Easter-hope

Lent has began.  Most of lent is solemn, and for good reason.  The time leading up to Resurrection Sunday is focused on when Jesus went into the desert for 40 days and was tempted by Satan.

Then there’s Easter Sunday.  Easter is the day Jesus proved to reign victorious over death, and thus we live by his grace to worship him.  Easter is about hope. The hope we have in our Lord Jesus Christ.

Right now, you are reading this and you haven’t experienced that hope in your life, I encourage you to change that.  Maybe you are a Christian, but you are stuck in sin.

We all have those rough patches, at one time or another whether it be with an addiction or whatever.  I can testify to that, as I’ve gone through them, I understand.  Will we ever be perfect in our Earthly lives? No  Will we still sin?

Yes, we all fall. If you are a guy (not just a teenage boy) there is a pretty good chance you have lustful thoughts and desires throughout the day, or week (I know I do).  The key here, is to not act on these thoughts.  Don’t even flirt with sexually immorality.  The instant you do, you allow Satan to trap you in this black hole. where you are stuck.   Jesus died on the cross to absolve us from ALL our sins, and he was resurrected so our chains of sin would be broken.

The question you have to ask yourself if you are in an addiction is this: Who do you want to be later in life?   The chains have been broken, you are free to go but we choose to stay stuck.   Jesus died and rose again so we could live eternally, with him.   Easter is about hope.

Lukewarmness

When we play Simon says we do what Simon says, but in the church we have a tendency to not do what Jesus says.

Of course we do what Simon says because we are self motivated to do so. We want to win. Church is different.

In the church you see, we are called to turn from that way of life.    Paul tells us in Romans that man has a tendency to suppress God’s truth (Romans 1:18) that’s our problem.   It’s why most our churches are filled with lukewarm Christians.

There is no greater threat in the church today, than that.  It’s so damaging because it prevents the church from advancing, from fulfilling her mission.

  “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the holy Spirit.”  Matthew 28:20

Today, many Pastors  approach this trying to fix the problem in Evangelization. But even that creates other problems., if not done properly.  Many churches, instead of focusing on the one constant: Jesus Christ are lured into Satan’s trap to stop the advancement of the church.

We can study all the methods in the church culture today we want, but at the end of the day the one method that still works to this day is a much simple thing: Investing in someone’s life

Additional thoughts on Lent

I’ve been thinking lately about the up-coming season. Lent is coming. I’ve already posted a few times about it, if you aren’t familiar with what lent is, I suggest you become familiar with it.  I just wanted to reiterate the fact that lent isn’t merely a season of the church, but a reminder for Christians, everywhere to die and become one with Jesus.  Let’s not forget though, Lent is our practice for the big game: Easter Sunday.  Easter isn’t just another day in the calendar of the church, either.  Easter reminds us of our brokeness, which if you are a follower of Jesus I would encourage to embrace.  Easter is about embracing it all. The Cross, The Resurrection, and the greatest mission of the church: The Great Commission.

Conferences.. Lent post

This is another part of my Lenten series, which I’ll be attempting to frequently update on about here on this blog for the next two months.  

This seems to be the season for conferences within the church.

Last month I went with a friend to his church for a Men’s conference. This month there is a big discipleship conference at another friend’s church.  I wish I were going, but due to money situation it’s not something I can afford.

Also, later this month there is an even bigger conference on global discipleship.  You might be familiar with “Cross Con” which you can see if you click the hyper link took place in late December of 2013.

In April, Dr. David Platt, president of the Missions board in the Southern Baptist convention will be returning to his formal place of shepherding, the Church at Brook Hills in Birmingham, Alabama.  Platt will be, once again hosting “Secret Church”.   I will add more about Secret Church later and the information on it.

Lent is almost here

It’s that time of the year again. It’s almost time for Lent.  Some Christians, although mostly Roman Catholics celebrate this to prepare for Easter Sunday.   I think lent is  a good opportunity to grow closer with Christ.  Lent is the road to Easter; it’s the church’s annual path to the life and death of Jesus’ final week of life.  Ultimately though, lent is a reminder.  It’s not just a religious holiday.  Lent isn’t a specific time in the year, it’s a reminder for us all to die to ourselves.  Just as Jesus died for us all on the cross, and just as he did just about everything to complete the Father’s will, and not for his own, so must we learn to live daily as his disciples. I will attempt to make updating this blog more a routine in my schedule, especially during this time. I would love to help you with your lent by posting biblical material I find along the way.  Love in Christ,

Thomas.

God’s word

I don’t think I can ever state the importance of reading God’s word. People in our society that mistake the Bible for just another a book make a big mistake. It’s more than that, it’s “The power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes.” Romans 1:16

It doesn’t come as any surprise, though afterall we live in the society that rejects God,so it would only make sense they reject his word.  It’s not just non believers though, we Christians do this when we water down the word to fit our comforts.  Following Christ doesn’t call for comfortable life styles, but edgey on the tip of the iceberg living.  The world’s idea of comfort is different than that of the Christian.  This leads to why the world, and many people in it only view the Bible as just another book.  Don’t make that mistake, avoid lukewarmness and get in the word.

Prayer and Exodus

Greetings, no, I haven’t abandoned the blog, I’ve just haven’t been blogging like I said I would.  I honestly would like to make this a routine in my schedule, but I find it that my mind is often scattered throughout the day to day businesses.  I know, I’m just making excuses. I haven’t abandoned one thing, though. I haven’t stopped reading my Bible. I would encourage you to not abandon God’s word, unlike much of the world that we live in today has. I shouldn’t have to preach to you the importance of this practice.

Above all other hobbies, this is the one that MUST come second to none in our daily lives.   Lately I’ve been reading through the book of Exodus in the Old Testament. It just so happened that the other day, when I went to a Bible study the main focus of it was in the book of Exodus.

One of the things that was discussed was the significance of the veil, and how Moses wore the veil over his face when he would go and pray and talk to God in the tent, and how his face would literally shine.  This raises the main conflict of this thought.. We have this awesome thing called prayer, as you could probably tell it allows us to connect with God.  Ah, yes.. The problem: We often neglect prayer.  This leaves us all with something to be desired, and we are definitely more vulnerable to wordlines when we neglect our payer lives. We become dry and that passion we once had isn’t there. We start to become cold inside.  Sin starts to look more appetizing.  So as you can see, this is a deadly path that if left neglected can do damage to us.  Don’t leave prayer alone,  Moses was so immersed in his prayer life he reflected God’s glory. Moses, like many of the Old Testament prophets trusted God and his promise that he would send to us all a messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ.