CONSIDER THIS: AUTHENTIC

 AUTHENTIC….”But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart….1 Samuel 16:7

CONSIDER THIS: Shakespeare once said “be true to thyself and thou shall not be false to any man”. One of the definition of the word “authentic” is being “accurate in representation of the facts; trustworthy…and genuine”, according to most dictionaries.  The world can spot a fake Christian over a period of time, after observing the speech and actions of that person. God sees our actions, intentions and our spiritual heart, which is who we really are.

If we say we are a Christian, we are saying we are a reflection of Christ. Would both God and those around you agree with that?  One more time, let us be resolved to not just be authentic in our inward faith, but in a life full of integrity before both man and God.  It is only a heart full of no double-mindedness and no twisting things into pretzels to make them fit a template, that can truly move forward in Christ, in a new year and at any point in our brief time here on earth.

ACTION: The Apostle Paul himself exhorted us to examine ourselves daily to see if we “be in the faith”. Paul did not say this because we need to get “saved again” (which is impossible). All of this self-examination is so necessary moving forward. Therefore, let’s take the following few steps:

• Pray the Lord reveal any hidden sin in you…from even way back in your childhood, of which there has been no repentance or closure. Trust me – there are many which were hidden and which God Himself will bring to mind, if you ask and He allows since ALL sins were forgiven at the point of conversion. When He brings them to mind. Repent of them and it is so simple – they will be gone! This is important. Our sins are forgiven when we get saved, but there are things in our hidden past which must be resolved before God and, I know from experience, He will wipe the entire slate clean. Hold nothing back. He knows, so be authentic.
• Pray the Holy Spirit takes absolute control in both your prayer and devotional life as well as your daily life, where you live and work and eat and drive etc. If you do this, He will guide you into a new plane of Spiritual maturity and power of which you never would.

TO BECOME A "LITTLE CHRIST"? (FROM ACTS 11:26)

When the people of Antioch (now in modern-day Turkey) thought they were mocking the followers of the new Faith System headed up by Jesus Christ, the Son of God, by calling them "Christians", they did not know how right they were!

In Acts 11:26, we are told the following: "when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. And for an entire year they met with the church and taught considerable numbers; and the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch". When the unsaved locals called them "Christians" as Dr. Luke records in this book of Acts, it was not an endearing term meant to honor these new disciples of Jesus. They called them, in a snarky and sarcastic way "Christianos"....or "Little Christs". In other words, just like today, these people looked down on these saints and basically said "bless their hearts, look at them....they believe in a Man nailed to a Cross Who lived in an outpost across the Mediterrean Sea, years ago. They can't even see Him."

Christianos - Little Christian. 
It is now 2000 years later. Many of us are not just little Christians, in the form of being mini-Jesus's but too many are little in mind, thought, word, deed and Bible knowledge. We can fix that now. The Bible exhorts us to the following: "Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus,  who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped,  but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross" (Philippians 2:5-8).

Do you want to be a "Little Christ"? Then the Bible tells us to do the following:

1  - Have the same mindset of Christ, Who KNEW the Father and what the Father's Will was.

2 - The Father's Will can be found in all Scripture, from Cover to Cover. Therefore, KNOW the Word of God through reading the entire Bible, no matter how long it takes, then asking the Holy Spirit to reveal everything through our reading and study of the Word.

3 - Be Humble (Jesus existed in the Form of God...because He was God, yet He did not hold on to His Throne in Heaven while yelling "this is Mine...and I am the King". He never did that. Jesus humbled Himself and died on a dirty Cross, killed by filthy and evil men - to do the Will of God the Father.

4 - Be Obedient. verse 8 above tells us that Jesus became "obedient to the point of death even death on a cross".  We must become obedient to the Will of God to the point of dying to ourselves in the sense of giving up our fleshly desires, lusts, ways and more.

So you want to be called a "Little Christ", let us be resolved to do ALL four of these items above in order, as laid out in Philippians 2:5-8 so that when we are accused by an unsaved world of being like Jesus, the verdict will be - YES I AM!

