Are you blessed?

Let me begin by saying that God has given me the ultimate blessing of awaking my heart to his son Jesus Christ our Lord.  Next, I was born in a country were I am not prosecuted for believing in, worshiping, or proclaiming Christ.  Next, I was born into a situation were I have shelter, easy accessibility to food, and CLEAN water.  Next, I was blessed with all five senses and all four limbs.  On top of it all, I got to go to a recognized state university where I received a college degree.  I am statistically a lottery winner.  I have lived a life in 23 years that most people can either A) only dream of or B) it takes them their entire life to obtain it.  It is in the mist of all these blessings that I can't help but wonder how I happened to be born into the "correct" situation.  Now what do I mean by the "correct" situation?  Well, while I am so thankful for every physical and financial blessing, the only thing I have that ultimately matters is Jesus Christ.  Although I didn't fully call on Jesus until July 28, 2011, I grew up going to church and having truth spoken into my life (like most American children).  This repetitive exposure crossed with the delay in recognizing the importance of Jesus Christ is what brings me to my point for the day.  While America is saturated with truth (Christianity), we take so for granted the spiritual blessing right in front of us that many never really KNOW Jesus.  We have "Christians" everywhere, but we treat our faith and the church like a youth sports program.  We have one practice a week (weather permitting) and we all get together once a year for a potluck to talk about how everyone is a winner.  America has the right religion, but we as a country do NOT have the right relationship.  We are blinded by professional sports, flat screen TV's, wealth accumulation, sexual satisfaction, status, and self exultation.  We have the truth of Jesus Christ sitting right in front of us (I would bet most people are within a stones throw of a Bible based church), yet we keep just enough Jesus in our life to give us what WE need (comfort, security, salvation?).  Yet walking with Christ isn't about filling OUR spiritual needs.  Walking with Christ is about fulfilling your purpose as a creation of God.  Your purpose of glorifying and worshiping God.  A purpose we will only be able to fully achieve when we are made complete in heaven.  Nonetheless, we are to strive to glorify God in every situation.  This is made easier when an individual no longer lives, but instead Christ lives in them.  Christ in them allows them to live and walk by the spirit (walk with Christ).

Romans 8:3-4
"For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do.  By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit."

Galatians 5:16-18
"But I say walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.  For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.  But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law."

There are a lot of people in America who really love Jesus!  And just for the record if you watch professional sports on a flat screen TV, I am NOT saying you don't love Jesus.  The only point I am trying to make is this:  America is extremely blessed to have the truth of Jesus Christ currently prevailing over other religions, let us then LIVE the truth many of us CLAIM and be the church.  If you feel blessed by God that you truly KNOW Jesus Christ and are saved, show it by walking by the Spirit with boldness and courage!

Grace and Peace,
JoMo

Works

I don't know why, but there seems to be a lot of misconception about works verses grace.  Let's begin with this:

Ephesians 2: 8-9
"For by grace you have been saved through faith.  And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast."

Grace alone is what has saved you, me, and anyone else that has ever claimed Jesus Christ as the son of God.  So we're all good right?  We have grace and it's a free gift, so we can shrug righteousness and entertain wickedness and folly?  NO!  So if we're saved by grace alone and not our works, why do we need to focus on works?  The answer is... you don't have to FOCUS on works.  If your heart has been truly awakened to Jesus Christ and you love the Lord, works and righteousness are things that either happen or convict you... this is an overflow of the perfectly righteous Jesus Christ who now lives in you.

Matthew 5: 17-20
"Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.  For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.  Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.  For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven."

How in the world am I supposed to reach a level of righteousness that exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees?  Fortunately for us, the scribes and Pharisees were so concerned about human exultation for themselves that they cared more about works than loving Jesus.  If Jesus lives in you, you've inherited his righteousness which easily surpasses the scribes and Pharisees.  Simultaneously, if Jesus lives in you, you will desperately seek righteousness.

John 14: 15
"If you love me, you will keep my commandments"

Some of Jesus' final words to the disciples!

