How could you...

Colossians 3:5-7

Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry. For it is because of these things that the wrath of God will come upon the sons of disobedience, and in the you also once walked, when you were living in them.

It is astonishing how the Gospel never gets old. How can one get tired of something that mankind still cannot fully comprehend. It boggles the mind to think that God Himself would save sinners like us through the person and work of His only begotten Son Jesus Christ.

Ah, true love. Self-sacrifice. Love, not with mere words, but with action to keep it strong.

O How wonderful it is for the children of God to know that the Eternal Son has propitiated the wrath of God so that we might fellowship and have a relationship with the One who loved us first.

While we glory in the cross of Christ, we still must remember one thing, we are still on this earth. The finite flesh still surrounds us and sin is crouching at the door ready to devour all who embrace it.

O How easy it is to cave! How easy it is to rationalize! We have become infatuated with traveling on the simple road of compromise where sin abounds ever so much and men are happy with wallowing in the filth of their sin. This sin in which they are ignorant of. Yet on the other hand, others are quite aware of their predicament. They are fully aware yet have embraced the rubbish and have consumed the waste of this world. They continually neglect the consequences of such a lifestyle...

Brethren, may we never put on the old ways that God has instructed us to put off lay aside. Indeed, new creations are called to live a life contra to what was former. Surely, we must remember the words of Thomas Watson when he stated that,

"It is better to go with difficulty to heaven than with ease to hell."

Not that we keep ourselves from hell by good works alone, but we must remember that it takes much Godly discipline and spiritual-mindedness to deny the desires of the flesh. We cannot do this on our own! And we must not attempt to do so. It takes guidance from heaven and the power of the Gospel pull a depraved man from his folly. It is by the Gospel alone where a dead man can be raised into new life and come before God justified and cleansed from all transgressions past, present, and future.

Grace never grants us a license to sin! I pray that we never approach sin with the motive to abuse such glorious grace!

Righteousness. Our spirits are willing but the flesh is weak. What must we do to be free from this bondage?

You cannot do anything. God must do everything.

Surely one must not approach this like the fatalist who take no responsibility for their actions! We are called to confess our sins and God is faithful and just to forgive us. Surely God has planned to accomplish much through His children all for His glory and good pleasure.


Saints, be strong in the faith. Hold fast to the word and desire Godliness above all things. Not that we lord it over others, but so that our testimony will not be hindered and that we may be found blameless before God knowing that we accountable to Him and Him alone. Our obedience does not soil or defile the name of Christ, it magnifies it. May the name of Christ never be put to shame by those who are called His children!

So I ask you, stay alert brethren. Desire God above all that this world has to offer. It is easy give in, and all are struggling, but the Lord is with us and He shall see us through to the end. May we never turn our back on Him.

"May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it?" (Romans 6:2)

How can you who died to sin... still live in it?

Really, how could you?

How could WE?

I live...

Father,

After about 22 Years, I finally understand why You put me here on this earth. I'm so sorry it took so long....

"But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; in order that I may attain the resurrection from the dead." (Phil. 3:7-11)


People keep asking me what I want for my Birthday, well, here it is...

I want everyone that I know and love to finally cherish Jesus Christ above all things temporal in life... because He is the only One that eternally satisfies.

Only Christ can save you, and you can call Him Lord too, if you believe.

I love all of you so much...



"He who has ears to hear, let him hear."

it hurts.

When you're heart is in pain my brother, my heart also pains with yours...




Lord, we take your hand, even into the darkest of places, knowing that You are God.

Though the path may be dark and the way uncertain, we trust You. You will never misguide or lead us astray... so lead us to where You want us be.

As long as we are with You, it is heaven.

Let me be honest...

A Confession...

A Lazy man does not roast his prey, But the precious possession of a man is diligence.

(Proverbs 12:27)

At the MDM conference, Pastor Ardavanis described how todays young boys and young men think they that are entitled to so much. They want want everything NOW, yet they do not know how to work for it. They loathe the idea of putting effort and labor into anything, especially when it comes to their future. He shed a great deal of light on this issue and while he as talking, I was definitely in wholehearted concurrence. As I was nodding along like a bobble head during the seminar, names began to quickly flood into my head as I recalled all the little boys in my life who needed to hear this and wake up from their "Peter Pan Syndrome." But during my great period of enlightenment, I may have forgotten one thing. I forgot to consider myself.

