Pentecost

This Sunday is Pentecost and I’ve decided to make a simple post with resources about Pentecost.

First Pentecost in the Bible…

Acts 2:1-21 English Standard Version

The Coming of the Holy Spirit

2 When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. ² And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. ³ And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested^[a] on each one of them. ⁴ And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.

⁵ Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. ⁶ And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language. ⁷ And they were amazed and astonished, saying, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? ⁸ And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language? ⁹ Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, ¹⁰ Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, ¹¹ both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians—we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.” ¹² And all were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” ¹³ But others mocking said, “They are filled with new wine.”

Peter’s Sermon at Pentecost

¹⁴ But Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them: “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and give ear to my words. ¹⁵ For these people are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day.^[b] 16 But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel:

¹⁷ “‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares,
that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh,
and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
    and your young men shall see visions,
    and your old men shall dream dreams;
¹⁸ even on my male servants and female servants
    in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy.
¹⁹ And I will show wonders in the heavens above
    and signs on the earth below,
    blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke;
²⁰ the sun shall be turned to darkness
    and the moon to blood,
    before the day of the Lord comes, the great and magnificent day.
²¹ And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.’

Source and Different Translation Options: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts+2%3A1-21&version=ESV

More On Pentecost:
1: https://www.christianity.com/jesus/early-church-history/pentecost/where-did-pentecost-come-from.html

2: https://www.crosswalk.com/special-coverage/easter/what-is-pentecost-and-what-should-christians-know-about-this-event.html

3: https://www.gotquestions.org/day-Pentecost.html

My next post will be June 5th.

Have a Blessed Week,
Chris

What Does It Mean To Love God?

My Pastor asked in his weekly email for us to contemplate this week on what it means to love God. 

I have decided to make that question my weekly post for the blog. 

First let’s unpack what love means. 

Nowadays the term love is so broad. People say they love many things food, places, movies, etc.

When it comes to people they say things like “love is love”. But they don’t define love. 

Love could just mean sex. People say, “make love” all the time in place of the word sex. 

Love could be a selfish form of love. People often do this in relationships, marriages even with children and parents. They love someone because they make themselves happy or they love what the person does for them.  

At best that’s a selfish love, at worst is it not really love at all. 

As Christians we are called to a selfless love. 

A love that means you’re called to serve the ones you love in a way of self-sacrifice, compassion, honor, respect and care. 

And that’s hard for many reasons. To put others first is not only difficult but is the opposite of what the world tells you, the world says to look out for number one and find someone who loves you and makes you happy. 

But God calls us to not just find someone to love but to love everyone. 

Everyone. 

And to do so for their benefit and not ours. 

But it is also hard because we teach a message that often is not easy on the ears for many. 

Again people have misused the word love and made it mean something else. In order to love someone by worldly standards you must do so by accepting everything they do and believe. Now of course that doesn’t go both ways they don’t accept us for what we do and believe but I digress.

But true love means sometimes you have to help those by telling them what they’re doing is not good for them. Whether it be a parent instructing their child or a brother or friend telling someone what they’re doing is destructive.

We Christians also have to tell the world something they don’t want to hear, that faith in Jesus is the only way to salvation. But if we love a person we have to tell them and often that’s not easy. 

These things need to be done out of love. 

And when you love someone who has authority over you, you must listen to them, honor them, respect them, submit to them and serve them. 

And God has authority over all things and if we love Him than we must do those things. 

We must love Him like a Father who instructs us, loves us and provides for us. 

We must love Him like a King who rules over us justly.

We must love Him because He is God who created all things. 

We must love Him because He loved us first and sacrificed for us more than we ever could. 

What does it mean to love God? I don’t even know if I still can fully answer that. But I am going to try to love Him as He loved us. It will be impossible to love like He does but Lord do I want to try. 

God help me love like you do. 

Have a Blessed Week and Remember Love God, Love Others and Lastly Love Yourself.

-Chris 

Acts 7:55-60

I am leading Prayer and Bible Study on Wednesday. I wrote a guide and will be sharing it today as my weekly entry…

Acts 7:55-60 New International Version

⁵⁵ But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. ⁵⁶ “Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”

⁵⁷ At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him, ⁵⁸ dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul.

⁵⁹ While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” ⁶⁰ Then he fell on his knees and cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” When he had said this, he fell asleep.

Questions
-Who was Stephen?
Answer: A man filled with Holy Spirit, faithful, one of 7 responsible for distributing food to widows.
He was also “full of God’s grace and power, performed great wonders and signs among the people” (Acts 6:8). Acts 7 not only did he give his testimony but also a detailed history of Israel’s relationship with God.

-Reflection: What does it mean to be full of the Holy Spirit? How important is that?

