Dec 29, 2010

Paul's Letter to the Romans; Ch8:1-13

I love this Chapter. (Read the entire Chapter on the post below) It is one of my most favourite passages of Scripture. I want to share it with you all, and give an exegesis of it's great truth.

To do so, I want to first explain the two contrasting positions of mankind before the one true and only living God. This is the contrast, you are either an enemy of God (yes, created by Him, but because of our sinfulness, made His enemy), or you have been redeemed from your position of an enemy and now made a child of God, destined to receive great blessings from Him and spend all eternity in His glorious presence.

Are you a partaker of God's great kindness? Does the Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead dwell within you and bear witness with your own spirit of your adoption into the first and foremost family of all creation?

I would plead with everyone who hasn't; turn to the Lord our God and repent of your sinfulness and turn to Him who died for you, and thereby Him we now receive the right to be called Children of God.

Unless this happens we are enemies with God. Why? Because God requires perfection and holiness from His creation. His standard of perfection can be summed up in the 10 commandments. Have you kept them all perfectly? Of course not, no one has.

There is no way we can be righteous before God, for it is within our very nature to sin. This is what is spoken of as "the flesh" in this chapter. The flesh (our very selves) is in opposition to the righteousness of God. Therefore we are condemned. God doesn't magically and unjustly separate us from our deeds. We sin because we are sinners, it is our corrupt and evil nature.

"For those who are according to the flesh, set their minds on the things of the flesh...For the mind set on the flesh is death...because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so; and those who are in the flesh can NOT please God (Rom8:5-8)(emphasis mine).

All is not hopeless though, is it? Because of God's great kindness and mercy and love for us, God has given us great hope!!

"For what the Law could not do', (make us righteous by giving us understanding of what sin is so that we would not transgress), 'because of our weak and corrupt flesh, God did."

"sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, (This is my favourite part) in order that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit." (Rom8:3-4)

Meaning - Jesus lived and obeyed the Law perfectly. Our sins are forgiven, the penalty for sin which is death was fully paid for by Jesus' blood, and because of His perfect life, we are accredited with having lived perfectly before God.

This amazing gift is offered and open for all of mankind to receive, no matter how sinful we are.

Unfortunately, not all will.

Remember...For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh... Meaning, those of the flesh set their minds on all manner of sinfulness; i.e. murder, theft, lies, drunkenness, sexual immorality, and creating a god in our own image to suite ourselves so we might continue in our sin.

Because of their love for their sin they will not repent. Therefore, not all will receive the Spirit of Christ, and if you do not....you do not belong to Him (Rom 8:9). "...for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die"....(Rom8:13)

Please, consider what I've said here. Read the 8th chapter of Romans (It's posted below). See how kind God is, and the great reward He offers to you. Is your sin worth it?

"...but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live." (Rom8:13)


Next week, we will continue through Romans 8 from verse 9 until ???

Paul's Letter to the Romans; Chapter 8

Rom 8:1-39 NASB
Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. (2) For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. (3) For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, (4) so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. (5) For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. (6) For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, (7) because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, (8) and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

(9) However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him. (10) If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness. (11) But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.

(12) So then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh-- (13) for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live. (14) For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. (15) For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, "Abba! Father!" (16) The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, (17) and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.

(18) For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us. (19) For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God. (20) For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope (21) that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. (22) For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. (23) And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body. (24) For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he already sees? (25) But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it.

(26) In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; (27) and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

(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. (29) For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; (30) and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.

(31) What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? (32) He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things? (33) Who will bring a charge against God's elect? God is the one who justifies; (34) who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us. (35) Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? (36) Just as it is written, "FOR YOUR SAKE WE ARE BEING PUT TO DEATH ALL DAY LONG; WE WERE CONSIDERED AS SHEEP TO BE SLAUGHTERED." (37) But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. (38) For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, (39) nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.


Dec 20, 2010

Katy's first Christmas Concert pt1




This was such a wonderful Christmas concert. All about what Christmas is; Jesus Christ born into this world to offer Himself as the propitiation for our sins against God.

(Sorry, I can't upload the rest, I can't seem to split it to fit. You will just have to trust me that it was great. Also, I'm sorry for the video being so small, I had to in order to be able to upload it)

Dec 3, 2010

Christmas is about Jesus Right?

Hey everyone,
My family and I are going to start a new tradition for Christmas this year.

You see, Christmas for me has become almost depressing. It's supposed to be about the birth of the infinite, eternal God in flesh for the salvation of man right? I think it's becoming obvious though to every Christian that there is something wrong with the way this holy day is celebrated.

I believe it's because our holiday is more about materialism, it's traditions are less about Jesus and more about an imaginary fat guy in a red pajamas, and we, the Church, celebrate this day with more non-believers and even celebrate it as they do, than we do with those whom Jesus has bought with His blood (unless of course, your family are believers).

