Where is the Berean Bible Fellowship of NJ?

It has come to my attention that many people have come around looking for the BBFONJ in Clementon, NJ.     When they do not find the place in Clementon, they believe that it is a scam.  The BBFONJ  in Clementon NJ is right now a Online only Ministry.  I am seeking a place to base the ministry's  operation in the Southern Camden County Area, which covers a host of townships and boroughs.

Why haven't the BBFONJ found a place yet?  No financial support is one of the biggest reasons.  It takes money to build a Ministry and even though many people have enjoyed the teachings I have put forth through on the BBFONJ blog page: The Herald of Grace,  many people have not financially supported the ministry.  This is like ordering food at a restuarant, comsuming the meal and then not paying the bill, which no good and paying  person would do.  Many of us would pay before we eat anything that we ordered.  But when it comes to Bible teaching or preaching and  the responsibility of supporting the ministry, most of the time it is laid upon the shoulder of the Man of God that has blessed you with the teaching or message to raise financial support. Now we all know that is not right and it is the cause why many ministries do not succeed. If this Ministry has been a blessing to you in any degree, then you ought give it some financial support.

Another reason BBFONJ has not found a place yet is that the Lord hasn't open those doors yet.  BBFONJ  I agree that the BBFONJ has a long way to go in becoming an Educational Enrichment Center for the Christian Community.  But the opportunities are out there ready to be taken advantage of.  However, I will not, as its founder take chances that will doom the ministry financially, so I work toward the goal of wisely setting up what we see is a need in the South Jersey Area.

If you have any suggestions about the direction of BBFONJ as far as establishing a location so that people can come together and fellowship in the word of God feel free to email me at revcrsanchez856@gmail.com.

The measure that you mete

In various places in the Gospels we find Jesus making this statement,"The measure that you mete, shall measured to you again..." (found in  the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke ).  What does it mean?   What did Jesus mean by it?  Why did he apply the statement in certain circumstances? What were we to learn from it? This is the reason for this Bible study:

I. The measure that you mete: What does it mean?

Definition of the word "measure":

A) Biblical: Portion, Degree (Source: Strong's Greek Dictionary of the New Testament)

B) Common: Portion, Scope (Source: Dictionary.com)

Definition of the word "Mete":

A) Biblical: To measure, to estimate (Source: Strong's Greek Dictionary of the New Testament)

B) Common: To distribute or apportion by measure; allot; dole (usually followed by out ): To ration out. (Source: Dictionary.com)

From the above definitions we can safely deduce that the phrase "the measure that you mete"  can also be rendered "the degree or standard or scope that you use or give out toward others or anything"

II. What did Jesus mean by it?

It appears that Jesus was stating a principle.  A principle that will work on its own under certain conditions and circumstances. The question is what are those conditions and circumstances? We will find the answer to that question when we discover when and where Jesus spoke that phrase.

Jesus said it during the Sermon on the Mount
Matthew 7:1-2
"Judge not, that ye be not judged.For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again."

Jesus said it during the Sermon by the Sea 
Mark 4:24
"And he said unto them, Take heed what ye hear: with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you: and unto you that hear shall more be given."

Jesus said it during the Sermon on the Plain
Luke 6:38
"Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again."

In each case Jesus indicated that this principle of "measuring what you mete" works on its own under these three conditions: Having judgment toward others, giving attention to what is being said and being generous toward others.  In each case the principle works and produces this result: "It shall be measured to you again".  Let us look at each condition so that we can glean from them what Jesus wanted us to learn.

Matthew 7:1-5
"Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam [is] in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye."

It appears that what Jesus wanted us to learn is that we are not to judge people, but in the case that we do judge someone,  let us be aware that the standard that we use to judge that person is the same standard we judge ourselves with.  We can not judge someone with the same issues or problems we have to deal with in order to correct them, is according to Jesus is hypocritical behavior.  We can only help someone correct themselves if we have been delivered of the same issue or problem. We cannot when we have not be delivered of the same issue or problem of the one that we are judging.  That is why it is wise to not judge another person that has a shortcoming or is struggling with an issue,  if we have not be delivered of the same shortcoming or problem ourselves.  On top of that if anyone of us judge harshly, we should expect to be harshly judged.

Mark 4:24+25
"And he said unto them, Take heed what ye hear: with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you: and unto you that hear shall more be given. For he that hath, to him shall be given: and he that hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he hath."

It appears that what Jesus wanted us to learn here is that we need to pay attention to what we hear.  The more knowledge we acquire through careful listening the more information and knowledge we will have.  It is when we stop listening for more information that our personal knowledge becomes obsolete  and  not useful.  More than that as our personal knowledge of things takes a hit from personal memory loss, if we don't continue to listen to the information that is being promoted in our communities and our homes.  I would also advise that the information that you hear is Christ centered or practical.  For is also what you pay attention to that dictates the quality of your life.

Luke 6:38
"Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again."

It appears that Jesus wanted us to learn here is that we need to be prepared to be generous. This passage of scripture is often used in application to giving money.  That is well and good, but we have fallen short of the full meaning of the scripture.  Jesus did not place a limit to what we ought to give. Some of us can give our time, some our talents, some our property and some our abilities along with giving money.  I can not tell you how many times I have seen this principle work with more than money.  One time I was a part of a ministry in Vineland, NJ where they had clothes that they were giving away, the more they gave away, the more came in.  Soon they did not have room to have bible studies for the amount of clothes that came in.  Another time I was helping oversee a food pantry ministry in Camden, NJ.  The more food we gave away, the more food and the things to store them with came in.  Soon after that we had to build a storage room and regulate the flow of food coming through the ministry because of the amount of food coming through was great. The only reason I believe this works is because when you give, you do not give to get, you give to bless and God sets up people to bless you in return.  God does not bless selfishness, he blesses generosity, because it emulates His character. God loves that His children emulate him.  So it is clear that whatsoever we give to others will be multiplied back us, if we do it unselfishly and generously.

I hope that this study has bless you as it has blessed me.

