It's been far too long. Hey you, whoever reads this, next time I go that long without posting, get a hold of me and figure out what's up, because I've been duuuuumb as a rock.
I know I usually post more bible study type material, but this will be more of a personal journey blog.
I've been subject to temptation and deception. I let the lies of the enemy fill my head far more than the Truth that should be all that I listen to. Suuucks. I slipped back into my old pornographic habits and addictions, but tonight is the night that I break that.
"Tonight, I made this promise to never let lust take over my life."
-For Today, "Redemption"
Tonight, I'm speaking against the spirit of addiction, and I am breaking its hold on my heart. As for the spirit of deception? No more! I let the enemy fill my heart and my head with lies that I was the liar. No more. I will walk in Truth! Glory. I'm so stoked tonight. I'll be okay with it if I don't sleep. God will provide my rest, amen? Amen. Yes. Who needs an awake body when you have a refreshed soul?
I owe For Today a lot. Those guys are such blessings. Mattie and Mike specifically. I mean, they're all real legit, but I read Mattie's blog the most, and I talk to Mike the most, so they've played the biggest roles. For days I was just coasting by. About a week ago, I guess, I told my friend Jordin pretty much everything the enemy had been telling me, believing it to be truth, and just hating my life, and I was in a crappy place. I was lukewarm. I was fulfilling my addiction regularly, and I wasn't doing anything to get better, and I was making it all the easier for the enemy to lie to me. So here I am, believing all kinds of crap that I wasn't good enough, and I wasn't doing it right, hiding from the people who want to help me because of who knows why, and my life SUCKED. I was miserable, just like I had been the weeks previous while the enemy was laying his foundation (looking back everything's so obvious, duh).
HEY JORDIN I'M REALLY SORRY FOR IGNORING YOU. I feel awful. I'll talk to you soon about everything, promise.
But then I noticed a band had a status on myspace that said: "Just because we like to start arguments... is God real? And if He is, is He good or evil?" And it was one of those metal bands that attracts a largely secular crowd (almost all responses were that God doesn't exist, and if He did he would be evil), and halfhearted Christians who don't really care (I saw one response that said "God is real, and He's good. Pussy's good too.") So, out of habit, I guess, put that God certainly is real, and He is surely good, and if someone wanted to talk to me about it civilly without hurling insults they could message me. So then this kid messages me with all these beliefs that just struck me as off the wall and crazy, but we proceed to have this 3 day discussion through myspace messages about the existence of Christ and the truth of the bible and everything, and I'd appreciate if you'd pray for this kid, but I don't know his name. Anyway, the Lord started working inside of me. Temptation would arise, and I'd be like, "I can't do go look at porn, I just talked about Jesus!" So something was changing. I didn't really notice though. I stayed idle. I stayed lukewarm.
Until tonight! Something lead me to Mattie's myspace, and I was just reading through his about me and I listened to the little sermon he had on there, and I felt the Lord stirring. It was time for me to change, and I knew it. So I excused myself from my online friends a bit early and started praying and got into my bible and here I am. Good story, right? Yeah, I thought so.
ANYWAY. This is what inspired me to actually write a blog about all of this.
"When pride comes, then comes disgrace,
But with humility comes wisdom."
Proverbs 11:2.
For a few minutes before I actually opened up my bible, I just prayed that the Lord would guide me to where I needed to be in His word, and help me to read what I needed to read, and that I would have wisdom and insight, and I would open my eyes to see and my ears to hear what he was speaking to me tonight, and this was the second verse I read. And boy, did it hit me.
Ever since my whole roommate moving out situation (which worked out that I got to stay in the apartment! Praise report! :D), I've been debating if it would have been smarter to just move back home for 6 months or so, save up money, and try again this summer or something, but I couldn't swallow my pride and admit that I failed, that I wasn't man enough to handle the responsibilities and whatnot, and then when I read this verse it hit me. I was being too proud. I was wrong. I had failed, and that, by myself, I'm really not man enough. So that was where I stopped. After two verses, I felt the stirring of the Lord in my heart and started to meditate on it. I asked Him, "so was I wrong? Do I go back? I mean, I really really don't want to, this is where I want to be, but if You really want me in Waterloo, I can do it." And while I was praying about it, He gave me a vision of a golden eagle circling over the twin cities, and the eagle landed in the cities and started a nest. I've been praying on it, and it's legit. So I know where I'm meant to start a family. But I finally did swallow my pride and admit that I can't do it alone. And that was what I got out of it.
So please, pray for me, that I can keep this up. If you guys have prayer requests, get a hold of me on here or myspace or facebook and I'll pray with you and for you and whatever you need. I love you guys. Be blessed.
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
So I got a formspring, where anyone can go on and leave you a little message with a question that you can answer or whatever, and my first question was:
"what's ur opinion on gays, if ur so into Jesus."
