A Mighty Roar

A Flame, A Light

2011-03-30T10:17:00.000-07:00

For many days and many nights,

I stared upon that golden Light.

I sought to find an answer here,

to calm my doubts and still my fear.

But it was not until I stood,

and set myself upon this quest,

to find that Light and know it's source,

That fear and doubt had left my chest.

And as I traveled much had come,

to stop and slow and block my way,

as if to find and know that Light,

would be to someone's dark dismay.

But ne'ertheless I walked and walked,

and climbed and swam and crawled and ran,

For nothing mattered but that Light,

More sure now than when I began.

The Light sat high upon a hill,

for all to see it's wondrous shine,

and I began my journey's end,

that ardent, well-intentioned climb.

But as I climbed that sacred hill,

As I came closer to the Light,

I found myself to be ever darker,

As if I'd lived my life in Night.

The nearer to the end I was,

The darker I found myself to be,

I stopped my journey near the top,

To find and cure what ailéd me.

But I could not save or cure myself,

My wit was at a likely end,

I felt like an unworthy wretch,

The Light would not accept me then.

But I traveled so far, so long,

I could not stop so closely here,

And so I crossed that final stretch,

despite my almost certain fear.

As I crossed o'er that final crest,

My darkness at it's dismal peak,

The Light shone forth and pierced my soul,

Exposed the dark, so vile, so bleak.

I could not bear to stand there long,

Laid bare before it's fiery glare,

but I remained a moment more,

In hopes this Light would, my soul, repair.

But then the Light began to fade,

Becoming faint and quickly dim,

My hope was quickly fading too,

My fate was certain; dark and grim.

But then, I noticed, strangely so,

The darkness that had gripped me tight,

Was also very quickly fading,

As if connected to the Light.

And so the Light was there extinguished,

took my darkness in and died,

I was amazed, aghast, astonished,

I sat upon that hill and cried.

Yet through my tears I saw a spark,

I wiped my eyes to see it clear,

And surely, there a flame ignited,

Where the light had once appeared.

And as I watched the fire burn,

I felt such a warmness inside,

So much I looked upon myself,

And Lo! A flame did there reside.

The Light had died and lives again!

It vanquished all the dark within,

And now I live, engulfed in flame,

Which burns away my guilt and shame!

Of this Light, the world must learn,

They all must see me as I burn,

For just as I was, so are they,

The Light, I tell them, is the Way.

The True and the False

2011-03-21T07:15:00.000-07:00

I began with this idea: "There is always the false sense of something, and the true sense of it. The false always comes from this world, and the true from Christ." I want to explore that more fully.

We begin with life. Life from this world seems to deal with simply existing. We are born, we survive, and we either die naturally of old age or die suddenly before it. In this world, there is nothing before death and nothing after. Once we look beyond this world, we find that there IS something beyond this life, which in Christ will lead to life eternal and outside of Christ will lead to death.

What about faith? In this world, we put our faith in money, clothes, people; we trust our homes to shelter us, our cars to transport us, and our families and friends to support us. But too often our money is overspent, our clothes wear and tear, and people fail just as we do. Our homes rust and decay, our cars break down, and our families and friends sometimes turn against us. We find ourselves always replacing and repairing the things we put faith into in this world. Faith in Christ, however, is a different thing. Faith in Christ will save us, it will keep us, it will provide for us. It may not always give us what we want, but it always gives us what we need. We will never have to replace or repair Him, and whoever attempts to will lose Him indefinitely. Faith in Christ is true faith.

What about love? Love in this world is more like tolerance. It means to accept someone for who they are and what they do, to care for them and share affections with them. It means to hug and kiss them, tell them everything will be okay, and assure them that you are always there for them. Doesn't sound so bad, right? But many things this love cannot do. For those who are walking a road of darkness, it will not help them find the light. It will only last as long as the lover. For those who are doing what they shouldn't do, it will not tell them it is wrong. It will comfort them, and help them heal from the wounds they've caused themselves, but it will not stop the pain, and it will not save. The love of Christ does. Christ's love is this: Coming to those wrongful and wicked people, becoming them, facing their trials and tribulations, enduring their suffering, and then taking all of their shame upon Himself. It is dying a horrible death, and suffering a horrible wrath to save a people. Love in Christ is a light which exposes the darkness. It causes shame and pain at first; but the shame will purge sin, and the pain will drive out the darkness. It is a saving love; a love that endures until the end of time. Christ's love is true.

What about truth? In this world, truth is the unknown. Truth is a million facts, where only two are made clear. Truth is what makes us feel good, or makes us more comfortable. Truth tickles ears and comforts hearts. But in the end, this truth will fade, and all will be made known. Then, the "true" Truth, will shine forth. The Truth is Christ, the Word of God. The Truth is absolute, unchangeable, immovable. The Truth does not comfort but those who follow it. The Truth does not entice but those who hunger for it. The Truth cuts and stings and hurts us, so that it can save and empower and strengthen us. Those who know the Truth are free.

What about prosperity? Prosperity of this world is money, cars, clothes, and fame. To be prosperous means to live well; to eat good food, to have fun, to make and have more than we need. Prosperity means Mercedes-Benz cars and mansions. We cannot all have that prosperity, it is not made available to every person, and in the end, it will rust and decay, and in 100 years, all that we gained will be an afterthought, as we will be. So what is true prosperity?

"If you return to the Almighty, you will be restored:

If you remove wickedness far from your tent

and assign your nuggets to the dust,

your gold of Ophir to the rocks in the ravines,

then the Almighty will be your gold,

the choicest silver for you.

Surely then you will find delight in the Almighty

and will lift up your face to God.

You will pray to him, and he will hear you,

and you will fulfill your vows.

What you decide on will be done,

and light will shine on your ways." (Job 22:23-28)

This prosperity lives forever. This prosperity will never decay. Most importantly, it is available to all. The rich and the poor, of every race, of every nation, of every tongue, can freely take this prosperity, if they turn to the giver, Jesus Christ.

There are countless more things which in this world are but a shadow of what it is in Christ. Though it may reflect the true form, it is but a passing shade, and in Christ, we find the fully formed, brightly colored fulfillment. Praise God for the true!

For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. (Colossians 1:16-17)

A Commentary on Romans 6-8

2011-02-28T07:46:00.000-08:00

I had the privilege this morning to fellowship with Isaac Yoder, a dear brother in Christ, for our first men's accountability meeting. I was inspired by my friends in Florida, who mentioned an accountability meeting, and also by a desire in my heart to allow the Holy Spirit to use young Christian men to confess their sins one to another, and to keep each other accountable in order to continually put to death the deeds of the flesh, and live the life of the spirit.

Our discussion this morning, without any planning or study guides, led us from Romans 6 to Romans 8 as we discussed the nature of sin, and how a Christian is to deal with it. I was so affected by this discussion, that I felt compelled to share it with you all, in an expanded form.

We opened by reading Romans 7:5 :

"For when we were in the realm of the flesh, the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in us, so that we bore fruit for death."

We are born as slaves to sin and unrighteousness, but Christ demonstrated his love towards these slaves to sin in that he gave His life to save them from sin.(Romans 5:8) It is the purpose of Christ's incarnation and atonement to deliver us from sin!

So, if Christ died to deliver us from sin, are we to stop sinning completely when we are saved? Is that how we know we are saved? Of course not! Sin is not merely an act o transgression. There is a power of sin which works against us, even when we become one of God's children, especially when we are one of God's children. When we accept Christ into our hearts through repentance and faith, we are JUSTIFIED by Christ. We are delivered from the guilt of sin, but the whole of our Christian life is a process of being SANCTIFIED, in which we grow to be more like Christ, and remove the grip of sin's power from our hearts. So, how do we do this? How do we remove sin's power from our lives? This leads us to Romans 6, and the beginning of our perusal through these 3 chapters.

You have become a Christian. You are now free from the guilt of sin! Whatsoever sins you have committed, grace has abounded all the more on your behalf. So, as Romans 6:1 says, "Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase?"

By no means! When we begin this journey as Christians, we must begin to identify with Jesus Christ. All that He did on this earth, we must do in our own lives(in a spiritual sense). We must share in His suffering to share in His resurrection.

"...Don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.

For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin— because anyone who has died has been set free from sin."(Romans 6:3-7)

So we must die to our sin, and bury our flesh, so that we can live a new life through Christ. Now we can count ourselves "dead to sin but alive to God on Christ Jesus."(v. 11) So we must die to our sins. How? We must first find the source of sin. Romans 6:12 says "Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires." How does sin reign in our bodies? By making us obey our evil desires. So how are we waylaid with sin? Through the desires of our body! The greatest enemy is not the world, or Satan, but yourself. Ephesians 4:22 says, "You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its DECEITFUL DESIRES..."

This is a very interesting choice of words, because it show us exactly how our desires can overcome us. Our desires are DECEITFUL. Hebrews 3:13 reiterates this: "But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin's DECEITFULNESS." SO the root of sin is this: We obey our evil desires and sin, when we believe a lie. When we justify ourselves, or when we refuse to believe what Scripture teaches, we allow sin to come in and rain temptation upon us. Every sin can be traced back to a lie. And every lie can be exposed by the truth of God's Word.

This is all in answer to those who wish to stray from God's law in the Christian walk. But how do we answer those who hold too strictly to God's law? G.K. Chesterton said, and I'm paraphrasing here, that idolatry is essentially when someone begins to apply more value to the symbol of a thing, than the very thing it symbolizes. The Pharisees displayed this all to clearly. They had studied and "perfected" the law for so long, that they had begun to place more sustenance in the rules and regulations they had created to uphold God's law, then to the God who had given the law. The law itself is but a schoolmaster, to lead us to Christ(Galatians 3:24), and as Paul said in Romans 7:1, "the law has authority over someone only as long as that person lives?" The apostle then gave us an example of a wife whose husband has died. If she has a relationship with man while he is alive, it is adultery. But if she marries another man after her husbands death, it is acceptable, because she is only bound to him as long as he is alive.

"So, my brothers and sisters, you also died to the law through the body of Christ, that you might belong to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God. For when we were in the realm of the flesh, the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in us, so that we bore fruit for death. But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code."

This does not exempt us from recognizing what God hates and what God loves. He does not change, and still hates the same things. But the ceremonies, and the rituals, and all the strict codes God employed in order to separate the Israelites and to allow them to approach Him(through temporary blood sacrifices), have been fulfilled by Christ, who shed His blood once for all. We no longer need a priest, for we are all priests (1 Peter 2:5) who may boldly approach the throne of grace(Hebrews 4:16).

The rest of Romans 7 points us to the Law's true purpose; to show us our wickedness before a holy God. The law in itself is not sinful. But sin uses the law to cause death to us. Twice in this chapter, we see the phrase, "sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment..." Before we hear the law, we believe what we are doing is ok, or justifiable, to a certain extent. "For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.” But sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, produced in me every kind of coveting."(Romans 7:7-8) Then verse 13 asks and answers the question, "Did that which is good, then, become death to me? By no means! Nevertheless, in order that sin might be recognized as sin, it used what is good to bring about my death, so that through the commandment sin might become utterly sinful." The law is given us to show us that we have broken it and we are utterly sinful! Through the law, the pride we had in our own power to do and be good is now broken, and we come to the realization that we are wicked, filthy sinners who have no chance to stand before a holy and just God unpunished.

As Christians, we look at the law, and all seems hopeless. As Paul said, " So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death?" (Romans 7:21-24) But our hope is found in "...God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!" In Christ, we are slaves to God's law, but in the flesh, we are slaves to sin. We cannot save ourselves, and neither can we sanctify ourselves. It is only through the power of God that we can ever hope to defeat sin.

So through Christ we have been cleansed from sin, and can now live in the spirit. We have a choice: To live in the flesh, and obey our evil desires, or to live in the Spirit, and expose our desires in the light of Christ! "But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you."(Romans 8:10-11) In Christ we now have power to overcome sin, and to make the choice to live in the Spirit. With that power comes a responsibility: "...we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live. For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God."(Romans 8:12-13) The Spirit testifies that we are God's children, and so we, as God's children, live under this obligation to folow the Spirit, "if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory."(Romans 8:17)

Indeed, as Christians we will suffer. We have come from the darkness of sin into the light of Christ, from a pit of lies and deceit into God's truth. There is no doubt that the world and the devil will attack us with all it's might and our flesh will attack us with even more. This life is a fight until the end. It is a fight to the death, and if you stand strong until the end, then you will be sure to share in God's glory. From the moment of salvation to your old age, when you've retired and are casting away the labors of this earth, when you feel as if you have finished the race, you must be all the more ready to come against the desires of your flesh until the end.

It all seems so depressing. I was asking myself yesterday, "Would you rather live a short and painful life in which you did the right thing, or a long and prosperous life in which you did just enough good to get by?" The answer we give is really where our heart lies, in the spirit of in the flesh. It's easy to get discouraged and to want to give up, but all hope is not gone. Romans 8 doesn't end at verse 17.

"I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God."(vv.18-21)

God used the law on purpose, to hurt us and break our pride. He uses trials and tribulations, judgments and calamities, to point us to Him. Why? Why is God so mean? We ask this because we are looking at the present. If we saw the future, where the trials and judgments that hurt us now led us into the way of life, which saved us from the deadly future we once had, we would thank God for his mercy.

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And those He predestined, He also called; those He called, He also justified; those He justified, He also glorified." (Romans 8:28-30)

Knowing this, that no matter what, those whom God has called into Him will be glorified in Him, we can say to the hard road ahead of us, to the world which will come against us, the devil who will accuse us, and to our desires which will seek to deceive us, "If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?....For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."(Romans 8:31-32; 38-39)

Don't give up, don't give in to sin; we have been called to this narrow road, and we must pick up our cross daily. God never promised it would be easy(in fact he promised the opposite); He just promised it would end in life.

I pray that this would help you understand the nature of sin, and how we as Christians should deal with it. My discussion this morning has truly opened my eyes to my responsibilities, the difficulties I must face, and the glory that is to come.

