1 Corinthians 10 Believers Freedom

1 Corinthians 10:23 "Everything is permissible"- but not everything is beneficial. "Everything is permissible" - but not everything is constructive. Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others. (see Romans 15:1-2, 1Corinthians 6:12)

This is hard to fully understand or embrace, at least it was for me for awhile. I believe Paul is eluding to the fact that Jesus came and crushed the law (scripture anyone?). We aren't to be like the religious folk who believe their salvation is in their law abiding works, no; we are saved by faith alone. God imparts the grace to take our blinders off and reveal His truth to us then we exercise our faith that is essentially gifted to us.

Paul is saying that we shouldn't condemn ourselves or others so everything is permissible but many of these things in the world shouldn't be done because they have no value. Why would we waste our time doing something of no value? We usually do it because it feels good for a minute and we listen to the lies that say there is value in these things (always selfish). An easy way to check ourselves is to analyze our motivation and decide whether it is for ourselves or others. If our motivation is for the benefit of others then we typically won't be wrong. It is when we are serving ourselves that everything gets sticky, we hurt others, we offend people, and we rub folks the wrong way.

I think this scripture is a great reminder and is well laid out in the sense that Paul makes a controversial point but then brings it back to the basic home of serving others not ourselves. Priceless advice.

Lift scrips not weights?

"Bodily discipline is only of little profit, but godliness is profitable for all things, since it holds promise for the present lie and also for the life to come." - 1 Timothy 4:8

Here is where I'm at... I'm not making my spiritual training number one in my life. It's second to my physical. I was talking to Jules last night on the phone and praise be to God I just blurt out that I need him to seriously challenge me and hold me accountable for setting my alarm in the AM and opening God's word. To be still and read and soak it up before I turn on this world. Now for some of us that might be a little grindy. Kids, work, roommates, etc. But if you find yourself making excuses or it seems like too much work, then usually it's the right thing to do. (Thanks Terry) Johnny Mac Piece McNugget pointed out this scripture to me in his devotional I read today. "By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life." -1 Peter 1:3

What's your excuse now? I can't find one and believe I looked all morning laying in bed. Most of us here are athletes and God has blessed us with some serious competitive fire. Use it! Want to study and obtain God's word. Memorize scripture and be a leader for others around you. Not for the recognition or to pump up your pride but for Jesus Christ! He saved you dumb dum! So let's crank up some accountability in this group and study HIS WORD. Pick a time and shut off everything and read. Pray that God would transform your mind and allow you to be more like him. If you don't feel that guilt after reading this then your a really good Christian and I'm not, so whatever. ha

Jesus!!!

New Years Resolutions

I know I know..., it's not quite the new year yet. But, maybe it's time to start thinking about it. A lot of people make New Year's Resolutions every year. Most of the rezzies I see people make are the same one's they made a year prior. But this year's gunna be different. Yep, "this is the year I'm gunna make _____ happen, and i'm gunna stay consistent all year." Things go great for a few weeks, maybe even a month or two and then BAM! You take a day off here and there. Then all of the sudden you've stopped doing it entirely. Sound familiar? To me it does. Last year Jenny and I were gunna read our Bibles everyday. We were going to grow together and keep on each other so we could go over each chapter. Kinda like a in home nightly Bible study. And you know what happened there. So, this year I want to go on record and say that my resolution will be to make sure I have my quiet time with the Lord every day. I, like the rest of you, may have a wierd schedule right now that may not be conducive to having a consistent time in the mornings for study. But..., there's no excuse for not giving a few minutes each day to our Lord, His Son, and His Spirit. I have continued to fail miserably at that so I'm going to attack it. All of you have my permission to hold me accountable on this subject at any time to keep me in check. My wife just spent the whole last week remodeling the front room in my house into a sweet office. I even got a nice big fancy desk, and I've already got a Bible sitting right in the middle. I think it will be important for me to use that office, or somewhere, that's not my comfortable bed, to do my quiet time. I've found that quiet time spent in bed at night ends up being a quick ticket to dreamland.

On a side note, the other day I was thinking about some of the people I admire most in life. I was trying to, in my own head, think about some traits that each one brought to the table in their own walks with Jesus. One common denominator was that they all spent the first part of their day in quiet time with the Lord. So, my first thought was "man, it'll be awesome when I retire and I can get into a routine like that." Then it hit me..., was I claiming to be too busy for God? Yes. Was I putting God first? No. Here's the thing. Twenty years from now if I haven't got myself on a good schedule it will be even harder to break bad habits, or start good ones. And, I know my set of excuses will just change to something else like a early golf game or hunting trip or something. All the more important I get myself going NOW! To give my Lord a few minutes...., God deserves more than that. He sent His own son to do WHAT for us? Wow!!! Golf clap would be necessary right now. So my question to you e-fellows..., how or what are you gunna do to grow your own personal relationships with God? If we do this right our resolutions aren't just resolutions..., they're life changers.

-waino

Copy and Paste piece

"But now we do not yet see all things subjected to him" (Heb. 2:8).

God gave man dominion over all the earth, and the earth supplied his every need. All he had to do was accept and enjoy the earth as provided for him. But Adam sinned and Satan usurped the crown. A new chain of command was born: the earth now rules man.

To know how true that is, all you need do is look at the amount of effort expended on restoring the ecological balance of the earth. Environmentalism is a popular watchword of our day. Yet with all our modern technology, we are still unable to gain control over the earth.

Look what happened once Adam sinned: no longer could man easily harvest what the earth provided--now he had to toil by the sweat of his brow (Gen. 3:18). Women would experience pain in childbirth (3:16). Murder soon followed in Adam's family. God had to destroy virtually all mankind in the Flood because they had become so debauched.

Much of the animal kingdom now lives in fear of man and cannot be tamed. Where once the earth produced good things naturally and abundantly, now it produces thorns, weeds, and other harmful things. Extremes of heat and cold, poisonous plants and reptiles, earthquakes, typhoons, floods, hurricanes, and disease were all products of the Fall. Man was no longer a king but a slave--a dying creature fighting a losing battle with a dying earth.

Amazingly, the earth is aware of its condition: "For the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will, but because of Him who subjected it" (Rom. 8:20). Now it eagerly awaits for the day when the sons of God, believers, are manifest in the kingdom, for then it will be liberated from the bondage of corruption (vv. 19, 21-22).

There is coming a day, in the wonderful plan of God, when man will receive once again the dominion that he lost. May our Lord hasten its coming!

Suggestion for Prayer:

Thank God that He will one day redeem the earth from its subjection to the curse.

For Further Study:

Read Isaiah 60:21, 65:25, 2 Peter 3:13, and Revelation 21:27. What will characterize the new earth?

1 Corinthians 8

1 Corinthians 8:8 "Do I say these things as a mere man? Or does not the law say the same also?"
1 Corinthians 8:19 "For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win the more."

