Friday, May 29, 2009
Wanted To Comment On Jim's Post Below
Numbers 11:5We remember the fish, which we did eat in Egypt freely; the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlic:The Jews had just about enough of desert life under Moses and started to complain to one another.
One of Satan's prime darts that he shoots is aimed at the emotions. He always uses the past as if it were more to be desired above then the present sufferings. He will 'sugarcoat' your past and make it look so inviting to the point of fabrication.
As you will notice the Jews talk about fish being eaten freely with the delicacy of cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic. All of which they never truly got as slaves under ownership of Pharaoh. Especially the leeks, onions and garlic which was reserved for royalty.
Notice how the enemy shot Jim. See how the same enemy dart, used for thousands of years is still being employed against all of us at one time or another. This is why we read Paul the apostles admonition:
Ephesians 6:
12For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
13Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
14Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;
15And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
16Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
17And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
18Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;
13Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
14Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;
15And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
16Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
17And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
18Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;
Read Jim's post. I am willing to guess that if we could have been there we would have seen that the period of time, when Jim was 16, was not so wonderful at all for him. But Satan tried to make it seem as if it were such a great period in Jim's life.
Typical emotional dart from the enemy. He always tries to get us when we are away from home. Jim was coming back from his trip to southern CA, away from his much loved family. And wham! But Jim was aware enough to recognize the attack against him.
We have to guard our emotions with the helmet of salvation etc...
Apostle Paul knew full well what he was talking about.
Paul wrote Ephesisans six while a prisoner of the Romans. He saw the Roman guards and their military trappings and most likely came up with his analogy of armour. None the less the point comes across that we must be ever vigilant against those fiery darts from our enemy. We are in a spiritual battle and the enemy:
1Peter 5:
8Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
9Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.
9Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.
David Sloane
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Monday, May 25, 2009
Spiritual Insight?
I have never really been asked by anyone what I think may have happened to Brant Baker's Shekinah Fellowship. If anyone is interested here would be my answer:Any ministry comes under spiritual attack, comes with the territory. Paul had those who followed him around, always trying to kill him if they could. I even think that his referenced 'thorn~in~the~flesh' might have been those who were always after him. Think about it. There he was, someone who had the authority to go after Christians wherever he could find them. Acts 8:3 Acts 9:1 Saul most likely had some equally fervent young men such as himself who were his sidekicks in this task of going after Christians.
Suddenly their leader does a 180! Acts 26:14 Now Saul who has mysteriously changed direction and even to the point of changing his name, is an enemy. They were livid I am sure and vowed to get Paul. So we read about this 'thorn' appearing in a lot of places that Paul preaches.Acts 9:24
Brant Baker had a lot of issues on his plate as well as being in a ministry. A ministry that was having an effect upon so many others.
Read on: (scroll up after the link jump)
http://shekinahfellowship.blogspot.com/2006/10/what-happened-to-shekinah-fellowship.html#links
Dynamic Definition
The theological "belief-system" of contemporary Christian religion has given definitions to most Biblical words which have a narrow, historical, static connotation, rather than an on-going dynamic meaning. This has disallowed many Christians from properly understanding the Scriptures, in that they approach the text of Scripture with a static presuppositional "grid" of vocabulary and understanding.It is not that the "popular", orthodox definitions are inaccurate, per se, only that they are inadequate to convey the vital, Spirit~empowered activity of Christian life. The need exists to explain the dynamic implications of these Biblical words, and that in complete accordance with their original etymological and linguistic meanings.
"GOSPEL"
It is common knowledge that the word "gospel" means "good news." The question we must ask is" Good news of what? Many perceive "gospel" to be the good news of the Christian "belief-system," or the good news of the formulated doctrines of the Church. Others may think of the good news of the historic advent of Jesus as recorded in the four Gospel narratives of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. The deficiency of these definitions is evidenced in the static quality of both history and theology.
This historicizing and theologizing tendency was evident even from the first century of Christian history. Ignatius used "gospel" in the dynamic sense of Christ as center and goal of salvation history, but in Iranaeus, Eusebius and Clement of Alexandria the word "gospel" came to designate a tradition, a corpus of teaching, a book or books. As Gerhard Friedrich indicates in the Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, "The gospel records an historical event, but this event transcends ordinary history. Similarly, it consists of narratives and teachings, but it also relates to human reality and shows itself to be living power." (Dynamic) "It cannot be grasped in the ordinary way; divine revelation takes place in it. Martin Luther concurs by writing, "The gospel is not in truth that which is written in books and set down in letters, but rather a spoken message: living word..." (Dynamic)
A more dynamic definition might then be that the "gospel" is the good news of the vital indwelling life of the risen Lord Jesus Christ by which mankind is restored to functional humanity as God intended.
Paul states his theme for Romans, "I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power (dunamis~dynamic) of God for salvation to everyone who believes..."
Romans 1:16
Whoa...
Total Pro Sports - Broken bat hits can often be good for a bloop single. Sometimes they even get the fielders confused, creating just enough time for the batter to squeak out an infield hit. But a broken bat home run? That's just unheard of, unless of course your name is Mark Teixiera, and you are playing in the new Yankee Stadium.
