On Our Way Up

Wake up Christian people! The Kingdom of God is at hand.

2008-09-01T20:45:00.000-07:00

Wake up!! It's time to take a stand for Christ or go sit with the world. The Bridegroom cometh; will He find you ready? Will you be found about your Fathers business or about your own? Are you ready? He's coming, He's coming!

If you study prophesy at all you know that we are in the end times. It goes without saying that we are closer than anyone has ever been. Yet, with this knowledge and the Bible spelling out what is to come plainly, Christian people still find more pleasure in the world than in Christ. Sad state of affairs we the Church find ourselves in. The world does not take note of us because we are no different than they. Why should they? What do we offer them except more of what they already have. When the world sees Christians who are impoverished, sickly, disease ridden, in bondage to various addictions, living like hell, trying to fit in with those going to hell and then a Christian asks if they want to be part of the flock, the answer is, no. Why should they. They already have a master who kills, steals and destroys. Why would they want another.

We as Christians have become an embarrassment to the Church as it was intended to be. The book of Acts, describes what the Church is supposed to be like. Christ gave us an example to follow as a Church. He said, "the things I do, you will do, and even greater things than these." Do we believe that? or do we want to argue how all of that died with the last apostle? We argue that we don't need miracles and signs today because we have the Bible. Well, if you read your Bible you will see that people are no different today than they were then. The Church is still trying to reach the same kind of people. These people didn't believe the scriptures they had then and they don't believe the scriptures we have now, today. So, why do we argue these things when God is telling us how to reach these people? Some folks won't believe until they see. Christ had the same problem. Do we think we are more knowledgeable and more advanced than He? May it never be!

If the Bible states it, I believe it, that settles it, needs to become the creed of every believer in the Church. We need to quit bickering over things that God Himself has granted to us to do His work. Why do we desire so earnestly to do Gods work partially equipped? We were told to put on the whole armor of God, not just part of it. So, what are we to put on? Lets look shall we.

Ephesians 6:11-18

Gird your loins with truth. (a wide thick heavy belt)
The breastplate of righteousness
Feet shod with the preparation of the Gospel of peace
Take up the shield of faith which will extinguish all the flaming missiles of the evil one
Put on the helmet of salvation
Put on the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God

Now notice this is only six things. Seven is usually associated with God because seven is considered to be a perfect number. So, is this a mistake? No. Most Christians miss number seven in this list.

7. With all prayer and petition, pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints.

Number seven is the piece that always gets overlooked. Number seven is the most powerful of all. When we pray in the Spirit, Satan can not intercept this prayer and counterfeit it. Praying in the Spirit is a prayer you can't mess up. When you pray in the Spirit it will always be the will of God.

This is a call to arms, Christians. It's past time to get ready. We have already been at war and some of us aren't prepared. No wonder Christian people are getting stomped by the devil on a regular basis. You wouldn't go to a gun fight with a knife would you? So, why do we do this with the devil? Our fight is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places (Ephesians 6:12). This is a spiritual battle and most Christians have not grasped that yet. We're still praying that God will make the world a nicer place. Hooey! Ain't gonna happen. Read your Bible. There is no scriptural basis for this, none.

Faith begins where the will of God is known. His Word is His will. If what you pray for isn't supported by scripture, quit praying it! Quit wasting time on prayers God can't answer. God can not and will not operated contrary to His Word. He can't grant you world peace because you asked for it. We must pray the Word. You can have anything from God you want, if the Word supports your request. And the Word will support the things you want and need. However, some requests, such as world peace, are plainly spoken against in the Word. If the Word says something will happen it is a waste of your time to pray that it doesn't.

Okay, got off on a rant there, sorry. The point of this post is to wake Christian people up. It's past time to be prepared for battle.

He's coming, He's coming, He's coming sooner than you think.

So be ready in season and out. Be always on the alert for you adversary the devil is prowling about seeking whom he may devour.

Don't let it be you. That's right; don't you let it be you. Put yourself in a place where God can protect you and bless you. Like I said, He can not and will not operate contrary to His Word.

