Getting Started

I suppose before I being moving forward in earnest I need to define some terms and explain my belief system and the foundation of it. (I will be spending a few days on this)

I believe we are “Saved by Grace, through Faith in Jesus Christ.” As outlined in Ephesians 2

For one to be saved, one must understand that we are born in sin, having a sin nature and that we remain sinners until we are born again by coming to faith in Jesus Christ.

Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.John 14:6

The only way to salvation is through the person of Jesus Christ… we must:
Repent of our sin (feel Godly sorrow, ask for and accept forgiveness for our sin with the commitment to turn away from and forsake sin), and believe on Jesus Christ.

And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?
And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. Acts 16:30-31

I believe the Bible is the inspired Word of God and that it, (the Bible) is complete and exists in the form God intended. I believe the Bible is without contradiction and that the Bible interprets itself. (Much of what people consider to be contradictions in the Bible come from either a misunderstanding, misinterpretation, a misuse of context, or at times a failure to do diligent study to understand what is meant in the original language or the context of the time, place and environment in which the scripture spoke). Furthermore, the Bible is the final word for me when it comes to my conclusion about any matter. After I have examined what God has to say about a thing and get an answer which lines up with His Word… (if one feels God has told them something and it is contrary to what His Word says, that individual had best rethink their position) then it is settled.

One of the cliché’s people hear time and time again from church folk is:
God said it,
I believe it,
And that settles it.

Wrong.

God said it.
That settles it.
PERIOD.

Who cares what I think?!
If what I write doesn’t line up with what God says then all it is, is my opinion… and my opinion and a dollar won’t even get you a cup of coffee at Starbucks.

On this blog when I am giving my opinion, or personal perceptions I will do my best to make it readily known at the time I make the statement that what I am giving is ONLY my personal opinion or perception.

Most important is what the BIBLE says.
If at ANY time I make statements that I deem to be FACTS… if I neglect to give foundations and / or proof for those facts then you are welcome, and even encouraged to ignore them. If I profess a doctrine that contradicts scripture… you are equally welcome and encouraged to not only ignore, but to utterly reject them.

SOME OF MY RULES:

Rule no. 1 - Do NOT take my word for ANYTHING! Find the scriptures I reference and study the Bible for YOURSELF. People can tell you ANYTHING. That is how so many individuals are being led astray right now SEARCH THE SCRIPTURES FOR YOURSELF!

Rule no. 2 - This blog is a Pharisees FREE ZONE!

Rule no. 3 – God’s Word is the FINAL word.

More to follow...

Be blessed in Jesus Christ.

A Poem For Today

While I'm preparing to start teaching on my blog I hope you enjoy this poem as my post for today. 

Be Blessed

THE DISK

The devil found a floppy disk,
He said, “Now this is fine!”
I’ll put this in my computer,
And find out whose soul will be mine,

So he took the floppy disk with him,
Put it in his computer with ease,
Looked at the screen, and said something obscene,
As it read, ‘What’s the password please.’

“I have no time for these stupid games!”
Said the devil as he popped the disk out,
“I’ll ask God to use His computer,
And I’ll see what this disk is about.”

So he made a bee line to God’s office,
And walked up to God at His desk,
The devil said, “On this disk are all sins,
And your laws that someone transgressed.”

God took the disk from the devil,
And in His computer it slid,
Then old slue foot smiled and patted his hands,
“Now let’s see all the evil he did!”

They both sat and looked at the monitor,
And the devil laughed evil and sly,
When he saw a list of all of the sins,
On the screen light like stars in the sky,

God then shook His head in sorrow,
At the loss of another dear soul,
Then the blood red phone on his desk rang,
God picked it up whispering, “Hello.”,

He sat and just listened a moment,
Then suddenly “YES I WILL!” He out cried,
He placed the phone back in its cradle,
And smiled as tears shined in His eyes,

“That call was the owner of this disk,
What he said is between he and I,
But I will tell you that he repented,
And decided from sin he would die.”

The devil in turn then said nothing,
And went his own way in defeat,
As God pressed a key on His keyboard,
The one that said simply…

Delete.

For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: [it is] the gift of God:

Not of works, lest any man should boast. Ephesians 2:8-9 (KJV)

It is my humble opinion, for what it’s worth, that one of the single biggest stumbling block which keep people from coming to Christ is “Christians”. Whether due to hypocrisy, legalism, self-righteousness, or flat out misrepresentation of God, people are staying away from God and the Church in droves. I have heard it said by some that this is happening because people don’t want to “live right”. I have heard it said, in church, and by “church folk”, that people don’t want to give up their – fill in the blank-.

Well…

I will say this many times because this is the way I believe… either people are right, or the BIBLE is right… so guess what?

Okay then.

If people are not coming to Jesus Christ it isn’t because there isn’t a hunger within human beings to find their way to God… this is easily demonstrated by how easily people fall into different cults, and the following of strange religious doctrines and such.

Also the Bible says:

Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly [is] plenteous, but the labourers [are] few;

Matthew 9:37 (KJV)

This scripture clearly implies that people are willing to come, but the problem is that those who labor are few in number, (or possibly inept laborers).

If I own a huge apple orchard and hire 200 people to harvest it, instructing them that the apples are ripe and ready to be picked so go out and harvest. I give them baskets, and ladders, water and food to work out in the heat of the day. I equip them with everything they need to get the job done; then at the end of the day the laborers come back with baskets which are nearly empty whose fault is it that there are no apples?

Mine?

The laborers?

Well... according to the reasoning of "church folk", it's the APPLES fault.

Of course that would be non-sense... but the point is, if it isn't the owner's fault, or the apples fault, then whose fault is it?

Hmmmmmmmm.

The laborers.

If I have planted the orchard and done all I could to bring the fruit to the point of harvest, and then equip people to go out and retrieve that harvest which is just waiting to be picked... but the laborers are having trouble getting the harvest, then it is not my nor the fruit's fault. (I know I'm repeating myself).

"Well I reached at several apples and they seemed stuck to the limb."

"There are a lot of apples out there but some are just too high!"

"There were apples on the ground but I didn't want to bend over to pick them up... and besides, what can you do with apples from off the ground?"

Etc... etc... etc...

Tug harder.

Forget your fear of heights and climb higher.

Just because an apple is on the ground doesn't mean it is useless. Ever heard of applesauce, or apple bread... or apple seeds to plant more trees? You gather the apples and let ME decide what apples are appropriate and which ones aren't. Your job is just to get the apples... and the apples aren't going to just jump into the basket.

Pick em,

Pluck em,

Bend down and reach for them,

Climb a ladder and reach for them,

Shake the limb,

Shake the branch,

shake the TREE,

But just get the apples!

Okay, enough of the apple analogy. I think you get the point. If people aren't coming to Christ, instead of immediately "blaming the victim", rather let's start to examine whether there is something WE are missing. There is no denying that there are many people who are hostile toward God... some who no matter what you say or do will harden their hearts... but if God says the harvest if pleantious, then it can mean nothing else but the fact that people are hungry for the truth... they are hungry for God.

Before we can witness effectively... we must understand the Gospel effectively ourselves.

From what I have experienced and seen, far too many Christians don't even understand the foundations of their own faith, and if that is the case, whenever we do lead someone to Jesus it is inspite of what we understand about salvation and not because of it. That issue is what this Blog shall address.

Understanding the foundations of our faith.

Christianity 101 as it were.

May God bless and keep you.