How To Develop Friends

Ye adulterers and adulteresses, 

know ye not that the friendship of the world 

is enmity with God? Whosoever therefore 

will be a friend of the world is the 

enemy of God. Do ye think that the scripture

 saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth 

in us lusteth to envy? But He giveth grace, 

Wherefore He saith, God resisteth the proud, 

but giveth grace to the humble. 

Submit yourselves therefore to God.

 Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

 James 4:4-7

     Authentic Christians have a particular characteristic: they are not satisfied with mere outward appearance of good, rather they know to be concerned with the just and the motives behind an action and know the need for purity within the inner person. How Authentic Christians are to do this is to fight this battle between their carnal nature and the call of the Holy Spirit within them, calling them to obedience. This requires a person to avail themselves with all the resources that God provides so that they can resist the Devil, and to resist their love for themselves, that which is continually encroaching upon their sacred space. To begin a person must do self-examination so that flaws are revealed. So then, what are the answers to the questions, to that which we find to be incorrect? How are we to judge what is correct? It is simple: Scripture! If a person does not come to the place whereby they are reminded of their need for Jesus Christ, then it is probably they are cheating on the test. Do not just look for flaw; look for your strengths, those gifts that God has given to you to use, to be an outward expression of God, to be able to accomplish His purpose for your life. This will require work, to have a realistic view of human praise and the value a person may place upon honor based upon this world culture. You are worth the effort! Remember this: the praise of man is fickle! Praise of man by man is often given to those who do not deserve such praise and can be taken away just as quick as it had been given. 

     Here is where the Church has a "play" in this effort: they are to become friends, those attending Church have a need to form friendship with those who are also seeking to please God. It is good to have feedback from those friends, but this does not relieve a person from the need to exercise their conscience for only you know the true state of your heart. We do not just go to Church on Sunday and then go about our lives as though you have done enough: this is the state of too many people who attend Church. The Church leaders need to provide means for the congregants to be able to get to know each other and in large Churches it means to develop small groups to meet, to know each other and if one is not in Church on Sunday: call them! Many good things are happening but often it is more about "clicks" than reaching out to others. Here is something very important: you do not just wait for them to come to you: go to them! You do have a responsibility to be friendly. We must hold other friendships loosely and this is more likely to happen if true friendships are developed among other Christians. We are employed by God to advance His purposes and plans and we do not have to do this alone. Our employment is not the endgame, rather it is a means to a higher end, therefore, we do not praise the tool (That is us), rather we praise the tool, Scripture, God has given us this tool to accomplish the task that the tool was designed for. 

     Well, Sunday is coming: are you preparing? Are determining to be that friend? Are you willing to set aside small talk with the same person and to go and meet that new person? Are you willing to, if able, have a lunch date after Church at your home so that you can develop deep friendships? Hold the world at arms length: Hold your Christian friends close to you. We live in a world that detests Christianity, Christians, and are doing all they can to remove Christianity, so then we must draw together: "Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for He is faithful that promised;) and let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much more, as ye see the day approaching" (Hebrews 10:23-25). 

A man that maketh friends must

  shew himself friendly: and there 

is a Friend that sticketh closer

  than a brother.

              Proverbs 18:24

Hold God in high esteem

Richard L. Crumb 

The Duel

For we commend not ourselves again unto you, 

but give you occasion to glory on our behalf,

 that ye may have somewhat to answer them 

which glory in appearance, and not in heart.

2Corinthians 5:12 

Do ye look on things after the outward appearance?

 If any man trust to himself that he is Christ's, 

let him of himself think this again, that, 

as he is Christ's, even so are we Christ's.

2Corinthians 10:7

      The fine line that sometimes exists between Authentic Christians and cultural Christians, or liberal Christians is not only blurred but often non-existent. Mankind has always shown that a person thinks very highly of their opinion (I am at fault here at times), holding such opinions with high esteem. A word that conjures up mental pictures is "dueling." This mental picture is usually of two men facing each other with gun in hand, pointing that gun and then firing to kill the other person. This duel is usually fought over a quarrel to settle this quarrel. This word has a larger meaning: any contest between two persons or parties. In some way a person may even have a duel with their thoughts even though another person is not present. A duel is to prove to others that they are guarding their reputation and this at any cost, to avoid personal disgrace and this is done with such fervor. These arguments are generally based on moral arguments against malice or revenge. A problem is that there is ignorance as to the root problem that has led to a duel. We must not forget that duel is simply a demonstration of preference to have the favor of man rather than of God. In a duel to the death the life of a human being is at stake and if killed they would probably find themselves facing God, and there in His presence that person would come to know that what was done offended God. 

     Oh, you say, I have never been in a duel, in no way have I attempted to kill another person. Really! Maybe not a duel with a gun, but how about a duel with the mouth, or even with a thought? Do you not know that God will judge your very actions, and your very thoughts? How many times have you resorted to a duel for the sake of your name and honor, if so, then you are in the judgment of God. Have you ever had a duel with sin, a desire that you know is against the law of God? Have you ever had to make a decision when under the right circumstances that are dictating to you to do what you know is wrong? Duels come in many different forms and in every case your need to sin becomes greater than your need to be faithful (It won't hurt this time, I will pray for forgiveness, no one will know), and your self has some sort of esteem that you are really a good person and your physical or even mental life feels good. We all, if we do not attend to our relationship with Jesus Christ, sin willfully. We have a natural problem: self-esteem! No lofty ideals will vindicate a person because this self-esteem comes from selfishness, vanity, envy, jealously, and all combine to lead to disaster. Disaster can even cause a person to fall from achievement. On one hand this self-esteem motivates a person to excellence and on the other hand, it leads to such as wars, fights, destruction of societies, and self.

