Are You Comfortable?

Today I was thinking about two words, comfortable and complacent. These two words scare me to death. They are the last two words I ever want to use to define my life. I don’t mind words like struggling or challenged. In fact, I welcome struggles and challenges. They are the reason that we grow. Let us look at the word complacent and comfortable in a couple of different contexts.

For starters, I am in recovery from an addiction to more. Yes, I preferred methamphetamine then alcohol but I would use whatever was available. My addiction did not stop there, either. I was addicted to money, power, women and violence. I have been in recovery for 4 ½ years now. I work in the field of recovery and have for about 6 years (4 ½ years in recovery but 6 in the field may puzzle you. I consider abstinent and recovery two completely different things). I sit in multiple meetings every week, since I conduct them. I go to trainings and read the latest research on addiction and recovery but I know I do not have it figured out. 

I can never allow myself to get comfortable and complacent. If I do, I might lose focus. You see, my addiction is not gone. It is at work in the back of my head; lifting weights, running on the treadmill and doing research on the internet. My addiction gets smarter, stronger and more cunning. It is searching for a way to take my life over again. Comfortable and complacent has caused me to relapse once before. I cannot relapse again. I am pretty sure that I don’t have another recovery left in me.

How about work? I work in the field of addiction. I am currently a counselor for an organization that has DWI and Drug Court contracts, so I work with clients and teams from those 2 courts. I have been doing that for 5 plus years now. I have also in that time period worked with residential and outpatient clients. I feel that I am pretty good at what I do. I have a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Sociology, a Master’s degree in Social Work and I am a LCSW (Licensed Clinical Social Worker). I have 4 ½ years in recovery after a 20 plus year addiction. I am street and book educated in this field.

I can never allow myself to get comfortable and complacent. My clients deserve better. Comfortable and complacent tell me that I don’t have to go the extra mile for them. I can kick back on my laurels and coast. Absolutely not, this is so much more than people’s freedom. It is their very lives that they can lose if they go back out there. If they do, is it my fault? No, but I want to know that I did everything I could to give them the best interventions and support I could. Complacency does none of that.

How about faith? I have been going to church for about 6 years and got saved 4 ½ years ago. I know the songs and I raise my hand when I worship. I tithe like I should. I pray. I don’t judge and I am accepting of all people. In fact, I love the services I go to and I feel accepted and know that I am doing what I need to be doing after I hear them. I know the primary message of the Bible and it comforts me because I know Jesus loves me and that I am saved. I love that everybody can go to my church and not feel called out and no one will judge me if I make mistakes here and there.

I can never allow myself to get comfortable and complacent. When I think of Christ and the early Christians the last thing I think of is warm and fuzzy. They lived a radically different life that led to many of them being killed. We are called to be Christ-like. Christ told us people would hate us at they hated Him and to daily pick up our cross. Those two things do not sound comfortable nor do they fit into a complacent life. I should be talking about feeling the Spirit move, not how rocking the band is.

In the end, complacency kills. It could cost me my job. It could cost me my sobriety. It could cost me my eternal soul. This is not something to mess around with. I should challenge myself all of the time. I should surround myself with people that help build me up and people that I can help build up. I should not live my life comfortably. We are called to lead by example, to be salt and light. I can’t do that when I live a comfortable life, blend in with everyone else and never call anybody out for their actions. That is ordinary. I don’t know about you, but I was born to be extraordinary!

The Secular Church

The church is changing to meet the people. There are positive and negative ways the church is adapting. It is positive to address the modern issues people face with recovery/support groups and small groups. I love that churches are reaching out to help the community with outreaches and food banks. That is what Christians are supposed to do. I also really enjoy Christian concerts in the community, even though some are part worship/part entertainment. Those are all good things. Unfortunately, there are also negative ways the church is changing.

I am talking about church service conforming to stay relevant and cool. We have Domino Pizza church services that deliver church in 60 minutes, or your money back. On top of that we use secular music and cultural themes to pack the pews. When you have 15 minutes allotted for worship, 2 minutes for announcements, a 30 minute sermon, 5 minutes for collection and another 5 minutes for prayer then we see you out the door so we can get the next service started.............Houston, we have a problem.

What if the Holy Spirit leads you to teach, pray or worship longer? We have placed the Holy Spirit in a box, putting time constraints on worship, sermons and even prayer. Church used to be one of the most important things of the week. It is that way no longer. The entire day used to be built upon church and fellowship. Now we have to be in and out quickly so that we can get back home in time for football games, the latest box office smash or to see how our brackets are doing.

Francis Chan said the church now proclaims, "Hi, welcome to church. Here's your bulletin. We'll get you out in an hour. Come back next week." He asks, "What would the church look like today if we really stopped taking control of it and let the Holy Spirit lead? I believe this is exactly what the world needs to see."

We have reached an era where we no longer place importance on spending time with Christ. We appeal to the masses living a fast food life by giving them fast food church. Many in the church now believe that modern culture is needed to bring people in, so they are basing sermons around culturally fun, relevant things. Charles Spurgeon, who died over 120 years ago, could just as well have been speaking about the church today when he said:

"The devil has seldom done a cleverer thing than hinting to the Church that part of their mission is to provide entertainment for the people, with a view to winning them. My first contention is that providing amusement for the people is nowhere spoken of in the Scriptures as a function of the church.  If it is a Christian work, why did not Christ speak of it? The mission of amusement produces no converts. The need is biblical doctrine, so understood and felt that it sets men on fire."

Os Guiness says, "The only place the Church is strong in the West is ordinary people in America, which are largely evangelicals, and if you look at the evangelical community, it’s anti-intellectual. It’s handicapped, populist, and incredibly worldly. In many cases, the Church is shaped more by the world than by the Gospel of Christ."

The world needs a fresh drink of water, not the same Kool Aid they've been gulping down their entire lives. Why do some churches feel the need to give the unchurched what they already know? Is that what the Bible said? "Go out and make disciples of all nations, using the Word of God and providing entertainment they can relate to so they will come to church. Also, tone down the message so as not to offend. Remember, wide is the gate that leads to salvation and many will storm through it as your church grows larger and larger!" I must have missed that part of the Bible.

A.W. Tozer said, "We who preach the gospel must not think of ourselves as public relations agents sent to establish good will between Christ and the world. We must not imagine ourselves commissioned to make Christ acceptable to big business, the press, the world of sports or modern education. We are not diplomats but prophets, and our message is not a compromise but an ultimatum." Christ said that the world would hate us, as it hated Him yet we are trying to appease everyone.

Francis Chan calls the current American church "lukewarm." We are warned of this in Revelation 3:15,16, "I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth." This is what we are doing by trying to create a middle ground between Christ and the world, being lukewarm. We have forgotten there is no middle ground. This is Satan's world. You are either the problem or the solution; not of this world or in it with 2 feet firmly planted. 

The church is doing a great disservice to those searching for hope. The nonbeliever comes to church for something different and supernatural, and is instead given what is common and known. We were told to be salt and light, but we are becoming tasteless and allowing the darkness of the world to enter into our churches. How are people to find hope, salvation or a reason to change how they are living when they hear a primary message that shouts, "Watch, read, speak and live as you want to, Jesus loves you as you are! See, we are just like you."