It seemed like a routine day. The cold finally had arrived so I put on my sweater, did my business, and went off to class. What I did not know is that my Father decided to teach me something.

It was directly after math class when I was hit by... a bus, figuratively speaking of course. It was a really big bus too. Goodness gracious, He truly knows how to wake up a sleep walker and resurrect a dead man. I felt hurt, my chest felt heavy, uncertainty arose, and I began to contemplate how I would get myself out of this mess. Of course, this situation was a gateway into many emotions, but I felt as though things were just not right. And yes, the number one question that naturally pops into the sinners head popped into mine: "Why God?"

But it seems as though spiritual maturity and experience had caused me to answer that question while I was posing it. The conference I attended was months ago, but as I was sulking in my misfortune, the truths that were presented in my mind at that seminar started ringing today like dusty dormant bells. And since this happened in my math class at 9:10 in the morning, I truly did "wake up."

Pun intended.

But seriously, complacency and laziness sounds like a high school cliché that everyone quotes left and right. It is used as an excuse because they don't want to take responsibility for their own shortcomings. We place the blame on laziness as if laziness put a huge gun to our heads and forced us to do its bidding. May we never ever do that!

I am the one responsible for the sins I have committed.

Instant gratification!

That is exactly what I wanted...

I found myself wanting without working. It is interesting hear the struggles of my very young brothers and sisters, whom I love so much, and have so much sympathy knowing I was in that same place. Yet, I find myself reverting back to the place of "lacking diligence" and desiring that instant gratification.

Before I attempt to assist, must I not work on myself? (Matt. 7:3)

I too wanted quick results without hard work. As if I was entitled to a promotion without doing anything to merit it. Do not get me wrong beloved, I am not referring to a works righteousness, but I am referring to people that desire only the "end" yet they have no desire to go through the "means" to that end.

I am struggling with deciding on several paths that the Lord may potentially lead me to. But I see now that I have been throwing in the towel and raising the white flag whenever things got rough. As if I deserved an easy route in life? I pray that the Lord gives me strength not to fold and give up in the tough times, but instead, may he guide me and help me to persevere towards the goal of righteousness.

May He help me to work hard till the end knowing that I will enter His rest in eternity.

If you're thinking that Micah Anglo is the hero in this story, guess again. I was hurting this morning, and I'm still feeling the repercussions of my actions as of late. There may be forgiveness of sins, but the consequences of sin may still leave a scar down the road in this present life.

However, we will praise Christ for crushing the power of sin and death! Although now, sin may be present, we know that it has no eternal effect on the children of God and it cannot separate us from the love of God. Those whom He justified, He also glorified! (Rom. 8:29)

Regardless of the uncertainty now, my attitude has change.

It is unfortunate how we as children need to go through certain circumstances in order to learn a lesson. But we know that sometimes its necessary for us to experience these thing, so that we learn.

One thing puzzles me though.

I was almost instantly comforted by the fact that I understood that God is Sovereign.

Something tells me that theology works...

P.S. - I was also wounded by a dear friend today. Thank God for brothers.

What Am I Suppose To Do?

It's a given, life is full of decisions to make.

How do I go about doing this? What school should I pick? Where should I eventually end up? What career should I pursue? What friends do I stay with? What do I look for in a spouse? Where do I fit in over here? What is my purpose in life?... What should I eat today?!?!?!

Decisions decisions.

Everyone is posed with different questions for different aspects of their life. I myself struggle with the last question every single day. But on a serious note, we all have questions that need answering and we all have decisions that need to be made, and fast! It seems as though everyone is rushing us to make these choices as ASAP. We are constantly pounded by comments, questions, and concerns from every direction.

So since we are in this hurried state, we find it difficult to make the "correct" judgment because our supposed "decisions on life" are being quickly demanded by the people around us as if we were in line at McDonald's.

The massive pressure builds and builds inside of us, and it seems as though there is nothing we can do to release it. We are in pain, we are hurting, and we are in agony.

