I don't really believe the Bible.

Don't get me wrong here. I believe the Bible. I just don't believe the Bible.

Let me explain. Yes. I do. I do believe the Bible. I claim it and I thoroughly buy everything it says. But I don't believe it in the sense that, I don't believe it to the point of taking it literally and live it out. I've been told, that I am going the direction I need to. That He is using me. But I had a very humbling discussion today with a friend of mine.

I don't ask you to agree with I am about to say. I just beg of you, on your behalf; take an honest look at yourself. Put everything in the table.

Let me ask you, do you want to die? If you do, is it be cause of the circumstances in your life?

I do. For that reason. I hate my life. I hate my life because of my sin. And because of my lack of Radical obedience to God's word. Who knows. Maybe you hate it because of things that are stressing you out. Or maybe for the sake reasons that I want to. Who knows.

But we shouldn't be like that! We should love this life. the only reason that we should dare ask God to take us away is for the purpose if living with Him for eternity. We should be like Paul in that, we should not know whether we wanted to die and see Christ, or live and see more come to Christ. Philippians 1:21-23.

Do you notice in this as well, that there is no question for Paul as to whether or not he will serve? Of course there wasn't a question! It was his life! Why isn't it ours? Why don't we go to the places we fear? Christ didn't bow to fear! No. Rather as a King, He destroyed it. We are co heirs with Christ! That means that we don't have to bow to fear because we only bow to our King! Because we are subject to One!

Do you truly wait anxiously, and on excitement for the return of Christ? Do you looked forward to it? I don't always. Because I am so focused with what I want! No. My desires are not bad. In fact I can back them with Scripture! But first and above all things. I follow Christ. Nothing else. Not my dad. Not the police. Not the president. I follow my KING. I live to make His Kingdom known! If we really have given this life to Christ, then it doesn't belong to us. I give myself entirely to God. He lives in me.

Give me Christ' Mission. I'm not afraid to die cause I'm already dead. I live only in Christ.

To the world I go. God, I beg You. Count me worthy to die brutally for You.

I believe this enough to die for it.

John Mark,

When walking, Our Feet get dirty.

Something I have struggled with in my life is sin. (no duh).
But I mean sin a bit differently. I struggle with the sins I've already committed. The memory. The guilt. I know good and well that I am forgiven. But it goes beyond that. It goes to thinking about everything God has called us to be and the realization that I don't live up to that. This is my struggle.

Not many people know this, but several months ago I nearly walked away from Christianity because of this. Not that I didn't believe I was saved. I wholeheartedly believed that. It was that I refused to be fake in my life. I want to be real. Especially with God. And looking at my life, I wasn't. And that tore me apart.
So I sat in my room and I prayed, asking God to help me. Because I didn't want to just stop. I love Christianity. I love Christ.

After awhile I began to think about how I would live my life without Christ, because my whole life revolved around Him. And I decided that even if I did walk away I would still hold to my convictions. Because I still believed they were what's right.

And then it hit me. 1st John 2:5 it says, by this we know that we live Him, if we keep His commands. You see, in that moment God showed me that, all we need is the willingness to obey. And He will take it from there.

In the Gospel of John, chapter 13; Jesus goes to wash the Disciples feet. But Peter objects! He tells Christ not to. But when Jesus tells Him that in order to get into the Kingdom he must be cleansed. Peter then tells Jesus, to wash him entirely. But look at Jesus'; you are already cleansed, you need only to wash your feet.

What Jesus said can be taken two ways. That one, yes, we will mess up in this life, but that doesn't mean we are worthless to Christ. We just need to let Him wash our "feet" so to speak.
Second is that, as messengers in this world, our feet will get dirty if we are walking around as we should. But we still need to let Christ wash our feet.

Either way. We need to make sure that we spend time with Christ every day. He will clean our feet, and get us ready to go again. Don't give up. He's got your back.

Thanks for reading,

John Mark,

On My Mind...

I see myself as a very poetic person. I don't simply write words, I love words. Every word I say, or write, is strategically placed so as to get my exact point across. (Though sadly, sometimes only in a way that I understand.) I have always been told, how I have a way with words, and quite honestly, I agree, 100%. I do, it is a gift from God.

Think about that, that one line, A Gift From God. Today is Christmas Eve. I have a little less than two hours before the end of the day and the break of the new one. Today, tomorrow, this season, is all about gifts. Though, I believe it should focus on one Gift in Particular.

But here's the deal!

God did not give us only one gift! He continually blesses us day to day! The gifts abound and abound. For instance, Spiritual Gifts, Talents and natural Abilities, Luxury, Wealth, Comfort. All Gifts given so that we may have the greatest of opportunities to Glorify God!

Now all of this, is relatively irrelevant to what I intend to discuss. I intend to discuss my inclination to Poetic communication.

I know, I know. As you go into this, thoughts about my pasts posts, that included my views on emotional purity will spring up. But bear with me here! But to help you understand in the absolute most possible manor, let me give some back drop.

Let me be honest, though I feel, this will back fire on me, I will be perfectly honest.

There's this girl.

Before you get on my case, I said pursue, I never said that I would abolish any interest in a girl. I state, with absolute certainty that to do so is humanly impossible.

But, whenever ever I talk to this girl, or even think about her, (which tends to be frequently,) my mind slips to poetry. Thinking about the absolute most eloquent thing I could say. The absolute most poetic or flattering thing I could write. I literally battle myself from saying these things.

But it hit me today. As much as I think about her. And as much as I want to say eloquent things to her. How much more, does God wish to say such things to those that He loves the most?
I find that I have neglected that Christ bears a love that no man could understand, and that no being except He that bears it, could possibly deserve.

Really, please, take some serious time to think over this! Christ wants to talk to you, all the time! He thinks about you, all the time! He prays for and about you, all the time! Jesus Christ loves you, All The Time!

This is astounding to me. The God of all Creation: Whoa.

God, I love you too.

Thanks for reading,

John Mark,

Christ. You. Amaze. Me.

I am simply amazed by my Savior. On so many levels. So I want to skim over a couple real quick.

One that has hit me lately, is Hope. I'll be straight up with you, I hate my life. I hate that I sin so much. I hate that I get opportunities to witness and I say no. All these things. I am a child, no man, but a child, that is full of pride. Pride in the appearance that Christ gave him. In the ability that Christ gave him. I look in the mirror, though on the outside I may appear impressed with what I see, I am disgusted.

