Satan's Greatest Deception

“For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, (4) and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths.” [II Timothy 4:3-4]

It concerns me to see that some professed Christians either claim there is no hell or say that hell is only a temporal punishment for the wicked and unbeliever. And that, when the day of final judgment comes, all will be redeemed into glory--not just believers. My concern here is for those who deny the very essence of Biblical doctrine, and to have them remember, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not unto your own understanding" Proverbs 3:5.

Did you just overlook the teachings of Jesus Christ on hell in The Bible? Did you know that Jesus talked more about hell than He did about Heaven? Did you also know that Jesus talked more about hell than all of the prophets and apostles combined?

Hell is not man's doctrine, its Biblical doctrine--straight out of the lips of Jesus Christ. Jesus in several passages within the New Testament Gospels (Matt 5, 8, 9, 18, 25; Luke 16--just to name a few) clearly gives warnings of a place of everlasting--not temporal-- torment called hell. How can you consider denying the teaching of Christ?

The parable of Lazarus and the Rich Man (Luke 16:19-31), gives us a clear picture of hell, which was told--dare I say it-- by Jesus Christ. Even though you might discount this as only a parable, here is a little thing to notice about this parable: it was the only parable that Jesus told where He used actual names from actual people--Why?--because it actually happened. If hell is not real, why would Jesus use a false doctrine to teach truth? In addition, if Jesus--the Son of the Living God--is not enough for you, the New Testament apostles also wrote of such a place called hell: II Peter 2:4, 9; Jude 6, 7.

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”[John 3:16] God is--indeed--a loving God, and because of His love, He gave His Son, Jesus, as sacrifice for all mankind. However, it is a two-way street: those who choose His Son’s sacrifice, they will gain “eternal life”; but those who deny His Son’s sacrifice, will “perish.” And please, stop using I Timothy 2:4 which states, “[God] who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” as the all points’ verse that suggests all of mankind will be saved. My “desire” one day is to own a Porsche, but that doesn’t mean it will happen. The point is: of course God “desires” or “wills” (found in other versions) that all of His created mankind will accept His great salvation; but He knows, and we know through Scripture, that will not happen--all will not accept.

Of course the New Testament is not the only reference to a place called hell, let us not forget the Old Testament, which in several passages gives us a clear picture of a place of eternal torment or hell, "everlasting burnings"--Isa. 33:10-14; “to some eternal life, but to some eternal shame and disgrace”--Daniel 12:2.

Now, the notions that the word “hell” was incorrectly placed in most versions of The Bible through lack of bad translation or that the translators for some reason wanted to create a place called hell is a complete farce. Though this might--at first glance--be a good argument, it still does not erase the strong warnings of Jesus Christ of a place of torment and darkness, where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth and the fire is never quenched--Matthew 8:12, and 13:41-42

If Jesus and the apostles intended to depict hell as temporal, then I am sure they would have used different imagery and wording. Furthermore, if hell is temporal than why such strong warnings? Hell is eternal, I do not think there is any side or forgotten meaning where “eternal” means “temporal,”--Revelations 14:11, "And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever; and they have no rest day and night, those who worship the beast and his image…”. And yes, "ever knee shall bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,”-- no doubt that believers and unbelievers alike will confess; but for the unbelievers, who chose to deny Christ in the here and now--it will be too late.

Moreover, if hell is not a real place or only temporal, and that all will be eventually redeemed, then what is the whole point of the Great Commission and what is the point of even serving Christ? In The Bible, Christians are taught to love, respect, witness, and to pray for those who are unbelievers; so why are we told to do that--what is the point any of it?

The devil is a very strong, smart, and deceiving adversary, and this has to be his biggest deception to mankind. PLEASE TAKE NOTE--to deny, disregard, or manipulate the clear teachings of Jesus would be calling Him a liar or perhaps, in so much to say, to deny His very deity. The fundamental hope of Christianity is that through accepting Jesus Christ as Savior, we will in turn, live eternally with Him. To take away that hope and say that all believer and unbeliever alike will have this hope, breeds the questions--“What is the point then to witness and proclaim this Hope to the lost?”

“Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap. (8) For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.” [Galatians 6:7-8]

Being Filled...The Fullness Of Christ

The roles of Jesus Christ can be expressed in a fourfold way--Savior, Healer, Sanctifier, and Coming King. When we speak of Jesus being the Savior, most Christians have a good grasp of what that means; and most--if not all--evangelical churches would agree that it is an absolute necessity to have the experience of Christ as Savior in one’s life. In the same regards, most Christians have a good grasp on the understanding of Jesus the Healer and Jesus the Coming King. However, when we speak of Jesus being the Sanctifier, confusion and disagreement often set in among the Christian community.

For years, I was always under the impression that sanctification (“to be made clean” or “to be separate”) was essentially intertwined with salvation--one in the same. When we receive the Holy Spirit of Christ, the indwelling nature of the Holy Spirit helps us to clear out the “mud” in our life in our new walk towards righteousness. My past understanding was not totally incorrect, in regards to the general scope of the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit once we receive Christ. However, the underlining error in my understanding lied in the full understanding of what it is meant to be truly sanctified through the Holy Spirit. The relationship between salvation and sanctification is apparent--you cannot have one without the other--but there lies a distinct difference between them within a Christian’s life.

In the Gospel of John, it is recorded that when John the Baptist saw Jesus walking down the road, he shouted--“Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29). In John’s statement, he is clearly proclaiming Jesus as the Savior; moreover, in just a few verses later, John shouts a second statement--“…this is the One who baptizes in the Holy Spirit.” (John 1:33). In John’s second statement, he is also proclaiming Jesus as the Sanctifier. Now, there are some Christians that would disagree with these two points; however, it seems clear to me that John the Baptist had a pure understanding that there was not one gift, but two great gifts, Jesus was bringing to His people--salvation and sanctification.

