A CHRISTMAS MESSAGE - HOW BELIEVERS SHOULD RESPOND TO THE NEWS OF CHRIST BIRTH

Luke 2:8-14 (ESV)
And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.  And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear.  And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.  For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.  And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.”  And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, 

 “Glory to God in the highest,and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

We should not treat Christ as if He is something common to man.

HE IS GOD!

This may be a radical Truth in this sick and wicked world. But it is the TRUTH!

Even the FATHER calls Him GOD and the angels in Heaven are commanded to worship Him. (Hebrews 1)

Let us not get it twisted!

This is not a holiday that you wish to celebrate with common worldly pleasures and self-indulgences. This is not a holiday that you wish to trivialize and make common with ornamentations and decorations, traditions and rituals, fairytales and false hopes.

This is not a common holiday.

This is a HOLY TIME that we desire to worship in daily!

This is a HOLY TIME of unusual praise and worship that we strive to be mindful of everyday.

It is always a HOLY TIME when we remember that God loved us so much that He came to be with us in the most intimate of ways and with the explicit understanding that He would be separated from His FATHER and His Heavenly Glory and suffer an horrific death so that we may know The Father through Him and know Him in a better way.

It is always a HOLY TIME when born again believers in Christ begin to worship Christ in Spirit and in TRUTH!

It is always A HOLY TIME whenever we receive a revelation and begin to express worshipful appreciation of the magnitude of what God did for us.

People lose their minds whenever a rock star or celebrity comes to town. Folks do some crazy and excessive things when their favorite musician, singer or politician visits them. People make some unusual arrangements and preparations when some big shot comes to town. All of these folks were born inherently wicked. Only our God is Holy!

There Is No one Bigger Than Our GOD.

AND THE GOD NEWS IS THAT OUR GOD IS WITH US!

“Glory to God in Heaven, and upon earth peace, Good News to the children of men.” (Luke 2:14)

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There Is a Time To Be Nice Then There Is a Time Not To Be Nice

"You brood of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak what is good?” (Matthew 12:34) 

 “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you shut the door of the Kingdom of Heaven in people’s faces. You won’t go in yourselves, and you don’t let others enter either. What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you cross land and sea to make one convert, and then you turn that person into twice the child of hell you yourselves are!” (Matthew 23:13-15)

Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. “It is written,” he said to them, “‘My house will be called a house of prayer, but you are making it a den of robbers.’” (Matthew 21:12-13)

Jesus did not act afraid when faced with opposition and wickedness.  But he openly exposed them for who they were and rebuked them with power and might.

Jesus was not politically correct nor was he concerned with kissing anyone’s behind just to be accepted by them.   

Jesus is just the Truth!

Amen!

Are You Like Christ?

It has been said that to be a Christian we must be Christ-like. And there are many people who consider themselves to be Christian. However, when we look at ourselves and our actions, do we resemble Christ?
Are You Like Christ?
Jesus was born for the purpose of obeying the Father even to the point of ridicule, torture and death.
Are you like Christ?
Jesus invested himself in others repeatedly without consideration for fame, fortune or celebrity.
Are you like Christ?
Jesus went out of his way to evangelize the undesirables and he risked the stigma of being a social misfit and a religious heretic in order to reach the oppressed, broken, discarded and downtrodden souls.
Are you like Christ?
Jesus demonstrated righteous indignation and holy boldness toward the corrupt and greedy money changers that operated in His Father’s House. He turned over their tables and expelled them from the temple.
Are you like Christ?
Jesus did not conform to the popular religious system but identified their leaders as a perverted, poisonous, hypocritical and deceitful brood of vipers.
Are you like Christ?
Jesus felt and demonstrated compassion on the poor, the sick, the widows and children.
Are you like Christ?
Jesus did not think himself too glorious to bend down and wash the feet of those whom he loved.
Are you like Christ?
Jesus did not hold a grudge against Peter for denying him but saw his contrition and restored him.
Are you like Christ?
Jesus never gathered wealth for himself nor taught his disciple how to gain worldly prosperity.
Are you like Christ?
Jesus never engaged in homosexuality, sexual perversions or lewd and vulgar language and behavior.
Are you like Christ?
Jesus did not practice overindulgence, intoxication or drunkenness.
Are you like Christ?
Jesus was not focused on carnal beauty, physical enhancements or outward adornments.
Are you like Christ?
Jesus obeyed The Father and kept all of His Commandments - not breaking one of them – not even the Seventh-Day Sabbath.
Are you like Christ?
Jesus never sought the glory, prestige, honor or position of ecclesiastical titles.
Are you like Christ?
Jesus was buried in a watery gave by baptism and filled with the Holy Spirit.
Are you like Christ?
The Father said that Jesus was His beloved Son in whom He was well pleased.
Are you like Christ?

