Blog

  • At the YMCA today

    Today, me and my sons went to a YMCA we’ve not been to before. It was a huge facility. We plan on going there again. As we were leaving I noticed they offered message therapy. I have received deep tissue therapy in the past and felt like inquiring some more about the YMCA process. I asked a gentlemen who was in the message therapy room. When he looked at me it seemed as if I caught him off guard in a strange way. Ever so often, I’ve noticed I run into people and I get this response. I called a friend of mine and discussed this. In the discussion, I was reminded of Acts 4:13, “Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus.” In my case, the man was not marvelling, but seemed very frightened. I saw his arms and body actually trembling. We conversed for a couple of minutes and that was it.

    I have noticed this “effect” periodically at work and in public. My friend told me that it isn’t me who is causing, but someone else. Who? Christ in me ofcourse. I believe the real Jesus Christ is possibly unfamiliar to many. They may interpret Him as a legend, historicaly figure, religion, or myth.

    2 Cor. 4:2 says, “Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly (or manifesting) we commend ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God.

    My life and person or who I am in Christ is a manifestation of truth or truth that is plainly seen with human eyes. The eyes send the information from the body to the soul, conscience and spirit. So it seems, the effect can be fear of the unknown or xenophobia.

  • Male or female?

    On 05/03/09, I was in a mall in Dallas. It seemed everywhere I looked guys looked feminine and girls looked masculine. It started to seem somewhat common place. I asked my friend, “What do you think this means?” He replied, “If gender is unidentifiable then so is authority. This is the enemy’s goal.” No authority. This is anarchism. Romans 8:7 says, “Because the carnal mind [is] enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.”

  • Everything is in you

    On 04/24/09, I was laughing at a couple walking out of the local grocery store. I forgot what they did that made me laugh. I thought to myself, “When someone smiles it can effect the whole grocery store.” This thought came to me (I believe it was the Lord’s voice), “Everything is in you.” Jesus said the kingdom of God is in you. Paul said Christ in you. Colossians says, “All things are held together or consist by Him.” If He is in me and all things consist by Him and the kingdom of God is in me then “Everything is in me.” This word will continue to grow in me. I am still digesting and metabolizing it.

  • Compliment not completion

    In the movie, “Jerry Maguire”, Jerry Maguire said, “You complete me.” I think this is inaccurate towards the purpose of marriage.

    I beleive in marriage we should compliment each other because we are already complete. If part of the marriage basis is not complimentating each other then there is a possibility of a sense of debt being owed to one another. If I go into marriage thinking my wife completes me then if she doesn’t I may feel she owes me. This is not biblically accurate if love keeps no record of wrongs.

    If we are fragmented before marriage then we maybe marrying each with a presumption that the other is completing the lack in the other. If you really look at this it is idolatry. In this scenario, our eyes, hopes and dreams hinge on the person. Sharing these things together is different. 1 Cor. 13:5 says love is not self-seeking. Only God can complete us in His Son. That is salvation. Salvation makes us whole, complete and without lack with, in and by His life.

  • Psychology and God’s wisdom

    Definition of psychology:

    1. the science of the mind or of mental states and processes.
    2. the science of human and animal behavior.
    3. the sum or characteristics of the mental states and processes of a person or class of persons, or of the mental states and processes involved in a field of activity: the psychology of a soldier; the psychology of politics.
    4. mental ploys or strategy: He used psychology on his parents to get a larger allowance.

    I am of many opinions. One is I believe psychology can be used abusively and coercively. I even believe or liken it in someways to witchcraft. Col. 2:18 talks about being vainly puffed up in our fleshly minds. Col. 2:22-23 talks about the commandments and doctrines of men having a show of wisdom. Psychology in its external appearance seems wise, but Paul did not preach with man’s wisdom. He preached the simplicity of Christ being crucified, 1 Cor. 1:23. I don’t need to necessarily figure everything in regard to my psyche, but can know Christ was crucified and why He was crucified. I can know this through and by God’s power.

    How can the study or science of the mind have any power over the Creator of the mind?

    Behold, I tell you a mystery, “Psychology doesn’t work.” Psychology cannot purge my conscience from dead works, fill me with God’s Holy Spirit, raise the dead, walk on water, part the Red Sea, free me from being under the law, bring true forgiveness, and so on. Psychology can actually put me more under law. If what I am hearing brings me guilt then how can I grow in my walk? There is no condemnation in Christ. Conviction and guilt are different. Somehow, probably through bad doctrine, I used to think guilt was conviction, but it was the effect of the judgment of the law in my heart that I was already dead in Christ to. Paul said to the Galatians, “Who has bewitched you?” Or who has put a curse on you? Who has put law on you? If psychology empowers my fleshly mind without revelation then it could potentially enable self-strength unto strife. So, can psychology help me at all. I’m sure there is truth in their somewhere. The recommendation is to chew the meat and spit the bones so you don’t choke on the bones. Jesus said, “I am the truth.”

    The real truth is in the real Jesus and it’s free not $100 per session. This brings up another good point. Jesus is the truth. He only speaks the truth to us. Do Psychologists always do the same? Sometimes we don’t want to hear the truth. Psychologists have relatively wealthy salaries. In all this, God is not impartial, but His love is for everyone. A good friend of mine is a psychologist. She is a Christian also. I have received more from her from just plain conversations than psycho-babble.