The background for this chapter is that many people (Corinthian believers) were struggling with their own gray area. The example used is the one of believers buying inexpensive meat to eat that had been offered to idols in Pagan practice. Some of the believers felt it was okay while others thought that demonic entities could be in the food and then could enter your body as you consumed it. There was no scripture to lay claim to either side of the argument so it was a huge gray area for the people. Johnny Mac throws out some examples that are current in our times, drinking alcohol, playing sports on Sundays, styles of music, wearing make-up for woman, playing the lottery, etc... All these things are seen as a gray area to many believers. Paul clears this up in the end with this idea (v 23, v 24, v 25-27, v 28-30). He basically says that Christian Liberty should be seen as edification over gratification (v 23), others over self (v 24), liberty over legalism (vv 25-27), and condescension over condemnation (vv 28-30).

My personal opinion on this matter is that these gray areas are not a deciding matter in whether or not one can be saved/salvation therefore like Paul says we should not condemn ourselves or others with regards to these issues. If you're feeling unsure about an issue or gray area in your life pray diligently about it and let the Holy Spirit guide your heart. If you can honestly say that you have no conviction in correlation to your actions, I would assume you're alright. Remember that this only applies to gray areas (issues that are not written about in the Bible), knowing myself I've tried too many times to apply this principle to areas that are spoken about in the scriptures only to learn a tough lesson.

Blessings!

Significantly Significant

So, in five days Christmas will be here. Time for presents, Christmas trees and lights, and...oh yeah...Jesus Christ. The birth of our Lord is no small thing. Although it may not have been Dec 25th, that's a whole different story, Christmas whether celebrated in Dec or April is all about Jesus. Or should be. It is here to celebrate the birth of our lord Jesus Christ. This year our family for the first time is getting a small cake. We are gunna light candles and sing Happy Birthday to Jesus just like He was a family member or close friend (He is). We want our kids to grow up knowing the significance of Christmas for what it REALLY is. Growing up for me Christmas was presents, presents, and hopefully some more presents. I love me some presents, and turkey too. But, Christmas is our Saviors time. I'll tell you a couple things that make our beliefs different and awesome. Our God, sent His son to DIE for us.... that is love! Our sins became so great that an animal sacrifice wasn't cutting it anymore. In Hebrews 9 and 10 it says that those animal sacrifices were temporary anyway. In Genesis 2 and Romans 6 the Bible tells us the punishment for sin is death. It took a man to die for mans sins. A perfect and sinless sacrifice...it took Jesus. Jesus has walked this Earth in human form, was tempted by Satan just like we are, suffered worse than we ever will, and came away from it all as clean as a whistle. Jesus faced all the same junk we have to put up with...our Bible tells us that in Hebrews 4:15 This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for He faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. My admiration for Jesus continues to grow each day as I realize how incredibly tough it is to go five minutes without a sin much less a life time. Our Jesus is battle tested. God really got it right with His Son didn't He. God made it so much easier to have a personal relationship with Him by sending Jesus to us in a human, fleshly body that we could touch and talk to. Our ancient ancestors had a chance to watch His miracles and listen to Him preach. They got a chance to see Him stand firm even while He was being literally tortured and whipped and beaten down. He left such an impression that His disciples were willing to die for the sake of His name (all but one). Think about that. I'll tell you what else. Jesus depended on God. He asked God to take Him out of the situation but that His will be done. Imagine you were Jesus up in Heaven hanging with God. You and the Holy Spirit were throwing the football around the clouds or wherever and then all the sudden BAM...you know it's your time to go die for a bunch of knuckle heads that cant seem to get it right. I'da been like "naw, i'm good Dad. Lets send Gabriel." Our God, His Son, and His Holy Spirit are pretty significant....i'd say they are Significantly significant.

Merry Christmas studs,

waino

ps...and that whole raising from the grave thing........that's pretty cool too I guess

Imma just speak..

I don't want to share a word today. I just want to talk. I want to be real about how I feel. I want you to be real in response. If you do not like what I say then tell me, if you agree then share why. I might offend some people with this but that is the least of my concerns right now cause I am rollin from the heart. Lemme tell you what gets at me, eats at me, and makes me entertain the thought of not being a Christian. No, its not the world, its not money, its not a girl, or any other insta-pleasure. It is not my adversity, or sadness at times, or even doubts. The one thing that puts me off kilter and/or fires me up is Christians. Yep, thats the truth, no holds bar. Nobody has been more misunderstood than Jesus. I mean Muslims reject Him, Hindus suspect Him, Buddists ignore Him, atheists hate Him, and agnostics deny Him. But I feel like it is the people who claim to represent Him the most, "Christians", who have misunderstood Him and therefore misrepresented Him the most<--real talk.

I live in Tennessee where it is known as the part of the "Bible Belt", ya know the region of the States where people are coo-coo for Christ. But, more and more each day, I am realizing that people are just coo-coo. Now, Im no saint. I have messed up 24,792 times in my life...or somewhere around that, give or take a bunch more thousand. I admit my faults. Ask me and I will tell where I messed up. It makes me think of Tommy Boy where Chris Farley says, "Let me tell you why I suck as a salesperson." Sometimes I just want to do that, just be like, "Let me tell you why I suck at being a Christian." And after a whole day of explaining, conclude it with "you know what though, God still loves me just the same." I don't want to hide who I am, how I've messed up, or who I have been. I'm not ashamed of those things anymore. Those things remind me more and more of how in desperate need I am of a Savior. They remind of how imperfect I am, how far I fall short, and "how I suck at being a Christian". I'll never claim to be the world's greatest. I'd rather claim the title of world's worst, to be honest.

I have a lot of non-believer friends, well to put it more accurately, non-caring about believing friends. They admit that there is a God but thats...about...it. And this "holier than thou" stuff I see all the time puts my friends and everybody else like them off from anything having to do with Jesus. See, I just want to love on those guys and girls. Be around them some, let them see me for who I really am, a broken, hopeless, lifeless dude if it were not for Christ. I'm not sayin I am going to go out and get hammered with them to share the Gospel. I'm just sayin I do not want to pretend to be more than I am. I can't and don't want every conversation with them to have to involve Jesus. I love having everyday talk with them. I want them to see Jesus, not puke it up because I have shoved it down their throat so many times with every word I say. I hate talk in a way. Cause more times than not, the people that talk talk talk it, are not balanced enough to walk walk walk it. Yes, there are many opportunities to share Christ, and God provides those times, and the Holy Spirit definitely leads in those times. But, I mean come on "oversaved" people. Ha, my PAO guys will get that.

I love my lost friends because they are broken, they are hopeless, and they are dark. I love them because I know Jesus loves them and because I know He loved me just the same when I was just like them. I never want to forget who I was before Jesus was Lord of my life. I have a compassion for them because the Holy Spirit allows me to see them for who they really are. Without Jesus, they are dead. But, I want them to see how I am alive in Christ, and how He brought me from my brokenness, hopeless depair, and saved me, wiped me clean, and gave me new life. And if they do not see that in me, that one thing that is different in me, then I am just like every Christian that makes me mad, that misrepresents our Lord and Savior.

