else done, is done in vain if Jesus is not the foundation. The Foundation is just a small group of Christ-followers seeking to build on the foundation which Jesus has laid before us.

We are a small group seeking to live out this "Jesus thing" in our daily lives and to sharing the hope of Jesus with others.

The vision has started. God is at work. May we build on the Foundation of Jesus.