Wow! It's been a long time since writing. For much of this blog I have written on the neccesity to put God first. I have pounded my fists into thin air at the complete lack of devotion to God and "respect" to God. And I have talked much about the assurance of one's salvation. But, I thought it neccessary to speak a little about God's love. Now we all know that most of the time when the attribute of God's love is discussed, it is discussed in context with Jesus. I have started to find this amazing. I say this rhetorically. It is true that Jesus' actions were an excellent expression of God's love, His love, but I do not believe the Bible makes them the only expression of His love.

In Hosea, God speaks after his profession of judgement on Israel, "I will heal their apostasy; I will love them freely, for my anger has turned from them." What? God will love them freely? His anger has turned from them? Wait, wait, wait! I thought Jesus only said these sort of things. Proverbs 17:15 says, "whoever justifies the wicked is an abomination." So, how could God "freely" justify the wicked. Oh, did you see what I said, "freely" justify them. But that isn't what happened. Someone had to pay the price of the wickedness in the world. Justification wasn't free. It was offered to us, but on one condition, Jesus' death. Again, justification wasn't free, but God's "love" was. It existed before Christ came, before the promise, and even before the foundations of the world. But this is why the Old Testament is soooo important. It reminds us of God's judgement. It is interesting to note that every Old Testament prophet has two things in common. They speak of judgement, and they speak of reconciliation. Did God's love manifest itself when Christ came? No! The fact that God's love existed, manifested itself in Christ. If God had chosen to manifest himself through anything, we would know the same kind of love. For example: If I go to the store to buy my wife a gift certificate from Target, but come back with a dozen roses, does she care? Unless she really wanted that new dish set, of course not. Honestly, I would have probably made the better choice. But, love wasn't in what was purchased. To say it was even in the act, is wrong. Love was the reason for both the action and the purchase. It existed already. This is the reason for Christ. To express the love God had for us already, before we had either sinned or not sinned. That's when he loved us.

I Will Not Be Ashamed!

I am not ashamed of the Gospel!
I am not ashamed of the Gospel!
I am not ashamed of the Gospel!
I am not ashamed of the Gospel!
I am not ashamed of the Gospel!

All who are ashamed of the Gospel are ashamed of God. All who are ashamed of the Gospel show that they truly don't believe. All who are ashamed of the Gospel will find every excuse and reason to accept the "world". All who are ashamed of the Gospel will believe every lie of the devil. All who are ashamed of the Gospel will find every justification for their sin. All who are ashamed of the Gospel are enemies of God!!!

All who are ashamed of God are ashamed of the Gospel. All who don't believe are ashamed of the Gospel. All who find acceptance and love in the world (that is all who lean on the wisdom of man, for fear of what man thinks) is ashamed of the Gospel. All who believe in lies are ashamed of the Gospel. All who justify their sins are ashamed of the Gospel. All enemies of God are ashamed of the Gospel (and don't want anything to do with God regardless of whether they call themselves "saved" or not).

Family Update

Hello everyone. I haven't posted in a week or two. Sorry, I have been busy. Leah and I found out that she is pregnant. What a joy! How exciting is God's love for us. For a long time we didn't know whether or not we wanted any more kids. And honestly, we've put our trust in God with the issue. He obviously sees us as having more. The Bible says that God's favor is on the woman who conceives; so Leah is truly blessed. I hope that everyone will share the excitement. Anyways, with school and with family, I have found it more difficult to find the time to write on the blog. God bless everyone, and remember that it means nothing to simply call him by name. We must submit our selves to him also.

There are two parts to God's work of Salvation: The call to accept Christ and The call to "Follow" Christ.

Unfortunately, the modern leaders have, for the most part, only focused on the first. The first part is an acceptance on who Jesus is, mainly His diety, his death and resurrection, and his Kingship at the right hand of God. But accepting this truth is not "Following" Christ. It is the first step in God's work of regeneration, not the sum of all steps.

The Bible declares that, "You believe in God, and that He is one; good for you! But even the demons believe and tremble." (James 2:19) The demons were there when the cross was staked, when the earth quaked, and He rose from the death of God's wrath to eternal life and Kingship. They know that He's God, but it does not save them. Because, although the accept the truth of all they have witnessed, they still refuse to accept His authority over their lives.

