F4S: June 2017

Wednesday, June 28, 2017

Got a Question for You.. if you don't mind. Are You an Atheist, an Agnostic, Pantheist, Deist, Pagan.. or What?

God has viable answers for you. Might wanna ask Him for some. Dare ya to. 
Yes, He has solutions for you today -- His Son Jesus is the ultimate solution for you and me. God loves you, you have great value being made in His image, and I double dog dare you to re-check out.. to reread the Bible. In fact I dare you to also check out. Mr. W. Lane Craig's 30-page essay. It soundly refutes Mr. Richard Dawkins' “The God Delusion.” Yes, it’s a must read. 

Yeah, I challenge you to take the time to examine the five traditional arguments for the existence of God in light of modern philosophy, science, and mathematics.

1. the cosmological argument from contingency
2. the kalam cosmological argument based on the beginning of the universe
3. the moral argument based upon objective moral values and duties
4. the teleological argument from fine-tuning
5. the ontological argument from the possibility of God's existence to his actuality
These are, I believe, some really good arguments for the existence of God. That is to say, they are logically valid; their premises are totally true; and their premises are more plausible in light of the evidence than their negations. We are rational people are we not? Yes, so we should embrace all conclusions of truth right?
It's a good day for Christian Apologetics huh! Can you think of a day in the past where it was more needed than today? I can't. 

“But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear..” 1 Peter 3:15
By the way.. not sure if I ever shared with you my very favorite Christian Apologists. Think I will... 
William Lane Craig  www.reasonablefaith.org
Dr. Walter Martin  http://www.equip.org
Frank Turek  http://crossexamined.org 
Don Stewart. http://kwve.com  ..pretty humorous guy as well as SMART. 
Chuck Smith Sr. -- Any and all books from my former pastors.. or audio -- he did his homework. http://kwve.com

Here are 7 Habits Of Highly Fruitful People.

Want to become more effective and fruitful in life? Then hear the word and give heed to God's word. Choose to form habits of obedience for His glory. 

When is God speaking to you? You know He can still do that in a lot of ways. 

Well, when you feel bad and sense you're convicted inside.. like when doing something wrong, yeah, guess what... God is speaking to you. He's speaking to you in your conscience by His Spirit. Are their habits to form and not to form.. from what you hear Him saying to you? Yup. 

And at those moments when you want to do the right thing, guess what.. the Spirit is more than likely speaking to you again. People can of course feel compelled to do too much stuff, and become too busy for their relationship with Christ -- that's bad, but your old fleshly nature isn't going to prompt you to go do the right things. Mr. Lu-Cifer ain't gunna do that either. 

But instead of merely doing the right thing, go do right things that the Holy Spirit directs you to do. Why Kurt? Here's why.. cuz habits are built simply by repetitive actions. 

"Neurons that fire together wire together!" ~ Donald Hebb

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God's way (Jesus, and knowing Him well is the very best way for you. All God's "ways" are better than your own way and "excuses." 

Good Habits For Ya: 1. Honest confession and 2. True repentance of personal sins. Are you ungodly? One lady said "No! I am not ungodly!" My friend responded with: "Then Jesus didn't die on the Cross for you." Sure, we might make it a day or two ..or three without sinning, but lost sinners and save sinners sin. Hate that when I do. But saved-sinners should sin less and less and less.. as we ditch de-edifying habits, form good habits that build up and simply follow the Lord. Saved sinners, they choose to grow daily. You can become a saved-sinner instead of a lost sinner right here and now! 3. Daily prayer is a great habit -- gettin' real with God and listening with a heart to obey. I like to journal some pray time on my computer in Google Drive (the cloud, cuz I can do that audio to God and to text). 4. Denying yourself what tears down, or sets a bad example by the power of the Spirit and edifying others instead. 5. Daily Bible reading and hearing -- that about more listening. 6. Fellowship with growing believers, preferably in the context of a healthy local church led by born again leaders who are spiritual instead of carnal, lukewarm or worldly. 7. Clearly telling your story (testimony) including the sharing of the Gospel for the purpose of winning the hearer to Christ today -- verbally sharing the truth in love with unbelievers. Yeah, witnessing for Jesus Christ.  

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"And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us. For at just the right time, while we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly." Romans 5:6

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Tuesday, June 27, 2017

Not merely here to occupy space while suckin' air -- you were born to glorify God and change this world!

The church today needs people who daily walk and talk with Jesus Christ as Lord (the Bible God, top Leader), red-hot reborn believers who through their Bible living / Bible-sharing godly lifestyles, have basically earned the right to be heard. 

