To Be Least

      Lord, on this day I thank those who have fallen to preserve our freedom in this country. They have paid a huge sacrifice, they gave up their life for their country. I also pray for those who are in combat today, those who are fighting in Iraq and other parts of the world. It is because of them we are allowed to congregate in churches today, to read the Bible, and allowed tell others of the truth. The truth that your Son, Jesus, is the Savior and Christ. In the name of Jesus , amen.

      I have been thinking about the church a lot recently. Obviously there are many different denominations of Christian churches and there is the emergent church movement (which I found of through other blogs). If you have surfed the Christian blogs for a while you have realized that many of the blogs are run by people active in the "emergent church."
      From what I have read, it appears that these Christians want to redefine what "church" exactly is. Recently, tallskinnykiwi linked to Reinhold's Journey where there was a post talking about "churchless Christians." This post caught my attention and I began to read it. I came across a definition of Reinhold's (if that is indeed his name). The definition was of the church and read "the ever changing form of God`s mission into the world." He goes on to talk about how "church is - and has to be - a reflection of the way people live and relate to each other." So, obviously, he is talking about the physical building, the physical congregation as being the church.
      While their is nothing wrong with that, the church can be much more simply put. It does not have to be formed, and it does not have to be changed. It has existed since the follower's of Christ in Jerusalem received the Holy Spirit.
      So what exactly is the church? The church is the bride of Christ. "For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior." (Ephesians 5:23) Thus, the church is not just a congregation of people, it is a congregation of Christians. If a group of people call themselves a church, but do not have the Holy Spirit within them they are not a church.
      Further more, a church can not operate with it's members scattered and "churchless." We are told that the church is a body. Each person has gifts given by the Holy Spirit, which are meant to function together. What good is the gift of speaking in tongues, if there is no one who has the gift of interpretation of tongues.

¹²The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. ¹³For we were all baptized by^[3] one Spirit into one body--whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free--and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.

¹⁴Now the body is not made up of one part but of many. ¹⁵If the foot should say, "Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. ¹⁶And if the ear should say, "Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. ¹⁷If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? ¹⁸But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. ¹⁹If they were all one part, where would the body be? ²⁰As it is, there are many parts, but one body.

²¹The eye cannot say to the hand, "I don't need you!" And the head cannot say to the feet, "I don't need you!" ²²On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, ²³and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, ²⁴while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, ²⁵so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. ²⁶If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.

²⁷Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. (1 Corinthians 12)

      The church is a body. Although the church is not a building, it is necessary for there to be congregating of some sort. The place is of no importance, whether it be in a cathedral or a basement. The church needs to be in unity as a body, and it can not do so with Christians who are wandering around without being a part of the body.
      I got to go to bed now, but if you have anything to add please do so. I have not had the time to complete my thought. May the grace of the Lord be with God's people.

      We cannot love this earth and follow Christ. We are commanded not conform to the patterns of this world. If a man loves anything more then Jesus, he cannot be a follower of Jesus.

- If we love our family more then him we cannot follow him.

³⁷"Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; ³⁸and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. (Matthew 10)

- If we love our money more than him we are not his followers.

You cannot serve both God and Money. (Matthew 6:24)

- We cannot love our earthly possessions more then him.

²¹Jesus answered, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." (Matthew 19)

      I could go on, but I am sure you get the idea. We cannot be love this world and Jesus. Instead of being strangers in this world, the church sometimes is conforming to world. As Christians, things of this earth should never take precedent over things of God. We cannot serve other gods. These gods could be ourselves, money, our possessions, ect. It is a sin to have any other gods before the true God. We cannot follow both our sin and Jesus.

"You shall have no other gods before me." (Exodus 20:3)

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My mother discusses her journey of re-evaluating the teaching with which she was brought up with.

      I ran across this picture the other day and this brought this verse from the Bible to mind:

I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. (Romans 1:16)

      Too often we as Christians, me included, are not bold enough about what we know is true. We do not follow the Holy Spirit's leading because we are afraid of what others might think of us. There are many different excuses that we can invent to justify our behavior, but the truth is plain. We must not be ashamed of the gospel. Do you think that someone is going to believe you if you are sheepishly telling them about Christ?

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Over at Blogging Truth, my mother wrote an excellent post about "Re-evaluating Your Christian Presuppositions," check it out.

