Last Trumpet Living

My friend Elizabeth (@ElizabethPrata on Twitter) sent a link to a video my way just a few minutes ago and my conversation with her inspired a couple of posts.

In case you haven't heard, the Denver Broncos defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers in overtime to win the first round of the NFL playoffs. Twitter was abuzz with excitement since Tim Tebow, a Christian, is the starting quarterback for Denver. Many Christians, including me, have jumped on the bandwagon.

Tebow isn't afraid to put his faith on display, and that certainly gives him attention from his admirers and from those who are offended by his message and personal profession of faith.

The unsaved world doesn't understand the transformative nature of Christianity. Unbelievers are blind to the power of the cross. To them, it's another religious system where you must follow a bunch of rules or be punished by some invisible deity in the sky.

I can personally testify about how the cross changed me, is changing me and will change me. I can look back five years and see how much more I want to do (and *do* do) God's will now than I did back then. It's something that's in my heart that pulls me in that direction, not some set of rules to follow for fear of being punished. I serve God because I want to, not because I have to.

Yet I still fail, sometimes miserably. For longer periods than I want.

That's the side of me I'd rather no one see. I fear the judgement of other Christians, even though I shouldn't.

But worst of all, I fear my failure to consistently live up to "the rules" - whatever those rules are as set by unbelievers - will make someone think, "he's a 'Christian' and he did that! Christians are hypocrites!"

How can we as Christians put the power of the cross on display for an unbelieving world if we fail to turn our lives over to Jesus and let the Holy Spirit work in us? How are we to be the salt and light of the world when we are fornicators, adulterers, liars, cheats and thieves, just like the unbelievers? They don't have the Holy Spirit in them to guide their way. We do, and we stifle Him all the time.

It's a great responsibility to be a Christian. And Tim Tebow is a fantastic role model for believers and unbelievers alike.

In an unbelieving world where we're expected to be perfect people as Christians, let's let the Holy Spirit move in us to be great witnesses for the power of the cross, and how it can transform lives.

Tonight, on my way home from my mom's house, I stopped at a convenience store for a little snack with my little girl. And as I approached the building from the parking space, I looked down and found something unusual.

A folded $100 bill.

I reached down, scooped it up and put it in my pocket, all the while wondering why such great fortune had been bestowed upon me. No one was in the immediate area, so there was certainly no one who could claim it, right? Then my mind drifted into thoughts of how much easier it will be to pay bills this month.

As I opened the door to the store, I went up to the cashier immediately, pulled the $100 bill from my pocket and began to explain to him how someone had dropped this outside and may be back to claim it. And as I went to hand him the money, I unfolded it and found it to be a fake. The "$100 bill" was actually an advertisement cleverly placed on my path.

I felt embarrassed that I'd not checked this before explaining the story and attempting to hand it to the clerk.

But I learned two lessons from this incident tonight: I must have grown in grace at some point, because I overcame the temptation to keep the money. No one would have ever known. And my daughter got a great lesson in doing the right thing.

If the money had been real and if I never would have said anything to anyone, I would have felt guilty. What if the person who dropped it needed it more than I do?

And had I not said anything and learned the bill was fake when I got home, I would have felt guilty for not even attempting to find the rightful owner before learning it was a forgery.

Instead, doing the right thing kept me from guilt. Guilt is not from God. It is what Satan wants you to feel after you've committed a sin. Tonight, I said no to temptation and did the right thing.

Consequently, Satan's guilt trip has no power over me tonight. I am free from its bonds.

Think of how many more areas of our lives would be guilt-free if we only obeyed the Lord and His instructions for our lives.

I'd like to expand upon this topic in a future post. As this immature Christian grows in faith, God's word becomes clearer and clearer.

Merry Christmas everyone. Remember, Christ's second coming is as sure as His first.

This may be a rehash of Bible doctrine to some, but I felt led to talk about it today.

