Tag: sin

BLOODY FOOTPRINTS

Tagged , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

BLOODY FOOTPRINTS

By Rick Mathes

(Author of “Allah or Jesus”)

Luke 23:26 And when they led Him away, they laid hold of one Simon of Cyrene, coming in from the country, and placed on him the cross to carry behind Jesus.

What was going through the thoughts of Simon as he stepped into the bloody footprints of Jesus? He couldn’t help but wonder why this innocent man was being put through this torturous execution. There must have been a look or a word from our Lord because in time, both of Simon’s sons became the first Bishops of color in this new world conquering religion.

Let’s put ourselves into Simon’s sandals and carry our Lord’s Cross. How can we do this? Pick up and continue His love for His brethren. We don’t necessarily need to like each other but we must love each other. Love is not an emotion, it is a decision. The emotion may or may not follow. The last beatitude is persecution so let’s get used to it and carry His Cross, the weight of Hell’s effort to trash His atonement.

Don’t forget that He walks before us. He is leading us to quiet waters through the reconciliation with the Father through His death; His final sacrifice. The Lord, the real Lord is our Shepherd. We don’t follow Father Lucifer anymore. Our old shepherd only let us to death, insanity or incarceration.

It’s by His grace, will and strength that we can carry His cross, keep the faith, fight the good fight and finish the course. We press on because we know where He is leading us to. He is the way, the truth and the life. He is our partner and the burden is light yoked to Him.

It is only for a short time of three-score and ten that this burden is ours so let’s give it our best shot. The consequences of our sin is truly a heavy load but we did it to ourselves and the least we can do is pick up our cross and follow Him. The reward, like childbirth, is well worth the pain. What a privilege it is to take it to the Lord in prayer.

BLIND

Tagged , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

BLIND

By Rick Mathes

(Author of “Allah or Jesus”)

Romans 3:11 (NASB) 11  THERE IS NONE WHO UNDERSTANDS, THERE IS NONE WHO SEEKS FOR GOD;

AUGUSTINE

Understanding is the reward of faith. Therefore, seek not to understand that thou mayest believe but believe that thou mayest understand.

The ignorant man always adores

What he cannot understand.

Our condition before God is so bad we get into denial to hide our real self. If you saw my heart as God sees it you would run from me and yours would be terrifying if exposed. We have an underlying and an ulterior motive. The underlying motive is in plain sight but the ulterior motive is under the table and driven by self and sin.

When we walk in willful sin we cannot really see the beauty of Christ’s countenance. It’s blurred with the smoke from hell. You lose the presence of His grace because you have yielded to Satan’s lordship; Satan has become your lord. It’s like running your hands through the filth and decay of a cesspool and then lifting them to God for mercy. You are only making God gag.

Keep focused on the things of God by seeing through His eyes. It’s like moving from black and white to color; a caterpillar turning into a butterfly. This can be a wonderful adventure as His world, sin-free opens up to you.

I have controlled glaucoma in both eyes. My mom and grandfather both went blind from it. I am so grateful for the gift of sight and I dedicate this medical miracle to the Great Physician. Of all the terrible things that could happen to me physically, I fear going blind most.

The pressure of Jesus points out the need of a new birth. The evil of this world is smothering us body and soul with the filth of sin. This sin killed God’s Son. This is very serious. In your blindness you will have the penalty of sin fade into the wide road that leads to eternal flames. So get your spiritual eyes checked as I did and don’t allow yourself to go blind to the grace and goodness of our Savior, Jesus.

BLESS VS CURSE

Tagged , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

BLESS VS. CURSE

By Rick Mathes

Romans 12:14 (NASB77) 14   Bless those who persecute you; bless and curse not.

Everyone, including myself, have an obvious motive and an ulterior one. Both or either can be blessed or cursed of the Lord. The motive on the table could be self-sacrificing or under the table, self-gratifying.

There is the form and the essence. The form of God we see with the eyes of the Holy Spirit is the body and life of Jesus. His essence, or what He’s made of is found in God’s breathed Word, our Holy Bible.

A double blessing is a double grace.

Bless the Holy Spirit with all that is within you and He will reciprocate with all that is within Him: the words and works of Jesus Christ. We know His efforts are successful because He is God: all-knowing, all-powerful and all-present. God never fails with His intentions. You might pray, “I’m not having a good time,” but you are in His perfect will nonetheless.

Your heart beats with His and His instructions for your life are perceived and accepted. The Words He has for you leap off the pages of the Gospel according to Jesus Christ. Our Lord’s Words and Works. Try my system: read and parse all the red parts of your Bible with as many commentaries as you can carry. I did. I was a red-letter theologian.