     This type of teaching, to avoid self-esteem is lacking in preaching today, that is, there is a lace of teaching about Christian morality. This is done by those seeking applause, approval, money, all has a higher value than teaching the hard truths of the Bible. Even if some Christian morality is preached it is too often done with out, or with, few qualifications. A person is taught to pursue personal recognition without teaching about the pitfalls in this pursuit. All this leads to seek vain things, to fill up a person with vain conceits, passions and to put one's affection on this life, this culture and steal the heart away from God. Children are taught to become successful, and this is not wrong to do so, but is this teaching also teaching them to be successful in life is not the greatest success, rather to be successful Christians is to be Authentic Christians. This even if it means losing a promotion, or seeking to be seen as successful, to have, more and more, and more, soon, God is left in the dust. This may be a reason why so many young people after leaving home to pursue life leave the Church. This may be why there are so few young people entering into missionary work, or to become involved in evangelism. They are not taught the truth: God does not care about your success! God cares whether or not you are living an Authentic Christian life and that involves being involved with the spreading of the Good News (was this not a directive of Jesus to the more than 120 in the upper room? Yes!). That directive was not just for the apostles, nor for our preachers and elders, deacons, deaconesses, but for you and I. You may not become involved as it might cause you to look "bad" before others as a "Bible thumper" and your appearance is not what you want it to be. Authentic Christian Faith has a distinct characteristic: not to be satisfied with mere outward appearance of good, but to be just as concerned with motives behind the actions and to have inner person purity. 

     Seem hard? Yes! But do we not have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit? Yes! So what is the problem, you, change from the inside/out and allow God to use you in His service. 

Help, LORD; for the godly man ceaseth;

     for the faithful fail from among the

children of men. They speak vanity every

     one with his neighbor: with flattering 

lips and with a double heart they speak.

                       Psalm 12:1-2

Blessing come from faithfullness

Richard L. Crumb

     

What Does It Mean To Love The World: Do Your Really Know?

I have written unto you, fathers, because ye 

have know Him that is from the beginning. 

I have written unto you, young men, because 

ye are strong, and the word of God abideth 

in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one. 

Love not the world, neither the things that are 

in the world. If any man love the world,

 the love of the Father is not in him.

 For all that is in the world, the lust of the 

flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride

 of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.

1John 1:14-16 

     The pride of life is such a problem within the Church, that is, (not to use a word, "church" as it so commonly understood), rather those who attend a Church that we must address this, not I but to readdress what the Holy Spirit inspired the apostle John to write.  The line between an Authentic Christian and a cultural Christian at times is blurred, in fact, hard to tell one from the other. This is especially true when it comes to worldly thing: not immoral things, rather those things of the world that are a distraction from being used by God in the manner He desires to use a person. A big distraction: wealth! Or, maybe to rise to fame, to high salaries, to be seen as successful, all things that in of themselves are not bad. It is what is the emphasis that is place upon such things that make it bad or good. What do you value most? Praise of man or praise of God? Cultural Christians place an inordinate love of worldly glory, a place of vanity that does not teach what the Bible teaches about such subject as how we are to live in this world. This is true even of Authentic Christians that place self above what God has instructed for His children to have and to exercise. We are not talking about doctrine, no, we are talking about our pragmatic use of our live, our means and if they are manifesting the truth according to the will of God. How people go to great lengths to protect this desire, or love of the world. Excuses are used as reasons. Our reputation according to the metric used by this world is more important to be seen in the eyes of men. We hate to have a loss of man's opinion of us, or to face dishonor and disgrace. We see this as unacceptable. 

     The apostle John gives us God's thought on this problem: His love is not in such a cultural person who claims to be a child of God: maybe they are, and maybe they are not: in either way: God is denigrated. If you call yourself a Christian and are seen as one who is really cultural, that is, just, or almost just, like them who do not believe, they only see hypocrisy and the thing you desired not to seen about you is seen in full panoramic color. So often we choose reputation over obedience. We see earthly reward to be of the highest value and worldly shame to be the lowest of value, even the greatest of possible evils. If this is the case then we are prone to change our course towards our obligations to God and we seek ways to avoid the consequences to take a stand against such worldly norm. This leads people to seek ways to serve God in ways that enable us to have earthly gain, to keep earthly gain and avoid worldly disappointment or disapproval. The result: We simply quit attempting to serve God fully. There is another way: we to to a Church where a person can lose themselves, at least for the moment, in some titillating and emotional form of worship (this makes a person to think that they are really Authentic: what hypocrisy), all to avoid following the will of God so plainly set forth all to read and learn. 

     The apostle John was writing to believers, those who knew the truth and reminding that we are not to love the things of this world and that if this is not true then we may not actually be in the most a child of God, or in the least one who has lost their way and need to reconcile themselves to God. 

     I believe, and this has been and hopefully will not be again for me, and for people at large, one who has allowed the love of this world to overcome and to lead me into a life that was not pleasing to God. Only by coming to God in repentance, true repentance, for it is our sin against a holy God that is occurring, not just a sin, but sin against God, our creator, our Saviour, our God who indwells in us to lead us in this life. Repent! Oh! How we hate that term! Do I mean that I must actually tell God how much of a sinner I am? Yes! If I am truly repentant then a change is necessary: I must change from the inside/out. I must, and you must, deny yourself and leave the things of this world behind. We all must make God our priority in life. Nothing rises above that fact. 

     Is this a gloomy outlook? NO! We have all that God has given, both to those who believe in Him and to those that do not. Look around: smell the roses! There is so much joy to be found in this world and if we take the time to look, it is there for us and God gives this to us. Only, and only can this be real joy if we truly understand that God is with us, and we are with Him, and that nothing that this world can give out gives God. 

     Okay! Gain riches, fame, success, and be seen as a really important person. You have all this now, but only for a time. Time will come when you will leave this earth and all that you have accumulated will be used by another, either in a good way, or a bad way. Furthermore, all your fame and fortune, and all that people thought of you will be lose, you will not be remembered, oh, for a time, but in time you will be as though you were never here on this earth. Think about it! Do you know anything about your great great grandfather? Probably do not even know his name, or what he did, or anything about him, in fact you probably really do not care. The things of the earth will pass away and only those things of God will remain (Matthew 24:35). 

