Proverbs 18:21 KJV
21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.
Tag: life
Real Talk – Seal of the Holy Spirit
As I said in my previous post, Allentown Part II, I first accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior when I was homeless at the Allentown Rescue Mission. Because I was fretful over not being able to pay my credit card bills. But I didn’t stop there. I accepted every altar call at every service because I felt my sins could not be forgiven.
Was that similar to me dying to myself over and over again? What does the Bible say about dying to oneself? The best search that could come close is “crucifying the flesh”. The results brought Romans 6:6, Romans 8:13, and Colossians 3:5. But one verse in Galatians serves best to prove my point:
Galatians 2:20 NIV
I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.
So if we accept Christ once, is that sufficient to receive eternal life? My pastor told me each time, but he appreciated the gesture. So if Romans 10:9-10 is a verbal, emotional (it involves the heart) and a spiritual declaration; gaining eternal life, is it the resulting seal of the Holy Spirit that guarantees eternal life?
Ephesians 1:13-14 NIV
And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.
Galatians 2:20 also suggests likewise. The rest is faith (Ephesians 3:17) and hope (Colossians 1:27).
Scripture quotations taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used with permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. http://www.zondervan.com
Real Talk – Eternity Writer
While I was in therapy with a Christian counselor for approximately two years, she told me not to spend time correcting old posts, but to add new ones.
Can you imagine if every decision you made was a win or lose “eternal decision”? Let me explain. An eternal decision is a decision that you make, either with or without thinking it all the way through entirely, that will last for the rest of your life.
Would life be worth living anymore? You may not feel that way after a while. A series of poor eternal decisions and you might look forward to spending eternal life with Jesus.
John 8:36 ESV
“So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.
Below are some slavery-related themes in the Word of God:
- Philemon, a beautiful letter written by fellow prisoner, Paul, on behalf of an escaped slave, Onesimus “Whom I wished to keep with me, that . . . he might minister to me in my chains for the gospel.” (Philemon 1:13 NKJV)
- Have you ever felt like you were a slave to something in your life9? A recreational drug? Nicotine? A material possession? A phone, or apps? A slave to sin, perhaps?
The previous two verses, John 8:34, 35 NKJV read like this:
34 Jesus answered them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave to sin. “And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever.
- A question was posed in Real Talk – If the Son Sets You Free. A spirit of divination can put us into bondage in various ways (Acts 16: 16-18 NKJV). Maybe placing a meaning on numbers, beyond numerical value. But John 8:36 declares freedom over divination.
Why is divination a sin? Because our God is a jealous God. He loves us so much, he desires us not to worship other gods (Exodus 31:7, 8).
Interesting fact: The Gospel of Mark is the Gospel that is centered around Jesus’ power over demons. It was written by John Mark, Barnabas’ cousin, who was Paul’s first missionary journey companion. John Mark abandoned the first missionary journey after only a short while, which caused Paul to feel he was unreliable. Leading to friction between Paul and Barnabas, and Paul looking for a new missionary journey compadre, Silas. Paul and John Mark reconciled years later.
Just saying . . . .
If every decision you ever made was an eternal decision, wouldn’t you like to know that if you have accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior, you would find refuge (Colossians 3:3) in Christ?
Is there freedom in Christ? The Bible says that “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,” (2 Timothy 3:16 NKJV) What is the baseline for God’s truth—that the sun will rise at dawn and set at dusk (Genesis 1:1-5). There is freedom in Christ.
Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025. The ESV text may not be quoted in any publication made available to the public by a Creative Commons license. The ESV may not be translated in whole or in part into any other language. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Real Talk – God, Country, Home, School
An ode to prose.
In 1995, my family moved back to Naperville from Lawrenceville. The adjustment was gigantic. My class at St. Ann’s in Lawrenceville consisted of maybe 12 or 13 kids. And I was about to start school with 4,000 other high schoolers. I became lost—emotionally.
I came extremely close to dropping out. So on the second day of the second semester of my sophomore year, my father yanked me by the collar at the front door an brought me upstairs to my parent’s room. A military duffle bag was on the floor, somewhat out of sight, which consisted of my SOP. And so we drove from Naperville to Boonville in central Missouri. It took 6 hours with minimal conversation between the two of us.
