The Torah are the first 5 books in the Old Testament. In Exodus, the Bible introduces the Law, also known as the 10 Commandments. In Galatians 3:2. Paul wrote that the Law was our school master until the arrival of Jesus Christ so that we may be justified by faith. We are not justified by the Law. At my church we did a study on the book of Romans and when we were taught about Romans chapter 7, the Pastor taught a great message. It made me understand the whole teaching about the law being fulfilled in Christ. Chapter 7 starts speaking about how a woman cannot leave her husband until he has died and if she divorces him and marries another, she is an adulterous woman. The Law is our first husband. Imagine being married to someone who is always right. I know some of you might say that already about your spouse. So this spouse that is always right never shows you how to live right, only points out your faults. That is what the law does. Along comes Jesus who dies for our sins and is buried and rises form the dead in 3 days. When a believer repents and gets baptized, they are baptized into the death and resurrection of Christ. God transcends time, so the death of resurrection is still valid even two thousand plus years later. Romans 5:8 says that even while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. So we die to the Law and we are set free from it. The "husband" AKA the law does not die because it is eternal because God is eternal. So we are joined to our new Husband and not only is He always right, He shows us how to live out the law by placing His Spirit in us.This blew my mind! Matthew 22:36-40 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” In Romans 7, Paul writes we have been set free from the law. So who is right? Jesus and Paul are both right. The word of God cannot contradict itself. When you love the Lord your God with a your heart, soul and mind you don't have any other gods besides Him, you don't create images of God and you don't take the Lord's name in vain. When you love your neighbor as you love yourself you won't kill your neighbor, you won't covet for your neighbors belongings or his wife, etc. When you love, the law of God is fulfilled. But in our sinful nature, we cannot love the way it is required. Jesus fulfilled the law, but that doesn't mean the law is done away with. The law is written in our hearts (Jeremiah 31:33). All the law could do is show us that we needed a savior. Jesus lives a perfect life and gives us the example of how to live a God pleasing life. Then He takes our place on the cross and pays for our sins. And then Jesus gives us the Holy Spirit so that we can have the capability to live out the law. So the law is not abolished, it is fulfilled in Christ, not us. We are justified by our faith in Jesus, not the law. The law is written on our heart and the Holy Spirit teaches us how to live a righteous and holy life. None of this is done by our power, or our might. It is all done by the Spirit of God. Isn't that great news? So are Christians under the New Testament (the New Covenant) given the Holy Spirit to follow the Torah? After reading the Bible, I believe not. We are given the Spirit of God to seal us as His and to give us the capability to live a God pleasing life and the ability to have a relationship with our Creator.
Have not I commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; be not afraid, neither be dismayed: for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go. - Joshua 1:9 2 Corinthian 4:8-12 says this: We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair;persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may also be revealed in our mortal body.So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you. Deuteronomy 31:6-8 Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them:for the Lord your God, he it is that goes with you; he will not fail you, nor forsake you. Hebrews 11:6 - And withoutfaith it is impossible to pleaseGod, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. Rak Chazak means“All strength and courage for the Glory of our God” “Amats” means: It's rushing with reckless haste into the most hazardous and impossible battles without pausing to consider the consequences. There is something that grieves my heart and I know that it must also grieve the Lord's heart too. What grieves me is how so many Christians do not know how to fight in this spiritual war. They do not know how to put on the armor of God, they don't know how to use the shield of faith and they don't know how to yield the sword of the Spirit. They have become a casualty of spiritual warfare. The Bible says that Gods people are destroyed by their lack of knowledge (Hosea 4:6). Because of this lack of knowledge, they ask others to pray for them or go to someone they know that actually reads the Bible to comfort them. I am not saying that we shouldn't pray for one another or encourage one another. In James 5:16, Matthew 18:19, and 1 Timothy 2:1 we are instructed to pray for one another. But what I am trying to say is, why have someone pray for you or wait until you see your pal who is a mature Christian, and handle the spiritual attack yourself? We must learn how to operate in the authority that has been given to us through the Lord Jesus Christ. The children of God are suppose to be bold as lions (Proverbs 28:1). The children of God are soldiers in the army of God. The gates of hell will never prevail over the church (Matthew 16:18). I know that sometimes the attacks are fierce and they are constant. I too, have to wake up every day battling my flesh, my desires, my thoughts and whatever else the enemy throws at me. As a child of God, no one is exempt of having to fight in this war. God has issued to us His armor and weapons to fight in this war. But some of you don't put on the armor and also dont know how to use the weapons. Some of you try to fight this war naked and have others fight your fight. No wonder you are wounded and have become a casualty. Our enemy hates us and will not stop until they see us utterly destroyed. We should have the same hate towards the enemy that they have for us and we should want to see our enemy utterly destroyed. Remember that we do not fight against flesh and blood, we fight the principalities and powers, we fight against the rulers of darkness of this world. We are fighting spiritual