Literally, the only thing that keeps me going in this, is Christ. Hope that it is all forgiven, and for a purpose. Without faith in this hope that has given me a purpose through grace and holy forgiveness, I would be dead.
But, what kept Christ going? What was His hope? What was it that He looked at, that as Hebrews 12:2 says, He took the punishment for joy. What was this joy?

It was me. And you. It was the one's He created. This was what kept Him going, even as He was beaten and bruised. It was His love for us. What love!

Another, is Forgiveness. In that as I said, I hate myself for what I am. And many a time I am unwilling to forgive myself for this Cosmic Treason. He's already forgiven me... What? How? What Love. How He Loves.

And the last I will go over, is a mixture of both. It is forgiving us, and giving us a reason to hope even in times when we need forgiveness. The hope that, our failure doesn't make this all in vain. It is the hope, that, as long as I run after God, then even as I fall, I will fall forward. Even when I fall, I fall closer to Christ.

Hope, tomorrow is brighter than today, as long as today is passing, and Tomorrow has yet to come.

Thanks for reading,

John Mark,

Hate sin, but eat Chicken.

I know, the Title is silly, but just watch the video below and you will get it.




You see, over the past couple weeks I have been really convicted at the Idea of Hating Sin. I mean, what does it mean to hate sin exactly? Why should we? Is it necessary?

I really got thinking about it as I was talking to a friend, and they started telling me, about how much they hate sin. And I was like, "Wow, that's impressive." And then, I began to ask myself, if I really, truly, hated sin. And the honest answer? Probably not. I mean sure, I hate the feeling of guilt, and knowing that I failed God. I hate that. But if I truly do hate sin, then I wouldn't give it any outlet to survive in my life.

I just really pondered this today. I contemplated what my friend had said. And then I decided to write a lil' something about it. Probably the biggest area in my life that I struggle is lust.
(1 John 1:9, this is my reason for being honest concerning sin.)
But Lust is mostly, if not entirely, thought life.
But you know who controls your thought life? No. Not you. Nah, not Satan. No, Jesus gives us freewill. (And with that freewill, we must take the responsibility for our wrongs.)
All great guesses, but not right, specifically. Media controls our thoughts. Seriously, what you watch on TV, is what you think about.
Let me give you some examples:

My favorite TV show right now, is Psych. It is about this guy, that claims to be Psychic; but in truth is just really perceptive and observant.
My favorite Movie, is Sherlock Holmes. I don't need to explain that one.
And because of these two, I have lately been trying to be as perceptive and observant as possible. I got into a store, and I try to follow ppl, (mostly ppl I know...) without them knowing I am doing that.

Now sure, this could just be a personality quirk. But, let me take it a bit farther:
If I watch a TV show, or movie, or listen to a song, that has an explicit joke, comment, or anything suggestive, then to be perfectly up front, my mind stays on that for some time. And to continue listening to, or watching anything like that, is to give sin an outlet into my mind. And if I do this, then obviously, I don't hate sin.

I was reading Philippians today, and in chapter 4, verses 8, it talks about what we should put our minds on. What ever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

But do we think about what is true? Noble? Right? PURE? Lovely? Admirable? The things of Excellence? Or those that are worthy of Praise? We should!

In Proverbs 3:7 it says to Fear God, and shun evil.... I think God is trying to say something...

So, my goal is to take the appropriate steps towards hating sin.

My main approach? Lining everything I do, say, hear, or watch, with God. Proverbs 3:6 says to acknowledge God in all your ways. So that's my goal.

I hope you find something in this. Thank you for reading.

Live for God, don't glory in yourself.

John Mark,

Culture:

I have been thinking about Culture lately.

What is Culture exactly? Well, simply. Culture is the way of life among a group of people.

But how does Culture affect me?

Before I go deeper into that question, let me chase a rabbit. But in chasing this rabbit I will tell you how I came to this question. But before I chase this rabbit, let me say first that, what I am about to go into is not for the purpose of pride on my part. Not to praise myself, but instead to praise God, my Father. And that you may possibly read this and learn something. And even be inspired to gather your own stories.

This is the Story:

For several months now I have been burdened with this great sense of, uselessness. (Refer back to my earlier post No longer Pointless.)
I would read my Bible as it spoke about the Disciples taking action, and serving, and it scared me. The conclusions that I gathered as I thought more and more about these things. The more I thought the more I was convicted, and frightened. Then I would listen to Lyrics of songs, (Primarily by Lecrae) and I was ashamed of the claims that they made, the ones that I don't live up to.

So, as I got thinking more and more about this, I decided to call in a friend. As we got talking about it, we found out that we were thinking the same things. Literally, the same exact thoughts. So under conviction, urgency, we set forth a plan. But in our plan, we hit a barrier, a pretty big one. A cultural barrier. We went into the rough neighborhoods of our town to talk about Jesus. But how do two white guys, relate to a mostly African American population?
I have no idea. But we spent about an hour talking about what we learned. And formulated another plan.

But you see, Culture is a factor in all witnessing. And witnessing is what we are called to. But we just have to learn to bridge the gaps. These barriers that we face in getting this message out, may be fairly large barriers, but Christ is greater than them.
We just have to address the urgency of this calling, we must answer, we must go!

I read Luke 5:30-32, I think about it. And I am convinced that we should be out into a rough crowd full of poor people rather than in a luxurious church with relatively rich people. Not that I think church is bad, but these people need to be reached.

Paul in 1 Corinthians 9 compared this life to a Marathon. Now, you may now know this, but in November I ran a Marathon. So I understand his comparison all too well.

But picture this, this life as a race and Christ is telling you to run! To go hard for the Lord! And all you have to do is trust Him, and move. But far too often we stand still. Why?? Because we are afraid, we are afraid to fall. But in our fear of falling, we don't realize something that is beyond important in this! That as along as we are running, if we fall, we still move forward. But we still are afraid to slip up, not realizing that in falling, we learn to trust God more. It makes us stronger.

People, we have got to go out! I can tell you in all truth, from experience, that a lack of service is the quickest way to kill both Passion and Faith. (James 2:17.)
It is for this reason that I stop asking people what God is doing in their lives. But rather, what is God doing through their lives.
Because it is all too easy a question to ask, what God is doing to change you. But it is so much different when asking, what is God doing through you that is changing others?

This urgency to go, if ignored, is cruelty to the highest form. Far worse than both Stalin and Hitler. Will you stand aside in silence? Or roar like a Warrior of The Most High God?