My answer is probably going to be a decent blog length, so I decided to just post a blog about it and link them to this.
I want to preface my answer by saying a couple different things:
1) From when I was young until very recently, my mom chose a homosexual lifestyle.
2) I am more comfortable with my sexuality than almost any other guy I know, and am completely not homophobic.
3) Yes, I probably would be weirded out if a guy were to hit on me, but most of the time I'm weirded out when girls hit on me, too.
So the, "stop using God as a cover up for your disgust, you pig!" retaliation can't really apply. I am not disgusted by homosexuality.
So, let's do this I guess.
For starters, the Mosaic Law says:
"If a man lies with a man as one lies with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They must be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads."
-Leviticus 20:13
That is the majority of Christians' first verse to say that homosexuality is wrong, but almost always is met with something along the lines of, "The Mosaic Law also says not to eat shellfish, or wear clothing woven of two fabrics, and it permits selling your daughter into slavery, etc." As I said in one of my other posts, to those whom are alive in Jesus Christ, the Mosaic Law is dead. But non-believers are still held accountable by the law. That sounds really crappy, but it's true. It's to show those who don't believe that they can't do it on their own, they need Christ. But that's all in a different blog. My point here is that if a Christian were to point out that part of the Mosaic Law to a non-believer, they can't retaliate with saying, "Well you don't follow all the laws!" Yes, I understand that if you don't share those beliefs, it doesn't really matter. But that's the Truth.
Moving on.
"18The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, 19since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.
"what's ur opinion on gays, if ur so into Jesus."
My answer is probably going to be a decent blog length, so I decided to just post a blog about it and link them to this.
I want to preface my answer by saying a couple different things:
1) From when I was young until very recently, my mom chose a homosexual lifestyle.
2) I am more comfortable with my sexuality than almost any other guy I know, and am completely not homophobic.
3) Yes, I probably would be weirded out if a guy were to hit on me, but most of the time I'm weirded out when girls hit on me, too.
So the, "stop using God as a cover up for your disgust, you pig!" retaliation can't really apply. I am not disgusted by homosexuality.
So, let's do this I guess.
For starters, the Mosaic Law says:
"If a man lies with a man as one lies with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They must be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads."
-Leviticus 20:13
That is the majority of Christians' first verse to say that homosexuality is wrong, but almost always is met with something along the lines of, "The Mosaic Law also says not to eat shellfish, or wear clothing woven of two fabrics, and it permits selling your daughter into slavery, etc." As I said in one of my other posts, to those whom are alive in Jesus Christ, the Mosaic Law is dead. But non-believers are still held accountable by the law. That sounds really crappy, but it's true. It's to show those who don't believe that they can't do it on their own, they need Christ. But that's all in a different blog. My point here is that if a Christian were to point out that part of the Mosaic Law to a non-believer, they can't retaliate with saying, "Well you don't follow all the laws!" Yes, I understand that if you don't share those beliefs, it doesn't really matter. But that's the Truth.
Moving on.
"18The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, 19since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.
21For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools 23and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.
24Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. 25They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.
26Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. 27In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion."
Romans 1:18-27
And there it is. God doesn't like homosexuality. Do I like that fact? Of course not. It means that, by my own beliefs, some people I am very close to, who have played a huge part in my life, won't be spending eternity with me. It's heartbreaking, of course I don't like it. But it's not my choice what is and isn't okay.
And here's an age old question: is it a choice? A very close friend of mine, who is a lesbian, believes very firmly it is not. It's just how you are. But we are all slaves to sin before we accept Jesus Christ. That's just how we are, we can't help it. But I firmly believe that through Jesus Christ, if you want to change, He'll help you.
So there it is. I believe that living a homosexual lifestyle is an indication of the absence of Jesus Christ in your life, and Jesus Christ is the only way to heaven. Therefore, homosexuality leads to spiritual death. Do I like it? Of course not. I don't like that even a single person might not experience the joys of the Kingdom of Heaven, especially some of the people very close to me.
Anonymous formspringer, I hope that answered your question.
I feel like I left a lot unexplained but I'm tired. If there's anything you want me to expand on, or anything you can add on, leave a comment and I'll post a new blog about it later.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
"See, a king will reign in righteousness
and rulers will rule with justice.
Each man will be like a shelter from the wind
and a refuge from the storm,
like streams of water int he desert
and the shadow of a great rock in a thirsty land.
Then the eyes of those who see will no longer be closed,
and the ears of those who hear will listen.
The mind of the rash will know and understand,
and the stammering tongue will be fluent and clear.
No longer will the fool be called noble
nor the scoundrel be highly respected.
For the fool speaks folly,
his mind is busy with evil;
He practices ungodliness
and spreads error concerning the Lord;
the hungry he leaves empty
and from the thirsty he withholds water.