When we come to know Jesus as our Savior, we experience the deliverance from the penalty of sin, which is eternal death and separation from God. However, when we come to know Him as our Sanctifier, we experience the deliverance from the power of our inherited sinful nature. In other words, salvation in Jesus Christ--the indwelling of the Holy Spirit--releases us from the guilt of our past, brings freedom from eternal death, and then, brings life everlasting; but sanctification--the filling of the Holy Spirit--brings us freedom to live in the power of Christ’s Spirit and equips us to resist the temptation of sin that will come in our Christian walk in the here and now.

At the point of Salvation, Christ lives in us by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. At the point of sanctification, Christ starts to live through us because we are now filled with the Holy Spirit. The distinction lies in understanding the crucial difference between “indwelling” (salvation in Jesus Christ) and being “filled” (sanctification through Jesus Christ) by the Holy Spirit.

*Side note: when I say “filled,” I am not implying anything about speaking in tongues or that it is proof of being “filled by the Holy Spirit”--perhaps the case for some, but not for all. My experience was at first crying because of my weakness, but then, the tears turn to pure joy of the strength of Christ--nothing miraculous, just a sense of pure humbleness.*

In all of this so far, a question perhaps comes to mind, “Is there two types of Christians?” Indeed there are--Christians who are Spirit-filled (completely control by Christ’s Spirit) and Christian who are not Spirit-filled (still controlled by the human spirit). Paul makes the distinction in I Corinthians 3:1-3, “And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual men, but as to men of flesh, as to infants in Christ. (2) I gave you milk to drink, not solid food; for you were not yet able to receive it. Indeed, even now you are not yet able, (3) for you are still fleshly.”

Paul is clearly pointing out in this passage two types of Christians--“spiritual men” (Spirit-Filled Christians) and “men of flesh” (not Spirit-filled Christians). The Holy Spirit of Christ is equally indwelling both types of Christian (the “seal” of salvation in Christ); however, the “spiritual men” have went the step further to surround their human spirit completely to the control of Christ’s Spirit, whereas, the “men of flesh” still live under the control of their human spirit of fleshly desires; and until they complete surround is made, they will always be mere “infants in Christ” unable to eat “solid food” to gain their full potential as Christians.

Please, do not get me wrong, I am not implying that Christians who are not filled with Christ’s Spirit are still living wicked--the intentions are good and pure, but the control of the human spirit is still “pulling the string” which often causes confusion and uncertainty in the Christian walk. Paul, in Romans chapters 7 and 8, brings into play the battle that goes on inside us when we accept Christ as our Savior--the Holy Spirit and our human spirit are at war. Paul states that the only way to overcome the battle properly is to totally surrender our human spirit to the Holy Spirit--it won’t always be “roses” but if the Holy Spirit is in complete control the battle inside is better “managed,” so to speak.

Dear Christian brothers and sisters, are you in a state where the “joy of the Lord” is lacking right now in your life, do you feel that your service to the Lord is suffering because of it; is there bondage, sin, or something else in your life that is always present and it seems you cannot shake it loose? You are not alone; there are many Christians who feel the very same way--I know, I have been there.

Just this past Saturday night, during the altar call at my church, the Holy Spirit of Christ convicted my heart for me to give my all. For the last four years, my soul has been burning for more of Christ, my desire to study God’s word, pray, help others, and serve Him was strong; however, at the beginning of this year much conflict, distress, and the lack of desire and passion manifested itself in my life as the months went by.

It was not until two weeks ago, after a conversation with a dear friend and brother in Christ, the reading of I Corinthians 3, and through the conviction of the Holy Spirit when I realized that all my desires in the past were all partly due to my own drive and not completely from the Lord; I do believe though, that God in all it was also setting the table for something greater for me. I truly was one of the, as Paul wrote, “infants in Christ” living off the simplicity of spiritual “milk,” but now, through all the various conflicts of this year, God helped me to see that spiritual “solid food” is needed in my life; and the only way I am going to be “ready to receive it” is to completely let go of the “fleshly” controlled me (my human spirit), and seek the complete fullness of Christ’s Spirit.

Great is He--the Lord Most High--for since last Saturday night, my (His) desire and passion just shifted into a new and wonderful gear of a more fulfilling walk with Jesus--Praise God!!!

Paul wrote in Ephesians 4:30, “do not grieve the Spirit” which is the foundational piece in all of this--if there is something in your life that is grieving the Spirit, the only way to live by the Spirit is to get rid of it. So, I encourage you--if there is a sense of weakness in your Christian life, give all of you--not “it”--to the Lord; and He will in turn, give all of Him to you and all the “its” in your life causing your weakness will shed away. In addition, if you haven’t yet accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior, but you want to experience the fullness of Christ’s Spirit--you must believe and accept Him first (read John 3 and Romans 10).

Matthew 5:6, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.”

When we start to “hunger and thirst for righteousness” the full embodiment of Christ’s Spirit will render us a new and glorious fullness in our Christian walk with Jesus our Savior, Healer, Sanctifier, and Coming King.

The Father's Grace To A Wayward Child

Christianity has always played a pivotal role in my life. My parents were very faithful and committed to raising my two brothers and me with the knowledge and understanding of the Christian faith. Growing up, my family faithfully attended a local Baptist church where my mother was the organist and my father was the mission’s director. Not only did my brothers and I learn the essentials of the Christian faith in the Baptist church, we learned much by attending the Christian school that was affiliated with the church. Although for years it seemed that our family spent every day either at the church or the school; it would not be until 1994, when I was sixteen that I would come to the realization that I needed Christ as my Savior during a revival.