The worry builds and we cry out, "What am I suppose to do?" You are at a loss for words because you are out of time and you are out of answers. Finally, when your body has slumped and you feel like your at an all time low, you start to wallow in your sadness and feel sorry for yourself. Or maybe anger arises because you are frustrated that nothing is going your way. Or maybe worry strikes because you just realized that the future is not in your control. When you have no control, the future is uncertain and if your spirit has no stability in truth, then you will surely give in to sorrow and unrest.


For those of you who have no knowledge of the Savior, you need to first understand that you are a sinner who has broken the standard of the bible. You have transgressed against the one true and living God, and it doesn't matter how good you think you are, you are still a sinner. But God Himself came down and dwelt among us in the flesh in the person of the eternal Son Jesus Christ and He changed the world forever. This God-man paid an atoning sacrifice for all of our sins past, present, and future so that those who repent of their sins and believe that He is Lord may have life eternal in heaven and will not be damned to hell. Your life needs to be conformed to the life that the God of the bible wants you have. This is the most important decision you will ever have to make for all of eternity, so before you focus on your posessions, boyfriend/girlfriend, or your schoolwork, you need to make sure your eternal soul is reconciled with the Holy Father in heaven who is ready to forgive and who has poured out His love for you in the form of His Son Jesus.


Yet for those of you who believe, I bet you constantly ask yourself, "What is the will of God for my life?" or "Lord, pleeease reveal your will to me, because I-just-don't-know."

On the other hand, you have believers who "think" they know what God's will is when in fact it is the total opposite of God's will for their life. This choice is usually made based on a certain experience or emotion. Typically, their sole foundation for making the decision is on their own "intuition" or idea on what they assume is God's will, when in fact, it is not.

For the believer, it is good to ask the question, "What is God's will for my life?" But we must understand the means in which we go about answering that question. A child of God must look to the Holy Scriptures when seeking to know the will of God in his or her life.

Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways!
For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who became His counselor?
Or who has first given to Him that it might be paid back to him again?
For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen. Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.
And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.
Romans 11:33-12:2

According to Dr. Mohler, here are 14 things we know about the will of God in our lives:

1) It was God's will for you to be born. (Who, where, when, for what purpose, and into any circumstance. No matter what cards you are dealt with, you were created for His glory) Psalm 139:13-14
2) It is the will of God that you would die. (For the wages of sin is death. These fleshly bodies are temporary and won't live forever due to the results of sin.) Romans 6:23 / Genesis 3:23-24
3) It is God's will that you are born male or female (It is not your "choice" or something you can change with surgery. And you cannot be "both," God has preordained that you should be either a male or a female) Genesis 1:27
4) It is God's will that we obey His Word. (Not only when we feel like it. But we hear His Word, receive it, and obey it. We should never try to rationalize our sin)
5) It is God's will that we follow law's authority. (He knows we need a structured law and He has given the sword to the Government. It is a gift from God to keep order so we should respect all authorities) Matthew 22:21 / Romans 13
6) It is God's will that you believe in Christ. (Mohler: "The Gospel is something to be obeyed")
7) It is God's will that you commit your life to Christ. (Discipleship. Not just a "half-fast" attitude, but an entire life submission to following Christ in every aspect of life.) Matt. 11:29-30
8) It is God's will that you do everything to the glory of God. (Every interest, activity, and thought. We can't have secular lives. And it can't just be "What looks good to me" but instead, what is pleasing in the sight of the Lord)
9) It is God's will that that you will be married or not. (Find a spouse, make disciples. Use marriage or singleness to glory of Christ) 1 Corinthians 7 / Genesis 2:18,24
10) It is God's will that you share the gospel. (Spread the good news of Christ! And don't ever spread a corrupted Gospel)
11) It is God's will that you be deeply committed to the local church. (Mohler: "there is no lone ranger Christianity." We are here to correct, encourage, and worship with our brethren in Christ, and that is a mandate by God Himself.)
12) It is God's will that you lead, serve, teach, and learn in the church. (It is essential to our spiritual growth and maturity)
13) We find God's will by doing it (God has revealed His written will for us, and it is our duty to obey it out of love for Him) Romans 12:1-2
14) God's will is good. (Even when we "think" it is bad, all of it works for our temporal good and eternal good) Romans 12:2