Therefore, if the first step if God's saving work is to accept His diety and sacrafice for sins, then the second step is to accept His authority! This word, authority, carries all implication of Lordship. It denotes the manner in which He reigns and we serve. It is the call to "Follow" Him wherever he goes or asks us to go.

The problem is that the watchmen aren't warning people. I was warned and I heeded the call. Others too have been warned and turned to following Jesus (not in words, but in actions). Yet, many people have been left abandoned on the first step. They've been fooled into thinking "that's it." They've never been told about the call to "Follow" Christ. This is the fault of the pacifist believers, who are too afraid to confront the truth. As brothers who have learned, we are to warn the those who have not yet been called to "Follow". Sure they have accepted the diety of Christ, that is one thing, but following is an entirely different thing. "Then Jesus told his disciples, 'If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me." (Matt 16:24) We can't just take up our crosses, that is only part of the call. We are to take up our crosses and Follow. This may look different in every believer, but the common theme is a denial of self-interest and a reverence for God's command. James makes his own view of this clear in his epistle, when he state, "pure and undefiled religion is this, to take care of widows and orphans in their need, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world."

We, as a body, need to be careful of our own proclamated love for God, or anybody elses. Because Christ makes it clear that a love for Him is followed by obedience to Him. If there is no obedience then the person's love is a lie. "Whoever says 'I know Him' but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, but whoever keeps His word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may be sure that we are in Him." (James 2:4-5) and Solomon says, "Many a man proclaims his own steadfast love, but who can find a faithful man? The righteous who walks in His integrity." (Proverbs 20:6) Christ says that a man's heart is deceptive and full of wickedness. So, who can trust the proclomated love of a professing believer (ours or anyones) without the obedience of His command. Jesus says, "This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men." (Matt 15:8)

Obedience is better than sacrafice! This is how we know our assurance, that we run the race. If we love the world even a little we prove that we either must repent of such love, or do not love the lord, since we cannot serve both God and Mammon.

Our We Prostitutes With The Gospel?

"And as for you birth, on the day you were born your cord was not cut, nor were youwashed with water to cleanse you, nor rubbed with salt, nor wrapped in swaddling cloths. No eye pitied you, to do any of these things to you out of compassion for you, but you were cast out on the open field, for you were abhorred, on the day that you were born.

And when I passed by you and saw you wallowing in your blood, I said to you in your blood, 'Live!' I said to you in your blood 'Live!' (this is repeated) I made you flourish like a plant of the field. And you grew up and became tall and arrived at full adornment. Your breasts were formed , and your hair had grown; yet you were naked and bare.

When I passed by you again and saw you, behold, you were at the age for love, and I spread the corner of my garment over you (the garment of his veil which fills the temple) and covered your nakedness; I made my vow to you and entered into a covenant with you, declares the Lord God, and you became my bride. Then I bathed you with water and washed off your blood from you and anointed you with oil. I clothed you also with embroidered cloth and shod you with fine leather. I wrapped you in fine linen and covered you with silk. And I adorned you with ornaments and put bracelets on your wristst and a chain on your neck. And I put a ring on your nose and earrings in your ears and a beautiful crown on your head. THus you were adorned with my gold and silver, and your clothing was of fine linen and silk and embroidered cloth. You ate fine flour and honey and oil. You grew exceedingly beautiful and advanced to royalty. And your renown went forth among the nations because of your beauty, for it was perfect through the splendor athat I had bestowed on you, declares the Lord God.

But you trusted in your beauty and played the the whore because of your renown and lavished your whorings on any passerby; your beauty became his. You took some of your garments and made for yourself colorful shrines, and on them played the whore. The like has never been, nor ever shall be. You also took your beautiful jewels of my gold and of my silver, which I had given you, and made for yourself images of men, and with them played the whore. And you took your embroidered garments to cover them, and set my oil an dmy incense before them.

