The Soul Still Burns

I have officially made the switch over to Wordpress. While I haven't been there long (today actually), after talking with a friend about my blogging state right now, she convinced me to switch to another service.

Basically, I love LiveJournal but this blog has gotten to be too unorganized for me. Not only that, my constant switch of templates is annoying me and I'm certain it is annoying people looking at my blog. Basically, I'm having symptoms of needing to make a major change. My friend suggesting simply switching blog providers completely. So I will and I have.

My new blog is here.

I'm going to add my friends from here to my blogroll on my new blog to keep looking and I will keep this open so I can post as my ID but I won't be posting any blogs here any longer.

It's been an awesome 4 years on this thing and that's the reason why I've had such a hard time leaving (also why I'm not closing it) but it's time I get something different. Hopefully, this will get me back into blogging and this time, I won't overwhelm myself. KISS.

Adios LJ.

Hope y'all continue to check me out over at my new one!

Finding it hard to continuously be obedient

As the weeks have gone on in my life, I have been struggling with the very thing I keep telling other people to do. Being obedient is one of those things that I truly think is what will take me to the next level and for the most part, I have no problem doing what God says. It's when God asks me to do the very obnoxious things like open-air preaching that begin to really test me. I have been going to God about it but I have not delved that deep into the bible yet. The things I know is that I have a problem with man-pleasing and trusting that God will protect my scared heart.

I believe I will overcome in the near future but to be frank, time is running out for me...


Ministered to someone on the bus

Speaking of obedience, I had encounter where I did obey God and got into this discussion with a Catholic man about why he did not go to church or do what the bible says. He said he was influenced by the corruption of the church. That is what drove him to leave (he also said he was lazy) the faith.

While some things in the church are fabricated or misinterpreted, many other things people say is true. As Christians, it is so imperative that we live lifestyles that are in line with Jesus. When we don't, that is when people begin to hold things against our faith and that will further push them away from Jesus. 1 Thessalonians says to "Avoid every kind of evil." In order for someone to find corruption in the church, there would have to be some sort of evil. Undoubtedly people will make mistakes but there are some that are simply inexcusable. Adultery, rape, murder, these things are some of the heinous things and if a pastor was caught doing any of those things, it would affect the outlook on God. Now if we caught a pastor jaywalking, we may not be as inclined to leave the church but still, 1 Thess. says what it says for a reason.

I eventually challenged the man to follow Jesus and not man. Jesus was perfect and while there is corruption in churches, there is none in Jesus. He sat and listened to me and I could tell the Holy Spirit was moving on his heart. His name, coincidentally, was Paul. I don't know what he thought about after I got off that bus but I believe God's word will not return to Him void.

Landed a new job

Today I had an "interview" with the media crew apart of SDSU's Enrollment Services. I was referred to them by the head of Enrollment Services and she basically got me the job before I even got the job. So, I put in my two weeks to Juice It Up tomorrow and I will start working with them as soon as I get my paperwork turned in and such. God is good!

Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him. ~ James 1:12

Tonight, I went to Pastor Al's basketball game and his team, a high school team, was playing in the quarterfinals of the CIF Division 5 championships and they were playing the number one team in the division. I was excited to see them play because in the past, they would have never made it this far. They had terrible coaches, they had trouble winning any games and quite frankly, the team was simply garbage.

The team has had different coaches for about the last two or three years. With new coaches come new playing styles and with new playing styles come new things to learn all the time. With all that coming at a group of players year after year, it becomes hard to adapt to coaching and the chemistry of the team altogether. This year, they had overcome that though. This year, they made it to the quarterfinals.

I'm going to put it plainly. On paper, they were looking at very insurmountable odds. The assistant coach and I were talking earlier and going through different scenarios about what we would say to a team that is facing these odds.

We came to the game a few minutes late and the team was down by seven. I was happy to see that they were playing with intensity, playing with spirit and playing like it was a playoff game. However, by the half, the opposing team was up by 20. The second half was going to be the trial of their lives as far as the basketball world is concerned.

