I wrote this blog after reading the following blog posted at this link on the Universal Life Church website:
http://blog.ulc.org/2010/08/homosexuality-is-neither-sinful-nor-immoral/comment-page-1/#comment-149
On Gay Churches - Homosexuality and The Church
Let me just say that I have nothing personally against homosexuals that choose to live their lives in sin any more than I have against anyone else living in sin as I once lived. Let me add that I am not perfect and I don't think that I'm better than anyone.
I am also sensitive to the fact that everyone should have the right to pursue their spirituality wholeheartedly and if I were homosexual I imagine I would also want to find God. Finding God, however, is different than playing God or pretending to know what God thinks outside of what is indicated in the Word of God if you believe that is what the bible truly is.
But to try to twist the Word of God around to justify a lifestyle that is clearly not God's will for men and women, especially those who claim to follow Christ is an offense that is actually greater than the homosexuality per se, I believe, because the practicing homosexual sins against God, himself and his partner and it ends there.
This church of yours seems to misrepresent God's Word in order to support homosexuality which not only misleads practicing homosexuals into thinking that they are morally pure but also places all of the bible's validity into question. If the bible is wrong about homosexuality, what else is it wrong about?
I used to use drugs. Crack to be specific. What if someone was able to convince me that there was no sin in my drug usage? Should I continue to use drugs at the risk of addiction, harming my body, losing my job and my family? Should I then start a church with fellow crackheads so that we can all console each other by convincing one another that God is pleased with our behavior and reinterpret scripture to support that belief?
I think that homosexuals have the same problem as everyone else that is born. They are born in sin and shaped (by society and culture, nature and nurture) in iniquity. The deck is stacked up against all of us at birth which is why we all need rebirth through Jesus Christ.
Truth seekers do not try to change the bible to fit their sinful lives, they work to change their sinful lives in order to conform to God's purpose for their lives as is indicated in the bible. This is straight talk and it may not be easy for a man who is attracted to men or a woman who is turned on by women but consider this - I am a married man who is attracted to voluptuous women and not only the woman I am married to. If I could change anything in the bible, I would change the rule on adultery and have as many women as would have me. But I do not live MY life anymore. I live the life of CHRIST in me. Not my will, but Thy will.
Please stop misleading homosexual Christians. They have as much right to know the truth about the eternal consequences of their homosexuality as heterosexual Christians have a right to know the truth about the eternal consequences of their sexual immorality. Sin is sin. Just because you put lipstick on a pig, it's still a pig!
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Is Facebook To Blame?
This blog was written in reference to the recent report about New Jersey Pastor Cedric A. Miller of Living Word Christian Fellowship who allegedly blamed Facebook for his sexual immorality and insists that his ministers delete their Facebook accounts (see - http://blog.themonastery.org/2010/11/pastor-blames-facebook-for-adultery)
If we look hard enough we can always find an excuse for our behavior. Some of us have legitimate reasons why we behave badly. Some have been abused as children or grew up without a mom or a dad. Many prostitutes and drug addicts fit that description and are still "looking for love" in a bottle or a needle. The latest craze is "sexual addiction," the term that cheaters use when they get caught being unfaithful to their spouses or lovers.
Blaming Facebook for sexual infidelity is like blaming television and movies for violent crime. There is nothing wrong with television and movies - you just have to carefully decide and choose what you and your family will watch! You have to know the difference between entertainment and reality. There is nothing wrong with Facebook! The only thing that can be right or wrong are the decisions that we make as to how we should use Facebook.
If married men and women choose to use Facebook to flirt and seek out the promiscuously curious then they may eventually get caught up in a web of deceit and sexual immorality. While it is true that the advanced technology increases the opportunities for temptation and the likelihood that past relationships may be rediscovered, it is ultimately the individual's personal moral character and integrity that will determine how he or she will handle every situation.
This is especially true of Christian believers who are supposed to be trying to live up to a godly standard of marital fidelity and sexual morality. I won't delete my Facebook page because it caused some Pastor to stumble.
Besides, I don't need Facebook as a source for temptation. There are a million temptations out there everyday! And even if I threw away my computer and my TV set and stopped going to the movies it still won't stop my mind from revisiting already implanted pornographic images, and it won't stop the lustful stimulation that occurs whenever a voluptuous female is nearby!
Here is the bottom line -
Temptation is a part of a Christian's process. Learning how to handle it appropriately and staying within the guidelines of God's will is the important thing. Remember - there was a forbidden tree in the garden of Eden at the beginning of human existence. It didn't get there accidently. God placed it there for a reason.
I'm not judging Reverend Miller. I don't know if I would behave any differently than he did under the same circumstances. Hopefully, nothing like that will ever occur in my marriage or during my walk with Christ, but if it ever does don't blame Facebook, don't blame it on the alcohol either! Just blame it on me and pray for my forgiveness!
If we look hard enough we can always find an excuse for our behavior. Some of us have legitimate reasons why we behave badly. Some have been abused as children or grew up without a mom or a dad. Many prostitutes and drug addicts fit that description and are still "looking for love" in a bottle or a needle. The latest craze is "sexual addiction," the term that cheaters use when they get caught being unfaithful to their spouses or lovers.