NEW LIFE - A MONTH OF VERSES: JANUARY 7, 2017

VERSE: "He who trusts in his own heart is a fool, But he who walks wisely will be delivered" (Proverbs 28:26)

EQUATION: Navel-gazing + Puffed-up self esteem divides from Authentic Relationship

ACTION: Christians in the west seem to have a problem separating the temporal from the eternal, thereby making horrible, even life-altering choices. We were not bought at the highest possible price- the Life of the Son of God on a Cross- to give the devil a foothold in our lives. So let's cut this out. Let's stop acting like fools and let's cease giving the world ammunition with which to beat God over the head with, by calling us hypocrites.

PRAYER: Our Great God and Father in Heaven, we repent for every wrong choice in life, which each and every one of us has made, sometimes many times over. Help us not to take Your matchless Grace for granted so we can keep on sinning, but remind us all that You gave us the Spirit of Power and Self- discipline what we may be delivered from all evil and temptation, when put upon by the evil one. Help us to choose wisely and to defend our bodies, minds and souls from all sides while cutting off the angle of sin that we may be shining lights for Christ, at all times and for all the days of our lives, in Jesus' Strong and Holy Name, we ask these things, amen.

(Clip Art Credit Here)

DEEP SEA PRAYING - FINAL SESSION

JONAH'S GETS 2ND CHANCE

“Those who pay regard to vain idols forsake their hope of steadfast love. But I with the voice of thanksgiving will sacrifice to You; what I have vowed I will pay. Salvation belongs to the LORD” (Jonah 2:8-9)

This great prophet/evangelist knows first- hand that of which he speaks.  He now has an intimate knowledge of Holy God, never mind the fact that he was prophesying in the pagan Northern Kingdom of Israel about this same God, to Jeroboam II. Jonah was in a place where the majority of mankind goes and never returns and saw the Temple of the LORD, Who restores Jonah due to his own kind grace, mercy, compassion and long-suffering! He has seen the Holiness of God and knows that those who practice idolatry…those who bow down to the 300 million pagan idols of Eastern religion… those who idolize culture or celebrity or self – they have ALL traded in Faith in the one true God for the vile and perishing things of this temporary world.  They have abandoned not just the font of all true knowledge but the Only One Whose love is strong and never changes.

This is a major condemnation from someone who was in the abode of the lost with this spiritual eyes wide open! All the lost of this world (which is the majority) and even those who profess to be Christians are stunningly unaware of the true nature of Holy God and His Righteousness. The Lord is disrespected all over western celebrity culture and then paid lip service as if He is somebody’s crazy uncle or kind grandfather to be acknowledged occasionally on Sunday morning or at the end of a political speech. Only those who have had a major life-changing and transformative encounter with the Father or more likely – the Son Jesus Christ – can grasp the power and presence of the Almighty to the point we cannot help but stand in awe, bow down and just live a life of repentance and ingrained worship.

This is the kind of sacrifice that Jonah speaks of here where his attitude of gratitude is in the metaphorical stratosphere. He is so much in debt at the mercy and goodness of God that he is offering to do whatever it takes. This is the true meaning of discipleship, following on Jesus’ command that you and I cannot be His disciple unless we are willing to “take up our own crosses daily” and follow Him…(or we must decrease that He might increase).  Jonah vowed to pay or repay the Lord for saving and rescuing Him but like us, we can never BEGIN to repay God for what He hath done for us.  We can make as many vows as we wish and not fulfill a third of them. Therefore we should not swear any oath before God unless we intend to follow up with it one hundred percent of the time.  Now Jonah did do what he set out to do – he evangelized Nineveh and spent his life teaching them. But it took a lot for him to love those people. Just read Jonah Chapter 4.

Finally, the hero of this prayer, one of the most revelatory and power in the entire Bible, declares “Salvation belongs to the Lord”! He knew this first hand. We can do nothing – He can do everything. Jonah also knows he has been given a second chance. He proclaims Salvation while showing the proper gratitude because of the Radical Grace God has shown and given to him. This same Grace is available today for anyone and everyone. All we have to do is ask. We ask with humility and faith and with a repentant heart. This way, we too will be able to proclaim "SALVATION BELONGS TO THE LORD"!