     Are you really seeking God? Are you really wanting to be an Authentic Christian? If so, good! Then do what God has instructed us to do, and enjoy this life, by the witness you are supposed to be in any circumstances (as hard as it may be) and when you arrive in heaven you will hear: "Well done, good and faithful servant" (Matthew 25:21b).

Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter:

     Fear God, and keep His commandments: 

for this is the whole duty of man.

                    Ecclesiastes 12:13

Take and examination of yourself

Richard L. Crumb

 

A Great Gift From God

Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, 

if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: that the trial of your faith,

 being much more precious than of gold 

that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, 

might be found unto praise and honour and 

glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ: 

whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, 

though now ye see him not, yet believing, 

ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory: 

receiving the end of your faith, even the

 salvation of your souls.

1Peter 1:6-9 

     These blogs pointing out the differences between Authentic Christian Faith and cultural Christian faith, or liberal Christian faith may seem to lead to despair, impossible, or not want to make any changes (let things alone, I have never done things that way), but this is not the case. It is being pointed out that our ambitions, or exercise of life are to be led into true Authentic Christian Faith, a faith given to all believers in God. Joy is a major part of a Christian' life. Happiness is a major part of a Christian' life. Authentic Christians are motivated by the very fact that we have something that no Atheist, no Agnostic, no Cultural Christian, no Liberal Christian, has: we have freedom, we have joy, we can have peace in the midst of all the troubles this world may toss your way. We have something more: we have not only peace, joy, happiness in this life: we have eternal life that is the reward freely given to an Authentic Christian. So we have every reason possible for us to be joyful. 

     With all this that I have said it is sad to point out that this joy, this happiness, this freedom is misused by Cultural Christians, by Liberal Christians. How? All things are good if used in the right way, to be used as intended for them to be used: example: to hitch up a Volkswagon to a 53' trailer loaded with 40,000 pounds of goods is a misuse of that car. Yes, it is a vehicle, but it is intended to be used as built and not to be a truck. If it does pull the trailer a person may give praise to such ability, "Look, it is a good as any tractor," might be said, only when it gets to a hill it will not pull that trailer up the hill, it is being misused. Joy, is so misused by Cultural Christians as though they are using this vehicle (joy) to show that they are praising God, they give praise to a form of euphoric joy. They shout, scream, fall over with guttural sounds, and as done by the Bethelites at the School of the Supernatural here in Redding does: they run through a tunnel a tunnel of fire, or lay on tombs, and for them, they find some sort of personal joy. Music is so misused in the Church. Cultural Christians have allowed the musicians to be tattooed, to look like the worldly musicians, long scraggy hair, shouting, screaming out sounds and people listening become full of joy, a euphoric joy. There are Churches: i.e., Church of Christ, that does not allow instruments as though this is godly, and Scriptural, even some Presbyterian do the same. Both sides of this joy is being misused. How? Because all this does not reflect what the Bible teaches about how Authentic Christians are to live, to exercise their faith. Authentic Christians do no have an inordinate love of worldly glory even if they know that they cannot achieve such glory. Far too many so-called Christians have a love of flattery, admiration even when given in ordinary circumstances. People go to great lengths to protect their misuse of Christianity and they even get angry when what they are doing is wrong in the sight of God, wrong from Scripture. They fear a loss of that which makes them feel pious, godly, as though they are doing the will of God when in fact all they are doing is filling their need for self-satisfaction. 

     The antics performed in so many so-called Christian Churches is confusing to the world. In fact: they just consider that all this means that Christianity is just another religion, even one who seems to be more like themselves than that of what is known about the early Church. Paul points this out: "And ye became followers of us, and of the Lord,having received the word in much affliction, with joy of he Holy Ghost: so that ye were examples to all that believe in Macedonia and Achaia" (1Thessalonans 1:6-7). It is not that those in Thessalonnica were doing all sort of seeming joyous antics that caused them to be examples, no, they were following the guide giving to them by Paul and  Paul gave to them what the Holy Spirit inspired him to write to them. Notice this fact: The Corinthian Church had to be admonished for doing things that were not of God, and Thessalonnica is only 50-60 miles north of the Corinthian Church, so why did not Paul have to admonish them as well for those antics that were not of God? It was because the Thessalonicans stayed on course and were an example of Authentic Christian Faith. 

     As Authentic Christians we will face all sorts of trials and persecutions, those things of life that are unpleasant, yet, we have something that the world, those cultural Christians do not have: we have solid faith in that which we have not seen, that which we have come believe and we have freedom to live, to enjoy this life, to know that God is with us in all circumstances, and we know that we do not need to do anything that Christianity is not, we use Christianity as God intended or it to be used, and we do not do things that it was not designed to do, to be used. Paul exhort this for all Authentic Christians to be reminded of: "I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving thanks, be made for all men; for kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour" (1Timothy 2:1-3). There is no need to point on a "show" for the world to think that we are godly, no, all we have to do is to live a quiet and peaceful life in all godliness, that is, to become Authentic in our Christian Faith. 

Blessed are they that dwell 

    in thy house: they will be

still praising thee.

               Psalm 84:4

Great joy is yours: a gift from God

Richard L. Crumb

Our Funeral

Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, 

and there remembered that thy brother hath 

ought against thee; leave there thy gift 

before the altar, and go thy way; first be 

reconciled to thy brother, and then come 

and offer thy gift.

Matthew 5:23-24 

     In previous blogs I wrote about the need to Authentic Christians and that by following and applying in our lives the principles of God. The contrast between Authentic Christians and cultural or liberal Christians is sometimes blurred due to similarities. Part of our nature is desire and that is not wrong, or sinful, only when desire is leading you into that which is contrary to the will of God. Authentic Christians are not called or intended to extinguish our personal dreams, rather the principles that guide our desires should bring those desires under control. How is this done? By being submitted to the Lordship of Jesus Christ in our lives. When our desires are leading us to pursue the admiration of other people our lives will pursue things that are not of God. If we put earthly wealth as our goal, and it is not wrong to gather money, to be successful in finances, but if that desire, that perspective on wealth is not submitted to God then we are outside of the will of God as how we are to have a true perspective of wealth, how we are to use that wealth. Many of us, myself as well, have not always used that principle that our need for financial security with the right perspective. What we have forgotten, until it is too late, that the wealth of this world will fade away, it will say, "bye, bye." God gives us true wealth that will never fade away, or say, 'bye, bye. 