Blaming Facebook for sexual infidelity is like blaming television and movies for violent crime. There is nothing wrong with television and movies - you just have to carefully decide and choose what you and your family will watch! You have to know the difference between entertainment and reality. There is nothing wrong with Facebook! The only thing that can be right or wrong are the decisions that we make as to how we should use Facebook.
If married men and women choose to use Facebook to flirt and seek out the promiscuously curious then they may eventually get caught up in a web of deceit and sexual immorality. While it is true that the advanced technology increases the opportunities for temptation and the likelihood that past relationships may be rediscovered, it is ultimately the individual's personal moral character and integrity that will determine how he or she will handle every situation.
This is especially true of Christian believers who are supposed to be trying to live up to a godly standard of marital fidelity and sexual morality. I won't delete my Facebook page because it caused some Pastor to stumble.
Besides, I don't need Facebook as a source for temptation. There are a million temptations out there everyday! And even if I threw away my computer and my TV set and stopped going to the movies it still won't stop my mind from revisiting already implanted pornographic images, and it won't stop the lustful stimulation that occurs whenever a voluptuous female is nearby!
Here is the bottom line -
Temptation is a part of a Christian's process. Learning how to handle it appropriately and staying within the guidelines of God's will is the important thing. Remember - there was a forbidden tree in the garden of Eden at the beginning of human existence. It didn't get there accidently. God placed it there for a reason.
I'm not judging Reverend Miller. I don't know if I would behave any differently than he did under the same circumstances. Hopefully, nothing like that will ever occur in my marriage or during my walk with Christ, but if it ever does don't blame Facebook, don't blame it on the alcohol either! Just blame it on me and pray for my forgiveness!
Saturday, October 9, 2010
YOUR BEAUTY (To my lovely wife Debra)
YOUR BEAUTY (To my lovely wife Debra)
by Jerome V. Bogan
You are the most beautiful woman in the world to me today.
You possess a beauty far beyond the beauty of an ordinary woman.
The emotion that you evoke in me when you are under the anointing
and in the fullness of your glory is like an encounter with a spirit.
Your holiness is your beauty, and you wear it non-judgmentally.
The beauty in you does not see the ugliness in me.
You have seen my faults, all of them, forgiven them one by one!
Your beauty is like that of a child; I want to hold you not as a man holds a wife,
But as a father holds a child who is wounded,
as a mother who carries her child to the altar for prayer!
Your tears are beautiful to me: When you cry I see rivers of compassion,
as though you have found some endless well!
You are filled with emotion and love, and pain and despair,
and I ache when you cry, and I feel your pain along with you,
Because I know your tears are for me, because I am the one who is lost and sick
and you are carrying me to the altar like a mother carries a child
and prays for her child to be healed, and i have come to love the tears
that you have shed for me, and the pain that you see in me, and feel for me;
For my pain is beautiful, and your tears for me are beautiful and you are beautiful.
And when I am able to feel again because your love has healed me,
I will cry for you and carry you to the altar of my soul;
and you will also be healed and you will finally receive your reward;
That for the love that you have given to me and to others, measure for measure,
So shall it be returned unto you.
(written 1990's exact date unknown)
by Jerome V. Bogan
You are the most beautiful woman in the world to me today.
You possess a beauty far beyond the beauty of an ordinary woman.
The emotion that you evoke in me when you are under the anointing
and in the fullness of your glory is like an encounter with a spirit.
Your holiness is your beauty, and you wear it non-judgmentally.
The beauty in you does not see the ugliness in me.
You have seen my faults, all of them, forgiven them one by one!
Your beauty is like that of a child; I want to hold you not as a man holds a wife,
But as a father holds a child who is wounded,
as a mother who carries her child to the altar for prayer!
Your tears are beautiful to me: When you cry I see rivers of compassion,
as though you have found some endless well!
You are filled with emotion and love, and pain and despair,
and I ache when you cry, and I feel your pain along with you,
Because I know your tears are for me, because I am the one who is lost and sick
and you are carrying me to the altar like a mother carries a child
and prays for her child to be healed, and i have come to love the tears
that you have shed for me, and the pain that you see in me, and feel for me;
For my pain is beautiful, and your tears for me are beautiful and you are beautiful.
And when I am able to feel again because your love has healed me,
I will cry for you and carry you to the altar of my soul;
and you will also be healed and you will finally receive your reward;
That for the love that you have given to me and to others, measure for measure,
So shall it be returned unto you.
(written 1990's exact date unknown)
Thursday, October 7, 2010
SHOULD WE CHANGE OR DOES GOD ACCEPT US AS WE ARE?
I just wanted to clarify so that we all understand that since no one is perfect and perfection is the goal there are some changes that we all have to make in order to grow into perfection and to be one with God who is perfect! Is that confusing?
On God accepting us as we are -
God accepts us as we are because we have no choice but to come to Him as we are. Many try to "fix" themselves up and them come to Him thinking that they can make themselves acceptable to God if they would just clean up their act. What they don't understand is that God's Holy is different than when we work on ourselves by quitting smoking or when we stop drinking, or start being nicer to people. His Holiness is not about us at all; we can stop fornicating and committing adultery and even try to control our thoughts but we cannot reach the perfection and Holiness of God no matter what we do. His Holiness is infinite cleanliness and righteousness and we are finite and mortal; we simply cannot reach that standard!
