Crucify Me!

Description : Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin (Romans 6:6-7, KJV).

There comes a time when a person must make a personal decision to be completely crucified with Christ if he or she is going to experience complete victory. A partial crucifixion is only a partial death, which means there is something still alive that should not be. Those things that are contrary to God’s very nature and His Word should no longer have part in us; much less be part of us. The things of the old nature are meant to be crucified along with the old man. Trying to keep those things alive is like trying to give mouth-to-mouth resuscitation to a dead rat. We must quit trying to give life to something that is not supposed to survive.

One decision we all must make is to allow Jesus to increase in us. This means that His very nature becomes ours. Along with it, it is the change of perspective. We can no longer look at things from fallen man’s point of view, and expect to be Christ-like. We must allow the transfiguration of our thought processes to take place in order for His thoughts to become our thoughts. Sit down and ask the Lord to show you attitudes that need to be changed. Time to be honest. How we think and what we think often determine the outcome of a given situation. It affects how we handle circumstances and how we relate to other people. It affects our attitudes, and attitude gives color to perspective. Yet perspective gives color to attitude –they reciprocate. Perspective also gives tint to our emotions. One feeds into the other. There is a huge difference between an emotional reaction and a spiritual response. A spiritual response requires a complete crucifixion!

I prophesy that you will "Rise & Walk"

Be on the lookout for my new highly anticipated book; “Don’t Let the 4 Wheels F.O.O.L. You”!!! If you have ever felt as though society has counted you out! You won’t want to miss this inspirational road map to success!

Prophecy?

Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand (Revelation 1:3, KJV).

Prophesy in the life of the believer can be an excellent thing when it is properly studied and applied. Even our opening text tells us that we are blessed when we read, hear, and keep those things written in Revelation. Of course, this would also apply to the entire Word of God. When a believer approaches prophecy –written or spoken and it is truly of God, excellence will follow. However, it can move from being excellent to merely being good when it is not studied at the proper time, and/or when it is not properly applied. It is one thing to do a good thing, it is quite another to do the right thing. When everything is led of the Lord, it will be right.

When we approach prophecy, we need to keep first things first. The first thing is to pray and ask the Lord His will concerning our next move. In this case, does He even want us to study it at this time? The reality is that unless we are taught of the Lord through the Holy Spirit, it will be a fruitless effort for the most part. If God wants us to focus on something different from prophecy, prophecy can become a distraction. The Lord is constantly working in our lives (see Philippians 1:6), and the more we submit to His desires the quicker He is able to bring us to maturity. That means even end time prophecy can become a diversion from those things the Lord really wants to reveal to us, which includes things about ourselves we do not want to see. In some cases, the Lord may want to build a better Biblical foundation before taking someone into the deeper things of God -first things first! Even the Apostles had to apply this principle.

Acts 1:4-8 And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me. For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence. When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power. But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth (KJV). Part of end time prophecy is the restoration of the kingdom to Israel. In this passage of Scripture, we find that Jesus is giving His disciples a set of instructions –wait for the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. In the midst of His instruction, the disciples ask Him about the restoration of Israel. His response was simple, that’s not for you to know at this time, receive power first, so you are able to be My witnesses. This is not to say that the disciples should never receive instruction in this area, in fact, they already had (i.e. Matthew 24; Luke 21). However, this is not the time for that. As believers, we need to consult the Lord before going any further. As we do, we will find prophecy will be an excellent thing in our lives.

I prophesy that you will "Rise & Walk"

Be on the lookout for my new highly anticipated book; “Don’t Let the 4 Wheels F.O.O.L. You”!!! If you have ever felt as though society has counted you out! You won’t want to miss this inspirational road map to success!

Do You Share?

