Christmas Cards pt. I  

Posted by Shawn in ,


his year as my Wife sat staring at the Christmas cards we were going to send out, she asked me, 'what Bible verse should we put in here?' For some odd reason, John 18:37 immediately popped into my head (no it wasn't a charasmatic moment haha), which actually surprised me quite a bit, because I never remembered actually having used that verse at all when talking to people, whereas some verses I use quite regularly. Anyways, as I sat and looked at the verse and meditated on it, I realized just what a truly great piece of Scripture it really is.

Throughout the four Gospels, Jesus says numerous times why He came into the world, citing numerous reasons for His coming, but if I am not mistaken, this is the only verse in which He states why He was born. I suppose some could argue this to be simply semantics, however, I would point to 2 Peter 1:20-21 and ask them to remember that the Holy Spirit moved each and every man to write specifically each and every word, jot and tittle for a God given reason.

Here, Pilate asks the question of all questions, a question that every man will ask himself throughout his life, whether it is something he thinks deeply about and ponders, or whether it is simply a passing thought of which he quickly dismisses. Every single man will have thought this at one point in time or another, and the answer that each man comes to within his own heart of hearts will have eternal consequences.

Peter writes in his first epistle that 'judgment begins with the house of God', so having said that I would like to ask each and every one of you who names the name of Christ to examine yourselves to see if Jesus is your King. Does your life shine forth as a life that is lived in submission to your King, or is it a contradictory life in which you merely acknowledge Jesus as King mentally but deny Him the honor of obedient submission, just as the demons have before you?

Does James 2:19-20 characterize your so called faith? Jesus was born into this world to be King. There is no King without a kingdom, and no kingdom without subjects, and subjects are just that...subject to the authority of the King. So many of our lives are not in subjection to our Lord, so many of us pick and choose which commands we want to obey and dismiss the rest, denying the reality of Isaiah 55:9. How is it Christian, that the Lord our God can command you to do something, and you somehow think that it is a mere suggestion? Kings make declarations, not recommendations. We are given orders to follow, not proposals to ponder. Jesus was first and foremost born to be King, and He was born to be worshiped and obeyed as one. Failure to do so will result in hearing those dreaded words of our Lord who says, "why do you call me 'Lord, Lord' yet do not do what I command?" Our knees will bend before Him one way or another.

The next blog will take a look at the truth Jesus came to testify of.

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The True American Idol  

Posted by Shawn in , , ,



nyone that knows me, knows what an extremely high view of Scripture I have, or if you have taken the time to read the blogs on this site, I hope that you have noticed how I continually attempt to stress the paramount importance of reading and studying the Word of God. Throughout the last few years, as I try to infect everyone around me with a hunger for the Scriptures, I have been called a Bible-thumper, a fundamentalist, and a fanatic...all of which were meant as insults, and all of which were spoken by professing Christians. The fact that someone who calls themselves a Christian would have the audacity to say that anyone could take the Word of God too seriously just blows me away.

2 Timothy 3:16
All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.

How often do we recite and/or read this verse and not really soak in the depth of it…that the Creator of our very universe, the One and only all powerful eternal, holy God wrote a book for us to read…yet we ignore it! We take something that is literally “God-breathed” and trample it underfoot in a race to pick up and devote ourselves to abominations like “The Shack” which is neither profitable, nor does it adequately equip us for every good work, but Churches stop worshiping God through the reading and teaching of His Word and treat heretical blasphemes with more honor and reverence than the divine Scriptures.

Christian…do you even really believe that the words contained in the Bible are the very words and mind of God? Although most would say yes, there must be doubt that the Word is living and active, and that it truly has the ability to renew and transform the mind in such a way that we are made into the likeness of our Creator and Redeemer. Otherwise, there would be more devotion to, and love for the Word of God…people would be abandoning their apostate Churches in droves because they neglect God’s Word. These apostate Churches rebel against Biblical teaching by having women Pastors and Preachers, they justify various heinous sins all while integrating psychology under the guise of changing with the times. This perverse twisting of God's Word is an abomination to Him, and if Christians truly believed the Bible to be God's breathed out Word, they could not tolerate such things. They would know that God changeth not, and their souls would be troubled, pressed, and angered just as God's is when people speak and teach lies in His holy Name.