The scoundrels methods are wicked,
he makes up evil schemes
to destroy the poor with lies,
even when the plea of the needy is just.
Bu tthe noble man makes noble plans,
and by noble deeds he stands."
Isaiah 32:1-8
I'll be honest, I have no idea where this is going, but this passage is where I felt the Lord lead me, so I'm just gonna let Him go with it wherever He chooses, haha.
I'm gonna start with the first couple lines of the second paragraph, which are verses 3 and 4 if you're curious. "Then the eyes of those who see will no longer be closed, and the ears of those who hear will listen." Jesus makes references to this a few times.
"This is why I speak to them in parables:
'Though seeing, they do not see;
though hearing, they do not hear or understand.'
In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah:
'You will be ever hearing but never understanding;
you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.
For this people's heart has become calloused;
they hardly hear with their ears,
and they have closed their eyes.
Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
hear with their ears,
understand with their hearts
and turn, and I would heal them.'"
Matthew 13:13-15
Basically, some refuse to hear. They don't want to hear the Truth. Why? No idea. I always wonder why non-believers wouldn't want such a gift, ya know? I mean, the Kingdom of Heaven is yours, and all you have to do is reach out and take it! Beauty and grace and mercy galore!
Side note: I was just on facebook, browsing my news feed or something lame, and I came across this event.
Jesus Christ Himself says: "Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the leper. Freely as you have received, freely give." So I implore you to pray for Noah Biorkman. This is supposed to be his last Christmas? In Jesus' name, I pray for at least 80 more. There is no room in the Kingdom of Heaven for sickness or disease. I pray that he will be a testimony, that he will be like a lamp in the darkness, and everyone will see the miraculous healing power and love of Jesus Christ.
Man, I totally lost my train of that. So maybe we'll come back to that later.
"And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well."
Mark 16:17-18
My friend Peter made a good point today. "Did it say, 'it will accompany the New Testament apostles?' Did it say, 'if you went to seminary for 8 years?' Or, 'only to people with the most faith?'" Nope, it says "those who believe." This is the authority that we have been given through Jesus Christ in the Kingdom of Heaven. With Jesus Christ in our hearts, we can do everything that He did.
What, Tyler? No wayy! We can never do all the stuff Jesus did! Now you're being crazy.
No, I speak the truth! As I've mentioned before, when we accept Jesus Christ into our hearts, it is no longer us living, but Jesus living through us! And therefore, who is to say that we can't heal the sick and raise the dead and cast out demons, because Jesus Christ lives inside of us. Truth. Amen.
and rulers will rule with justice.
Each man will be like a shelter from the wind
and a refuge from the storm,
like streams of water int he desert
and the shadow of a great rock in a thirsty land.
Then the eyes of those who see will no longer be closed,
and the ears of those who hear will listen.
The mind of the rash will know and understand,
and the stammering tongue will be fluent and clear.
No longer will the fool be called noble
nor the scoundrel be highly respected.
For the fool speaks folly,
his mind is busy with evil;
He practices ungodliness
and spreads error concerning the Lord;
the hungry he leaves empty
and from the thirsty he withholds water.
The scoundrels methods are wicked,
he makes up evil schemes
to destroy the poor with lies,
even when the plea of the needy is just.
Bu tthe noble man makes noble plans,
and by noble deeds he stands."
Isaiah 32:1-8
I'll be honest, I have no idea where this is going, but this passage is where I felt the Lord lead me, so I'm just gonna let Him go with it wherever He chooses, haha.
I'm gonna start with the first couple lines of the second paragraph, which are verses 3 and 4 if you're curious. "Then the eyes of those who see will no longer be closed, and the ears of those who hear will listen." Jesus makes references to this a few times.
"This is why I speak to them in parables:
'Though seeing, they do not see;
though hearing, they do not hear or understand.'
In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah:
'You will be ever hearing but never understanding;
you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.
For this people's heart has become calloused;
they hardly hear with their ears,
and they have closed their eyes.
Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
hear with their ears,
understand with their hearts
and turn, and I would heal them.'"
Matthew 13:13-15
Basically, some refuse to hear. They don't want to hear the Truth. Why? No idea. I always wonder why non-believers wouldn't want such a gift, ya know? I mean, the Kingdom of Heaven is yours, and all you have to do is reach out and take it! Beauty and grace and mercy galore!
Side note: I was just on facebook, browsing my news feed or something lame, and I came across this event.
Jesus Christ Himself says: "Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the leper. Freely as you have received, freely give." So I implore you to pray for Noah Biorkman. This is supposed to be his last Christmas? In Jesus' name, I pray for at least 80 more. There is no room in the Kingdom of Heaven for sickness or disease. I pray that he will be a testimony, that he will be like a lamp in the darkness, and everyone will see the miraculous healing power and love of Jesus Christ.
