Rules and Ordinances

Did you know that there is plain and clear Scripture where we are commanded to NOT observe rules and ordinances?! If your denomination or church says things like "You can't play cards. You can't dance. You have to get married in the temple. You can't drink caffeine. You have to worship on Saturday. You have to worship on Sunday. You have to... blah, blah, blah. You can't... blah, blah, blah." You might want to read this section of Scripture. Such things are man made religion, and have nothing to do with Christ.

And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.  Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ. Let no one disqualify you, insisting on asceticism and worship of angels, going on in detail about visions, puffed up without reason by his sensuous mind, and not holding fast to the Head, from whom the whole body, nourished and knit together through its joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God.  If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the world, why, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations— “Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch” (referring to things that all perish as they are used)—according to human precepts and teachings? These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh.
Colossians 2:13‭-‬23 ESV

ADDICTIONS!? BETTER KNOW THE TRUTH.

The ideas of the world have thoroughly distorted the truth. God is the ONLY One who can change hearts. "Addiction" is the world's babbling for idolatry. The success rate of people being freed from "addictions" is so low, because there is ONLY ONE name under which we can be set free. The world does not teach THEE answer, but rather some disillusioned idea that we can "free our selves". Heresy. We place an idol in our heart, and God gives us over to it to be destroyed by it. There are spiritual laws in place which cannot be broken. God MUST change a person's heart, and that is done ONLY through the power of the Holy Spirit through Jesus of Nazareth. If we teach ANYTHING other than the truth, we cannot bring anyone to freedom. We may simply change the idol to which they are bound.

I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them. Then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; you shall be My people, and I will be your God. I will deliver you from all your uncleannesses. I will call for the grain and multiply it, and bring no famine upon you.
-Ezekiel 36:26-29

FREEDOM

Through my recent struggles I have learned this: I have learned that love must be unconditional, consistent, and unwavering. I have learned what that looks like. It must be unattached to any specific outcome or circumstance, and be entirely for the best interest of the person whom I love. Furthermore God has shown me this truth with absolute certainty: If I do not let her go entirely, yielding in surrender before God and His will, then she sits on the throne of my heart. This cannot be. God must be first, and Jesus must be supreme. Only in this reality am I truly free and empowered with the confidence and courage that I need to be the man God has made me to be. If I hold to her instead of God, then I am a slave to her, and as a consequence I suffer the torment of never being fulfilled. In God’s faithfulness He has brought me to a place where I must let go, yet He has gracefully given be the understanding to go along with it. I yield. I let go entirely of her, of my ideas, of my hopes, and my dreams. I surrender to the will of God. I do not know what lies ahead, but I know that I do not own the outcome. I find great peace and rest in this understanding. My love for her is no less, for I know what real love is, but I have been made free from the enslavement of my own mind. God must be first. Anytime anyone, or anything, comes before God it is idolatry. God is in the business of destroying idols. He loves us too much let us be enslaved in our sin. True freedom only lies in Him. Whatever, or whoever, sits on the throne of your heart, I pray that you might re-evaluate your life. Do not force God to remove what keeps you dead and enslaved, just so that He can save your soul and give you life. It hurts to have things torn from our hands. Much better to willing yield them. 

Tough Questions, Great Opportunities

My son and I were talking, and he was telling me how he felt about homosexuality. He said "I know God doesn't like it, but I want to respect other people and let them do what they want, so I support it." This was a huge opportunity to pour into my son's life. I told him that it doesn't matter what we think. That is what is wrong with the world today. Nobody wants to offend anyone, so nobody holds to any convictions.

I told Hayden like this. Simple truth, simple application. Jesus says if you are not for me, then you are against me. Period. His entire ministry He drew lines. He said "You are here, and you need to be here. If you stay where you are at, you will perish in your sin and you stand under the wrath of God. If you come to me, you will have eternal life and peace now."

The world does not apply rules of logic to their line of thinking. You cannot say you are a Christian, yet approve of things that God hates. It is impossible. I told Hayden that he is going to have to choose a side. Either we are for God, or we are against Him. Period. Then I also shared what Jesus said to His disciples. He said “They hated me, they will hate you also.” I let my son know that to stand for God is to stand against the thing of this world. I told him that if he chooses to obey God and follow Christ, the world will hate him for it. It takes great courage and strength to follow the Lord.