God's will is perfect and it is acceptable (meaning we are suppose to accept it). We can see that we know a whole deal about the will of God in our lives. But even if we still find ourselves in times of uncertainty, it is good. Why? Because, then, we will stay dependent on our sovereign God who controls all things. Instead of relying on our own selves who are weak and finite, we search the scriptures for answers the the difficult questions of life. Dependence on self and clinging to pride has even caused many to deny God's help and guidance. For some cases, their pride has denied God to help them even in their own salvation(which is impossible apart from God).

But for the Christian, he wouldn't settle for anything less than the will of God in his life.

Brethren, the will of God is not a puzzle and it is not a mystery. You must have the peace of God because the God of peace is in your life. We must not fret about the carnal(fleshly) aspects of life. If you follow Christ whole-heartedly, everything else will fall into place.

Surrounded

This weekend I was reminded of how precious the Word of God is.

I had forgotten why sound preaching is essential to the life of the believer. Friday I was left speechless, after a wonderful sermon, when singing such marvelous truth about our Savior during our last song at Friday Bible Study.

O how wonderful it is to sing, in worship, the truths about Christ which are found in His mighty scriptures! To sing with confidence and joy knowing that what we are singing is TRUE!

It is just so good to be surrounded and encouraged by brethren who desire and pray for my well-being. Not in the physical sense, but for my eternal well-being. Meaning, my spiritual holiness. Having them encourage me to seek after righteousness and knowing that they are fighting alongside me can bring me to tears.

Beloved, find men like this. I cannot stress enough how important it is for your spiritual well-being. Which is much more important than any physical need you could ever have. You need to be surrounded by Godly people who love Christ enough to intercede on your behalf in prayer or lift you up in times of trouble with words of encouragement based on biblical truth.

My dear brothers and sister, there is nothing greater than that. Please... find these men.

Set Your Heart to Study the Word of God

I have been encouraged this week...

To be honest, it was a week I was not really looking forward to. This is my last week of summer break and I thought I could use it to do some relaxing before getting back to the Fall semester. I was mistaken.

Of course, when there is work to be done, there is no time to be sitting around and indulging in whatever pleases the flesh. It is interesting, though, how we tend to make time for the things that have no eternal value and we set aside the things that we should be cherishing the most. I was guilty of that this week.

All in all, it was a very encouraging week. I was happy to see a lot of close friends and family sign up for LABTS. This is a bible school in Los Angeles that has literally changed my life. Of course, the credit is all due to our Father who, in His sovereignty, placed me into that wonderful school. A school where I am surrounded by like minded people who love Christ and where I sit under professors who desire to teach the scriptures to the best of their ability with all purity. You can see in their words and deeds that they labor for the sake of God's children and His glorification. They truly care.

My prayer as that my friends and family will grow in the knowledge of Christ and that this school will be used as a means of furthering the Lord's kingdom here on earth. I am so thankful for this school, and I hope that my friends and family will come to realize that there is no greater joy in life than knowing and serving our Savior.


My desire is for them to seek after You Lord, You and only You.
May their eyes be opened to what it means to do that with their whole heart.

...

Hope in God O my soul, for you will be glad once again...

The Demand for Discipleship

Tonight, I am humbled and encouraged once again by brethren.


This heavy load that I carry, is not being carried alone. The help is near, the help present. Though confusion rise, I will not fear. I trust in the Almighty for His plans can not be foiled. All must, and will, work for good to me.


Father, You are the Sovereign creator of the heavens and earth. May I never forget that You have done everything and I have done nothing. God, humble my soul, renew my mind, and guide my heart, that I may not sin against You. Thank You for brothers that lead us to righteousness and guard us from folly. Praise the Lord for men of truth! It is your truth that sets me free, free from the bondage of disobedience. Give me the strength to do Your will and not mine.


Discipleship is essential to the believers life. Do you take part in discipleship?

Trust and Obey

A prayer to the living God,

Father,

My heart is heavy.
The burdens have piled to great heights, as if great towers of heartache have been placed upon my soul.