When we arrived at Kemper Military School, it was time to say goodbye, and he looked sad. I received a crash course on marching into the Mess Hall and ate my first meal at my new school. And for the rest of my sophomore year and summer school, I was a New Boy. New Boys lived servant lives in the barracks.
If I had no Standard of Honor violations, as a New Boy, I would become eligible to sign the Standard of Honor. The Standard of Honor was simple; it states: I will not lie, cheat, or steal, or tolerate thereof. And in return, I would receive a Greek cross, with the letters “GCHS” on each corner of the cross, from top to bottom, left to right; representing “God, Country, Home, School.”
After I was crossed by every Old Boy, I would receive my privileges—being “blood-crossed” by many would earn them—pinning your cross to the white T-shirt of your Class B uniform without the backing, where it meets the palm of an older Old Boy’s hand. Privileges certainly made student life easier, and Kemper slowly became my home.
Did I violate the Standard of Honor? Of course I did; I was a high school student. When I was a senior in a leadership position, I was susceptible to immature leadership, and could dish out the same hazing I had received as a sophomore. And I did some terrible things. But under the new covenant, I repented of my sins before the Cross and accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior. And I became found—spiritually.
As a result of Kemper Military School and the Standard of Honor, I am allergic to lying. I try to be a person of integrity that fights to uphold the truth. Jesus spoke of the devil saying, “he does not stand in the truth, because there is not truth in him.” (John 8:44 ESV) He also said “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, “and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:31, 32 ESV)
Image by Dino Reichmuth via Freely Photos
Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025. The ESV text may not be quoted in any publication made available to the public by a Creative Commons license. The ESV may not be translated in whole or in part into any other language. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Real Talk – Word on the Streets
The word on the streets is the weight of the world.
Malice vs. forgiveness. Below is a comparison between Old and New Testament themes—Deuteronomy 19:21 vs. Matthew 5:38, 39 and Leviticus 24:20 vs. Matthew 7:1-5. And closing is Jesus’ answer to the Pharisees on the greatest commandments of all—Matthew 22:37-40.
Deuteronomy 19:21 NKJV
21 “Your eye shall not pity: life shall be for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.
Vs.:
Matthew 5:38, 39 NKJV
38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ 39 But I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on the right cheek, turn the other to him also.
And:
Leviticus 24:20 NKJV
20 ‘Fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth; as he has caused disfigurement of a man, so shall it be done to him.
Vs.:
Matthew 7:1-5 NKJV
“Judge not, that you be not judged. 2 “For with what judgement you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. 3 “And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? 4 “Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye? 5 “Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
Closing:
Matthew 22: 37-40 NKJV
37 Jesus said to him, ‘”You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 “This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 “And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 “On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Real Talk – If the Son Sets You Free
John 8:36 ESV
“So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.
What if you found out that a spirit of divination (Acts 16:16-18 ESV) had been cast over your life? And over a period of roughly six months you pieced each spell or incantation together like a puzzle. At the expense of others who suffered from the decisions you made.
Would you have the faith to overcome it? Would faith the size of a mustard seed (Matthew 17:20) be large enough overcome it? Would legalism or dogma be necessary? Ritualism? Or would shoot from the hip Christianity, the opposite, be sufficient?
What if you were off on your game? What if it had been while since you stepped on the court?
In Real Talk- A Series of Unfortunate Events, I spoke about being exhausted and not knowing what to do or where to go back in October. I guess what I am asking is, do I have the strength to continue?
I do not trust a single soul; the devil is a liar (John 8:44). Can I win the race the Lord has given me? And what is the prize? Is it a crown (1 Corinthians 9:24, 25)? New Jerusalem (Revelation 21)? A gold city (Revelation 21:18)? Paul said that we “glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produce perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope.” (Romans 5:3, 4 NKJV).
However, if you have made the inward and outward (spiritual, emotional, and verbal) expressions of accepting Christ (Romans 10:9-10), can we believe that faith in Christ is sufficient—therefore, if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.
Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025. The ESV text may not be quoted in any publication made available to the public by a Creative Commons license. The ESV may not be translated in whole or in part into any other language. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Gospel Swag – Gospel Gangster
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New Jersusalem
Revelation 21 KJV
And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.
2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.
4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
5 And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.
6 And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.
7 He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.
8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.
