Worship In Spirit - Walk In The Spirit...

John 4:23-24 But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”
 
At Spiritual Birth - Salvation we have our first Resurrection so to speak. CHRIST gives new life or awakens our Dead Spirit...

To commune with God, to have Fellowship with Him, we must traverse into our new reality with Him. This is not a game, or a worldly social club, Church is the collection of Souls that have come alive in Spirit to do His Work & His bidding in Loving Service to Him and His adopted Family. True Faith & Belief in CHRIST...

John 4:24 God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

Remember this: James 1:26-27 If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one’s religion is useless. Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.

Bridling the tongue of vain, useless babble that has no Spiritual value, or intrinsic value to furthering of His Kingdom... While showing compassion, Love, Charity, long suffering, tender Hearted, forgiveness and the Hand of Fellowship and Restoration to those that seek it when made aware of their offenses to You. Love is NOT a Feeling it is a commitment - lest you think I am in error, Look At The Cross !!!

Dying to one's self is learning Spiritually to remove your "feelings" from the equation while letting God's Spirit become your new reality... So very few are willing to "let go" and walk in The Spirit...

Please - don't get so caught up in this world's life that you lose sight of the Reality of Eternity !!!

Where Are Your Accusers…?

In the Gospel of Christ as written by The Apostle John, we read in the first 12 verses of an ad-hoc trial that the Scribes & Pharisees put on for Christ to trap Him.  What transpired is nothing short of amazing, better described as just simply Awesome.

My vantage point for this piece is thru the amazing Theological eyes of Matthew Henry, and his wonderful commentary on this passage.  From my perspective, a novice man’s opinion, Mr. Henry’s commentary is delightful and exhaustive enough to fill my appetite for academics on the subject, while stirring the Heart with Spiritual food of Christ’s Devine Power in the midst of acutely controlled Strength in the form of Meekness.  Oh to have been there to see and hear our Lord speak with Authority and Compassion in the same breath, wow…

We all know the story.  Scribes & Pharisees marched this woman in before Jesus.  Just as He had spoken to the woman at the well in Chapter 6 of John’s Gospel, here to, He knew as God incarnate that He indeed would see this woman brought to Him as an adulteress.  He knew her Heart.  He knew the accusers Hearts.  Yet He in the composure of The Master, He knelt down and drew in the dirt / sand.  We do not know what he was drawing or writing, but I admire Matthew Henry’s comment on this subject.  “Conscience is God’s deputy in the soul, and one word from him will set it on work, Heb. 4:12.”  I see this moment as a dramatic pause for these Scribes and Pharisees; they must have delighted in His silence as He knelt there.  Then He stood, to them, He stood there as a man they were about to trick or trap into saying something they could condemn Him with.  But after He stood – He spoke, as God’s Son He Spoke, the wisdom of the ages formed as The Word of the moment, timed and exercised perfectly.  “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first”. 

Thump, went the first stone, thud went the next, then, as a bag of marbles spilled out unto the ground, they all dropped their stones.  For He alone, among all the men present that morning – He alone was without sin, He alone was blameless, He alone was pure and clean, The Very Word of God convicted their conscience.  They dropped their stones along with their ability to accuse this woman of anything in light of their own filthy sins.  Christ knew their Hearts.

His Moral Object Lesson was over – right?  No.  He carried on a brief conversation with her to show “us” the Heart of this dear woman; she was in need of a Savior, a Redeemer, and a Champion to rescue her from her own poor and sinful choices.  When she was placed in the presence of This Great Light of the Living Water of Christ, she recognized her sin and saw it as He saw – maybe for the very first time. 

I see Christ looking at her with deep concern, deep compassion for the condition of her Heart, and as He looked upon her, He had already forgiven her in His Dynamic Economy of Time.  For in His Eternity, the Cross was already a finished work, thusly, her sins were forgiven.  Christ died for all sin, Past, Present and Future.  She had been forgiven.  She stood there alone, with The Master still stooped and drawing on the ground.  He knew they were all gone, yet He stood up, looking around as to indicate to her with His body motion / language, they are not here.  Then He spoke to her, “Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?”

Her answer was more than likely offered with a shaky and broken voice, “No One, LORD”…  Ah, acknowledgment of His Lordship, knowing in Her Heart she had just been saved, physically from these corrupt men, and Spiritually by her Lord…

Then the words spoken by our Dear & Precious Lord are the words that those of us that Truly understand the weight and depravity of our sin long to hear…  “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.”  You are no longer condemned to a stoning, no longer condemned to death…  Now go on with your life and SIN  NO  MORE !!!   Folks, this is a call to Obedience of the Word of God in its authority and Sovereign Holy direction for our lives.

