Do you have a flag?......

Warning: This blog post is too long, I talk too much when I write, and I can't help it, but you have some choices to make; be patient, get a cup of coffee and read it when you have the time, or you can complain that my blog is too long and just delete it; just don't be double minded and say I didn't warn you; there, you have been warned.

Have you ever heard statements like these?:

"The bible is just a book that was written by men with the purpose of stealing your money; it's a bunch of dogmas that are used to control people, religion is the opium of the masses".

"There are many roads that lead to God, all religions are like spokes on a wheel that lead to the center hub, which is God, it really doesn't matter which spoke you are on, you will eventually get there".

"God is everywhere, He is inside of you, and you have the power to arrange your circumstances; it is all a matter of knowing how to use the laws of the universe;people have been using them for thousands of years, since even before the Greeks, Hermes Trismegisto is just one example of such people, as well as Socrates".

"People are infinite, they have always existed in the mind of God; we are all subject to a chain of constant reincarnations, until eventually we reach the state of nirvana, that is when we are free from reincarnating and have succeeded in the progress of the soul and become one with the Universe, which is God".

"Everything we see is an illusion since all things are in a constant state of vibratory existence, the higher the frequency of vibration, the higher the state of the person or thing, rocks have a very low vibrational frequency, that is why they are so dense and heavy; therefore your thoughts are also vibrational entities that eventually come into reality; you just have to know how to elevate the frequency of your thinking".

"Sin is really an illusion, all you have to do is to align yourself with the eternal purpose of the ethereal substance that permeates all things, everything is in a constant flux of being; the bible even says that as a man thinks so is he".

"Jesus was an ascended avatar, a teacher just like Buddha and all those guys; he came to show people the truth about the universe and how it works, he knew how to manipulate the laws of the universe, that is the reason he could walk on water and do all those things he did; he even said it, the truth shall set you free".

"You have to do more good things than bad things to compensate for the bad ones; it's what they call karma; whatever you do comes back to you; and God always looks at how many good things you have done, and if they are more than the bad things, then He will be happy with you and let you into heaven".

"There is no life after death, we are just the pinnacle of the evolutionary process, we are the product of purely physical processes; once we die, we cease to exist, there is nothing after this life; hell is a lie of the religious organizations to keep people from going wild and doing the things that are fun, like having sex and getting loaded with drugs and alcohol".

End of statements "like these".

I have heard statements like those above, in fact I actually said some of those things since I believed them in my distant past.  Did I ever tell you that I was a vegetarian for about three or four years?  I was a health freak, I didn't eat meat of any kind, except fish, and fish is not meat, right?  I was heavily into Metaphysics and Eastern religions and beliefs; I did meditation, I sat on the floor, with my legs and arms crossed, and did the huuuuummmm thing; I hugged trees too; mainly when I was high on Peyote, it felt good.

Yeah I did all things natural, smoked herb, ate mushrooms and peyote; meditated, didn't drink alcohol or beer; I think I was actually pretty healthy.  I ran 3 miles per day to a friend's house, lifted weights for about an hour and ran back home another 3 miles; and I was high all the time; it is true, I'm not lying to you. I also believed in Hermes Trismegisto, and Sai Baba; at one point I was even into Transactional Analysis, you know, the "I'm ok, you're ok" thing; I was what some people call "a seeker"; but I had no idea what I was seeking, except to fill the huge hole in my heart.  But it was all a lie.

It is the old lie of "you shall be like God"; and "everything is relative", and "if it feels good, it must be good"; and a ton of other examples, but they all come from the same place: the father of lies, the prince of the power of the air, as Paul calls him.

Then, one day, at the precise moment, and the right place; my "seeking" ended.  It ended not by my will, nor my desire, God had planned it like that; He had ordained October 13 1989, 3:12 P.M. as the right time to open the eyes of this blind man.

The night before, October the 12th, I had been locked up in my office with a bottle of Chivas Regal and an ounce of cocaine; my ex wife had just told me a few days before that she was leaving me and she was taking the kids with her if I didn't stop drinking; my world started falling apart when I heard those words; I was caught in a snare, the snare of the fowler as the bible calls it; and I couldn't see a way out of it, everything was darkness in me.

It was 3 o'clock in the morning and I had shut the lights off, I was paranoid; I had lit up a candle and was sitting on a couch I had in the office; my P226 Sig Sauer in 9mm was sitting on top of the glass coffee table; I carried that gun everywhere I went.  I reached for it and grabbed it, racked the slide and put a hollow point cartridge in the chamber, the hammer was pulled back; I put my index finger on the trigger and pointed it at my eyes; I could see the bullet through the barrel, just sitting there waiting for me to pull the trigger and end the nightmare.

Then I thought about reincarnation, it sounds stupid I know, but that is what came through my mind at that moment; and I thought "if I kill myself, I will end up coming back and re-live this life again, until I get it right; that is awful; I don't want to re-live my life like this"; and then I uncocked the pistol and put it on the table again.

A second later my pager started beeping; you remember those pagers?  They were these little black boxes with a tiny screen on top, if someone wanted to get a hold of you they would call your pager number and then you would input the call back number, and then you would wait for the call back; the pager showed my home phone number, it was my ex wife; if you google "pager" you will see an image of a woman frantically punching numbers on a phone dial pad.