The revival was nothing new, the church had many in the past; however, this revival proved to be something different--something that would ultimately change my life forever. I do not exactly remember the particular theme the evangelist was preaching on or exactly what he said; but something, right in the middle of his message, triggered a burst of guilty emotions within me. Instantly, my heart started pounding, to the point where it felt like it was going to burst out of my chest; and right then and there, at that very moment, the Holy Spirit came over me, and I knew I needed the salvation of Christ--so, I bowed my head, prayed to the Lord, confessed my sins, and asked Jesus to forgive me and save me. Right after my prayer, my guilty emotions and pounding heart went to unspeakable feelings of peace and joy--no doubt that the Spirit of Jesus Christ came to live within my soul that night.

The first two years after my salvation where relatively good years; however, I was walking weak in my relationship with Jesus Christ--not praying and seeking the Lord’s guidance as I should. I truly believe, due to my lack of strength in my Christian walk, Satan saw an opportunity to deceive me and manipulate me down a road to where the glorious light of Christ’s beauty is only seen in the distance. The start of my troubles came about in the summer of 1995 just before my senior year in high school--wrong influences coupled with bad choices started to manifest in my life. Although these manifestation where the roots of my soon to be rebellious attitude; it was the very places that I knew as security that would draw out my rebellion to a destructive level--the church and the school.

When my senior year started, it seemed from the first day I could not stay out of trouble. My troubles my senior year were not really related to breaking the rules, but having a certain attitude about myself that the school faculty felt was not appropriate for one of their students, especially, a student from the church. There were two major situations that happened that year in which feelings of getting a raw deal by the school faculty transpired; and in turn, brought on internal feelings of betrayal towards the very people who I thought were suppose to guide and direct, and demonstrate compassion and thoughtfulness the most. Both situations turned out to be very damaging at the time; and in all, worked to develop much resentment within me

After graduation, the wounds of resentment towards the church and the school grew into destructive bitterness, pride, and rebellion--my attitude was, “I can do whatever I want and no one has authority over me.” Needless to say, that rebellious attitude lead me deeper down the road away from Christ, where for nine years (1996-2005) “all the wrong things” were controlling my life; however, the Holy Spirit did not lose fight in His conviction in my life; but sadly, instead of listening, I just ran to anything that would take the convictions away.

Throughout those nine years of “doing things my way” rather than God’s, I was progressively drifting into a world that is not of God--where self indulgence is the function of living, self denial justifies the living, and self destruction is the means to the end. However, in the mist of my wayward years, the Lord showed His love towards me by blessing me with a beautiful wife and three wonderful boys--clearly something I did not deserve. Even though the blessing of having a family helped to slow down my self destructive ways, I still proceeded with them, but in more secretive ways. Every day, I did my best to cover up what I was actually doing behind the scenes; I may have looked good and in control on the surface, but behind the scenes, I was truly wicked and out of control. Throughout the years of living an act started to rub off on me, soon denial set in, to the point, that I never realized my lie was destroying everything around me, including my own precious family. However, in one night, by hitting rock bottom, God in His love and mercy would take my hand and guide me out of my denial sinful state, and turn me back into His right direction.

It was the fall of 2005; I just finished my evening college class. A few of my fellow students were planning an evening out on the town; at first, I was reluctant to go, but in my state of mind, I ignored my thoughts and went out with them anyways. Eventually, I came home that night, around 3 o’clock in the morning--staggered through the front door and my wife looked at me and said “Get out; I am through with you…” Needless to say, this was not the first time I did this, but my wife made sure that night was officially the last time. The next day, while at work, a thought hit me, “What am I doing, I am destroying my family--I just need to stop this…” and then, I heard a still small voice that was not my own say, "Turn around Tim, and come back to Me."

Six months had passed since that day at work; the spring of 2006 just started. Thankfully, after much convincing and follow through in cleaning up my act, my wife forgave me; however, no matter how cleaned up my life was at the time, a very important decision was still needed to be made. A married couple, who were our neighbor’s, came over one day and invited us to their church; it was an interesting thing I thought at the time, my wife and I were previously talking about starting to go to church any ways (no coincident that God was surely working through our neighbors) so the next Sunday we went to our neighbor’s church. We faithfully started attending the church thereafter, but on one particular Sunday, while listening to the sermon, my heart once again began to heavily pound, and I heard that still small voice again telling me, “Turn around Tim, and come back to Me.” And without hesitation, I prayed, cried out to my Savior to forgive me my wrongs and take me back--though now I know, He never let go.

That day, I will never forget--my life once again found peace and joy; and along with making that decision, many glorious things soon transpired in my life. Although my family no longer attends our neighbor’s church, we have since found a great home church these last two years, which has helped my wife, my children, and I gain a much closer walk with Jesus Christ. Moreover, the Lord has blessed me with the abilities to serve Him by encouraging others in whatever their needs through my writings and my music in glorifying His kingdom.

I do not look at my testimony as one to brag about; I took the back road in finding myself as a Christian. My wish is that other Christians, both young and old, will not go through what I did to find clarity, and the best Christian walk is a continuous steadfast walk with Jesus Christ--never wavering to allow the advisory to deceive and manipulate. I was weak by not properly pursuing the recourses that God has giving us to gain strength in Him. In my weakness, pride, bitterness, anger, and self indulgence manifested a wicked life of denial and deceit which almost destroyed me. My testimony speaks of weakness and shame; but more importantly, it speaks of the saving grace, the enduring love, and the protection that our Heavenly Father has to His children--even to a wayward child.