In a game with the Philadelphia Phillies yesterday afternoon, the Yankee slugger made his way to the plate in the 6th inning with no runners on, his team down by two. One swing later and Texiera would hit his 13th home run of the season, with only half of the bat remaining in his hands. The dinger would bring the Yanks within one, and they would eventually tie things up before losing in extra innings.
Some will say that Teixiera, whose numbers have been quickly improving with Alex Rodriguez back, used raw power to get that ball over the fence. Others will blame the new stadium, which has surrendered 81 homers through its first 21 games. It is likely that both played factors in the Teixiera bomb, but with the way the ball is flying out of the Yankee Stadium these days, steroids may not be the only issue producing asterisks in the record books.
Look at Texiera's bat shatter after making contact. Doesn't seem to prevent the ball from leaving the park though.
In a game with the Philadelphia Phillies yesterday afternoon, the Yankee slugger made his way to the plate in the 6th inning with no runners on, his team down by two. One swing later and Texiera would hit his 13th home run of the season, with only half of the bat remaining in his hands. The dinger would bring the Yanks within one, and they would eventually tie things up before losing in extra innings.
Some will say that Teixiera, whose numbers have been quickly improving with Alex Rodriguez back, used raw power to get that ball over the fence. Others will blame the new stadium, which has surrendered 81 homers through its first 21 games. It is likely that both played factors in the Teixiera bomb, but with the way the ball is flying out of the Yankee Stadium these days, steroids may not be the only issue producing asterisks in the record books.
Look at Texiera's bat shatter after making contact. Doesn't seem to prevent the ball from leaving the park though.
Friday, May 08, 2009
Jesus Christ Son Of God Son Of Man
John 8:28Then said Jesus unto them, When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am he...John 12:32And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.
The Jesus People of the sixties were very successful in evangelism because they were not pointing to any 'brand name' church or organization of any sort initially. They were not speaking to anyone about a religion or of their way of living life.
No. They told anyone that would listen about the person of Jesus Christ. They told people about His great love for them and how He had died for their sins on a cross. And that Jesus wanted them to accept that fact and be born again. They earnestly proclaimed "Jesus Loves You" to others and then told the Good News of the Gospel message.
Then slowly that all changed as many older well intentioned men of God took them in and started to organize them and train them in their angle points of the 'Christian experience.'
The message thereafter, that they told others, was altered to 'Come to our church, you will like it. You will be amazed at our Bible teacher etc...
They left the simple lifting up of Jesus before others and became extensions of what ever group had accepted them. They begun to lift up their particular fellowship or church to others. No longer were the Jesus People a cohesive family of lovers of Jesus Christ. They had become loyal to their particular brand of Christianity and therefore their message reflected that.
Soon the Jesus People Movement waned and sputtered out until all that was left were differing denominations, fellowships, groups and gatherings. The message on the street was a subtle "Where do you fellowship?" If you did not attend one of the 'approved' factions you were given the left foot of fellowship booting out...
The awesome untrained family of the Jesus People that had evangelized the highways and byways of life freely were now educated and would not receive another if they were not of their particular stream of churchianity or doctrinal persuasion.
They left behind, Romans 12:5So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another. 1 Corinthians 10:17For we being many are one bread, and one body: for we are all partakers of that one bread. 1 Corinthians 12:13For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. 1 Corinthians 12:20But now are they many members, yet but one body. Ephesians 4:4There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;Colossians 3:15And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.
It is a sad fact of history that when Christians are persecuted they tend to lower their sectarian walls and restrictions and only then recognize one another as being in the same family of God, the Body of Christ. Then they will lift up Jesus Christ before others.
Do you want results in evangelism? Then lift up Jesus Christ and He will draw all unto Himself. So simple a child can do it. Leave behind the message of how wonderful and great your fellowship or church or group is and share Jesus Christ the Son of God Son of Man!
John 10:30I and my Father are one.
John 17:22And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one:
Romans 12:5So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.
1 Corinthians 3:8Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour.
1 Corinthians 12:12For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ.
1 John 5:7For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.
Thursday, May 07, 2009
Wednesday, May 06, 2009
RULES OF RELIGION:
Restrict the spirit of man.Restricting or limiting the work and ministry of the Holy Spirit by removing the gifts and callings of God is a very effective device used by Satan to block the power of God’s Spirit from working with the spirit of man. It stops young people from pursuing the truth of supernatural things from God and attributes them to the devil.
When religious Christianity restricts the five fold ministry of Ephesians 4:11 to only three, they automatically limit the gifts of the Spirit to the 1st century church leaving the younger generation of today with nothing more than dead religion. The ‘Born again’ spirit is quenched by doctrines of demons that rob new believers.
The dead works of predictable religion are in direct opposition to Romans 11:29, “For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.” God has not changed his mind about giving all nine gifts of the Spirit that are listed in 1 Corinthians 12:8-10; nor has he revoked any of the five callings of Ephesians 4:11.
According to the WORD OF GOD, the Son of God ascended far above all heavens, that he might fill all things (Ephesians 4:10). Now that he has ascended, he fills all things. The scripture does not say that he empties all things, or deletes anything. It says he fills all things.