Born-again means you die to the old life which hardly any professing Christians do. They continue to drag that rotting corpse along behind them. His power, the very power of creation itself, think about this, is in you!

  • How big is your God?
  • How much room is there in you for the Holy Spirit?
  • How much of Him will you allow in?

Your yielding to divine grace is absolutely irresistible. Like metal drawn to a magnet, you are being drawn to the foot of the Cross to repent of your sins in the mud, the blood and the tears of those that preceded you to this holy ground of forgiveness.

You may not see, hear, taste, touch of smell our Lord but as heaven is real, so are all your feelings of His presence in the Holy Spirit. The blessing is Him and the curse is sure to follow if you stand at the foot of the Cross and give Him the finger!

BELIEVE

Tagged , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

BELIEVE

By Rick Mathes

Acts 16:31 and they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you shall be saved, you and your household.”

Faith is reaching beyond your grasp and when you do in Christ you become a believer. So the Christian faith begins with you believing in Him. Once I knew I knew He rose from the dead, I believed and have never turned back since. It is finished business because the Lord said so from the Cross but it isn’t done. He doesn’t announce that until after the white throne judgment when He will say, “It is done.”

The bone chilling consequence of this is that there will be a moment, a blink of an eye from that point forward no one will be able to be saved. It will be too late for those that have put it off and rejected Jesus as their Lord. The Muslims, Roman Catholics, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Christian Science and other eastern cults will drop into the flaming pit, the abyss of the dark-side with evil personified in Father Satan.

Receiving our Lord’s offer is the best choice you will ever have to make. His grace is handed to you and all it costs is everything you have and you are. In fact, the rest of your life is none of your business. You didn’t come to Him, He extended His hand, the Master’s hand and you reached back a slave evermore subservient to His slightest wish. This is the biblical truth! Don’t let anyone “soft-soap” you out of this fact with any scripture twisting.

He earned your trust through the witnesses of the sixty-six book library we call our Bible. They looked forward to the Cross and now we look backward to the same Cross.

WE do this to hear His voice ring through the ages in word and deed; As Josh McDowell has put it in his book “Evidence Deserves a Verdict.” Is Jesus a liar, lunatic or Lord? Let the Holy Spirit open your eares to hear the saints as they speak to you from the precious pages of His gospel.

“Look and be saved!” Moses had a foreshadow of His crucifixion. By His stripes we have been healed. Once you look into those pitiful eyes of our dying Savior, what choice is there but to yield to His call, “Believe in Me and be saved.” What is your plan B compared to Him?

BEFORE AND AFTER

Tagged , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

BEFORE-AFTER

By Rick Mathes

1 Timothy 1:11-12 according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, with which I have been entrusted. 12 I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because He considered me faithful, putting me into service;

The beatitudes of Matthew chapter 5 are a wonderful but unattainable goal for Christians to reach for. I learned real soon in my walk with the Lord that I being Christlike was impossible. But in studying Paul, I found it was possible for me to be Paul like because he and I had so much in common. Let me just touch on a few characteristics of Paul then I will summarize with an overview of the amazing Jesus we will all be like in His Day.

Paul was a blasphemer of Christ which shouldn’t shock you because Peter and Judas were too. The thing that made the differences between a Saint and an ain’t was repentance. Peter restored himself. Judas destroyed himself. Paul was dead to sin the moment Jesus struck him on the way to Damascus. He said, “Lord, what must I do?” Confessing Jesus as Lord saved Him and me.

Paul persecuted Christians by having them beaten, whipped, incarcerated or killed. He was a national figure that was greatly feared for his hatred of what was then called, “The Way.” Isn’t it an interesting play on words when Jesus said, “I am the Way.”

He was a killer of Saints. This was before people invented a Pope who would preside on who was a saint and who should be executed as an infidel. (Study the Inquisition) The Word however clearly teaches that all believers are Saints. It doesn’t take any special anointing from a vicar of Christ to announce you are.

His only excuse for such dastardly behavior was that he was ignorant of the truth. Ignorance is not a bad word that denotes mental instability. Everyone is ignorant or has a lack of knowledge of something. But when you have heard the Gospel according to Jesus Christ, from that point on you are without excuse if you ignore it.

The only unpardonable sin is unbelief. There is no sinner that is worse than someone who refuses to confess Jesus as Lord. God can’t help you if you refuse His grace. You belong to the devil and your eternal home will be in hell watching your skin and flesh blister and smolder in the endless flames of the eternal furnace.

