Thoughts from a Random Mind

 

Question:  When is a sin no longer a sin?

 

            Many people have this strange notion that just because they can’t imagine a loving God judging sin, it must not truly be wrong to do. There are so many wrong things people do without a moment’s hesitation. I suppose they think they can just ask God to forgive them and that will make it alright. 

While not a “Christian”, Adolf Hitler had strong feelings about a supreme deity and how His will must be followed. It is said Hitler’s genocide against Jews was his “sacred” mission. That certainly didn’t make it right, for a sin is a sin. 

As I have said before in my writings, man desires to be autonomous.  They also desire to make themselves a God they can accept on their own terms. The creature trying to become greater than the creator. That’s simply not how it works. If you doubt me, read scripture. Don’t pick and choose verses that seem to support your way of thinking; read all of it asking God to reveal to you the truth. Have an open mind and open heart to the truth according to the Word of God. 

God isn’t an Ogre or tyrant; He is the loving creator of man. He died, in the form of His Son, to save mankind from their sin … all of them. Just like germs are not acceptable in a sterile environment, so sin is not acceptable in God’s presence. Don’t cherry pick certain verses and base your entire belief system on those handpicked scriptures; read the whole book. Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing.

In His Name & for His Glory,

RL Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

Thoughts from a Random Mind

When God does something, He does it on His timetable, not ours. We get very impatient as if we know what is best for us, but we could not possibly know that because of all the outside influences that attempt to subjugate our way of thinking. We allow ourselves to be controlled by our emotions, prejudices and presuppositions which make us unable to think clearly regarding our own well-being. There is nothing to cloud God’s judgment. His decision making is concise and correct all of the time. Sometimes we don’t realize this until the dust has settled and the results are clear. At times we don’t even realize what has happened. Shed yourself of overthinking and relax your mind. Seek the peace of God and allow His perfect will to manifest itself in your life. His timing is always perfect. Tell Him you are ready to accept whatever His will is for you and then watch it unfold before you in His time. You’ll have much less stress if you simply accept this as fact and move on. You can prove this out by reflecting on your life since your conversion. Has God ever failed you by not providing the solution to your problem or answer to your question at the exact moment you needed it most? Trust God for all things and rest in His peace that passes all earthly understanding. Until next time, walk with that King and be a blessing!

In His Name & for His Glory,

RL Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

Thoughts from a Random Mind

 

                  Are we defining the value of others rather than lovingly accepting them for who they are?  The older we get the more entrenched in our prejudices and preconceived notions we get. It’s like scar tissue around our hearts that must be cleared away. The process can be painful because they have been in place, many times, for a number of years. It would be very helpful if we could see others thru God’s eyes, but that is an attribute that we must pray into existence and then cultivate as we would a garden. To get lovely red roses to grow we must tend to them daily; fertilizing, watering, weeding, then repeat. It’s not a one-time deal. Similarly, we must strive to be like Christ each and every day. It’s too easy to fall back into bad habits.

                  How do we establish another person’s value or worth? We do it with a condescending look, casting them beneath us in stature. Instead of valuing them as another of God’s creation, we are actually devaluing them as a means of subconsciously elevating our own stature. If we would be truly honest with ourselves, we are all guilty of this. It is so beneath the child of God to devalue anyone, no matter who they are or what they’ve done. Remember, we are not judge and jury for anyone. Only God is. We are the ones who are to embody God’s love, mercy, kindness, and compassion. The world needs that so badly and all we give them is a Sinner’s Prayer to pray and a list of attributes that are ideally supposed to seek. We accept them conditionally based on their response to the Gospel. If they respond favorably then we accept them … our job is done. If they turn away from our offer of eternal forgiveness, we simply move on to the next person in line. How embarrassing that our belief system has become a numbers game.

                  In spite of our faults, and they are many, God’s shows us love without one single condition placed upon it. Aside from the consequences that come from a poor choice made, we have nothing to be concerned about. What we must do is concentrate on imitating Christ in our daily lives. Bless others by valuing them as a creation of God. The Lord places incredible, immeasurable worth on each one of us. No one person is any more valuable than another. The world’s system is broken. Those with money, power and prestige are valued higher than a homeless person, but in God’s eyes they are equal. We must look at people the same way. Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing! 

In His Name & for His Glory,

RL Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

Thoughts from a Random Mind

 

Does God still heal today? Yes. Is this phrase found in Isaiah 53:5 a promise of God to heal us? It doesn’t appear so if you look at this verse in the context in which it is found. The general tenor of the chapter is about the suffering of Jesus and his subsequent death on a cross. It speaks of what he suffered in detail. It has been referred to by some scholars as the 1^st Gospel. 

Is there truly such a thing as a modern day “faith healer”? We find in the gospels that every one that came to Jesus with a handicap, sickness or disease was touched by him and healed. In the book of Acts who see the same thing happening when the Apostles laid hands on those in need of a healing. Not one person failed to get healed. Not a single one. The same cannot be said of “faith healers”. If someone isn’t healed after they pray for and lay hands on them then it is the one being prayed for...it’s their fault. Not enough faith. Too much unbelief. But nowhere in the gospels or Acts does it say anything about having not enough faith. In Luke 17:19 1 of 10 lepers, when they had been healed, came back to see Jesus and praise God for his healing. This man happened to be a Samaritan, despised by Jews. The faith he showed was that he followed Jesus instructions to show himself to the priests. On the way all 10 were healed but only the Samaritan returned. He did as he was told and came back to give glory to God. On that day that man was healed of his leprosy and of his sins ... a physical and spiritual healing. He put feet to his faith. The question of not having enough faith should be moot because of Jesus own illustration that the disciples only needed faith the size of a mustard seed, no bigger than the head of a straight pin. So not being healed because the person didn’t have enough faith makes no sense. Our faith is found in the asking ... in the seeking. If we had no faith we wouldn’t even bother seeking anything from God. 

