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Our Relationship with Jesus

Come Away with the Lord God desires a personal, intimate, relationship with each one of us. This list of scriptures helps to reveal God’s heart on this matter.

The Love of God

First Love Who (or what) do you love more than anything else? If we are honest with ourselves, many of us will say someone or something other than Jesus. But Jesus desires this place in our lives. Remember what it was like when you were first a Christian? God wants this love aflame in each one of us again.

Repent!

Concerning Repentance -Part One and Part Two All people, including Christians, are being called to repentance. God wants each one of us to break up the fallow ground of our hearts, turn from wickedness, and seek Him. In this time of increased wickedness we need to be secure in Him and this can only happen through repentance.

God's Wrath We have chosen our ways over God’s ways and are incurring His judgment. We have been a shameful nation, but we can change. Will we?

The Church

Who or What is the Church?

Authority and Accountability Our spiritual authority is in Christ. We are accountable only to Him. What He has instructed us to do we can do in His power and with His authority. We are to respect secular authority. But there are times when we will need to obey God rather than man. Church leaders need to be examples to “the flock.” We are not to “Lord” over other Christians. There is only One Lord and He is to be the only Lord of all.

Membership

Ministries

Christianity vs. Churchianity

Let’s Be Unified

Denominationalism: One Body, One Head God desires His Church to be in unity…with Himself and each other. We are One Body with Christ as our Head. Some teach that we are a multi-headed body. Denominationalism teaches that we are a multi-bodied head. Since there is one Jesus and He teaches that we are One Body, we need to live and act as such.

Strife and Division

Unity and Division

Our Sinfulness

Gossip and Slander - The Deadly Sins We are killing each other by the way we talk. Gossip and slander are devastating reputations and hindering our relationship to God and each other. It’s time to deal with these sins and here’s how…

Favoritism and Discrimination This chapter deals with a smorgasbord of modern day issues. We need to view each other through the eyes of Christ. He does not distinguish us into different categories because of color, sex, culture, social or economic status. He looks at our hearts. Based on the most recent medical data, each heart is basically the same regardless of these other differences….God does not look at your outward appearance but at your heart (and not your physical one…in case you missed it, the “medical” sentence was a joke). He sees our attitudes and actions toward each other and Him. This is important. We are one in Him. Segregation, when rooted in favoritism or hatred, is sin.

Ask yourself the following: Do I discriminate or show favoritism? To help answer this question and evaluate your lifestyle. Are your friends (and how many are) of different color, sex, culture and status as you? How many books, movies, music recordings, and pieces of artwork do you own that are created by or portray people of different color, sex, culture and status? Describe your church fellowship in these terms as well. Then ask yourself why you associate with these items and people. Many of us are more discriminatory than we realize.

Our tunnel vision not only affects our personal lives, but our ministry as well. We commonly discriminate on the basis of sex, color, and social graces in our pulpits. Our pastors have to fit a certain mold. This limits God and hinders the ministries of many people. We need to repent of our mindset in this area. ALL can minister to ALL…. women can teach men….single and married individuals can minister together….churches of one social or economic status can minister to churches of another….all kinds of people can fellowship with each other! WE can be ONE in Christ!!

Covetousness Many Christians in our culture are encumbered by the sin of covetousness. We think that being a Christian entitles us to financial gain. The scriptures clearly teach that the “godliness is financial gain” preaching is false and leads to destruction. Instead, godliness is the gain that we need (and it has no calories!) Love God…not the world.

The Rich and the Poor

God's Perspective on Wealth How should we handle our finances? In a nut- shell, God's perspective is: We are to be content with food and clothing and we are to pursue the things of God.

How much are we supposed to give? Is tithing the measure of our giving?…Read this chapter to find out the Biblical answer.

Spiritual Riches cannot compare with Physical Wealth Who is poor and who is rich? Find the answers to being truly wealthy in this chapter.

Who are the Poor and the Rich What causes someone to be poor? There are three reasons I examine: sin, choice, and oppression. Sin often leads to poverty, depending on the nature of the sin. Sin definitely leads to spiritual poverty because it separates from God. However, there are some particular sins that lead to physical poverty - laziness, greed, love of pleasure, drunkenness and gluttony.

On the other side of the coin (bad pun intended), what are some of the causes of being rich? There are ways of becoming rich through extortion, robbery, drug dealing and other illegal activities. But I would like to address the causes of being "honestly" wealthy.

First of all, the Lord is ultimately the source of all wealth. He created our natural resources. He gave us intelligence and ingenuity and with one or more of these combinations we are able to produce wealth. Diligence and giving to others are causes of becoming rich.

