Thanksgiving Post: Not exactly Turkeys and pies.

What are you thankful for? You know, I could go on and on, and I have. Someone this past week asked me what I was thankful for, and what did I reply? Well I went on a long tirade of things, all things that I was thankful that God has done for me. In my opinion there is no one else to thank, He has given us everything we have. But, you know, it has hit me today. That we Christians thank God for so much—I am not speaking against this—but honestly, do we even know what we are thanking Him for?

Are you thankful for Jesus dying for you? Honestly, how much do you know about what you really believe?? I mean, there are so many people who only realize what it is that they believe when they hit college or sometimes later. But what really does the cross represent?

I can give a very detailed version of the Crucifixion, but I won’t because even in description it is gory. But if any of you have ever seen the Passion of The Christ, you have a slight idea of what happened.

You see though, too often we say so much about what Jesus did, that we miss the point. So, He died a brutal death, okay, big deal! That was symbolism; it was not the earthly death that has granted us forgiveness! It was the reason that as Jesus sat in the Garden of Gethsemane, that He prayed; “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup from Me.” Do you honestly think that He was afraid to die? No!! When His disciples would be hung on a cross upside down, boiled in oil and so many other things and they thanked the people who killed them! And you think that the God of the Universe was afraid of that?! No, He was afraid of being separated from God, bearing the wrath of God for all sins of all people of ALL TIME. He did not want to go through that; that is why He prayed so earnestly; “Father, if there is another way, please, but if not, I will obey.”

So, this Thanksgiving, give thanks for what God has done. But remember what it is that He truly did! Learn what it is that you believe.

If I were to go to an avid football fan, and ask them how football got started, they could tell me. And who knows, because of that, I may become as devoted as them. Christ, His sacrifice, and His grace is so much more important than football. So, learn what you believe, and share it!

Have a happy Thanksgiving.

And thanks for reading,
John Mark,

I know, I know, I am early on this one:

Death, it is an interesting subject, why? Well, statistics show that, 1 out of 1 people die,—not including Elijah and Enoch—yet so many people try and avoid the subject. But right here, right now, I want to ask you a couple of questions about death.

First; where will you go when you die?

Second; what will you leave behind?

The first question is really tricky to answer, though it may seem easy. I almost guarantee that more than 95% of you who read this answered “Heaven.”

But are you absolutely completely, and totally without a doubt positively sure? I am not trying to judge anyone, not at all. But I want you to consider a few things, some very, very, frightening verses.

Matthew 7:21-23;

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, and cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’ ”

That is very unsettling to me, and I hope it is for you. But Jesus gives so many other warnings, just as frightening. For instance; Laodicea:

Revelations 3:14-22;

“And to the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write, ‘These things says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God: “I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were cold or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of my mouth. Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked—I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” ’ “

When I read about Laodicea, I think of America. American Christians, or another way to put it; Comfortable Christians; people who live their lives thinking that they can have Christ and Comfort. That is wrong! If you want comfort, Christianity is not the way to go. Not for earthly comfort anyway. Jesus told His Disciples in Matthew 10:16;

“I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves.”

Look through again at the church of Laodicea;

“You are Lukewarm—I will vomit you out of My mouth—you are naked and wretched, yet you do not know it—you say; I am rich.” (That is not in correct order, but just a few things I wanted to point out.)

I do not want to suggest to you a “Do” theology, one where “works get you to heaven.” Because I know that it is by ‘Grace through Faith that we are saved, not by works, so that none may boast.’ (Ephesians 2:8-9)

But as James said in James 2:17-18;

“Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works is dead. But someone will say, ‘You have faith, and I have works.’ Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.”

Pretty much, James is saying; “So, you claim to have faith? Prove it.”

Too often we live our lives as if it is nothing. I have just finished the book Radical by David Platt, (I seriously suggest this book to EVERYONE. It is amazing.) And in that book he gave some statistics, you could call them that. But he said; “There are 4.5 billion people, who do not claim Christianity, and about 1 billion of them, have never even heard the gospel.”

That is sad. We claim to be Christians, yet our faith is not present, thus we are lukewarm. As Americans, we are among the richest people IN THE WORLD. Thus we say; I am rich! Yet we do not always realize, we are wretched, filthy, disgusting, vile, and completely unworthy, to stand before God. We are so terrible, God said two things about us; 1: “I would rather you be COLD than to be as you are.” (This is a re-wording of it, not trying to change what it says, just trying to make it easier to grasp.) And 2: “I will vomit you out of my mouth.”