The context of Ephesians 4 is that God gave gifts and callings to the church after Jesus ascended. It does not speak of the gifts and callings that were already in place prior to his ascension. The twelve apostles of the Lamb were already made apostles before Christ’s ascension. When God gave some apostles and prophets to the church for the perfecting of the saints and for the work of the ministry it was without question after the ascension.
If the church was already perfected it would not be in need of apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors or teachers. They are given by God for the perfecting of the saints and they will remain in place until such time that, whatever the Bible means by perfection, is complete.
We know that when Jesus comes again we will be like him. 1 John 3:2 “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not appear what we shall be: but we know that when he shall appear, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.” When does this perfection take place? It cannot happen until Jesus appears. The answer is in the verse “when he shall appear.”
I Corinthians 13:9-10 says, “For we know in part, and we prophecy in part. But when that which is perfect (Jesus) has come, then that which is in part shall be done away.” The Bible is the perfect Word of God, but until the return of Christ the perfect Word of God will not have had its completed perfect work within us. It is not the Bible that is being perfected, it is us.
The perfecting of the saints is a process. “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12:2). This renewing process is by the washing of the water of the word, but it is not the word that is being washed for perfection. It is the church that God is perfecting, “That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word. That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish” (Ephesians 5::26-27).
God has not, and will not remove the gifts and callings that he has given to the church until the church age is complete. What he began, he will continue until the appearing of his Son. “For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.” That can only happen when we see Jesus, as 1 Corinthians 13:12 states, “face to face.” Religion changes the words ‘face to face’ to mean ‘cover to cover’ and say that the Bible, since it is perfect, has replaced the gifts and callings of God.
“Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption” (1 Corinthians 15::50). The Bible will not change from corruption to incorruption, nor will it inherit the kingdom of God. It is us, the saints of God who are made perfect, when as 1 Corinthians 13:10 declares, ‘that which is perfect is come’.
Therefore my beloved brethren, be steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord and don’t let anybody tell you that the gifts and callings of God have been revoked.
Pastor Tilson
Sunday, May 03, 2009
Cheap grace. Greasy grace. That's what some Christians label the kind of salvation offered by those of us who say that one must simply believe to be saved. But like many things, it really depends on the perspective from which one views these things.
From the human perspective.From our side of things, grace, forgiveness, salvation, whichever you prefer to call it, isn't cheap. It's free. And as local home electronics and home furnishings mogul Tom Peterson likes to say, "Free is a very good price." We can't earn it. We can't buy it. It's impossible. We can't even do anything to keep it or lose it. God's laws were never intended to save mankind or provide a way to heaven. They cannot purify mankind of his sin. The issue isn't what we have done but what we are. It's one of nature. We don't sin and become a sinner, we sin because we are sinner. So God's grace isn't cheap, it's free.
From God's side of things, grace, forgiveness, salvation, whichever you prefer to call it, isn't cheap. Its cost is beyond our capability to comprehend. It cost God His Son. From the moment
Jesus was crucified and resurrected, He was fundamentally different from what He was before.Jesus went through life on this Earth, was falsely accused, was murdered, physically died, took on the sin of all mankind (2 Cor. 5:21) and became sin for us, then was resurrected. Jesus still has a resurrected, glorified body that, while it is far superior to the bodies we have now, is different from what He was before.
Jesus was crucified and resurrected, He was fundamentally different from what He was before.Jesus went through life on this Earth, was falsely accused, was murdered, physically died, took on the sin of all mankind (2 Cor. 5:21) and became sin for us, then was resurrected. Jesus still has a resurrected, glorified body that, while it is far superior to the bodies we have now, is different from what He was before.For us, God's grace isn't cheap. It's free. For God, His grace isn't cheap. It cost everything.Cheap grace? Whatever.
God's Creation
The Galaxy Zoo files contain almost a quarter of a million galaxies which have been imaged with a camera attached to a robotic telescope (the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, no less). In order to understand how these galaxies — and our own — formed, we need your help to classify them according to their shapes — a task at which your brain is better than even the fastest computer.
Saturday, May 02, 2009
Lost in Space
What really happened to Russia's missing cosmonauts? An incredible tale of space hacking, espionage and death in the lonely reaches of space.Despite threats from the KGB, the Judica-Cordiglia brothers continued. They captured the final mission of the Vostok spacecraft by the female cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova and the first-ever spacewalk, taken by Aleksei Leonov in March 1965. Afterwards, when Leonov tried to climb back into the airlock, he found that his spacesuit had inflated so much that he didn’t fit. He managed by opening a valve in his suit to let some pressure bleed off – a risky procedure. This information was withheld by the Russians, but the Judica-Cordiglias passed it on to NASA, believing it might save an astronaut’s life.
Related just for fun:
Buzz Aldrin discusses unusual object they spotted in space:
Several Astronauts speak their thoughts about strange things observed:
Edgar Mitchell Gordon Cooper Disclosure Apollo Astronaut 2008 Orbit Mercury Program:
REPORTS AND STATEMENTS BY NASA ASTRONAUTS:
The Biblical truth revealed:
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