Everyday only the Bible. If you accept this challenge, I'd like you to come back after September 5th and report how much you've learned, changed and grown. I'll do the same. See you then and look forward to hearing from you! God bless!
This Month's Devotion Challenge
Everyday only the Bible. If you accept this challenge, I'd like you to come back after September 5th and report how much you've learned, changed and grown. I'll do the same. See you then and look forward to hearing from you! God bless!
Love Them Or Damn Them
Human love is filtered, twisted, distorted and maligned by our own sin nature and sinful worldly philosophy under the discretion and jurisdiction of Satan. The carnal mind we are all born with is completely hostile to a Holy God (Romans 8:7).
Agape love in Scripture is rarely even taught in Western Christianity. We like to use the word Agape and name places of business after it, but would it be so readily used if the meaning Scripture applies to it was taught?
Instead, we're taught pagan worldly love that is Eros. Pagan love that winks at sin and the world, is accepting of sin, loves sin, clings to it, compromises and is fearful. In the name of Eros, that we wrongly apply to God's love, we find it more important to co-exist with sin for the sake of a utopia promoted by Satan himself to further malign Christ, His purpose and finished work.
We throw around phrases that aren't even in Scripture, such as "Love the sinner, hate the sin." That quote came from Ghandi, not Scripture.
Agape love is strong and bold. It screams to sinners, warning them to repent, flee from their sin and believe, thus fleeing the wrath of God. Agape love points to Christ, His love and His sacrifice that saves from God's wrath. Eros is self serving and delights in wickedness. Agape and Eros cannot co-exist. They are on different ends of the spectrum, different playing fields and mean two very different things.
Truth and Agape love cannot be separated. We cannot come to know or understand God's Love until we ourselves have been exposed to Truth, have fled from sin and the wrath of God into Christ, our city of refuge. When we mistake worldly Eros love for Agape love, we're not showing Christ to the world. We're damning sinners to hell for the sake of sinful, compromising, worldly love so as not to offend or rock the boat. Agape love is obedient to Christ and warns the sinner. Eros damns them to hell.
Afshin Javid Debunked
"Do not be eager, my brethren, for many among you to become teachers; for you know that we teachers shall undergo severer judgement." James 3:1
Initial post: Afshin Javid A Fraud?
After going over facts given me concerning the authenticity of self proclaimed former Hezbollah soldier, Afshin Javid, I decided to do a follow up post on our fraudulent friend.
I learned from a source once close to Afshin, who also wrote his testimonial book, As Easy As Drinking Water, A Muslim Forgiven, that upon review of the allegations, Afshin Javid's testimonial documentary was removed from the the website "A Muslim Journey To Hope." If you're not familiar with the site, it features the testimonies of former Muslims and their conversions to Christ. This is where I first saw Afshin's testimony as many of you probably have as well.
To read more from a first hand source, check out these two links:
Public Letter...
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/57157714/post3.pdf
Description of Vancouver Christian Fellowship where Afshin is a Pastor...
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/57157714/post2.pdf
Furthermore, the Truth Unlocked organization also featured Afshin's testimony in their DVD, only to have to go back and completely edit out several segments, discard their entire project stock and remake the DVDs.
Afshin's Pastoral credentials came from the Christian Ministers Association. This organization gives oversight to non-denominational churches. In a weak attempt to discipline Afshin when the scandal broke, the association requested Afshin remove his website and discontinue the sale of his book. When Afshin refused, they revoked his Pastoral credentials, but it's been reported, though not confirmed, that he's been reinstated as a Pastor at Vancouver Christian Fellowship Church.
Afshin is not only suspected and accused of inappropriate sexual behavior among his congregation, but also among his own children. Child and Family Services in Canada has been involved.
Despite the disgrace, blacklisting and more than 400 letters being sent around Canada to various congregations and Pastors warning them against Afshin, he continues to be invited and speak at various events all over the world. If adequately informed, the leaders of these congregations and those in charge of the venues will be held accountable for putting the Lord's flock in danger by inviting a wolf into the fold. This man is dangerous....a wolf in sheep's clothing. He has used a testimony to slip in among sheep to feed his own depraved appetite. As long as there are those willing to invite him in, he will not stop devouring the sheep for his own good and selfish pleasure.
