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OUR CHRISTIANITY AND THE CHOICES WE MAKE
Principles, morality and our conscience are what guide our thought process but especially our actions. Persons believe that there are no absolutes in this life, except for death. So it is with this in mind that I will explore two subjects; that of the jobs that we take or not take, and the need to carry a weapon to protect ourselves.
Our qualifications or our professional area of studies does not necessarily determine which company we work for, or even in which country we work. Many Christians will not take up a job offer in a place of gambling, a bar, as entertainment coordinators in hotels or a whorehouse, although some do and justify it by saying they have to survive. The question is where do we draw the line?
We draw the line where we have made up our minds to draw it. The line is the standard that is in all our lives, and this standard can either be raised or lowered. We can, for example, decide to please God more by making up our minds not to steal, not to lie or to corrupt others, or be corrupted ourselves. We would then have raised the standard in our own lives. Many persons are cautious of raising the standard, as they feel that by so doing, they may become targets, as they decide not to accept bribes or a corrupt gift.
I have made up my mind not to accept certain jobs or gifts, no matter how hard it gets, unless God says I am to accept. My standard includes not telling lies or to take things unless it is given, even if these are considered insignificant.
In the year 2003, at the age of forty three, I became a born again christian (repented and was baptized) and my awareness of God has increased dramatically, as I read the Word, fasted and prayed. Prior to this, I always drove around with a sharpened cutlass to protect myself and my family. I would also go to sleep with the cutlass underneath my bed. All of this stopped after reading some of the following scriptures: 1) Matt. 16:25, “For whosoever shall save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for My sake shall find it.” 2) Hebrews 11:6, “But without faith it is impossible to please Him (God).” 3) James 2:26, “For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.”
I have learnt and lived through absolute faith. Absolute faith happened in my case when every dollar from my finances dried up, and everybody around me who could or would normally help, could not! The tyres on my vehicle needed replacing, one tyre was punctured with no money to repair it, while another tyre was leaking. On numerous occasions my fuel light would come on, and I would have to travel for approximately twenty miles before I could access fuel. I had no choice but to believe that God would see me through.
I have made up my mind to serve God without having to carry around a weapon for protection, so I know that I have to pray to God constantly for His covering and protection and to believe that He will. I believe that persons who carry a weapon, will always reach for that weapon first rather that saying a prayer to God, when they come under attack. All of us at some point will get to chose whether to carry a weapon or to take a job that compromises our Christianity.
If I force anything on anyone it becomes a sin, no matter how good I consider it to be. All the revelations that I have had, all my testimonies, I will always present and allow persons to decide.
Through His word, God does present more than one solution for a given situation. Two examples would be, 1) giving us the prescription for the born again experience, as that we should repent and be baptized, John 3:3-7, but Jesus received the thief on the cross beside Him during His crucifixion, into paradise, without him being baptized, Luke 23:39-43. 2) Paul instructs that it is better to marry than to burn, 1Cor.7:9, while presenting a higher calling, 1Cor.7:34-35, of keeping ourselves unto God by remaining unmarried while serving Him.
Finally brethren, some things will come down to choice. Jesus told His disciples in Luke 22:36, that if any of them did not have a sword then he should sell his garment and buy one. Conversely, in Matthew 26:52, Jesus admonishes that” all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword”. I personally believe that our faith in God should encourage us to stop carrying weapons to protect ourselves. Be reminded that a large percentage of persons who carry a gun are killed, and their guns taken when they come under attack.
Bruce Campbell
DOES THE DEVIL HAVE REAL POWER AND AUTHORITY
Jude 1:6 says “And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, He hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgement of the great day”. So the devil and one third of the angels in heaven made war and lost the battle against Michael (archangel) and his angels. So the devil and his angels (demons) were cast from heaven out into the earth Rev.12:7-9. The angels sinned in heaven (eternity) and was cast down to earth (in time) but will eventually be bound in chains and be cast into the lake of fire (eternity) 11Peter2:4.