Isaiah 30:9-11
"For this is a rebellious people, false sons, Sons who refuse to listen To the instruction of the LORD; Who say to the seers, 'You must not see visions'; And to the prophets, 'You must not prophesy to us what is right, Speak to us pleasant words, Prophesy illusions. Get out of the way, turn aside from the path, Let us hear no more about the Holy One of Israel.'"

Is this not the spirit of the age? So many say they are tired of “fire and brimstone” teaching, even though it was Christ who spoke and warned of hell more than anyone else. If fire and brimstone preaching is anything, it is the preaching of Christ, and those who do it are only following the example that Jesus set Himself. How dare we question our Lord, how dare we say that parts of His Word are not for us! Who do we think we are that we can ignore the warnings God gave us, that He in His perfect wisdom knows we need. Jesus said that the prophets longed to see the Christ in their day, and Peter says that the prophets looked intensely inquiring to know more about the Christ, for in those days they only had parts and portions of God’s Word, and here we are in this age with the completed Word...O' how the men in ancient days would love to have what we have in the Bible…and yet we continue to ignore it, elevating man’s words and wisdom above that of the Almighty, evily and ignorantly thinking we know better than the Alpha and Omega…we should lament our behavior, we should weep, mourn and wail for our ungrateful hearts.




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Ten-Hut!  

Posted by Shawn in , ,


phesians chapter six tells us that we are at war, plain and simple. Our war is not against flesh and blood but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Which means that when we engage in warfare, our weapons are not of the flesh but they are divinely powerful, and able to destroy every speculation and lofty thought which sets itself up against the knowledge of God. And that divinely powerful weapon that makes us effective warriors is the sword of the Spirit, which is the living and active Word of God. It is sharper than any double edged sword, piercing the heart of the unregenerate and backslider alike, laying them bare before the Judge. It is the very weapon Christ Himself will use to destroy His enemies at His victorious second coming. Unfortunately, however, most professing Christians are completely unarmed on the battlefield and regrettably are nothing more than casualties of war.

2 Timothy 2:3-4
"Suffer hardship with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier."

This is exactly where the problem lies. Instead of us focusing on the war that is raging on all around us, so many Christians have redirected their focus to the affairs of everyday life, thus proving themselves to be useless soldiers. Which makes me remember the time I spent in the Marine Corps...

When I first switched from active duty to reserve duty in the Marine Corps, I noticed that the two were worlds apart...worlds apart. While I was active duty, during infantry training specifically, we as Marines took our training seriously for the most part, knowing that how we train today will have an impact on how we fight tomorrow. During our simulation patrols, we were careful in how we walked, always aware that trip wires and landmines could be anywhere. Not only that, but we spent our free time working out, either lifting weights or going on runs, because our physical shape could mean the difference of life and death on the battlefield.

However, the opposite was true during the same type of training in the reserves, the often overweight Reservists carelessly stomped around like children just learning to walk, almost as if purposefully trying to step on each and every landmine and of course stumbling over every trip wire. It figures, since the majority of them were college students, their minds were not focused on preparing for war, but were preoccupied with everyday affairs, whether it be school, sports or their social lives. Being a Marine wasn't a priority, it was only a means to an end, because we all know college isn't cheap. But, the bottom line is that they would have been worthless during battle. They would have done more harm than good if we would have been called up to war. So, with that in mind...we should ask ourselves if we are lazy and useless soldiers. Do we bring reproach to the name of Christ with our lives? Are we so caught up in the world that we neglect the things of God?

Are we making the most of our time? The book of Ephesians tells us that we should be, because it says that the days are evil. Everyday we should be on guard, knowing that sin is crouching at the door, and whether we like it or not we are apart of a war. The book of Romans tells us that we can either be used as instruments of righteousness by God, or we can be used as instruments of evil. It all comes down to submission and obedience, are we dying to self every single day with our mind and eyes focused totally on Christ? Are we starting each day with prayer...knowing that all the pieces of God's armor can not be put on without it? Are we constantly renewing our minds in the Word so that we are walking carefully...in a manner that is worthy of the Almighty? By doing these things we are showing a reliance and dependence on Christ, knowing that it is only through Him that we can be victorious in this war.