Did the Apostle Paul introduce Paganism to Christianity?

There is some people going around claiming that the Apostle Paul not only changed the Gospel message but he also introduced Paganism to and mixed it with Christianity, thereby changing Christianity forever.  The evidence of this claim many of them point to the worship of Jesus as God and blame the Apostle Paul for bringing the idol worship of Jesus into Christianity.  It appears that what they are saying is that the Apostle Paul had people exchange their idols for another: Jesus.  Today we will address that issue by highlighting the following points:

1)Paul's education
2)Paul's view of Jesus vs. the view of the Apostles
3)Paganism in the times of the Apostles
4) Paul's Gospel presentation to Pagans

I. Paul's education:

Paul's education began very young, being a Jew of the tribe of Benjamin, he was educated at the feet of Gamiel who was at the time the most respected theologian in Israel.  He was raised in the the town of Tarsus of what is now know as the country of Turkey and was born with the name of Saul, named after one of the great Kings of Israel who was also a Benjaminite. Some time later he became know as Saul the persecutor of the Way.  He had no equal to him in Judaism being a member of one of the strictest sects: the Pharisees. He had an acute sense of Law and Punishment as demonstrated in his zeal to persecute the Church of Jesus, the Christ.  He, by his own testimony was a Pharisee of Pharisees, and kept the Law to the letter.  He initially felt uniquely qualified to root out these believers of "The Way"out of Judaism,  and pursued his purpose with vigor and determination.  Until that day when he met Jesus on the way to Damascus, to continue his persecution of the Believers of Jesus.

It is clear that up to the time of his own conversion to Christ, Paul (aka Saul) believed that the Jews that converted to "The Way", as it was called, believed in some sort of idol worship of a dead man of whom those who had converted to "the Way" proclaimed that he was still alive and has ascended to God in Heaven.  After his encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus, everything changed. He discovered that Jesus was not a idol, but the Lord God. (Acts 9:1-20)

II.Paul's view of Jesus vs. the view of the Apostles

Paul's view of Jesus is distinctively similar, but not exactly the same as the original Apostles. The reason for the difference is that the original Apostles had an opportunity to walk with and learn of  Jesus for at least 3 years. Paul only had just met Jesus on the road to Damascus and it took him some time before he began to preach the Gospel. The original Apostles were still figuring out what shape and form the church will take.  They initially only preached the Gospel to unconverted Jews, that is until the Apostle Peter was given an inspirational instruction by the Holy Spirit to preach the Gospel to the Gentiles as well.

Peter's view of Jesus was shared by all of the original Apostles and is as follows:

1) That Jesus is Lord [God] and Messiah [Christ] -Acts 2:36
2) That Jesus is God's appointed servant which was slain- Acts 3:22+23
3) That Jesus is God's resurrected Son- Acts 3:26
4) That Jesus is God's chosen Savior [Christ, Messiah]of Mankind- Acts 4:12

Paul's view of Jesus was shared by all of the Disciples in Antioch and Damascus  and is as follows:

1) That Jesus is the Christ [Messiah], the Son of God- Acts 9:20, 13:33
2) That Jesus is the promised Messiah [Christ]- Acts 13:33
3) That Jesus is the slain Messiah [Christ]-Acts 13:27-29
4) That Jesus is the resurrected Messiah [Christ]- Acts 13:30+31

As you can see that both views are very similar.  The difference is the audience that each man preached to.  Peter preached to unconverted Jews, while Paul preached to the unconverted Jews and Pagans.  They however shared these views about Jesus.


1) That Jesus was Divine

      a)Peter states that Jesus' status is elevated to that of "Lord" in Acts 2:36. The Greek word    
         that is translated to this English word "Lord", I have discovered that it also means  
        "Supreme over all" and "God". Peter therefore testifies therefore that God elevated Jesus 
         to divine status equal to His own divine status.

     b)Paul states that Jesus' status is elevated to that of being "the Son of God" by reason of 
        Jesus' relationship to God the Creator. God is the Father of Jesus, naturally born to Him and 
        thereby Jesus is the only begotten Son of God. God the creator made Jesus divine, through 
        the process of natural child birth, He made Jesus God and man -Acts 9:20, 13:33

2) That Jesus was the Messiah or the Christ

     a)Peter states that Jesus was Christ. Christ is the English translation of the Greek word which 
        is also a translation of the Hebrew word that is again translated into the English word 
       Messiah. In other words, Christ and Messiah are terms that refer to the same thing. They are  
        exchangeable in English. It is notable that Peter only uses the word "Christ" when speaking 
        in reference to Jesus when he needs to communicate to an audience that knows Greek and or 
        Hebrew.- Acts 2:36, 4:12

    b)Paul also states that Jesus was Christ [Messiah] that was prophesied about by the Holy 
       Prophets in his Gospel message.-Acts 13:23

3) That Jesus, the Christ [Messiah] was slain

    a)Peter states that Jesus, the chosen Messiah [Christ] was slain -Acts 3:22+23

    b)Paul also states that Jesus, the Messiah was slain-Acts 13:27-29

4) That God raised Jesus, the Christ [Messiah] from the dead

    a)Peter states that Jesus, God's son and appointed Messiah was resurrected from the dead by 
      God the Creator.- Acts 3:32

    b)Paul also states that Jesus was raised up from the dead by God the Creator- Acts 13:30+31

As we can see, Peter and Paul used the same views in their Gospel presentations: 1)The Divinity of Jesus, 2)The Messiah ship of Jesus, 3) The death of Jesus, the Messiah and 4) The Resurrection of Jesus, the Messiah. Seeing that they used the same views of Jesus in their Gospel presentations this proves that the worship of Jesus as God was not a Pagan  idea introduced by Paul to the Church, but rather a fulfillment of the prophetic scriptures of the  Bible. It was a popular teaching among the Jews that a Messiah King will come and restore the glorious kingdom of Israel.  They got that teaching from the prophecies of the Bible. Since those prophecies come from strictly Jewish sources and Judaism is strictly a monotheistic faith, then the idea that a child can be the son of God foretold in those scriptures is not a Pagan concept but Monotheistic one. This also proves that Paul did not introduce those ideas into Christianity, for those prophecies that Jesus fulfilled existed before the birth of  Paul and Peter.