So, be ready! He's coming! Don't be found lacking!

Are you Anorexic, Bulimic or Well Fed?

2008-08-09T17:40:00.000-07:00

Are you anorexic, bulimic or well fed? The first two we obviously recognized as eating disorders. I am not going into a long discussion about eating disorders; at least not physical eating disorders. The name of this blog is "Which Way is Up?" and therefore will be about finding our way up and out of lifes crap. As I said in my first post, my goal is to hopefully help people through my life experience and the Word of God. So lets look at our two eating disorders since we all know what well fed is.

Now, understand that I'm going to nut-shell these behaviors as they apply to this topic so if you have one of these disorders please read on but then get some professional help.

anorexia- basically the starving of ones self. For the clinical stuff look up anorexia on Google since it is a lot more than starving yourself.

bulimia-characterized by binge eating and purging. Again, Google for the real poop.

Spiritually speaking anorexia and bulimia describe far to many christians today. Finding a well fed spiritually healthy christian is becoming harder and harder. Now thats not to say there are not a lot of them out there because there are but far to many begin here with anorexia or bulimia. What am I talking about you ask? I'm glad you asked so let me explain.

Spiritual Anorexia

Jesus said, "Man shall not live on bread alone but on every word that proceeds from the mouth of God." In other words the Word of God is spiritual food. So many people get born again but never crack their bible. This includes young and old alike. Now if you don't eat physical food for a length of time what happens? You get weak and shaky at the least. If you go for to long you end up with even bigger problems. The same holds true to spiritual feeding as well. This gives you an idea of what spiritual anorexia is. And the Devil said, " YeeeHawww, got me a weak one."

Spiritual Bulimia

So what is spiritual bulimia? Since we know bulimic behavior is characterized as binge eating and purging, not totally but that is what comes to most people's minds, then that must mean you are eating, or reading the Word but then what? Purging? How about this, we read the Word, understand the Word and then choose not to believe it or apply it, i.e. purging. And the Devil said, "Oooh, rebellious, yeah."

Understand that both of these are choices we make. Spiritual anorexia is sometimes due to ignorance, at least until you are informed of what you should be doing. Spiritual bulimia is always stupidity. Here are some terms for you to mull over:

stupidity - you have the information and don't use or apply it.

ignorance - you don't have the information

wisdom - you have the information and use and apply it correctly

Everyone fits one of these terms at some point in life and in many different areas. Do your best to be wise with the knowledge you have. Don't find yourself spiritually bulimic or anorexic but rather well fed, healthy, happy and experiencing all the promises that God has granted you. See 2 Peter 1:2-4.

'granted us all things pertaining to life and godliness, 'granted us His precious and magnificent promises,

And the Devil said, "..............." Yo Devil thats your que, hellooo. Guess he don't like those kind of people.

If you want to know what things have been granted to you and promised to you, pull up a chair, grab your spiritual food and dig in.

Lifehouse Everything Skit

2008-08-01T21:37:00.000-07:00

This was so awesome. I hope you enjoy this if you haven't already seen it.

Barak Obama, God, The Bible and America

2008-07-20T12:47:00.000-07:00

It has become apparent to me that Barak Obama doesn't grasp the relation between God, the Bible and America. The most effective way I know to demonstrate the relationship of these three things is to listen to what our forefathers had to say about these issues.

"Above all, the pure light of revelation has had an influence on mankind, and increased the blessings of society. It is impossible to rightly govern the world without God and the Bible."
George Washington

"I have always said that a studious perusal of the sacred volume will make better citizens, better fathers, and better husbands." Thomas Jefferson

"The first and almost the only book deserving of universal attention is the Bible. I speak as a man of the world." John Quincy Adams

"It (the Bible) is the rock on which our Republic rests." Andrew Jackson

"I am profitably engaged in reading the Bible. Take all of this Book that you can by reason and the balance by faith, and you will live and die a better man. It is the best book which God has given to man." Abraham Lincoln

"I have known ninety-five of the world's great men in my time, and of these eighty-seven were followers of the Bible." W.E. Gladstone

"Almost every man who has by his lifework added to the sum of human achievement . . . . has based his lifework largely upon the teachings of the Bible." Theodore Roosevelt

Here are a couple of quotes from other world leaders.

