What Is Jesus Worth?

 What Is Jesus Worth?

The Workers are worthy 

 

I have been in church and heard a lot of sermons. I’ve listened to preachers on the radio and TV for decades, and I can say that I have heard many sermons about how the employee needs to work harder.

“Work as unto the Lord! Work as though Jesus is watching you!”

Is the basic flavor of all these sermons.

“Don’t complain about your job. Be thankful you have one. Some people have nothing.”

Or

“The Bible teaches you that you should obey authority. That includes your boss…”

That’s the gist of thousands of sermons.

But I have never heard a sermon telling employers how to treat workers.

Are there no Christian employers?

We know there are because they let us know.

They have a fish symbol on their business cards. They let employees have Sunday off…etc.

But let’s flip the script.

What if Jesus was your employee?  How much is Jesus Worth?

Minimum wage?  One sick day with a doctor’s excuse? 

Would you complain that no one wants to work if Jesus showed up every day?

Consider where Jesus said “What you’ve done unto the least of these my brethren you’ve done unto me”.

Could it refer to your employees? Are they not poor? Are they not “The least of these”?”

What about that big house and new car? All bought by the cheap labor of Jesus at your store, or construction site.

How much money should we horde off the whip scarred back of Jesus?

Jesus+profits= new bass boat.

How much is Jesus Worth?  

Minimum wage? Unpaid sick days?  Can Jesus take his sick kid to the doctor? Can Jesus spend time with his wife and new born baby? Can Jesus not get sexually harassed today? Can Jesus get a mental health day? Can Jesus get insurance or maybe a vision plan? Can Jesus get stuck in traffic and show up late today? Should Jesus get ripped off on overtime? Should Jesus get fired for no real reason?

Just asking.

And I’m referring to Jesus the Lord. Not Jesus from Mexico City who cuts your massive lawn.

What is Jesus worth?

But, let’s go further because this is actually a very important subject.

Why do you think that sermons on how employers should treat employees are rare?

I think it’s because most churches employ people. The pastors are not going to preach about how they should treat their own employees.

Likewise, churches are full of business owners who pay tithes and don’t want to hear sermons that hit them in the wallet. 

So basically its the love of money. It’s choosing to serve Mammon over God. 

Too harsh?

Consider the book of Philemon.

Philemon was a rich Christian who owned slaves. One of his slaves named Onesimus escaped, and ran into Paul. Who led him to know Christ.

Paul writes  the church where Philemon attends and tells Philemon about it.

Paul talks Onesimus into returning home. And he tells Philemon “If thou count me therefore a partner, receive him as myself. If he hath wronged thee, or oweth thee ought, put that on mine account;”

He took all of the burden upon Himself. He stood in intercession for Onesimus, against an employer or slave master.

Now consider Christ. Consider that Paul did this in obedience to Christ, and as a picture of what Jesus does for us. Do bosses consider that Jesus died for the employee too and they should be forgiven and treated with love?  Treated like they would treat Jesus or a friend?

So, let’s look at what the future holds for all this greed. James tells us, 

“Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you.

Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten.

 Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days.

 Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth.

Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter.

Ye have condemned and killed the just; and he doth not resist you.”— James 5:1-6

I consider that James is speaking of two events. 

One is in relation to the last days, when money will become worthless in response to the Black Horse of Revelation, which I think will be a global economic collapse.  (Revelation Chapter 6) 

The other is much more terrifying, because it relates to the return of Christ. When he says “What you’ve done to the least of these you’ve done to me.” and sends the goats off into hell.  (Matt. 25: 31-46)

If you are a Christian employer or boss and you do not bless your employees and treat them properly, you might want to check your salvation papers.

There will be huge amounts of “Christians” who find out they were never really saved on Judgement day. 

No oil in their lamp. Talents buried in the sand. Goats heading into darkness.

Works do not save us. But when we know Christ we begin to do things differently.

“But, I’ll go broke!” You might say.

Pray about it.

Jesus says,

 “Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.”—Luke 6:38

You cannot out give God. You can give more to your employees, and there will be a return.

Jesus said,

 “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”— Matt. 6:33

When we put God first, He will take care of us.

Trust God. Love and bless your employees. Treat them better and watch what happens. You are free to do better than what the norm is. You can do better than what the law requires. 

God sees what you do, and He hears their cries for justice. 

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Cover photo by author.

Our Dirty Feet

 Our Dirty Feet

 We get dirty walking in this world

 

As followers of Christ, we live and walk in this filthy world. We see things, we feel things, we think things, and we do things that are sinful. It’s a fact. It says in 1 John 1:10 ” If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.” So, if you cannot admit that you sin, then you do not know Christ.

Jesus is the Word. “The Word is not in you.” if you cannot admit your sinfulness, you have never known Christ or been saved.