James 2: 14-17
"What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works?  Can that faith save him?  If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, "Go in peace, be warmed and filled," without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that?  So also faith BY ITSELF, IF it does not have works, is dead."

James is NOT saying works save you... they don't... it's God's grace through ones faith that saves.  What James is saying is that if God's amazing grace has captivated your heart to the point of claiming to believe in Christ, you will realize a foreign righteousness that is Jesus within you that produces works and increases faith!  When Christ occupies a house (a soul) he does not merely stay there, he proceeds to clean the place up!  If an individual does not seek righteousness and has no inner conviction to pursue acting as Christ would act in any given situation, that individual may want to consider whether Christ truly resides within them.  Live gratefully in God's free grace, but realize living with Christ inside you comes with pursuing a life of righteousness!

Grace and Peace,
JoMo

The Greatest Gift

All of us have that one Birthday or Christmas were we got the gift of all gifts.  The one thing we wanted more than ever.  The thing that we kick, and screamed, and cried for.  I was a spoiled child, so mine is a tie between the Jurassic Park Compound, a full train set, and a Playstation 2.  While I remember receiving these gifts, they have long since been collecting dust in a storage room.  Now days, I recognize that the greatest gift I actually received was grace.  Grace that I didn't deserve.  Grace that was extended nearly 2000 years before I was born.  I'm obviously talking about the gift of Jesus.  I remember truly claiming Christ July 28, 2011.  It's been almost a year and my greatest fear is that Jesus will start collecting dust like the earthly gifts back in my storage closet.  We are all afforded the worlds' greatest gift everyday... Jesus.  Unfortunately, very few of us choose to cherish Jesus daily as the gift he really is (this would be me).  Keep this in mind next time the world has you down.  If you're in Christ you've received the greatest gift ever TODAY and it is no longer you who live, but Christ who lives in you.  Cherish Jesus and his word daily!

1 Corinthians 15:1
"Now I would remind you, brothers of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are BEING saved, IF you hold fast to the word I preached to you- unless you believed in vain."

Paul notes that being saved involves holding fast (continually cherishing/receiving) the gospel!  Thank you God for the gift of Jesus!  May we never grow inoculated to this gift or the truth of the gospel!

Grace and Peace
JoMo

Glorify God!

When I woke up this morning my heart just wasn't in the right place.  I think sometimes I focus too much on my heart condition (or how I feel) instead of just living in obedience.

What should I do when I'm tired?  Glorify God!

What should I do when I don't understand?  Glorify God!

What should I do when I'm angry?  Glorify God!

What should I do when I'm stressed out?  Glorify God!

What should I do when finances aren't perfect?  Glorify God!

I'll be the first to admit this is easier said than done.  I'm just trying to relay the idea that obedience without heart is better than no obedience and no heart.  I also think it's interesting how acting in obedience has a way of changing your heart condition.  As cheesy as this sounds, obedience is the wind to the hearts sail (yes, I made that up).  Start acting in obedience and discipline and you're heart will fall into place.  We're of the flesh, and as a result there will always be a struggle with our spirit (Galatians 5 and 6).  In other words, our heart isn't going to be in the right place all the time.  This requires that there be times of walking in obedience even when our hearts don't feel like it.  Ultimately, it is keeping your election pure in Christ through obedience that will realign your heart with God's.

Grace and Peace,
JoMo

Who is for you?

How often do we compare our walk with Christ to others walks?  Furthermore, how often do we look at our own walk as more correct?  I think the Bible offers a good verse in relation to this dilemma.

Luke 9: 49-50
49 John answered, "Master, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he does not follow with us." 50 But Jesus said to him, "Do not stop him, for the one who is not against you is for you."

Jesus really simplified that! The important part here is that the man casting out demons was doing it in Jesus' name.  Today there seems to be so much that divides us as Christians.  We get so hung up on what denomination we prefer, style of worship music, practicing of spiritual gifts, ect but Jesus doesn't want those differences to divide the church.  Jesus is saying if you truly recognize him as the son of God, then your on the same team.  Now I won't deny that Christ followers still need to be cautious of false teachers and prophets.  The only conclusion I'm trying to get to today is: Instead of looking at all the little differences that divide us as Christ followers, let's look at the one major thing that unites us... Jesus Christ!