My mouth is moving, so let's get these feet moving too.

John Mark,

The Confusion of Love.

Love is so hard to grasp. And to understand. Yet the more you think about it, the more you realize that you are over thinking it.

Love is quite simple. Be kind in all things, treat the one you love in all patience gentleness and kindness. Forgive all things. And never give up on them. And help them become more than their mistakes allow for.

The only reason that Love is so confusing and hard to grasp is not because Love is confusing and hard to grasp. It is because this world, and the culture of sin, has made it so much different than it actually is.

We are surrounded by ideas of what Love is, so naturally we have a hard time trying to figure out what it truly is! Simply, look at Christ, and what He did. Love at it's best point. Purest form.

Or so my ramblings go.

John Mark,

Predestination

Over the past few weeks, some of the guys in my Youth Group and I, have gotten together and discussed different topics. It started with just me and one other guy.

That first night, we discussed predestination. Now, for a long time now, Predestination has been a topic that I did not like to discuss, because I did not like the idea of no control over my life. Mainly, it was because of Pride. But as we sat down and started talking, we talked some about Romans 8:28; (All things work together for good, for those who love God and are called according to His Purpose.)

Then I read the next verse with it.
29:

For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.

I have always struggled with the idea of Predestination, for a number of reasons. So, as we began to talk about this, and to debate different things; I found that I could not walk around and just simply forget this verse. So, I read over it. And the verse phrase caught me. Specifically the one word, foreknew. It reminded me of Matthew 7:20-23:
It talks about here, people coming, crying to God, all the things they did in Christ' name. But Christ said, I never knew you, depart from Me you who practice lawlessness. Perhaps, the word, foreknew, and knew are similar here. Perhaps God is saying, that since He is God, and He does not live inside of time, that He knows who will pursue a true relationship with Him, getting to know Him. And who will not. And from there, He gives each to his own destiny. Thus, they are Predestined.

God gives to each the opportunity to know Him, but He knows that some will not pursue. Some will claim, some will act like it. But wide is the road that leads to destruction, and many are they that go on that road. But narrow is the way that leads to Righteousness, and few are those who find it.

This is just a shortened version, and quite simply, it is what I believe on the subject of Predestination. I may be wrong, but personally, I do not believe that this matter is the one on which my faith stands. My faith stands alone on the belief of Christ Came, Christ Served, Christ Died, Christ Rose, Christ Redeemed.

In Christ Alone My Hope Is Found.

Thanks for reading!

Adios,

No longer Pointless.

Sunday morning as my Pastor was preaching. I had this thought; one that affected my thought process the entire day. I thought to myself: I'm bored.

• No, not bored in the sense that I was listening to some old dude give a lecture on the Bible. In fact, I quite enjoy my church, my pastor, and the words that God speaks through him every week. So no, I'm not bored in the church service. I am bored in the church. I mean, what is Church?? We go two days a week, perhaps participate in activities on other days of the weak. Go on mission trips, and summer retreats we amass great amounts of knowledge from This Amazing Book, and then give 10%... if that. 

• But that sums it up. Quite frankly, its boring. I read stories of people, missionaries overseas mostly, who go, leave everything behind, just to preach the Gospel. Some get beaten and throne in a prison, left to live their last days in a cell. Others are tortured and killed publicly. But each sees, or sparks, amazing things in that area. Whether it is mass amounts of people coming to God. Or supernatural occurences, much the same to the ones in the book of Acts. I imagine it this way. I am in an army, I hear stories, see soldiers in the army hospitals seriously wounded, yet filled with joy. Their joy over flows as they explain their wounds. And after hearing that... I go back to my desk job, doing paper work. Paper work that is good yes, but not what I was trained for. 
• It's much like the movie Captain America (*Spoiler Alert*) when he becomes a "show boy." And then this girl tells him, that he was made for more than cheap theatrics. So he takes action.I am tired of cheap theatrics. I want to be on the front lines as my General raises His banner high, yelling "Onward to the Prize!!"
• As I have considered this, and I think of the fact that I say all the time: The Church is not the building, the Church is the people. I have come to realize that I am of a sad group, of Churchgoers. Not in what I believe, but in how I live. Sure, I believe the Bible. Yeah, I carry out my beliefs in keeping from sin as best as possible. But, that's not all that Christ called us to be. He called us to be the Church. Not Church goers. It is boring in this routine.
• So, as I went to Church Sunday night, I got together with some of the guys in my youth group. And I told them straight out, I'm bored. Then I asked them, when it was that they felt most alive in God. And each of them named a time when they were serving, or in deep study. Coincidence?? What we are called to do is serve. That is our job. We claim Christ as our example? Well what did Christ do?He served selflessly. Stood up to the oppressers. Loved the hated. Hm... not a very good picture of the majority of Christians I see. Sure, they are kind, loving, well meaning, and Bible believing. But theirs, and my life, do not reflect selfless service. Radical fulfillment of God's commands.
• I read verses like 2 Corinthians 13:5, saying test yourselves to know that you are in the faith. And I test myself. I read Revelations 3, saying to the Lukewarm Church, I will spit, literally puke, hurl, you out of My mouth. And no, I don't believe in "Lukewarm" Christians going to Heaven. You are either in or out, no middle. Or to the church of Sardis a bit before in that chapter: You have a reputation, but I know your works. That you are dead. Anyone else wary when they hear this?? I know, good and well that I have a good reputation. I hear it all the time. So I am scared, that perhaps I am dead.
• It scares me to read Matthew 10:16 on through the rest of the chapter, when Jesus says: When you are persecuted, not if, but when. I frightens me that I face no opposition in my beliefs. We sing songs of praise to God, but rarely do we consider those words. If we really did, I think we would either Radically change our lifestyles. Or sit down and be quiet. Then I read Ezekial 16:48-50; Where God says to Isreal, (His chosen people.)
• As I speak, Sodom never did as you did. This is why I destroyed Sodom: They were Prideful, Full of Food, and had abundance of Idleness, (Notice it says Idle, not Idol. Idle. As in, not doing anything) neither did they strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. But were haughty, and committed sin before Me. (Paraphrase. Go read it yourself though, its awesome.)
• This should scare you. Because I can pin this on the American Church. Even on myself.We were made for more than this. It is high time we take action. If you truly believe the Bible, you will realize, that pursuing what you want, is a sin if it is not what God wants. Cause then it is against God's will.
• So decide now, are you the Church, or a Church Goer. Because if we are simply churchgoers. We honestly, might as well put our Bibles on the shelf, and lock up our churches. Because our purpose on this earth is to serve. If we don't do that, we are pointless.
• I don't know what the first step is. But we have to do something more than what we are doing. We need to be Radical.
• I understand, that this does not apply to every Christian in America. But it certainly applies to a lot of us.
• I hope that in this, this deep desire to be more. That I am not alone. I also hope that in this doing all I can to take action, that I am not alone. If we rise up, we can change the world. Like we were made to do.
• Thanks for reading, 
• John Mark.
• Isaiah 58:3-14; 51:7; 61:1; 
• Jeremiah 20:9; 22:15-17; 

And love is... what exactly??