In the midst of all this stuff I have typed out, I hope to challenge you all to a sense of realness. I cannot do fake anymore. Yes, like I say after all my posts, I am trying to die to myself, and it is still a work in progress. I'm just not gonna claim to be something I am not. I'm not Billy Graham and I'm not Shayne Graham (kicker for the Bengals). I am Todd Martin, I struggle to not be worldly, I let my flesh win a bunch of battles over my spirit, and I cussed yesterday. That is just a few things on a huge list of where I messed up or that I struggle with. I want people to see that I am broken away from Jesus. I want people to see my faults. I want to be open. And I believe whole heartedly that, that is what attracts lost people to a life with Jesus Christ; not having a Bible verse to correlate with every sentence you say, or letting people know you spent this much money on this many things for the Kingdom, or letting them know you pray at least an hour on an off day. I am turned off by that, so I can only imagine that they would be more so. No, see I want them to see how they are not that much different than me, that they are one decision away from being made alive in Jesus Christ, and that they are not as far off course as they think. I want to be real, see through, and open. I challenge you all to be the same. If you already are, then you are steps ahead of me. I hope yall's week has been good. Thank you for letting me share my heart.

trying to die to myself,

-tmart

1 Corinthians 7 (Affection Due)

1 Corinthians 7:3 "Let the husband render to his wife the affection due her, and likewise also the wife to her husband."

Let's all take some time out to let the woman in our lives know how much we love them and give them the affection that they need and deserve. We as Christian men need to respect woman at the highest level to be an impactful living example. Just a thought. "Stay righteous e-Fellows."

Kingdom Currency

What up fellas, hope yall good. Imma keep goin with some faith. Yep, Kingdom currency, that would be faith, it is necessary for living in the Kingdom. If you lose it, it's like spiritual bankruptcy, which leaves us unsuited for Kingdom life. Satan will attack us for this very reason, I mean, he did it to Job, so why not you and me? Adversities in life, whatever they may be will bang on your faith, try to tear it down, and even try to kill it. I've been there, we all have I am pretty sure. Satan is after our faith because he knows that it is what we live by in our lives. Some people who are not believers can read the Bible, study it, and even quote it as well or better than you and I, yet it has no positive effect on their lives because "faith activates the law." Faith is the currency that activates all the promises and principles of the Kingdom. It is the style we live by, the style we wear like clothes. It is the way we manifest the Kingdom culture. Plainly, faith keeps us alive.

Faith can be a tricky and touchy subject. It is like people make it an isolated doctrine, making it seem like there is an exclusive club that leaves the people who don't have the "right kind of faith" feeling spiritually inadequate. Which, in actuality, faith was intended for the opposite. It was supposed to breed hope, not produce a sense of deficiency. Maybe the problem with this is that faith was not intended to be an isolated doctrine but rather meshed together within the bigger picture of God's plan for us. I mean, Jesus didn't teach faith as an isolated thing, but it was always in the context of His principal message: the Kingdom.

True faith means a "sure hope." But wait, kinda seems like a contradictory statement, but not with a biblical perspective. The world tends to think of hope as something you desire but have no certainty whether you will actually receive it. But I say biblical hope is different. Biblical hope is sure and certain because it is anchored on the integrity and promises of God. In Romans 8:24-25 Paul says, "²⁴For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? ²⁵But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently." And in Hebrews 6:19-20a it says, "¹⁹We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, ²⁰where Jesus, who went before us, has entered on our behalf."

The tragedy of churches today is that the faith of many professed believers does not rise to this level. But what about me? Am I trusting in my circumstances or in the person of Jesus Christ who cannot lie and is "the same yesterday and today and forever" (Heb. 13:8)? Faith is the sure hope that drives you to action. That is why James 2:26 says that faith without works is dead. So yea fellas, it is the currency. Faith is to Kingdom like oxygen is to humankind.

trying to die to myself,

-tmart

Thursday late post (Priorities)

Our first priority needs to be meditating on Christ. Take time each day to get to know Him more and more. You hear it in creeds that God needs to be number one in our military. We all say it ourselves in the christian community, we just tend to bark more than bite on that. I really don't want to get into that today, I think we have hit on that numerous times that we are all guilty of not giving enough time to Christ from time to time. I wanted to talk about when you speak with somebody you don't really know well. Not a close friend, but an acquaintance or co-worker.

You ever ask someone what their priorities are in life? Most people generally say one of two things: 1. Family 2. Career (or if they are single or don't have kids they will say 1. Career and then something similar for number 2). I think that most of the time this is why it is so hard for people to believe in something bigger than them that could be so helpful like Christ. We all know what happens when you put your faith in other people. They are just as flawed as you are and will always fall short of your expectations. Or putting everything you have into your job, and then working so hard that you forget to enjoy the rewards of being "successful". It is a recipe for disaster. That is why most people are so jaded. They have just seen it too many times, and eventually decide to stop putting themselves out there.

So for us to be a flag for the Christian walk, we need to act according to what we know. We know there is an End Game to all this, which gives us hope and a positive outlook on our purpose. We have our daily struggles, and know more about sin than anybody so we make it hard on ourselves. That is why we always say how great this group is to come to and recharge our batteries and arm ourselves. So, I think we need to remember that when we are out and about to have that confidence in what we know. We always talk on here about being prepared for that confrontation or opportunity we get with a discussion with someone. Something needs to appear different about us, for people to want to "buy in" in the first place. The fine line is having that confidence, but also separating it from religious pride that makes us appear snobby or holier than thou.

Just a short post, but it's something to keep in mind.

ONE.

Ty

Justified and Washed Clean

1 Corinthians 6:9 & 11 "Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived... 11 and such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and the Spirit of God."

This verse struck me and made me question "who is unrighteous?", am I? I know that I want to make sure by studying and filling myself with God's word that my life has been in pursuit of Him. Notice Paul's warning to not allow yourself to be deceived, that speaks volumes of how easy it is for us to fall into deception. After listing all sorts of catagories of sinners Paul points out that some of the members were catagorized like that once too. Paul's point is to show God's saving grace regardless of who you were. He can save you from anywhere and can use you from anywhere too. God wants desiring souls who are thirsty for conversion.

I felt the Spirit leading me to take time out for all of us today to just rejoice in how great our God truly is. He doesn't need our hands, a platform, our strategies, techniques, or our plans he just wants our hearts. At that point God can show His awesome power, purpose, and plan. It is hard for me to really understand His saving grace (I know many who come to tears when thinking of it) but I can honestly say I'm learning. Here is for serving a God who is worth fighting for!!!

