This is from a letter to a friend, where we have started debating various subjects… One of my goals is to start writing again and this I thought was worth putting on the blog… Hence it is here. I have done my best to protect the innocent

You and I look at the world and our Christian lives in radically different ways. You look at the world as an academic, trying to find the perfect and correct interpretation of the Bible. Your job is to read, rate, debate and compare various interpretations and various concepts of theology.  My pastor, by his own admission is a life long learner, he reads everything and runs it through his “biblical grid” hoping to grow, be challenged, and have enough discernment to recognize what doesn’t seem to line up with his  understanding of Scripture (I stole this from an email of his). I am very different from both of you. I am a very desperate, and often pathetic  person trying to learn enough to fight against the flesh, sin and the devil for the life God promises us. Not a life of happiness, but a life of purpose, joy and value serving God. You may say we all are like that, my response to that is some more than others. Between my depression, purity issues and my absolute belief that the Christian life is the ONLY way to live, I will be fighting the rest of my life. God tells me that everyday. There are so many people out there we must reach, but I find often that it is a rarity that I can get past my own issues to reach out beyond my own self. I need to learn truths (weapons) that I can fight against the world, flesh and the devil against. I need the tools to help bring people to Christ. One of the reasons that I had to back away from you is that you through your academic passion took away men such as Piper, and Bridges that helped me become stronger in my faith. You told me they were wrong about certain subjects, so that meant they were not worth considering on any subject, (in your view). Then at the same time I had others at my church urging caution on the authors that you recommended.

My first views of Christianity came from very radical places. One of my first glimpses of God came from a series of junk fiction books called “The Year of the Ninja Master”. It gave me the first taste of falling and redemption. One of the other books that strongly influenced my life was the book, “The Last Temptation of Christ”. This book was extremely controversial for several reasons, which at this time I will skip. This book showed me several things, the Christian life is not easy, Jesus suffered terribly, and thirdly he was tempted in every way and yet remained sin free. The movie and book helped me visualize these things. I understood what Hebrews 4:14-15 was saying (“Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.” (Hebrews 4:14-15 ESV). Neil Anderson taught me about Christian identity. John Piper, has helped me see God for how awesome he is and have shown me how to live the Christian life.  Jerry Bridges, has taught me a lot about the seriousness of sin and how grace and holiness work together. John MacArthur has taught me quite a bit about living the Christian life. Craig Muri and Dennis Wilkinson have helped me keep the awe of God in front of my eyes and have personally helped me grow as a Christian. And as we grow in friendship I know you will have an influence. God used each one of these men to shape my Christian view, as he had used people like Ryrie, Stanford and Nee to shape your life. My point is that all these men have value in there theology, for me I MUST grab hold of everything that helps me fight against the world and use it and pray that God will give me discernment to see what is right and what is not (He already has by showing me flaws in Anderson’s theology and yet Anderson’s view of identity STRONGLY helps me even today. His teachings on identity is stronger than anything else that I have seen, and believe me I am looking). In other words let’s not throw the baby out with the bath water. These men have value in some of what they say. What man besides Jesus himself (and maybe the apostles) has it all right?

Technorati Tags: Christian, God, Salvation

Exodus 14:13 And Moses said to the people, g“Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will work for you today. For hthe Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again.

2Chronicles 20:17 gYou will not need to fight in this battle. Stand firm, hold your position, and see the salvation of the LORD on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem.’ dDo not be afraid and do not be dismayed. Tomorrow go out against them, hand the LORD will be with you.”

Psalms 89:28     My steadfast love I will keep for him forever,
and my kcovenant will stand firm* for him.

Isaiah 46:8       “Remember this and stand firm,
recall it to mind, xyou transgressors,

Daniel 11:32 He shall seduce with flattery those who violate the covenant, but the people who know their God shall stand firm and take action.

1Corinthians 16:13   zBe watchful, astand firm in the faith, bact like men, cbe strong.

2Corinthians 1:24 Not that we slord it over your faith, but we work with you for your joy, for you stand firm tin your faith.

Galatians 5:1   For sfreedom Christ has tset us free; ustand firm therefore, and do not submit again to va yoke of wslavery.

Ephesians 6:13 Therefore ptake up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in qthe evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.

