Do You Have An Idols In Your Life?

Idols are not wood and stone images. Whatever drives you and makes you happy is an idol. If you lost it, your world would seem to fall apart and life would have no meaning then that is your idol. If something besides Jesus that you feel you must have to be happy, to feel loved, or something you turn to for safety like government, money or guns is an idol to you. God hate idolatry. John wrote 1John to tell us how to walk in Christ; idols stop us from doing just that they are dangerous and deadly. The last words of in 1John tells us to “Little children, keep yourselves from idols.” 1John 5:21.

Spending Time With God.

I came home for lunch and Caleb climbed up on my lap, he just wanted to talk and laugh, sit by me, he wanted to be close to his daddy it was great! I was so happy… That is how God wants us to spend time with Him, not asking for things or working to please Him, just spending time with Him laughing, listening, talking, just being still. We must come to Him as little children that makes Him smile! *Mark 10:15

What You Know & What You Believe

What you know will not change how you live.

What you believe will change everything.

Most Christians only know about God and the Bible so they live like everyone around them, same dreams, hopes, retirement, savings, iphones, new cars and bigger homes and maybe two.
However when you believe the Bible is God’s Word it will change how you live, what you do with your time, how you spend your money, what you watch on TV, what you read, it will radically change every part of your life and will not look anything like those living around you. You will indeed be a stranger living on this planet we call earth.
Galatians 5:17 & Romans 12:1-2

WHEN CHRISTIANS SHOULD TURN OFF THE TV

• Turn off the TV when you start spending more time with it than in God’s Word/Bible.
  
• Turn off the TV when you have more interest in the shows personalities than you do in God.
  
• Turn off the TV when God's name is taken in vain or godly morals are mocked.
  
• Turn off the TV to honor the Lord's Day.
  
• Turn of the TV when you go to it for a rest or a break instead of going to the Jesus when you are stressed.
  
• Turn off the TV when the authority of parents are challenged, made fun of, or neglected.
  
• Turn off the TV when someone is murdered or killed or when anger and revenge is used.
  
• Turn off the TV when violence is used for entertainment or sport.
  
• Turn off the TV when lust or adultery are accepted even if the people love each other.
  
• Turn of the TV when your tempted to lust.
  
• Turn of the TV when you are tempted to want what they have or are advertising (its called coveting).
  
• Turn off TV when someone steals and it is accepted as good.
  
• Turn off the TV when someone tells a lie or misrepresents the truth and it is accepted even for a good cause.
  
• Turn off the TV when you desire something that God does not want you to have.

Some (but not close to all) supporting verses:
But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness. -Romans 6:17&18

So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I pummel my body and make it a slave lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified. -I Corinthians 9:26&27

Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, -Philippians 3:12&13

Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Rather train yourself for godliness; for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. -I Timothy 4:7&8

But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil. -Hebrews 5:14

To have Christ as a treasure we have to protect our minds and hearts by what we look at and listen to...

Jesus or the Spirit? Who will you choose for one day?

If for just one day you could have the Holy Spirit in you as He is now, or not have the Spirit and walk with Jesus physically, all would return the next day, whom would you pick? The question in the Spirit for a day or Jesus?
I hope you would say the Spirit although it is tempting to pick Jesus. The truth is Jesus said in John 16:7 Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. (ESV)

Wow, Jesus Himself says it is better to have the Spirit than to walk and talk with Him. He is telling the disciples this, and the same is true today. If you believed and your life has been made new by a holy, just and gracious God of the universe Whom looked upon you as hopelessly sinful and sent His Son, Jesus Christ, God in the flesh, to take His wrath against sin on the cross and to show His power over sin in the resurrection so that all who have faith in Him will be reconciled to God forever… if so then Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to live in your life, to guide your life, to rule your life, so you can walk in step with the Spirit and defeat sin. What an awesome thing!