I called and told her I was all messed up, she volunteered to come and get me, or call a cab for me since the kids were asleep, but I refused the offer; I took the last shot of Chivas, locked the office, put my helmet and my gloves on and rode home on my 600cc Suzuki Katana.  That night was a remembrance event.  The lie had actually prevented me from committing suicide.

Next morning, I woke up with a head ache; it was 11;30 already, I felt like crap; but I didn't drink; I was suffering heavily; my mind would not stop racing; I knew there was a God, I always knew that; I grew up in the Catholic faith, I met Jesus in the gospel of John when I was six or seven; but that morning I had no faith at all; every time I thought about dying, I remembered my daughters; my babies; what would they do without a father?  Who would provide for them?  Who would comfort them after waking up in the middle of the night because they had a bad dream?  They would end up with an idiot for a step father; the thoughts were unbearable, so I went to my office.

Suddenly my phone rang, it was my secretary, "Gino Fuentes, from Horizon North Park is on the line"; ok, put him through.  "Hey Alex, this is Gino, remember me?"  Yeah, I do, how is it going? (I had met him at Horizon during one of those times I was trying to get my ex off my back regarding going to church, a nice guy who used to be a heroin addict and had been rescued by Jesus)  "Very good, I thought I'd give you a call to see how you're doing"  Well, I'm not doing good at all man; I'm really depressed, I can't stop drinking, I'm all hungover, my head is killing me, but I haven't had a drink today, at least not yet.  "Hey you want to come over for some coffee?"  Sure, where is your office?  "Horizon North Park, a block north from the theatre"  Okay, I'll be there about 2:30.  "Sounds good, I'll see you then".

I always liked riding my motorcycle; it was fast, and I could weave in and out of traffic like a mouse running from a cat; indeed that was the reason why I rode it back then, to get away fast, someday I will tell you why, or maybe not; so I get my Kiwi helmet on and rode to Horizon from National City; when I got there, a lady was just pulling out of a parking space located right in front of the door; I thought that was peculiar; I always struggled finding parking, but not that day.  I looked at my watch, I was right on time.

I walked in the building and at that precise moment a girl walked by the front door, excuse me I'm here to see Gino Fuentes? "Oh, yeah, I'll show you where his office is"; as we are walking, he comes out into the hallway; up to this point everything seems to be timed perfectly, I thought it was weird.  "Hi Alex, how are you?  Let's go in this meeting room, you want some coffee?"  Sure, thanks.

"So, what's going on?"  Well, I can't stop drinking and getting loaded; I feel like I'm dying.  "I used to be a heroin addict, and Jesus set me free", he said; Look, I don't want religion, I don't believe Jesus is God, I think he is just a teacher just like Buddha and all those guys; all I want is to stop drinking.  "I have this book that shows how all the religions in the world differ from each other, you can have it if you want to read it"; then at that point the same girl knocks on the door and cracks it open, and says "Excuse me, you have a call Gino"; "I'm sorry, I have to take this, but I will be right back".

So I'm sitting there in this room by myself, and I'm thinking, this is so stupid; what am I doing?  This is such a waste of time, I'm done with it, I need a drink.  So I start getting ready to leave, and reach out for my helmet, and he comes back into the room; "sorry about that, so Alex, you want to ask Jesus to come into your heart?"  And at that point I hear a whisper in my ears "say yes"; I looked around the room, are there some hidden speakers somewhere?  Maybe in that flower pot on the side table, and I said What was that?  And he asks the same question, and I hear the same whisper; and in a millisecond I thought 'nothing has worked up to this point', maybe this will help, maybe this is real, what else is there to do?  AA didn't work, going to church didn't work, trying harder didn't work, and I keep on hearing this whisper that says "say yes"; so I say yes.

"Man, praise God, let's pray; just pray with me, you don't have to do it out loud, just pray with me: Dear Jesus, I know I am a sinner, I have broken all your commandments, I have fallen short of your glory everyday, so I ask you to forgive me, I ask you to come into my heart, I believe you died on the cross to pay for my sins, I believe you were raised from the dead three days later, and I surrender to you; come into my life, and change me, and help me live for you; in Jesus name, amen".  Of course I don't really remember if those were the exact words, but they are very close.

That time of prayer, which was no more than 30 seconds, seemed to me like hours; I was praying with this man who I barely knew, and I was suspended in time; all my objections had been removed, all my resistance was gone, all my doubts dissipated, it all made sense to me now; this was it, this was what I had been looking for; I felt this huge burden roll off my back, when I opened my eyes, I thought I was dreaming, it all felt surreal.

He grabbed a bible out of a box, opened it to the first page after the cover and wrote "To Alex, born again, October 13 1989, 3:12 P.M. Praise God" and handed it to me, I still have that bible, it is the reason I know what happened, and when it happened; "now what you need to do bro is read this bible; I know you will not understand all of it, but start in John, and I tell you this right now: Jesus is going to get you, God bless you brother".  Ok Gino, thanks man, and I walked out.

As I walked to get on the bike, I felt lighter, I felt as if I was walking on air; this is weird, I thought, what did just happen?  What is happening to me?  I look up to the sky, I love October, the air is crisp, the sky is blue and usually we get these really odd shaped clouds; and I looked and the sky was extremely bright blue, the clouds were intensely white, the trees were extremely green; it reminded me of an acid trip; everything seemed so intensely real and bright, and for the first time in a long, long time, I felt peace in my heart; a very strange peace.  I had no worries at all, there was no anxiety of any kind, my headache was gone, I felt complete; I actually felt joy.