Philippians 4:1   Therefore, my brothers,* whom I love and jlong for, kmy joy and lcrown, mstand firm thus in the Lord, my beloved.

2Thessalonians 2:15 So then, brothers, dstand firm and hold to ethe traditions that you were taught by us, either fby our spoken word or by four letter.

1Peter 5:12   By oSilvanus, a faithful brother as I regard him, pI have written briefly to you, exhorting and declaring that this is qthe true grace of God. rStand firm in it.

Technorati Tags: devil, God, Joy, Stand Firm

The glory of the gospel is this: The one from whom we need to be saved is the one who saved us.
– R C Sproul

Technorati Tags: God, Gospel, Jesus Christ

God needs men today -

• Men who will stand before His face and hear His voice daily,
• Men who have no desire in their heart for anyone or anything other than God Himself,
• Men who fear Him so greatly that they hate sin in every form and love righteousness and truth in all their ways,
• Men who have overcome anger and sexually sinful thoughts, and who would rather die than sin even in thought or attitude,
• Men whose daily lifestyle is one of taking up the cross and pressing on to perfection, and who are constantly working out their own salvation with fear and trembling,
• Men, full of the Holy Spirit, who are so rooted and grounded in love that nothing can ever move them into an unloving attitude towards another human being, however great the provocation,
• Men who are so rooted and grounded in humility that neither human praise nor spiritual growth, neither a divinely endorsed ministry nor anything else will be able to make them lose the awareness of their being less than the least of all the saints,
• Men who have an understanding of God’s nature and purpose through His word, and who tremble at that word so that they will not disobey even the smallest commandment or neglect to teach it to others,
• Men who will proclaim the whole counsel of God and expose religious harlotry and unscriptural human traditions,
• Men who have the revelation of the Holy Spirit on the secret of godliness, on Christ having come in the flesh and opened a new and living way through the flesh,
• Men who are diligent and hard-working, but who also have a sense of humour, and know how to relax and play with children and enjoy God’s good gifts in nature,
• Men who are not ascetics, but who at the same time live a disciplined life and who are not afraid of hardships,
• Men who have no interest in expensive clothing or sight seeing and who will not waste their time in unprofitable activities or their money in unnecessary purchases,
• Men who have mastered their desire for fancy foods and who are not enslaved to music or sport or any other legitimate activity,
• Men who have been disciplined successfully by God in the fires of affliction, abuse, tribulations, false accusation, physical sickness, financial hardships and opposition from relatives and religious leaders,
• Men full of mercy, who can sympathise with the worst of sinners and the worst of believers, and have hope for them, because they consider themselves to be the foremost of all sinners,
• Men who are so deeply rooted in the security of the love of their Heavenly Father that they are never anxious about anything, or afraid of Satan or evil men or difficult situations or anything,
• Men who have entered into God’s rest, believing in the sovereign working of God in all matters for their best and who therefore give thanks always for all men, for all things and in all circumstances,
• Men who find their joy in God alone and who are therefore full of the joy of the Lord, having overcome all bad moods,
• Men of living faith, who have no confidence in themselves or their natural abilities, but complete confidence in God as their unfailing Helper in all situations,
• Men who live, not by the promptings of their own reason, but by the leading of the Holy Spirit,
• Men who have been genuinely baptized in the Holy Spirit and fire by Christ Himself (and not just thrilled by some emotional counterfeit or convinced by some theological argument),
• Men who live constantly under the anointing of the Spirit, endowed with the supernatural gifts that He has given them,
• Men who have revelation of the church as the body of Christ (and not a congregation or a denomination), and who give all their energies, their material wealth and spiritual gifts to build that church,
• Men who have learnt to bridle their tongues through the help of the Holy Spirit and whose tongues are now aflame with the divine Word,
• Men who have forsaken all, who are not attracted any more to money or material things, and who desire no gifts from others,
• Men who can trust God for all their earthly needs and who never hint about their material needs or boast about their labours, either in their conversation or through letters and reports,
• Men who are not stubborn, but gentle, and open to criticism and eager for correction from older and wiser brothers,
• Men who have no desire to dominate or advise others (although ready to give advice, when asked for), and who have no longing to be considered as ‘elder’ brothers, or leaders, but who only desire to be ordinary brothers and servants of all,
• Men who are easy to get along with, and who are willing to be inconvenienced and taken advantage of by others,
• Men who will make no distinction between the millionaire and the beggar, the white-skinned and the dark-skinned, the intellectual and the idiot, and the cultured and the barbarian, but who will treat them all alike,
• Men who will never be influenced by their wife, children, relatives, friends or other believers to cool off even slightly in their devotion to Christ or their obedience to God’s commandments,
• Men who can never be bribed to compromise by any reward that Satan may offer (whether honour or money or whatever),
• Men who are fearless witnesses for Christ, fearing neither religious heads nor secular heads,
• Men who desire to please no human being on the face of the earth, and who are willing to offend all men, if necessary, in order to please God alone,
• Men for whom God’s glory, God’s will and God’s kingdom always take priority over mere human need and their own comfort,
• Men who cannot be pressurised either by others or by their own reason into doing ‘dead works’ for God, but who are eager and content to do the revealed will of God for their lives alone,
• Men who have the discernment of the Spirit to distinguish between the soulish and the spiritual in Christian work,
• Men who look at things from a heavenly view point and not an earthly one,
• Men who will refuse all earthly honours and titles offered them for their labours for God,
• Men who know how to pray without ceasing, and also how to fast and pray when needed,
• Men who have learned to give generously, cheerfully, secretly and with wisdom,
• Men who are willing to be all things for all men, so that by all means they might save some,
• Men who have a longing to see others not only saved but also made disciples of Christ, and brought to the knowledge of the truth and to obedience to all of God’s commandments,
• Men who have a longing to see a pure testimony established for God in every place,
• Men who have a burning passion to see Christ glorified in the church,
• Men who do not seek their own in any matter,
• Men with spiritual authority and spiritual dignity,
• Men who will stand alone for God in the world, if need be,
• Men who are totally uncompromising, like the apostles and prophets of old.

