Abide in the Father

1 John 1:6-10 KJV

If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:  But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.  If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.  If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

2:15-17 KJV

Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.  For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.  And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.

I've seen a few times in social media that a Christian can't serve God while holding hands with ghr devil. I recently read the above passages and that's when I realized nothing can be further from ghr truth.

We can't say we love God while consciously living in sin. Let's put the phrase actions speak louder than words in this situation: if you're a Bible-believing christian, yet you're hitting up the clubs on Friday and Saturday, hooking up with a different person each time. What part do you have with God, living unrepentant? You're not walking in His truth when you're living for yourself.

You cant it both ways, as the righteous God, YHWH, the Light, mix with unrighteous darkness. Walk in the light, as we are children of the light.

Don't walk in your own righteousness, either. Don't think of yourself as above sin, like your sinless and/or have never sinned. Jesus is the only sinless person that has walked this earth, hence His qualification for being the perfect sacrificial lamb to redeem us from our sins. At ghr end of the day, we are imperfect human beings, prone to sin, saved or not. Christ is the only One who helps us overcome and avoid sin, as long as we walk in the Word (for He is the Word - read John 1).

I'll leave you with this note: 1 John 2:15-17 warns us to not love the world. Verse 16, in particular, describes the three types of sins:

1. lust of the flesh
2. lust of the eye
3. pride of life

Beware of sins as it'll come in either of these three forms. It was through these three sins that man fell in the garden.

The Shemitah

L'shana tova!!! It is now the Jewish year of 5775. The year 5775 also happens to be a year of the Shemitah, or a year of release. What is that, you ask? The Shemitah is the Sabbath Year (7th year) outlined in Leviticus 25:1-7 and Deuteronomy 15:1-6. During that year, the land would rest, meaning no one was to sow nor reap. No one would have to do so because God would give such abundance the previous year, there would be plenty to last for a few years (Leviticus 25:21-22). Why? Because He's YHWH-jireh, El Shaddai. Not only was it a rest for the land, but also debts were forgiven and Hebrew bondservants would be get free. But, what had happened was there were 70 Shemitahs that were never executed, which, along with all other of ancient Israel's sins, resulted in their captivity Babylon (then eventually Persia) for 70 years so the land could rest. Israel had be urged many times to repent, but that's another blog.

But why does the Shemitah matter now? Because it's God's sovereign law. But what does this mean for America? When America was founded, Washington and the other founding fathers dedicated this country to God Almighty, as Solomon did with Israel once the first temple was finished. Washington dedicated the nation on the very ground we were attached on Sept 11, 2001. That happened to be towards the end of a Shemitah. This Sabbath year actually ended Sept 17, 2001, when the markets plummeted and people lost money, just a week after folks at the New York Stock Exchange slowly started coming back to work. All debts would be "released" and forgiven, right? Then, the same thing happened, but worse in Sept 29, 2008, the end of that proceeding Shemitah, what's known as the Recession of 2008. Why these Sept dates? Because the Jewish calendar is the one to follow when studying this. But these dates were 29 Elul 5761 and 5768, respectively.

For more information on the Shemitah, be sure to get te new book The Mystery of the Shemitah by Rabbi Jonathan Cahn, as well as The Harbinger.

Every Christian needs Prayer

Every Christian needs prayer. Not the prayer where s/he is reciting something to God or for others to see and hear, not the prayer that asks God for something, and that's it, but the prayer that brings spiritual intimacy with God. Prayer should be a conversation between you and God; it's a two-way street. Prayer is the spiritual communication that binds and strengthens your relationship with God, as natural communication keeps earthly relationships strong.

We, as believers and children of the Most High God, must make time to spend with Him each and every day. This, I know I'm guilty of not doing lately. This conviction came upon me while reading a Bible plan via The Bible App (developed by YouVersion) called Prayers of Jesus. Though Jesus is the Alpha and Omega, King of kings and Lord of lords, He still needed prayer during His earthly ministry. He often "went to a private place and prayed", away from the multitudes, and away from His discilpes. Not only did He need His space, sorta speak, He needed to spend time with the Father.

We all need to spend time with out Heavenly Father. Let's make a point to do so every day.

We Will to Suffer as Christians

We have to suffer as children of the Most High. The suffereing we have in this present life nothing compared to the glory of heaven (Rom. 8:17-18). When someone is ill, are we to pray for healing? Yes. Are we to be all that Isaiah 61:1-3 describes? Absolutely. But, at the same time, who are we to go against God's will? If someone is ill and it is for the glory of God for that person to be healed either immidetely or a month or a year from that time of pray, then we have to be the ones to spiritually discern that.

No matter what's going on, let us just focus on Him; on building our relationship with the Almighty Father. He uses trials and tribulations for His children to grow closer to Him, as they are a test of faith, and we can call the blessings/promises of God "side effects", if you will. We just have to focus our heart & mind on the Creator.