When the church begins to resemble the world it is in, that goes completely against what Jesus taught. He said that they would hate us, as they had hated him. James 4:4 says, "anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God." That means we may lose some friends and alienate some people when they step into our churches. They should hear the salvation message instead of what they are hearing.

Christianity Today said, "The current state of our preaching is driven by an admirable desire to show our age the relevance of the gospel. But our recent attempts have inadvertently turned that gospel into mere good advice-about sex, about social ethics, about how to live successfully. This either offends or bores our culture. A renewed focus on the Cross is the only way forward."

 We rely on being culturally relevant and preaching a "feel good" message as opposed to focusing on discipline and discipleship. It is no wonder we are losing our youth to the secular world. They do not have the Biblical knowledge to defend their faith, let alone live it while teaching and discipling others. Since this is the culture of the church, we are setting our youth up for failure. The Berean Call recognized this, and said:

 “During the last three decades, many have experienced Christianity in church settings that major in entertainment rather than in teaching the Scriptures and disciplining those who attend. Thus, they are the products of years of church-growth marketing schemes that have attempted to fill pews with the "unchurched" and keep them coming back by using consumer-oriented tactics. It's a "keep the customer happy," seeker-friendly approach that has critically diluted biblical content as churches compete with the world in order to interest their youth. The outcome has resulted in a shallow Christianity for millions of young professing Christians.”

G. Campbell Morgan, who died almost 70 years ago saw this and said, "When amusement is necessary to get people to listen to the gospel there will be failure.  This is not the method of Christ. To form an organization and provide all kinds of entertainment for young people, in order that they may come to the Bible classes, is to be foredoomed to failure."

We don't need entertainment and a "feel good" gospel; we need the message of salvation through Christ. There is no need to water down the gospel, for ALL scripture is inspired by God and beneficial! Instead of telling sinners how to be saved and live differently, we are teaching them they can continue in their sinful ways. I share recovery, not sobriety with people. It is not enough for someone to simply be sober, for there is so much more to it than not that. Same with being saved, there is so much more to it than simply accepting Christ.

In recovery we have dry drunks, in the church we have plastic Christians. Their foundation is unstable and likely to fall at any moment because they have only started the change and never moved forward with it. They are coming to church not because they want to make a sacrifice and put Christ first and foremost. They come because of what they feel Christ can do for them, or because they are afraid of what may happen if they don't accept Christ and go to church. This is merely accepting.

Ask anyone who works the 12 steps; acceptance is only step 1! There are still 11 steps remaining. Acceptance of Christ with no changes in character or behavior is a scary way to live. We are encouraging the dead faith James talked. He said that you can't have faith without works. Once you have truly accepted Christ, your life will begin to change. You will begin to live differently for all the right reasons. I did not start believing in God and stop drinking, drugging, cussing, smoking cigarettes, having premarital sex and fighting out of fear or because I was entertained.

My life didn't change because the worship team played Mustang Sally or Dave Matthews. It happened because I heard Christian music address my issues in the Third Day song, "Cry Out to Jesus" Brandon Heath's song, "I'm Not Who I Was" and "Forgiven" by Sanctus Real. It didn't change because someone told me how to relate a Harry Potter book to a lesson in the Bible. Instead the associate pastor met with me and introduced me to Lee Strobel's book, The Case for Christ, which examined the historical evidence for Christ.

My life didn't change because the church directed me to a Narcotic's Anonymous group like the one I was used to going to. Instead I was introduced to a faith-based recovery/support group called Celebrate Recovery. It helped me see some things differently. First, it let me see that a lot of people have struggles they cope with in unhealthy ways besides drugs and alcohol. I also realized I am no better or worse than everyone else, because everyone struggles. Finally, it showed me Christians aren't the judgemental hypocrites I had always known them to be.

My life didn't change because the first sermon I heard talked about a movie I had just seen and how it related to the Bible in one way or another. My life changed because I heard  a message of forgiveness and salvation. I was told that "all have sinned." I heard that Paul struggled with doing the right thing, because it was his nature to sin. In fact, Paul said he was the worst of sinners yet was still saved by grace. Then I was told to make my body a living sacrifice and not  to conform to the world. That changed me, not on the surface but at my very core. It gave me hope!

After over 2 decades of debauchery and Agnosticism I was changed because the Holy Spirit gave me hope in the knowledge of Christ's unconditional love and redeeming grace. I did not want to let Him down. The Holy Spirit led me to begin changing my life. I wanted to be like Christ and make him as proud of me as I possibly could. I still do. I know I will never be perfect, but my program has taught me it is progress not perfection. If there is no progress there is something wrong! I don't make progress because I get anything for it, but because I love God and have put Him first.

I think of the love my son  has for me. He does everything he can to emulate what I do and to make me proud of him. He knows what pleases me and he tries to do it. When he can't do what I do or he fails in impressing me, he continues practicing and tries again. He does this simply because he loves me. He loves to see me smile at him and know that I am proud of him. Same reason I strive to do better in my life. I want to know that how I live is pleasing to God.

My life is a gift from God, and how I live my life shows God my gratitude. The problem today is that some churches are not preaching that message. They are using seeker-friendly, "feel good" sermons filled with fluff and acceptance of sins. In using almost doctrine, the unchurched are almost introduced to Christ and are taught how to almost live Christ-like. Because of that many find themselves almost putting Christ first and are almost not of this world. The problem I see today is many will almost get to heaven because they almost got saved.

Cursing is the Coolest!!

The Bible says that faith without works is dead (James 2:26). In Colossians 4:5 we are told to "be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity." So it is obvious that how we treat others and what we do are very important. I agree with this whole-heartedly. Yet there are many professing to be Christians who may have the works and actions, but the way they speak is horrible. Unlike some, God sees EVERYTHING you do and hears EVERYTHING you say!


Colossians 4:6 says, "Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone." Colossians 3:8 says that we, "must put away obscene talk from your mouth." Matthew 15:10-11 says that it is not what goes in our mouths but what comes out that defiles us, Ephesians 5:4 tells us there is to be no filthiness or crude talking while James 3:10 tells us that blessing and cursing should not come from the same mouth because that defiles the person.

Jesus tells us in Matthew 12:36-37 that we will have to give account for every empty word we have spoken and that by our words we will be acquitted and by our words we will be condemned. It sounds like our words are of the utmost importance, yet I continue to hear sentences I should never hear.

"I got my (insert other word for butt) baptised on Sunday," "I love church. That (insert the S word for feces) is the bomb" and "I'm a GD Christian" are all sentences that I have heard in the last week at work. When the F-bomb and Christ are used in the same sentence by someone professing to be Christian..........Houston, we have a problem!

So what is the cure?

1. Pray for forgiveness of past cursing and that your words be anointed each and every day
2. Be vigilant of the music you listen to and the movies/television shows you watch
3. Take time to be in the company of people who build you up and are positive
4. Get an accountability partner and use their support to help you

Honestly, I wish that we would stop sounding and acting like the rest of the world. No offense to anyone, but why would they want to check us out if we are exactly the same as they are? There are several problems.

1. We don't spend daily time praying and reading the Bible.
2. We don't feel that what was said 2,000 years ago applies today.
3. We want so badly to be accepted and fit in with everyone else. Remember: IN IT NOT OF IT!