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying I don't want to spend time with my relatives, of course I do. I simply think that we should spend more time gathered as the Church to celebrate our Saviour than just Sunday mornings, or perhaps a Christmas morning "service".

By this I mean, on Christmas day, the main gathering should be with the Church.

I bet that when the Church started celebrating the birth of Christ it was celebrated at the location of where they met regularly, and only believers would have had any desire to celebrate it. Why would those who reject Christ celebrate it?

Oh wait a minute, that's why the Church took originally pagan traditions and "Christianized" them. So now you un-believers can continue the same traditions, only now, since we have the Roman Emperor on our side we can tell you what it means and you have to celebrate it as we do. (Almost sounds like an early version of the "seeker sensitive" movement. You know, find out what the un-believing culture likes and then try to impose a sort of Christian theme on it).

How have the unbelieving peoples so taken over our holiday? Might it be because there are so many traditions that we hold to with this day that have nothing to do with Jesus at all, that it became so easy for them to participate without any consideration of Jesus. I'm talking about Santa, the tree, the idea of Christmas having to do with snow, or how about even the huge push for Christmas to be the big day of the year for family, and getting together, and peace on earth, and charity.

Again, don't get me wrong, these things are all really nice and, are what we Christians are supposed to be about, but Christmas isn't.

Just so you don't think that I'm some sort of cold heart, instead of spending all our money on gifts for our kids that they don't need more of, my wife and I are trying to teach them that it's not about them getting toys. So we have donated and bought 2 goats for a family from Gospel for Asia.


Christmas is about Jesus right?

So, the new tradition I and my family want to start this year is that on Dec 26, we are going to celebrate the birth of Jesus with our family in Christ. I want to set apart a day to celebrate with the Church.

We would like to have a meal at our home. We shall read together the Scriptures of our Lord, sing hymns of His birth, pray, and just spend time in fellowship together.

If you live in Winnipeg, and bow at the name of Jesus, we would like to invite you.

Nov 2, 2010

The Greatest Hoax

What would be your response if I told you that someone was lying to you about something important? You would probably want to know what your being lied to about right?

Now what if what you are being lied to about is so important that, basically, you would have to change your entire world view in order to be consistently following the truth, and that you would probably be looked at as a fool for doing so. Would you want to know the truth then?

Perhaps you've heard me say before that I am a Bible believing Christian. Perhaps you've heard me say that I believe the Bible is the inerrant, infallible, sufficient word of God. Meaning that every word in it is true, and except when it is blatantly obvious that the speaker or author is intentionally speaking in parables or giving an analogy, every story and teaching is true.

So when Jesus says let me tell you a parable, it means He is speaking a parable. A parable is a made up story told to get a point across. Some of the details may be made up, such as people or events, but generally, it is still based within reality. I say this, because Jehovah's Witnesses will usually deny Jesus' story about the rich man being in a real hell because He was telling a parable. Well, my response to this is, 'If hell is not real, and Jesus is all about correct doctrine and teaching, why would He tell a parable and use an event where a person is in hell?

But I've digressed.

So it is clear within Scripture when someone is speaking a parable or figuratively. So what about a story like Jonah and the whale? Well, I am one of those nuts that believe that there was a man named Jonah, and he really did get swallowed by a whale.

I bring this up for this reason. When the Bible says that God created the world in 6 24 hour days, I believe it is true. Not only that, but because I believe the Bible to be accurate in all things including it's historical record, as has been continuously proven despite thousands of years of effort to disprove it, when you add up the genealogies and timeline, the world, since it's creation, is roughly 6000 years old.

So the greatest hoax ever; what we have all been lied to about, is Darwinian evolution. That is, out nothing, by nothing, for no reason, the universe created itself. Then after billions of years and out of the chaos, matter organized itself and somehow non-living matter became life. Then through an agonizing process of death, disease and suffering, slime has become us.

I certainly realize the absurdness I am presenting to you all. That for all of our life, science has not only been wrong, but has lied to us. Yes, I know. It sounds crazy, but I tell the truth.

Are you willing to hear me out? For although I am no scientist, I have studied the issue, and the scientists who do bring to the table this other side, do bring with them some very heavy and real support from the evidence. You see, we all have the same evidence, but how are you going to listen to that evidence?

I have here a video to show you. This is Dr. Jonathan Sarfati. He was recently in Winnipeg, and I would like you to hear what he had to say. I hope you consider his presentation carefully and thoughtfully.

I could not find the presentation I attended at Eastview Community Church, but I did find another video where Dr. Sarfati's speech is similar.