God bless.

      Too often I think that people have the false perception that once you become a Christian life will become easier. Somehow, they get into their minds that they will not have to experience hardships that everyone in their life eventually faces.

      All one has to do is to begin to read the book of Acts. The early church was persecuted, many killed for their faith in Jesus. Many of the New Testament books were written by the apostles when they were in prison. However, they were not complaining or grumbling about how hard their life was.

      In fact they did the opposite. When Saul began to destroy the church in Jerusalem, and scattered the believers, they began to preach the gospel wherever they went. A common perception is that once a bad thing happens to them, it means that God has abandoned them. Yet, despite the horrible things being done to the physical church, the people just continued to preach and proclaim the good news. Rather then doubting God's presence they continued to do his will.

      Later, when Peter and some of the other apostles were placed in prison and were released later, they rejoiced because they were counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name.

On another occasion Paul and Silas were experiencing some hard times, yet read how they responded to it.

²³After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully. ²⁴Upon receiving such orders, he put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.

²⁵About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. (Acts 16:23-25)

      They remained faithful, they prayed, and they sang hymns. This, I am sure, was unusual behavior for prisoners who were flogged and placed in stocks. Did they think that God had left them? No they did not. I will end this post with this verse from Romans. God bless.

Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. (Romans 5:2-4)

I posted this yesterday,

      My mother has caught the blogging bug. The link to her site, Blogging Truth, is mblog/blogging_truth. She and my father have seven children, of which I am the oldest, but her real passion is studying scripture and knowing God's truth. It is worth your time, so check it out and give her a big welcome to the blogging world.

Later.

      However, I soon learned that the servers that hosted Blogging Truth went down for repairs. Also when the servers were online again, the posts were not the real posts and were simply "test" posts from before. So please check her blog out now that everything is up and running and is fixed.

      My mother has caught the blogging bug. The link to her site, Blogging Truth, is mblog/blogging_truth. She and my father have seven children, of which I am the oldest, but her real passion is studying scripture and knowing God's truth. It is worth your time, so check it out and give her a big welcome to the blogging world.

Later.

I was reading in 1 John when I came across this verse.

¹⁶If anyone sees his brother commit a sin that does not lead to death, he should pray and God will give him life. I refer to those whose sin does not lead to death. There is a sin that leads to death. I am not saying that he should pray about that. ¹⁷All wrongdoing is sin, and there is sin that does not lead to death. (1 John 5)

     This verse puzzled me in all honesty. "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 6:23) Obviously, the result of sin and leading a sinful life is death. I realize that God's word is without error, and so I was wondering what you, the reader, thought this verse was talking about and anything else that could help understand this verse. Thanks and God bless.

      I was thinking about what it means to be a lukewarm Christian during the night and this thought came to me.

15I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! 16So, because you are lukewarm--neither hot nor cold--I am about to spit you out of my mouth.

      The first thing that comes to mind when I think of a Christian that is not "hot" is this. They are not growing in the Lord. Then when I read this verse it seems to me that deeds have something to do with there present condition if you will. Apart from God we cannot grow in our walk with Christ. We can not be in fellowship with God, with Jesus, if we are walking in darkness. We "lie" to ourselves if we think we can be walking in darkness and have
"fellowship with him."
      Another thing that brings to mind is a lack of love and fervor for the Lord. God tells us in his word that if we love him, we will obey what he commands.
      Why would God want to spit out Christians that are lukewarm? "The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire." (Luke 3:9) "You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men." (Matthew 5:13)
      Many people on this earth claim to be Christians, the say that they love God and Jesus. Yet they continue to walk in the darkness, in sin. Will the grace of God continue to pour out on those who are not truly repentant? Surely not, God knows our heart and he will not be mocked. However, if we come to him in true repentance seeking forgiveness for our sins, and do so with a pure heart, Jesus will forgive us.

⁴The man who says, "I know him," but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. ⁵But if anyone obeys his word, God's love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: ⁶Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did. (1 John 2)

Tim, my friend and classmate, brought up the issue of lukewarm Christians in his recent comment. He stated that:

This is exactly what I mean when I say lukewarm Christians...They do not deny God, but rather, they deny his teachings and principles.

I read this and decided to add to this statement:

Tim, the Bible talks about lukewarm christians.