We are told the Spirit, He is God, He is Truth, He is our Helper (so that means we will have trouble). He/Spirit bears witness about Jesus, He guides us to truth found in the Word of God/Bible. The Spirit gives glory to the Son/Jesus, He gives us the Bible, He makes us to be born again, He convicts us of sin, He comforts, restores and heals. The Spirit speaks to our spirit and lets us know that we are God’s children. The Spirit is far better than walking with Jesus, we just have to learn how to walk and listen to Him (Gal.5), we do that by learning and studying truth found in the Word of God the Bible. Study it for yourself and if you do not know how learn do not read other peoples books read the Bible for yourself and lean by the Spirit. A good place to learn study skills is Precept International. But still be carful to not just listen to them but read and think and study and dig deep into the Word being guided by the Spirit to open truth found in context to what He tells us and not twisting truth (II Peter 1). Therefore, start walking in the Sprit and living life every minute with God Who is in you.
In His grip, Jim

Built up for Service

I Peter 2:5 says 'you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.' How awesome is our God! To grow each of us into His chosen ones to go to Him one on one, so that we can grow in Him and serve Him as priests, giving our lives as sacrifices to His will, to His work and His passions and not our own dreams, wants or desires. Thank Lord you are good.

Living For Our God As His Royal Priests: Overcoming The

Living For Our God As His Royal Priests: Overcoming The Flesh And Its Desires.

We forget why we are here on earth, we think, and act like this is our home. We act and think as if we need things to help us be happy, to be safe, to provide for our future. We forget that we are Christ followers who treasure Him over all things because God caused us to be born again -I Peter 1:3-12.

So then, we are to act as if we are exiles and sojourners here on earth by abstaining from the passions that go to war with in us every day, passions of the flesh. We are to be different and to live so all well glorify God on the day He comes back -I Peter 2:11-12. This is not an option but a command if ‘we are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, and a holy nation, a people for His own possession’ at Peter tells us in I Peter chapter 2 verse 9 and he goes on to say that our duty is ‘to proclaim the excellencies of Him Who called you out of darkness into His marvelous Light’.

To do this we must never forget to put away to crucify the passions of the flesh –I Peter 2:1 Gal. 5:24. How can we do this take a look at I Peter 2. First we also must long for the pure Gospel the Bible the Word of God so by His Word we may grow in our salvation it is the only way to grow in Christ is by the Bible taking it in context and learning truth for yourself. Third we must go to Him, longing for Him is great only if you put to action what you want and go to the Bible open it and start reading it like a baby craves milk good pure milk. We all must go to the Word daily several times a day to feed on God’s Word the Bible then we will be able to put away all fleshly passions and we will have a longing for more. And finally we are to be a royal priesthood offering our body’s to God as spiritual sacrifices, staying away from the things that naturally draws us and turning to the Word of God and knowing God’s will from the Word daily. We are to live for Him because all that believe in Him those He has caused to be born again, we are no longer our won but we are His people made new to follow and server Him by declaring with our lips and showing with our lives that He is more precious then anything on this earth. Lets never for get this world is not our home.
-I Peter 2:1-12
2:1 So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. 2 Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation— 3 if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.
4 As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, 5 you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6 For it stands in Scripture:
“Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone,a cornerstone chosen and precious,and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.”
7 So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe,
“The stone that the builders rejectedhas become the cornerstone,”
8 and
“A stone of stumbling,and a rock of offense.”
They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.
9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
11 Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. 12 Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.
-I Peter 2:1-12

No Time

“One of the great uses of Twitter, Facebook, games stations and TV will be to prove on the last day that prayerlessness and Bible was not from a lack of time.” (I believe that this idea was from John Piper but I could be wrong)

Memorize God's Word!

Psalm 119:11 says "I have stored up Your Word in my heart that I might not sin against You."

