SpeakFree

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.  Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’  Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you.  Away from me, you evildoers!’” –Matthew 7:21-23

Whoa, talk about a downer!  You mean not everyone who says they have faith in Christ and know Christ will be saved?  If we are to take Christ’s words as they are, that’s true.  What is Christ saying here?  Let’s take a closer look.

We talked earlier about false prophets.  We know there will be false prophets, we know there are false prophets.  We’ve defined what false prophets are and what they do and that their fruits will show us who they are.  I believe that these verses are just a continuation of what Christ has already said.

How many “Christians” have you witnessed that talked the talk of Christianity, however they did not walk the walk of Christianity?  I’ve seen a few.  I believe that Christ is saying that these people who claim to know Christ and do all sorts of miracles in His name, are surface Christians.  What’s a surface Christian?

A surface Christian is someone who just does the motions without going any deeper.  They do all the work of a Christian, appear like a Christian, prophesy, do miracles, etc…  Yet, there is no relationship with Christ.  They are doing for various reasons; money, fame, to make themselves feel powerful.  A surface Christian doesn’t know God.

So are you a surface Christian?  Do you know God?  Christ wants to know you and wants you to get to know Him.  He wants a deep relationship with you, one that will change your life in more ways that just actions.  So I encourage you to spend some time in the Bible and get to know God.

“Watch out for false prophets.  They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.  By their fruit you will recognize them.  Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?  Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.” — Matthew 7:15-17

Who are false prophets?  Why does Christ warn these people to watch out for false prophets?  These are interesting questions.  Usually we take this at face value.  It’s a good warning to heed.  There will always be people out there claiming to know truth, claiming to be a messenger from God, when really they aren’t.

Read the news and there are always people claiming to know the future.  Futurists, mediums, psychics all claim that they can predict the future and talk with the dead.  However Christ warns us to watch out for false prophets.  Why?  Because they appear as harmless as lambs, but inwardly they are as ferocious as wolves.

Have you known someone who has come to you acting as if they were your best friend, but later you find that your wallet is gone, or some piece of jewelry is gone from your house.  Or maybe you’ve lost your life savings because they got ahold of your bank account and pin number.  You’ve been hit by a con artist.  They appear as if they are your best friend, but really, they are looking to gain from you.

Christ says that we will know false prophets by their fruits.  What does Christ mean by fruit?  Fruit in this sense is not an apple, banana or mango.  It is our actions or the visible works that we do.  As humans we are known by our work.  We know people by how they act and who they care about.  When someone cares about themselves it’s obvious they’re not usually a good person to hang out with.

So false prophets have fruits that are not good.  Does this mean that we will see the fruits immediately?  No.  The interesting thing about this analogy is that the fruit of a tree is not evident completely until later on.  Early in spring we cannot see the fruit or tell if it will be good or bad until the time is right.  This is why we must pray and test whatever is said by these prophets to the Bible.

So let your fruit be good.  Blessed by God, and may He guide your interactions with other people.

I know that there are a lot of things that go on in this world. A lot of pain and a lot of hurt. I want to ask each of you to pray for a friend of mine. Jeremy Doherty was in a motorcycle accident a few days ago and he is in pretty bad condition.

I’m asking that each of you who read this post would just say a prayer for Jeremy and his family. If you would like to follow along with the updates head over to http://updatejeremy.blogspot.com/.

I’m still here, really. I’m just getting started with some very intense summer sessions. One class in four weeks, except I’m taking three classes in four weeks. Yeah, my life is a bit stressed. But I promise there will be some posts coming up.

“Enter through the narrow gate, because the gate is wide and the way is spacious that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it.  But the gate is narrow and the way is difficult that leads to life, and there are few who find it.” –Matthew 7:13-14

Ok, so the gate is wide that leads to destruction.  What is this gate that Christ is speaking of?  And what is this narrow and difficult gate that leads to life?

Everytime I read this verse I think of the poem by Robert Frost “Road Less Traveled.”

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth

Then took the other as just as fair
And having perhaps the better claim
Because it was grassy and wanted wear
Though as for that, the passing there
Had worn them really about the same

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet, knowing how way leads onto way
I doubted if I should ever come back

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence
Two roads diverged in a wood
And I took the one less traveled by
And that has made all the difference

The Christian Life is kind of like the road less traveled.  I know you have probably heard this before, you’ve probably read this poem many times.  But I think that it is important to realize that the Christian life is about taking the road less traveled.

Think about it for a bit.  Many people choose the easy wide road, the way of the world.  As Christians we are called to take the narrow, less traveled road.  Yes it is harder, yes it is more difficult, but it makes all the difference.

“The spirit of James and John lingers on, especially in us who have been cusioned by affluence.” — John Stott The Cross of Christ

I read this and I immediately thought of this video on teenage affluenza.  That’s what this video above is about, teenage affluenza.  The video is geared towards teens more than adults, but I believe that it can reach adults as well.

What Stott has been talking about is the story where James and John come up to Christ and ask for the best seats in His kingdom.  Want more detail?  Go open that Bible to Mark 10:35-45.

After reading what Stott says, and watching this video again, I begin to realize how good off I really have it here in the United States.  I don’t worry about when I’ll eat next, I’ve got food in the fridge or a short drive to the grocery store.  I don’t worry about freezing at night because I can just turn a little knob and get heat.  I don’t worry about clean water because I have a water filter.  And I don’t worry about traveling long distances because I can afford a airplane ticket.

As Christians, at least here in North America, we believe we are entitled to good treatment because we are affluent, because we have wealth, because we have things.  How wrong we have it.  We believe that we deserve power and wealth.  The problem is that Christ asks us to deny ourself.  Want proof?  Ok, Matthew 16: 24 “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.”

So what self are we to deny?  Do we deny everything about ourselves?  No, because that would be denying the gifts that God gave us to use for Him.  Christ is telling us to deny our sinful nature, those things about our personality that take us away from God.  While wealth and power can be a good thing, more often than not they corrupt and take away from God.

So let’s avoid affluenza as much as possible.  Christ came to this earth to be a servant, not one who was served.  And as our example we should follow Him and do our best to allow Him to turn us into servants.

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened for you.” –Matthew 7:7

You mean if I ask for it God will give me that brand new Porsche?  As long as I can remember, I’ve wanted a Porsche.  The lines, the power, the reputation.  I drove my uncle’s Porsche when I was 15 and I was hooked.  I researched Porsche, I looked on Ebay for a Porsche, I dreamed, ate and lived Porsche.  If I had only thought of this verse and told God about this verse He would have given me a Porsche, because I was asking for one, alot!

Unfortunately, I don’t drive a Porsche.  The closest I come to driving and owning a Porsche is driving one in a computer game.  And I have come to realize that I will probably never own a Porsche, but that is ok.  Here’s why.

Christ continues in His discourse to say “Is there anyone among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone?  Of if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake?” There are a couple things that I noticed when I read that, bread and fish are food.  Food is a need of all people.  If we don’t have food, we won’t survive.  So what I’m thinking is that Christ is saying that we will get what we ask for, if it is something we need.

This isn’t necessarily just confined to things like food, water, money, etc…  There are spiritual things that we need as well.  We all need a relationship with God, we all need strength to get through our trials and troubles.  I truly believe that when we ask for those with a sincere heart, God will grant us those requests.

Do I still want a Porsche?  You bet!  I would love to own a Porsche.  If anyone wants to give me a Porsche I would gladly accept it.  However, I do know that a Porsche is not the best use of the blessings that I have from God.  I have stopped asking God for a Porsche, I ask Him for strength and for a loving heart to share His love with others.  I know He’ll grant me that.