We Play The Whore....

Take a few moments and think deeply about your spouse...
How much you love them...
care for them...
cherish them....
the intimacy you have with them...
Think of the deep rooted connection you have with them on a physical and emotional level.

Now the hard part....
Think of how you would feel if he/she unashamedly, brazenly, willfully went out and repeatedly cheated on you with another person, with out remorse...
The hurt..
The sorrow...
The anguish..
Anger..
Disappointment..

This is how God feels about each and everyone of us, when He so graciously gives us life, food, shelter, clothes, family, spouses, and all the other pleasures on earth, and we unashamedly turn our backs on Him, and turn to others and other things as the things we love instead of Almighty God.
The prophet Ezekiel preached the following to the nation of Israel, since they had prostituted themselves to other idols and repeatedly turned their back on God who had chosen them as a special nation for Himself, taken them out of captivity and given them a land especially for them, yet they spit it all back in His face.
This passage should truly sober us, if we realize we have done the same thing to God. We must turn from our adulterous ways, by repenting and putting our faith in Christ!

Ezekiel 16:4-43

# And as for your birth, on the day you were born your cord was not cut, nor were you washed with water to cleanse you, nor rubbed with salt, nor wrapped in swaddling cloths.
# No eye pitied you, to do any of these things to you out of compassion for you, but you were cast out on the open field, for you were abhorred, on the day that you were born.
# "And when I passed by you and saw you wallowing in your blood, I said to you in your blood, 'Live!' I said to you in your blood, 'Live!'
# I made you flourish like a plant of the field. And you grew up and became tall and arrived at full adornment. Your breasts were formed, and your hair had grown; yet you were naked and bare.
# "When I passed by you again and saw you, behold, you were at the age for love, and I spread the corner of my garment over you and covered your nakedness; I made my vow to you and entered into a covenant with you, declares the Lord GOD, and you became mine.
# Then I bathed you with water and washed off your blood from you and anointed you with oil.
# I clothed you also with embroidered cloth and shod you with fine leather. I wrapped you in fine linen and covered you with silk.
# And I adorned you with ornaments and put bracelets on your wrists and a chain on your neck.
# And I put a ring on your nose and earrings in your ears and a beautiful crown on your head.
# Thus you were adorned with gold and silver, and your clothing was of fine linen and silk and embroidered cloth. You ate fine flour and honey and oil. You grew exceedingly beautiful and advanced to royalty.
# And your renown went forth among the nations because of your beauty, for it was perfect through the splendor that I had bestowed on you, declares the Lord GOD.
# "But you trusted in your beauty and played the whore because of your renown and lavished your whorings on any passerby; your beauty became his.
# You took some of your garments and made for yourself colorful shrines, and on them played the whore. The like has never been, nor ever shall be.
# You also took your beautiful jewels of my gold and of my silver, which I had given you, and made for yourself images of men, and with them played the whore.
# And you took your embroidered garments to cover them, and set my oil and my incense before them.
# Also my bread that I gave you--I fed you with fine flour and oil and honey--you set before them for a pleasing aroma; and so it was, declares the Lord GOD.
# And you took your sons and your daughters, whom you had borne to me, and these you sacrificed to them to be devoured. Were your whorings so small a matter
# that you slaughtered my children and delivered them up as an offering by fire to them?
# And in all your abominations and your whorings you did not remember the days of your youth, when you were naked and bare, wallowing in your blood.
# "And after all your wickedness (woe, woe to you! declares the Lord GOD),
# you built yourself a vaulted chamber and made yourself a lofty place in every square.
# "You built yourself a high place at the top of every street and made your beauty abominable, and you spread your legs to every passer-by to multiply your harlotry.
# You also played the whore with the Egyptians, your lustful neighbors, multiplying your whoring, to provoke me to anger.
# Behold, therefore, I stretched out my hand against you and diminished your allotted portion and delivered you to the greed of your enemies, the daughters of the Philistines, who were ashamed of your lewd behavior.
# You played the whore also with the Assyrians, because you were not satisfied; yes, you played the whore with them, and still you were not satisfied.
# You multiplied your whoring also with the trading land of Chaldea, and even with this you were not satisfied.
# "How sick is your heart, declares the Lord GOD, because you did all these things, the deeds of a brazen prostitute,
# building your vaulted chamber at the head of every street, and making your lofty place in every square. Yet you were not like a prostitute, because you scorned payment.
# Adulterous wife, who receives strangers instead of her husband!
# Men give gifts to all prostitutes, but you gave your gifts to all your lovers, bribing them to come to you from every side with your whorings.
# So you were different from other women in your whorings. No one solicited you to play the whore, and you gave payment, while no payment was given to you; therefore you were different.
# "Therefore, O prostitute, hear the word of the LORD:
# Thus says the Lord GOD, Because your lust was poured out and your nakedness uncovered in your whorings with your lovers, and with all your abominable idols, and because of the blood of your children that you gave to them,
# therefore, behold, I will gather all your lovers with whom you took pleasure, all those you loved and all those you hated. I will gather them against you from every side and will uncover your nakedness to them, that they may see all your nakedness.
# And I will judge you as women who commit adultery and shed blood are judged, and bring upon you the blood of wrath and jealousy.
# And I will give you into their hands, and they shall throw down your vaulted chamber and break down your lofty places. They shall strip you of your clothes and take your beautiful jewels and leave you naked and bare.
# They shall bring up a crowd against you, and they shall stone you and cut you to pieces with their swords.
# And they shall burn your houses and execute judgments upon you in the sight of many women. I will make you stop playing the whore, and you shall also give payment no more.
# So will I satisfy my wrath on you, and my jealousy shall depart from you. I will be calm and will no more be angry.
# Because you have not remembered the days of your youth, but have enraged me with all these things, therefore, behold, I have returned your deeds upon your head, declares the Lord GOD. Have you not committed lewdness in addition to all your abominations?