In the name of Christ,

Levi Gray

A Christmas Poem

2010-12-22T13:04:00.000-08:00

Christmas is the most wonderful time,

Hearths full of fire and hearts full of rhyme,

Reading a story to family and friends,

Inside of our homes till the holiday ends,

Singing carols with laughter and joy,

Tense for the moment to break out the toys!

Most of us keep this picture in mind,

As a general view of this wonderful time,

Sometimes I stop, though, and take a deep breath,

In this time of solace, we are all very blessed.

Still, I notice something's not quite right,

And then I remember when I look to the Light.

Bustling about to buy presents and things,

Objects in wrappers and bows and strings,

Utterly foolish, were the words from my mouth,

To ignore what Christmas is really about!

Jesus, who came to earth as a babe,

Empowering sinners, destined for graves,

Stooping Himself to our level of worth,

Unmerited favor, through immaculate birth!

Salvation in Him, we can be born again!

Call on Him in faith and self-denial,

Only this way can we be reconciled

Much of this isn't really mentioned,

I can't stand all this foolish holiday tension.

None of it's wrong, celebrating and such,

Granted that we LIVE like Jesus did so much,

The reason I write this is not to be sour

Or to prove my own goodness or spiritual power.

Sadly, I'm one of these people who neglect,

Almost every year, I think about what I'll eat or what I'll get.

Vainly, I forget that Christmas is just a day,

Everything we do should be in honor of his name,

Ultimately He's my source of joy and happiness,

So what I have I give you, Lord, to know You, I've been blessed.

A Gentle Revolution

2010-12-01T06:37:00.000-08:00

"The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ." 2 Corinthians 10:4-5

As you mull this verse over in your head, read this Fable from Aesop's collection, and think about it's connection.

"A dispute once arose between the Wind and the Sun, which was the stronger of the two, and they agreed to settle the point upon this issue--that whichever of the two soonest made a traveler take off his cloak, should be accounted the more powerful. The Wind began, and blew with all his might and main a blast, cold and fierce as a Thracian storm; but the stronger he blew, the closer the traveler wrapped his cloak around him, and the tighter he grasped it with his hands. Then broke out the Sun. With his welcome beams he dispersed the vapor and the cold; the traveler felt the genial warmth, and as the Sun shone brighter and brighter, he sat down, quite overcome with the heat, and taking off his cloak, cast it on the ground.

Thus the Sun was declared the conqueror; and it has ever been deemed that persuasion is better than force; and that the sunshine of a kind and gentle manner will sooner lay open a poor man's heart than all the threatenings and force of blustering authority."

Did Aesop use this as a parable for evangelism? I can't know for sure. One thing is sure, that the application to our method of preaching the gospel is much like the Sun in this story. With the gospel of Christ, we bring the truth in love, a light shining bright in darkness upon the hearts of men. We display the glory of God, and the horrible burden of sin, in hopes that, as the man did with his cloak, men would cast off sin and turn towards the narrow way which leads to life.

In conclusion, I will repeat what I have written previously:
"Our war is not with men. It is with the hearts of men. We are not fighting against flesh, but against the carnal nature which overwhelms the flesh! We are not fighting against those who dwell in darkness, but we fight against the darkness that dwells in those men! “The kingdom of heaven suffers violence” indeed, and “violent men take it by force.” (Matt. 11:12) But this violence is not to strike fear in your hearts, but to strike love in your hearts, love for God, and a hatred for sin. Jesus himself is the first one to love:

“You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”(Romans 5:6-8)

God Bless you all, and stay tuned for my upcoming note on presuppositionalism!

In Christ,
Levi Gray

Presuppositionalism: Preaching to the Hearts of Men

2010-11-29T18:25:00.000-08:00

Well, I have finally found a opportunity to write in length to you all, and I do regret all the time I took for granted while I didn't have a full-time job. God has given me grace indeed, and I pray that this message which God has used to grip my heart will also grip yours.

The question that begins the discussion is, "What if I can't prove to someone that God is real?" It's a legitimate question, especially at this time when evolution is becoming the default for publicly educated persons. Many people have become convinced that either there is no God, or that He does not meddle in our affairs, and those people, more often than not, have prepared several sly and intelligent remarks to those brave Christians who dare to confront them with any mention of the Bible. So for young, inexperienced Christians, or any Christians who are not well-studied in apologetics, is sharing the gospel with these people even worth it? Thousands of people visit forums and message boards hoping to prove someone wrong, and thousands of people get no further than when they started. Where is the gospel in all of this?

In many cases, it isn't there! So many people get so caught up in trying to refute arguments and prove the virtues of Christianity that they forget that they are talking to lost people! Paul addresses the problem of this battle of the intellect in Romans.

"The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse."

Did you catch that? Since the world was created, God's ETERNAL POWER AND DIVINE NATURE has been made plain to all men. We are all made in the image of God, and by looking at ourselves, and the world around us, we instantly see how powerful God is. He has revealed Himself through creation.

But Paul's not done yet. He continues in chapters 1 and 2 to explain the inherent wickedness of man, how God has chosen to display Himself in glory, and we have denied Him. All men have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. The Jews and the Gentiles are equally guilty. No matter how hard we try to keep the law, or how hard we try to make our own law, we fall short every time. As a result, our hearts are hardened against the creator and we are lost in darkness. So what hope is there in salvation? If we are all lost in darkness, how can we be found?

"But now a righteousness from God apart from law has been made known, to which the LAW AND THE PROPHETS testify." (Romans 3:21)

Here God has revealed Himself through His word made flesh in His son, Jesus Christ. It is in this context of Romans 1 we find John 3:16 come into place, that "God so loved the world,that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." But even then, when God sent His son "not to condemn the world, but to save the world"(John 3:17), the world rejected Him. Why?
Because "This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God."(John 3:19-21)

I want to pause for a moment. We have looked through Scripture to discover that since God created the world, He has continually revealed Himself, and we have continually rejected Him. Why do we fret with arguing the existence of God and the historicity of Jesus with someone who has no hope of reconciling with God unless He repents and turns to Jesus? I'm not saying we shouldn't study these things, because it's important for us to be well studied in the faith, but what should our focus be in sharing the gospel? Let's continue through Scripture to illustrate this point.

Everyone is familiar with the parable in Luke 16 of the Rich Man and Lazarus. The Rich Man lived in luxury, while Lazarus sat at his gate, where even the dogs had pity on him. The time cam for the two men to die; Lazarus went into Abraham's bosom, while the Rich Man went to Hell. The Rich Man called to Abraham, asking for Lazarus to cool his tongue with a drop of water. Abraham denied him. In desperation, the Rich Man begged for Lazarus to return to earth and warn his five brothers of this place of torment. Then Abraham responded, "They have Moses and the Prophets."
“‘No, Father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’
From Abraham come these words that outline the foundation of presuppositionalism:

"If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead."

If the Word of God does not pierce the heart of a man, there is no chance of convincing Him. No matter how irrefutable our arguments, how persuasive our contentions, if a man does not respond to the gospel, he will never know the truth. Imagine a room that is completely dark. You cannot know the true nature of the objects in the room until the light is on. In the same way, until Christ's light fills the darkness of our hearts, we cannot know the true nature of the things of God.

"The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned."(1 Corinthians 2:14)

Since we know that we can point ourselves to God through inner revelation(what He has revealed to us already) and outer revelation(what He reveals through the Word of God, and through His son), but that we cannot convince someone of God's qualities without repentance, how do we answer the question, "What if I can't prove to someone that God is real?" Dear Christians, do not let this burden you; your ability to prove God's existence has nothing to do with someone's ability to repent. Share God's word to the world, and know that unless a man turns from sin, he will not inherit the kingdom of God, and unless he softens his heart, he will never understand who God is, or what He is capable of.

I hope you all were able to gain something from this, and may God give you all grace to grow in the knowledge of Jesus Christ our Lord,

Levi Gray

Islam and Christianity: Is There a Difference?

2010-08-29T16:39:00.000-07:00

“Whose hatred is covered by deceit, his wickedness shall be shewed before the whole congregation.” Proverbs 26:26

Some time last year, I wrote a note on Islam. In retrospect, I made a mistake in writing that note, because I was ill-prepared to approach the subject. Now, after listening intently to the knowledge and commentary of many masterful dignitaries of our faith(many of whom are alive today) and studying the Islamic scriptures myself for about a month, I feel more prepared than ever to offer to you all this article.

With the Mosque on Ground Zero debate heating up, it appears that Mayor Bloomberg has made his mind: “if we say that a mosque and community center should not be built near the perimeter of the World Trade Center site, we would compromise our commitment to fighting terror with freedom.” What freedom is the Mayor talking about? The freedom to religion, and he says if we forbid this center from being built, we are giving up on our commitment of tolerance to other religions, and letting the intolerant extremists win! So, the question is, if we keep Muslims from building a mosque, shouldn’t we keep Christians from building theirs? Haven’t there been Christians who killed in the name of their God? What’s so different about Islam and Christianity, anyway? Herein lies the problem. When we blur the lines between Islam and Christianity, then we allow Islam all the “freedom” that Christianity has, until Muslims are no longer a minority.

So why is that a problem? Because Islam is not the same as Christianity, and it’s not just a matter of creeds and doctrines; Islam is wholly opposed to all of the ideals of the Christian faith, and of democracy as well. I don’t want to make many generalizations until I have shown you personally what Islam teaches, specifically in the area of unbelief. So I will begin by walking you through these various passages from the Quran.

(Warning: there are many terms which I felt were best served in the original language, so pay attention to the definitions I provide as we go along) First, take a look at this passage, Surah 2:190-193:

“Fight in the way of Allah those who fight you but do not transgress. Indeed. Allah does not like transgressors. And kill them wherever you overtake them and expel them from wherever they have expelled you, and fitnah is worse than killing. And do not fight them at al-Masjid al- Haram until they fight you there. But if they fight you, then kill them. Such is the recompense of the disbelievers. And if they cease, then indeed, Allah is Forgiving and Merciful. Fight them until there is no [more] fitnah and [until] worship is [acknowledged to be] for Allah . But if they cease, then there is to be no aggression except against the oppressors.”

In times of persecution, Muslims are commanded to fight and kill the kuffar(nonbelievers), and when an individual opposes the will of Allah(fitnah), his punishment is great in the hands of Allah. Jesus said, “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.”(Luke 6:28) This is but the first in many stark contrasts. Continue with me to Surah 8, an entire chapter devoted to discussing the spoils of war against the kuffar. 8:12-13:

“[Remember] when your Lord inspired to the angels, "I am with you, so strengthen those who have believed. I will cast terror into the hearts of those who disbelieved, so strike [them] upon the necks and strike from them every fingertip. That is because they opposed Allah and His Messenger. And whoever opposes Allah and His Messenger - indeed, Allah is severe in penalty.”

8:38-39

“Say to those who have disbelieved [that] if they cease, what has previously occurred will be forgiven for them. But if they return [to hostility] - then the precedent of the former [rebellious] peoples has already taken place. And fight them until there is no fitnah and [until] the religion, all of it, is for Allah . And if they cease - then indeed, Allah is Seeing

of what they do.”

It appears that the command to wage jihad against the kuffar becomes more universal as the Quran progresses, and it slowly evolves from “fight those who fight you” to “fight those who disbelieve.” When Muhammad first received the vision from Gabriel in 610 AD, and began to share it with his hometown, he gained only a few followers and was persecuted heavily by the majority. Therefore, the first part of the Quran seemed to emanate a more peaceful attitude, with intermittent passages of justice against persecutors (such as Surah 2). However, when Muhammad traveled to Medina, he built a community for Muslims, and by 630 AD that community had grown into a formidable military power. It makes sense that the later passages of the Quran transition into more aggressive and militaristic ideals.

The more extensive part of my research has been in Book 52 of the Sahih al-Bukhari, which is one of six volumes that contain the hadith, which are narrations of the teachings and doings of Muhammad. These are also considered as holy scripture in the Islamic faith. Book 52 is labeled “Jihad,” and, as you may have already guessed, it describes the holy war that Muslims are obliged to fight against self(al-nafs), against Satan (al-Shaytaan), and against the nonbelievers and hypocrites (al-kaafir and al-munaafiqeen). Out of the 283 ahadith, which can range from one sentence to one page each, I picked a select few. The first one I selected is in the 63rd hadith, a story about a man with an iron mask(helmet):

“A man whose face was covered with an iron mask (i.e. clad in armor) came to the Prophet and said, "O Allah's Apostle! Shall I fight or embrace Islam first? "The Prophet said, "Embrace Islam first and then fight." So he embraced Islam, and was martyred. Allah's Apostle said, A Little work, but a great reward. "(He did very little (after embracing Islam), but he will be rewarded in abundance).”

I won’t make any unnecessary assumptions, but Allah’s Apostle stressed the importance of jihad to the point of exalting this warrior, who, though immature in his faith, was greater than his comrades for his bravery in battle. Elsewhere it is mentioned that there are other ways to be martyred, such as dying by the plague, stomach diseases, defending a falling wall, etc.(hadith 52:82) However, the mention made of the man being armored is a strong suggestion towards one particular martyrdom. You do the math.

The 73rd hadith follows, “Allah's Apostle said, ‘Know that Paradise is under the shades of swords.” The nation of Islam has grown primarily by the sword, and the sword is what secures Paradise for Muslims.

Allah’s Apostle says in the 80th (chapter i): “"Allah welcomes two men with a smile; one of whom kills the other and both of them enter Paradise. One fights in Allah's Cause and gets killed. Later on Allah forgives the killer who also gets martyred (In Allah's Cause)."

Even redemption for murderers can be found, if one fights the kuffar.