As believers, our primary horizontal objective is not so much to win an argument (many with real facts think that's it)… though we have the scientific and archaeological facts etc… but to win the lost! World Changers are honest, and they are more like thermostats than thermometers cuz a thermostat will change the temperature where of thermometer will change nothing.
http://kurtwvs.tumblr.com/post/162317488378/all-the-nations-are-as-nothing-before-god-they

Sunday, June 25, 2017

Ya gotta grasp this. The Conflict of Two Natures within -- real basic stuff.

What I for decades never heard in church: "Letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the SPIRIT control your mind leads to LIFE and PEACE." (Emph mine. Romans 8:6+10, 4:11 see context)
The one you feed the most will have the victory. As long as you're here sucking air, that battle from your old fleshly nature that tries to pull ya down ain't really over 'ti it's over.. or 'til the Rapture snatches you out.  Sure, when one receives Christ in the New Birth, that is just the start of that person’s “greatest battle ever fought”. There is a New Nature within the believer that must overcome the fleshly nature in order to be properly expressed. To be an effective witness for Christ, I say feed your spirit-man within and starve your fleshly nature to death (not your physical body) so that the inner Man (Christ) can shine through to be clearly expressed
For we which live are always delivered unto death for Jesus' sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh.

What Kurt!?  Does a real Christian really have two natures within? 

Well, a real born again Christian certainly doesn’t have any demon in them as some churches teach, but they do have this battle of natures.. as many so called Christian churches don’t teach.
The first challenge that comes up for us with this question is one of semantics. For example, many prefer "sin nature," others prefer “old man,” "sinful nature," and still others prefer the ambiguous "flesh." Every persons body is called flesh, so what is this fleshly nature, Kurt? 
Whatever the specific names used for the warring parties is prefered, what is very relevant is that an ongoing battle rages within the Christian. Our battle is with this world’s system, with our fleshly nature and with the devil and the demons (formerly 1/3rd of the angels that also rebelled and fell with Lucifer).

But the second challenge is the actual definition of "nature." How this significant word is defined determines how one sees the distinction between the “old man” and the “new man” and its relevant outworking in the life of the Christian. One way to view "nature" is to understand it as a "capacity" within a believer. Thus, the old man is interpreted as the former way of life, that of an unbeliever. In this sense, the Christian has two competing capacities within him—the old capacity to sin and the new capacity to resist sinning. The unbeliever has no such competition within; he does not have the capacity for godliness because he has only the sin nature. That’s not to say he cannot do “good works,” but his motivation for those works is always tainted by his sinfulness. In addition, he cannot resist sinning because he doesn’t have the capacity to not sin.

The believer, on the other hand, has the capacity for godliness because the Spirit of God lives within him or her. He still has the capacity for sin as well, but he now has the ability to resist sin and, more importantly, the desire to resist and to live godly. When Christ was crucified, the old man (that old nature) was crucified with Him, resulting in the Christian's no longer being a slave to sin (Romans 6:6). Their inner human spirit was regenerated (raised from the dead) by the Holy Spirit of God. We “have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness” (Romans 6:18). True repentance and biblical faith are needed -- saving faith.

At the moment of conversion, the Christian receives a new nature. It is instantaneous. Sanctification, on the other hand, is the ongoing process by which God develops our new nature, enabling us to grow into more holiness through time. This is a continuous process with many victories and defeats as the new nature battles with the “tent” in which it resides—the old man, old nature, flesh. Choose to have godly character and the Holy Spirit will empower you.

In Romans 7, Paul explains the battle that rages continually in even the most spiritually mature people. He laments that he does what he doesn’t want to do and, in fact, does the evil he detests. He says that is the result of “sin living in me” (Romans 7:20). He delights in God’s law according to his “inner being,” but he sees another law at work in “the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members” (v. 23). Here is the classic example of the two entities, whatever terms they may carry. The point is that the battle is real, and it is one Christians will wage throughout their lives.