"So, because you are lukewarm–neither hot nor cold–I am about to spit you out of my mouth." (Revelations 3:16)

However, the difference between a "hot" Christian and a "lukewarm" Christian is not whether they acknowledge his teachings and principles. It is that they know them, but do not apply them.

They are like that "salt" that loses its saltiness and thus needs to be thrown away. [Matthew 5:13] They are like the branches of the vine that do not bear good fruit. Because the do not bear good fruit God cuts them from the vine. [John 15:1-2]

God bless.

After reading what I wrote for my comment, I have remembered this verse:

²²Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. ²³Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror ²⁴and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. (James 1)

      When you look in the mirror the purpose is to see what you look like. Now, if you look in a mirror, and once you step away from it you forgot what you looked like, looking in the mirror was completely pointless. In the same way, a Christian that reads the Bible yet does not do what it says is doing something completely pointless. We are to do what it says. Perhaps a "lukewarm" Christian does exactly this.

Does anyone else have any thoughts on what it means to be a lukewarm Christian?

¹My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense--Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. ²He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world. (1 John 2)

      In one of my previous posts I wrote about living in the light or darkness. If we say we have fellowship with God, but are living a life of sin, or darkness, we are essentially lying to ourselves and we are not saved.
      However, thanks be to God who will forgive us of our sins if we do sin. That is what this verse is talking about. Even though we are commanded not to sin, we are not perfect and thus we do sin from time to time. When this happens we must repent, or turn away from our sins, and ask for forgiveness from our Savior Jesus Christ.
      However, forgiveness can be easily twisted. When we repent, we are turning away from our sin. If we repent and immediately return to our sin, did we truly repent from our sin? "Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked."(Galatians 6:7) "I preached that they should repent and turn to God and prove their repentance by their deeds." (Acts 26:20)
      In the same way that God forgives us, we are to forgive others. "For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins." (Matthew 6:14-15)
      We are to walk in obedience, but if we do sin we can ask for forgiveness and he will forgive us our sins. Glory be to God.

⁵This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. ⁶If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. ⁷But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. (1 John 1)

      Recently I mentioned this concept. However, what I did not realize was that God's word talked about it very clearly. What is this that I refer to?
      We as Christians must "walk in the light." What does this mean, how can we as Christians walk in the light? This is a simple analogy that is used to describe whether we are living a life of sin or righteousness.
      The book of Ephesians in chapter five talks about this quite plainly. "⁸For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light ⁹(for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) ¹⁰and find out what pleases the Lord. ¹¹Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them."
      Every time I go to church or even the public school, I see teenagers who claim to be Christian. However, when I hear this I am shocked. I had never ever guessed they were Christian by simply how they treated me and others every day. They use course language, are filled with lust, lie, and think nothing of it.
      What this passage in 1 John says is this, if we say that we are Christian and that we have fellowship with Him, yet even still we are living a life of blatant sin, we are lying to ourselves and we do not have the truth.
      Whenever I decide to write my next post, I will go into greater detail of how we as Christians can walk in the light. Until then, may the grace of the Lord Jesus be with God's people.

      The glory of God. The thunder resounds and sky illuminates. God seems to have opened up the floodgates here in Illinois. As I was sitting at our computer watching the dark clouds move past our office window I could not help but think of the day that Jesus will return.

²⁹"Immediately after the distress of those days
   " 'the sun will be darkened,
       and the moon will not give its light;
   the stars will fall from the sky,
       and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.'

³⁰"At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. ³¹And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.

³²"Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. ³³Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door. ³⁴I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. ³⁵Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. (Matthew 24)

      Just as Jesus left this earth in the clouds, he will also return to this earth in the clouds. (Acts 1:11) The disciples thought that Jesus would come in their lifetime. However, Jesus himself taught that no man knows the hour or day when he will return. If it is in my lifetime, I do not know. But this I do know, that when he does return it he will do so with glory and power. Until he comes, we are to fulfill what he commanded before he ascended into the clouds. "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in[1] the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you." (Matthew 28:19-20)

May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.

      The world rejects and hates Christianity because it teaches the truth. They know that Christians teach that we are all sinners. This sin results in death, because of this we need Jesus, the Son of God, who died and rose again to pay for our sins. They are not willing to accept that they are sinners, for they love their sinful life.