This particular hadith, the 176th and 177th concerns the Jews. “Allah's Apostle said, "You (i.e. Muslims) will fight with the Jews till some of them will hide behind stones. The stones will (betray them) saying, 'O 'Abdullah (i.e. slave of Allah)! There is a Jew hiding behind me; so kill him.' "The Hour will not be established until you fight with the Jews, and the stone behind which a Jew will be hiding will say. "O Muslim! There is a Jew hiding behind me, so kill him." Muhammad spared no expense in warning the Muslim’s that the final day of judgment, when Muslims enter Qiyamah, the resurrection, will not be established until they have cornered the Jew, and the very rocks betray him. In conclusion, the 196th hadith tells us:

“Allah 's Apostle said, " I have been ordered to fight with the people till they say, 'None has the right to be worshipped but Allah,' and whoever says, 'None has the right to be worshipped but Allah,' his life and property will be saved by me except for Islamic law, and his accounts will be with Allah, (either to punish him or to forgive him.)"

Islam is a religion that thrives from attacking the kuffar until they believe. This is how Islam operates in countries dominated by Muslims. The site, thereligionofpeace.com, contains a feed of the daily attacks and murders committed by Muslims who, we find, are not merely radicals taking their religion too seriously. These are people who obey the Quran and Hadiths as they are taught.

What make Christianity any different? Aren’t there Christian terrorists? I wouldn’t dare to call them Christians, because the Bible is very clear about our conflict with the world:

“For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” (2 Corinthians 10:3-5)

“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”(Ephesians 6:12)

Our war is not with men. It is with the hearts of men. We are not fighting against flesh, but against the carnal nature which overwhelms the flesh! We are not fighting against those who dwell in darkness, but we fight against the darkness that dwells in those men! “The kingdom of heaven suffers violence” indeed, and “violent men take it by force.” (Matt. 11:12) But this violence is not to strike fear in your hearts, but to strike love in your hearts, love for God, and a hatred for sin. Jesus himself is the first one to love:

“You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”(Romans 5:6-8)

For the evil men, the backbiters, the slanderers, the homosexuals, the Muslims, the conservatives, the liberals, the independents, ALL MEN are lost in sin and Christ laid His life down to liberate them from that sin which shackles them to death and Hell.

So when people come to you who oppose the mosque-building and accuse you of hatred and judgment against Muslims, remind them that it is not because you hate Muslims, it is because you love Muslims and desire for them to be set free from that violent ideology before it consumes them as it has consumed so many in the Middle East. In closing, I hope you will all remember this passage, which at one time we all knew by heart:

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son. This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God.”

The Truth In Love,

Levi Gray

In Christ Alone: A Reflection on Trust

2010-06-02T17:29:00.001-07:00

It has been an unreasonably long time since my last writing. For that I give all of you my humblest apology. All I will say is that the past few weeks have been a testimony to the importance of staying faithful in the Word and prayer, and how easily we can fall into the snares of the enemy when we lose sight of the power and presence of God. I thank God that He still loves me enough, even in all of my failings and compromises, to chasten me back into the vine, and back into a life of fruitfulness!

That being said, I want to share with all of you this passage of Scripture that has truly gripped my heart. Psalms 19:7-9 is a portion of a song about the glory and awesomeness of God. It says:

The law of the LORD is perfect,
reviving the soul.
The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy,
making wise the simple.

The precepts of the LORD are right,
giving joy to the heart.
The commands of the LORD are radiant,
giving light to the eyes.

The fear of the LORD is pure,
enduring forever.
The ordinances of the LORD are sure
and altogether righteous.

As sons and daughters of Adam, we are fountains of sin, spewing out hordes of selfishness, pride, lust, bitterness, and every kind of evil we can muster. When we choose to trust in ourselves, we are investing in wickedness. All these things will fail us, ruin us, condemn us, and betray us. We Christians are all exactly like Paul, who says in Romans 7, "When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God's law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?!"

We constantly try to please God with our talents, our time, our treasure, and our testimony, and then we find ourselves in blatant sin and rebellion to God. We preach the gospel in the streets and find ourselves not living it in our homes! There is a literal war between the spirit and the flesh within us; if you choose to follow your own desires, it isn't a hard battle, but if you follow Christ, it is the toughest enemy you'll ever face. So how do we triumph in these trials? How do we find hope in this persecution? As Paul says, "Who can deliver me from this body of death?" He answers that question in the very next verse, "Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!"

Jesus is the answer! When we follow Him, we can be sure that not only will Satan come at us with full force, but the world, and our own flesh will war against us! However, we can be confident that if we hold fast to Him, stay faithful in His Word and in prayer, and continually turn away from sinful desires, He will never forsake us. Then our hopelessness turns to hope, our defeat turns to triumph, and our persecutions turn into rejoicing! It is so important, however, that we keep our focus on Christ alone. As I said earlier, when we choose to trust in ourselves, we are investing in wickedness, and are doomed to fail. The same goes for anything on earth, and there is but one thing we can turn to to find wisdom, contentment, enlightenment, and purity: God's Word! Now re-read Psalms 19:7-9 and feel His power through those verses!

When we put our trust on something, we make it a focal point in our life, or as one preacher has called it, a citadel. There are many citadels we put up, things that we turn to to fulfill our desires. What are the citadels in your life? Some of us focus on music, art, clothes, church, our social lives, our morality, etc. If you are a Christian, whatever focal points you have set up in your life should be destroyed. I'm not saying that music, art, clothes, church, etc. are bad things, but if you are making Christ the focal point of your life, He is the ONLY focal point. Peter elaborates on this in his first epistle:

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. " (1 Peter 1:3-7)

Do you understand now? This war you're fighting as a Christian, this war against the flesh, against Satan, is all worthless if you invest even a fraction of your soul to things outside of Christ. All those things, at the end of this age, will perish. There is only one thing that will not perish: Jesus Christ, the Word of God made flesh! Because of Him, your sufferings will not have been in vain! Praise God that He has freely given the gift of grace!

In closing, I want to ask all of you to examine yourselves. What are your focal points in life? What do you love to do, to watch, to listen to? If they are not in Christ, then they are chains binding you to this world, and keeping you from experiencing the liberty of grace. Don't take my word for it, take His word. Open up the Scriptures tonight and ask God, "What am I trusting in that isn't You?" These steps are the hardest to take in the Christian life, because it means actually taking things you love and throwing them away; But if you don't love the things God loves, you can do no worse for yourself in the battle for your soul.

I hope that these reflections of mine for the past week have touched your hearts in a way that glorifies Him, and I will pray that we all can "Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness."(Matt. 6:33)

Thank you,
Levi Gray

The Willy Wonka Church

2010-01-20T09:26:00.001-08:00

Some of you are familiar with the article written by C.T. Studd about a century ago called "The Chocolate Soldier." It outlined the character and identity of those Christians who said and did many things to label themselves as followers of Christ, but when the heat of battle was upon them, they melted away like chocolate. It is a tragedy that, 100 years later, Chocolate Christians still exist. It is an even worse tragedy, however, that today's "church" is now the factory in which those Chocolate Christians are produced! So, with all respect to Roald Dahl, I feel the need to reiterate Studd's message(which is God's message) to the Willy Wonka Church.

The Willy Wonka Church! A place where the gospel stays in, and the candy flows out! Where you'll find happiness and fulfillment, acceptance and tolerance! This is the church of America, where your personal beliefs and your lifestyle choices should NEVER mix, where politics and faith are NEVER mingled, and the only commandment to live by is THOU SHALT NOT JUDGE. God loves you just the way you are, all you have to do is come to Jesus, and your life will be full of candy gardens, chocolate rivers, and bubbly fun!

This is not just a wayward philosophy, it isn't simply a strange doctrine, this is America! What's so wrong about this Willy Wonka Church, you ask? It sounds pretty good, doesn't it? Who wouldn't want to go to the Willy Wonka Church? Let me tell you all that this road is broad indeed, and many people are walking down it, but at the end of this road there is nothing but judgment and destruction. Why? Because it is a different gospel— which is really no gospel at all, and if anyone should preach a gospel other than the The Gospel of Jesus Christ, "let him be eternally condemned!" (Galatians 1:8) The Willy Wonka Church has committed countless sins and blasphemies against the Lord, but one of the most heinous is that they claim to be Christians, and to love God, but are not fighting in the battle for our culture! "What battle?" you might ask. Let me show you.

Since January 22, 1973(Roe v. Wade, when abortion was legalized in America) there have been over 50 million little baby boys and girls murdered through abortion. 50 MILLION! If a war hit America today and 50 million people died, that would be the equivalent of wiping 18 states off of the map! Here's a photo to help you understand this anomaly: (http://www.cpforlife.org/abortion_map_of_us.htm) This isn't the only "great" and "just" decision that our Supreme Court has made; For the past half decade, our government has been slowly removing God and his laws from the heart of America, and replacing it with godlessness and tolerance. Not only is abortion legal, but homosexuality is now an acceptable way of life, and our children are encouraged to do "whatever feels right." Not only that, but Christianity is being removed from our schools, and replaced with evolutionary thought and secular humanism. OUR NATION HAS FORSAKEN THE LAW OF GOD, AND ARE PRAISING THE WICKED! (Prov. 28:4)

How did all these problems get so big? How did our nation become so wicked? There are countless reasons why, but they all boil down to one guilty party: The Willy Wonka Church. The average American Christian, who makes up the Willy Wonka Church, is really good at DOING church. He attends every Sunday and Wednesday, he goes to Bible studies, prayer meetings, church breakfasts, seminars. If you were to ask him how he was doing, he would probably tell you, "I'm just so blessed, thanks to God." He would invite you to church and introduce you to the pastor and talk to you about how great the message was. What a great guy! What an awesome man of God, right? WRONG!

Doing things at your church is great, but when it replaces being the church, you are in a dangerous situation. It is our duty, as Christians, to bring the gospel to every creature. We are to preach the Word of God unashamedly, in order to give a voice to the voiceless, to give hope to the hopeless, to speak the horrible news of the coming wrath and the glorious news of Christ's sacrifice! The reason America has fallen into a pitiful state of tolerance, compromise, humanism, sodomy, and wickedness is because the Church didn't step up to fight. The only reason anything has ever truly prospered is because the Church stood up and fought!

Think about the Reformation, the Pilgrim's journey to America, or the Declaration of Independence; all these are monuments to lowly and humble Christians, who, by the power and grace of Jesus, stood up against evil, and tyranny, and made bold proclamations for justice and righteousness. Will we ever remember the bravery and courage of our forefathers, or will we continue to emasculate the gospel and stand on the sidelines watching the world wither away in darkness? Will we show this generation the one true God, or will we "love" them straight into Hell, uttering not one word for Him or His kingdom?

Whether you like it or not, there's a battle raging on in this world, the battle between two seeds. You can't see it with your human eyes, but principalities and powers are waging war against our God all around us. The question is, will we stand up and fight?

Abiding in Him: A Sonnet

2009-12-12T10:29:00.001-08:00

My Sovereign Lord, to You I flee!
When pain and death and sin attack,
Tis only the mighty and powerful Thee
My source of strength, who does not lack.

And who else could, but You, O Lord,
Loose Satan’s grip from my withering soul,
What other pow’r, but Your holy Word,
Could conjure a diamond from what was once coal?

The joys that I sing, the truths that I speak,
Could ne’er be happy, or joyous, or true,
I’d still be in darkness, my future still bleak,
Had I not felt the glorious presence of You.

As I abide in You, matchless divine,
I belong to no other, I am solely Thine.

Creation vs. Evolution: A Cultural Perspective

2009-11-10T15:39:00.000-08:00

Creationism and Evolution: A Cultural Perspective

Creationists and Evolutionists have butted heads for centuries, and people of every age, class, and intellect have debated the origin of man. There have been so many books, treatises, theses, proposals, and arguments on so many variations of topics and subtopics that it boggles the mind. However, the conflict between the two persuasions lies deeper than fossils and transitions. In his article, Do Laws and Standards Evolve?, Douglas Phillips of Vision Forum Ministries said, “The controversy between evolution and Biblical creation…concerns the basic presuppositions by which our society will answer questions concerning life, law, and human relationships. Most importantly, it is a battle over lordship: Who is Lord—God or man?” The purpose of this essay is to illuminate those presuppositions, and to look at the effect these worldviews have on society.

There is no doubt that since Darwin published the first “workable” system of evolutionary thought, On the Origin of Species, evolution has slowly become predominately acknowledged as the most accurate and “scientific” explanation of how we came to be. In fact, since the 1987 Supreme Court case Edwards v. Aguillard, the teaching of Creationism alongside evolution is a violation of the Establishment clause of the First Amendment. As our public schools have eliminated the concept of God from our science classes, more and more children are beginning to simply accept evolution as a scientific fact instead of a theory. However, as the next several pages of this essay will point out, this seemingly innocent act of secularism is taking a toll on the way America interprets issues in life such as the sanctity of Life, Morality, and Absolute Truth. Therefore, America is beginning to suffer morally, spiritually, and economically, and will continue to do so until we diagnose the problem and apply the solution.

In his book One Heartbeat Away, Mark Cahill said, “If you choose not to believe in a God who created you, but instead think you're nothing but an accidental result of random chance processes, then you believe the following:
-There is no qualitative difference between humans and animals.
-There ultimately is no meaning in life.
-There is no life after death.
-There is no purpose to human history.
Do these thoughts fit well with your reasoning? Or do you intuitively know that humans have special value and that there is a purpose behind your life?"

Evolution teaches us that man is a product of the transition from lesser species into greater, more “fit” ones. Therefore, man is not inherently of more worth; he is of equal value to his predecessors, an animal. Therefore, life is not something with purpose or meaning, but only a fight for survival. There is no higher calling than to follow one’s instincts and stay alive. Also, there is no afterlife for mankind. When a man dies, he goes into the ground never to rise again. There is no heaven, no hell. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust. Not only is the future nonexistent, but the past is of no value. Human history is simply a chronology of man’s struggle to survive, and, just like life, has no meaning. So, how does this worldview translate into the basic principles of culture? By perverting the nature of law, morality, and sanctity of life.

Under the evolutionary perspective, the concepts of legal positivism, and its twin brother, legal realism, are born. These two schools of thought dictate that law and morality are not connected. Therefore, law is not given validity through a standard of ethics, but instead through the collective opinions or customs of the court. If the “collective” opinion said that murder was okay, then the law that prohibits murder is invalid. How are these connected with evolution? The proponents of legal positivism/realism believed that just as man evolves, his moral faculties evolve. Since law is the product of man, law must evolve along with man’s moral faculties. When man decides that murder is acceptable, the law will evolve to fit his resolution.