Grace – means there is nothing we can do, say or negotiate to win God’s favor, for Christ fulfilled God’s requirement for a death payment for sin.  If we take Christ’s Salvation – we must submit and yield to His Lordship.  1^st Corinthians 6:18 thru 20 - ¹⁸ Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body. ¹⁹ Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? ²⁰ For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.

We are no longer our own – He bought us with His own Life, thus His Word is ours to Obey…

America’s new culture is contradictive to any sort of accountability, thus it teaches our citizens of all walks that we are a group of individuals accountable to no one but ourselves.  “It’s all about Me, what I want, when I want it and where I want it – period”.  Satan’s schemes are all alike, nothing new under the sun.

Choose this this day whom you will serve…  Will you choose God, to which the Blessings are first to be joint aires with His Son in Eternity, and all the riches of Heaven are your reward.  Or…  Choose the ways of the world, believing there is no accountability for living this life apart from God’s Holiness, and in the end discovering you were serving your father the Devil.

The Gospel of Christ as written by The Apostle John

Chapter 8 Verses 2 thru 12

² Now early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people came to Him; and He sat down and taught them.  ³ Then the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in adultery. And when they had set her in the midst, 4 they said to Him, “Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act.  ⁵ Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned. But what do you say?”  ⁶ This they said, testing Him, that they might have something of which to accuse Him. But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, as though He did not hear.

⁷ So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.”  ⁸ And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground.  ⁹ Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last. And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.  ¹⁰ When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, “Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?”

¹¹ She said, “No one, Lord.”   And Jesus said to her, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.”

¹² Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”

Test of Trials...

Sometimes, Our Abba Father allows circumstances to occur in our lives that simply confuse the mind long enough to shake our focus from ourselves.

He allows events and situations to play out in our lives that directs us to reflect on Him and what we truly believe.  It stretches our Hearts to develop a deeper Faith & Trust in Him.  That process strengthens our resolve in Who He Is universally as well as Who He Is in our lives.

We have a choice, to allow these trials of the Spirit to soften our Hearts and strengthen our Faith and Trust in our Mighty King...  Or...  We can choose to let the events and others influence us to "wall up" and become embittered and hard Hearted.  This is the worlds way, take that tooth, require that pound of flesh.

God's way, is to Love, Yield and Submit to His will, His Authority, His Desires for your Heart & Life which is designed to purge the world from you...  The result of the trials and tests of this life, let you standing in His Holy Spirit resembling The Lord Jesus Christ more than this world and this flesh.  Sanctification costs something - It costs you your will, as you learn to lay it down and pick up your cross and carry it with and for Christ.

A word that is nearly hated in today's culture, we must "conform" to the ways and will of God - if He Truly called us out from among the world...  In conforming to His Will and His Spirit, we will then realize His Purpose for the moment and for our lives...  Folks, as my Sunday School Teacher Doug Olson often reminds us - it is "all" about the relationship!

Romans 8:28-30 And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.

Reward / Payday is not always Friday...  When we endure suffering in doing what's right and what is commanded in God's Holy Word - we may not see reward this side of Glory.  The world's ways are not His ways, instant gratification is of this culture - God may take a man's  lifetime to polish him into a shining jewel.  Sometimes Faith is measured in inches of upward progress, but is most always measured in continuance!  KEEP  GOING !!!

Hungry and Hurting - Changed...

I hooked up with an old friend a few months back.  We started spending some time together, and I distinctly noticed this isn't the guy I used to know.

His bold arrogant personality is now quiet, gentle, observant and soft spoken.

Where there was once a constant treat of dry arrogant cynicism, there was now meek words of tender encouragement.

Then one day he floored me...  This once stingy tight wad of a guy and I walked into a local quick serve burger joint.  We stood at the back of the line, and he just quietly watched.  Silently, soberly and slowly scanned over everyone there.

Then he walked past me and all those people, went up to the counter and asked for the manager.  I figured, OK, here we go, my old friend is about to resurface.  

The manager came out, my friend bent over counter and quietly spoke something to the manager...  The manager's face reflected shock and confusion.  Then my friend handed the manager something, he looked down, as he looked back up at my friend, his face reflected a wondrous smile.

My friend then shook his hand walked away from the counter, grabbed my arm and escorted me out the door.

Puzzled, confused and hungry, I asked, is the food bad in there?  No, no he said the food is OK.  Well, I am Hungary I said firmly...  He smiled, and said OK let's go up the road a little ways.