     God has given to all those whom He has elected to have eternal life wealth that is unaccountable, there is no way to measure such wealth as it is eternal, and we have done nothing, other than to repent of our sins against a Holy God, believed upon the One Whom He has sent, Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and that gift received by the repentant can never be lost: God does not take that away! We do have a responsibility, and that responsibility is: "And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lust" (Galatians 5:24). This is then important: the natural life is not sinful! What must occurred in us is to be apostatize from sin, to have nothing to do with it in any shape or form. You are, as are all Authentic Christians, a child of God, an adopted child and you, and I, belong to heaven and to God. This then means, we are not a child of this world, therefore the lusts, the desires the principles of this world are not to be the principles of an Authentic Christian. The question is not our giving up sin, but to give up your right to yourself. You are not your own, you have been bought: "Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his won body. What: know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit which are God's" (1Corinthians 6:18-20). I would venture to say that most all men and women know right from wrong, they know what is evil and what is not evil. Most would not debate over that fact, but we do have a problem: we debate with the good. When we debate with the good we seek the best and as we seek the best, as we go higher up the scale in natural virtues, the more intense is our opposition to Jesus Christ. We lose the fact that our life is not ours to do as we desire, rather it is now the property of God, therefore we must do the will of God and not our own will. 

    There must be a funeral in our lives, no, not the funeral of our physical death, rather the funeral of the right to ourselves. Here is a warning: Beware to refuse this funeral, the funeral of your own independence. The natural life is not spiritual, and it can only be spiritual by our sacrifice to ourselves, to leave behind the things of the past and to press forward in the will of God. Until we do this sacrifice, to perform this funeral God cannot use us He desires to use us, yes, we can perform acts of righteousness but those acts are that we receive in some form or the other praise for ourselves. The road for Authentic Christians is narrow and few will follow it, and the cultural Christian, those liberal Christians when deciding to which road to follow, the narrow or wide road will pick the wide road, it is easier. 

     The choice is in your hands! God is the Supernatural One, not some other form of supernatualism that is taught by Schools of the Supernatural, a school that has become prominent in Redding, CA, and leads people to follow some sort of religiousity. Only God is Supernatuaral and only God can use us as the means to spread the Gospel, but we must choose, God, or some euphoric worship that makes us feel good, some work that makes us feel godly. God desires to use us, get off your knees as this is not a question of praying, and praying a major part of this sacrifice of ourselves, and now perform, do the things of God and not of self, not of man. The bottom line: Obedience!

Every one that is proud in heart

     is an abomination to the LORD:

though hand join in hand, he shall

     not go unpunished.

                      Proverbs 16:5

You lose nothing by obedience

Richard L. Crumb  

Seeking The Praise Of Man

But seek ye first the kingdom of God, 

and His righteousness; and all these things

 shall be added unto you. Take therefore

 no thought for the morrow: for the morrow 

shall take thought for the things of itself. 

Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

Matthew 6:33-34 

     The nature of man is to be independent, to be their own person, to do all that they want to do and to be able to do all without condemnation. It is this desire to be independent that cause a person to reject the principles of God, His instructions. It is true that man does make laws and write about the problems of immorality, but here is a part of that which is not written about: the internal motivation for that action. To address a problem and find the correct solution is to know the motivation, the internal factors leading up to such actions. For instance: there is not a person, no matter what they say, that abortion is wrong, it is a problem and they would rather not have to deal with this problem. Only they do deal with this problem by allowing abortion, to allow even that which they know is wrong and by this they do not have to deal with the reason why so many women are having abortion. Or, how about marijuana, a drug and this is true for it is an hallucinate much as any other hallucinate, opium, heroin, etc., so they acquiesce by giving it some sort of benefit: i.e., it medical, which is not really the case as it only makes the mind to be dull, but it does reduce pressure so it does have some benefit to those with glaucoma. We do have medicine to deal with disease or ailments, only the person wanting to use marijuana enjoys the dulling of the brain: Marijuana and hashish, two substances derived from the hemp plant (Cannabis sativa), are also considered natural hallucinogens, although their potency (power) is very low when compared to others. Marijuana (also called grass, pot, tea, weed, or reefer), a green herb from the flower of the hemp plant, is considered a mild hallucinogen. Hashish is marijuana in a more potent, concentrated form. Both drugs are usually smoked. Their effects include a feeling of relaxation, faster heart rate, the sensation that time is passing more slowly, and a greater sense of hearing, taste, touch, and smell.http://www.discoveriesinmedicine.com/Enz-Ho/Hallucinogens.html

     Man loves to gain the approval, the applause of other men so if they desire is for the approval or applause seems to be beneficial to society it is viewed as a good thing. The Bible teaches the opposite that this desire for human admiration is in of itself a problem. How? When this motivation is corrupted, and that is very probable, not just possible, it will then seek to give credit to man instead of giving all the good to God to whom all the glory belongs. Do we have to give God the glory for the good? Yes! God created all things for man so that man could live in a world that is beneficial to them and if God had not done so, then we would be living in nothing more than a bad world. Man may do good, but can only do good because man was made in the image of God, therefore has the ability to do good (something made out of material that has not one bit of goodness in it cannot do this for man), the choice to do good or evil is man's choice. 

