Got the Spirit of Christ?

In my previous posts some folks may have felt offended by the facts presented or even the way they were presented, if this is true for you allow me to apologize my message is not one of condemnation but one of searching, seeking, knocking relentlessly in search of the door of truth as C.S. Lewis said;

It is not for us to say who, in the deepest sense, is or is not close to the spirit of Christ. We do not see into men's hearts. We cannot judge, and are indeed forbidden to judge. It would be wicked arrogance for us to say that any man is, or is not, a Christian in this refined sense….And obviously a word which we can never apply is not going to be a useful word.

…When a man who accepts the Christian doctrine lives unworthily of it, it is much clearer to say he is a bad Christian than to say he is not a Christian.

C.S. Lewis – Mere Christianity

Lewis then goes on to say then in the search we end up in a hall that leads us to a place to wait in, a place from which to try the various doors, not a place to live in. Some will wait longer than others in finding the door they must knock at. Once we enter the door that may represent our personal place of ministry we more than likely feel that the wait was of some help in finding that what we sought. Perhaps you have an inner peace at having found God’s will for you in Jesus Christ this place puts us in a position of obedience to Jesus Christ and his commandment of “Love your neighbour as you love yourself” we are required to pray for those who may still be in the hall and not to judge we are under orders to “pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”
1 Thessalonians 5:17-18.

Now in regards to the label of “Bad Christian” I think we need to, no we must examine further the very reality of the conditions that breed “Bad Christians”. The condition of the Christian Church is the best place to start. This blog is all about the Christian church as a whole or the whole body of Christ if you will. The very URL of this blog in and of itself asks a question; http://whatisthechristianchurch.blogspot.com/ and the title “The Christian Church Blog…” are synonymous and asks that we pursue the answer diligently, whole heartedly and as we stand in the hall seeking, knocking and pursuing truth. If only to help each other find the room or rooms we belong. C.S. Lewis suggests that our denominational differences are best left to the experts and not for the laypersons to decide. Not to mention that Jesus Christ himself calls us to move past the circular argument (also called petitio principii) as to why we must be a “Good Christian” and focus and meditate on the scriptural order to; “Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength”. So if you are offended by another you should use the Mathew 18:15-20 biblical principle of confrontation which is a three part process but you also must be open to being wrong yourself that is why every word must be established in truth when confronting a sinning brother.

1. Have you examined your motivations before confronting

2. Are you willing to admit that you may be wrong yourself

3. Are you doing it to help your brother in the cessation of the ban, of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good & Evil?

We must try to pursue truth and the ability to communicate with each other in truth and move away from what C.S. Lewis called the “Law of Nature” I personally am aware that some of us can spend so much time criticizing others that we are not able to hear what God may be saying through other believers to us. And I do believe God is trying to speak through each of us. And that we as believers owe it to each other the ability of attempting to hear each other in truth, patience and love without judgment.

May...

The Lord bless and keep you;
The Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up his countenance upon you,
And give you peace.

Try a Bible Quiz and test your knowledge

click here ---> BIBLE QUIZ <--- click here

Subscribe in a reader

All posts by M.A.C. © Bruce W. Moar

An Easter Obituary

Have we grown callous about the crucifixion of Jesus Christ during the Easter season? Are we truly aware of what Jesus gave so we could live? What does turkey and Easter bunnies have to do with the crucifixion of Jesus Christ?

I got this image in an email and it thoroughly inspired me to share it here lest we forget the reason why we believe as we do in a Saviour Jesus Christ.

FACTS ABOUT THE CRUCIFIXION OF JESUS:

• Historically, the first known practice of crucifixion was by the Persian Empire. Alexander the Great and his generals brought it back to the Mediterranean world through Egypt and through Carthage. Apparently The Romans learned the practice from The Carthaginians and as was the Roman way with almost everything that they did, they quickly developed a very high degree of efficiency and skill at it.
  

• The agony for Jesus began in Gethsemane with what Luke described in Chapter 22 verse 44; "And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground." There is a rare condition called 'Hematidrosis' where tiny capillaries in the sweat glands can break, thus mixing blood with sweat. Perhaps this was Jesus' condition.
  

• After Jesus' arrest at Gethsemane he was brought before the Sanhedrin where the first blow was wrought by a zealous guard he was then blindfolded and taunted and hit repeatedly by others asking him to prophesy who hit him.
  

• Pilate ordered Jesus brutally beaten, probably believing such punishment would satisfy the ugly mob, but as we know it did not. The punishment of scourging was not enough for the angry mob that day they demanded more and crucifixion the Roman way would guarantee His death.

• Already exhausted and dehydrated from the torture of the previous night and day Jesus is made to carry his cross to the place of his souls release Mount Calvary or Golgotha, the place of the skull.