ALL PRAISE TO YOU, MY HEAVENLY FATHER, FOR YOUR GRACE AND LOVE; AND NEVER GIVING UP, ON ONE OF YOUR WAYWARD CHILDREN.

Creation: Thinking Outside The Box

Old Earth creationists, who believe that the physical universe is approximately 4.5 billion years old and Young Earth creationists, which believe that the physical universe is approximately 7,000 years old, are in a pointless debate by not thinking outside of their box. Although there is huge gap between their two earth age beliefs, I believe both are right. The differences between them are essentially based on their interpretation of the Genesis account of creation; however, both find commonality in their in belief in God and The Bible. Old Earth suggests that based on the known physical evidence, the six day account of Creation in Genesis chapter one is merely an analogy or metaphor to simplify God's creation process in terms that all can understand. Young Earth suggests that based on the Bible being God's Holy Word, the Genesis six-day account is the literal truth--no ifs, ands, or buts. Each side has their strong points and each have their loop holes among the details, but I will not be explaining each their own details of argument; plus, I will not be making any statements about Evolution--the specific details and Evolution serves no purpose to this hypothesis.

I thought of an analogy which I believe helps in understanding this hypothesis, though the relationship will come later:

You rent a movie which is three hours long; however, your DVD player for whatever reason starts the movie in fast forward; and then, just after the two hour brink, it finally stops and starts playing in real time--so, instead of watching a three hour, you just watch an hour movie. Now, due to the failure of your DVD player in playing properly, has the three-hour movie become an hour movie? Of course not--it's still a three-hour movie no matter what your DVD player did. Although you did not see the complete details of the first two hours, you did gain glimpses or evidence of facts, which support the three-hour length of the movie.

Hypothesis Explained

The Bible, time after time, gives accounts of how God worked and moved among mankind within the realm of the physical--great example, "The Six Days of Creation" in Genesis. In the most simple of times, mankind understood that when the sun goes up, a day is beginning; and when the sun goes down, a day is ending--all of mankind in any era, with or without technology, can universally understand that. This universal understanding of "sun up, sun down" equals a day is exactly why God through the writer of Genesis (Moses?) wrote the beginning of the universe in a six-day event. Now, was/is God lying or tricking mankind to believe that He created the universe in six days, when He actually didn‘t? Not at all, God would never do or allow such a thing--God is holy, He cannot lie. However, if the six days of creation is how He did it, it brings out an important question, “Why God chose to stay simple in the creation explanation rather then reveal the mysteries to give us no debate?” Well, the answer is quite simply: God never intended the Bible to be a scientific book. Throughout the Bible, there are several stories, which obviously lack or leave out the details, but the point wasn’t the details, the point was the overall message of the story--details would only distract away for the pivotal message. God did not intend for us to discover the details of His creation process through the Bible; He simply wanted us to know WHO created the universe, not how He did it.

Now we are in the modern age, where mankind has grown vastly within the realm of technology and science. Mankind has developed machines, computers, chemicals, and various scientific methods and processes, which have given us much insight and evidence to the “why’s” of our universe and planet. Through growth in archeology, geology, and science, mankind has discovered various elements, objects, and artifacts; and have developed test, such as Carbon Dating, which has a relatively low error results, to test age. Therefore, it did not take long to have official documented, tested, and analyzed support for an Old Earth hypothesis.

We hear much about "The Evolutionist vs. The Creationist," but what we don't hear often is the debate that exists among the Creationists--a debate rarely heard of, but it is bigger than most think. Young Earth supporters quickly attack any scientific experiments or discovered facts that may jolt the Biblical Creation account; and suggest they are unreliable, fakes, or misunderstandings. In addition, the foundation behind the Young Earth argument is that the Genesis Creation account is straight from the Bible; therefore, God does not lie, it's truth; and to think anyway else; is believing a “dangerous lie.” Old Earth supporters, however, do not deny the Biblical account of the six days of creation; they suggest, as I stated earlier, the Genesis account is an analogy or metaphor to give a simple understanding to complex process. They support this claim either by blaming bad translation from original text; but mainly, the support lies within modern scientific and geological evidence.

So, which is it--Old Earth or Young Earth? Well, as I stated previously, I believe both sides have it right. Here’s the thing, God is a supernatural being, everything infinite and eternal--physical time and natural limitation have no barring on Him. However, God created humans just the opposite, everything finite wrapped with natural limitation, where physical time is a major function in the life process. The knowledge of time is often taken for granted by most of us; but if you think about it, our whole existence, day in day out, is consumed by it.

The infinite wisdom and power of God made it possible for early man to understand creation--through Scripture. Likewise, the infinite wisdom and power of God made it possible for modern man to gain an even deeper understand of creation--through Scripture and scientific evidence. God has always worked within humanity and around humanity in natural logical way, though at times He comes to us in unnatural ways; but so often, He comes in natural and logical ways to give understanding--as He created us rational and logical beings.

God created His physical universe in six literal human days--all of mankind can universally understand that; and yet, maintains His eternal truthfulness. Furthermore, the process in which God created the physical universe in the six literal human days has been proven logically by scientific evidence to take 4.5 billion years; and yet, it still maintains the eternal truthfulness of God. How is this? We as finite humans often fail to understand that an infinite supernatural God is not restricted or held down by our physical human limitation. God did it His way, but did in a way, that makes logical and physical sense to all of humanity--speaks to the timelessness of the Bible and the perfect wisdom of God.