So how do we combat social norms? By not conforming to them, by being salt and light. We are not sent here to judge the world, but to build up our brothers and build up our own faith. Here is how I have done that:

I do not hate on people when they curse. After all, a lot of my clients speak like the F-bomb is the only word they know. I rarely mention it to my clients unless it is gratitious and we are in group, yet they have made changes in the way they speak. As they have seen that I do not curse I have gained their respect. They curse less around me and often apologize to me if they do. Never forget the impact we can have on those around us by not only our actions but also by our words!

What Are Works AKA The Beatitudes

Last week we looked at James 2:26 where James says, "As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead." This is in direct conflict with Paul, who in Ephesians 2:8-9 says, "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this is not from yourselves, it it the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast." We decided that both of these scriptures were valid because works are not the CAUSE of salvation, but the EVIDENCE of salvation. With that in mind, we ended by asking, "What are works?"

For starters, let's drop the word works and replace it with evidence of salvation. The evidence of salvation can be summarized by Jesus in Matthew 5:3-12:

Blessed are the poor in spirit,

for theirs is the kingdom of heaven

Blessed are those who mourn,

for they will be comforted.

Blessed are the meek,

for they will inherit the earth.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,

for they will be filled.

Blessed are the merciful,

for they will be shown mercy.

Blessed are the pure in heart,

for they will see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers,

for they will be called children of God.

Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,

for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely

say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad,

because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they 

persecuted the prophets who were before you.

So what do all of those verses mean? In verse 3 Jesus says blessed are the poor in spirit. This is simply a way to say humble. Humility is realizing that everything you have and everything you are is no more than gifts from God. We have been blessed by Grace through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. We should be open to doing the will of God and not our own will. Maybe Obama was on to something when he said, "If you've been successful, you didn't get there on your own." At least, that is what Jesus is saying in verse 3. Those who realize that their life is no more than a gift from God will be given the kingdom of heaven. 

In verse 4, those who mourn refers to those who appreciate the gift of life and the sacrifice Christ made on their behalf and due to that abhor the sin they see in themselves and in the world around them. It says that those who mourn will be comforted, and that is why God has sent the Holy Spirit, to help console us and guide is. 

In verse 5, the meek are those of us who submit our will to God and allow the Holy Spirit to guide us. It is those of us who are kind and show love to thosewe encounter, even in the face of adversity. Those who hunger in verse 6 are those who truly try to live our lives as Christ did. We hunger for the Spirit, and if we ask we shall be filled with the Spirit. 

In verse 7 Jesus mentions the merciful, who are those that show others compassion, love and forgiveness. Those who show mercy to others will be shown mercy by God. IF we forgive others of their trespasses as mentioned in the Lord's Prayer, then our sins too shall be forgiven. The pure of heart mentioned in verse 8 are those who act purely for the benefit of those around them with no selfish intent. Being altruistic is what we should be striving for. 

Verse 9 says blessed are the peacemakers, which are those of us who live our lives at peace with others. More than that, it is those of us who also try to create peace, friendship and goodwill  in the lives of others as well. 

In verses 10-12, Jesus looks at those who are persecuted because of their righteousness. This is not only those who are physically attacked by others because of their faith. It is also those who are ostracized by those around them because they are different. It is the kid who is made fun of for not drinking, for not joining in the ridiculing of another student or for being a virgin. It is the employee who is not invited into the conversation because they refuse to gossip about other coworkers or is not invited out after work because they don't drink, smoke and/or laugh at the raunchy jokes. 

Too many Christians try to blend in and fly under the radar. We read the same dirty books and watch the same movies. We see nothing wrong with reading 50 Shades of Grey or watching soft core pornography. We listen to the same music as those around us. These are movies, television shows and music that glorifies: pre-marital sex, drugs, drinking, partying, anger, gossip, adultery, hate, hustling and committing crimes. We take in the same garbage that those around us take in. Remember, garbage in garbage out. If we feed on sin through our senses, then sin is sure to come out in our speech and actions!

Jesus says in John 15 that they will hate us as they hated him, yet all we do is try not to offend those around us by showing we are different.  Jesus has let us know that if we live our lives timid in faith, that our faith is dead. If we are embarrassed of Him, He will be embarrassed by us. If we try to blend in with the rest of the world, then we will gain the same gift as the rest of the world. Don't kid yourself, Matthew 7:14 says that "Narrow is the path" to will lead us to salvation. If we continue to live our lives as the world around us, we are sure to gain the same eternity that they will. 

I beg you, choose life! This is done by applying the beatitudes in our lives. This can be a difficult and seemingly impossible task. After all, Satan attacks us at every corner. In order to live our lives well and try to live the beatitudes, we need to equip ourselves to be successful. This can be done by donning the armor of God, which we will talk about next week. 

What If God Answered Your Prayer (This is borrowed and humorous but true)

The Lord's Prayer (God's voice is Highlighted)

Our Father Who Art In Heaven .
Yes?
Don't interrupt me . I'm praying .
But -- you called  - ME!
Called you?
No, I didn't call you .
I'm praying . 

Our Father who art in Heaven .
There -- you did it again!
Did what?
Called ME .
You said,
"Our Father who art in Heaven"
Well, here I am . . . . What's on your mind?
But I didn't mean anything by it .
I was, you know, just saying my prayers for the day .
I always say the Lord's Prayer .
It makes me feel good,
kind of like fulfilling a duty .
Well, all right .
Go on . 

Okay, Hallowed be thy name .
Hold it right there . What do you mean by that?
By what?
By "Hallowed be thy name"? 
It means, it means . . good grief,   
I don't know what it means .
How in the world should I know?
It's just a part of the prayer .
By the way, what does it mean? 
It means honored, holy, wonderful .
Hey, that makes sense . .   
I never thought about what 'hallowed' meant before .
Thanks . 

Thy Kingdom come,
Thy will be done,
on earth as it is in Heaven .
Do you really mean that?
Sure, why not?
What are you doing about it?
Doing? Why, nothing, I guess . 
I just think it would be kind of neat if you got   
control, of everything down here like you have up   
there .   We're kinda in a mess down here you know .
Yes, I know; but, have I got control of you?
Well, I go to church .
That isn't what I asked you .
What about your bad temper?
You've really got a problem there, you know .
And then there's the way you spend 
your money -- all on yourself . And what about the kind of books you read ?
Now hold on just a minute!
Stop picking on me!
I'm just as good as some of the rest 
of those People at church! 
Excuse ME . .
I thought you were praying
for my will to be done .
If that is to happen,
it will have to start with the ones
who are praying for it . Like you -- for example .
Oh, all right . I guess I do have some hang-ups . 
Now that you mention it,
I could probably name some others .
So could I .
I haven't thought about it very much until now, 
but I really would like to cut out some of those things .
I would like to, you know, be really free .
Good .
Now we're getting somewhere . 
We'll work together -- You and  ME .  I'm proud of You .
Look, Lord, if you don't mind,
I need to finish up here .
This is taking a lot longer than it usually does . 