When both teams came out to play again, unfortunately, the number 1 team, played like the number 1 team and steamrolled our squad. Our squad began losing their cool, they could not focus, they were playing sloppy and by the fourth quarter, they had given up. They lost the game in their minds. This was their trial and unfortunately, they did not keep heart.

No matter where we are, in life, in a game, whatever, i it is important to do our best at all times. I have been under some extreme temptations and quite frankly, I have lost many of them. But the ones I overcame, I felt like I could overcome anything. I also felt built in my faith knowing that my God was with me. When we began getting blown out, the test for us was were we going to keep our spirits high and still play hard? Were we going to play like we were down by one with a few seconds to go? No matter if we continued to lose, we would have learned a valuable lesson. We would have received a crown where we did not lost heart.

Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength. ~ Nehemiah 8:10

I can guarantee that team felt like they were wasting away. I felt like it myself and I was watching the game. My cheering went from loud to soft, to random spurts of shouting to play defense, to facepalming, to nothingness. My heart could not even take it. If I would have kept my joy, knowing that God was teaching all of us something, or at least all of us who could learn something, then I would have kept my joy, not gotten frustrated and kept on cheering.

Through trials, we have to persevere. Through trials, we have to keep our joy because that is the only thing that will keep us going. Nothing will will. When we come out of that trial, we will receive our crown and we will become more mature in our walk with God. Hopefully, those kids will become more mature in their experience of this loss and come back next year with a new resolve.

There are so many Christians in the world that are living under their privileges and living defeated. We have seen it with a recent amount of fallen pastors, "local" Christians who are going off the deep end due to the economy, etc. After following God and seeing his goodness, what makes a Christian do things that are contrary to God and His nature? The main reason is that there are missing the word of God in their life.

The Israelites acted like this after they were released from Egypt's stiff grip. They began griping and complaining all the time and even coming to the point where they wanted to go back to the bondage that was Egypt. How insulting is that? If I was God, I would have brought them right back. God is obviously more sovereign and patient and he even put up with their junk for forty years. They never changed and because of it, that generation lost their privilege to the promise land.

We live in a world that lives totally contrary to the Word of God. Even the basic ten commandments are laws that everyone knows but everyone breaks in some form or fashion at some given point and time. With all this sin in the world all around us, how are we supposed continue living for God? The key is the Word of God itself.

The Word of God is our manual for success. For whatever situation we face, there is an instruction to overcome that situation. For example, since we’re in a struggling economy right now, let’s say you were having some financial trouble. Your bill is due very soon and you’re having trouble getting hours from your job to pay that bill. As Christians, we are supposed to live by the Word of God. The Word says in Philippians 4:19 that God shall supply all my need. That would be the solution to our problem.

Romans 12:2 - Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.


( Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world )

( but be transformed by the renewing of your mind )

( Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is )

Seeing that this is Valentine's Day, I thought it would be great to give God some love. We always think about how to give others love; we write cards to our friends, our significant others, wives, husbands, parents, etc, etc but, at least online, I do not see people give God enough love. So, I figure I'd give God some extra love today by looking at our favorite love scripture in the bible, 1 Corinthians 13.

1 Corinthians 13:1-3

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.

If you have ever heard anyone talk to a person without love, people tend to tune them out. Why? There is a lack of love involved in what they are saying. It's happened to me a billion times, especially when I'm angry. The great thing about God, is that he never sounds like a gong or a clanging cymbal. Why is that? He has love when He speaks to us. Nothing God says is ever without love. When he encourages us, it is in love; when he rebukes us, it is in love. That is an amazing God we serve!

( Continue reading... )

( 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 )

I Want Will Call!

If you have ever bought tickets online, then you know probably have experienced some issues; either with the site itself or just mental breakdowns from not fully understanding this new age of technology. The latter is something I went through.



It's about eight o clock in the morning and I'm trying to buy tickets online at ticketforce.com. I have never bought tickets online before so this was a new experience for me. The only experience I have is simply just being on the internet and filling out various forms to gain access to stuff. In fact, the only reason why I had to register for the site was because they did not allow "anonymous" people buy tickets. That is completely understandable--you can use your credit card on the site.