24 years later; I can tell you without a shadow of a doubt; that Jesus got me.  I am a walking miracle; I am an example and a testimony of God's grace and power of mercy, and just one of the billions of people who throughout history have felt the power of the Lord of Hosts.

I can tell you stories; it would take me many pages to do it, of how Jesus has manifested Himself to me, just like He said He would do for those who receive Him; I have story after story of incredible events that I have personally witnessed with these old eyes; every single day I can taste and I see that God is good; and I trust in all of His promises; He will do what He has promised, even if I don't believe it.

So I ask you, what is your story?  Do you stop once in a while and remember what kind of mess you were in, and what kind of lies you used to believe?  Do you remind yourself, or better yet, does God remind you that for Him nothing is impossible?  Do you really believe it?  Or doubts constantly assail your mind, and you waver and flake out?  What kind of God is it that you believe in?  Is it a small god, with a small g?  Or a big God with a big G?

My God is big, very very big; He flung the universe out into existence with His fingers; the whole thing, billions and billions of galaxies with billions and trillions of stars, they all fit in the span of His hand, and He calls them all by name, and is it because of His awesome power and mighty strength that not one of them is missing.

Bow down before His majesty, and worship the Mighty One of Israel; He will never leave you nor forsake you; you can plant your flag on that.

Do you have a flag?

Have a nice day.

http://makariotes.blogspot.com

The Reformed Doctrine of Justification...

 J.I. Packard is in my opinion, one of the greatest theologians of the modern era; he served as the General Editor to the ESV Bible and has written a lot of books, and here a lot, means a lot; he has been writing books since the late 1950's; probably his most known work is the book called "Knowing God", which is by now a classic of evangelical Christianity. 

One of his books made a huge impact on me, it is called "A Quest for Godliness"; I have read it about three times, and I am still reading it; chapter 8 in that book served as the introduction to the amazing work of John Owen called "The Death of death in the Death of Christ"; a rebuttal of universalism, which is the heresy that affirms that all men will eventually be saved because Christ died for "everybody".

I just finished reading another one of his books called "Puritan Portraits", in which he introduces us to some of the puritan pastors of that era, Henry Scougal, Stephen Charnock, John Bunyan, Matthew Henry, John Owen, John Flavel, and Thomas Boston.

Right after that book, I read another one of his works called "Concise Theology"; now if you want to learn theology and don't have the time to read "Systematic Theology" by Grudem or Louis Berkoff; then this is the one to read.

The reason for this post is to quote from one of his books that I finished reading last night; it is a long quote that includes quotes from Luther and Calvin; and it is regarding the "reformed doctrine of justification", in fact that is the title of the book.  Luther called justification "the great exchange"; no better words to describe it.

If you don't have time to read it, I understand.  If you are not interested in the topic, I don't understand; the doctrine of justification is the cornerstone of our faith, and not being interested in it just shows what kind of Christian you call yourself to be, I'm just saying.

Ignorance of this doctrine will cause you to have an identity crisis; it will destroy your peace, and make your assurance of salvation dissipate like smoke out of a pipe dream.  I am convinced that people who constantly struggle trying to please God by their performance, have no idea what justification means; and if they have the slightest idea of what justification means, it is a twisted idea that has been passed down to them by a heretick pastor or teacher, yeah I like that King James version of the word, heretick; and I also like that word "musick", even if there is no relation between them, except that when you understand what justification is, it will be like musick to your heart.

Anyway, here is the quote from Packer, J.I. “The Reformed Doctrine of Justification.” Fig, 2012-08-03T02:13:54+00:00. iBooks.
This material may be protected by copyright:

“The Reformers were explicit in grounding our justification on Christ's penal substitution for us under the punitive wrath of God. According to Anselm, whose view had been standard in the West for four centuries before the Reformers, Christ's death was a satisfaction for our sins offered to God as an alternative to the punishment of our persons".

"The Reformers assumed this formula, but added two emphases which went beyond Anselm–first, that the Son's offering was made at the Father's bidding; second, that Christ's death made satisfaction precisely by being the punishment of our sins in his person. Satisfaction, in other words, was by substitution; vicarious sin-bearing by the Son of God is the ground of”“our justification and hope".

"In saying this, the Reformers were not offering a speculative rationale of Christ's work of reconciliation, but simply expounding and confessing the scriptural reality of it. They did not discuss, as later generations were to do, why, or indeed whether, God must judge sin retributively as a basis of pardoning it, or how vicarious punishment can be shown to be meaningful and moral, or any of the other questions which the Socinian critique of the Reformed doctrine was to raise; their concern was just to enter fully into biblical thinking on this matter, and to relay it as clearly and precisely as possible".

"Luther, commenting on Galatians 3:13, "Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us," states penal substitution like this:
We are sinners and thieves, and therefore guilty of death and everlasting damnation. But Christ took all our sins upon him, and for them died upon the cross ... all the prophets did foresee in spirit, that Christ should become the greatest transgressor, murderer, adulterer, thief, rebel, blasphemer, etc. that ever was for he being made a sacrifice, for the sins of the whole world, is now[…]”““an innocent person and without sins ... our most merciful Father,seeing us to be oppressed overwhelmed with the curse of the law, and so to be holden under the same that we could never be delivered from it by our own power, sent his only Son into the world and laid upon him all the sins of all men, saying: Be thou Peter that denier; Paul that persecutor, blasphemer and cruel oppressor; David that adulterer; that sinner which did eat the apple in Paradise; that thief which hanged upon the cross; and, briefly, be thou the person which hath committed the sins of all men; see therefore that thou pay and satisfy for them. Here now cometh the law and saith: I find him a sinner, and that such a one as hath taken upon him the sins of all men, and I see no sins but in him; therefore let him die upon the cross. And so he setteth upon him and killeth him. By this means the whole world is purged and cleansed from all sins, and so delivered from death and all evils”.

