e4God.com - Jesus is Alive

Conservative, conventional or judgmental theology is NOT FOUND HERE ; )

If you want hair splitting, mind numbing debates about right and wrong, recitations of historical and classical theology, heavy teaching, or proofs about what is God and what is not God….

You will probably need to go to another web space !

This blog is for contemporary Christian publication of authentic issues, news, concerns, meditations, and thought.

C’mon…. Join in!

Sometimes I struggle with my faith. Something I should not do seems good, even feels good.

If I avoid that behavior I am uncomfortable. I want that good feeling. Without it I will be uncomfortable, maybe even miserable… For a season.

But in the end, I will overcome and remove some of the clouds that keep God’s light from reaching my heart and mind. The more of His light I walk in, the more peace and joy I will have. When I overcome, then it is good. I can do more for the Kingdom by bringing more God into the world.

I praise him in the struggle. I praise him in the Dark Night….

Because I know what sweet times await when I can praise him in the light!

All Things Work to Good.  That’s the promise we get from God.

But how it works is a mystery to many - and sometimes it is a mystery to those who know God pretty well.

What I am talking about is how something that looks bad today can turn out good in the long run.

For instance, oil causes pollution and gas prices are choking our economy - but these very costs will drive us to  cleaner, more sustainable energy sources like hydrogen fuel cells.

Now - if God CONTROLLED the world, then you would see a few lightning bolts here or there to “smite the phillistines” in the oil world…  Viola - no oil, and no pollution.  Simple, eh?  Well sort of.  What kind of world would it be where humans had no free will?

Go lets us make our own messes.  This too has value.  By experiencing the result of our choices, we can decide if we want to repeat a behavior.  There are times when the lesson seems obvious to everyone around me, but I still don’t get it…  Hmm….. Even an alcoholic can go far enough into his disease to either kill himself or convince himself that the answer he seeks is not in that behavior.

If God CONTROLLED the world then there would be no choice…  and no consequence for our choices.  Would the world be a better place?  Without choice?  What would that make a human being?  Just another animal?

The coolest part about what God does is share how it works without interfering.

God never violates the freewill of a human.  He gives us his WORD and his Sons and Daughters, and his Angels to teach us…   If we listen, read, heed, we can grow toward Him.

If we go against that which is the created way we break fellowship with God and each other - (sin).  It hangs like a clouds to block the light and joy we might otherwise experience…  But this is not God’s doing.  It is merely the natural consequence of our choice for going against the better way.

Now, just to confuse it all, some of God’s children are occasionally called to work on something from an unusual angle.  It may seem that they are going against the way of God, against the nature of things, and yet they do not have consequences.

“Walking on water” would be a good word picture for this.  If you try to walk on water, you should sink in and get wet - maybe even drown.  But for some useful reason, now and then, God will call and enable a person to do something without paying the normal consequence….  “Walk on water….”  Maybe God just delays the consequence of our action so that the person can avoid the stain of failure?  Or maybe God  wants one follower to walk out to a person who needs a hand getting back because they already fell in?  Maybe God just wants to demonstrate His presence and power?   Why not every person?  Why not do away with water completely if we are all going to start walking on it?  Hmmm…..

In the end, those who know and worship God will find the Good, see the good, and enjoy it. Some will walk on water or perform other miracles that demonstrate the presence and power of God.  Others will follow more simply.  Some will reject God.  Some may not ever see the good in a particular happening.  But then… They may not see the good in a lot of things - through all those clouds that build up around their head and heart.

God desires us to seek, find, worship.  When we do this of our own free will, we can say that all things are God-i-ful.  All things are full of God and work to good.

Does this make sense to you?  Do you walk on water?  Tell!

There is an object lesson that I have done in children’s ministry to illustrate how God uses many things in the course of our lives to develop our character. The object lesson uses a cake mix. Each separate ingredient i.e. eggs, flour, cocoa etc. is offered to a child to taste by itself. Of course the child cringes at even the thought of a raw egg by itself. The lesson goes on to show the kids that the ingredients mixed and measured appropriately turn out to be a delicious chocolate cake. I like to use this same illustration to illustrate the three necessary ingredients that make up successful ministry. Just as in any recipe these ingredients must be used in proper measure. I first received this from the Lord to teach in Singapore where they enjoy acrostics and the first letters of each ingredient begins with “R”. They are being Relevant, Relational and Reverent. I believe you can evaluate any ministry, personal or church, by understanding the balance of all three ingredients. Is my ministry or church relevant to the culture and the people we are called to reach? Are we relational? Do we embrace Christ and embrace others? Does our expression and communication honor (revere) Jesus?

I will continue with the “Three R’s” of ministry on future blogs.