wickedness in the heavenly realms (Ephesians 6:12). Our foe fights ferociously against us, but we just take it easy and let the enemy just run us over. NO! This will not do and cannot continue my brethren. We must stand up and fight! We fight a defeated foe because Jesus defeated the Devil on the cross and the victory was cemented when Jesus rose from the dead on the third day. Jesus defeated the enemy at the cross and at the resurrection. We must be ferocious against our enemies. We must fight on our knees in prayer and we must use the word of God to wound the enemy. We must have faith to shield us from the attacks of the enemy. The helmet of salvation simply means this: knowing that you are saved will protect your mind. I recall when I was first born again, I would sometimes doubt if I was saved or not. I took off the helmet and the enemy would take a shot at my head. Know that you are saved! The majority of battles fought in this war are in our very own minds. The breast plate of righteousness means that righteousness of God will protect your heart. Righteousness is defined as the quality of being morally right or justifiable. The enemy attacks our hearts, our emotions, our self worth. The enemy accuses us of being guilty and unworthy. Remember that God is the one who justifies and forgives. Who can bring charges against those who have been pardoned by God? Don't forget you are forgiven of your sins and you are now worthy. The belt of truth holds up the entire armor. When you are a child of God you are saved, you are righteous, you know the truth, you have faith, you know Gods word and you are prepared to go with the gospel and tell others about the good news. That is all truth and that is what holds up the rest of the armor of God. Truth protects our will. If truth protects your will, you will not willingly sin against God. The shoes of the gospel of peace means two things. One, standing firm in Christ and not moving when the enemy presses against you. Two, it means being available and ready to go share the gospel with the world. The enemy wants you to think that telling others about the gospel is useless or they make you think that you wont say the right thing. We have been commissioned to spread the good news all over the world by ANY means necessary. With technology so readily available, we should take advantage of it. The enemy uses technology to spread their lies all the time. Movies, TV shows, radio shows, music, podcasts, YouTube, and social media. There are believers who have Christian channels, but why not you? Why dont you have your own outlet to get the word out? So many of you have spiritual gifts that would benefit the body but because the enemy has lied to you, you dont use it. The church and the world needs you to share your gift. The shield of faith blocks the fiery darts of the enemy. The darts are lies that are shot at us but having faith in God will protect us. The enemy attacks us with insults, setbacks and temptations. The shield of faith protects us from these attacks. We must cling to our hope in Christ and refuse to believe the lies. We must resist the devil and he shall flee from us. Faith is defined are having complete trust in confidence in someone or something. It also means having a strongly held belief. So, strongly have belief in the word of God because God cannot and will not break His promises. All of Gods promises are Yes and Amen through Christ Jesus (2 Corinthian 1:20). Last but certainly not least, the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Jesus portrayed perfectly how to use the sword of the Spirit. In Luke chapter 4 you will read about how Jesus was tempted in the wilderness. We all know the story but we overlook the lesson. Jesus overcame the fiery darts and temptations of the devil with quoting the word of God and having faith in the word. Some might say "Yea, but that was Jesus. He was God and He could handle that. I cannot do that." Well, for one, that is a lie straight out of the pits of hell that you cant fight back with the word of God. We have Jesus living inside of us and we can do this. Plus we have been commanded to do so. When you are tempted, trust in the truth of Gods word and speak it. I will give you two verses that are very dear to me. I use them often when I am spiritually attacked and they are quite effective. The first verse is 1 John 4:4. I would recommend that EVERY new believer in Christ memorize this verse and personalize it. I speak from my own experiences and I know that this verse is powerful. "He who is in me is greater that he that is in the world." It is you against the world but you don't fight against the world alone, God is not only with you but lives inside you. The second verse that I like to use is Romans 8:28. Oh, how many times I have used this verse and how many times have I seen God deliver me just like He promised He would in this verse. "And we know that God will work all things for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose." I know that I love God because I obey Him and I know that I am called according to His purpose. Question is, do you? Its time to get serious about God and stop playing church. We must read the word of God and get that into us. We must learn how to pray and that comes from reading the word. I recall when I first was born again and I didn't know how to pray and I asked a brother how I learn to pray. He told me to read the Bible and it will give me language to speak to God. The next step, which is the hardest is applying the things you have learned. Yes, you will fail and you will fall on your face. There will be times the enemy will beat you. But the righteous man falls seven times and gets up on the eighth. We are more than conquerors in Jesus Christ. Its time to rise soldiers. This war is ugly and nasty and it is time to get dirty. I am tired of seeing Gods people defeated by the enemy. I know that we are stronger than this. Aren't you tired of loosing?! We are on the winning side, don't you know that?! At the end of the Bible, God wins and we win along side with Him. But, do you believe that? What are you going to do next? Today is the day that things need to change. Pray and ask God to help you. The enemy's planning their final push because they know their time is short. We must gird up our loins and fight back for the lost souls of people. Rak Chazak Amats!
