Greetings!

After salvation, what is the most important development in our lives?

Is it to go to church?  Is it to be a soul winning witness on fire for Jesus?  Is it to become wealthy in goods and money to show the world how good God is?  Is it to become as free as possible from committing any sin?  Is it to raise a Christian family?

There are these and so many more choices and all sound so right in one way or another!  Yet, which of these really produce a sense of fulfillment and reveals your value to God? 

Some will tell you that we are saved to serve God and we only find fulfillment as servants.  Others will tell you that we are saved to be spiritual soldiers in God’s kingdom to battle evil and that will give us a sense of purpose and accomplishment (value).

Besides going to heaven when we die, just why did Jesus accomplish our salvation?  In fact, while going to heaven when we die is certainly a comfort … it really does not do much for us in the here and now!  Is there a greater reason for our salvation?  Is there something more to being a “Christian” than serving God now in gratitude for a future benefit?  Don’t get me wrong, I would not trade that future benefit for all the riches of this world - - but does God really want us to wait until we get to heaven to experience our reconciliation?

But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name:  Who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.  John 1:12-13

It is not insignificant that Jesus explained the result of believing on Him as being born again!  Jesus and the Apostles explained that we should now live as God’s children IN THIS LIFETIME! 

"Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.”  Matthew 18:3

“The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,”  Romans 8:16

“Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father,”  Galatians 1:3-4

After salvation, the most important development in our lives - - I dare say that, in fact, our salvation is to produce in our lives an intimate, increasing fellowship with God as our Father!  That the reason God sent Jesus to accomplish our salvation goes far beyond our going to heaven when we die but that we live as His children (not servants or soldiers) in fellowship with their Father – the great big God of this universe!

Being a Christian:  More than going to heaven when we die, it is living with God in our journey to heaven when we die!

The question is, are we allowing God to accomplish His greater purposes for our salvation?  Have we limited God’s purposes to future eternity or will we receive eternal life?

"And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.”  John 17:3

If your Christian experience seems somewhat unsatisfying, ask to know God as your Father … not in the formal sense – as a title you use when you pray – but in the personal sense, Abba, papa, daddy!  For this IS His will for your present day eternal life!

Many Blessings!

Spiritual Self-Sabotage
CONCLUSION . . .

As a matter of fact, God even gives us a glimpse of what it is like to be in the throes of bitterness, with our sins being not forgiven!

Lamentations 3:1-19

I am the man that hath seen affliction by the rod of his wrath.
He hath led me, and brought me into darkness, but not into light.
Surely against me is he turned; he turneth his hand against me all the day.
My flesh and my skin hath he made old; he hath broken my bones.
He hath builded against me, and compassed me with gall and travail.
He hath set me in dark places, as they that be dead of old.
He hath hedged me about, that I cannot get out: he hath made my chain heavy.
Also when I cry and shout, he shutteth out my prayer.
He hath inclosed my ways with hewn stone, he hath made my paths crooked.
He was unto me as a bear lying in wait, and as a lion in secret places.
He hath turned aside my ways, and pulled me in pieces: he hath made me desolate.
He hath bent his bow, and set me as a mark for the arrow.
He hath caused the arrows of his quiver to enter into my reins.
I was a derision to all my people; and their song all the day.
He hath filled me with bitterness, he hath made me drunken with wormwood.
He hath also broken my teeth with gravel stones, he hath covered me with ashes.
And thou hast removed my soul far off from peace: I forgat prosperity.
And I said, My strength and my hope is perished from the Lord:
Remembering mine affliction and my misery, the wormwood and the gall.

No one outside of ourselves can stop us from forgiving another person!  No one else can make the choice for us to give or withhold forgiveness from another.  No other person can create a heart of unforgiveness within us!  It is all on us and on us alone!

If we lose our fellowship with God as our Father, there is no one else to blame except ourselves and the only way we can disrupt our fellowship with God as our Father is commit sins that will not be forgiven and there are only two ways that I know of that this can happen:

First, if we do not practice 1 John 1:9 - - “If we confess our sins He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness”

Second, if we refuse to forgive those who have sinned against us!  And if that is the case, all the confession in the world as stated in 1 John1:9 won’t fix the situation because God has already told us that if we refuse to forgive others He will refuse to forgive us as well!

The only thing we can do in the second case is to repent and begin forgiving others in the same manner that we desire God to forgive us!