-Stephen said, “Look,”…“I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” Why did this make them so angry to the point that they stoned him?

-What does “the Son of Man mean”?
Reference: Daniel 7:13–14 The New International Version
13 “In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. 14 He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.

Questions and Notes:
A) What does it mean “Like” a son of man?
Answer: “Like” not “a” meaning He resembled a human but was not just a human.

B) Does anyone know the significance of “coming with the clouds?”
Answer: Coming with the clouds: Ancient Middle Eastern symbol for a deity. Also, interesting that Israelites were being lead in Exodus by a Pillar of Cloud by day.

C) What does Ancient of Days mean?
Answer: Term for God

D) Takeaway 1: These two verses from the Old Testament are clearly about the Messiah. Being the fact, Daniel uses deity imagery (coming with the clouds) to describe the one who is “like a son of man” and the fact verse 14 shows that everyone will worship Him we realize that the Messiah is in fact not just a man but also God.
E) Takeaway 2: So, Stephen was not just declaring Jesus was the Messiah but that He was in fact God and that Stephen was seeing Him right then in that moment!

-How powerful is it that Stephen asked Jesus to not hold their sin against them? Why did He do that?
Note: Remember…Luke 23:34 “Then Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they’re doing…'”

-It’s hard to forgive people especially those who do horrible things but when you do that, how freeing is it?

-First appearance of Saul, let’s talk about God’s amazing grace that Saul/Paul a persecutor and murder of Christians would be the man who wrote the majority of the New Testament.

-What does this show about God’s grace to the world and His grace in your own life?

-Final Thoughts?

-Pray

Sources:
https://www.gotquestions.org/life-Stephen.html

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts+7%3A55-60&version=NIV

https://www.gotquestions.org/ancient-of-days.html

https://www.gotquestions.org/Jesus-Son-of-Man.html

Anger In The Heart

Anger. 

It’s an emotion that is natural and God Himself gets angry.

But do you ever let anger control your life? 

Do you find yourself getting angry quickly?

Do you ever think about things that get you angry and fantasize about what you wish you would have said or given the opportunity what you would like to say?

For me it’s a yes to all three of these. 

If you answered yes to any of these you might be thinking, “I have plenty of reasons to be angry.” 

That is something I say to myself a lot too. 

Truth is they’re plenty of reasons to be angry and like I said anger is a natural emotion. 

However we can’t let anger control our lives or give into the emotion so easily. 

Rather than me writing on the topic let’s hear from the Word of God.

Ephesians 4:26-27, 31

26 “In your anger do not sin” : Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry,

27 and do not give the devil a foothold.

31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.

James 1:19-20

19 My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry,

20 because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires.

Proverbs 15:18

18 A hot-tempered person stirs up conflict, but the one who is patient calms a quarrel.

Matthew 5:22

22 But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.

Psalm 37: 8-9

8 Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret—it leads only to evil.

9 For those who are evil will be destroyed, but those who hope in the LORD will inherit the land.

I know a lot of these verses may feel convicting but that’s a good thing. I hope the scripture also gives you comfort and hope.

Have a Blessed Week,

Chris 

Source and For More On Anger…

https://www.biblestudytools.com/topical-verses/anger-bible-verses/

Go to Church

I hear often people complaining they can’t find the right church.

Now they’re legitimate reasons in a lot of cases. They’re several churches in my city that I wouldn’t attend or fellowship with due to their lack of submission to the Word of God. 

But in other cases people are looking for the church that fits all their needs. They have a list of wants and dislikes going in and out of churches like they’re house hunting.

Others want a church that fits their exact theology. I get that when it comes to the major fundamentals of the faith but refusing to go to church because you can’t find a church that fits your needs or secondary beliefs is foolish and selfish.

They’re people in the world who travel long distances and even risk their lives to go to church. 

And people won’t go to church or they even leave their church over the smallest of things. 

Christians are a family, imagine walking out on your family or not seeing your family over some of reasons people don’t go to church. 

Truth is you’re forsaking the fellowship and in sin if you have the ability to go the church and willfully don’t. 

Your options are go to a local church, travel to a church or plant a church.

None of this “church isn’t a building” bunk. You’re supposed to fellowship with other believers.

You’re supposed to preach the Gospel, serve the poor and those in need. Also you need people to support you and hold you accountable. 

Bottom line is you will have more opportunities to do the will of God when you’re in a church. 

I know churches have problems and a lot are messy. Also church hurt is a huge problem and needs it’s own blog entry but we must fellowship with our Christian family. 

One last thing point I want to make. I heard a saying, “If you’re looking for the perfect church and you find it, don’t go in you will ruin it.”

None of us are perfect that’s why we need Jesus and when we gather, He is there. 