Also my bread that I gave you, I fed you with fine flour and oil and honey, you set befor them for a pleasing aroma; and so it was, declares the Lord God. And you took your sons and your daughters, whom you had borne to me, and these you sacrificed to them to be devoured. Were your whorings so small a matter that you slaughtered my children and delivered tehm up as an offering by fire them? And in all your aboninations and your whorings you did not remember the days of your youth, when you were naked and bare, wallowing in your blood. (Christian brothers and sisters, remember this verse, because I fear that our "christian institutions" our "christian philosophies" have done the same. Have we forgotten the nakedness with which we were saved from. Were we saved from nakedness to stay naked? Or to cloth ourselves with his garments of righteousness?)

And after all your wickedness you built yourself a vaulted chamber and made yourself a lofty place in every square.

At the head of every streed you built your lofty place and made your beauty an abomination, offering yourself to any passerby and multiplying your whoring.

You also played the whore with the Egyptians, your lustful neighbors, multiplying your whorings, to provoke me to anger. Behold, therefore, I stretched out my hand against you and diminished your allotted portion and delivered you to greed of your enemies, the daughters of the Philistines, who were ashamed of your lewd behavior. You plyed the whore also with the Assyrians, because you were not satisfied; yes, you plyaed the whore with them, and still you were not satisfied. You multiplied your whoring also with the trading land of CHaldea, and even with this you were not satisfied.

How lovesick is your heart, declares the Lord God, because you did all these things, the deeds of a brazen prostitute. . . Yet you were not a prostitute, because you did not want payment. Adultrous wife, who receives strangers instead of her husband! Men give gifts to all prostitutes, but you gave your gifts to all your lovers, bribing them to come to you from every side with your whorings. So you were different from other women in your whorings. No one solicited you to play the whore, and you gave payment, while no payment was given to you; therefor you were different. Worse.

. . . You have committed more abominations than all else. Even though you were my bride. (italics added)

Has the church whored around, giving herself to the nations of the world? Have we taken the ways of the world and declared tehm ours. Stop the whoring! Turn back to God

To Take Up Your Cross!

The cross of Christ is not a trial or tribulation that we must endure, but a neccessity and a gift. The simple call to "Take up our cross and follow Jesus" is as important as teh call to "take up My yoke, for My burden is light." We are to both, take up our crosses, which mean suffering and rejection by the world, and to take up His yoke which means freedom from our burdens.

How is this possible? To carry his yoke which is light and carry the cross which was too heavy for Christ to even bare up the mountain to its resting place. Is it possible there is some hidden connection between the two?

I think it is commonly mistaken that you can have His yoke without the cost of the cross. And perhaps there are those who boast in their own afflictions and severe rigidity to the law who take up His cross pharisitically and without his yoke, thus doing it in their own mere humanistic endeavor.

But truly, you can not have the one without the other. To take up the cross we must take up the suffering and rejection of Christ, without the weight and power of the world. We cannot take up His cross any other way. We must believe and know that there is nothing but Christ in this. You must understand the henous nature we acted and still act against God and realize the suffering and rejection it took to spare you. Then we may begin to see the complex connection between the cross and the yoke. Understanding the wickedness of the human heart and the liberty God offers "through" his Son causes a man to both want to bare the cross he deserved and rejoice in the salvation he didn't.

The Enemy of Costly Grace

Cheap grace is the deadly enemy of our Church. We are fighting to-day for costly grace.

Cheap grace means grace sold on the market like cheapjacks' wares. The sacraments, the forgiveness of sin, and teh consolations of religion are thrown away at cut prices. Grace is represented as the Church's inexhaustible treasury, from which she showers blessings with generous hands, without asking questions or fixing limits. Grace without price; the account has been paid in advance; and, because it has been paid, everything can be had for nothing. Since the cost was infinite, the possibilities of using and spending it are infinite. What would grace be if it were not cheap? . . .

Cheap grace means the justification of sin without the justification of the sinner. Grace alone does everything, they say, and so everything can remain as it was before.

Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentenced. . . Dietrich Bonhoefer "The Cost of Discipleship: Chapter 1 page 1

What's Wrong?

This video was well done. I think Paul Washer would have been disgusted with how many picture there are of him. But the video is really about his heart.

Matt 3:2, Mark 1:15, Luke 13:3, Acts 2:38, Acts 3:19

These are some verses that require us to repent. Since in repentence their is belief and in belief there is repentence.