DON’T GET IT TWISTED!

THE WAY YOU LIVE YOUR LIFE WILL ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS FOR YOU:

What is your main focus? 

Is it yourself?

Is it family?

Is it sex?

Is it pleasing others?

Is it your spouse?

Is it your body?

Is it your children?

Is it pleasing yourself?

What is your main goal and purpose?

Is it finding a suitable mate?

Is it finding someone to take care of you?

Is it getting a home and car?

Is it getting an education?

Is it serving others?

Is it to be served by others?

Is it to be rich and powerful?

Is it achieving your own ambitions?

Does the accumulation of things make you happy?

Do you need the approval and acceptance of friends and family to be happy?

Jesus said, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.” – Luke 14:26

“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” – Matthew 6:33

“Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. “I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. “If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned…” – John 15:4-6

DON’T GET IT TWISTED! 

“Without God you have nothing even though you may have everything!”  (O.W. Prince)

A CALL TO SEXUAL PURITY

1 Corinthians 6:18
 Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body.

1 Corinthians 7:2
 But because of the temptation to sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband.

1 Thessalonians 4:3-8
For this is the will of God, your sanctification:[a] that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor,  not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God; that no one transgress and wrong his brother in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, as we told you beforehand and solemnly warned you.  For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness.  Therefore whoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you.

"LIED TO DEATH"

Would you rather feel good or be well?

A lot of folks are made to feel good while in actuality they are dying.  They are suffering from the horrors of the undiagnosed disease of sin.  They are exemplifying all of the symptoms of sin i.e. unforgiveness, malice, fornication, adultery, lying, stealing, disobedient to God’s Eternal Commandments, idolatry, homosexuality, false doctrines, witchcraft, licentiousness, lewdness, pornography, vulgar speech, vulgar appearance, vulgar thinking, drunkenness, sexual perversions and uncleanness, BUT NO ONE WANTS TO TELL THEM ABOUT THEIR DREADFUL DISEASE OF SIN.  

Most folks are satisfied with being made to feel good about themselves. (2 Timothy 4:3)  They want to be encouraged in their sinful state. They want to be excused from any genuine change and told that they can be successful Christians through the process of self-improvement, learning to live right and understanding God’s Word by continual studying and church attendance.  Some are convinced that they can be saved simply by believing in the Lord whereas the demons also believe and tremble.  Are demons saved by faith also? If the demons are not saved then neither are those who simply receive Christ with a gesture of faith or some man-made sinner’s prayer.

I’d rather hear the truth about my sinful condition that threatens my eternal soul rather than be deceived into believing that I am alright then die and go to hell. I had rather be thoroughly examined, properly diagnosed and prescribed God’s eternal commandments for salvation (Repentance, Water Baptism in His Name and the Empowerment of the Holy Spirit – John 3:3-7 and Acts 2:38) and take my medicine now than walk around thinking I am saved only to hear the Lord tell me on that day “…I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!” (Matthew 7:21-23)

As for the would be deceiver of my soul, there is a dreadful day ahead for him. (Ezekiel 33:1-9)

I’D RATHER BE WELL THAN JUST MADE TO FEEL GOOD.