III.Paganism in the times of the Apostles

Paganism is a general term , it blinds us to understand  what was really going on in Israel in the days of Jesus and His Apostles.  Also because of Hollywood  many people believe that the only Paganism was the ones the Romans brought with them to the Bible lands.  The truth be told there were several different brands of Pagan beliefs being practiced in the Holy Land.  The reason for this is that in order for Rome to keep the peace among their conquered lands, they had to allow the worship of what they viewed as primitive Gods, the God of Israel were considered be a primitive God int the view of Pagan Rome because they conquered them and took their lands.  The Romans believed in a Living God on earth embodied in a Man: Caesar. However, Caesar was not the only God to be believed upon, the Romans also had a Pantheon of Gods that ruled over various things upon the earth and the king of them all was Zeus. Another reason for the many forms of Pagan worship in Israel is that Israel was a port country and world trade passed through it.  Many merchants brought their Gods and goods with them to Israel and imported them throughout the world. So the Pagan Roman Empire looked at Christianity as another pagan faith because the believers of "the Way" worshiped a man named Jesus as God, just as they worshiped Caesar as a God.  The only problem with the Romans faith in their Caesar, their Caesars kept dying off while the Christians proclaim their God to be still alive after suffering a brutal death on a cross.  Proving to many that Jesus was God and causing many of the citizenry of Pagan Rome to convert to a new faith called by many as Christianity. 

The point is It was and still is very clear in Old testament law that God prohibits idol worship.  So if worshiping Jesus was not idol worship what was it? The Apostles proclaimed that in Jesus, God had come in the flesh to redeem all of Mankind in the fulfillment of the Jewish prophecies.  To them Jesus was God, not a partner to God, Jesus was God manifested in the flesh. An expression of God's love for them and the whole world.  To the original Apostles and Paul they were not participating in idol worship at all. They were worshiping and preaching about the God of the Bible and His Son. Some Jews and Pagans believed the message and some did not. Just like today, some believe the Gospel and some do not.

IV. Paul's Gospel presentation to Pagans


When Paul preached the Gospel to the Pagans, he preached it from the perspective of being a second hand witness. The difference between that being a first hand witness and a second hand witness is the quality and the credibility of sources.  Now this is important to understand, the second hand witness presentation of Paul the Apostle rests upon the quality and authenticity of his sources. If there is a degree of a lesser quality and credibility of the sources the Apostle Paul used in his Gospel presentation to the Pagans, then Paul's Gospel presentation is of lesser credibility than that of the original Apostle and we can accept that Paul mixed Pagan ideas with Christian ones and introduced a Pagan type worship of Jesus into Christianity in order to win converts and take the church away from the original Apostles of Christ.  However the opposite is also true, if the quality and credibility of the sources the Apostle Paul uses in his Gospel presentation to the Pagans we must accept that Paul did not mix Pagan ideas with Christian ones and did not introduce a Pagan type of worship of Jesus into Christianity in order to win souls and take the church away from the original Apostles of Christ.  There is no middle ground, it is either one or the other. So what were the Apostle Paul's sources for his Gospel presentations? They were the same Apostles of Christ and the disciples who heard Jesus speak, seen Jesus suffer and die on the cross and seen him be raised from the dead. 

Consider the fact that Paul's Gospel presentation was not questioned by the Apostles of Christ when He and Barnabas made their missionary report to them. (Acts 15) After the fact that Peter presented the argument to not burden the Gentile believers in Christ with the keeping of the Law of Moses, which no one Jew of them could keep. The salvation of God was presented to the Jews not on the basis of keeping the Law of Moses' administration, but rather it was offered to them on the basis of faith on the death and resurrection of Jesus, the Messiah [Christ]. It appeared to them that God made the same offer to the Gentiles [many who were also Pagans], who would choose to believe in Jesus, the Christ.  Thereby they renounced the pagan Gods that they worshiped and began to worship the one God of creation through Jesus, the Christ. They decided that to make those new Pagan converts observe the law that no one could keep except for Jesus was not just or fair or right. This was also the offer of salvation in Paul's presentation of the Gospel to the Gentiles [Pagans] and Jews outside of Israel. So we see here that the quality and credibility of Paul's presentation of the Gospel is equal of that of  original Apostles for they both testified from the same sources. Even though Paul is preaching from the perspective of a second hand witness, his Gospel presentation is equal to Peter's Gospel presentation.

The only difference between the Gospel presentations of the original Apostles and Paul is that the original Apostles presentation were geared toward the Jewish audience until they were directed by God through the testimony of the Apostle Peter to make a presentation to the Gentiles [Pagans]. Therefore Paul's Gospel presentations took on the added elements of preaching against idolatry and Paganism, elements that original Apostles never had the opportunity to develop in their early  Gospel presentations. The Apostle Peter's missionary work among the Gentile church did not start until the Apostle Paul met his end. Peter's work was more about the encouragement of the believers that Paul and Barnabas was used of God to reach with the Gospel presentation. It was not about discrediting the Apostle Paul's Gospel presentation to the the Pagans. This act of Peter to support what the Apostle Paul established also does not indicate a mixing of paganism and Christianity by Paul, for Peter did not come behind Paul to change what he had  preached to them for them to believe for their salvation. Peter rather came behind Paul to confirm what the Apostle taught in those fledgling churches. When Peter preached his Gospel message to the [Pagans] the Gentiles, he emphasized the knowledge of the ministry of God through Christ to the Jews and accused the Jews of slaying Christ. Paul when he preached the Gospel  message to the [Pagans] Gentiles used the knowledge of his audience conscience of righteousness, their spiritual awareness and revelation of the mystery of the Gospel when preaching his Gospel outside of Israel.