Man-made religions have adopted religious rituals and set ridiculous standards that are not biblical like vows of poverty and vows of celibacy in order to sound pious and in an attempt to please God but God doesn't require us to go beyond His requirements and we only frustrate ourselves and others when we set impossible to reach -
Jesus replied, "And you experts in the law, woe to you, because you load people down with burdens they can hardly carry, and you yourselves will not lift one finger to help them. - Luke 11:46
So here is our dilemma -
1. We are imperfect and cannot reach perfection on our own.
2. Perfection and complete holiness is a requirement for citizenship in heaven and the new earth.
3. Imperfection or unholiness (sin; missing the mark) which we are born into by genetic predisposition because we are descended from flawed Adam who sinned against God and received the curse of death is punishable by death in Hell and endless torment.
4. Obviously we are in a jam unless there is someone who can deliver us from this imperfection and death sentence.
5. Only God Himself can meet the standard (and in case you are wondering why couldn't He just remove the death sentence and free us that way, remember that once His Word goes out it accomplishes what He said it would do and therefore He cannot revoke or go against His Word because that would make Him a liar and God cannot (is incapable of) lie.
6. Since God Himself is the only One that can meet His standard of perfection, God came in human form in the person of Jesus Christ to free us from the death sentence by paying the "wages of sin" which is death by dying on the cross FOR us and so in place of us having to die for our sins He died for us sins so that now WE DO NOT HAVE TO DIE!
That is the promise of eternal life through Christ!
7. We still have the problem of being imperfect and needing perfect holiness in order to live at peace with God. Let me say this at this juncture because this is important. WE CANNOT QUALIFY FOR HEAVEN; WE CANNOT EARN IT, CANNOT DESERVE IT AND GOD WILL NEVER OWE US ANYTHING! That being said please understand that because God loves us so much, even enough to die for us, enough to come to life again so that we would not be eternally lost - now this is the really deep part so I don't want any one to miss this.
A human cannot totally enter a human and take over his or her body, mind and soul, but a spirit can!
When Christ died on the cross he took on a spirit form so that he could enter humans who were willing to accept His offer of forgiveness and promise of eventual perfection unto eternal life! This is called the Holy Ghost or Holy Spirit and this is what separates Christians from every other religion on the planet! We receive in effect a new heart, a new mind and new desires, a desire to serve and worship a loving God! That new spirit perfects us gradually, depending on how much we allow it to work in us. Depending on how much we submit, obey, study His word, allow ourselves to serve others (love) rather than ourselves (lust) and willingly give up things that are against God and contrary to our own growth; as we become privy through prayer and study to the true character and personality of God we begin to understand what He wants, what He loves and what He hates.
Why do saved people call themselves Christians still have problems and still commit sins?
8. Because that Holy Spirit which is working in the Christian is working against the person's fleshly desire.
9. Because the Christian maintains his free will in spite of the "urging" of the Holy Spirit (conscience).
10. Because there is an enemy called Satan who relentlessly attacks the Christian and sends temptations, obstacles, tragedy, disappointments, lies, fear, insecurity and a host of other spirits our way to cause us to stumble and disobey God.
Why does God permit this relentless attack from Satan?
11. Because resisting the devil is how we grow into perfection! We don't know how much we can do with help of God until we are out to the test. So in effect, Satan is only a tool that God uses by permitting him to attack us which will either push us to perfection or back into sin depending on how strong our resolve is and how great our love for God is. This is why it is written in Romans 8:28:
And we know that for those who love God all things work together for
good, for those who are called according to his purpose...
Whichever has more of our love, God or sin is what will be victorious over us.
God bless and I pray that this helps our understanding.
I just wanted to clarify so that we all understand that since no one is perfect and perfection is the goal there are some changes that we all have to make in order to grow into perfection and to be one with God who is perfect! Is that confusing?
On God accepting us as we are -
God accepts us as we are because we have no choice but to come to Him as we are. Many try to "fix" themselves up and them come to Him thinking that they can make themselves acceptable to God if they would just clean up their act. What they don't understand is that God's Holy is different than when we work on ourselves by quitting smoking or when we stop drinking, or start being nicer to people. His Holiness is not about us at all; we can stop fornicating and committing adultery and even try to control our thoughts but we cannot reach the perfection and Holiness of God no matter what we do. His Holiness is infinite cleanliness and righteousness and we are finite and mortal; we simply cannot reach that standard!
Man-made religions have adopted religious rituals and set ridiculous standards that are not biblical like vows of poverty and vows of celibacy in order to sound pious and in an attempt to please God but God doesn't require us to go beyond His requirements and we only frustrate ourselves and others when we set impossible to reach -
Jesus replied, "And you experts in the law, woe to you, because you load people down with burdens they can hardly carry, and you yourselves will not lift one finger to help them. - Luke 11:46
So here is our dilemma -
1. We are imperfect and cannot reach perfection on our own.
2. Perfection and complete holiness is a requirement for citizenship in heaven and the new earth.
3. Imperfection or unholiness (sin; missing the mark) which we are born into by genetic predisposition because we are descended from flawed Adam who sinned against God and received the curse of death is punishable by death in Hell and endless torment.