As we sat in the car, I said what gives there?  He then asked me, did you see that guy in there with the beat up coat, and the two little girls with him with the torn coats?  Yeh, I saw them...  Well, he was searching his pockets and counting all his loose change...  They were hungry my friend, very hungry, so Jesus just fed them...

My eyes instantly filled with tears, my heart instantly skipped a few beats and both  joy and hurt filled my emotions to overflowing...

The Joy of seeing the True Christ in this changed man, and his meek selfless act of Christian Charity towards these dear poor folks he has never met, not to mention the witness to the manager.

The hurt was for my own slightly hardened heart towards the physical and Spiritual need that is around us all everyday that goes un-noticed...   Oh we see it, but the culture conditions us to look past it...

True Christianity changes the man from the inside out...  In many folks the change / sanctification is slow and steady.  In others it's an overnight transformation.  The point being, true conversion, true belief, true trust in Christ starts in the Heart and is reflected in the actions & energy provided by the Holy Spirit.

This man's life is changed, he shines the Light of His Savior to those around him in deed and kind words...  He speaks The Truth meekly, but matter of factly.  His focus, no, his Spiritual gaze is Heavenly, while his Hearts work is the suffering and lost in this world.

Christ used this changed man to show me Gods desire to use me in an un-formal ministry to serve others than myself with the gifts and blessings God has freely and Graciously given me...

So, the next time you are in line to eat, or at a gas station, or waiting in a park to get on a ride, and the person attending says, "it's ok Sir / Mam, your fee has been paid in full, go on and enjoy".  Remember Dear Friend, Jesus paid it all, and He touched someone's heart to show you He paid it all on that special occasion...  God still works in the hearts of men, and I am just old enough to remember, the old timers used to call that a miracle...

Matthew 25:40 The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’ 

God Bless,

RC  

God's Best Work - Sometimes Is Best Seen At The End Of Brokeness...

Dear Folks,

It is sometimes at the end of a rough patch that we can look back over our shoulder to see God's hand and work in our life to teach us Great Spiritual Lessons...

When we sometimes fall under the pressure of trials,  we are willing to be humbly broken and submit to His Will, Wisdom and Sculpturing Hand...  He Masterfully works on our perspective through brokenness, which we may not have otherwise been willing to see.  He sees our life in a different economy of time and space, therefore; He as the Eternal vantage point that we do not have.

He knows best, when we learn that, our Faith and Trust become stronger, deeper and more remarkable, we could not have understood this perspective prior to His Work in our lives through Brokenness...   His Truth becomes more clear and all the more dear to our hearts as we emerge from the fire as an instrument to Praise & Glorify Him...  Our Worship is then deeper, shored up by the knowledge of His presence and deliverance in our lives.

While I was not comfortable walking that Valley, I am eternally grateful for Him loving me enough to bring me here via His plan and path...  I will take His path with Him holding me up anytime over the alternative of me walking by myself...  The path I am emerging from still has brought some scarring and wounds that need healed, but I Love my Jesus all the more, next to His wounds and scars, this life is a breeze...  For He endured more than I could even begin to imagine, especially knowing how much He loved me while I was yet immersed in Sin and filthy in His sight.

 

Thank You Abba Father, for sending Him, and Thank You Jesus for your selfless obedience to the Father.  Please Lord let me be ever mindful that on my own, I deserve Hell.  Never let me forget that I stand boldly before You and the Father while wrapped in Your Righteousness and Justified by Your Blood and work and Calvary.  Praise be to God the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost...  Amen...

Have a Great Day - God Bless...

Who is defining Love in your life?

Our nations culture and mind set is being strategically formulated by the likes of Oprah, Doctor Phil, the View and countless other talking heads that spin emotion.

They want you to believe that "Love" is how I made you feel yesterday, today & potentially how I might make you feel tomorrow...

God says, Love Is A Choice!  When HE knew most of us wouldn't Love Him back, He still Loved us and sent His Son to die in our place...  In that single act, God taught us Love, Forgiveness,  Obedience and Selflessness...

In the year 2013, the words Moral and Sin are rarely spoken.  Since we miss the mark in those two area's quite remarkably since the Garden, we needed redemption.  HE  LOVED  US - so He even provided the payment for us....

Love is not how I made you feel yesterday, today or even how I might make you feel tomorrow...  It's the eternal commitment to stand by your side, give all that I have to give and love you when the whole world turns upside down and against you...

By God's standard, that applies to you if you are my parents, my spouse, my children, my friend or a brother on the street...  One of Christ's last commands to us, was "to love one another"...  Not make each other feel all warm and toasty inside, but to Love one another...