I can imagine someone asking that 2000 or so years ago before Christ came to earth. What is love? Is it this odd set of butterflies? What is it? Christ came to show Love. Not the world's idea of love.

Nearly a year ago, I chose not to pursue a relationship, with any girl outside of Friendship, until I felt I was old enough to consider marriage. I had several reasons for this, Emotional Purity, wanting to take time to get closer to God without yet another distraction, and because when I look at someone and say: I Love You. I want it to be real. I want to mean it. I want to know what I mean, and not fall back from it. I want to know what Love truly is.

Paul told the Corinthian Church that:


⁴ Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵ It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶ Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷ It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

 ⁸ Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.

I see several relationships around me all the time, come and go. I see them rise and fall. They are not unlike Old Testament Kingdoms. Initially filled with so much promise! But this people know not what they are doing, nor the meaning of what they claim. So they crumble, as a spectacle for the multitudes to see. It is so sad. And more of a reason for me to stay away.

In my house, there is a joke, that I am a "Relationship killer." Because I have had some people come up to me, and ask me for my opinion on their relationship, and the situation they are in. And I tell them honestly, most times, my opinion is for them to back out. And several have.
I am known at my Church, to all of the younger girls, for telling them that they should not get into a relationship if they are not in one. And if they are, they shouldn't be.

It's not that I want to ruin peoples relationships. Or make them unhappy. Or anything of the sort. Quite the opposite. Because in this world, where "Love: is as frequent as McDonalds, I see the people hurt by these things. (Not unlike the affects of McDonalds on your system... but that's a whole other story.)
I see girls, running to men for affection that they feel robbed of. Looking for love, in this world where love is distorted. I see relationships ruined, because one day, this couple are best friends, and the next day, week, or how ever long, never speak much a word again!

No, I don't want to ruin peoples lives. I just want a few simple things.
I want to know, what Love is.
I want to live, what Love is.
I want to see, what Love is, in the lives around me.
I want to show, what Love is, to those who are searching.

What is Love then? Still a struggle I have. I wonder what it is. I rarely believe anyone, when they say that they love someone. Especially after the relationship ends. Because, Love NEVER Fails. Failure, and Love, never met each other.

I have noticed that all of the attributes of Love are much the same as the Fruits of The Spirit. So, it seems to me, that true love, is found in God alone. It is in God's example. Christ.

What did this Man do?? This Man, Served, selflessly. This Man, Gave Himself, holding nothing back for Himself; Except His prize... which was His Love. This Man, was Patient, when His own followers, like children, argued among themselves, asking "who will be greatest??" This Man, was Kind and Caring, when a woman hated by society was brought before Him, and was said to be deserving of death. This Man, Spoke Truth, and Truth alone. Even when people didn't like it. He Spoke only Truth. Truth of the better things to come. This Man, never made someone smaller than Himself. Rather, He made Himself the smallest. This Man Healed the hurting. This Man Did Not Want FAME from this world. But instead would make Himself hated so that I could know that I am loved. This Man, Protected His loved ones, when the Pharisees came with a mob to arrest Him, telling them to leave His followers alone. In the times where I have been attacked, He has protected. This Man, Forgave me when I was unwilling to forgive myself.

So what is Love? God is Love. And to truly Love, one must be as Christ was.

Love Never Fails.

I would ask of you one thing, do not say this word love to another, unless you are willing to take on full responsibility of what it means, keep this word Sacred.

Thanks for Reading.

John Mark,

Discussion Session Part 1:

Over the past few weeks, some of the guys in my Youth Group and I, have gotten together and discussed different topics. It started with just me and one other guy.

That first night, we discussed predestination. Now, for a long time now, Predestination has been a topic that I did not like to discuss, because I did not like the idea of no control over my life. Mainly, it was because of Pride. But as we sat down and started talking, we talked some about Romans 8:28; (All things work together for good, for those who love God and are called according to His Purpose.)

Then I read the next verse with it.
29:

For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.

I have always struggled with the idea of Predestination, for a number of reasons. So, as we began to talk about this, and to debate different things; I found that I could not walk around and just simply forget this verse. So, I read over it. And the verse phrase caught me. Specifically the one word, foreknew. It reminded me of Matthew 7:20-23:
It talks about here, people coming, crying to God, all the things they did in Christ' name. But Christ said, I never knew you, depart from Me you who practice lawlessness. Perhaps, the word, foreknew, and knew are similar here. Perhaps God is saying, that since He is God, and He does not live inside of time, that He knows who will pursue a true relationship with Him, getting to know Him. And who will not. And from there, He gives each to his own destiny. Thus, they are Predestined.

God gives to each the opportunity to know Him, but He knows that some will not pursue. Some will claim, some will act like it. But wide is the road that leads to destruction, and many are they that go on that road. But narrow is the way that leads to Righteousness, and few are those who find it.

This is just a shortened version, and quite simply, it is what I believe on the subject of Predestination. I may be wrong, but personally, I do not believe that this matter is the one on which my faith stands. My faith stands alone on the belief of Christ Came, Christ Served, Christ Died, Christ Rose, Christ Redeemed.

In Christ Alone My Hope Is Found.

Thanks for reading!

Adios,

It's been a while...

I don't know where to begin exactly. But I will try.

Life has been good, my walk has been great. Besides the past week. I've been hit hard by my many struggles.

Something I have always struggled with Pride, and as time goes by it gets worse and worse. As a way to grow in my relationship with God, I try to not only read and study my Bible, but to also read and study books by other people. But as I write these things down, I don't want them to die in my heart, so I post them as statuses on FaceBook. And let me just say, I've been on a roll. This book I have been reading is filled with things, just strong convicting words. And I got a lot of attention on my statuses from that. Whether it was 'likes' or 'comments'. And, especially for me, it is so easy to get caught up in this pride. And I know that God has blessed me with Wisdom. But I start getting into this mindset, that this Wisdom is mine. Its not, its God's. And then I begin to hear people tell me about how the things I say are so great, and then I hear them quote me. To be straight up, it feels great!! But, then I get into that mindset, and its hard to step out.