4. Obviously we are in a jam unless there is someone who can deliver us from this imperfection and death sentence.
5. Only God Himself can meet the standard (and in case you are wondering why couldn't He just remove the death sentence and free us that way, remember that once His Word goes out it accomplishes what He said it would do and therefore He cannot revoke or go against His Word because that would make Him a liar and God cannot (is incapable of) lie.
6. Since God Himself is the only One that can meet His standard of perfection, God came in human form in the person of Jesus Christ to free us from the death sentence by paying the "wages of sin" which is death by dying on the cross FOR us and so in place of us having to die for our sins He died for us sins so that now WE DO NOT HAVE TO DIE!
That is the promise of eternal life through Christ!
7. We still have the problem of being imperfect and needing perfect holiness in order to live at peace with God. Let me say this at this juncture because this is important. WE CANNOT QUALIFY FOR HEAVEN; WE CANNOT EARN IT, CANNOT DESERVE IT AND GOD WILL NEVER OWE US ANYTHING! That being said please understand that because God loves us so much, even enough to die for us, enough to come to life again so that we would not be eternally lost - now this is the really deep part so I don't want any one to miss this.
A human cannot totally enter a human and take over his or her body, mind and soul, but a spirit can!
When Christ died on the cross he took on a spirit form so that he could enter humans who were willing to accept His offer of forgiveness and promise of eventual perfection unto eternal life! This is called the Holy Ghost or Holy Spirit and this is what separates Christians from every other religion on the planet! We receive in effect a new heart, a new mind and new desires, a desire to serve and worship a loving God! That new spirit perfects us gradually, depending on how much we allow it to work in us. Depending on how much we submit, obey, study His word, allow ourselves to serve others (love) rather than ourselves (lust) and willingly give up things that are against God and contrary to our own growth; as we become privy through prayer and study to the true character and personality of God we begin to understand what He wants, what He loves and what He hates.
Why do saved people call themselves Christians still have problems and still commit sins?
8. Because that Holy Spirit which is working in the Christian is working against the person's fleshly desire.
9. Because the Christian maintains his free will in spite of the "urging" of the Holy Spirit (conscience).
10. Because there is an enemy called Satan who relentlessly attacks the Christian and sends temptations, obstacles, tragedy, disappointments, lies, fear, insecurity and a host of other spirits our way to cause us to stumble and disobey God.
Why does God permit this relentless attack from Satan?
11. Because resisting the devil is how we grow into perfection! We don't know how much we can do with help of God until we are out to the test. So in effect, Satan is only a tool that God uses by permitting him to attack us which will either push us to perfection or back into sin depending on how strong our resolve is and how great our love for God is. This is why it is written in Romans 8:28:
And we know that for those who love God all things work together for
good, for those who are called according to his purpose...
Whichever has more of our love, God or sin is what will be victorious over us.
God bless and I pray that this helps our understanding.
Saturday, September 18, 2010
THE SIMPLE TRUTH
There is a TRUTH that I share with people but it is at the same time extraordinarily simple and simultaneously unfathomably profound! It is TRUTH by definition, yet neither Wikipedia nor Webster can define it accurately. It is a characteristic but also a character.
Let's play charades -
Question 1: is TRUTH a person, place or thing?
Answer: the TRUTH is a PERSON!
Question 2: is TRUTH a male or female?
Answer: the TRUTH is a male!
Question 3: I give up! Who is He?
Answer: the TRUTH is JESUS CHRIST!
When He told them the honest to God truth they didn't believe Him! He said - I AM THE WAY THE TRUTH AND THE LIFE! No one comes to the Father but through me. - John 14:6
That is the absolute truth and the reason why we can't seem to find it is because we are looking for the truth as though it is a thing - a virtue or a moral. But the truth is actually a person. TRUTH is who He is just as LOVE is who the Father is. As long as we look for TRUTH externally we will not find it because it is intangible in spirit form. If we look for it internally we only find it when we have accepted Christ and he enters us; just as devils enter bodies and possess them, Christ can enter bodies and possess them also. In both cases I believe there must be a degree of willingness to receive but I also believe that the Devil is rude and will try to enter you by force whereas the Spirit of God will only enter a willing participant. In anticipation of the next question which is "Why then, do Christians lie?
Let me say this - Because Christians are not yet fully transformed and do not have perfect bodies we are subject to stimuli from the world, the superworld (heaven) and the underworld. Because we are allowed free will to make our own decisions and are not yet perfected in intelligence, wisdom, morality or on any other level, we sometimes make bad choices.
The difference between the bad choice of a Christian and the bad choice of an unbeliever is that Christians have a God who is willing to allow their mistakes to happen, afford them an opportunity to learn from it by virtue of experience gained; giving them time to revisit His Word to confirm their error and identify the correct response to the temptation in the future, receive forgiveness for the wrongful action, gain the wisdom through His word to make wiser decisions and to receive absolute forgiveness so that they can live out the remainder of their lives guilt free. It is a process that will continue to perfect us until we die. And when we die we will receive the ultimate transformation into a glorified body! The unbeliever, unfortunately simply does not have those fringe benefits!