I did not have to specifically address homosexuality. I addressed it at the core issue. If God says it is bad, and to not do it, then it is bad and a person should not do it. Homosexuality is listed in the same list as coveting, which is simply wanting what we do not have. A sin is a sin, is a sin. To approve of one is to approve of them all. I told him that if he chooses to give his life to Christ, it no longer matters what he thinks about things, only what God thinks about them. He will have to make that choice on his own, but I will not let him think it is something other than what it is. There is NO FENCE. We have to make a choice, and be ALL IN. Period.

Today

It is never too late for us to return to God. His call is constant, His love unfailing, and His forgiveness complete. He simply desires us to turn to Him with our whole heart. The price is already paid for every sin we have ever committed, and all we have to do is trust Him to perform according to His Word.

The hardest thing for us to do is to see our self for who we really are. So many of us are so calloused and disillusioned that we think we are just fine without Him, but we aren't. Our depravity is deep, and permeates every aspect of our lives. Before we can turn to God with our whole heart, we must realize we need Him. We must see our shortcomings and failures for what they really are. They are wretched, damaging, and hurtful to everyone around us, yet alone our selves, and there is nothing we can do of our own accord to change them. If there were, we would not need a Savior and Jesus would not had to have given His life to redeem us.

If God is calling you, tugging on your heart, do not let the guilt and shame of the realization of the thing you have done keep you from turning to Him for healing. He forgives you, He loves you, and He already knows all that you have done. Today can be the day of your salvation. Today can be the day that you are set free from all of the pain, guilt, shame, and failure. Today you can turn to the Lord, call on His great Name, and trust Him to do what we cannot do of our own accord.

Think about it. Does it hurt bad enough yet? How much more must you, and more importantly your loved ones, endure before it does hurt bad enough. There is no short cut. There is no other way. There are more "self-help" programs and ideas in the world today than ever before, and the violence and divorce rates continue to climb at exponential rates. If the world had the answer, this would not be. There is one answer, and one name which we can be saved from our great depravity. Jesus of Nazareth, God come in the flesh to His people to offer life, and life more abundantly.

So you love someone...

So you love someone... Do you love them enough to tell them they are a liar? So you love someone... Do you love them enough to tell them they are a manipulator? So you love someone... Do you love them enough to tell them they are fake? So you love someone... Do you love them enough to tell them they are living a lie? So you love someone... Do you love them enough to tell them they are a hypocrite? So you love someone... Do you love them enough to tell them they are not living up to their potential? So you love someone... Do you love them enough to tell them they are headed to Hell? So you love someone... Do you love them enough to tell them they are going to die in their sin? So you love someone... Do you love them enough to tell them about Jesus? So you love someone... Do you love them enough to tell them the truth?

We live in such a sick and twisted world. A world where it is considering judgmental to speak truth to someone, just because it might be offensive. Let us stick with simple facts as to avoid the toxicity of the world view on the topic.

First we will define judging.

Judging :

Verb Form an opinion or conclusion about. Decide (a case) in a court of law.

Now let us define truth.

Truth :

a archaic : fidelity, constancy

b : sincerity in action, character, and utterance

2

a (1) : the state of being the case : fact (2) : the body of real things, events, and facts : actuality (3) often capitalized : a transcendent fundamental or spiritual reality

b : a judgment, proposition, or idea that is true or accepted as true <truths of thermodynamics>

c : the body of true statements and propositions

3

a : the property (as of a statement) of being in accord with fact or reality

b chiefly British : true 2

c : fidelity to an original or to a standard

4

capitalized Christian Science : god

— in truth

: in accordance with fact : actually

The revelation of truth does not imply judgment. However, because we are so rooted in our pride, and truth brings opposition to our world view, we take offense to truth. Because we take offense, we consider it judging and become defensive. Truth will always offend, because we are innately prideful and selfish people. There is no two ways about it. Truth just is. It is just fact. It is not up to perception or interpretation. If a person lies, they are a liar. Period. Though we can rationalize and justify whatever we want, it does not change the fact.

