The Cross 12-29-16

The Cross is offensive

The cross is offensive because it confronts us. It confronts the sin in our heart.
Once we understand that, we know we have to leave that sin lifestyle.
But, folks just don't want to change....
Sin is fun- lust, idolship, greed, drugs, drink, wrath, sex, lies, games.

- Jesus - 
Just saying his name makes people uncomfortable because in our hearts we know Him and what He requires of us. And we are not all ready to let go of ourselves, acknowledge this life belongs not to us but to Him who created us for His purpose.
We want control. But we never had it to begin with. We never will have it. Whether we like it or not - we will all come to understand this fact at some point.
Original Sin separated us from God Almighty and the Savior allows us the opportunity to live in communion with God for eternity. God sacrificed His only Son on a cross bearing the weight and sin of the world. So that if we trust in and follow Him we can live. 
Simple.
Eternity is a long time. It's not worth gambling with what we don't understand.

We mean well... But we are not good. Only God is good. Jesus covers our sin with His blood so that when we meet God he doesn't see it at all. That process is called sanctification. On earth that looks like the lessons we learn, the challenges we face, the conditioning we go through in our lives. And the answer to the call of choosing obedience.
If you think your good... Answer these questions:
Have you ever lied? taken anything that doesn't belong to you? Blasphemed? Fornicated, idolized someone or something?
If you answered yes, then you have broken just five of Gods laws or commandments. Based on Gods standard of perfection where will you end up on judgement day?
Heaven or Hell?
The bible states that all liars, thieves, fornicators and idolaters go to Hell.
We have all fallen short. No one is perfect in Gods eyes. The only one that can cover our sins is Jesus. We will be cloaked in righteousness for he was the only righteous one. He lived a perfect life without sin.
God sent His son Jesus to pay the price for us but only for those who put their faith and trust in Him. Those who repent (turn from) their sins.
Sin is a disease and the therapy is Christ.
It's not worth gambling with eternity.

It's all about Jesus!

Everyone who is not in Jesus is in bondage to this world and the sin in their hearts.  Bondage..., In the spirit world may look like chained lost souls marching into the dark abyss of the underworld. Basically to hell. Which is where unrepented souls go and may never return.  Many don't believe such a place exists- however they are not considering that we have a "just" God who punishes sinners. Imagine a judge and jury allowing all criminals to go without any form of punishment or retribution. How "just" would our God be to allow people like Hitler to live without punishment.
God IS Just. That means there is justice coming to this World when He returns. 
Since we have established no one is good, and there is a place for all sinners, then we must consider a Saviour. Which we have! This Savior is Yeshua, Jesus Christ of Nazereth who came in the not too distant past to die for our sins so that we may be saved. The gift of salvation is free, but it takes a decision and discipline.

The only way to know the truth is to seek it and answer the calling God has placed on our heart. Stop running and face  the reality that this life is so short and this life offers the only opportunity we will ever have to get right with God.

In conclusion, 
We live in a truly dark world with a spirit realm that we cannot understand nor comprehend. Everyday angels battle for our souls and fight on our behalf. Everyday they fight for us and whisper, protect and guide us. We for the large part ignore them. But they are there, devoted to God doing His work regardless. Have you stopped to listen to them? What is that longing in your heart for justice and peace? What about the voice that tells you right from wrong? God is here, for now, and wants a relationship with you. For every single question you have, there is an answer.

God will reveal himself to ALL of those who seek His face.

This is serious. Eternity is everlasting. So is your Soul.

Romans 5:12 ESV / 95 

Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned

Galatians 5:19-21 ESV / 7 

Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

Matthew 10:28 ESV / 6 

And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

Proverbs 21:15 ESV / 404 

When justice is done, it is a joy to the righteous but terror to evildoers.

Matthew 25:46 ESV / 27

And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

Isaiah 30:18 ESV / 7 

Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you, and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you. For the Lord is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for him.

Acts 3:19-21 ESV / 16 

Repent therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus, whom heaven must receive until the time for restoring all the things about which God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets long ago.

Luke 18:19 ESV / 14 

And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone.

Galatians 2:20 ESV / 120 

I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

1 Thessalonians 5:23 ESV / 213 

Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Testimony

TESTIMONY

In an effort to share my testimony and that with which I believe, I have elected to ink this for my family friends, and anyone who will listen!