Are we part of the Laodicean church? I hope not.

Why don’t we just speak up? Just this week, I had a perfect opportunity to share God’s word with two people, I wasn’t pressed for time at all, and they literally walked right at me. All I had to do was say; “Hey, can I ask you a couple of questions? About your spiritual beliefs?”

But, I did not. I walked away, in the shallowest of thoughts. I was thinking; “Nah, I look kind of dorky right now; I can’t approach them like this.” And; “It is too late now; I have already started walking the other way.” I wish that I had just talked to them, that I had just spoken to them. Too often I say to myself; “I don’t have time right now.”

Well, here is breaking news for you; “Neither do they. They are not saved; they will die unless you give them the antidote that you hold.”

If I were to die right now, would Jesus say to me; “Depart from Me! You were lukewarm from the start! And you never changed.”

I am determined now, to try my best, to share the gospel more. Sadly, I know, that I will at times give in to excuses, but when I am given such a chance as I was, I should have taken it.

The second question; what you leave behind

If you were to die today, what would people say about you?

What legacy shall you leave for the world?

I wonder, if I were to die today, if people would call me a “good Christian.” Honestly, I don’t want that; because being “good” isn’t what Jesus called us to do, especially when the American definition of “good” is so very inadequate. I want to leave a legacy like Paul did. Don’t get me wrong here; I don’t want fame for myself. When I said a legacy like Paul’s, I meant the impact he had. Through his faith, God used in him in a huge way, but Paul was not simply “good.”

Jesus asked His Disciples, who people thought that He was. Some said a Prophet, some said Elijah—who was supposed to come before Jesus, AKA; John The Baptist—but then Jesus turns the tables and asks; “Who do you say that I am?”

And Peter replied; “The Christ of God.” (Luke 9:18-20.)

When you ask people who Jesus was, in this age they answer such as; “A good man,” or “A great teacher, or religious leader.” Even Muslims say of Him; “He was a good prophet.”

Jesus wasn’t simply, “Good,” Jesus IS.

John 8:58;

“Jesus said to them, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.’ ”

Notice how He words that; before Abraham was I AM. That was a direct claim to be God. (Exodus 3:14.)

This is the very claim that got Him killed, why so many people are offended by Christians, why so many Christians throughout all of History were brutally murdered, and why Jesus said that we would be hated for His sake. The same claim we hold.

He said we would suffer many persecutions, and so many other things. (Matthew 10:16-26.)

Let’s look at this, Jesus said that we would be betrayed by our families, we would be like wolves among sheep, delivered up to councils and scourged.

That’s strange though, we in America really haven’t had any of that. I once heard it said; “If you are comfortable in your Christianity, then maybe Satan has you right where he wants you.”

As a closing, I want to go over one last thing.

The Prayer: You know how people say; “Pray this prayer and you will be saved, all you got to do is believe.”

How many of you believe that there is more to it? I sure do, it is not all about believing, the Demons believe, and they tremble! (James 2:19.)

Jesus said that we had to completely give ourselves up for Him! To love Him more than Mothers, Fathers, Sons and Daughters, to daily take up our cross and follow Him.

(Matthew 10:37)

Are you truly ready to give up everything? Yes, and no, in a literal sense. To literally let God rule what you do or do not do. What you spend your money on, what TV you watch, what websites you go to. The people you hang with, the language and jokes you use. Literally everything you do. Are you truly willing to give up everything? If you are, let me encourage you. You will be hated, you will be beaten, and you will go through so much pain.

Jesus said Himself:

“Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword.”

(Matthew 10:34.)

But the reward, how great it is! So great, that I cannot even begin to imagine. Peace that passes all understanding. To see Jesus in all of His glory, to be counted a trophy of the Lord’s!

To spend all of eternity with Jesus. Sure, they can kill you, big deal, what else are they going to do? Raise you up and do it again? Or perhaps they have the power to destroy your soul? No, only God can do that, and it is He alone who we should fear. (Matthew 10:27-30.)

So, go therefore, and make Disciples of all Nations; ALL of them, all 4.5 billion, especially the 1 billion that have never even heard of Him.

None of us are promised the next day, and thousands upon thousands die daily.

Thanks for reading,

John Mark,

A Call:

On July 8, 1776, the Declaration of Independence was read aloud for the first time in public. And after it was read, there was a riot in the streets, the people wanted to let the British know; “We shall not be trampled on anymore.”