How about you?

“There Is Only One Way”– The Bible Is Right and Somebody Is Wrong

I cannot help but to be concerned about my fellow believers in Christ Jesus who are so argumentative and divisive about what genuine salvation is.

Some say that they are saved simply because they have believed the gospel. However, they don’t obey the gospel.

Some say that they are saved because they have verbally confessed the Lord Jesus Christ. However, they don’t keep His commands.

Some say that they are saved because they have received the Lord Jesus Christ. But what does that really mean?

Some say that they are saved because they have been baptized into water in the name of Jesus Christ or in the name of the Father and of the Son and of The Holy Ghost.  But did they die to sin before the burial?

Some say that they are saved because they speak in tongue. But, the devil can imitate the tongue.

Some say that they are saved because they belong to a church or denomination. But is the Church in the Truth?  Is The Pastor Born Again and Sent By God?

Some are convinced of their salvation because they have experienced a strong emotional demonstration or they have undergone a lifestyle change whereby they don’t have any social vices or bad habits. But is salvation based upon habits, feelings, loud shouting and dancing in the church?

Sadly, eternal salvation doesn’t exist in any one of these. And although it pains me to say it, there are some believers (Churchgoers) who are not going to be saved.
Many are carnal minded, rebellious, stubborn, deluded and confused and cannot come into a saving knowledge of the Truth. (Romans 8:7, 1 Corinthians 2:14, 2 Thessalonians 2:9-11, 2 Timothy 3:6-9)

Many would-be Christians expend enormous amounts of energy through emotional displays, theatrics and public performances, attempting to convince themselves and others that they are saved when in actually they are unchanged. They have been deceived by Satan, blinded by their own lusts and confused by their desire to validate their own Faith.

Nevertheless, for whatever reason or cause, many believers believe different things about God’s One True Plan Of Salvation and I am concerned that in this confusion of religious diversities, many would-be saints are being lost.

And regardless of what anyone thinks or says, it is the living Word of God – Christ Jesus - who is the ultimate authority and final judge of what is required for salvation and who is saved and who is not. (Matthew 7:21-23, John 5:22, 27, Acts 17:31, Acts 10:42)

And behold there is only One Way to be Saved – Jesus Christ!

To Learn More About This One And Only Way, Please Click On The Following Link:
You Must Be Born Again

What does the Bible say about men with long hair? / Does God have a standard for His men?

1 Corinthians 11:14-15

¹⁴ Does not the very nature of things teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a disgrace to him, ¹⁵ but that if a woman has long hair, it is her glory?

In this passage of scripture, Paul does not mean “nature” in the sense of “the natural world” or “Mother Nature.”  Obviously, Paul cannot mean that since in the world of animals all males do not have short hair and all females do not have long hair.  All we need to do is to look at the male lion, a common biblical animal, with a bushy mane and female lion with no mane at all.  Moreover, there is evidence that for first-century men to have long hair was considered a sign of effeminacy [characteristics of being a woman] and perhaps even homosexuality—something that Paul in Romans 1 considers contrary to nature.  When Paul says by “nature” he means how naturally it was for folks of his culture to associate long hair with femininity and short hair with masculinity.  Cross-gender behavior was not uncommon in the first century.

Paul claims that the long hair of a woman “is her glory.”  The way Paul is using the word “glory” in this text refers to the beauty of women’s long hair.  Paul understood, as most of us do, that Long hair can make a woman look attractive and beautiful and is identified as one of her important feminine qualities.  This fact is even true today.  All we need do is look at the attention and the money that women invest in their hair.

However, men who want to take on the feminine qualities of a woman, whether by wearing long hair, long braids or ornamented hair decorations are to be naturally considered effeminate, thus discredited as a man [shameful].