I also face another enemy day to day. Pursuing relationships. I mean, for anyone who knows me, they know that I am really big into "Emotional Purity". (Another post... haha, another day.) But I struggle day to day with the desire to pursue a relationship. Then it gets worse, when I am surrounded by a lot of really, really pretty girls.
To add on to my dilemma, I'm a chick magnet. Now, I know what you are thinking; "This kid just talked about pride, and now look at him!!" But sometimes that's how it comes across. When I am under the impression that several girls are interested in me. It makes my daily battle not to pursue... even worse. And it adds to pride.

And lastly, I have been facing a new enemy. Doubt. Don't get me wrong, I have struggled with doubt before, as anyone has. But never like this. Doubting the existence of God. I know it sounds stupid. Seriously it does. I literally think to myself: This is so stupid. It is Satan and my Flesh attacking me. And I hate it. I don't want to doubt God, I want to wholeheartedly cling to Him!!

And then there's Hell. Do I really believe in Hell?? I claim to. I could preach to you on it. I could wear the Book out showing your verses. I could walk the whole nine yards. But, I don't live with this "Hell Mentality." As if desperate that NO ONE goes to Hell. Would the death of a Sinner affect me more, or less, than a Christian's??? It should! I should tremble, and fall to my news crying for that person. But. I. Don't.

I need a desperation for God. I need a desperation for the Lost. I need an intense belief and urgency concerning Hell. I need, less of me, and More of God. Because all I do to myself is kill myself! God Heals Me.

Save me, Jesus save me. Save me from myself. From all my Dreams Come True.

Thanks for reading.

John Mark,

Praising God; From a New(ish) Perspective:

Tonight is Wednesday night, I went to church, which was awesome. I absolutely love church. But tonight, as we were beginning to start singing, I really got to thinking: "What does someone, who is not saved, and hasn't gone to church before think about Praise and Worship songs?"

Thus I began thinking about what they would think, essentially; trying to think as if I had never been to church before. And the first question I thought of was: "Why am I singing? Why do we Worship God?"
I believe that for someone that isn't saved, that is a valid question. Why worship God? So here's a few verses, go through them and let me know what you think!

Psalm 86:
5 For You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive,
         And abundant in mercy to all those who call upon You.
8 Among the gods there is none like You, O Lord;
         Nor are there any works like Your works.
 9 All nations whom You have made
         Shall come and worship before You, O Lord,
         And shall glorify Your name.
 10 For You are great, and do wondrous things;
         You alone are God.

 11 Teach me Your way, O LORD;
         I will walk in Your truth;
         Unite my heart to fear Your name.
 12 I will praise You, O Lord my God, with all my heart,
         And I will glorify Your name forevermore.
 13 For great is Your mercy toward me,
         And You have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol.

 14 O God, the proud have risen against me,
         And a mob of violent men have sought my life,
         And have not set You before them.
 15 But You, O Lord, are a God full of compassion, and gracious,
         Longsuffering and abundant in mercy and truth.

Also, check out: Psalm 89:8-15; 92:1-6; 95:18;

I think it would be really beneficial, and awesome to have kind of an "intro" to worship. Telling why we worship our King.

Thanks for reading,

John Mark.

I'm sorry for not posting in awhile. I will try to soon.

Ephesians 6:5-20;

Verse 5 is where I am going to focus today.

Bond servants, do everything as if for Christ.

How often do we call God "Lord"? The word actually means; Master. So we are slaves to Christ. Bond servants. So, in all our actions do them as if they are for Christ and we were commanded by Christ to do those things.  Not as men pleasers. But as slaves of Christ doing the will of God.

Christianity: Blissful Slavery.

Be strong in the Lord, and the Power of His Might. The Power of His Might... I can hope in that.

Put on the armor of God so as to defend yourself from the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against Spiritual darkness of this age.

Stand with truth, since the truth is what has set us free, we should live by it. Righteousness, Christ has made us righteous in His blood thus we should walk in righteousness. Prepare yourself in the Gospel--the Good news--of peace, though I fail so often, we should start each day in the Gospel, to prepare ourselves against the world. The Shield of Faith, our great defense: Faith. And the helmet of salvation, putting our thoughts on Salvation so that nothing wicked can enter our minds. And the sword of the Spirit, letting the Holy Spirit fight for us, for we cannot stand alone.

Praying always. Pray for me that I speak as I should.

Well, that's it. Ephesians is over. Wow... at times I thought it would never end! I hope you enjoyed it, I am sorry it took so long and that I missed some days here and there.

Thanks for reading!

John Mark,

Ephesians 5:15-33;

Live your life circumspectly. For those of you who do not now, circumcision was a ceremony dedicating a male to God. So to walk circumspectly is to live a life dedicated to God; "Not as fools but as wise." Anyone who seeks after God is wise.

Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Christ is redemption, so to redeem the time is to Christ to this day and age.

Therefore be wise, and understand the will of the Lord. And don't be drunk but be filled with God. If we are filled with God then it will show in the way we treat each other. So, we should speak to each other in Psalms, hymns, and Spiritual songs. Singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of the Son, Jesus. Submitting one another in fear of God.

These last verses of chapter 5 are about marriage, since I am not married I am going to leave them alone. But please look at verse 29, and think about it for yourself.

Sorry I have been slacking, I have no excuse, but I am trying to keep writing.


Thanks for reading!

John Mark,

Ephesians 5:1-14;

In verse 1 it says to be imitators of God as dear children. He says "as dear children" because a child will act like the people around them him or her until it molds who they are. So to imitate God is to take on His attributes until we are transformed into His image.

And walk in Love. Love is our greatest command from Christ. (See Matt 22:35-39.)
And to love as Christ loved us is to love to the point of dying because you love them so much.

Foolish talking. We talk so much, especially me. And we say things that are foolish, we say coarse jokes. And I'll even admit, about a year ago, I would, with no guilt at all, say sexual jokes and think they were hilarious. But they are wrong, literally, taking what God made sacred and making it a joke. But instead of these things, we should be giving thanks. And praising God with our words.

