Until sin is bitter...

The Apostles' Creed

I believe in God, the Father Almighty,the Creator of heaven and earth,and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord:

Who was conceived of the Holy Spirit,born of the Virgin Mary,suffered under Pontius Pilate,was crucified, died, and was buried.

He descended into hell.

The third day He arose again from the dead.

He ascended into heavenand sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty,whence He shall come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic [universal] church,the communion of saints,the forgiveness of sins,the resurrection of the body,and life everlasting.

Amen.

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When is it good to hate?  Is it ever good to hate? Why do people hate?  Are there things that you loathe and would not bat an eye if it were destroyed before your very eyes never to be seen or heard from again?

Romans 7:15-19

English Standard Version (ESV)

"15 For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. 16 Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. 17 So nowit is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. 18 For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. 19 For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing."

When we confess Jesus is Lord and believe in our heart that he was born of a virgin, died on a tree,  and rose again - we will be saved!  We then are a new creation in Christ, but we still have the old self (the flesh) battling against our new self in Christ.

think-on-these-things-2We were dead in sin and when we are saved, we are raised with Christ.  Therefore, God calls us to a new level of understanding (a call to action:  Read Romans 12 & Colossians 3).  We need to set our minds on thing above.  We need to put away the earthly things.  We need to clothe ourselves with love and kindness and putting on the love that binds and give thanks to God.

We need to train ourselves to hate the very things that God hates and that can it is wellturn us away from him.  For me, idols can be television, lust, pride and selfishness.  These things stand in my way and become idols that can separate me from God.  Therefore, knowing these things, I have to input his Word daily in my life and pray continually (throughout the day).  As we read in James, draw closer to God and he will draw closer to you.  The rest becomes a lot easier as then our old self and its desires is further away from our heart and the new self is being guided by the Holy Spirit.

Why should we hate sin:

  1. We should hate sin because of the suffering that sin causes.
  2. We should hate sin because not everyone will be rescued from the effects of sin.
  3. We should hate sin because the consequences of sin are even worse in the life to come.
  4. We should hate sin because of the way sin prevents us from benefiting from the mercy of God.
  5. We should hate sin so that we will stop sinning.
  6. We should hate sin because it diverts us away from the display of the glory of God.

When we focus more on him and less on us then we find his abundant life for us (Jeremiah 29) and we find his favor and peace.  He will not withhold the good and promised blessings that he has in store for us.  Please don't confuse this with the "perfect life" without trials and tribulations.  Remember that Jesus told us that those that bear his name will be persecuted.  Christianity was never promised to be easy street.

So what do you think on this?  Let us know some of your thoughts?

Blessings,

Dante

What can we learn from David and his mighty men...?

RaycoachingA few Saturday's ago in the morning of men's group, the facilitators talked about an article in the newspaper about a former Chicago Bears Linebacker, Mike Singletary, who is a coach in the NFL and had impacted some very big personalities (Vernon Davis and Ray Lewis).  Mike Singletary is a Christian man and the impact of his life and testimony off the field of battle (called the NFL) was clearly evident in these two controversial athletes.That being said, the conversation then turned to purely "man talk" (no crying aloud?).  We turned through various passages about David and his mighty men and the "three" and "thirty men" in particular.  What I found interesting is the different contrast (David and his mighty men compared compared to the Men of Faith at our church) but, then again, some similarities.  I am not comparing any of the guys in that room being able to kill 800 soldiers with a spear, but I would like to propose some other comparisons.

David's valiant menThere were 3 Chiefs in David's mighty men: 1) Josheb-Basshebeth, a Tahkemonite, was chief of the Three; he raised his spear against eight hundred men, whom he killed in one encounter. (2 Samuel 23:8). In Hebrew 'Tahkemonite' means one who possesses insight and practical wisdom.  2) Next to him was Eleazar son of Dodai the Ahohite. As one of the three mighty men, he was with David when they taunted the Philistines gathered at Pas Dammim for battle. Then the men of Israel retreated, but he stood his ground and struck down the Philistines till his hand grew tired and froze to the sword. The Lord brought about a great victory that day. The troops returned to Eleazar, but only to strip the dead. (2 Samuel  23:9–10). 'Eleazar', in Hebrew, means the Lord is my helper.  3) Next to him was Shammah son of Agee the Hararite. When the Philistines banded together at a place where there was a field full of lentils, Israel's troops fled from them. But Shammah took his stand in the middle of the field. He defended it and struck the Philistines down, and the Lord brought about a great victory. (2 Samuel 23:11–12).  The word 'Shammah', when used by itself, means ruin or desolation, but the names the word 'Agee' is similar to a word meaning flame and 'Hararite' means mountaineer.

The one thing that stuck out was the men that followed David to battle were not well established men in the local communities, but they were outcasts and social misfits and wayward men that followed David with no questions asked. They trusted each other.  They believed in his leadership and his right to be king of Israel.  They loved him and would die for him.

ArmorOfGodBringing that forward to modern day warfare, that is, we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers of this earth that are not of God.  We call this spiritual warfare.  We are told as Christians (and taught) that we should put on the whole armor of God - daily.

I propose that when David was walking with other men in his life (his mighty men, Jonathon, and so on) that he was held accountable.  His men would do anything for him - and they did.  He was fighting daily with them side by side.  He cared for others and led the way that God wanted him to lead.

However, when David become complacent and lost his accountability (fellowship with other men) - things happened - Bathsheeba and so on.  We are responsible for our growth - by reading the word of God daily.  By being a part of a community of believers.  By prayer and supplication.  By walking with others and listening to godly men preach God's word.

When we try to do it alone - trouble.  When we try to do it God's way - we travel the path of an abundant life that is only found in Him, his Son (Jesus Christ) and through his Spirit (that provides the growth in our lives).

What confirmed through that Saturday morning is that we all need this accountability in our life - a group of men that will go to war with me and carry me through any and every situation.  The most awesome thing that we learn through this is, "Less of me and more of God!"  What does that look like?

We have our answers, but do us a favor:  1) Join a men's group, or a bible study 2) if you don't have one, then ask some godly men in your local church to start a group and walk with each other (if that isn't happening) then 3) ask your Pastor or Elder to start one that you can be a part of - and grow!

Let us know how it goes,

Dante

 

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