“And, ye fathers, provoke not a your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.”  (Ephesians 5)

“Somethereforte cried one thing, and some another: for the assembly was confused: and the more part knew not wherefore they were come together.” (Acts 19)

Many times we have seen parents yelling and screaming at their children and sometimes the child, toddler, baby is crying back. This is not the wise or proper way to discipline or chasten a child. This is not how God chastens or disciplines His own. When a parent is yelling and gesturing or spanking a child, when the parent is most angry is child abuse and there is no doubt on that fact.

In Hebrews, the author says some parents discipline their child(ren) out of anger and with the intent of relieving themselves of anger.  Sometimes the parent will inflict upon the child, that has done wrong, all of his or her stress and anger. The child is a punching bag. This kind of parent may not even understand that they are releasing anger upon their child when the child does wrong and is chastened or disciplined.

The texts above, especially the second (2nd) text demonstrates or displays the dynamic of shouting parents and shouting children.  Everyone is yelling and crying but know one is benefitting by this scene. No one will be helped by this.  It is all emotion and know structure.

Parents must stop, think things through thoroughly, compose themselves and then have a discussion with the child.  I am pro spanking, but it must be done with composure, control, and objectivity. The discipline must play out with conversation, understanding, the judging of one’s self and confession to God before chastening begin. Once the discipline is over, both child and parent must hug each other and know that they both were obeying God’s Word in an objective way. Prayer and confession to God for the wrong that was done must be made, even the parent must confess, at that time his or her sins before God and the child(ren) because family is a unit and it is special and the family must be for each other, even in times of discipline.

The above is a sensical, logical, Scriptural, and wise manner of parenting.

If you are a parent that receives relief when you chasten your child, you are wrong and God is not pleased. Parents, love your child the way God loves you.

If any reader is a child and being hurt or abused let someone know, let me know and God willing, we will be glad to help and know this, God sees and knows and their is some wisdom and goodness in all situations.

Godspeed.

“Thou shalt not abhor an Edomite; for he is thy brother, thou shalt not abhor an Egyptian; because thou wast a stranger in his land. The children that are begotten of them shall enter into the congregation of the LORD in their third generation”                                                                                                                            (Deuteronomy 23:7,8)

“…every man heard [the disiples of Christ] speak in his own language.”  (Acts 2)

Where should the Christ-ian stand on immigration or what position should the Christ-ian take?  I have mulled this over for years. Methinks we have come to a position. The Above texts should imply our position.

In terms of the law, persons coming into this country are perpatrating a criminal act Period, there is no doubt on that fact.

When I purposely think things through thoroughly, fairly, critically and logically, I understand immigrants wanting to come to this great country. The immigrants want a better life for themselves and their family. This desire for the better life is intrinsic in all families everywhere on this planet.

Immigrants, with a long history of criminal activity, must not be allowed in to this country, where citizens of this country, and legal or illegal immigrants, with good intentions, could be hurt, harmed or murdered period. This position is non-negotiable.

In terms of the Christ-ian faith,  immigrants, legal or illegal, will hear the Gospel of the Lord and Saviour of mankind in this country, whereas in other countries evil religions such as Islam, Hindu, Buddism run freely and rampant; persons are kept from the kingdom of Christ by the oppressive, false, evil, and soul-murdering prophets of the (s)atanic or (l)uciferian religions that steal, kill, and destroy.

Therefore this Christ-ian’s position on immigration is:
*”Do unto others as you would have done unto you.”
* This Christ-ian should not get entangled in the affairs of this world.
*This Christ-ian’s position is: Leave issues like this to our Sovereign God, Who makes all things work together for the good of His called, who are called according to His purpose and those that love Him.
* This Christ-ian’s position is: Laws are laws and they should not be broken, yet when God sees fit to bring immigrants, legal or illegal into this country or a cross my path, this Christ-ian will love his neighbor, he will love the alien, he will love the immigrant that God may put in his way.

To summarize: The Christ-ian should honour and uphold the laws of this country, this is Biblical and yet at the same time the Christ-ian should love the persons that are doing a right thing in a wrong way, and trust and know God is on the throne.

Methinks this is a fair, logical, and Scriptural position.  What think ye?
Godspeed.

“…How is it that [the Lord Jesus] eateth and drinketh with publican and sinners?”                                                                                                                                                 (Mark 2)

“And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh.”  (Jude 23)

Years ago, I walked into the foyer of a porn shop and asked if I might speak of God and Salvation through Christ.  I said it loudly because I knew I would not receive permission and I wanted to be heard by the persons in the den of sin, lust, depravity, and wickedness.  I then asked if I could leave Scriptural literature on the check out desk for others to read. They did not think that would be a good idea and did not give me permission to leave tracts.

However, while we might see places like the above as dens of evil, swamps of sin, and places off limit, we must not forget that the local grocery store is also a place filled with the unsaved. A Pastor and faithful friend pointed that out to me. The unsaved shopper, the porn addict, and the homosexual in the gay bar all have one thing in common.

The common denominator in all sinners is they are without Christ. The judgmental Christ-ian and worldly minded persons would not see the aforementioned as being the same, the shopper is certainly better than the porn addict and the homosexual, they might think. However, sin is sin is sin period.

It is acceptable, right and proper for Christ-ians to go where the unsaved are. However the Christ-ian cannot and must not use their witness as an excuse to engage in licentious and lewd behaviour. Peter tells us not to use our liberty as a cloak or license to sin. The abuse of liberty is unacceptable before God. Intentions and motivations matter to God and we are all naked be fore HIm.