We still sin as saved people but we are not viewed by God as sinners. He sees Christ, not us. Our sins are never brought back up. That’s what “we do not sin” means. Our sins are not imputed on us. We are righteous. (1 John 3:9)

In the Gospel of John, when Jesus began to wash the disciples feet. Peter was appalled. He could not let the God of the universe. The Holy One of Israel, do this for him. We often feel that way. We cannot bring ourselves to let God take care of us. It’s a pride issue. We think we can do it ourselves. This leads to false religions and false teachings of works based doctrines. Pride comes before a fall. (John 13)

Jesus said (to Peter) “if I do not wash you. Then you can have no part with me.” (John 13: 8-9)

Jesus is referring to the washing away of sin. He is talking about being washed in His blood and getting saved. When we are saved; our sins, past, present and future are gone. If we are not washed, we are not with Him.

Peter sort of understood, and told Jesus to wash ALL of him. Peter wanted to make sure he was with Christ. He wanted to show that he was all in.

But Jesus knew that Peter was already washed. He knew Peter was already saved. 

Peter had been called, and accepted the call. Peter believed, and had already confessed Jesus as God, and his Lord. He had turned to God. Salvation was not the issue. When Jesus asked “Who do you say that I am?” Peter said, “Thou art the Christ the son of the living God.” This is the foundation of salvation. Confessing Jesus as The Lord, or God. (Matt. 16: 13-19, Rom. 10:9-10 )

Next Jesus says (to Peter), “all you need is for me to wash your feet.” (Verse 10)

 As we walk in this world we get dirty, and we need to be washed. Not for salvation if we are already saved, but as a means of removing the filth of this world, so we don’t spread it every where. So, we don’t carry it with us. So, it doesn’t begin to impact our lives. So, we can feel better. Often talking about something with God or another person can help us.

So, how does this happen?

In 1st John it says to confess our sins and He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from ALL unrighteousness. We pray and confess our sins to God, and He forgives. As we do this, we find that He works to help us overcome, more and more. Sometimes, it doesn’t feel like He hears us. But, we must believe that He does. Sometimes, prayers of confession can be a struggle. (1 John 1:9)

This is not just a spiritual activity. When we pray to the Lord, and ask Him to forgive us our sins, we need to try to be specific. When we do, we can see Him moving to not only cleanse us in the spirit but to remove things that are against us in our lives as well. He cleanses us of ALL unrighteousness. Not just some spiritual thing.

When we are saved, the Holy Spirit works in our lives. We often struggle with things. The Holy Spirit teaches us and brings us into ALL truth. So, lets say that we confess to the Lord that we lied. He forgives us. But, He also starts working to help us over come that thing in our lives. He might show us that we lie quite a bit. So, we start confessing that specific sin more often. Then He shows that we lie at certain times or toward certain people. So, we start being more aware, and seeing our sin more, and confessing more. He might reveal that we lie because of fear. So, it’s actually a lack of trust in God that is the problem. So, He starts working on that. And on and on. This is the renewing of our mind. This is how deep change occurs. (Romans 12:1-3)

It could be any sinful behavior in our lives. Confess it and watch God forgive you and work in you and around you. This part of the relationship. It builds faith. It grows us and changes us.

It all starts with confessing it to Him. When we confess to Him in prayer we are showing that we need Him. We are seeking the relationship with Him. The Holy Spirit shows us what to confess, but we must do it. We destroy our pride and submit to the Lord. Every thought of our being is filled with sin, we are totally depraved. The fall of Adam corrupted us so entirely that we do not even see how bad we are. When we refuse to submit to God and let Him do it, we are in a very bad place. That is why pride is the worst sin.

When we submit and turn to God, confessing to Him. He saves us, forgives us and starts working to change us. This depravity is why our minds must be renewed. Renewed to what God originally created, and desired.

In James, it says to confess our sins one to another, and pray for each other. This can be very difficult when you have no one you can trust or you fear repercussions. This is why it’s fine to simply confess to the Lord. There are some churches where gossip will destroy you. The purpose of confessing, is to heal and get cleansed. It is not to allow humans the chance to destroy your life. (James 5:16)

Find people you trust, and who understand the truth of confessing. Churches are full of all kinds of people. Many of the folks there are not saved. They have never really accepted the Lord, or have a relationship with Him. Just because they are a pastor doesn’t mean they are saved or love you.

But, you must do as the Holy Spirit leads you. If you feel that you need to publicly confess, or confess to others, then do it. But, you must weigh the amount of damage you might cause, and do it in a way that does not hurt others. We are called to Love. Learn to be led by the Spirit and he will guide you.

When we hear of someone struggling we must pray for them. Do it immediately, either silently or with them. If you wait, Satan will make sure you forget. Do it now. Don’t gossip about it. Don’t use it to destroy someone. We all have sins. We all have pasts. Pray for them and follow the Lord. Let God do the chastening. Follow the Spirit. (Proverbs 3:11-12)

This is Foot Washing, as it pertains to spiritual matters. Of course, there’s the act of washing others feet in reality. This is a very humbling experience, the Lord can use it to grow us.