Grace and Peace
JoMo

Doubt

Doubt is probably one of the biggest struggles people face in a walk with Christ.  Correspondingly, doubt is probably one of the least addressed issues.  I think this is because when we are among other Christians (church, bible studies, ect) we look at the situation and say something like this: "Okay I'm in a place where everyone else believes in God... I believe in God too but right now I'm struggling with (insert your doubt here)... If I bring up this doubt, how is this going to come off to others who believe... I'm a little scared to even put my doubt into dialogue... Verbalizing my doubt might make God think I don't believe (this statement is a little contradictory but I'll be the first to admit that it has crossed my mind)."  The fact is EVERYONE has doubts.  God designed doubt into the human experience.  Pay attention here, this is important.  Just like any other hindrance in our faith, the devil wants you to keep your doubt to yourself.  I'll let you in on a doubt I struggle with.  In Sociology there is this concept called The Self Fulling Prophesy.  It states, that situations we define as real, become real in there consequences.  In simpler terms, things we believe to be true, ultimately become true due to our belief in them.  Here's a real world example of how this theory works.  There's a weak and self conscious male who enters the military.  The military takes this individual through physical training and mentally breaks the individual down.  The individual is then built up through physical gains and the implementation of a belief system (brain washing).  Before you know it, you have an elite military resource who believes he can do anything.  Now take that same concept and apply it to ones faith.  This is where my doubt comes in.  I have this doubt that maybe everything I believe in, is simply a product of the beliefs I have been exposed to throughout my life.  That my belief in God is a result of slowly convincing myself of God.  I think there's probably more doubt in the Christian faith today than ever before.  With modern science and technology we have become a society that depends on our senses and our understanding to determine what is real and what is not.  I just had a post concerning Proverbs 3:5 which urges us not to lean on our own understanding.  God tells us this because it's our own understanding that produces doubt.

Here's the take away.  Realize that doubt is part of following Christ.  Realize that EVERYONE else has doubts too.  When your in moments or seasons of doubt, don't keep it pinned up inside (that's what the devil wants).  Most importantly, look at the big picture and re-think your interpretation of doubt.  So you have this ONE doubt... somehow we as humans take the one shred of something bad and it overrides everything else.  Do not forget the undeniable facts in life!  It is undeniable that you exist.  Which means you either came from nothing or you were created.  It is undeniable that Jesus the person lived.  It is undeniable that he was put to death for saying he was the son of God.  It is undeniable that the 12 disciples who followed Jesus must have seen the risen Christ... otherwise they would not have faced persecution and death so fearlessly (11 of 12 disciples were executed after refusing to deny their savior).  It is undeniable that the apostle Pual was formally Saul who persecuted and executed Christians and through an encounter with the risen Christ was immediately transformed and became one of the most important catalysts of the Christian faith.  It is undeniable that today nearly 1/3 of the worlds population believes that a man named Jesus was the son of God and died a sinners death to save the world!  Do not forget the multitudes of undeniable facts in life!

Grace and Peace
JoMo

How faithful is God?

God is so faithful that he tells us how to pray (The Lord's Prayer) because he already knows everything we need. (Matthew 6:8)

God is so faithful that he has only cursed the ground once (with the flood) because of man's evil heart.  Furthermore, in his promise to never curse the earth again he has had to supplement destroying earth upon his return with restoring/renewing earth. (Genesis 8:21 and Revelation 21).

God is so faithful (don't forget loving) that while we were STILL sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8)

God is so faithful that even when we wander he never leaves us nor forsakes us.  (Deuteronomy 31:6)

The things God CANNOT do can be counted on about one hand.  He is so faithful that one of the few things God CANNOT do is remember your sin once you have confessed it.

I would be interested to see how many different "God is so faithful" responses I could get.  Let's see if we can even begin to scratch the surface on how faithful God is!

Grace and Peace,
JoMo