I think about how I'm going to die sometimes.  I think for most of us, the ideal death would be instantaneous and preferrably in our sleep.  I watched my dad lie in a hospital bed for six days as he slowly lost consciousness and his pain medication was ever-increased to combat the physical effects of pancreatic cancer.  To watch his life end in that manner and to remember the times we'd wrestle around when I was still a kid or all the times he'd teach me things still brings tears to my eyes.  But our fallen world eventually takes all of us - believers and unbelievers alike.

Or does it?

Way back near the beginning of the Bible, there was a man named Enoch who was the father of Methuselah, the man who lived longer than anyone in the Bible.  The book of Genesis tells us that Enoch fathered Methuselah at the age of 65 and walked faithfully with God for 300 years after that.  Then he was no more because God took him away.  Enoch simply vanished from Earth.

But that was Old Testament, right?  You don't see folks tapping rocks with a staff to find fresh water nowadays nor is there manna from heaven waiting on us six mornings per week.

God's power to remove the faithful from the planet isn't limited to the Old Testament.  The Apostle Paul clearly talks about the same thing happening to New Testament believers.

1 Corinthians 15:51-57 (NASB) tells us this:

Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.  For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality.  But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, “DEATH IS SWALLOWED UP in victory.  O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR VICTORY? O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR STING?”  The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

In one instant in the future, believers who are on Earth and still living will not die but be instantly plucked from this planet and in the presence of Jesus forever.  And in that instant our broken bodies will be transformed into everlasting ones.

Paul went on to write about this event in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17:

For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.  Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord.

The bodies of believers who have preceeded us in death will come out of their graves and receive their imperishable bodies first then believers who are alive and remain on Earth will be caught up (or "harpazo" in Greek, "rapturo" as translated into Latin and the word from which we derive the word "rapture" today) to meet the Lord in the air.  Then we will live with Jesus forever.

Oh, and one thing I haven't mentioned to you.  Paul continued in verse 18:

Therefore comfort one another with these words.

One day Jesus is coming back for believers and we may be the generation that is here one moment and gone to be with the Lord the next.  

If you don't know where you're headed when you die, you can know right now.  There are many examples of saving faith in the Bible, but I always like to use Romans 10:9-10:

[T]hat if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.

While I don't typically document the signs of the Lord's imminent return on this site, my friend Elizabeth Prata keeps close watch on those over at her End Times blog.  And if you don't already, you should take a look at the weekly Hal Lindsey Report.

I'm not exactly in a place I ever expected to be in my life.

God hates divorce. It is a painful, emotional rollercoaster that took me uncomfortably close to a nervous breakdown earlier this year. My divorce was my fault. Bad decisions, selfishness and many times a lack of compassion on my part led to this point.

For all of my failings in life, I consider this the worst. I knew God was disappointed in me. I knew that this would have implications and consequences beyond me.

But after having suffered silently for almost a year now, a healing is taking place within me. This post isn't being written to make light of divorce or its destructiveness. It is being written to give glory to God. And now that the door through which reconciliation could have taken place appears closed, I must move on in faith.

The emotional pain of divorce is overwhelming, so much so that it became intolerable. Nothing I did could counter the psychological effects. And as I laid there another night broken and fighting off the latest round of panic that had consumed my mind endlessly for months, I had nothing left but to ask Jesus to take away my suffering.

He showed up. When I awoke the next morning, the psychological strain was diminished. No longer was I afraid. For He was with me, just as He promised. The shame and guilt melted away over time. I was healed.

But with divorce comes financial strain. I knew how much I brought home. I knew how much I had to pay out each month. There was no way it would work. And I found myself worrying again - this time about how I would make ends meet. I had nothing but a large tax bill looming in the horizon. There was no way I could pull together enough money to pay it. I prayed about it.

Jesus showed up again. Somehow the money I needed was suddenly there. I cried and praised His name.

