Tag Archive: Faith
Many priest, pastors, and theologians also claim that Jesus Christ felt forsaken while hanging on the cross. However, how can God in the flesh feel forsaken? The fact is that Jesus was trying to share Psalm 22 and the people when that he was beginning the words to a Psalm which is song. Today if someone said, “Let it Be, Let it be” He would think of the lyrics of a song. When Jesus said this words the Pharisees and the people watching Jesus die would have know He was stating David’s prophecy about Him. Here is Psalm 22 and you see it describes the every event of Jesus Christ on the cross.
“My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me? Why are You so far from helping Me,
And from the words of My groaning? 2 O My God, I cry in the daytime, but You do not hear;
And in the night season, and am not silent. 3 But You are holy, Enthroned in the praises of Israel. 4 Our fathers trusted in You; They trusted, and You delivered them. 5 They cried to You, and were delivered;
They trusted in You, and were not ashamed.
6 But I am a worm, and no man; A reproach of men, and despised by the people. 7 All those who see Me ridicule Me; They shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying, 8 “He trusted in the Lord, let Him rescue Him; Let Him deliver Him, since He delights in Him!”
9 But You are He who took Me out of the womb; You made Me trust while on My mother’s breasts. 10 I was cast upon You from birth. From My mother’s womb You have been My God. 11 Be not far from Me,
For trouble is near; For there is none to help.
12 Many bulls have surrounded Me; Strong bulls of Bashan have encircled Me. 13 They gape at Me with their mouths, Like a raging and roaring lion. 14 I am poured out like water, And all My bones are out of joint; My heart is like wax;It has melted ]within Me. 15 My strength is dried up like a potsherd,
And My tongue clings to My jaws; You have brought Me to the dust of death.
16 For dogs have surrounded Me; The congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me. They pierced My hands and My feet; 17 I can count all My bones. They look and stare at Me.18 They divide My garments among them,And for My clothing they cast lots.
19 But You, O Lord, do not be far from Me; O My Strength, hasten to help Me! 20 Deliver Me from the sword, My precious life from the power of the dog. 21 Save Me from the lion’s mouth
And from the horns of the wild oxen! You have answered Me.
22 I will declare Your name to My brethren;In the midst of the assembly I will praise You. 23 You who fear the Lord, praise Him!All you descendants of Jacob, glorify Him, And fear Him, all you offspring of Israel! 24 For He has not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted;Nor has He hidden His face from Him; But when He cried to Him, He heard.
25 My praise shall be of You in the great assembly; I will pay My vows before those who fear Him. 26 The poor shall eat and be satisfied; Those who seek Him will praise the Lord. Let your heart live forever!
27 All the ends of the world Shall remember and turn to the Lord, And all the families of the nations
Shall worship before You.28 For the kingdom is the Lord’s, And He rules over the nations.
29 All the prosperous of the earth Shall eat and worship; All those who go down to [k]the dust
Shall bow before Him, Even he who cannot keep himself alive. 30 A posterity shall serve Him.
It will be recounted of the Lord to the next generation, 31 They will come and declare His righteousness to a people who will be born, That He has done this.” (Psalm 22 NKJV)
During my lifetime, I have observed that there are different types among the clergy and the parishioners. Now I am not referring to various denominations of Christians but the actual kind of believer. The Preachers are con men and women that sell the abundance message that God and Jesus will make you rich by naming it and claiming it. The only people getting rich are them. One con Evangelist said in a broadcast send me one thousand dollars, and God will send you ten times more. I guess he thinks God prints money or some billionaire out of the blue will mail you a check for ten thousand dollars.
You have the priest who says mass that the Eucharist is the body of Christ, but not a single miracle takes place in his church during his lifetime, but miracles do take place, just not in his church. The reason is simple it has become nothing more than a ritual that he performs. He has no faith that Christ is present in the Eucharist. The parishioners don’t believe in it anymore as well. Yet miracles have taken place in churches many times over the last 1500 years. At Columbia University, a professor examined some AB blood type heart tissue with no male DNA present. After the examination, he discovered that it was from a Eucharist said at a Mass in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
80% of so-called Christian men in any denomination never go to church. They are the couch Christian who is just a notch above an atheist; they say they believe, but that is the end. They believe not to be as foolish as an atheist to discover that there is a God on their way to Hell after death. Their attitude is, I think that is all I need to do. They are like a soldier who puts on a uniform but never leaves the house.
Moving up the Christian ladder is the beggar. These are the people that get conned into the abundance message. They are the beggars that want God to be their butler because Jesus said, “What ever you ask in my name the Father will grant it for you.” They are never satisfied. They are like spoiled brats, for they only love God for the things, and when the items don’t come, there is no God. Never thinking God knows their heart and intentions.
