The Cross

"The cross is the most revolutionary thing ever to appear among men. The cross of Roman times knew no compromise, it never made concessions. It won all its arguments by killing its opponent and silencing him for good. It spared not Christ, but slew Him the same as the rest. He was alive when they hung Him on that cross. and completely dead when they took Him off of it. That was the cross the first time it appeared in Christian history.

"With perfect knowledge of all this, Christ said, 'If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself take up his cross and follow Me.' So the cross not only brought Christ's life to an end, it also ends the first life, the old life of every one of His true followers...this and nothing less is true Christianity. We must do something about the cross, and there's only one of two things we can do - flee it or die upon it!"

-A.W. Tozer

What fruits are you producing?

Sitting on the porch the other night, I talked with my dad about many things, as we sometimes do. We were talking about how you can never know a man's heart, only G-d can. Then, I brought up that we could know a man by the fruits he produced, as the Bible says.

To this my dad replied with something that dumbfounded me... "What fruits have you produced?"

I didn't know what to say... I was racking my brain for something... anything... I eventually named off a few things I could think of and we continued our conversation. However, this stuck with me. I think it is a question that we should daily be asking ourselves. "What fruit am I producing?" and maybe even with every action, "what fruit will this produce?"

The Bible says "You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven." (Matthew5:14-16) and 2 Corinthians 5:20 calls us "Christ's representatives." If we are looked at as representatives of Christ, we need to be aware of what fruit we are producing and showing to the world.

I found myself at a lack of words with this question and realized, a plant producing no fruit is just as bad as one producing bad fruit, both are worthless and will be pulled up. I could eventually think of some fruit I had produced, but I realized this is not something I have ever had to think of before.

Remember to ask yourself "What fruit am I producing?"

John 15:2
"He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes"

Matthew 7:15-20
"Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them."

Are you being persecuted?

John 15:18-25
18 "If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. 19 If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. 20 Remember the words I spoke to you: 'No servant is greater than his master.' If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. 21 They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the One who sent me. 22 If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin. Now, however, they have no excuse for their sin. 23 He who hates me hates my Father as well. 24 If I had not done among them what no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin. But now they have seen these miracles, and yet they have hated both me and my Father. 25 But this is to fulfill what is written in their Law: 'They hated me without reason.'

Christ says if we belong to the world it will love us, but if we belong to Him, it will hate us. Are you hated by the world? Do you live a life that shines G-d's light so brightly, that the world is blinded by it? Or are you living a dully lit life, so that the world can't see how you follow G-d and therefore does not persecute you.

Paul says in 2 Tim 3:12
"In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted"

An old-time evangelist once said, if I preach in a town and dont get chased out, I wonder whether I preached the right gospel or not. If we are preaching, and not facing persecution and hatred, it may be wise to seek G-d on whether we are preaching His true Word or not.

Matt 5:11-12
11 "Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

And remember brothers and sisters, when you are persecuted, "Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse" - Rom 12:14

Laying Down Your Life.

Jesus said "My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends." (John 15:12-13)

Most people see this as a command to be willing to die for others.
is it? sure. But I think its so much more.

We all know, that we are to be living sacrifices to G-d (see Romans 12) But we are also to be completely self sacrificial in every relationship we have. Laying down our lives.... our needs, our cares, our wants... to be there for others. In every relationship, the obvious ones, marriage and parenthood, and the less obvious ones, our friends, distant relatives and the strangers we encounter everyday.

We seemed to be so focused on getting others to serve us, we never think to serve others.
We are to be like Jesus. He commands us to love as He loved.

I urge you to start thinking about others more than yourself.
We live in a very selfish world... break the cycle and love. Start thinking about what you can do for others, and stop thinking about what you "need" to do for yourself. If you follow G-d, He will take care of you... do you no longer have to care about yourself. Be like Christ... Get rid of your selfish desires, start living G-d's will. Sacrificing, first and foremost to Him and second to His people.

Phillippians 2:1-11

¹If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, ²then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. ³Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. ⁴Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.

⁵Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
⁶Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
⁷but made himself nothing,
taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
⁸And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to death—
even death on a cross!
⁹Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
¹⁰that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
¹¹and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.

Thoughts on Dating

So these thoughts are from my experience and beliefs, I encourage you to pray and seek what G-d's truth is in the matter, as I continue to do so.