The Holy Bible says in Philippians 1:21 "To live is Christ, to die is gain." So many believers are so quick to say they would die for Christ. They would allow for their heads to be sawed off, to be burnt alive, to be shot to death and to be lynched all in the name of Jesus. Although that is admirable, it would be much more honorable to live for Christ. In Galatians 2:20 the word says "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." So if you are alive, you no longer live because Christ lives in you and you have already been crucified with Christ. Since you have already put to death the old sinful nature on the cross, you have already died and you have gained Christ because He lives inside of you! In God, whose word I praise, In God I have put my trust; I shall not be afraid. What can mere man do to me? (Psalm 56). They can insult me, hit me, cut me up, shoot me, burn me, hang me, whatever...so what? If I die physically, I win Christ, our exceedingly great reward. I get to go home and I will be with the Lord forever. All the pain and suffering of this wretched and cursed world ends. How do I know this? Because God has given us His word and He cannot go back on His word. All of Gods promises are a resounding YES and AMEN through Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:6-7 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
I haven't written in a long while because my life has been very busy and I also haven't been compelled to write. I moved to a different home, I started going to school again, I got a new job, and my wedding ministry has been taking off also. But I am not going to complain because the Lord is/has answered my prayers. I took God at His word in Philippians 4:6-7 and He was faithful to His word. I had been praying about a new place to live because my previous landlords were more like slum lords. A brother told me about a place right next door to him that came up for rent and now that is where I live. I had prayed and the Lord answered and He opened the doors so that I could move. I am currently attending Grand Canyon University in pursuit of my Bachelors degree in Biblical studies. I aspire to either become a Pastor or a prison Chaplain...but let the Lord's will be done. I prayed about it and the Lord answered and opened the doors for that. Last December I was fired from a job and I was out of work for about 2 months. I prayed that I wouldn't worry about money and that God would place me where He wanted me at. The Lord answered and now I have a new job. Last year I became an ordained minister and I officiated 8 weddings in 2016. I prayed about my ministry and now people are contacting me on Facebook, email and my cell phone. I prayed, and God answered. I spent many nights, many hours, many tears, praying. I am not boasting about how much of a prayer warrior I am or how good I am. I want to encourage you to do the same. Just like Jacob who wrestled with the Angel of Lord and did not stop until the Angel blessed him, we have to do the same with the Lord. Sometimes answers come quickly, sometimes they take longer. For example, I just recently got my driver's license reinstated. B.C. (Before Christ) I was a little fast and furious street racer and I drastically ruined my driving record and my license was suspended for a very long time. After I got born again 4 years ago, I would pray to the Lord that I wanted my drivers license back because I needed to drive but I did not have the money for the fines. I also prayed that I would not street race ever again. I prayed for 4 years and finally the Lord came through for me and I have my licence back. I cherish it because I know that it came from the Lord because within myself I could not get the license back. I didn't have the means and all the odds were against me. But NOTHING is impossible for God and nothing is too big or too small for God to take care of. Cast all your cares unto Him because He cares for you! Take it from me because I have experienced this first hand in my life and I am living testimony of this. All the things I mentioned that were prayed up, are all now prayers answered. I had no idea how or when the prayers would be answered but I knew God would answer. Jesus said that His yoke is light and that He was gentle and lowly. His yoke is this: trust and believe in Him. He handles all the rest because the battle is not ours, it belongs to God. Yea, I prayed and I did some leg work, but all the praises belong to my God for listening to me. God showed my grace, the undeserved favor of God, so that I could be set free. Oh God, who is man that you are mindful of him, And the son of man that you care for him? If you feel anxiousness or worry about absolutely anything, pray it up. Go boldly before the throne of grace so that you can receive grace and mercy in your time of help. Keep praying, keep trusting, keep believing, keep seeking God, abide in the word, and I say again PRAY.