SPEAK LIFE, LESSON 2 - WITHOUT WAX!

"So that you may approve the things that are excellent, in order to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ" (Philippians 1:10)
We cannot approve that which we do not know but one thing is certain: to

function in the Kingdom of God, we must KNOW the Heartbeat and Mind of Him Who sits on the Throne. Subsequently, there is no other way than to know His Word by daily reading of the Bible as well as praying without ceasing.

We must know the Mind of Christ and to know that, the first qualification is to belong to Him...to be saved. But beyond being justified and made right by the Savior, we have to be listening to Him and not trying to skate into heaven under the wire like most Christians alive to do. We have been given the authority and power (John 1:12 "But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name). That is what the word RIGHT means in John 1:12. Therefore, because we do that the "dunamis" (original work in Greek), we may approve and make a judgment on what we support, link arms with and ultimately pray for.

There are many things in Christianity today, which are not just outright sins but hidden foxes which can damage the entire person and thus the Body of Christ. One of them is doing nothing in the face of evil, which itself IS evil! There is a reason our walk, talk and prayers have to be full of wisdom, discernment and powerful Word of God. The reason is - the Day of Christ is coming, where the majority of mankind will NOT stand. They have heard the Word preached many times during their lives and not only rejected but rebelled against God and His/our Savior Jesus Christ.

Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things (Philippians 4:8)

So, in brief, this is how we pray for that we may, and those for whom we pray, WILL remain sincere and blameless as we anticipate the rapidly approaching Judgment Day:
Pray from Philippians 4:8
-  Whatever is honorable. Honor is in short supply these days...from the top of leadership to the schools and even churches. The word here is "semna" - weighty, serious, dignified, of great importance. Pray for honor in families and thus communities and then pray and demand honor from leaders of all strata.
-  Whatever is right. This literally means what is right FIRST and foremost in the Eyes of God. Pray for all God's people to walk before Him with transparent lives which will not bring dishonor to His Name. Too many are living ungodly lives steeped in the corrupt culture and then calling themselves Christians, thereby leaving the unsaved to think "if so and so is a Christian, I want nothing to do with Christianity". Of all the items in Philippians 4:8 this may be the most significant as it speaks to the attribute the Apostle of God speaks of in Philippians 1:10. This is the attribute of being sincere and blameless. If our conduct causes another person to turn from God and Jesus Christ, who later dies in their sins, there will be an accounting for that on the Day of Christ! 
-  Therefore, pray for authenticity in our walk before God and our fellow citizens, friends and families. The key word from God in Verse 10 above is SINCERE because if we are sincere, we will be blameless and not actively sinning and rebelling in the Face of a Holy God! The word sincere may soon soapy and sweet but it is not. The word sincere is derived from two Latin words (sine- without; cera - wax). What Roman furniture makers kept doing was filling in flaws, cracks and mistakes with wax to make it look good rather than fix the problems. This fueled a backlash and the few genuinely honest furniture makers would advertise their furniture as "Sine Cera" - without wax...and therefore, without a manufacturer's flaw! This led to the English word - sincere....without character flaw....and without blame!

This is the only way to stand before God on Judgment Day. The amazing thing is this - we cannot do it on our own! We just cannot do it - only Christ is blameless...but we can be found "without wax" and thus, sincere! As we pray today as we walk before God and man today, let us search and pray away the dross and the phoniness and the facades and let us pray for each other and ourselves to live transparent lives.

SPEAK LIFE: LESSON 1 - PRAY WITH LOVE

And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment. (Philippians 1:9).

So many lessons on prayer, pleading and pressing in are laid out for us to grasp, learn and apply throughout Scripture and especially the New Testament, that one would have to be blowing past them at warp speed to miss these bold colors. Our great teacher and sent one from the Lord - Paul - was the master at illustrating Jesus' love for people in the way he described his modus operandi for enhancing their spiritual lives.

