The Power of Life and Death

What is the most powerful thing that humankind possesses? What do we have that has the power to protect or attack, build or demolish, heal or kill? Do we even have anything with this power?

The TONGUE!

The tongue has the power of life and death... (Proverbs 18:21 NIV excerpt)

But why?

We are made in the image of the same God who spoke life into existence from the beginning of time.

That is what the Scriptures mean when God told him, “I have made you the father of many nations.” This happened because Abraham believed in the God who brings the dead back to life and who creates new things out of nothing. (Romans 4:17 NLT)

So we have the same power in us of the God who brings the dead back to life and creates new things out of nothing? How does He do THAT?

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the deep waters. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters. Then God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. Then God said, “Let there be a space between the waters, to separate the waters of the heavens from the waters of the earth.” Then God said, “Let the waters beneath the sky flow together into one place, so dry ground may appear.” And that is what happened. Then God said, “Let the land sprout with vegetation—every sort of seed-bearing plant, and trees that grow seed-bearing fruit. These seeds will then produce the kinds of plants and trees from which they came.” And that is what happened. Then God said, “Let lights appear in the sky to separate the day from the night. Let them be signs to mark the seasons, days, and years. (Genesis 1:1-3, 6, 9, 11, 14 NLT)

In all of this, how did creation begin?

"God SAID"... Remember? He spoke things into existence.

So we must realize that WE also speak life and death into existence.

What should we do differently knowing that our words are so powerful? A good place to start is a study of His word to find out how to control our tongues.

Dear brothers and sisters, not many of you should become teachers in the church, for we who teach will be judged more strictly. Indeed, we all make many mistakes. For if we could control our tongues, we would be perfect and could also control ourselves in every other way. We can make a large horse go wherever we want by means of a small bit in its mouth. And a small rudder makes a huge ship turn wherever the pilot chooses to go, even though the winds are strong. In the same way, the tongue is a small thing that makes grand speeches. But a tiny spark can set a great forest on fire. And the tongue is a flame of fire. It is a whole world of wickedness, corrupting your entire body. It can set your whole life on fire, for it is set on fire by hell itself. People can tame all kinds of animals, birds, reptiles, and fish, but no one can tame the tongue. It is restless and evil, full of deadly poison. Sometimes it praises our Lord and Father, and sometimes it curses those who have been made in the image of God. And so blessing and cursing come pouring out of the same mouth. Surely, my brothers and sisters, this is not right! Does a spring of water bubble out with both fresh water and bitter water? Does a fig tree produce olives, or a grapevine produce figs? No, and you can’t draw fresh water from a salty spring. (James 3:1-12 NLT)

First, I've heard people try to use this passage to say, "Well, I can't tame my tongue. The verse says no one can, so I won't even try." That attitude is wrong and sinful. The same book of the bible tells us this...

Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it. (James 4:17 NLT)

Second, far too often I've heard James 3 misquoted as if the term, "cursing" meant using foul or abusive language, but in this context, that isn't what this term means. This verse is saying that to curse those made in God's image simply means to slander someone, or talk bad about them. This can mean spreading rumors behind someone's back, gossiping, or even bullying face-to-face.

But let's focus on gossip.

The time is coming when everything that is covered up will be revealed, and all that is secret will be made known to all. Whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered behind closed doors will be shouted from the housetops for all to hear! (Luke 12:2, 3 NLT)

In simple terms, we all know that what we say about people behind their backs will eventually get back to them and ruin our relationships.

Now back to foul language. If James isn't referring to cuss words when he says, "cursing" than does the bible actually tell us that cussing is wrong? Yes; in Colossians twice.

You used to do these things when your life was still part of this world. But now is the time to get rid of anger, rage, malicious behavior, slander, and dirty language. (Colossians 3:7, 8 NLT, emphasis mine)

Let your conversation be gracious and attractive so that you will have the right response for everyone. (Colossians 4:6 NLT, emphasis mine)

So make no mistake about it, cuss words have no place in the vocabulary of a Christian.