Wonder why you struggle with sin, memorizing God's Word is the first step.
Do you treasure Him and His Word so much that you will memorize it, trust what it says and change your life because of what He tells us in His Word?
If so the first step to overcome a sin in our lives is memorizing the Word of God, so then we might not will not but might not sin against our Creator our number one treasure in life. Most people will agree and then say 'but'. So God's Word in not true for us? It is true and we need it! 12 steps, support groups, sell will is all good, but the first thing needed is a relationship with God through the Word. Start memorizing God's Word in your heart. This Scripture would be a good place to start.

Abide, Live, Remain In The Word

As He (Jesus) was saying these things, many believed in Him. So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in Him, "If you abide in My Word, you are truly My disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."
(John8:30-32)
Wow, I love these verses! Jesus was telling a group of people who He was, that He is God, that He always existed came to earth and would die and then rise from the dead for their sins. The result was that people believed in Him. Jesus also taught them that He is the Light of the world and whoever believes in Him must not walk in darkness (John 8:12).

So how is this possible? Jesus tells un in John 8:31 & 32. He says, "If you abide in My Word, you are truly My disciples, and you will know the Truth, and the Truth will set you free." Basically if you are truly a student of Christ a Christian, you will continually live in God’s Word the Bible. Then and only then can we stop walking in darkness because we know the Truth the Light and that frees us from the darkness. This is not automatic it is something each of us must be intentional to do. The word abide in the Greek means to stay in a place to live in and not depart. We all must live in the Bible the Word every minute of the day. This is possible by first by having a new heart that desires the Bible that new heart is given to us by God alone. Then you have to read the Bible and you have to study the Bible.

But you say I can’t study 24/7. Your right, but you can take a note card with a Bible verse that you studied in context and memorize it, think about it and apply it to your life by living it out 24/7. See, when we study and read the Bible we have a tendency to put it down and go through our day without even thinking about what we have studied. But when we intentionally memorize and look for way to apply what we studied and continually abide in the Word that is what will change us that will free us to live the life Christ wants us to be living.

I challenge you to abide in the Word, don’t leave it, and live it out daily, hourly no matter where you are or what you are doing. Be careful, be very carful that you do not twist or distort God’s Word. You must know the verses you are memorizing and taking with you throughout the day, you must know the context of those verses so you will not use them wrongly. Many believers in Christ memorize verses out of context and thus have false promises. When those promises do not come about they are disillusioned and become discouraged and think God failed them. You must know what you are putting in your head and the best way to do that is to discover truth for yourself. The way you discover truth for yourself in by studying the Bible inductively. To find out how to do that check out Precept International. Therefore, brothers and sisters in the Lord I challenge you to know the truth of God’s Word for yourself by constantly live in the Word of Truth the Bible. Start today and you will find yourself free to serve Christ with out any of the things of the world holding you back and that is a great way to live!

God Loves You

God Loves You
What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died--more than that, who was raised--who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? Romans 8:31-35

It can take a long time to learn that God the Father wants to bless our lives for His glory. The Father wants to lavish all the fullness of His blessings on us. He doesn't promise that everything will always be perfect or that He won't allow difficulty, temptations, or tribulations come. He does promise to be the Giver of good gifts to His children. He did absolutely everything He could to find us, to reach us, and to forgive us. Why? Because He is holy and because He is holy He loves us. Take a look at these verses…

John 3:16 "For God so loved the world, that He gave his only Son”

Romans 5:8 says, "God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

Romans 5:6 “For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.”

Romans 5:8 “but God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us”.

Romans 5:10 “For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son,”

Romans 8:31-32 says, "If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His Own Son but gave Him up for us all."

1 John 4:8 “God is Love.”

I John 4:16 “God is Love.”

If you've ever wondered if God the Father cares about you, look at what He did for you, He "did not spare his own Son."

Question: Did not spare Him what?

Because God loves you, God the Father did not spare His Son the humiliation of becoming a man. Jesus, one of the persons in the Trinity, Creator of the universe, became a human being. Talk about a step-down, which is not even close to a CEO becoming a Bell-boy.