“Calvin speaks less vivid and dramatically, but to the same effect:
Because the curse caused by our guilt was awaiting us at God's heavenly judgment seat, ... .Christ's condemnation before Pontius Pilate is recorded, so that we might know that the penalty to which we were subject had been inflicted on this righteous man ... when he was arraigned before a judgment-seat, accused and put under pressure by testimony, and sentenced to death by the words of a judge, we know by these records that this role was that of (personam sustinuit) of a guilty wrongdoer ... we see the role of the sinner and criminal represented in Christ, yet from his shining innocence it becomes obvious that he was burdened with the misdoing of others rather than his own. ... This is our acquittal, that the guilt which exposed us to punishment was transferred to the head of God's Son ... At every point he substituted himself in our place (in vicem nostram ubique se supposuerit) to pay the price of our redemption".

This is the characteristic doctrine of the Reformation concerning the death of Christ. It was an act of obedient substitution on his part, an acceptance in his own person of the penalty due to us, in virtue of which the holy Judge declares guilty sinners immune from punishment and righteous in his sight.

The great exchange is no legal fiction, no arbitrary pretense, no mere word-game, on God's part, but a costly achievement. The divinely established solidarity between Christ and his people was such that he was in truth "made sin" for us, and "bore in his soul the dreadful torments of a condemned and lost man" so that in our souls the joy of knowing God's forgiveness and favor might reign forever. This, to the Reformers, was the heart and height of the work of divine grace, not to be wrangled over, but to be trusted and adored.”

Thank you very much, and have a nice day.

http://makariotes.blogspot.com

Prayer, I need it....

I went to church last night, I had to do the sound for worship and the message; it was actually very good; just an electric guitar, a bass, and drums; the house was rocking, and it was loud.  Nobody complained about the sound level so I guess no one paid attention.  People were actually worshipping, which is a blessing to see.  Simple songs of praise to our amazing God.

Then as usual, the message was very good also; the pastor is going through the book of 1John, we are on chapter 3 verses 18-24.  The word of God is awesome, don't you think?  I think it is amazing, and I need it so much, just like I need air to breathe.

After the service, we had a prayer meeting; this time there was no worship, just an open microphone set at the front for people to come up and pray.  I heard a couple of sisters praying that just had a huge effect on me; I don't know about you, but I can tell who those people are who actually pray often, not by the amount of words they use, nor the kind of words they use, but by the content of their prayers; I don't know if that makes sense to you, but people who spend time in prayer often pray powerful selfless prayers.

I love praying, I feel so much better after I do it.  The other day I was remembering a time about 20 years ago, during which Eutychus and I used to meet in the morning before going to work, about 6:00 in the morning, and we prayed.  We used to meet at the car pool lot next to the 805 freeway, right on Sweetwater road; we drank coffee and prayed for about an hour every morning; it was supernatural; I always felt that we had accomplished something, we always learned something from our God during that time.

Last night I got blessed; I wasn't planning to go up to the front, but my feet just started moving and suddenly I was right at the mike; I could not finish praying, I started crying ( the same thing happened last time we had a prayer meeting) the words would not come out of my mouth.  I had to stop and walk to the sound booth and blow my nose; but I still had the need to pray, so I went back and finished my long prayer.

This morning as I was thinking about last night, I felt kind of embarrassed; there I was, a full grown man crying like a child; but I could not control the emotion; I was translated to the presence of the King, right at the foot of the throne of grace; and I'm thinking, how can anyone keep a straight face before this amazing God we serve?  Isaiah was totally undone when he had that vision of the throne room (Isaiah 6:5); he had an identity crisis; he was right, we are people of unclean lips and dwell amongst people of unclean lips and hearts.

I was groaning, just like Paul says in Romans 8:26-27, the Spirit making intercession with groans that I could not understand, groanings too deep for words; I prayed for all of us; for our children, our grand kids, married people, single people, the persecuted church, my brothers and friends, the pastor and his family, my best friends, my family, the young men and women at church, I went on and on.  I am convinced that God heard every single prayer uttered in that room last night; it was supernatural.

The amazing thing about this is that the room was almost empty, I didn't count the number of people present, but I estimate there were only about 20 or so people there; maybe 20 is too many.  That to me is shocking.  Maybe prayer is not entertaining for some people; maybe some people think it is useless to pray because they always get no for an answer, or maybe it was dinner time and they had to go feed the flesh; of course some people have things to do that cannot wait, but I still don't understand the fact that the room was almost full during the service, and then almost empty during the prayer meeting, it trips me out.

But who am I to say anything?  People who were there had a divine appointment with their God; God is still in control of all things, He moves the hearts of kings like streams of water and leads them wherever He wishes; and in the same way He moves the hearts of His people to go do the hard work of praying; it is usually like that in all realms, 10 percent of people usually do 90 percent of the work.  It is a mystery to me.

