It bewilders me...

As a bit of follow on from my preaching yesterday, (which, if you are interested in listening to, you can at ..
www.salvos3064.podbean.com) it totally gobsmacks me, bewilders me, throws me for six, that people would hear about Jesus, be confronted with the truth about Him, and then turn their back on Him.

It also leaves me feeling totally desperate and in despair that these same people who ignore Jesus, reject Him, pretend He doesn't exist, would then go in the exact opposite direction away from Him, listen to every other voice,  and choose to go the way of evil, rather than the way of truth.

It also leaves me feeling totally amazed that people choose to go the way that hurts them, damages them, and destroys all hope, even when they have done it before and know what happens in the end.

Fickle isn't it ?

its always been this way, in our world...people rejecting truth, and choosing the lie.

It seems easier somehow to go the way that everyone else is going, you know, its a very wide path that leads to hell, and many many people are traveling that road...    you know..   the lustful, do as I please, selfish thing, that's all about me and hardly about anyone else, never alone the God who loves them, so desperately that He sent His own Son, and He died a barbaric death in their place.

And whilst its a very wide road and many are walking it...that doesn't make it the right road, and sadly, for the crowd, in the end, the results of their choice will determine the end result.

It makes me feel really sick inside, that sometimes people only care about themselves and their own little world and don't care at all about any pain they cause to anyone else in the way they live their lives.

well that's a bit of a rant isn't it ?

It's a very narrow road and few choose it, the one that leads to heaven.

but isn't it confusing....  that a person could be on such a good wicket, so much going for them, blessed in every way, and then choose to reject it all and go with the  "whatever".

well for me..it is sad, very very very sad.

Satan dangles carrots all the time in front of us, and sadly many people just cave in.

Well..while I am alive...I will keep saying it how it is.  I wont stop until everyone around me knows that Jesus loves them and offers an  invitation to them.

To the churchy's who know what I am on about...go hard in prayer.  God will come through for you, I believe it.

To those who feel slam dunked by these words, ...well just choose differently, get rid of the blinkers and carrots and take a risk with Jesus...He took one with you and for you. he loves you. sadly if the cap fits you have to wear it... but you can choose to change which cap you are wearing.

Recently when I was in St Pauls Cathedral in London I was impacted by "The painting of Christ" standing at the door of our lives knocking and waiting to be invited in ...

My dad had a copy of this, which I now have, as He is in heaven with His heavenly Father.

and I want to say to you...

if He knocks today,  on your hearts door....

don't pretend you are not home, and hope He goes away....

open the door let Him in, and allow your life to be filled with hope, peace, joy, and a future set in concrete in heaven.

it was wonderful being in that church in London and many other great churches as well.

one final question / comment...especially to those who cant get a handle on whether its all true or not ...

this story was around long before you were... these churches were around worshiping Him long before you were... Christmas and Easter.... are testament to the truth and we celebrate it every year.

why reject, what deep down in your being, you just know is incredibly true ?

Jesus loves you.  

The real deal....

Are you the real deal ?

When it comes to Jesus Christ, are you the real deal ?

What does it mean to be the real deal ?

Being the real deal, is more about what is going on when you are alone, when no one else is around or watching.

It's the quiet moments of prayer and worship.

It's the reading of your bible and pausing long enough to listen out for Gods voice into your heart.

It's shunning the temptations of Satan in your mind, and not entertaining any potential outcome if you did....that sin !

How can you tell if someone is the real deal or not....?

They are Transparent.
They are not afraid to shine " the light " in the dark places.
They are up front in worship, loud, large, " pick me " kind of Christians.

What is in their heart, flows out of their mouth.

The real deal Christ follower, knows their place.... Humble, servants, willing, active not passive...they are not just bible carrying people, they are bible doing people.

I am praying that I will grow to be more real than I am right now.

I am praying that you and I , will truly be .....

"Real Deal" - Christ followers.

You know when you have been close to the real deal.
You just know the difference between the real and the pretend.

A real deal Christ follower will leave Christ characteristics embedded into your spirit.
How can they not.

The power for the real deal Christian comes from the personal intimate moments shared with their father. And when you have been with Jesus in private! it's the most normal natural thing for Him to shine through your life in public.

Let's all aim to be "The Real Deal".

I believe one of the highest compliments, affirmations that a Christ follower can be given is to be labelled the real deal.

the church of Rome..Part 2

Romans 12

A Living Sacrifice

 ¹ Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. ² Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Walking the streets and historical sights of Rome, and the Vatican, was fantastic for me. It was one of the highlights of my holiday.

I wonder why  this church places so much emphasis on the life of one man, who is no different to any other man, except for the title he wears and carries in this life.

Its not out of disrespect to him and that church, for the weight of the burden he carries for his church must be enormous, as must be the weight our General carries, as well as our Commissioners here in Aust.

But let's be clear, no Pope, or General, Or Commissioner can get me or you into heaven.... only a living relationship with the Living Jesus can do that.

It's not that we don't respect or even obey those above us in the Lord, we are told in scripture to do that, however place honor where its due, and worship where that is due, and make sure you don't muddle the two up.


Paul tells the Roman church, and so we take it to heart as well.... offer our bodies as living sacrifices...

Now speaking in context and cultural relevance, to a church where sacrifice of humans was common place, this is a fairly bold statement and courageous one that required the Christ followers of that day to make a stand that could easily mean laying down human life for their cause.