Because God loves you, the Father did not spare His Son the rejection of His family not to mention the disbelief of those that listened to Him when He lived here on earth or the constant abuse of those that came to get healed and then left not even thanking Him but instead told those that hated Him. Then at the end of His life the mocking, the torture, the crown of thorns were all laid on the precious Son of God because your heavenly Father loves you.

And because God loves you, our Father did not spare His Son crucifixion. Jesus became "obedient to the point of death," Philippians 2:7-8 “but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross”. A cross was the most humiliating, torturous way for a person to die.

Question: But why did God our Father not spare His own Son?

Because He loves you. He gave the best for the worst. He gave the highest for the lowest. He did the most for the least. He gave the pure for the impure, the cleanest for the filthiest, the Holy for the rubbish. That is God's message of love to you and me! That gives me a reason to serve Him and praise Him no matter what I have or what I am now going through!

TUPOS

Tupos (too-pos') is a Greek noun with a double meaning in English.

Tupos means:

(1) to be an example or a pattern for.

(2) to make an impact on or leave an impression from one object on another.

Tupos is the word found in 1st. Timothy 4:12 "Let no one look down on your youthfulness, but rather in speech, conduct, love, faith, and purity, show yourself an TUPOS/example/pattern/impact/leave an impression of those who believe".

Growth With That Child Like Faith

Hebrews 5:10-14 being designated by God a high priest after the order of Melchizedek.. (11) About this we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. (12) For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, (13) for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. (14) But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.
Hebebrews 6:1-3 Therefore let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, (2) and of instruction about washings, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. (3) And this we will do if God permits.

When we come to put our faith in our Lord Jesus Christ we are all infants or babies in the faith. We need good spiritual milk to drink from God’s Word the Bible. However God doesn’t want us to remain babies in the faith but to grow to maturity. However, most people in the church keep being feed spiritual milk by their leaders and they never grow to maturity as Paul tells us to do in Ephesians 4:11-14 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, (12) to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, (13) until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, (14) so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.

Instead they keep going over the elementary teachings of repentance from the dead works and faith in God, of washing, laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment (Heb. 6:1,2). Church leaders must be able to teach and help new believers grow in their faith. I have a 1 year old son. He loves to be around us. He is learning to walk better each day, stack blocks, and he copies us in our playtime together. Whenever he does something new he looks up to us in pride. He loves spending time with us as we encourage him to learn and to have fun doing so. He doesn’t care about fancy toys and gadgets, he is happy with a empty water bottle with pennies or popcorn in it as long as he is close to mommy and daddy. All he wants to do is be by his daddy and mommy, and get approval of a job well done, as he grows and learns new things. The smile on his face is all the thanks we need as we delight in him and grow proud of his accomplishments.

The same is true in our spiritual lives. We must come to Christ as a child Mark 10:15, and we must then continue to grow in Him. We do this with the help of spiritually mature Christians who have grown in their faith after spending time in the Word. Then as we grow we must move past the milk and get to solid food, such as Melchizedek. However, we must be careful as we grow not to lose our first love like the great church of Ephesus (where Paul preached along with the apostle John) did in Revelation 2:1-7.

Every Wednesday I teach teenagers/young adults the Word of God inductively. They are excited and can grasp the meaning of the Bible and what it means, being a slave of Christ in a world that does not want us here. However, they also think they know it all already and grow confident in their knowledge and energy. They can easily get off the wrong path and their enthusiasm leads them down destructive theological paths. I also teach several adult small groups and they know their Bible inside-out. The problem with these older saints is that they lose that spark, that dependency on God, they stop looking to God with awe and instead sit back and look at their accomplishments.

It is time we grow our theology like the older saints, have the energy to never quit like the teenagers, but all the time wanting to be close to our Father and turning to Him for all our joy and treasure as my little boy. Lets never lose our first love as we grow deeper in our theology by studying the Bible one precept at a time.