Renouncing the Parasite Mentality.

Proverbs 30:15-16. Why is it so hard to be satisfied with what we have? Is it because we are born with a "parasite" (sin) called selfishness? Is it because we live in a world that is self-centered and we developed a worldly mentality? If you stop and search your heart (i did it), you will realize how many times you will acted selfishly. Why? Because it's a SIN that we don't pay much attention to it, many times we are not even aware that we are been selfish. E.g.: How many times we fought for our rights not caring for the other person's rights? I'm not saying that we have to agree with injustice, but look what Paul says: 1 Corinthians 6:6-7. See what God says: Hebrews 10:30-31. Why is it so hard to allow ourselves to be cheated (wronged) and trust the Lord to repay? It's because of our sense of pride and revenge. As they say: "I don't get mad, i get even". Selfishness tells us that we are "VIP" and we deserve the best treatment. As a leech, the selfish needs to "drain" other peoples resources (be served). If you are married, you know how hard it is to SERVE our spouse, we are always trying to ENFORCE our rights. As christians, we are called to SERVE one another, to LOOSE in order to GAIN, to DIE in order to LIVE. John 8:36. JESUS SET US FREE TO BE SERVANTS, NOT DESPOTS! The more we serve, the more God will give us the means to serve. The less we serve, the more we will be slave of our selfishness. I know it is hard, but it is a discipline, the more we practice, the better servants we will become. Matthew 20:25-28. How can we go from SELFISH to SERVANT? Romans 12:2. The only way to renounce the parasite mentality is learning with Jesus Christ how to serve on another. 1 Corinthians 2:16.

Spiritual Battle: The Empire Strikes Back.

Much has been written about spiritual battle, some people claim to be "experts" when dealing with the devil, others give step-by-step instructions on how to defeat him. I believe this is the "formula" God gave us to defeat the devil: James 4:7. If you read the gospels, you'll see that Jesus Christ applied that "formula" in His life. He perfectly submitted Himself to the Father and always resisted the devil and the enemy had no choice but fleeing from Him. The issue with spiritual battle is not creating new strategies, applying new teachings, screaming louder so the devil will be afraid of us, the issue is been submitted to God in order to receive from Him the authority to defeat the enemy. Only after submitting ourselves to God we will be able to defeat the devil. Unfortunately, we (with few exceptions) misunderstand the very concept of authority, e.g.: When the President wants to talk to his subordinates, he doesn't need to ask for permission or beg to talk with them, he just tells them and they become available. Why? Because he is the President and they recognize and submit themselves to his authority. Why the demons (satan included) always obeyed Jesus Christ's orders? Because they recognized Jesus Christ as the Son of God and His authority over them: Mark 3:11. When satan tempted Jesus, Matthew 4:3, the temptation was not about Jesus' identity (satan knew Jesus was the Son of God), but to lead Jesus to disobey His Father. Couldn't Jesus tell the stones to become bread? Of course He could! Why He didn't do it? Because that was not the will of His Father. Have you ever asked yourself why Jesus didn't turn the stones into bread to feed the five thousand? JESUS IS A MIRACLE MAKER (Truth), satan is a magician (lie). The Father gave Jesus full authority over everyone and everything and Jesus understood the "boundaries" of this authority: THE WILL OF HIS FATHER! Matthew 28:18. When we were born again (water and Spirit), God delivered us from the power of satan: Colossians 1:13. Unfortunately, we fail to understand that we are no longer slaves of the devil or sin, we are free in Christ, and satan takes advantage on that by telling us that we have no option but sinning, since we are sinners! The empire of darkness grows through FEAR and LIES and the Kingdom of God grows through LOVE and TRUTH. 1 John 4:18. THE MORE WE LOVE THE LORD THE LESS WE WILL FEAR THE devil. I remember after been delivered from the power of darkness (satan), that he came against me with all kinds of weapons, such as fear, doubt, discouragement, pride, etc, and the reason i didn't quit fighting was because God in His mercy showed me the power of submission and because i decided to submit myself to Him, i was able to resist the devil. Unfortunately, we misunderstand (misinterpret) the Word of God and because of that we engage in many battles that are not worth fighting for, because those are not the battles God called us to fight, for example: The separation of church and state. If that was one of God's battle, Jesus Christ had to fight that battle, but He didn't: Acts 1:6-8. Unfortunately, here in America, many christians believe that "THY KINGDOM COME" means: From Republic to Theocracy, from Capitalism to Socialism, from Democracy to Plutocracy. This is what God says about the world we live in: 1 John 5:19. That's why Jesus didn't worry about the government system (world) he lived in, in fact He told us to obey the authorities, to pay taxes, etc. We are ALIENS (citizens of heaven) in this world: 1 Peter 2:11; John 15:19. I'm not saying that we shouldn't vote or stand for what we believe, but many times we are fighting the wrong fight, being a missionary with a wrong mission, trying to transform a world that will be soon destroyed. This is Jesus Christ's Mission and we are called to be His Missionaries: Isaiah 61:1-2. Jesus waited (30 years) until He was anointed (filled with the Holy Spirit and Power) and told His disciples that they had to wait in Jerusalem to be filled with the Holy Spirit and Power and then they would be able to carry on His Mission. MISSION WITHOUT POWER IS OMISSION! We must learn with Paul what is the good fight, 2 Timothy 4:7, and stop fighting against people and ideologies and storm the gates of hell to rescue the ones who are prisoners of the devil: Ephesians 6:12; Matthew 16:16-18; Matthew 7:24; Luke 6:48. AUTHORITY: WE EITHER HAVE IT OR WE DON'T!