There is so much evidence in scripture that WORDS hold the power that saves or destroys. Even FAITH itself is made by words...

So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. (Romans 10:17 NKJV, emphasis mine)

And Jesus' disciples acknowledged that He had the "words of eternal life."

From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more. Then Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you also want to go away?” But Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. (John 6:66-68 NKJV, emphasis mine)

Words- Hawk Nelson feat. Bart Millard

In closing, Christianity is known as the Great Confession. Christianity is a confession of LOVE which should be spoken by words of LOVE. We have the power of life and death in our tongues and we should always use this power to choose LIFE!

re\\VAMP: My First Entry in Almost Two Years.

If you have followed this blog back in the GoFM days, you've seen several vision changes of a ministry that impacted some, but never reached its full potential. This post, is not to declare a new direction of vision for GoFM, but to inform my old readers about the new ministry that God has ordained me to lead. Nearly a year ago I was given a chance to start a new youth ministry and accepted the position of Youth Pastor at Seeking God's Glory Church in Warren, Ohio. It took me a while to anchor down to the vision God had for the teens of this area and even a year later we are still building our group up, but the reoccurring theme He placed in my heart was CHANGE.

CHANGE! to revamp, renovate, or remodel this community... NOT physically, but spiritually. And we HAVE seen change. We've seen an atheist give her heart to God and publicly accept Christ, His baptism, and His Spirit. We've seen kids who trust no one pour their hearts out to us, because they know that "there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. (Romans 8:1 NLT excerpt)." The goal is simple. Show love to those who never see it.

re\\VAMP Student Ministries stands as a beacon of the change that takes place when Christ lives in us and we die to our old sinful nature. "This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! (2 Corinthians 5:17 NLT)"

From here on out I will be using this blog to post summaries of the lessons we teach each week along with occasional posts of words God puts on my heart to share starting later on this week with last weekend's topic, "The Power of Life and Death." This will allow my students or their parents to catch up if they miss a service or study further on what we've learned and if you aren't currently one of my students you can learn along with them.

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Beauty Is in the Eye (Part Two)...

Photo of the tattoo I mentioned in my precious post. My apologies for the poor quality.

So I think Im realizing that "context" is my current soapbox to preach from...

In my last post I discussed my views on the controversial topic of tattoos and appearances. I wanted to give a little merit to my opinion by giving some examples of the context that shows that the old laws I had mentioned were, in fact, cultural...

When we study scripture we have to remember to study the surrounding context of the verses that we read, so that we can understand what topic is being addressed. I proved how important context is in one of my previous posts titled, "Contradictions in the Bible." Sometimes this context is obvious, and sometimes we have to search history to find it.

So just to be clear, I understand that Christ taught us that none of the law would pass away and He didn't come to change it or abolish it, but rather to fulfill it.

"Don't misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose." (Matthew 5:17 NLT)

So how can ANY of the old laws be cultural? Shouldn't we continue to keep them all? YES -- Yes we should, but in our culture they translate differently... Now, don't think I'm trying to take the scripture in a liberal fashion either, we can easily take this statement too far as well, but read on and you'll see what I'm saying.

Let's take a look at some of these verses and their historical context.

"You must obey all my decrees. Do not mate two different kinds of animals. Do not plant your field with two different kinds of seed. Do not wear clothing woven from two different kinds of thread." (Leviticus 19:19 NLT)

Like I stated in the last post we're all "breaking this law" everyday! Grab the tag on the back of your shirt and read it. I can guarantee it says something to the likes of "50% Cotton 50% Polyester." Upon studying, I've come to find that this law was partly literal, yet mostly metaphorical. The decree for not sewing multiple crops on one field and not wearing combined linens was set as a literal AND metaphorical reminder not to intermingle sinful lifestyles into what God had called them to do. It was part of their culture. Today we honor this command by living righteously and keeping the filth of sin out of our lives. We honor what is Holy and cast off what is not.