Oct 25, 2010

Search Pointe

Hey,
If anyone in Winnipeg is interested, my good friend and mentor, Kelly Powers (www.rootedinchrist.org) has started a church group in his home. The name of his congregation is called Search Point. We gather every Sunday evening at 7:00pm. Currently we are going verse by verse through the book of The Acts of the Apostles.

If you are interested in joining together with other believers, or maybe you are not a believer but are curious to know what the Bible is all about, then please you are most welcome.
Shoot me an email and I can give you further directions. sno_dude22@yahoo.com

Check out Kelly's facebook page
www.facebook.com/pages/Winnipeg-MB/Search-Pointe/119723178075709

A Challenge to my unsaved friends and family pt2

Ok. Here we go.

I believe the Bible is God's written word to all of mankind. I believe He inspired men to write the things that He wanted them to write, and therefore I believe it to be fully inerrant, infallible, and a complete record of everything God has said to man. I'm either right about this, or I'm wrong. This is also what the prophets and the apostles have said about what they wrote. They too, are either right or they're wrong.

Now with that said, The Bible also explains that after God created the first man, Adam, He and his wife sinned against God thereby bringing the curse of death which spread to all mankind, because all sin. (For a definition of sin, see the 10 Commandments).

So as to keep this short, I will tell you, that because of our sin against a holy God, we shall be punished eternally in hell.

God is however, kind and merciful. He loves us all despite our wickedness against Him, and He does not take pleasure in the death of the wicked.

He wants us to live with Him, enjoying Him and praising Him for eternity.

So, he decided to show how much He loves us and how kind and good He really is, He would pay the penalty for our sins Himself.

God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, and for 33 years, He lived the perfect life that we could not. He was then beaten, spat upon, and crucified, His blood being shed, thus making propitiation for our sins. Meaning, He sacrificed Himself to pay the penalty for our sins, so we would not have to.

And three days after His death, Jesus rose from the dead, proving His sacrifice worthy, defeating death, and guarantying eternal life for all those who repent of their sin and turn to Him in trust and faith.

It is appointed unto man, once to die and then judgment. And unless you repent, you shall be judged guilty of your sin and shall be cast into eternal Hell, where there are no exits.

But...if you repent and turn from your sins, and follow after Jesus in trust and faith, God will count your sins paid for by the blood of Christ. He will also accredit the perfect life which Jesus lived to you as if you had lived it. You will be born again, granted eternal life, given the seal of the Holy Spirit, adopted as a true child of God and heir with Jesus Christ.


That is what I believe. All this is either true, or it's not. I am either right or wrong. We all live in the same reality now, so what makes anyone think that the after life would be any different. We don't make up reality here and now. We are affected by it, we don't rule over it or create it. We can choose to engage in it or not, we can strive to make changes in the way we live in it, but we are all still bound within the same rules and laws reality. So it will be after we die.

This is something that involves everyone, whether they believe or not. So it would be foolish to say that it doesn't matter, because if it's true, then it does matter.

Let us discuss this together. Do you believe this? Am I wrong? Why am I wrong? Let us reason together.

I care about you, thus I desire that you do repent and trust in Jesus Christ. It is not intolerant to tell someone that they are wrong. Our pride may be hurt, but if what the Bible says is true, does it not show that I do care for you, in that I am willing to take the risk of you getting mad at me so that by you might be saved?

What say you?

A Challenge to my unsaved friends and family pt1

I want to get straight to the point and ask you a few questions.

Do you believe that there is a "God", and if you do, do you care about knowing who He is and what His expectations are? Do you even think He has or should have any expectations?

My other questions are for my atheist friends or family (if I have any atheist friends or family). Why do you believe that there is no God. I want to also put on you the burden of proof. What evidence do you have proves there is no God?

I would love to get a conversation going with this. You don't have to worry, it is possible to have a civil talk about this. Let us reason together. I know the mind set these days is 'tolerance', which means anyone can believe whatever they want, and what you believe is true for you, and what I believe is true for me, just don't tell anyone they're wrong. This is called "post-modernism". Let me start by saying, ...that mind set is wrong.

Gasp!!

Did I just say that.....Yes, yes, I did. I am willing to say that what some people believe is wrong. And that's o.k. I would welcome if anyone were to say it to me too if they did not believe what I believe. In fact, logically, it is more accurate to say that someone is wrong in what they believe, because truth by it's very definition is objective and exclusive. That means that something is either true or it's not. It's right or it's wrong.

I will be completely honest. Yes, I do want to convince you. All of you, to repent of your sin and surrender your lives in trust and faith to Jesus Christ for your salvation. I also believe that Jesus Christ is who He said He is; the only true God, in all the universe, and, all of the other religious beliefs in all the world are wrong.

Now, before you disown me, or say that you will never speak to me again, let me explain. My next post will tell you why.

Remember....we can have a civil discussion about this.