Let's play charades -
Question 1: is TRUTH a person, place or thing?
Answer: the TRUTH is a PERSON!
Question 2: is TRUTH a male or female?
Answer: the TRUTH is a male!
Question 3: I give up! Who is He?
Answer: the TRUTH is JESUS CHRIST!
When He told them the honest to God truth they didn't believe Him! He said - I AM THE WAY THE TRUTH AND THE LIFE! No one comes to the Father but through me. - John 14:6
That is the absolute truth and the reason why we can't seem to find it is because we are looking for the truth as though it is a thing - a virtue or a moral. But the truth is actually a person. TRUTH is who He is just as LOVE is who the Father is. As long as we look for TRUTH externally we will not find it because it is intangible in spirit form. If we look for it internally we only find it when we have accepted Christ and he enters us; just as devils enter bodies and possess them, Christ can enter bodies and possess them also. In both cases I believe there must be a degree of willingness to receive but I also believe that the Devil is rude and will try to enter you by force whereas the Spirit of God will only enter a willing participant. In anticipation of the next question which is "Why then, do Christians lie?
Let me say this - Because Christians are not yet fully transformed and do not have perfect bodies we are subject to stimuli from the world, the superworld (heaven) and the underworld. Because we are allowed free will to make our own decisions and are not yet perfected in intelligence, wisdom, morality or on any other level, we sometimes make bad choices.
The difference between the bad choice of a Christian and the bad choice of an unbeliever is that Christians have a God who is willing to allow their mistakes to happen, afford them an opportunity to learn from it by virtue of experience gained; giving them time to revisit His Word to confirm their error and identify the correct response to the temptation in the future, receive forgiveness for the wrongful action, gain the wisdom through His word to make wiser decisions and to receive absolute forgiveness so that they can live out the remainder of their lives guilt free. It is a process that will continue to perfect us until we die. And when we die we will receive the ultimate transformation into a glorified body! The unbeliever, unfortunately simply does not have those fringe benefits!
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
The Breach
Sin caused a breach in the perfect relationship between Adam and his Creator. Abraham, the descendant of Adam pleased God because of his faith. Faith is the "holy grail," the "rites of passage." Do anything you want but without FAITH it is impossible to please God. (Hebrews 11:6)
Man before the breach, or separation, was immortal, but because of a Law of God which made sin punishable by death, mankind lost his immortality. God is Life and separation from God who is Life causes Death - it is a principle as sure as the Law of Gravity.
Since Death was not God's intention for man, God had prepared a plan to repair the breach and restore man so that men could live forever as God had intended. Following God's instructions, men in Israel began to sacrifice lambs and other animals who symbolically took on the sins of the people and paid the "wages of death."
This pleased God, but only temporarily. And so the animal sacrifices had to be made continually because Israel sinned continually. Besides, the sacrifices were officiated by priests who were themselves sinners who also needed to be forgiven. Where it may seem that an animal's death could not adequately achieve full satisfaction of God's Law, all we know from the bible is that "blood" is required for the remission of sin; it does not necessarily say that it has to be human blood!
Nevertheless, it seems logical to me that the "perfect" fulfillment of the legal requirement would be that the "soul that sins shall die."
Jesus Christ, the descendant of Abraham pleased God and was the perfect sacrifice; the "Lamb of God." He is "The Way" to God because He is God.
- Jerome Bogan
The next excerpt is credited to an author I found on line who calls himself "Spirit Word."
"During the Old Testament times God commanded Israel to offer animal sacrifices for sin in order to establish symbols pointing to the true and ultimate sacrifice for sins, the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ. Just as animals, typically a lamb without blemish (Exodus 12:5) was offered as a sin offering in order to appease God's wrath upon man, in the fullness of time Jesus Christ Himself came as the true sacrifice for mankind. Jesus is the lamb without blemish because he was the only man who has ever lived without sin, He was indeed perfect and thus was also the perfect sacrifice. The blood of bulls, goats and rams were shadows and symbols pointing to the reality that was to come, they in themselves *cannot* take away sin. (Hebrews 10:1-4) God used animals as symbols for a short period in history in order to demonstrate to mankind what His salvation plan would be.
In the book of Exodus chapter 12 we read about the Jewish Passover. In order for the Israelites to escape the last plague God would send upon Egypt they needed to sacrifice a lamb and put the lamb's blood on the doorposts of their homes. When the angel of death would come and kill every first born in Egypt, anyone who had the lamb's blood on their houses was spared from the calamity. After this final plague, Israel was released from Egypt and freed from their bondage to Pharaoh. God commanded Israel to remember that day and so this became the celebration of the Jewish Passover which the Jews have celebrated for many many centuries.
Christ came as the true Lamb of God, the true sacrifice in order that mankind might be spared from eternal death and released from their bondage to sin and to Satan. Notice also that Christ was crucified on the exact day of the Jewish Passover celebration! What beautiful fulfillment of the scriptures we have here!
Ultimately Jesus Christ is called the Lamb of God because He was crucified on the cross so that all mankind may be free from bondage to sin and Satan. He is the only one we can put our trust in for our eternal salvation and the only one that can forgive us of our sins. The payment for sin is eternal death which means that in order for Christ to save anyone and be the perfect sacrifice He Himself would have to pay the price... No animal sacrifice can do what is equivalent to the work Christ has done on the cross which is why Jesus is called the Lamb of God."