• Jesus was betrayed by a trusted friend (Judas) and by of all things a kiss to mark him as the man the Sanhedrin sought. Have you ever noticed of all the names used today the name Judas is not one of them!

• Jesus rose from the dead three days later and was seen by not one or two eye witnesses but over a forty (40) day period he was seen by over five hundred (500) people.

• Jesus left us a great commission to spread the gospel but sadly 90% of Christians fail to share their faith with others.
  

1. Is it fear?
2. Is it Laziness?
3. Is it business?

• Allow me to put this into perspective for you most people will call and tell everyone about the birth of a child because they are excited about that fact. Or call people to tell of the new house or SUV purchase.
  

1. Are we as Christians not excited about what Jesus did for us?
2. Are we ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ?
3. Are we fearful of other people and what they may think of us if they knew we believed in Jesus Christ as our personal Saviour?

Lets get busy spreading the good news and if you are unsure of how to do that then click on the Way of the Master to find out how to effectively witness in five (5) minutes or less to anyone, anywhere and at anytime.



May...

The Lord bless and keep you;
The Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up his countenance upon you,
And give you peace.

Try a Bible Quiz and test your knowledge

click here ---> BIBLE QUIZ <--- click here

Subscribe in a reader

All posts by M.A.C. © Bruce W. Moar

The Blasphemy Challenge to all Christians!

Happy good Friday Jesus was betrayed on this day apparently a good day to have a holiday and maybe we can all celebrate and smile and all be of good cheer and such. I was thinking today would be as good a day as any to roll out my challenge to all who call themselves Christian and happen by my HTMLian participaction on the World Wide Web.

Check out this site HOLLYWOOD AND GOD

Sometime ago I felt lead to look at my movie collection more closely for the content of blasphemy and was I ever surprised I have around 150-200 movies in my collection. I couldn't do it myself so I got my kids involved and they loved it as soon as a movie would blaspheme God (blasphemous language, expressing disrespect for God or for something sacred) we would mark it with a dot of whiteout then red nail polish in the middle of the white and we were not allowed to watch that movie anymore. We found that almost every movie did this even some so-called kids movies. I will be creating an exhaustive list and challenge other Christians to do the same but we are not done there we are going to make a video of us destroying the movies because if it's not good enough for us it's not good for anyone.

Hollywood is treating our minds like garbage cans and throwing in whatever they want. We as Christians should stop buying movies that blaspheme God and ask for the very least a blaspheme rating that's not suitable for those that respect and fear God. It's James 2 time people time to walk the walk and not just talk the talk. Lets put our money where our mouths are and represent Jesus in our homes, our schools, our work places, our lives.


May...

The Lord bless and keep you;
The Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up his countenance upon you,
And give you peace.

Try a Bible Quiz and test your knowledge

click here ---> BIBLE QUIZ <--- click here

Subscribe in a reader

All posts by M.A.C. © Bruce W. Moar

Repent for the Kingdom of heaven is near...

Howdy folks it's been many months since I had an entry on my blog September 01/07 actually but none the less here I am back to paying attention to what was started. God calls us all to patience because thats the way love is and since God is love we need to become patient in all we do. If you lack patience or anything then learn to fear the Lord.

Psalm 34:9
Fear the LORD, you his saints,
for those who fear him lack nothing.

Fear is something that lives in this world and many times our fears are manipulated or activated to get us to act. For instance if you fear banging your head on your windshield you will use your seat belt. If you fear being bit by a dog you will avoid dogs. If you fear intimacy you will have many unsuccessful relationships because of that fear. But if you fear the LORD you will lack nothing.

I sense that God is awakening many folks in the body of Christ to revival and obedience to our faith in Jesus Christ and an new improved ability to understand God's statutes and His moral law (10 Commandments) as it relates to salvation and life in the body of Christ. Martin Luther the German priest who founded the Lutheran Church back in the 1500's said;

"The true function of the Law is to accuse and to kill;
but the function of the gospel is to make alive"

And Charles Spurgeon said;

"No man knows the brightness of the gospel
'till he understands the blackness of those
clouds which surround the Law of the Lord"

Fear of judgment can turn a sinner around and God knows this that is why we have the Law of the Ten Commandments to guide us as sinners to the cross and salvation. Without repentance there can be no salvation and that is what the Law is designed to do to convict us as sinners so that we may know we are sinners and fear the LORD. The gospel of Jesus Christ will then pardon us and forgive our sins if only we repent of them.

Next; The Blasphemy Challenge to all Christians!

May...

The Lord bless and keep you;
The Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up his countenance upon you,
And give you peace.

Try a Bible Quiz and test your knowledge

click here ---> BIBLE QUIZ <--- click here

Subscribe in a reader

All posts by M.A.C. © Bruce W. Moar