  • Revelation in dreams

    Had a dream last night, 10/15/08. My friend was speaking to me about a spirit of gentleness and meekness. As he did I received revelation in my spirit in the dream! This is for the church. I believe it was not my friend, but the Spirit of the Lord speaking through my friend to my mind, heart and spirit His will. The knowledge of Christ permeates into every aspect of our life and being which includes dreams.

  • Michael

    Recently, for whatever reason I was remembering an old friend of mine from high school. Yesterday, 06/29/09, I went to the YMCA to exercise. On my way out, I saw Michael. He smiled. I said to myself, “Yep, that’s Michael.” In the past, Michael and I were not neccessarily the best influence on each other. We did drugs and drinking together and got into trouble. Well, to be honest, I didn’t know what to expect. Before he even told me I knew something was different about him. Last night, I took a dvd he lent me and watched him give his testimony and preach. Yes, Michael is a preacher now. It blessed me very much to see him.

  • I don’t believe. I know.

    Rom. 15:29, “29 But I know that when I come to you, I shall come in the fullness of the blessing of the gospel of Christ.”

    The word know here in the Greek is εἶδον or eidon (ā’-don). Essentially, it means, “To know by perception after having seen.”

    This is interesting because faith is about not seeing with physical eyes, but believing what you don’t see. It is about believing because of what has been revealed inside of you by hearing the quickened rhema word of God.

    I believe brother Paul is not necessarily talking about faith, but something different. I believe he is talking about KNOWING. Here are two personal examples. First, I remember when I was 15 years old on a city bus. I asked the Lord to show me Who He was and is and He did. The next ten years or so I believed I was saved. Then about ten years ago or so I recall receiving revelation inside me that I AM SAVED. This was very different from believing I was saved by His faith through grace. All of a sudden I knew. There was no doubt. I just knew and I could not unknow it either. I knew it more than I was breathing in my fleshly body if that is possible. What is impossible for God?

    The second example concerns my mother. At 13 years old, my mother died. My mother had already accepted Christ in her heart and I believed she was in glory with God. After I received Christ in my heart, I continued to believe this. Then after being in the word for a while the Lord began to show me He IS the Resurrection. The Word compounded on word, expounded, and grew by grace in me. Then one day I thought about my mother in heaven and this thought came to mind, “She is not dead, but alive!” Didn’t Jesus say this in Matt. 22:31-33, “I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.”

    So, now I know my mother is alive. I almost feel like she is still here somehow because I know this so strongly. I know that Christ is not dead. I know that He is a man and is alive. I know that He is with her and she is with him. Therefore, I know she is alive!

    I believe Paul says, “I know” because faith is unto KNOWING in Christ. Imagine prior to praying for someone and even prior to praying you KNOW.

    We bear God’s fruit and nature. One of these fruit of the Spirit is faith. What is God’s faith like? What does He put His faith into? He doesn’t because He knows!!! We are His offspring and we can know also.

  • Passive response

    Romans 10:3, “For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.”

    A while back before discovering Blue Letter Bible, I would have not have the same understanding of this verse as I do today. This is the definition of the Greek word for submitted, hypotassō,

    This word was a Greek military term meaning “to arrange [troop divisions] in a military fashion under the command of a leader”. In non-military use, it was “a voluntary attitude of giving in, cooperating, assuming responsibility, and carrying a burden”.

    The “volunteering attitude of giving in” could be misconstrued without knowing this word is in passive voice. The passive voice definition says,

    The passive voice represents the subject as being the recipient of the action. E.g., in the sentence, “The boy was hit by the ball,” the boy receives the action.

    In this context, I am the recipient of the ability or will to submit, be obedient, or have a voluntary attitude. This contrasts from so many times I hear brethren say, “So, I gotta surrender.” The answer is no. 2 Cor. 7:10 talks about godly sorrow unto repentance. Repentance literally means “afterthought“.

    I believe the Lord reveals Who He IS. The effect is salvation of our spirit, soul and body. After seeing the real Son of God, it has an afterthought effect. This effect is passive and supernatural. It creates obedience to the faith, Rom. 1:5. This obedience to the faith is His willingness in us.

  • What separates us from God?

    I think we do.

    Romans 8:38, “38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

    Brother Paul, does not say above we cannot separate ourselves from God. Prior to salvation, love is not love without choice of free-will. God in His perfect and good will according to His good pleasure chose me in His Son. I was always His choice. He is always my choice. If I am the only way to separate myself from God then glory! I’m not going anywhere Lord. I’m yours Father. I’m yours Lord Jesus. By grace, we have the mind of Christ. That means we also grow in His will and willingness. I am drowned into His death and immersed into His life by revelation of Him inside of me. I believe it is next to impossible to be separated from God and His immeasurable grace. To put it in finite mathematical terms, 1/∞, or x approaches zero. In the Spirit, naturally speaking, x approaches zero forever. They say that 1/∞ equals zero, but it really approaches zero. So, is 1/∞ equal to nothing? We can know by faith.

    David says in Psalm 139:7-10 (NIV), “Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?”

    If my biological Father is my dad according to the flesh then how much more is the Father of our spirits our Father by His Son and the Spirit of adoption. The price of supernaturual spiritual adoption is Christ’s life, body and blood! Christ is the Son of God.