What a contrast that Jesus took Paul, Satan’s trash and turned it into His treasure. Just like you and I and I’m not too sure about you! (Just kidding)

 

BEFORE DAWN

Tagged , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

BEFORE THE DAWN

By Rick Mathes

John 3:36 (NASB77) 36 “He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”

The world is a howling wilderness to those who go recklessly through it, stumbling in their self-made darkness: world gone mad. They have no concept of the consequences of their random and unleashed actions of sinful aggressions. It becomes a merry-go-round of evil, careening before them with a forever of no beginnings or ends of cowardly suicide of integrity and character.

Another night of lurking fear as the streets darken and the shadows flee the sundown and beams of thinning traffic headlights: loneliness no human should ever be asked to endure. Road-rage and taunt nerves cause tempers to flare and fights to spontaneously ignite. The irresistible lure of the taverns and relief of liquid levity is only one swallow away: the devil knows. “Pass that joint my way, bro.” The shakes from last night still linger. I can’t believe there is another day when I prayed last night would be my last: a dog returning to his vomit.

My sorrow is overwhelming me when I revue those shadows that follow me. Skinned knuckles, bloody mouth, vomit and shame: night after night: Can I ever be truly sorry for living the same horrors day after day, after day, after day?

The shroud of death, coffin and hearse are lined up and prepared for my demise: my enemies would rejoice. “Oh look, there’s a big Mack truck!” It’s coming my way and all I need is a sharp turn to the left and this nightmare would end and who would care: no one? They can hold my funeral in a phone booth.

Some would fake tears and regrets but the day would dawn and if the truth be said, my passing into oblivion of the abyss would be secretly celebrated. What hope is there for me for you for that matter?

If ever there was a time for the Holy Spirit to breathe His life into me once again it is now and I pray that it will be for you also! Suck it up and drink it in deeply right now as you read this.

I need the right loving spirit to give me a Son-rise (sunrise) in my soul that will quench my prideful and hardened heart. I don’t even know what “humble” is so I cry out to You Lord, “I can’t!” and I can hear the heavens echo your response, “I CAN!”

I come to your Cross and beg forgiveness and as your Word promises, you forgive me with your atoning blood. Help me to accept it and put the past behind. It keeps rearing its ugliness to destroy the flickering joy within me. I receive the forgiveness and pledge to become a forgiver, forever.

The dawn has come to light and the night drifts slowly into the horizon of defeat. It has not power over the Light of the Word, the only Son of God, and my Savior!

 

 

 

 

BEARING FRUIT

Tagged , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

BEARING FRUIT

By Rick Mathes

Colossians 1:10 so that you may walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;

No one can say for certain if another person is saved or not because even God’s elect will slip and sin from time to time. As a shepherd, I look for the fruit of the Spirit to craft a sermon or Bible study for my sheep. There are definite sign posts along the narrow road to heaven or the wide highway to hell.

One very telling characteristic of a fellow believer is we put away childish things. There was a time when we did some really crazy things and we marvel that we escaped unscathed. So thee was a time when it was fun to say it was fun, then it because fun to say it was crazy but then came the time when it was crazy to say this was fun. That’s when we had to put them away.

Another effort a born again believer will make is to cultivate a good solid understanding of God’s Word. Unless someone has their head in the bible, I really doubt they know Jesus for who He is. If you are His, you read His love letters to you (The Bible).

Striving after Christ’s ideal model of a follower of His is found in Mathew chapter 5 and is called the Beatitudes. These guidelines are in a progression so you need to do the first before you tackle the second and then the third and so on to of all things, persecution. If you do the opposite of each step you have the stairway to hell.

The best signpost of your being on the narrow road is your partaking of deeper things. The Word is shallow enough for an infant to splash in and yet can be deep enough to drown an elephant.

It mainly boils down to overcoming temptation. My surest test of your salvation is when you consider the temptation a testing of the Lord to find out how deep your love for Him is. The most valid assurance of your love for Him is your hate of sin. You hate the sin that killed God’s Son. That despising of evil things means you are bearing good fruit of good things. Sounds like you are saved! AMEN.

BE READY

Tagged , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

BE READY

By Rick Mathes

When Jesus came to the place, He looked up and said to him,

“Zaccheus hurry and come down for today I must stay at your house.”

Luke 19:5

There’s something special about friends having a dinner with friends. It just feels good to enjoy a good meal with good people. In most cultures, it is a special time that can go for hours. It isn’t fast-food firies, it is a golden moment that remains in your album of memories.