Turn to God. He is with us.

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Cover photo by pexels/Nishant Aneja

Checkout Latter Days

Checkout Good Soldier

Checkout The Bait of Satan

Checkout Fear of The Lord

Unlearned Men

 Unlearned Men

 You are able in Christ

 

“Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus.”—Acts 4:13

These were fishermen, laborers, carpenters, craftsmen, and other tradesmen. They were not “Learned”. They were not trained in the religious schools. They did not go to seminary or college and get a degree. They did not have a license from the government or from the Association of International Pharisees. They were not Scientists or Doctors or Lawyers.

They were just regular folk.

But, they had been with Jesus. They had spent time with Jesus and had learned from Him.

They were filled with the Holy Spirit and was taught by Him.

The Holy Spirit will bring us into all truth. He will show us things to come. (John 16:13)

We have no need for any to teach us. The Holy Spirit will teach us and lead us to the people and places He wants us to learn from. (1 John 2:27)

But, there’s this worldly belief that you need to be college educated or licensed in order to serve God, or speak truth.

You don’t

Granted, you don’t want someone performing brain surgery who is not trained.

You don’t want someone building your house, who is not learned in the ways of house building.

But, you can be confident that the Lord will train you and lead you in the way He wants you to go, in order to serve Him.

“Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.”–Prov. 22:6

When we get born again, we become a child of the Lord. Will He not train us up?

You are right where God has allowed you to be.

The purpose is for you to turn to Him, serve others, and learn.

That’s it.

God is molding you into a vessel for His use. He is purging things from you and filling you with good.

We turn to Him in prayer and confession and in all our ways, and He works to direct our paths into the green pastures He promises.

Those green pastures are the places where we serve to build the Kingdom. He provides through our service.

These men were full of the Holy Spirit. They were taught by God, but they also had practical skills, and trades that they could use to live by, or serve others.

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We have to trust that God is doing what He promises He will do. So, He is training us up. He is making a place for us. He is teaching us and giving us wisdom when we ask. He is answering our prayers.

Sometimes we have to open our eyes and see that we are exactly where God wants us to be, and that He is moving in our lives.

It is happening. He is faithful. We can trust Him.

We might not be happy with our life at this time. But, what is God doing?

Turn your mind to spiritual things. Praise God. Get your mind off yourself and on to God and others. Pray that God will bring you a way to serve Him.

Which brings us to the point.

You are able in Christ. Let God guide you to where He wants you to be.

Satan might whisper into your mind, “You aren’t smart enough” or “You can’t do that.”

The enemy might use friends and family to ridicule you or keep you down with snide comments or just a complete lack of support.

The demons might use nameless faces on the internet to tell you to be quiet, you’re not a scientist. Your not a doctor. You failed high school. You’re just a soccer mom, or plumber. You can’t understand these things.

But, keep following God, and trusting God.

The enemy might say, “You don’t have a degree. You are just unlearned and ignorant”

But, with God all things are possible.

He will guide you.

Have you noticed that Satan has great colleges and universities full of money and wickedness working to train workers to help build his Kingdom of the Anti-Christ?

Do you not think that God is also training up His own workers?

And I’m not talking about colleges who claim to serve God. Satan has infiltrated many of those as well.

God trains us through His Word and by spending time with Jesus, through His Holy Spirit. In Him, we have all we need to serve others and build God’s kingdom.

Never let anyone tell you that you cannot serve God or serve others because you are not “learned”.

You can do all things through Christ who strengthens you. (Phil. 4:13)

They treated Jesus the same.

“And when he was come into his own country, he taught them in their synagogue, insomuch that they were astonished, and said, Whence hath this man this wisdom, and these mighty works?

 Is not this the carpenter’s son? is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas?

And his sisters, are they not all with us? Whence then hath this man all these things?

And they were offended in him. But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, save in his own country, and in his own house.”—Matt. 13: 54-57

The people who know you and have grown up with you will often try to keep you down or doubt your worth.

But, God does not. He has called you and will train you, even if you need to go somewhere else to do it.

And please understand that I am not talking about your job here. I’m talking about serving God and others. If God calls you to a certain job or work, you might need to get training from experts.

But, God is the expert on serving God. He is real and He is able to train you. Just believe and serve.

I’m telling you this for a reason.

Because in these last days there is deception all around. Even seminary schools have been infiltrated by the enemy, teaching false doctrine.

In China, preachers of the government licensed churches will snitch on the members of their church who show real belief in Christ. These people are jailed or killed if they preach the truth.

That is coming everywhere. So, if you are called to serve God, you need to know that you do not need a government school, or any school for God to train you.

Not only this, but there will come a day soon when all buying and selling is controlled by the Anti-Christ.