The Stakes Just Went Up

The past few days I spent at PAO (Professional Athletes Outreach) in Dallas, Texas. There were a few of us E-fellows there...TMart, Hawksworth, Pags, Brett Carrol, Boyer, and myself to name a few. I can say with a certainty that everybody had a great and spiritually enhancing time. Some awesome things came about there. Every year at PAO, there is an allotted time for individuals at the end of the conference to get up on stage and say whatever they want. It can be about the conference, a speaker that you really loved, literally whatever you want. Well, some of the E-fellas put our noggins together one day and decided when "open mike" night came we would get on stage and give every person at the conference a chance to start receiving our emails. Well, that is exactly what happened. Blake, Pags, and BC represented the fellas on stage and shared the history of E-fellowship. They spoke of the blog and E-outreach. The reaction was good and when PAO sends out their address and email list of everybody that attended the conference, soon after they will receive an invite to experience E-fellowship. This, whether we know it or not, has become a ministry. Sure, we aren't trained professionals. But, why do we have to have a fancy degree to tell everybody how God is working in our lives, and how much we love Him and need Him. Think about where it came from and how much it's grown. From a group of four or five guys to an ever growing list of ballers that is extending into pretty much every league. And from there, an E-outreach group that is reaching hundreds of people. Several different players approached me at the conference saying that they have really enjoyed the E-fellowship emails. Guys, this thing has taken a life of it's own and we need to make sure that when the numbers start to rise that we are honoring our days, and letting God speak as often as possible. This can, and in my opinion, should be a net with no holes to catch as many fish as we can. WE ARE FISHERS OF MEN....

Mark 1:16-18 (New International Version)

¹⁶As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. ¹⁷"Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men." ¹⁸At once they left their nets and followed him.

We don't need those nets.....we are nets. We love you Jesus....

waino

That Daniel faith

E-fellas.....wow, for those of you who were unable to go to the PAO conference, it was an amazing four days! Though we did have a showing of 5 or 6 e-fellas there (props), I strongly suggest for those of you that have not been, that you would consider going next year in Orlando. Once you attend, you will know exactly why I seem so excited about it. I had a great time while hearing great messages and fellowshipping with solid peoples. The love going on in that place is only surpassed by the love of my family, that's the truth.

For those of you that were there I want to continue to talk a bit on faith. For those of you that were not there, former braves chaplain Walt Wiley tackled this subject. And he talked about how nothing pleases God more than faith. The story he was referencing can be found in Luke 7:1-10. He also said that anytime God tested anybody, He only tested one thing, their faith, and how that(faith) is our link with God. I want to run with this a bit.....

The word faith gets thrown around a lot, and because of this it can lose its purpose or meaning. Sometimes the question is do you or don't you have faith, or how much faith do you have. My question is "where" are you placing your faith? Is your faith in Jesus Christ the "bread of life", or are you satisfied with the bread of His blessings? Are you seeking to satisfy your spirit or just to fill your stomach, so to speak? Are you trusting in the things that never truly satisfy or in the One that satisfies forever? Myles Munroe says this (BC you knew I was going to throw some Myles in this),"Most people I have met focus their faith on the bread and not the baker. The principle of Kingdom faith is to trust the Source and not the resource." God will meet our needs, but we are not to trust in those things that meet our needs but the King who provides them. Jesus meant this in Matthew 6:31-33 when He said, "³¹So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' ³²For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. ³³But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well."

We shouldn't follow God for what we can get from Him. Kingdom faith, as Munroe put it, is faith in the King, not the King's favor. If you look at Daniel in Daniel chapter 6 where he is about to get chomped on by some lions. You don't think that maybe on his chained walk down to the den, he was thinkin uh....ok....God enterrrrrr now. But Daniel seemed to shift his trust from the works of God to God Himself. And of course as you know, it wasn't until he was down in the den did he realize that the angel had shut the mouths of the lions. Ya know, truthfully, we need some Daniel faith, not this watered down 21st century faith that is built on avoiding troubles, trials, and tests rather than facing, enduring, and overcoming these temporary opportunities to prove the eternal power of our Kingdom.

We(and when I say we, I first mean I) need faith that is stable even when our expectation of God's strategy is miscalculated. "You are only as strong as what your faith survives.(MM)" Soooo how strong are you?

trying to die to myself

-tmart

1 Corinthians (Unrepentant Sin)

1 Corinthinas 5:5-6 "deliver such a one to satan for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. Your glorying is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump?"

This scripture is written in the context of a church having a member sin without repentance. To make matters worse the church just excepted his sin and kept on going as if it was okay. The dude was sleeping with his dads wife (stepmother to him), ya you heard me right! And we think that the stuff we see on Springer is "new school". His sin was bad enough but for him to continue to live in this sin unrepentantly (not acknowledging it as wrong) was ridiculous and it even made the Pagans cringe (according to Johnny Mac). Paul is telling them they need to rebuke this guy and if he still is shameless they need to boot him out of the church. Paul makes his point clear with verse 6 that I love, "a little leaven leavens the whole lump". If you got a batch of dough and you put a little leaven in it the whole lump rises, the same way a little mildew can spoil a whole loaf.

We can look at this scripture in a couple different ways.
1) watch who we surround ourselves with and when our friends are claiming to be part of the flock (christian) and living in unrepentant sin we need to hold them accountable despite the uncomfortable nature of the conversation. When you accept Jesus you sign on for this.
2) we need to be aware of the sin that can creep into our lives. The small sins that starts to infect other parts of our life and then explode into a huge (possibly public) issue.

This really goes back to one of my favorite themes "keep fighting against temptation and sin".

This Roller Coaster Ride

Today I was in a deep conversation with a couple close friends when this story began to creep into my head. One of my friends related our Christian walk with a roller coaster ride. We've all heard that analogy right? Well, lets think about the passengers on the roller coaster shall we. Usually there are two main types of riders, and we know this because the pictures taken when you're on your way down. There's the "grip the handle as hard as you can and close your eyes rider, and then there's the hands up totally just relaxin' havin' a blast rider." But if you're like me, and I bet most of you can relate, you're kind of a mixture of those two guys. I'm a hybrid. Hands up relaxin on the way up the hill when your coasting, but when the really steep hill comes you got at least one hand on the rail. Amen? That's me all day, and that's me in my spiritual walk. When things are going great I'm "praise God this and praise God that." The hands are up and i'm just relaxing, trusting that the Lord's plan is leading me the right way. But, when times are tough I wanna grab that rail and hold on for myself. This life is meant to be a roller coaster like ride. Each rise and fall is there to teach us lessons, help us grow as Christians, and to Glorify God. Several great points were made to me today. One, we are called to give thanks and be grateful for every situation we are put in...not just good. If things are suddenly stripped of us we are called to give thanks for that too. Ephesians 5:17 & 20 not to be foolish but understand what the will of the Lord is; that at all times and for everything, give thanks in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God the father. My flesh is telling me that's easier to type than to carryout. Point number two, if your problems can be fixed with money then they're not big problems. Point three, all problems are spiritual problems. You got something wrong, then there is One, and only One, who is qualified to listen and answer all you want to bring to His attention. Hands up boys, lets see where and what God has in store for us when we get there.

Hoping to see you all at PAO,

waino

Urgent Prayer Request...

A few posts ago Terry mentioned a podcast by a pastor named Matt Chandler. If you haven't listened to them I strongly recommend them. His ministry has played a HUGE role in my sanctification over the last 2 years.

Thanksgiving day Matt Chandler had a seizure and was rushed to the ER. While he was there the doctors gave him a brain scan in attempt to identify the cause of the seizure. The scan came back and showed a mass in the frontal lobe of his brain. He is awaiting an appointment with a neurologist on Monday. We don't yet know if it is cancer or not, but a tumor in the brain is never good. I don't know how to pray for this situation...selfishly I want him to be healed because I love his church and ministry, but I don't know if that's God's plan. So...I guess we just need to pray that God's name will be glorified in this situation whether that's in Chandler's life or death.