So, as you see, evolution also affects our perspective of Morality. According to Darwin, the morality of humans relied primarily on the opinions of the society. He emphasized in Chapter 5 of The Descent of Man that the most “powerful stimulus to the development of the social virtues is afforded by the praise and the blame of our fellow-men.” When we allow men to decide how to govern themselves, we might as well eliminate the concept of morality altogether, because Scripture says that man’s heart is “deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9) Novelist Aldous Huxley reveals his motive(and humanistic motive in general) for choosing to reject the idea of a creator God: “…For myself, the philosophy of meaninglessness was essentially an instrument of liberation, sexual and political.” He wants to free himself from the accountability of God.

The predominance of evolution inevitably brings about another change in thought. Evolutionist and Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendall Holmes stated, “I see no reason for attributing to man a significance different in kind from that which belongs to a baboon or a grain of sand.” If man is equal in value to a baboon or a grain of sand, what sanctity is there in life? None. This is the logical conclusion of a theory in which man is the end result of billions and billions of years of transition from a tiny speck of dust to an upright man. After observing all of the effects of evolutionary thought on society, it shouldn’t be a surprise that abortion, homosexual marriage, and Islam are all accepted and encouraged in society. Our country has embraced humanism, and with it, evolution.

Creationism has almost opposite cultural implications. The idea that God, an eternal, omniscient, and omnipotent being, intimately breathed life into man, with a special and significant plan for each one, gives mankind a worth and dignity which cannot be equated with animals. The concept of a holy God giving a set of morals and laws, by which He expects His people to live, bases law on an immutable standard, not corruptible by man, and gives strength and meaning to morality in our culture.

It is important to remember that the battle between Creation and Evolution is not an issue of educated opinions, but of spiritual dispositions. There are those who humbly accept God as creator and master over all, and there are those who deny Him. As Rev. Rusty Lee Thomas points out in his article, Intelligent Design or Chaotic Accident, “It was St. Augustine who was one of the first to try and tackle this phenomena from a Christian, philosophical point of view. Does man gain a true belief system through education or does a true belief system grant man wisdom and understanding?” 1 Corinthians 2:14 says, “But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” The issue with Creation vs. Evolution is deeper than anything a well structured argument or mounds of scientific evidence can solve. “Man doesn’t have an educational problem,” as Rev. Thomas continues, “but a moral, ethical problem.”

Creation and Evolution are merely children of the two battling worldviews, Christianity and Humanism. All that this debate boils down to is the question by Douglas Phillips seen at the beginning of this essay, “Who is Lord-God or man?” We all have to ask ourselves that question. We all have to understand, as Rev. Thomas concludes in his article, “…that ideas have consequences and a belief system will lead mankind somewhere. Where has evolution lead us as a nation? Where would a return to God and creationism lead us once again?” This essay has made the answers to these questions clear. The question for you is, will you see the inevitable destruction evolution brings, or will you treat it as our nation always has, allowing sin to slowly creep in because of compromise and ignorance? In these dark times we all must remember the words of the apostle Paul, “Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.” (Colossians 2:8)

In Christ,
Levi Gray

Holiness: A Response To Regeneration

2009-11-04T15:31:00.000-08:00

Christians, after much study, prayer, and a long delay, I bring to you the last article in the three-part Regeneration series, and I pray that from all of my learning, studying, and prayer, God will use me to glorify Him, and to encourage all of you to crucify yourselves everyday and to "store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. " (Matthew 6:20-21) I don't want any of you to read this without your Bibles in hand, and your minds prepared for action. Be as the Bereans and examine the Scriptures to see if what I say is true.

Regeneration is, in essence, the redemptive purpose of Christ in the life of a believer. An angel of the Lord came to Joseph and said of the virgin Mary, "She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins."(Matt. 1:21) Regeneration and its processes(conviction, repentance, and holiness) are all worked in us by God for the same reason: that, by the blood of Christ, we may be saved from our sins. You have read in the first two parts how God's law was purposed to work in our hearts, breaking down our pride, humbling us into a sorrow for our rebellion and idolatry, until we cry out, "What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?"(Romans 7:24) Thanks be to God-through Jesus Christ our Lord! We can be free from our sins when we repent and turn towards Christ, placing our trust in Him for salvation. It is at that moment that we are justified by His grace, that we may become heirs having the hope of eternal life.(Titus 3:7)

However, it should be known that this initial act of repentance is not the only step one must take in his Christian life; it is but the first step of a steep upward climb towards the "prize of the high calling in Christ Jesus."(Phil. 3:14) In Romans 6, Paul explains that all who were baptized into Christ, were baptized into his death, and "we were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life." We have been called to die to ourselves, and to our sins, that we may live a new life in Christ. Throughout the Epistles, we are told to "put off the old self" and all of it's deceitful desires and practices, because we have been made new creatures in Christ, and therefore must "not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires."

This change does not take place overnight. We are not instantly made holy and sinless, and anyone who expects this from us is foolish. In my note concerning repentance, I used the example of a man stuck in a pool of mud to symbolize a man in his sin. I wrote, "When you make up your mind to get out of the pool, and make your way out(repentance), are you instantly clean? Of course not! If you've lived your whole life in sin, you can't hope to be instantly free from sin." You all know that when you are covered in dirt and mud, it takes more than just getting out of the mud to be clean. You must spend time washing away the mud, searching and scrubbing in all the "nooks and crannies," and even then you may find a spot you missed behind your ear or on your elbow. Sanctification is a similar process. There may be many sins which a Christian hasn't yet turned from, whether it is because he does not know it is sin(ignorance), or he has interpreted Scripture incorrectly and the result has been sin(error), or he has a sin(such as an addiction) which he has not had the strength to fight(infirmity), or he has faced temptation and been overcome by it.

So, if all these sins exist in a Christian, what makes the "sheep" different from the "goats?" God knows every part of every person He created. He knows their strengths, their weaknesses, their infirmities, their innermost thoughts and their most secret sins. Through Christ, God gives us the grace to turn from sin, and He gives us a way out of every temptation. Imagine that there is a great mountain, and God, in all of His matchless wisdom and beauty, stands at the top of it. We, as Christians, are forever making our way to the top of that mountain. We slip, and stumble, and fall, but our purpose and aim is upward. We do not make excuses because we are too weak or too ignorant. We learn from every mistake, and endure every obstacle, while the lost, unrepentant world stands at the bottom of the mountain, having neither the desire nor the power to save themselves, because they are without Christ.

John Wesley, in his sermon on Christian Perfection, said, "But it should be premised, that there are several stages in Christian life, as in natural; some of the children of God being but new-born babes; others having attained to more maturity." Wesley goes on to provide Scripture detailing the different audiences Paul was addressing; namely, the "little children" whose "sins were forgiven," the "young men, who have overcome the wicked one," and "mature" men, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. In this article, I have mentioned those first two stages: First, the moment of repentance in which you are covered in the mire of sin, yet cleansed from it's guilt; and second, the progressive life of repentance in which, by the Spirit, we continually put to death the misdeeds of the body. However, I have not yet mentioned that last stage which Wesley labels as "perfect men." Is it true? Can a Christian be perfect?

The answer is yes and no. There are three things you must understand about "perfection." First, as Christians, even "babes" in Christ, we are all made perfect, because through His grace we are justified, cleansed from the guilt of sin. Second, we can never be completely perfect, because we will always face those sins I mentioned earlier of ignorance, error, infirmity, or temptation. We can never be "absolutely perfect," and we will always have the need to "grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." (2 Peter 3:18) Third, perfection in the Christian sense is not perfection in the material sense. It does not mean devoid of mistake or error, flawless in appearance or demeanor. It simply means that a person is in complete surrender to Christ; His thoughts, desires and motives are wholly devoted to God, and therefore his every willful action is one of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. When this happens in a person, he is "entirely sanctified,"(1 Thess. 5:23) not in the sense that there is no more room for sanctification, but that his whole being is focused towards God. It is not that his actions are perfect, but his love is perfect.

I hope that this has helped you understand more about holiness, and sanctification in the life of a believer, and I hope that this series on regeneration has given you greater understanding. I pray that all of you will daily offer yourselves up as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, and that you would no longer be conformed 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. (Romans 12:1-2)

In Christ,
Levi Gray

The Wise Neighbor and the Foolish Neighbor

2009-10-13T11:29:00.001-07:00

Once, there were two neighbors: one was wise, and the other was foolish. These two neighbors worked for the same company, and made the same salary. One day, their employer was so pleased with the work they had done, that he gave them each an extra years wages and vacation for a week. The two neighbors were ecstatic! They had worked hard for the past 10 years, and were crucial to the company's success. All the hard work they had done paid off.

Both of them decided to go to the market to spend all of their money on something. The wise neighbor went and bought corn, potatoes, and tomatoes to plant. He planted them all in his week of vacation, and within 5 months, he sold all his produce and bought more. Within 5 years, he had his own business, and retired early, and lived happily.

The foolish neighbor went and bought enough milk, cheese, and meat to feast for a year. He went home and pigged out. However, by the end of the week, he had only eaten a fraction of the food before it all went bad. He had to go back to his job the next day, and worked there for the rest of his life. 5 years later, he came to his neighbor and said, "How is it that you are so wealthy and happy and I am so poor and lonely, when we have both worked just as hard for our money?"

The wise neighbor said, "When a man spends all he has on something that passes away, he will be happy until that thing passes away; But when a man spends all he has on something that lasts forever, he will be happy forever."

Many people in this world trust in money, family, friends, cars, etc. When their lives are over, those things will pass away. There is only one thing on earth which does not pass away, the precious blood of Jesus Christ. When we die, and stand before God on Judgment Day, it is the only thing we can carry with us. Will you appear before God empty-handed, or with His blood, the key to the gates of heaven?

Who Is Your Neighbor (Luke 10:25-37)

2009-10-04T04:42:00.000-07:00

There was once a man named Unborn. He was traveling down the road, and was attacked by a band of robbers called Choice. They stripped off all of his clothes, beat him nearly to death, and left him on the side of the road, bloody and naked.

It just so happened that soon after, a man named Christian walked by and saw Unborn. At first, he thought, "I must save this man! What a horrible thing!"Then he calmed himself down and thought, "Wait a second, I don't know this man's situation, how can I say that he's really deserving of life? I don't want to intervene, I'll just pass on by." Unborn lay there, crying out for someone to save him, but it seemed as if no one could hear his voice.

Some time later, another man, Pro-Life, came by. "What is this? What horrible person would attack a man and leave him naked and dying on the side of the road?" He said. However, he came to his senses and said to himself, "I've got so many duties to attend to today. There are homeless people waiting at the shelter, and I've got an Evangelism meeting to attend. It's just not my ministry to help this man, surely God will send someone else to help him."

Then a man named Compassion walked by, and seeing the man, cried out in shock and ran to him. Compassion treated his wounds as best as he could and took him to the hospital and said, "Do anything you can to take care of him, I'll pay whatever you need."

Now, which one of these men was a neighbor to Unborn?

Abortion: A Woman’s Right to Choose, or a Child’s Right to Live?

2009-09-23T15:25:00.000-07:00

Abortion is a gut-wrenching subject for most people. I know that just by reading the title, many people will wince, as if they are being threatened by some unseen force. It’s a natural reaction in this modern age, because the battle between the Life and Choice movements has steadily grown more hostile in every area it affects. On May 31, 2009, George Tiller, the famed late-term abortionist(providing abortions after the 21st week of pregnancy), was murdered at his church in Wichita, Kansas by Scott Roeder.(1) On September 11 of the same year Jim Pouillon, a 63 year old pro-life activist, was shot to death while holding graphic signs outside of a high school in Owosso, Michigan.(2) No matter where we are, we have all come face to face with this issue, and have been forced either to take a side in the battle, or to ignore it and hope it subsides. The sad truth is that it will never subside, and chances are slim that this battle will ever end until this world has passed away. The question is, which side is the right side? In this argument, I will show you how fundamentally immoral “Choice” is, how essentially honorable and good “Life” is, and what we must do to defend it.

The most basic struggle between the two movements is the definition of the term Life and, more specifically, when Life begins. The pro-choice opinion repetitively assures us that until birth, it is merely a mass of flesh and tissue inside of the womb. If such a thing were true, we would have no choice but to admit that abortion is not murder at all. However, observing the activities of gestation tell a different story. Within three weeks of conception, the fertilized egg becomes a zygote, and the sex of the child is determined. At five weeks, the heart begins to beat, and can be seen on an ultrasound. In the eighth week of pregnancy, the fetus begins to form fingers and toes. After twelve weeks, the second trimester begins. In the next sixteen weeks, all of the organs move into place, and the baby begins to form senses, and can move, touch and taste. In the third and final eleven weeks, the third trimester, the child begins to gain weight and important preparations for life outside the womb begin, as he (or she) receives antibodies to protect him from disease, and grows more fat cells to keep him warm after birth.(3) This is but a fraction of the many changes that take place inside the womb, and it gives us a clearer picture of what truly lies within a pregnant woman’s belly: not a mass of tissue, but a child, who is just as much a person as any of us.