As some of my readers know, I was born again 4 years ago. The biggest debt that I could never ever repay,sin, was paid for by my Lord Jesus Christ.. There have been a whole lot of other things that the Lord has made new in my life or restored. But one thing in particular that I had been praying about since I got born again was some issues I had with the law. I had some traffic fines that needed to be taken care of but they were really expensive. My method and approach to prayer has changed over time. I would demand that God would help me get these fines taken care of. Nothing would happen. But I would remember the story of Jacob who wrestled with the angel of the Lord. Genesis 32:24-31 Then Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him until daybreak.When he saw that he had not prevailed against him, he touched the socket of his thigh; so the socket of Jacob’s thigh was dislocated while he wrestled with him.Then he said, “Let me go, for the dawn is breaking.” But he said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”So he said to him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.”He said, “Your name shall no longer be Jacob, but Israel; for you have striven with God and with men and have prevailed.”Then Jacob asked him and said, “Please tell me your name.” But he said, “Why is it that you ask my name?” And he blessed him there.So Jacob named the place Peniel, for he said, “I have seen God face to face, yet my life has been preserved.”Now the sun rose upon him just as he crossed over Penuel, and he was limping on his thigh. In a way, I wrestled with God and I didn't stop until He blessed me. My prayer life changed. No longer do I demand from the Lord. But I humbly come before Him in desperation. The Bible says in Jeremiah 17:10 "I the LORD search the heart and examine the mind, to reward each person according to their conduct, according to what their deeds deserve." I remember late at night pleading with the Lord and telling I that I would not misuse the blessing if He granted it to me. So after about 3 or 4 years, the Lord blessed me. I could see the dawn coming. For some reason I just knew that this year would be different. Last few years, although the Lord was there, they were tough. There was a lot of changes in my life.
I received word in the mail about this event for Veterans called the Arizona Veterans Stand Down. It started out as an event for homeless veterans in town who needed help with finding place to live, legal issues, getting help from the Veterans Affairs department. It was later opened up for all veterans. I was not going to go to this event. It was about 30 miles away from my house and I figured that homeless veterans need the help more than I do. Later, I was put in contact with the Veterans court and I spoke to one of their representatives. They had suggested to me to go to the Stand Down and see if they would help me out. I was willing to give it a shot, so I went not knowing if I would get any help or not. So I got all registered and I was escorted by a nice old man named Denny. Before I went to see the judge, I shared my testimony with Denny. I told Denny that God is real and if He could take me, a wretched man, and do such miraculous things, God could do them for him too.
So went at the allotted time to see the judge and my file had not arrived. I waited 15 minutes and came back. My file still had not arrived. So I went and got some food and then went and got a hair cut and a beard trim for free. Before seeing the judge I prayed one more time. I was asking God to show me mercy and grace. I knew that I did not deserve it. God didn't have to do anything. I asked the Lord to either have the fines reduced or completely wiped out. My file finally arrived and soon after I sat with a judge and I was told that the fines would be wiped out and the charges dropped if I came back the next day and did 6 hours of community service. I could not believe it. I asked if i this was for both tickets or just one, because I would have done 12 hours just so that I didn't have to pay these fines. But I was told that all I had to do was 6 hours and that was it. It took a little bit to sink in but I was filled with joy and later tears of gratitude. I called my wife when I was leaving and I told her the good news. I broke down in tears as I was telling her because I had been praying for so long. There were times I thought God was not listening to me and that maybe this was punishment for my past actions. I was so wrong. Next day I showed up for community service. I helped take down chairs, tables and the stands the vendors used. The group I was with was other veterans I we knocked it out real fast. We got done early and we were still awarded 6 hours of community service. Praise the Lord!
I don't know who this is for but I want to encourage everyone to keep praying. Have faith that God is listening. God did show me He was listening even before this transpired. But that had increased my faith and I kept praying for this blessing. It did not happen when I wanted but it came at the right time. God is never late nor is He ever in a hurry. Go dis for us because He is for Himself. Him blessing Him has brought and will bring glory to Him. It was not by my power or my might, but by His spirit that I was blessed the way I did. I lost my job in December and God has been taking care of me. All the bills are paid, we have food in our stomachs, and clothes on our backs. I really believe that this year is a year where things in my life will be restored. I started school again. I am going to get my Bachelors degree in biblical studies at Grand Canyon University. I aspire to become a Pastor or a Chaplain at a prison. I am also starting to see a counselor to help me deal with post traumatic stress disorder.
I have attached the YouTube video when after I got out of the Veteran Stand Down.
I was born again on January 30th, 2013. I use to think it was on March 24th 2013 when I prayed the "Sinners prayer" with my Pastor at church. But upon studying the Bible some more and what it truly means to be born again, the date changed to the 30th of January. I will explain why. If you read the blog entry about my testimony, I mentioned that I grew up Catholic. Then my family stopped being Catholic. When I was about 9 or 10 I was introduced to the gospel through my karate instructor. I thought that I was saved then. But I wasn't. I backslid for close to 20 years. I had made mental notes that if certain things occurred in my life, that I would go back to church. I joined the Army and I may have gone to church services less than 10 times. I went to war twice while serving and I did not return to church. I lived a very sinful life and I loved my sin. But that sin was only pleasurable for but a season and then it was not pleasant at all.