If you choose to be obedient to the commands of Jesus, one of the hardest things that you need to do as you walk through this life is to share the Gospel with people. In particular, people that you know and come into contact with often. This includes, family members, friends, co-workers, and neighbors. You know it is your job to share your faith with these people, but you get nervous because you don’t want to be thought of as a religious wacko or nut case. We have all seen way too many examples of morons out there acting like a bunch of bozo’s thinking that they are doing the Lord a favor by sacrificing themselves on the alter of persecution “for the Lord”. In reality most of them are driving people farther from the Savior than they were before they came across this “martyr in his own mind”. Let’s forget about those folks for a while, and focus on the real world. You have family members, friends, co-workers, and neighbors that do not know the Lord, and if they were to die today they would end up in hell. This is a terrible fate that we don’t want for anyone, much less a loved one. But yet we let time go by and death draw all the more near and never utter a word about the Savior they so desperately need. The purpose of this article is to motivate you to stand up boldly for your faith, and to share the gospel lovingly and honestly in a way that people will appreciate. We will focus on your neighbors, however the information presented can be used to share the gospel with anyone. When you share your faith with your neighbor you should always prepare for the encounter with prayer and Bible study. Then just go and talk to them like you normally would. You don’t just walk up to them and ask how much money they have in their bank account, or how much they weigh. Those questions are way to personal to start out a conversation with, and it is the same with sharing the Gospel. You don’t just start out by saying, “if you don’t trust Jesus as your Savior, you’ll go to hell for eternity”. Start the conversation with normal, everyday chitchat about the weather, the ball game, or how the kids are doing. Then take the leap to jump from natural things to spiritual things. Deliberately bring up your faith, or what you learned reading your Bible recently by interjecting it into the conversation. You will be able to tell by their reaction as to whether or not they are open to spiritual things. If they are open then ask them questions about their own faith. Let them talk. This is the key to having anyone like you; let them talk about themselves for a while. We will deal with those that are not open to spiritual things later. After they are talking for a while, and you are listening intently you will get a good impression as to whether or not this person has a Biblical understanding of salvation by grace through faith, not of works. Then you will know how to steer the conversation. If they don’t have a biblical understanding of salvation, you can chime in with some verses of scripture that will help to guide them. Use Bible verses that will straighten out the areas that are incorrect in there thinking. Let them go on for a while, but when it is your turn to talk take them straight to sin. Teach them in a conversational manner what sin is. Use the Ten Commandments as a mirror so they can see for themselves that they are sinners too. Explain to them how God is perfect and holy and just. How He must punish sin wherever it is found. Don’t be shy here. You must get them convinced that they are sinners and worthy of death and eternal punishment before the good news that Jesus died for them will make sense. If they do not show outward signs of sorrow over their sins go back and show them God’s commandments again, and help them see how horrible they really are in God’s sight. After they are convinced that they are sinners and how they deserve to be sent to hell, teach them that God doesn’t want to send people to hell so he made a way for them to be forgiven. Ask them if they know what God did for them. This is when you can sometimes see the light come on. Someone’s face will light up and say “hey! I knew that, Jesus died on the cross” and they will tell you that they just never heard the gospel put quite like that before. Share with them a few more scriptures about Jesus being the only way to God, how He was born of a virgin, then lived a sin free life then died on the cross to save them from the penalty that they owe by virtue of being a sinner. Then he rose again to give us everlasting life. Continue the conversation by asking them if they will make that commitment to trust Jesus as their Savior. Share with them how to pray for forgiveness of their sins by confessing them to God. Then encourage them to spend some time alone, talking to God and getting their heart right before Him. Share with them what David said in Psalm 51 so they can see what a sinful man says to a Holy God. Then you can thank them for being so kind as to let you share your faith with them. Make sure they know that you aren’t pressuring them to go to your church, but that they should try to find a Bible-believing church to be part of so they can grow in their faith. And of course, make sure they know that you are available to try to answer any questions they might have about spiritual things. But, if the person is not interested in spiritual things then you will need to be very courteous and to maintain the friendship and good standing between you. Consider the Parable of the sower; you have encountered someone with thorny ground. The ground is so thorny that the word can’t take root but gets choked out. You need to turn the thorny ground into good ground. You need to plow up the thorny ground and fertilize and water and plant fresh seed until his heart is fertile and ready to receive the word. Only then will the fruit spring up and increase. There are many ways to start the process of tilling this person’s soil. Obviously prayer is our best weapon, however it is not our only weapon. You should always be ready to help this neighbor with a chore, or have a kind word for them when needed. Showing them the example of a servant that Jesus left for us. Your life should be an example of Christ. And it should be obvious to your neighbors. If your neighbors have to guess whether you are a Christian or not, you need to do a better job. Another way I like to reach out to those people with thorny ground is to send them anonymous gospel mailers. Put a tract and/or a letter in the mail to them that explains the Gospel in a direct way. Anonymous gospel mailers should not be wishy-washy. They should be eye-catching, interesting, and to the point. After you have done these things for a while, go have another shot at it. Test the waters to see if they are now more open to the things of God. Don’t get so caught up in showing them your lifestyle, and ministering to his physical needs that you forget about his spiritual condition. If all his physical needs are met, yet his spiritual needs are not he will be in big trouble on the day he goes to stand before God. Don’t let this happen! Now you have a quick Biblical strategy for how to share the Gospel with a neighbor, now go find one and practice on them.