Do you have a story about how Jesus changed your life, your family, or your city? 

Were there miracles?  Healings?  Amazing Transformations?  Maybe it was simple but profound? 

The Stories of Jesus include personal testimonies, news reports, and ministry reports. 

One of our God given goals is to build the world’s largest collection of online testimonies here at www.e4God.com

Another is to help Christians share news reports from a Christian Perspective.  The media giants spin their stories and spin public perception until you would think that all news was bad news.  Services like ours can help you report local news from a Christian Perspective. 

Finally, we want to help ministries and missionaries report their news.

C’mon…  Tell me the stories of Jesus.  He is Alive and Well.  Tell the World!

When people say they talk to God, do they mean the same God that I mean when I say God?

I worship the God of the Christian Bible.  This Creator God is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  This one God is the Lord of Hosts and King of Kings.  He is I AM.  He is Alpha and Omega.  He is so Holy that He cannot look on sin.  If the goodness of life is broken by an act that harms ourselves or another, then it is His nature that this must be stopped, even if the only way to stop it is to apply the death penalty to the sinner.

The wages of sin is death, but the Gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus.  And then there is that little bit.  Somebody has to die to pay for my sins.

Jesus was the son of God, and even God Himself in human form.  Born of a virgin, He walked the earth, lived a perfect life without sin, taught, healed.  Naturally this attracted a following.  The leaders of his Day were jealous and thought to kill Jesus to preserve their power and control over the common man.  Jesus accepted this undeserved death, in order to take the punishment that was called for in God’s perfect law.  In this way, his innocent life was substituted for mine.  In this way, a Holy Law was satisfied.  The wages of sin are death - but the gift of God is eternal life.  It is Done.  The crime can be forgotten.  Jesus was killed for threatening the established religious and political leaders of His day.  His work threatened our enemy the Devil as well.  Jesus did not deserve to die but his death made me free from God’s judgment and from Satan’s power.

If I believe then I am free from the slavery of sin and death.  I am not trapped by mistakes.  I am not held down by my past.  This freedom is the new life.  i want to celebrate this freedom and share it with others.  Through Him, I worship, and make disciples.  Because of Him I carry the keys to the kingdom and have power to restrain evil and reward good.

God not only sits in the heavens, far away, but He is active and present in this world.

He loves us so much he gives his Sons over to it to teach, heal, practice forgiveness, even die that others might live.  He weeps over the condition of the world and the condition of those who do not know Him.  He saves our tears in a bottle.  He provides a WAY for us to become TRUTH AND LIGHT to others.

I am an adopted son of God.  Raised from the death I deserve for my sins, by the same power that raised Christ from the dead.  Given new life and special powers through the Holy Spirit, I live to teach, heal, practice forgiveness, even suffer and die that others might live.  I weep over the condition of the world and the condition of those who do not know Him.  I cherish the repentance of those who come to know Christ.  I receive the power of the Holy Spirit to do things mere mortals cannot.  Because of Him, I am.

Is this your God?

Christians should……

Christians shouldn’t….

What about smoking and drinking?

Are these serious problems, or will they fold as meaningless criticisms the same way card playing, dancing, or mixed gender swimming once did?

Christian Blogs at e4God.com exist to shine a light in the world.

Books are good, and the Bible is wonderful, but chances are there is somebody near you in your life now that is “Reading” your life and your daily actions.  Is there a story there that points toward God?

Each of us is a light that may attract others to the Lord of All. How we “shine” is through the story of our lives. Our testimony is our story of how God works.

Do you have a story to tell that reveals how God works?  Share!

The Church is alive in America, but is it well?

Small churches die.  Large churches get larger.  Many people attend and worship and feel good.

But is the world being transformed?  Or is it teaching for itching ears?

Is the church relevant in our world?  Well?  Is it relevant in yours?

Let’s hear about it.

The older I get, the less I know.  I don’t know much for sure, but I know this.

Jesus is alive!  He walks the earth today, alive in me, and alive for you.

If you believe in your heart and profess with your mouth then He is alive in you as well.

Jesus is teaching, loving, saving, leading, discipling, reigning at the right hand of the Father and inviting us to continue his work.  On my best days, I am Christ, The Way, The Truth, and The Light - for somebody, for at least a few precious moments.

What about you? Can you walk on water? Can you overcome things that would drown a mere mortal?

Can you heal the Sick? Do the spirits obey you? Are you a believer who is ALIVE?

Believers are transformed by the Spirit to do greater things than Christ did when he walked the earth 2000 years ago. This is not a faith for the timid. We are to be BOLD and DO EXPLOITS.

Do you have a story about how Christ saved you from a living hell and gave you a new life? What do you do with this new life? Please use this Blog to share your story to inspire others!