The Empty Grave

prolife139:

onlyoneking27:

If he doesn’t love God, then he can’t love you.

And if he loves Mary too, he’s definitely a keeper.

So, I just don’t understand why Catholics like Mary so much. Yes, Mary is the mother of Jesus. Yes, she had a little lamb. But, there is very little reference to her outside of the the Gospels which makes me think she was not made into statues in the Early Church. I do think she is awesome and a great example for us all, but there are a lot of other Biblical people out there, too. 

THINKING is so crucial to the faith. Foolishness seems to mean “without reflection or thought.” We have to THINK people! Think until you don’t know what to think about any more, than think more. Don’t ever stop thinking. 

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. (Phil. 4:8)

Have you ever reached your breaking point? Did you know that you were already broke? When we reach our breaking point, it isn’t so much us breaking, but us seeing our true self. We can’t handle life and the sin that it bears. We are broken at our highest highs and our lowest lows. There is nothing we can do that is of worth. But Christ comes in and says He will fix us. He will redeem us, however, we have to give up all the goodness we think we own. You don’t own any goodness, but you like to think you do. Get rid of you. You really can’t do it. You can’t satisfy yourself. You can’t make yourself happy. Only He can. He can do all things through you. Give your life up to Him and you will see how truly wonderful He is. 

Be fully plugged into Christ!

You said we all hit our breaking points this semester. I think that we are all broken already. We just don’t realize it. God puts us in the position to realize how broken we are. Once we think we are breaking, we see that we are truly broken. Only he can can fix us, but he can’t until we know that we are broken. It’s like anything, you don’t get it fixed until you know it’s broke. We should know that we are broke every day…

Most of you, if not all, read the title of this post and had a question mark bubble raise above your head. Van Till is a man I am starting to learn about in my personal study of Deconstructionalism. Here is a man who based his literature theories on God’s revealed nature in creation. 

Concerning Romans 1:18-20, he says,

We do not do this passage justice by merely saying that all men or most men believe in a God or believe that God probably exists. Paul says that the revelation of the only existing God is so clearly imprinted upon man himself and upon his environment that no matter how hard he tries he cannot suppress this fact.

Whatever subject we are dealing with in school or college, know that God is there! God is teaching you about art, music, criminology, interior design, director, and Critical theory THROUGH NATURE! Take a step outside and allow God to pursue you. Let the awe of his Godiness overwhelm your soul. Many poets from the 17th century knew this. Most of the Puritans knew this, too. Be close to God by being close to the world you live in. 

Find God in every snowflake.

Let brotherly love continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them, and those who are mistreated, since you also are in the body. Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous. Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” So we can confidently say,

“The Lord is my helper;

I will not fear;

what can man do to me?”

Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Do not be led away by diverse and strange teachings, for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods, which have not benefited those devoted to them. We have an altar from which those who serve the tent have no right to eat. For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the holy places by the high priest as a sacrifice for sin are burned outside the camp. So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood. Therefore let us go to him outside the camp and bear the reproach he endured. For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come. Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name. Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.

Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.

Pray for us, for we are sure that we have a clear conscience, desiring to act honorably in all things. I urge you the more earnestly to do this in order that I may be restored to you the sooner. (Hebrews 13:1-19 ESV)

WHAT A PASSAGE!

I am slightly blown away by this. I had to read this sitting down, but yet the whole time I wanted to stand up and just shout “AMEN!”

I made bold some of my favorite parts. How awesome is that. God will never leave us nor forsake us. Just repeat that to yourself all day! “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” Then say what follows, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?” NOTHING! Man can do nothing for me! Thank you Jesus! He is just wonderful ain’t He! 