After filling out all the information, I proceed to buy my tickets. Huffing and puffing over the extra fees, I buy the tickets and move on to how I want to receive them. I choose "will call." Will Call lets a person grab the tickets at the box office where the concert is. I did not trust the mailing services so that is what I went for.

I move on to the next screen and it then states that I need my billing address to match my credit card info. That totally makes sense but at 8 o clock in the morning, it did not click in. I hit the "back" button to get my Will Call option and it kept bringing me the same info. I was so confused. I was thinking that it was asking me for my address to bill me at for my purchase. I'm thinking "Wait, I'm buying them now, why am I paying later?" There was skepticism on my part of the site as a whole since I had never been on it so that did not help.

I call my Mom and she tells me that they are asking for my billing address to match my credit card info to make sure the card is not stolen. Wow. Foolish me. Completely slipped my mind. It is amazing how the brain can forget stuff in the state of confusion and frustration.

Where's My Flowers?

( Continue Reading )

Bus Chatter

( Click here to see the rest )

Working the Patience

( Continue Reading... )

Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. ~Romans 12:1-2

And do not be conformed to this world,

There are two things in our Christian walk we can be conformed to: the world or the Word of God. The choice is up to us. Right here, God (I know Paul wrote this but it is God either way) tells us not to be conformed to the world. I think He is trying to warn us about something.

God is warning us about conforming to this world and how it does things. The scripture is not talking about the planet Earth when it mentions "world" but it means the "world system." The Earth is, unfortunately, controlled by Satan and the methods of Satan are evil, unjust and full of sin. This is what God does not want us to conform to. The word conform in this scripture keeps the typical meaning. Noah Webster's dictionary defines conform as: to be in accord or harmony; to comply; to be obedient; to submit; -- with to or with. Now, if we were to go back and read that little snippet with this definition in mind it could read as: And do not be obedient to this world...; do not comply with this world...; do not come to be in harmony with this world...; do not submit to this world system..., etc.

If we are moving in this world system and doing things how the world does it, then we are conforming to this world. Period. I just went through a situation today where I got angry and conformed to how the world would react in the situation. I should have been more patient as Jesus would have been but I was not. I was frustrated and I spoke out my frustration and consequently, I had to apologize to the person I spoke out the frustration to.

Another example would be safe sex. While safe sex does make sex safer, it is the world's way of excusing sin. Let's be real. If people would gain control of their bodies, we would not have the ridiculous spread of STD's. Of course, people would say "but it's natural..." but according to God, it is conforming to the world's way of doing things. This is what we, as Christians are trying to stay away from.

but be transformed by the renewing of your mind

This is the meat of my topic--thoughts. Transformation of the mind. Our mind is, I think, the biggest and hardest battle ground we have to fight on. The thoughts that our minds can potentially meditate on are dangerous. If we really think on this for a moment, there is not one thing we do that does not take a thought beforehand. Even what we call "knee-jerk reactions" need a thought to have that sort of reaction. There have been so many times where someone has come up behind me and has unintentionally startled me and my first reaction is to "protect myself." The thought that goes through my mind in that quick instance is "defend" but once I see the person, I relax and let everything go because I realize it is just my friend. If we can gain control of the thoughts that enter our minds, than we can win a lot of the battles that we are having trouble with. In order to do that, it will take a transformation of our minds and a continual renewal.

The word transform, in this scripture means to change, transform or transfigure. One of the definitions of transform is to change in nature, disposition, heart, character, or the like; to convert. We can now read that scripture and say: but be changed in nature...; but be changed in disposition...; but be changed in heart...; but be changed in character..., etc. Unfortunately, when we get saved, our minds are not exactly rid of worldly thought which is why we will need transformation. This only comes by renewing of our minds.

I always read that last part and love how it says "renewing" instead of "getting a renewed..." The way it is worded implies that this renewal process is ongoing--something we will have to do daily.  "Renewing" in this passage means to "renovate." We have all been in, or seen houses that could use some renovation; some more than others. The ones that need some serious renovation, we may consider buying but only if we have the necessary money do it. The houses that need small amounts of renovation are always ones to be desired. They look good and there is not much to pay for to renovate it. Well, after we get saved, we could use some renovation. The thing is, it will take a lifetime. This is something we have to work at for the rest of our lives. We may not necessarily struggle with it, but we might chip some paint and it will be time to renovate with the Word of God.