      Many times people cannot except the fact that all the other nice people will not enter heaven. What if they never heard the gospel they say. All I can say to that is that God is a just God. Not only that but Jesus said those who knock the door will be opened to them, and those who seek will find. When Thomas asked Jesus how they will know the way, "Jesus answered, 'I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.'" (John 14:6)

      I will talk more on the questions sceptics of the faith have, but I will do so in the future posts. God bless.

Here is a good tool for witnessing. [Here]

      For the first time today I entered the "Church of Fools." After wandering around a bit I entered the crypt where I started chatting with others. It did not take long before I discoved, much to my astonishment that the majority of people did not believe that Jesus was the Christ, the Messiah and God. There was one individual there who was a Reverend from the "Universal Life Church." Upon questioning I realized that he thought that some parts of scripture were true while others were not. Further more he did not believe the Jesus is God. Anyhow I told him the truth. How God sent his Son, Jesus, to this earth to pay for his sins, and how we can have eternal life.

      Despite the fact that it was lacking in true Christians, I did have a chance to spread the gospel. Check it out, tell me what you think.

P.S. I searched for this Universal Life Chruch and realized that one could become a minister there in three minutes. Further more, "The Universal Life Church will not stand between you and your God and recognizes that each person must choose his or her own path. Each person in the ULC is free to follow any path as long as it does not infringe on the rights of others." I could be wrong but I think that this "church" is not Christian.

⁹Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. ¹⁰Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. ¹¹Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. ¹²Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. ¹³Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality.

¹⁴Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. ¹⁵Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. ¹⁶Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.

¹⁷Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. ¹⁸If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. ¹⁹Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the Lord. (Romans 12)

      These verses are very straight forward. We are to hate evil, love each other, serve others, share, and be hospitable. It goes on, we are to bless those who persecute us, be humble, and not conceited. When someone does us wrong, do not respond by doing them wrong, for it is God's to revenge.
      We are to be witnesses on this earth, we are to be the light. How can we do this if we, ourselves, are full of darkness. If we are to be witnesses to the truth, we must also live according to the truth.
      In the same way, if how can we teach and offer biblical advice to our brothers and sisters in Christ if we are not walking in obedience. As Jesus taught, "How can you say to your brother, 'Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,' when you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye." (Luke 6:42)

"But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do." (1 Peter 1:15)

Jesus said to him, "Away from me, Satan! For it is written: 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.'(Matthew 4:10)

What does it mean to worship God?

⁷ All who see me mock me;
they hurl insults, shaking their heads:
⁸ "He trusts in the LORD ;
let the LORD rescue him.
Let him deliver him,
since he delights in him." (Psalm 22)

Some trust in chariots and some in horses,
but we trust in the name of the LORD our God. (Psalm 20:7)

      This verse brings in mind David. He was the youngest of all his brothers, and was a shepherd boy. When the Philistines want to war with the Israelites, a giant by the name of Goliath challenged the Israelite army. "⁸Goliath stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel, "Why do you come out and line up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and are you not the servants of Saul? Choose a man and have him come down to me. ⁹If he is able to fight and kill me, we will become your subjects; but if I overcome him and kill him, you will become our subjects and serve us." (1 Samuel 17)
      When David was sent by his father to bring provisions to his older brothers who were in Israel's army, he saw this giant and how frightened the Israelites had become of him. Then this young boy is brought to Saul. David asks him to fight Goliath and Saul offers him his armor to go fight. However, David takes only a few stones and his sling and approaches Goliath.
      Goliath cursed David and David replies, "You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. ⁴⁶This day the LORD will hand you over to me, and I'll strike you down and cut off your head. Today I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. ⁴⁷All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves; for the battle is the LORD's, and he will give all of you into our hands." (1 Samuel 17) Then taking his sling David slew him with a single stone.
      The thing that amazes me was David's trust in God. He put his life at risk because of his faith in the Lord, that he would hand over Goliath to the Israelites. Instead of trusting Saul's armor, he trusted the Lord. Rather relying on himself, David relied on the Lord. How often do we rely on ourselves when we should rely on God, the creator of this universe?

If you haven't noticed I have just finished this design. Instead of all the links, email and ect. of being on one page I have now created more pages.

Tell me what you think. God bless.