Really......?

Last time i checked our nation was founded on Christian beliefs, with our forefathers holding to Christian doctrine and a belief in the God of the Bible! To say otherwise is really going against the whole point of why the United States was founded, religious freedom from the state run churches in Europe!
However, now we have things like the 'Hate Speech Act' that's going to say, it's a crime to say things like, abortion, homosexuality, and other religions(specifically Muslims) are wrong/sinful. When this directly goes against the Bill of Rights, that as Americans we have(had?) the right to free speech and of religion. I propose, that our government/country as a whole no longer wants freedom of speech or religion; but simply just tolerance, but only tolerance to things that don't step on other peoples' toes. America is no longer the land of the free, it's the land of tolerance and political correctness. Where the government and other religions are accepting until you say something they don't like, and then it is all of the sudden 'hate speech'!?


Jesus come quickly!
God, i pray for our country that strong Christian men will continue to stand up for the truth of the Bible, not backing down from the opposition, one iota. Lord, if these are not the end times yet, please bring a sweeping reformation to our country, re-establishing the morals of our Christian founding fathers, and the fear of God back to the hearts of Americans in this country. Our nation is not Bible saturated, it is Bible ignorant! Lord God, for the sake of 5,000 righteous men, will you not destroy our Sodom? That you may still save souls from Hell! God, please give our children, and our childrens children an opportunity to repent and turn to you! Lord, like Psalms 33:12 says,"Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, The people He has chosen as His own inheritance." our nation has forsaken you, allow us to "Seek the Lord while He may be found, Call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, And the unrighteous man his thoughts; Let him return to the Lord, And He will have mercy on him; And to our God, For He will abundantly pardon." Isa 55:-7 God,"It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God." Heb 10:31 Pleas Lord, grant us, our nation repentance, that we may again seek to honor, glory, praise you in everything we do, both individually and as a nation. That we may see your face one day, and not be under the wrath of God, but live with peace, hope, and love, because God is awesome, gracious, and merciful to those who repent and turn from their sins and follow him, likewise with our nation!

Lord help us!
Amen

I don't play video games much anymore, but this is one i'm looking forward to :-)

Condemnation of Contextualization...

"So, why is this so pervasive? For one thing, there are a lot of people in the evangelical movement, who really do want to be at home in a corrupt culture, and too many pastors are enthralled with the idea of being cool in the eyes of the world. To a very large degree, the whole notion of contextualization has been commandeered as an excuse for carnal minds who are overexposed to smut."

"Your doctrine is not really pure, if you yourself are not an example of reverence and dignity; if your manner is lude and profane, or if your lifestyle is characterized by the same tendencies that defines secular culture; then you are not a fit minister of the gospel and you ought to step down."
Phil Johnson- Shepard's Conference

Take a listen to this clip from Way of the Master Radio, is this your pastor? Is this your idea of how Christians should be reaching the world? See what the Bible says about that....

http://www.wretchedradio.com/download.cfm?pid=248

For Phil Johnson's Full Sermon
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=328091910172

This May Be A First...