A person will not be able to pay for school or anything without getting the Mark of the Beast.

You need to know, that God can train you and use you even in these difficult times to come.

You don’t need to be trained in Satan’s system, in order to serve God.

Understand, that when the Jewish people were taken captive and hauled off to Babylon, they served God within that wicked kingdom.

We can do the same, as we get closer to those days.

But, there comes a point where we can no longer abide in wickedness.

There comes a time, when we will have to choose the lions den, or the blazing fire instead of denying Christ, or worshiping Satan, the Anti-Christ, or his Image.

You are never “Unlearned and Ignorant” in Christ.

You have been trained by the living God.

And that’s all that really matters on Judgement day.

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Bio: Chris Bunton is a writer, poet and blogger from Southern Illinois.

Cover photo by pexels/Tweesak C.

Checkout Latter Days

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Checkout Jezebel’s War

On Father's Day

On Father's Day

Father's are under attack 

 

It’s Fathers Day and probably the sermons you will hear today, and the things posted on social media, will be attacks on Father’s. Little jabs talking about how they need to do better, and are the leaders of the household or some other form of guilt and shame.

And we wonder why men do not come to Church or turn to Christ.

The system we live in is waging war against fathers, men and even little boys.

And the church is no better.

We condemn men for their failures of addiction and leadership, but do nothing to help them succeed.

Our answer is to work harder, earn money, suck up the pain and nothing much more.

Let’s look at some realities.

The church has fought since the 1970’s to stop abortion. They have used everything in their power to stop this evil, and today we see laws changing, and hearts turning.

So, acting like the church has no power to change the system is ridiculous. They do.

We have seen churches fight for civil rights. Even today, church leaders and church communities are howling about the treatment of illegal aliens.

And yet, when it comes to speaking out for fathers, we hear crickets.

The battle against fathers, men and little boys continues.

The divorce rate is rampant, and 80% of all children go to the mothers, not fathers. But, it is still considered the fault of fathers and men, when these marriages end, or kids fail in some way.

90% of teachers are women. But, its toxic masculinity that is the problem in our culture.

Where’s the Church?

If the church can control political parties to fight abortion, and stop other things why not use that power to help fathers?

Because its easier to just preach at them on Fathers day.

There’s a meme which shows that on Mothers Day, the church pews are full, but on Fathers Day, they are not.

Why?

Because Fathers at 80% do not have custody of kids. And why would fathers, or men in general want to go get dumped on? They get that all week at work, and every where else.

Can’t they come to Christ for peace? For strength? For growth and power?

But, they get a man telling them the same stuff their wife or ex wife or mother nags them about, while offering no real help or solutions. Except, “Happy Wife, Happy Life”

The church could rise up and demand change in the family courts and in the system at large, just like they have done with other things, but they don’t.

Why?

A woman has the right to abort a child, abandon a child, put a child up for adoption, or raise a child alone. And get called a hero for any of these choices.

But, a man has the choice go into poverty to support the child for 18 years, with no say or control, or involvement, or go to Jail. That’s his choice.

A woman has shelters, and all kinds of support. Often from churches.

Men have nothing, except get a job or be a homeless dead beat.

The church demands that abortions not happen, but reject the poor. They do nothing to really help fathers provide for the children they demanded live. Christians support cutting funds to the poor constantly.

They cut medicaid, and Christians cheer. But, we always have money for more bombs.

I’m not supporting abortion, I’m rejecting the hypocrisy and encouraging support for fathers.

Our society and even the church speaks of equality, but do not really practice it.

I have talked with church leaders who have said, they want to bring mothers into the church, and do that by building up a strong children’s ministry. One of the aspects of the strong children’s ministry is safety for the kids.

That’s great. But, then they go on to say that safety for the kids includes protecting the children from contact with non-custodial fathers, who might visit them.

I’ve been told that this sort of ideology comes from national conventions of children’s church leaders, spreading it nation wide.

What?

Yeah, building up the children’s ministry by helping mothers keep kids from fathers on Sundays.

It makes me puke.

The church treats these fathers, like they are all pedophile deadbeats, full of porn addiction and abuse.

These fathers are often soldiers who fought in wars, men who are pillars in the community. Men who have jobs and have struggled through life, and love their kids.

But, they are deemed unworthy or a danger to kids, and can only see them 4 days a month.

How can you lead a family 4 days a month?

Of course, there are bad actors. But, are they bad because a court decided it, or because a mother falsely accused them?

Keeping kids from fathers is child abuse.

Do you realize that women instigate divorce in the majority of the cases, and gain all the benefits for doing so. The state doesn’t care, because they get top federal dollar for getting mothers on the child support system. That’s why dads only get 4 days a month.

Money.

We sell our children, while the church condemns fathers instead of fighting to help them. I bet if courts started taking kids from pastors, you’d hear them screaming from the pulpit for fathers rights. Maybe then, they would see the corruption and extend grace.