Oh Lord, that you would turn me and my brothers and sisters from our sin. Bring down repentence to us. Bring down faith to us.

Lord, Help Me Know My Ways

Lyrics:

Lord, how long will you look on?
Save my soul from it's slow decay.
For the mire has been too deep for too long,
When was the last time I gave you all my praise?
Have you swallowed me in shame?

Chorus
Lord, help me know my ways,
And the measure of my days.
Deliver me faithfully,
Consume me all the way, oh Lord.

Hear my prayer, oh Lord
Give ear to my cry.
Hold back my tears,
Return to me delight.
Put me on a rock
Set my feet on high.
Then a new song I'll sing
From dawn until night.
Patiently you wait for me.

This song's lyrics are a compilation of Psalms 35, 39, 40, and 46.

Download the full version at http://www.acidplanet.com/artist.asp?songs=695038&T=1660

Titled, "Lord, Help Me Know My Ways"

Be Glorified

Be glorified in me, Oh Lord
Be glorified in me
Cast the wretched man away
And plant a fruitful tree.

Be exalted through me, Oh Lord
Be exalted through me
Don't let me boast in my own way
But bring me prostrate at your feet.

Be merciful to me, Oh Lord
Be merciful to me
Let Your mercy abound today
So my spirit can then be free.

Proverbs 18

Before destruction the heart of man is haughty,
And before honor is humility.



A fool has no delight in understanding,
But in expressing his own heart.



A rich man's wealth is his strong city,
And it is like a high wall in his own esteem.

Hebrews Twelve, Pauls Vision of the Race

The stage was set, the starting line pulled,

And thousands of racers where preparing to go.

No ordinary race, but one with a bid,

Fall into torment, or finish and live.

In the mob of strong and fit men,

Stands a young racer, who's trembling instead.

"The race is so far, and I don't feel that strong.

My confidence wavers. Can I go for that long?"

But then the bell chimed, It was now time to run,

The mob surged forward, and the man was just one.

"Lord be with me." The man said under his breath,

Then he exhaled strong, and took his first step.

For hours the racers fell by the side,

As those who were strong

Became weak in there minds.

And sin, the most vigorous competitor of all,

Grabbed at the racers and caused them to fall.

The man felt exhausted, could he really last,

The mightiest athletes he had already past.

So another fast prayer he said in his head,

"If you've chosen me, give me strength over sin.

Give me the endurance to finish the race,

To run from my sin and take in first place."

As he prayed, he felt courage within,

He leaned over strong and sprinted again.

He passed sin up with a valient charge,

And there was the finish line, looming massive and large.

This was the end, it was down to just two,

And sin was coming on strong, the man didn't know what to do.

He felt a hand grab him, and he almost fell down,

But he kept his eyes on the prize, his heart started to pound.

"Lord, if I'm chosen, be my might in this day."

And just as he said it, his arms pulled away.

He lunged for the end, and the rope was torn.

Then came a shout, a trumpet, a horn.

He made it to the end, he now had been saved.

And as the angels rejoiced, he was awed and amazed.

Then he felt a gentle hand pull him aside.

"Well done my child, I'll now call you mine."

Beatitude

"Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted." - With each beatitude the gulf is widened between the disciples and the people, their call to come forth from the people becomes increasingly manifest. By "mourning" Jesus, of course, means doing without what the world calls peace and prosperity: He means refusing to be in tune with the world or to accommodate oneself to its standards. Such men mourn for the world, for its guilt, its fate and its fortune. . . The world dreams of progress, of power and of the future, but the disciples meditate on the end, the last judgement, and the coming of the precious Kingdom. To such heights the world cannot rise. And so the disciples are strangers in the world, unwelcome guests and disturbers of the peace. - Dietrich Bonhoeffer (from The Cost of Discipleship)

Cheap Grace

More and more I find that the profession of Christ has become a profession of culture. That the Lord that is revealed in the Bible is being softened by men through their own claim to fames. The name of God, "The I Am," which is so revered by the Jews, and which name Jesus holds the claim to, is reduced to mere iconic culture. In an effort to make the "Gospel" more appealing, more listenable, and more acceptable, men have lowered the standard that God himself set; not just by taking his name down to our level, but taking his holiness down to human level, taking his sovereignty down to human level. We have turned aside from the true and real God of the Bible, even Jesus, and replaced Him with a Jesus and a gospel that is received by all. But, we should be weary about the popularity of Jesus' name. He himself said that he would be hated of all men. Hated! Not just disliked. The reality is that the more our church system and its leaders have made Christ, the gospel and God appealing to men the less of God their is in it.

