We are to be good soldiers of Jesus

Today I will breifly cover some verses in the great book of 2 Timothy. Below you will see what we will discuss today:

"Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier."
                                -2 Timothy 2:3-4 KJV-

What a great set of verses. Lets take a look at how these might apply to the believer.

First what does Paul tell Timothy here?

He says that as a good soldier we must endure hardness or better said we must endure pain, suffering, trial, training. These are all true of the faithful soldiers that fight our wars abroad and at home today for the USA.

So as a good soldier of Christ we should expect to suffer hardships much the same as our Commander in Cheif, Jesus himself, suffered.

So why should we do this?

There are two reason Paul tells us above:

1. The first is vitally important in this day and age. We suffer so that we do not become entangled or attached to the things of this world. No doubt Hollywood is all about glitz and glamor of life. The more the better. New Coach hand bag, sure! New Maseratti, no problem!

But to the soldier of Christ these things can cause us to lose our focus in the battle of the gospel. Ask any soldier of our own country if they were to think about things back home in the middle of taking enemy fire would they expect to survive. Almost all would tell they would certainly be dead.

Why?

Simply because in the heat of the battle there mind was elsewhere. They got sloppy, lazy, forgetful and that stray bullet that usually would miss its hidden target found it because that soldier was thinking about home and not more about concealing his position.

The same applies for the soldier of the gospel. If we are all wrapped up in the latest gossip about Jon and Kate Gosselin then we will be less wrapped up in the gospel. That means that the people who most need to hear the word won't hear it at all. Fix your minds on the combat of the gospel and not the world!

2. The second reason and quite frankly the most important spiritually is that when we suffer and put aside the things of this world for the things of God we please Him who called us. If for no other reason you do something do it for the King of all Kings!

I hope these verses give you some perspective on the battle we face as good soldiers of the Lord when spreading his good news to the lost.

Reach out and share it with someone today, God Bless friends!

Defintion of our Faith!

Here is a brief but great definition of our faith from the greatest quite possibly of all the apostles Paul

"And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manisfest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory."
                                1 Timothy 3:16 KJV-

God was made manifest in the flesh and we called him Jesus Christ.

He is the maker and sustainer of our faith and lives. This one we choose to follow first chose us to make. This is a precious gift of God and salvation to us who choose to believe upon him and all he has for our lives.

I hope you have a blessed week friends and may you remember this scripture when someone asks you about your faith you can tell them who he is!

Because the LORD God of Israel...

In my morning quite time I read chapter 10 of the great book of Joshua. The Israelites are gaining strength and they are conquering many peoples along the way as the Lord God had commanded them to do. But on the second to last verse it reads:

"And all these kings and their land did Joshua take at one time, because the LORD God of Israel fought for Israel."
                                 Joshua 10:42 KJV-


Did you catch that part, because the LORD God of Israel fought for Israel, that is the key.

If God is for us who can be against us, but if God is not for us then how do we evaluate our actions, responses and postures towards him to ensure he is for us?

First off God loves all his creation. I know this might seem odd considering that means he loves guys like Hitler, Manson, Stalin, Ahmadinejad and etc. But He is just simply good. I threw one at you there is he just good or is he Good and Just?

Of course he is both and that means loving his creation equally.

I know, I know, Yes he did hate Esau but that was because of what Esau did, but he did not hate Esau in the womb only when Esau turned from God by selling his birthright. 

Back to my point...

However that also means judging his creation equally, that means my sins are counted equally with the sins of Pilate. We are judged on the same scale whether I think thats fair or not.

But when you think about it if God did judge on different scales how right and just of him would that be? No your very right, God should not show favoritism in judgement heres an example:

"Chris you have been a good guy, you followed your own right path, even though I think stealing is wrong you only stole a few small things in your life namely bubble gum, so I guess well your in! Just do me a favor and stay away from the bubble gum isle at our heavenly convenience store."

So I only stole little things and I was allowed entrance into the kingdom, well what about you maybe you never stole anything, how fair is it that a thief like me enters the kingdom? How about that guy that stole a car once in his life, should he get in? I mean I stole gum a few times but he stole a car once, which is worse, once or multiple times?