O great God, do not misunderstand,
service to You has surely been my life's pleasure.
But there has been much difficulty in the ministry of Your children.

Why do we receive opposition from your professing people?
Fellow brothers have deceived us.
Some have avoided us.
Others have caused us to stumble.

Can this truly be?
How long, O Lord, will they not listen to understanding?
Why do they not take heed when wisdom calls?
When shall they change and not act ignorantly?

Lord, they do not listen.

Give them hearts of discernment.
Open their eyes, that they may see with clear understanding.


Lord, there are lies that are hurting your children,
I pray that You remove them.


Good Shepherd, your sheep are confused.
Have we not preached from Your Word?
Have we not been faithful to Your Truth?
Have we not proclaimed Your Gospel?
The Gospel in which we center our entire lives upon?
Have we not done these things?

If we have done wrong, O Lord, reveal our wrongdoings.
Help us to look into the mirror of Your Word.
Mold us to be people never ignorant to sin.
We need Your Holy Spirit to take control.
O God, have mercy on us.


Lord, there is change ahead.
Yes, we are perplexed,
perplexed yet not despairing.

Our desire has always been to shepherd Your people.
We labor for the sanctification of Your children,
that they may be conformed to the image of Your Son.
And love Him ever so more.
Never have we wished division amongst the brothers. Never.
But we know that Your truth divides,
it divides Your true sheep from the illegitimate goats.

Lord, hear me!
No, I do not charge you with injustice.
Nor do I charge you with unfairness.
Father in heaven, my plea is for strength.
Strength to keep faith in Your Sovereign hand.
Indeed, I do believe, help my unbelief.

There is change ahead.
Yes, we are perplexed,
perplexed yet not despairing.

To leave this as a question unanswered, would be a great sin.

Lord I am confused yet am not in deep anguish.
There is understanding, yet no full comprehension.
How can a I grasp the mind of God?
For it is beyond all understanding.
His thoughts are more numerous than the grains of sand,
So vast, beyond all measure,
Transcendent beyond all time and space.
Our thoughts are not Your thoughts.

I understand my place, Lord, I am no one.
In these present difficulties,
to be without understanding would be truly dangerous.

Who am i to question Your purposes?
What is man, that he would question Your will?
The foolish man says, "God, I am entitled to an explanation."
Yet the wise man knows he deserves nothing.
Sovereign, you do as you please without the permission of man.
Grant us strength to follow You wherever You lead.
Give us peace to trust in You, regardless of the circumstance.
For you have called us to contend and suffer for Your name's sake.
Remind us that love for You means love for Your people.

Difficulties lie ahead.
But our eyes are on eternity.
We glory in the cross and the salvation that is ours forever.
Help us to serve with joy, and abstain from bitterness.
Lord, our delight is in the mercy that You have shown us.
We are in debt to You, gracious God.
Our thanks and praise be unto You,
for not leaving us in our sin.

Amen.

"Trust and obey, for there's no other way,
to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey."

Good Resources

If you guys look above the video on the right I have posted a new section called "Highly Recommended Links." These websites have been quite influential to my life and my spiritual growth. I praise God in heaven for these three men and their ministries because of their faithfulness to the Gospel and the Holy Word of Jesus Christ. They have contended for the faith (two for quite some time now) and have wonderfully shepherded many God's people so that they may be sanctified according to the scriptures.

I pray that their ministries may flourish so that the kingdom of God may be furthered. I also hope you will find these resources as good tools for building up your theology and maturity in the faith.

#1) Gty.org - John Macarthur's ministry at Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, California.
- Dr. Macarthur's high view of God and scripture is contagious. He stresses that the Gospel should be the center of the life of a Christian and that we must always consult God's word when it comes to faith and the practice of our faith. You can truly see his love for God and my life has been greatly blessed by what he has done for Christianity.

I recommend that you go to the "Resources" tab then click on the "Sermons" section at gty.org and check some out for yourself!

#2) DesiringGod.org - John Piper's ministry at Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
- Dr. Piper loves to stress "Christian Hedonism" and defines it as "God is most glorified when we are most satisfied in Him." If you enjoy animated preachers, there is no one like Piper. He is very passionate about God's word and the Gospel. But this is not why this man has been so influential. Although he is a great preacher, Dr. Piper's commitment to showing the true biblical love of God has taught me that love for God means love for His people.