I've only met him once, but my heart is very heavy over this situation. It's my prayer that God's not done with him and the Village Church's ministry.

PS- Let's not overlook Terry's post about Jealous God...there's some profound Truth to be found in this discussion...

Brothers together in Christ

Brothers together in Christ

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A Jealous God?

"You shall not make for yourself a carved image - any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God." - Exodus 20:4-5 (The 2nd Commandment)

So I bring this up to start dialogue. What does God mean when He says He is a jealous God? Jealousy is not a very attractive characteristic especially for a perfect Almighty God. The word "jealous" sounds as if one's self-control has been lost, however we know this isn't the case with the Almighty God so my question again is..... What does God mean when He says He is a jealous God?

-TEvans

Sunday Bread - "The Manhattan Declaration"

How should the church interact with politics; or should it at all? What about us? You know, I have never really been a fan of Christian's getting too involved in political issues. I have always thought that pastor's should preach the gospel and leave the political stuff to someone else. There was a guy in Louisiana, where I worked for FCA, who would go to the local Wal-Mart and hold up signs urging Christians to boycott Wal-Mart (Wal-Mart made a decision he felt was immoral). Others have urged there congregation to boycott Disney because it has a gay parade every year in Disney World.

I am going to go out on a limb and say that we could all agree that this isn't the most effective way to create change in our culture. However, there are deeper issues to be considered. What about abortion? What about euthanasia (assisting in the death of an elderly, or sick individual)? What about the freedom of religion? What about the sanctity of marriage? These are issues that I believe we cannot turn a blind eye to.

Today I received a document called the Manhattan Declaration. It was crafted by pastors, theologians, and other influencial people from Orthodox, Catholic, and Evangelical Christians. I have attached the document to this e-mail, and I hope that you will take some time to read it. If you are interested in signing the document go to www.manhattandeclaration.org.

We cannot sit passively by. I believe we are to obey the laws of the land, as long as they do not go against the law of God (see Romans 13). However, if they do go against the Law of God, we are to stand in opposition. This has been demonstrated numerous times throughout the history of the church. I believe the last line of the Manhattan Declaration says it best when it says that " we will fully and ungrudgingly render to Caesar what is Caesar’s." "But under no circumstances
will we render to Caesar what is God’s."

If you click on the title of post, it will take you to the Manhattan Declaration website.

TDurham

Check Yo Lifestyle

After unpacking from this season I was going through some of the Baseball Chapel handouts that I kept and I came across one that stood out to me and I wanted to share with ya’ll. Not only was the message good but there are a few scriptures in here that are some of my favorites.

Do I long to know Christ? “I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death.” Philippians 3:10

Am I faithful daily to meet with him? “Then he said to them all: ‘If anyone would come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me.’” Luke 9:23

Do I have a teachable spirit? “Show me Your ways, O LORD, teach me Your paths; guide me in Your truth and teach me, for You are God my Savior, and my hope is in You all day long.” Psalm 25: 4-5

Can I honestly say, as the psalmist did? “As the deer pants for the streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God.” Psalm 42:1

Longing to know Christ; Denying yourself; Guide me and teach me; and having my soul pant for God!!! All of these scriptures should make us all check ourselves and the lifestyle we are living. We may be saying to ourselves; “Ya, my soul pants for God” but is it really??? Don’t kid yourself, look around and it will be evident if your soul REALLY “pants for God.”

I pray that everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving and safe traveling as well!!! I’m looking forward to seeing some of ya at PAO!!!

1 Corinthians (Real Power)

1 Corinthians 4:20-21 "For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power. What do you prefer? Shall I come to you with a whip, or in love and a gentle spirit?"

Johnny Mac says that Paul is eluding to the basic idea that spiritual character is measured not by words but the power of life. Paul's actions enabled him to say things like he does in verse 21. "Should I come down to the town with a whip or a sack of love, you choose?" Sometimes we need to hold others accountable and hit them with some truth but how can we do that if we're not living the gospel? There also will be times when we need somebody to whip us with some Jesus. You might say "No way, that's not true, Jesus was a lover not a fighter, that's just not Christian." Read John 2 and get back to me on that subject. True power can be seen in the way the Spirit transforms your life. Lets be accountable to one another to a consistent approach at the plate of life change.

Podcast Recommendation

The Village Church (matt chandler)
Name - The Games People Play (series)

Terry put me on to this podcast and it has been fire.

Quilt Of Many Holes

Quilt of Holes:
As I faced my Maker at the last judgment, I knelt before the Lord along with all the other souls. Before each of us laid our lives like the squares of a quilt in many piles; an angel sat before each of us sewing our quilt squares together into a tapestry that is our life. But as my angel took each piece of cloth off the pile, I noticed how ragged and empty each of my squares was. They were filled with giant holes. Each square was labeled with a part of my life that had been difficult, the challenges and temptations I was faced with in ever day life. I saw hardships that I endured, which were the largest holes of all. I glanced around me. Nobody else had such squares. Other than a tiny hole here and there, the other tapestries were filled with rich color and the bright hues of worldly fortune. I gazed upon my own life and was disheartened. My angel was sewing the ragged pieces of cloth together, threadbare and empty, like binding air. Finally the time came when each life was to be displayed, held up to the light, the scrutiny of truth. The others rose; each in turn, holding up their tapestries. So filled their lives had been. My angel looked upon me, and nodded for me to rise. My gaze dropped to the ground in shame. I hadn't had all the earthly fortunes. I had love in my life, and laughter. But there had also been trials of illness, and wealth, and false accusations that took from me my world, as I knew it. I had to start over many times. I often struggled with the temptation to quit, only to somehow muster the strength to pick up and begin again. I spent many nights on my knees in prayer, asking for help and guidance in my life. I had often been held up to ridicule, which I endured painfully, each time offering it up to the Father in hopes that I would not melt within my skin beneath the judgmental gaze of those who un fairly judged me. And now, I had to face the truth. My life was what it was, and I had to accept it for what it was. I rose and slowly lifted the combined squares of my life to the light. An awe-filled gasp filled the air. I gazed around at the others who stared at me with wide eyes. Then, I looked upon the tapestry before me. Light flooded the many holes, creating an image, the face of Christ. Then our Lord stood before me, with warmth and love in His eyes. He said, "Every time you gave over your life to Me, it became My life, My hardships, and My struggles. Each point of light in your life is when you stepped aside and let Me shine through, until there was more of Me than there was of you." May all our quilts be threadbare and worn, allowing Christ to shine through! Please share this with someone you love, care about or even someone who needs Jesus in their heart. They may scoff, but at least the seed has been planted, and God will do the rest. May God bless you today and Forever! And so ye are blessed! God determines who walks into yourlife....it's up to you to decide who you let walk away, who you let stay, and who you refuse to let go.