I know the tone of this blog is harsher than usual but there is times for being firm. This is one of them.

I claimed Christ for years and didn’t go to church, my life was filled with sin and selfishness. 

You need church and church needs you. 

Go To Church

-Chris 

Holy Week and Easter

Good Morning! 

It’s Holy Week. As with the tradition during Holy Week, today’s blog will be a simple post with scripture about the resurrection and a link to the full story of Easter. 

Matthew 28 (English Standard Version) 
The Resurrection
28 Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. 2 And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. 3 His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. 4 And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men. 5 But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. 6 He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he[a] lay. 7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you.” 8 So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. 9 And behold, Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him. 10 Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.”

The Report of the Guard
11 While they were going, behold, some of the guard went into the city and told the chief priests all that had taken place. 12 And when they had assembled with the elders and taken counsel, they gave a sufficient sum of money to the soldiers 13 and said, “Tell people, ‘His disciples came by night and stole him away while we were asleep.’ 14 And if this comes to the governor’s ears, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.” 15 So they took the money and did as they were directed. And this story has been spread among the Jews to this day.

The Great Commission
16 Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. 17 And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. 18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in[b] the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Source: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+28&version=ESV

Story of Easter: https://www.biblestudytools.com/bible-stories/the-easter-bible-story.html

Have a Happy Easter! He is Risen! 

-Chris 

Islam’s Biggest Problem

With Holy Week week approaching we Christians always reflect on Jesus’ death and resurrection.

But today I want to look into the historical side of Jesus of Nazareth, particularly comparing the Jesus of the Bible and Historical documents to the Jesus or Isa of the Quran. 

It is estimated that we have 30 independent sources written by 25 different authors from around the time Jesus walked the Earth. Which is a staggering amount for an ancient historical figure. Jesus’ death on the cross is part of history and can not truly be denied. Atheists, Christians and other religious (non-muslim) historians are in a consensus that Jesus died on the cross. To the point that Atheist historian and vocal Bible critic Bart Ehrman said, “One of the most certain facts of history is that Jesus was crucified on orders of the Roman prefect of Judea, Pontius Pilate.” 

But what does the Quran say? The Quran says Jesus AKA Isa did not die on the cross but only someone of His likeness. The Quran which was written between 610-632 AD. Long after Jesus walked the Earth. There is no reason to believe a source that contradicts other documents that were written long after the original documents. 

Jesus’ death on the cross is a historical fact. There is no evidence of someone else dying in His place. 

We only have words written close to 600 years after Jesus walked the Earth. 

No one died in Jesus’ place, Jesus died in our place. 

Because we deserved death and hell, He saved us with His sacrifice. 

Muhammad claimed an angel visited him with the truth, just like Joseph Smith the founder of Mormonism, just like several other religions that claim they have special knowledge about the truth of God. It is always an Angel with the message to contradict the Bible. Did these people make all this up or were they visited by someone or something? If so, then who or what? 

Well I believe the Bible has that answer…

2 Corinthians 11:14 ESV: “And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.”

There is the answer. Think about it, because we Christian’s believe Jesus defeated satan and the grave by dying on the cross and being resurrected, man wouldn’t it be convenient to the devil if he could convince people it never happened? 

Don’t be deceived, follow the Way, the Truth and the Life. 

Have a Blessed Week, 

Chris 

The Real Reason People Go To Hell

It is often said that people go to hell because they do not put their faith in God and believe in the sacrifice Jesus made on the cross. 

Christians say this to non-believers and non-believers use that as an excuse to why Christianity is unfair. They say things like, “I’m a good person and just because I don’t believe in God you tell me I have to go to hell?”

There is major folly in this argument. 

Because while people are saved by faith in Christ Jesus through His sacrifice on the cross. 

People do NOT go to hell for their lack of faith. 

People go to hell because they’re sinners and deserve punishment. 

We must make this clear.

Why?

Because people don’t understand the seriousness of their sin, people don’t understand the weight of their sin.

People don’t understand how pure and holy God is. He is a righteous and fair judge, therefore sin must be atoned for. 

If someone rejects Jesus’ atonement for their sins than they must pay themselves because that is what a good judge does. 

A good judge doesn’t say, “Well even though you committed this crime or wronged this person you seem like a good person therefore I will let you go free without punishment.” 

That would be a bad judge, that would be unjust. A good and just judge must punish those who have done wrong.

Which we all have.

All of us our sinners. 

I am a sinner who deserves hell.

My faith is what saves me but my sin is what condemns me.

If you reject the truth of the Gospel you will go to hell for your sins.

Think of it this way.

If a car thief is offered a deal to plead guilty and avoid jail time but they reject the offer and are found guilty; They’re going to jail not because they turned down the plea deal, they’re going to jail because they’re a car thief.