How startling can it be to have Jesus invite Himself to your home for quality time of fun, food and fellowship? Would you be ready to have Him as your house-guest? Something to think about isn’t it? So let’s think about it together.

There might be a spouse or child would object to this. It isn’t too difficult to d a quick inventory of the magazines, CDs, DVDs, favorite TV shows and internet history. These few areas might run a cold chill down your spine thinking Jesus would notice and comment to you His displeasure for the sin you are tolerating in your home under your nose.

So right now, do an inventory of the objectionable items in your household. It is good to do your dirty laundry and to begin a godly home because the Lord would like to be the centerpiece. The Holy Spirit will not live in an immoral garbage can.

What if your objectionable friends should drop by to visit when Jesus is your guest? What would He think about how they dress, what they smoke or drink and the language they use? Think about it.

We must be willing instruments of His. He is the one that orchestrates everything in our lives if we have exchanged all we are for all He is. The question remains; Are you ready for Jesus to move in with you and your family? Is there any reason you might have that this would not be a good idea? If you have a home prepared for your Savior, then invitge Him in right now\

Write this on the tablet of your heart:

I can permit Him in my household,

I will ask Him to live with us,

I must!

 

 

BE PATIENT

Tagged , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

BE PATIENT

By Rick Mathes

Romans 12:12 (NASB77) 12   rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer,

Come then, affliction, if my Father wills and my frowning friend,

A friend that frowns is better than a smiling enemy.

Our Lord has a perfect and permissive will. His perfect will is when you are “spot on” with your pursuit of holiness and returning to His image and likeness in the sanctification process. Inherent in the exercise of His permissive will whereby He pulls His hand back and allows Satan to sort and sift you with afflictions much like He did Job.

In either case, get this, you are in His perfect will!

The testing comes to work a good in you. Usually the biggest culprit it needs to uncover is pride. Pride is the root of all the other sins most likely to grip and hold you fast.

However, it can also demonstrate fruit and test sincerity. Nothing stripes circumstances down to the bare truth better than adversity. Think about this. You knees are most likely to it the ground when everything is going south. Maybe it has been a long time since you knelt down and had a real heart to heart with Jesus. You can stop reading this right now and take a moment to bear your soul and troubles before the King. (I’ll wait for you…..)

Adversity will refine and purify you if you will only be patient and play the hand that the Lord has dealt you. My favorite verse in the KJV is, “It came to pass.”

Patient perseverance will humble and correct you and make an example of you for others to follow. Remember you may be the only Christ they may see. His love manifest in you will give large rewards to anyone who will go and do likewise.

I guess the bottom line is if you believe you obey regardless of the circumstances. I have often prayed, “Lord, I am not having a good time but your will be done not mine.” You might have to be patient and pray likewise.

BE FILLED

Tagged , , , , , Leave a comment

BE FILLED

By Rick Mathes

Acts 2:4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit was giving them utterance.

An unbeliever cannot know what it is to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Only we who have experienced being bowed again before Him can ever know, we know. When the Holy Spirit comes over you there is an illumination. It’s like going from black and white to color. You go from being a worm to being a butterfly. Astounding!

A wave of newness sweeps through you with purity, power, passion and prayer; The old dies and the new stgeps from the grave in the power of the Holy Spirit. This is the same power tht spoke creation into existence and lifted our Lord’s corpse to life.

The first change that others will notice is that you move from pride to humility. When you know your heart as the Lord does, there is nothing to be prideful about. Oh how Satan and his fallen angels knows this well. Father Lucifer, the bright and morning star of heaven fell from grace because of pride to a smoldering living torch of flames in an endless hell of regret.

The selfishness that permeates with I, me and mine is exchanged for the He, Him and His of perfect love. Simon the Cyrene walked in the bloody footprints of our Savior, looking into His eyes and fell in love so much so, his two sons became the first two bishops of color in Libya! Self will die as Christ lives in you.

Peter was a very vivid example of a coward that became courageous when the Holy Spirit enjoined him in his life and service to the Lord. He made a giant step from earth into the heavenly places and he never looked back.

We live in an advertising blitzkrieg of sin that permeates any media or surface is going to put a camera on a satellite and project ads on the moon for a world audience to see and be moved to buy. Sound farfetched? Stay tuned and you will see!

The temporal or rather temporary toys of this world will join the worms that devour your cadaver in the pit. There is nothing made by man that is anywhere as valuable as man in His image and likness. You and I are His eternal trophies. Nothing else created will survive the holocaust. But don’t despair, we will rise at His call and eternal life will include a new earth and heavens.