Love is not a fleeting feeling, it is a lifetime and eternal commitment...  Loving when there is no sign of reciprocation, takes more faith and returns more joy in Spirit than any gushy emotional feeling...  God heals wounded hearts, He bridges emotional hurts and disconnects.  However; Before that can happen in the human heart, we must first go to the author of Love and submit all of our heart to Him...

Dear friends, the world wants to fill that emptiness in your heart with everything but what you were created for...  We were created to take Joy in Him, to Love Him and to Commune and Walk with Him...  A real meaningful relationship...

Is your heart hurting, are you seeking?  Doesn't it make sense to go to the one that created your heart in the first place?

Meet Him at the foot of the cross, He will tell you personally what real Love is!

God Bless,

RC

Psalm 23

¹  The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.

²  He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.

³  He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

⁴  Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

⁵  Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.

⁶  Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.


Dear Precious Father - Please usher peace, restoreth my soul, keep me on the path through these valleys and I will give you Praise, Honor and Glorify YOUR Name!  Amen...

The Heart Pain of Happy Valley (State College, PA)

Dear Folks,

The events that have unfolded here in my home community, scream loud and true of the fallen world that we live in.  It points also to the depths to which the human heart can fall.

I am currently working on a piece addressing the American Church, and it's version of the "christ".  This issue at PSU just adds credence to some of my conclusions, and validation of Biblical Prophesy.

Tonight, I hope that all my Brothers and Sisters in the Risen Jesus of Nazareth, will pray for these dear children that have fallen victim to an evil and hideous crime.

It is also my prayer, that this community, county, state, and country will soon find the path to revival...  For we have most certainly lost our moral compass, when we began to write the True Christ out of our Churches in this country. 

God Bless those of you praying, may these dear folks find the True Peace through Christs ever loving arms and forgiveness.

Good Night,

RC Hall

Pray...

Let every soul belonging to the God of Abraham, paid for by Jesus of Nazareth, the true Christ, pray for Revival - unlike anything that has been seen to date in this country!

Dear Lord God, revive the hearts of Your people...  Set Your Body of Believers, the Bride of Christ on Fire this very day...

So that everything we say, we do, and we think bring Honor, Glory and Praise to You, in Christ's name we pray...

Amen...

Resurrection Day… This is Your Choice!

From the Word Of GOD, the Story of Salvation...

He rode into town to a Kings welcome and fanfare, the crowd was ecstatic to see Him, they hailed and praised Him. It was a wonderful and glorious scene, they appeared to Love this Man, wanting Him to be their King… My goodness, how the hearts of men and woman can be swayed, for by the end of the week, this wonderful blessed man was beaten bloody, kicked, spat upon and mocked.

It started when a few of unscrupulous men in Religious Power, a group called Pharisees,  the Sanhedrin, decided that this young man’s miracles, good deeds, and love for the people challenged their own influence. They were afraid that this man had a great impact on “multitudes” of people through His preaching and teaching and was gaining great favor with the people. He on more than one occasion called these Pharisees a “brood of vipers”,  “hypocrites” and “serpents”; he called them out as untrustworthy or deceitful leaders in front of the very people they were to lead.

He had sternly, intentionally, and authoritatively overturned tables of moneychangers, and sellers of wares and doves in a court of the religious temple of this town. He recognized the false teachers, corrupt religious leaders, scam artist and evil of all kinds, and called them such. Leaving in His wake, a growing number of unrighteous enemies, all of whom would want to see Him destroyed.

Then, one from His own circle sold his loyalty to the Religious Leaders of this town that feared the power and influence this man was building. So it was settled, His friend would betray Him for 30 pieces of silver. The mode of identification on that fateful night would be that of a “kiss” on the cheek of The One they feared. He was then kidnapped and falsely accused by the Religious Foot Soldiers and taken off to a Religious Council held in the dark of night.

This was a plot, a conspiracy of great proportion and they knew it must be carried out with great precision… For the people truly liked this man, so they decided not to kill him themselves, for this may truly turn the people against them, instead they must influence others to do their dirty deed. For it is told, in Matthew 26:4 of the Holy Scriptures “Then the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders of the people assembled at the palace of the High Priest, who was called Caiaphas, and plotted to take Jesus by trickery and kill Him". This indeed was a plot, and Caiaphas was at the center and knew how to play events to keep above the ripples. The record shows that they had decided not to kill Him “during the feast, lest there be an uproar among the people”. They painted this man as a blasphemer of Almighty God that ultimately deserved death.  Knowing that Rome agreed to honor their Religious Laws, and that blasphemy brought a death sentence, they would use Roman authorities to do their dirty evil deed...