And that is the other point. We can only renew our minds with the Word of God. We can only change our thoughts with the Word of God. No other source can do what God's Word can do. This is another reason why we cannot be conformed to this world; the world cannot renew our minds. While the world may have fair philosophies, those philosophies are based on the Word--at least the ones that work. There are some philosophies that have some questionable inspiration. God's Word is the truth and as followers of the truth, we have to conform our thoughts to it.

Tags: thoughts

There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear: because fear has torment. He that fears is not made perfect in love. ~1 John 4:18

There is no fear in love;

Really... in my own natural mind, I would have never gussed that. In today's society, we tend to associate fear with love. We see it all the time when parents are freaking out over their children about something. We see it when we are almost ready to graduate and we fear if our grades are going to get us through. We see it when the bank account is low and the rent is due. We see it when father's have been laid off from a job and they fear how to take care of families. In our society, we pretty much think if you are not in fear, you do not care and if you do not care, you are not loving. But according to God, He comes at it from a entirely different angle.

There have been times when God told me to pray for someone and I didn't. The reason why I didn't was because I was fearful about some cockamamy idea in my head. But if I was walking in the love of God, I would have prayed for that person--no hesitation. That is the point God is trying to get across to us in this part of the scripture. There is no fear in love. That means that no matter the situation, love has to take care of it. The best thing about that is, love is God. God is love. So if God is love, then that means He should be handling all our situations or we should be handling our situations as the way Love would handle them. If we are doing that, certainly there is no reason to fear.

Now we have an understanding as to why there would be no fear in love but why is there no fear in love? God, in his infinite wisdom answers that question for us.

...but perfect love casts out fear

Ah. Well, that makes sense. If we have perfect love then that would certainly eradicate the fear in our lives. There is only one problem--we are not perfect. If we are not perfect people, why would God ask us to do something perfectly? Because that word perfect does not mean "without flaw," it actually means "mature." God already knows we can't be perfect so to demand that we have flawless love to get rid of fear would be a very tall order. We are out to strive to be like Jesus, who was perfect but let's be real with ourselves, we may make a tiny mistake here and there.

Now we can read that verse with more confidence. Mature love is what casts out fear and mature love loves the way God would love. He is love after all so there would be no better person to follow our love endeavours after.

After those first two lines, we have already learned what the importance of love is in our walk with God--it distinguishes fear. God does not stop there with the verse, however. There is something he needs to explain to us.

...because fear has torment.

Why did God put this in there? He is letting us know why love is so important. Something that torments us needs to be removed; it does not matter who it is. Torment is something that haunts you in your sleep, you can't eat because of something that is tormenting you; your constantly thinking about during work; you can't hold decent conversations with people because what is on your mind is tormenting you. When fear has reached that point, it takes a mature love to remove that and that is what God is trying to tell us. Mature love removes fear and you want to remove it because fear has torment. Anxiety is another word you can use. No matter what word you use to replace it, only mature love removes fear.

That does not mean that "amateur lovers" cannot remove fear. It is saying, only the love of God, the mature love of God, can remove fear. Our own version of love cannot remove it. Only God's love. You can be a newborn Christian and have fear but if you break out that Word and confess God's word over the situation, reminding yourself Love Himself said it, that fear will go along with the torment. If it comes back, break out the Word again.

He that fears is not made perfect in love.

And to cap off the verse, God simply puts all that I've written into one succinct sentence. If you are in fear, you are not mature in love. That is the scale of your love meter. If you are in great fear, then your love is immature. If your fear is low, your love is mature. Take inventory of the fearful situations of your life and think back on how you handled them. If you handled them in love, praise God and do it again! If you did not, then praise God for showing you your error and do it next time!

It's great that we have a Father, a Daddy, who loves us so much that He would pour out all this love on us. Giving up His son to death, providing for us, giving us the same rights as His son Jesus, protecting us, giving us so much grace, giving us the opportunity to come back to Him through forgivness; the list can go on and on. The least we could do, is love others as we would love ourselves and love our God. With that love, comes no fear. I think it's time we mature our love.

