ABOUT ME

I want to clarify something to those who are in my circle of influence. I am going to share some things you may not know about me.

 

I was convicted of four felonies in 1999, and was on probation for ten and half years and am now on parole. I graduated from Maranatha Christian School in 1997, and had gone to church nearly every Sunday growing up. I called myself a Christian through it all, but it wasn't until 2010 that God decided to reveal Himself in me.

 

God brought me to a place of broken surrender where I was finally able to let Him be God. I lost my freedom, my family, and every physical possession except my clothes when I went to jail in August 2010 for violating my probation. It was there that I learned the Truth of Jesus' words "Only one thing is needed". Through God's grace I was given 20 months to get to know my Lord, and we spent 6-8 hours a day for the whole 20 months praying and reading the Word.

 

I have been out of prison since May of 2012, and God has been rebuilding my life as He continues to write His story. I am a five point Calvinist as defined by the world, but I am only who God has made me to be and I only know what He has given me. I hold to the absolute truth of the word of God, of the written Word's inerrancy, and to the sovereign God's ability to preserve His Word. I am the King's, and I am His to do with as He pleases.

I manage a flooring store in Boise. I have two children from two different moms. I am engaged to an amazing woman with two of her own kids, and I am constantly just in awe of what God is doing in our lives.

WORSHIP

So many get caught up in the emotions behind worshipping God in song and dance, or in their worship rituals, yet fail to worship Him in the manner He desires most. Let us talk about it.

This topic is to promote self examination in us, for it is easy to deceive ourselves. People may go to a church and enjoy the singing and worship, yet it is possible they are doing so in vain. It is even more likely that a person may be in church worshipping an idol instead of the true God. They may be singing to a god of their own imagination instead of the God of the Bible.

Therefore the Lord said:

“Inasmuch as these people draw near with their mouths
And honor Me with their lips,
But have removed their hearts far from Me,
And their fear toward Me is taught by the commandment of men"

- Isaiah 29:13

 

What does the worship of the Bible look like?

 

Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

- John 4:21-24

 

If that is the kind of worship God is looking for, what does it look like?

 

Sacrifice and offering You did not desire;
My ears You have opened.
Burnt offering and sin offering You did not require.
Then I said, “Behold, I come;
In the scroll of the book it is written of me.
I delight to do Your will, O my God,
And Your law is within my heart.”

- Psalms 40:6-8

 

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

- Romans 12:1-2

 

So... Whether you worship God with hands in the air, singing out loud, singing in your heart, with your head bowed and eyes closed, or in dance, know that all these things are great, but this not the worship the Lord desires most. He desires us. He desires our lives. This is the evidence of our true worship.

 

SALT AND LIGHT

Listen.

God says EXACTLY what He means, make no mistake about it. The scriptures are NOT left for people to “have their own interpretation”.

And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts; knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.
- 2 Peter 2:19-21

Being gay is NOT a choice. It is a result of God’s wrath, and God gives people over to it as a result of rejecting Him in our hearts.

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.
- Romans 1:20-32

Homosexuality is a sin just like having sex outside of marriage is a sin, whether in the form of adultery or fornication. Right and wrong ARE absolutes. NONE who continue in sin, which is unrighteousness, can enter into the Kingdom of God. Period. End of story, because God says it.

Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.
- 1 Corinthians 6:9-11

A true believer who has been born again is made evidence by the obedience produced by the presence of the Holy Spirit. We CANNOT continue in sin. It is not possible. Sanctification is progressive, but we cannot remain in our sin.

Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness. And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin. Whoever abides in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him.

Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous. He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil. Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God.
- 1 John 3:4-9

It is easy to be drawn away by ear tickling ideas, but the Word is concrete. We are to love all people, but not the sin. Remember that Jesus came for the sinners. He came for us in love, and died for our sins. At the same time though, we are hardly being salt and light if we endorse false doctrine. We must stand for truth, without compromising, and call things what they are (which is what God says they are) just as Jesus did. Do not be a coward. Stand firm in the Truth.