The Christ-ian will not fool God by spending time with sinners and pleasuring in sin in the Name of Christ. Christ certainly spent time with sinners, but He was not infected or defiled by the sin and sins of sinners. Christ’s garments were not stained with sin nor was He influenced by sins of the sinner.

We have spent time with an elderly person who had fecies all over themselves so we could speak of the salvation of God. We were not effected by the the fecies of the person. We cared not about the fecies at all, we concerned ourself with the spirit and soul of the person, this is the Christ-likeness we all want to strive for. The Christ-ian can eat and drink with sinners as long as the intention and motivations are right and good. The Christ-ian can go into darkness as long as the intentions and motivations are godly and they remain unspotted.

Much of this article was inspired by another preacher’s message we heard on the radio.

It is acceptable to be a witness in the places of ill repute, but we must not be defiled or influenced by the places of ill repute. None should use the excuse of being a witness in places that are ungodly so that one might take pleasure in sin. The Christ-ian may go to places of ill repute, but the Christ-ian must remain unspotted and un-influenced or defiled by the sins s/he finds. As always it is as simple as this, God knows the intent and motivations of His people.

Godspeed.

“Therefore let no man glory in men…”  (1 Corinthians 3)

“And ye are Christ’s…”  (1 Corinthians 3)

In the relatively recent times many religious leaders have fallen from their positions due to sexual trespasses.  This trend is not exclusive to any one religion or faith. In the (c)atholic church there have been so many allegations and indictments of sexual immorality between priests and children.  In the fundementalist camps there have been a numbers of leaders that have fallen and have been disqualified or imprisoned for sex crimes.  In mainline evangelical ministries a fairly large number of pastors and other leaders have fallen, stepped down, or have been disqualified from ministry.

Billy Graham, thankfully, is an exception to these fallen leaders.

In the past when a religious leader was charged with failing it usually centered around money. This is why the world thinks and says that many ministries are in it for the money. This seems to have changed from the love of money, which is the root of all evil into base lust and concupisence and fulfilling sinful pleasures.

These men are always sorry after they have been caught. I’m not saying that they are not sorry or self-condemning before they are caught, maybe they are…they probably are, but not enough to stop.  I would imagine that many, though they lose everything and hurt many around them, are relieved when they are caught.

Why does this  happen? Are these men evil? I do believe some of them are psycho/sociopathic and have said so many times. They are not all pathologic, however. What is it that leads or drives these men into their own destruction, when they know better? Are these men to blame alone?  methinks, no.

In 1 Corinthians three (3) Paul is reproving the Corinthian church in his letter of setting men up as objects of praise and exaltation. The people were building cliques and camps.  Some would boast that they were of Paul, others of Apollos, others of Peter, and still others, realing Name dropping, Named Christ. The Corinthian way of thinking, that depending upon who it was that brought them to faith, gave them a hierarchy. Paul denounces this way of things fast and quick.

In Scripture we see men bowing to other men. Some gladly accepted this worship and praise, while others were terrified by it and condemned it. In both the Old and New Testaments, royalty would receive and expect and even demand deification. This is what allowed them to perform great and horrible crimes and acts of blasphemy and sacrilege.

Abimelech, Pharoah, Saul, Absolom, Ahab, Nebucheddnezzar, Manasseh and Herod in the New Testament are our examples. Even the great David and his other son, Solomon fell, at somepoint, due to the power and authority that went to their head.  God, in His mercy, dealt with Abimelech, David, Nebucchadnezzar, and Manasseh and they came through it with a sound testimony upon God’s Greatness and Mercy. However, Pharoah, Absolom, and Ahab did not and they stand as a reminder or a demonstration of God’s greatness, power, and God’s refusal to share His Glory with anyone.

It has been said that giving one power and authority will reveal a person’s true character and nature.  It has been said that absolute power absolutely corrupts.  It has been said, when the hero lives long enough the hero becomes the villain and these prove to be true more times than not.

What is it that can protect a leader from these dangers and temptations?
*One’s love, one thankfulness, one’s gratefulness, one’s acknowledgment to, for, and of God and His Preeminence.
*Humility
*Meekness
*One’s unprofitability to God
*The fear, reverence, praise, and worship of God and the submission to God and His will, purpose, and pleasure.
*Walking with God and abiding in and with God at all times.
*The acknowledgment of God’s greatness and one’s dependence upon Him
*The knowledge, acknowledgment and confession of sin in one’s life.
*The refusal to receive the idolatry and worship of others.

Examples of those that ignored the above:
We’ve already mentioned leaders that fell due to their acceptance of praise, deification and worship. We will (DV) be more specific below with some of the aforementioned.
*Pharoah, when Moses delivered God’s charge to release the people, said, “Who is the LORD to me.”
*Moses, even Moses, was disqualified from entering the promised land because of a momentary loss of temper and exaltation of self when he made himself somewhat equal with God in the performing of a miracle. Certainly Mose, a great man of God, did not mean this offense, but self-exaltation can happen very quick and very fast and God will not miss it. By this quick and very out of character mistake or sin committed by Moses could have been the beginning and could have led Moses into more self-exaltation, thus God remove him from his position, that was an act of loving kindness.
*Saul over-stepped into the office of prophet and priest, and became a murderer of many.  Saul, in his pride and self exalting view of self, disobeyed God’s specific commands, offered a sacrifice that was over his pay grade, and had eighty-five (85) priests of God massacered in his presence.  Samuel told him that he did well when he saw himself as little but went off track when he believed his own press. Saul’s lashing out at David began because the people praised Saul for killing thousands (1000’s) and David for his ten-thousand (10,000’s). This greatly offended and incensed Saul and from there he became a god unto himself.
*Herod, in the new Testament, accepted the praises of persons who said he spoke as a god. God struck him down. Worms ate him from the inside out and he died but his worm dieth not.
*Nebucchadnezzar built a large idol of himself, making him a god.  He demanded that all bow down and worship this idol that was made of many different metals and elements. God sent a spirit to vex him and Nebuchadnezzar finally broke under God’s pressure after seven (7) years.
Paul, in the Book of Romans, pointed out that God raised up and exalted Egypt’s Pharoah, in the days of Moses, for the sole purpose of knocking him down and making him an example and authoring the principle that one is to look to and at God alone.
*Even the great and good King David had trouble with power and authority. David took another man’s wife and had her husband killed in war to hide his sin and the unintended pregnancy of the dead man’s wife, Bathsheba.  David gave into a (s)atanic temptation to number his troops, which showed a trust in his strategies, forces, power and authority instead of trust in God’s delivering Hand and might power. How different this episode was from his early days when he put down the dog, Goliath. How different is this episode from the humble and meek trust Gideon had in God.