Persecution is a prime example of these trials. Jesus said it Himself in Luke 21:12, 17 that we will be persecuted for His name's sake. Not that we may, but that we will. This fact is reaffirmed in 2 Timothy 3:12 and Peter adds to this in his first epistle, 4:16, that whoever "suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf." Persecution can be open, meaning a natural manifestation of the spiritual war like what's happening in the Middle East, North Africa, Asia & Southeast Asia now, "religious liberty" court cases in the West, or even just our battle with our indwelling sin. Focusing and strengthening our relationship with our Savior will help us stand in His armor (Eph. 6:12).

And, to close, let's not go looking to be persecuted.

My Dream is to reach out to Muslims for Christ

I dreamt last night that I was in some cafe (possibly a Starbucks), where there were a few Muslim girls, and two in particular stood out to me -- they were reading Bibles! The two girls, each looking about 10 & 17 years old, had different colored hijabs, one dark pink to red and the other light blue. I started talking to the younger and ask her either why she was reading the Bible or if she knew who Jesus was. From there, I started to tell her about the salvation that Jesus offered for us on the cross. Then I looked over to the other girl, sitting at another table, but this time her hijab was off, around her neck, with her curly blond hair out and hanging over the scarf that was around her neck. I started a conversation with her about Jesus, as well, and then I woke up.

Ever since I started reading about Islam and researching the "Islamization of the West", I grew a fondness to reach the average Muslim-American, which I'm sure are mostly moderate, with the gospel. I've begun to believe that the only way to combat Islam rising in the West, after getting the word out about it, was to bring the gospel to any Muslim who would litsen, any Muslim who is searching for truth. So many of them have come to know Christ by seeing Him in a dream/vision, a Christian telling them about His everlasting love, or both by one way confirming the other.

The truth is, there are Muslims out there that are genuine people -- just wanted to live out their lives like everyone else, to be happy. We can't label them all as "terrorist". Granted, the vast majority of the world's terrorists are Muslim, but the vast majority of Muslims are terrorists.

Therefore, if you, as a believer & redeemed of the Lord, are asked by a Muslim about the truth of Christ, lovingly tell them. Display Christ and rememeber, we love Him because He loved us first (1 John 4:19).

God bless :)

Do not give evil for evil

See that no one renders evil for evil to anyone, but always pursue what is good both for yourselves and for all. Bible.com/app
1 Thessalonians 5:15 NKJV

This verse really spoke to me this morning. In a world where one takes vengence on another for a wrong-doing, even within the Church sometimes, you probably would ask yourself, where is the love in forgiveness? That's why it's more important every day to show the love of Christ. Let us not render evil for evil, but show love & forgiveness to those who have wronged you, just as Christ has forgiven us. Whether that person has asked for your forgiveness or not, hold no grudge. Jesus did say that if we cannot forgive another person, He will not forgive us.

Active vs. Passive Faith

It troubles me that many have what I would like to call "passive faith". I'm troubled by the fact that many Christians think that God is just going to take care of everything and they can just sit back. That isn't always the case, though. Yes, there will be situation where there is nothing we can humanly do to change it, but many lack the wisdom to discern when those situations arise. For example, someone may have inoperable cancer where doctors can no nothing, where it's out of human hands. Praying for healing, believing for that healing, and walking as if you have been healed will bring the healing. That is the spiritual active part of having faith for something to happen. We all can have that spiritually-active faith but when it comes to situations like finding a job in a slow economy or a married couple trying to have a child, one needs to have that active faith but spiritually and naturally. One cannot pray for a job and NOT look for one online, in the classified in the newspaper or even applying in-person, resume in hand. One cannot pray that s/he passes his/her final for their Master's WITHOUT studying. A married couple cannot pray for a child WITHOUT being physically intimate (i.e., Abraham & Sarah) and/or looking into adoption.

While praying and believing for a miracle is great, there's an underlining factor -- believing in the One who gives the miracle. Many believe on the name of Jesus of Nazareth as Savior but don't always walk in His ways in their daily lives, just on Sundays. One cannot save the souls of the household, workplace, etc., if one does not live in Christ (meaning following His teachings). One cannot say to another: "hey, can I tell you about Jesus?" when they aren't even rooted in Jesus themselves. Passive faith in Jesus is praising Him in church on Sundays (if you have the desire to go) but being angry and miserable, neither praying nor reading the Bible Monday through Saturday. Active faith in Jesus is praising Him in church on Sundays, including while you're getting ready to go, on the way there, and when you leave, AS WELL AS living in His joy & love while praying and reading His word (and doing what it says) Monday through Saturday. Think about that phrase "actions speak louder than words". If you want someone to come to faith in Jesus, let that person see your actions and joy as a true worshiper of Christ and tell them what He had saved you from. If you wish to have others in your household to know the Savior, be sure your actions DO speak louder than your words.

Now I just want to leave you with this: Romans 12:2 says "do not be conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that ye may prove what is the good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God." Psalms says "as a man thinks in his heart, so is he." The Bible also says to "put on the mind of Christ.:" Therefore, if we are to think and ponder on His ways constantly, we are transformed in Him. Let us also "walk by faith and not by sight," meaning, in a way, to walk with our faith in Jesus and not by what we see in this world. You will not only discover the truth about yourself but also of Christ Jesus. Call upon Him and He will show you (Jer. 33:3).

God Bless!

PS, for more biblical teaching on active faith, read James 2:14-26