I wonder how many judges and lawyers sit in pews on Sunday, while condemning fathers in court on Monday for no reason.

80% of cases give full custody to the mom. Are 80% of fathers a danger to children? Really?

Those divorced mothers, take the kids into new relationships where the boyfriend or step father often kills or abuses the kids. Look at the stats. How many children are killed by mommy’s new boyfriend?

These strange men are able to have access to these children as much as they want, while the real father must abide by rules.

Meanwhile, the father gets involved with another person and has access to her kids, who she keeps from their real dad too.

And all the fathers pay child support to all the other fathers and wives.

What kind of idiotic mess is this?

And all the church does is tell people divorce is bad.

Duh.

Why aren’t churches fighting to fix it?

They obviously have the power to influence elections, leaders and policy.

I see churches getting on political soap boxes all the time. Organizing marches for this cause or that cause.

What about families or fathers?

Family court could be made non-adversarial, with every case starting at 50/50 custody, no child support. It would bring peace and save lives, and pain.

But, that would stop the money machine.

That would go against the Satanic Marxist agenda to destroy fathers and families.

The war on fathers, and families is from Satan. But, most churches do not understand what is really going on. They think the problem is porn and video games, and men who don’t work. They blame fathers.

The real problem is that churches are ran by folks who have no real understanding of spiritual things.

God’s word says. “For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.”—1 cor. 11:31-32

The saints are supposed to judge themselves and confess to the Lord, and let Him work on us to change us. The same goes for our churches and our leaders.

Our failure can be directly linked to the failure of our leaders. If a family fails because of the lack of spiritual leadership of a father, then likewise a church fails without spiritual leaders as well.

Man up, leaders.

Start working to help fathers as much as you focus on abortion, children, mothers, and missions. At least as much as you fight against porn, or social media usage. Children love and need fathers too.

Wheres the church in supporting fathers?

Stop letting the Satanic Marxist ideologies influence the Church. Stop with the philosophies of the past, which beat men down.

Start supporting fathers, men and little boys, as much as you support mothers, women and little girls. We are equal in Christ.

God is our father. Satan wages war on fathers in order to destroy the image of fathers, so he can destroy the image of God the Father. This makes God appear to be another father who cannot be trusted. The figure head for the alleged patriarchy. This works to keep people from turning to God.

The church lets this happen.

Make a decision this Fathers Day to create real change to help fathers, instead of just preaching at them.

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Cover photo by pexels 

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The Ten Virgins

 The Ten Virgins

 Do you have oil in your lamp?

 

Before we start, there are certain things we cannot prove. Bible prophecy is one of them. We can read the verses, and have beliefs and faith, but until it happens we cannot state it as fact.

Ministries have been ruined, friendships destroyed, reputations crushed, simply because of a different interpretation of Bible prophecy.

That is not what God desires.

We do not know exactly how God is going to fulfill the prophecies in His Word.  The Pharisees thought they knew and were wrong. They demanded that “out of Galilee ariseth no prophet. ” (John 7:50-53) And they missed Jesus at His first coming.

It sounds just like many prophecy Bible studies I have been to. Where folks demand that what they believe be accepted and preached.

Second, I do not believe in a Pre-tribulation rapture. My view reflects this. I will no longer argue about such things.

I think that believers will be here until Christ returns and we will be raptured when He comes. The Bible teaches that the Saints are not going to face God’s Wrath. We will not. He will protect us just like He protected the Israelites in Goshen through the plagues of Egypt in the Exodus. That is a picture of the last days.

But, to be more clear. Hell and the Lake of Fire is God’s Wrath. Not physical death. Jesus said, “And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.”—Matt. 10:28

The Bible teaches plainly that “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.” —(Psa. 116:15)

God’s Wrath is Hell and the Lake of Fire. Not physical death.

Believers die every day from disease, disasters and persecution. Why would the destruction of the last days be any different?

So the “tribulation period” as they call it, is not God’s Wrath, especially when it comes to believers. He will protect us and glorify us and bring us to Paradise with Him. How is that wrath? Even if it is wrath to the non-believer, it is not wrath to His Saints.

But, to avoid conflict, let’s just say that we are going to face lots of trouble before He comes.

Many Christians are saved and know the Lord. They have a relationship with Him. But, the scriptures teach of false brethren, people who were never really saved.

The reasons for this can be many. But, there are many verses that show people who thought they knew the Lord, only to find that they really did not, and it was too late.

The parable of the Ten Virgins is one of those verses. It can be found in Matthew Chapter 25, verses 1-13.

Basically, the Lord returns and the Virgins who are supposed to be prepared for their bridegroom to come, go out to meet Him.

Jesus is the Bridegroom, and the Church is viewed as the Bride. We are made white, by being washed in His Blood. We are chaste virgins by being cleansed of all sin through Him.