And know this; that no person who is a fornicator, unclean person,nor a covetous man, who is an idolater has any inheritance in the kingdom God.

And  don't be decieved, because people who claim Christianity will try to justify themselves. And God's wrath is coming.  So do not be partakers with them.

For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as Children of light-finding out what is acceptable to God. And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them. For it is shameful to even speak of those things which are done by them in secret. But the things that are exposed are made manufest by the light ffor whatever makes manifest is light. Therefor He says.

Awake you who sleep,
Arise from the dead,
And Christ will give you light,

We need to be careful how we act and speak, we are the church. We need to represent Christ, and do that well.


Thanks for reading,

John Mark,

Ephesians 4:25-32;

Paul addresses spoken words here. Put away lying, and speak truth, for we are members of one another. We are a family, we are the Body of Christ.

Be angry and do not sin. It is not wrong to be angry, if you read through the Bible there are many times that God Himself gets angry. But we are not to sin in our anger, nor are we to hold on to it. Don't give place to Satan. If you get angry, big deal, address the problem immediately and then get over it.
Let him who stole, steal no longer. Learn to work for yourself, labor with your own back for your own bread, and the bread of those who have none. Let no word proceed out of your mouth, except that which brings grace to the hearers... Perhaps that means that any word that offends someone is profanity. Don't grieve the Spirit. I don't know exactly what Paul meant, but I would guess that he meant not to wallow in unhappiness. Lift your head high, trust God, and be happy that you are able to take your next breath. Let anger, wrath, clamor, and slander/evil speaking be put away from you. Don't make a big fuss over things, don't anger linger, you are going to get angry, just let it go. Don't put people down, it's worthless. The Paul tells us to be kind, tenderhearted, forgiving one another as God in Christ forgave us. In that last verse, Paul tells us to do a few things, that line up with the attributes of love.

Thanks for reading,

John Mark,

Ephesians 4:17-24;

The new man. Before I start talking about the new man let me first give you a picture of the Old man.

Picture, a zombie, I'm serious. Rotting flesh, foul smells, bugs crawling through it. Remember, it doesn't fully decompose... is just... stinks. It walks around mumbling little groans that no one can understand. Just think about it, now on the side of the old man being dead in his sins, and how repulsive he would be... that's the best picture I can give. Now the conscious statement of them being dead, I can give two; Recall when God created man, He formed Adam from dust... At this point, Adam is just a pile of dirt. Now, imagine yourself going up to Adam and trying to witness to him... How is that going for you? The fact is, that until God breathes the breath of Life into Adam... Adam is just a pile. So is the same spiritual state of Adam... Until God opens Adams eyes to the truth... Adam is dirt. Example two; A drunk man, or a mentally unstable person. Someone that has no control over themselves and are lenient towards violence.

Now you have a picture of the Old man. So, what about the new man?
To put it simply, the exact opposite of the old dude. Paul tells the Ephesians not to act like the gentiles.
Paul tells them, that if they have heard Christ and have been taught by Him--or His teachings--then they should not live as the Gentiles. Sometimes, we cut Christianity a little short. No, as Christians we are to abstain from sexual relationships outside of marriage. But somehow, it is okay to say jokes like that and to watch movies and TV shows that contain a lot of that. How does that make sense?? And we do it with other things too. Paul says to put on the new man, which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness. True righteousness and holiness. In that true righteousness and holiness, which is God, we should act like we are that new man. Sometimes it is hard to, and yeah, we'll stumble. But we have got to keep running. Got nothing else holding out for us but God, so we have to strive after Him, and to shine for Him.

Sorry, I don't have much for today.

Thanks for reading,

John Mark,

Ephesians 4:7-16;

To each of us, Grace was given, according to the measure of Christ' gift.
Okay, first and foremost, God has gifted everyone! There is no Christian, that God has not gifted. I mean, I hear some people say all the time, that they are not talented, when a lot of times, they are amazing!

The measure of Christ' gift. Christ is our inheritance. We are His portion and we are His prize, born to redemption by the Grace in His eyes! (How He Loves; David Crowder Band, or John Mark McMillan... no, not me.)
We have been given gifts according to that measure... think about it for yourself.

Verses 9 and 10 touch on something that I briefly spoke about. I will tell you, I honestly believe, that while Christ was on the cross He was in Hell. It says that God turned His back to Christ, and that is what Hell is, separation from God. Not to mention, a mere physical death is not enough to pay for our sins. Because if that was the case, we could all be killed and be perfectly fine.

To some, God gave to be Apostles. I believe that Apostles were people who had seen Christ.
Prophets...prophesied...
Others to be Evangelists, or to put it another way; a Missionary.
To others Pastors or Teachers. They teach, they pastor those they are over.
He gave people these gifts so that they would be equipped against the teachings of the world. So that we speak the truth in love, so as to mature, in Christ in all things. That is why we have been gifted, for growth in the Church. So the body functions fully.

So yeah,

Thanks for reading,

John Mark,

Satan's battle plan:

If demons spoke to us in the common stereotypical "voice of the devil," who then would they deceive when their goal is to make us unaware of their presence? Instead, they try to make us believe that their voice, is our thoughts of reason. Or better yet, to make us believe that their voices are that of Angel's, by using the Bible to justify our wrongs. "And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an Angel of Light." (2 Corinthians 11:14.)

And Satan being the King of lies, then why would he tell us in truth who he is?

We are only as good at things as our experience sharpens us to it. The more experience you have, the better you are at it, no matter what. Satan is ruled by the same thing.

If you notice, when Satan began to tempt Eve, he tempted her with the exact thing he was throne from heaven for! Wanting to be like God.
Genesis 3:5;
"For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."
In truth, when Satan began tempting mankind he kept to what he knew best. In his indirect temptations, he changed his tactics, ever so slightly. You see, many people don't always notice--I was one of those people, I learned this from the book Wild at Heart, by John Eldredge--that yes, Adam did fall after Eve, he was right there when she was being tempted. And he didn't help her.
Towards the end of verse 6 still in chapter 3, it says; "She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate."
But still, he may have changed, but not by much. Where as with Eve he tempted her to give up God to be like God. He tempted Adam into leaving God, not necessarily to be like God, but instead to be with Eve. God took Adam's rib to make Eve, thus Adam felt incomplete with her. So Eve is what Adam replaced God with. In our day, Satan has changed tactics and replaced God with material items such as drugs and alcohol. Even video games, clothing for girls, or whatever girls are in to.