If we refuse to do this, the only thing remaining for us to have in life is BITTERNESS!  And bitterness does but one thing … IT DEFILES EVERYTING IN OUR LIVES!

Hebrews 12:13-15      
And make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed.
Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:
Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled;

First of all, God’s grace never fails but we can certainly fail God’s grace!  Remember, grace is God’s divine influence upon our hearts that is revealed in life!  We fail of God’s grace when we refuse to do that which God wants us to do, which He is influencing us to do - - in this case, to forgive others who have injured us!

Second of all, bitterness is at the opposite end of the spectrum from joy!  In fact, “bitterness” is the Greek word “poison”!  What does poison do?  It weakens, makes sick and kills it’s victim!  No wonder David cried out for the joy of God’s salvation to be restored unto him!   So when we fail God’s grace (refuse to forgive in this case), the root of poison grows! 

Here is the thing about roots:  Roots take hold below the surface and roots grow downward so as to anchor the plant that shows above the surface!  You can pull weeds all day long, but in the next few days they just come back again.  Why?  Because the root is still present and still feeding the growth of the weed!

Another thing about roots, the roots that are “fed” are the roots that will prevail, eventually strangling out the other roots thereby killing the plants on the surface!

The more we refuse to forgive others, the more we are feeding the root of bitterness and the stronger that root becomes, able to choke and strangle out the roots of holiness, peace, righteousness, joy, blessings, favor … need I continue?

As mentioned earlier, little else produces bitterness in a child than to be ignored by the parent!  Yet we are the creators of our own bitterness when we refuse to forgive others who have somehow or other injured us!

 Then pride rears up and we start thinking that we are entitled to God’s favor because after all, God is supposed to love us unconditionally!  (Wonder where that thought came from?)  And when it is apparent that we are not being loved by God as we once were, more bitterness takes root!

Pride also justifies why we don’t forgive someone else - - a myriad of reasons, excuses really, as to why we should not be required to forgive this person or that.

Then when things get really bad, pride tells us that we are being attacked by the devil!  So we cry out to God for His intervention and …we don’t see God do what we expect!

Now this is important, the devil WILL attack us when we are in this condition because he knows that he has an advantage over you!  But the thing is, it was not the devil who spiritually sabotaged your life - - he is only taking advantage of what you did to yourself!

The sabotage was self perpetrated!  You are in a trap of your own devising!  You and you alone have the key to freedom and restoration! 

You have been taken captive by the devil at his will BECAUSE you opposed yourself to the Truth!  You need to repent and acknowledge the truth of your situation and this will enable you to recover yourself out of the snare of the devil!

And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient,
In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth;
And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.  2 Timothy 2:24-26

Repent and start forgiving those who have trespassed against you!

Many Blessings!
Dr. Timothy

PROPHET'S CORNE

Jail Sentence Stands For Homeowner Who Hosted Bible Studies In Backyard

http://blog.christianitytoday.com

A Phoenix homeowner who held weekly Bible studies in his backyard must serve jail time for failing to comply with building, zoning, fire, and safety codes applicable to churches, ruled a federal district court in Arizona last week.

In 2008, the City of Phoenix ordered Michael Salman to comply with code requirements for a church after neighbors complained about his weekly Bible studies, which often drew 50 people to a gazebo in his backyard. 

Salman refused, claiming the order violated his free exercise rights, and was sentenced to 60 days in jail, fined $12,000, and given three year's probation--during which he could not host more than 12 people in his home, reports Religion Clause.

On Friday, the federal district court dismissed Salman's attempt to halt this judgment because a lower federal court had already heard his complaint and dismissed it for failing to first exhaust legal options at the state level.

This is not the first time home Bible studies have been cited or barred in the recent past.

In 2011, the California city of San Juan Capistrano fined Chuck Fromm, former president of Maranatha! Music and co-founder and editor of Worship Leader magazine, for holding Bible studies in his family home without a permit. 

Fromm and his wife Stephanie filed a lawsuit but later dropped it after the city agreed to reimburse the couple and re-examine its permit rules for religious meetings in residential areas.

In April 2009, San Diego county officials issued a warning to David and Mary Jones for hosting a weekly Bible study in their home without a permit for religious assembly; the county rescinded the warning in June of that year. 

In November of that year, Joe Sutherland of Gilbert, Arizona, was given a cease-and-desist order for church meetings in his home because it violated the city’s zoning code. The city council revised the code the following March to allow the meetings.