Reader, I am not beating up on these men above, no, not at all.  We are simply pointing out the humanness of every man and the great danger of overstepping boundaries. We see many men with the right hearts in Scripture that were successful and did not fall.
*Moses, mentioned above, began well and finished well, by God’s kindness and intervention or intercession.  When God chose Moses to be His mouth and representative, Moses saw himself unfit for this task.
*Gideon saw himself as unfit.
*David saw himself as a humble and dependent servant of God at the beginning and was reminded of it after sinning.
*Isaiah saw himself of unclean lips and found himself undone in God’s Presence.
*Jeremiah, the prophet, saw himself as not competant to be a prophet of God.
*Peter, when he came to the realization of Christ’s true Person, fell down to his knees and said he was a sinful man and told Christ to leave him. Later, when Christ began to wash the feet of Peter, Peter thought this to be too lofty to happen.
*When persons began to give worship to Paul, he reproved them and their actions quick and fast, he would not let it stand. Again, when the Corinthians began to build a hierarchy upon who brought the Gospel to them, Paul shut that monsterous machine down without hesitation or apology.

Reader,
It is idolatry and a condemning sin to exalt a man.  We cannot, cannot, cannot; we must not, must not, must not exalt men, ever…never ever…ever. It is a great disservive to the man that would be exalted, it brings a sin upon one’s self, and it is an affont to God. When a man receives and accepts such praise, adoration and accolations from persons, it is a great crime against God and will ultimately hurt the exaltered and the exalters and destroy ministry. The church, where this happens need not be a great mega church.
In John’s third epistle, Third (3rd) John, he states in his communication that the leader of a church, named Diotrephes (Paul named names) would not receive John or subject himself to John’s Christ-given authority.

John’s suggested his removal from leadership and replacing him with Demetrius who, “hath a good report of all men, and of the truth itself: yea, and we also bear record: and ye know our record is true.” John said further,  ” but I trust I shall shortly see thee, and we shall speak face to face.” Reader, what do you suppose their face to face conversation would include?  The dismissal of Diotrepes, no doubt.

The person exalted and self exalting preacher and pastor must be removed. This removal and disqualification is not a hateful or ill intentioned act. It is motivated by right, good, and true judgments.  The Man of God that has learned humility and meekness at the feet of Christ must be in the office of religious leader. The man that has been taught his place and role in Christ and in the church is the man that should be the undershepherd of Christ’s flock.  The man that walks in the fear of God should fill the office of pastor. The man who is defined by his walk with God is the man that should be a leader to God’s people.

When all eyes are Christ, all is well. When eyes are upon man, all is wrong.  This is a very simple and common sense principle.  When a known or even little known religious leader falls, there is accountability on all sides. The people are to blame for exalting a man and a man is blame-worthy for accepting exaltation.

This exaltation of men is a snare to all and it’s long term harmful effects is analogous to today’s trend of school shootings.  The children mix all the ingredients together that cook up the shooter by their disregard for his feelings and by their rejection and outcasting.

The fallen religious leader is also the product of the persons of the church putting their affections and adoration upon a fallible man and that fallible man drinking the proverbial “Kool-aid.”  There would be no Jim Jones. there would be no Charles Manson, there would be no Jack Hyles, there would be no Bob Gray, their would be no Tim Haggard, there would be no Bill Hybels, there would be no pedophiles in the Catholic church and there would be no catholic church itself if the people of God looked upon the Impeccable Christ Alone and not the infallible man.
“The fear of man is a snare.”

Even the close circle of Christ’s favoured; Peter, James, and John fell into this snare.  At the Mount of Transfiguration, they saw Christ glorified, they saw the future coming of Christ and His Kingdom, they even saw Moses and Elijah.  What was their reaction?  They wanted to build three (3) memorials to this event.  One memorial for Moses, one memorial for Elijah, and one for their best Friend, the Lord Jesus.

Peter, James, and John knew not what they were saying by these intents and words. However, God the Father put a dark cloud over Christ, Moses, and Elijah and condemned the idolization of Moses and Elijah. The Father said this is my Son, Look at Him Only. When the cloud faded, Peter, James, and John saw Christ only. This is a foundational and very, very “fundemental” principle that so many overlook and ignore to their own destruction and the tremendous harm to many others.

Reader, this is a principle that keeps everyone in their place and protects everyone from the snare of man. The exaltation  of man leads to the abasement, folly, and captivity of God’s people every time and always will. Exalting men never ends well. The Worship, the Exaltation, the Praising and the Adoration of God’s Only Begotten Son protects God’s people and keeps God’s economy in place.

Godspeed.