     Do you believe that the Bible is accurate and that it's evaluation of man true? Think on this: we need to understand that the world's culture, its commendation or even its condemnations may be skewed and twisted. This is going to be the case more often than not if the Bible is ignored and its rules for living are darkened or depraved. The Bible gives us standards of living, better standards than what this world gives and if we follow the world's standards then it is probable that there will be a problem. Is this not what we see in this world? Yes! Improper focus leads to improper behavior. Improper focus and understanding of Scripture leas to behavior that even is wrong in those Churches that teach a form of experiential worship. When praise is lavished on a person we must stand up and take notice as this is not what an Authentic Christian does as this will puff up a person, their vanity. 

     This improper focus will keep us from focusing on eternal things. We are told to set our minds on things above, to "seek the kingdom of God" not on this world and its culture. This seeking the culture of the world distracts a person from the truth and leads to cultural Christianity. We we receive lavish approval then we are led to self-reinforcement and we want more of it and this, and is often false praise, gains a foothold in our lives. This Authentic Christians do all they can to avoid this problem leading to cultural or liberal Christianity and this can be done by "seeking first the kingdom of God." The choice is yours, and mine: will you or I do it? Eternal life is at stake, not that Authentic Christians lose eternal life, only that we will give an account of our life at the judgment seat: "Now he that planteth and he that watereth are on: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labor" (1Corinthians 3:8). 

Wisdom is before him that

    hath understanding; but

the eyes of a fool are in the

    ends of the earth.

               Proverbs 17:24

Are you preparing now for the Sabbath?

Richard L. Crumb

Leaving Behind: Self

For if I by grace be a partaker why am I evil 

spoken of for that which I give thanks? 

Whether therefore ye eat, or drink,or whatsoever 

ye do, do all to the glory of God. Give none 

offence, neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, 

not to the church of God: even as I please 

all men in all things, not seeking mine own profit, 

but the profit of many, that they may be saved.

 Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ. 

1Corinthians 10:30-33; 11:1

     It seem incredulous that people who attend Church, call themselves "Christian" have yet to incorporated the words of God into their souls, into their exercise of life. The Biblical principle is so very different from many who profess to be Christian. How? Rather than hold a desire to please God in all things, to holds that desire in high esteem, they do just the opposite, and what is worse is that they make excuses to be reasons for such an attitude far different from the principle set forth in Scripture. The Bible is clear, plain, and teaches us that the state of our minds should be conducive to a true condition that is one of humility and even to recognize the extent of our flaws. The Bible teaches us that we are fight against our natural tendencies toward arrogance and self-importance. If a person advances in virtue, is to have an advantage by this knowledge: it is the work of God in our lives. The Bible teaches is to reject any tendency of pride or selfishness. Remember there are consequences for all that we do or say. We are to allow God to create in us a new sense, a sense of humility and to live to the glory of God, not self. God alone is to be exalted and all our glory to to be turned to God. 

     Is what was written about in the previous paragraph? Yes! We all stumble, we all fail in some way, yet we have a God who is willing to forgive, to lead you away from such acts, or words, and all you, or I, have to do is to repent with all honesty. Turn from the inside/out: make the changes necessary so that what you are, what you do, or what you say is all to the glory of God. Do not think so highly of yourself, or to think so lowly of yourself, you are a child of God, live as one! Beware that you allow yourself to think that the small things of life are not ordained of God. No, He did not cause them, He allowed them and you, or I, must do something about them and first: God ordained them and He is willing to aid you to not fall prey to the wiles of this world due to some sort of depression, or shame. Think on this: it is not your devotion to God that makes you refuse to be shallow, but your wish to impress other people with the fact that you are not shallow: this is hypocrisy. Hypocrisy is an old Greek word meaning to put on a fake face to represent something other than yourself. If you allow contempt for yourself to rule your life you will see others as shallow, or does not meet up with what you would like yourself to be or do. It is not wrong to judge sin, but not to judge a person simply because he/she is in need to grow in faith. This is your job, your responsibility to care for your brothers and sisters and this cannot be done when you hold yourself up higher than others. 

     Jesus came to earth, live as all men live, eat, drink, sleep, be persecuted, called to be a drunkard, to feel the pain of heat, or the pain of stubbing ones toes. Jesus slept when He was tired. All this, and yet, He did not allow those shallow things of earth distract Him from His mission. We too, have a mission, and that mission is not different from what Jesus' mission was and is: to bring to others the Gospel, the Good News. Jesus is our Groom, we are His bride, so why do we think that we should be above Him, Who is our Master? 

     Authentic Christians are those who take with determination God seriously. The first person that you must leave behind is you, you the fraud, you the one being bombarded by the culture of this world. You are to leave behind thinking so highly of yourself that you become lazy, to become tacitly cultural. Do not turn the other way; the way that comes so often by those who desire to live a pious life and find it in a form of experiential Christianity, a form of euphoric worship, all so that they have not really left behind their old way, only adopted it to a hypocrisy: they think that they are doing what is right when in fact they are harming themselves, others, and most importantly, the are bringing shame upon Jesus Christ, upon God. There is a balance: live by the word of God, make God the highest priority, and live a Biblical common-sense life. This is the way to please God, and if it please men, so be it as that is good. 

He that justifieth the wicked,

    and he that condemneth the just,

even they both are abomination to the LORD.

                    Proverbs 17:15

Enjoy this life: It is your gift from God

Richard L. Crumb 

 

Is Successful Thinking And To Be Admired Wrong?

I exhort therefore, that, first of all, 

supplications, prayers, intercessions, 

and giving of thanks, be made for all men; 

for kings, and for all that are in authority; 

that we may lead a quiet and peaceable 

life in all godliness and honesty. For this 

is good and acceptable in the sight of God 

our Saviour; who will have all men to be saved, 

and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.