Paul speaks of this in 2 Corinthians 11: 1-3. We can find other references in scripture (Rev. 19:1-9)

The Christians see the signs and hear the trump and come out to meet Him. We do not know exactly what this is referring to. But, Christians know at the time this happens. Notice I say “Christians” not “Saints”. Because all of these people have claimed Christ, but not all know Him. They had head knowledge, and relied on their works, instead of surrendering to the Lord.

We see this because they all come out, and all are called virgins. (Which is a title given to a bride. It is not proof of her virginity, only her alleged position. The proof comes later when consummation occurs. Which in this case, never occurs with the lost.)

All the virgins have lamps, but they do not all have oil.

The five wise virgins with oil, tell the foolish virgins to go buy oil.

Some people believe that the oil is the Holy Spirit, but it plainly shows in Acts 8:8-24 that the Holy Spirit cannot be purchased. Also, Jesus says the Holy Spirit is given to those who ask. It’s not bought. (Luke 11:13)

The oil, is faith. 

Now, you must take this in context. First, all people are given a measure of faith so they can be saved. (Romans 12:3) 

It is believed by some, that people do not have faith until they get it from God, or hear the Word…”Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.” (Romans 10:17)  This verse is referring to faith in Jesus Christ. You cannot believe in Christ until you have been told of Him. Our faith is also strengthened by hearing and believing God’s Word.

All humans have faith. When you sit down in a chair you have faith it will support you. That is faith. “It is the substance of things hoped for; the evidence of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1)

All humans have faith, but faith does not save you. You must put your faith in the right place. Which is Jesus Christ. 

He calls you. This is Grace. This is hearing the Word. Jesus is the Word. (Romans 10:17, John 1)  Then, you turn to Him (Repent) and give yourself to Him. Confessing Jesus is The Lord. (Romans 10:9-10)

This is salvation. This must be understood to understand the parable of the 10 virgins.

First understand that 5 virgins are wise and 5 are fools.  Fools are always people who do not believe in God. The 5 foolish virgins have no faith in God. They have not put their faith in Jesus Christ alone for salvation. They have a measure of faith, but not in Christ. They have learned things at church, but never really knew Him.

All the virgins slept while the bridegroom tarried. That is our current situation, We are waiting for Him.

When He comes, the fools are told to go purchase oil.  How do you purchase faith?  You give yourself to Jesus Christ. You are bought with a price. You buy a pearl of great price. You purchase your salvation by giving yourself to the Lord. Then, as you grow in Christ your faith grows as well.  So, as time goes on you have more oil in your lamp.

So, understand that these foolish virgins are in the Church. But, they were never saved. They are there for business or politics, or tradition, or any number of reasons, but they never gave themselves to Christ and are not saved. Their faith never grew from basic human faith. They never were born again. They never became spiritually alive and set free from Sin and Satan in Christ.

So, as the day of Christ’s return draws near, the times of trouble will get worse and worse. Persecution and tribulations will arise and these foolish virgins will not have the faith to endure, because they never knew Him. They are like the seed among the thorns. They are as tares among the wheat. They are like the man wearing soiled clothes at the wedding. They are like the man who has his talents in a napkin. Thieves and robbers who tried to climb up to heaven another way, instead of through Christ.

They will fall away and form the Apostate Church. They will think they are saved, and will think they do God’s service when they kill the real believers.

We can see the beginnings of this today as political opinions sway churches on both sides.

Then, when Christ returns, they will learn that they never had oil. They were never saved, They never knew Him.

And He will confess that he never knew them, “Depart…”   He will say.  “But, Lord did we not do wonderful WORKS?”   He will say “I never knew you” (Matt 7:20-25)

Don’t be a foolish virgin who thinks they are saved by works. Give yourself to Christ alone, and know Him as Lord. Let your walk with Him grow your faith, and fill your lamp with oil, so you will shine His light for all to see.

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Bio: Chris Bunton is a writer, poet and blogger from Southern Illinois.

 Cover photo by pexels. Edited by the writer.

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Thankfulness Reflects Our Faith

 Thankfulness Reflects Our Faith

 Do we believe God provides?

 

 

 

“Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”— Phil 4:6-7

As we walk with God, having a relationship with Him; we will grow in spirit. Our own selves will become less and He will become more. We realize our own weaknesses and lean on Him more and more.

This is the growth of our faith. We start to transition from flesh to spirit.

Notice in this verse the first phrase. “Be careful for nothing.”

In our flesh we have fear, doubt, worries and concerns. We see with our fleshly eyes and we are impacted by it. Like when Peter walked on water and took his eyes of Christ, because He was distracted by the wind and the waves.

In essence, it is a lack of trust in God. Because if we saw God standing next to us in awesome power, would we be concerned about anything? No. But, the enemy and our flesh distracts us and causes us to doubt or worry.

God has not given us a spirit of fear. It’s from the devil. (2 Tim 1:7)

God gives us power, love and a sound mind through the Holy Spirit.