In other words, God’s time process is not within the scope of human time, we have much evidence that supports a literal human 4.5 billion year creating process, but Almighty God accomplishes that literal process in six literal human days. The Genesis account is not a lie, analogy, or metaphor--it’s Almighty God working within the premises of human logic, time, and understanding

In conclusion, going back to my “three hour movie” analogy, it would be like us watching the creation of the universe, 4.5 billion literal year process, in fast forward mode; and at point of conclusion, stopping it, and then watching it in regular play (still a three hour moving, we are just watching the last hour). If we actually had front row seats to watched the creation of the earth in "regular play mode" it would literally take us 4.5 billion years to watch it because modern day evidence, which has been discovered and tested, proves that because God squeezed that entire process in six literal days--"fast forward mode."

The Old Earth crowd has it right as do the Young Earth crowd; however, the Old Earth crowd needs to stop rationalizing the facts by claiming the Genesis account is an analogy or metaphor, and the Young Earth crowd needs to stop rationalizing the facts by placing a supernatural, infinite, and limitless God into the natural, finite, and limited physical realm. When we think about God, we must be careful to not place Him inside the box of human comprehension.

Beyond The Surface: "The New Man"

II Corinthians 5:17, "Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come." [NASV]

Ephesians 4:23-24, "and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, (24)and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth." [NASV]

"The New Man" (Yes, this is for the ladies too)

The more we get what we call "ourselves" our of the way and let Him (Christ) take us over, the more truly ourselves become. There is so much of Him that millions and millions of "little Christs," all different, will still be too few to express Him fully. He made them all. He invented--as an author invents a character in a novel--all the different men that you and I intended to be. In that sense our real selves are all waiting for us in Him. It is not good trying to "be myself" without Him. The more I resist Him and try to live my own, the more I become dominated by my own heredity and upbringing and surroundings and natural desires…I like to believe: most of what I call "me" can be very easily explained. It is when I turn to Christ, when I give myself up to His Personality, that I first began to have a real personality of my own.

There are no real personalities any where else. Until you have given up your real self. Sameness is to be found most among the "natural" men, not among those who surrender to Christ. How monotonously alike all the great tyrants and conquerors have been: how gloriously different are the saints.

There must be a real giving up of the self. You must throw it away "blindly" so to speak. Christ will indeed give you a real personality: but you must not go to Him for the sake of that. As long as your own personality is what you are bothering about you are not going to Him at all. The very first step is to try to forget about the self altogether. Your real, new self (which is Christ's and also yours, and yours just because it is His) will not come as long as you are looking for it. It will come when you are looking for Him. Does this sound strange? The same principle holds, you know, for more everyday matters. Even in social life, you will never make a good impression on other people until you stop thinking about what sort of impressions you are making. Even in literature and art, no man who bothers about originality will ever be original: whereas if you simply try to tell the truth (without caring two pence how often it has been told before) you will, nine times out of ten, become original without ever having noticed it. The principle runs through all life from top to bottom. Give up yourself, and you will find your real self. Lose your life and you will save it. Submit to death, death of your ambitions and favourite wishes every day and death of your whole body in the end: submit with every fibre of your being, and you will find eternal life. Keep back nothing. Nothing in you that has not died will ever be raised form the dead. Look for yourself, and you will find in the long run only hatred, loneliness, despair, rage, ruin, and decay. But look for Christ and you will find Him, and with Him everything else thrown away.

Luke 9:23-24, "And He (Jesus) was saying to them all, 'If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me. (24)'For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it.'" [NASV]

"The New Man," as written by C.S. Lewis: "Mere Christianity--Beyond Personality;" Macmillian Publishing., Inc--Copyright 1943, 1945, and 1952

A Voice Of Purpose--The "Stage" To Present

My interest for blogging all started over a year ago--January 2008. I was taking an English course at the Ohio State University, which not only taught your basic grammar techniques for writing, but the professor went a step further to teach various techniques within internet communication. I was really not surprised to hear that internet communication skills were taught in this class, as web-base “talk” is so widely used these days in various personal and professional settings. So, what would be an excellent setting to teach skills within internet communication for a college English course? You guest it, an internet blogging site

Blog sites are an ever growing internet “phenomenon,” where those who have a passion to write or just have something to say can express it. MySpace, one of the world’s largest social networking sites, reports more than 300,000 blogs posts are submitted daily on the site--no doubt, blogging is utilized by many for internet communication.

Now, this English course had many assignments, however, the largest assignment was for every student to set up a blog account on the internet blogging site, Blogger; then weekly, submit a blog post and comment on at least three different student blog posts throughout the ten week course period. Moreover, the professor added one restriction--"no random thoughts"--each student had to pick their own a particular blog theme, title it, and stay within the relationship of their theme. Well, it did not take me long to figure out my choice theme--Religion, but more specifically, Christianity--as my faith plays a vital role in my life.

I have been a Christian for some time now and my life’s focus revolves around my Christian faith--not by fear or tradition, but by a strong inward conviction of belief in Jesus Christ. The title I chose for my blog was “Truth Perceived,” which speaks of the truths of my faith and how I perceive and understand it. I am a simple person, a simple Christian--no theology degree here--just my thoughts and convictions towards biblical truth.

Instantly, I grabbed the “bull by its horns” with this blog assignment; funny, really up to this point, my interest in writing was only a mere attitude of “Have to do it” either for work or school--that’s it. However, I believe what gained my interest in this assignment was that blogging presented the perfect “stage” for me to express my thoughts and feelings without any certain guidelines, interruptions, or distractions. Moreover, through the years, I have gained the reputation from friends and family as a “good listener”--the go to guy--for others to express their thoughts, issues, or problems. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy being a well-respected listener--but come on--listening isn’t my only feature.