1Timothy 2:1-4

     It must be admitted: men and women, children, all desire to be admired. There is within people a desire to succeed, to be said of them: "they are successful." In today's culture this is the most important thing: to be successful. There is nothing wrong in being successful, but, at what cost a person must ask themselves, and are they willing to pay that cost. It is not wrong to desire to be admired; but, again, at what cost is a person willing to go to reach that level in life where others think and admire you. Attitude is the basis for this desire to be admired or to be seen as successful. People desire to be admired by others in various forms. A problem exists with this desire: this desire can consume as it has done to others for this is the desire of our culture. Example: Michael Jackson, or Prince, very successful people and yet died by an overdose of drugs, not necessarily illegal drugs, but the need to take drugs so that they can continue to be successful. The cost? Their lives! We see men in government, in powerful positions fall because they thought more of themselves than what was right and lost their seats in congress, or as a Govenor: what a cost to be desired by someone, anyone, to feel good about themselves, to feel empowered. This problem is not isolated to the "upper class", in fact it dominates both sexes and all social classes. This desire is the motivating factor, the underlying reason that guides and often becomes the master passion of the soul.

      This thinking begins at birth and is reinforced throughout a person' lifetime and can be unseen, hidden, disguised, but it permeates the soul. This type of thinking that is out of harmony with that which is good is not always acknowledge, but it does harm when it is misused. It is said by some that we need this type of thinking, this principle at work or civilization would be destroyed so a person is at peace with this thinking and are comforted, or, is it really excuses so as not to abandon this drive to be successful, to be admired. There seems to be a need to not have disapproval of men, so sometimes this love of praise is ridiculous, sometimes it is sinister. It is true that at times it produces heroes, and at other times criminals.  

     An argument that we must not pervert this cultural principle because with proper motivation, it has powerful outcomes. The argument continues with this principle leads to pursuit of excellence, to development of skills, courage, that which cannot be deterred and a perseverance that enables a person to finish their life, this race. It continues to say that when properly motivated it can keep a person from wasting their lives in sensual pleasures and motivate to a life of productivity. It is further stated that this principle to be admired, to be successful can be a force that keeps the privileged to not misuse the under privileged to aid the to overcome difficult circumstances. It is said that this principle further leads to courtesy and good will, to aid in interpersonal relationships, to do the right things as if watched by an imaginary spectator. It is argued that we should not reject such a tool that helps us act properly when virtue alone doesn't motivate us. 

    All sounds good! Problem: they do not work! Why? This approach to life shifts with the changing of the prevailing culture. What is acceptable in on generation is not in the next. Example: abortion where millions of unborn babies are killed and have a law or at least a Supreme Court decision allowing for states to have a law. This would never have been allowed by earlier people, especially in the United States, but the culture shifted and now to kill an innocent baby has approval. This is done so that a person may not have to suffer some sort of inconvenience so that they can continue on their way to success, or to not be admired as a good person, and even that thought has changes as the younger generation does not see that as wrong. This was abhorred is embraced by another. It is plain to see that under the right circumstances supports vice and resists justice. This then makes for a false appearance of virtue. Here is a fact: Even the ancient philosophers and poets of the ancient world saw through it falseness. 

     There is only one way that this principle legitimately operates. When our desire to please is not directed at other men and women, but to God. It is this that is our motivating factor: pleasing God and then be wonderfully motivated toward that which is good and lovely. To please man is full of danger and only the Bible that should be our basis for our knowledge as how to live is the place whereby we exercise our lives that is good for us, for others, and certainly has the approval of God. It is as the apostle Paul wrote, we are to live quiet, peaceful lives, and this so that by our life witness others will come to see the truth and be saved. Here is the beginning, the way for our lives, to not have this powerful influence in our lives to be misused: pray, pray for our leaders in government, be involved in what our government is deciding for you, pray for others, be an intercessor. Here is the crux: Is God the highest priority in your life, are you willing to not allow the culture of this world to make changes in your life that are contrary to God's will, or is it man that is the driving force for how you exercise your life? God will not reach down and change you: you must do it! Change from the inside/out, that is what is needed. 

Better is little with the fear

   of the LORD than great treasure

and trouble therewith. 

                  Proverbs 15:16

Lead a life that is pleasing to God

Richard L. Crumb 

Holding Fast The Profession Of Our Faith

Let us hold fast the profession of our faith 

without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;) 

and let us consider one another to provoke unto 

love and to good works: not forsaking the 

assembling of ourselves together, as the manner 

of some is; but exhorting one another: 

and so much the more as ye see the day approaching.

 For if we sin willfully after that we have

 received the knowledge of the truth, 

there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,

 but a certain fearful looking for of judgment 

and fiery indignation, which shall 

devour the adversaries.

Hebrews 10: 23-27

     Hebrews 10:25 is probably one of the most known and quoted verses in the Bible. Yet, to often that is the only verse known or quoted: this in to not be reminded of what the context states. Yes, we are to meet together and from the earliest time of Christianity it was on the first day of the week: Sunday. To force another doctrine that will not admit this fact is to force a false understanding of the history and facts of Christianity. It is true that any day used as a Sabbath is not wrong, but to state that only a day, Saturday, as some teach, is to hold to wrong thinking.    

     One would think that setting aside one day for the purposes shown in Scripture would not be problematic. The problem is that it is not properly understood. The Sabbath is a great blessing for those who attend the Sabbath and worship with others in worship that is pleasing to God and and not to man. Some people attending the Sabbath at their place of worship are worshiping practices that are not Scriptural even though they claim that the are Scriptural. The Sabbath day is a time and opportunity to reflect and to adjust, a day to correct errors that have crept in during the week, a day of joy, of love and harmony. Many abuse the Sabbath through a sense of obligation, or they just ignore the Sabbath filling the day with other pleasures or desires. Some attend Church and there needs be a person with a hole punch to punch their attendant cards so that they can prove that they did attend Church, or to have some form of merit for attending Church. Some find Sunday to be a day to finish work that they begun during the week rather than plan to either finish them before Sunday, or to finish after Sunday. People will find ways, excuses, to do tasks that are really not all that important. I have done this: have you? Not any longer, for my studies have shown me that only that which is necessary should be done on Sunday: i.e., travel that can be changed to another day, or emergency needs such as home repairs that are causing or will cause a major repair, etc. so there are things that must be done, but the priority is to plan, to attend Church for the right reason. Sunday is a day to have thought, a special thinking time for God. If you know this cultural thinking has crept into your life it is time to make the change so that you are a "faithful and discreet servant of God." 