I recommend that you go to the "Sermons" section at desiringGod.org and listen to them. But if you ask anyone who knows Piper, they will tell you that you must definitely WATCH these sermons.

#3) Albertmohler.com - Albert Mohler is a well-known Christian cultural commentator and the president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky
- Dr. Mohler loves to help with building up intelligent Christians who set their foundation on the Holy scripture. As Christian, we are not called to live lives of unintelligence. If anything, we should strive to become more intelligent in the Word so that we may glorify God through our preparedness. Dr. Mohler's ministry through radio, blogs, and books has shown that we need to equip ourselves as good soldiers of Christ and learn to defend the faith when necessary. He loves to address current issues on his blog/radio show and always brings it back to where we need to look, and that is scripture.

I recommend that you check out his blogs on current issues and definitely his "Radio show." He does a "Ask anything Wednesday" and people ask some great questions! You can even try asking one if you want! The reason why I suggest these resources to you is to not put these men on a pedestal, but to show you that these men are all serving for the same purpose. They all desire for the Gospel to be spread throughout the world and for the children of God to be sanctified by the truth. I pray that this will be just a tiny spark which lights a burning passion in your heart for loving God and delighting in His Word.


I do not promote these men to place them on a pedestal, no not at all! We remember, of course, that God is truly at work in the lives of these men and He deserves all the credit for the success of their ministry. But the reason why I share these resources with you for your growth and so that you may know more about our Father who is in heaven.

I pray that these resources will spark a burning passion in your heart to desire the will of God in your life which is for His glory. I also hope that you will be strengthened in your relationship with Christ and realize that knowing Him surpasses all things. It is, indeed, the greatest joy one could ever experience.

All by Myself

Proverbs 27: 17
Iron sharpens iron, So one man sharpens another.

Brethren,

If I may have your eyes and ears for but a moment, I shall pose this question to you:

Would you wish to fight in a war all by yourself?

This is almost a ridiculous question don't you think? When we are engaged in combat and fighting our enemies, we know that we desperately need all the allies we can get. How foolish would a man be if he were to take on an entire army of 10,000 strong all on his own and have no one to rely on but his own strength. A single man who takes on this impossible challenge is surely doomed to failure.

My fellow brothers and sisters, for those of you who profess Jesus Christ to be your Lord, you are guaranteed to suffer for His sake. (Phil. 1:29) Indeed, Christ has informed us that we will be persecuted for the mere fact that we are called by Him (Matt. 10:22), whether this be a struggle against the folly of mankind, or against the spiritual forces of wickedness (Ephesians 6:12). Certainly, hard times are on their way and there is no road that we can take to avoid it.

Though these times of difficulty are sure to come, we praise God almighty who has already conquered evil and now has secured victory over His enemies! However, even though the triumph is forever the Lord's, we still fight the good fight in which we are called to participate in. For the King of Glory has yet to return and crush His enemy for good, and soon give his faithful soldiers rest. Yes, the war has been won, but never does this victory permit us to lose the battles on the way to ultimate triumph. Oh for that day when we see Christ return once again! But for now, King Jesus appoints YOU as a soldier (2 Timothy 2:3), and never does He instruct you to fight the war on your own strength.

My brothers and sisters, we have lost the true meaning of what Christ has commissioned us to do. Our requirement is to go and MAKE disciples of all nations! (Matt. 28:19) We have forgotten this essential teaching that our Lord had taught and shown us while He dwelt among men on this earth. This same important topic was proclaimed to us after He conquered the grave just before His incredible ascension into Heaven.

I am amazed at the great number of so-called evangelicals that cannot even define the true meaning "discipleship." They are unaware of the great treasure that lies within true biblical discipleship. I myself have been oblivious to discipleship all my life until the Father had placed righteous men in my path to hold me accountable.

Ah yes, "Accountability," a Christian cliche that has been tossed around for so long that we are almost unaffected whenever this word is spoken. Frequently we have stressed the great good that accountability brings to the table, but never have we acted upon this teaching that we are so quick to preach to others.