I am in awe of God and amazed at this girl who was interviewed on BBC, and played on the Way of The Master Radio show in this link.
http://www.wretchedradio.com/download.cfm?pid=266

This could be the first truly saved 13 year old i have ever heard of. Keep in mind, yes lots of kids can make professions of faith at almost any age, but the proof of genuine repentance and regeneration is in the fruit/actions of the professor's life. The Bible does not paint a different picture for different people on how someones life will change depending on age, race, sex, life situation(addiction, wealth, health, ect) except that there will be a radical change in ones life. The one major fruit that will be immediately evident is a zeal to evangelize to share the gospel with others. Next, is a insatiable appetite for God's Word. So i challenge you and any one else you know who claims to be a Christian for any lengthy period of time, are you as zealous and as bold, do you desire to read God's word, more then this 13 year old girl? If not, ask yourself why? examine your life, could it be that you have not yet truly repented and been regenerated by God?

Are You Ready....?

One day, God may say to you, "'Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?" Luke 12:20

Do you know for sure you will go to Heaven when you die? What exactly do you rest on for your assurance of this?

If you are resting on the date and sincerity you prayed and 'asked Jesus into your heart', that you were sprinkled/baptized, your family(mom/father, ect.) were 'Christians'; none of these things are found in the Bible as ways to have assurance of your salvation and or going to Heaven when you die.

Here are a few verses from the Bible that are the opposite of the above mentioned things.
Read them and carefully consider how they effect you. This is the Bible, not my own words. This is not some personal interpretation either. There are correct hermeneutical ways of reading and interpreting scripture, for 2 Peter 1:20-"knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation" You can not read into what the text doesn't say and put your own meaning into it. So again, this is scripture and if these vereses are from the Bible, then this is God speaking, "Let God be true, but every man a liar.."Romans 3:4
Submit to the Word of God, and examine what you are holding on to as your assurance of salvation.

(Not by,'asking Jesus into your heart')
"The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel."
Mark 1:15

"Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord,"
Act2 3:19

"Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent,"
Acts 17:30

(Not by Baptism)
"For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God."
Romans 4:2

"just as David also describes the blessedness of the man to whom God imputes righteousness apart from works"
Romans 4:6

"And if by grace, then it is no longer of works; otherwise grace is no longer grace. But if it is of works, it is no longer grace; otherwise work is no longer work. "
Romans 11:6

"knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified."
Galations 2:16

(Not by Christian Family/Born into Christianity)
"But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets,even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference;for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed,"
Romans 3:21-25

"Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? Of works? No, but by the law of faith. Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law. Or is He the God of the Jews only? Is He not also the God of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also, since there is one God who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith."
Romans 3:27-30

"What then shall we say that Abraham our father has found according to the flesh?*For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God.For what does the Scripture say? "Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness." Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt. But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness, just as David also describes the blessedness of the man to whom God imputes righteousness apart from works:" Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, And whose sins are covered;Blessed is the man to whom the Lord shall not impute sin."Does this blessedness then come upon the circumcised only, or upon the uncircumcised also? For we say that faith was accounted to Abraham for righteousness.How then was it accounted? While he was circumcised, or uncircumcised? Not while circumcised, but while uncircumcised.And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had while still uncircumcised, that he might be the father of all those who believe, though they are uncircumcised, that righteousness might be imputed to them also,and the father of circumcision to those who not only are of the circumcision, but who also walk in the steps of the faith which our father Abraham had while still uncircumcised.For the promise that he would be the heir of the world was not to Abraham or to his seed through the law, but through the righteousness of faith.For if those who are of the law are heirs, faith is made void and the promise made of no effect,because the law brings about wrath; for where there is no law there is no transgression."
Romans 4:1-15

If you want to know you will go to heaven when you die, please contact me; i would love to talk to you more about this. Do not wait! "Seek the Lord while He may be found, Call upon Him while He is near." Isa. 55:6

4 Lines

Alright I've been meaning to share this illustration for some time now. I think it works well in conveying what true and false professions look like in peoples lives.
This is somewhat a parallel to the parable Jesus gives in the gospel of Mark, 4:1-20.

Some things to understand in the picture; the far left is the beginning black bars, that represent birth. next are the purple lines that represent when the person made a profession of faith/accepted Jesus into their heart. Following that, is the black bar stuck in the middle, this represents unexpected death, if you follow the lines over to the right, that would be the expected death(old age/natural causes) Now, note where each of the lines ends...Toward the top or bottom? The top would be Heaven and the bottom is Hell.

Now lets look at these 4 lines, you can follow along in the Bible as well as you can see how the Bible illustrates these lives in the lines i have drawn.