Tags: fear

He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall remain stable and fixed under the shadow of the Almighty. ~Psalms 91:1

Psalms 91 is referring to the protection of God's people. When people think about protecting themselves, they commonly refer to Psalms 91 to stand on. Rightly so. It is a chapter that covers a lot of bases. However, this first verse alone is what captured my interest when I was reading it.

In relation to making no provision (Romans 13:14), it is important that I, we, whoever, remain in the Word. While the scripture does say "secret place," and I honestly do not know off the top of my head what that is defined as in this particular scripture but knowing how important it is to stay in the Word, I can definitely say the Word of God is included within this. The Bible talks about being transformed by the renewing of our minds (Romans 12:2). We cannot renew our minds unless we are reading the Word of God and applying it. Based on that, we cannot remain stable and fixed under the shadow of the Almighty without having the Word girding us up.

The verse talks about dwelling. I am in my apartment right now; my dwelling place. This is where I eat, where I sleep, where I lounge around, where I do homework sometimes, where I take showers--it is my dwelling place. It is where I do most of my activity. If we are to remain stable and fixed under the shadow of the Almighty, we are going to have to dwell in His Word. It will have to be the epicenter of our lives. How we communicate with people, how we love people, how we learn what to do in certain situations, etc. It is where we do everything. We sleep with it, eat with it, take showers with it. That does not mean we must take the physical bible book everywhere, although that helps but it means we need to be meditating on it day and night (Psalms 1:2).

If we are in the Word, then there will be no provision for the flesh. It is either the Word or the flesh. Depending on which is more second nature to us can really show us if we are more prone to the Word or the flesh.

First of all, happy new year to everyone! I hope everyone had fun celebrating bringing in the new year. 08 was great but I believe 09 will be even greater!

I just wanted to dedicate this blog to God for bringing me though 08. 08 in and of itself was great but it had many different struggles, tests, and victories. There were so many that would be ridiculous to write them all but God stuck with me through all my worst sins, my bad attitudes, my pessimism and my hypocrisy. In fact, before the year ended I truly thought that God was through me because I kept making mistakes.

Well, that year is over now and 09 has begun. I thank God for bringing me through 08. I had many great lessons that year that I could use and now I have to put them into action for this next year; along with whatever God has been teaching me in 08.

God is truly awesome and I am excited to see what He will come up with in 09!

Genesis 12

I always like looking back at Abraham when I need something to study or just marvel at. The amount of faith this man had, by himself, was, and still is, astonishing.

Here is a man that lived with his father and family for seventy-five years. That is a really long time to be living with your family. I think even my mom and dad would have kicked me out the house by then--married or not. Eventually, God tells Abram to get out of his father's house and go to a land that He will show him. Well, if that was me, I would look at God strangely. We all know God is God and He knows best but at least tell me where I am going. God was testing his faith though and he needed to break the ties with his family. What God was trying to accomplish in this man could not be done in the city he was living or staying with his family. God did not tell him to move his family to a land where He would show them but he had to get out the city and his father's house. What did Abraham do? He left with no complaints.

How amazing is that? I'm still rationalizing things and wondering "was this God?" but Abram just got up and did it. If I had to make any logical assumptions, I think that is what God wants us to do. Nike our faith. Just do it.

Genesis 15

We;re in Genesis 15 now and God has settled down with Abram and wants to give him a little more information about what He's trying to do for him. God tells Abram that He is Abram's reward but Abram says "God, I have no child so how can you give me anything? My stuff is going to Eleazar of Damascus..." God stops him in tracks and tells him that Eleazar is not going to be his heir. Then God takes him outside, shows him the stars and tells him that if he can count them, that's how many descendants he'll have. Of course, Abram could not count them all so its immediately known that his descendants will be countless. After God said all of this, seemingly, impossible stuff, Abram believed Him. In essence he said "Okay."