Do you see how this whole judging thing could get out of hand if God did not hold everyone accountable on the same scale? I hope you do. I doesn't matter, gum, money, boats, cars, if you steal then your a thief plan and simple and that's how the judge will see it.

So now your thinking well God is love and he won't judge me, and you would be right your god won't judge you, that's because the god you created in your mind doesn't believe in that but the God of the Bible is clear he will judge his people someday.

No one is perfect and I know that better than anyone, and God is perfect and his law is perfect by which he judges our actions and life. So how can we being imperfect hope to achieve this state of perfection and everlasting life. We can't imperfect will never equal perfect just like 2 cannot have the same value as 5 no matter how much time and effort 2 puts into being bigger and stronger and holier he can never equal 5.

Now don't loose hope, remember how I told you that God was perfect, well he is and he came down in the form of a man to pay the penalty against that perfect law that judges us. With his death, burial and resurrection Jesus defeated the law's penalty for us and if we take his name into our hearts and live him out, believe fully in his promise we to can be saved.

I pray this message reaches you with joy and you find the hope that I have found in the savior, Jesus Christ. Remember if God is for us who can be against us!

May God richly bless you this day friends!

Last Night...

Last night as I stood, sat and jumped in attendance at the Oakland Raider Season and Home Opener I was in awe at the sheer volume 60,000 plus fans can make. It was amazing to hear the shouts of praise, of course there were also boo's but thats another story.

On a 4th and 15 late in the 4th quarter the Raiders Quarterback JaMarcus Russell hit receiver Louis Murphy for a 57 yard touchdown to put the Raiders in the lead late. The building erupted in cheers and screams and claps, and as I hugged my brother and high-fived fans around me I stopped and wondered for a brief moment why we were all going so crazy for a game.

Granted NFL football is quite exciting especially in moments like that, but when was the last time we cheered like that in church?

When was the last time we clapped that hard and hugged one another after the Pastor told us about the promise of the Gospel?

I dare to say not once if any!

And that's what has me thinking, since last night and this morning, how will it sound when Christ returns to this earth?

Will they cheer like we did last night in Oakland?

Will the noise be louder and will we feel the vibrations like we did when the Air Force flew 2 F-16's over the stadium?

I am not sure exactly but I would have to say yes! This will be the most climatic event in all of history and every eye will see Him when He comes.

When Christ returns it will be the end of the game after a winning touchdown drive, the opponent won't get a chance to tie or win the game, its finished. Jesus will come back as a Savior and more importantly to us who follow him and are oppressed, he will come back on a White Horse as a Conqueror!

My job and the job of those who choose to follow him is to get that word out to as many people as possible.

Living a good life in front of people and being a good example is nice but how will those you are around know why you are such a nice, polite, uplifting person if you never share that with them? How can they hope to achieve your relationship with Christ and the hope you have inside of you if you don't share that? How can they escape the judgement of the almighty if they have not been informed there is a judge who sits on the throne of Heaven rightly judging the people of his creation?

To the elect and workers in Christ, this is our message, get the word out.

Don't delay make it today!

Nice rhyme huh!

God Bless brothers and sisters in the way, and have a nice day!

Sorry, I did it again, I'm thinking might just write a Dr. Seuss book after this. :)

May the peace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you all, Amen!

9.11.09-Eight Years to the Day

I remember the words sung by country music singer Alan Jackson, "Where were you when the world stop turning that September Day?"

I remember where I was and I will never forget the families and the victims of these heinous attacks. They will forever be etched in my memory. If I don't pray for them any other time of the year I do this day. Pray with me:


Dear God, Father of Heaven and earth, I pray for your comforting hand for all those mourning this day. I pray for peace, and closure. I pray that this nation never forget this day and we never forget just how vulnerable we are. We want you to be our God and we to be your people. Protect us as you did our ancestors in generations past. Help us fight and win the war on terror, so that your name may be praised. We thank you for all you have done and all you will do to keep this country safe. Watch over all of our service men and women and guide them safely. To your honor and glory we pray in the name of the one you sent to us for a sacrifice, Jesus Christ, Amen!


Though the pain may still be present we have a God who is strong enough to help us through and encourage us to live life to the fullest, a life pleasing him. May God's comfort be over you all this day as we remember those who have fallen 8 years ago today.

God Bless America!