When it is so important for a male to have long dreadlocks or stylishly long hair hanging on his shoulder or down his back as if he where a female, he is taking on the characteristic of a female and thus has dishonored himself as a male.

Regardless of the cultural, social or personal reasons for a man wearing long hair, it is not a trait that the apostles approve of for born-again men.

As for whether this practice will condemn you to hell, I cannot say.  But is it that important to you that you would risk your eternal soul on a hair style?

The question that we should all ask ourselves is, “Do I want to meet the standards of God’s holiness or the stylish trends of the world?”

Do you have a heart for God or a heart for the things of the World?

REPENT!

“Do God’s Children Need A Revival?”

Where in the Holy Scriptures does Jesus or his apostles establish the practice of “revivals” or “religious revival services?” The answer is “nowhere.” Nowhere does Jesus or his apostles establish the practice of revivals in the original Christian church of the first century. As a matter of fact, the word “revival” doesn’t appear anywhere in the original language of the Bible. The nearest equivalents are “revive” (quicken) and “reviving,” but these may be applied to individual awakening and are not synonymous with, what is traditionally known as, “religious revival service.”

Religious revivals and the word “revival” descend from religious traditions absent of scriptural and apostolic authority and divine approval.

I realize that this is strong language and challenges most of our beliefs and religious practices. However, it is not my intention to be hurtful or confrontational but to edify the body of Christ as inspired and instructed by the Holy Spirit of God.

One may easily borrow from the earthly and scientific disciplines of etymology, philosophy, sociology and theology to explain the term “revival” and substantiate the practice of religious revival services. However, the fact would still remain that revivals, as we have come to know them, are not a part of the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ.



For a Christian to accept the notion of or participate in the religious practice of “revival services” is for them to believe that a Christian can be dead spiritually and be brought back to life. This is contrary to everything that Jesus taught us about the ever-living Spirit of God and the born-again believer (John 11:26,John 6:47, Romans 8)

The word “revive” is made up of two parts: “re” meaning “again” and “vive” meaning to “live.” Thus, “revive” means “to live again, to be brought back to life, health or vitality.” Although this concept sounds good it lacks the authority of Holy Scripture and it contradicts the teaching of Christ and His apostles.

Neither Jesus nor his apostles ever advocated for revivals or accepted the notion that once you were born of the water and of the Spirit that the Spirit would die and need reviving. No! It is the Spirit of God that makes us alive (Romans 8:11). If indeed we have the Spirit of Christ, we are constantly revived (2 Cor. 4:16). Only those who are a part of the counterfeit church of Satan or those who have been deceived by religious traditions would dare think that God’s Holy Spirit needs reviving.

As members of the Body of Christ, we are instructed to build one another up and keep each other encouraged (Hebrews 3:13, 1 Thessalonians 5:11, 1 Corinthians 12:20-27). We were not instructed to do this through some religious service but on a daily basis. It is The Way of LIFE.



However, in our contemporary Christian churches, especially in the predominately black southern churches (where my experience mostly lies), the word “revival” has become synonymous with fund-raising services.

In the name of “revival services,” most churches are just raising money. They choose the revivalist that can draw the largest crowd in the hope of raising the most money. There is little or no concern for the truthfulness of the revivalist’s message or the integrity of his salvation. The main concern is raising money.

In the name of “revival services,” many churches have membership drives whereby their goal is to see how many souls that they can get to join their religious institution. They just want to increase the number of potential paying members in the hope of increasing revenues. It is a calculated business strategy and promotional venture.

In the name of “revival services,” some Pastors exchange pulpits with each other and in essence exchange monies with each other so as to increase their own exposure, popularity and wealth.

