The Splinter in your Mind

Matthew ch27:32-ch28, Mark ch15-ch16, Luke ch23-ch24, Romans 3:21-26 Romans 8:1-10
A battle is raging all around. You can’t always see it, you can’t always hear it, but you can always feel it. There is knowledge in your heart that something bigger than your self is going all around you, but you just can’t figure out what it is. As Morpheus said to Neo in The Matrix

“I know exactly what you mean. Let me tell you why you're here. You're here because you know something. What you know you can't explain, but you feel it. You've felt it your entire life, that there's something wrong with the world. You don't know what it is, but it's there, like a splinter in your mind, driving you mad. It is this feeling that has brought you to me. Do you know what I'm talking about?”

Do you know what I am talking about? Do you know that every day a battle is waged and that every day before you a battle was fought and that every day from now until the end of time there will be casualties in this war? This is not a war over oil or land but a war for our very souls. We are now being held captive and we don’t even realize it. In fact we are so oblivious that the chains have already been stripped away the doors unlocked and the guards unarmed and yet we still sit in our prison. It is as if Neo destroyed the machines that created and maintained the matrix but no one left. They could if they wanted to, but they just sit there instead unwilling to venture out into a new a better world where they are truly free.
God has put the “splinter in your mind” to guide you to him Jesus has won the battle freed our souls and all we have to do is walk out of the cage. Satan will do everything he can to stop that from happening though. We have the power over him now and can command him to leave us but he will do everything in his power to distract and detract us from our power because he is afraid of us Like the Pharaoh and the Israelites Satan will distract us with work and business, with pain and suffering, he does not want us to realize our power because if we do he loses because we have the power through Jesus Christ our Lord to crush him, and to leave nothing, not even rubble of his kingdom behind. Realize your power pray that God show you the power he has given to you and take a chance, use your power, Fight, Win. Be Victorious.

A Story to live

²⁴Jesus told them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. ²⁵But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. ²⁶When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared.

²⁷"The owner's servants came to him and said, 'Sir, didn't you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?'

²⁸" 'An enemy did this,' he replied.
"The servants asked him, 'Do you want us to go and pull them up?'

²⁹" 'No,' he answered, 'because while you are pulling the weeds, you may root up the wheat with them. ³⁰Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.' "

Jesus often taught by telling stories, many times using them to describe the kingdom heaven but unfortunately he did not always explain them and so many of the people he spoke to did not understand the parable above had to be explained to the disciples a few verses later. And isn't that still our problem we do not understand the story the bible tells us or the one we are living. And that is exactly what Satan wants he wants to live in ignorance of the great story we are a part of now he wants us to think that we are insignificant, because if we are insignificant in this story then we should just stay out of the way and not get involved. In reality however the complete opposite is true we are the major characters of the story. If we don't understand the story though then we can not know our part or how to play it. So today ask god for guidance and wisdom to understand the story ask him to explain it to you as his disciples did and then listen for the answer. Because once you understand the story and know your role in it you begin to live as who you were meant to be.

³⁶Then he left the crowd and went into the house. His disciples came to him and said, "Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field."

³⁷He answered, "The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. ³⁸The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, ³⁹and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.

⁴⁰"As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. ⁴¹The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. ⁴²They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. ⁴³Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.

This Little Light of Mine

Matthew 5 & 6 are two of my favorite chapters in the Bible. Practically every day we live with arguments and debates over what the law says, and in these two chapters Jesus lays a few things out for us. He tells us exactly what God thinks about certain situations, and I love that because it comes straight from Jesus' mouth. It's not a disciple speaking, it's the Son of God. It's comforting to know that this way of life mentioned in Matthew is what God wants, because then I feel like I can do something right for Him.



On that note I would like to share one of my favorite parts of Matthew 5.



This weekend I went to a youth rally, and our focus was on tuning into God. At one point a speaker asked how you can help others tune into God. The answer is given by Jesus in Matthew 5:14-16:

You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden.

Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl.

Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.

In the same way, let your light shine before men,

that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.

You want the world to know Christ? Allow them to see him through you. Our moms weren't kidding when they used to tell us, "Actions speak louder than words." Christ is living in you. He is your light! Allow him to shine through you.

This week and every following week make and effort to show everyone that you are a follower of Christ.

Jesus is NOT a nice Guy

Jesus is NOT a Nice guy

Whatever you have been told or come to believe yourself Jesus was absolutley not a nice guy. Was he a good man, yes, Righteous absolutley, sinless and perfect with out a doubt, but he was not a nice guy.  A nice guy would not call his elders and religious leaders [ignorant fools] or hypocrites (matt 23 : 23-37) a nice guy would not bind a whip out of chords and in a pre-meditated act of aggression chase merchants out of thier stores. Jesus was not a perfect child by todays standards he challenged his parents on multiple occasions the most notable by refusing to see them when he was back in his home town preaching.  One thing Jesus did do however was to follow the will of God. He did not like it all the time ( prayer before crucifixionLuke 22:42) but he was willing to do it. Just as Jesus was not a nice guy niether are you called to be a nice person. You are called to be a a strong person. the world will tell you that if you speak of your faith you are trying to impose it on them and that this is not allowed. They will also tell you that to say that your fiath is the right one is closed minded and bigoted. The world will tell you to let others alone and let them believe what they want. Jesus tells you thati f you do that then they go to hell. In fact he goes as far as to give the great commision and send you out into the world that tells you to leave them alone and make disciples of those people.(matt 28:16-20) 