"Do not trim off the hair on your temples or trim your beards." (Leviticus 19:27 NLT)

How many Christian men are guilty of this, today? How many of us have broken this decree? The truth is that if you aren't shaping your head to honor the celestial gods, you haven't actually broken this decree. See, the Gentile (those who were not Jewish) people in this era were rounding their hair as a sign of devotion and honor to celestial gods, so the God of Abraham commanded that the Israelites take no part in that practice. Today we honor this decree by making God our ONLY priority and putting no other gods before Him.

"Do not cut your bodies for the dead, and do not mark your skin with tattoos. I am the Lord." (Leviticus 19:28 NLT emphasis mine)

This one is actually easier to see the context, especially because I emphasized it. In the days this scripture was written, the Gentiles would cut themselves and tattoo graven images as a ritual to mourn the dead. To my understanding, this was actually never a decree against the art of tattooing itself, but rather against the ritual of marking yourself with graven images for the dead. Today the Christian community honors this command by not marking ourselves with any image that constitutes idolatry or any other graven image. Those who mark themselves with symbology that relates to God or Christ have not broken this ancient decree, because they have not marked themselves for any ritual with any graven image for the dead.

These are just a few examples and I'm sure there are several more, but this post is already lengthy enough, so, I hope this sheds light on a subject that has left many people hurt by judgment that was misplaced at best. I love you all and God bless!

Beauty Is in the Eye...

We've all heard the age-old saying, "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder." The only question I have is, does that phrase hold any relevance in our Christian walk?

Too often we judge those working in the church based on an outward appearance and what WE feel falls into the guidelines of "beauty." We get worked up if a pastor dresses too formal, too casual, too trendy, too old fashioned, too this, too that, and the list rolls on and we don't hear a word he has to say.

Of course this statement applies in Christianity.

Look at this picture.. Tell me what you see. If you told me that you saw a man with massive holes in his ears, covered in tattoos screaming into a microphone I'd have to agree with you. But would you agree with me if I told you that this photo is of one of the most powerful ministers of our time? Watch this video and try to tell me otherwise...

See, we have to understand that music and appearances both fall into categories of beauty that are subject to personal opinion. Just because we don't care for someone's style doesn't mean it is not beautiful to them. And don't worry, I know what you're thinking. "What about scripture saying not to give the appearance of evil and not to mark or mar your body?" As far as the appearance of evil, we can yet again refer to the title of this post. If beauty is in the eye of the beholder, I'm sure the appearance of evil is subject to interpretation as well. A biker gang that has only experienced hatred from the church may feel that a pastor approaching them in a three piece suit is giving the appearance of evil, while they may actually hear out the Word of God if spoken to them by a fellow biker. "But the Bible clearly states that tattoos are sinful!"

???

"Do not cut your bodies for the dead, and do not mark your skin with tattoos. I am the Lord." (Leviticus 19:28 NLT emphasis mine)

My only problem with this is when we look at some of the surrounding verses we are told not to wear fabric made of more than one material and not to cut our hair or trim our beards.

"You must obey all my decrees. Do not mate two different kinds of animals. Do not plant your field with two different kinds of seed. Do not wear clothing woven from two different kinds of thread. Do not trim off the hair on your temples or trim your beards." (Leviticus 19:19, 27 NLT emphasis mine)

So my honest thoughts on this subject is that anyone who isn't Amish has already sinned as much as I did when I got the word "discipline" tattooed on my left wrist. God has made a diverse people, we must understand that our appearances don't define how Godly we are, because beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Now understand, I'm not trying to dismiss the rules either. But when you look at the ancient scriptures I believe many of these rules, especially that dealt with appearance, were cultural. The rules that affect morality are never and will never be in question, but I feel we need to stop using single verses of scripture without context to support the excommunication of ministers and Christians who look different than we'd like them to.

*Photo and YouTube contents are not my property and I do not intend to infringe on copyright laws or claim these works as my own.