Give us this day, our daily bread .
You need to cut out the bread . . You're overweight as it is .
Hey, wait a minute! What is this?
Here I was doing my religious duty,
and all of a sudden you break in
and remind me of all my hang-ups .
Praying is a dangerous thing .
You just might get what you ask for .
Remember, you called ME -- and here I am .
It's too late to stop now .
Keep praying .   ( pause . . . ) Well, go on .
I'm scared to .
Scared? Of what?
I know what you'll say .
Try ME . 

Forgive us our sins, 
as we forgive those who sin against us . 
What about Ann?
See? I knew it!
I knew you would bring her up!
Why, Lord, she's told lies about me, spread stories .
She never paid back the money she owes me .
I've sworn to get even with her!
But  -- your prayer --What about your prayer?
I didn't -- mean it . .
Well, at least you're honest .
But, it's quite a load carrying around all that  bitterness and resentment isn't it?
Yes, but I'll feel better as soon as I get even with her .
Boy, have I got some plans for her .
She'll wish she had never been born .
No, you won't feel any better .
You'll feel worse .
Revenge isn't sweet .
You know how unhappy you are -- Well, I can change that .
You can? How?
Forgive Ann .
Then, I'l l forgive you;
And the hate and the sin,
will be Ann's problem -- not yours .
You will have settled the problem as far as you are concerned .
Oh, you know, you're right .
You always are .
And more than I want revenge,
I want to be right with You . . (sigh) .
All right, all right . .
I forgive her .
How do you feel?
Hmmmm . Well, not bad .
Not bad at all!
In fact, I feel pretty great!
You know, I don't think I'll go to bed uptight tonight .
I haven't been getting much rest, you know .
Yeah, I know .
But, you're not through with your prayer, are you?  Go on . . . .
Oh, all right . 

And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil .
Good! Good! I'll do that .
Just don't put yourself in a place where you can be tempted .
What do you mean by that?
You know what I mean .
Yeah . I know .
Okay .
Go ahead . . . Finish your prayer . 

For Thine is the kingdom,
and the power,
and the glory forever .
Amen .
Do you know what would bring me glory --  What would really make me happy?
No, but I'd like to know .
I want to please you now . .
I've really made a mess of things . .
I want to truly follow you . . .
I can see now how great that would be .
So, tell me . . .
How do I make you happy?
YOU  just did . 

A CALL TO CHRISTIANS

I have had the misfortune recently of running into a lot of Christians lately who have made me remember why I stayed an Agnostic for so long. I remember as an Agnostic looking at the Christians that I knew and thinking to myself, "If that is what those Christians are like, I want nothing to do with them!" What I saw was complete hypocrisy. I was sickened by the conduct I saw. I was sickened by my own conduct, too. But at least I knew that I was living an amoral life, I just didn't care! They thought that how they were living was fine, and justified it with Christ's forgiveness. All I knew wa that I was the same as most of the Christians that I knew.

In my past I saw people who were doing exactly what I was doing, but there was a difference. I knew that I was not a good person. When I looked in the mirror, I saw a drunk, a convict, a drug addict, a drug dealer, a thug, a whore, a thief! I could go on, but you get my point. I knew what I was. The Christians I knew had no clue what they were. They thought that they were doing great, that they were saved because they were baptized, they went to Church once or twice a week and they spoke in "tongues" once in a while. Therefore, it was okay for them to sleep around, do drugs, get drunk and pick fights, cuss every other word and look down on other people who were not Christians "like them." They were only fooling themselves. The Bible tells us differently.

We are told to be a light shining bright to the world. As it says in Matthew 5, you cannot hide a city on a hill or a candle on a stand.  We should shine our light before men that they may see our good works and then they too will glorify God! I want you to ask yourself one question right now, "Am I a light shining brightly?" The song by the Newsboys, "Shine," come to mind here. It says that we should shine to make those around us wonder what we got and make them wish that they were not on the outside looking in! How can we cause that to happen when our lives and their lives are carbon copies of each other. The only difference is that we have given ourselves a different title. We don't need to a different title. What we is a different package. We need to live our lives differently. How is that done????

It is not done by taking communion, attending church, raising your hands in worship, tithing or by speaking in tongues. It is not accomplished through baptism nor by small group attendance. Those are good habits, don't get me wrong. But more is needed. It is also not done by ignoring the sin of those around us and lessening the differences between us and those of this world. We need to stop dividing the secular and the spiritual. There are not two standards for us to live by, one at work and another at church! Our entire life should represent Christ, not just on Sundays and when among other Christians.

If our light shines, we will not conform to the urges and temptations of this world. Our actions should generally be in contrast to those in the world around us. If they are gossiping at the lunch table, do not join in. Leave the table, or change the subject. If they are cussing and carrying on, do not join in. The apostles and early Christians did not have people becoming Christian by the thousands around them because they were like everyone around them. They never wavered, even when faced with death. Be a steady and bright light, not one that is tossed about in the wind and constantly flickers.

We must not exhibit self-indulgence, but instead display self-denial. There is a moral darkness all around us. We must be a steady and pure light for those around us so they can find their way out of the darkness. This occurs when we focus on heavenly desires, not earthly ones. How can we show those who know us what a radical change occurs when we are reborn if there is no change. I can call a circle a triangle, but that does  not make it so.

How is it that we fear losing our popularity more than we fear the wrath of God. Instead of letting people know what the Bible says and what we are commanded to do, we will remain silent so as not to offend people. Inaction and silence when action and edification are warranted is wrong. It is just as much a sin to do nothing as it is to commit sin! We would not stand by and watch a women get raped but we will watch people condemn themselves and say nothing! What is wrong with us????

For starters, we believe false doctrine. Once saved always saved is a joke the way it is preached by most pastors!!! The Bible says that faith without works is dead. 2 Timothy 2:12 it states, "if we endure, we will also reign with him. If we disown him, he will also disown us." How can we be disowned if we are always saved? By not living our lives to be like Christ. When I see atheists and agnostics who have better principles, morals and manners than the Christians surrounding them I get a righteous anger that consumes me. It sickens me that Christians have the reputation that they do. Even worse, the reputation is warranted!

Next doctrine I am done with is that all we have to do is believe that Christ is the son of God and that He died to forgive our sins and we will go to heaven. Are you kidding me? I guarantee you that the Devil knows who Christ is and what His sacrifice meant. So, do you think that you will see Satan in heaven? Not a chance! We are dead to sin and reborn. That means that we are different from head to toe. Does that show? Do people see Christ in how we conduct our lives? I bet for most of us the answer is no!

Ghandi's quote said it all, "I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ." We need to take this excuse away from the masses! We do this by shining the brightest when we are among non-believers. It is hard for me to see the light of a candle when the sun is radiating down. This is when we are in small groups and in church, when the light around us shines brightest. Our conviction and faith is seen best when we are in the secular world. That is when our actions should contrast the most from those around us. It is easy to praise Jesus in the midst of fellow believers, it is not so easy when we are surrounded by those who do not believe. COME ON PEOPLE, REPRESENT!!!