If you desire anything in this world, let it be to live like Christ. Christ was dealt situations just like you and me, but He “Bossed Them Out!” He didn’t just go over to the Women at the well and ask her what she was up to, or give her a Bible verse. NO! He related to her and spoke some awesome truths into her life. How may of us are as creative as a toothpick? Like fo real!? We have a Father IN HEAVEN! That’s big news! Pray for Creativity. I know I need to because the toothpick is probably more creative than I am. We also need to pray for Humility! All of us! Pray for humility so God can speak to us. He won’t always go where He isn’t welcomed, so WELCOME HIM! 

God is Good, All the Time

And all the time…

What else is new? 

Over the past two days I have lost 5 followers, so I was feeling ambitious and wanted to post about Sex.

Yesterday I read an article on The Gospel Coalition talking about how today’s “acceptable” sin is sex. There is so much talk today about the battle against homosexuality, that it is probably the first thing non-Christians think of when they think of Christians. It’s pretty pitiful. Christ wanted us to be known for love, but we are known for hate. Not just hate, but hating others. The thing is that it’s not like we are even doing a good job being Christians. Overall we aren’t helping people the way Christ called us to help, we aren’t even obey His commandments. Jesus said, “If you love me, you will obey my commandments.” But yet over half of the Church body today has pre-marital sex. According to all the statistics and surveys our morals are decaying inside the Church

There are two trends going on in the Christian world: Some people hate homosexuals and the others spoil them with something they call love. The first problem is that we aren’t called to hate anyone. We should see Sin as Christ sees sin, but we should also see the person as Christ saw them; redeemable. The second problem is that we aren’t loving them, we are spoiling them. This is what we are doing too much in the Church today. We spoil people all the time. Love can be harsh. It doesn’t mean endorsing someone just because that is how they are. If we were to do that then we all would be OK and in no need to change. We are all BORN with a sin nature. We are all Born Evil. So yes, I was born that way, but that is why I need to be reborn. 

We have becoming lenient on heterosexual sex. We are so consumed with homosexuality that we aren’t caring for others matters. In the Church we have most of the people having sex before marriage, but it would be weird to talk about so we don’t. It’s easier to talk about homosexuality because everyone is doing it. Here is the thing. Sex before marriage is equally as sinful as homosexuality. We are to be regenerated. To have a totally new mind. 1 Corinthians says we have the “Mind of Christ,” yet we still think like the world? Our views are becoming more and more like the world. When Jesus told us to be counter-cultural, he wasn’t saying to be a hipster. 

For instance, more than two-thirds of the generation said that cohabitation and sexual fantasies are morally acceptable behaviors, compared with half of older adults. Most young adults contended that engaging in sex outside of marriage and viewing pornography are not morally problematic, while only one-third of pre-Busters agreed. Almost half of Busters believed that sexual relationships between people of the same sex are acceptable, compared with one-quarter of older adults. BARNA

This is a problem. As Christians we are to be held to a higher standard. We claim we know “the Way, the Truth, and the Light” yet we still live in darkness. Guys and girls, listen! Sex is an issue. If we don’t see sex before marriage as sin, then maybe we shouldn’t see ourselves as Christians. We should do what we can not to sin. To glorify God more everyday we should sin less daily. If not being alone with your girlfriend or boyfriend stops you from having sex or anything else like that then do it. If you know being alone causes you to sin, then STOP. No, it won’t be easy, but if you aren’t striving for perfection then you aren’t striving for Jesus. 

Yes, Grace covers all of our sins and that is AWESOME. If it wasn’t for being saved by faith through grace there is no way any of us would ever be saved. But Christ on the Cross did more than save us and forgive us of our sins. He said He would send His Spirit and we would be new. The old is gone. The New is here! We shouldn’t have the same desires as we had before. Our desires should be to glorify Him in ALL the we do! 

Yesterday I posted the Gospel Coalition article on my facebook. Three people liked it. Not to gloat, but I usually get more likes than that. It’s like it is easier to find a unicorn than a virgin these days. I’m sure some of you won’t like this, if not, message me and tell me why. 