I am a Christian,

What that means:  I have read and accepted the testimony of Jesus Christ and his apostles from the New Testament of the Bible.  Jesus claimed to be the Son of God in the living flesh. There is by the way no question from historical scholars that Jesus did exist. So, if he did exist and proclaimed the things that he did, then we can safely assume he was crazy or telling the truth. Jesus claimed to be God.

John 14:6 New King James Version (NKJV) 6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

 John 14:9b, 10a (NIV)
... Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father... Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me?

Matthew 26:63-64

The high priest said to him, “I charge you under oath by the living God: Tell us if you are the Messiah, the Son of God.” “You have said so,” Jesus replied.

He said to them, “And who do you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17 And Jesus answered him, “You are blessed, Simon son of Jonah, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but my Father in heaven!” (Matthew 16:15-17).

Because Jesus  stirred so many millions of people over 2000 years, and without getting tremendously detailed here.. it is safe to assume after my many years of studying history and researching the bible, that Jesus life and death are recorded accurately, and Christianity is powerfully true.

Here are some bullet points that have lead me to my own convictions:

·         Our current calendar is based on the life and death of Jesus Christ.

·         A group of disciples to Christ died in his name in brutal ways, however people spoke of their peace at the times of their deaths and were surprised further compelling Christians to grow world wide. Many Christians have died for their beliefs and Christians are not violent people.

·         The bible is composed of many books and testimonies of many men. All of which give their varying however extremely similar testimonies of the "miracles, healings and teachings of Christ"

·         If anyone today were to a mass that many testimonies, it would be difficult to deny that all of those men who wrote their accounts made them up.

·         I have not seen life change without Christ as the impetus. I have witnessed with my own eyes dramatic life transformation of those who have accepted Christ as their Savior.

·         Acts of obedience have brought me literal blessing.

·         Tithing is an act of obedience where one is to offer a 10th of his earnings or first fruits to the Church. In an effort to put this to the test, I began tithing regularly and was able to demonstrate to my husband, Sunny, unequivocally that after tithing we had received more work and opportunity in  business. As he began to trust me and try it for himself he was shocked and surprised to see checks coming in for not almost but the very same amount to the dollar that he had tithed days before. This was no coincidence. It happened for consecutive months and each time.. he was stunned. We have never looked back and tithe regularly and continue to live under the obvious blessing of God and with little effort.

There are more proponents to my convictions but are too many to list, however, please do not hesitate to ask as I am excited to share.

SALVATION

The bible lays out series of events throughout time to both teach and prepare us for the return of Christ.

2000 years ago Jesus was crucified for seemingly no reason at all. However, it was His destiny to suffer and hang on a cross. In doing so he was the Sacrificial Lamb, the only One whom can save the lives of the lost (of us).

Contrary to popular belief, it is not enough to be agnostic and mediocre. It is not enough to just live quietly and in solitude. People often say " I am a good person therefore if there is a God I will be fine."  or,"God will see that I did good things and was a law abiding citizen."
This is what the bible has to say about that: 
John 14:6 New King James Version (NKJV) 6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

God provided a Book, His Holy Word. There you will find testimonies, stories, prophesies, commandments and truth.  Truth about our beginnings, the story of Christ and that which is to come.

The bible clearly teaches that we are to believe in the Son of God, Jesus Christ in order to be saved.

PROPHESY

The bible is so complete a book that it teaches of events that have not even happened yet. But they are coming to light. The book of Revelation (which is supported by many other books in the bible) specifically focuses on the end days.

Here are a few bullet points that the Book of Revelation broken down into two categories:

 1.  Revelation prophesies currently unfolding

A world full of abortions, fornications, idolatry and worldly passions.. and scoffers.

Signs in the moons and on the earth (ex: blood moons, waste lands, disease, red bacteria algae blooms in water)

Nation will rise against nation

Many wars and rumors of wars

Many famines and injustices

Many false prophets

One world currency

Everyone will hear of me and see me (television and missionaries have made this possible)

 2.  Revelation Prophesies that will unfold (soon)

One world government 

One world religion (worshipping the antichrist)

The end of democracy (one world order, US Marshal law)

The mark of the beast (could be the deeds of our hands or literally an implant required to trade, buy and sell)

A magnificent and horrifying event that precipitates the above (possibly a natural or manmade disaster)

Huge earthquakes that move mountains and change landscapes

The death of millions

The return of Christ

The rapture

The day of judgment

The new world

-Now all of this may sound fanciful and silly-

but I can assure you that it will be very real.  We are close and God does reveal to us through certain people and chain of events how soon all of this is going to happen:

Amos 3:7 

“For the Lord God does nothing without revealing his secret to his servants the prophets."