Do you realize that the only reason we can go straight to the Father of glory in prayer is because of the cross of Jesus?  When hanging on that bloody tree and at the right time, He cried "it is finished!"; and at that point the veil in the temple was torn from top to bottom; giving us access to the Holy of Holies, to the presence of the Father; Paul puts it like this in Ephesians 2:11-19

Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called “the uncircumcision” by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands— remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 
For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility.
And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. 
For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God...

And in Romans 5:1-2   Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.  Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

What a blessing.

At any rate; I could keep on going on and on about this, but I won't; I hear it "your blog is too long"; yeah I know, so this is the end of this post.  I just wanted to share that I got blessed last night and remind you to pray; it is good for your soul and it pleases God.

Have a nice day.

http://makariotes.blogspot.com

Holiness is good news...

About five years ago I was taking a networking class with Cisco; I flunked the test.  Bummer.  Anyway, I was using a Moleskine notebook for that class and I have a ton of notes in it, I was browsing through them and on the last page of the notebook I wrote this (of course has nothing to do with networking):

"Holiness does not consist in mystic speculations, enthusiastic fervours, or uncommanded austerities; it consists in thinking as God thinks and willing as God wills"  John Brown, 1848.  Expository Discourses on 1Peter."

And then I wrote this underneath it: "Pretty high standard to reach, holiness as a life goal is something that always feels out of my reach, it is too high to attain it, too impossible to accomplish it; then the realization that God has already made me holy in Christ Jesus, by His grace, by His Spirit and through the faith He gave me, makes me, once again, fall down on my knees to worship this strange God of love".

I have probably already said it, but I'm going to say it again; for years I have been writing on notebooks, a practice that I should get back into since I kind of stopped doing it, but I have written some very cool things in those pages; nothing to boast about, they are just thoughts that came sometimes from my mind, and I believe sometimes they came from God; and it is all very interesting to read; I have written poems, songs, and sometimes just ramblings.  Sometimes I read what I wrote four or five years ago, and it really doesn't sound like it is me who wrote it, which I think it is weird; but the common thread of all my writings is God, He seems to be in the forefront of my mind at all times; and I know this is not from me at all, it is His doing, I'm fascinated by Him.

That is basically what I'm doing in this blog; I write thoughts, and I really hope they bless someone out there; and if they don't, oh well, such is life, sometimes it sucks; but God is still very good.

Going back to holiness and John Brown; what makes you holy?  Do you think that it is up to you to be holy?  Yeah I know, the word is Be Holy for I AM Holy; so how do you do that?  Tell me...or maybe not.

Is it your behaviour that makes you holy?  Some people think it does, you have to behave holy to be holy; the only problem with that approach is that it leaves you with your dirty thought life; you might be as holy as mother Theresa in behaviour, but your thoughts might still be filthy, just like mine.  I used to tell the guys at the Most Excellent Way that if they really knew what kind of thoughts ran through my mind on an average day, they would run scared from me, crying 'unclean, unclean'!!  They still thought I was some kind of super saint, which I am not; I am the chief of sinners, ok maybe not the chief, Paul claimed that title for himself long ago, but I'm still up there with him in that regard.

Jesus addressed this question with those famous words in the gospel of Mark 7:14-23:
And he called the people to him again and said to them, "Hear me, all of you, and understand:
There is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him."
[If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.]
And when he had entered the house and left the people, his disciples asked him about the parable.
And he said to them, "Then are you also without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him, since it enters not his heart but his stomach, and is expelled?" (Thus he declared all foods clean.) And he said, "What comes out of a person is what defiles him.
For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness.
All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person."

I'll put it in stereo for you:

Mat 15:7-20  You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said: "'This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.'"
And he called the people to him and said to them, "Hear and understand: it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person."
Then the disciples came and said to him, "Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?"
He answered, "Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be rooted up.
Let them alone; they are blind guides. And if the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit."
But Peter said to him, "Explain the parable to us."
And he said, "Are you also still without understanding?
Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is expelled?
But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person.
For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a person. But to eat with unwashed hands does not defile anyone."

Do you see that?  Out of the heart comes what defiles a man, or a woman; the devil did not put those thoughts inside your mind, they came from your heart; the heart that Jeremiah says is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked; the heart that hosts the continual evil imaginations from your youth, as it says in Genesis.

Even after being regenerated by God's Spirit; we still have the old human heart waging war against the new heart (The Spirit wages war against the flesh and the flesh against the Spirit); that is why the letters from Paul are filled with instructions and commands to put the heart's old habits away, he calls it the old man, and to put on the new; you know what I'm talking about if you have read those epistles.

Jesus says it is the heart and what comes out of it what defiles us, Paul says it is the works of the flesh; this is precisely the reason why Jesus had to die on that cross to save us; to pay for those evil thoughts, words, and actions with which we are plagued since we were born; Jesus died so we could be born again.

God is infinitely holy, and holiness comes from Him; you cannot make yourself holy, no matter how hard you try; some people, just like the Scribes and Pharisees, get offended at this saying, but that is just because they are blind, just like the Pharisees.

"Hear and understand": The Son of God makes you holy and righteous; nothing you can ever do can add a pinch of holiness to His holiness; and if you are in Christ you are holy, and nothing you can ever do will make you unholy or unrighteous; that is the good news.

Did you wash your hands?

Have a nice day.

http://makariotes.blogspot.com

Rest for your soul....