In the Gospel of Matthew we see that when Jesus the Christ was brought to the Sanhedrin, “The Chief Priest, the elders, and the council sought false testimony against Jesus to put Him to death” (26: 59-61), and found several. Jesus’ own words were found sufficient to condemn Him to death. For, in the morning, “...all the chief priests and elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put him to death” (27:1). Later, when Pilate tried to release Jesus, they fervently insisted He had to be crucified, and the angry crowd that was present, as well as the priests, finally prevailed (Luke 23: 23). Based on the scene at hand, our knowledge of the corrupt lengths these men would go to get their way, the angered crowed was probably handpicked.

So it was settled, this wonderful, kind, righteous, holy, perfect man would be destroyed at the hands of the Religious Right of the day. That this man, the TRUE SON of GOD, was to be crucified over the fear of losing power! It is this writer’s belief that Caiaphas carried out this deed with his eyes wide open. His heart was not of GOD! Yet, it is the writer’s belief that He knew this was the Christ, but just as Satan is under the delusion that he will overthrow God’s people – Caiaphas thought He could destroy the Son of God and retain his power and influence over the Jews.

Those of us that claim HIM as our own, and have received the Holy Spirit as His Comforter and guiding influence, know that HE is raised this day - HE  IS  ALIVE !!!  He has conquered both sin and death on our behalf. He now sits at the right hand of Almighty God, our Heavenly Father, poised to stand and come quietly and take His Bride to the Father, for a long awaited Wedding and Feast… For the Church – The Bride of Christ is waiting and watching for His return. For Faith come by Hearing, and Hearing by the WORD of GOD. That FAITH is even a gift of GOD, and He Freely gives it to those He Calls out from among this sin laden world. If you have heard His Voice, the tug on the heart by His Spirit, then separate yourself from the ways of the world. Follow Christ, take up His Cross, and share the Good News with those that are seeking. Time is short, He will soon come to take His own, and there will be no other opportunities. For once He takes His Church away, the age of Grace is over, and all that is left is Judgment and Damnation.

God Is! He Is! He created all that you see; all that you know was formed by Him. Even YOU! The first step to salvation is to recognize GOD! He is Righteous, Holy, Sovereign and all powerful. He as the Creator created man, to walk and commune with Him in the cool of the evening. He gave us free reign over all that He laid before us with one exception. One thing was forbidden, the rest was ours for enjoyment and learning. BUT, an evil one cursed through the ages influenced that first couple in the Garden. The woman was deceived, and her husband, disobeyed the Heavenly Father with his eyes wide open. For he knew it was wrong, and he decided to disobey regardless of the outcome.

God, found them naked in their sins, and cursed the action as well as the earth. At that moment their Spiritual Lives were snuffed out, and while God had designed them to live eternally with Him their physical bodies would now die. Through the ages, God gave the decedents of that first couple numerous opportunities to walk righteous and holy lives, but they continually chose not to. God then sent His Son, this young man named Jesus, the Christ that you read about previously. He came to earth with one simple purpose, to tell of His Heavenly Father, to show the people the path to the Father and Righteousness. For He told them and us, that “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever would believe on Him, would have everlasting life” (John 3:16). That “gave” is the Gift of His Life for ours, a payment for the sin that we on our own are not capable of providing. “For the wages of sin is death (physically and eternally); but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:32). Christ told us, there are not many ways to God, unlike what the world wants you to believe today. There is but one way to God… “For I am the Way, the Truth and the Life, no man cometh unto to the Father but by me” (John 14:6)!

Dear readers – the choice is yours, and it is a choice – that you make voluntarily. Remember one last thing “For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved”. It is God’s will for you to choose Him over the offerings of this corrupt, cruel and dying world. Please make the right choice, before it’s too late!

For the Heart that’s breaking….

Well, it doesn’t take a whole lot of wisdom to realize men and women will fail us. As things work in the world, it is usually when we most need them to be there for us. Regardless of what this mixed up culture wants you to believe, the world is full of self centered, self proclaiming and self deifying people. The culture is stuck in a circular breathing pattern that will eventually suffocate society as we know it. We as a people are so caught up in the mindset of self gratification – at all cost, that we don’t have an inkling of an idea of proper social grace or a genuine sense of community. We can’t get past ourselves or get over ourselves long enough to see the person standing right next to us, let alone our spouses and children.