As I think about that, I think about one thing; Declaration of Independence. As I think of this, that phrase is both spot on, and dead wrong. How? Well, one word; Independence. As Christians, the Bible is the greatest declaration of Independence, and Dependence. We are made Independent of Sin, but are shown how dependent of God we have always been. Yet that is not really comforting, think about it. After a document was read, the crowds started a ruckus, yet, when the Bible is read, the closest thing we say to that is; Amen. Why is that?

As Christians, we are all called to witness, not just a few of us. Jesus didn’t say; “Hey, if you feel called, or feel like you would be good at it, then, and only then go.”

On the Contrary; Matthew 28:19-20;

“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Amen.”

Mark 16:15;

“And He said to them. ‘Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.’ ”

It is a command, not a request.

You know what I wish I would see one day? For church to get out, and instead of people saying in hushed tones whatever they say. That the church runs out of the building, shouting to word of God, and preaching His Word. Chances are though, that isn’t going to happen. So, instead, why don’t we start with something, something small at least.

In Romans 1:14-15, Paul talked about being in debt to Gentiles—Unbelievers—because he had a salvation that he owed to them to share. (Thanks to David Platt and his book Radical for pointing this out. It is a really good book.) We are all in debt then. I dare you to try something next time you are in a really crowded building, like a restaurant, school, the mall, so on. I want you to look at everyone in there that to the best of your knowledge has never made a profession of faith, and imagine these words on their heads; “Going to Hell.”

Now, I do not mean for you to judge them, but instead, for you to realize how many people you are surrounded by that you could witness to, but that you don’t always. As a fact, we have no idea when our last breath is, we are not guaranteed the next second. But you see, for the lost, they have less then we do. We have salvation, and they don’t. Who are we to pick and choose who’s to come? Jesus paid much too high a price for us to dare do that. (That is a quote from Casting Crown’s song, If We Are The Body.)

Now you may say that you are not eligible, for many reasons. You may think you are too young, well, I say, “Get over that!”

If you look at it biblically, all of the disciples except Peter were in their teens. Because you only had to pay the Temple Tax when you reached 20 years of age, I may be a few years off, but I am pretty sure that is the right age.

When David killed Goliath, he could have been anywhere from 10 to 15.

King Josiah became King of Israel when he was 8, and began leading the country how God wanted when he was 16.

I don’t know how old Jeremiah was exactly but he was a youth, and guess what! He had the guts to say that to God’s face!

Jeremiah 1:6-9:

“Then said I:

‘Ah, Lord GOD!

Behold, I cannot speak, for I am a youth!’

But the LORD said to me: ‘do not say, ’I am a youth,’

For you shall go to all whom I send you,

And whatever I command you, you shall speak,

Do not be afraid of their faces,

For I am with you to deliver you,’

Says the LORD.”

Maybe you think that you have fallen to far from God to do anything, well think about this; Rahab was a prostitute, she is in the Blood line of Christ. (Matthew 1:5)

Isaiah had a sailor’s mouth. (Isaiah 6:5)

King David was an Adulterer.

Matthew, also called Levi, the Disciple, was a thief, a tax collector. (Matthew 9:9, Mark 2:14, Luke 5:27.)

Moses killed a man. (Exodus 2:12,)

Eve committed the first sin, yet was the mother of all mankind. (Genesis 3:6,)

And Adam didn’t even try to stop her! He stood right next to her, and then when given the choice to fall as she had done before him, or to stay with God, he chose Eve. (Genesis 3:6,)

Maybe you feel like, you don’t know where God wants you yet.

Well, I dare you to be like Paul. If you notice, Paul said that he had a thorn in his flesh, yet he didn’t stop. Instead of waiting for God to take that away, he kept trying to open doors himself, and trusting that God would help him. And look at the impact he has made!!

So go therefore, and speak the gospel to all nations. This is not a call that God gave to a certain few, He has called everyone.

So, let's start a riot!

Thanks for reading,

John Mark,

What is Prayer?

Now, before you get offended at the video, read what this guy has to say in defense for people attacking him claiming that; "He is making fun of prayer."