If we have not been forgiven by God through the blood of Jesus Christ, the Lamb, we will have to pay the punishment for our sins in an eternity of suffering and torment. (Romans 6:23) All those that believe and trust on Jesus will be saved from the last and final plague to hit mankind, eternal death.
Romans 10:9 "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved."
Joh 5:24 "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life."
God calls out to each one of us to believe on the Lamb that was crucified and to put our faith and trust in Him and in the Word of God for our salvation. If we will acknowledge our sins, believe on Christ and the Word and repent of our sins God will save us!
John 14:6 "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me."
- Spirit Word
Man before the breach, or separation, was immortal, but because of a Law of God which made sin punishable by death, mankind lost his immortality. God is Life and separation from God who is Life causes Death - it is a principle as sure as the Law of Gravity.
Since Death was not God's intention for man, God had prepared a plan to repair the breach and restore man so that men could live forever as God had intended. Following God's instructions, men in Israel began to sacrifice lambs and other animals who symbolically took on the sins of the people and paid the "wages of death."
This pleased God, but only temporarily. And so the animal sacrifices had to be made continually because Israel sinned continually. Besides, the sacrifices were officiated by priests who were themselves sinners who also needed to be forgiven. Where it may seem that an animal's death could not adequately achieve full satisfaction of God's Law, all we know from the bible is that "blood" is required for the remission of sin; it does not necessarily say that it has to be human blood!
Nevertheless, it seems logical to me that the "perfect" fulfillment of the legal requirement would be that the "soul that sins shall die."
Jesus Christ, the descendant of Abraham pleased God and was the perfect sacrifice; the "Lamb of God." He is "The Way" to God because He is God.
- Jerome Bogan
The next excerpt is credited to an author I found on line who calls himself "Spirit Word."
"During the Old Testament times God commanded Israel to offer animal sacrifices for sin in order to establish symbols pointing to the true and ultimate sacrifice for sins, the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ. Just as animals, typically a lamb without blemish (Exodus 12:5) was offered as a sin offering in order to appease God's wrath upon man, in the fullness of time Jesus Christ Himself came as the true sacrifice for mankind. Jesus is the lamb without blemish because he was the only man who has ever lived without sin, He was indeed perfect and thus was also the perfect sacrifice. The blood of bulls, goats and rams were shadows and symbols pointing to the reality that was to come, they in themselves *cannot* take away sin. (Hebrews 10:1-4) God used animals as symbols for a short period in history in order to demonstrate to mankind what His salvation plan would be.
In the book of Exodus chapter 12 we read about the Jewish Passover. In order for the Israelites to escape the last plague God would send upon Egypt they needed to sacrifice a lamb and put the lamb's blood on the doorposts of their homes. When the angel of death would come and kill every first born in Egypt, anyone who had the lamb's blood on their houses was spared from the calamity. After this final plague, Israel was released from Egypt and freed from their bondage to Pharaoh. God commanded Israel to remember that day and so this became the celebration of the Jewish Passover which the Jews have celebrated for many many centuries.
Christ came as the true Lamb of God, the true sacrifice in order that mankind might be spared from eternal death and released from their bondage to sin and to Satan. Notice also that Christ was crucified on the exact day of the Jewish Passover celebration! What beautiful fulfillment of the scriptures we have here!
Ultimately Jesus Christ is called the Lamb of God because He was crucified on the cross so that all mankind may be free from bondage to sin and Satan. He is the only one we can put our trust in for our eternal salvation and the only one that can forgive us of our sins. The payment for sin is eternal death which means that in order for Christ to save anyone and be the perfect sacrifice He Himself would have to pay the price... No animal sacrifice can do what is equivalent to the work Christ has done on the cross which is why Jesus is called the Lamb of God."
If we have not been forgiven by God through the blood of Jesus Christ, the Lamb, we will have to pay the punishment for our sins in an eternity of suffering and torment. (Romans 6:23) All those that believe and trust on Jesus will be saved from the last and final plague to hit mankind, eternal death.
Romans 10:9 "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved."
Joh 5:24 "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life."
God calls out to each one of us to believe on the Lamb that was crucified and to put our faith and trust in Him and in the Word of God for our salvation. If we will acknowledge our sins, believe on Christ and the Word and repent of our sins God will save us!
John 14:6 "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me."
- Spirit Word
Monday, August 30, 2010
The Secret
I'm so completely overwhelmed! So many great things have happened already and I haven't even gotten to Orlando yet! First my nephew Thurman drove me to Terminal 3 in my car and took the car back to the house for me...no cab fare and I was early for my flight! Next I didn't get a seat assigned until Delta started boarding. I wound up with a window seat and nobody next to me! Now as I began to think about that, the Erikah Badu song "Window Seat" started playing in my head.