9 And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb’s wife.
10 And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God,
11 Having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal;
12 And had a wall great and high, and had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel:
13 On the east three gates; on the north three gates; on the south three gates; and on the west three gates.
14 And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
15 And he that talked with me had a golden reed to measure the city, and the gates thereof, and the wall thereof.
16 And the city lieth foursquare, and the length is as large as the breadth: and he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs. The length and the breadth and the height of it are equal.
17 And he measured the wall thereof, an hundred and forty and four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of the angel.
18 And the building of the wall of it was of jasper: and the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass.
19 And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, a chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald;
20 The fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolyte; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, a topaz; the tenth, a chrysoprasus; the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst.
21 And the twelve gates were twelve pearls: every several gate was of one pearl: and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass.
22 And I saw no temple therein: for the LORD God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it.
23 And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.
24 And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it.
25 And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there.
26 And they shall bring the glory and honour of the nations into it.
27 And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb’s book of life.
Real Talk – For All Have Sinned
Romans 3:23 NIV
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
I changed the tagline of this blog to An Imperfect Blog because I realized that some of my recent posts were not Giving the Glory to God.
I am human. It took me seven years to read the New Testament in my Life Application Study Bible. I started when I first joined New Wine Fellowship in 2013, and I stopped around the time I left in 2020. I had a few more books to read in therapy, with Dr. Davis, and so I did. Completing Revelation in about 2021.
I am simply a person who applies what I read to my daily life and try to live by it (I was much better at it then) and now I write about it. That’s why the commitment to walk with the Lord is so difficult. It’s easy to fall off.
But Jesus is not the problem. He promises to be “the same yesterday, today, and forever.” (Hebrews 13:8 NIV). The problem is actually us. And the guilt and shame we feel is actually the work of the enemy (Satan). He is the accuser (Revelation 12:10). Religion or its sidekick, legalism, could leave us sidelined from the slightest sin.
God loves all creation. He “sends rain on the righteous and unrighteous.” (Matthew 5:45) But God detests sin. Hence, the reason for Jesus our Mediator. My pastor gave me advice as an evangelist. Preaching God’s love will not work with everyone. Some will not take that seriously. God’s love and God’s judgement must be preached evenly in order to communicate the seriousness of sin.
But that is why grace is such a wonderful concept. It’s the Good News! Repentance is all that is needed. Transgressions are blotted out (Psalm. 51:1). If you hang out in really biblical circles, it is said that the consequences of each sin still remain. But forgiveness is guaranteed; through the ultimate debt paid on the cross by Jesus Christ.
Scripture quotations taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used with permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. http://www.zondervan.com
Real Talk – Thou Shall Not
Romans 3:28 NIV
28 For we maintain that a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law.
Has anyone ever tried to live by the Ten Commandments, earnestly? I heard it is impossible.
Real Talk-Where Sin Abounded, Grace Did Much More Abound will tell you all about it. I was a recent devout nondenominational Christian when I wrote that post, strictly biblical.
The reason for Jesus to come to earth as the Perfect Sacrifice was not to abolish the Law of Moses, but to fulfill it. The Ten Commandments represented the law and justice; and Jesus came to fulfill the grace and truth; of God’s nature and will. Grace by faith. The biblical definition of grace is “unmerited favor”.
Propitiation in Christianity describes the weight of the past, present, and future sins of all humanity being forgiven when Jesus hung on the cross—and died—also with the weight of suffocation that comes with death on a crucifix.
The curtain in the temple was torn into two pieces at that moment. Jesus became the Mediator between us and God—our relationship with God was restored. We can approach God’s throne; the Throne of Grace; in repentance:
Hebrews 4:16 NIV
16 Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
Adam and Eve had set in motion the law of sin and death, which through one perspective, was not intended. But the breath of God is his living Word—the Bible—from start to finish (Genesis 1:1-Revelation 22:21); Alpha to Omega. Holy Spirit inspired writings. Think the Apostle Paul—letter writer of most of the New Testament. Colossians has a subchapter explaining how Jesus was involved in the creation (Genesis 1:1-2:3).
So the question is…does Jesus now live in the hearts of believers? Are the Ten Commandments still relevant to Christian life? Absolutely! Are they our conscience barometers?
Scripture quotations taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used with permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. http://www.zondervan.com