As much as we do not want to admit it, we are all called by Christ to have different roles that still are used in the same service to Him and to our fellow man. Ultimately, there is no difference between a pastor and a maid or a missionary and an electrician. We are all called to go out into the world and bring others to Christ. This is not a part-time job, but full-time employment. What we need to do is ask ourselves several questions: 

1. Do I live Monday - Sunday all day every day as a witness to what being a Christian means?  
2. Do I believe that how I act and what I do while I conduct myself throughout the week are as important to God as how I act and what I say on Sunday and in small groups?
3. Do I know that the job I have is just as important to Christ and advancing His Kingdom as the job that my pastor or a missionary have?

You see, what we do every minute of every day is important. Most of us are not called to the pulpit at church to preach the sermon on Sunday, nor are we called to move and evangelize in foreign countries. Instead, we are called to the “pulpit” at work and to live the sermon every day instead of just preaching it on Sunday! To steal a slogan from the military, "Be all that you can be."

There is no one who is almost saved, you either are or aren't. There is no one who is almost a Christian, you either are or are not. You decide what and who you are. But I will tell you this, Matthew 7:21-23 tells us that many will call on the name of Christ and tell of the miracles they performed in His name and yet He will tell them to get away from Him. The only way to enter the Kingdom of Heaven is to do the will of the Father. His will is not to sin and make excuses to continue, but to sin and then figure out why it happened and work to insure that we do not do it again.  We were not called to be perfect, but to try our best. Instead of giving ourselves excuses to sin we should have a long list of reasons not to.

So I call you to do a few things from now on in your life. First and foremost, pray and meditate so that you can hear the voice of God and follow that instruction. Next, don’t be the reason someone has for saying Christians are hypocrites. Lastly, when it comes to being a Christian, BE ALL THAT YOU CAN BE....................and SHINE!!!!!!!!!

Songs of Recovery - How the Devil Used Music to Control Me

There is something about music that really affects us. It has the ability to impact our lives, it can make life seem more worth living. Even Friedrich Nietzsche had to admit that. He said that, "Without music, life would be a mistake." Music is a great escape. It can save us from our feelings, or it can intensify them. Maya Angelou said, "Music was my refuge.  I could crawl into the space between the notes and curl my back to loneliness." 

Music has always affected me in immeasurable ways. Like food is for our physical body, I believe that music is food for our soul. It will nourish us, sustain us, we are what we eat. Junk food is seen through our physical bodies when we have too much of it. That said, if we listen to junk music it can be seen in our actions and how we live our lives. Just like food, music has a manifestation.

I can remember listening to mostly gangster rap and heavy metal when I was in my addiction. I was angry, so I listened to angry music. I was violent, and I listened to music about violence. I was an addict and a drunk, so I listened to music about drug dealing and partying. I reveled in my sin, so I listened to songs about debauchery. I had extreme road rage, and have punched people at red lights and stop signs for cutting me off in traffic. The music encouraged my rage, and discouraged restraint.

Don't get me wrong, I take responsibility for my actions. That said, the music helped. Kind of like smoking cigarettes and cancer. You may not want to get cancer, yet you smoke. You are still responsible for the choice that you made, but the cigarettes led to lung cancer having a higher probability of occurance in you. Music is the same way. I probably would have continued making negative choices in my life without the music, but the music increased the probability of my making the choices that I did.

Even after the addiction, I still kept the music. And I wondered why I stayed angry. I wondered why I still felt such a strong pull to always do the wrong thing, to make the worst possible choice in any given scenario. I feel that music is just another way that the Devil can control us. I heard songs about drugs, money, threesomes and other sins. I sang these songs, and I liked them. Tell me that is not reinforcing the behaviors.

Why would you go to church and hear about Jesus dying to forgive us of our sins, then sing songs that praise the sins that Jesus died to forgive us of when we are not in church. I thank Jesus in church for dying to forgive the very same sins that I praise by singing about outside of church? That is nonsensical at best, and pure sin at its' worst. I believe that it sends mixed messages to those who know that we are Christian, to our family members and especially to our children. This goes back to a past blog that asked if you are a stop or a go Christian that you can find here:  http://spiritualspackle.blogspot.com/2011/05/stop-or-go.html

If we truly believe in the Bible and are trying to represent Christ, we would not sing songs that glorify sin! If you want to change your life, why would you only change one aspect of it and not change it completely? My listening and singing the songs that I did was just one more way for the Devil to control what went into my mind and came out of my mouth. It was also influencing my moods, emotions, how I appeared to those around me and how people look at Christians if I am one that they have close contact with.

 As a dad, I cannot imagine hearing my son sing the lyrics that permeated my life as an addict. Why would I want my son to hear music that is diametrically opposed to how I want him to grow up. He soaks up everything, and I know that what I listened to would have a detrimental effect on him if I still listened to it.........so I do not. I have made the switch to worship music. I no longer listen to secular music except on rare occasions. I no longer go to secular concerts, I only attend worship concerts. This is my choice, and I will get into the reasons for that in another blog. 

The bottom line is, we need to change what we ingest mentally. There is an acronym, GIGO, that come to mind. It stands for garbage in garbage out. If I continue to soak my soul with music that is garbage, then that will encourage me to act in ways that garbage, metaphorically speaking. The blogs that are entitled Songs of Recovery will be blogs that discuss how different songs have positively affected my recovery and strengthened my belief in Christ and will end with a video of the song. They will also discuss how that song can be used by you to encourage and strengthen your walk with Christ, or help you build a stronger recovery.

To end this blog, I do not have a song. Instead, I have a poem from the Passion for Christ Movement, or P4CM. It discusses how the devil loses us when we give up our secular interests and begin focusing on Christ and being Christ-like. How Dynamic Living and being a Lukewarm Christian are the exact opposite. It discusses how we have to make unpopular decisions and separate ourselves from worldly things. Christ did not call us to be comfortable...........

So What if I Believe God Exists

I have been following several blogs as well as the comments that they elicit recently. I must admit that the comments and even the blogs are at times a little beyond my comprehension, but I guess that is okay. I have tried to follow them to the best of my ability. I have ordered several things to read to increase my knowledge of the various arguments. There are philosophy professors, quantum physicists and a lot of other highly educated people who are having these day long dialogues on these blogs, and I want to understand a little better. I for one wonder how they can have so much time, because I see them on multiple blogs and they post all day and night. Some of the comments are questions or dialogue, and that is informative and interesting to read. Other comments are malicious, and that I have never understood.

For example, I am a Chicago Cubs fan. I am occasionally on Cubs blogs and Cubs sites. I want to stay informed about the team that I follow. I am often astounded at the number of Cardinal fans who comment about how much the Cubs suck and how stupid their fans are. I see the exact thing on the blogs I have been reading recently on evolution, creationism, and the cosmological argument. Someone who believes differently comes onto one of these blogs just to slam the people who believe differently. Do not get me wrong, there are some good discussions in the comments section. But........there are also those who just want to hop on the blog and tell everyone how much smarter than them they are because they hold different views and how stupid they must be because of what they believe in. How is that helpful?

I do not need petty people to confuse me more. I get confused enough by all the talk about the four different types of causes and how they are metaphysically proven. I am lost how we get from "since things appear to come out of nothing based on the "fact" that the model used in quantum physics field cannot explain it, then they come from nothing" and how that is even a valid argument. I don't know, so it must be from nothing???