Man, I totally lost my train of that. So maybe we'll come back to that later.
"And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well."
Mark 16:17-18
My friend Peter made a good point today. "Did it say, 'it will accompany the New Testament apostles?' Did it say, 'if you went to seminary for 8 years?' Or, 'only to people with the most faith?'" Nope, it says "those who believe." This is the authority that we have been given through Jesus Christ in the Kingdom of Heaven. With Jesus Christ in our hearts, we can do everything that He did.
What, Tyler? No wayy! We can never do all the stuff Jesus did! Now you're being crazy.
No, I speak the truth! As I've mentioned before, when we accept Jesus Christ into our hearts, it is no longer us living, but Jesus living through us! And therefore, who is to say that we can't heal the sick and raise the dead and cast out demons, because Jesus Christ lives inside of us. Truth. Amen.
Friday, November 6, 2009
This post probably isn't going to be that long, and I probably won't have any scriptures, just because none are coming to mind right now for what I have to say.
"Ya know, it's weird, no matter how often I see with my own two eyes what God can do, and does do, I always seem to fall back into the same rut."
"I think the biggest thing is that people underestimate Satan, he's far more cunning than we can imagine."
-Conversation I had with Mattie Montgomery.
I say to you, my brothers and sisters, keep your guard up. Because the enemy is cunning, and he is ruthless. He will stop at nothing to bring you down.
And we're under the most attack when we're doing something right. He can't have that. He can't have people actually getting active and spreading the love of Christ. But all he needs to do is get you idle. And half the time you don't even notice it.
I spent all day today playing Prince of Persia. And every time I thought, "hey, I should get up and do something," something said "no, just one more save point, just one more, just one more." It's dangerous.
So build walls around your castles. Push them outwards against the camp of the enemy. Don't let him tear them down. Have heart, my friends.
"We will rise up, and we will stand prepared. And we will fearlessly defend this city, but we will not stand alone. Holy Spirit, fall, and breathe Your Life into us."
-For Today, "Ezekiel (The Visionary)"
This is my prayer for you, my friends. May the Holy Spirit strengthen and encourage you, guard and guide you. May the enemy be stopped dead in his tracks as he advances against you. In Jesus' name.
"Ya know, it's weird, no matter how often I see with my own two eyes what God can do, and does do, I always seem to fall back into the same rut."
"I think the biggest thing is that people underestimate Satan, he's far more cunning than we can imagine."
-Conversation I had with Mattie Montgomery.
I say to you, my brothers and sisters, keep your guard up. Because the enemy is cunning, and he is ruthless. He will stop at nothing to bring you down.
And we're under the most attack when we're doing something right. He can't have that. He can't have people actually getting active and spreading the love of Christ. But all he needs to do is get you idle. And half the time you don't even notice it.
I spent all day today playing Prince of Persia. And every time I thought, "hey, I should get up and do something," something said "no, just one more save point, just one more, just one more." It's dangerous.
So build walls around your castles. Push them outwards against the camp of the enemy. Don't let him tear them down. Have heart, my friends.
"We will rise up, and we will stand prepared. And we will fearlessly defend this city, but we will not stand alone. Holy Spirit, fall, and breathe Your Life into us."
-For Today, "Ezekiel (The Visionary)"
This is my prayer for you, my friends. May the Holy Spirit strengthen and encourage you, guard and guide you. May the enemy be stopped dead in his tracks as he advances against you. In Jesus' name.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
"We believe that our first parents were created in a state of innocence, but by their disobedience, they lost their purity and happiness, and that in consequence of their fall all men have become sinners, totally depraved, and as such are justly exposed to the wrath of God."
-The Salvation Army's creed, point number 5
It's a story we're all familiar with. Adam and Eve in the garden. Satan comes along and says, "Hey Eve, I know the Big Guy told you not to eat this fruit, but let me tell you, it rocks." And Eve says, "Oh, man, that sounds great." Sounds like Eve was a rebel, right?
Wrong.
The tree wasn't the "Tree of Evil." It was the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. Eve took the fruit out of a desire to be like God, and know the difference between right and wrong, which, in a sense, is what we all should desire, right? To be of like mind as God, and to love and hate the same things? But it was never God's intention for us to know that we fall short, man wasn't meant to live by rules. Man was just meant to live. Just live with God, and enjoy His fellowship while He enjoyed ours.
"Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. Therefore NO ONE WILL BE DECLARED RIGHTEOUS IN HIS SIGHT by observing the law; rather, through the law we became conscious of sin."
Romans 3:19-20
Wow. No one will be declared righteous? At all? Suuucks! No one can follow the whole law. You can't pick and choose which laws to follow. You can't annex the law or take laws away. You can't say "I'll follow this law on thursdays and this law on sundays and this one..." And if you're going to follow the law, you have to follow the whole law. James 2:10 says "Whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it."