While I had thought of this some time ago, I have finally come to the conclusion that while God does indeed heal people today, the wounds suffered by Jesus healed us spiritually by cleansing us of our sins. God does what He knows to be right, and just and in our best interests. We aren’t asked to understand the ways of God, we are only asked to trust Him. God heals as He wills. Some get healed, some receive their healing by being taken from this world, which God knows was the only way to bring them their healing. Not the way we want it, but our desire to hold onto to a loved one when they are critically ill is a very human response and God understands that. It is not wrong to want them with you always, but it isn’t always possible. Trust God that He knows best what must take place. The departed shall never be sick again. Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing.

In His Name & for His Glory,

RL Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

Thoughts from a Random Mind

The Name of Jesus in Christian Music

 

                  I read a piece the other day that said there are believers out there who will not listen to Christian singers who do not incorporate the name of Jesus in their lyrics. They don’t consider it Christian music. Really? Geez, they refuse to take the entire message for what it is and allow themselves to be inspired or ministered to by it. Wow! In my humble opinion that is shortsighted. Because of that restriction that they themselves have placed on what they listen to they are missing multiple blessings.  Oh well, it’s their choice and they are allowed to it. I guess I just see that as being rigid and intolerant of an individual’s right to express their faith in a way that is different than others. Too bad. Oh well, it is what it is. 

                  Believers in Christ are redeemed, but they still must live out their lives in a world that is contrary to that which God requires. We struggle to hear from God daily. We deal with all sorts of issues that are the same as those living in the world. We are in the world but not of the world once we give our lives over to the Lord. To take a narrow view of anything in this world aside from Christ himself and his work on the cross is not a good thing. No one person is any better or worse than anyone else. The only reason we have anything over those in the world is because of what Christ has done for us and nothing we have done on our own. Until next time, walk with the King & be a blessing.

In His Name & for His Glory,

RL Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

Thoughts from a Random Mind

 

Fight the Urge to Become Complacent

 

            Are you self-satisfied with yourself? I believe that if you are a genuine follower of Jesus Christ, you should never be self-satisfied, because there is always something else to do for the Kingdom of God. Unless your thoughts, words, and deeds are exactly like that of Christ, then you have not arrived. Frankly, none of us will EVER replicate His behavior and demeanor to a tee no matter how long we know Him. 

            Becoming self-satisfied is to become complacent. A colloquial phrase for the same is to “rest on your laurels”. There is much work to do to spread the gospel. There is no time to stand on the sidelines. Remember, God doesn’t NEED YOU but rather has CHOSEN TO USE YOU. You should be humbled by that. It should be considered a great honor. Even when the world turns its collective back on you, God never will. He will give you special gifts and then use you for His own purposes. Though each of us has been created unique, we are not all the same. Quite the contrary. We are all as different as light and dark, hot and cold … created for the master’s use.

            So don’t allow yourself to become self-satisfied, for you are shortchanging yourself. Notoriety is not something a genuine believer needs to seek. We serve a living God who wishes to bless us, in spite of ourselves. So, if you go about spending your time and money on being successful in the world’s eyes, even if done in Jesus’ name, you are barking up the wrong tree. A major mantra from scripture is found in John 3:30, where it says He must become greater, and we must become lesser. 

            In the grand scheme of things, we are inconsequential; however, having said that, God desires to use the weak, inconsequential things of this earth. “Remember, dear brothers and sisters, that few of you were wise in the world’s eyes or powerful or wealthy when God called you. Instead, God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful. God chose things despised by the world; things counted as nothing at all and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important.” ^{[1 Corinthians 1:26-28]} Remember that when you think a little too highly of yourself. God loves you unconditionally. Thank you, Lord. Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing.

In His Name & for His Glory,

RL Keller

Bread of Life Ministries 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thoughts from a Random Mind

 

                  What does it mean to be a Christian? The title ‘Christian’ was adopted by the Antioch church (Acts 11:23-26). It means literally “Christ-like” or “Ones of Christ” or “little Christs” *. There are some that believe that because America has Christian roots based on the beliefs of the country’s founding fathers, if you were born in America you are automatically a Christian. Not quite. If you ask most people if they are a Christian, they will say “of course”. They base their statement on the fact that they believe there is a God but based on the moral and ethical compass they follow it doesn’t seem to go much deeper than simply acknowledging God’s existence. Is there one way to believe? Does it follow some formula; like ‘do this and do that and you are in the club’ type of thing? If you believe God is real, then what about Jesus? Do you believe in him? Do you know what he did for you as an individual? What does it mean to you that based on Jesus’ actions you’ve been forgiven of all your disobedient acts? This information, once realized, should have changed your life, did it? Or are you a Christian in name only?  

                  Do you know why Jesus died? Was there a point to His dying? Should accepting Christ into your heart & life change the direction with which you go in the future? How about this: Because Christ died on a wooden cross for all in the area to see, you and I are set free if we embrace redemption the way we should. What are we free from? Whatever we have done that is displeasing to the Lord. That is referred to as “sin”. What is sin? It can be defined as such: 1. A transgression of a religious or moral law, especially when deliberate.

2.A. Deliberate disobedience to the known will of God; B. A condition of estrangement from God resulting from such disobedience; & C. Something regarded as being shameful, deplorable, or utterly wrong. 

                  The Bible tells us: “For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.” (Romans 3:23 NLT) So what are you gonna do? Death is assured for all of God’s creation. Where we go after death is up to us. Choose wisely.

In His Name & for His Glory,

RL Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

Definitions are taken from the American Heritage American Dictionary.

*https://hermeneutics.stackexchange.com/questions/21020/what-does-christian-mean-acts-1126