In the name of “revival services,” many churches put on a religious production with various performers including preachers, comedians, singers, choirs, musicians and other talents that may or may not be true agents of God. Their goal is to create a festive atmosphere of joy and vibrancy whereby one may feel saved without actually being transformed. And in exchange for this false sense of salvation, the collection plate becomes the collection basket and the Alter becomes the place where people toss their monies in response to the performance much like a minstrel show.

I have yet to go to a revival service where money was not a significant part of the service. And I have never seen anyone revived at a revival service. I have seen them deceived. I have seen them lied to. I have seen them motivated to an emotional frenzy. I have seen them robbed of their money but I have never seen a spiritually dead person brought back to live simply by attending a revival service. Some may have gone through the motions of reanimation but I assure you that they did not experience genuine salvation.

“You Cannot Revive That Which Was Never Alive.”

Not all so-called revivals have clandestine agendas. Some churches are sincerely trying to reach lost souls with the message of Jesus Christ. Some churches and some evangelist are adamant about teaching and preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom of God. Some are devout followers of Christ and teach the importance of genuine repentance, water baptism in the name of Jesus Christ and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. However, such churches should not call their services “revivals.” If they must have a distinction they should be but called “evangelical services.” They are evangelical at heart; attempting to fulfill the ministry of the kingdom of God and not their own surreptitious ambitions, denominational policies, theological beliefs or financial agendas (2 Timothy 4:1-5). They have given themselves fully to the ministry of eternal Life (John 14:6).

The Word of God says, “Preach the word of God. Be prepared, whether the time is favorable or not. Patiently correct, rebuke, and encourage your people with good teaching… do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.”

Obey The Word!

REPENT!

"Christ Our Passover Lamb"

Remarkably, the celebration of Easter, one of the most holy of Christian holidays, cannot be found anywhere in the Bible. In 1949 the Encyclopedia Britannica in its article on Easter stated the following regarding this day: “There is no indication of the observance of the Easter festival in the New Testament, or in the writings of the apostolic fathers.”

Is it strange that this important Christian observance is not mentioned in the Bible?
If you find the word Easter in your Bible, it’s actually a mistranslation that is noted in your Bible’s margin. Most recent translations of the Bible make the correction. The correct translations use the word Passover instead of Easter.
The early Christian church, established in 31 A.D., followed Christ’s example and observed the Passover. Again, the Encyclopedia Britannica states: “The sanctity of special times was an idea absent from the minds of the first Christians who continued to observe the Jewish festivals, though in a new spirit…” (See Leviticus 23 for an explanation of those festivals).

 
Even if the early Church and the Apostles never observed Easter, many will argue that it is rooted in the Bible because they believe Christ was resurrected on “Easter Sunday”. A close examination of the biblical account, however, shows that this was not the case. In John 19:13 and 31 the Apostle John sets the record straight as to the timing of Christ’s death by telling us that Christ died and was buried at the end of the preparation day preceding the Feast of Unleavened Bread. The preparation day fell on a Wednesday that year. (Note: The reference to Passover in verse 14 above is to the oncoming festival of Unleavened Bread, which the Jews incorporated into the “Passover period”.) Christ’s body was taken down and placed in a tomb before Thursday–the festival’s High Day. [All Jewish festivals were called Sabbaths and they occurred independent of the weekly Seventh-day Sabbath]. For all of the next three days, Christ was in the grave Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Then, just after sunset (the time when days end and begin according to God’s creation in Genesis 1:5) and at the close of the weekly Sabbath (Saturday), Christ came out of his grave, His mission accomplished, having spent three days and three nights in the “heart of the earth” (Matthew 12:40), just as He had foretold (Mark 9:31 and John 2:19-21).

The Easter myth of a “Good Friday” crucifixion and a Sunday morning resurrection collapses in the light of this Truth.

Jesus is our Passover Lamb.
 
Repent!
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For more information about the early Christian Church, the Apostles of Christ and the true Christian Holy Days and festivals, please write us and request a free copy of our Bible Study–The Passover. Write us at anointed@sc.rr.com.
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