By January 2013, I was at rock bottom. I realized then that I had a lot of acquaintances, but no real friends. My family didn't want me around, so I could not go back home to San Diego, Ca. My girlfriend was getting ready to leave me and take our kids with her. My lease was about to be up also. I was out of work also. So I had no support at all and I was at the verge of loosing it all. I hit rock bottom. I was tired of the sins I committed and my lifestyle. I use to smoke, I use to cuss a lot, I use to drink a lot, I idolized cars, I was a womanizer and a player. I was a fool with money and I was a reckless person. One January 30th me and my girlfriend got into an argument. We had been fighting a lot during that month. I remember that the things she was saying to me would hurt so bad. I believe that the Lord was allowing to feel all the pain I had put her through. I had never hurt like that before.It hurt so much my insides were in pain and I wept.
So that night on the 30th, my girlfriend went to her moms house and I stayed home with the kids. I was up late watching YouTube videos. I had been watching videos about the end times. I had already been hearing the call from the Lord that the end was near and I knew I needed to get right with God. I came across a video by a Christian rapper names Propaganda. The video is called "G.O.S.P.E.L." I will have it at the bottom of this blog entry. I watched it and the Holy Spirit convicted me of all my sins. I feel on my face and I repented of my sins. I prayed that Jesus would change my life. I prayed that my girlfriend and my kids would get saved also. Three days later I was at my first church service in many years. I sat way in the back, balling my eyes out and taking a lot of notes. Although I didn't feel saved nor was there an immediate change that I could see, on January 30th, I was born again. March 24th I still wasn't sure I was saved and I thought I needed to do the sinners prayer in order to be saved. I sought out my Pastor and was prayed. I just wanted to make sure that I was saved because I feared the Lord and His wrath. The Lord was faithful because He saved me, my girlfriend (who is now my wife) and our two kids. My wife was saved in July 2013 and my kids got saved in December 2014.
My life is different now. I am amazed at all the Lord has done in the 4 years I have been a born again follower of Jesus Christ. I don't use Christian very much and I am trying to break this habit because nowadays, anybody can say they are Christian but really are not. Catholics say they Christians, Mormons say they are Christians. But if that were true, they would believe in the teachings of Jesus and only read from the Holy Bible. There would be no need for a Pope, or special prophets that supposedly get new revelations from God. God has revealed everything about Himself through the Bible and through His Son, Jesus Christ. They would also walk by faith and by faith alone. Not by works. I know, works without faith is dead and faith without works is dead. But a true believer in Christ doesn't do good works to win Gods love and favor. We already have that the day we get born again. We do good works BECAUSE we are saved, born again, have Gods love and favor. Let me put it to you like this. I am of Mexican heritage. Mexicans eat tamales. So did I become Mexican because I ate tamales or do I eat tamales because I am Mexican? I eat tamales because I am Mexican, not because I ate tamales. In that same way, I do good works because I am follower of Jesus Christ. I am not a follower of Jesus Christ because of the works that I do.
Being a former Catholic, that too a long time to understand. I thought I had to do things to please God in order for Him to love me. I thought I owed Him something. It pleased God that I got born again. Is He pleased with some aspects of my life? No. But He is working those things out with me and making me more into the likeness of Jesus Christ. Its a life long process. God promises that He will complete what He started and will not abandon me. That promise goes to any one who believes in Jesus Christ and repents of their sins. Everybody falls short of the glory of God. But now that I am born again, when God sees me, He sees me as if I had never sinned. I am justified. I like to call it "Justice + Satisfied = Justified". I have also heard others says being justifies as "just as I'd never sinned".
I want to end with this. The moment you confess Jesus as Lord of your life and repent of your sins, you are born again. We are saved by Gods grace through our faith in Jesus Christ. If you hear the call, respond to it. Do not ignore it. Also, get baptized as soon as possible. I know that some churches want you to wait and take some classes. That isn't what the Bible teaches. When anyone got born again in the Bible, they were immediately baptized so that they could receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Without the Spirit of God dwelling in you, you cant do anything. I did not get baptized until May 5th 2013. That day my life changed once again because I received the gift of the Holy Spirit. So don't be like me! Don't wait too long. If you have the opportunity to get baptized, do it. It doesn't have to be done at church. I've seen it done in swimming pools, bath tubs, lakes, the ocean. The person baptizing doesn't have to be a Pastor. They just have to be born again. Biblical baptism is done by being completely submersed in water in the name of Jesus Christ.
Remember, we are equipped to do things for God. Do it the way the Bible instructs and shows us how. Don't do it by the traditions of the church or the traditions of men. Do not chase after a feeling or a sensation and think if you don't feel them that God isn't there. Sometimes our flesh does react to the presence of God. But we shouldn't look for that special feeling. We should seek Gods kingdom and His righteousness.