Satan is not foolish in his attacks, that is why he must disguise himself. If we always knew exactly who it was when we were attacked, it would be of no avail for him to come at us. Just as if he attacked us at our strongest points, what help would that be?? We need to narrow down our Spiritual weaknesses, the places we are frequently attacked, and the places that we fall most. And we need to start fighting back.

Our side of Spiritual Warfare is just doing what our General commands.
Jesus on the cross, in a personal way, is almost like a fierce battle at a very important hill. When the battle is won, the General stands on top of the hill, with us by His side.

I love the Lord of the Rings Trilogy. But I like to pinpoint Biblical references that Tolkien so strategically placed in that story. One that I noticed is when Frodo and Sam are on the slops of Mount Doom. Frodo rolls over on his back, and Sam asks him if he remembers the shire. Frodo replies, that he cannot feel a thing, all there is for him is darkness, his is cold and naked in the presence and at the mercy of his enemy. So Sam replies: "Then let us be rid of it! Once and for all! Come on Mr. Frodo! I can't carry it for you, but I can carry you!"

You see, there are things, that God does not do. He does not take certain things from us, such as emotions. He lets us experience those, so that we are still human. He cannot carry that pain for us, but He can carry us.

Beware of Satan, trust in God. That sums it up!

Thanks for reading.

John Mark,

Ephesians 3:14- 4:1-6;

Paul prayed for the Ephesians, praying that; God will grant that they be strengthened in Might through His Spirit in the inner man.

The inner man is the spirit of man, it is what makes us unique from all else of creation. I don't exactly know how to describe it, but when that Spirit, that man, or woman, is angered, roused, becomes passionate about something. It is an amazing thing, as long as it is in the bounds of what God commands. Have you ever seen someone on fire for God? Where He is their passion and desire?? They are amazing to see, and truly inspiring.

Christ dwelling in our hearts, ever present in our words and actions through faith. Christ in us. Is Christ in you? Truly living in you? Is your life evidence of that? We could be the only Bible that some people ever read.
So that when we are well grounded, solidly rooted in His word, we may know the Love of Christ.
And when we know this, when we are rooted, Paul prays that "they be filled with God."
I want to be filled with God, to give Him my all. To live for Christ all the way.
To God be the glory, our Great God who is able to do more than we could ever ask or think. According to the power that works in us.

That is interesting to me. According to the power that works in us. What if God means, that whatever we ask, we will only receive if His power is working in us? Something to think about...
So, does that power work in you?

I beseech you to walk worthy of the calling of which we are called. To be humble, patient, enduring in/with love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit of the bond of Peace.

First, walk worthy as to the name we bear. (CHRISTian.) Live as Christ so as to be Jesus to the world. And Paul listed attributes of living worthy.

We fight to keep peace because we are one Body. And we answer to one GOD.

And He is in us!

Thanks for reading,

John Mark,

Ephesians 3:8-13;

To Paul was given this grace. The grace of God, so that Paul could know the mystery of the Gospel, so that he could speak to Gentiles the truth. To make all see the mystery of the Fellowship, so that all can understand Christianity.

Paul keeps retracing, that God hid this mystery in Christ. God had this all planned, totally and completely planned, to one day reveal this mystery of everything that He was up to, in Jesus.
God's plan, and purpose in Christ, was that we could have a direct relationship with Him. As we were created.

Then he says that his trials for them, are for their glory. Paul is such an optimist!

That's all I have, sorry.

John Mark,

Ephesians 3:1-7;

Paul starts, naming himself a prisoner of Christ. Many people believe that Paul was in prison when he wrote this, and they might be right, but that is not what I am focusing on entirely. If I were to focus on him actually being in prison, I would commend his viewpoint. I am not a prisoner of kings, princes, governors, emperors, or any other power of man, instead I am a prisoner of Christ.

To put it in my words, I am a prisoner of Christ. Christ loves me so much, that I am a prisoner to Him. Free from sin, slave to Him.

God through His grace gave Paul knowledge of Christ' mystery, the mystery of Christ, is a mystery. I know that does not help you any, but bear with me, I don't fully understand it either. I guess to explain it the best I can, is to retrace the first two chapters. Jesus came and died, so that we may have eternal life, chapter one tells us why He did it. Bringing us to Him, brings Him pleasure.
Chapter two tells us how, in more detail, He freed us from sins. He broke the barrier between God and man, and made peace... simply put.

To Paul was made known the mystery of Christ, my best guess of when is the Damascus road. It was made known to him, for the purpose that he would understand it and share it with the Gentiles. This mystery, is the same mystery that all of the Prophets wish that they had known. Who knows, maybe God told a few of them, that is not for me to declare. Though I will say that Isaiah did speak a lot of the Messiah, so he may have known something.

But otherwise, this Mystery, which is our bases of Faith, has been revealed to us, but was not revealed to generations before. How blessed are we!!

This revelation, was revealed to the Apostles, that we, the gentiles may know Christ. That we could be fellow heirs with not only God's chosen people, but with Christ Himself!

Paul finishes by saying that he was made a minister. And that is perfect for how I plan to end this.
As I was writing some of this, I was talking to a guy, about something that he was worried about. He was worried about the people in his school, and how their actions now could seriously harm them later in life. So I asked him; "What are you going to do about it?" And his simple answer, was to pray. Which is right, prayer is always the right thing to turn to.
But I asked him if he had reached out to them and tried to witness, he said no, because they didn't know him.

I encouraged him, by telling him, that if they don't know HIM they will die. And that it is up to him, because he is a minister of Christ, as a part of the body of Christ.

2 Corinthians 5:20 says that "We are ambassador's for Christ..."

We all need to be actively witnessing, because this world is dying and doomed. I'll admit, I don't witness like I should, but that is not an excuse. We all must try and bring Christ to everyone we meet.

Thanks for reading,

John Mark,

Ephesians 2:11-22;

Paul says something here, that we need to hear:

Those people on the streets, those people on those shows, singing that music, in that bar, in that night club, that teenager with the child... You were there once. You have only one difference from them, you have Jesus. Why do I like this little bit? Because it is humbling, we realize, we are not above them. But, we have been brought near to Christ' blood.

Now, where Paul says that Christ is our peace, in this context he does not mean peace in troubled times (though Christ is our comfort and peace in those times).
At the fall, peace between God and man was destroyed, the Priest had to go to God for us. In fact, in the temple there was a physical barrier that separated where the Priest' could go and where "commoners" could not.
Christ restored this peace, broke that middle wall, and gave us direct relation to God. Christ is our peace, with Christ, we are "cool" with God.