This is why believers are encouraged to put to mortify a.k.a. death the deeds of the body (Romans 8:13), to put to death that which makes a Christian sin (Colossians 3:5), and to put aside other sins such as anger, wrath, malice, etc. (Colossians 3:8). All this to say that the Christian has two natures—the old and the new—but the new nature needs continual renewing (Colossians 3:10). This renewing, of course, is a lifetime process for the Christian. Even though the battle against sin is constant, we are no longer under the control of sin (Romans 6:6). The believer is truly a “new creation” in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17), and it is Christ who will ultimately “rescue [us] from this body of death. Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (Romans 7:24–25). 
“For we know that the Law is spiritual, but I am of flesh, sold into bondage to sin. For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate. But if I do the very thing I do not want to do, I agree with the Law, confessing that the Law is good. So now, no longer am I the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me.  For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want. But if I am doing the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good.  For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man, but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members.  Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin.” ~ Paul, Romans 7:14-25 

Saturday, June 24, 2017

What do you love or hate? Or ..who do you really love and how do you know it? Who do you influence and how? In what direction?

In the end, the extent of your influence depends on the depth of your genuine concern for others (or lack thereof), as well as your level of loathing towards everything that would hurt them. Bottom-line, if you don't loathe what destroys people then you don't really love anyone. 

Proverbs 8:13 The fear of the Lord is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate. 

2 Thessalonians 3:14 And if any man obey not our word by this epistle, note that man, and have no company with him, that he may be ashamed.

Galatians 5:9 A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump.

Jude 1:22-23 And of some have compassion, making a difference: 23 And others save with fear, pulling [them] out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh.

Revelation 2:6 But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. Facebook.com/shareJesus

Friday, June 23, 2017

Living with fear is lame.

Fear wastes time, emotional energy and focus.
Why give it all over – why turn, trust, admit it and quit it (the wrong-doin’s)? Why give your life over to the Prince of Peace todayYeah, like here and now? Fear is just so lame

Here’s one reason: “The Lord will keep you from all harm; He will watch over your life.” Psalm 121:7


Fear Bible Verses

Tuesday, June 20, 2017

“When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die.” ― Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Today so many Christian believers have been suffering persecution, and it seems like more than before ..huh. Breaks your heart. You see it if you’ve been reading the news lately. I hate hearing about it, and seeing it happen. Don’t want that at all. Something must be said! 
The trials and beheadings happened before. They keep happening and something more must be said and done! I'm grateful for the leaders that are doing something to try and stop the madness. Wanna do my part to help.
This world system and even some governments have sure been friendly to Islam and even this so called rad-islam these days. And to other world religions too, but not been friendly not to Christianity or to Christians. Duh! 

The criminalization of Christianity has been going on for awhile now. Today, the media has been calling it SO wrong and evil, but been calling real felony crimes ..right... even giving a pass to those who have committed many felonies.. and have run for office here in the USA. Duh! People don’t seem to care, or feel they can do anything about the corruption. If you live for and clearly share your faith in Christ, they will call it a hate-crime. 

The Gospel message is exclusive. Any can come to Christ -- all can be included -- but only those who repent and receive Jesus as Lord and Savior will enter heaven.  Jesus explained that He is the only way. Nope.. there is none other name given among men whereby we must be saved. 
Was I expecting other than all this treatment from the world? No. You indeed are living in a sin-cursed fallen world.. livin’ your last days. I am too -- life here is like a vapor and then we’re gone. Perhaps these really are the Last Days. 

What picture comes to mind when you hear: Take Up Your Cross bro, and 100% Follow Jesus? Is it a pic of goin' the distance and dying to self? The Bible says, "Then Jesus told his disciples, 'If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?'” Matthew 16:24-26

Suffering isn’t something I like, I don’t seek it. If I did, I’d be weird. If you did, you would too be that way. Some religious people teach.. you must choose to intentionally suffer. That’s dumb, but since I chose to follow Christ, then I obviously have chosen a life with suffering in it. He suffered and died for you and me, therefore we too will suffer in Him. It’s still so worth it to follow Jesus, so take up your cross and follow Him where He leads you. You’ll be so glad you did.  

Counter cultural, that’s what it really is..I mean living and walkin' no-compromise (spiritually) in Him down here. Every viewpoint and type of worship on earth here is tolerated and even celebrated today.. except the biblical Christian viewpoint and the worship of God. The family is under attack, the local church is, and your faith, believer, is too.. but God gives more grace. Have you noticed that more and more local churches ..even the ones with really good teaching.. that don't allow true worship to happen are getting shoved aside as believers bail on em? I don't think that the sound Bible teaching should get shoved out on radio stations as people hunger more and more for praise and worship, but this too is a sign of the times -- these times of increased suffering pre-rapture. We need both, but I must admit.. I too some years ago bailed on a church that had top notch teaching but wouldn't allow fresh biblical praise and worship of Jesus.. together as a Family. That's what heaven will be all about. Worship is not about one; it’s about many. In an age when Christians are dropping out of church and shunning weekend teaching services, we’re kind of in danger of becoming individualistic worshipers. People sometimes tell me: I don’t have to come to church to worship. I can walk along the beach, or hike in the mountains, or—some have told me this—I worship on the golf course. Oh yeah, well, wait it you miss a shot out there. David Jeremiah says, "The worship John saw in heaven was united, corporate worship. In fact, in the entire book of Revelation, the only time there is any independent worship is when John periodically fell down and worshiped God in light of the incredible visions he received. All the other worship in Revelation involves vast groups whose hearts are bound together in praise, such as:

  • Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne, the living creatures, and the elders; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice: “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom, and strength and honor and glory and blessing!” —Revelation 5:11-12
  • And I heard a voice from heaven, like the voice of many waters, and like the voice of loud thunder. And I heard the sound of harpists playing their harps. They sang as it were a new song before the throne, before the four living creatures, and the elders; and no one could learn that song except the hundred and forty-four thousand who were redeemed from the earth. —Revelation 14:2-3
  • And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, as the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty thunderings, saying, “Alleluia! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigns!” —Revelation 19:6

Get the picture? If choirs and orchestras can elevate us to such heights of enjoyment here on this earth, what will it be like when we hear the celestial choirs, accompanied by heaven-trained orchestras, lifting praise to Almighty God around the throne?"     

I say it's gettin' intense out there and believers have been suffering. Fierce trials! Please don't think this stuff ain't gunna happen. Many are losing a lot -- even their lives. It's time to fast and pray as the Spirit leads. It's time to praise and worship.. the Lord. It's time for planting sound churches with Bible teaching and all out worship. It's time for hangin' out with world changers and then for world-changing ..in Jesus' Name!  

"The best rubrics of worship are those which are written on broken hearts." Charles H. Spurgeon
Be born again and stay the course. Shine your light and be salty. Spread your salt, but do this with respect for people.. with meekness, with reverence and holy fear. In heaven you’re never gunna look back and feel bad about what you lost by standing firm in Christ. So call on Him for grace and endure to the end. He who endures to the end will be saved. Don’t quit. 
Acts 5:41 - So they went on their way from the presence of the Council, rejoicing that they had been considered worthy to suffer shame for His name.
Acts 9:16 - for I will show him how much he must suffer for My name's sake."
Romans 8:17 - and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.
Romans 8:36 - Just as it is written, "FOR YOUR SAKE WE ARE BEING PUT TO DEATH ALL DAY LONG; WE WERE CONSIDERED AS SHEEP TO BE SLAUGHTERED."
2 Corinthians 1:7 - and our hope for you is firmly grounded, knowing that as you are sharers of our sufferings, so also you are sharers of our comfort.
2 Corinthians 11:23 - Are they servants of Christ?--I speak as if insane--I more so; in far more labors, in far more imprisonments, beaten times without number, often in danger of death.
Philippians 3:10 - that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death;
2 Timothy 2:12 - If we endure, we will also reign with Him; If we deny Him, He also will deny us;
Hebrews 11:25 - choosing rather to endure ill-treatment with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin,
James 5:10 - As an example, brethren, of suffering and patience, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.
1 Peter 2:20 - For what credit is there if, when you sin and are harshly treated, you endure it with patience? But if when you do what is right and suffer for it you patiently endure it, this finds favor with God.
1 Peter 3:14 - But even if you should suffer for the sake of righteousness, you are blessed AND DO NOT FEAR THEIR INTIMIDATION, AND DO NOT BE TROUBLED,
1 Peter 4:16 - but if anyone suffers as a Christian, he is not to be ashamed, but is to glorify God in this name.
1 Peter 5:10 - After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you.
Matthew 5:11 - Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me.
Matthew 10:22 - You will be hated by all because of My name, but it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved.
Matthew 10:39 - He who has found his life will lose it, and he who has lost his life for My sake will find it.
Matthew 19:29 - And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or farms for My name's sake, will receive many times as much, and will inherit eternal life.
1 Corinthians 4:10 - We are fools for Christ's sake, but you are prudent in Christ; we are weak, but you are strong; you are distinguished, but we are without honor.
2 Corinthians 4:5 - For we do not preach ourselves but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your bond-servants for Jesus' sake.
2 Corinthians 4:11 - For we who live are constantly being delivered over to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.
2 Corinthians 12:10 - Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ's sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.
Philippians 1:29 - For to you it has been granted for Christ's sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake.. Read more Facebook.com/shareJesus