God doesn't deal too kindly with those who prey on the weak. Afshin only needs to read the harsh and terrible example of the Amalekites.
For further reading: The Truth About Afshin
Are You Known?
In modern Christianity, we put so much emphasis on whether or not we know Christ. You may have been asked on several occasions, "Do you know Jesus?" When you pass that question then you may hear, "But do you know Him as your Savior."
While it's important that we come to know Christ in a saving relationship, the aspect that matters most is not whether we know Christ, but does Christ know us? It's very easy to fall into easy believe-ism and decisionism. It's very easy to fall into a watered down Gospel. It's preached and advocated everywhere. But whether or not we know Christ is not where the Bible puts the emphasis. When Christ proclaims "I never knew you", He's speaking to those who were convinced they knew Christ through all sorts of means and methods, but they will suddenly hear "I never knew you". Can you imagine how horrific that will be for those who hear this?
As sinful creatures, depraved and hostile toward God from birth, we are accustomed and prone to making idols out of anything...including God. Yes, even God by bringing Him down to our level and turning Him into something that suits our own ideas and lifestyles rather than the real God of the Bible.
God already knows us and He gives us the means and opportunity to come to know Him through His Word, who is Christ (John 1:14), therefore through His Son. In our fallen state and in these prisons of dust, we will never be able to come to a full knowledge of Christ until we reach Heaven. Even then we will spend an eternity getting to know Him even more. But God being infinite doesn't give us an excuse to not put everything we have into this relationship He chose and called us into by neglecting the only means we have of knowing Him.
"I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep." John 10:14-15
This is an amazing statement from Christ. First He says He knows us which is completely awesome, then He states we know Him. How do His sheep know Him?
"To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out." John 10:3
They hear His voice. They know when He is speaking. They can differentiate between Christ and an imposter. They know the Shepherd well enough to know when He's speaking or when it's an enemy. Not through some mystical experience, some inner stirring or the planets seemed to have aligned and all things point to one thing or another; they know His voice. Scripture is paramount in knowing Christ. It is our food.
"So Jesus said to them, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves.'" John 6:53
He gives us His Spirit to further aid, teach and keep us in Christ while we are sojourners on this earth. But the Holy Spirit cannot and will not be separated from Christ. If He can't be and Christ is Scripture in the flesh, then the Holy Spirit will never separate Himself or His help in our lives from Scripture. In fact, He doesn't even speak on His own or for His own purpose. He simply repeats what He hears and relays it to us....
"When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come." John 16:13
Since we know this to be true and find ourselves not interested in Scripture or prayer, but rather being tossed about by every new wind of doctrine and teacher that comes along, we can claim we know Christ all we want. Does evidence show that He knows us? We can tell everyone that will listen how much we love Jesus, but is there evidence in our lives that Christ knows us? We can assure ourselves and everyone we know that we know Christ and believe in Him...
"He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him." John 3:36
It's not enough to simply say that we believe in Him..."Even the demons believe that--and shudder." James 2:19
I know where Eminem lives. I've seen him in public out and about with his kids and alone. I can read about him, watch all of his videos, know every one of his songs, know every detail of his life that I learn from others and what I watch and see, but if I were to walk up to him and strike up a conversation, he'd be absolutely clueless as to who I was. But if I spent time with him personally, talk to him regularly, hung out with him, knew the inner workings and details of him and his life direct from the source, then I can truly say, and Eminem would agree, that he knows me. Not based on what I hear from "reliable" sources or what I easily have access to through a third party, but because we're in a mutual relationship.
The difference between us believing we know Christ and Christ actually knowing us are two very different things. In the end, we can stand before Him and claim we know Him and try to jog His memory and retell every event in our lives we believed Him to be there to prove we know Him. If He doesn't know us, however, if He hasn't chosen us, if He hasn't sealed us with His Spirit, led us into truth, taught us, loved us, brought fruit forth from us, that's all that's going to matter.
"I never knew you."
"Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you--unless, of course, you fail the test?" 2 Corinthians 13:5
Posts