Abram must have been doubting a little bit though because then he asks God, the one who does not lie, if there was a way he could know whether this was really true or not. Back in those times, things said were sealed in blood. That was the way people knew you were serious and God understood Abram's concern. So he made a covenant with Abram and that sealed the deal.

Genesis 22

Abram, now Abraham, has been walking with God now for a little time and Sarah, formerly Sarai, gave birth to Isaac. The promise had been fulfilled and now begins the descendants of Abraham. God, being who He is, needs to test faithfulness. It is not uncommon for people to receive gifts from God and then completely ditch Him so God had to see what Abraham would do in a certain situation.

God told Abraham to sacrifice his son. The son He gave him, the son He promised him, his firstborn son was a sacrificial lamb. That would have thrown me off. God gave this kid to him and now He him to sacrifice it? That is pretty cruel God.

Abraham knew God too well by this time though. You can tell by the way he talked to his servants telling them that they would return after the sacrifice was over. He proclaimed both he and Isaac were coming back. God told him to sacrifice the child but Abraham is saying that they are both coming back? Abraham knew that God was not going to rob him of his promise--not after all they had been through. It only meant one of two things: 1. Either God was going to stop him from sacrificing Isaac or 2. God was going to bring him back to life. Well, we know what happens.

Abraham ties Isaac to the altar he built and brings up the knife to kill but the angel of the Lord stops from doing it. He was willing to sacrifice the gift God gave him in order to show that God was number one. If that is not a convicting move, then your heart has to be hardened. There are plenty of times I have put God last for something far less important.

Abraham's obedience and faithfulness is definitely something to be emulated. He was not perfect but he got it right in the end and as they say "It's not how you start the race, it's how finish."

Lawyer: Ex-Pats OL Villa to plead not guilty to child rape charges

Whether this is true or not, whether or not the man actually did this since he is pleading "not guilty" (although many people plead 'not guilty' when they are), just the fact that he has been accused of this is tragic. If you read the article, this coach was like a father to some of the players he coached and now to see his career at this school go down the drain in a child rape charge is terrible.

What did this man allow in his life to be accused of this and if he did do this, what did he allow in his life for him to go through something so horrid. He did not rape a grown woman, which is still terrible, but a young child, which is on a new level of disgusting.

While I do not have all the details since I am going off what the news said, it is clear; this man allowed provision to his flesh. He let it get so far in his life that it led him to do something heinous and disgusting. That is why it is so important to not think about how to gratify your flesh. One thing leads to another and it can definitely be assumed that rape was not the first thing he did; it probably started with something littler--perhaps pornography; that may have led to child pornography; that could have led to desiring a child; which in finality leads to thinking about how to get that which his flesh is desiring and going for it.

That sequence is proposed and not true for him but it is an example of how he could have potentially made provision for his flesh which leads to one thing, and another thing, and another, and another.

Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature. ~Romans 13:14

When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time. ~Luke 4:13

It has been a little while since I have updated my study on this topic of fleshly provision but that is because there has not been much to write on--up until now. When going through the gospels, the life of Jesus is not made up of much provision and of course, he makes provision for the flesh for nothing. We especially see that in the garden of Gesthemene. However, in studying provision, I came across Luke 4:13 which is definitely worth mentioning.

As I have stated before, with biblical backing, thoughts will come, but that does not mean we have to yield to the thoughts in our head. Satan will always bombard us with thoughts, ideas and suggestions just as he did Jesus in the desert but we saw how Jesus refused to yield to them. Here is the interesting note: Satan will come back for another round.

You would think that after you beat him up with the word once he would never come back. Unfortunately, that is not the case. Even he attacked Jesus more than once. It is clear it was once in the desert and once in the Gesthemene garden. Luke 4:13 proves that Satan will come back to tempt you. Again, we do not have to yield to it. But just remember, the reason why we make no provision for the flesh or think about how to gratify the flesh is that so when he does come back, because he will, we will have no fuel for him.

It is also important for us to keep our minds renewed--everyday. Romans 12:2 says:

  Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is-his good, pleasing and perfect will.

