The Fellowship of the Unashamed

THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE UNASHAMED

I am part of the fellowship of the unashamed.  I have the Holy Spirit’s power.  The die has been cast.  I have stepped over the line.  The decision has been made.  I am a disciple of His.  I won’t look back, let up, slow down, back away or be still.  My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, and my future is secure.  I’m finished and done with low living, sight walking, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tamed visions, worldly talking, cheap giving and dwarfed goals.

I no longer need preeminence, prosperity, position, promotions, plaudits or popularity.  I don’t have to be right, first, tops, recognized, praised, regarded or rewarded.  I now live by faith, lean on His presence, walk by patience, am uplifted by prayer, and I labor with power.

My face is set, my gait is fast, my goal is Heaven, my road is narrow, my way is rough, my companions are few, my Guide is reliable, my mission is clear.  I cannot be bought, compromised, detoured, lured away, turned back, deluded or delayed.  I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of the enemy, pander at the pool of popularity, or meander in the maze of mediocrity.

I won’t give up, shut up, or let up, until I have stayed up, stored up, prayed up, paid up, and preached up for the cause of Christ.  I am a disciple of Jesus.  I must go until He comes, give until I drop, preach until all know, and work until He stops me.  And when He comes for His own, He will have no problems recognizing me . . . FOR MY BANNER WILL BE CLEAR!

On The Syrian Refugee Crisis

SYRIAN REFUGEE CRISIS

The Syrian refugee situation has been in all over the news and social media recently.  I try to maintain an open mind, see all sides of an issue, and then make an informed decision.  I’ve seen all manner of arguments in favor of denying asylum to the Syrian refugees, including:

• How do we suddenly have housing and money for 10,000 Syrian refugees, but not for our 50,000 homeless veterans?
• I know not ALL Muslims are terrorists – only a small percentage are radical jihadists. But if I gave you ten grapes and told you that two had been injected with cyanide, how many would you eat?

I understand exactly where those who feel this way are coming from.  Believe me, I’ve been there. I’ve been solidly there for the last couple of months.  I would ask myself, “How on earth could ANYONE possibly think this is a GOOD IDEA???”

I understand now that this line of thought comes from a spirit of fear, and is not from God.  The bible tells us in 2^nd Timothy 1:7, “For God hath not given us a spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”

What if the refugees do come in and attack us for being “infidels”?  Matthew 5:10 says, “Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

What if they even KILL us?  Read 2^nd Corinthians 5:8, where it says that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.  You can’t scare me with Heaven!

I believe the final arbiter in all decision making should be the inspired Word of God.  Search the scriptures and find what the Bible says regarding situations like this.  Pray beforehand, asking God to direct you to passages He wants you to read.  I’ve done this, and would like to share some passages from God’s word with you:

• Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy – Matthew 5:7 (KJV)
• You shall also love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt –Deuteronomy 10:19 (NIV)
• Pure and undefiled religion before our God and Father is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself unstained by the world. – James 1:27 (HCSB)
• Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away. – Matthew 5:42 (KJV)
• Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy. – Ezekiel 16:49 (NIV)
• Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. – Hebrews 13:2 (ESV)
• Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:  For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:  I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.  Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?   Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. – Matthew 25:41-45 (KJV)

Don’t forget the story of the Good Samaritan.  Jesus tells of a priest and Levite who passed up a man in need, offering no help, and of a Samaritan who gave aid.  After the story, he asked the lawyer which of the three was a true neighbor, to which the lawyer answered “the one who showed mercy”.  Jesus responded by saying “Go and do likewise”. 

I urge you to search the scriptures on your own, asking God for discernment in order to formulate your own opinion.  

Is The Old Man Dead?

Is The Old Man Dead?

“Now and then an old friend of mine I haven’t seen for some time,

Stops by & asks me, “Where’ve you been? What’s on your mind?”

He wonders why I’m not drinking, or still painting this old town red.

I tell him I’m serving Jesus now, and the old man is dead.” – Del Way

One thing that troubles me about the modern church is the leading of small children in the “Sinner’s Prayer”.  Read the following scenario, and realize that this same situation plays out in churches of all denominations across this country every Sunday.

             Reverend Smith, a large imposing figure with a booming voice, delivers a foot-stomping, fist-pounding message about the realities and dangers of Hell.  He tells of a lake of eternal, unquenching fire; prepared for the devil and his angels, filled with brimstone (sulphur), much wailing and gnashing of teeth – a place where people beg for just a drop of water to cool their parched tongue.  A place of indescribable pain and suffering that will last for ETERNITY! It will NEVER END!