====================================================

Carrie Underwood And The Lost Church

http://www.wnd.com

Pop star Carrie Underwood should take her own advice, which she provided in one of her top hits, and let “Jesus Take the Wheel.”

In an interview with the London Independent, Underwood, an “American Idol” winner who professes to be a follower of Jesus, expressed her passionate support for same-sex marriage.

Here’s some of what she had to say about that:

• “I don’t know what it’s like to be told I can’t marry somebody I love, and want to marry. … I can’t imagine how that must feel. I definitely think we should all have the right to love, and love publicly, the people that we want to love.”
• She said she attends a “gay friendly” church and doesn’t believe she has the right to judge anyone. 
• “Above all, God wanted us to love others. It’s not about setting rules, or [saying] ‘everyone has to be like me.’ No. We’re all different. That’s what makes us special. We have to love each other and get on with each other. It’s not up to me to judge anybody.”

Now, I don’t mean to pick on a young celebrity who has obviously devoted most of her life to music and may have missed out on some key Bible studies.

In fact, what Underwood has to say here is actually indicative of a growing biblical illiteracy within what passes for the Body of Christ in America today – even among the clergy.

Here’s the bottom line: You can’t be a follower of Jesus and condone what He Himself describes as sin.

Neither can you truly love others by purposely not confronting their sin – and allowing them to be comfortable with their sin.

That’s not love.

It’s not about feelings, because, as the Bible explains, “every imagination of the thoughts of man’s heart is only evil continually.” The Bible doesn’t make this point once or twice – it’s a recurrent theme!

Followers of Jesus are not to be governed by their feelings. They are to be governed by the teachings of their Lord.

As far as “loving” others, we are commanded to do it – even our enemies. But the biblical view of love is not having sex with them – it’s sharing the gospel.

What is a “gay friendly” church? Is it one that affirms people in their sin? Or is it one that welcomes sinners and confronts them with it to bring them to the saving knowledge of Jesus? I suspect Carrie Underwood attends a church that does the former rather than the latter.

We’re all sinners, and we all need to be confronted with our sin to bring about repentance. To make people comfortable with their sin is the least loving thing we can do for them because we are facilitating their descent into hell for an eternity. How is that loving?

Carrie Underwood suggests God did not set rules. Yes, He did. The Ten Commandments are not suggestions. They represent the difference between life and death. 

She says, “It’s not up to me to judge anybody.” This has become something of a mantra in the apostate church. But it is a misunderstanding of what Jesus meant when He said, “Judge not, that ye be not judged.” The context of that sermon makes it clear that Jesus meant to do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Others are not to be judged unfairly. He didn’t mean we aren’t supposed to confront people with their sin so they could be brought to repentance, because He Himself commanded us to do just that. 

God did warn us not to profane His holy name.

I don’t think that just means misusing His name as a curse word. I think we do that when we represent ourselves as followers of God but betray His Word.

That’s blasphemy – and there’s just too much of it coming from people claiming to be Christians

Messages from: Leaders in Ministry

Poets Admire Nature: Prophets Look to the Creator

Howbeit then, when ye knew not God, ye did service unto them which by nature are no gods. Galatians 4:8

It is possible to spend a lifetime admiring God's handiwork without acknowledging the presence of the God whose handiwork it is. Nature cannot lift men to God nor serve as a ladder by which he may climb into the divine bosom.

The heavens and the earth were intended to be a semi-transparent veil through which moral intelligences might see the glory of God (Ps. 119:1-6; Rom. 1:19, 20), but for sin-blinded men this veil has become opaque. They see the creation but do not see through it to the Creator; or what glimpses they do have are dim and out of focus.

With what joy the Christian turns from even the purest nature poets to the prophets and psalmists of the Scriptures. These saw God first; they rose by the power of faith to the throne of the Majesty on high and observed the created world from above.

Their love of natural objects was deep and intense, but they loved them not for their own sakes but for the sake of Him who created them. They walked through the world as through the garden of God. Everything reminded them of Him. They saw His power in the stormy wind and tempest; they heard His voice in the thunder; the mountains told them of His strength and the rocks reminded them that He was their hiding place!

The nature poets are enamored of natural objects; the inspired writers are God-enamored men. That is the difference, and it is a vitally important one!

A.W. Tozer, Renewed Day by Day: Volume 1, comp. Gerald B. Smith (Camp Hill, PA: WingSpread Publishers, 2007), WORD search CROSS e-book, Under:"June 21. Poets Admire Nature: Prophets Look to the Creator".