All of this self indulgence in what I want has created several generations of socially, emotionally and Spiritually lost people. The damage to our soul is so deep that we no longer believe there is a soul to connect to anything beyond the personal experience of our existence. We have elevated man to the heights of deity, there is no other higher power – we are it! So relationships, emotional and spiritual needs are relative to the thought process and circumstances of the moment. The alcohol abuse, drug abuse, sex abuse, child abuse, and a whole host of abuses that we don’t even want to get our minds around are not the symptoms.  It is the results of power hungry people, shoving the people’s rights in our faces until we have become bloated on the sins of the intellectual elite, its all about me and what I can get or take.

The world is FULL of hurting and dying people! The mass media has so seared our senses with these haunting images, talking heads and opinion writers that we gaze at the spectacle with indifference. The sin of it all has mutated our judgment to the point that we have begun to believe the lies, and embellish them with every conceivable vice imaginable to man and non man. Yes, I said it. The demons delight in this world spinning out of control. No longer do the Godly have enough influence in the culture to have a positive impact on its direction. Correction is no longer an option; plead with as many as we can on the way out…  God has turned us over as a nation and a world to the lusts and desires of our own hearts.

However; for that Heart that is breaking, there is still HOPE. Yes, General, in this case HOPE is a method. The intellectual elite have deduced Faith to “comfort for those with an intellectual deficit”. However; the time is fast approaching when those that still believe in the Creator and His True Headship to this world will be revealed from the Spiritual world to the physical world of this Day. For the broken hearted there is Comfort. To the broken hearted there can be peace, and love that filters through every tissue in your body to the very core of your soul. HE IS REAL! God loves every human that ever walked this earth, past – present – and future. This world didn’t happen by chance, it was created by a being that wanted fellowship, companionship, and unconditional love. God created the heavens and the earth for His and our pleasure. Man walked with God in the cool of the evening, living in freedom and peace with only one rule to obey, only one in all creation.

Through the manipulation of a fallen angel, man was deceived and convinced to sin against God, disregarding the one rule that God put before us. This decisive and disobedient act, cause God pain, and forced Him to exercise Judgment and Punitive Action against man. The events from then leading to this present day are the consequences of that action some 7000 years ago. However; don’t be disheartened, God through His Great Love for us provided a way. He created in His Son, a perfect unblemished sacrifice to pay the penalty of our sin. Jesus Christ through His total Obedience to His Father came to the earth to teach us how to live a life that would be right with God. He taught us what attitudes we should have upon taking up our Spiritual Cross and following Christ’s footsteps. At just 33 years of age, He was sold for 30 pieces of silver to a corrupt government at that time by a betraying “friend” – and He was crucified as a completely innocent man. Guilty of NO law, no offense, of no sin – totally and completely blameless. HE Died for you and HE Died for me… Paying a price for prison ransom that we on our own are incapable of paying… Broken hearted, here is your Joy, here is your Peace, and here is your redemption, to be ushered in to an Unconditional Love that starts at the foot of that old Cross.

Jesus Christ is the True and Only son of the True and Living God, and Christ left us with a very important message… There are not many ways to Heaven… There are NO prophets that can pave your way to the afterlife. Jesus Christ said “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life; NO MAN cometh unto the Father, but by ME”… The apostle of Jesus Christ, Paul wrote that “there are none righteous, no, not one”. He also wrote that “all have sinned and come short of the Glory of God”. These two statements qualify the human, for standing before God on our own we all fall short, and are without excuse. Paul also tells us that “the wages of sin is death”, death, separation from God and our loved ones, banished to Hell, a very real, a very painful and a very dark place.

To the broken hearted; I bring you a message of Great Joy… In the Gospel of John, he very eloquently offers us this message. “For God so Loved this world, that He gave His only begotten SON. That whoever believes in Him, Shall NOT Perish, but will have ever lasting life.” For God sent not His Son, into this world to Condemn it, but that through Him and His work on the Cross, this world might be saved! Might you be saved today? Might you see the error of this world and the path that we are on? If you simply acknowledge Him for Who He Is by the Power God gave to Him to be – Lord over all. Upon accepting His gift of Salvation through His redemptive work on the Cross bowing the knee and heart and declaring Him as your own.  You too can have the Joy of knowing Christ will carry your name to the Father.  He will wrap you in His righteousness until that day in which all in Christ will be transformed just as He did.  He put an end to death upon raising up from the depths of that grave.  We shall then cast off these wicked fleshly bodies and forever more walk in the new glorified body with Christ. Yes broken hearted there is One that will Love you unconditionally, that will walk with you your remaining days on this earth, offering comfort, strength and a real relationship. He will never walk away, and He will teach your heart to Truly Love!