The world will not like it in fact many of them will hate you for it but that was promised to us by Jesus at the begginning of this journey (matt 10: 17-20) but it is what you are called to do. Let no one tell you that it is not your place to decide what is right and what is wrong we know ,because of our Lord Jesus, the correct path. We are the true guides in this world, but we must show them the way with Love. We can not judge a persons righteousness or if they are worthy of God but we can love them and pray for them and more than that we can rebuke them for thier sins as long as we can be and have been rebuked and have repented of our own sins. It is time to stop letting the world dictate what kind of Christians we are allowed to be the time for being politically correct is at an end now is the time when the world needs Strong and Loving Christians which the world is ,sadly, in a short supply of.  It is our time to fill that need and fullfill the role that we were given here on this earth, to seek and save the lost.

Psalms 59:16-17

16 But I will sing of your strength, 

in the morning I will sing of your love; 

for you are my fortress, 

my refuge in times of trouble.

17 O my Strength, I sing praise to you; 

you, O God, are my fortress, my loving God

We often hear about how God will get us through things but how many of us really believe it? And even if we do believe it how many of us apply it to our lives every day? God cares about us and he wants us to succeed, and he wants us to succeed in a big way. In order to succeed in a big way though we have to overcome big obstacles, each of our obstacles will be different for some it might be a busy week at school with a lot of hard tests coming up, or it could be that our family is going through a hard time, or it may just be that we are having a hard time being a good friend, son, daughter, whatever it is there are obstacles to be over come everyday laid out by the devil in order to trip us and make us fall. If we remember though that God wants us to succeed and that with a little effort on our part we can succeed, that we can in a Christian and Christ like manner prepare and succeed on a test, be a better friend, make it through that busy time of the school year, and even be a more Christian and Christlike child. So this week pay attention to the obstacles you have to overcome and remember to call on God to get you through it and make sure to listen for your answer and just as importantly remember to walk as though God has already answered your prayer. This means that if you have asked God for help in studying then remove the barriers you can that would hinder you from studying, turn off the t.v, and your music ask your family to be quite so that you can study and then really try to focus on what you are doing and when you do that God will meet you where you fall short and help you to succeed. So this week expect success in your endeavors only if you ask God and take yourself to your full ability because that is where God will come and meet you and carry you the rest of the way. Have a Good week every one.

One Body, Many Parts

The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ.

1st Corinthians 12:12

In 1st Corinthians 12:12-26 Paul explains how important each body part is. If we didn't have ears we wouldn't be able to hear, and if we didn't have eyes we wouldn't be able to see (v.17). Each part of the body is unique and different. They contribute in their own way to make up one body. This is obviously true with the physical body, but I believe Paul is trying to say something about the spiritual body of the church. We do not come together for ourselves, and if you think that's what you're doing you're wrong. When you fellowship, worship, pray, or just have a conversation with members of the church you are bringing your unique qualities to the body. You are encouraging others, sympathizing with them, bringing a smile to their face. When we all come together we make one, strong spiritual body that is pleasing in the eyes of the Lord. Never believe that you are too young to be a part of the church, or that your presence means nothing. You help make up this church and this youth group. You are important, and it brings God so much joy to see you using your unique traits (meaning her loves it when you act like YOU) to encourage and uplift other members of the church.
Love you TCOC youth group! Have a blessed weekend.

Acts 4:32-35

"All the believers were of one heart and mind. No one claimed any of their property as their own, but the shared every thing they had. With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of our lord Jesus. And God's grace was so powerfully at work in them all that there were no needy people among them. for from time to time those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money form the sales and put it at the apostles feet, and it was distributed to anyone who was in need."

Doesn't this strike you as extraordinary? That is the way I see it looking at it from the context of America today with all of its capitalistic tendencies, and emphasis on getting ahead and accumulating more wealth. The Christians of the early church did not believe that anything they had in their possession was actually theirs. It ALL belonged to God. If any one was in need the members of the church would not simply give out of their savings or extra money they would sell a house or land in order that their christian brother would not have to suffer. This spirit of closeness and family and love is what we should all be striving for, especially in our church families. It doesn't that our human weakness often judges others to be less worthy than some to receive our help or that we often think we earned what we have. In out hearts we must realize that every thing we have is a gift and that none of us could every be worthy or have earned a single thing we have because it has all come from God and none of us could ever measure up to his standards. When you understand that the only thing that will make sense is to give the gifts god has blessed you with so that others do not have to struggle. When this can be understood again we will have regained a piece of the Christianity that draws people in and hold them to God because no where else can the experience such love and caring, and that after all is what Christianity is all about.