But why has this happened? Perhaps it is as John Macarthur states, "People like the idea of believing in God, they even applaud it, as long as it is not the God of the Bible. Because once you affirm the God of the Bible, you get the God of the Bible. You get the law of the God of the Bible, you get the commandments of the God of the Bible, you get the morrality of the God of the Bible, you get the justice of the God of the Bible, you get the righteousness of the God of the Bible, and you get the punishment of the God of the Bible. . . . . But men love their sin! And many religions will not infringe upon that. Only the God of the Bible."

Many church institution and its leaders have so desired the acceptance of the world that the things stated by John Macarthur have slowly been escorted out the door. We are no longer under the law, pastors say. But this is really a twisting of scripture. We are not under the "Old" law, but the "new" one which is Christ, and he puts the old law on our hearts as the spirit convicts us. Morality has deteriorated in the church. This is affectuated by the term Cheap Grace, which is really cheap salvation. That it wasn't that big of a deal that Christ died for me, I'm not that bad. . . It has become more of an insurance than a way of life. But in 1 John 1:6 it says that, "If you say that you're in the light, but walk in darkness, you lie." That means that Christ becomes our everything, not just a tag along, culture accepted, icon. Even God's justice is diminished, because we exalt his Love far above all his other attributes, even though they all hold the same importance. We have disfigured the real God so much that it would be hard to tell the difference between a buddhist and a Christain. We have labeled Christ as an acceptor of all men. But he doesn't accept all men. He has come to seek and to save the lost, the sinner (that is, the sinner that admits he's a sinner). What is he saving them from? Death for sure, but in all reality, their sin. That is to say, he is transforming them from servants of sin to servants of God. For if they call themselves Christ's but still sin with an unrepentant heart, then their salvation is folly, and Christ's death is mocked.

What we need to do is to repent! To turn from the world, and not try to be accepted by the Great Majority. We need to preach the God of the Bible. We need to hold fast to His laws, His commands, His justice and His righteousness. For all else is vanity, and a pursuit which ends in death.

Angelicum Clavae

Vision

The morning had crossed the sky like a perfect rainbow. The weather was warm and even the dew on the flowers was drying. In fact, it was hot enough that my friend, Elijah, phoned earlier that morning and requested we meet at a local church to go rollerblading. I must say, however, that it had been years since I had rollerbladed. But, none the less, inspite of my lack of experience, I agreed to meet him and go.

Now as the day ambered on in slow progression, like the rythmic ticking of the clock, I found myself in a state of total boredom. Being unmotivated to do anything else, I chose to venture down to the church, before the time I was to meet Elijah.

So, I walked. The hill was gradual from the house, and beautiful views of green, forested hillside attracted the attention of my eye. They rolled in magnificent splendor through autumn colored valleys. There, of course, was the house on my left. The old, abandoned mansion, taken by vines and bushes, like a spider had woven a web of greenery across the face of this house. Since, I had passed this house hundreds of times, I thought nothing of it, and continued on, forgetting about it until much later in the day.

At the church, a large congregation in the downtown area of the city, I managed to make my way inside the foley and back toward a youth hall. There, in the afluent and prospering church, I came across a well-known pastor at the church. With him was two of his own co-pastors. Now, being as socially gracious to these men as possible, I inquired as to their business.

"A concert!" Cried the pastor, pointing to a small add of his in the local magazine. I could sense the irritation in his voice. As soon as I did, he said, "It's too small."

He was right. The add was inbetween another add to the church, and a coupon for a local restaraunt. He quickly gestured to me and asked, "What do you think?"

"I don't know, it is pretty small."