I had been playing the YouTube video for weeks so that I could learn how to play the song on my Yamaha Motif8 keyboard (and not so I could see Erikah naked like you're probably thinking!) The lyrics had become so profoundly engraved in my subconscious mind. Because of how I've been feeling about my job lately and with all of the stress and drama that my life has gone through recently I can certainly relate to Erikah's plea for a " window seat, don't want nobody next to me I just want a ticket outta town to look around in a safer town..." This was exactly how I felt! (Except for the line "if anybody seen Scotty tell him beam me up..." I did enough of that in the early 90's).
When the plane took off this time I didn't have the usual butterflies and nervous anticipation. I simply bowed my head and said a quick prayer. When I looked up again I realized that the plane was nothing more than an overgrown kite! It glided along the runway for a few minutes and then... whoosh! We were on a big kite 25,000 feet in the air. Thinking of the plane as a kite really helped me overcome whatever fear of flying or altophobia that may have been secretly lingering in my heart. I'm certainly not ready to skydive like my co-worker Shirley but I'm having fun right now with this whole kite concept.
One of the fondest memories I have of the short time I spent being a father to my son U.S. Army Captain Kumalo Bogan is the time I bought a kite and took him to an open grassy area near where we lived in Flushing. I had taken a 1000 foot roll of string from the toy factory where I worked and I remembered that Kumalo was in his stroller crying as I finally got the kite going. Eventually the wind took that kite up so far I used every inch of that 1000 foot string. I could no longer see the kite as it blended into the sky. I am imagining that right now I am on that kite; completely safe in the arms of the wind, high above the clouds at the mercy of the Lord!
Another great thing happened on this flight. I brought Rhonda Byrne's book "The Secret" with me! It had been sitting in the outer pocket of my laptop case, hardly touched since the last time I read up to page 45. I always loved this book and ever since I opened to the first few pages I knew that this was another great holy book taking its rightful place as one of the greatest inspirational books of all time. Clearly this book is correlated to the Holy Bible with its simple believe and receive message. Quoting Matthew 21:22 on page 54 it says "whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive." And Mark 11:24 "What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that you receive them, and ye shall have them."
The message of "The Secret" seems oversimplified, almost too good to be true at first. But then I consider the simplicity of Salvation which begins with a few earnest words of repentance; acknowledging the need for a Savior and recognizing and confessing (and BELIEVING) that Jesus Christ is that one and only true Savior. I ask myself, how many people overcomplicate this simple plan and nearly miss out on their blessing because it just seems too easy and too good to be true?
Anyway, back to the Secret. As I continued reading and the amazing "kite" gained altitude and as soon as the French-speaking white man stopped complaining because his non-English speaking Black children were not allowed to sit at the emergency window because if an emergency did happen they wouldn't be able to understand the flight attendant's instructions, I began to experience a heightened sense of exhiliration, an almost euphoric state. I know that the altitude and surroundings played a part, but the words in the book were the primary catalyst and they became immediately empowering. I decided right then and there that I was going to take the author's advice and implement positive thinking and unrelenting faith immediately. Realizing that it would take time to convert from discouraged to courageous and from retired to inspired I began to search for a starting point.
I began thinking about the test that I had coming up to remain certified for the X-ray at work. After failing twice, I would need a lot of faith in order to battle the aching sense of failure and the low self-esteem that usually goes with it. But the book expressed little tolerance for weak, wavering faith; the author made it clear that the Secret only works when the believer behaves as though he has already received the thing requested. Clearly Matthew and Mark concur. God knowing that I wasn't ready for such a great leap of faith so soon prepared a little step of faith for me instead.
Here is how it played out, and to me it reveals how great and compassionate God is and how He operates on us on so many levels and peels back so many layers at the same time. When I first took the book out of the laptop case I was pleasantly surprised to find that there was a bookmark indicating the last page read previously. But now somehow the bookmark was gone! I used the missing bookmark as an excuse to not panic and to put the principles of faith from the book to work. I began to look for the bookmark in the seat beneath me and next to me, but not frantically. I kept quoting from the book in my mind while at the same time fighting rationalizing that the bookmark was not that important. The bookmark had to be important enough to me to generate enough faith to accomplish the task I hand. I had to be absolutely sure that I would find that bookmark! The unwavering faith that it would be found made me happier than I had ever been over a bookmark.
I didn't understand why my feelings were so strong at that time, but I was about to find out. I got up to go to the bathroom and I had to wait for a while because the flight attendant was blocking the bathroom with a beverage cart. When I got back to my seat the bookmark was on the floor under the seat! When I picked the bookmark up it was turned over from the way it was when I first saw it. Now I could see the full glossy design of the front of the bookmark. It was a bookmark from my 10-year-old daughter's elementary school P.S.90. At the top of the bookmark was a picture of my daughter from when she was 5 or 6. I kept staring at my daughter's photo and a wave of emotion passed over me. I could sense the very deep love that I feel for my daughter and at that moment I was surrounded by benevolence. The euphoria increased and a great lesson learned. Keep on searching, keep on believing until you find what you've been searching for. The least of things have incredible value. Hold on to them, treasure them. Hold on to your faith and your dreams and the people and things that are important to you! Don't let anyone talk you out of it! Better that you die believing and never receive than never to have believed at all!
Now I've got to start getting happy about passing the next test!