People (myself included) seem to date for two main reasons:

1. They are lonely, and want someone to fill this lonely void they have.
2. They have lustful desires and want to vent said desires.

Let's look closely at these.

1. This lonely void needs to be filled with G-d, not other people. We need a relationship with G-d, our souls cry out for it. To fill this void with a boyfriend or girlfriend is a temporary and unsatisfactory solution to a eternal and very critical problem. Relationships (marriage or friendships) will never work without G-d, we need to be strong in our walk with G-d before we take on the responsibility of taking care of another (like marriage demands). People can not fully help us, they are, like you and me, imperfect and will let us down. Seek relationship with G-d.

2. cuddling, nuzziling, holding hands, kissing, making out. All such things come with the territory of dating. Most people find no problem with any, or most of these. But it's pretty plain to see that they are a vent for lustful desire. Lust is a sinful problem that needs to be overcome, with help from G-d, not vented with others, this will just feed the desire. Jesus said to look at a woman lustfully is to commit adultery. How much more cuddling and making out? You do not know that you will marry this person that you currently like. How many failed relationships have you been in? I urge you to abstain from venting you lustfull desires with what will most likely be someone elses wife/husband. Think about the fact that your future wife may be making out with her boyfriend,and thinkof how that makes you feel.

Paul said all things are permissible but not all things are beneficial (1 corinth10) why do something if it doesn't benefit your walk with G-d? Can you honestly say, that your walk has ever benefited from a dating relationship? I can't.

I've also heard it argued "how can you get to know a person to know if you should marry them, without dating?" I think you can know just as much about close friends as someone your dating. I know more about my best friends than anyone I've dated. And you've got to ask, do you really trust G-d? If you do, you don't need to worry, He will bring your mate to you.

These are just a few of the reasons I've come to beleive that dating is wrong for followers of G-d. Focus on G-d, not on this earth and the desires of your flesh.

1 John 2
15 Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For everything in the world—the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does—comes not from the Father but from the world. 17 The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.

Let me know what you think, and feel free ot ask me anything you want.

The Gospel... told in Genesis 5

My friend Sara showed me something that I want to share with everyone who reads this...

Check out Genesis 5 and the names recorded within it.

Here's a translation of those names:

Adam = man

Seth = appointed

Enosh = subject to death

Kenan = sorrowful

Mahalalel = from the presence of God

Jared = one comes down

Enoch = Dedicated

Methuselah = dieing he shall send

Lamech = (to the) Poor and Lowly

Noah = rest and comfort

The whole Gospel story told in name translations in Genesis 5. Pretty neat.
I did a little research to make sure this was accurate and from what I found it seems to be.
But if anyone wants to dig deeper and find out for sure, I urge you to, and I would ask that you would let me know what you find.

Focus on Messiah, Keep your eyes on G-d

An ever growing trend among the church is slowly killing our message to the world.
Popularity, fun, love, acceptance, teaching, blessing, forgiveness, peace, all these things sound great. What can be wrong with them you may ask?

I tell you, without Messiah, without G-d they mean nothing. If you have a building of worship, a church building, and your main goal is to entertain, to get a bigger congregation, to show love and acceptance, to spread peace among the world, then you are in the wrong.

All these things are lies without G-d. True love and true peace can only be found through Messiah. We are to preach Messiah crucified and encourage each other in Yeshua. Forget not the center of our faith, for these things are destructive without the Truth that is YHVH.

Do not be deceived brothers and sisters.
Seek G-d and keep your eyes focused upon Him.

Encouragement

We fight an on going battle in two worlds.
The sinful world and the resurrected life in the Messiah.

Somewhere along the way we gave up. We decided grace from sin was all that we needed.
Forget not, that we are to continue running the race and fighting.
We are commanded to be Holy as He is Holy.
Be separated. The bar is set high and we should not stop and find comfort, but ever run towards G-d's will in faith, a faith that comes through fear and trembling.

Take every thought and action into careful consideration. Your words can destroy lives or bless them, your thoughts can imprison you if you are not careful and your actions may produce devastating reactions.

Don't take any word lightly, but through all things try harder in faith and in prayer, be cautious and prayerful. Don't give up, and don't settle in.
The race is not finished until you can no longer run.

Messiah lives in you, and will help you to run, when your legs become weary.