     Authentic Christians seek the virtues of Christian living, to strive to please God and not to fulfill self-centeredness. There are those in your Church that need you. There are those who fill left out of the conversation, or are timid to join in, who need fellowship, who need love, and kindness. Authentic Christians take the time to be that loving person, who is manifesting agape, God's principled love, towards others, to not get caught up in a "click," or to only speak to your inner-circle. Take someone home and make lunch for them, spend time with others, show the love that God has shown to you by dying on the cross so that you can have His blessing of eternal life. Do you want to be blessed? Well, there is the metric to be blessed. All you have to do is follow the metric, the rubric of God's desire for His children. 

My heart is fixed, O God, my heart

    is fixed: I will sing and give praise.

Awake up, my glory; awake, psaltery

    and harp: I myself will awake early.

I will praise Thee, O Lord, among the

    people: I will sing unto Thee among 

the nations.

                        Psalm 57: 7-9

  Be blessed: serve others

Richard L. Crumb

The Sabbath: Keeping It Holy

And He said unto them, The sabbath made for man,

 and not man for the sabbath: therefore the 

Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.

Mark 2:27-28

     A term "to speak out of both sides of the mouth at the same time" is probably known by most people. How often we speak in that manner. We say one thing only to say the opposite in the next breath. For instance: we say that we keep the Ten Commandments and speak of not murdering, nor stealing, not committing adultery, or bear false witness, even not to cuss using God's name (I am not sure how that applies in using God's name in vain), as God has more than one name that is used in Scripture to define and reveal Him. Cussing is not a good way to speak, but to use a name in vain is to misuse the name for in the "name" the "power" of the name, that which the name infers in a bad or hurtful manner is to use the "power" of the name in vain. You may not covet, yet there are some of the Ten Commandments that are hardly, if ever, used or spoken of as that which we are to keep. So, I guess we have less than Ten Commandments, at least we only use or admit some and leave out others. We say that we follow the words of Jesus: "Think not that I am come to destroy the Law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the Law, till all be fulfilled. Whomsoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 5:17-19). Jesus adds: "And He said unto him, Why callest thou me good? There is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments" (Matthew 19:17). Jesus simplifies the Ten Commandments by breaking them into the two parts: Our responsibility to God, and our responsibility to others: "Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love they neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hand all the law and the prophets" (Matthew 22:37-40). God's original words: "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy....wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it" (Exodus 20:8;11b). 

     Here is a problem: it is hard to distinguish between Authentic Christians and cultural Christians; the sabbath has lost it meaning and purpose. Both camps say one thing but do another, or speak excuses as to why they are not following the command of God to keep the sabbath holy. This may not be true of all Christians but it is generally true within Christendom. Authentic Christians must not allow themselves to be prone to the former objects of their desire to have influence. Authentic Christians guard over their hearts and minds and work at increasing their knowledge and love of heavenly things. Both theological camps go to Church, sing songs, worship in some way to God and even do philanthropic things, but in the most: Sunday is really just another day of the week even if it contains some sort of worship. 

     Is not the Sabbath, the seventh day of the week, or one day out of seven to be a day, is the day, that God Himself set aside to be a special day? Scripture says that it is! The sabbath, that according to the Jewish calendar and practice was Saturday, and after Jesus came, died on the cross the sabbath, or that special day to be reserved for the Lord became the first day of the week, or Sunday. Sunday is the one day out of seven that is called: the Sabbath, a day to focus on God, on His Son Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, to lay aside work, the business and cares of this life, to spend time with God. Can the sabbath, the day of rest commanded by God be any other day of the week? Yes! Some are needed in health care, or police work, or other work that necessitates that a person work on Sunday. This does not mean that they can avoid the sabbath, no, they still can set aside a special time, a special day to focus on God, to set aside the cares of this world, to meditate upon God, upon His son, to renew their spiritual life. 

     Sunday, or the sabbath is not to be a day to do whatever a person desires to do outside of allowing that day to be a special day, to follow the commands of God and focus on Him. How can this be done? There are many ways to do this, and spending time with family to speak about the sermon just heard, to fellowship with family, even with friends by having a special day to be with them, make the sabbath be a joyful day. Ever think about preparing for the sabbath before the sabbath arrives? Maybe preparing ahead a lunch, or a time to spend just with family, maybe with friends, to not go out and spend money, time, in restaurants, or playing golf, or doing things that would keep a person from spending focused time with God. Think on this: to go out and eat in restaurants is to make others to by your servant and to keep them from being in Church, or being with family, or spending time just with God. Restaurants and not health care, or police, or military, or anything of some sort of emergency, they can close on the Sabbath allowing their  workers to keep the sabbath. Oh! if they do work they still can have a sabbath, but will they? Most often not if the sabbath does not have a special place in their hearts, that is, if God does not have a special place in their hearts. Do you, Authentic Christian us this time, the sabbath seeking to serve the kingdom of God? Or, has some sort of worldly culture influenced you? 

      You either speak the truth, to not speak out of "both sides of your mouth at the same time" or to do the will of God: Which will it be? There are others ways that I have not listed by which you can worship God and keep His commandments, but do not make excuses allowing you freedom from the commands of God allowing you to find ways to not do His will. Cultural religion can find a way to enter into a person's spiritual life that is contrary to the will of God. Weed it out! Make God your priority! Man, or cultural Christians may not understand, but who cares? It is your relationship with God that matters, not man. Read again the will of God in regards to the sabbath. It may just change your life! Are you ready? If not get ready for you will answer to God at the throne. 

And Moses said unto the congregation,

     This is the thing which the LORD

commanded to be done.

                            Leviticus 8:5

Remove the stain of culturalism

Richard L. Crumb

      

Resurrection Day: A Day Of Commemoration

But now is Christ risen from the dead, 

and become the firstfruits of them that slept. 

For since be man came death, by man 

came also the resurrection of the dead. 