“For I am not ashamed of the [G]ospel of Christ…”  (Romans 1)

The Avon lady is a proclaimer of her product and she has a world view.  Salesmen proclaim the greatness of their product and they have a world view. Marketers and advertisers spend much money and make much money on their client’s products. Commercial actors all shout loud about their product and they talk with louder than life voices and make extreme expressions with their faces and they have a world view.

Everything above will, at some point disappear or vanish from memory.  These proclaimers or preachers are not ashamed but proud and loud in their advertisings and world views.

With the above written, why are Christ-ians too intimidated to share our Gospel and the Gospel is our Gospel that is good and relative to eternity? You could even say it out loud, “The Gospel of Christ is my Gospel.” Paul took ownership of the Gospel of Christ. He called the Gospel,  “my [G]ospel”  in his second (2nd) epistle or letter to Timothy in the second (2nd) chapter in verse eight (8).

We have a Gospel and this Gospel should be considered, my Gospel, my good news, my message. This Gospel is the Christ-ian’s world view. The Christ-ian person has a copy right patent and seal upon his or her Gospel (2 Timothy 2:21). The Gospel of our Lord is your Gospel and the Gospel is your world view. There should be no shame or embarrassment.  Your message and world view is the greatest message anyone could hear.  So, Why are we so timid and shy concerning and regarding the Gospel, your Gospel? Why?

Islamists and Jehovah witnesses have zero (0) problem to spread their lies and message of death and hate. Their news is bad news, our Gospel, your Gospel is, in literal terms, the good news.

The Lord Jesus stated more than once, if a person is ashamed of Him and His Passion and Good news, Christ, in turn, would be ashamed of them and would be ashamed to call them His brethren. This shame would take place before God and His Angels. There is no shame or embarrassment with your Gospel, the world and it’s god has somehow made the Gospel a message that intimidates it’s very own proclaimers. Brothers and sisters, this ought not to be.

The world’s religions and cults are lies and false doctrines. The world’s religions and cults are not true, right, or good. Every religion in the world is of satanick origins. Christ-ianity is the only faith that is founded upon historical, spiritual, and logical evidence. Only Christ Jesus made the claims of His deity. It is only Christ that promises eternity. The (b)uddah, the (h)indu, the Jehovah’s (w)itnesses, the Mormons, and all other cults are based upon a man that did not claim to be God or give specific, peculiar and precious promises.

[Side Note: the Jehovah’s (w)itness claim that Christ returned and met with their leaders in a secret chamber in 1914. I’m not joking, this is what their faith is set upon. The problem is, Christ said many will come in His Name, and claim to be the Christ, He said they will say, Christ is in the desert and He is in a secret chamber, the cult of J.w.’s actually say Christ came and met with them in a secret chamber and Christ said specifically not to believe those that say Christ is in a secret chamber yet the J.w’s still claim they met Christ in a secret chamber!!!!!!!!! (Matthew 24:26)

My point is this:  all the religions of this world are non-sensical and illogical, yet they still proselytize others. Christ-ianity is logical and makes all the sense the world could ever want, yet Christ-ianity is quiet and shy. This I do not understand and this ought not to be.

When our Lord Jesus said, “I am the [W]ay, the [T]ruth and the [L]ife” all other religions and faiths were made invalid, they became the wrong way, these religions are all lies and false teaching, and all they offer after death is nothing that makes any sense.

So why are we so quiet? Why are you so quiet about your Gospel? Our Christ-ian faith should be, must be LOUD. It is true, the Gospel will offend persons. The part of the Gospel that most leave out is this: All men and women are spiritually dead in their sins and trespasses and when they die they will fall into Hell. That is what all the world’s religions are doing, sending people; fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters aunts and uncles, grand-parents and everyone else to Hell. I never bought the lies about global warming, but now …looking at the claims of global warming; it makes sense as Hell is growing and reaching for the unsaved. Global warming is Hell growing larger and larger.

I am not ashamed of my Lord and Saviour and He is not ashamed to call me, His younger brother.

Godspeed.

“But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night, and said to him, Behold, thou art but a dead man, for the woman which thou hast taken: for she is the man’s wife.”  (Genesis 20)

“I know thy pride and the naughtiness of thine heart…”  (1Samuel 17)

In our previous article we spoke about the doctrine of God’s knowledge or Omniscience. We wrote about the Godhead’s knowledge of all things, including the thoughts, feelings, and actions of both the just and the unjust. We pointed out that the just are fine, good, and happy to know that God searched their hearts. On the other hand the unjust do not know that God knows their heart, or do not concern themselves with God’s knowledge of their hearts and that is their folly.

Why do the unjust not know or care of God’s omniscience?  If unjust persons do not know that God knows their thoughts, feelings, motivations, and intenttions, it is because no one has told them, “…how shall they hear without a preacher?” If the unjust do know or have been told or taught that God knows about their everything, they repress it or they tell themselves (maybe sub-conscieciously) God does not know about this, that, or it; ignorance does not make this truth go away.