Again he looked at me, and smiled. "Well, we can fix it later." He said. "We've got to go."

When I was about to ask where, Elijah walked through the doors and grabbed me, saying, "there you are." As quickly as he'd come we were on our way out the door, and putting on our rollerblades. After only a moment we were heading down the street. We hadn't gotten around the corner when someone came rushing over on rollerblades too. A stout man with a kind smile. I got a better glance. It was a good friend of mine and a related cousin.

He stood there starring and then finally spoke, "Can I come along?"

Elijah and I both shrugged our shoulders, as if to say why not.

So, up this city hill we began. At first, it wound its way through the conjestion of busy street corners and high offices. But after a time, I found the bustling streets had transformed into quiet countryside. I was enchanted by the solitude of our ride. We were deep in the wooded forest above the city. Twisting and winding our way up an even steeper hill. The trees loomed above us like skyscrapers, and because of their thick foliage, little light passed through their covering. But the light that did seep through danced hypnotically across the air, like candles flickering about in the wind.

About this time, I came out of my amazement with the forest and noticed an ever growing group of people riding bikes, rollerblading, walking and coming up the hill in all manners of methods. It appeared that they were heading toward an opening in the steep hill. A cavern!

As I got closer to the opening I stopped. To my side was a deep shaft that seemed to fall into an endless abyss. As I looked at it in awe I lost my balance and nearly tumbled into the hole, but Elijah caught my fall, at which time my cousin piped up and said, "That's the old mine shaft, don't want to fall into that. Let's go on up there." He pointed to the opening in the hill, and to all the people that were entering.

My friends weren't hesitant in the slightest bit to enter in. So, we followed behind the group of people and waited our turn to enter the narrow way in to the cave. Inside the cavern, it opened up and a long pathway could be seen dug deeper into the edge of the hill. Lights had been spread across the roof of the cave so the people coming in could see. And as I walked further in, I noticed a bright light ahead, through a door. I came closer, entering it, suddenly the room expanded, rising two and three stories high; a magnificent attrium, with beautiful paintings on the ceiling and carvings on the wall. Here the crowds conjested. There were rows of pews. All were filled except the one row to my left.

Behind me I heard Elijah say hello. When I turned to see who it was, to my amazement, it was the pastors we had seen down at the church (but what were they doing here?). They shook hands and then filed into the pew to my left. Elijah followed and sat down beside them filling up the rest of the seats. Suddenly, I realized I had no where to sit. So, as awkward as it was, I stood in the isle, as people tried to bussle around me.

I looked to the man on my left and asked what this place was. He was older and had aged hands with wide wrinkles and deep scars. He replied to me in a kind way.

"This is a church!" He rubbed his chin. "It was built many years ago, when I was a boy." He leaned back in the seat, thinking about the past. "You see, along time ago, ages and ages, a boy stumbled into a deep shaft outside of his mansion high on the hill. The one that is now overgrown with bushes and vines. He almost lost his footing and stumbled into the abyss, when his sister pushed her way into the shaft and grabbed him. But although the event was certainly frightful, the boy showed no fear. He quickly responded to the girl that the large cavern would be their hiding place. As they looked around, it became clear that it was a mine shaft with chains and ropes holding pullies and wheel barrows high into the air of the cavern. Over the years his hard working hands have turned it into this underground church."

"Who comes here?" I asked.

The old man looked at me with a stare that penetrated. "Oh. . . ! There are too many to seat in here. They come from all over. That's why, as you can see, it is a never ending service. To accomodate all the people." He smiled.

With that, the old man stood to his feet and walked down the isle, leaving me his seat. . . . . .

Unification, a Scandalous Effort

Paul's precision to throw a warning dart and hit it in the bullseye was masterful. When he warned that Christians should not be yoked, should not take company with unbelievers, he was forseeing an epidemic that was soon to come. The epidemic came, however, and we have seen the affects of this flesh eating disease, as it gorged itself on the body of Christ.