If you reject Jesus’ payment for your sins you will go to hell for your sins.

Repent and Believe.

-Chris 

So Then Tell Someone

My brain is always going. It never stops, whether I am thinking about my day, problems, theology, sports, some imaginative daydream or anything else. My brain is always going. 

One of my most common things I think about is how I would like to respond in a Christian, biblically based way to issues. Whether about morals, politics, news, religion. I think about what I would like to say, or what I would have said. 

I go into a daydream about encountering someone who is anti-God and anti-Christian and telling them the truth of the Gospel, the truth about who Jesus Christ is. 

I think about it from all different angles, logically, morally, scripturally, etc. I think about what I could say. 

I think and think and think. Often I get emotional about it. Anger at those who mock the faith but also sadness and pity. I have thoughts like, “If they only knew the truth, if they only knew how beautiful Christianity is and how much God loves them”.  

It hurts me to see so many on the path to hell, rejecting their savior. 

Recently in one of my daydreams thinking about what I could say to a person, I heard in my mind, “So Tell Someone”. Since than I have used that sentence as a way to focus my mind away from getting caught up in a daydream fantasy about arguing with someone about Christianity. The reason is I realized that my daydreams are just to comfort me from my pain, rather than allowing God to comfort me and instruct me on how to go about and serve Him, proclaiming the Good News of the Kingdom. 

If you struggle with this or something similar. Pray for boldness and go tell someone, anyone about Jesus Christ. Let the Holy Spirit do the main work, you just serve God and share about Jesus. 

Tell someone. 

Tell someone about God, tell someone about Jesus, tell someone about how the Father loves us so much that He gave His Son to die on a cross so that our sins would be atoned for. That He loves, He cares for us, that we have value in His eyes. No one can love us or value us more than the true and living God. 

Tell someone today! 

Have a Blessed Week, 
Chris 

What Does It Mean To Fear God?

We read in scripture that we must fear God. 

We hear Pastors talk about the “fear of God”. Sometimes in angry ways that are designed to scare you. 

We hear those who oppose Christianity use the “fear of God” as an argument against the faith. 

But what does it truly mean to “fear God”? 

I am not a theologian by any means but from Bible studies and listening to different sermons and teachings I think I understand what it means to “fear God”. 

But first I want to talk about the word “fear”. People have changed the meaning of the word fear to make it out to be something only in an abusive, unhealthy way. 

There is a healthy fear and an unhealthy fear. 

We fear all kinds of people. We fear people like police officers, our bosses and when we were kids our parents.

We don’t use the word “fear” anymore to describe it; we just talk about the consequences not the emotion. 

When we don’t speed in front of a police officer we don’t say it is because we fear the officer, we say so we don’t get a ticket. (You shouldn’t speed anyway). 

We obey the rules at work and tell people we do so that way our boss doesn’t reprimand or fire us. 

If someone asked why we did our chores, listened to the rules and obeyed our parents as kids it was so we wouldn’t get in trouble. 

You might focus on the consequences not the emotion but in reality think about it. 

When you get pulled over, or called into your bosses office or told to sit on the couch by your parents when you know you did the wrong thing, what did you feel? (or what should you have felt?)

Fear. 

It’s a healthy fear. 

Think about it some more, do you think it’s healthy for a person to have no fear of police or the law? That produces criminal activity. What kind of awful environment work would be if no one feared their boss and did whatever they wanted. I don’t need to even mention how terrible a child behaves that has no discipline or fear of the consequences of their actions. 

We need healthy fear. 

Because at the end of the day a truly good, fair and just police officer is someone who will make you feel safe despite you knowing if you break the law they would have to take you to jail. 

A good boss who you respect can make all the difference in a work environment, people grow to love and respect their bosses even though they know that boss may have to discipline them or even fire them. 

And how much does a good child love their parents even after all the discipline the parent had to put them through?

Let’s look at the other side of this. 

If a police officer uses his power to abuse someone and pervert justice you would be afraid of that officer because he instills a different kind of fear. 

If you have to walk around on eggshells at work knowing your boss may lose it or fire you at any moment, that is a different kind of fear. 

If you had to do your chores and follow the rules when you were a kid because a parent or parents would beat you or scream at you that is a different kind of fear. 

That’s not just fear that’s an unhealthy, abusive fear. 

That is not how to “fear God”. 

We are called to fear God in a healthy manner. 

I know what God is capable of, it makes me fear Him but it also makes me love Him. 

Because no one is more loving, good, fair and just then God, this makes me feel safe. 

I love God and I fear God, and my fear of God draws me closer to God, the closer I draw to God makes me love Him all the more. 

Have a Blessed Week, 

Chris