We know as defenders of the Christian Faith that many people believe that paganism or pagan ideas got infused into modern Christianity. The verifiable evidence we provide here points other wise.  The question is  what are you going to do with the evidence?  It your choice to believe it or not believe it.  It is my greatest desire that you believe the Gospel as was preached by the original Apostles and the Apostle Paul that is summed up in the following verses:

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.-John 3:16

But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, [even] to them that believe on his name:Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.-John 1:12+13

For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.  He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.-John 3:17+18

He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.-John 3:36

Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.-John 5:24

Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live.-John 5:25

While it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation.-Hebrews 3:15

For he [is] our God; and we [are] the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. To day if ye will hear his voice, Harden not your heart, as in the provocation, [and] as [in] the day of temptation in the wilderness:-Psalms 95:7+8

Again, he limiteth a certain day, saying in David, To day, after so long a time; as it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts.-Hebrews 4:7

(For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now [is] the accepted time; behold, now [is] the day of salvation.)-2 Corinthians 6:2

But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise, Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down [from above]:) Or, Who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.) But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, [even] in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach; That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.-Romans 10:6-10

Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.- John 3:3

Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and [of] the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.-John 3:5-7

How does one get saved, or born again? One becomes born again or saved when he or she sincerely confesses his or her faith in Christ.  How does someone do this? All you have to do is recite the following prayer with all your heart.

Dear Heavenly Father, 

I, in Jesus' name,  come to you now as an repentant sinner. I confess all my sinfulness to You and ask You to forgive me, for Jesus' sake.  I believe that Jesus, Your only begotten Son, died for my all my sins and washed them away with His blood. I believe that You raised Jesus from the dead according to Your word, the Bible. I now invite Your Holy Spirit into my heart and make me Your child. I promise that I will strive to live Holy everyday with Your help and I thank you Lord for saving me.

If you have recited the prayer above.  Welcome to the Family of God! Your next step is finding a church that teaches the word of God and preaches the Gospel message.  Until you do, you can continue to follow the teachings I share here. 

The Principles of Recovery Part 4

This is a continuation of lessons on  how to recover from social and economical loss and keep your faith in Christ intact.  This book is based upon scriptural stories and parables of recovery, so that the people of God may know the principles of recovery and understand how to recover from the social and economic loss they may have experienced in their lives. 

In the last lesson on the road to recovery we discussed Repentance.  We learned that Repentance is a tool in the Christian's tool box that when used properly with Forgiveness allows a believer to do many things to the Glory of God.  We also learned that repentance is ineffective with out a plan of action.    A believer in God can repent all he likes, until he acts on it properly, that kind of repenting is making an empty promise. This time we will discuss the fourth step in recovery: Return.

Return defined: (verb) To go or come back, as to a former place, position, or state:to return from abroad; to return to public office; to return to work.

The prodigal son in Luke 15 had made the choice to repent and to return to his father's house.  He changed his mind about his present  pig pen condition, changed his purpose of living and changed his direction.  All that would have been  brought to nothing if he did not do one thing: Act on those decisions.  He chose to return to his Father's house and off he went, without notification to his employer.  I can only imagine that  he humbly went back through the towns, possibly repenting to those who he mistreated when he first came through with the wealth of his inheritance.  He could have stopped in any of those towns and tried to carve out a living for himself, but nothing would have brought him to the level of living he would have if he fully returned to the fathers house.  What kept him going?  He had a vision of how it was when he worked for his father,  yea it was work, but he had a roof over his head, plenty of food to eat and decent clothes to wear.  He also slept comfortably every night.  All his needs were met when he lived in his father's house.  Now on his way back, he sleeps in back alleys, in crates of wood on beds of hay and sometimes on the bare muddy road.  Each day he gets up, focuses upon his purpose and continues upon his journey with that vision of how much better it will be when he gets to his father's house.

Likewise, we believers must maintain our focus when going through a hard time in our lives.  We must have a vision of what it would be like to live better than what we have allowed to accept or had to endure.  When I was a real estate sales person, the company that I represented as an agent to the prospective home sellers trained me to have a vision of what I wanted to be in five years.  What they suggested was to have a picture of what I wanted posted somewhere I could see it every morning.   What that did was help me focus on why I am getting up to prospect for new customers each day.  The prodigal son had that kind of focus.  He was able to focus because he had a vision.  Well that year I listed many properties and sold half of them.  It was my most successful year as an real estate agent.  All because I had a vision and did whatever honest way it took to achieve it. When I lost that vision, when I lost that focus, that is when I failed as a real estate agent.  Lesson: keep your focus.  

When we believers fall into the pig pen of life, we have lost our vision because our vision was just a disillusion, an unrealistic vision of our lives.  For the prodigal did not have the vision of being in the pig pen when he ventured out from his father's house, he had visions of adventure and grandeur and he was confident that his inheritance could buy anything he wanted when he first left his father's house.  His vision was, impractical, irresponsible and not measurable.  All good visions are practical, responsible and measurable. If you can not measure your vision most likely you can not achieve it.  If your vision is not useful or practical, it will be useless to others as well as yourself.  If your vision does not regard the respect due to others lives and liberties your vision  will cause rejection and a lot of damage.  All of the prodigal son's visions of grandeur and adventure died in that pig pen.  He soon adopted a new vision and new focus and a new determination. Up he went, determined to go back to his father's house with a new vision for his life, so also we believers must get a new focus, and new vision and return to the father's house. It is truly said, "You will not know how good you had a thing until it is gone." The prodigal did not realize how good he really had it back in his father's house until he ended up in the pig pen.  Many believers really do not know how good they had it when they had an opportunity to do the work of the Lord, until their in a situation where they can not do the things they desire to do for God.  