What disease? The disease of false unification, that is to say, the infection of unification with those who profess to be lovers of God, but are really lovers of the world. I have heard it preached, teached and fed to believers around the world (but mostly in the west), that the body of Christ needs to be unified, that they need to have likemindedness. The ministers of our day see division, they see disagreement, they witness disfunctional religiosity. And they assume that it is unification that is the key- Insteat of GOD! This philosophy has crept itself, like a drunken harlot, into the bed where the body of Christ sleeps. How have we been so blind to see the obvious? I have been accused of beating the sheep. I have been rejected for being critical on the church--But it is not the church that offends me! It is the world. . . The world that is filled with every manner of evil thing that is unglorifying to God. And it is those who have proclaimed the name of Christ, but have fornicated in every naked way with this "World" of sin. Those who call themselves followers of God, and yet in their evil hearts, they love their sin. They are consumed with it. And in this action they have rejected God, rejected his ways. Because it is not just by words we know God, but by our hearts.

So, the problem is, that we have accepted these worldly fornicators as true believers. We have assumed that if a man or woman says the sinners prayer, they are saved. That somehow God, in all of his sovereignty, must save them, because, after all, they did say the words. But there will be a day when God judges the hearts of man, and he will say to those who were not transformed unto his likeness, "Depart from me, you worker of iniquity, for I never knew you." And in that day, part of that guilt will fall on our shoulders, because we saw them sin, we saw their unrepentent hearts, and we did nothing! Because, who are we to judge another? And since we did not preach repentance to the unrepentant, and preach God's Glory to the blind, because we were too affraid of confrontation, we preached unification. But unification has already happened. It is already here, in the true hearts and minds of God's people. They know who they are, they see the living God as the only source of life, the only thing that is worthy to live for. They care nothing about their lives, and are even willing to go to hell in order to glorify God. This church, this body I speak of, is indeed unified, because they have been so broken by their wickedness that they no longer lean on their own understanding. And they are not willing to conform to the world in any way. For the world is full of sin, it is full of deceit, bitterness, wrath, lust, sexuallness and depravity. All one has to do is look around and see who has compromised with Babylon, to see who has bowed their faces to the Golden Statue of Nebechanezzar (for there were thousands of prophesing jews at that time, but only three did not worship the idol of gold; and they were thrown into a firey furnace for their lack of cultural understanding).

Is it really that complicated? Haven't we simply made a mockery of God, by taking his name and causing the "gentiles" to blaspheme it? It is simple! God's people know who they are, and will not be enslaved by the philosophies of the world, but will stand tall, proud in their God. But those who want the benefit of Heaven, but don't really want God, it is a scandalous effort to unify them with the true body of Christ, because they will have nothing to do with what is really right.

"For He (Jesus) must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet." 1 Corinthians 15:25
Is God reigning in your life? Has he put all the iniquity out of your hearts? God must reign! There is no other truth more important and more valuable to human life (although valuable is not the proper term, because that does have a sense of implying it's about us). When one truly understands that it is God through Jesus that reigns upon this world, controls all that is given to him, and fights for God's glory, then they realize that there is no greater duty, that there is no higher purpose than to do all and surrender all for the sake of His name.

"When you come to appear before me, who has required of you, this trampling of my courts? Bring no more vain offerings; incense is an abomination to me. New moon and Sabbath and the calling of convocations- I cannot endure iniquity and solemn assembly. Your new moons and appointed feasts my soul hates; they have become a burden to me; I am weary of bearing them. When you spread out your hands, I will hide my eyes from you; even though you make many prayers, I will not listen." Isaiah 1:12-15

This is a stern warning to Israel, but as God's character is unchanging, it is also to us. How have we come to the courts of the Lord? Have we appeared before him with un-repentant hearts? Have we come to him with selfish hopes in our hearts? The vision of God's words that Isaiah received point to a unmistakable fact with God, he does not care about offering, prayer, or sacrifice, but the heart and mind of his people. If we've come to him seeking a protector, He will not protect; if we come to Him seeking freedom from guilt, He will not forgive. If we come to Him to answer our prayers, he will not listen; for all these are but a response to sin. What sin you ask? The sin of self. I have come to understand that life is not about us, it is not about being protected, it is no about God answering our prayers, and it is not about being forgiven; rather, it is about giving God what is His to receive; mainly our adoration and praise, not for what he's done for us, but for who He is.