Through Him we have access to the throne. He intercedes for us. He translates our prayer into the proper format for power. His love is in us. His truth and wisdom gives us a sound mind.

When we pray we trust Him. We put our faith in Him. We believe that He hears us and will respond. We believe it.

The next phrase says, “But in everything”, That means everything. There is nothing too small for God. There is nothing we need to hide from God, even if we could. We can trust Him.

We can boldly come to His throne in prayer.

Jesus said, “And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.”— (John 14:13-14)

We can believe Him. We can believe His Word.

We pray in His name, under His authority and righteousness. Not our own.

As we grow closer in relationship with Him. We learn His character and His will. We grow less concerned for frivolous things, and trying to put on a front.

So, our prayer takes on a different flavor. We pray what He desires, and we are happy with what He brings us.

Not saying that life is a bed of roses. But, we have God with us, and that is really all that matters in the end.

We pray and cry out to God. We make our requests, and we do it with thanksgiving.

Because if you thank God for what he is going to do in the future, you are manifesting faith in Him and His Word. We trust His promises, so we thank Him ahead of time. It’s the faith that fuels the prayer to the Lord. He responds to our faith.

This faith and thankfulness works to bring peace. Because we have to go back to the original consideration.

Do we really believe?

It’s not easy.

But, when we pray and trust God, and thank Him for what he is about to do, we are exercising faith in the Lord that He moves, and this knowledge brings us peace.

He brings us peace through His Holy Spirit.

That peace is an abiding peace.

I don’t want the devil to use what I’m saying as a tool to beat you. We will have concern in life. We will have fear. But, Jesus is with us and He has overcome. (John 16:33)

Don’t let the enemy think that because you have worries or concerns that God is not with you. Have faith and turn it around to wage war on the enemy, who seeks to distract you and keep you from serving and walking with the Lord.

Our sins are washed away in the Blood of Jesus, there is no reason to fear. God is with us, if you know Him. It is HIS peace. Not our peace. (John 14:27)

His peace, which defies all our fleshly understanding will keep us with Him forever.

And we praise Him, and thank Him. Because of who He is and what He has done, and what we know He will do, because He promises.

Not that we should expect anything from God. He is not required to do anything. But, His character and promises give us faith, that He will move. It is who He is, and when we know Him, we can see it.

Praise Jesus

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Bio: Chris Bunton is a writer, poet and blogger from Southern Illinois.

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Who Is A Liar?

 Who Is A Liar?

It's not what you think. 

 

“He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.”—Rev. 21:7-8

This is a haunting verse at the very end of the Bible.

Let’s rightly divide the word. (2 Tim. 2:15)

First, we must look at the first verse because it basically cancels out the rest. If you really turn to God because you hear His call and Confess Jesus as your Lord. You are saved.

“Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?”—1 John 5:5

That’s what it says.

After salvation, God will work in our lives to change us and sanctify us if we have really turned to Him. Our faith will grow, if we are really with Him.

But, “the fearful and unbelieving” in the verse are those who have been too afraid to give up their life and turn to Christ. People who are too afraid of what people might think. Afraid to lose business and friends or family.

The unbelieving are those who refuse to put their faith in the Lord. They hear the call and refused.

Next we see a list of sinful actions, all of which God warns us about in the Word. But, all of which are sins that keep us from turning to God.

“abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters,”

All these can be saved if they turn to God and confess Jesus as Lord. But, these sins make it extra hard for a person to break free.

An abominable lifestyle is hard to stop.

A murderer has refused to forgive. And instead chose to kill. Remember Jesus said, “ For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”—Matt. 6:14-15

This is talking about actual murder and murder in the heart. What we would call 1st degree murder. It’s also talking about people who have absolutely no regard for the lives of others at all.

A whoremonger is a pimp. A person who is a sex trafficker and exploits other people to survive, and for profit. It’s difficult to get out of this life. Like the Abominable there is a demonic presence in this type of thing.

The Sorcerer and Idolater have basically turned to other Gods for help and salvation. They have not turned to Christ. They have never had a relationship with Him.

That brings us to “Liars”.

This terrifies us because we have all lied. We have all told lies in our lives. Whether we want to admit it or not. We try to justify it. We try to make it “White Lies”. We lie because of fear. We lie to save ourselves and others. We share things we have not seen or proven.

We lie.

But, God clarifies in His Word who is a liar.

“Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son.”—1 John 2:22

So again, God tells us that the only people who are liars are those who have rejected Christ.

Why?

Because if you have accepted Christ, then your sin is washed away and you are hid in Him.

You do not sin because your sins are no longer held to your account. It’s not about what you do, it’s about your position in Christ.

“Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.”— 1 John 3:9

In chapter one, John tells us to confess our sins. (1 John 1:8-10)

In chapter three, he tells us that those in Christ do not sin. These two ideas do not work together, unless he is talking about something else.