The above is true of the just as well. David knew God knows all that is in him, yet he still committed his crime against God, against Bathsheba, against Bathsheba’s husband, against Joab, and the Israeli army. Just readers, we do this too.  We do wrong, and think wrong and we know that God knows. This truth speaks to:
*The old man, the old nature, the flesh, and our carnal nature remains but is divinely and graciously restrained.
*Our will to sin.
*Our weakness
*Our trust in Christ’s work of the post and pre-emptive propitiating of God’s Holiness, Righteousness and Justice.
*Our faith and hope in God’s Fatherly forgiveness, based in Christ’s perfect, permanent precious, peculiar, and pre-emptive payment for our sin, sins, iniquities, and trespasses.
*Our sins being committed in eternity past, per God’s foreknowledge, and Christ’s sacrifice that, is said by John, in Revelation thirteen (13) was, before the foundation of the world…Think about that for a while.
*our trust in God’s Fatherly patience and longsuffering.
*God’s restraining of our sense of fear of committing sin and knowing of His Omniscience. Think about it, If God did not restrain our fear of His knowledge of our sin, we would all give up and seek death. Our weakness, our will, and the Sin nature drives us to commit sins and we fail and fall while knowing God knows and sees all; how can we do that if God does not restrain our sense of fear, and our guilty feeling (no real guilt, Christ dealt with that for us but the sorrow and consciousness of doing wrong remains until we confess)? How merciful is our Lord?

When David came to bring food to his brethren on the field of battle, his elder brother charged David with pride and naughtiness. David had no pride or naughtiness in his heart at the time, pride and naughtiness was not his motivation for being at the field of battle. We should and the unjust should draw a great truth from this. If David’s elder brother saw something that was not in Davids heart, we and the unjust should know that God does see what is present in the heart of men. In John’s Gospel, he wrote that Christ knew what was in the heart of men.

If God restrains our fear and feeling of guilt when we sin before him so that we do not give up and go mad (Ecclesiastes 7), what does that say to and about the unjusts’s carelessness of God’s omnipresence. It tells us that sin and sins have hardened their hearts and knowledge against God’s Omniscience. What can soften and cause the unjust heart to fear and tremble with the knowledge of God’s knowledge of their everything?

The only truth that can soften the unjust heart and cause that heart to fear and tremble before God is the knowledge that God knows their everything and God is Holy, and Righteous, and is against their thoughts, feelings, intentions, motivations, unrighteousness, and ungodliness.

All the Scriptures can be summed up with: *God Is,  *Man Sins,  *God Knows, *God Hates, *God Loves, *Christ is Lord and Saviour and *God forgives.  Our message, our Gospel, God’s Word and Christ is that simple.  How shall they hear and know if we tell them not.

Godspeed.

“For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil.”  (Romans 13)

“Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men…”  (2 Corinthians 5)

“Thou knowest…” (Psalm 139)

“…and Hezekiah went up into the house of the LORD, and spread [the letter] before the LORD.”  (2 Kings 19)

One of the very, very foundational and basic truths of the Christ-ian faith is God knows all things. In Acts 15, we are told, “God knoweth the end from the beginning….”  Paul tells the Ephesians and us that God knew us (loved us) before the foundations of the world. God tells Jeremiah that He knew him before he was formed in the womb of Jeremiah’s mother. Paul tells Timothy that there is a foundational truth, that has the seal of God upon it and that truth is that God knoweth them that are his from eternity pass. This truth and these passages and those above should give us tremendous, great and sobering confidence in God’s love and knowledge of His own and all things that pertain unto us past, present and future.

David took comfort in the fact that God could search his opened and pure heart at all times.  Peter said unto Christ,  “Lord, [T]hou knowest all things…” and this was comfort to Peter. In one of the chosen texts above King Hezekiah took comfort and was glad to know that the LORD saw the letter that he set and spread before Him. Hannah, with her open, pure and broken, yet hopeful heart laid her petition before God and knew He heard her.

Reader, the chosen, the few, those that are loved of God and love God WANT God to know all things in their heart, their mind, and their life.  This openness and purity of heart is a sign, a mark, a comfort, an assurance, a hope, a confidence, a comfort, a consellation to the person of God.  Reader, this is one of those realities that tell and reveal unto us our condition before the Lord.

However, this is not true of the lost.  Either the lost care not what the Lord thinks of their thoughts, feelings, or actions or they pretend and hope it doesn’t matter. If this is true of a person, they are an atheist even if they say or pretend to believe in a god or higher power, but have no experiential knowledge or walk with this god or higher power.

If a person who is lost, knows the condition of their soul and believes that God knows all things about them, they would be, and should be terrified.  If these persons knew that God is, and that God knows, and recognised their condition before the Holy and sin hating God, they would be, and should be terrified.  An analogy: Imagine what a horror it would be and what kind of feelings one would have if one learned that their spouse has found out about a long time extra-marrital affair.

Another analogy:  Remember what it feels like when are caught speeding?  Remember the heart drop or the knot in the pit of your stomach? Remember when you were a kid and report cards were coming out and you knew your grades would disappoint your parents?  Try and imagine what it must feel like when a political or religious leader finds out a secret has been found out.

Reader, Again, this is one of the great differences between a child of God and the unsaved. When we sin, we know God knows yet it is still a comfort to know this. This speaks to a pure heart…even when we sin we want God to know and we are comforted by His knowledge and then we are thankful and grateful to receive His Fatherly forgivenness. We are comforted because the God-incarnate Man knows about the realities of temptation for He was tempted in all points as we are yet He remained without sin and sins.  Even His enemies could not find fault, they had to make up faults to project upon Him.

A word about the temptation(s) that were put before Christ. We know He was tempted by the Arch-(t)empter and failed not to remain Holy, Pure, and Righteous.  We know that He faced temptations everyday, all day.  The temptation to lash out against His enemies, think about this, He knew everyman’s thought at every second every day. He heard the sins of the flesh barking at Him at every moment as a guard dog would bark at strangers as they approach. He heard, and felt the sinfullness of sin that oozes out of every person.

Let me be very, very clear on this point of temptation and the Christ. Was Christ tempted by outside agents of sin and evil? Yes, there is no doubt. HOWEVER, in Christ’s purity and hunger and thirst for righteousness, He never felt the compulsion and the call to commit sin.

