Faith.

I've been told I need to have faith. What is this faith that this person was speaking of?
You see, I was sick - a cough that lasted two weeks. This person said to me, "Have you commanded it away?"
"I have tried. But it didn't work."
"You just don't have faith," then she stopped, realised she was talking to one of her pastors and said, "Well, you're a pastor, of course you have faith."
I just nodded and gave an affirming, "Yeah..."
She then proceeded to tell me that if I tell it long enough to be gone, it will go away. I wanted to respond with some snide remark about white blood cells doing their job, but kept it to myself.
Arrogance is not faith. Many church leaders shout things about 'taking authority'. But these leaders fail to remember that all authority is God given. And if they don't necessarily assume they can take authority over God and tell him what to do, some think they can take authority over creation. These folks forget that we were given dominion over creation in terms of being stewards, not gods. Creation submits to Christ over us any day. Those who assume authority over anything God has authority over himself do not understand the Lordship of Christ. We are his servants, even if we are the keepers of the garden... It's still His garden, after all.

To believe that someone who is sick just doesn't have faith is pure foolishness. Maybe the reason they are sick is because they don't have faith for food to eat. Maybe they're sick because they don't have faith for proper education  ... Or tooth brushes... Or even a proper bed. Those of little faith...
Or maybe those who have 'great faith' aren't actually great givers... But, I don't know. I can't judge them like they do others.
I will judge the rubbish that they spew out, though. 
Faith is far different than thinking you're God. Faith is trusting God to deliver you from or through whatever you're dealing with.
I trust the God I serve with my life. He knows what he wants to accomplish in, through, and around me. If that requires healings, great. But the greatest healing - the greatest miracle - is that of the relationship between God and anyone. And because I've read my Bible, I know he wants to do that in, through, and around me. In the end everyone who serves Jesus will be healed. So, let's be sure to keep our priorities straight: not everyone will go to heaven, but of all the ones who do, they will be healed. So let's see people get saved!

End of the Road

Death. The one thing that threatens us all. However, it will affect us all in one is two ways: be with Jesus in eternity or be under his wrath in eternity.
Most people from what I have gathered have no idea their present course towards eternity.
The answer is simple though for those of you who are questioning this. It's an unpopular answer that you will probably feel as though it is wrong because your answer is 'moral' and my answer is bigoted and narrow. Jesus tells us that wide is the gate that leads to destruction and narrow the gate that leads to eternal life. People didn't (and still don't, for that matter) like Jesus' view on things.
Without further ado, here's the answer :Jesus said the only way to the father is through him. He is the narrow gate. He is the way, the truth, and the life. Nobody gets to heaven except through Jesus. Fortunately, the apostle Paul explains what this looks like: if you confess with your mouth Jesus is Lord (that is to declare an absolute and sole allegiance to Jesus Christ, with no one else as equal to or above in authority in your life) and to believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead.
That's it. That's the answer. No person can spend eternity with Jesus who didn't spend their life with him on this earth.
Don't be that person who fears death and God in your death bed,  attempting a last such effort towards salvation because your scared of Hell. God knows your heart. He knows whether or not you're turning to him because you love him or fear him. He won't save you just because your scared. Fear doesn't atone for the life of rebellion.
So,  carefully consider these words. God loves you and wants to spend eternity with you. Choose to live and serve him. Make him the one you love for, not yourself.
Jesus lived the life you should have lived.  Died the death you should have died and then rose from death so that you can have true life.
The Word of God says that "while we were yet still sinners, God first loved us. " Accept his love, and have the assurance that you will spend eternity with Jesus and not under his wrath.

Courage

Courage isn't when you do something big, one time for something or some one you really don't care about. Courage isn't doing something you will regret later just for a story or moment. Courage is when you make some small decision and stick with it,  which then leads to those moments where you stand in front of a crowd and something happens. You're not really a martyr if your only dying because you set it up. A martyr is done one who dies when they didn't want to die and are not creating a stage or a scene. They are simply going with it.
The challenge is to be faithful in the small things, which in turn lead to being big things.