Clearly he is saying “We do not sin in the eyes of God. Because we are saved.” He is not saying we do not commit sins. That wouldn’t go with the need to confess our sins to God.

We are saved. We confess our sins to wash our feet.

John wrote Revelation and First John. When he says “All Liars” in Revelation 21:7-8 he is speaking of those who have rejected Christ. The Holy Spirit ties these together.

The only reason anyone is condemned is because they reject Christ. They have never been cleansed of Sin.

That’s it.

Jesus said, “ Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.” —Matt. 10:32-33

Do you know Him? Have you confessed Him?

Turn to the Lord and let Him save you and grow you.

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Bio: Chris Bunton is a writer, poet and blogger from Southern Illinois

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Sin vs. Love

 Sin vs. Love

 We are set free, in order to serve.

 

The Bible plainly shows in Matthew 25, what Christ will ask when He returns.

He doesn’t ask, “Did you watch porn?”

He doesn’t ask “Did you have sex before marriage, or did you have an abortion”

He doesn’t ask “Did you vote right, or did you go to church or did you obey leaders and pay what you owe?”

Nope.

He asks if you visited prisoners? Did you help the poor? Did you clothe the naked? Did you give a cool drink to the thirsty? Did you love your neighbor? Did you love at all? Did you show kindness and compassion? Did you reconcile people to God? Did you use your gifts to save souls, spread the Kingdom and help others?

I can hear you squirming in your seat dying to say…”yeah…but”

No.

Jesus died for our sins and rose for our justification. If you are saved then you are in Him and are dead to sins.  It is not held against you. Do the dead sin? No. Paul explains this in Romans.

That means that you have power over it. But, it also means that it is irrelevant to your eternity. You are washed. You are hid in Christ.  Our focus is serving God and growing the Kingdom. Not, in worrying about whether we look like good Christians, but by being good Christians through service. (Col. 3:1-3)

You confess your sins and God forgives you, and works to help you overcome. This is foot washing. God cleanses us of all sin when we confess Him as Lord. But, we get dirty as we walk in this world. Like Jesus said, we have no need but to wash our feet. We do this by confessing our sins to Him. Likewise, when we confess our sins to each other and pray for each other, we wash each others feet. As James said. (1 John 1:1-10, John 13: 4-15, James 5:16, Rom. 10:9-10)

 We are saved, and washed and hid in Christ. Our sins are gone. They are washed away. We are white as snow.

But, the things we do can open doors to the enemy to destroy us and ruin our lives. We can let demonic forces have more access to our lives. Even though we are eternally saved and forgiven. Our life in this world can be miserable because we do not confess our sins and let God work in our lives. Those sins can grow until they destroy us, if we do not let God deal with them. They can become strongholds of demonic activity in our lives. Things that can impact those around us and generations down the road.

But remember, all things work together for our good. God can use that destruction or trouble to help us. God will use it to grow us. He is not trying to hurt us but give a hope and a future. We are saved. We are in Christ, if you know Him. He chastises those He loves. The destruction or rock bottom, works to wake us up and set us free. (Romans 8: 28, Jere 29:11, Heb. 12:6)

And we still are saved forever.

God deals with our sin so we can serve the Kingdom. Knowing God and serving Him is our purpose. That’s our focus. Not our life, but His.

We are being sanctified, and through the sanctification, we endure hardness as we serve. We endure temptation and overcome through the Holy Spirit and service to the Kingdom. (2 Tim. 2:3, James 1:12)

Our willingness to have a relationship with Christ and let the Holy Spirit, love through us is what we are called to do. (Eph 2:8-10)

Our service and our love is a reflection of our relationship with God.

When you read Matthew 25. It’s obvious that the people thought they were saved. But, they never knew the King, so they never did the compassionate loving things God desired. They never grew in faith as the Lord worked in them and on them. They never had a relationship with Him. They thought their works saved them, instead of being saved to do good works. They worried about sin, like pharisees, even though they were dead to sin. Satan will get us focused on quitting sinning and being moral, because that keeps us from getting people saved, or fighting the evil in this world. (Eph 2:8-10, Matt. 7:21-23)

They never knew Him.

It’s not about works. It’s about who you know and who you have a relationship with. And that relationship will get us to serve Him, as He sanctifies us.

Let God take care of your sins. Focus on serving and loving others. Focus on the relationship with God.

And you will find that those sins you worry about, get less and less. We grow. We build faith. We build our relationship with God. We overcome the sin that so easily besets us. By following the Holy Spirit and doing the service God calls us to do. Not by works, but by His power.

Love covers a multitude of sins. God is love, and He works to drive those things out of us through Love. As we love God, serving Him and having that relationship with Him, and serving others. Loving them. (1 Peter 4:7-8)

We find ourselves growing free, to match the spiritual truth that we are already free in Christ. 

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