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He's Not Your Homeboy...OR Your Buddy  

Posted by Shawn in , ,

t was quite a few years back the first time I saw one...my wife and I were shopping at our local grocery store and I heard an elderly woman gasp, lean over to her elderly husband and comment on this kids t-shirt who happened to be walking down the isle toward us. I couldn't hear exactly what she was saying but I knew this much, the t-shirt she saw offended her. The mother of the kid quickly piped up saying something about how a bunch of inner city gang kids had "gotten saved", and now spread their testimony through these t-shirts. If you haven't figured it out already, I am speaking of the shirts that irreverently proclaim, "Jesus is my homeboy". The details of the actual story are slightly different, so if your interested in hearing about the incredibly cheesy, more than likely false, origin of these shirts then click here. Even if this tale is accurate, one thing is for sure, these shirts are just yet one more thing to add to the list of disturbing trends becoming more and more prominent in our culture that blatantly dishonor, mock, and blaspheme our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Revelation 1:12-18
"Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands; and in the middle of the lampstands I saw one like a son of man, clothed in a robe reaching to the feet, and girded across His chest with a golden sash. His head and His hair were white like white wool, like snow; and His eyes were like a flame of fire. His feet were like burnished bronze, when it has been made to glow in a furnace, and His voice was like the sound of many waters. In His right hand He held seven stars, and out of His mouth came a sharp two-edged sword; and His face was like the sun shining in its strength. When I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man And He placed His right hand on me, saying, "Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last, and the living One; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades."

Some of you may be wondering how this verse is at all relevant to the "Jesus is my homeboy" t-shirts. Well...I will explain. First off, let me remind you that the book of the Revelation was written by the Apostle John, who, as we know from the Biblical record spent a substantial amount of time, approximately 3 straight years, with Jesus traveling all over Judea and Samaria. Needless to say, they would have gotten to know each other quite well, in fact, they were so close that during the last supper, it is written that John rested his head on the chest of Jesus. Not only that, but out of all the Apostles and disciples there was but one who was singled out in which it was specifically said that Jesus loved him, and that man was John.

So with all that in your mind, look at the reaction of John when he sees the glorified Jesus...the Apostle "fell at His feet like a dead man". Now, if John falls at our Lord's feet like a dead man, what do you think we will do? What would our reaction be, having never known Jesus like John knew him? Yet, for some odd reason we ignorantly think that we can treat the King of kings in a way that is anything less than fervent adoration and reverence. This falling on your face reaction is not some isolated incident. John's reaction is the standard reaction of everyone who has seen God. Abraham also fell on his face, Moses, whom is said to have talked with God face to face as one talks to a friend, constantly fell on his face before YHWH. The Israelites fell on their faces after witnessing the Lord consuming rebellious men with fire. Joshua, Isaiah, Ezekiel, Manoah all fell on their faces before the Lord God, not to mention all the people who witnessed the fire coming from heaven when Elijah proved there to be only one true God, and Peter, during the transfiguration, fell on his face "in much fear".
It is surprising, with so many instances of people trembling and falling on their face before God that professing Christians continue to have this flippant disrespectful attitude toward the Almighty. He consumes people with fire for offering Him incense which He had not ordained, and we think we can call Him our homeboy? He causes the ground to open up and swallow those who do not honor Him and we make figurines in His likeness calling them "buddy Jesus". He tells us to not to fear those who can only kill the body, but rather fear Him who can destroy both body and soul in hell, and yet we entertain ourselves with TV and movies that contain the very sins He died to save us from. Think about it, our "entertainment" is a world void of Christ and God, where the only mention of Him is one of blaspheme in which His name is used as a common cuss word. No wonder His wrath is being revealed to us from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness.

It is written that judgment begins with the house of God. So judge yourself, and judge rightly to see if you are truly in the faith. Do you abuse your liberty in Christ? Do you flirt with the world and adopt its ways, attempt to drag our Savior into the muck with us? Some Christians think that if there is not a clear straightforward text condemning something, then they are free to do it, even though the whole of Scripture makes it abundantly obvious that said behavior is wrong and sinful and the very thing that held Jesus to that cross. Just because one of the commandments is not 'Thou shalt not wear a Jesus is my homeboy t-shirt', does not mean God condones such irreverence. He not only created everything that we enjoy and take for granted, but He gave Himself up to a sinful and wicked people who tortured and killed Him so that we might have eternal life with Him. Show Him some respect!