Persons have often quoted the last line of James 4:7 which says” Resist the devil, and he will flee from you”. Now this is true only if you have qualified as per the first line of verse seven which says” Submit yourselves therefore to God”. If we have submitted ourselves to God it means that we belong to Him, that we are born again Christians.
To get a good sense of the devil’s authority please come with me to St.Luke 4:5-7. This incident happened just after Jesus had completed His forty days fast in the wilderness and was full of the Holy Ghost. So the devil took Jesus on a high mountain, showed Him the kingdoms of the world and offered it to Him! And significantly all this was done in a moment of time. To prove that the devil has the power and authority, this is what he (devil) said in verse six” And the devil said unto Him(Jesus), All this power will I give thee and the glory of them:FOR THAT IS DELIVERED UNTO ME; AND TO WHOMSOEVER I WILL I GIVE IT.
The devil has been loosed on earth since he was cast down to earth by God and further evidence of his power was seen by John in Rev.13. The devil who is referred to as the dragon, gave the first beast his power, his seat and great authority to blaspheme against God, to make war with the saints and to overcome them. All persons shall worship this beast whose names are not written in the book of life. The second beast had similar power to the first beast but additionally he caused fire to come down from heaven, worked miracles and gave life to the image of the beast so it could speak.
If I should then say that I do not believe that demons exist or that obeah workers/astrologers pose serious threat to persons then I would be putting myself and others in real danger of injury or death.
The connections between the devil, his demon supporters and other persons or groupings who are working for the kingdom of darkness are not always easily seen or discerned. There are born again Christians who are host to familiar spirits. Some of these persons are aware that they are possessed by familiar spirits or divining demons while some are not aware. All of these persons however, would be working against the kingdom of God.
There is an over abundance of the names of false gods/idols that persons worship or of persons who are practitioners of witchcraft in whatever form. We cannot continue to justify the serving of evil by saying that it is part of our culture. Demons are used to accomplish various task on behalf of those serving satan. So whether it is a obeah man, a magician, an astrologer, a lodge man etc., they are all rowing in the same boat and taking others with them to hell. 1 Samuel 28 and Acts 16:14-18.
B.A.C. 17.7.19.
Fasting: Why Do We Fast?
We fast for God, for Jesus Christ, for the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, for the Anointing, the Unction. We fast for Him to come and dwell in His temple, to dwell inside of us. John 15:26, John 16:7, John 14:16-17 and verse 26.
Our body is the temple of God. Romans 8:9, 1Cor 6:19-20. Consider us fasting for the Spirit of the Living God to come and just as He shows up we get distracted and go and do some work or something else. That would not be nice, in fact it would be out of order.
The Holy Spirit is He who enables us to carry out various functions on His behalf. Hence the phrase, ” the Unction to function ” 1 John 2:20.
How Do I Fast?
Generally speaking, fasting is a denial of the flesh of what it wants, so we have more of the Holy Spirit (Anointing).
A) things to exclude while fasting:- food, sugar, sex, watching movies, working if possible, and all other types of distractions where possible.
B) things to include:- water, reading the bible, praying, and worshiping. The variations will come depending on whether we are sick, on medication or we have to work. If persons are struggling during the fast they could have some coconut water or some cashew nuts.
Fasting without trying to set aside the time exclusively for God is quite similar to praying for healing or deliverance, but without the fervency in the prayer as per James 5:16, the last sentence. Another example would be what Paul says in 1 Cor.7:9 about it being better to marry than to burn. He went on to suggest that if we were unmarried and given over totally to God, it would be a higher place to serve Him as it would be without the distractions of husband or wife! 1 Cor 7:32-33.
Think also of Anna the prophetess who would have lost her husband while she was probably in her mid twenties, after which she committed herself to prayer and fasting until she was very old. Remember, if we are doing anything for God and it feels like a burden then we probably should not be doing it. Luke 2:36-39.
B.A.C. 8.7.19.
Should we allow God to change us or should we resist.
If we begin with the fact that all of us have sinned and come short of the glory of God, then we would realize that we have much work to do on ourselves and that God also has much work to do in us. There is no doubting the the huge amount of changes to ensue when we receive God in our hearts. Sadly, however, the change we should realize either happens very slowly or not at all because we resist God.