¹⁰A wife of noble character who can find?
She is worth far more than rubies.
¹¹ Her husband has full confidence in her
and lacks nothing of value.
¹² She brings him good, not harm,
all the days of her life.
¹³ She selects wool and flax
and works with eager hands.
¹⁴ She is like the merchant ships,
bringing her food from afar.
¹⁵ She gets up while it is still dark;
she provides food for her family
and portions for her servant girls.
¹⁶ She considers a field and buys it;
out of her earnings she plants a vineyard.
¹⁷ She sets about her work vigorously;
her arms are strong for her tasks.
¹⁸ She sees that her trading is profitable,
and her lamp does not go out at night.
¹⁹ In her hand she holds the distaff
and grasps the spindle with her fingers.
²⁰ She opens her arms to the poor
and extends her hands to the needy.
²¹ When it snows, she has no fear for her household;
for all of them are clothed in scarlet.
²² She makes coverings for her bed;
she is clothed in fine linen and purple.
²³ Her husband is respected at the city gate,
where he takes his seat among the elders of the land.
²⁴ She makes linen garments and sells them,
and supplies the merchants with sashes.
²⁵ She is clothed with strength and dignity;
she can laugh at the days to come.
²⁶ She speaks with wisdom,
and faithful instruction is on her tongue.
²⁷ She watches over the affairs of her household
and does not eat the bread of idleness.
²⁸ Her children arise and call her blessed;
her husband also, and he praises her:
²⁹ "Many women do noble things,
but you surpass them all."
³⁰ Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;
but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.
³¹ Give her the reward she has earned,
and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.

I thank God for all the mothers out there. God bless them.

⁶He said to me: "It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life. ⁷He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God and he will be my son. 8But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars--their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death." (Rev. 21)

      In order to drink "from the spring of the water of life" we must overcome. What are we to overcome exactly? This brought me to this passage in 1 John 5.

¹Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well. ²This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands. ³This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, ⁴for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. ⁵Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.

      This seemed very clear to me. We as Christians believe that Jesus is God, and we love God. "This is love for God: to obey his commands." (v. 3) So everyone who loves God overcomes this world because they obey his commands. We have "overcome evil with good" (Romans 12:21).

He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God. (Rev. 2:7)

He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes will not be hurt at all by the second death. (Rev. 2:11)

He who overcomes will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out his name from the book of life, but will acknowledge his name before my Father and his angels. (Rev. 3:5)

      It is very clear. We as Christians must overcome this world, we must overcome sin. We must not be slaves to sin, we become slaves to righteousness [more]. If we overcome this world we will not be hurt by the second death, he will eat from the tree of life. However, all the "cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars--their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur."

      On my last post (It's been a while) a man by the name of "Bobber" commented on Christianity and the Bible.

It is always a sad matter to read bible obsessed christians. IS god in a book? Ask yourself that question once slowly....you may discover (I hope) that god is bigger than a book. That is where you well intentioned christians fail....you are nothing but book readers....

      To begin with I would agree that God is not a book. The reason why thousands of Christians read the Bible is because it is God's Word to us. It is the truth and "the truth will set you free" (John 8:32). Bobber thought that Christians are "bible obsessed christians." While it is true that Christians should be reading the Word of God or the Bible, we are to do more than that. We are to actually to apply what we read.

²²Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. ²³Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror ²⁴and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. (James 1)

      So according to this text we are to obey what we read in the Bible. Yes, we may be Bible obsessed Christians, but every Christian also applies what they read. "Do what it says" (v. 22) If any man who claims to be Christian reads the Bible and does not do what it says, I would doubt the validity of their relationship with Jesus Christ. John 14:15 states that, "If you love me, you will obey what I command."
      To be a true Christian means more then reading the Bible. It means actually doing what it says. Later.

²⁴Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. ²⁵For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. ²⁶What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? (Matthew 16)

³⁵Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, "If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all." (Mark 9)

      Jesus was a perfect example of what he taught, he put himself as the least among all, thus he was the greatest. In this world the majority of people care only for themselves, they only want to serve themselves. For them, it would be unthinkable to serve others. We are to serve others, place ourselves last. We are to follow the example of Jesus Christ our Lord.

¹³"You call me 'Teacher' and 'Lord,' and rightly so, for that is what I am. ¹⁴Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet. ¹⁵I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. (John 13)