Wuv...Twu Wuv

Yep. Today was the big day, and although I wasn't able to make it, our boy Blake "the knife" Hawksworth got married. As a celebration of his big day I thought I'd commit a few minutes on our E-Fellow to talk about what God thinks of marriage. But first, congrats to the Hawksworth's, and safe travel on the honeymoon. Hopefully you wont read this til you get back. Here we go. Our Lord makes it abundantly clear right away that we are better off married than not...And the Lord God said, it is not good that the man should be alone, I will make him a helper that is suitable for him. Genesis 2:18. He waited all the way until Genesis 2 to get this going. We aren't meant to be alone guys. We are meant to have one wife. Helper didn't have an s on the end of it. And when we get married we are called to leave home...sorry momma but guess who comes in a distant second now. There's no more checking with mom to do this or that. The Lord tells us we better be making sure we put her, the wifey, first in Genesis too...Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh. Genesis 2:24 Everybody on here knows that person that constantly battles with mom and his wife about things. "Well, mom wants to ...but my wife wants to ....so...I just don't know what to do." You heard that one before. If that person speaking is you then you better check yo self right now. I'm no marriage counselor but I know there's only room in the nest for one hen. Enough bad metaphors from me on this. God tells us its good to be married. And that we are blessed to have finally found our soulmate. As He stated earlier we are called to be so close we become one flesh. So when you hear all that wives submit to your husband stuff just know that as husbands we are called to do the same right after that. A few years ago at PAO, the headline speaker was Gary Chapman who wrote the 5 Love Languages. It wasn't until he broke down a few of the different languages that I really understood what made my wife tick. I'm not gunna go into all the languages but I'll tell you that my wife's language is Quality Time...followed closely by acts of service. What that means is that she would much rather me just hang out with her or do the dishes for her than give her a present...for her that is a present. Me...I, like most men i'm sure, am a Physical Touch language guy. Followed closely by acts of service. I need the touch and love the dinner prepared or dishes/laundry. When I get home and my clothes are clean and folded it's like better than Christmas. So, moral of all these stories, God loves marriage and take the time to get to know your wife/husband for who they really are....it'll help you love the marriage that God so loves. See all y'all at PAO.

-waino

Active belief

Sup fellas, got a short one today. I touched on believing what you are praying, now I want to dabble in acting out what you are believing. I want to run off of Luke 11:9"⁹So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you".

Basically, what I get out of this is do not stop once you have prayed. Get up and go look for what you are asking for. I mean if you are believing God for a new house, then go looking. You wouldn't just stay at your current residence hoping a relator knocks on your door. Go knock on theirs, network your family and friends, ask about any houses they would know are available, and just go flat out looking around town.

My point is this, God watches us, He sees our belief and us acting out our belief in Him and His will for our lives. For me currently, I am a free agent hoping and praying that God opens a door for me to get back with a club. But hoping and praying is not ALL that I am doing. I have my agent working for me and I am continuing to train this fall and winter as if I already have a place lined up to be at come March. This is my active belief. Some people ask me why I am doing all this and spending my money on a trainer not knowing if I'll even be picked up. I just say I believe in what I am praying for. Maybe I'll be back with a club come march, or maybe it will be Indy ball, or maybe it will be nothing. What kind of faith would I have if I hoped and prayed, yet did nothing active about it. If God has already answered my prayer then I want to be ready. I want to already be moving and displaying that I am ready for Him to use me if this is His will for my life.

Proverbs 16:9 says this, "⁹ In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps." The Lord determines his STEPS. Now, I understand some cases may be different, but I believe this correlates with active believe. People may say, "Well I'm just sitting here waiting on God." But my guess is He is responding, "No my child, I am waiting on you." Or another way of putting it is, a ship cannot be guided if it is docked.

trying to die to myself

-tmart

Economics to Salvation in a QT gas station

I was in line at a QT the other morning at about 7:30am or so, as I sometimes stop to get a coffee or paper or what not before work. As I looked around there are two types of people in there every morning. On one side you have to suit and tie guys or pant suit girls and even down to the golf shirt and slack gang. On the other side of the coin is the Latino side with paint stains on their Dickies and boots strapped up. Now which of these two groups do you think has the saddest, maddest, most exhausted looks on their faces?? It's not the Latino heat. It's the white boys with college degrees on their walls, keys to a nicer car, polished shoes, matching clothes, etc. Have you seen these people in the mornings?? They look like they are going to a funeral, not to a desk where the first thing they are going to do is log onto Facebook and do nothing for an hour. I look at these latinos with a bag of cheetos in their left hand for breakfast and a 12 pack of Cokes in their right hand for later on in the day when it is blazing hot, or coffee if it is freezing cold. They could not be happier. Laughing it up at 6am. Probably shared a room with their wife and kids the night before, as I toss and turn on a pillow top mattress.

I just told that story to tell you where I took that thought in my head. I went a couple places, as I do most of those mornings as I scan the room. I finally came to the Biblical lesson of money and then right into the promise of salvation. I will explain.....Over 700 times in the Bible does it talk about wealth either directly or indirectly. That is more than double the discussion of heaven or hell. So, when I see the financial divide in a QT in the morning and try and put two and two together. Why did our Savior talk so much about money, if it is such a trivial matter? Matthew 6: 19-21 has been mentioned in this study many times and for good reason "Do not lay up yourselves treasures of earth......." Read the rest.

The economics of this world is based on scarcity. Things cost more, the harder they are to obtain. Supply and demand. It is often not how important something is, but how hard it is to get your hands on it. Take diamonds vs air. Which is more important? Air, obviously but air is free and very easily accessible, therefore its value is low. And, vice versus with diamonds. This scarcity drives us. There is not an abundance of things, which creates competition which leads to hording and stealing. How much competition was there in Eden? How much of survival of the fittest was happening in paradise? None. And there will be none in the new heaven and earth as well. Revelations 22: 3-5 "no longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him....."

This will restore the balance, and cooperation that is so hard to teach in this world. This is what we saw with the apostles after seeing Jesus risen from the dead. Completely free of the restraints of this world. Just flowing, walking Gospel bombs. They underwent great persecution with full thoughts on heaven and saw death as a joyous release. That is why Jesus talked so much about money and focus on it. Many well off people that you see at the church have a great life and find it hard to see death as anything but a dreaded event. And who can blame them? Look at what they have. We know better, right?.....right?......right?

So to bring it home. I just saw the analogy of the Latinos in the QT as focused believers who know how good they have it and will have it in the future, because their eyes have been opened to reality. Much like what happens to us as believers when we become saved. Such a different lens we look through as we live out our lives. So, stay focused on what is important and look forward to that time when the word scarcity is just an afterthought.

ONE

Ty

"You Talking Loud But You Ain't Saying Nothing"

"You talking loud but you ain't saying nothing", ya it's slang so how about this, "you are talking loud but you are not saying anything relevant". How many times have we had this thought pop into our heads when we hear somebody talk about something that has little or no value? It's just jargon! Let's get back into the 1st letter to Corinth.

1 Corinthians 2:1-2 & 4 "Brethren, when I came to you I did not come with excellent speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God. For I determined to not know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified... 4 And my speech and my preaching were not in persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and power."