When we receive Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour, we begin to look for and adopt Godly principles, even though we could have had some of them before our born again experience. God then uses the Holy Spirit to bring revelations to us or speak through other persons to make us aware of our sins. Our job then is to act upon this new awareness, making every effort to change our wrong or bad ways. Through all of this process we should never cease to go to God in prayer, asking for strength and courage to make these changes or to overcome in some other way . If we fail to invite God into the process then it means that we might not have the change(s) we desire or that in fact we did not really want to change at all .
Many Christians are out there functioning with portions of their Christian life, that need changing, firmly stuck where it is. This is like trying to push back a drawer in place that has a broken guide and therefore gets stuck every time. Like myself, who suffer from impatience and anger issues, there are persons out there suffering from a myriad of issues.
The problem is not the problems themselves, but that we fail to deal with them or in some cases we fail to deal with them effectively. Probably the greatest inhibitors to fixing our issues are pride and the flesh! The flesh says,”curse louder, say the worst things so it will hurt”, then the pride says,”although I am wrong I will not say I am sorry and as a matter of fact I will not speak to that person anymore”. Humility would say, “I know I am wrong so I will apologize and I will repent”. It benefits the Kingdom of Heaven and ourselves when we are humble.
By being unforgiving, we walk around with plenty baggage and instead of pulling persons to us and to God, we drive them away. Many young people have dropped out of learning institutions over the years. Some because of financial problems, some because they have run ins with the law, others give up for no proper reason, while some have been left to languish, unable to complete their education because their parent(s) or guardian have withdrawn their support as chastisement for some error the child may have committed. Young children and young people in general need all the parental support they can get in order to survive. The support we give as a parent should never be to condone wrong doing, but rather to give them enough chance to correct their mistakes and to find a firm footing in life.
If we stop to think, listen and to hear we can all become better persons, better Christians. It is time we start to embrace Godly principles more and make the effort to change.
B.C.
To Be Grafted In
The Israelites or Jews were God’s chosen people and remain that way. The Gentiles would be inclusive of all the other races and nationalities put together.
In Isaiah 5:1-7, God spoke through Isaiah the prophet suggesting that the Israelite nation was His vineyard and that the Jewish people was His choicest vines. So in this text we see where God gave to His people the very best, expecting them to bring forth good grapes, but instead they brought forth wild grapes. God’s action therefore was, and will be to remove the hedge (protection) from around the vineyard (His people) and allow it to be eaten up and trampled down.
Jesus tells us in St.John 15:1-8 that He is the true vine and that God the Father is the Husbandman (farmer). Verse 2 says that God purgeth (prune) every branch that beareth fruit that it may bring forth more fruit and in verses 6-8 Jesus tells us that if we are a non producing branch, we are cut off and burnt.
Paul explains in Romans 11:16-24 that some of the branches (Jews) were broken off the olive tree so that the wild olive tree (Gentiles) could be grafted in amongst them. So it is because of the unbelief of some Jews why the Gentiles was presented with the glorious opportunity of redemption. The Jews however will be grafted in again, if they remain not in unbelief (verse 23). Also see Zechariah 13:1, Romans 11:25-27.
To put things in a little better perspective I will explain basically how grafting is done. a) Rootstock:- it is important to select a proper rootstock (tree to be grafted onto) which has to be sturdy, disease free and from the same family of plants. So for example, orange, tangerine, lime etc. can be grafted on each other. You could also graft one or more different varity of citrus on the same rootstock. b) a bud(s) is then selected to be grafted onto the rootstock. These buds are to be healthy and just at the point where new growth is about to take place. The new buds will grow and bear fruit of the same kind as the tree where it was taken from. The rootstock is there primarily to support the growth of the new buds. New branches will sometimes appear from below where the bud has been grafted on. These must be cut off so as to avoid them crowding out the grafted buds and causing them to die. These branches that grow from the rootstock are called gormandisers.