We could also speculate that the prodigal son realized that he had made some bad choices.  For he could have sat there in the pig pen, blaming people for his pig pen situation.  He did not, he realized that he could still have a better life, all he had to do is repent to his father and humbly offer himself up as a servant.  I just recently read a joke that shows what kind of person is that makes promises  to God that he won't keep.  There was a man who was in a rush to get to a place where he had some important business to attend to,  when he pulled into the parking lot of the building he had a noticed that all the parking places were taken up.  The man quickly said, "Oh God if you would provide me with a parking spot in this lot, I will go to church and attend Sunday school and prayer meeting..".  Miraculously  a parking  spot became available, the man then said,"Never mind, I found one."  I failed to find the humor of that Joke, but it made me think of what people tend to do with God when they find themselves in a bind.   They make deals with God that they never intend to keep. They make promises to God that they do not intend of following through as long as God gives them what they want or worse yet they believe that the opportunity or blessing was not generated by God.  The prodigal did not make any deals with God,  he repented and returned.  He understood that he was not in a position to negotiate a deal with God or with his father.  He accepted the responsibility of his actions and humbly returned.   

Here is the part I like the most about the prodigal Son.  He had a plan to make restitution for his actions.  For in confessing his sin against his father and to God he also offered to work as a servant in his father's house.  In the prodigals mind, he took his father's wealth and was irresponsible with it.  Wealth that he could not replenish, except by working for it.  This shows that the prodigal still had honor for his father.  How many times have we each made promises to God that we will serve him, if He would do this for us or if he would do that for us? How many times have we taken for granted the wealth that God, the father has bestowed upon each one of us and have wasted it upon our own ambitions? How many times we have believed that God will pull us out of our pig pens, when in fact it is really up to us to leave? Plenty of times.  I thank God, that he is a loving and patient God and just as the prodigals father was waiting for his son's return, God is waiting for each one of us to return.

So what did we learn today?  We learned that repentance is meaningless unless it is followed through upon.  That along with repentance there must be a plan of restitution and corresponding action.   More important than that is the fact that God in his love and compassion for each one of us is awaiting for us to shed our disillusions of grandeur and take the responsibility of our bad choices and return to him. For if we do, there awaits for us the blessing of God, the Father upon those of use who choice to leave the pig pen of life and return to serve Him.

The Principles of Recovery Part 3

This is a part of an ongoing series of lessons following the story line of the parable of the prodigal son in the Gospel of Luke.  The purpose of these lesson is to supply information to those who find themselves outside acceptable economic and social circles in our various church communitites.  Just last year in America there was a great movement and effort to encourage people to come back to church.  Earlier in this year at  my local church, my pastor deliver a series of inspirational messages centered aroung perfecting the family, in which I was informed about the possibility of a generation that will grow up in Christian name only, but will know nothing about Christ or his church.  This inspired me to write this series about retaining your christian faith through the fammine of fellowship and recovering from the pig pen of life.  In the last lesson we talked about Resolution.  Resolution is the plan to solve a problem that is destroying your life.  The story of the prodigal son supplied us with the following perscription.   One:  If you don't have to tell anyone that your leaving the pig pen. Two:  Don't tell those who have ruled over while your were in the pig pen that you are leaving the pig pen.  Three: Plan on humbly returning to the Father's house.   Four: Apologize to those whom you offended on your way back to the father's house.  Five: Don't get hung up on being blessed upon your return, get hung up in service to God in the Father's house.  We now proceed to the next lesson,  Repentance.

Repentance Defined:

1. deep sorrow, compunction, or contrition for a past sin, wrongdoing, or the like.

2. regret for any past action.

In Christian Church circles repentance is not  only  the regret of past acts it is also the act of the change of a persons mind, heart and direction in life.  Therefore, it has been said that repentance is not real repentance if no change transpires in a person's life.  Please note that the prodigal son formed his resolution first before he acted upon the plan of repentance.   This teaches us that unless those in the pig pen of life don't make a choice to leave the pig pen, they will be just going through the motions as though they are going to leave the pig pen of life.   Now we are using the prodigal son as an example only, this means that people are in the pig pen of life for different reasons.  Utimately, the prodigal son has one thing in common with all of those who are leaving the pig pen of life.  He accepted the responsibility of his choices.  Once a person accepts the part he played in his own demise, the opportunity of self-correction becomes available.  Until then he will wander around in the pig pen of his life.  This is where some believers are, just wandering around, just like the Isrealites did in the wilderness prior to enterring the promised land.   The only benefit in wanderring in the pig pen of life  is that everything that a person was disillusioned with dies off.  The only thing that a believer should be left is his faith in Christ.  Sad to say many have allowed to let that die too in the pig pen of life. 

When I endured homelessness,  I saw men that gave up on life.  Persons with no hope of recovery.  I also met men that still believed that God loved them.  Those men were stuck in their pig pen, stuck in homelessness.  They needed help,  but because they had an anger about what had happened to them, they could not see the way out.  Some of them were there for years.  I befriended one person, who was a christian.  He was depressed also about what had happened to him.  He did not know which way his life was going.  Well every morning I would get up and pray and study my Bible.  Many men when they saw me studying the Bible said things to me to discourage me from studying like, "It is God that made you poor, why would you still want to serve him?" or "Or that Church stuff doesn't work, you need to get a real job".  Despite this onslaught of comments by the many men in the homeless shelter, this Christian friend would join me in my Bible Studies.  At that point of my life, everything was on the table.  When I would get up in the morning I would pray to God and say everyday, "God, Jesus, this is where the rubber meets the road, this is where either faith in Jesus works or it doesn't.  Lord, all these men are watching me, to see if faith in God causes a man to fail or succeed.".  For I came to the understanding that it does not matter if you live in a luxurious mansion or have no home at all, you still have to live for God before men so that they might also believe and have hope, that is every christians responsibility.  One morning, I received a revelation:  God has given all he is going to give,  he gave his only begotten  Son Jesus for believers to have it all.   God gave all that he has and all that He is, it is now up to those who have faith to work that power that He has invested in us.  I shared that revelation with my Christian friend that morning in our Bible discussions which had grew to about ten men, with many more listening.  All God wanted was all of me was to be in service to him, all God wants was all men to be in service to him.  I had some things though I had to repent of.  One was greed, the other was unforgiveness and a few other things like accepting the responsiibility of my choices.  I formulated a plan, my Christian friends did also on leaving the state of homelessness.  Within a few weeks each member of the Bible study left the homeless center and left homelessness including my Christian friend.  I was getting fustrated,  I wondered why I was left in a homeless condition.  I went out looking for work each day.  I attended classes that the Homeless center provided, I put my resume's everywhere.   The only thing I did not do was go to church on a regular basis.  Because of this, I was a homeless Christian in more ways than one.  Like many beleivers in Christ, I did not have a church home.  The church I was a member at lost contact with me and I did not hear from them once I became homeless.    Even though of all the believers that left before I did, I recognized that they all had joined a church somewhere.   So I prayed for guidance and went out looking for another church to attend, not to become a member, just to attend.  I went across the street from the homeless center and met a Deacon of a Church.  He invited me into a building that did not look like a Church, but inside was a church.  Right next door to the homeless center!  It was a few weeks before I was accepted as a member.   Things started to change as I got involved in the ministry and soon thereafter, I left the condition of homelessness.   I continued until through the power of faith in Christ I again had  a job, a home, a family and a vehicle.  Til this day, people in the homeless center and in that Church community knows about the trial of homelessness I had to endure and my testimony that God's word works if you work it and  many have been blessed by it.   So just like the prodigal son who returned to his father's house,  I had repented and  returned to the Father's house,  I had returned to Church, in service to God in Christ.  