And then I remembered something. I give when there's a need and it's from my heart. I've never believed for a second that God would give simply because I was looking to get. God took $85 that I didn't have but gave anyway for a couple of different causes and turned it into a couple of thousand dollars. Someone needed it more than I did, so I gave it away with no expectations. Before I give the wrong impression, this isn't about my charitable contributions. It's a testament to the true and living God who just wants us to step out in faith. He provides for His children. I'm a living, breathing example of His love for His children.

And because God manifest Himself in this way to me, I understand that I'm forgiven. I understand that He wants me to just reach out and touch his garment in faith. I understand the importance of obedience to His word and have had many conversations with Him about my lack of obedience in so many areas of my life. I can see His work in me. It's nothing short of a supernatural act, believe me.

Step out in faith. Look out for someone other than yourself. If God can show up for me in the midst of my divorce, He will show up for you.

And thank Him for being faithful even when we're not.

I know a defeated Christian. And it breaks my heart to see anyone who has practically given up on life and to see their desire for the Lord practically extinguished. I've been there.

Folks, just because you're saved doesn't the devil leaves you alone. I think the devil is going to harass you as a Christian more than an unsaved person? Why? Because he's already got the unsaved person. But if he holds you, the believer, down then you're ineffective. You can't be an example of Christ in your life if you're more concerned about your feelings and your failures than you are about letting the Lord move in your life.

The devil will tell you you're not saved. He's told me hundreds of times. But I am! He'll tell you that a real child of God wouldn't commit those sins you committed. He'll tell you that a real Christian wouldn't act that way because your Christian neighbor doesn't do those things.

The devil will lie to you to make you ineffective.

Let me tell you something: if you believe in your heart that Jesus died for your sins and God raised him from the dead, you're saved - eternally and irrevocably. It's not your works, it's not the way you act, it's not how much you give and it's not how much you've grown since yesterday. Faith plus anything is not salvation by grace. And too many Christians today want to add something to the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

You can't pull yourself out of your funk for very long before slipping back into it. But when Jesus takes over your heart and your mind you can be changed.

I've always heard that and always wondered, "how can Jesus take over my mind and my heart?" The answers I got were always vague and I quickly found myself wallowing in my self-pity again.

I look at it like this: if you believe the Bible, then you know faith comes from hearing the word of God. Therefore, our faith comes from reading or hearing the Bible. If I stay in the Bible and study it, I am focused on living in the Spirit and not the flesh. I want to live my life for the Lord and not for my selfish desires. Don't be deceived. The devil will do anything to keep you from reading God's word. Anything to distract you will be used to accomplish his evil desires.

How's your prayer life? Is there anything you've not confessed to God that may be hindering your fellowship with Him?

Folks, I'm not going to lie to you. There's no easy formula for keeping your focus. But it's just like exercise. You may not want to hit the gym, but you know it's good for you. You may not see results immediately but you make yourself go. The same thing applies to the word of God. You have to make yourself get into the word. Read it. Study it. Go back to the Old Testament prophets and see what they wrote about the coming of Jesus. And as you do it more and more, your spiritual muscles begin to grow. You'll live less like the world and more for Jesus.

Are you defeated? You don't have to be. Read. Study. Pray. In time, you will grow in maturity and will be able to plainly see how the devil ensnared you for all that time.

Some of y'all just aren't going to agree with me on this topic. It's always controversial among Christians every year. The topic is Halloween.

Some Christians participate in Halloween-related events. Some don't. But notice I omitted the use of the word "celebrated". I don't celebrate Halloween as far as my understanding of celebrations go. Do I take my daughter out to trick-or-treat? Absolutely. Does she dress up? Yep. I even dress up sometimes. I did as a child, too. But celebration in terms of lifting up the spirits of the dead and all the other unbiblical nonsense that goes with Halloween is not something I would ever encourage or participate in.