The next argument the pro-choice activists will use is, “My body, my choice.” In Genesis 3:15, God tells Satan, “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel." (4) The seed of Satan are those who proclaim his message, “My body, my will, my choice,” (Isaiah 14:13-14) and make themselves gods, while the seed of the woman, Christ and his Church, declare “not my will, but God’s will be done.” Margaret Sanger, taught by our schools as the “mother of the women’s rights movement” made plain her intentions in creating the American Birth Control League(now known as Planned Parenthood, the “most trusted” provider of surgical abortions(5)) in her 1918 article called Morality and Birth Control: “We now know that there never can be a free humanity until woman is freed from ignorance, and we know, too, that woman can never call herself free until she is mistress of her own body…Birth control is the first important step woman must take toward the goal of her freedom. It is the first step she must take to be man’s equal. It is the first step they must both take toward human emancipation.”(6) The purpose of birth control, and in this age, abortion, is to no longer allow God to be in control of her reproductive rights, but to let woman take control! Isaiah 40:1 answers this statement perfectly: “Woe to the rebellious children, saith the LORD, that take counsel, but not of me; and that cover with a covering, but not of my spirit, that they may add sin to sin.”(7)

I could write for days about all the reasoning and logic the pro-choice movement has used to justify it’s child-killing(and, observing the facts, it is murder). However, the two principles I have mentioned are always the first words that come from the mouth of someone who is planning to have an abortion. There are many excuses, but they all boil down to two questions: Knowing the facts, are you willing to murder a child, or help murder a child? If your answer is no, then you are just like fifty-five percent of Americans.(8) Wait a second, why is abortion legal if fifty-five percent of Americans oppose it? Because out of the fifty-five percent, an infinitesimal amount of Christians actually do something about it. If you truly believe abortion is murder, then what we are facing is a holocaust! According to the pro-choice Guttmacher Institute, approximately 1.3 million abortions occur each year in America, and the worldwide total is 36 to 53 million abortions!(9) That’s three to five times the amount of people who died during the holocaust. If abortion is murder, then we have a serious problem on our hands, because most of us are saying “It is murder,” and doing nothing about it. That leads to our second question, are you willing to do something about it?

If just one quarter of that fifty-five percent would go at least once a week to the local abortion clinics and plead with women to choose life for their children, I know for a fact that at least half of all those clinics will be shut down. I go to church with two wonderful women who have been going to the clinic every day since last October. Our pastor, who happens to be a son and a brother to these women, promised them that if they go everyday, and keep count of the babies that are saved through their efforts, then the results would not disappoint them. He was right! Since last October, almost 400 babies have been saved, and counting! So don’t be discouraged, and don’t think to yourselves, “I can’t do this, I’m just one person.” Those two people did so much for the cause of unborn children, and you can too!

I hope that this essay will not only sober the minds of Americans everywhere to the horrible thing abortion truly is, but that it will awaken them all into action, so that we can stop this heinous crime that is infecting the heart of America, and destroying the lives of 4300 babies everyday. It is not my wish to see abortionists killed, or for women who have had abortions to be struck down with lightning, but that the hearts of every man and woman in the world will be changed, and that the unborn children who once knew no hope find it.

Works Cited

1. http://articles.latimes.com/2009/jun/01/nation/na-tiller1
2. http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/53931
3. http://similac.com/pregnancy/
4. http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis%203:15&version=KJV
5. http://www.plannedparenthood.org/about-us/who-we-are-4648.htm
6. http://www.nyu.edu/projects/sanger/secure/documents/speech_morality_and_bc.html
7. http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah%2030:1&version=KJV
8. http://www.abortiontv.com/Misc/AbortionStatistics.htm#Pro-Life%20vs.%20Pro-Abortion
9. http://www.guttmacher.org/media/presskits/2005/06/28/abortionoverview.html

Repentance: The Act of Regeneration

2009-09-01T09:57:00.000-07:00

Forgive me, Christians, for not writing this note sooner. This is one of the most extensive topics I've had the honor to study, and so I am taking extreme caution to include every necessary piece, and to do so effectively, in a way that the reader can understand and apply to their lives. There are many who misconstrue the concept of repentance on opposite extremes,(there are some who say that repentance is simply "believing," and others who say that repentance is made manifest through a perfect, sinless life) and it is my goal to answer each plainly through Scripture.

As we move from conviction to repentance, we see regeneration taking on a new form: it is moving from a mental, emotional process to an active, practical one. The humbling of a man by the Law of God will(should) stir up a desire to fully understand Grace and apply it. Contrary to the myths conjured up by the selfishness and laziness of our modern American church, regeneration does not come by simply "believing in God." As if such a thing could save us! James warns against such hypocrisy:

"You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder. You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless?"

Without some physical manifestation of regeneration, it can only be said of a man that his faith is dead. Does this mean that we are saved by works? Of course not! Take a look at Romans 8:13-14: "For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God." We are sons of God, and the sons of God are led by the Spirit, and the Spirit will lead us to put to death the flesh. It is not as if turning from sin is a step one must take in order to achieve salvation, but it is a natural product of the true and godly sorrow of a man, just as the product of good seeds and quality soil is a tree which produces good fruits.

New Testament repentance comes from the Greek word μετάνοια(metanoia), which means a change of mind, and as the 19th century scholar Joseph Thayer puts it, "especially the change of mind of those who have begun to abhor their misdeeds, and have determined to enter upon a better course of life, so that it embraces both a recognition of sin and sorrow for it and hearty amendment, the token and effects of which are good deeds."

Repentance is a mental transformation that directly produces a physical transformation. Due to your anguish over sin and your desire to achieve the righteousness of God which "comes through faith in Jesus Christ," (Romans 3:22) your perspective slowly begins to change, until you become like Paul, and all things are "a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus." You must understand that this is not just an emotional urge or a spiritual tug in God's direction. It is a lifestyle change, a person shifting 180 degrees, away from sin and towards Christ.

Some people assert that when we repent, we stop sinning completely. However, the New Testament paints a different picture. Paul tells the Corinthians, "those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be holy,"(1 Cor. 1:2) that he "could not address [them] as spiritual but as worldly—mere infants in Christ." He writes to the churches in Galatia, "I 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"(Gal. 1:6), and in this epistle we read of an account in which Paul rebukes Peter publicly for "not acting in line with the truth of the gospel." There are countless times in which the apostles admonished believers because of lackadaisical moral or spiritual attitudes, and immoral practices within the church, and even Christ himself had to correct the apostles many times!

It becomes clear through Scripture that Christians are not perfect, and repentance is not perfection. In his sermon on Christian Perfection, John Wesley says, "Nay, with regard to the Holy Scriptures themselves, as careful as they are to avoid it, the best of men are liable to mistake, and do mistake day by day; especially with respect to those parts thereof which less immediately relate to practice. Hence even the children of God are not agreed as to the interpretation of many places in holy writ: Nor is their difference of opinion any proof that they are not the children of God on either side; but it is a proof that we are no more to expect any living man to be infallible than to be omniscient."

Imagine being born in a pool of dirty, mucky mud(sin). Everyone around you is just as dirty as you are, so you pay no heed to it, and have no desire to get out of the mud. That is, until you see God's holy law and realize how dirty you really are. Then you long to be made clean and pure and free from the filthiness of the mud(conviction). When you make up your mind to get out of the pool, and make your way out(repentance), are you instantly clean? Of course not! If you've lived your whole life in sin, you can't hope to be instantly free from sin.

While we are not perfect ourselves, in repentance we are MADE perfect. Thank God that we have a mediator, Christ Jesus, who cleansed us from the guilt of sin, and made us into new creatures! However, justification did not take away our sinful desires, but instead gave us the opportunity to "serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code." (Rom. 7:6)

In other words, redemption that comes from repentance will not make you perfect, holy, and blameless in your deeds, but it "cleanses our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!"(Hebrews 9:14; 10:22) I pray that after reading the Scriptures, you will understand true repentance, and you will be able to "live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God."(Col. 1:10)

My next article will be Holiness: A Response to Regeneration. Holiness is intertwined with repentance, because it is a daily process of dying to yourself everyday. As we repent, we turn from the sins we have committed, but furthermore, we strive to die to new sins everyday. This growth in repentance is known as holiness. There are many misconceptions and criticisms about the doctrines and claims in Scripture concerning holiness, and I will make it my duty to study and answer as many of those misconceptions as possible.

In Christ's Service,
Levi Gray

Conviction: A Desire for Regeneration (Part 1)

2009-08-20T17:40:00.000-07:00

Hello, Christians. I am yet again privileged with the opportunity to share God's word with you, that we may all learn it, do it, and teach it, giving glory to God our Father through growing repentance, and active faith. I have decided to do three articles, all linked together for the joint purpose of fully describing regeneration. Regeneration is not, in essence, a three part process, but I feel that in order to help all of you understand through Scripture what regeneration is, I should divide it into the three major expressions of regeneration.

But first, what is regeneration? It comes from the greek word παλιγγενεσία(paliggenesia), which comes from the root words πάλιν(palin), meaning again, and γένεσις(genesis), which means birth. Being regenerate is being born again! We get this concept of new birth from John 3:3-6, :

Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council. He came to Jesus at night and said, "Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him." In reply Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again." "How can a man be born when he is old?" Nicodemus asked. "Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb to be born!" Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit."

What Jesus said here is pretty extreme. You cannot enter the kingdom of God unless you are born again, of the Spirit. It is a matter of our salvation, whether we are regenerate or not. If you are not regenerate, then you CANNOT enter the kingdom of God. So, what does regeneration look like? Thus begins our study of regeneration. There are three dispositions, one that manifests itself in a person before he/she is regenerate, one that is seen in the act of becoming regenerate, and one that displays itself afterwards, as evidence of regeneration. If all three of these are not expressed in the person, they are not regenerate, and will NOT enter the kingdom of God. Please be very careful not to loosely label yourself or others as "born again," but first consider these truths from the word of God.

The first disposition of regeneration, conviction, has to do with how a person responds to the gospel message. Unless a person understands the gravity of his sin, and is truly grieved of his depravity, he can never be a new creature in Christ. Conviction is the breaking down of that great barrier which lies between man and God, which infects the heart of everyone: Pride. The reason that the way of Jesus Christ is the narrow way, is because man is so convinced that he is a good person, and that God owes him something, that it will send him straight to Hell.

The gospel in America is so self-centered! It's as if people think that it was Christ's duty to die on the cross! What kind of absurd notion is that? It is horrid! Yet you say it everyday, not with your lips, but with your actions. Every time you refuse to admit to God that you are a wretched, wicked sinner, you refuse Christ and his salvation. You spit in our Lord's face every time you say, "God loves me just the way I am." We need to eradicate the self-centered gospel which has infected the majority of pulpits today, and replace them with the truth.

What is the truth? That "there is no one who does good, not even one,"(Romans 3:12) and that all men have fallen short of the glory of God." Sin entered the world through Adam, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned." (Romans 5:12) All men are guilty of breaking God's law, for "no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin."(Romans 3:20)

Some of you may say, "Well, God will forgive me." If someone had killed your mother, and he stood before a judge, and the judge said, "I forgive you," What would you say then? You would cry out "Injustice!" if you have any moral fiber in your soul. If a judge is just, he must punish the crime, and if God is just, He must punish you for your sin. It is when a man humbles himself and realizes his transgression against the Father that he can understand that he can be "justified freely by His grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus."

When a person truly comes under the conviction of the Holy Spirit, they will move on to the next expression of regeneration, the act of regeneration itself, which I will cover in my next blog(Repentance: The Act of Regeneration)

I learned so much from this study, and I hope that you did as well. I will pray every day that the Scriptures will set your hearts aflame with the knowledge of God, and empower you in the Holy Spirit to "put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts. "

In the name of Jesus Christ, our blessed savior,
Levi Gray

The Second Great Depression

2009-08-18T11:01:00.000-07:00

This is an amazing article by Rusty Thomas. This man of God is the founder of Elijah Ministries and the Kingdom Leadership Institute, and assistant director of Operation Save America. The article, in the link below, provides us with a practical, biblical perspective on what is happening to our country economically, morally, and spiritually. If you care for the things of God, and are concerned with the welfare of this nation, you need to read this.

The Second Great Depression

If you feel as moved by this article as I do, then I recommend you support Rusty by ordering his book, The Kingdom Leadership Manual.

So, Why Do We Practice Courtship?

2009-08-10T07:26:00.000-07:00

One of the most misunderstood principles in the Church today is the practice of courtship. So many young people are practicing courtship without much knowledge of the biblical principles that give us conviction to choose to court, as opposed to the unbiblical practice of dating. As a result, they become open to deception and compromise in the area of their relationships with the opposite sex. I've seen many people step out of God's will for their relationships because of this, so I have made it a goal of mine to ensure that all of you who are teenagers(and parents of a teenager) know these principles in order to "be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of lawless men and fall from your secure position."
(2 Peter 3:17)

Most of you know what courtship is(and if you don't, please read this note by my good friend Adam Tennant:THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN DATING AND COURTSHIP), but WHY do you court? There are two principles you must understand in order to guide your decisions in this area of life: Family and Faith. When you learn that God's will for your relationship is that it is family-focused and faith-driven, "our God may count you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may fulfill every good purpose of yours and every act prompted by your faith."(2 Thessalonians 1:11)

So, what does family have to do with courtship? Contrary to popular belief, family is an integral part of the Christian's ministry. Family has two applications in our lives: Progressive and Prospective. In other words, when you make a decision, it should not only edify the family you have, but the family you will have. Abraham is a wonderful example of someone who saw his family prospectively: "Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, 'So shall your offspring be.' (Romans 4:18) When boys become men, and girls become women, they will have to fulfill those roles in the family which God has called them to. Everything you do or think today in your relationships with the opposite sex will affect how you can fulfill that role later in life. But there's more.

We also have an obligation to look at our family life progressively. Hebrews 11:7 says that by faith, Noah made such a decision for his family: "By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family." He knew his family was in danger, and so made the necessary preparations to protect them. However, teenagers have different roles in their progressive family lives. They are children, so how do they make decisions in light of their present family? In what way is my family involved in courtship? In every way. You see, it is because fathers have been excluded from involvement in their child's relationships that has caused such a decline in biblical principles of love and sexuality. As young people, you are not responsible enough to handle such things on our own, and as the head of the home, your father must be involved with your relationships to keep you blameless and holy in that area. Read this excerpt from What He Must Be If He Wants To Marry My Daughter by Voddie Baucham, one of the best resources on biblical families:

"I believe fathers have a God-given responsibility to see to it that their daughters marry well and that their sons become worthy husbands. As such, I believe it is necessary for fathers to model biblical manhood, teach biblical manhood, and to hunt for biblical manhood on behalf of their daughters. Similarly, I believe fathers with sons have a responsibility to prepare their sons for marriage."