One thing about true repentance is that it is an act, an act that you can not fake.   Either you do it or you don't.  What do you need to repent of that is keeping in the pig pen of your life?  More than that what are you in need of repentance so that you may continue to walk in the blessing of God in your life?  You see the common mistake is that once you have repented of something you don't need to repent of anything else anymore.  Repentance is a tool and whe used properly and in faith it will keep your Christian walk maintained and keep you from alot of trouble.  Couple repentance with forgiveness and you have a powerful duo that will allow you do many things by the Grace of God in your life for the glory of God.

The parable does not tell of the people the prodigal had to meet upon his return, the towns he had to go back through.  Enduring the humiliation of the journey all he coucl focus upon is getting back to his fathers house.  Why was he so focused?  The illusions of granduer of a life he imagined that he was going to live  had faded and died in the pig pen. What about his father?  His faither every day since his departure looked to the horizon anticipating his lost son's return.   That is exactly is what God, the Father is doing just that for each one of us.  He is awaiting for each of us to return to him. 

"For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. "-Romans 8:38+39

It is time you left your pig pen, return in service to God, return to Jesus. leave whatever is in the pig pen of your life in the pig pen and make your humble journey back to the Father's house, back to the Church. The  loving Father God awaits you eagerly to repent and come home.

    

The Principles of Recovery Part 2

This is a continuation of a multi-part series of lessons aimed to assist believers who have found themselves out side of the acceptable social and economic circles of our church communities.  In order to give them direction through the teaching of parable of the prodigal son. We continue now with the second step on the road to recovery : Resolution.

By following the the story line of the prodigal son in the  Gospel record. We have learned some valuable and practical lessons:  One: never take the blessings of God on our lives for granted, Two: never squander the gifts that God, our father has bestowed upon each one of us and three: always protect your wealth against any anticipated or unanticipated losses.   Now we turn our focus upon the second principle of recovery. Resolution.

Resolution Defined: a resolve or determination: to make a firm an action to do something or the act of resolving or determining upon an action or course of action, method, procedure, etc.               -source Dictionary.com

"I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, " - Luke 15:18

The prodigal son makes a resolution, he makes a plan to return home.  A resolution is a decision to act upon a plan to correct or to redirect oneself from the way he was once going.  The prodigal was not going anywhere, he was in the pig pen, in a foreign land as an employee of a stranger.  I give the prodigal son credit to have the strength to make the descision to put away his shame and humbly return to his father's house.  Many believers today are stuck in the pig pen of life, subject to the rules of a stranger, because they are too ashamed of what their siblings and Parents would think of them.  So there they sit, in the pig pen of their lives, living off the scraps of human existence when all each of them could do is make a plan to get out of the pig pen and return to the place where they had the abundance of their Parents at thier disposal.  As demostrated by the prodigal's actions and resolution, the perscriptive actions one must take when in the pig pen of life is the following:

1. Make a plan to leave the pig pen of life

2. Prepare to make a humble return

    -plan on repenting to those whom you know you offended when you return.

The return is ineffective without the plan of return.  A person must know what direction he must now take in order to make the move to recover.  A few things are noticable about the prodigal's plan to recover: He did not ask he employer for any assistance or permission when he left the pig pen.  Many people go to the one that is oppressing them for relief and assistance.  The reason they are opressing people stuck in the pig pen is so that they would be discouraged from leaving it. Next he did not tell his plan to leave the pig pen  to his employer.  Understanding that the employer would be upset finding out  that  the cheap labor he was getting was soon to be gone.  Finally he never got comfortable in the pig pen to the point that he was satisfied with it. Many people has gotten too comfortable in their pig pens in life that they look no more to rise from it.  The reason why some people do not recover is because they have not tasted a better life than the one they are living in the pig pen. 

I had a friend once who did not have a High school diploma,  this friend could not find a basic job to provide for his living.  So he became content with the under the table jobs that he could do.  Sometimes they would pay well and sometimes they would pay nothing at all.  This friend of mine would live off of refunds, and financial kickbacks.  Flea Markets, yard sales and clearance sales was the limit of his shopping venue.  Everything he owned came from one of these sources.  He believed in Jesus and was thankful for the little things he could afford.  He lived in subsdized housing until the Landlords sold  their property to a corporate management group and the rent would get too high for him.  He would have to move to another location.  He was content to living at this level until he got a taste of the life that was a litte better than his.  I took him to a place that was everything he dreamt of and desired.  We talked to another one of my friends who lived in that neighborhood and owned his own home.   He thought that Christian people was not supposed to live that good, but after we showed him from the scriptures that it was up to him where he lived, that God gave him everything that he needed in Christ to make the journey from one level to another, he changed his mind about his level of living.  He began to dream big.  He had one major stumblimg block, he had no high school diploma.  My friend that lived in that well off neighborhood and I decided to help him study and pay for his GED test. After a few tries he finally recieved a letter from the state issuing him a GED.  He was off to the races.  He went to school got a skill, soon after that he got a job, he continued his education and graduated from college with a degree, which in turn gave him more opportunity to earn the kind of money he dreamt of.  He now lives in his dream house that he owns, makes enough money to support himself and most of all He is still a Christian through it all.  Now he helps others to turn their lives around, just as he was helped so that he could turn his life around.