Spiritual Myopia: an Article Written by my Father.

While Christmas time should be one of the happiest and joyful times of the year, it can also be one of the most stressful. Finding the right present, being able to afford what you want to buy, fighting the holiday crowds, and rushing to visit family and friends can all cause each of us to forget what this holiday is really about. Other factors, such as painful memories, joblessness, or illnesses are also things that can take away the joy that each of us should feel as we celebrate the birth of our Savior and cause us to lose our focus. Having a blurred vision of God however is not something that only happens during the holiday season. In fact I believe many Christians today suffer from a condition that I call, “Spiritual Myopia.”
In the 18th chapter of 1 Kings, the bible tells about how the prophet Elijah had told King Ahab that it would not rain in Israel. For over three years Israel did not see any rain because the country was not doing what was right in the eyes of the Lord. Worship of false gods was rampant everywhere. Elijah had a confrontation with 850 prophets of Baal and Asherah on Mount Carmel and after the fire of the Lord consumed his sacrifice and all the false prophets were killed, Elijah told King Ahab to get ready for there was the sound of a mighty rain. He then began to pray and told his servant to go look for rain. Seven times his servant went to look and on the seventh time he came back and told Elijah all he saw was one small cloud the size of a man’s hand. Elijah however sent word to Ahab and told him to hitch up his chariot and ride, because the rain was coming. So what did Elijah see that his servant could not? What was the servant’s problem?
The servant was suffering from “Spiritual Myopia.” The American Heritage Dictionary says that myopia is a visual defect in which distant objects appear blurred because their images are focused in front of the retina rather than on it. This can be called nearsightedness. It is also a term which refers to someone who is shortsighted in their thinking or planning. So “Spiritual Myopia” then refers to someone who has a blurred image of God or of what God can accomplish.
Let me give you another example. In the 13th chapter of Numbers Moses sent twelve spies into the Promised Land. All twelve saw the same thing. When they returned ten of the spies reported that they had seen giants in the land that were bigger and more powerful then they were. Two of the spies however had a totally different view of what they had seen. Chapter 14:5-9 states, “Then Moses and Aaron fell facedown in front of the whole Israelite assembly gathered there. Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh were among those who had torn their clothes and said to the entire Israelite assembly: “The Land we passed trough and explored is exceedingly good. If the Lord is pleased with us, he will lead us into that land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and will give it to us. Only do not rebel against the Lord. And do not be afraid of the people of the land, because we will swallow them up. Their protection is gone, but the Lord is with us. Do not be afraid of them.”
Wow! How could Joshua and Caleb see things so differently than the other ten? It is because they were not blinded by what they saw, but looked beyond the problem to the solution. They knew if God was pleased with them, He would give them the land. Their eye sight was not blurred and the vision that God gave each of them was perfectly clear.
I remember watching the movie “Jaws.” There was a scene in which Roy Schneider, Richard Dreyfuss and the captain of the fishing boat were out to sea looking for, at this point, an unseen shark. Roy is standing at the edge of the boat and as he looked into the water this huge Great White shark rises up out of the water and Roy is face to face with a problem he was not totally expecting and prepared for. His response at this point is classic. He states, “We’re gonna need a bigger boat!”
This is the same thing we each need to do when faced with adversity. We need to look past our problems to the solution. It is not that our problems are too big. The problem is that our vision of God is not big enough. Jesus told us in John16:33, “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” We have to have faith. Hebrews 11:1 states, “Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.”
Remember: Nebuchadnezzer saw a fiery furnace, but the three Hebrew boys saw a sauna they would share with Jesus. Goliath saw a little shepherd boy with a slingshot, but David saw someone who he knew was not any more of a threat than the lion and the bear he had already defeated. The children of Israel saw a sea trapping them for the approaching army of Pharoah, while Moses saw an escape path through the water. Some saw a young girl with her baby in a manger under a bright shining star, while God saw a need to send His son to save the world.
So as we celebrate Christmas this year let us focus on what the true meaning is instead of how big our problems are. Proverbs 29:18 states, “Where there is no vision the people perish…” How big is your vision...