Paul's teachings have become stock and the standard wherein we must pattern our lives to become more Christ-like, and therefore live the life which God has called us to live. What gave Paul such authority? Well, it was more like WHO! After Jesus knocked him off his horse on the road to Damascus as he was about to do another round of killing and jailing Christians, Jesus Himself taught Paul in the Arabian desert for three years on how to impart the message and use his vast knowledge of the Law and the Prophets to explain He, of Whom, the Law and the Prophets spake - Jesus the Messiah! That gave the Apostle the authority, so when he says "be imitators of Christ" like I am - listen!

The best example of a brother in Christ, who loves people and loves fellow believers is found in these three short verses. The love shown here spoke not just volumes but absolute life to the brethren, who were stuck in the same weather military complex of Philippi alongside pagans...sort of like how we are. But Paul, building on the theme of Love, which he started in 1 Corinthians 13, continues on here. Also, please remember that Peter confirmed all Paul's letters to the churches at this time as carrying the very weight of SCRIPTURE! So there was no difference between the authority and inspiration of Paul's Words as there was with Moses in Deuteronomy! Let us now then, follow these simple steps to love someone else to Jesus, and thus, speak life to them!

PRAY:

-  THAT YOUR LOVE MAY ABOUND MORE AND MORE: This resembled the Father’s love in John 3:16 “for God SO loved the world”. This agape selfless and sacrificial love is actually really easy to come by, once the love and Life of Christ abides in you and I! In these trying days, our love for fellow Christians and especially those under heavy duress, persecution and worse in the pagan parts of the world should pour out of us like ice cold milk on a hot summer day. We cannot do anything to help our persecuted brethren in the Islamic or communist countries, but we sure can pray for them. 

If western churches spend even 10% of the time loving on and praying for our brothers and sisters being beheaded and worse,  the western church would become more aligned with the Will and Purposes of God. Many people are drawn to us when we show this kind of love! Our love can also abound in material ways. Prayer, in love, leads to action which leads to real ministry to the hungry, hurting and humble. We know by the joy in our very spirit, that our prayer for particular person(s) that our intercession has feet that walk out our faith.

-  IN REAL KNOWLEDGE AND DISCERNMENT: To really pray effectively for the benefit of anyone, including ourselves, we have to basically know what we are talking about. This requires a true knowledge of the Holy One - Yahweh and the Father as well as the correct literal interpretation of the Scriptures. So first, we pray because Scripture commands it. We pray because we love God and want to know Him as much as we can, on this side of Heaven. Still even if we pray 24/7/365, we will never know even half of what we will know about God one day in Heaven! We can only know Him through the Scriptures and even then, even through intentional expository study according to the Full Counsel, whereby Scripture explains Scripture. Unlike other religions, Christianity is thinking person's religious system whereby the One True God of Heaven reasons with us because His Ways are higher than ours, yet simple enough to comprehend. 

Therefore, we are a people whose faith is built on transparent knowledge and awareness of not just our created surroundings, but the Creator Who giveth all things unto us....and things which include WISDOM! Knowledge of the Holiness and Heavenly Abode of the Almighty as we love others to Jesus leads then to discernment and Godly wisdom. We MUST use discernment while praying for another. There are several reasons for this: we do not/should not mislead those for whom we are praying with false claims of things which God has not said or revealed. Name it and claim it word faith frauds are the worse offenders of this false prayer paradigm and do more harm than good, while not exhibiting Godly love at all. Godly discernment in praying in love for the needs of another is the outflow of an intentional lifestyle full of obedience and humility. The person who lives Micah 6:8 is one whose discernment is the living definition of Biblical thinking in ALL areas of our own lives. 

Remember our own brother - the Apostle Peter said the following about Biblical discernment that God "has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence" (2 Peter 1:3). So let us lay hold of this knowledge and wisdom so that when we pray and love on another and/or speak life through our Godly conduct, that we do so ENTIRELY in line with Scripture. These are the only prayers which the Father honors. To do otherwise, is to not love God with our Heart, Mind, Soul and strength (body) and therefore - not to love "our neighbor as ourselves".