Joy and Strength (Christian life and music)

I get it. I get why the Jews rejected Christ as their Messiah. Throughout the Old Testament, God showed up for His people working miracles and wonders on their behalf. To them, when all was well, when life was prosperous, they were blessed by God. Enter Jesus. Jesus wasn’t rich with earthly wealth (the way He blessed the Jews in the Old Covenant). Jesus wasn’t a grand, earthly king. He didn’t fit the picture in the Jews’ minds of what a Messiah should look like, should be, how He should act. Jesus associated with the “unclean,” the Gentiles. Every good Jew knew that only they were God’s chosen people. All others were not God’s people. And that was true in the Old Testament, before Jesus arrived on the scene and opened the door for all to come to know God, to belong to God, to be His people. When the Jews were the only chosen of God, they were special. They were “it” in God’s eyes. So I imagine this poked at their pride a bit when we Gentiles were now considered just as chosen as they. ...

When there is tension within the Body of Christ, in the local church, it is usually because the wheat do not have anything in common with the tares. This has nothing to do with doctrine, but with the fact that there are very two different spirits abiding within the church: that of the Pharisee's (the tares), and that of Jesus (the wheat). When we are called to "love everyone," that does not mean that we are to set up camp with some of them! Jesus did not hang with the Pharisees when He walked this earth.  Jesus' love was not the mushy, gushy sort of love that we can confuse with real love. Jesus actually said that there was more hope for the whores and tax collectors than the religious leaders when it came to salvation! Jesus said to them, “Truly I say to you that the tax collectors and prostitutes will get into the kingdom of God before you."  Matthew 21:31 Not exactly a way to win friends and influence people. So don't even bother trying to "win" ...

I think I figured out why some who call themselves Christians have no interest in a love relationship with Jesus.  There are wheat and there are tares in the house of God.  Jesus said so, so that is true. Wheat wants to know Christ intimately, have a close relationship with Him.  Tares want to do "good works" and are only interested in outer works, not the condition of their hearts; not in an intimate relationship with Jesus. We don't know who's who, because only God knows for sure.  However, I think I've discovered how to get a clue as to who is who! When I talk in a group of women and mention intimacy with Christ, some start nervously flipping through their Bibles looking for all the verses on serving.  They want to justify that their way is best because knowing, obeying, and following Christ as He wants (not how they want) is not what they're after. Of course as Christians we are to serve God and serve others.  But ideally, that is the outer manifestatio...

Part of Jesus' purpose on earth was to set the captives free.  He is still about the same business through His followers. True freedom can be a scary thing for those who think  they are living in freedom but are not truly. Apart from the saving grace of the Lord in our lives, we are all captives to sin.  We are each of us born with a sin nature.  No exceptions.  From Hitler to Mother Theresa, we are all born into sin. God, in His loving compassion, sent His Son, Jesus, to earth to set us free from sin!  He saw firsthand the devastation of the bondage of sin.  And because He loves us, He does not want to see us enslaved or in bondage to anything! The sad fact is that this truth is not what most people think of when they think of Christianity.  They think of it as a bunch of rules and regulations to follow and that is not what it's about at all! When we are born again, the blameless, perfect, and holy God comes to live inside of us via the Holy Spir...