It is of the utmost importance that fathers are involved in his child's relationships. I am not advocating arranged marriages, all I am saying is that a father should have an active role in the courtship process. So, remember to think towards your family, present and future, in every aspect of your life, especially your social interactions.

The next principle, just as important as the first, is faith. Not only should your relationships be focused on family, but they should be driven by faith. Why? Because "He has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you holy in His sight, without blemish and free from accusation— IF you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope held out in the gospel. " If you look back to 2 Thessalonians 1:11, which I quoted earlier, you'll see that Paul prays for the believers, that every act can be prompted by faith, "so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ."(v. 12) If you want to glorify Christ, you will act with your faith in mind. So "set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed."(1 Peter 1:13)

The best way to understand the eternal impact of your actions(and thus how acting in faith is so important) is in 2 Timothy 2:20-22. The first two verses say this: "Now in a large house there are not only gold and silver vessels, but also vessels of wood and of earthenware, and some to honor and some to dishonor. Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from these things(the latter), he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work. " So, how do we act as vessels of honor? How can we act in faith? The next verse answers our question: "Now flee from youthful lusts and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. "

There's no way anyone on earth can list how we should protect ourselves from each and every situation, or how to predict the thousands of ways the devil can deceive you, but if you hold fast to these biblical principles, I can assure you that all of your problems and temptations with the opposite sex can be dealt with appropriately. I hope this will help you in your daily living as it has helped me. So continue to fight the good fight of faith, and strive to have clean hands and a pure heart.

In His Service,
Levi Gray

Seek the Truth: Overcoming Sin in Your Life

2009-07-31T11:06:00.001-07:00

Dear Christians,

It is my privilege and honor to come to you again with another proclamation of the Scriptures, and I pray that reading this will help you to become "strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience." (Col. 1:11) This is inspired by a sermon by Tim Conway.

Romans 8 is one of the most beautiful and accurate descriptions(in my opinion) of the life of the flesh and the life of the spirit. It says in essence that we all have a choice to make, every second of our lives, and that choice boils down to this: Do I walk in the spirit, or do I walk in the flesh? Christians or not, every spirit inhabits a body. It is the inherent nature and desire of the body to do what pleases it, and what pleases the body is sin. "For while we were in the flesh, the sinful passions, which were aroused by the Law, were at work in the members of our body to bear fruit for death." (Romans 7:5) We are born as slaves to sin and unrighteousness, but Christ demonstrated his love towards these slaves to sin in that he gave His life to save them from sin. It is the purpose of Christ's incarnation and atonement to deliver us from sin!

So, what shall we say? That when a person becomes born again, he immediately stops sinning? Of course not! Sin is not only mentioned in Scripture as an act of transgression, but there is a separate definition for sin. Sin is also mentioned as a force of Satan, which attempts to destroy what God has created. As new creatures, we are cleansed from the guilt of sin, but that does not mean we have defeated sin in our lives. So, how do we overcome this power of sin, how do we kill it, and remove it from our lives? We must first understand the source of the problem.

Romans 6:12 says, "Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires." How does sin reign in our bodies? By making us obey it's evil desires. So how does sin attack us? Through our own desires! Any time you have ever fallen into sin, it is because you have desired something with your flesh, and you obeyed that desire. Satan is not your most formidable enemy as a Christian, you are. Your own flesh seeks to turn you over to the wiles of sin, because that is the nature of your flesh!

If the source of sin's power is our own desires, then it is clear what Romans 8:13 means when it says, "for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live." If you want to defeat sin, you must defeat your flesh. If you want to kill sin, you must kill your flesh. It becomes so obvious when you realize that every time you sin, you are fulfilling some desire that you have in your body. Ephesians 4:22 says that we are to put off our former self, which is corrupted by what? Satan? No! By it's desires!

So we've identified the enemies: Sin and our Desires. So how do we defeat them? What is it that makes us obey our own desires? What characteristics do sin and our desires have that give them power over us? Look back at Ephesians 4:22. It says that our desires are deceitful. Hebrews 3:13 warns us not to be hardened by sin's deceitfulness. So what makes us obey our evil desires and sin? We are deceived! We sin when we choose to believe a lie!

No matter what your sin may be, whether it's greed, unrighteous anger, lust, pride, or any other sins, you obey your desires because you "exchanged the truth of God for a lie."(Romans 1:25) If sin and our desires overcome us through deceit, how can we defeat it? Romans 1:25 said it, the TRUTH! It is the truth of God that overcomes the lie.

I implore all of you to identify the lies that you have believed which cause you to obey the desires of your body, and I challenge you to attack those lies with the truth of God! Memorize all the Scriptures you can that oppose the lie you've believed, and meditate on them daily. I promise that if you do that, you will be victorious in your battle against sin.

I pray fervently that God would prick your hearts with these Scriptures as he did mine, and that we all would begin to defeat sin and overcome the lies in our lives, so that we may continue to "grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ."

In His Service,
Levi Gray

Vessels of Honor:Keeping an Eternal Perspective

2009-07-15T22:44:00.000-07:00

I would like all who read this to know that God has called me to author a book, which depicts concisely and clearly God's will towards the Christian life. There are countless books on this subject by more formidable authors than myself, but this is more of a guide through Scripture to clear all doubts and to strengthen faith. Most of my recent posts and notes, which some of you have read, will appear in some fashion in this book. There is a topic which I want to illuminate, one which nearly outlines the purpose of my book, and all of Christian thought in general. I pray that as I learn the Scriptures, I may adhere to them, and share them with others as God has called me to do. I also pray that as you read this, the Lord will open your eyes to His Word and it's meaning.

As most of you reading this know, the world has an entirely different perspective than the Church, and the perspectives on either side are founded upon the definition of success. How does the world define success? The world has a strong conviction that success is obtained through fame, fortune, hospitality, peace, kindness, and compassion. If someone has a wife, a home, two children, two cars, a pet, and a stock, then they can die as people who gained much in this world. Upon this principle, it should be no surprise to us that America has become a place where every man does what is right in his own eyes. As Christians, we must separate ourselves from such practices, for the Bible calls it "the way of a fool."(Prov. 12:15)

So, how would Christians define success? What definition would cause them to be separate from the world? I could probably tell you in one sentence what that is, but that would be unfruitful. I want you to read and study these Scriptures, so that you will know and believe in Christ, and see all things through a Christian perspective. The first Scripture is Philippians 3, when Paul begins to describe his own success by the world’s standards:

Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee; Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless. But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead. Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.
Phil 3:5-12 (KJV)

In the world's eyes, Paul was once a successful man. He was chosen of God, an elite, blameless and holy, doing the work of the Jewish community with zeal and pride. However, since his encounter with the Lord, his perspective has changed, because his definition of success had been flipped around. What was once gain is now loss, and success could only come from one thing: Christ. He was the center of all things which prosper and enrich. All that Paul once treasured suddenly took on a dull, worthless nature which displeased Paul. From that moment on, only those things which glorify the King could please Paul, for it was only those things which Paul counted as gain.

After defining success, we see that all things are loss in comparison to Christ. The next step is to learn how to apply this to our lives. Are we to deny everything that the world has to offer? Are we to live like monks, and seclude ourselves? This leads us to our next Scripture, an example Paul gives Timothy to help him understand the importance of his ministry.

But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour. If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master's use, and prepared unto every good work.
2 Tim 2:20-21 (KJV)

What is Paul saying here? Alone, this example sounds rather confusing, but when it is pieced together with the rest of Scripture, our understanding becomes complete. Throughout Scripture, Christ tells us that one day, he will come to judge us all. Some of us He will keep and rejoice in, others He will throw into everlasting fire. We see many examples of this; the wheat and the chaff(Luke 3:17), the sheep and the goats(Matt. 25:31-46), the tree of bad fruit and the tree of good fruit(Matt. 7:15-19), the man who built his house on the rock and the man who built his house on the sand, and several more. The point to all of these is, one day Christ will come and judge you. You can be among those who put their faith in Christ and live out that faith, or you can be among those who deny Him(in word or deed) and do "what is right in your own eyes."

The wood and earthen vessels Paul is referring to in 2 Timothy are those actions which will pass through the fire of the Lord's judgment, and will burn up in the fire. All those things which are not centered around Christ, will be destroyed. The gold and silver vessels pass through the fire, and come through as pure and holy vessels. Christ advises the church in Laodicea, " I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see(Rev 3:18)." Are your actions worthy of Christ, and will they pass through the fire of His judgment? Are you vessels of gold and silver, vessels of honor?

I thank you all for reading and studying God's word. I pray that it changes and strengthens you as it did me. I rejoice that we have the Word of God, a standard to live by in this world of foolish desires. I praise God for His grace, and I hope to write again soon.

In His Service,
Levi Gray

Obedience and Sacrifice: Becoming a New Creature in Christ

2009-06-15T01:32:00.000-07:00

Most of you are familiar with the phrase "obedience is better than sacrifice." You are also probably familiar with it's parent passage- 1 Sam. 15. How sure are you, however, of it's application to your lives? Allow me to share what God has pricked my heart with these past few months with this and several other Scriptures that teach us that the Christian life isn't just about living in God's name.

It's imperative that we observe what Saul did in 1 Sam. 15, and compare it to our own lives. Saul was commanded to destroy the Amalekites, every man, woman, child, cattle, sheep, and donkey. This was a rebellious nation which hated God, and God was commanding Saul to purge it from the land, to rid the infectious rebellion from the valley. However, rebellion had already infected the heart of Saul, for he did not utterly destroy Amalek, but only destroyed every thing that was "vile and refuse."

Samuel was made aware of this by the voice of God, and when he approached Saul, he said this(paraphrased): "Why do I hear the bleating of sheep in my ears? And why do I hear oxen?" Saul attempts to reconcile himself by assuring Samuel that what he did was in fact a good thing. "I didn't destroy the king or the chief goods, but I kept it so that I could sacrifice it to my God!" I can imagine Saul was quite proud of himself. Satan had worked his deception indeed through the heart of this king. As you read on, you see that God was not at all pleased with this, and in fact took Saul's anointing away and ripped the kingdom of Israel from his grasp.

Let me ask you this, church: When you gave your lives over to Christ, you were called to become new creatures, and to "put off the old man and his deeds." Why is it that you want to be so much like the old you? The sheep and oxen are bleating, and we can hear it and see it in your lives. Many of you repented from the darkness, only to follow a different shade of it. Satan has deceived you just as he did Saul. You have selfishly kept that which is to be utterly destroyed, and "sacrificed" it to God.

Do not be like Saul, or God will rip your anointing from your hands quicker than he gave it to you. Give up the old man, he has nothing for you except vanity and selfishness. Do not believe the lie that God will meet you halfway. You come to Him on His terms, or not at all.

Before I was saved, I was in a dark place. I loved death, so it shouldn't surprise you that I loved death metal. However, when I became a new creature, I knew I would have to get rid of that! That's when Satan stepped in. "You don't have to give it up," he said. "Just listen to the Christian metal bands. God will be so pleased that you've sacrificed your music to Him." I deceived myself for three years. When sacrifice replaces obedience, it becomes compromise. That's what it came to be.

The bands I listened to had a big "We are Christian" label slapped on their albums and websites, but their lyrics would do about as much to spread the gospel as an ear of corn. And the few that did, were the worst bands of all! The sound they produced was only a way to keep my "metal" addiction satisfied, and still please the Lord. I later discovered that the Lord knew the secrets of my heart, and was far from pleased. Adam, who I consider to be my authority in all things spiritual, sat down and talked with me about my music while we were in D.C. He had mentioned it before, and I had shrugged it off, but I never got it out of my head. When Adam tells me something, I know it's not vain speech. It is always of the utmost importance. I had to finally ask myself: "Are you really listening to it to worship God, or is it because you can't give it up?"

Therefore, I made a decision to fast. I fasted from metal music, and eventually every other artist or band that didn't dedicate itself solely for the purpose of spreading the gospel, and glorifying God. I haven't listened to anything else since, and God has helped me prosper in many other areas of life! Looking from the outside, I can now see how hypocritical (Christian metal, and Christian contemporary music in general) has become! There are few golden eggs in that nest, among hundreds of rotten ones.

To conclude, I want to ask all of you reading this to examine yourselves. Is there something you should have utterly destroyed, but you kept it instead? If there is, you are in rebellion to God. It isn't just about music. It could be anything. Many Christians are refusing to get rid of their attachments to culture, fashion, friends, even things like food and diet. As Samuel said to Saul,"For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry."(1 Sam 15:23) Even if you aren't sure about it, just do as I did, and fast from it. You will know soon enough whether your actions have proven themselves as true worship or as idolatry. Repent, and become the new creature in Christ that you were called to be.

In Christ,
Levi Gray

Suffering and Death in Christian Life

2009-04-13T07:00:00.000-07:00

After spending seven days in Nicaragua, a culture immersed in poverty, disease, death, and spiritual hunger, God has revealed to me a message that has gripped my heart for the past year. Slowly, He has put together a puzzle in my heart that has at last been completed. I feel that I should not only share this with you, but also invite you to hear the Word of God, and join me as I live it.

Most of you know that our church is in an almost irreparable state of damage. It has left its first love, Jesus Christ, and sold itself out to greed, idolatry, and the god called “self.” They have huge buildings, with air-conditioning and cushioned pews. Its leaders are ravenous wolves, and its congregations are lifeless corpses. The churches have become whitewashed tombs. They have forsaken the Gospel of Christ for a different, wicked gospel of compromise, laziness, and tolerance. In the meantime, God looks down from above at this adulterous bride and cries:

"I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me;
I was found by those who did not seek me.
To a nation that did not call on my name,
I said, 'Here am I, here am I.'
All day long I have held out my hands
to an obstinate people,
who walk in ways not good,
pursuing their own imaginations-
a people who continually provoke me
to my very face,
offering sacrifices in gardens
and burning incense on altars of brick;
who sit among the graves
and spend their nights keeping secret vigil;
who eat the flesh of pigs,
and whose pots hold broth of unclean meat;
who say, 'Keep away; don't come near me,
for I am too sacred for you!'
Such people are smoke in my nostrils,
a fire that keeps burning all day.” (Isaiah 65:1-5)

I fear for them, for I know that God is just. One day, He will return in all of His glory and separate the sheep and the goats. For the church, it will look a lot like this:

“I will destine you for the sword,
and you will all bend down for the slaughter;
for I called but you did not answer,
I spoke but you did not listen.
You did evil in my sight
and chose what displeases me.”(Isaiah 65:12)

They are filling a cup of thick wrath which will be poured out at the end of times, and it is already trickling and ready to burst. Do you want to experience the fate that this “church” will meet? If not, then examine yourselves and hear the Word of God, and rediscover Jesus Christ. How? It’s easy. Die.