How are we transformed? By the renewing of our minds. This is not a one-time process; it is something that is coninual, ongoing for the rest of your life type of deal. It must be done everyday. The patterns of this world are constantly bombarding us, which means we have to renew our minds just as much. We cannot step out into the world and expect to survive the onslaught on our spirits with out the word. No. We have to read it everyday. We have to do it everyday. That is the only way we will not be conformed to this world. And that will make gratifying the flesh harder to do. The word will becomes so thick that it will be hard for you to sin. Why? Because your mind will be so renewed and so in tune with how God does things, you will not want to do anything that would go against him.

To renew your mind is to not think about how to gratify your flesh. You're killing two birds with one stone. Marvelous.

Tags: jesus, God, provision, Gesthemene

Someone sent me this over instant messenger and this would be one explanation as to why people would dislike, or even hate, Christans and God so much...


YouTube - Stupid woman on Fox News

Yesterday, I had to get a new bus pass sticker because the one I bought was falling off. I attempted to get a replacement at school but they did not have anymore so the only option I had was to go downtown to the MTS Store and pick one up.

I leave my house and walk to the bus stop that is near my house and the next bus approaches. I get out my school ID that my sticker is on. In my mind, I am preparing to tell the bus driver that I am getting a new sticker because it is already to the point that my sticker looks a little suspect. The rule for this sticker is: if you buy a sticker and it comes off showing the "void" letters behind it, then it becomes void and you cannot use it any longer and you have to buy another one. This is what I was trying to avoid with what little sticker I had left.

I step into the bus and show him my sticker as other people are putting in their dollars and quarters to get their ticket. I show him my sticker very clearly and I tell him I am on my way to get a replacement. He turns away but quickly turns back to look at it again, grabs it while saying "give me that thing" and proceeds to slide the rest of my sticker off and peel off the sliver back revealing the "void" behind it. It all happened so fast I was too stunned to say anything. He handed me my ID back and said "I'll take you to to the store."

I was mad.

( Continue Reading )

RIAA to halt lawsuits, cozy up to ISPs instead : Ben Patterson : Yahoo! Tech

If they actually went through with any of these options, it could end up being very effective.

Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature. ~Romans 13:14

There are now two examples; one from the Old Testament showing a mistake and one from the Old Testament showing the correct action. Now it is time to move out of the Old Testament and into the New Testament. This is, after all, the covenant us Christians live under (although the Old Testament is still heavily relevant). So who better to look at in the Old Testament than Jesus himself. The man we should all model ourselves after. ( Continue Reading )

Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature. ~Romans 13:14

I analyzed the story of Joseph but I am actually going to take it backwards into the Old Testament. I am going to analyze what happened with Adam and Eve. We all know they made provision for the flesh but I am going to analyze what caused them to fall into that sin.

Genesis 3

1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden'?"

Here it is. The serpent approaches the woman and tempts her with the one thing she is not supposed to do by causing her to doubt. "Did God really say..." is the words he uses to get her to think about what God said.
( Continue Reading )

Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature. ~Romans 13:14

The last two posts talked about what I need to, according to the verse and other verses, in order to abstain from gratifying the desires of my sinful nature. I wrote about clothing myself with Christ, which would be immersing myself in His word. Then I talked about the other half of this scripture showing I need to refrain from thinking about how to gratify my flesh, which is done by making no provision for the flesh and clothing myself with Christ. Now that I have laid all that out, it is time to look at situations in the Bible where people have acted out this scripture. The first one I am going to show is part of the story of Joseph.

We all know that Joseph was a man full of favor. He had favor with Potiphar, the prison guard and Pharaoh himself. However, being the man he was, he was tempted also with things that could cause him to go against God. Let's take a look at Genesis 39.


Joseph came into this man's house with favor. He had control of everything in Potiphar's house except his wife. That was the only thing Joseph did not have control over and he knew it and he respected it. Potiphar's wife had different plans however. She liked what she saw in Joseph and consequently, she wanted to have sex with him--marriage did not matter.

According to the base verse Romans 13:14, let's see how Joseph handled the situation.

Now Joseph was well-built and handsome, 7 and after a while his master's wife took notice of Joseph and said, "Come to bed with me!"