This morning I woke up not thinking about the past, it is a miracle.  Instead I woke up and started thinking about Jesus, that is another miracle indeed.  I thought about God choosing me from before the foundation of the world; that is what He says He did in Ephesians 1.

Why did you choose me Lord?  I am nothing, I am just a sinner saved by your grace, a rotten sinner with a messed up past.  I can't even tie my shoes straight, I can't remember anything in the last two weeks, I sin and stumble daily, I don't love people, I have no compassion for others, even in your church, sometimes I don't think I will make it to the end.  What do you see in me?

"I don't see you, I see my Son in you, you are accepted in the Beloved"...that's all I heard back.  Thank God for the gospel....then I read this:

Matthew 11:25 At that time Jesus declared, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; 26 yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. 27 All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. 28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

Those are some of the most incredible words in all of the bible (I think), straight from the mouth of Jesus Christ; King Jesus.  Read them carefully... do you see what I see?  What is it that I see, you may ask?  I see that God, in this case Jesus, decides who will ultimately come to faith in Him; verse 27 alone is the proof that Jesus is the author and finisher of our faith, and He alone is the one who reveals the Father to any one He chooses.

He chooses the ones who labor and are heavy laden; the foolish of this world:  1Corinthians 1:27  But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong....That's you and I.

In the book of Luke, it actually says that before uttering those words, Jesus rejoiced in the Holy Spirit; you can read it here: Luke 10:21-22; God actually rejoices to have hidden His wisdom from the wise of this world; God is well pleased to do it that way, He loves it to be that way, why?  Because it brings the whole glory to Him alone, and no one can boast about being wise or prudent in believing.

The gospel is a foolish message to this world, and not only is the message a foolish message but the messengers are also foolish messengers; as if that was not foolish enough, the method of delivery of this foolish message is also foolish; check it out (I'm including the whole text so you don't have to go look it up, yeah, this makes the post long, so if you don't have time to read it or get irritated because it is too long, then don't read it, you will miss out though):

1Corinthians 1:18:  For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
19 For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.”

20 Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. 22 For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, 24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

26 For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; 28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, 29 so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. 30 And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, 31 so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”

Chapter 2:1 And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. 2 For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. 3 And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, 4 and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5 so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.

There it is again, it pleased God, not only to hide His wisdom but through the folly of the message to save those who believe; it pleased God means that He was happy about doing it like that, He loves it to be this way, He is satisfied for the message to be foolish, to be carried by foolish people in a foolish way; but it is only foolish to those who are perishing, He says; but it is the power and the wisdom of God for us who believe; so that our faith may rest in the power of God and no one can boast before His presence.

On that final day, which is quickly approaching, we will have no explanation as to why we believed the gospel except that God is sovereign, and He reigns; and that His people are made willing in the day of His power: 

Psalm 110:3 Your people will offer themselves freely on the day of your power,

in holy garments; from the womb of the morning,the dew of your youth will be yours.

Why is this?  Because, again, God is the initiator of our salvation; we have been predestined for glory, and to be holy and without blame.

So I go back to my question, why did you choose me Lord?  And the clear answer is "because I was pleased to do it for my glory".  And why do I believe?  Because of His grace:

John 6:44 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day. 45 It is written in the Prophets, ‘And they will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me—46 not that anyone has seen the Father except he who is from God; he has seen the Father. 47 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life.

I was taught by the Father to come to Jesus, the Father drew me to Him; and that word 'draw' does not mean 'to woe' as some people think, it actually means to drag, as in dragging someone out of the pit of destruction; but dragged not against his or her will, but willingly; look it up in your Strong's concordance dictionary, you will see. 

So if you labor and are heavy laden, and you have been taught by the Father, you have already come or you will come to Jesus; you will come willingly, He will gently drag you to Himself, and you will take His yoke upon you, and you will learn from Him, you will become lowly at heart, and you will find rest for your soul; for His yoke is easy and His burden is light; as King David said: "He will lead you in the paths of righteousness for His name sake, He will restore your soul".

Rejoice that it is because of Him that you are in Christ Jesus.

Have a nice day.

http://makariotes.blogspot.com

Fix your neurons on the things above...

I mentioned before that my short term memory is all messed up, didn't I?  Yes I did.  I don't remember when I did it but I did.

The mystery of the brain and how it works is fascinating; scientists only know the basics; they know that the brain functions through electrical signals that are transmitted through certain chemicals that are naturally occurring in the human body; yeah, there is actual voltage going on in my brain at all times.  I'm not a scientist so I have no idea how they found out about it; all I know is that there are certain chemicals like dopamine, GABA, serotonin, etc that the brain uses to communicate, using the neuron's endings, called axons and dendrites.

These dendritic "trees" and axons extend through the brain and the spine, and throughout the body, that is why we can feel pain instantaneously when we bang our big toe on the coffee table.   By the way, the brain contains 100 billion neurons; the same number of stars in the Milky Way galaxy; we are like a mini Milky Way galaxy walking around this earth; it's a beautiful thing.

These chemicals are generated by the glands in the body, and they are made by proteins and amino-acids; all the instructions on how to make all of them are contained in the DNA, deoxyribonucleic acid, identified by Watson and Crick back in 1953.

Well, it turns out that, in this magnificent design, there are neurons in the back of the eyes, and also in the ear; of course I forgot all the details, but they are there; that is why images and sounds excite the brain and change your mood instantly, that is just my opinion; but it makes sense right?  Watch therefore what you listen to and what you look at; it will affect the way your brain responds to your life, and your life to your brain, and ultimately it will affect how you respond to God.