Revelation 22:8 ESV / 4

I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I heard and saw them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed them to me,

Revelation 22:6 ESV / 4

And he said to me, “These words are trustworthy and true. And the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, has sent his angel to show his servants what must soon take place.

I share this because although we have had innumerable false prophets false religions, people invoking fear and irrational behavior leading those who will follow to either their untimely death or whatever deceptive path they take, there are currently people that have been given gifts of prophesy through dreams, visions and the like.

Here are is just one that is extremely compelling:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-H0MDGIXZ0o

(his own parents have denounced him, they are not religious..but he must obey God and respect His message, and share

The gift of being in the blessing of God

All of this becomes clear. The path, purpose and direction of both my life and earths life. Of spiritual life and eternal life. God fuels thirst and hunger for truth, and shelters you with blessings and clarity.

DOUBTS

I believe that everyone has doubts, I had doubts, its normal. I believe however that in some way or another God has attempted to reveal Himself to you and you have chosen perhaps to put it on the back burner or look the other way.

It takes effort that you may prefer to invest in other areas. But God whispers first, then knocks louder, and so on. He is trying always to get your attention.

This is just the way it is. And you will ask yourself..why? Why does it have to be like this.. and how do I know, and why do I care.

I am telling you with all the certainty that I possess. Jesus is real and the end is near. You don't have time to waste. Get to know your maker now.

The bible teaches that anyone who calls on the name of Jesus will be saved. This prayer is called "Prayer of Salvation"

Prayer of Salvation - Our First Real Conversation With God

• We acknowledge that Jesus Christ is God; that He came to earth as a man in order to live the sinless life that we cannot live; that He died in our place, so that we would not have to pay the penalty we deserve.
• We confess we are sinners and repent (turn from sin-stop sinning-despise sin)
• We admit we are ready to trust Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord.
• We ask the Holy Ghost to come into our heart, take up residence there, and begin living through us.

Prayer of Salvation - It Begins With Faith in God
When we pray the prayer of salvation, we're letting God know we believe His Word is true. By the faith He has given us, we choose to believe in Him. The Bible tells us that "without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him" (Hebrews 11:6). 

"Father, I believe that your son, Jesus Christ died for my sins, was resurrected from the dead, is alive, and hears my prayer. I invite Jesus to become the Lord of my life, to rule and reign in my heart from this day forward. Please send your Holy Spirit to help me obey You, and to do Your will for the rest of my life. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen."

-http://www.allaboutgod.com/prayer-of-salvation.htm

FAITH

Faith does not always come easily or first. It is hard to have faith sometimes in something seemingly intangible. Sometimes we need evidence and once the scale tips in the direction of belief we can then have faith. For others it is instant. 

So for those of you who are not sure and need evidence, please use the following links to educate yourself. (important, these folks were non believers.. just like me, but after doing their own investigating, became faithful servants of Christ)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Z0EkWRF7t8   (Jim Warner The Cold Case for God's Existence)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5wKYcK_kUs (Lee Strobel, the case for the resurrection of Jesus)

CONCLUSION

For those of you who are wondering if I have lost my mind.. I have not. It takes a lot of courage to speak the truth and share your beliefs. It's much easier to jump on a popular band wagon  or fad and speak someone else's truth. But deep down inside, if we are honest with ourselves, there is a longing for something larger than we can put our finger on. And if we look we will find it, if we ask it will be revealed.

There is also a sense of urgency that I possess that I cannot describe. It has been with me for  a long time now. I am not one that  believes in imposing my beliefs on others, however my love for my friends and family outweighs any backlash or judgment that I may face as a result of sharing my position of faith with you. Not being able to share or speak my truth is like being in prison and not being honest or living fully.

Christians are no doubt called to witness to others, and that is what I am doing.

I genuinely hope that some of you will ask me more about faith and the coming events.. even if you think they are ridiculous. I would rather have the debate with you and hear your point of view than miss the opportunity.

Thank you for taking the time to read.