One major quality I came to enjoy, throughout the blog assignment, was that often face-to-face conversations can have annoying distractions, but blogging overcomes that "distraction" dilemma by creating a distraction free zone. So many times, especially, in group conversations, I have seen a, ready and willing, speaker left out of the conversation and/or abruptly silenced without ever truly finishing his or her point. Blogging solves these problems by allowing that speaker to openly say and completely finish his or her point without being left out or having to try to overcome a dominate speaker--blogging can be a powerful instrument to the soft spoken, face-to-face, speaker.

Throughout this blog assignment, as I would suggest to any future blogger, I maintained a constant focus--builds credibility with other bloggers. My focus was to bring some realism about Christianity--“hey, Christians are still only human.” The true nature of the Christian has been so overlooked due to various media scandals, negative stereotypes, and other so called “Christians” misrepresenting the faith--society, unfortunately, seems to take more interest in the negative rather than the positive. I am always amazed on how many people think Christianity is just made up of money-hungry self-loathing preachers with believers who are nothing but hypocrites. I would agree Christianity is not free from such bad examples; however, such examples are not the majority, but rather, the minority.

Truly, the majority within Christianity do represent the true Christian characteristics--love, patience, kindness, humbleness, and self-control. Therefore, my whole purpose in all my posts was to convey the Christian message in the most real and understandable way to any who may read. Furthermore, I wanted to break the notion that Christians are a bunch of judgmental “holy rollers”--“Bible thumpers”--“Jesus freaks,” who force their faith on others. Christians, in general, are just like everyday people, who look like everyday people, who have families like everyday people, and who have jobs like everyday people. Christians are not perfect, though people often expect us to be, and like everyone else--we make mistakes, but what we bring to the "everyday" world around us is the face and attitude of hope, compassion, and a life’s purpose.

Needless to say, the ten week blog assignment inspired a new found passion within me. I learned so much, gained a new kind of fulfillment, and realized that even a quit easy-going guy like myself, can have a place to come to, speak his mind, and bring forth a message of faith, love, and hope to an almost countless audience. I have since continued on with blogging since my English class, as I still regularly submit new blog posts on Blogger, as well as, on MySpace (myspace.com/fowardthought). Blogger, unfortunately, hasn’t taken much shape in gaining a vast audience of readers--my fault though, I never really worked at it--but my blog on MySpace has taken flight in so many unexpected ways.

To this date, as I am still amazed, I get on average over 200 hits weekly on my blog posts (small potatoes compared to other bloggers); in addition, my blog audience has expanded to an international level. Moreover, several of my posts have ranked up into MySpace’s Top 20 most viewed blogs, worldwide. Really, I did not state these facts of mine to brag, my purpose was to make the point that the blogging world can be a huge tool for anyone to speak his or her thoughts or message. However, gaining a vast audience isn’t easy--takes time and work--but when you get there, the pay off is very fulfilling (commenting on other blogs is key).

Honestly, my intentions were to never grow my blog on such a vast scale--just kind of happened. My intentions, from the beginning, were truly wrapped around my enjoyment in writing my thoughts to help anyone who may stop by to read; but with anything, you just never know what will come out of it. The past year in blogging has brought me a vast number of new and interesting friends, helped too further my writing skills, and helped to grow my knowledge in a wide range of subjects.

Blogging can be a very fulfilling, learning, and sometimes frustrating experience (opposing comments can rattle the nerves); but in all, if you like to write, have something to get off your chest, have a message of purpose, or just like meeting interesting people--blogging is an effective outlet in accomplishing that.

An Interesting Thought: "The Fall Of Satan"

“The Fall of Satan”--where, what, when, and how--remains a mysterious subject to most. There are thoughts that the Satan’s fall from Heaven happened sometime before Earth’s creation or sometime during creation. Now, there are many discussions whether The Bible even gives us the actual story; but perhaps, when we line up three separate passages in The Bible we will indeed find the story of “The Fall of Satan.”


Ezekiel 28:12-17

(12) “Son of man, take up a lamentation over the king of Tyre and say to him, 'Thus says the Lord GOD, "You had the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.” (13) “You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone was your covering: the ruby, the topaz and the diamond; the beryl, the onyx and the jasper; the lapis lazuli, the turquoise and the emerald; and the gold, the workmanship of your settings and sockets, was in you. On the day that you were created. They were prepared.” (14) “You were the anointed cherub who covers, and I placed you there. You were on the holy mountain of God; you walked in the midst of the stones of fire.” (15) “You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created until unrighteousness was found in you.” (16) “By the abundance of your trade you were internally filled with violence, and you sinned; therefore I have cast you as profane from the mountain of God. And I have destroyed you, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire.” (17) “Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom by reason of your splendor I cast you to the ground; I put you before kings, that they may see you.”

Genesis 3:1-6 (1) “Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, "Indeed, has God said, 'You shall not eat from any tree of the garden'?" (2) The woman said to the serpent, “From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; (3) but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, 'You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die.'" (4) The serpent said to the woman, "You surely will not die! (5) "For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." (6) “When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate.”

Revelation 12:7-9 (7) “And there was war in heaven, Michael and his angels waging war with the dragon and his angels waged war,” (8) “And they were not strong enough, and there was no longer a place found for them in heaven.” (9) “And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.”


Now, here’s the thought--I put the Scripture above in a certain order so that you may notice a “time-line,” so to speak, of Satan‘s fall. Going back to Ezekiel 28, which some apply to only the Trye nation specifically; however, I believe, as many do, this passage is the very story of the fall of Satan where God is speaking to Satan.