SDG

This was an interesting book. Felber lays out twelve keys to successful living in a novel format. We have two men: one the teacher and the other the apprentice. The teacher tells his life story and in doing so goes through these twelve keys. The men rely on God and show how to take care of financial matters in a Biblical way.

As a book it was written very well. I really enjoyed reading it because of its flow. I could have read it in a day if I would have liked. As for the twelve keys, however, I wasn’t as excited for all of them. I thought there was a lot of truth in this book, but also error. As one reviewer has said, “Read this book cautiously.”

In context Tracy D. said:

“Ultimately, the author sets out to share 12 principles to living successfully and fruitfully while also trying to show that successful businesspeople aren’t necessarily greedy but do have a responsibility to help others and not hoard their money for themselves. Some of the principles the author lays out, such as “take responsibility for problems that are the result of your own bad decisions” and “see challenges as stepping stones, not as obstacles,” I completely agree with and can get behind. If we learn from our mistakes and persevere through trials, we grow smarter and stronger.

However, other principles bother me, such as “work hard and God will prosper you” and “trials develop your character, preparing you for increased blessings.” To me, these sound too much like part of the prosperity gospel, something I generally disagree with.

Do I think this is a good story? Yes. Do I think there are some good points discussed and that could be beneficial in a group setting, especially since there is a study guide at the end of the book? Yes. Do I have some reservations about the principles discussed and how some people may take them and apply them in their own life? Yes.

I guess my advice is read this book cautiously and pray as you read it that the Lord will direct you if you want to follow the principles.”

 I agree with all she has said. My biggest dilemma with this is that very little of the book included giving compassion to others. As a Christian we should die to ourselves and live for Christ. The two characters in the book were very wealthy and it wasn’t until the final two pages that they talked about helping the Church. Now this inclusion is great, however, I don’t believe it was emphasized enough. Yes, God wants us to be satisfied and have a good life. I do believe that, but that doesn’t have to include money and if it does I believe we have a responsibility to help others with it.

After reading the book I didn’t feel too “irked” as I call it. I then looked through the study guide and in session four I read this,

“Misconception #1: It is the responsibility of others to give financial support to my ministry activities…. There has developed a flawed entitlement mentality within the body of believes. Rather than going to work to earn money for ministry activities, Christians have made the mailing of support letters an art form. It is displaced responsibility to the highest degree. The idea is to have another Christian toil and send money so that I don’t have to work or give myself. Unfortunately, we ask our children to engage in this behavior as they seek support for short-term mission trips, teaching them laziness and entitlement at a very young age.”

This struck a chord with me. I am looking to go into campus ministry and while in campus ministry I will have to support raise half of my salary. In addition, in the past two summers I have support raised over 5,000 dollars to help do ministry. I can stand for the people he is talking about that I have no sense of entitlement. As a campus minister I will be doing work, but it isn’t the type of work that brings in money, so you have supports. Kids that go on mission trips or students who go to Christian conferences don’t have money because they lazy, they don’t have money because they are kids or college students struggling to not be in too much debt. The book says to put aside the first ten percent for God. I don’t think God then is completely okay with me hoarding the other 90 percent. Rick Warren gives 90 percent and lives off the other ten. I’m not saying that is what everyone should do, we all don’t have a book that sold 30 million copies. What I am saying is this. If someone is doing ministry, we can help them by supporting them. Asking a family for money for a mission trip isn’t begging, it’s giving them an opportunity to serve and help the Kingdom.

There were also some instances where I felt that the Bible wasn’t given justice. “When the Righteous Prosper, the City Rejoices” (Proverbs 11:10).I did not see this anywhere in the book, in their actions or their words. I was rather disappointed here because as Christians we are not just to be blessed but to bless others.

So, overall, it was a very well written piece I just disagree with Felber on a few points financially. It’s easier to speak of financial success when you have it. 

Note: I received a review copy of this book from the publisher, Thomas Nelson.