MacArthur says this "the focus of the preaching and teaching to unbelievers was Jesus Christ, who paid the penalty for sin on the cross. Until someone understand and believes the gospel there is nothing else to say to them."

This punches home some posts we have been having as it pertains to sharing with unbelievers, all we should do is share the gospel and pray that God will take the blinders off that person and reveal His truth to them. However this scripture for me puts more of a focus on getting back to talking about the truth of Jesus. Back in the early church followers were accused of worshiping a dead man by outsiders, that shows you how much Christ was preached back then. It was all about Jesus and I think that is because without Jesus there is no death, burial, and resurrection, and without that we have nothing. My encouragement for us is to get back to focusing our conversations, thoughts, and praise/worship on the Carpenter from Nazareth who claimed to be "King of the Jews".

Lessons Learned from Water Skiing...

I’ve only been water skiing a few times in my life, but I remember something about it when from when I did. As most everyone knows, you start out in the water not moving at all and if it weren’t for the life jacket that I had on I’d be sinking. However, when the motor of the speedboat got cranked up and going that all changed. As we started going I started moving and as we started going fast I began to skim across the top of the water.

That’s one of the principles that God wired into the universe at creation…as you go faster and faster the more surface level you have to stay at, and the slower you go the deeper you can go. I’m sure there’s a scientific name for that, but you’ll just have to endure my description.

But as you may be able to recognize this isn’t just a physical principle, but also a spiritual one as well. Spiritually, many of us are going so fast that it’s impossible to live deeply and joyfully in God because we don’t take the time to slow down and actually spend time with Him. Our culture thrives on activity. We have something going every morning, every day, and every evening. There’s almost no time to eat, that’s why fast food is so popular. In fact, if someone were to ask you how things were going with you, you’d probably answer with “busy”, and that’s a respectable answer.

This can present a problem with us spiritually because a lot of us are just too “busy” to set aside time to get alone and pray. Jesus, however, took the lead in showing us how important it was to get alone with the God of the universe and pray.

Mark 1:35…Before the sun came up He’s praying.

Matthew 14:23…In the evening He’s praying.

Luke 6:12…He’s praying all night.

Luke 3:12…At His baptism He’s praying.

Luke 9:28…On the mount of transfiguration He’s praying.

Matthew 26…Before his crucifiction He’s praying.

Luke 23:34…On the cross He’s praying.

Do you think Jesus was busy??? Absolutely! However, he MADE SURE to SLOW DOWN and spend some time with the God in heaven. May we stop skimming across the surface of God and let go of the rope, sink down, and live deeply in the God of the universe.

Durham's Sunday Bread

“For he who has died is freed from sin.” – Romans 6:7

When someone dies do they still struggle with sin? Think about it, all the cares of this world are gone. All those sins the person struggled with gone. At the moment of that person’s death, sin lost all of its power. Sin can’t master a dead person!
This is Paul’s argument for the believer. The argument he anticipates from his readers in Romans 6 is that if we are saved by grace, why not keep on sinning? If where sin increased, grace abounded all the more (Rom 5:20), why not keep on sinning? If it is not through obedience to the Law, then wouldn’t Christians keep sinning?

What is Paul’s response? “May it never be (Rom 6:2)!”

Here is what he says:

“5For (K)if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection 6knowing this, that our (L)old self was (M)crucified with Him, in order that our (N)body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; 7for (O)he who has died is freed from sin.”

We are dead to sin! Why, because we have died with Christ. That means we are no longer slaves to sin, but slaves to righteousness (Rom 6:16-18). Sin has lost all of its power over us, who are in Christ. What great news!
What if a person says they are a Christian, but continues to live a lifestyle of sin? They are still slaves to sin. Paul says in Romans 6:16 that “you are slaves of the one whom you obey.” This person has not died with Christ, therefore they are not true believers.

We don’t have to be afraid to preach salvation by grace alone for fear that someone might abuse it. If someone truly trusts in Christ they will be united to Him in His death, and therefore sin will lose its power over them.

What sins are you struggling with? What sins “seem” to have power over you? If you are a Christian, they don’t! You do not have to live in slavery to sin! We are dead men walking.

TDurham

Romans Chapter 1

Me and Tanner just started going through the book of Romans together. Here are the notes for chapter one.....

Paul had always desperately wanted to visit the Roman church, but because of constant persecution had been prevented from doing so (1:13). Therefore, through God's sovereignty, Paul's inability to visit Rome gave the world this inspired masterpiece of gospel doctrine. Unlike some of his other letters, Paul's purpose for writing his letter to the Roman church was not to correct bad theology or rebuke ungodly living. The church in Rome was doctrinally sound, but, like all churches, needed rich doctrinal and practical instruction that this letter provides.

Romans 1:16 - "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes..."

When referring to salvation the word "believe" is often used in the present tense ("is believing") which stresses that faith is not simply a one-time event, but an ongoing condition. True saving faith consists of three elements... 1.) mental = the believer understands the gospel and the Truth about Christ. 2.) emotional = the believer embraces this newly revealed Truth with genuine sorrow over sin and joy over God's mercy and grace to freely forgive these sins. 3.) applicable = the believer submits his entire life to Christ and trusts in Christ alone as the only hope of salvation. Genuine faith will then produce authentic obedience (James 2:17-20).

Romans 1:19-21 - "What may be known of God is manifest in men, for God has shown it to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that men are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened."

The Truth of God can be clearly observed from conscience (2:14-15), creation, and God's Word and although this evidence is irrefutable, men still choose to resist and oppose God's truth by holding on to their sin. Now, I want to talk about the conscience real quick....

God has sovereignly planted evidence of His existence in the very nature of man by reason and moral law. Paul explains that Gentiles who do not have the law, by nature do the things in the law.... they show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also testifies, and between themselves their thoughts accuse or excuse them (2:14-15). CS Lewis explains this moral law in his book Mere Christianity.... "Human beings, all over the earth, have this curious idea that they ought to behave in a certain way, and cannot really get rid of it........ Men find themselves under a moral law, which they did not make, and cannot quite forget even when they try, and which they know they ought to obey...... Something which appears in me as a law urging me to do right and making me feel responsible and uncomfortable when I do wrong."

God holds all men responsible for their refusal to acknowledge what He has shown them of Himself in His creation. Even those who have never had an opportunity to hear the gospel have received a clear witness about the existence and character of God - and have suppressed it. CS Lewis again speaking on conscience says, "You find out more about God from the Moral Law than from the universe in general just as you find out more about a man by listening to his conversation than by looking at a house he has built". If a person will respond to the revelation he has, even if it is solely natural revelation, God will provide some means for that person to hear the gospel. Man is conscious of God's existence, power, and divine nature through general revelation. Those who know of God but do not glorify Him as the God of the universe and seek Him out will harden their hearts. When man rejects the Truth, the darkness of spiritual falsehood replaces it (John 3:19-20).

Romans 1:24-25 - "Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves who exchanged the Truth of God for the lie, and worshipped and served the creature rather than the Creator..."

