Matthew 25:13 "Watch therefore: for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh."
What if He did return this day. What would you be doing? Would he be pleased with what you are saying, thinking, watching, listening too, reading? Would he be able to take you to everlasting paradise? Think about it friend. How many times are you going to say, "I'll get right with the lord tomorrow?" It is tomorrow.
Friend, the devil has distorted our view of time so that we believe we always have tomorrow to change. First, we don't know when the true ruler of this earth will return. Secondly, we don't know when our own personal time cards will be punched. If you met Him today would he welcome you, or throw you in the lake of fire? Those are the only two choices open to us, and when your life is over it is too late to decide.
Friends, midnight is always closer than we think. Everyday we say, there are not enough hours in the day; or 'time flies.' Has anyone noticed that time only moves in one direction, and that direction is always moving toward the last day. No man knows when He will return, so everyone must be prepared.
The word of God says everything physical will pass away. Gold and money will rust and disintegrate. Nothing on this earth is forever. Why put your trust in something so weak as to have an expiration date, when God is eternal. He wants us to be with Him in heaven, so he sent his Son, Jesus, to sacrifice himself for us. All we have to do is repent, and follow the example of Christ, and we will have everlasting life. Our bodies will die, but He will give us new, incorruptible bodies, that will not die! That is good news. That is gospel. What are you waiting for....REPENT and be saved!
Friday, August 13, 2010
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Keeping it Real
Attention Readers, if there is anything in this post or any previous posts that you know in your heart to be true, please do not attribute it to me. All truth comes from the Father, all praise is due to Him.
My topic for today is the propagation of the falsehood commonly known as 'keeping it real.' As a culture, Black folks especially, but also the nation as a whole, is very accepting of someone, 'keeping it real.' To be certain, the definition of keeping it real as I am defining it is as follows:
-to act on ones thoughts and emotions as they occur, to effectively communicate one's natural thoughts, to behave in a way that is consistent with one's feelings
Working from that definition, let's talk about why 'keeping it real' as a positive notion is undesirable for the kingdom of God.
According to the word, as descendants of Adam, because of his sin, we are born into sin. Because of his transgression, we are all natural sinners. Our first natural inclination in most situations is to sin. We are by virtue of being human, wretched, sinful beings. That is the whole of humanity, not just the poor, or the minority. That applies to every human being that ever walked, or will walk the planet sans Jesus Christ.
Working from the established premise that we are sinful in our very nature, then it would follow that our natural behaviors are sinful. What we think, feel, and desire in our flesh is wretched in the eyes of God. So by definition, 'keeping it real' is sinful, because it requires that we act on those naturally sinful impulses that are hardwired into our DNA.
What the Bible requires of us is to behave in a way that is counter intuitive. We are to arrest our inclination to act on our desires and hold them up to the light of truth according to the word. Thus, when our natural desire is to tell that irritating coworker to 'get a life', thus keeping it real; the world tells us to love that coworker in words and deeds. Our natural reaction would lead us to sin. When that driver cuts us off and almost causes us to wreck with our kids in the car, we want to display a finger to that driver that symbolizes something less than Christian. Again, the word tells us to pray for those individuals, while the flesh would have us behave wrongly.
I am not suggesting that christians should not, or do not have sinful thoughts and feelings. I am suggesting that a christian will not act upon the same. Christian's should not seek to 'keep it real'. Christians should instead seek to be an example of the word of God through their actions.
We are all sinners. Christians are merely sinners who have repented of their sin. God has given the world a law that cannot be fulfilled by humans. He has given us the law so that we understand that we need the gift of salvation. Reader, no one can enter into God's peace who is blemished. God is holy and he demands holiness. We, by ourselves can never be good enough to enter into the kingdom. Jesus died a horrible death as a sacrifice for our sins. Because he sacrificed himself, we can accept his salvation and enter into paradise.
Reader, let's stop keeping it real, and begin the process of modifying our behavior to reflect the example set by Jesus. I understand that the world is urging you to 'be true to yourself,' and to 'keep it real.' I even understand that this sounds good and right. However, man's wisdom compared to God's wisdom is foolishness. The enemy is a liar, a thief, and a murderer. He is also very crafty at popularizing foolishness that sounds like wisdom. You will 'keep it real' in hell. Christians will 'keep it Christian' on earth and in heaven.
My topic for today is the propagation of the falsehood commonly known as 'keeping it real.' As a culture, Black folks especially, but also the nation as a whole, is very accepting of someone, 'keeping it real.' To be certain, the definition of keeping it real as I am defining it is as follows:
-to act on ones thoughts and emotions as they occur, to effectively communicate one's natural thoughts, to behave in a way that is consistent with one's feelings
Working from that definition, let's talk about why 'keeping it real' as a positive notion is undesirable for the kingdom of God.
According to the word, as descendants of Adam, because of his sin, we are born into sin. Because of his transgression, we are all natural sinners. Our first natural inclination in most situations is to sin. We are by virtue of being human, wretched, sinful beings. That is the whole of humanity, not just the poor, or the minority. That applies to every human being that ever walked, or will walk the planet sans Jesus Christ.
Working from the established premise that we are sinful in our very nature, then it would follow that our natural behaviors are sinful. What we think, feel, and desire in our flesh is wretched in the eyes of God. So by definition, 'keeping it real' is sinful, because it requires that we act on those naturally sinful impulses that are hardwired into our DNA.
What the Bible requires of us is to behave in a way that is counter intuitive. We are to arrest our inclination to act on our desires and hold them up to the light of truth according to the word. Thus, when our natural desire is to tell that irritating coworker to 'get a life', thus keeping it real; the world tells us to love that coworker in words and deeds. Our natural reaction would lead us to sin. When that driver cuts us off and almost causes us to wreck with our kids in the car, we want to display a finger to that driver that symbolizes something less than Christian. Again, the word tells us to pray for those individuals, while the flesh would have us behave wrongly.
I am not suggesting that christians should not, or do not have sinful thoughts and feelings. I am suggesting that a christian will not act upon the same. Christian's should not seek to 'keep it real'. Christians should instead seek to be an example of the word of God through their actions.
We are all sinners. Christians are merely sinners who have repented of their sin. God has given the world a law that cannot be fulfilled by humans. He has given us the law so that we understand that we need the gift of salvation. Reader, no one can enter into God's peace who is blemished. God is holy and he demands holiness. We, by ourselves can never be good enough to enter into the kingdom. Jesus died a horrible death as a sacrifice for our sins. Because he sacrificed himself, we can accept his salvation and enter into paradise.
Reader, let's stop keeping it real, and begin the process of modifying our behavior to reflect the example set by Jesus. I understand that the world is urging you to 'be true to yourself,' and to 'keep it real.' I even understand that this sounds good and right. However, man's wisdom compared to God's wisdom is foolishness. The enemy is a liar, a thief, and a murderer. He is also very crafty at popularizing foolishness that sounds like wisdom. You will 'keep it real' in hell. Christians will 'keep it Christian' on earth and in heaven.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)