 To God, we are no longer strangers and foreigners, we are citizens and Saints... in the house of God. And we, in our faith have been built by the Apostles, Prophets, with Christ as our cornerstone.

Christ is our cornerstone, we are built, like a house, in our faith, with the Gospel (the Apostles and Prophets)
 as the materials, so that we can be a dwelling place for the Holy Spirit.

Thanks for reading,

John Mark,

Ehpesians 2:1-10;

I love the beginning words, for every Christian these are like gold!

And He made you ALIVE.
You are alive, you are a living creature, you are not some machine having to be pushed to and fro, you have a choice. You are alive and kickin'! You may not be kicking very high, but at least you are kicking!

Then he goes on to say, exactly what God took you from, and what your former death really looked like. Remember just a bit ago, how I said that you were not a machine being pushed to and fro?? Well, that is what your former death was like. You had no choice, at first, Satan told you to do something, and you did it. Afterwards, it was natural, he barely had to nudge you. You saw sin, and you knew nothing but that sin, so to it you went. So he mentions all of these things that we as Christians were, and it looks pretty bad.

But, God jumps in. God, He who is rich in mercy because of His love. Not just any love. His GREAT Love. Now, where Paul says that He made us alive with Christ. I don't know if that is simbolisiom, or if he meant that when Christ rose from the dead that the Sacrifice had come to completion. So, we were made alive with Christ. I honestly don't have any other theories on that. Let me know what you think!

God raised us up, we are, in truth, vile disgusting people. But God raised us up, and made us righteous in His eyes. He did this, as we saw in the last chapter, because it brings Him pleasure. He wants to show us His grace, and how far it abounds. For we have been saved by Grace, and NOT by works. Because if we could have achieved Righteousness by works, then why in the world, would we even care about Jesus???

I love this next verse:

For we are, HIS WORKMANSHIP. We are His, He made us! We are His masterpeice, the pinnicale of creation. We are His image bearers. We were created for good works.

So, here is my challenge to you, and myself. Start living your life, striving for those good works. Not to earn your way to heaven, please no! But because it pleases God. We are His image, and if we let that image become more vivid, then more people might come to Him.

As David Platt said in His book Radical, bringing someone to Christ is "A cause worth living for, and a cause worth dying for."

Thanks for reading,

John Mark,

Ephesians 1:15-23

Now, before I begin again, you must know that I do not claim to be some great Bible Scholar, I am not super wise and what not. In all truth, what I write, is just what runs through my head as I read.

I love how Paul begins, and when he talks about the first time he heard of their faith; he doesn't just say: I did give thanks. He says; "I still do! I give thanks and always pray for you."
Then he gets more specific.

When he makes mention of them he asks God to give them wisdom, and revelation in the knowledge of Him.
The eyes of our understanding. When you look at the Scriptures, do you always understand everything?? I do not, I look at it sometimes and it blows me away. I just don't get it sometimes, that is what Paul was praying about. That the Christians in Ephesus would have more understanding, of God and His word.
The Hope of God's calling, the hope that not only is Christ coming back as King of ALL. But also, that He is going to bring us home. To Him in heaven, and not tossed aside, as trash. (If you want, I'll elaborate on this in a later post.)
Not only the hope of His calling, of our reward, but of His power! Exceeding power which He demonstrated, when He raised Christ from the dead. He raised Him from the dead. Jesus had been dead for 3 days, where was He while He was in the grave???? I have no idea. I have heard it said before that during those three days He was in hell, I will not say yes or no to that, for I do not know.

But He raised Him from the dead, and this, this next part is our hope! He placed Christ above all things! Above Satan, above the Demons, above the world, above all that beats us down! God is in control!

How do we know this? The scriptures, that is exactly what Paul prayed, that these people, would understand this, so that they may have hope. But how can they understand, if they don't read?

Here's my prayer, that each of us, would not only read, but that we would understand. And that through reading, and understanding, that we come closer to Christ, and we set our hearts to fulfill His mission!

Ezra 7:10;
"For the Lord had prepared his heart to seek the law of the LORD, and to do it, and to teach statutes and ordinances in Israel."

Pray to God to prepare your heart to seek His law. And when you seek it, do it. After you do it, teach it.

That verse is something I need to work at. Seeking after God. There are somethings I need to do differently, and that is my goal. To grow more in Christ this year than last year. And last year was Spiritually the best year of my life. God can outdo that, He is God.

Thanks for reading,

John Mark,

Ephesians 1:4--14;

This is pretty much what goes through my mind as I read these verses:

He chose us, He chose us before the foundation of the world. This passage is mostly on Predestination, for me it can be a very edgy subject. It says that He chose us.

Here is how Salvation works: We are all born in condemnation. We are headed to hell, yes for our sin, but more specifically, for our rejection of God. We all know God. A common question is; Will people who have never had the chance to hear the Gospel, will they go to hell? The answer, yes.

Harsh? No, they are receiving the same punishment, for the same thing that everyone that goes to hell is being punished for. Rejecting God. But how can they reject a God of whom they have not known of? Well, in Romans 1:19--20, Paul nails that. Of course they have heard, God reveals Himself in creation, these things he has made known to us that we may have no excuse. We have rejected God! We have no excuse, all who are created, have a knowledge of God, and have rejected God.

So that is the second step to Salvation, first we are born condemed but God reveals Himself to us.

The third step is our choice. You see, God, in all of His infinite wisdom and power, has predestined that He would show Himself to us, but in all of this predestination, He gives us the choice, to accept or reject. Accept God, through Christ, or Reject God and Christ.

In the debate of freewill versus complete predestination, I am in the middle. There are certainly several things predestined, but how God made love, love is a choice. And Jesus said that we must love Him with all our heart, love cannot be forced, but, it can be inspired.

So He chose us, He chose to save us.
He chose to save us because pleased Him, it brought Him pleasure. It glorifies Him, because of His grace, and it is because of His grace that we are redeemed. It's His blood that washes us, It doesn't paint over our sins in order to hide them, It washes us!
We have been predestined us, according to His purpose, so that we could live lives that bring praise to Him.

After we have heard, we accept, and we are sealed, and that glorifies God.

So, we are born sinners, God has revealed Himself to us, we hear, and we either accept or reject.

Romans 10:14--15;

Thanks for reading,

John Mark,