"This is going to be a bit of a read, but religious or non-religious, I think we all can take something away from it.
Since I released Pre-Blessed Food there’s been a lot of debate about what I was implying through the video. Some people seem to think I was suggesting that prayer and faith in general are a waste of time. Others thought I was simply sharing my perspective on people who claim to have faith but don’t act like it. I even saw some taking the video way out of context and using it as ammo against other people and their beliefs. As someone rooted in their faith and someone who believes that thanking God for the food that you have is an act of gratitude and humility, it’s important to me that I set the record straight.
In response to an email from a concerned viewer this week, I wrote:
“Some of my videos have subtle messages and/or morals in them – though they may be discreet, they’re there. I enjoy leaving it up to the viewer to discover those for themselves. In that light, I hope you can understand that Pre-Blessed Food isn’t poking fun at prayer at all. Instead, it’s pointing out that thing in us that would like to trivialize it from time to time. I think we’ve all, at one point or another, rushed through a prayer when we’re short on time. In my mind, Pre-Blessed Food shows how ridiculous that is without sounding judgmental or preachy. If you’re going to admit prayer is important, make it important.”
If Pre-Blessed Food were a real product, the people who bought it would be admitting that prayer is important, but not important enough to actually do it themselves. And although this is an extreme example, we do this. We do it with our faith, we do it with our relationships, we do it with our own lives. We do this because it’s easier, it’s quicker, and because we’re often distracted by something else.
(UPDATE: A few of you have said that you noticed the video poking fun at the commercialization of religion and faith as well. That was intentional – I think it’s dumb how people today will put a label on anything and try to sell it. It makes me laugh.)
If this rings true with anyone else besides me, share your thoughts below. What are some important things that you’ve skipped out on recently instead of taking the time to appreciate them? Who? What? Why?
If you know of anyone who misunderstood the context of the video, I encourage you to share this with them. Thanks for hearing me out, guys."

Sadly, he is right. We not only commercialize these things, but we disregard what they are completely! What is prayer? Prayer is like a direct phone line, with no dead zones, AMAZING rates, and it specializes in physically long distance calls! Not to mention, it's all free! But it is more than that!
Prayer is a conversation with God! Or at least...that is what it is meant to be. Think about it, when was the last time you heard God speak? Who's fault is this? YOU! If you are talking to your best friend, do you seriously talk like this;

"Hey Ed, how is it going? Well, I have something heavy on my heart, you know what it is. So, take care of it will ya? Alright, bye."

No, of course you don't. In fact, overall, each conversation I have ever had, is in some way or another unique. But what about with God? We look at prayer like it is a tedious chore. No, it is a blessing! Prayer, and the Bible, are like two hands, they lock together perfectly.

No, do I believe that God can speak to you in more than one way? More than just the Bible? Absolutely, but the Bible is God's Word. (John 1:1) The Bible is your direct phone line to God.

But God is more than a friend, or should be. God wants to be close to you, that is why Jesus came.

Let's look at this in another light, the church is to be the Bride of Jesus. (I believe the wedding is described in the book of Revelations.) Tell me then, whenever you meet someone, (considering people my age, casual dating is the casual thing, so this is based mostly towards that age, but indeed can be adapted.) you want to spend every moment you possibly can speaking to them! And when you are on the phone or something, and they say goodbye, your heart seemingly sinks.

But what about God? Is it not more so with Him? He has the greatest love ever, imagine how He feels when you say bye, and don't even listen to Him.
And what about you? Do you truly love God? I am not trying to judge, but from a story writer's point of view, love is more than we make it to be.
For one, you cannot love someone you do not care about, and it is hard to care about someone you don't know.
Now you may say, "Dude, I know God."
But do you? Or do you know about Him? The only way to truly KNOW someone, is to spend time with them, that is when care for the other is brought into the scene, as is love later, sometimes.
Prayer is more than just a ritual, and the Bible is more than a book with wise words.

Prayer is God's prepaid for eternity phone line, only meant for YOU! So, why not call God tonight, and just cry out your concerns to Him. Just talk to Him.

The Bible, it is so amazing! It is no simple book, it is God's love letter to you! Imagine that, His love letter, to you.

So tonight, go somewhere alone, maybe outside surrounded by all of creation. Or in a corner in your room. And just let everything out! All your worries, you pain, your fears, your hopes, your dreams. Everything, He already knows, but He wants to hear it. He wants you to humble yourself--2 Chronicles 7:14--and let go of your pride, admit the things that haunt you most. Just pray to Him, and then just listen. Whether sitting in silence, or just going right ahead and reading His word. Just spend some time with Him, just as you long to speak to one that you may have feelings for, God does too. Except with God, times your desire to speak to that person by the highest number possible, and guess what! It doesn't make a dent on how God is.

Thanks for reading!

John Mark,