The other peculiar thing about the brain is how it is wired in men and women; men are very excitable visually, women are by what they hear; mostly.  Of course there are men whose brain works like that of a woman; and vice versa.

I have no idea why I'm writing all this, but it will make sense, I hope.

Oh, I remembered why I am talking about this: my short term memory.  Well; what has been happening lately, actually for a couple of years now, is that as soon as I'm awake I start remembering things that happened a long time ago; some events date back to when I was 3 or 4 years old; some only a few years back; and the strangest thing about that is that I cannot control it, or at least it seems that I cannot control it.  I start remembering certain events that mess up my emotions, some of them make me angry, some make me sad, and some make me very happy, some cause me extreme joy.  All my past seems to me like a dream from which I just woke up.  Sometimes it all seems like a nightmare; but most of the time I praise God for my past, even if it was messed up.

Then, I experience a miracle every single morning.  As soon as I lay my eyes on the bible and start reading, everything changes; sometimes it takes a while, but sometimes it is instantaneously; the memories fade away like the marine layer over my house, and the sun starts shining bright in my brain; yeah, I call that a miracle, a supernatural event.  Every day I experience a supernatural event; straight from heaven.

Every time I read my bible, I step right into the Kingdom of God; I'm transported into the heavenly places, where my life is hidden in Christ; just as Paul said:

Ephesians 2: 1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus...

The bible constantly points us out to the mind and how to use it, doesn't it?  For example, look at this verses:

Philippians 2:1 So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, 2 complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. 3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. 5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus....

And these:

Colossians 3:1  If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. 3 For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. 5 Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. 6 On account of these the wrath of God is coming. 7 In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. 8 But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. 9 Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.

1Chronicles 22:19  Now set your mind and heart to seek the Lord your God.

Isaiah 26:3  You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.  4 Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock.

And many more.....but you get the point, right?

I was just told my blog is too long, so I am cutting the output right here; just a few words more.  The regenerated man, or woman, is not a regular individual anymore; we died with Christ and we have been raised with Him; now we have a mandate from the Lord God Almighty, to be transformed by the renewing of our minds; even if they don't work as they used to; so this is my encouragement to you who reads this: put your mind on the things above and fix it on Yahweh; the I AM, The Self Existing One; The King of the Universe; He will keep you in perfect peace; if you have a messed up past, think about your perfect future.

Have a nice day.

http://makariotes.blogspot.com

Today is not Monday....

I missed church today; I thought it was Monday.  Can you believe that?  Yeah I thought it was Monday; this morning the sunlight felt and looked like it was the start of a Monday morning; the birds flew as on a Monday, the trees looked like they were raising their branches to the sky on Monday morning, even the grass looked Monday green, kind of yellowish.

I got cable about 6 months ago with the intention of watching the Formula 1 and Moto GP races; but I haven't watched any yet, good thing I scheduled them to be recorded, I should check if they are; I haven't watched the news, or any regular T.V. in at least over a month, and before that maybe only once a week; getting cable was one of those bad turns I have taken during my life; I tried to watch it tonight and I couldn't get into it; I shall cancel it, on Monday perhaps.

My computer doesn't want to work right; the monitor keeps on flickering and I think it is either a bad cable or a bad video card; I'm writing this on my laptop, but I am using Ubuntu since Windows Vista doesn't want to comply with my commands; good thing I can run two operating systems in one machine that kind of works, once in a while, like on Mondays.

I put some fertilizer on the lawn last week, and some of the grass is turning yellowish; I think I over did it in some areas; I hope it comes back to green; maybe next Monday.

I tried to log in to Facebook and I couldn't do it, I forgot the password; I tried to reset it by asking for a reset link, and I never got the email, I will for sure get it on Monday; I don't even know why I have a Facebook account, I never use it; I think it is a huge waste of time; I think I shall delete it; I don't have any friends anyway.

I remembered it was Sunday when I got a text from Eutychus asking me if I made it to church; I am convinced that God kept me in the house today, and I am convinced that nothing was going my way for a reason, I don't know the reason, but I know there is one.

And of course, there is a reason why I'm writing this post, and it is not to complain; complaining doesn't accomplish anything good; in fact I remember (that's an amazing statement) that the children of Israel spent 40 years roaming in the wilderness because of that very thing; God doesn't like complaints, I agree, I think it is ungrateful to complain.

Not giving God thanks is an awful thing indeed, (I just got a pop up window that announced the system is doing an update, I hope it will survive; see what I'm talking about?), Paul puts it like this in Romans 1: 21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.

This goes on for a while; and then it says that "God gave them over"; more than once; check it: 

God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves....

God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error....

And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done.  They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Though they know God's righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.

Is paying to watch a show that includes all of the above approving it?  I'm just asking.

By the way, I copied those verses from ESVBible.org, but my KJV says "God gave them over", like that, "over" instead of "up"; I don't even want to try to see what the Greek says, I won't remember it tomorrow; but the point is that God giving one over, or giving one up, is like saying, 'ok, you don't acknowledge me or give me thanks for anything, and you want to do what you want to do, so go ahead and really do it, sink in your own ungrateful darkness, that's the judgement you get for it'; or is it not?  Am I twisting the scriptures?  You read it and come to your own conclusions, without going to the Greek...you don't need to.