"All who rely on observing the law are under a curse, for it is written: 'cursed is everyone who does not continue to do EVERYTHING written in the Book of the Law.'"
-Galations 3:10
There it is again. Follow all 800 and whatever rules of the Mosaic Law, or you're cursed. But no one can follow all the rules!
But that's why we weren't meant to be aware of good and evil. That we may be righteous, because we wouldn't have a law to follow! But at the same time, that's exactly why Eve accepted the fruit, so that she would know when she is doing wrong. Man, it's crazy. Long story short, knowing the law means that we know we suck, and we can never ever ever possibly be considered righteous.
"I would not have known what sin was had it not been for the law. For i would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said: "You shall not covet." But sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, produced in me every kind of coveting."
Romans 7:7-8
Because Paul knew the law said, "Do not covet," he put human effort into not coveting. But what then did sin do in his heart? It made him want everyone else's stuff! When I am making an effort not to look lustfully at some smokin hot babe on the street or at the mall or wherever, sin seizes the opportunity in my efforts to tempt me all the more. And the sucky part of being human? We lose.
"'Hold on just a minute! You're taking things to an extreme. I agree that the Holy Spirit doesn't want to help us live under the whole book of Leviticus, but we should still follow the Ten Commandments! And we should ask for the Spirit's help to do so!'
'But Sabbath observance is included in the Ten Commandments, and you don't adhere to the Friday night till Saturday night Jewish Sabbath, do you?'
'Well, no.'
'So then, it's the Big Nine that you're under, excluding the Sabbath?'"
-A conversation Andrew Farley had with a pastor, spoken of in Farley's book "The Naked Gospel."
Man, I sound like a broken record. But there it is again. We can't follow the whole thing. So forget it. Forget the law. Throw the Ten Commandments out of your rule book, start eating shellfish again and wearing clothes spun of two different fabrics, and reschedule that barbeque you cancelled so you wouldn't eat pork. But Tyler, how do we know how to live then? How do we know that what we're doing is acceptable in the eyes of God?
Christ living in us is enough. When we allow Christ to live in our hearts, it is no longer us who lives, but Christ who lives through us. And Christ, being God Himself, was bound by no law. Because His being was sinless. That's just how Christ is. And when we truly allow Christ to live through us, we can be made righteous in the eyes of our Lord. Crazy right? Praise Jesus!
But Tyler, Jesus said he didn't come to abolish the Law, but to build on it! Now you're just going against the Bible, you heretic!
Truth! I didn't say the Law doesn't exist anymore, because it certainly does! And don't misunderstand, for the Law is NOT a bad thing. The scriptures say that the Law is just and holy. So, why should we forget it?
As believers in Jesus Christ, born again through the baptism of the Spirit, we should forget the Law. Because Jesus lives inside of us, and Jesus is above the Law. But the Law still exists so that those who don't have Christ living inside of them will see that by the Law in God's eyes, only one person to ever live anywhere on the entire planet was righteous. The Law still exists so that the non-believing population might see that there is no way they will ever be able to make it on their own. And that's where Christ comes in. Clever, eh? Yeah, God's like that. Glory. Be blessed, friends.
-The Salvation Army's creed, point number 5
It's a story we're all familiar with. Adam and Eve in the garden. Satan comes along and says, "Hey Eve, I know the Big Guy told you not to eat this fruit, but let me tell you, it rocks." And Eve says, "Oh, man, that sounds great." Sounds like Eve was a rebel, right?
Wrong.
The tree wasn't the "Tree of Evil." It was the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. Eve took the fruit out of a desire to be like God, and know the difference between right and wrong, which, in a sense, is what we all should desire, right? To be of like mind as God, and to love and hate the same things? But it was never God's intention for us to know that we fall short, man wasn't meant to live by rules. Man was just meant to live. Just live with God, and enjoy His fellowship while He enjoyed ours.
"Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. Therefore NO ONE WILL BE DECLARED RIGHTEOUS IN HIS SIGHT by observing the law; rather, through the law we became conscious of sin."
Romans 3:19-20
Wow. No one will be declared righteous? At all? Suuucks! No one can follow the whole law. You can't pick and choose which laws to follow. You can't annex the law or take laws away. You can't say "I'll follow this law on thursdays and this law on sundays and this one..." And if you're going to follow the law, you have to follow the whole law. James 2:10 says "Whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it."
"All who rely on observing the law are under a curse, for it is written: 'cursed is everyone who does not continue to do EVERYTHING written in the Book of the Law.'"
-Galations 3:10
There it is again. Follow all 800 and whatever rules of the Mosaic Law, or you're cursed. But no one can follow all the rules!