I see that there is a lot of good in using science, logic and philosophy to explain things, because there are those who need that explanation. My issue is with using the same arguments over and over again on one side, and on using the lack of knowledge argument on the other side. Just because your model cannot explain it, then it must not exist or can't have a cause? That is like saying that since I cannot explain the illusion, the magician must have made the girl appear out of thin air intact after he apparently sawed her in half. I do not know how he did it, so it must be magic or in this case ex nihilo........right? And everyone accuses everyone of using straw man arguments, or tautology, etc. etc. ad nauseum.

Secondly, why is it that all I hear are people who are explaining other's research or other's experiences for why they believe how they do? If I am to truly believe a certain way and claim to be educated, than I must have first-hand knowledge or experience in order to have that belief. Is it a proven fact if I have never first hand seen the proof? If I believed everything in writing, then the National Enquirer has totally proven that God does not exist and in another issue that the Garden of Eden have been found. I did not read about it, but I saw it on the cover as I was in the line at Wal-Mart. Call me Thomas, but I need proof.

If I am a scientist, than I must have first-hand experience myself. It is called the scientific method, and it consists of knowing through your own experimentation using an open mind. Instead many people rest on the laurels of others, not even their own, to make their point. Furthermore, the open mind has been closed for so long that there are cobwebs growing. My question to all of you is simple, How do YOU know? How have you been impacted, or what experiments have you done, that give validity to your argument? Here are three Dilbert comics that comically address my point:





Here is my question to all of you - So because your model does not contain God then you discount him no matter the experiences of others? What are you doing to make the world a better place? What are you doing to truly help others? What time are you donating, what money, what emotion do you give to help those in need? How has being agnostic or atheist made your life any better, and why are you so sure that you are right? I will not talk about why I believe there is a God now after being agnostic for two plus decades because I have already done that at: http://spiritualspackle.blogspot.com/2011/07/jonah-and-big-fish.html. What I will do is ask several more questions.

For starters, so what if I believe in God? How does that hurt you or anyone else? How does anyone who truly believes in Christ and tries to be Christ-like hurt anyone? Not the fundamentalists that bastardize the Word, but those who truly follow the teachings of Christ. You can come on here and attack this blog if you want, but I really only want these questions answered:

1. Instead of being self-righteous and trying to belittle those that you feel smarter and better off than, what are you doing to truly help those in need?

2. When was the last time that you heard about a group of atheists opening up houses for children to get them out of the sex slave trade, educate them, then allow them to become advocates against the trade and go back to their villages to combat it happening to others?

3. When was the last time that you heard of a bunch of agnostics gathering together to go and dig wells and teach irrigation and conservation to African tribes?

4. When have you heard of multiple groups of non-believers going into prisons and working to reform inmates and teach them better ways to live their lives upon their release?

5. How many atheist and agnostic organizations have homeless shelters and transitional homes for battered and abused women that they support by volunteering their time and money?

6. How many atheist and agnostic organizations have support teams on call 24-7 to help those in crisis/disaster situations (think tornadoes, monsoons and floods) all over the world?

7. When was the last time that you thought of someone other than yourself, your friends or your family?

8. When was the last time that you did something that made you uncomfortable financially for the good of people who you do not even know, but that needed the help?

9. How many hours each week do you spend helping those who are in need by donating your time to give them the basic needs of life: food, water, shelter, etc.? Pretty easy to write a check, so I am asking about donating your free time!

So I guess in ending this blog, all I want to say is that I am trying to read more about why people who hold other beliefs than mine believe as they do. I may even go on sites and blogs and ask questions as I read and the need arises. The truth is, no matter what, based on my own personal experiences I will never not believe in Christ. That said, I promise I will never go bash others for what they believe. If you want to be agnostic or atheist, that is your choice. Why do you have to belittle those that do not believe as you do? Yeah, pick on the evil Christians who are ignorant enough to be compassionate, genuine and empathetic. How dare they be ignorant enough to care about people other than themselves. Finally, I ask you to think of others out there who are in need.

I think that is one of the safeties of being a non-believer! You do not have to think outside of your personal circle and give to those in need on a regular basis. You might write a check out of your abundance to make yourself feel better, or to brag about later, or register for some drawing/free food, or so that others see you. The real question is when do you go without because of the tragedies that are occurring elsewhere? When do you think about the welfare of others? I guess that you do not have to worry about how you act in this life, because this life is all that there is for you.

Wow, that has to be depressing. Come to think of it, maybe I do see why you spend all that time ridiculing others. They have hope in something more, and this mundane existence is all that you will ever know. I would be hypercritical too, I guess. After all, misery loves company. If you want to have some hope, just shoot me an email or leave a comment on this blog and we can talk about why this life cannot be all that there is and how I have seen miracles occur. I was once living a miserable existence, and since Christ found me my life has been immeasurably better. Yours can be too!

Sometimes When You Lose You Win

When I hear "Sometimes when you lose you win" the sound of Rosie Perez's accented voice resonates in my head. I really like sports movies, and White Men Can't Jump is one of those movies I watched a lot when I was younger. It is fitting that the movie would come to my mind, as it is a sports movie, when I think of playing softball last Friday. I got several reminders that I, in hindsight, needed to hear on Friday.

I am not making any excuses, but it was hot outside and we had a triple header! We had the 6:20-7:20-8:20 games for our triple header on Friday, and our two big hitters where gone. Oh yeah, and the sun was in my eyes, the team dressed in shorts, long sleeve shirts and ties to set us off and they heckled us the entire time. I have tons of excuses for our day, but I will stop making them now.

To be honest, our team beat ourselves. We did not hit well, and we had a lot of errors over the course of the game. Before this game our team was undefeated. I think we where 14-0. We were used to walking over teams, and would come into each game pretty lackadaisical. We had gotten cocky somewhere along the way, and I had not even noticed it. I guess that we needed a reminder that we were just like every other team.

We got our butts kicked at the 6:20 game. All I could do was be frustrated, mostly with myself. I want my son to play in a league that keeps score so that he can learn to win and lose, but I found Friday that I need to learn how to lose too. I beat myself up about the loss. I let it affect me. I even was at bat and got the last out of the game. It was in my head when the game ended.

As I walked away disgruntled to the second game of the night, I heard my team captain's wife say, "You guys needed to lose. You were getting pretty cocky. You had rolled over everyone and expected it to happen every game. You guys had stopped playing your best and were just playing good enough to win the last few weeks. This loss is good for you." This instantly resonated with me. She was absolutely right, and I knew better then to be cocky and to get angry. As a competitor and as a Christian.

Proverbs 3:34 says, "He mocks proud mockers but shows favor to the humble and oppressed." I had become prideful. There was a definite lack of humility in my life on Fridays. I had not even noticed it. It took a loss and my friend's wife to remind me. Galatians 6:3 says, "If anyone thinks they are something when they are not, they deceive themselves." For starters, I am not that great of a softball player. I am one of the weaker links on my team. I was getting a big head, and I needed the reminder that I was not that big of a deal. God is deserving of all praise, not me.

Obadiah 1:3 states that, "The pride of your heart has deceived you, you who live in the clefts of the rocks and make your home on the heights, you who say to yourself, ‘Who can bring me down to the ground?’" Who brought us to the ground? It was God by using a team that we had already beat 2 or three times this season. It was a lesson that I needed to learn, but it was not my last lesson of the night.