Just like the prodigal son, he realized that he did not have to live in that economic condition.  Unlike the prodigal son who was blessed already, he had a road block and all he needed was someone to bless him along the way.  He had no High school diploma which is essential to fundamentally succeeding in life.  If anyone one suggests to you that obtaining a high school diploma is not neccessary to for you to succeed at life, just remember the testimony I shared with you in this article.  I am not saying that God cannot bless you despite you obtaining one, but those examples and testimonies are few and not the way that God has provided for most of us. Here are some of the scriptures that we shared with that friend of mine.

"Buy the truth, and sell [it] not; [also] wisdom, and instruction, and understanding."                           - Proverbs 23:23

 "..I am come that they might have life, and that they might have [it] more abundantly."                   - John 10:10 

"Wisdom [is] the principal thing; [therefore] get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding."- Proverbs 4:7

"Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,.."- Ephesians 3:20

These above are just a few of the scriptures my friend and I shared with the Christian friend who was living below his status.  Simply put.  If one wishes to recover, they have to change whatever they are doing now and do something different.  Now in doing something different, requires a change of mind, a change of direction and a change of purpose.  The prodigal son changed his mind about living in the mire of the pig pen. He change the direction of his life from wandering in want in a foriegn land to heading back to his father's house. He changed his purpose of living from that living beneath his status in the pig pen to that of living as a servant in his own father's house.  All those changes did not come from without the prodigal son, they came from within the prodigal son.  This teaches us that all we need to succeed is already within us, if we are willing to change our minds about our present condition, change our direction of each of our lives and change our purpose for living. How do we do this? We do it with education, learning something new that can provide for each one of us a better level of living.   One caution however, choose what ever you are going to learn as a trade wisely.  Make sure that whatever you choose is always going to be in demand or going to be in demand for a long time.  For it is foolish to learn something different and new to make a better life for yourself only to find youself and your new expertise is not any longer needed by anyone. In other words, that people find you newly acquired skills obsolete by the time you graduate.

Here is the lesson: If we change our will and subject it to the obedience of God will, then anything that God wills for us is possible.  So the questions are: Does God want us to be blessed? Does God want us to  recover? Does God want us to serve him?  The answers to these questions are yes, yes and yes.  So many of us get stuck on being blessed, but being blessed is just a means to serve the will of God in our lives. This the same test that the young rich ruler failed when Jesus asked him to sell all the wealth that he had acquired from doing the will of God and serve God with Jesus.  The wealth possesed the heart of the rich young ruler, not serving God with Jesus  which is the will of God for all.      

What the Bible says about Divorce and Remarriage?

What the Bible says about Divorce and Remarriage:

It has become necessary to educate those who believe that divorce is a sinful act. They do this without seeking God and His word for answers about what to do about it first. The word of God is the final authority  and I believe the this revelation  in the lives of those who believe will find this teaching is anointed and liberating. For those who are seeking the answer to this issue  the following biblical information on the concept of Divorce and Remarriage will be helpful. The Bible encourages all to study to show ourselves approved. So just don't take my word for it. Read and study for yourselves.

For those who do not understand Divorce is not sin. If Divorce was sin that places everyone who is divorce in sin or in a sinful status. That is not what Jesus said. Jesus said,"Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery."  (Mathew 19:9) Now the escape clause is, "..except for fornication..." for those believers studying this issue. For those who do not know what  fornication is, it is having sexual relations without being married to the person you are performing sex with. If this kind of  sexual infidelity be found in the marriage then according to the bible divorce is permissible.

Now clearly Jesus wanted to make sure that this divorce and remarriage for anything that was pervasive in his day was stopped. So he placed a warning clause that whosoever marries a divorced person commits adultery. The question is when was that clause stated before the escape clause or after? It appears after. Which means that this too is non applicable to the righteous divorced person who has found infidelity in his former marriage. So it is just the one who has been discovered unfaithful in the former marriage cannot be married again, but the one who is faithful in the former marriage is free and can marry again.

Consider also this: if divorce was sin then why did God commit sin (Jeremiah 3:8) where He divorced Israel? No obviously God did not sin in divorcing Israel, he divorced Israel because he found Israel constantly playing the harlot with other Gods.  In other words he found infidelity in his relationship with Israel. We say, as believers that the bible stipulates that God never changes and Jesus is the same yesterday, today and for ever and he is righteous. If that be true, then divorce is not sin but a corrective action. A remedy to make sure that godly people marry godly people. Because godly people are human and get blinded by the same fleshy infatuations that blind unsaved people. Godly people can make judgement errors. Horrific ones. Divorce was a remedy, and is an remedy to a unwanted marriage condition.

Now Divorced people who have been faithful to God and has dissolved the marital union are free to remarry again. They are not bound to live celibate lives for the rest of their lives. Again in Mathew 19:12 Jesus addresses this issue by talking about becoming an eunuch. For those who do not know an eunuch is, an eunuch is a person who has his reproductive organs removed. Jesus states that some have made themselves eunuchs, this does not necessarily mean that they have had their reproductive organs removed, what it  means is that they have decided to remain single for the rest of the natural lives and have committed the rest of lives to be in service to God. This condition of celibacy is not mandatory but it is only given to those who can accept it. This makes celibacy optional for the righteous divorced person. Most righteous divorce people can not receive it. That is fine because it is only required of those who can receive it.

