Desensitized

I was recently asked a question..."Are the hearers of these words being desensitized to the impact that is capable if only they would listen to the words?"

This was my answer to this question:


I think that too often we play church and seem to go through the motions. It is as though we are putting on a show on Sunday morning and everything has to be just perfect. However this says to me that the Holy Spirit can move as long as He follows the schedule. We have seemed to get off track with allowing the Spirit to move, not only in the way we worship, but also in the way we preach. We have become wimpy preachers and don't allow God to speak Truth to our people. We try to soften up the raw Truth that the scripture is. There is no unction or conviction when we preach. So are the hearers of The Word becoming desensitized? Well yes, but at the same time we are allowing them to become that way. I would love to be in a service where the Spirit actually moved and nothing went according to plan. That would be truly awesome and unfortunately it's seldom seen. I obviously am getting worked up about this, however this is the kind of stuff that matters to me, I want to hear Truth and have my toes stepped all over. I want conviction in my life, and I don't want to come on Sunday to hear a sermon about God. Rather I want to come on Sunday to meet God face to face. May the speakers of The Word not become desensitized to Him and may the hearers of The Word never stop seeking His face.

Willing to Die for Jesus?

I often wonder why can't we win our world? Is it because we are not willing to go to the extent of what God wants to do in our life no matter what?? I looked up the deaths of some of the Apostles. I found it interesting and it brought conviction upon me that I need to not have a fluffy kind of Christianity, but rather a kind that I believe in so much so I'm willing to die for it. As you read through these try to ask yourself how far am I willing to let Jesus take me.

The Deaths of the Apostles

Matthew suffered martyrdom in Ethopia, killed by a sword wound.

Mark died in Alexandria, Egypt, dragged by horses through the streets until he was dead.

Luke was hanged in Greece as a result of his tremendous preaching to the lost.

John was boiled in a huge basin of boiling oil during a wave of persecution in Rome. However, he was miraculously delivered from death. John was then sentenced to the mines on the prison island of Patmos where he wrote his prophetic Book of Revelation. The Apostle John was later freed and returned to serve as a bishop in modern Turkey. He died an old man, the only Apostle to die peacefully.

Peter,was crucified upside down on an x-shaped cross, according to Church tradition, because he told his tormentors that he felt unworthy to die the same way that Jesus Christ had died.

James the Just, the leader of the Church in Jerusalem and brother of Jesus, was thrown down more than a hundred feet from the southeast pinnacle of the Temple when he refused to deny his faith in Christ. When they discovered that he survived the fall, his enemies beat James to death with a fuller's club. This was the same pinnacle where Satan had taken Jesus during the Temptation.

James the Greater, a son of Zebedee, was a fisherman by trade when Jesus called him to a lifetime of ministry. As a strong leader of the Church, James was ultimately beheaded at Jerusalem. The Roman soldier who guarded James watched amazed as James defended his faith at his trial. Later, the officer walked beside James to the place of execution. Overcome by conviction, he declared his new faith to the judge and knelt beside James to accept beheading as a Christian.

Bartholomew, also known as Nathanael, was a missionary to Asia. He witnessed about our Lord in present day Turkey. He was whipped to death for his preaching in Armenia.

Thomas was speared and died on one of his missionary trips to establish the Church in India.

Jude, another brother of Jesus, was killed with arrows after refusing to deny his faith in Christ.

Matthias, the Apostle chosen to replace the traitor Judas Iscariot, was stoned and beheaded.

Barnabas, one of the group of seventy disciples, was stoned to death at Salonica.

Paul was tortured and then beheaded by the evil Emperor Nero at Rome in A.D. 67. Paul endured a lengthy imprisonment which allowed him to write his many epistles to the Churches he had formed throughout the Roman Empire. These letters, which taught many of the foundational doctrines of Christianity, from a large portion of the New Testament.

What kind of faith do you have?