I have learned that when God says things more than once, I have to pay attention, and when He says things three times in the same chapter, I really have to pay attention.  Not being grateful turns your mind into a black hole. 

What is fascinating to me is that I can't be grateful on my own; I need grace for that; God has to do something first in order for me to see what a blessed man I am, He has to open my eyes and give me understanding; as Calvin puts it, He has to bore my ears so I can hear.

Yes, God is always the initiator, the author of all things; so that no one will boast before Him.  I am grateful for that.

I'm going to sit on my couch and play a worship song and give Him thanks; there is a long list of things I am grateful for.  When I was doing bible studies at church, I made a list of about one hundred things I was grateful for back then, including toilet paper; and it didn't take long to make the list, it just came out by observing my life; by now I bet the list has grown very long; but I won't bore you with it; I just wanted to remind myself to be grateful, and you too.

Thank God is Sunday, and have a nice week.  Tomorrow is Monday.

http://makariotes.blogspot.com

He will keep me from stumbling...

I wrote the following about three months ago and never published it, so here it is for the record:

In the past several months I have learned more about worship than in the last 24 years combined. It is a mysterious thing for me to see how God deals with the hearts of men in general, and my brothers' hearts, and my heart in particular; God reigns and He will be worshipped in spirit and in truth.

As you girls know; and you boys too, of course; I stopped going to church for about 4 years, and I don't recommend you do that, seriously; but I did.  I was tired of the blasphemous semons and sermonettes I heard coming out of the mouths of some people who should not be called pastors at all, and I became jaded, as Eutychus says. I think I'm still a bit jaded, and I still have serious reservations about going to the church I just started going to three months ago; I'm not going to name the church's name just in case I change my mind and find another one; but so far the teaching has been solid, the pastor teaches what I believe, in the way that I think is the right way to teach; he preaches the real gospel; I haven't heard any man-exalting statements yet and I haven't heard any semi-pelagian, works-oriented messages coming out of his mouth.  He is for sure a godly man and I am willing to submit under his leadership; but I'm waiting to see how he deals with some issues that involve worship, we'll see.  I know he is just a man just like me, so I will be merciful and not judge unrighteously.

I really thought I was 'doomed' to stay at home and listen to John MacArthur and John Piper on my computer for the rest of my short life (I consider that I have about one thousand weeks left on this planet, but I could be wrong, God might decide to take me home tomorrow, or tonight); which is not really a bad thing, I thought I was left to continue doing bible studies at my house with one or two guys, teach my grand kids about Jesus, play my guitar, and read my bible, Spurgeon, Calvin, John Knox, John Owen and all of those dead giants of the faith for the rest of my days and nights, I thought many things; but as always, God has a different plan than mine; now He wants me to know what real worship is about, and I welcome it. I'm still reading books written by dead heroes though, I don't think I will ever stop doing that.

I have problems though; but my problems are nothing compared to what some of my brothers and sisters around the world are going through.  My physical problems have not gotten better, they are in fact getting worse, I still suffer from chronic back pain; my bones are still brittle; my short term memory is in shambles and since I started going to church I have blisters on the soles of my feet; which I think it is just a spiritual attack since I have never experienced anything like it before.

Paul is correct when he says that we don't wrestle against flesh and blood but against principalities and powers and spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places; and he is also correct when he says that the weapons of our warfare are not made with hands but they are mighty in God for the pulling down of strongholds, casting down imaginations and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing into captivity every thought into the obedience of Christ.

The mind is where the battles are taking place for me; of course the war is in the heavenly realms, or in the spiritual kingdom, which we cannot see; and the same thing happens in the mind and the heart of all the children of God.  Our weapons are clearly prayer and the word of God; and I know the end of the story; Jesus wins, and therefore I win with Him.

If you are a believer, then you are in the middle of a spiritual battle; this is happening all day long; from the rising of the sun until it goes down and you close your eyes to sleep, you have to fight to stay on the narrow path; temptations are all around us, Satan is a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour; and he knows all of our weaknesses, and knows what buttons to push and at what time to push them; fiery darts are flying all the time and his wiles are deceptive; filled with lies and lust.  We don't have it so easy as we think sometimes.

I have never payed any attention to the devil and his demons; my focus has always been God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ, by the Holy Spirit who lives in me, this might sound like I'm boasting but it is the reality of my life.  I know some people might not agree with me but I'm going to say it: I don't believe that Satan can put any thoughts in my mind just like that; I still haven't found the scriptural basis for that belief; but I will let you do your own research and your own digging into God's word to come to your own conclusions; I have come to mine, and I am sticking to it.

I will not rob you of your time, I hope; since it is so short; but I want to remind you that you are loved and you will never be forsaken.  My experience has been that of a dying man that finds himself with the hope of eternal life; I believe in the one and true God, the God who justifies the ungodly; the One who became a man to take my iniquities upon Himself and pay for my sins hanging naked upon a bloody tree; the God-man and only mediator between man and God, the man Christ Jesus.

Jude 1:24-25  Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.

He will keep me from stumbling, and He will present me faultless before His presence with great joy; that is my destiny; and it is your destiny if you have the faith in the God that justifies the ungodly; it is because of Him that we are in Christ Jesus; all the glory belongs to Him alone.

Be blessed, and rejoice in the fact that you have been sealed and adopted into the family of God.

Have a nice day.

http://makariotes.blogspot.com