For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ 

shall all be made alive.

1Corinthians 15:20-22

     I must take a step aside from my current blog subject and turn to the most important event that ever occurred in the history of man. That event was the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. It can be spoken of that the Great Flood was the greatest event, and it was a great event, but not the greatest for all but eight humans died due to sin and only by the grace of God did eight humans survive. Yes they were faithful men and women of God and believed in Him, but they were sinful and only by the grace of God their sins did not keep them from being saved from the horrible event. 

     Why did Jesus have to die? The answer most often given is to pay for our sins. This is not wrong but not entirely correct. Some will say: "To call the elect." This is not wrong for God calls the elect. There are those who say that Jesus came to show us God: they are correct. Others will point out that Jesus came to destroy Satan and all those who follow him, both the angels, and sinful man: they are correct. A question asked often is: Why did Jesus have to become a man? Good question! It is said to be the equal to Adam who as a sinless man sinned and died, and Jesus a sinless man never sinned and died, Adam brought death to this earth by his sinning and death, and Jesus brought life by His sinless life and by His death death was destroyed. This is correct! John the Baptist seeing Jesus declared: "The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world" (John 1:29). Notice: The word "sin." It is singular in the accusative voice: so what is the "sin" of the world? God made man in His image, that is, man was given the ability to know God and to worship God, to live forever under the providence and security of God. Man failed and by his failure a debt was secured by man to God. The debt? Death! Sin brought death into the world a debt man owes to God. Man cannot by anything that they do to pay this debt for if they could then they would have to die having lived a sinless life and die sinless. Man cannot do this so man cannot pay this debt. Oh! What are we do to do? Is this life, death all there is, a life without hope? No! God paid our debt out of His own "pocket" and the debt was paid, no longer held against man, but there was and is a price that God had to pay, this was not some moving of numbers on an accountant page. That price, cannot be calculated for it cost God His Son Jesus Christ, not another god, as some believe, but Himself for Jesus Christ is God: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God" (John 1:1). You ask: How can God die? He cannot! If God dies then all the world that He holds together would be destroyed, gone. God created all things and not be reassembling existing parts, no, God created the parts necessary and this out of Himself, that is from nothing, so if God can do this, could He not also prepare a way to save His creation, mankind made in His image? Yes! From the foundation of the world God knew all that would occur, knew what needed to be done and this He did by preparing salvation, to pay this debt and knew that He had to pay it, so He sent the Second Person of the Trinity to become incarnate so that He could live sinless, as fully man, to live sinless, and to die sinless. The debt was and is paid. What does this mean: "But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name" (John 1:12). That paid debt opened the way for man to also have death removed and be able to live forever without the threat of death. The faith needed is given freely (Ephesians 2:8-9) and by that faith, Authentic Christian Faith a man is declared to be an adopted son/daughter of God. Yes, you will die, die from the earthly diseased by sin by death, but you, your soul, that which is you, will live forever for death has no hold on you. Death did not have hold on Jesus for He rose again on the third day, all was completed. God has not taken away from us the ability to choose God, to choose His Son Jesus Christ and we can find that faith, both in the preaching of His truth, and by power of the Holy Spirit that by His word, you can have the faith to believe. You did not do this on your own, for only by the power of God can you have this faith, you cannot work for it, or do anything other than believe so that you can have that paid debt applied to you. 

JESUS IS THE GREATEST GIFT! There is a second gift. Will you receive the first Greatest gift? Will you receive the second greatest gift? It is up to you!

             Christians if asked: what is the greatest gift given to man by God would answer: Jesus Christ. They would be correct for Jesus Christ is and will always be: the greatest gift given to man. Jesus is the fulfillment of the promise given to Adam, reinforced to Noah, and to Abraham. This gift was known be the Hebrews even before they were a nation as this gift of a promised Messiah was know by their forefathers and especially to Jacob (Israel): “And God spake unto Israel in the visions of the night, and said, Jacob, Jacob. And He said. Here am I. and He said, I am God, the God of they father: fear not to go down into Egypt: for I will there make of thee a great nation” (Genesis 46:2-3). When Jesus came into this world as a babe the angels spoke: Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom His favor rests” (Luke 2:14). No doubt: Jesus is the greatest gift to man. Is there a second great gift from God? As the first great gift from God was rejected outright by even those who called themselves believers in God, and by those who treated this gift with little worth (He was nothing more than another seer), so too, the second greatest gift has had the same problem: it was, and is rejected outright or has been so changed by men and women who call themselves “Christian” that it has little effect on the lives of people that much of it has been called into question or changed to meet a doctrinal or theological position of men. It is not that many people outright reject this gift, they simply ignore it as this gift sits on the shelves getting dusty, or dusted off so that they, when they go to Church look as though they read it. This second gift to man from God is the Bible and yet for too many the Bible is a book that remains mysterious, a mystery. This lack of knowledge and understanding of this Second Greatest Gift from God has led to, not only heresy, but for people to become cultural Christians, nominally Christians. 

THIS WEEKEND WE ARE COMMEMORATING THE DEATH, RESURRECTION OF JESUS CHRIST, NOT EASTER, NOT JUST A PARTY TIME, RATHER TO TO SEE WHAT THIS DAY MEANS: A DAY THAT SERVES AS A MEMORIAL OR REMINDER, TO HONOR THE MEMORY OF JESUS CHRIST AND THIS IS WHAT WE DO WHEN WE OBSERVE THIS DAY PROPERLY. THIS DAY IS NOT JUST A CELEBRATION, A DAY OF FESTIVITIES, IT IS A DAY WE SHOULD MEDITATE UPON WHAT THIS GREAT EVENT MEANS TO THE WORLD, TO ALL WHO BELIEVE. TEACH THIS TO YOUR CHILDREN, TO ALL YOU COME INTO CONTACT WITH. YES, ENJOY THE DAY, FOR IT IS A DAY OF GREAT JOY.

HAPPY RESURRECTION DAY!

Our debt is paid: receive it!

Richard L. Crumb