Just as the apostle Paul instructs young Timothy to entrust these teachings to "faithful men," so should we impart sound doctrine on others as if lives depended on it, because they certainly do. (2 Tim. 2:2) Yet for the new believer, or one who's faith lacks maturity, I implore you to seek out good counsel from an older believer(of the same sex) whom you respect and will surely guide you on to the correct path whenever you stray from it.

Hear me faithful followers of Christ! Your spiritual well-being depends on it. This could be the difference between the Christian who's security is in Christ Jesus our Lord, and the apostate who turns his back on God and walks away from the faith. Opposition will come, and you can either face the enemy alone or find refuge in the company of mature believers.

I have seen the fruits of discipleship and it has truly changed my life. How else do you think the teachings of our great Lord have been passed down through the generations? How does one expect to grow in the grace and knowledge of Christ without being passed the teachings of those who came before us. Looking to those who have fought the good fight before us is indeed a necessity for the child of God. We must seek out the knowledge of the wise.

But if, in your mind, you are thinking, "The Lord is on my side, that is all I need," then you are fooling yourself. God has instructed you to seek out help from the church and He has created us as relational beings. We were not created and purposed to live alone. You need to realize that...

YOU NEED HELP.

Remove your pride. Yes, your pride. Oh how foolish are the proud and the stubborn! Pride will surely be(and has been) the downfall of many. It will be the death of those who refuse to abandon their sin and follow wholeheartedly after Christ.

Father help us when we refuse to listen, we beg you to turn our hearts of stone into hearts of flesh!

We must see discipleship for what it truly is!

When a student is persecuted by his Atheist teacher, who will train him to contend for the faith? When someone is struggling with sexual sin, who will encourage him to persevere to righteousness? When an employee in the office is fired for sharing the Gospel, who will help him with his needs and pray? When a father loses his child in a terrible car accident, who will remind him of the Sovereignty of God?

Discipleship is crucial.

The relationship that we have with those we disciple, and those who disciple us, truly is a relationship that cannot be broken by this world. For it is a bond amongst men and women that has the foundation built upon Christ. And we know that when we lean on fellow believers and stand on Christ the solid rock, then surely we can take on the challenges of life and live out our purpose here as Christians. But be mindful, this happens only by the grace of God and under the power of His sovereign hand.

Beloved, tough times are here, let us not fight alone.



Galatians 6:2 "Bear one another's burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ."

All Glory and Power

A Prayer to the Living God...


Father,


With every prayer, we pour out our thanks and praise for this day that you have wonderfully created. Regardless of the circumstance, Your children are able to rejoice and glory in the Cross. For no sorrow on earth could ever take away the inexpressible joy that is in our Salvation through Christ and Christ alone.

Lord, I am praying to thank You for Your great works. I am here on this earth to worship and delight in You.

Great and mighty Father, you have shown your children that there is nothing to fear on this earth. Help our unbelief when our worries cloud our judgment. Oh Lord, how I ask you to guide our thoughts that we may not fall into the darkened pit of distrust.

Yes distrust.

To not trust you, is a sin I long to never commit again. To not trust you, is to not trust the hand that has created all things. The same hand that formed the mighty sun and put the stars in their place. The same hand which hung the world on nothing and created all that dwells upon it. The same hand which holds this universe together and will not let it go until the time of His choosing.

Almighty God, I trust in You because You are God, and I am not.

You have never ever failed us. And our assurance is in Your Holy Word which declares that there is none like you. Your unfailing love and power truly is one of a kind. No one else has the power to control the universe through the sovereign will of their word.

Oh Sovereign Shepherd, Your flock is in need of desperate guidance. They are lost without You.

Father, the need for protection is great. Defend them from the dangerous enemy that wishes them harm. Lead them in their darkest of times. And guard them from themselves when their sin is ever present.

Your sheep call out to You, kind Lord. Show your lovingkindness and turn not Your ear from them.

Mighty King, Your strength is unmatched by all who oppose You. Grant us peace of mind and allow us to trust you.

I trust in You.

Lord, I offer You glory for all that You have done and ever will do. Indeed, I give You the glory!

Glory that was never meant for me...

Amen