But that's why we weren't meant to be aware of good and evil. That we may be righteous, because we wouldn't have a law to follow! But at the same time, that's exactly why Eve accepted the fruit, so that she would know when she is doing wrong. Man, it's crazy. Long story short, knowing the law means that we know we suck, and we can never ever ever possibly be considered righteous.
"I would not have known what sin was had it not been for the law. For i would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said: "You shall not covet." But sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, produced in me every kind of coveting."
Romans 7:7-8
Because Paul knew the law said, "Do not covet," he put human effort into not coveting. But what then did sin do in his heart? It made him want everyone else's stuff! When I am making an effort not to look lustfully at some smokin hot babe on the street or at the mall or wherever, sin seizes the opportunity in my efforts to tempt me all the more. And the sucky part of being human? We lose.
"'Hold on just a minute! You're taking things to an extreme. I agree that the Holy Spirit doesn't want to help us live under the whole book of Leviticus, but we should still follow the Ten Commandments! And we should ask for the Spirit's help to do so!'
'But Sabbath observance is included in the Ten Commandments, and you don't adhere to the Friday night till Saturday night Jewish Sabbath, do you?'
'Well, no.'
'So then, it's the Big Nine that you're under, excluding the Sabbath?'"
-A conversation Andrew Farley had with a pastor, spoken of in Farley's book "The Naked Gospel."
Man, I sound like a broken record. But there it is again. We can't follow the whole thing. So forget it. Forget the law. Throw the Ten Commandments out of your rule book, start eating shellfish again and wearing clothes spun of two different fabrics, and reschedule that barbeque you cancelled so you wouldn't eat pork. But Tyler, how do we know how to live then? How do we know that what we're doing is acceptable in the eyes of God?
Christ living in us is enough. When we allow Christ to live in our hearts, it is no longer us who lives, but Christ who lives through us. And Christ, being God Himself, was bound by no law. Because His being was sinless. That's just how Christ is. And when we truly allow Christ to live through us, we can be made righteous in the eyes of our Lord. Crazy right? Praise Jesus!
But Tyler, Jesus said he didn't come to abolish the Law, but to build on it! Now you're just going against the Bible, you heretic!
Truth! I didn't say the Law doesn't exist anymore, because it certainly does! And don't misunderstand, for the Law is NOT a bad thing. The scriptures say that the Law is just and holy. So, why should we forget it?
As believers in Jesus Christ, born again through the baptism of the Spirit, we should forget the Law. Because Jesus lives inside of us, and Jesus is above the Law. But the Law still exists so that those who don't have Christ living inside of them will see that by the Law in God's eyes, only one person to ever live anywhere on the entire planet was righteous. The Law still exists so that the non-believing population might see that there is no way they will ever be able to make it on their own. And that's where Christ comes in. Clever, eh? Yeah, God's like that. Glory. Be blessed, friends.
Monday, November 2, 2009
As of today, I have no one to move in with me when my roommate moves out. This means the lease on the apartment I'm living in will be terminated mid-December, and I will be forced to either move back to Iowa as well and try again later, or mooch off someone else. And I'm not caring for either possibility too much.
"'Therefore, I tell you: do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your Heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add even a single hour to your life?'"
-Matthew 6:25-27
"Worry is only temporary atheism."
-Unknown, but I heard it from Mattie Montgomery
I'll be honest, I've been worried since I found out a few hours ago. What do I do? Where will I stay? Can I afford this apartment by myself? Can I switch to a one bedroom apartment? Can I even afford that by myself? Where will I work? How will I survive? So many questions and uncertainties! And I have to know in less than ten days. Maybe even by this weekend.
But the beautiful thing is: Christ sees our hardships. He knows what we're going through, and His heart breaks for us. But aren't we much more important than the birds of the air? Christ will provide. Hallelujah!
So if you could pray for me, whoever reads this, I would appreciate it a ton. For peace and for guidance on my next step. Maybe for someone to move in with me? That'd be awesome. You rock.
But now that I've gotten my bit of personal life out, I want to encourage you guys a bit.
"The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters, He restores my soul. He guides me in paths of Righteousness for His name's sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me. Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table for me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the House of the Lord forever."
Psalm 23
You all know it probably. But it's certainly one of my favorites for a few reasons.
The first being: Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me. No matter what we're going through, fear should be a foreign concept. No matter what we're facing in our life, we are to fear no evil. The enemy cannot move against us, for we are chosen by the God who created the heavens and the earth. How powerful is that? Crazy powerful.
And then a recurring theme throughout the psalm: "He makes me lie down in green pastures... Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me... For You are with me..."
It's amazing isn't it? God Almighty, our Heavenly Father, the Alpha and the Omega, cares about us. He cares about us soooo deeply.