The Bible teaches us to avoid even the appearance of evil. Yet I don't associate taking a child door-to-door for free candy with evil. We're not sacrificing black cats out in the woods. We're not conjuring spirits of the dead or pushing a pointer around a Ouija board.

As Christians, nothing is unlawful for us, but not all things are profitable. But we are also to be careful to not cause a weak Christian to stumble by flaunting our freedom in Christ. I'm personally not convicted by the Holy Spirit to avoid participating in Halloween functions, therefore I will. But I won't press the issue with another Christian who thinks it to be a sin. I could cause that person to feel as though they're sinning against the Lord.

From Scripture, I cannot find where God would forbid me to dress up and take my daughter out for candy, and I see no evil in this practice. But I also won't antagonize others for not wishing to participate. This has been debated by Christians for more years than I can remember, and this post isn't designed to close the debate. It's about why I believe the way I do, and suggestions on how you should approach it with your fellow brother or sister in Christ.

I read something last week that resonated with me and I can't remember the source, else I'd give proper credit. But before I get into that, let me step in another direction first.

What's your secret sin? What are the one, two, five or ten things you do that you wouldn't want your pastor or your Christian friends to know? Some folks are the kindest and most gentle souls on the planet until they hit the freeway. Others may struggle with foul language, not being as "holy" as they perceive their Christian counterparts as being or some other activity that they may deem as something not indicative of a Christian life. My question is purely rhetorical, and to get back to the point of this post, let me pose a question to you: who do you fear? Men or God? If God sees what you do in secret and you still do it, yet you hide your "secret sins" from your friends and neighbors, who do you fear most? Ponder that. Then confess your sins to the Lord and ask His forgiveness. He is able to restore your relationship and His mercies are new everyday.

I'm beginning to come to grips with the way Jesus has worked on me post-salvation. My story seems to be different from most, and it's been a real struggle to see how me, the square peg, fit into the round hole, namely every other Christian on the planet.

I don't remember the exact date of my salvation, but I remember what I was doing when I got saved and I remember how I behaved after I got saved. But I hear and read about folks who were saved from their addictions and who had life-changing experiences the moment they first believed on Christ.

Oh, sure, my attitude about a lot of things changed. What I liked to do changed. But in many respects, some things got worse before they got better. And some things still aren't where I'd like for them to be. And the more I read the parable of the sower of the seed, I'm convinced our common adversary tried to steal the seed. After all, how could a Christian do the things I did after believing that Jesus died for my sins?

But the seed was planted. And the tree which bears fruit is growing. But, just like any immature tree, the fruit is scarce at the beginning and needs to mature to produce a bumper crop. The devil couldn't capture the seed before it could be planted in my heart. All he could do was try to grow up thorns and thistles around me to choke the tree. And he did. But I see the Holy Spirit working in my life and I see God moving to not only put me on the right path, but explain to me why He's placed me on this path. I've had some amazing insight into why He does what He does. And it makes perfect sense and is aligned Biblically. I can see why certain doors are closed and exactly why they were closed. Hence, I disagree with many preachers who claim that of the four types of soil mentioned in the parable, only the last one is a true Christian. To me, that philosophy is contradictory to the rest of the New Testament teachings about salvation. I know where I've been and I know where I am now and God has sustained me and my faith, as little as it was for a long time, to get me to a point where I can share the message of salvation with others. And I can hear the cries of the Holy Spirit inside of me. For someone whose fruit was once choked by thorns, that's pretty powerful. It's powerful for anyone.

God loves me. He loves you, too. He is patient not wanting anyone to perish but for all to receive salvation. All who ask receive. I've done a lot of asking lately, and I've seen some amazing results of simple prayers in faith. But don't confuse your immature faith with no faith at all. Salvation is forever. Sanctification is for a lifetime.

Another thing I love about Twitter is that I build relationships with folks around the country and the world - good Christian folks. In fact, I've already figured out which of these individuals would be my best friends in real life. But until the day we all reside in our permanent home with Christ, we'll have to be Twitter friends.

