BUT BE YE TRANSFORMED BY THE RENEWING OF YOUR MIND

The following excerpt was copied from the “American Thinker Blog” for which I believe they clearly captured how many “Christians” and many “churches” view God’s Word today. They stated, “In America today there is a new fad called ‘Designer Christianity’. Cherry-picked Christian ideology has zero to do with God’s Word and everything to do with the moral relativism that now pervades modern philosophy. It is a pick-and-choose brand of religion where a person selects exactly what they want to believe, misinterprets and takes Scripture out of context, and then labels those who object to that sacrilege as mean-spirited, un-Jesus-like, and anti-Christian. It’s a mentality that says a personal interpretation of Scripture trumps the canon of God’s Word and anything can be justified because God is much bigger than small-minded, fundamentalist-style thinking. Rather than align with truth, designer Christians mistakenly believe that God is eager to conform to public opinion and expectations.”

But should we really be surprised? For centuries, there have been individuals and churches that have cherry-picked and chosen pet verses from Scripture to justify their behavior. Yes, even churches have been just as guilty for taking God’s Word out of context – just to push their own agenda or new fad; which has nothing to do with Christianity. We see it in the music that is sung in the congregation, fables and life stories that are taught instead of Scripture, books that are pushed behind the pulpit, and doctrines / teachings that God’s Word never endorsed – let alone trying to force God’s Word to conform to public opinion and expectation. God stated that His Word is true and every man a liar.

Romans 3:4,

“God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged.”

God’s Word also states that we [whether individuals or churches] are to be transformed – not conformed to this world; to be renewed in our mind.

Romans 12:2,

“And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”

God’s Word harmonizes without error – and man has a responsibility to see the harmonization in the Scriptures; and then to believe it, accept it, embrace and live it. For, if an individual or a church chooses otherwise, they will fall back and be broken.

Isaiah 28:13 states,

“But the word of the LORD was unto them precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little; that they might go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken.”

The apostle Paul stated the following to Timothy.

2 Timothy 4:1-4,

“I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom; Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.”

Paul also wrote in 1 Timothy 4:1-5,

“Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron; Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth. For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving: For it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.”

You might choose to be a “Designer Christian” or “church”; however, it will be God who will ultimately judge you for your actions. He isn’t swayed by public opinion and expectations – [because] He is GOD.

THE CHISEL

Author – William Andrew Dillard

In communication exchanges with my dear cousin, Sandra Thieme of Colorado, she mentioned the idea of a chisel. I cannot get this off my mind, mainly because it makes so much sense. Accordingly, I attempt to expand on that idea for my own analysis, and I hope it may make some sense to others who read these lines.
How prone we are to live life to the fullest, but as much as humanly possible within our comfort zone. When something invades our comfort zone, it is always by an external force, and not of our own making. We are secure in who we are; identify ourselves by the peripheral things and people around us, especially those we have known for a lifetime.
When a parent, sibling, or child dies, we feel ourselves chiseled. But we must understand that we really are as a sculptured work of art, fashioned by the Master Artist, and fully realize that He is not done with those of us who remain. When one of my children was still-born, it was as a chisel strike that I would have avoided at all cost, but one that brought more clearly into focus the fashioning of my life by my loving and righteous Creator-God. When deep depression struck in 1984, the chisel had never struck so hard and so painfully to shape my life to solely depend on my loving Sculptor. Then, dad died in 1987. The chisel struck again; painfully, but masterfully, further defining what I am to ultimately become. When mom died in 1988, it was a chisel blow. When my sister died in 2000, the chisel struck again. She was the first of my siblings to cross the bar, and I felt so vulnerable; that there was less of me than before. This week, my brother just older than I, succumbed to a massive stroke, and I am again feeling the strike of a chisel. There was love between us, even though we were not so close in later years as we had been as youngsters growing up. Still, all the precious people were there, and I knew it, and to some degree depended upon it. That was my comforting, self-definition of life. I feel the chisel from which no one is immune, even ministers of the gospel.
I do not seek immunity from the chisel, nor do I lament each blow as it may appear that I do. It is just that life is ever changing, and those who love the Lord will feel the chisel as He uses the events of life to channel us into complete trust and comfort in Him rather than the people and things that surround us. One day the Master Sculptor will be done with the chisel, and changes will cease to occur for we shall see Him as He is because, at last, we shall be like Him. Until then, may God give each of us the strength and grace to be still, and to cherish each blow of the chisel in the comforting knowledge of what He is doing to and for each one of us.