“'I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd sacrifices his life for the sheep. A hired hand will run when he sees a wolf coming. He will abandon the sheep because they don’t belong to him and he isn’t their shepherd. And so the wolf attacks them and scatters the flock. The hired hand runs away because he’s working only for the money and doesn’t really care about the sheep. '"
John 10:11-13
We are His. He loves us and will never abandon us. Even when the enemy unleashes his armies against us, we are never forsaken. Glory.
"'Therefore, I tell you: do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your Heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add even a single hour to your life?'"
-Matthew 6:25-27
"Worry is only temporary atheism."
-Unknown, but I heard it from Mattie Montgomery
I'll be honest, I've been worried since I found out a few hours ago. What do I do? Where will I stay? Can I afford this apartment by myself? Can I switch to a one bedroom apartment? Can I even afford that by myself? Where will I work? How will I survive? So many questions and uncertainties! And I have to know in less than ten days. Maybe even by this weekend.
But the beautiful thing is: Christ sees our hardships. He knows what we're going through, and His heart breaks for us. But aren't we much more important than the birds of the air? Christ will provide. Hallelujah!
So if you could pray for me, whoever reads this, I would appreciate it a ton. For peace and for guidance on my next step. Maybe for someone to move in with me? That'd be awesome. You rock.
But now that I've gotten my bit of personal life out, I want to encourage you guys a bit.
"The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters, He restores my soul. He guides me in paths of Righteousness for His name's sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me. Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table for me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the House of the Lord forever."
Psalm 23
You all know it probably. But it's certainly one of my favorites for a few reasons.
The first being: Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me. No matter what we're going through, fear should be a foreign concept. No matter what we're facing in our life, we are to fear no evil. The enemy cannot move against us, for we are chosen by the God who created the heavens and the earth. How powerful is that? Crazy powerful.
And then a recurring theme throughout the psalm: "He makes me lie down in green pastures... Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me... For You are with me..."
It's amazing isn't it? God Almighty, our Heavenly Father, the Alpha and the Omega, cares about us. He cares about us soooo deeply.
John 10:11-13
We are His. He loves us and will never abandon us. Even when the enemy unleashes his armies against us, we are never forsaken. Glory.
"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written:
'For Your sake we face Death all day long,
We are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.'
No, in all these things we are MORE THAN CONQUERORS through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor ANY POWERS, neither height nor depth, nor ANYTHING ELSE in ALL OF CREATION will be able to separate us from the Love of God that is in Jesus Christ."
-Romans 8:35-39
How beautiful, and indescribable. That Christ loves us so much that there is nothing in all of creation that can stop Him from loving us! His agape love for us is just so... awe-inspiring. And so unconditional! It doesn't matter what we do! We could have just murdered someone and lied under oath about drugs in the trunk of our car, and then gone home to beat our wives, He loves us the same (on a side note, I pray that never happens. Ever). Mattie Montgomery once told me, "Christ can never, ever, ever love you more than He does right now," when I was at a tough spot in my struggle with lust and temptation. And it's so true! Wow. Glory.
And then, "we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us." Fact is we're living in a constant battle, and the war is over our souls. And when the enemy loses a soul, he will do ANYTHING to silence it, because he knows the power of a soul that burns bright with the Love of Christ. He KNOWS that a single person could tear down his entire kingdom.
"I have more power in my little finger than all the demons of hell, because the Lord Jesus Christ lives within me!"
-John Crowder
"If God is for us, who can be against us?"
-Romans 8:31
"And through all of this, there is nothing, absolutely nothing, no fear, no insecurity, no doubt, no hesitation that will ever, ever stop us. Because we are the sons of the living God, because we are the children of the Almighty. Because we are the residents of the Kingdom of Heaven, and we are soldiers in an army of the Immortal."
-For Today, "Talmidim (The Servants)"
But we know the end of the story: we win. The army of Christ cannot be stopped! With Christ in our hearts, no one, no mortal nor immortal enemy, can stand against us, for no one can stand against He who sent us. Praise Jesus.
Man, I should go to sleep. I pray blessings and fire on you, my friends. The sweetest of dreams to you this night, and every night. Shika Boomba.
'For Your sake we face Death all day long,
We are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.'
No, in all these things we are MORE THAN CONQUERORS through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor ANY POWERS, neither height nor depth, nor ANYTHING ELSE in ALL OF CREATION will be able to separate us from the Love of God that is in Jesus Christ."
-Romans 8:35-39
How beautiful, and indescribable. That Christ loves us so much that there is nothing in all of creation that can stop Him from loving us! His agape love for us is just so... awe-inspiring. And so unconditional! It doesn't matter what we do! We could have just murdered someone and lied under oath about drugs in the trunk of our car, and then gone home to beat our wives, He loves us the same (on a side note, I pray that never happens. Ever). Mattie Montgomery once told me, "Christ can never, ever, ever love you more than He does right now," when I was at a tough spot in my struggle with lust and temptation. And it's so true! Wow. Glory.