The team that we met for our 7:20 make up game was the same team that we played at 8:20. We beat them soundly the first game, but their shortstop made a couple of really good plays on hard hit balls and I got two outs the first game due to his glove work. I was still frustrated from losing to a team that we had beat several times, and he had an error in the second game. My mouth reacted before I could stop it! 

"You can't get lucky every play," I yelled from the dugout. My friend Kelly was sitting next to me, and he turned and said, "That doesn't sound like something you would say in your blog, David."  All I could do was look to the ground, partly in shame and partly because he was right and there was just nothing I could say.  

2 Corinthians 5:18-20 says this, "All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us."

That scripture states that we are to be ambassadors for God. He makes his appeal to people through us. Reconcile means to reestablish a close relationship between us and someone else. How am I to establish a relationship with someone when I am not showing good sportsmanship? One way that God makes a relationship with other people is through us, and here I am throwing a temper tantrum over losing and taking it out on someone on the other team? How is that beneficial to God or to me? The Bible also lets us know that what we have done to the least of man, it is like doing it to God Himself. When I mocked and ridiculed the shortstop out of frustration, that was the same as me ridiculing God.

As I thought on the night and the reminders that I had gotten from my friends, one of my favorite scriptures popped into my head. James 4:10 says, "Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up." I needed to regain my composure and remember that all that I am and all that I do is due to God, period. I am merely an instrument for Him to reach others through.

So once again, I was taught a valuable lesson. The thing that I need to remember is that I seldom learn life lessons from my victories. Most of the most important lessons that I have ever learned have come from my defeats and set-backs. Why get mad when I can get wisdom?

In closing I need to thank God, Felicia and Kelly not only for the inspiration for this blog, but for a much needed reminder of things that I already know. Be a good sport. Be gracious in victory and defeat. Do not ever get cocky, for all things are from God and God alone. The higher I sit, the further the fall. I needed to be knocked back down to Earth. Hopefully I will not need to be reminded of this again..................but I am sure that I will!

Losing Too Fast/Setting Christians Up for Failure

So I just completed my third week of Weight Watcher's for Men. I have lost 8.6 pounds in the 3 weeks that I have been following what they call the "Lifestyle Change." For those unfamiliar with Weight Watcher's, they do not suggest using it as a temporary diet, but instead as a new way of eating for life. You permanently change the way that you eat. For the unschooled let me explain how Weight Watchers works.

Weight Watcher's has a point system that you follow. You are given a set number of points to use each day that is based on your sex, age, weight and height. You are then given 49 cheat points a week for splurges. If you exercise then you are also given extra points daily for the completion of your physical activity. As you lose weight each week (if you weigh a lot over your ideal weight like I do you have a lot of points daily to begin with), you have points taken away based on how much weight you have lost.

This week, there was a warning given to me that I am losing weight too fast. It stated that losing 1-2 pounds a week is safe, but that losing more than 2 pounds a week consistently is considered to be unhealthy. I thought that was a fair warning. I need to be aware of not losing weight too fast as it may be unhealthy. I can live with that warning. Then I went to my points for the day to log in what I had eaten for breakfast and I had lost a point each day due to losing the weight that I did. So I was told that I was losing weight too fast, then the amount of food that I can intake daily was reduced???? How do you lose weight slower by eating less food?

Those sound like completely contradictory things, or what I call mutually exclusive goals. They are not congruent to accomplishing the same thing. That does not make sense to me. I have been set-up to fail. Why would you tell me that something is dangerous for me then insure that I do the exact thing that you are warning me about? As I thought on this, modern day Christianity came to mind. Some of the authors whose books I have read recently came to mind. We shall review those books by name in later blogs.

The things that are confusing are the commandments and requirements for Christians to live by that are found in the Bible. They are being subverted by people claiming to follow God. It is actually sad to see how sick some of the churches here in America have gotten. It may be that way every where, but I have only been to churches in the United States. I see the way that people take parts of the Bible and use them out of context so that it makes Christianity more user friendly, instead of taking the Bible in its entirety and following what it truly says. Following are 2 prime examples of what I mean:

1. Once Saved, Always Saved - This is repeatedly tossed around. It says that once you are saved, there is really no reason to live a sanctified life. To do so is a form of trying to earn salvation. They say that if someone subverts, than they were never truly in a relationship with God. Yet the Bible warns against this numerous times, and even says that we can fall out of relationship with God. In 2 Timothy 2:12 it states, "if we endure, we will also reign with him. If we disown him, he will also disown us." You have to be in a relationship with someone in order to disown them. Or how about Matthew 7:21-23 that says that there will be those who have given prophesy and who have healed and driven out demons in Christ's name. Sounds like someone who operates with God's authority. Yet Jesus states that He will tell to get away from Him. Driving out demons and healing would seem sure ways to tell if someone is in relationship with God, yet they will not be in His heavenly kingdom.

2. Grace - Next is the grace card that so many pastors and authors speak about. They mislead millions by saying that since God is a God of grace, it should reason that it is okay to sin. Often Romans 5 is used, where Paul said that if sin is abundant, then God's grace is surely big enough to cover it all. Some use that as saying we have a license to sin, a "get out of jail free" card. But if you continue to read, Romans 6:1-2 says, "What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?" 


Paul in essence says, "Do we continue to sin since grace covers sin. Ummmm, Hello! Have you not been listening to me? We have died to sin and been born again!" In John 8:11, Jesus instruction to the woman caught committing adultery was to, "go and sin no more." He did not tell her to go and try not to sin like many churches preach. He told her not to sin at all. 


Does this mean that we will never sin. No, Romans tells us that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. What I am saying is that we should not get stuck in the sin cycle. I used to set aside days to sin because I knew that I would be forgiven. "I am going to get drunk tonight, I shall ask forgiveness tomorrow" or "She looks cute, let me see if I can have sex with her. If I do, I can just go to God in prayer in the morning. He expects me to sin, so it is okay." 


I wanted what was promised to me at church; I was attracted by the music, to fit in with the crowd, the promise of wealth and happiness. But did I truly want what God had to offer? I think that we often do not take advantage of the true gifts of God, because He wants to give us more than we really want. I want to believe in God, but not follow all of those rules and commandments. The real question is, why do I want to believe in God?


It is not enough to simply desire to be saved. We must also desire to be more Christ-like. If I am truly "born again" or have had a "conversion," then the Holy Spirit lives in me. Are you going to tell me that the Holy Spirit wants us to sin? Is the Holy Spirit okay with us sinning? Let me give an example:


When my son lies, do I forgive him and still love him? Of course, but do I want more for him? Do I want to be able to trust all that he says and does? Should I settle for anything less than full honesty when he grows up? Of course not, the older he gets the more he will understand the difference between right and wrong. 1 Corinthians 13:11 says, "When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me." 


As we learn what is right and wrong, we should begin to live differently. But how do matured Christians live their lives? How do we know what we should or should not do? What is the ultimate guide? I would say that our choices in life should be guided by several things:

1. Prayer is the first thing that we should use as part of our guide. 1 Thessalonians 5:13 tells us that we should, "pray without ceasing." That sounds like a vitally important thing to do.

