I Am A C-H-R-I-S-T-I-A-N

According to the Bible a true Christian is:

Ø  a follower or a disciple of Jesus Christ

Ø  a person who has repented

Ø  a person who has been converted

Ø  a person who is saved

Ø  a person who is born again

Ø  a person who has faith in Christ

Ø   a person who is “in Christ”

Ø  a saint, beloved one, or a child of God

There are many other words that could be added to the list.  Christians may talk about “Believers,” “Knowing Christ,” “accepting Christ as your personal savior,” “coming to Christ,” “receiving Christ,” or “taking Christ into your heart.”

Why are there so many different words to describe the Christian experience?  Being a Christian-being born of God through His Son Jesus-is a wonderful spiritual experience.  No words can fully describe it, so the Bible uses many words to help us understand what being a Christian means. 

A Beginning For Converts

Like any birth, becoming a Christian is only the beginning.  A baby may be born healthy, yet never grow up.  Christ wants his followers to keep growing and learning of Him.  Repentance, conversion, salvation, new birth, knowing Christ, faith in Christ, whatever names you use-all these things are just beginnings, too.  They do not happen all at once.  Being a Christian is not simply having a ticket to heaven.  It is the trip there, too.  Growing Christians keep finding new things about themselves, others and God from the Bible.  They find new sins of which to repent or new areas of their lives to commit to God.  Christians are always being saved or healed as Christ mends their lives. Faith in Christ grows stronger in a growing Christian.  Finding Christ is not the end of your search.  It is only the beginning!

1 Corinthians 2:9 reads…

 ⁹ However, as it is written:

“What no eye has seen, 
what no ear has heard, 
and what no human mind has conceived” ^[a]—
the things God has prepared for those who love him—

What a great benefit!

Jesus Is Not A Mortal So He Has No Race

John 1:14New International Version (NIV)

14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. (This is not Jesus in His Glory just a veil to dwell amongs the people)

John 1:18New International Version (NIV)

18 No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.

Philippians 2:6-7New International Version (NIV)

6 Who, being in very nature[a] God,
    did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
7 rather, he made himself nothing
    by taking the very nature[b] of a servant,
    being made in human likeness.

Don't argue with those who say that Jesus is a certain color because the Word says He is Spirit.  If Jesus was a certain color and only came for those who are a certain color it would go against everything Jesus stands for.

Matthew 5:43-48New International Version (NIV)

Love for Enemies

43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor[a] and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46 If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 47 And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that?48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

If Jesus is just for a certain race then why would He say love your enemies.

(DEMONS ARE DEFEATED)

1 JOHN 3:1-9

1How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 2Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears,[a]we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. 3Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure.
4Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness. 5But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin. 6No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him.
7Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. He who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. 8He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work. 9No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God's seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God.

COMMENTARY

THE CHILDREN OF GOD (DEMONS ARE DEFEATED)

Jesus Christ, through His death on the cross and resurrection from the dead defeated Satan and his demonic forces. The Holy spirit lives inside of us when we belong to God. In Him we also have the power to defeat any influences of demons in our lives. God has provided us with resources that we can use daily to fight against spiritual enemies. Those include: · The name of Jesus (Luke 10:17) 17The seventy-two returned with joy and said, "Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name." · Watchfulness (1Peter 5:8) 8Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. · Prayer (John 15:7) 7If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. · The whole armor of God (Ephesians 6:10-18) 10Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 12For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.
If you are concerned about demonic activity, pray for wisdom and discernment and seek the counsel of a pastor or other mature Christians. Christians do not need to fear Satan or his demons: “Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus Our Lord” (Romans 8: 37-39).

·
　
　

Are You Addicted Sexually Part 2

From: Book Every Man's Battle

Fred's (Co-Author) Testimony: A Thunderbolt

Having "athlete's foot of the mind" was how I felt.  I vividly remember my internal struggles between the consequences of the my sin and the pleasure of my sin.  I remember when those consequences finally got to the point where they weren't worth the pleasure of the sin.  But did I qualify as an "addict"?  When I read one author's description of a four-step addiction cycle-preoccupation, ritualization, compulsive sexual behavior, then despair I knew I'd lived that pattern.  I was certain that what I'd experienced, and what these other men had experienced, was addiction.  But a thunderbolt hit me when the author outlined the three levels of addiction (keep in mind this wasn't a Christian book):
Level 1: Contains behavior that are regarded as normal, acceptable, or tolerable.  Examples include masturbation, homosexuality, and prostitution.
Level 2: Behaviors that are clearly victimizing and for which legal sanctions are enforced.  These are generally seen as nuisance offenses, such as exhibititionism or voyeurism.
Level 3: Behaviors that have grave consequences for the victims and legal consequences for the addicts, such as incest, child molestation or rape
Did you read that list closely?  Did you notice that the examples of Level 1 include not just masturbation, which most men practice at times but also homosexuality and prostitution? By definition above, maybe we aren't addicts after all.  But if we aren't addicts, what are we?

From Steve (Co-Author) Fractional Addiction
Before we answer that question, let's think again about those "three levels of addiction" as described above.  From our Christian perspective, let's insert another level at the bottom of the addiction scale.  If we categorized being totally pure and holy as the zero level, all Christian men we know would fall somewhere between Level 0 and Level 1.  If your're one of the many men in this area, it probably isn't at all helpful to label you as an "addict" or to imply that victory will take years of therapy.  Instead, victory can be measured in weeks, as we'll describe later. (Please get the book if you want to read more) Your "addictive" behaviors are not rooted in some deep, dark, shadowy mental maze as they are in Levels 1, 2, and 3.  Rather, they're based on pleasure highs.  Men receive a chemical high from sexually charged images a hormone called epinephrine is secreted into the bloodstream, which locks into the memory whatever stimulus is present at the time of the emotional excitement.  I've counseled men who became emotionally and sexually stimulated just from entertaining thoughts of sexual activity.  A guy dead set on purchasing Hustler at his local 7-Eleven is sexually stimulated long before he even steps into convenience store.  His stimulation began in his thought process, which triggered his nervous system, which secreted epinephrine into the bloodstream.  From my counseling experience, I believe it's often true that those men living at Level 1 or worse have deep psychological problems that will take years to work through.  But relatively few men live there.  Our contention is a vast majority of men stuck in sexual sin are living between Level 0 and Level 1.  We can call this a "fractional addiction" since it represents living at a level that's a fraction between zero and one.

2 Corinthians 12:21
21 I am afraid that when I come again my God will humble me before you, and I will be grieved over many who have sinned earlier and have not repented of the impurity, sexual sin and debauchery in which they have indulged.
Ephesians 5:1-5

 1 Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children 2 and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

3 But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people. 4 Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. 5 For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a person is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.