And then, "we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us." Fact is we're living in a constant battle, and the war is over our souls. And when the enemy loses a soul, he will do ANYTHING to silence it, because he knows the power of a soul that burns bright with the Love of Christ. He KNOWS that a single person could tear down his entire kingdom.
"I have more power in my little finger than all the demons of hell, because the Lord Jesus Christ lives within me!"
-John Crowder
"If God is for us, who can be against us?"
-Romans 8:31
"And through all of this, there is nothing, absolutely nothing, no fear, no insecurity, no doubt, no hesitation that will ever, ever stop us. Because we are the sons of the living God, because we are the children of the Almighty. Because we are the residents of the Kingdom of Heaven, and we are soldiers in an army of the Immortal."
-For Today, "Talmidim (The Servants)"
But we know the end of the story: we win. The army of Christ cannot be stopped! With Christ in our hearts, no one, no mortal nor immortal enemy, can stand against us, for no one can stand against He who sent us. Praise Jesus.
Man, I should go to sleep. I pray blessings and fire on you, my friends. The sweetest of dreams to you this night, and every night. Shika Boomba.
Sunday, November 1, 2009
"This is the message you heard from the beginning. We should love on another. Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil, and his brother's were righteous. Do not be surprised, my brothers, if the world hates you. We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers. Anyone who does not love remains in death. Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life in him.
"This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down His life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.
"Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive from Him anything we ask, because we obey His commands do and what pleases Him. And this is His command: to believe in the name of His Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as He commanded us. Those who obey His commands live in Him, and He in them. And this is how we know that He lives in us: We know it by the Spirit He gave us."
-1 John 3:11-24
Christ isn't asking us for our money. Christ isn't asking us to go stand on street corners and hand out Bibles, telling strangers that hey, if they don't turn their lives around, they're sure gonna be in for it when they die. Christ is just asking us to love each other. In Matthew 23, Christ Himself says that the two greatest commandments are: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind," and "To love your neighbor as yourself." Don't judge. Don't condemn. Just love.
I once heard the argument, "But by telling them how wrong they are, and warning them that they're going to go to hell, I am showing them love!" That isn't love. Is that how you would show your spouse love? Or your family or friends? I wouldn't think so. At least, I wouldn't. No, talk to them, share with them, listen to them, pray for them, show them compassion, comfort them, or laugh with them, or both! Just be a friend. A real friend.
"Greater love has no one than this: That he lay down his life for his friends."
-John 15:13
Christ is the ultimate example of love. The ULTIMATE. He gave up His life for OUR sin, so that we wouldn't have to experience death. Of course, we all will experience death someday (unless Christ's return is before then, in which case we won't), but we'll experience the best kind of life when we do. And Christ didn't do anything wrong! The Sinless died to save the sinful. And for that reason, the curse of Adam is no longer upon us. We can be set free. And Christ did all of that because He loves us.
"...Freely you have received, freely give."
-Matthew 10:8b
So there it is. Christ sacrificed himself. So we should sacrifice ourself for our friends. In Jesus' name. Glory.
"This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down His life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.
"Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive from Him anything we ask, because we obey His commands do and what pleases Him. And this is His command: to believe in the name of His Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as He commanded us. Those who obey His commands live in Him, and He in them. And this is how we know that He lives in us: We know it by the Spirit He gave us."
-1 John 3:11-24
Christ isn't asking us for our money. Christ isn't asking us to go stand on street corners and hand out Bibles, telling strangers that hey, if they don't turn their lives around, they're sure gonna be in for it when they die. Christ is just asking us to love each other. In Matthew 23, Christ Himself says that the two greatest commandments are: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind," and "To love your neighbor as yourself." Don't judge. Don't condemn. Just love.
I once heard the argument, "But by telling them how wrong they are, and warning them that they're going to go to hell, I am showing them love!" That isn't love. Is that how you would show your spouse love? Or your family or friends? I wouldn't think so. At least, I wouldn't. No, talk to them, share with them, listen to them, pray for them, show them compassion, comfort them, or laugh with them, or both! Just be a friend. A real friend.
"Greater love has no one than this: That he lay down his life for his friends."
-John 15:13
Christ is the ultimate example of love. The ULTIMATE. He gave up His life for OUR sin, so that we wouldn't have to experience death. Of course, we all will experience death someday (unless Christ's return is before then, in which case we won't), but we'll experience the best kind of life when we do. And Christ didn't do anything wrong! The Sinless died to save the sinful. And for that reason, the curse of Adam is no longer upon us. We can be set free. And Christ did all of that because He loves us.
"...Freely you have received, freely give."
-Matthew 10:8b
So there it is. Christ sacrificed himself. So we should sacrifice ourself for our friends. In Jesus' name. Glory.
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