2. Apply the Biblical principles to our lives. It will allow us to live our lives and be successful in becoming more like Christ. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 says, "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work." 

3. Obey God's commands in all that we do. The commandments are not multiple choice. This is a pass or fail test. John 14:21 says, "He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him."

4. Seek Godly counsel. Use those around us as mentors and advisers. Proverbs 15:22 states, " Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed."

5. Follow the leading of God through the Holy Spirit. John 16:13,14 says, "However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. "He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you.

If we can apply these 5 steps to our lives, we will begin to make huge steps in becoming more Christ-like. Do not accept the road that is so often traveled in watered down, or what Francis Chan calls "luke warm" Christianity. We need to take the road less traveled. In Robert Frost's poem entitled, "The Road Not Taken" the last stanza tells us all that we need to know about going against the mainstream and how it will benefit us:

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

Countries

This is a list of countries that have visited the Spiritual Spackle site, and I will add more as they visit. I am amazed at the different places that have visited to read about everything from the power of the Holy Spirit to Christ's Grace to Apologetics to the dangers of addiction and ways to overcome it. This site is my outreach to those who suffer from the consequences of life in this world, whether it is childhood abuse, addiction, grief and loss, anger, bad relationships, depression and other things that are thrown at us to separate us from Christ. I also look to build upon my faith and strengthen not only mine but those who read. Only the Holy Spirit will suffice in healing us and instilling life-changing hope. Everything else is only temporary!

1. Albania 
2. Algeria
3. American Samoa
4. Antigua and Barbuda
5. Argentina
6. Armenia
7. Aruba
8. Australia
9. Austria
10. Azerbaijan
11. Bahamas
12. Bahrain
13. Bangladesh
14. Barbados
15. Belgium
16. Bermuda
17. Botswana
18. Brazil
19. Bulgaria
20. Cambodia
21. Canada
22. Chile
23. China
24. Colombia
25. Congo [DRC]
26. Costa Rica
27. Cyprus
28. Czech Republic
29. Damascus
30. Denmark
31. Dominica
32. Dominican Republic
33. Ecuador
34. Egypt
35. El Salvador
36. Estonia
37. Fiji
38. Finland
39. France
40. Gabon
41. Georgia
42. Germany
43. Ghana
44. Greece
45. Guam
46. Guatemala 
47. Guyana
48. Haiti
49. Honduras
50. Hong Kong
51. Hungary
52. Iceland
53. India
54. Indonesia
55. Iran
56. Iraq
57. Ireland
58. Isle of Man
59. Israel
60. Italy
61. Jamaica
62. Japan
63. Jordan
64. Kazakhstan
65. Kenya
66. Latvia
67. Lebanon
68. Lesotho
69. Lithuania
70. Luxembourg
71. Macedonia (FYROM)
72. Malawi
73. Malaysia
74. Maldives
75. Malta
76. Mauritius
77. Mexico
78. Micronesia
79. Moldova
80. Montenegro
81. Namibia
82. Nepal
83. Netherlands
84. New Zealand
85. Nigeria
86. Norway
87. Pakistan
88. Palestine
89. Panama
90. Papua New Guinea
91. Peru
92. Philippines
93. Poland
94. Portugal
95. Puerto Rico
96. Romania
97. Russia
98. Saudi Arabia
99. Serbia
100. Seychelles
101. Singapore
102. Slovakia
103. Slovenia
104. South Africa
105. South Korea
106. Spain
107. Sri Lanka
108. Swaziland
109. Sweden
110. Switzerland
111. Taiwan
112. Tanzania
113. Thailand
114. Trinidad and Tabago
115. Tunisia
116. Turkey
117. Turks and Caicos Islands
118. Uganda
119. Ukraine
120. United Arab Emirates
121. United Kingdom
122. United States
123. Uruguay
124. Venezuela
125. Vietnam
126. Zambia
127. Zimbabwe

Matthew 5:13

I was looking at the Sermon on the Mount last night, and it really got me thinking. I am pretty sure that many of us have read this passage, but have we actually applied it to our lives. I think that I will spend my next few blogs discussing it in part due to the relevance of the scriptures to all Christians but also because of how interesting it is to dissect. I will start with Matthew 5:13, which says, “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.”

We are the salt of the earth. That is a profound statement when you think about what salt’s purpose is. Salt has several beneficial uses. One of the ways that we utilize salt is to enhance the flavor of other foods. When Jesus says that we are the salt of the earth He is implying that we can enhance those around us, even the places that we go. We can make them more flavorful. Read that as saying that those on the earth will be bettered by us because we can enhance them.

We are to make those who are around us improved. It should be easy for us to do. After all, we have the Holy Spirit in us as a guide, to lead us so that we are positive examples to others. As salt has a beneficial effect on food, we should have a beneficial effect on those around us. We are to be the meek, the merciful, the pure at heart even the peacemakers according to the beatitudes. We are to lead by example and continue to follow the example that Christ has set for us.

Another way we employ salt is to preserve food so that it does not get rotten, so that it does not go bad. We live in a world that is strongly urged on by sin, which is ruled by Satan. How does this affect us? People are leaving the church at a horrific rate. In 1990 86% of America professed Christianity; in 2009 it was 75%. As the devil tries to take over, we need to try to preserve what is still good.

We can cause others to stumble, and we can cause them to prosper spiritually. The choice is ours. This is made apparent when the scripture says that salt can lose its saltiness. Salt can become weakened and/or watered down. I think that for many of us the Gospel has become watered down because our faith has become watered down. We only want to know how much we have to do in order to be saved. Since I was baptized and go to church twice a week, I am good.

Francis Chan challenges that America has become filled by lukewarm (I read this watered down) Christians. We try to see how much we can get away with, we make excuses, and “Surely God meant do not murder, but it has to be okay to lie.” We rationalize our sin. We imagine that since the Bible states in Romans 3:23, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” that it is okay to sin, since we are doomed to do it anyway.

The true question is not how do I lose my saltiness, for that is as easy as becoming part of the world, of allowing the world to take hold of you again. The scripture says that if we lose our saltiness, we cannot regain it again, we become good for nothing. I personally don’t care how I lose my saltiness. If I am playing baseball, I do not train to not lose, I train to win. The most important question we can ask ourselves on this verse is HOW DO I KEEP MY SALTINESS!!!!!

If the world truly accepts you and all that you do, you are not keeping your saltiness. If you do not drop to your knees multiple times daily in prayer and meditation, you are not keeping your saltiness. If you think that church is only for Sundays, if people would not know that you are a Christian if they did not see you in church…..you are not keeping your saltiness.

God has called us, Jesus died for us and the Holy Spirit lives in us. What more do you need. If the Holy Spirit truly lives in us, we should not be comfortable in our lives. We are called to evangelism, discipleship, ministry, worship and praise. If we are always comfortable, then we are reaching out to the wrong people. Honestly, I would say that we are probably not reaching out to anyone.

We are called the salt of the earth. That means that we alone have the ability to influence those around us, to flavor this sinful world by giving others hope that not all is lost. We need to restore those who have lost their faith, and bring to Christ those who have never met Him. If you wonder how to do this, the answer is simple. Be Christ-like! Do not be a complacent Christian! Lead by example. Remember Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.”