One such person is named DJ. I reached out to DJ several weeks ago asking for his opinion about a situation I found myself in. And I took his advice, for a while at least, until I allowed myself to get pulled back in...foolishly I may add. You see, DJ already knew the outcome. He'd been there once, and that's why I went to him for advice in the first place. But I didn't need his advice, although I appreciated his words and direction. I knew once I had allowed myself to push forward anyway that it was the wrong thing to do. Ever have that nudge which tells you something isn't right? I did. It was the Holy Spirit's prompting that I was going in the wrong direction. And after many prayerful nights of asking to be removed from the situation if it wasn't for me, I was - as difficult as it was.

DJ's advice to me was Biblically-sound and right on the money. The Holy Spirit confirmed it for me. The Bible confirmed it even further. Sometimes we think we know what's best for us, but you can save yourself a lot of difficulty by listening to solid believers like DJ, reading and believing God's word and taking cues from the promptings of the Holy Spirit. God won't steer you wrong, even when you think He's taking you in the opposite direction. Take the time to read His word and understand how He would have you live. He already knows the end from the beginning anyway. Trust Him to know what's best for you.

I dedicate this post to my friend EG.

Worldly living. We all do it to some degree or another. As Christians we are to be in the world but not of it, for we have a heavenly home.

I read a couple of tweets this morning that inspired this post. My good friends Greg and Judy both chimed in with thoughts which made me pause and think about living for the world. Greg said, and I'm paraphrasing here, that Christians can sometimes spend more time with their computer than with Christ. I'm very guilty of that. And Judy remarked on the preaching style of a well-known pastor who neglected the whole council of God for the feel-good messages. The prosperity- driven message from this particular pastor is more about what you can get now (worldly living) than the treasures you store in heaven.

The process of sanctification begins the moment we're saved and continues throughout our lives. The Holy Spirit, who permanently indwells within us at the moment of first belief, speaks to us and guides us to make the right decisions, helping transform us little-by- little to be more like Christ. And it's only through the power of the Holy Spirit can we can be truly transformed. All of our attempts to change our lives without this power are futile at best.

I can feel the nudging of the Spirit through uneasiness in a situation - a feeling that something isn't quite right. And I can yield to the Holy Spirit - and be better off because of it - or carry on with my worldly ways, which never work out the best for me - either in this life or as far as my eternal rewards are concerned.

So what does this have to do with living for the world? If I'm just like everyone else, how can the world see Jesus in me? How can I honestly tell the unbelieving world how Jesus is transforming my life when I'm just as stubborn and quick-tempered as everyone else? How can I be a living testimony for others when I live just like they do?

We all want to gripe about our jobs, complain about our circumstances in life or just generally join in on the pity party being thrown by the unbelieving world. If we're just as miserable and down-trodden as everyone else, what has Jesus really done for us? We're not being the salt and the light of the world but the end of a candle - a little flicker here and there but not a constant source of light.

How can we reach a lost and dying world if we can't show that a better life exists once we're saved? We can't unless we live by, and yield to, the Holy Spirit.

Paul wrote in Romans 8:5 "For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit." Even though Christians are in the Spirit, how often do we ignore the callings of the Holy Spirit and live for the world? What does our carnality teach the unbelieving world about Christ?

Let me tell you my secret to successfully living in the Spirit: reading God's word and prayer. Prayer alone doesn't do it for me. The word of God nourishes me and when I'm living deep in the Spirit, I can feel the presence of Him in me boldly. When I'm distracted by worldly affairs and ignore my nourishment, the Holy Spirit speaks much softer to me. He's still there, but it's easier to ignore Him.

How are you feeding yourself - through God's word or through mindless television shows or computer activities? What are you living for - earthly riches that will someday pass away? We have the power of God living inside of us. Are we using it for good or wasting it in lieu of chasing the temporary pleasures of the world?