Now does God allow remarriage of a divorce Person? Yes He does (Deuteronomy 24:1-3; Leviticus 21:14; Romans 7:1-3; 1 Corinthians 7:13-16) A Divorced person and a person who is a Widow has similar qualities in that they both have suffered the lost of a loved one. Divorced people go through a lot of grief more than a widow does. What the divorced person has to contend with that is different from the widow is that they may see that person again in their lifetime and old contentions or old Romanticisms may arise only to be frustrated by the ex mate. The Widow does have that problem because all that person has is the memory of  his former mate. Now remarriage does not not heal these feelings and only constant prayer, and intercession for the ex spouse can lead to such a thing. What remarriage does for the saved divorced person is provide the needed companionship which now they see the value of. That being said it is God's perfect will is that a divorced person be reconciled to his or her former spouse. If that is possible the righteous divorced person and the ex-mate should seek reconciliation. However, sometimes that is not what God wants for the righteous divorced person, because reuniting with the former spouse may lead to the same problems that caused the marriage to dissolve in the first place. What divorced people need to know that if reuniting with the former spouse is not possible can they marry someone else? The answer is Yes they can, but they have only one attempt in doing this. If they get divorced by their next spouse they are committed to mandatory celibacy for the rest of their lives. That is what is stipulated in Deuteronomy 24:1-3.

Now who can a righteous divorce person marry? A divorce person can not marry a virgin, that is forbidden by the Law of God. A righteous divorce person can only marry another divorced person who was not found unfaithful in their former marriage. A righteous divorce person can marry a widow, there is no commandment against that, I checked that out in the bible.  Where there is no law, there is no transgression. Where there is no transgression, there is no evidence of sin.  The next possible candidate category may be controversial but I believe that a righteous divorced person can marry an unwed christian mother. Why? Because an unwed christian mother has in a sense joined herself with another but for some reason she is not with him. So an unwed christian mother is like a divorced righteous woman with children. Some unwed christian mothers are mothers before they expect to be through their lack of self control and judgment and know that they cannot be married as a virgin christian bride. Others became Christian after they became mothers, because they know they need help in the raising of the child. The place they come to is the Church. Some of these unwed mothers think they can not be married at all, because they feel that even though God forgives them for what they have done, they have disqualified themselves from being a perfect wife to a quality Christian male. That in my opinion is not true. If God has enough forgiveness for the unwed christian mothers error in judgement, then God also has enough grace to perfect those things that imperfect them. Nevertheless, in my opinion, the unwed mother falls in the category of non-virgin candidates for marriage of a divorced person.

I humbly submit therefore that the Church is missing a whole segment of the population that believe in Christ but believe that they can not be remarried that needs to be ministered to.  The demographics of the church congregation have changed,  there are more divorced people in our christian communities than we have married people in our churches. This article is an attempt to minister to those who have been divorced in a Christian union and was not the one  that was unfaithful in that union. It is my prayer that this article has blessed you.

Why Do We Need To Go To Church?

I was teaching a Sunday school class of children one day and very young teenage girl asked this question: Why do I need to come to church? My response to her was that she may learn what the call of God on her life is. I turned to the rest of the class and told them that because of Jesus every child has a call of God on all their lives. Some will learn what that call is, some don't learn what that call of God on their lives is. The scripture I used was the same one Peter used when God poured out his Spirit upon all flesh on the day of Pentecost. I also quoted the prophet Joel. Then I further explained that John the Baptist proclaimed about the coming messiah in his messages as he who will baptize with fire. That fire that John, the Baptist spoke of, is the Holy Spirit, that the messiah Jesus, the Christ, received at his water baptism. This is the same Holy Spirit that the Apostles were the first to receive that initial baptism of the Holy Spirit through Jesus, the Christ, empowering them to preach the Gospel throughout the world. Then, I said to the entire youth class, "The devil wants you to be distracted and inattentive, this way you will never find out what God in Christ called you to be. This is why the Church exists, to promote the knowledge of God through Christ. This is why every person needs to come to church."

 The problem is people think that Church is just a social activity which really does not have a role in the real world, except that of taking peoples money and giving it all to the Pastor. It is sad that this view has been espoused promoted by people who are not real servants of the Lord but scam artist looking to exploit the masses using Christ and a Church as their cloak.

 The church's value is in the building of individual lives and families in the will and order of God according to the Gospel of Christ.

 The church's importance in society is that it provides service to the hopeless, comfort to the discouraged and provision, as it is able to do it, to those who are needy.

 The church's purpose is to maintain the testimony of the saving power of Christ as a light to a dark and lost society, in the hope that its witness concerning Christ will save some.

 The church's strength does not only come from God but also from its members who have identified themselves apart of the local church body.

 People will never know this, if they don't come to church and learn what their call in God's work is. The Bible states: "My People perish for the lack of knowledge" This is Satan's goal: To get people to not hear the Gospel; To discourage them from coming to church and get them spiritually out on a island all by themselves so that he may steal from them what God has provided for them in Christ, which includes the call of God on the life of the believer and the reward for obedience to the call of God by the believer.

 When God called Abram, he went in obedience to Gods directive even though he did not know where he was going, for he knew that if God promised him something it was as sure as money in the bank that it will come to pass. He took God's promise and believed it and consequently obeyed it. Today people can not take the promise of God and walk by faith to receive the rewards of obedience to it. Why? The reason is that people want the reward first then suggest that they will obey God thereafter. God knows that people will not obey HIM. So the reward of the promises of God is of faith first, obedience second. Again people will not know this if they do not come to church and learn what the call of God on their lives is.

So there is a blessing awaiting those who come to church, not just to fill a pew. A blessing for those who come to church to find what Christ wants them to do for his glory.  That is why we all need to go to church.   Without that knowledge, life can become meaningless and purposeless.

So come to church, find your purpose in God, in Christ for the glory of God.   See what blessings God will perform in your life.