Before I answer this question, let it be known that I do not hate homosexuals, transgenders, bisexuals, lesbians etc. I love you all no matter what. Everyone needs Jesus, including myself and I don't think I am better than anyone. I need Jesus every second or every minute, of every hour, of every day, etc. Its not the individual that I hate, it is the sin I hate because God hates sin. You are not the sum of your latest and greatest sin. We ALL have our struggle against sin. Many have become allies with their sin and there is some who fight against it. But its the sin, not the person who fight or we hate. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places (Ephesians 6:12). With that being said, in 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 says "Do you not know that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God." So the answer is NO you cannot be gay and be Christian. You can be a Christian who was formerly gay. But any person who is not born again and forgiven of their sins will not inherit the kingdom of God. Doesn't matter if you are straight or gay. But nowadays, if you disagree with someone you, people automatically say you are hateful. If you speak against LGBTQ, you have become a homophobic person and hateful. Check this out. Its not that you cant love someone that is a sin. Its the physical act of making love, the having sex out of the context God created, that is what is wrong. We are to love one another but we have to do it Gods way. He created everything, including how we respond, react and display love. Sex is only reserved in the context of marriage between a man and a woman. That is not being hateful, its facts. That pleasure is reserved for only a man and a woman that are married. ANY other kind of sexual contact outside of marriage, whether straight or gay, is a sin. The straight man or woman who fornicated with someone other than their spouse will suffer the same fate as a gay man or woman. People nowadays say "It is not my fault because I was born this way!" And I will agree because I too was born a sinner. That's why we must be born again by water and in the spirit so that we can live the way we were originally intended. So if Ellen wants to ban a performer because of their anti-gay comments, so be it. Count it a blessing when you are excluded, called evil, reviled and persecuted for the sake of Christ. Remember that we are pilgrims in this world, just passing by. This world is passing away with everything in it. We are not of this world. The culture of this entire world is "tolerance for everyone...except Christians". We are all suppose to tolerate each other so that we can all live in peace in harmony. Lets us first look at the true meaning of tolerance and intolerance. Tolerance is defined as: The ability or willingness to tolerate something, in particular the existence of opinions or behavior that one does not necessarily agree with. Synonyms for the word tolerance are: patience, sufferance, forbearance, liberality, impartiality, open-mindedness. Intolerance is defined as: unwillingness to accept views, beliefs, or behavior that differ from one's own. It is also defined as, lack of tolerance, unwillingness or refusal to tolerate or respect opinions or beliefs contrary to one's own. So to be a tolerant person means to have respect and have patience and long suffering for someone whose lifestyle, behavior, and beliefs differ from your own. Intolerance means that you are unwilling to respect and to refuse to tolerate someone else's lifestyle, behavior or beliefs. Tolerance does not mean that both parties have to be in agreement. They just have to put up with one another and have respect for one another's opinions, lifestyle,beliefs and behaviors. Followers of Christ do not and cannot condemn people to hell. True Christians are NOT suppose to condemn people to hell. That is above our pay grade, not in our job description and not our responsibility. We are messengers and that is it. Gods word has judged, but we deliver the message. True Christians can warn people that if they continue to indulge in sin of any kind, the end result is death. God is the only one who knows who is and who isn't born again. As a follower, we never know if the person who rejected us at the very last moment of their life accepted salvation and was saved. Many people will be surprised who made it and who did not. But I digress. I am here to say that real Christians are tolerant people. Just because our opinions differ from the world, that doesn't mean we are intolerant towards any people. Now, if you personally have encountered Christians who were intolerant, remember that no one is perfect and that includes Christians. We don't always get these right either. Christians are expected to tolerate all peoples views, opinions, lifestyles and behaviors. But Christians do not get the same tolerance that we are demanded to give. We are being forced to deny our beliefs, change our lifestyles that don't agree with our beliefs to make others feel comfortable. Yes, Christians are to love everyone. This kind of love is not an erotic love. It is also a love that warns and doesn't tolerate sin. It does tolerate the sinner. It is a biblical love that is described in 1 Corinthians 13. "Love is patient and kind, long suffering, holds no record of wrong doing, does not behave rudely, is not provoked to anger, bears all things, believes and hopes all things, and does not rejoice in iniquity but rejoices in the truth. Love never fails." Because Christians know the amount of love God has for all of man kind and because He first loved us, we love Him and we love all the people God created. Because this love God has given us, that love compels Christians to warn others. Liberals, gays, non believers, atheist, etc are not hated by true followers of Jesus Christ. We will warn them all of the impending doom that is to come even if they don't change. It will not be our fault if someone does not believe because we are the messengers of God. We are not called to be successful, we are called to be faithful. The times, the fashion, the culture may change but God's word will never change because He said so. Jesus said in Matthew 5:18 "For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished." The bottom-line is that ANY sin, regardless of what it is, brings forth death. Anyone who is in sin will not inherit the kingdom of God. But God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that WHOSOEVER would believe in Him (Jesus), will have everlasting life. When Jesus started His ministry, He began it by saying REPENT. To repent means to change your ways and your mind for the ways and mind of God. Its starts with a change of heart that leads to a change of mind which leads to change of actions. That is repentance. Believe that Jesus