Passing judgment on someone for the truth is not our place. It is our place to speak the truth, ESPECIALLY if we love someone. Sadly enough though, because of fear of offense or what the person may think about us, we cowardly refuse to speak truth. We sugar coat things and water them down to make them more bearable to the hearer. This does not do them any favors, but does for us because we feel safe in our cowardice.

How can we love someone, yet withhold truth from them? We can't. If we love someone, truly for them, then  it would be selfish of us to not share truth with them simply because of our own fears. Fear permeates and corrupts everything around us. I challenge you to be bold in your relationships. I challenge you to speak truth to the people you love. I challenge you to quit being a scared coward, and to step out in love and courage, and make a difference in the lives around you. I challenge you to put your self aside and to do something for someone else. Truth MUST come. How will a person know what they are not shown or taught? Love is not easy. At least not if it is a real love for another person, because then what we feel becomes irrelevant.

Just Me

Coming to Christ is a point in a person's life where we see the truth about our depravity for the first time, and see the hope in what Jesus Christ did for us. God wants us to be free, for this is salvation. True freedom. Free from what other people think about us. Free from the guilt, the shame, and the burden of the things we have done. Free from our fears. Free from our limitations. Freedom to just be our selves, to be who God made us to be. Hope that God can do what we cannot, that where we fall short He is able to make up the difference. The moment of surrender before God, being baptized in the Holy Spirit, is THEE definitive moment of TRUTH in our lives. It is the moment where we come to terms with who we really are, who God really is, and what He has truly done for us. This is THEE moment of truth. From this point forward we will continue to grow into a person of commitment, of integrity, and of truth.

Some of us are able to just ignore the truths of the things we have done, which gives us escape from the guilt and shame temporarily, but in doing so the real us is subsequently buried even deeper behind our lies and denial. If we cannot at least be honest with our self, how can we ever be honest with anyone around us? A person who has a desire to be the best that they can be, to love those in their lives as perfectly as possible, will inevitably come to terms with the truth. Others will be satisfied with the relationships in their lives being shallow and empty, and may never have to come to terms with the truth. They will hold tight to their illusion no matter how the relationships around them suffer. We hide our sin from those who love us and from God Himself. We cannot be open, or honest, because of fear of what people may say or do.

There is such freedom in "coming clean", in facing the truth of who we are and what we have done. When we confess our sins, we are making ourself transparent. We are able to then simply deal with things in truth. Yes we did that, and yes we did that. Our "yes" is able to be "yes", and our "no" is able to be "no". When we reach the point that we can honestly say... "I am a liar." "I am a cheat." "I am a manipulator." "I am selfish.", we are then getting to where we can deal with truths.

At this point we have come to terms with who we really are, and must then decide what we want to do about it. Many of us will simply justify all of the things that we have done by either blaming our actions on someone else, or something else. We are capable of justifying whatever we want, however we want. Some will show simple complacency and just state that they are good with who they are. These people are those who do not care about what they have done to others by their actions. They are good, so they don't care. There there are still those who see what their actions have done to others, and their hearts break. It is these that come to their knees before Jesus. They no longer want to hurt anyone else, and there is great repentance for the things they have done.

The guilt and shame from the things we have done is washed away by the blood that was shed to forgive us. We are set free, because we acknowledge and accept that we are a sinful person. These things dwell in our flesh, and so we openly acknowledge them. We look to God to cause us to walk in love, giving everything we have to give to those around us. When we fall short of our goal, which we do constantly, we remember the blood of Christ, the love of God, and we repent, pick ourself back up, and start fresh. We never give up. We never stay down.

I am just a man, and I will never be perfect. Sometimes I lie. Sometimes I manipulate. I am far from perfect, but I know who I am. I am not afraid to just be myself. I am not ashamed that I am not perfect. I trust in God. I trust in the finished work of Jesus on the cross. As I spend more time with Him, the desires of my heart have changed. I lie less. I manipulate less. However, the sin will always be in this flesh. I do not need to bare the weight of guilt though. When I sin, I confess my sin, I whole heartedly repent, and I move on. All of our sins have been forgiven, and I do not need to hide myself from my Maker. I trust in Him to make me who He made me to be. I am free to be just me, and that is in Christ.