I prophesy that you will "Rise & Walk"

Be on the lookout for my new highly anticipated book; “Don’t Let the 4 Wheels F.O.O.L. You”!!! If you have ever felt as though society has counted you out! You won’t want to miss this inspirational road map to success!

So You Want To Help?

It is the heart of a Christian to help people. It is the Good Samaritan in us. "But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion.” (Luke 10:33 NKJV)

We are rightly motivated to sacrifice for others as our Savior did for us. “By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.” (1 John 3:16)

From a secular or spiritual perspective, there can be nothing wrong in helping another person in need, even a known sinner. That’s what we believe, but we’re wrong. Help, even with the best of intentions, can be deadly. Not only to the sinner, but to those who help.

The spiritual key is whether or not the sinner will repent of their sin. If that is the case, we are to do everything we can to lead them from the darkness of their sin to the Light of the Lord. But if they will not repent, we are to leave them. “And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them.” (Ephesians 5:11)

As with all applicable commandments, leaving the sinner is done not to hurt them, but to lovingly shame them into turning from their sin so they may be saved. “And if anyone does not obey our word in this epistle, note that person and do not keep company with him, that he may be ashamed. Yet do not count him as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother.” (2 Thessalonians 3:14-15)

This may sound harsh, perhaps even judgmental, but it’s not. We are not to judge people as it is not our right. "Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.” (Luke 6:37)

But, and this is where so many go wrong, we are to judge all things. “But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one.” (1 Corinthians 2:15)

This seeming nuance is spiritual dynamite, as we are told not to judge the person, but only the sin. That is hard for the secular to tolerate, as our society is being covertly programmed to be permissive and tolerant of even aberrant behavior. But the spiritual among us understand the loving motivation of what God commands, and for that we will never apologize.

We are to help those in need, especially those with needs of the soul. But we are not to tolerate continued sin, as in doing so we help the sinner to remain comfortable in his wretched condition. In contrary to our intentions, we then become sin’s facilitator. And it doesn’t matter if such a person is a stranger or a family member. God’s law is God’s law. “But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner— not even to eat with such a person.” (1 Corinthians 5:11)

And if we will not listen to God’s guidance? The following is a biblical doctrine often ignored and/or misunderstood by even those of devout faith. “Whoever transgresses and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God. He who abides in the doctrine of Christ has both the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to you and does not bring this doctrine, do not receive him into your house nor greet him; for he who greets him shares in his evil deeds.” (2 John 1:9-11) As a lay minister and counselor, these three verses take my breath away. We people of faith in trying to help sinners be reclaimed are walking a tightrope most of us don’t know we’re on.

God is saying that unless we are careful to adhere to His Word, we, even in trying to express our faith through a helpful witness, may make the sins of others our sins. And while I speak for no one other than myself, on Judgment Day I will have enough to be concerned with without having to answer for the sins of others. That is why the Bible warns us to only help sinners as God commands.

I prophesy that you will "Rise & Walk"

Be on the lookout for my new highly anticipated book; “Don’t Let the 4 Wheels F.O.O.L. You”!!! If you have ever felt as though society has counted you out! You won’t want to miss this inspirational road map to success!

The Doctrine of Being Saved From Sin

Biblical doctrine about sin goes like this:

Mk: 16:15-18: And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. 16: He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. 17: And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; 18: They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.

Rom: 6:3-14: Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? 4: Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. 5: For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: 6: Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. 7: For he that is dead is freed from sin. 8: Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him: 9: Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him. 10: For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. 11: Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. 12: Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. 13: Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. 14: For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.

Rom: 8:3-5: For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: 4: That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. 5: For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.

How could it be put any plainer? This is what God did for us. This knowledge was why Christians used to stand out from the rest. They used to be the cream of the crop. Now an attitude of “we are human” has reigned in its stead and we (Christians) have been reduced from being children of the living God sitting in high places back to the human condition again.

The mind-set above is from God. It is biblical and it is the truth that will set you free. The strength to walk in righteousness comes from God’s precept in these scriptures, not from cutting everyone a break by says, “We are only human.”

I prophesy that you will "Rise & Walk"

Be on the lookout for my new highly anticipated book; “Don’t Let the 4 Wheels F.O.O.L. You”!!! If you have ever felt as though society has counted you out! You won’t want to miss this inspirational road map to success!