Paul says that if you live according to your sinful nature, you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the flesh, you will live. You must crucify your flesh, and allow Christ to take its place. Some of you reading this will say, “This doesn’t apply to me. I pray, fast, attend weekly prayer services and Bible study, I go to Sunday school. I am an elder in my church, I teach, I sing, I play music…” Paul said something similar:

“…Circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for legalistic righteousness, faultless.” (Philippians 3:5-6)

Paul was chosen of God, an elite, blameless and holy, doing the work of God. However, he continues with this:

“But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith.”(Philippians 3:7-9)

Maybe you should read that again. Paul said that ALL THINGS are rubbish when compared to the Holy One of Israel. Food, drink, clothing, shelter, fame, fortune, family, friends, and love are all worthless, because we are not saved by such things that perish when we leave this earth, but by the “precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ.” (1 Pet. 1:19) Oh how unworthy are we to receive such mercy from a man who, while we spit on Him, beat Him, nailed His hands to a cross, and mocked Him, faced the wrath of God on our behalf. He laid himself on an altar, with all of our sin upon His back, so that we could appear righteous before the throne of a just God. Our Almighty Father despised His son on that day, forsaking Him. His horrible and terrible wrath was brought in full on the brow of our blessed Savior. There was no amount of physical pain or torture we could have instilled upon Him that would compare to the pain of His Father’s wrath.

However, on the third day, Jesus rose from that place of death, and conquered it. He rose into the heavens to sit on that glorious throne and said, “Lift up your heads, O you gates; be lifted up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in.” There He sits, interceding on our behalf to our Heavenly Father.

The Gospel is not a simple “God loves you” and a tract. It is a call to die to the world, and live a life of pain and suffering for the glory of God.

Jesus made some promises to those who wished to follow Him. Let’s take a look at them.

‘As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, "I will follow you wherever you go." Jesus replied, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head." He said to another man, "Follow me."
But the man replied, "Lord, first let me go and bury my father." Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God." Still another said, "I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say good-by to my family." Jesus replied, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God."’(Luke 9:57-62)

The first thing Jesus promised us is that we will have no physical rest. The Christian life is an ongoing battle with Satan and his armies, and there will be no end to it until Christ’s return. People will hate you, mock you, curse you, maybe even attack you. Jesus also promised us that we will have no time for friends and family ties. He is not commanding us to forsake our families and friends, but the Gospel comes first. Let the “dead bury their own dead.” The third promise from Jesus is that we will have no chance to look back. If any of you regret making your decision to follow Christ, turn away now, because it will only get worse. A rich young ruler, who followed all the commandments since childhood, asked Jesus how he could inherit eternal life. Jesus said, "You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." The life of a Christian is not a life of material attachments. Are you ready to throw it all away for Him? How important are they to you? I remember a story of three Indian missionaries who had been called to preach the gospel in a town 1500 miles away. They had no money for a train, or even food or rent. Everyone told them not to go, that they should stay home. They said this: “If we have no money for a train, we will walk. If one of us becomes sick and dies on the way, we will bury him on the roadside, and the rest of us will continue on. If only one of us survives the journey and reaches Rajasthan and places only one gospel tract on the hot desert sand of that state before he dies, we will have fulfilled our mission, and we will have obeyed our Lord.”

In Nicaragua, I saw people walking three or four miles just to get to church on Sundays and Wednesdays. In America, people won’t even drive two miles to get to church on Easter. Before you can truly obey Christ, you must learn the nature of suffering.

“Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.” (2 Timothy 3:12)

The Founder of Gospel for Asia, K.P. Yohannan says this: we should accept suffering as a normal part of Christian life is the same as a mother accepting labor as a part of having a baby. It must happen in order to bring us life.

I don’t want you all to quit Christianity because it seems like a death march. What I have described to you is the Christian walk as the world sees it, but beyond the world, there is a far greater experience in store for all of you.

“So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” (2 Cor. 4:18)

Romans 6:1-11 answers the question, “Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase?” However, a look at the answer gives us a look at what “sharing” with Christ really means.
“Don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?”(v. 3)

All those who wish to follow Christ must suffer as Christ suffered, and must die as Christ died. You must put to death all of your flesh. Let’s look at what happens after we are baptized into death.
“We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.”(v. 4)

What a glorious message this is! Once we die to our flesh, we are baptized into a new life, a life of glory and power and resurrection that cannot be quenched by any worldly authority.

“If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin— because anyone who has died has been freed from sin.
Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God.
In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.”(vv. 5-11)

I will conclude my message with this: without death and suffering, you cannot live. However, when you do take on the baptism unto death, you will receive a life that you never imagined could fill you. Everything you dreamed of, everything you planned to do in life, will no longer matter because God made you a new creature, glorious and majestic in His eyes. Allow Him to fill you, and live the life of the Spirit.
In His Service,
Levi Gray

Closet Christians: The Importance of Secrecy

2009-01-08T18:35:00.001-08:00

The text I am using as a basis for this article is Matthew 6:1-18. Please read this and allow God to speak to your heart before carefully considering this article.

When I first repented and put my faith in Christ as Lord and Savior, my instinct was to show everyone around me how God changed me. I observed all the dedicated Christians around me, and for a long time, I practiced a "monkey see monkey do" philosophy, attempting to move from glory to glory through the acceptance of my spiritual authorities. I felt that by going through the motions I could gain God's approval, that he would be pleased with me. After a rude awakening one night, I realized that this is far from the truth.

As I was praying, God began to ask me, "Who are you?" He led me through a series of scriptures and showed me the true path to His pleasure and goodwill, and, several years later, after reading the aforementioned passage today, I feel the Holy Spirit pulling on my heart to share with you all God's Word on this subject.

The first concept we must learn is that works and salvation do not mix. We are all conceived in sin(Psalm 51:5) and cannot meet the level of expectation that God has for entrance into heaven. However, Jesus was delivered over for our sins, and raised for our justification. We have exchanged robes with Christ, putting on His righteousness as He bears our transgressions(Romans 4:25). As the wrath of God came upon our blessed Savior, it becomes clear that works cannot save us. If this were true, man would be doomed, for no one has kept the Law(John 7:19;Romans 3:23), but Christ died so that the Law may be fulfilled(Matt. 5:17). The way to salvation in Jesus is repentance from "dead" works and faith in Him(Heb. 6:1).

What does this mean? That before God, our works are "filthy rags."(Is. 64:6)The more we try to impress others with our good deeds and faithful practices, the more worthless our faith truly becomes. Does this mean that God doesn't want us to do His will? Of course not! But once we realize the importance of the above Scriptures, we have the basis to form the right motive for our actions: to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God(Rom. 12:1). Suddenly our actions take worth to God as seen several times in Matthew 6:1-18: "...and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you"

Therefore Jesus gives us specific warning to keep certain actions in the closet, or else our Father will not reward us. Alms giving, Prayer, and Fasting are important "closet" activities. The hypocrites will wish to show everyone that they fervently do these things, that you may label them a passionate servant, because they fear that you can see through them, into their home lives, where sin runs rampant. Does this mean we may never pray in public? No, because sometimes, prayer in public is just what the Holy Spirit use to reach out to hearts and convict of sin. However, you should be wary enough of your actions to practice humility in all manners of publicity.

With the right motive, and the right approach, our actions clearly have one purpose, to glorify God. It is when God gets glory that man is rewarded in heaven, which is exactly why Jesus leads us to the very next passage, which says, "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Matt 6:19-21

In His Service,

Levi Gray

Authority

2008-12-02T15:31:00.000-08:00

God has laid it on my heart to write an article concerning Authority. After a deep period of study, I realized that no Christian can truly prosper without humility and submission to Authority in his/her life. Authority encompasses the believer's life, and the Bible mentions four different types of Authority that are relevant to the modern Christian. The first, and most important Authority, is the Authority(and Sufficiency) of Scripture.

The Authority of Scripture
It's so sad that the Church today has forgotten that there is a difference between what God deserves and what God is satisfied with. Because of this deadly ignorance, we handle the Holy things He has given us with irreverence and disorder. We proclaim dreams and visions that God has given us, and messages that He has spoken through us, when we can never be sure they are directly from Him. I recently fell prey to this error, completely ignoring my obligation to authority to do something I was sure the Holy Spirit had beckoned me to do. When I realized my error, my sorrow was great. Not just for what I had done to defy God's Word, but what we all have done, by putting our trust in ourselves, making the prideful assumption that we are holy enough to understand and interpret God's message. The solution to this problem of the wickedness and imperfection of man, is God’s holy word. Psalm 119:160 says of God, "All Your words are true; all Your righteous laws are eternal." Since we cannot trust ourselves to say, hear, or do the right thing, we must rely on Scripture. The great thing is, Scripture is all we need. It is Sufficient; 2 Timothy 3:15-16 says, "...The holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness." Every function of the Christian, and even of the entire body of Christ, must be held under the Authority of Scripture, so that it does not stray towards man’s agenda.
Recently, I have heard much about modern “prophets”, who are called to bring God’s message to the Church. However, the office of the prophet is much different today as it was in the founding of our Church. The early Christians did not have the complete Bible. In fact, some of them weren’t able to read any of the books of the New Testament. The New Testament prophets “filled the gap” by proclaiming God’s message to the people who would not have access to it otherwise. The last book of the New Testament (Revelation) was not completed until late in the first century. So, the Lord sent prophets to proclaimed God’s Word to His people. www.gotquestions.org, a wonderful online Bible resource, says this:

“If the purpose of a prophet was to reveal truth from God, why would we need prophets if we have the completed revelation from God in the Bible? If prophets were the “foundation” of the early church, are we still building the “foundation” today? Can God give someone a message to deliver to someone else? Absolutely! Does God reveal truth to someone in a supernatural way and enable that person to deliver that message to others? Absolutely! But is this the biblical gift of prophecy? No.”

About my earlier statement about dreams and visions, I am not saying that God does not give us dreams or visions. But the biblical way to handle dreams and visions is to keep quiet about them. Daniel is a wonderful example. After describing a dream he had, he mentioned, “This is the end of the matter. I, Daniel, was deeply troubled by my thoughts, and my face turned pale, but I kept the matter to myself."(Daniel 7:28) Only when you cannot interpret them yourself, should you ask an authority to help you.
We must realize the importance of keeping the Word of God as Supreme Authority over our lives. Read Ephesians 6 and you will notice that the only weapon we have against Satan is the Word of God.

Authority of Parents
Many Christians fail to recognize that disobedience to parents is sin. If you disobey your parents, God will see you no differently than if you were a murderer. Many people use the excuse, “But my parents are so stupid! They don’t make sense!” Observe this Scripture carefully. This Scripture says all that is necessary for you to hear.

1 Peter 2:18-21
Slaves, submit yourselves to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good and considerate, but also to those who are harsh. For it is commendable if a man bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because he is conscious of God. But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God. To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.

Governing Authorities
Most of us are familiar with this Scripture:

1 Peter 2:13
Submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every authority instituted among men: whether to the king, as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. For it is God's will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men. Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God. Show proper respect to everyone: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king.

I cannot urge you strongly enough to obey the laws that your governing authorities have set forth. Unless it impedes God’s will and law, you must submit yourself to them. This is God’s warning to those who do not obey;

Romans 13:1-3
Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and he will commend you.

If you break a law, even something as small as speeding, regardless of whether you are caught or not, you are rebelling against God Himself. 1 Samuel 15:23 says, "For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry.”

Pastoral or Leadership Authorities

1 Peter 2:25
For you were like sheep going astray, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.

Obviously, this Scripture is focused on the justification of Christ, who is described in the previous verse as bearing our sins so that we ma die to sin and live to righteousness. But I want you to look at the implications of God being our Shepherd; it is clear that the shepherd of the flock protects the sheep, keeping them from going astray and walking far from the path of righteousness. The same can be said of the shepherds called into the Church, the pastors and ministers that God has set over us. We are to obey them and to trust their guidance, as it is(should be) rooted in Scripture. To stray from the guidance of our pastors and ministry leaders is to stray from the path of righteousness. If you feel that your pastor is not guiding you according to Scripture, I suggest you find a new pastor.

Also, the pastor’s job is to equip and lead the body, not to feed the body. You must understand that man makes mistakes, and you must study Scriptures to help you better understand your Pastor’s sermons. You still have the obligation to daily study the Scriptures to show yourself approved to God, and to go into the world and preach the Gospel to every creature.

Thank you for taking the time to read this. May God bless you all, and may you all live your lives in humility and submission, for the glory of God, and to esteem the cross of Christ above all else.

In His Service,
Levi Gray

Contraception:Satan's Hidden Agenda?