As we read in Ezekiel chapter 28, Satan was created with full wisdom and in perfect beauty from the hands of God, and then placed in the Garden of Eden--(12), (13) 'Thus says the Lord GOD, "You had the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty (13) “You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone was your covering…the workmanship of your settings and sockets, was in you. On the day that you were created. They were prepared.”
Satan was created for a reason, a purpose, and that purpose was to be the appointed “overseer” of the Garden--(14) “You were the anointed cherub who covers, and I placed you there. Satan was everything glorious when God created him; but like man, God did not create any of His angels, including Satan (Lucifer), as perfect beings--(15) “You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created until unrighteousness was found in you.” (16) “By the abundance of your trade you were internally filled with violence, you sinned; therefore I have cast you as profane from the mountain of God.”

Now, we have seen the first part of this story, which continues back in the first book of The Bible, Genesis.

Satan was created special and given special attributes by God; but Satan was not alone in the Garden, God created two other beings (Adam and Eve). Adam and Eve were not created in the same beauty as Satan, but created in the very image and likeness of God. They were not created with perfect wisdom like Satan; however, Adam and Eve had a unique relationship with God that Satan did not. Possibly, this puzzled Satan, which brought him to think, “What makes Adam and Eve so special that God would want such a relationship with them; I am more beautiful, I have more wisdom--why them, and not me?” Perhaps daily this thought became an obsession to Satan, which soon started to rot a hole of jealousy and bitterness within Satan; until one day, his pride took over, which he seized an opportunity to end this special relationship that God had with these “worthless” humans.

No doubt, Satan knew the two trees in the Garden, and He knew the result if Adam and Eve ate of the tree of “Knowledge of Good and Evil.” Adam and Eve would not only be disobeying God, but then they would know the full wisdom that he (Satan) had; and because of their humanity, they would not be able to handle it--the ultimate tear in their relationship with God. Therefore, one day, he put his plan into action, tempted Eve, and succeeded in destroying the relationship between God and man.

A sub-thought in all of this is that in Genesis chapter 3 we read that the “serpent” was the most skillful and cunning beast of all the created beasts--“the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made,” however, I do not think this is reference to all snakes, but rather, only one snake, “the serpent,” Satan’s image in the Garden. Interesting thing when reading the conversation in Genesis chapter 3, I have always wondered why the conversation between Satan and Eve read so casual, almost a friendly conversation between the two. Now, unless every beast in the Garden could talk--wouldn’t you think Eve would be rather startled by talking to a snake? Seems rather plausible that Eve’s lack of concern, familiar talk, and ease of persuasion by Satan speak of past conversations, trust in him, and recognizing him as the “serpent,” Lucifer

Of course, most of us are familiar of what then happened to Adam and Eve because of their act of disobedience towards God. However, there is nothing further mentioned about what happened to Satan after all of this--Did he just disappear to his throne in hell? On the other hand, did he continue to roam around until more “victims” came his way to deceive? The answer to these questions, I believe, is “No, not at all.” Satan did not retreat or stop after his victory over man; his success only fueled his arrogance and bitterness towards God. Therefore, Satan, "The Master of Lies," convinces other fellow angels to team up with him to wage war against God in Heaven, as the story continues in the last book of The Bible, Revelations.

I do not believe that Revelations chapter 12 has anything to do with “end time” stuff, but everything to do with the start of the church body, Satan's fall, and the overcoming nature of the salvation of Jesus Christ. Revelations chapter 12 in verse 7 tells us of a war waging in heaven between the Arch-Angel Michael and his army of angels, and "the dragon” Satan (verse 9) and his army of angels (demons). Verses 8 and 9 in Revelation chapter 12 are the foundational pieces, which bring this whole thought together--(8) “And they [Satan and his army] were not strong enough, and there was no longer a place found for them in heaven.” Apparently, at one time, Satan and his army of angels had a place in Heaven and were in good standings with God; however, Satan’s defiance in waging this war resulted in--you guest it--his fall-- (9) “And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.”

Perhaps the story of “The Fall of Satan” is not so mysterious--"The Fall of Satan" happened relatively the same time as "The Fall of Man" (Adam's disobedience). What do you think?

The Will Of God

How can one know the "will of God" in their life? This question seems to be the million dollar question to a lot of Christians out there. This question plagued my life for years as I was waiting patiently, who am I kidding, impatiently for some kind of an unusual or dramatic revelation from God to hit me by which to know God's will or plan for my life. However, it was not until this past summer through a particular sermon my pastor preached titled "The Christian Service," when I finally grasped the whole concept of God's will in my life. During my pastor's sermon, he used many Biblical passage, however, there were two particular passages that brought me to a more clear definition of God's will--

Salvation+Sanctification(cleansing)+Good Service=God's Will

I Thessalonians 4:3-4, "For this is the will of God, your sanctification; that is, that you abstain from sexual immorality; (4) that each of you know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor."

I Thessalonians 5:16-18, "Rejoice always; (17) pray without ceasing; (18) in everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."

Well, the more I see, hear, and read--most Christians have that same impression, as I did, of waiting for some cataclysmic situation from God to reveal His will to them. Now, God still reveals His will to some men and women in dramatic ways, but this should be looked at as the exception rather then the rule to most Christians.