God’s work in the world suffers today, because such men are few in number. Determine with all your heart that you will be such a man for God, in the midst of a sinful and adulterous generation and a compromising Christendom. Since there is no partiality with God, it is possible for you too to be such a man, provided you yourself earnestly desire to be one. Since God demands commitment and obedience only in the conscious area of one’s life, it is possible for you to be such a man, even though the conscious area of your life may be limited. (That area will keep increasing as you walk in the light and press on to perfection). There is no excuse then why you cannot be such a man. Since nothing good dwells in the flesh, we have to seek for grace from God to have the virtues listed above. Cry out to God daily then, that He will give you grace to be such a man in these, the closing days of the age.

© Copyright – Zac Poonen

This article has been copyrighted to prevent misuse. It should not be reprinted or translated without written permission from the author. Permission is however given for this article to be downloaded and printed , provided it is for FREE distribution, provided NO ALTERATIONS are made, provided the AUTHOR’S NAME AND ADDRESS are mentioned and provided this COPYRIGHT notice ["Copyright by Zac Poonen"] is included in each printout.

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Technorati Tags: God, Holiness, Men, Purity

Last night the message was about that one of the purposes; of suffering is to help us focus on being silent and with God. It helps us let go of all the shallow, banal, unimportant things in life and to focus in on the important things; God.The text we looked at was Lamentation 3. It is amazing to me to see Jeremiah how he starts looking at his suffering and then moves into the comfort of the Lord. Jeremiah states after listing off how the Lord has made him suffer; he states that the Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him. It is good one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord… Let him sit alone in silence… (Lamentations 3:25;28

I am one of those people who analyzes and questions everything.I would analyze and come up with EVERY single thing that could go wrong and count on it going wrong. This morning I ran across a verse that puts that to an end. What can I say to this?

Be still and know that I am God – Psalm 46:10

In just a few words, God ends our questioning of him, our futile attempts at telling God how to run our lives and reminds us who HE is. He is God.

It is really time that I shut my mouth and truly know that He is God!

Technorati Tags: Awe, Bible, God, Suffering

I spent my whole life looking for something…
Looking for answers
Looking for purpose
Looking for love
Looking for solutions
Looking for Reason
Looking for Love
I know where to look now…

All I have to do is look up to my Father in Heaven,
my Savior, my King, the Lord in Heaven.

I just wonder why it is so hard to remember…

Technorati Tags: Depression, God