Because God Said So: Why Faith is Not a Theory!

Another day, i was listening to the radio and for my surprise, a very prominent christian apologetic (christian apologetics is a field of Christian theology that aims to present a rational basis for the Christian faith) was saying that because he was not satisfied with the "because God said so" approach, as Peter says in 1 Peter 3:15, he set his heart to find the necessary answers to "explain" his faith. In the context, Peter is talking about suffering for the righteousness' sake and for that matter being ready to tell people why do you believe what you say you believe, he is not talking about proving God's existence or that He is the creator of the universe, because you will never be able to prove it, the person has to believe it, as it says in Hebrews 11:6. To counterattack the "evolution theory", christian scientists created the "theory of intelligent design" (the theory of intelligent design holds that certain features of the universe and of living things are best explained by an intelligent cause, not an undirected process such as natural selection), but how can you believe (Hebrews 11:1) in a "theory"? What is a "theory" anyways? Theory: 1. a well-substantiated explanation of some aspect of the natural world; an organized system of accepted knowledge that applies in a variety of circumstances to explain a specific set of phenomena; 2. a tentative theory about the natural world; a concept that is not yet verified but that if true would explain certain facts or phenomena; 3. a belief that can guide behavior; 4. hypothesis, possibility. Can you present a rational basis for Abraham's faith? How about Noah's faith? Why did God keep His promise to Abraham and Noah? Because He said so! If you read Hebrews 11, you'll find people who, as it says in Revelation 12:11. If you try to rationalize God's promise for you, you will never obey Him and receive His promise, because God's logic is different from ours. You'll never be able to convince atheists that God created heavens and earth because they don't believe that God IS (Exodus 3:14). Debating atheists is doing what Jesus told us not to do: Matthew 7:6. I'm not calling atheists dogs or pigs, i'm saying that it is a waste of time and resources trying to convince them to believe in God if they don't want to. On the other hand, you'll become a "great debater", famous and respected, but at the end you'll be like Jabez (enlarging your territory), not like Jesus (enlarging God's kingdom), because as Paul said in 1 Corinthians 4:20, you will be filled with words but lacking God's power. Of course if you consider "power" the ability to persuade others to thing like you do, then fame and fortune will be your destiny. So, why did the heroes of faith pleased God? Because they lived by faith! Why did Jesus Christ became a servant man and died on a cross to save us? Because God the Father said so! John 6:38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. The day is coming and it is near, when the children of God will fully understand the meaning of Revelation 12:11, they will fully understand what Paul said in 1 Corinthians 4:20. If God promises something, why should we trust He will do what He promised to do? BECAUSE HE SAID SO! Numbers 23:19. Why do you believe (if you do) in the Word of God? The reason i'm so emphatic when i speak about FAITH and UNCONDITIONAL OBEDIENCE TO GOD, is because i've been living it and seeing the results! The reason i have a son called David (read post: Personal Testimony: My Son) is because God promised him 5 years before he was born and when he was born even the doctor said David's birth was a miracle. If your god is small you'll see no miracles, if your GOD IS THE GREAT I AM, you can trust Him, the LORD will keep His promises. Jeremiah 32:27.