did everything you needed to do in order so that you could be holy and righteous before God. Believe that Jesus rose from the dead 3 days after He died on the cross according to the scriptures. With out the resurrection, our faith is in vain. Without the resurrection, there is no salvation and Christianity would be just a social club. To repent and believe means to be born again. After being born again, outwardly you may look the same, but inwardly, your spirit has been made alive and you become and new creature. In 2 Corinthians 5:17-21 Paul wrote: "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." God was the one who initiated the reconciliation process. Meaning, God, who did no wrong towards us, has offered all of mankind to be made up with Him. God became a human and that man was Jesus Christ. He was fully God and fully man at the same time. He was not just a good man or a teacher or a prophet. Jesus is literally God in the flesh. All of the sins of the world were inputted to Jesus. He took the punishment for ALL of OUR sins. Want to see how much God hates sin? Look at Jesus on the cross. He hates it so much, the penalty is death. Whats this have to do with being born again? When we surrender our lives to Jesus, in Christ we have died with Him on the cross. When Jesus was buried, our old life and sins were buried with Him. For the born again believer, when Jesus rose again , we also rise with Him, spiritually alive. Let me put it to you this way. Lets say you are a mass murder on death row. You are going to die on the electric chair. You say your last words and say that youre sory for what you did. At the last moment someone walks in and says you have been pardoned because the fine has been paid and you are free to go. They wheel in another man as you walk out, its Jesus. The fine is paid for with His life. At the cross there is an exchange. Your sinful, miserable life for the righteousness of Jesus Christ and being reconciled with your God. Restored back to the relationship that was lost so long ago at the Garden of Eden. A word of advice, get baptized immediately or as soon as you can. In the book of Acts, new believers were baptized immediately. There was no 12 week class they had to go to or probation period. If you believe in Jesus Christ and you have repented of your sins, get baptized. It doesn't have to be at church nor a Pastor. A fellow born again Christian and a body of water is fine. Don't give a building, a man and some water too much respect. Worship God and have not other idols before you. Jesus was baptized and we follow His example. Get baptized and will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. But Christianity has converted it to almost another birthday celebration. Yes, its a big deal but we have tacked on unnecessary traditions to baptism. The BIGGER deal in baptism is receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit. With the Holy Spirit you will be able to understand the Bible, your life will radically change, and you will be able to live in such a manner that pleases God. Without the Holy Spirit, you cannot do anything that is described and promised to the Saint. By the way, once you are born again, you are not a sinner anymore. You are a Saint. Say it humbly. So what else happens after being born again? I am glad you asked. You have switched teams. You went from being a bad guy and now a good guy. Your old team is not happy about it and they will relentlessly come after you and attack you. But do not fear because you will have the Holy Spirit dwelling you and He who is dwelling inside you is greater than He that is in the world. So how do we fight back and defend ourselves? With the word of God. In Ephesians 6 there is a famous passage that speaks about the Armor of God. The helmet of salvation basically means knowing that you are saved will protect your mind. You must know for sure you are saved and the Spirit will testify of that to you. The breast plate of righteousness will guard your heart. The shoes of the readiness of the gospel will give you footing when the enemy is pushing against so that you can stand your ground and also to send you out to share and proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ with others. The belt of truth holds everything together. The shield of faith will protect your from the fiery darts (lies) shot at you from the enemy constantly. Lastly, the sword of the Spirit is the word of God. The mightiest weapon, the only weapon we are given is the word of God. Remember earlier that our fight is not against flesh and blood but a spiritual one. So we must know that we are saved, that the righteousness of Jesus guards our heart because from one's life reflects the heart. The truth must hold up all of these pieces of armor. We must be prepared in and out of season to share the gospel and make a defense for what we believe in. Our faith in Jesus and who we are in Him will block the lies and spiritual attacks from the enemy. Lastly, the only weapon we are given is God's word. To acquire all of this you must study your Bible, pray, fast, meditate on Gods word and develop a relationship with God.What we do in this life will determine where we will spend the next life. If you never wanted anything to do with God, then He will give you what you desired. This is why Christians preach, share and talk about Jesus so much. Your priceless soul is what is at stake. A place with the absence of the love and goodness of God is called Hell. A place that is full of the love and goodness of God is a place called Heaven. I wanted to share with you Romans 1:18-32 below and please read it. If this describes you in anyway and you desire a change of life, believe in Jesus and get saved. Saved from what you may ask? Saved from the impending wrath of God on the sinful and wicked. Come as you are because you cannot fix yourself or clean yourself up enough to be acceptable to Jesus. There is nothing about the old you that is salvageable. He will do a new thing through you and your life. He will give you a new heart, a new spirit, new desires, a new way of thinking and seeing things. Its truly wonderful! The gift of salvation is free and there is no obligation. No one is forcing you to make the change. You have to want the change in your life. You have realize that you are a sinner and you need a Savior. That Savior is none other than Jesus Christ of Nazareth. I hope and pray that more people take the offer that God has made to man kind. Roman 1:18-32For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man—and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things. Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due. And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving,unmerciful; who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them.