Christ never struggled with, “should I  or shouldn’t I.”  With that said, He did and does know the strength of compelling sin and the compunction to sin. An analogy: it would be like knowing it is freezing cold, but not feeling the cold or being hindered or effected by it’s effects to the human body.

This sinlessness was absolutely necessary for His future work on the part and the behalf of those in Him from the foundation of the world. It can be likened unto Superman (Christ is, by the way, the Original and Preeminent Super God-man). Superman, in the comics, would know he is being hit with a spectrum of bullets, but there is no effect to Him.  This is a way to understand Christ and temptation.

Another way to understand Christ and temptation. One who has never had crack cocaine would not have any kind of temptation or drawing toward the demon possessive likeness. This is what Christ meant when He said, “Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me.”

Christ had no strings of sin for the enemy to pull or play upon. It is because of His impeccability and purity and knowledge of sin and it’s power to kill that He could, would, and did hang upon your cross and my cross in our very stead and place. He put on the sinner and the sinner’s sin so that the sinner (You and me) could put on Christ and thereafter make no provision for the flesh. The grace, the faith, the hope, the love, the purity, the impeccability, the power, the strength, knowledge and wisdom of Jesus Christ was His defense and our defense against sin’s temptation and it still is.

We, with the Holy Ghost’s inhabitation, have a measure of Christ’s grace, faith, hope purity, power, strength, knowledge, and wisdom within us all and it is waiting to be used and appropriated, for He has given us “all spritual blessings.” As for Christ’s impeccability, it is still our future, our hope or expectation because God promised and predestinated us to that end.

The more we grow into Christ’s Image and likeness, the less will sin and sins call upon us and draw us.

God knows all of this and we do to. God knows we know all of this. We know that God knows we know all of this. God knows we know that He knows that we know all of this and that is one of the things that make our walk with God so Wonderful and assures us of His love.

Godspeed.

“But Jesus called them unto [H]im, and said, Ye know the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them. But it shall not be so among you…”  (Matthew 20)

“Neither as being lords over God’s heritage, but being ensamples to the flock.”  (1 Peter 5)

Reader, First let me say, Yes, I do Feel Like A Heel addressing the topic of fundementalism and dictatorship.  I do have a knot in my stomach when I write what I right. I do ache in my heart because I know I am hurting people when I write Jack Hyles had affairs, had traits of a psychopath, humiliated those around him in order to show his authority, turned his troubled son loose on others and spread his pharisee-ism and dictatorship style of pastoring through out the camp or circle of fundementalism. It may be that some must be hurt so that they can heal.

Some might say, “Hyles is dead, let it go.”  Let me use an analogy to explain my mission. Let us say a man infected with a contagious disease spread the disease every where he went and he did it knowingly. Let us say this man has died and perished. The disease he purposely spead is still alive and is airborne and has become a pandemic.  Should others not try and stop the spread of the disease?  Should others not inform innocent persons about this disease and educate them on where it began.  Should not others point this disease out and the origin of the disease so that it does not continue to spead?

Reader,
Fundementalism and it’s popes are the origin of the disease. I spoke of Hyles and yes Hyles is dead, but the disease continues. His son in law is in prison for taking an under age, a very under age girl across state lines and they were not going to Pacific Garden Missions.

Another of the great popes of fundementalism is Bob Gray of Pensacola.  He was convicted of deviant sex crimes against little girls.  Reader, I am going to write something (DV) that is very hard to write and again, I do have a knot in my stomach.  These fundementalist popes or dictators would often preach against women in pants.  Am i off base to wonder if they thought it was Biblical preaching or were they preaching girls and ladies in skirts and dresses for easier access. I am not trying to be crude or funny, not one little bit.

I know some may think this will be crossing a line, but I’m going to cross it.  I am in doubt of the salvation of many of these fundementalists.  Their method of salvation is say a quick prayer, no need of repentance, and  when these “converts” are not changed, these pharisaical proselytizers (Mt. 23) say, “it takes time” and we shouldn’t judge or we aren’t salvation police. WHAT!!!???  This is my point!!!  They say don’t judge, Scripture says “judge all things” (1 Corinthians 2).  They say we aren’t salvation police, the Scriptures say we will know them by their fruits and to mark them that are out of the way. But persons fall into this trap of listening to a man rather than God. When a man says, “Close your Bibles and listen to me”  any sound minded, Spirit-filled Christ-ian would know to part ways NOW. But when a man says, “Close your Bibles and listen to me” and the people do it…that is man-centered and  the Spirit of God is greatly angered.

What about the Christ-ians in these churches?
My heart aches for the believers in these churches and I have feelings of frustration because they are still in their death clothes, They have not heard Christ say, “Loose him, and let him go.” These are persons that think all is right because they know no different. These churches are legalistic and pharisaical and the believers know no better. I’ve been there, I know. I went to a service at Hyle’s church (It was and is Hyles church, it’s not Christ’s church, it’s Hyles church) one time. It was one time too many.

The service had nothing to do with God, it was the Jack Hyles Show, they even gave out videos of Hyles and his wife (poor lady) of their anniversary.  The message was, if you want a happy marriage do it Hyle’s way…don’t forget about his affairs. It was and still is all Hyles….Jesus, Who? Everyone was one hundred percent (100%) Hyles! If everyone was one hundred percent Hyles, what is left for Christ? Do you see my point?  No one can serve two (2) masters, Christ said that.  One cannot be Heil Hyles and worship Christ. The persons in the fundementalist church are captive and most fundementalist “pastors” are their captors.