There Will Be Trials

To those who assume the Christians who are looking to be blessed of God according to the many promises in the Bible are looking for heaven on earth, I would say, “We are not looking for heaven on earth. We are looking for what has been promised.”

2Cor: 1:20: 20: For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us.

This means Christians are to ask for and expect help, healing, guidance, protection, deliverance and victory.

2Pet: 1:3-4: According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: 4: Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

It’s believing the promises that helps Christians escape the high pressures in life that cause people to make wrong choices.

1Pet: 1:3-7: Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4: To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, 5: Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6: Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: 7: That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:

There are trials, problems, long suffering to endure. As Christians, our job is to believe what God has revealed and what He has promised and do what He has said to do. His job is to prepare us for eternal life--conforming us into the image of His Son.

We must not expect to be exempt from suffering and trials for they are growing pains. But we must believe God and expect to receive what He has promised. Many trials are because we are believing and the devil wants us to give up believing.

Jas: 1:2-4: My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; 3: Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. 4: But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.

The good news is that our trials and sufferings are all well worth it, because they will be used to our good--if we love the Lord and are called according to His purpose.

Rom: 8:26-29: Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. 27: And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God. 28: And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. 29: For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.

1Pet: 4:1-2: Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin; 2: That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God.

And He meets our needs in the midst of the test, trials, and temptations. He administers, strength, comfort, joy, and encouragement. Remember He has not left us orphans, He has sent His Spirit.

Jn: 14:16-18: And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; 17: Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. 18: I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.

Instead of I will not leave you comfortless in Vs 18, the Amplified Bible says; I will not leave you orphans [comfortless, desolate, bereaved, forlorn, helpless] and it spells out what the comforter does. He is the Christian’s advocate, intercessor, standby, helper, counselor, and strengthener.

Praise the Lord, you will find that God has all bases covered.

I prophesy that you will "Rise & Walk"

Be on the lookout for my new highly anticipated book; “Don’t Let the 4 Wheels F.O.O.L. You”!!! If you have ever felt as though society has counted you out! You won’t want to miss this inspirational road map to success!

You Are Soooo Valuable

A farmer found an egg in the bush around his house and placed it among other eggs. After some weeks, the egg hatched into an eaglet and grew among many chicks. The eaglet jumped highest, flew longer distance and was the champion of village competitions. Then one day, an older eagle looked down from the sky. He made the dive, picked up the young eagle by its claws, soared high in the air and let it go. The young eagle realized it was time to fly or die!

Friend, there are so many people who are scratching the dust like chicken when their place is in the sky soaring with the eagles. You are a very special, valuable and worthy person. It doesn’t matter what others have said you are. And even the self-imposed shackles around your life can never remove your worth.

Whose report about yourself will you believe?

Here are four reasons that undoubtedly make you special:

Reason # 1: God Knows Every Detail About You

Even before you were born, God knew you.1 He knows your name, desires, dreams. He even knows the number of hairs on your head.2 Every day of your life was recorded in his book.3 “I say this because I know what I am planning for you," says the Lord. "I have good plans for you, not plans to hurt you. I will give you hope and a good future.”4 The fact that God knows you make you very special.

Reason # 2: You Are Unique

None in the billions of people in the world has your fingerprint or DNA. None has your exact talents, gifts and abilities. None has gone through the same experiences you have. Your uniqueness makes you special, needed and valuable. You do not have to act, speak, dress or live like anyone else. Never compare yourself with others. Be the better you, not a copy of another.

Reason # 3: Only You Can Make The Contribution You Can Make

You were not an accident. You were born in a time such as this for a purpose. There is a contribution that God wants you to make in your family, community, nation and world.5 Unless you rise up to complete your mission, something will be a miss in the world. A drop in the ocean, makes part of the ocean.

Reason # 4: You Have The Freedom To Chose

You are not a robot to do as programmed. God has given you the freedom to choose the kind of life you want to lead. He has done his best to show the best way to live your life. He made you and knows how best you can become all you can be. That’s why he gave you the Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth. The Bible is God’s manual for knowing yourself, so you can accomplish his will for your life.

Starting today, say to yourself what God says about you. Seek Him to know more about yourself. Read His Word to know what he says about you. And your life will be tremendously changed.

And after you have known how valuable you are, help another person know how valuable they are.

I prophesy that you will "Rise & Walk"

Be on the lookout for my new highly anticipated book; “Don’t Let the 4 Wheels F.O.O.L. You”!!! If you have ever felt as though society has counted you out! You won’t want to miss this inspirational road map to success!