God's Message to the Rich The Lord has specific instructions and counsel for those who are wealthy in this present life. First, recognize God is the giver of wealth. He created everything - jewels, gems, talents, knowledge, the land that you own, the food that you eat, the material which makes up your houses and buildings and the material that makes up the clothing you wear - all comes from Him; He created everything. Those things that have made you wealthy are originally from God and they still are God's. So, be thankful for what He has given you. "For by Him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. (Col. 1:16,17 NIV)

Wealth and riches will not take care of your souls. You cannot pay for the things eternally with the things that you own physically. "No man can redeem the life of another or give to God a ransom for him--the ransom for a life is costly, no payment is ever enough--that he should live on forever and not see decay. For all can see that wise men die; the foolish and the senseless alike perish and leave their wealth to others. Their tombs will remain their houses forever, their dwellings for endless generations, though they had named lands after themselves. But man, despite his riches, does not endure; he is like the beasts that perish. This is the fate of those who trust in themselves, and of their followers, who approve their sayings. Like sheep they are destined for the grave, and death will feed on them...their forms will decay in the grave, far from their princely mansions. A man who has riches without understanding is like the beasts that perish." (Ps. 49:7-14,20 NIV)

"Wealth is worthless in the day of wrath but righteousness delivers from death." (Proverbs 11:4 NIV) The good news is that all (wealthy or impoverished) can be delivered from death by the righteousness of Jesus by turning over trust from wealth to Jesus. Knowing and trusting Jesus is the best (and only) security deposit that will get us to heaven.

Read this chapter to identify the “pit”-falls concerning wealth – for some of them could have eternal consequences.

Concerning the Poor God is the helper of the poor. The Lord is our rescuer, also. This chapter contains encouragement and comfort for those who are physically poor. Instructions are given to the Christian as to his/her responsibility to the poor. Common questions are answered such as, "When do we give to the poor?" Why should we give to the poor?” and “How do we minister to the poor?”

Some of us need to stop oppressing the poor while others need to give to their enemies.

Giving The Church as a whole needs to refocus concerning finances. Leaders need to stop putting monies into buildings that are unnecessary or superfluous, into programs that are dead works, and into materials that have an abundance of doctrinal error. The Lord will judge the leaders of His people who oppress the poor. The tithing error is addressed with emphasis on sound doctrine

How to Understand the Bible

Love of the Truth What is the one thing that Christians need to preserve themselves in eternity? Is it love? Is it faith? What is it? What is going to keep us from error…what is going to keep us from straying? What is going keep us saved??

We need to receive the love of the truth. The purpose of the love of the truth is to conform to God's character and to keep our guidance perfect or pure. I have found in my studies that the only thing that keeps me from error is the love of the truth. Nothing else. It is not my good intentions. It’s not the amount of love I have, or the faith I have, or the hope that I have - all these will not keep me from error. Again, I get back to "we must love the truth." If we love the truth, the Holy Spirit is going to get through. If we love the truth, the true ministers are going to get to us. If we love the truth, we are going to rightly divide the Word of God. God will not let us come into a false teaching, at least not for very long, IF WE LOVE THE TRUTH. In fact, the statement of our willingness to search and study, to test the spirits, take apart the word of God, challenge teachers and leaders, is the measure of our willingness to not be led astray and that's what will keep us pure on the day of salvation. That is going to keep us safe. That is going to keep our guidance right.

Did you ever have that little twinge in your heart and you didn't do anything about it? You are in danger of being deceived. Did you ever remember something in the scripture that you read that does not seem to agree with what is being taught…what is being taught does not quite make sense in relation to that verse or passage, but you don't follow up on it? You are in danger of being deceived. All these are things we have to fight, but laziness is the big factor in this whole equation. Love the truth, receive the love of the truth, and then be diligent. You can't be lazy.

Rightly Dividing the Word of Truth Do you love the truth… more than anything else… your family, career, friends, your beliefs, yourself?! Your life depends upon it! Our life is based on what our doctrine is. Our salvation and our relationship with Jesus is based upon what we believe. Our relationship with God depends upon our continuing in Jesus’ teaching. Jesus said, "If you hold to my teaching, then you are really my disciples…" (John 8:31 NIV) The quality and depth of our relationship with Jesus is based upon our knowledge and doctrine of Jesus.

Do ever wonder what God’s will is for your life? Knowing God's will involves knowing God's Word. We need to love His truth. We need to be able to handle the word of God correctly. We are to do our "best to present ourselves to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth." (2 Tim. 2:15 NIV) "For all Scripture is God-breathed, and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God (each of us) may he thoroughly equipped for every good work." (2 Tim.3:16,17 NIV)

12 Principles of Biblical Interpretation Have you ever wondered how you could understand the Bible? Have you ever asked, “Why are there so many different opinions about a single Bible topic or passage?” One of the main reasons that there are so many different teachings is because the scriptures are not properly interpreted. Learn for yourself the principles needed to accurately understand the Bible in this chapter. “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.” (2 Timothy 2:15)

The Difference Between the False and the True

There is a practical way of knowing if something is from God or not….Does it agree with the Bible? Someone is speaking the truth if he/she speaks according to the New Testament Scriptures. This means that the scriptures are not taken out of context. They are not being distorted to suit someone's own purposes but instead the scriptures are being allowed to speak for themselves.