The greek term used here for "gave them up" is a judicial term used for handing over a prisoner to his sentence. When men consistently abandon God, He will abandon them. He does this sometimes does this directly by specific acts of divine judgement and punishment (flood, Sodom, etc.). And He sometimes does this indirectly by removing His restraint and allowing their sin to run its inevitable course. Here, Paul is speaking of God indirectly giving men up to uncleanness of sexual immorality. The Greek word used for "uncleanness" is a general term often used when speaking of decaying matter. God abandons those spoken of here and allows their sin of sexual immorality to run its course which begins in the heart and moves outward to shame the body decaying the soul.

Men who deny the existence of the Almighty God of the Bible worship and serve the creature rather than the Creator. Most men (without admitting it) worship and serve themselves because of this popularity within our culture to establish that truth is whatever one personally believes to be true. John MacArthur speaks of this in his book, The Truth War....

"Postmodernism in general is marked by a tendency to dismiss the possibility of any sure and settle knowledge of the truth...... Nothing is certain, and the thoughtful person will never speak with too much conviction about anything. Strong convictions about any point of truth are judged supremely arrogant and hopelessly naive. Everyone is entitled to his own truth."

This can be clearly examined through general conversation. You hear people all the time making comments such as.... "Well, I don't think God is exactly like that". I would then follow by asking what this particular person bases their beliefs about God on. You might hear something such as.... "Well, its just what I believe". So their beliefs about God are based on their own personal thoughts and opinions. They have become their own personal god and established their own false truth that fits their pleasure. I'll end with this.....

When asked by someone which of the religions of the world gives to its followers the greatest happiness, CS Lewis responded.... "While it lasts the religion of worshipping oneself is best..... If you want a religion to make you feel really comfortable, I certainly do not recommend Christianity."

The Itsy Bitsy Spider

One song that I sing to my daughter almost every night before she goes to bed is The Itsy Bitsy Spider. Here's a refresher course on how it goes. The itsy bitsy spider crawled up the water spout. Down came the rain and washed the spider out. Out came the sun and dried up all the rain and the itsy bitsy spider crawled up the spout again. I'm not trying to sing y'all to sleep here, I just always think of the song a little differently. Here's what I think of when I sing it. Lets break it down, and put ourselves in the song. The itsy bitsy spider to me signifies us as humans living our every day normal lives. Everything is going great and then all the sudden something (the rain for this purpose) knocks us back down to Earth. And when things get really bad we pray to the Son of God (He is the sun in the song for me), Jesus, and he reminds us that we are blessed, and that we are loved, and we rally and pick ourselves up and climb back up the water spout. Remember, when things get bad, they aint nothing compared to what our Lord Jesus did for us on that cross. And, God has promised us that He won't give those of us that love him a temptation we cant escape from with His help (1 cor 10:13). Think about it...why would we have a need for God if he gave us only things we could handle. Turns out we spiders need him pretty bad. This might be corny but its whats been on my heart all day. Thanks to the Son of Man for drying up all the rain and saving us from an eternity in a fiery place.

-waino

ps...blake "the knife" Hawksworth and I might start tag teaming this e-fellow on saturday night.

Do ya believe, really?

This week I wanna go at one of the hardest things for me in my prayer life…..belief. I am sure we have all been there a time or two…or fifty. Those times when you are in prayer, praying away, but not really wholeheartedly believing that what you are praying for will actually come to pass….maybe I’m the only one. But, I have learned how this can really hinder your prayer life.

See, after we plead our case, so to speak, we are to believe. Asking in itself does not cause you to receive. In Mark 11:22-24 Jesus says, “22"Have faith in God," Jesus answered. 23"I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. 24Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. He didn’t say will receive but receiv“ed”. When you ask, you should believe right then and there that you have already received it. In the book of Daniel you can read that Daniel prayed and that, the same day he prayed, the answer was on its way. However; Daniel did not know that. But, what did he do? He kept praying, and after 21 days an angel arrived with his answer. The point is Daniel didn’t give up after five or ten days. No, see Daniel believ“ed” that what he prayed was going to be manifested.

Doubts play a huge role in every person’s life. It is inevitable, undeniable, and inescapable. In fact one of my preferred authors, John Ortberg wrote a very good book called “Faith and Doubt: the most important word may be the one in the middle. And John does a really good job at tacking this hard subject. But anyways back to my point. Doubt enters our lives in so many areas, but I believe the area we need to fight the most to keep it out of is prayer. James 1:5-7 says, “5If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. 6But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord.”

I’ll end with this. Think back to when you were a child, and at about this time of year you are making out your Christmas list to santa. I do not know about you fellas but I know for a fact that I believed that I was going to receive every thing I wrote down on that list. Doubt actually never entered my mind. Now, did I get everything on my list(s), no, but when I penned them on paper I didn’t doubt that I would not obtain them. Now, I am not comparing prayer to a santa wish list (though some people think that prayer is like a Christmas list). I’m saying that we need that faith of a child when it comes to prayer. We believed that Santa was going to give us whatever we asked for, and yet we doubt sometimes that our Savior will give us anything less??

trying to die to myself

-tmart

"Can you look in my Mind?"

Can the devil read my mind? I was reading a little Q & A on a Johnny Mac post and someone posed this question to him. It feels like that sometimes doesn't it. However, nowhere in the bible does it say that Satan can read our minds or is omniscient. Only God can read our thoughts. If holy angels can't read our minds then a fallen one can't either was the jist of the conversation.

What the devil can do is read us like a book from the outside and hear our words and tone of voice. How many times have you gotten into a fight with your significant other and they say "it is not what you said, but your tone of voice" ha. If there was a supernatural class on body language, the devil would run it. Satan can very easily anticipate what we are going to do or which way we are swaying and help push us in the wrong direction. Being in sales, I have learned to read people's body language and tone and it is very easy to see if they are interested in what you are saying or not. (Arms crossed = "no", leaning forward = "yes" etc..)

Thinking about this brought me to another aspect of human flaw and that is 'blame shifting'. I have heard it said and said it many times myself "Satan is really tempting me" or something to that degree. You see it in a much simpler terms in children. "He started it" is a phrase heard all to often to explain one's self. That is how I see myself when I sin. The devil started it. But, who has the ultimate call in this world of free will? Me, myself and I. It has been brought up in a few discussions lately about talking yourself into something (buying a car you don't need, hooking up with that chick, opening that porn site). Do we have these conversations out loud? I know I don't. I just have a conversation with myself. So, if the devil can't read my mind and I'm not talking aloud, then this is just sinful me talking myself into another disappointing moment in my life.

What's the answer? You have to arm yourself everyday with the FULL armor of Christ. Hit up Ephesians 6: 10-18

¹⁰Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. ¹¹Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. ¹²For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. ¹³Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. ¹⁴Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, ¹⁵and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. ¹⁶In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. ¹⁷Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. ¹⁸And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.

We all have felt when we are at the top of our spiritual game, and we know that there is no game the devil can play with us to get us to slip. We have to put on that armor everyday and be ready for anything that is thrown at us.

ONE

Ty