These fundementalist churches are all about the outside.  For them service to the dictator…err,…. rather… their “service to God” is all outward, it must be seen and noted as in all cults.  I’m not speaking about every person in these churches, I am speaking about the legalistic and dictatorial spirit that take God’s people captive to man’s doctrines and traditions.
There are fine Christ-ians in these churches and they know all is not right but they know not what to do or how to do it. To leave a church, especially a fundementalist church is to be Abraham and leave every thing behind.  To leave the fundementalist church is to be like Paul and count every thing as lost. It’s not easy leaving a psychopathic preacher…..actually it’s not hard to leave the taskmaster, it is hard to leave friends and family and to leave them under the control of a pathological preacher man that has built a kingdom unto himself.

The Christ-ian must be focused upon Christ and Christ Alone. I understand that a pastor is necessary, if he wasn’t I would be nothing because God has given me the shepherd’s heart. However, when the faithful look to the pastor they should expect nothing less than Christ-likeness in that pastor. The people should see Christ in the pastor and if they see only a man without Christ-likeness, they are in a cult, they have been cornered with no where to run and they are captured and the pathological preacher, the dictator, the wolf in sheeps clothing, an anti-christ is pleased as only a self-centered, malignant cancer-like corruptor could be pleased.

Reader, Fundementalism must pass away if the Christ-ians in their prisons are ever to be set free.

Godspeed.

“This people draweth nigh unto [M] with their mouth, and honoureth [M]e with their lips; but their heart is far from [M]e.”  (Matthew 15)

We have taught before that sin comes in many forms.  We have noted the difference between sin and sins. Sin is the root of sins. Sins are the symptom of the greater problem, Sin. Sins cannot be conquered or mortified through the Spirit until the issue of Sin is addressed. Sin is the enemy, while sins are it’s servants.  One could think what (s)atan is to his demons is what Sin is to sins. In terms of our great God, one might say that Holiness and Glory are His core Attributes and all other attributes come from Glory and Holiness.

With the above being written, we add that even sins have their children. To be clear there in SIN, sins, and sin’s many forms and disguises. This is how deep sin goes in the whole of the human. One of the great sins of our time, yea, all times is adultery. As sins have their many forms and disquises so does adultery as adultery is a sin.

One must not think that adultery is defined solely by sexual intimacy and the fulfilling of the lusts of the flesh and giving in to concupisence. Our Lord teaches us that if a man lusts after another in his heart he has committed adultery in his heart already. This does not give the go ahead to fall into, stumble into, or to dive into adultery. Some persons possessed with a spirit of licentiousness might say, if I’ve done it already in my heart why not follow through with it. Of course this is not our Lord’s point. His point is, if a person entertains these lusts, they have committed the sin by their lust and desire.  He is also teaching us that when one entertains lusts in the imagination, one will at some point follow through with their desires.

Adultery takes other forms. God charges his people with adultery when they turn to other gods that are not gods. When the people of God in the Old Testament would worship and serve gods of other nations and look to graven images, they are playing the whore.  Playing the whore is a strong statement but committing spiritual adultery is a great offense to God.

What ways could believers be committing a type of adultery? There is emotional adultery and spiritual adultery. When a person takes comfort from someone other than their spouse or God, it is emotional adultery or spiritual adultery, respectively. Emotional adultery will lead to the physical and spiritual adultery will lead to blacksliding.

Pornography is a form of adultery. When a person sits at a screen and watches explicit material in order to be sexually satisfied, that person is committing adultery.

When one watches television or films and they find themselves cheering for a “will they or won’t they” this is cheering for sin and sins.  When someone cheers for a divorce so that another relationship can happen is cheering for sin and sins.  When someone cheers for the rebellious child who goes against parents, they cheer for sin and sins. When some hopes for young persons on television to “get together,” they are cheering for sin and sins. When one enjoys the dumbing down of the father figure, they are cheering against God’s economy and order.

Why would Christ-ians fall into this trap?
*The enemy of God and God’s people is subtle and sneaky in his machinations or tricks.  The enemy is very skilled in what he does.

*The old man, the old nature, the carnal nature still exists and depending upon what a Christ-ian does with it, they might strengthen it and empower it to destroy themselves and others and to go against God without realizing it.

*Since (s)atan is the god of this world, since (s)atan is the prince of the power of the air, since we wrestle against principalities, against power, against the rulers of darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places we should expect to be tempted and tried by these enemies. These enemies are subtle like their leader and they are here to distract us, discourage us, destroy us and to detour us from what is right, good, and true.

*Our own heart is against us, Jeremiah says it is deceitfully wicked and asks, “Who can know it?”

With all the above going against the Christ-ian is it any wonder why some are tricked into loving this world, while they believe they are doing things proper? Is it any wonder why Christ-ians can be in the world and not realize it? Our enemies are actively fighting against us, while Christ-ians are passively thinking all is well and cheering on what God hates.

How are we to snap out of this state of worldly hypnotism?
*One must desire to be right with God and understand that will make one wrong with this world and this world and the enemies will fight back. The desire to be right with God is the foundation to being right with God. If one does not constantly check one’s desire and focus to be right with God, one will wander, ask Christian from Pilgrim’s Progress.

*One must remember that the Christ-ian is to “judge all things.”  This means the Christ-ian is to discern what is right/wrong, true/false, good/bad. This discernment is to be based upon the objective Word of God and not one’s feelings or “holy” opinions.

*Once one has done the above, one then must act upon the judgments derived from the Word of God. That means all things will be seen in accordance to God’s judgments. That means one will no longer cheer for what is wrong and bad and false on television. That means one will begin to reign in the heart. That means one will recognize and acknowledge all the enemies that are actively seeking one’s destruction and the destruction of the family and the church and begin to actively fight back….