You know where in the Bible it says that we should feel/see sin the same way God does? I don’t know it on top of my head, but I know it’s a rather popular prayer. The only problem with it I have is how easy it sounds. It sounds super appealing, until you actually start seeing sin this way. I don’t often but occasionally God shows me how He feels. A deep heart-arch. It’s rather inexplicable and overwhelming. As great as it is to become closer to God, sin becomes that much harder to handle.

With this all said, we can look at Jesus in that much higher. He was able to be moved to pity by the way the world was because of sin. He was still able to control it and Love everyone and die for these people that absolutely break His heart. It’s breathe-taking.

Well, little Bieber was caught with weed. It’s sad that so many people fall in the world of Hollywood. Now I’m not saying Bieber is falling from stardom, or is even going to go down a bad path. It’s sad though when we look at all the people in Hollywood and how in American we idolize them. They mean the world to some people. Some of these people are even Christians. They claim Jesus is theirs, but when it comes down to it they have memorized more Justin Bieber songs than Bible verses. 

As Christians we are to be as we were created to be. When we believe in the Lord He lights our flame and we are set. He is our heart’s desire and from that love we have for Him we become better people. The Truth sets us free. We can live in a world of lies (I can only hear Buddy the Elf, “You sit on a throne of Lies”). Everything the world would want us to know is that we aren’t good enough or that we can be happy if we just had that thing. But Christ shows us that we are good enough. We have purpose and all we need is Christ to be happy. We are worth dying for. Sometimes we don’t think we are good enough to date so-and-so. But Christ said you were worth enough to come out of heaven and die for. Not because you are good or anything, just because you are. It’s been Christ’s plan all along to redeem us. So let’s live redeemed!

As bad as the whole Bieber scandal is, we shouldn’t look at Bieber any differently. We are all fallen creatures in a fallen world. It’s our partaking to help the Lord redeem it. 

Direct from the Issue 

Quoted by reporter Kevin Baxter of the Times in his Sunday story — “In pro sports, gay athletes still feel unwelcome” — Hunter indicated he would not — or could not — be supportive of a teammate with a different sexual orientation than his own:

… Hunter, among baseball’s most thoughtful and intelligent players, isn’t kidding when he says an “out” teammate could divide a team.

“For me, as a Christian … I will be uncomfortable because in all my teachings and all my learning, biblically, it’s not right,” he says. “It will be difficult and uncomfortable.”

My Thoughts

So later in the article it talks about how Hunter shouldn’t hide behind his religion, Christianity.

“Using Christianity to hide behind bigotry is totally unfair to Christians who don’t consider being gay “not right.”“ 

He really shouldn’t. If he thinks Homosexuality is a sin, which I do as well, then he must also think greed, lying, pride, and self-glory are all sins too. It must be really hard playing with liars. Sin is sin. Yes, you may claim homosexuality is a lifestyle, but until we are saved by Christ and filled with the Holy Spirit we are all in a sinful lifestyle. So it’s really no different than any other. It’s a pride issue. We always want our way and if God doesn’t approve of my way, well He’ll make an exception. We should put God over all of our priorities, including sexual orientation and what we wear. When it comes down to it, if you really believe in this Awesome Super Powerful God who made everything about you and every aspect of life, well we should probably listen to Him. 

So, in conclusion, we should put God above all of our priorities. He is that worthy. This doesn’t mean homosexuals need to become heterosexual, no, you don’t have to, but the Bible calls us to purity and only to have sexual relations inside the confines of Biblical marriages. So yeah. Let me say that if anyone disagrees with me, know that I am a Christian and if you are not you are going to disagree. We are looking at this with two totally different worldviews. So we will need to agree to disagree, but if you are a Christian and you disagree with me, please bring it to my attention in the case that I may need to fix my ways. Thank you! 

“None of the rest dared join them, but the people held them in high esteem.”