Jesus is therefore the rootstock (the vine or the olive tree) with the Jews and Gentiles being grafted unto Him. Both Jews and Gentiles are expected to produce for the kingdom of God but after there own kind. None of these should really try to be the other and I don’t believe there is a need to. It is possible for both Jews and Gentiles to become joint heirs of Jesus Christ.
B.C. 28-12-2018.
Our Intentions Must Always Be Pure
When we serve God or go about His business, it should always be done through pure intentions, as this will help us to be equitable in all our decisions and dealings. It is always a plus to start out with a good sense of right and wrong.
In 1Timothy 3, Paul sets out what would be the expected behaviour of a bishop, pastor, deacon and also their wives and I would extend this requirement also to every church leader. How then could church leaders sit down and discuss how to extract money out of their members pockets and feel justified that they are doing it for God, when God does not require it? We must always remember and be guided by 1Timothy 6:10 which starts ” For the love of money is the root of all evil…..”.
Men were always meant by God to be the leaders of their household and the church but because they are sometimes weak in carrying out their mandate at home or have not shown up for duty in the kingdom of God, then more women have had to take up the mantle.
A church leader who uses the wrong method to get the right results, can only be wrong in the end and is not much different from a scammer who justifies his action by saying that the person whom he has just scammed is foolish. God does not require us to force or coerce anyone in anyway for His sake! To be safe, we must always use the methods prescribed by God.
We must constantly reflect on the things we do or say and make corrections where necessary, with the help of God. Our intentions should always be to do the will of God and so we should at all times make an effort to treat persons equally and fairly. If our intentions are right then we will get better results for God.
Bruce Campbell
23-Sept.-2015
Surrendering Our Hearts to God
When we give or surrender our hearts to God, He starts to work in us, like a seed planted and taking roots to start growing a new plant. As a lady said on Religious Hard Talk, many people go after the hand of God and not His heart, meaning, we look for him to give us things or fix things and when we don’t get it we may turn away. Our aim should be to know and love God so that even if He doesn’t give us what we want or change our circumstance right away that we are still loyal to Him.
When Jesus got baptised and prepared to go on the path God had set for Him, God tested him as a part of His preparation. During his testing Satan also tempted him to turn away from God. He was hungry and his body being pushed beyond the limits of what it could bare, but he held on and trusted his heavenly Father to take care of Him and He eventually sent an angel to tend to his need. So it is when we claim we are giving our hearts to God, He will test us to see where our faith lies. So despite our circumstances no matter how hard, will we turn from Him or will we trust in Him? Will we turn back to the bad or spiritually unhealthy things we promised to give up?
I have been a Christian for years and I still struggle. There may be a particular habit we have been trying to give up, but with no success. Sometimes we may feel it is pointless after so many tries, but I keep trying because things that are deeply rooted don’t always change overnight. As you keep trying you will find that you will do a little better or hold out a little longer than the last time and this means progress and eventually you will be able to stop completely or rather, be in better control.
We have to spend time with God if we are to know Him and please Him. If we are for God or represent Him then what we say and do must reflect Him so others can see and follow. We can’t claim to love God and be comfortable doing things contrary to what He expects of us, and we can’t claim to trust him when we give up when things are not happening as we want or as quick as we want. He has His reasons for putting us through rough stuff, whether to teach us, strengthen us or otherwise.
When we give our lives to God He is now going to renew and transform our minds and hearts. Our mind-sets or personalities often determines the length of this process, because there might be things we don’t want to let go of for whatever reason or it might be that we are impatient, whatever the case. I find that the more willing you are and the more faith you have the easier the transition.
When we spend time reading the bible, communing with others, and praying to God, we open doors enabling us to know Him more. You will find that certain bad habits and behaviours that use to entice you don’t anymore or may start to make you feel uncomfortable. You may find that friends that were used to you a certain way may pull away, mock you or try to pull you back when they see the changes, or if they respect you, you may find that they too want to change.
Once we come to know God, and even just to know ourselves and where we stand, we won’t be bothered by what other people say and think of us. Our path becomes clearer and we fear or worry less as we trust that God loves us and is working in our best interest, even if the medicine is bitter. We become more humble, forgiving and caring towards others as God expects of us, even to those who don’t deserve it.