 At the end of the sermon, 8 year-old Johnny comes walking down the aisle.  Reverend Smith kneels down next to Johnny.  He wants to be on the boy’s level – he needs to look him in the eye.

             “Do you want to go to Hell, Johnny?” Reverend Smith asks, while placing a firm hand on the boy’s shoulder. 

             “No, sir”, mutters a timid and tearful Johnny.

             “Then repeat after me . . .”

             He leads Johnny in a Sinner’s Prayer, and then together they stand and turn around to face the congregation.  Reverend Smith presents little Johnny to the church as having been saved, when in reality, Johnny is no more saved than the man in the moon.

When a person truly accepts the free gift of salvation offered through Christ’s sacrifice at the Cross, there is a change that takes place in the heart. 

Romans 6:6 tells us “that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.”

2 Corinthians 5:17 states, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold all things are become new.”

Know this:  If the same spirit that raised Christ from the dead is living inside of you, you WILL BE a different person.  That’s not just one man’s viewpoint – That’s a fact.

Are you a brand-new man? Is the old man dead?

Don't Stand Around Naked

Don’t stand around naked.

In Ephesians chapter 6, the bible discusses the Armour of God.

We’re told to put on the WHOLE armor of God, that we may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil and quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.

“A lot of folks will put on the Helmet of Salvation, and then stand around buck-naked from the neck down, wondering why they’ve got darts all in them” – Rev. Lowry Anderson

 Notice that I’ve emphasized the word WHOLE.  To me, that is the operative word in the passage.  In other words, don’t just put on PART of the armor, but put it ALL on.

We need the WHOLE armor of God, because as verse 12 tells us, we wrestle not against flesh and blood; but against principalities, powers, rulers of the darkness of this world and spiritual wickedness in high places.

The author then goes on to list the individual pieces that make up the whole armor of God.  I’ll briefly touch on each one.

• The Belt of Truth (v.14) - Trusting and believing what is in the bible. See Psalms 119:105
• The Breastplate of Righteousness (v.14) - Using Christ’s record and perfection given to us.  See Romans 3:21-24
• The Shoes of Preparation of the Gospel of Peace (v.15) – Walking life with the peace that we are children of God, and willingness to share that Gospel.  See Galatians 3:26-29 & 5:16
• The Shield of Faith (v.16) – When facing trials . . . looking and focusing not on the things we see, but on what God has promised.  See Hebrews 11:1
• The Helmet of Salvation (v.17) – Thinking of future Glory, provided freely by the Grace of God.  See Romans 13:11-14
• The Sword of the Spirit (v.17) – The Word of God.  The only offensive piece in the set.  Use God’s word to attack the evil one against the thoughts and temptations he gives.  See 2 Timothy 3:16  

John MacArthur notes that the Christian life is a battle; warfare on a grand scale.  The Armor of God is His provision for our protection. We should use ALL OF IT.  Don’t just put on the Helmet of Salvation and then stand around naked.  That’s one man’s viewpoint.

Beware of Religiosity

Beware of Religiosity.

Don’t get so caught up in “Religion”, that you lose sight of the “Relationship”.  Don’t let being bogged down in doctrinal legalism keep you from fully realizing your relationship with the One who created you.

There are many different opinions between various Christian denominations today.  Some say you must be baptized by submersion, some say that having the baptismal waters poured over your head is good enough.   Still others are satisfied with merely sprinkling.  Matthew 28:19 instructs us to baptize them in the “name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost”, whereas Acts 2:38 declares that we should be baptized “in the name of Jesus Christ”.  The thief on the cross was not baptized AT ALL, yet still went to Heaven.

Some say Christ will return BEFORE the tribulation.  Some say He will return AFTER the tribulation.  Still others say Christ will return MIDWAY THROUGH the tribulation.  In reality, all of these people are lying, for Matthew 24:36 says that NO MAN knows the hour or day – not even the angels of Heaven.

Your best bet is to be prepared.  If you live by the river and prepare for the flood, but the flood doesn’t come, you’ve lost nothing.  By contrast, if you DON’T prepare for the flood and the flood DOES come, you’ve lost everything. 

We are told several times in the New Testament (Matt. 22:35-40, Mark 12:28-31, Luke 10:25-8) that the greatest commandment is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength.  The second is to love your neighbor as yourself.  It’s really quite simple: Love God, Love Each Other.  There’s no need to make it more complicated.  I believe that if we as Christians would focus more on simply loving God and loving each other, then a lot of our disagreements, disputes and drama would take care of itself.

But that’s just one man’s viewpoint.