Those who are not from God will speak from the viewpoint of the world and the world will listen to them. They will not listen to and heed the words of the Bible. They will make up their own words that are distortions or inaccurate interpretations of the Bible. They won't believe what the truth is; they will make up lies to replace the truth. Those people are not from God!

In a nutshell, that's how we recognize truth from error.

Who is on God's Side? Who is on Satan's Side? This chapter tells my testimony of becoming a Christian. It also identifies what makes someone a Christian. It also helps people to identify those who “say” they are a Christian but really aren’t. Following the guidelines mentioned will help keep Christians from being eaten alive by those on Satan’s side.

Our Foundational Doctrines Have our foundational doctrines become polluted? Many of us don't even know what the foundational teachings are. We can quote that we believe Jesus is the Son of God. He died for our sins on the cross. He rose again from the dead so we can have eternal life. This is an excellent introduction to Christianity. However, do we really know what the Bible says about the foundational teachings? Do we know what they are?

Hebrews 6:1,2 lists the six basics:

Repentance from dead works
Faith toward God
Baptisms
Laying on of hands
Resurrection of the dead
Eternal judgment

This chapter describes each of these foundations.

God’s Ways or Our Ways

What is Judgment? To judge or not to judge, that is the question. Before this question can be answered one needs to ascertain what judgment is and how judgment relates to the Christian and non-Christian. “Judgment” will be presented in two parts. Part 1 will cover the topic of final judgment of mankind by God. Part 2 will describe how we should judge ourselves and others.

Love of the World Who owns your heart? Does Jesus own it, or does the world?? The Bible says, "Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world--the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does--comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever." (1 John 2:15-17) This chapter helps each one of us to identify if we are God’s friend or enemy. Read it for more details.

God's Ways vs. World's Ways

We need to stop compromising with the world. We are in it but not of it. We do not do things the way the world does. We are new creations in Christ - doing things His way, in His time, not our way, not in our time.

Many of us have felt a dryness. We feel we are in a desert. Guess what? We are in a desert! We have been deserted (in a manner of speaking) and we are dessert! Because of our acceptance of the world's ways, our acceptance of impure, polluted teachings, because of our choosing to do things our way rather than God's way (i.e. disobedience and rebellion) we are in a very dry place. God has deserted us. Although in reality He is always present.

He is quietly waiting for us to become so tired of this dryness that we would start turning to Him again to be refreshed. There is water in this desert! God is reaching out to us with His water... cool, pure refreshing water. But we have to choose to stop drinking polluted water, water mixed in this world with its sin and compromise.

Make up your mind today to obey God rather than rebel against Him. Ask Him to change your heart and He will.

Glory! Glory! Glory! In all the blessings God has given us in what do we "glory"? Or who do we glorify? God does not want us to glory or boast in ourselves but in Him. Oftentimes we boast about our wisdom, our talents, our abilities, or our riches. But "...'Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, let not the mighty man glory in his might, nor let the rich man glory in his riches; but let him who glories glory in this, that he understands and knows Me; that I am the Lord, exercising loving kindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. For in these I delight,' says the Lord." (Jeremiah 9:23,24) It is not good to seek one's own glory. This is not glory. (Proverbs 25:27) We should not want the glory of other men (Mt. 6:2) nor the glory of this world (Mark 4:8). We should only glory in Jesus for Jesus is our glory (Luke 2:32).

Idolatry

Baptism of the Holy Spirit

Hostility in the Church

To Live or Not

To My Shepherds

Christians and the Arts?

Sex

Astrology, Sorcery and the Occult

Insights about the State of our Nation from a Prophet’s Perspective

Isaiah

Amos

Ezekiel God’s judgment is described using the scriptures in Ezekiel. There is an amazing parallel between some of these historical passages and our current status as a Church (and nation) today.

Jeremiah: Concerning False Prophets There are many false prophets, pastors, and teachers that are being listened to by Christians today. They speak comfort to itching ears. They speak lies to those who want to live in sin. On the contrary, there are true prophets who speak God’s words from God’s heart. They are being ignored and persecuted because they speak about God’s judgment upon this nation and against sin. We need to hear the true and reprove the false. Like the man who remained stiff-necked after many rebukes, we are in danger of suddenly being destroyed without remedy.

Message to the Church

The World’s Deadly Philosophies

Effects of Evolution on Society

The "Beast"-ly Philosophies: 666

The State of Our Nation

Message to Our Nation Part One and Part Two

Economic Collapse and Coming Judgment God has decreed an economic collapse for the United State of America. His judgment is upon this land because of our wickedness. We will see things that this generation has never seen before. Devastation has already begun and will continue for a time. Our only place of refuge is in Jesus Christ. He is our only provider and protector.

Lamentations: Final Warning to America

To My Children/Why so many Murders?

The Time is at Hand