How big is your God?

Article written by Michael Conrad. Edited for publish in Faith Like Feathers by Kevin Conrad.

Justified by Faith?

It's been a while and if you got here through our Facebook page, you've already read our apology. Now, this topic is one that needs to be covered and is of high importance.

Throughout scripture there seems to be several verses that imply the fact that we can receive salvation by merely believing, or having faith in God. This ideology has brought forth newly popularized claims about heaven, hell, and even life on earth. The claim gaining the most popularity amongst my generation is the claim of Universal Reconciliation, or in simpler terms, the theory that EVERYONE will get into heaven.

Is this true?

Universalists claim that in scripture there are over six-hundred verses that support their claim. Let's take a look at a few, starting with justification by faith.

First, what is justification by faith? To be justified with something or someone means to be made right with said object. So if you kill someone out of self defense you are legally justified by the fact that they were trying to harm you. Justification by faith simply means we are made right with God by believing in Jesus' death and resurrection being the only means of our salvation. The Apostle Paul speaks of this justification in many of his writings, but especially in Romans.

If his good deeds had made him acceptable to God, he would have had something to boast about. But that was not God's way. For the Scriptures tell us, "Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith."
When people work, their wages are not a gift, but something they have earned. But people are counted as righteous, not because of their work, but because of their faith in God who forgives sinners. (Romans 4:2-5 NLT)

So we shouldn't work for, toward, or on our salvation? We just have to believe? Hmmm...

Now, notice how James speaks of the same man that the Apostle Paul spoke of in the above verses and even quotes the same ancient scriptures.

You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror. How foolish! Can't you see that faith without good deeds is useless?
Don't you remember that our ancestor Abraham was shown to be right with God by his actions when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see, his faith and his actions worked together. His actions made his faith complete. And so it happened just as the Scriptures say: "Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith." He was even called the friend of God. So you see, we are shown to be right with God by what we do, not by faith alone. (James 2:19-24 NLT)

I do believe that we are justified by our faith and doing good works can't earn us grace, but I also believe that we cannot be justified by something that is dead.

Just as the body is dead without breath, so also faith is dead without good works. (James 2:26 NLT)

Now these verses may seem like a contradiction upon a quick read until we see that the Apostle Paul wrote several verses that also state we need to live out what we profess. Remember.. Context.

Well then, if we emphasize faith, does this mean that we can forget about the law (ten commandments, laws of Moses, God's rules)? Of course not! In fact, only when we have faith do we truly fulfill the law. (Romans 3:31 NLT with my notations added)

Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of his wonderful grace? Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it? (Romans 6:1, 2 NLT)

I think the easiest way to sum this up is to say that we cannot earn grace, but we can choose to deny it.

Always remember to look at the context of a quoted scripture before believing the theory it is tied to. We'll take a further look into universalism in later posts.

For now I'll leave you with a quote from a good friend and of mine and a fellow GoFM leader...

"He said your faith has made you well, go and sin no more. How much more clear could He have been? First your faith (in Christ) will make you well. Repentance is a part of that, we can't 'just believe' and think everything is ok. Because, then He said go and sin no more. That is were we need to continue to try and live right and repent. If I get saved and right away go back to my own ways I have not done what He asked." -Joe Lanza

The Movement...

First off, let me correct myself over my last post. The Movement takes place in Vienna, not Ravenna...

Second, what a Movement it is. I've never entered such a welcoming and loving atmosphere in my entire life. At a service I planned to attend only to observe a friends baptism, I did so much more. I felt led and called by the words of Movement Leader, Doug Garasic, so much that I publicly proclaimed my own rededication and was re-baptized on the spot! The Lord has MIGHTY plans for Doug and all of his people out at the Movement. I'll post pictures up when I have them. To find out more about the Movement, go to the website depicted in the above photo or checkout their Facebook page here.