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Tattoo or Not to Tattoo...That is the Question  

Posted by Shawn in , , ,


few years back a liberal Portland newspaper, The Willamette Week, published a story, "The Word made Flesh" which is about how Multnomah Bible College lifted their ban on tattoos. The article featured a seminary grad student who not only claimed that Jesus would dig his tattoos because they glorified God, but also claimed that Jesus Himself will have a tattoo upon His second coming citing Revelation 19:16 as proof. Should Christians be getting tattoos as a demonstration of their faith? Is it legit to think that tattoos will help reach those who are lost that would otherwise be turned off by more straight laced Christian brothers? When the Holy Spirit, through Paul penned 1 Corinthians 9:22, which says "I have become all things to all men, so that I may by all means save some," was God's intention for us to mimic the world's ways in order to spread the Gospel?

This particular subject was of great interest to me personally because prior to having been saved, I had already tattooed a majority of my body. Tattoos, to me, were a way to commemorate a time in my life, or to honor something that was important to me (such as the time I spent in the Marine Corps). So, after having been called unto Christ, I thought it only fitting to get a tattoo showing my devotion to the Almighty, since this obviously was infinitely more important than anything I previously had inked on my skin. However, shortly thereafter my conscience accused me of violating Leviticus 19:28 which states, "You shall not make any cuts in your body for the dead nor make any tattoo marks on yourselves: I am the LORD."

I questioned if this command applied to those under Christ in the Church age because in context it is tied to a law forbidding the shaving of ones beard, or cutting the sides of ones hair, both things which are practiced by Christians everyday in this age. So, I searched commentaries for an answer, and found that pagans would shave their beard and keep their hair a certain way that they believed honored their false gods. They also would tattoo symbols on themselves to signify they were the property of, and devoted to their false god of choice. This lead me to believe that, it wasn't necessarily the tattooing itself that God forbade, but the fact that the behavior (weather tattoos or hair styles) was a pagan form of worship to glorify their false deities and thus directly violates the first commandment which states, "Thou shalt have no other gods before Me."

With this in mind, I enthusiastically got a large tattoo in a vain attempt to glorify the one true God. At the time, I truly believed that this tattoo I had gotten would show my Creator the unwavering devotion I had for Him. Yet, as I looked at it, I realized that God never asks us to do such things to show our devotion, but simply calls us to listen to His Word and obey His commands. Obedience to Christ and His word brings God glory...this is how we are to truly worship the Almighty. But instead, in my attempt to bring God honor, I only brought Him dishonor. I had demeaned and insulted the Holy One by treating Him as a false pagan diety. I had attempted to worship God, not in truth, but in my own way, and by my own wisdom I offered the great 'I AM' strange fire (Leviticus 10:1-3).

The pagans also worshiped their false gods through human sacrifice and with temple prostitutes, so does anyone really think we can do such things in the name of YHWH and that He will find that pleasing and acceptable? Of course that is completely absurd right? So why is it that we assume we can take another religious practice from the pagans, throw the name of Christ in the mix, and all of a sudden that purifies it in the eyes of our LORD? No where in Scripture are we commanded to tattoo ourselves but we are told to "put on the Lord Jesus Christ" (Rom 13:14). This does not mean tattooing a cross or the symbol of the trinity on us, but it does mean that our words and behavior should be such that those who see us, instead, see only Christ because of our submission to Him as LORD which will bear the fruit of an obedient life, in which the world could mistake us for none other than Christ's disciples because of our continual godly speech and conduct which truly glorifies the Almighty.

Obedience to the Word is what Christ commands, and this is what we ought to be focusing our minds upon, not a preoccupation with things that the world does and loves which are temporal and will pass away, but on those things which truly glorify Christ and have eternal benefits in the life that is to come. If tattoos truly glorified God, wouldn't He have mentioned it in the pages of Scripture? God is sovereign and will reach those whom He has elected through the preaching of His word. Tattoos will not save anyone or make it any easier to share the offensive gospel to a lost world, and they do not open doors to evangelize or share your testimony. We were "created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them" (Eph 2:10), and that does not hinge on weather we got ourselves a gnarly Jesus tattoo. Seriously though, take it from me when I say God gave us His Word for a reason, it is the very mind of God in whom we find eternal life, His Word contains everything pertaining to life and godliness, and we must know it and obey it and proclaim it if we are to reach the unsaved and that, folks, has nothing at all to do with tattoos.

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Intestinal Difficulties...  

Posted by Shawn in

I apologize for the lack of posts this week, I have been dealing with some health issues and spent some time in the hospital. I am now feeling a tad better and am out of the hospital so....new posts will be coming shortly.

I appreciate your patience, please check back soon...

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