My footnote for this reads, “No insincere, superficial followers dared to identify with the church. The standards of morality were high.” I am not sure how I feel about this. Today, we like to see the church as a “Hospital for Sinners,” not a “Museum of Saints.” But what was the Early Church?

I like how the verse says the outside people held them in high esteem. I don’t think it is as much that way today. If we look at all the polls the Church isn’t any different morally than the public. Yes, we have some people who are modern day saints, but for the most part, congregations aren’t known for morality, but for being busy on Sunday mornings. If anything I think it may come down to our sincerity to the faith. Do we truly believe. Do we have the right desires? I don’t know. I think we need to go back to the basics of Love, Acceptance, and Generosity. We can’t be Spoiling people, Endorsing Sin, and have a Greedy heart if we think we are going to be filled with the Spirit. And No the Church is not suppose to be for people who are perfect. I don’t want to every be accused of saying that. No, the people who come to the Church are as wicked as the next person, but by coming to the church there is a change. The Spirit changes you. We don’t become Sinless, but we will sin less. It’s a beautiful transformation. We will become totally different people. It will be quicker for some and it will hurt for some. The pain of dropping sin from our life isn’t easy. We start caring for others more than we care for ourselves and that isn’t easy. 

So, that’s my little 4 minute rant. What are your thoughts?

News Article: http://blog.christianitytoday.com/ctliveblog/archives/2012/12/porn-predicts-same-sex-marriage-support-says-regnerus.html

ARTICLE

posted by Jeremy Weber

A Comment I found

Posted By: Anne | December 23, 2012 10:40 PM

So what do you guys think? Many of the people on the post claimed the research was bashing gay, but I feel like Anne here makes a good point. As Christians, who believe both are a sin, does this make sense? Now I haven’t looked into this research at all and I am just looking for opinions. Feel free to send me a message. 

some words on christians and cussing, i encourage you to read. maybe even be enlightened.

Responding to the post “Jesus saved my Ass” 

Soooo, I don’t like swearing. I don’t do it. I believe it isn’t glorifying to God so in hand do believe it is sin. I can’t see how if I swear anyone would be guided to come closer to Christ either. Are the words evil? No, but when people hear those words coming from your mouth it has negative vibes. I know a lot of people will tell me that you can’t please everyone and a lot of people will get on my case that I don’t like tattoos for very similar reasons, but what it comes down to is are we actually doing what Jesus told us to do?

To help the widow, to help the poor, TO HELP OTHERS? Are we? or are we trying to make it okay to curse in public? Why do we worry about stupid stuff like this anyways. God is so much greater than curse words. We should be helping the world and not being worried about what is and is not sins. The things we should worry about is how we are going to save the tens of thousands of kids that die everyday because of unclean water. 

What do you think Jesus will be more likely to talk to us about come judgement day, Oh you swore twelve hundred times in your life, or Matthew 25: ⁴¹ “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fireprepared for the devil and his angels. ⁴² For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, ⁴³ I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’

Just a thought

I was thinking about people of my past as I looked at an old friend’s facebook and it just seems like they have went down a path I didn’t think they would. I thought they would rise up in rough times and rise above the challenges, but I have come to find that, from a Christian perspective, they gave in.

I think of what I could have done differently in that person’s life to possibly show them God in a better light. I don’t blame myself or anything, but I do think I could have started submitting to God earlier and have been a better example. If anything it inspires me, which I feel it should, to make sure that I am truly showing others that I love God more than any human can love something. It’s not something that I am going to do that will change people. I need to do less. I need God to do more. I have to give Him the reigns of my life. 

It’s like the movie Star Kid (1998). So in the movie there is this space suit (thing) that falls from space and a boy inhabits the suit and saves the world… essentially. That’s pretty  much what we gotta do! We have to become the suit and let God take control. We just have to be a body for Him to use. I personally know that god has a lot more insight into things than I do, so I want Him running the show! Now in the movie the suit thing was awesome, that’s the difference, we aren’t. God is just that AWESOME! 

Praise Him!