His Singular Gift – For All of Humanity…

His Singular Gift – For All of Humanity… I have been pondering this Christmas Blog Post in my heart for over a month now. Coming into this Christmas of 2009, my wife and I have carried a plateful of troubles and worries (losing site of that wonderful chapter John 14). That being said; I had several different messages I thought of bringing to you wonderful folks, yet this is the one He has laid on my heart as a Christmas Gift & Message. Please, forgive this layman's attempt at transcribing such a precious message. By one man, Adam, our complete fellowship with our Heavenly Father was disrupted. A veil between HIS Holiness and our Humanness was introduced through Adam’s choice to go his own way. God’s desire was to receive the unconditional Praise, Worship and Love of HIS creation. It was God’s design for us to walk with HIM in the cool of the evening, to commune as one family. His Love For Us – established before the very foundation of the earth. Adam chose to defy our Precious Father – hence convicting every single generation of his offspring to pain, suffering and death. Both spiritually and physically – death was the ultimate penalty for this transgression. There were several major transactions that took place that day in the Garden, not the least of which was curse of sin. Adam’s race through one simple act of eating of the forbidden fruit was condemned to slavery. Every child of the human race since that day has been born a sinner, born into the bonds of sin slavery, the direct results of a choice to have our will and not God’s. To fully understand the significance of a baby born in Bethlehem 2000+ years ago, you must fully understand the Theology of Creation, and the doctrine of sin. If you don’t understand or believe these things, then this celebrated day of remembrance has no meaning or value to you. The post modern culture that we find ourselves immersed in, simply replaces the True meaning, with symbolism and materialism to fill that emptiness. Truth be told, those things never truly fill the void of not having God present in a man’s heart. Satan has sold the lie to the world quite well, and he is smiling and rolling on the floor laughing in cynical joy for the souls he has destroyed. For the Truth of Christmas is that of a miracle, that a young Jewish girl named Mary was touched by the Holy Spirit of God. The Holy Spirit planted the seed of Truth & Life in this woman that the Christ, the Only Begotten Son of God could come into this fallen world. That a Single Child, one lone being (God incarnate) came into this world on a dark cold night with one purpose – and one purpose only. He came to save the human race from the curse of sin bondage. HE was born of a virgin, walked this earth for 33 years, ministering to common man, the down trodden, the oppressed, the poor, the sick, the needy and the dying. Jesus came to us and corrected our view of the Law by showing us the Heart of God, and announced to the world that He was here to fulfill the law and prophesy of old. He commanded us to LOVE one another, as He loved His Church, to the point of spreading HIS arms wide open, and dying for those that literally nailed HIM to the cross. A SINGLE GIFT OF SACRIFICE – He offered up Himself from his first breath in that manger in Bethlehem, to the last breath He took as He laid down His life on that Cross 33 years later. HE came to this earth with one purpose; to bruise the head of that old serpent with the heel of His foot, saving humanity from the bonds of sin. That Christmas gift of long ago tore the veil that separated us from the Heavenly Father giving us un-tethered access to God. For through accepting His gift (once again a choice we must make), dying to ourself, and yielding to Him we can once again stand before GOD – wrapped in the Love and Righteousness of HIS Son – Jesus Christ, the TRUTH in Christmas! Please, please let me introduce you to this Wonderful man that has called me friend! For yet a little time, HE holds the door of Grace open for those to walk through that heed the call. Don’t spend another Christmas without HIM, don’t be left to a dark empty eternity. Choose Christ, and have a very MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Your Friend,