Now, if you are waiting for a dramatic revelation about the "will of God," as I was, having that impression can ultimately lead to unfruitful service in our walk of faith . Sorry, I am not trying to sound negative or criticize anyone for thinking that way. What I am getting at is that having that very attitude of waiting for a "sign" from God for His will can cause us to be immobile and oversee our true purpose as Christians. What I mean by "immobile" is it can make us pause while waiting for something miraculous to happen from God; then all the while, missing out on the grander scheme of our service to God. God want us, as His children here on this earth, to live a right life, witness for Christ to others, and to serve Him with all our mind, body, and soul. If we are stuck waiting for a great revelation from God to render our service then we will be lagging behind in our service. Think about it, if you were an employer, would you want an employee who stands around waiting for you to give him/her direction in what to do or would you want an employee who is assertive and diligent in his/her work? Well, common sense tells us the obvious answer in that scenario. Therefore, would God expect anything less then assertiveness and diligent from us? Common sense tells us that one as well--John 15:8, "My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples."--Romans 12:11, "not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord;"

Jesus' ultimate purpose when He came to earth was to "seek and to save those who are lost." (Luke 19:10). Now, when we come to Jesus as believers and receive His Holy Spirit it then becomes our inherited responsibility as Jesus' disciples to carry on His purpose of seeking and saving by introducing others to Him. Jesus in two verses opened the door into what our responsibility is as His followers--Matthew 4:19, "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men." and Matthew 28:19-20, "Go therefore and make disciples of all nation…(20) teaching them to observe all that I commanded you…" Yes, in these verses, Jesus was specifically taking to His twelve disciples, however, these verses are not limited to the twelve alone. Essentially, it was, and still is, a call to all who become followers (disciples) of Jesus to proclaim His name to the lost world.

If the "will of God" still seems unclear, as it can be difficult to understand, try looking at it like this--I am a father of three active boys, there are certain daily/weekly responsibilities that I aspect them to perform. My "will" as their father is that each one of them do their responsibilities and if they manage to accomplish them they are going according to my "will" as their father. If they do not accomplish their tasks they are essentially go against my "will." Now, taking that example in my life of my personal "will" for my children, the same would apply to us, believers in Christ, to our Heavenly Father. God, our Heavenly Father, wants us to be holy because He is Holy--I Peter 1:15-16, "but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior "because it is written, 'YOU SHALL BE HOLY, FOR I AM HOLY'" Therefore, in all behavior/conduct (attitude and actions) doing what is right, sustaining a Christ-like testimony, and witnessing to others is going according to God's will for us as His children, however, in contrast, doing anything less would be going against His will--Ephesians 6:6-7, "not by way of eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart. (7) With good will render service, as to the Lord, and not to men,"

Thankfully, we are not alone in doing the will of our Heavenly Father. God gives us His Spirit (Holy Spirit) as our aid in accomplishing His will--John 14:26, "But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you." But we should not fall into thinking that the Holy Spirit is just going to do everything for us. Like my own children, I cannot be around all the time to aid in their responsibilities at home--they have to show some personal motivation. Now, of course, I am not implying that God is not always around--He is omnipresent (always around). My point is that we have to show some personal motivation to accomplish our responsibilities--we need to pray faithfully for God's guidance in our life, faithfully read His Word, and faithfully seek out more of Christ in our life; then in doing so He will faithfully help guide us to accomplishing His will--Philippians 4:7, "And the peace of God which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and your mind in Christ Jesus." God is not a "puppet master" pulling our strings to what He wants us to do. We all have "free will" to go either against Him or go with Him--the choice is ours, however, if we faithfully seek after Him, He will faithfully help direct us to Him--Proverbs 3:5-6, "Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. (6) In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your path straight."

We all have God-given abilities and talents each specific in their own way to us--we all have something to give in accomplishing God's ultimate will for this world, which is the salvation of the lost--I Timothy 2:3-4, "This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, (4) who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth." Though God knows and Scripture tells us that everyone will not come to know Him as Savior, however, it is still our duty, our job, our responsibility--God's desire (will)--for each one of us to bring forth the Light of His only Son, Jesus Christ, to our lost neighbors, to our lost community, to our lost workplace, and to the lost world through our Christian faith, attitude, and actions.

In summary, God's will for your life is the same as God's will for my life and to all Christians, which is to pray, read The Bible, and be as Christ like as possible. Then in doing so God will faithfully guide each of us to our more specific purpose in His plan--Romans 8:28, "And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose."

All Christians, of course, are not called to be Ministers, Evangelists, or Missionaries--"Yes" those are special callings from God for His purpose. However, whether you are a nurse, a clerk, a janitor, a doctor, a lawyer, or whatever the job that does not limit us to being a good steward. No matter how big or small your specific role is or whether you're not even sure what your role is--never fret. Every child of God, essentially, has the same role in working for the same purpose and that is projecting the character of Jesus Christ in all things to those who do not know Him and His glorious salvation.

Simply put--God's will for each of us, who are His beloved children, is to be His good and faithful servants. God's will is not "rocket science," just simply look to Jesus Christ, live by His example, and be a good Christian--Paul the apostle so clearly brings out the details in the 12th chapter of Romans:

Romans 12:1-2, "I urge you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. (2) And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect."

Romans 12:5-18, "so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. (6) Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, each of us is to exercise them accordingly: if prophecy, according to the proportion of his faith; (7) if service, in his serving; or he who teaches, in his teaching; (8) or he who exhorts, in his exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness. (9) Let love be without hypocrisy Abhor what is evil; cling to what is good. (10) Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor; (11) not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; (12) rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer, (13) contributing to the needs of the saints, practicing hospitality. (14) Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. (15) Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. (16) Be of the same mind toward one another; do not be haughty in mind, but associate with the lowly Do not be wise in your own estimation. (17) Never pay back evil for evil to anyone Respect what is right in the sight of all men. (18) If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men."

All Scripture references--NASB