As we go forward in life, I challenge you to trust God more and to spend more time with Him. I challenge you to forgive others AND YOURSELF for the disappointments and heartache incurred to this point. Don’t be afraid to pursue your goals…make the step of faith and leave the rest to God. You may not be able to see all the way to the end but He can, so have faith and take the steps you can until you reach. God doesn’t want you to give up. When it doesn’t make sense, cry out to God, when it is frustrating, when you can’t move, when you want to die, when you can’t take it anymore, when it hurts too much, cry out to God.
-Tajhia Campbell
Baptism: It’s Importance and What the Scripture Says
1Peter 3:20-21 – Can baptism alone save me?…No
Can I get to Heaven without being baptised? Yes….. St. Luke 23:39-43
Jesus’ Instruction:
- Matt 28: 18-20 (after resurrection)
- Mark 16: 15-18 (after resurrection)
- Luke 24: 45 – 50 (after resurrection)
- John 3: 3-7 (before resurrection) – speaking of those being born again
- Acts 1: 4-5 (after resurrection) – Jesus stayed with disciples 40 days
- We are saved by grace not works; baptism is works – Eph 2: 5-9
Steps I must take to get to Heaven
- Must believe that God exist
- Must be born again (repentance, forgiveness for ourselves and forgiving others, & baptism) in Jesus Christ’s name.
- Must believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God; that He was crucified, buried, resurrected and is seated at the right hand of God the Father.
- Love God more than anything else, loving our neighbour as ourselves
- Be obedient to God, die daily to the flesh (stop sinning)
- Endure to the end.
Jesus Christ has given us the steps to follow Him, so let us use them. This is not to say that He cannot do it another way, He is God. The man who was on the cross beside Him was not baptised but he is in paradise.
So now we know that contrary to what some Christians might think, baptism alone cannot save us as it is only part of the process. The more important part of being born again is that of us repenting for our sins and being forgiven by God. When we are born again, we start a new account with God, a good account. Good works cannot save us but they do become more valuable with the new account.
-Bruce Campbell & David Williams
The Script
There is a certain script in our mind of how we expect our lives to go. This script includes what we expect of God and the things we expect him to do in our lives (not what he expects of us but what we expect of him).
When the script does not go according to how we wrote it in our minds, we become frustrated, disillusioned and disappointed, and wonder what God is doing, why is He not doing what is expected of Him? Sometimes we blame God and persons around us for our script not going according to how we wrote it.
We fail to understand that God also has a script written for our lives from before we were even conceived, which is totally different from the one we have written for ourselves, one which we have no control over, as He is the Author and Finisher of all things.
To live a life that is pleasing to God and to find some sort of peace in this world, that is fast decaying, we need to get rid of the script that we have written for our lives and focus on the one that that Lord has written for us (this can be found in His word, the bible).
If we disregard God’s script for our lives we will become as the children of Israel who disobeyed God and followed their script instead of God’s script, and ended up going around in circles in the wilderness for 40 years, going through unnecessary struggles and tribulations when they could have reached their destination in a much shorter time.
Sometimes when we find ourselves in situations that keep coming up over and over again, we need to examine ourselves and ask the question, am I following my script or God’s script for my life? In coming up with the answer be truthful to yourself, bearing in mind that only you and God know the truth, and while you may lie to yourself and others, you cannot lie to God because He knows.
As the end of time approaches, whether by us dying or the world coming to an end, both are inevitable. Are we really prepared for the life after death? Most persons are preparing themselves for the present life , e.g house, car, health insurance, money in the bank, etc., but what preparation are we making for life after death. This is the most important part of our existence as after death wherever we end up that is where we will spend eternity.
Can you imagine spending eternity in hell? Where there will be constant torment, much worse than what you might think you go through here on earth at times, and there will be no more forgiveness from God there. You would be doomed forever. Thanks to God there is a way out. We can spend eternity with him where there will be no more sorrows, no more pain, no more struggles, no more deaths, a place where peace and joy abound. All we need to do is to follow God’s script and not ours.
The Beginning of Our Walk With God (Part 2)