8 But he refused. "With me in charge," he told her, "my master does not concern himself with anything in the house; everything he owns he has entrusted to my care. 9 No one is greater in this house than I am. My master has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?" 10 And though she spoke to Joseph day after day, he refused to go to bed with her or even be with her.

We see in verse 7 Joseph was tempted by this woman. And when she is asking to come to bed, she is not asking to take a nap together, she is asking for sexual relations. This girl held nothing back in her approach. As a man, I know if a woman came up to me like that, I have one decision to make and I would have to make it quick. That is what Joseph does. First, he explains the authority his master, her husband, has put him in charge and how much of an honor that is. To cap it off, he flatly tells her that he cannot sin against God. Right there, he clothed himself with Christ. He immersed himself with the reason why he could not do such a thing and that gave him the strength to keep her off and it helped--for one day.

In verse 10, we find out she kept asking him--everyday. What did Joseph do? We see that provision is there and in this case, it is coming to him. The verse goes on to say that he refused to go to bed or even be with her. He completely cut her off. Obviously, there had to be moments where he could not get away from her because he obviously worked in the house she lived in but he made it a point to stay away from her if he could. He did not make provision for his flesh. Even in the times when he was around her, he refused to lie with her and I am sure if he had to give any explanation, it was no different than the first one he gave. He was sold on God and he did not want to sin against God. The story does not end here though.

11 One day he went into the house to attend to his duties, and none of the household servants was inside. 12 She caught him by his cloak and said, "Come to bed with me!" But he left his cloak in her hand and ran out of the house.

Verse 11 points out something very discreet but important: none of the household servants were inside. While the above verses do not say so, it is safe to assume that in the other instances of Potiphar's wife asking to lie with him, household servants were inside. There is a different atmosphere where you know people are watching you and in that case, a person is more inclined to do good if someone is watching. However, this is the real test. There was no one inside. It was just him and Potiphar's wife. I am positive that he could feel the difference in that house that day.

In this instance, Potiphar's wife does not hold anything back. She does not do anything first but instead grabs his cloak. First off, there is a whole 'nother spirit that is present when a woman comes on to a man like that. A man has to be on his A game in order to recover from something like that. Clothed with Christ? Immersion? It is a must in this type of situation. Men are lustful by flesh nature. If a woman comes onto a man like that, by flesh, there is nothing that will stop a man from having sex with her. In that instance, it is almost like "well, if you're that desparate, fine!" But as Christians, we have to live by a different standard which is what can make this situation so difficult. I am telling it like it is.

So this woman has grabbed this man by his cloak and proceeds to say "Come to bed with me!" Remember how I said before that he had to make a decision on what he was going to do and he had to make it quick? Joseph made an instant decision. In order to get out of that situation, the only option he had was to run. The spirit of lust was so strong he had to flee altogether. There was no explanation of why he was not going to lie with her or simple refusal; she knew those reasons. At that moment, it was time for pure spiritual reaction.

Provision came to him and even latched on to him but he ran. "Chicken." You might say that but guess what? He stayed out of sin and continued in righteousness. Making no provision for the flesh is doing just that; making no provision for the flesh. Joseph removed himself completely from the situation in order to guarantee there was no provision for his flesh.
 

Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature. ~ Romans 13:14 (NIV)

But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts. (NKJV)

What does in mean to not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature?

As a man, before I was walking with God, I was somewhat of a player. I knew all the girls, they liked me and consequently, I would play them. Some caught on to it, others did not but looking back, all I was thinking about was how to satisfy my desires--my sinful nature to be exact. Back in the day, there was rarely a time where I was trying to do something nice for a girl just to be nice. Now, doing that is all too common but that is not what I did back then. I did whatever I could to get what I wanted out of a girl and again, there was no good intention behind it all. Sometimes it looked like I was doing good for the girl but in the grand scheme of things, I was only setting them up.

Capping that off, I was trying to gratify my sinful nature. I thought about the things I could do in order to satisfy what my flesh was craving. That is the very thing I am not supposed to do. If I go after the sinful desires of my flesh, then I am going against God and I am not clothed with Him.

( Continue Reading )