RC Hall

We Serve Him, not ourselves… ©

Philippians 1:27 Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I will hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel. Philippians 1 is a beautiful compassionate letter by Paul, his love and his concerns for the Church are divinely expressed in his writings. He spoke of conduct, standing firm in “one” spirit, and striving together with “one” mind. In this day and age of the 21st Century, we may find that a real challenge. We are bombarded with so many opinions, books, theories and interpretations that the “Church” is being eaten alive from within as well as from outside the walls. Why is this? Why, after 2000 years have we not learned any better? Are we too, doomed to repeat history, as a corporate Church are we losing sight of Grace? Have we forgotten that the other side of Grace is Judgment? While we that walk in the Spirit, we still walk in this flesh that must weather the natural consequences of sin. When we walk away from Him to serve ourselves, we lose that communion with Him, and the fellowship is broken, and we walk on our own. We must focus on Christ every step of every day. Paul knew the Church of Philippi would suffer if they lost sight of their first love (Christ). He knew they would suffer Spiritual degradation if they became a group of individualists that would not stand firm on His teachings, commandments and principles. He knew they had to “strive” or struggle to pull together in “The Faith”, building one another up, holding each other accountable, developing spiritual inner strength and power in their Faith. He knew that collectively, they were the “Body of Christ” and together could do great things in the Spirit of Christ. Too often we as individuals get comfortable in the ways things have always been, to the point that we try to influence those around us in the Church. Oh, it starts out as innocent little groups or “clicks” that have things in common. Then sometimes it grows to unknowingly sowing seeds of contention or discord among those that don’t quite fit. Then when a ministry or need that should be met is handled in a fashion that doesn’t quite look “like the way things have always been” – the crack starts in the foundation. Influence becomes a tool of power, opinions and desires outweigh Doctrinal Truth and eventually Theology and Christology are thrown out the door, replaced by men’s rules and idea’s – leaving God out in the street. While this was a quick, over dramatization of how things sometimes fall away from the way of the Lord, I think it makes the point. Paul knew! He knew that as soon as we as individuals lose sight of Christ, and our purpose for being here, we start focusing on ourselves and our own wants. He knew that the minute we let even a glimpse of pride get a hold of our hearts, the crack in the foundation starts. We must hold each other’s feet to the fire, a loving, brotherly sense of accountability. We must PRAY for each other, building our Christian brothers and sisters up in the faith. Too often, we are guilty of terrorizing our own (the Church), with bickering, back biting and the likes, over things that really don’t matter in the grand scheme of the Big Plan! We are to seek God’s face, striving to be Christ Like! We are new creatures, not of this flesh; we should have an unquenchable desire to acquire righteousness, to seek Holiness, Spiritual growth, humility and favor with God, not men. The culture leading up to today promised people their own individual identity apart from any group. The culture promoted the individual, in essence telling our youth since the 1940’s that you don’t need to conform to anything. It started in the schools and colleges, it spread to our homes, this cancer made its way into the Church, and then the communities across the world. Now here we are in 2009, and we have Blogs, Facebook, MySpace, and a myriad of other electronic forms to “interface” and “network” with others to find and build a sense of community. People want to ping others of like mind and thought, spirituality is a big topic around the country, and the world. People know there is something more to life, but they have been sold a bill of goods, and are still clinging to the non conformity mentality, they want no part of Christian Principles. Christ said, I am the Way, the Truth and the Life, no one come to the Father, but, by ME! (John 14:6) While the world has many ways they “think” they can use to get to heaven, the TRUE Church knows there is only one way! One Way! The Way! Through acknowledgement of our sinful condition, through repentance of that sin, through accepting Christ’s shed blood on the Cross of Calvary, and the promise of new life through His first fruit and victory over the grave. The one thing we know beyond that which the world knows, is in the end, it’s all about God’s Son! Those that truly walk with Christ every second of every day, have a connection at a deep spiritual level, the vertical relationship with our God through His Son, has provided an intimate “fellowship” with Christ through the Holy Spirit. As Paul knew, and conveyed to the Church of Philippi, if we walk by the Spirit, with one mind with our Christian Brothers and Sisters, and if we strive in one spirit, we will intuitively love one another. There will be No strife, No battles, No fights, No discourse, but there will be Peace and Unconditional Love through the Spirit of Christ. Conducting our relationships in a fashion that is worthy of the Gospel of Christ. We are to stand unified and firm in Christ’s spirit, seeking His will in all that we do, serving one another, and spreading the Gospel to the lost. This very day, you need to call up a brother or sister from your church, tell them that you love them, tell them that you are praying for them, and ask them how you can help them in their walk today. Spiritual Revival starts in the heart of one person at a time, when fueled by His Spirit, and doused in His Love, it will quickly grow from a glimmer to a Fire for Christ! Dear Precious Heavenly Father, we come to You today asking Your help in examining our own hearts Lord. Help us find any un-confessed ill feeling or will towards a Christian Brother or Sister, then Lord forgive that transgression, help us put it behind us and then make that situation right. Dear Jesus, help us find Your will, upon finding Your direction Jesus, help us spread the Love You put in us. Help us spread the Unconditional Love that You so selflessly died to show us. Let that little phone call to a brother or sister spark a spiritual revival in someone else today through our obedience to You. Dear Father, clear our minds and hearts, help us keep our motives pure, clean and Christ centered. In the end Father, it’s all about Your dear Son, Jesus Christ, and it is in His name we pray. Amen.