All posts tagged: purity

What goes in, Comes out

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Tonight, the Season Premiere of most Fall TV Shows begin. I want to take the time, in this post, to encourage smart choices in what we watch this Fall. It is imperative that we avoid the seduction and not fall into sin this Fall by what we watch on TV. We must do everything to avoid the very appearance of sin and evil. Remember, whatever goes in will eventually come out. Above all else, we must guard our hearts, so that they stay tender toward the Lord. Time is very precious, therefore, don’t waste it. There is nothing wrong with watching TV, but the 5 to 7 hour the average American puts into it, and the wrong kinds of programs, can sap all of one’s energy for spiritual things, dry up one’s spirit, and lead to all kinds of temptations. Let common sense and the word of God guide us in our choices of what to watch. Also let us be responsible with the time He has given us as well. Here are a few verses from …

From Prison to Prime Minister: 7 principles for divine favor

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When we read the bible, especially ancient stories like that of Joseph, the first question that comes to mind is – is this applicable in my life, is this relevant for our time? The answer to those questions is very simple. God made sure that what is recorded in the scripture will transcend time and minister to subsequent generations. If it worked for them, it will work for us. So “Yes”, God can raise you up from nothing. He can elevate you beyond your qualifications. He can promote you and cause you to be more influential than your peers. Let me share with you 7 Principles about how that can come about: Destiny Destiny is not necessarily where we can take ourselves but where God can take us. It is the prophetic promise on our live. It is his dream not ours. However we need to embrace his plan and align our lives with it. Joseph held dearly unto every revelation God gave to him. He wrapped his entire life around it and it lifted …

One Word that should define your entire life

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Consecration “The world has yet to see what God can do with a man or woman, who is totally dedicated to Him.” What is Consecration? The word first and foremost means to “be set apart.” It is the act of separating from a common to a sacred use, or of devoting and dedicating a person or thing to the service and worship of God. The Hebrew words kadosh and Greek  hagiazo are translated by several different English words: holy, consecrate, hallow, sanctify, dedicate. In the Old Testament God is said to be kadosh or “holy.” The Hebrew word originally meant “to be separate.” The Holy One of Israel is separate because He is God. “I am God, and not man; the Holy One in your midst” ( Hosea 11:9 ). Hosea pointed to both the otherness or separateness of God and His nearness. The holiness of God came to mean all that God is. To the prophets, God’s holiness included justice, righteousness, and many ethical concerns. “God who is Holy shall be sanctified in righteousness” (Isaiah 5:16 ). When people or things were “consecrated,” they …

Prayer Knows No Bounds

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Faith, and hope, and patience and all the strong, beautiful, vital forces of piety are withered and dead in a prayerless life. The life of the individual believer, his personal salvation, and personal Christian graces have their being, bloom, and fruitage in prayer. God shapes the world by prayer. Prayers are deathless. They outlive the lives of those who uttered them. Prayer is of transcendent importance. Prayer is the mightiest agent to advance God’s work. Praying hearts and hands only can do God’s work. Prayer succeeds when all else fails. Prayer honors God, acknowledges His being, exalts His power, adores His providence, secures His aid. Prayer puts God’s work in His hands-and keeps it there. Prayer is our most formidable weapon, the thing which makes all else we do efficient. It is hard to wait and press and pray, and hear no voice, but stay till God answers. The possibilities of prayer are found in its allying itself with the purposes of God, for God’s purposes and man’s praying are the combination of all potent and omnipotent …

The Uninformed Evangelical vs The Uncompromising Orthodox Theologian

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We know that “all of us have knowledge.” This “knowledge” puffs up and causes us to fall into the condemnation of the devil… 1 Cor. 8:1; 1 tim. 3:6 Getting doctrine right is a matter of life and death, but holding that doctrine in the right spirit is essential too A great deal of damage is done by those who hold the truth of Christ with the spirit of satan One of the mistakes Christians often make is that we learn to rebuke like Jesus but not love like Jesus But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first Revelation 2:4 I bought Joshua Harris’ Humble Orthodoxy last night and it is really a great book. In a chapter in he calls “With Tear in our Eye,” (Page 243), he retells a story found in the gospel of Luke chapter 18: One day two men went to church to pray. The first man was a shallow, uninformed evangelical. Everything about him shouted of squishy theology. He didn’t know or use …

Walk in the Spirit

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So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions. But when you are directed by the Spirit, you are not under obligation to the law of Moses. Galatians 5:16-18 There is an answer to all of us who at one time or another felt like the Apostle Paul when he asked the question – “oh wretched man that I am who shall save me from this body of death?” The question came after the realization that he was incapable of rising above the power of the sinful nature within himself. At that point he realized that only the grace of God through the redemptive work of Christ could help him break the …

Fit to Sit: Partakers of Endless Glory

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Part 2: A Commentary on Psalm 15 Verse 3 – Nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbour. The word cherpah, which we here translate a reproach, comes from charaph, to strip, or make bare, to deprive one of his garments; hence choreph, the winter, because it strips the fields of their clothing, and the trees of their foliage. By this, nature appears to be dishonoured and disgraced. The application is easy: a man, for instance, of a good character is reported to have done something wrong the tale is spread, and the slanderers and backbiters carry it about; and thus the man is stripped of his fair character, of his clothing of righteousness, truth, and honesty. All may be false; or the man, in an hour of the power of darkness, may have been tempted and overcome; may have been wounded in the cloudy and dark day, and deeply mourns his fall before God. Who that has not the heart of a devil would not strive rather to cover than make bare the fault? …

Fit to Sit: Partakers of Endless Glory

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Part 1 Commentary on Psalm 15 The questions therefore are, Who can be considered a fit member of the Church of Christ here below? and, Who shall be made partakers of an endless glory? In answer to these questions, the character of what we may term a true Israelite, or a good Christian, is given in the following particulars:- Verse 2. He that walketh uprightly a. He walks perfectly. Who sets God before his eyes, takes his word for the rule of his conduct, considers himself a sojourner on earth, and is continually walking to the kingdom of God. He acts according to the perfections of God’s law; he has respect to all its parts, and feels the weight and importance of all its injunctions. As he is the creature of GOD, he has duties to perform to him. He owes God his heart: May son, give me thy heart; and should love him with all his heart, soul, mind, and strength. This is giving GOD his due. As a member of civil society, he …