The Lord wanted to teach me something about developing convictions where the bible is silent. Also He wanted to teach me on how to handle them and how to deal with other believers who do not have the same convictions. Romans 14 is where the Lord took me. I had a couple of brothers mention it to me and I took it as a sign that I needed to study that chapter. There are divisions within the church but its not about the "white" or "black" subjects. Its about the "gray" areas where the Bible is silent. Some churches you will never hear the sound of drum played in that building and some have worship teams that have equipment that are professional grade. Some churches you cannot dance and some you can. Some churches require people to dress up to come to church and some don't. Those are just some of the gray areas where the Bible is silent but have caused division within the church.
Here is the thing that I learned from studying Romans 14; we must be persuaded in our own minds what is good or bad for us on things where the Bible is silent. We must also give others the freedom to develop their own convictions. When they do develop those convictions, we do not judge them for that. If a brother decides that eating pork is fine but you don't, that is okay. That brother is eating pork unto the Lord and giving thanks for it. If you decide to refrain from eating pork, that is fine too because you are doing as unto the Lord. Or if someone decides to abstain from drinking any alcohol but you think its okay, that is fine also. The Bible never says you cant drink alcohol but it does say you cannot get drunk. Which leads me to the next thing I learned. We should limit our freedom for others. We need to be able to limit our freedom so that it doesn't make others stumble. On the subject of alcohol, lets say a Pastor invites a member of their church to their house. The person convicted a recovering alcoholic. He sees the Pastor drinks alcohol and therefore assumes that since my Pastor drinks, that means so can I and begins drink themselves to destruction. The Pastor's actions just became a stumbling block to the recovering alcoholic. Pastors are looked at as examples on how to walk out faith and live Christ like. Maybe that Pastor could have not drank any alcohol beverages when He invites folks from His church because He is to be an example. Or may be He could give up alcohol for the good of others so that He doesn't become a stumbling block and causes others to sin.
Another thing I learned was that some people regard other days holier than others and some people regard everyday the same. For example, this past Christmas me and my family decided that from now on, we were not going to celebrate Christmas. We have our reasons and they are many and I don't want to get into it so that I don't digress from this message. But if other believers want to celebrate Christmas, that is fine. Me and my family are persuaded, convicted and in faith do not partake in that holiday. Another believer is persuaded that celebrating Christmas is fine, they celebrate it as to the Lord and are not convicted by it, that is fine. The Bible doesn't speak about those things. But we must be fully convinced in our mind. We cannot be double minded. We must eliminate the gray areas in our lives. God is definitive in the sense that in Gods eyes something is either right or wrong, righteous or sinful. There is no gray are when it comes to God. So we must also begin to define what is good for us and what is bad.
In conclusion, Jesus became a man and took on all of our limitations. Him being born a Jew, He obeyed all of the laws of Moses and Judaism. There are 613 commandments in the Torah and Jesus lived them all out perfectly. He limited Himself in that way also as a man. Jesus limited Himself the legitimate pleasures of this world so that He could save us. He lived the life that we could not live. He died the death that was meant for us. He was resurrected so that we can eternal life. We were accepted by Jesus not because of who we are or what have/have not done. He accepted us because of who He is and by our faith in Him. We are given the righteousness of Jesus as soon as we are born again. How righteous is Jesus? He is the pinnacle of righteousness and the high standard of righteousness. That's how righteous we become when we surrender our lives to the Lord, believe in Him and repent of our sins. So who are we to judge? BUT! That doesn't give us license to sin. For example, I can have a beer but if I am laid out on the ground drunk, I have sinned about something God has been clear is sin and I need correction and need to repent.
I hope this helped you understand this chapter in the Bible. Studying it sure helped me out. Happy new year to all who follow this blog and readers who happen to stop by to read this entry. May Gods grace and mercy be with you always!