2008-08-10T14:05:00.000-07:00

I've met, in these three wonderful years of being born again, several Christians who understand that abortion is wrong, but believe that using contraception is an acceptable practice. Such a belief couldn't be further from the truth, and if you believe that statement to be true, then you do not understand God's perspective on the sanctity of life. Why is abortion wrong? Because God cherishes and sustains life before conception. Jeremiah 1:5 says...
"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
before you were born I set you apart;
I appointed you as a prophet to the nations..."
God had a plan for that child to grow up and serve Him. Therefore contraception must also be wrong. Why? Because it attempts to halt or prevent the development of life in the womb, that God planned for. Do any of you know why we can use contraception legally in America? Because of a woman named Margaret Sanger, founder of the American Birth Control League, later known as Planned Parenthood, the United States' leading provider of surgical abortions. Sanger, who, according to popular opinion, is one of the most influential people in history, stood up against the pro-conception ideals of that era, and called for reform. She wrote the book, A Woman Rebel, to convince women that the choice to have a child is not God's but theirs. Isaiah 30:1 says:
"Woe to the obstinate children,"
declares the LORD,
"to those who carry out plans that are not mine,
forming an alliance, but not by my Spirit,
heaping sin upon sin;"
Those plans encompass every aspect of your life, including having children. And another thing: Both abortion and contraception have the same objectives, to end life; They also justify themselves with the same reasons: A WOMAN'S CHOICE. Paul said in Galatians 1:6:
"I 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--which is really no gospel at all. Evidently, some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ."
America is being thrown into confusion, and is turning to a different gospel--what TIME Magazine calls "the gospel of voluntary motherhood." We must all repent of this, and turn America back to the cross of Christ, because Paul warns us of what will happen if we continue in our wicked ways:
(Galatians 1:9)
"As we have already said, so now I say again: if anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted(received), let him be eternally condemned.

The Fall of Man

2008-07-20T20:28:00.002-07:00

We live in a world deprived of justice, saturated in temptation, and void of life. We recognize it as common living, but I am filled with sorrow to say that the world is no longer at peace with God.
Though it may seem hateful, judgemental, I must speak, I must stand for what the world has lost.
Homosexuality, the mindset that denies existence, stands as a blatant insult to God's Word.
"Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination."Lev. 18:22
Man was not created to "know" other men. They do not give birth, and have no purpose to mate.
"Be fruitful and multiply."Gen. 1:28
Abortion, the Goliath standing as an affront to life, is simply outrageous. Can you stand to murder a child? Do you view a frail fetus in a womb as a piece of trash? You who support this heinous crime, are denying the basic human right to life.
"I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live."Deut. 30:19
"Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations." Jeremiah 1:5
Evolution, the lie that persists after loss. For evolution to be possible, there must be thousands, even millions of transitional fossils to show a growth towards Man. Not one exists. Spontaneous generation is life from non-living matter. The foolish peasants of old thought mice came from grain bags, flies from rotting meat, frogs from ponds. Louis Pasteur proved this wrong. Will you beleive it still?
"Wisdom calls aloud in the street,
she raises her voice in the public squares;
at the head of the noisy streets she cries out,
in the gateways of the city she makes her speech:
'How long will you simple ones love your simple ways?
How long will mockers delight in mockery
and fools hate knowledge? ' " Prov. 1:20-22
You who deny the existence of God, you ignore the very essence of this world. When you see a building, do you think to yourself, There is no builder? Of course not! Do you have proof that the builder exists? Yes, it is the house that proves the builder's existence. The same theory applies with the world. In itself, there is proof of God.
"My people are fools; they do not know me. They are senseless children; they have no understanding. They are skilled in doing evil; they know not how to do good."

Levi Gray

The Great Commission

2008-07-20T20:28:00.001-07:00

Hello, Christians.

I want to bring forth to you another proclamation.

Romans 10:13 for, Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

Most of you are familiar with this concept, but there’s a small problem. You see, many Christians stop there, without going any further. But that’s not the rest of the story…

Romans 10:14-15 How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in him whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? (15) And how shall they preach, except they be sent? Even as it is written, how beautiful are the feet of them that bring glad tidings of good things!

This may be uncomfortable news, but you are commanded to preach the Gospel to all creatures, as it is said in Mark 16:15, and most of you don’t. When was the last time you went out to an abortion clinic, a gay pride event, or even a mall to share the Good News with others? Some of you have never gone. Has it never occurred to you that there are thousands, millions going to Hell and you never even attempted to save any of them? I’ve heard Christians say that preaching the Gospel is hateful, and that we should simply witness to them through our love. That is fool’s speech! True hatred is when you watch your friend descend into Hell and do nothing about it! I’ve realized that the Church today has always been fine with rebuking a liar, a thief, or a disobedient child. But what they’ve been silent about for so long is that abortions take place everyday, homosexuality runs rampant, and false religion is now accepted. But the irony is that the three things the Church has been silent about have become the biggest threat to Christians today!

Isaiah 30:1-3 Woe to the rebellious children, saith Jehovah, that take counsel, but not of me; and that make a league, but not of my Spirit, that they may add sin to sin, (2) that set out to go down into Egypt, and have not asked at my mouth; to strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh, and to take refuge in the shadow of Egypt! (3) Therefore shall the strength of Pharaoh be your shame, and the refuge in the shadow of Egypt your confusion.

I know I probably over quote this Scripture, but this is very important. The very thing Israel rebelled against God for was the very thing that would become its downfall. The Church has attempted to befriend the world to avoid persecution and hardships, and in turn, God has allowed giants to rise up against the rebellious people.

Personally, I don’t believe that these three problems will ever atrophy, because God has set forth the events that foretell Christ’s coming.

Matthew 24:6-7 And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars; see that ye be not troubled: for these things must needs come to pass; but the end is not yet. (7) For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; and there shall be famines and earthquakes in divers places.

All these things have come to pass, and the end of our lives on Earth is soon. So, continuing my point, we probably won’t be able to quench Hell’s flames in the world anymore, but our job now is to stand up and fight. I believe that in Matthew 16, when Jesus told Peter “upon this rock I will build my Church” and that the “gates of Hell shall not prevail against it,” that He meant that the Church would be at the very gates of Hell, fighting the good fight. Sadly, Christ assumed we would take up our arms and fight. But, the Church turned tail and fled, and because of this, the gates of Hell have widened. Please, Christians, I plead with you, stand while you have the chance! Be laborers of the harvest! I will close with this Scripture. Meditate on it, and decide for yourself, will you watch the world die and do nothing about it?

John 9:4 We must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.

Levi Gray

The "Hype" Ministry

2008-07-20T20:16:00.000-07:00

I am posting this only for those who understand that this is not meant to condemn, but to correct, certain "ministries" that God has revealed to me are at fault.

I will not specifically point out these ministries for the purpose of encouraging and uplifting them, and hopefully those who read this will inform all they can about these truths that are evident not only in God's voice through me, but through Scripture as well. God's will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

These ministries that I am speaking of look radical, hip, and on fire for God, but they are only as effective as the hype they build theirselves up on. "Hype" is the keyword.
Before I go any further I want to share personal experience with you, without revealing too much about the ministry itself.

I've seen literally millions of teenagers come to see these ministries worship, preach, and pray. They are so upbeat, so sincere. The teenagers love it. And a lot of adults too. At the conferences, it's great to see such craziness and hyperactivity among Christians. I was ecstatic. Until we went back to our churches. What I saw was depressing.

A song is played, an older song, and the church begins to worship. It's beautiful to see God's people together worshipping. Then a song specifically designed by this ministry began playing. It was as if a switch was turned on in the children's mind, and they began dancing and shouting as if God had just showed up for this particular song. I couldn't believe my eyes. These kids are being almost brainwashed. Under normal conditions, they act nonchalant, as if nothing was happening. But when they hear a certain word or a certain song, they go nuts.

You're thinking, "no big deal", right? At least they're worshipping! Wrong! God wants all your worship all the time!
The worst part, though, is just the hype. These teenagers become blind to the will of God! The begin praying for miracles and signs and wonders, but they all forget the importance of God's word. Many who I have confronted say that the Word is just as important, but I can see by their fruits they are lying. The look in their eyes is much different when they hear this "hype" than when the Bible is being quoted.

This is very scattered and possibly illogical to you, but I need to get this down in writing so I will remember it. I don't know how to word what God is telling me. This is as close as I can get so far. With more fasting and prayer, I hope I can make you understand more.

God's Plan For Teens

2007-10-18T18:21:00.000-07:00

During worship last Sunday and I was praying, and Jesus appeared to me. It wasn't a vision, or a dream, just an image in my head. I had just repented of thinking too much of myself, mind you. Christ Himself sat in front of me at a desk, and I told Him, "Lord, Take my thoughts, take it all, just throw it away. What is on your agenda for me?" He pulled out a Bible, mine in fact, and said, "Preach that," tapping on it repeatedly.

I was amazed at this. It was such a simple concept, but the fact that God had to tell me left me dumbfounded. I was powerfully inspired. But then I realized that it is a commandment for all people.

But I've challenged myself to find out God's plan for my generation, because with the impurity of the media today, Christian teens are getting confused.

God's Plan For Teens
1. Study and Preach The Word
This was what God initially showed me to begin my meditations. It is also the most important one. What better way to know God's plan than to see how His people followed(and strayed from) His commandments? The most important thing in the Bible to preach is what the world needs most: The Gospel. The rest of His Holy Word is also important, but the first thing in God's agenda for the streets of America is the Gospel. Let our voices resound!
2. Protect Your Birthright
Flip Benham introduced this to me in February of last year, but it wasn't until recently that God showed me this was important. You see, Satan is comforting America, seducing it into laziness, so that he can take our birthrights, God's Word, right from under our noses. How do you protect your birthright? By standing against the demonic principalities in this nation, and clench the Word tightly in our palms. We are in a spiritual tug of war with Satan, but with God on our side, we will always prevail. God hated Esau, because Esau despised his birthright for a simple temporal pleasure. Hold on until the end.
3. Discipline
One of the reasons that teens fail in the battle against the world is the lack of discipline. But there are two types of discipline that are needed to maintain purity, which is the "titanium alloy" in the Armor of God. The first type of discipline is outer discipline. You need to challenge your spiritual authorities and your physical authorities(your parents) to discipline you and to do what they can to keep you away from temptation to do evil. I was addicted to pornography since the 7th grade, and I was battling well until I bought a computer with Internet on it. Was it the Internet that caused me to sin again? No, I fell back into the darkness of pornography because I didn't tell my father that I had a problem with it. But, with the help of a friend, I confronted my father and told him that unless he put restrictions on my Internet use(He put a password on my computer) I would not be able to efficiently maintain my relationship with God. Something I learned about being saved is that you have to FORCE YOURSELF OUT OF SIN. You are human and you will sin every now and then. That's why you should NEVER TRUST YOURSELF. God says in Isaiah 30:1:

Woe to the rebellious children," says the LORD, "Who take counsel, but not of Me,
And who devise plans, but not of My Spirit,
That they may add sin to sin;
4.Arm Yourselves
While the previous tasks in God's agenda for teens help us to arm ourselves, I want to emphasize this concept. Ephesians 6 speaks of the Armor of God, which is what I will describe to you to conclude this declaration. First I want you to notice that before Paul tells about the armor, he commands us to both be obedient to our parents and to obey our masters. These are both required to maintain your armor. Without humility and obedience, your armor will rust and decay.

Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

This is important for you to identify the enemy. We don't want to destroy the abortionists, the homosexuals, or the Islamic nation. We wish to save the abortionists and destroy abortion, save the homosexuals and destroy homosexuality, save Muslims and destroy Islam. Remember this when you declare the Word. Focus on the demons in the person, not the person themselves.

Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth...

Truth is what holds us together as Christians. Without your belt of truth, you may be embarrassed when declaring God's Word, if you catch my pun. Remain truthful.

....having put on the breastplate of righteousness,...

When you stand for righteousness, put it on display against the demonic principalities this world, God will use that to protect the most vital part of your spiritual body: your heart. Keep it pure, keep it strong.

....and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace;...

Why is it, when speaking about the gospel, would Paul use feet as an example? Because, to prepare to spread the gospel, you must first, as Christ said, go out into the world. This means that your witnessing should not be exclusive to the computer in your room.

...above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one...

Faith is your ally. When you truly believe in your heart that Christ defeated death and can defeat anything else, Satan will never be able to defeat you. He might as well pack his bags.

...And take the helmet of salvation...

The mind is the path which Satan usually takes to deceive Christians today. But when you are saved, you can allow Christ to crown you with this helmet. When Satan deploys his arrows, there is no promise you will not fear it's descent towards your head, or that you won't feel the pain as it rattles against the helmet, but your mind will be protected from fatal wound. But that doesn't mean you don't have the responsibility to protect your mind.

...and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God;

The same sword which pierces your heart in times can and should be used to destroy the principalities. Not only must we be protected, but we must put ourselves on the offensive for God.

Will you obey God's plan for you, teens?
Will you share God's plan for your teens, parents?

God's Trust

2007-08-20T14:48:00.000-07:00

Recently I was asking the Lord how I could rise up another level spiritually, and become closer to Him. Then He told me something that changed my way of thinking.
He told me that "levels" are silly. There are no measures to the closeness we have to the Father. In fact, we each have a personal relationship with Him that cannot be compared to another's relationship, only the Word of God.
So how could the apostles do signs and wonders when we can't? The things you are spiritually capable of aren't measured by your closeness to God, but how much God trusts you to do His Will. It's almost like getting a job at McDonald's. You can't just become CEO of a corporation by applying for it. You have to start at the low-end, entry-level jobs, until the company trusts you enough to work in a more sophisticated, higher-paying job. The process continues until the company trust you to be the head. God feels the same. He won't give you the power to heal people in wheelchairs if you aren't even willing to witness to others.
So you must find out what God wants you to do through three things:

1. Reading the Word. God has intimately breathed the Word into existence through His followers. It's purpose is to convey His Will to you, and to inform you of the things that God loves, and hates. He has a purpose for each letter of the Bible in your life. Just taking that and studying it is sure to bringing you to a deeper understanding of His Will.

2.Prayer. True and humble communication with God is the only way to maintain a personal relationship with Him. How can you truly love and serve God if you can't talk to Him constantly? Also, God doesn't want you to think of
Him as your overseer, but as your Father. My next email will be a description of His opinion in that matter.

3.Opportunity. It is so easy to find God's Will if you pay attention each and everyday to what's happening around you. Through conversation, inspiration, or just actions, you can show people the authenticity of a true relationship with Christ.

So, just do these things, and God will begin to show you the things of His heart, and he will reveal to you blessings and glory.

In Christ,

Levi Gray

Levi Gray
The Unnatural Masterpiece