I had been playing the YouTube video for weeks so that I could learn how to play the song on my Yamaha Motif8 keyboard (and not so I could see Erikah naked like you're probably thinking!) The lyrics had become so profoundly engraved in my subconscious mind. Because of how I've been feeling about my job lately and with all of the stress and drama that my life has gone through recently I can certainly relate to Erikah's plea for a " window seat, don't want nobody next to me I just want a ticket outta town to look around in a safer town..." This was exactly how I felt! (Except for the line "if anybody seen Scotty tell him beam me up..." I did enough of that in the early 90's).
When the plane took off this time I didn't have the usual butterflies and nervous anticipation. I simply bowed my head and said a quick prayer. When I looked up again I realized that the plane was nothing more than an overgrown kite! It glided along the runway for a few minutes and then... whoosh! We were on a big kite 25,000 feet in the air. Thinking of the plane as a kite really helped me overcome whatever fear of flying or altophobia that may have been secretly lingering in my heart. I'm certainly not ready to skydive like my co-worker Shirley but I'm having fun right now with this whole kite concept.
One of the fondest memories I have of the short time I spent being a father to my son U.S. Army Captain Kumalo Bogan is the time I bought a kite and took him to an open grassy area near where we lived in Flushing. I had taken a 1000 foot roll of string from the toy factory where I worked and I remembered that Kumalo was in his stroller crying as I finally got the kite going. Eventually the wind took that kite up so far I used every inch of that 1000 foot string. I could no longer see the kite as it blended into the sky. I am imagining that right now I am on that kite; completely safe in the arms of the wind, high above the clouds at the mercy of the Lord!
Another great thing happened on this flight. I brought Rhonda Byrne's book "The Secret" with me! It had been sitting in the outer pocket of my laptop case, hardly touched since the last time I read up to page 45. I always loved this book and ever since I opened to the first few pages I knew that this was another great holy book taking its rightful place as one of the greatest inspirational books of all time. Clearly this book is correlated to the Holy Bible with its simple believe and receive message. Quoting Matthew 21:22 on page 54 it says "whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive." And Mark 11:24 "What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that you receive them, and ye shall have them."
The message of "The Secret" seems oversimplified, almost too good to be true at first. But then I consider the simplicity of Salvation which begins with a few earnest words of repentance; acknowledging the need for a Savior and recognizing and confessing (and BELIEVING) that Jesus Christ is that one and only true Savior. I ask myself, how many people overcomplicate this simple plan and nearly miss out on their blessing because it just seems too easy and too good to be true?
Anyway, back to the Secret. As I continued reading and the amazing "kite" gained altitude and as soon as the French-speaking white man stopped complaining because his non-English speaking Black children were not allowed to sit at the emergency window because if an emergency did happen they wouldn't be able to understand the flight attendant's instructions, I began to experience a heightened sense of exhiliration, an almost euphoric state. I know that the altitude and surroundings played a part, but the words in the book were the primary catalyst and they became immediately empowering. I decided right then and there that I was going to take the author's advice and implement positive thinking and unrelenting faith immediately. Realizing that it would take time to convert from discouraged to courageous and from retired to inspired I began to search for a starting point.
I began thinking about the test that I had coming up to remain certified for the X-ray at work. After failing twice, I would need a lot of faith in order to battle the aching sense of failure and the low self-esteem that usually goes with it. But the book expressed little tolerance for weak, wavering faith; the author made it clear that the Secret only works when the believer behaves as though he has already received the thing requested. Clearly Matthew and Mark concur. God knowing that I wasn't ready for such a great leap of faith so soon prepared a little step of faith for me instead.
Here is how it played out, and to me it reveals how great and compassionate God is and how He operates on us on so many levels and peels back so many layers at the same time. When I first took the book out of the laptop case I was pleasantly surprised to find that there was a bookmark indicating the last page read previously. But now somehow the bookmark was gone! I used the missing bookmark as an excuse to not panic and to put the principles of faith from the book to work. I began to look for the bookmark in the seat beneath me and next to me, but not frantically. I kept quoting from the book in my mind while at the same time fighting rationalizing that the bookmark was not that important. The bookmark had to be important enough to me to generate enough faith to accomplish the task I hand. I had to be absolutely sure that I would find that bookmark! The unwavering faith that it would be found made me happier than I had ever been over a bookmark.
I didn't understand why my feelings were so strong at that time, but I was about to find out. I got up to go to the bathroom and I had to wait for a while because the flight attendant was blocking the bathroom with a beverage cart. When I got back to my seat the bookmark was on the floor under the seat! When I picked the bookmark up it was turned over from the way it was when I first saw it. Now I could see the full glossy design of the front of the bookmark. It was a bookmark from my 10-year-old daughter's elementary school P.S.90. At the top of the bookmark was a picture of my daughter from when she was 5 or 6. I kept staring at my daughter's photo and a wave of emotion passed over me. I could sense the very deep love that I feel for my daughter and at that moment I was surrounded by benevolence. The euphoria increased and a great lesson learned. Keep on searching, keep on believing until you find what you've been searching for. The least of things have incredible value. Hold on to them, treasure them. Hold on to your faith and your dreams and the people and things that are important to you! Don't let anyone talk you out of it! Better that you die believing and never receive than never to have believed at all!
Now I've got to start getting happy about passing the next test!
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