To actively fight back we will begin to “fight the good fight.” One fights the good fight by understanding the world is the enemy and one must rely upon the Word of God, one must rely upon one’s walk with God or rather the God Who walks with us as we seek to be near Him, and one must pray and watch, watch and pray. One must keep the whole armour of God upon one’s person, one must always have the shield of faith and the sword of the spirit at hand. One must put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the flesh.

To summarize: We must choose God and ALL His ways or the world and all it’s ways and be not deceived, none can serve two (2) masters and all will stand before the judgment seat of Christ and that is where He will ask us all what we have done and been with all that He has given us and made us.  This is very sobering to me.

Godspeed.

“…[D]o I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.”  (Galatians 1)

“Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.”  (1 Corinthians 11)

AS I look back on my years of service to the Lordship of Christ, I find that I have spent much of my faith on just a few principles.  I put much focus on the BIGNESS of God and the Sovereignty of God.  I have also tried to teach others how to dwell in the Presence, the sensed Presence of God at all times. In other words, I have tried to explain what Christ was and is now to His disciples, the Holy Spirit is to each of us.

I have put a lot of faith toward teaching others how to walk with God. Of course these are not my only teachings as i am more of a extemporaneous expositor of the Word.  That means I use few if any notes and I teach line by line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little. This method of preaching and teaching keeps everyone honest and does not allow a man to overtake or lord over Christ’s Flock.

When we begin to preach or teach, I ask everyone to open their Bibles.  This is how one is accountable to Christ and those Christ has put in one’s sheepfold.  When a man says, “Close your Bibles and listen to me.”  a great BIIIGGG red flag should go up.  When a man says something like that, if a person is truly saved, the Holy Spirit is yelling,  Get Out Now!!! Get Out Now!!!  Get Out Now!!! If the person is under a man that says, “Close your Bibles and listen to me”  does not get a warning from the Holy Spirit of God, well then, maybe they are in the right place, they are lost but in the right place.

Oh’ I have gotten ahead of myself.  I haven’t disclosed my other principle that I beat like a dead horse. MAN WORSHIPING CHURCHES ARE NOT OF GOD, but are of (s)atan.  I have recently been told why a friend of mine does not attend church.  His reason?  An eight (8) year old family member was fondled by a person in a church in Indiana.  Loyalty to this kind of wickedness and man-centered worship is inexcusable.

In my years with Christ, I have seen many, so many persons worship the preacher in the stead of Christ.  I have seen these men accept this cult worship.  When Herod was compared to a god, he accepted such praise. His life was ended by worms eating his guts out.  When Paul, Barnabas, Peter, or an angel is given wrongful worship, they stop it immediately. They shut it down fast and quick, this is what a servant of Christ does.

There are two (2) things I think every preacher should fear.  Number one (1) is being shelved.  Number two (2) is having his flock exalt him.  If a man accepts the blind loyalty of “his” people in the place of faithfulness to Christ, this man is a wolf, this man is a psychopath or sociopath.  This man is dangerous and if this man has reach and blind loyalty of others there is no limit to the damage he will cause, he is like his father the devil and the lusts of his father, he will do.

I was walking with two (2) men and a boy many years ago.  One of the men is the boy’s father. The other man was an evangelist.  The little boy blurted out, “You’re my favorite preacher” to the evangelist. I felt sad for his father. The evangelist took no time at all to reprove the little boy. The evangelist said, “There should never be favourite preachers in the minds of the people.” Christ is Who we worship and answer to. It is Christ Who we are loyal to.

When a man accepts the worship of a flock of Biblically illiterate followers he does things like…..STAND UP, SIT DOWN, STAND UP, SIT DOWN. to “his” deacons. Yes, a man that accepted the worship of others would call upon “his” deacons to stand up, now sit down, stand up, sit down.  This man did this to show his power.  This is text book Psychopathy. Sometimes I feel like a broken record, saying there’s a sociopath, there’s a psychopath but they are there.

Psychopaths and sociopaths are drawn to power and control and authority. Not all Psycho/sociopaths are seriel killers. Many pathologicals are CEO’s, politicians, and preachers. These types find their place and they begin to build a kingdom unto themselves.

Christ warned us of those that would come in His Name and bring harm to the people of God. It seems that not many persons are taking Him seriously on this matter.

How does a pathological preacher build a kingdom unto himself?
*Easy-believism
*Build a community of non-thinkers.
*Food, Fun, and games.
*Bus routes to get inner city kids to his kingdom.
*The Word of God will be twisted and turned in such a way that it makes sense…some kind of sense anyway to a Biblical illiterate.
*”Close your Bibles and listen to me.” This kind of preaching reminds me of the serpent in the garden.
*Get others involved in his sin so they remain loyal and he remains free to build his kingdom unto himself. AKA Blackmail.

How do we know when his kingdom is set and in place?
*Persons knowing his sin and doing nothing about it.
*When persons wear one hundred percent (100%) Worshiped Man buttons on their clothing in support of the pathological preacher.
*When a little eight (8) year old girl is fondled and nothing is done about it.
*When the man tells his cult not to believe what they read or see and the cult obeys.
*When the pathological preacher sends his deviant son to other places to wreak havok and no one says anything.
*When the preacher’s fifty-something year old son in law takes an under-aged girl out of state to dine her and know her, Biblically, while his wife is at home. That is how you know the “church” is really a kingdom unto a pathological preacher.

The fear of man is a snare to all.  The fear of God is the beginning of all things good.

Godspeed and please know we are not finished with this wickedness.