Christ Like Walk

“Blessed are the pure in heart, For they shall see God.” (Matthew 5:8)          What does God say about the heart? Why do people ask Jesus into their heart? What makes the heart just an emotion factory? Today we will take a journey in scripture to see what God says about the heart. We will answer these question in our study. Let us be fair-minded and search the scriptures (Acts 17:11).   The Most Important Question         When we read scripture we have the opportunity to understand things the way God meant for them to be understood. So let’s look for a minute at this question, “ What does God say the heart is?” This is a very serious question into day’s idea of Christianity. As we have questioned in our introduction many would say the heart of man is the pinnacle of religion. If it is we must know what the heart is.   What Man Say’s           ...

        There are numerous stats, polls, graphs, and studies to show that people don’t care anymore, but I don’t buy it. As a whole, we aren’t spreading the Word. Sure, I know that false Christianity and false hope is sold worldwide, but people don’t want a fake, plastic faith. God knew what we needed when He gave us His Word. The world needs the message of redemption. I think we cower from spreading the truth to people because we have been brow beat by statements like “They say everyone is going to hell!” or, “You’re not the judge of me!” Those things have always been said and they always will be ( Lk. 11:53-54; Luke 20:20,26 ). However, I sure am glad Jesus didn’t give up reaching the lost. Let us follow His example and boldly proclaim the truth. The Commodity No One is Selling There are a lot of people interested in the truth.   Recently, I have witnessed many folks setting up Bible studies. According to mass media, they shouldn’t ...

           It is easy for us to be stagnate because we live a life surrounded by stimulation and change. We like to see growth in the church and if it takes too long, we move on. It is wearisome to run the race of endurance ( Heb. 12:1-2 ). It is the same work every week and often times we become indifferent in our Christian walk. Apathy is extremely dangerous. When we develop an unenthusiastic mindset toward the Bible, Christianity, and our worship to God we begin to wither away. Is That Me?      The Lord wants our work to be zealous, continuous, and fervent ( Gal. 4:18; Tit. 2:14 ). When we are lukewarm, we know that we must serve God, but we are half-hearted about doing so ( Gal. 5:13; Heb. 12:28 ). Our lack of zeal shows in our apathy toward sin, limited worship attendance, and not bearing much fruit for God ( Rm. 6:1-2; Heb. 10:25; Col. 1:10 ). These are all red flags. Also, being lukewarm can be seen in ...

  I’ll Take It Lying Down It is unbelievable how many folks indulge in sin. It’s like eating a cookie before dinner. It’s only a little guilty pleasure. It’s okay to enjoy. Yes, it’s bad for you. Yes, it will ruin what is good for you. Yes, it can be habit forming and lead to worse things. It’s just a cookie. What harm can it do? Sin is a whole lot more than a cookie. We are never taught to embrace sin.   In fact, we are taught the opposite. Why? Sin is corrosive, destructive, and deadly. We have no reason to tolerate sin. God never did. In fact, Christ was sent so that we may have forgiveness and eternal life (Acts 2:37-­38; John 14:5­6) . So, why are some of us tolerating it in the church and in our personal lives? Why do we put up with the “little guilty pleasures” of the flesh? Satisfying Company      It is carnally satisfying to appeal to your fleshly desires (Rm. 1:18­32). Sin is pleasing and requires you to do nothing. There is no...

If You Renounce Holiness You Will Die Spiritually!         It’s hard for some Christians to really grasp the difference between the world and the body of Christ. We read about it. We study it. We even try to apply it. In all actuality, we often fall short of being effective as Christians. We like to blur the line of separation by saying some things are okay and others are not. Last time I checked, if you put dirt in a glass of water, the water is no longer pure.   So, instead of keeping up the good fight, many just say, “I’m not a saint and I don’t want to be holy. Let me go wallow with the pigs. At least that’s fun.” That Attitude Stinks         With that kind of attitude, people make a concession for sin and abandon the truth. Why not? You have already decided you’re not holy. Christians are set apart. That’s what sanctified means (1 Cor. 6:11) . The moment we were immersed into Chr...

When we make concessions for deviation from the word we began to die spiritually. (2 Cor. 11:1-4)   Anyone who says “I know Him” and does not keep His commandments is a liar and the truth is not in Him (1 John 2:4). We too often lay claim to being God’s while forsaking Him. Hey, that is just easier to do. Like all things we would rather just say we have a connection to something than actually commit. Seriously, what would you do if something went bad? So, let’s just say "Yeah, I know Him." Then we can do what we want. That is how many want to treat Christianity. John was speaking on such atrocities when he stated that if we claim to know Him we must keep His commands or be a liar. Sounds Good To Me     We need to be seeking to be doers of the word not just hearers only. James 1:22  makes it clear when James says for us to be doers of the word not hearers only deceiving ourselves.   The deception comes in the fact we are ...

When we abandon the truth we stop growing! Although we tote our bibles around and our phone app’s we forget what the word says. We let someone “educated” tell us what we should know. Paul told the church in Colossi to let the word dwell richly in them ( Col. 3:16 ).   That means each one of us should be educated in the word. We shall know the truth and the truth shall make us free ( John 8:31-32 ). If we abide in Christ word than we are His disciples. Christ says He is the way, the truth, and the life ( John 14:6 ).   In Matt. 28:18-20 He says, that by His authority in heaven and on earth, that we are to be disciples immersed in Him and observe His commands. Not to mention that Christ makes it clear He only claims those who hear the word of God and do it ( Luke 8:21; Mark 3:33-35; Matt. 12:48-50 ). The parable of the sower makes it very clear that if we abandon the truth we can’t grow ( Luke 8:4-8 &11-15; Mark 4:3-8 & 13-20; Matt. 13:3-9 & 18-23 ). We can...