A message to a church already under persecution, may have been harsh words in that day.... but we need to understand our role in society... as they were being reminded in that day.

it's to lead society to Jesus Christ, no matter the cost, or price..... and true worship is actually doing that with your very life, whatever it ends up looking like.  

Tough isn't it ?  

Maybe...

not easy that's for sure.

when you walk through the ruins of the Colosseum ( pictured )  and you think about all that happened in that place.... the killing of innocent people, some for their faith in Jesus.... and their only crime was that they took the name of Jesus.     And then Paul's words come...offer your bodies.....oh, its very real isn't it ?

it's very humbling, when you walk in this place.....

when you realize that your sacrifice isn't much at all, really... but that which we offer, our loving God accepts.
it reminds me to worship the Lord with my life, the choices I make, the decisions I take, the road I walk, the places I go, the attitude I carry.

we have already visited many of these historical places in our lives, in Greece, Turkey and now Rome and knowing that you walk a path that millions have already walked, the saints of the past, your heroes of the faith, and many unknowns who died in these places...just because they walked with Jesus.

WOW.

and Paul writes a message to them that is relevant and personal and scary... and whats even more mind boggling is that, they willingly followed Jesus, no matter the cost of carrying their own personal cross.

I am not sure I go for all the pomp and ceremony, the trumpet blasts for man....

But for Jesus....... He has my heart ..... He deserves the trumpet blasts, the accolades and attention, He deserves the honor and pedestals....and one day He will ride a white horse into town, and everything will stop as He does.


Bring it on  I say.



  

back from holidays..../ the church of Rome...part 1

It's very early in the morning and I am still struggling with the side effects of jetlag.

cant sleep when I need to, and can barely stay awake when I need to.

I decided when I was walking the streets of Rome and the Vatican, that I needed to re read the book of Romans.... and I started doing that, and these next few blogs will be a collection of my thoughts about what Paul was saying to the church in Rome, and what I think God is saying to me today as result of that.

It is not about the catholic church either.....it's more about my understanding and personal enlightenment or revelation.

The church, in general, often muddles things up.....we "do" what God tells us not to do, and "won't do" what He tells us "to" do.

Store up wealth on earth, when we are told to not...
Open the way for all to come to the Father, but then we close it up, to a select few...
Lock people down, rather than allowing them freedom...

And of course...

We put all kinds of restrictions and do's and dont's on what Jesus came to abolish....

Then you are stung with the words of Paul, one of the greatest men of God of all time.

As I walked the streets of Rome, and again, like Greece and Turkey, observed the history and deep truth of the bible coming to life for me, I was again reminded that God is and has been at work amongst us for a very long time.

As I walked the places that my ancient bible heroes walked, I was reminded also of the part I play in the grand scheme of things, that is, the kingdom of God.

Paul's words to the Roman church, still remain as a warning and reminder of who we are meant to be, how we are meant to live and what should be our motivation and priority, it also tells us that there still needs to be daily pruning.

When I started re reading Romans, I found myself reading things that I have read a hundred times but had missed previously. It was always there in the text, but now it had a different meaning for me.

That's one of the most amazing things about our bible....every time, it gets ya, the Holy Spirit using it to speak into your situation at just the right time.

A few years ago I was privileged to go one study tour of Greece and Turkey, but felt that Rome was missed out, in the overall story.... and for me this was the icing on the cake. To see first hand the ruins and history of the early Roman church and it came alive once again for me.


So now, I plough through...chapter by chapter, verse by verse, just seeing and gleaning my own revelation. And it is coming, some of it, I will preach tomorrow in our Good Friday service.

Romans chapter 1....says this...(NIV)

18 The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, 19 since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20 For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities--his eternal power and divine nature--have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles. 24 Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. 25 They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator--who is forever praised. Amen. 26 Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. 27 In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion. 28 Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. 29 They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; 31 they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless. 32 Although they know God's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.

As I conclude the first part of this blog series....

It astounded me to see the sculptures in the Vatican, nude men and women, it was a big deal back then to sculpt nude....

One day, many years ago... a pope decided it was wrong and had another artist go around and cover the parts, of men especially, on the sculptures, with a fig leaf.

And the degradation that Paul speaks of in Romans 1 comes to life...as this pope tries to clean It up...to help priests and others in being tempted to think on things impure.

I read these words of Paul, and think about our world right now, that considers such things to be ok, and how the church is suppossed to handle this truth, how we are slammed for our stance, and rejected....ignored....abandoned....slandered....crucified !!!

Well, we are the bride of Christ.... We are suppossed to represent Him, to speak up for His ways and His truth.... He who was rejected....ignored....abandoned....slandered.....crucified !!!!

Hope it all makes sense, my rambling....however, I know it won't be popular.

It's important for us to love the sinner and hate the sin.

It's really important that the words of Paul as he spoke to the early Roman church, speak to us too...

We really need to practice this...loving the sinner thing...and hating the sin thing.

And making sure we don't allow any sense of compromise into the life of the church as an appeasement, or to be politically correct.

We must ensure we are biblically correct, spiritually correct and led by the Holy Spirit in all we do.

I am going to try to do that, as I ponder the words of Paul again, Gods words to His church.

I am reminded, I am, you are... the church.