The Followers

There's a student I know and God is really starting to get a good hold on his life. He blogged today about how him X and another girl want to start a group so that they can begin to tell kids at their school about Jesus. The have, from what I can see, named this on their own, using their own creativity.
What strikes me as amazing is this : Jesus' disciples called themselves followers of The Way.
There is a pretty solid sermon series being preached by Andy Stanley at the moment called "Christian" and is all about how we are disciples not people of a title.
What is also amazing is how Good will begin with basically the same truths for every believer.
Jesus really wants to get a hold of this world and he is going to use those that really want to be Influencers as opposed to the influenced.
Holy Spirit please help me and use me to make as great an impact as possible.

I Have Decided...

The old song "I have decided" is profound. I am especially feeling it today.                 I have decided to follow Jesus,  no turning back.
Jesus once said "if they persecute me, they will persecute you, too." He also said "take up your cross and follow me." which those two statements are really not for the faint of heart.
We do have an enemy. And we will develop more - especially those of us in leadership. Rick Warren apparently said "for every 10 followers you'll have 1 critic." lately I've met my critic, a new enemy and I do not rejoice in it. However what I do get to rejoice in is I'm going to walk in faith and trust Jesus. I'm going to do my job unto the Lord. And by being the best employee in the company that I can be, I will exemplify Christ. I will honor my task master, my "owner",  and treat them with honor.
If I love and serve my enemies then what I'm actually doing is allowing God's perfect wrath and plan to be in control. Because maybe his plan is for me to be such a good witness my enemy is saved and turns to Jesus.
He said his yoke is easy and his burden is light. Jesus has commanded me to prepare the field. When he says that, I believe it is with full acknowledgement that the ground may be horrible and long stretches where you have to re - do the exact same area over and over again.
I have decided to follow Jesus. No turning back.

Calvinism vs. Armenianism: Part 2

When it comes to an individual who comes to church and then leaves the church even if at some point the individual professed Christ as Lord,  everyone has differing opinions on it.  The Calvinist would suggest that Joe is like Judas and he claimed to be one of God's people but never really was one of them and then left. 
The Armenian would suggest that Joe did accept Christ and was saved but has now rejected God's free gift. 
The problem with both those views is they both come from different passages of the bible.  In a nut she'll,  you can't escape either one,  thus there is a never ending argument in theological circles,  as I stated in part one. 
So here's the thing with the die hards in either category.  They get all hung up on why that guy left but not the fact that they need to get Joe back in the church. 
So here's my plea.  Don't neglect those who don't know Jesus by arguing about them.  Create a safe place for them to come to know Jesus in a very real way.
God warns us a few times about quarreling about things that don't ultimately matter but rather commands to make disciples and teach them all he has commanded us.

Who Told You That...?

I remember a time when I was in elementary school and I came home upset and my mom asking me why and I told her "because the kids at school said I was fat." She then asked the question "who told you that you were fat?" I didn't dare tell her that I was honestly the instigator of the whole thing and that I told one kid he was fat, which was where it all started to go down hill. God similarly asks Adam the same question, but with a slightly different twist, "who told you that you were naked?" It is quite honestly a brilliant question. But maybe you need to fill in with a different subject? Like, who told you that you were stupid? Who told you that you would never amount to much? Who told you that you are gay? Who told you that you are... ? Another great question though does come back to you though and it actually falls back on the beginning of the situation, your positioning. What got you in the position to where that subject even came from? Are you hanging out with the wrong people? Were you simply doing something you know you ought not do? What? Ultimately the answer to the question will actually show where your heart is at. But what can change this entire situation is where you find your identity and who you are listening to. What is God calling you? How does he identify you? Maybe you could follow him and you wouldn't have to worry about what the enemy wants you to believe but you will, instead place your focus on the One who does care and is the one who asks the very question "Who told you that..."