"England has become great and happy by the knowledge of the true God through Jesus Christ . . . This is the secret of England's greatness." Queen Victoria

"Do not join those who either ignore the Bible altogether, or, at least, give it a spurious interpretation of their own devising." Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany

"What I was as an artist, seemed to me of some importance while I lived; what I really was as a believer in Christ Jesus, is the only thing of importance to me now. What can I do with respect to the next world without my Bible? No philosopher offers anything that meets, and, much less, relieves, my case." John Bacon, British sculptor ( I had to include this one)

"The Bible is more than a Book; it is a living being with an action, a power which invades everything that opposes its extension." Napoleon Bonaparte

Great people through out history and the world all esteem the value of the Bible and of God. How is it that people today find little to no value in the inspired Word of God? The men who built this country believed the Word and they believed God because with out these beliefs we wouldn't be the United States of America.

Like him or hate him George Bush has made many statements which show me that God is part of his life. He may not be perfect but I do think that he is a christian man. Non-christian men are not praying men and I know George Bush is a praying man.

Our two candidates for election here in 2008, what do they believe? Is it important? Our forefathers thought so. Leaders of other nations thought so.

Barak Obama said we are no longer a Christian nation but a Jewish nation, a Muslim nation, a Hindu nation, a Buddhist nation and a nation of unbelievers. Yes, we have all these religions in our nation but Christianity is what this nation was based on. Christian people are not against the people of these religions we just don't believe in their gods as they don't believe in our God.

The great thing about America is you have the right to believe what you want with out fear of retribution. All should be allowed to practice their beliefs. This does create some problems. Unfortunately that is the nature of freedom of religion. While observing your freedom of religion you must not violate another humans right to life and liberty as guaranteed by the Constitution. Obviously human sacrifice is not something we should allow.

So Barak I suggest you read the whole Bible. Meet Jesus and discuss your beliefs with Him.

Quotes are from "Gods Plan for Man" by Rev. Finis Jennings Dake

Obama, McCain, Obama or McCaim Hmmmm??

2008-07-19T19:32:00.000-07:00

This is a question on a lot of people's minds as we move closer to voting day. The problem that I'm having is I don't see either as a best choice. I find myself trying to figure out who will do the least amount of damage to me, the least of the two evils, if you will. Choosing between Bush and Gore was a no-brainer at the time. Now with fuel costs higher than should be legal I find myself questioning my choice. Not that I will ever think Al Gore would have been the better choice, at the time, but I wonder if Bush could have done more to help relieve fuel costs. I do believe Bush was God's man at that time.

With Obama and McCain I have to ask myself who will do the least amount of damage. What a dilemma. How do I choose?

There is only one solution to this problem and that is the power of prayer. Make that two solutions, I can be Spirit led also (the Holy Spirit). The key to this is not who do I think is the best but who does God want in the highest office in the world. That's right the highest office in the world. the presidency of the United States commands more power and authority than any office in the world, at present. So, whom does God want? The answer? I don't know. I'm still seeking that answer.

My opinion of both men is; they both want to do what is best for America. They differ on how to do this but I believe that they both truly want to do what is in America's best interests. I can't fault a man for his convictions but I can disagree with what he believes. That is what makes America so great.

Most people can't separate disagreement with liking someone. If we disagree then we must not like this person at all. That just isn't the case. Disagreement does not have to bring about division. The Bible tells us to love our neighbor as our self. My point, agree or disagree with either candidate or those who support them but don't dislike them. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion with out fear of retribution. Trust me, we have more than enough divisions in this country as it stands.

Whoever God chooses will definitely be the best man for the job and that is whom we are all seeking. God has proven both righteous and unrighteous men can be used to bring about his will.

So vote for the one God chooses not who public opinion chooses or who you like or feel would make the best president.

"Let every person be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God." Romans 13:1

If you are a english major or you teach grammar ignore the who and whom usage I tend to write like I speak.