A Woman's Heart

This is a short blog entry, however very effective. Especially for all of those singles out there, and that means both men and women. Here is a quote that stuck out to me:

"A woman's heart should be so lost in God that a man needs to seek Him in order to find her."

That's how I found my girl, and I pray that for your life! In fact I pray that even after you're married this is still your goal and objective. Good truth!

Fast Modified

So I was talking with my wife and one of my biggest things I want out of my fast is to be a more Godly husband. However when I fast most of the time I don't eat, and this leaves no intimacy time with my wife where we just talk. This is a terrible thing because intimacy is a staple to a good marriage especially a Christ centered one. Well since she said to me that "We haven't talked since you've been fasting!" Well that made me feel like crap because it was defeating the purpose that I was trying to accomplish. I realized that I was being more religious than a Christian and me being religious was keeping me from being a Christ centered husband. So we came up with the compromise for me to eat 2 meals a week with her that I like to call "Intimacy Meals". I have left it up to her discretion on when I can eat and sometimes she gives me the option. They don't all have to be just me and her however at least one a week does. I like this idea because it allows me to eat (obviously I'm all for that) and we can look forward to talking together. I encourage you if you're married or in a relationship to take time to find "Intimacy Meals", they really are a good time and you'll enjoy them! I'm looking forward to this week because of them and know that Christ will be in the middle of them!

Respectful Hand Washing

In my class I'm takng (The Old Tesstament) we had to read some chapters in our book and comment on things that stuck out to me. So here is one of the things I wrote:

On page 600 of our text book I found the part where it says “The rabbinic ruling, which reflected the value of the books, discouraged irreverent mishandling of them by insisting on the washing of hands after touching them.” I find it very interesting that they took it so seriously that they were even handling the Word of God that they had to wash their hands. It makes me think of how they were with the very name of God and how they wouldn’t speak it. I think of how we as modern day Christians handle the Word of God and His name. Do we view God in such reverence as they did or do we view Him as an obligation. They didn’t look upon reading the scriptures as something they HAD to do, but rather something they got to do. I want to live in that spirit where I have a longing and passion for God and His Word. I want to show respect to it by preaching it with such passion and desire that others may see Him. I want to wash my hands with my life by showing others a life lived for Christ.

I Run

The following is a poem I wrote inspired from the sermon "Run" by Carter Conlon.

I run because if I sit idle I sit in Satan's grasp and in his control and become a puppet for him.

I run from false "teachers" and "preachers" who are more focused on stories than the Word.

I run from moments that are questionable and may seem as though I don't love Jesus.

I run at the thought of a selfish moment that only pleases and gratifies me.

I run from the "obligations" that I have to anything other than Jesus.

I run from myself and what I want, for it is my life and I don't want it.

I run from the roles I seem to create other than a child of the Father.

I run from the Christian Box I relax in and never see the edges of.

I run from comfort and people full of sin who make me that way.

I run from the impersonators who are a wolf in sheep's clothing.

I run from the silver tongued devil that is called compromise.

I run because He is…

He is my soul.

He is my definition.

He is my heartbeat.

He is the rhythm which I march to.

He is the reason I wake, eat, sleep, preach.

He is the newness with which I’m filled daily.

He is a new revelation that is revealed to me through Truth.

He is a look of love that is only received from others who love Him.

He is my passion, my tears, my purpose, my obsession, my excitement and my joy.

He is the reason for reasons.

You may ask why I run…

I run for my life, because I am nothing without Him.

And where do I run to? I run into the arms of the One and Only who IS my

Salvation.

Purchased To Be Free

So my good friend Nathan sent me this link and it was quite moving to watch!! I wanted to share this with people because it brought me to tears! It is one of my all time favorite preachers and a video with it. Don't worry it's not an entire sermon it's just a clip from it but it's so moving! I encourage you to watch it and let me know what you think!! It's the following link:

http://braveheartedgospel.com/

Then click on the Paris Reidhead video labeled "Come"

Moving to say the least!!