When the Saints Go Marchin' In!

I adore this photo! They must have been cheering for me, I was trying so hard to help them kick that field goal! LOL


There was such unity in the city at that victorious moment, strangers hugging and laughing. New Orleans Saints fans had waited forty-three years for this!


I'm reminded of another moment, what it must have been like in the spirit realm when Jesus came out of that tomb! 

And I think of what that means for those who--who want it to:

From St. Paul's letter to the Colossians, Chapter 2

10 And you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority.


11 In him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature, not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision done by Christ,


12 having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead.


13 When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins,


14 having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross.


15 And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross!!!

Come on, saints! Let's tell our friends! Let's tell strangers on the street! That is worth cheering about!

Wordless Wednesday

Between Sundays, choosing the things that last....

I just visited  Between Sundays, my friend Robin Bayne's blog. She has posted reviews of her sweet romance, Prodigal. Take a look, maybe find a new favorite!    
                    

Between Sundays--love that name. I think of the passage of time plus the significance of Sundays.

And then there was Sinatra Sundays, a restaurant near where we lived. I liked that name, too. Made me think of a lazy Sunday listening to nice love songs.

Last time we saw it, the marquee sported a different name. Sinatra is gone, too, for that matter, although, of course, his music still lives on.

And for me, Sundays are seldom lazy, but full of choir, church, Bible study, dinner, nap, choir, church, all with my little part of God's family. I like it that way.

And Sundays--occasion to worship, anyway--and Jesus--and His music--are all still with us. And they will last forever.

Death on your doorstep--besides the moths. LOL

So, what is this death on your doorstep? LOL

Not the moths flying around your lightbulbs. And not by an armed intruder.

But darling people. Ringing your bell, they want to rescue you and justify themselves before God. But, blinded by the god of this age, they are dying in their own sins with false religions.

You have a mission field on your doorstep, as the late, great Walter Martin would say.

It's a new year, and groups will be revving up to go out and knock on doors. Including yours.

Will you turn them away to die in their sins or will you give them the Truth and Light of the real Jesus Christ?

It's not that hard. Just three Bible passages could do it.

Jude verse 3--"contend (argue vigorously) for the faith once (Greek--once and for all) delivered to the saints." There is no new revelation since the Holy Spirit closed the canon and separated literature and history books from the inspired Word of God.

Revelation may still come today in a word of wisdom or a word of knowledge to someone about a given situation.

But there is no new doctrine. The Gospel is a done deal. God protects His Word, and there are verses about that. But let's stick with these three passages for today.

This one's easy to remember, II Corinthians 11:3-4--the II looks like the 11. That's two digits,then, 3,4:

"3But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent's cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ. 4For if someone comes to you and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it easily enough."

Paul points out that some of the people were not bothered by various doctrines that were false. They were adapting them and being led astray.

Of course, if they receive another spirit, that spirit will lead them to receive another jesus and another gospel. All false. All deception.

Today, it's easier than in Paul's time. We have the Word written down and we can easily learn what is right. And there is only one real Jesus.

And there is a terrible penalty for adapting the real Jesus to suit another doctrine and presenting this false Jesus to others:

Galatians 1:6-9 NIV "6I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— 7which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. 8But even if we or an *angel from heaven*  should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned! 9As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned!"

Please read that last line again--eternally condemned.

And after asking them to look up this Galatians passage, we may say this to the darling young people who want to lead us astray without realizing it: "We must be very sure we are presenting the Gospel that the Bible teaches--the real Jesus. Otherwise, we are eternally condemned. Cursed. You are so cute and sweet, and you are so kind, wanting to rescue me. But I am so afraid for you. If your leaders are wrong, Paul says you are cursed." Blunt? You bet.

And the truth of those three passages will make some in cults eventually rethink what they have learned from their leaders and books.

Martin defined cults as groups that hold a book and/or a leader equal to or above the Word of God. The group may small or huge. No matter.

The issue is: Who is Jesus? Walter Martin said that if you miss that, you have missed it all.

(And by the way, page 110 of the popular The Shack says that Jesus is the best way to the Father. He is not. He is the only way to the Father. If The Shack is the only "Christian" book a non-Christian reads, he or she has missed it all.)

Jesus is not just a good person. He is not just Plan B when the Garden of Eden didn't work out.

Jesus is God in the flesh:

The Word was God, and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, the only Son of the Father. John 1:1-14

How did that happen? I don't know. But it's easy if you're God.

These cults may already know John 3:16: "For God loved the world so much, He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life."

But they may see him as a way-show-er, and not the only way.

He is the only way. God in the flesh. Jesus Christ is Lord of all.

Maggie, the heroine in my work in progress, thought she was a Christian, thought she was saved. She loved and appreciated Jesus. She even said "God is love." But she didn't really know Him and she paid a price with pain and chaos in her happy life until she found the Way, the Truth, the Life of the real Jesus. Then someone introduced her to Him. And for the most part, they all lived happily ever after.

If someone knocks on your door with a different Jesus, please take a moment and tell them those three passages. It only takes a moment, and the results last forever.

Warning: It can be addictive, rescuing people. Martin says to do your homework and give the Holy Spirit something to work with. He will bring things to your remembrance, and sometimes give you amazing things to say that you know you would have never thought of.

Should you decide to study further, Comparing Christianity with Cults   and Comparing Christianity with Cults  2 are charts that compare the Word of God itself and what men are saying.

The same charts are found online: Chart 1, Chart 2.

Happy and blessed 2010.

Photo at Gardener's Cottage, Scotland.