Soul and Spirit

Bob Hess has done some in depth research on Man’s Soul and Spirit. With consideration of the girl on life support because of a common operation, maybe this will give some people a little insight into a dilemma.

 

 

I had an individual who wanted me to do a lesson on “The Difference Between The Soul And The Spirit”.  I taught a Sunday School lesson on this over the weekend and will pass it on to you.  I hope this will answer questions that MANY Christians have had down through the years.

 

The secret to understanding this topic is the Biblical Terms that were used in talking about the Soul and Spirit.  I attempted to show this in my class.  My Sunday School class seemed to understand it, so I’ll give you a try.  Here it is.

 

 

1.  The Greek word Psuche is translated into the word SOUL and LIFE.

 

 

    a.  In the New Testament this term is used to speak of the immaterial part of man.  It is invisible and is contained inside of the flesh covering.

 

    b.  Man’s soul speaks of the INTERNAL LIFE ELEMENT of the man.

 

    c.  I know that this may set many back on their heals, but animals have a soul.  In Revelation 8:9 we read “And the third part of the creatures which were in the sea, and had life, died and the third part of the ships were destroyed”.  The word “life” is the Greek word Psuche or in the English, soul.

 

    d.  The difference between the animal and man is that the man was created with a soul that was made up with three elements.  Man’s soul consists of two additional elements that animals do not.  Man has a SPIRIT and a MIND that are part of the makeup of the human SOUL or PSUCHE.  Animal souls do NOT contain these two elements.  We will get into these two elements later.

 

    e.  In 1 Thessalonians 5:23 Paul speaks of this.  He says that when the Lord comes back, we will go to be with him as a whole person, body, spirit and soul.

 

    f.  In Genesis 2:7 we are told that God breathed into man’s nostrils the breath of life.  the word soul in this verse the Hebrew word, nephesh.  This word means breaths.  Here it states that man became a living soul or a living, physical, breathing being.  The term corresponds with the Greek word Psuche which is translated as “life” in Revelation 8:9 and soul in other references that are too numerous to mention.  See also 1 Corinthians 15:45 where the term is translated as soul and in Acts 20:10 where it is translated as life.

 

 

2.  The word Greek word Pneuma is translated as SPIRIT.

 

 

    a.  As was stated in our look at Psuche, the human has an element within the soul that is called the spirit.  That is one element that is NOT found in animals or other created beings.

 

    b.  It is very important to realize that this is NOT the word that is used for a GHOST.  The KJV translates Pneuma as Ghost in speaking of the Holy Spirit.  “Ghost” is a completely different term in the Greek, which we will see later.  The third person of the Godhead is the HOLY SPIRIT and NOT the HOLY GHOST.

 

    c.  The SPIRIT of man is not a material element, but is, as the soul, immaterial.

 

    d.  This part of man makes the man aware of his body and his natural, physical environment.

 

    e.  It is the part of man that makes him like God in the respect that it (the spirit) is eternal (will NEVER go out of existence) and it can share that characteristic of God.

 

    f.  It is the part of man that can be given a new birth from God (John 3:3-7).  NOTE:  It is the SPIRIT (Pneuma) that is born again (from above by the Spirit of God) and not the soul (Psuche).  This new birth is made possible through placing one’s trust in Jesus as his

 

Carnality

  Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.
– Romans 8:7 KJVTechnorati Tags: Carnal, enmity, mind, God, law