Just being light and salt. Do not be moved from the True Word.

Line Upon Line

Reading the Bible apart from the Holy Spirit is like a first grader trying to do Calculus. They may know some of the numbers they see, just as a person may recognize the words they read, but how everything comes together will not make sense. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of truth.

 

"However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you."

- John 16:13-14

 

When reading the Bible it MUST ALWAYS interpret it's self. Rules of logic, as they help discern absolutes, is also part the interpretation. How does one come to an understanding of the Word?

 

What is the Word?

 

"You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me. But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life."

- John 5:39-40

 

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.

- John 1:1-2

 

The "He" in these verses is Jesus, which is easily discerned as you continue to read the proceeding verses. The Greek word used here for "Word" is logos. It literally means the creative power of the Universe. This verse says that Jesus is the Word, that He "was in the beginning with God", that He "was God", that He "was with God", and that He was "in the beginning". Easy enough since the words and wording mean exactly what they say.

 

Knowing then that Jesus IS the Word, when Jesus says to abide in Him it is easy to know what that looks like. We must abide in the Word.

 

"If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you."

- John 15:7

 

It is by abiding in Him, the Word, that we become more like Him as we are separated from the world.

 

"Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth."

- John 17:17

 

Once again though, these truths of themselves mean nothing without the power of the Holy Spirit.

 

But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

- 1 Corinthians 2:14

 

A person MUST be born of the Spirit before they can come to KNOW Jesus as the creative power of the Universe, that He "was in the beginning with God", that He "was God", that He "was with God", and that He was "in the beginning".

 

"Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit."

- John 3:5-6

 

Without the Holy Spirit people blindly search the scriptures looking for something they do not know, because they reject Jesus entirely.

 

But their minds were blinded. For until this day the same veil remains unlifted in the reading of the Old Testament, because the veil is taken away in Christ. But even to this day, when Moses is read, a veil lies on their heart. Nevertheless when one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.

- 2 Corinthians 3:14-17

 

Therefore a person MUST repent and believe in Jesus, and be filled with the Spirit before the Word will come to life in them.

 

 

 

 

IMPOSSIBLE

Think about this. Math is an absolute, though many must deny the existence of absolutes in order to make morals relative, but that is a whole other topic. The accuracy of the Biblical prophecies is 100% to date. That being said, any rational person could deduce that the rest of the unfulfilled prophecies in the Bible would inevitably come to pass at the same accuracy percentage.

Just the 332 distinct prophecies of the life of the Messiah being fulfilled in one man is near mathematically impossible. The odds are 1/840,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 (That's ninety-seven zeroes!) Since math is a concrete truth, we might as well consider it impossible for a single man to fulfill all 332 prophecies. However, Jesus of Nazareth did just that. Think about that for a moment. Jesus is God, and He CHOSE the nails.

This is an astronomical figure, but all 332 prophecies are absolutely fulfilled in the life of Jesus Christ. You know what? God is absolutely sovereign. It is always plan A, He never fails, He doesn’t readjust. When the Bible tells us He repents and so on, it is written to explain to us how it might look like but it was never a change of God’s mind. He is sovereign from the beginning to the end.

And so my friends, this is the plan of God. It is sovereign. You are not a victim of cruel fate, of misfortune, of bad luck. You are in the safe hands of the sovereign all-wise and good God. Our Lord God Omnipotent reigns. This is the God we worship and as you see the way He ministers, you see the way He works in the nation of Israel. Rejoice! He is sovereign, He has a plan.

GOD'S PURPOSE IN A BELIVER'S LIFE

I do not write to the world, but I write to those who are called unto God. The world cannot receive what I have to share. God created EVERYTHING for His glory. Period. There was no obligation. He simply did what He wanted to do. Each believer is brought to Christ, by God, through faith, ONLY of grace so that we will be sanctified into the image of Christ that God might be glorified in us. This is truth. This is why we are here.