1. The first line is someone who is born, begins his/her life and at some point hears about Jesus, but decides Jesus is not for them, and continues their life unaffected, and no longer concerned about God or Jesus or his/her need for a savior. This person's line could also represent someone who hears about Jesus, makes a profession of faith, by asking 'Jesus into their heart' but the next day,week, month, year, ect.. decides that Jesus is not for them, and the go back to living their life again, never considering themselves to be christians.(this is an example of 'tattoo Christianity', you decide to get a tattoo one day, you wake up the next day, month, year, ect. absolutely hating the tattoo, oh well...you have the tattoo. Oh, you asked Jesus into your heart, too late you're a christian now. this is a false teaching by a very famous preacher) So, let's look at the life of this person..
A blip on the radar toward the beginning of their life, but it doesn't 'stick' and the person leads a 'flat line' rest of their life. When they die, they go to Hell. Also, suppose they die an unexpected death in the middle. They still go to hell, for being unrepentant, unbelieving.

2.Now, life number 2 is that of someone who is born, begins their life, and at some point hears of Jesus and accepts 'Jesus into their hear' as well, and begins to live a 'Christian' life, they go to church now and then, they are pretty good people, nice and friendly, caring, generous, ect.. But, they get ridiculed, and made fun of when they tell someone at work they are a 'Christian' Then, later down, they have some major financial problems, maybe they end up getting divorced. The person now, stops going to church, not as nice as they use to be, they view God as not 'in their life' anymore because of the things that 'God let happen' to them. They continue to live a rather 'normal' life by the worlds standards. Now, this person dies, and they would end up in Hell, and what if they died in the middle? Well, again they would go to Hell, because of their lack of genuine repentance, and because they did not persevere to the end, showing their lack for fruit, and their lack of genuine repentance.

3. This one is a little more tricky. This person is born, begins living their life, has a rough first twenty years or so, but then finds Jesus, and 'Accepts Jesus into their heart' and makes a profession of faith. They immediately begin to tell people about their new found 'faith' they are faithfully attending church, reading their Bible regularly, and this goes on for some time. However, things begin to change. They grow apathetic towards God, church, reading their Bible. So they think they are struggling or 'backsliding' so they re-dedicate their life, or decide to get back in church. Their life seems to get back on track. However, this is the pattern of their life, always falling into sin, sin becomes a constant in their life. They are pretty 'lukewarm' they believe in God, Jesus, acknowledge a lot of facts from the Bible, and maybe even involved at church, but the overall trend in their life never improves, they never really get 'on fire' for God. Constant sin of apathy, pride, anger, bitterness, never seem to diminish over their life time. Finally, they die, and end up in hell, why? You, say they 'accepted Jesus into their heart' they were sincere, when they did it.. The problem is their life never continued to show fruit of repentance. Sin was their habitual lifestyle. The argument of many today is that, 'Christians' can stray off the path, but as long as we get back onto the path one day we're fine. The problem with that is what if you die along the way, and you haven't gotten back on the path?(when in actuality they were never on the right path to begin with)?Again, the person would go to Hell. It's a scary fact that you look at many professing 'Christians' but you look at the pattern of their life, over a year, 5 years, 10 years.. Nothing changes still a slave to sin, but all along counting on God's forgiveness of sin, while they are wallowing in it.

4. Now line 4. This is a person who repents and believes, during his/her life. You see in their life a zeal/fire for God. A desire to obey God's Word. They are faithful in church, actively evangelizing, in God's word daily, fellowshipping with other brother and sisters in Christ. They are loving them, supporting them, caring for them. Their life is marked with continual striving to live holy lives. They are for the rest of their lives being sanctified by the Holy Spirit. The person still struggles with sin like everyone else, the difference is they hate their sin, and strive to cut it out of their lives! This person dies, and they go to Heaven. Why? You see continual fruits of repentance in their life, for their whole life!

The Bible says Christians are no longer slaves to sin, but slaves to Christ. We are to be holy as He is holy. That those who are saved will produce good fruit, will love the brothers and sisters of Christ. Will live in obedience to His commands, they will share the gospel. And finally, they will persevere to the end of their life.(Rom. 6:12-14,18,22, 1 Peter 1:15,15, Matt. 3:8,7:13-20, 1 John 2:3-6,9-11 Matt. 28:18-20, Mark 16:15, Luke 24:47, 1 John 2:19, Matt. 24:13)

I know as Christians we can not judge people's hearts, but we can look at a professing 'Christians' life and see their fruit or lack their of. You can see over time the pattern of someone's life. You can see someone's apathy, their sin. It is our job to encourage, exhort, rebuke, these people to repent and follow Christ, while they still can.