Knowing this, and believing it, changes how we perceive things. Marriage is God's greatest gift to us, because it is thee most tangible illustration of the relationship between Jesus and the Church. Marriage is also God's greatest tool to sanctify a believer. Think about it.

Some of the characteristics of Jesus that will be evident in us as we become like Him are grace, mercy, unconditional love, forgiveness, truth, openness, meekness, humility, and unwavering commitment. How do you suppose God will bring such characteristics about in your life if you do not go through situations that refine and demand these qualities? It is only under the fire of testing that we can be molded into the likeness of the God we serve.

Let Him have His perfect work in you. God can change your marriage in a heart beat, but would that rob you of the refining of your character? Nothing is impossible for our God. NOTHING. See God's hand and providence in your life, in your marriage, and let God finish what He has started. God joined you to your spouse for a reason. Your character has to be able to bare the weight of your destiny, so don't you dare lose faith when God is preforming His Word. Praise Him, and know that He is doing a great thing!

Soul Sale: A Rude Awakening

I greatly appreciate the brutal honesty in this book. I am a fundamental Christian, and have come to a deeper understanding of what God says is real. When God entered into His own creation as the man Jesus Christ of Nazareth He cast out demons, healed the sick, and raised the dead. Over the years, as we have become wiser in our own eyes, we have set aside the reality of the spiritual and instead clung to medical terms and diagnosis of psychological conditions in order for us to rationalize things without accepting the spiritual realities. What is even more disturbing is that professing Christians are just as easily duped into this lie, ultimately making the recorded documents of Christ ministry false. If Jesus cast out demons then, would it not make sense that there are still demons today? God does say this about the spiritual armies and reality…

 

Look among the nations and watch—
Be utterly astounded!
For I will work a work in your days
Which you would not believe, though it were told you.

Habakkuk 1:5

 

These next verses God tells us about the demonic force He has raised to punish the sons of disobedience.

 

For indeed I am raising up the Chaldeans,
A bitter and hasty nation
Which marches through the breadth of the earth,
To possess dwelling places that are not theirs.
They are terrible and dreadful;
Their judgment and their dignity proceed from themselves.
Their horses also are swifter than leopards,
And more fierce than evening wolves.
Their chargers charge ahead;
Their cavalry comes from afar;
They fly as the eagle that hastens to eat.

“They all come for violence;
Their faces are set like the east wind.
They gather captives like sand.
They scoff at kings,
And princes are scorned by them.
They deride every stronghold,
For they heap up earthen mounds and seize it.

Habakkuk 1:6-10

I applaud my friend for sharing her experience in “Soul Sale: A Rude Awakening”. Most people will just blow it off, but that is only as God prophesized it would be. The spiritual realm is more real than what we can see my friends. Her eyes were opened to what is, and the world wants to say that she had issues. Well… We are the one with the reality issues, not her. If we only knew what really is… The battle that rages in our mind is so easily dismissed amongst us as normal, but it isn’t. It is a raging war taking place, and we are in a fight for our life and most of us don’t even know it.

What “Amy” went through was indeed real. I am very proud of her for sharing what so many will think is just crazy talk. Whether you believe, or not, it does not change the truth. There is an entire realm that is much more powerful than we are, and just as real. Because we can’t see them, most of the time, does not mean they aren’t there.

Therefore he sent horses and chariots and a great army there, and they came by night and surrounded the city. And when the servant of the man of God arose early and went out, there was an army, surrounding the city with horses and chariots. And his servant said to him, “Alas, my master! What shall we do?”

So he answered, “Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” And Elisha prayed, and said, “Lord, I pray, open his eyes that he may see.” Then the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw. And behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. So when the Syrians came down to him, Elisha prayed to the Lord, and said, “Strike this people, I pray, with blindness.” And He struck them with blindness according to the word of Elisha.

2 Kings 6:14-18