Next is the group that goes to church on Sunday and even during the week, so people in the parish see them and that because they go to church, they are good Christians. Keep in mind this is primarily women since, as I already stated, men don’t go to church. Now we come to those who go to church daily and Sunday because they want a relationship with Jesus and God the Father by visiting in community with others to worship. We also have those who will volunteer to help the church and the community. They are the Christians who want to serve the Lord by following these two simple orders. “What you do for the least of my Brothers and Sisters you have done for me.” The other is, “What you did not do for the least you did not do for me.” So you cannot live up to Jesus Christ’s orders sitting on a couch, begging for things, and going to church; it requires service
Finally, we come to the few who are true believers, who obey the Lord Jesus Christ’s Proclamation. “Then he said to them all: ‘Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it.What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self?Whoever is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.'” (Luke 9:23-26 KJV) Here we have what Jesus commands His followers to be. We are to be willing to suffer and die for the Lord. Whatever problem or sacrifice that comes the way of a true believer, one who is willing to follow Jesus Christ as ordered is doing the will of the Lord. He suffered and died for you; therefore, following Him means being willing to suffer and die for Him. You cannot do it sitting home doing nothing or asking daily for things and relief from problems. Instead, thank the Lord for every pain and difficulty, saying, “I endure this for your Lord.” Jesus Christ’s command requires the sacrifice of doing, suffering, and being willing to die for the King of kings and Lord of lords.
Which type of Christian are you? What do you need to do to be a true Christian for the Lord? Start doing it today because tomorrow is not guaranteed.
The Lord Jesus Christ gave us an order and it is for us to stand fast at all times against an enemy. The Lord knows that we may become weak in times of tribulation so He provides us with His strength. “But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen you and protect you from the evil one. 4 We have confidence in the Lord that you are doing and will continue to do the things we command. 5 May the Lord direct your hearts into God’s love and Christ’s perseverance.”(2 Thessalonians 3:3-5 NIV) The keyword here is perseverance.
When we read or hear of God’s protection, we will first experience no physical harm. The actual security is that of our spirit, so we do not lose hope and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. God’s protection through the Holy Spirit strengthens us to stand trials and persecution, even unto death. A Christian Warrior must always be on guard from listening to the notion that God will free you from a painful death by torture. A look at the history of nearly two thousand years will show many men and women who died martyrs death; this is what it means to have perseverance.
Today many Christian have grown soft and believe that God will plunk them from the earth when some terrible trouble and adversity arrives, but trails are always present. War, famine, killing, and disease are still ready to destroy us. We are to stand fast, to have perseverance, and not crumble in these times of trial. A Christian Warrior’s mindset is one that no matter how badly the fighting goes, you continue to fight even when all is lost. Unlike those of Masada who choose suicide, then die at the hand of a Roman soldier or become a slave. A Christian Warrior as orders from the Lord to stand fast, to persevere to the last breath.
As I was beginning to reflect on the gifts and nature of the Holy Spirit this came to my mind through feeling and hearing the Spirit is that these emotions seem to get ignored when discussing the Holy Spirit, perhaps because they are not directly mentioned as the others. Since the Holy Spirit is also a part of both God and Jesus. The revelation came to me made me cry, not just tears but the type of crying that overtakes your whole being to the point of uncontrollable crying. It was the Holy Spirit crying in me and like two very close friends we were crying together over a loss of a loved one. We were crying with a parent, wife, or girlfriend who lost their son, husband or boyfriend in combat. We also cried over the loved ones who died due to a violent death. I knew in an instance how people often blame God, but they never realize just how much it hurts God to see his children murdered or dying in such violence. As Jesus approached Jerusalem and saw the city, He wept over it. (Luke 19:41) When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, He was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. (John 11:33) The Lord also mourned over the loss. Is your spirit moved to sympathy for those suffering? “I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me” (Matthew 25:36 NIV)
Then the emotion changed to wrath we often hear of the words of love, grace, and comfort from the Holy Spirit, but the Holy Spirit is a part of God the Father as well. The emotion of wrath and anger was upon me. His anger was for many reasons. The verse of Matthew 25:40 and 45 came to me. “What you have done to the least of my brothers you have done to me. Also what you have not done to the least of my brother you have done to me.” God was angry at the way we treat each other and He was increasingly angry with lukewarm Christians who stand back and do nothing when they see or hear injustice, crimes, and immoral behavior. 80% of all abortions are done by women who claim to be Christians. More than 52% of Christians vote and support those who support abortions. How many Christians step in and stop a fight or prevent a crime.
Holy Spirit spoke where is my strength, courage, and steadfastness among Christians who claim Jesus. God’s eternal purposes in Christ is to stand against the enemy of righteousness, not to run like cowards. Christians have become soft namby-pamby individuals. Do we actually believe that this type of characteristic free us? “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,” (Romans 8:1 NIV) No so! “For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness than after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them.” (2 Peter 2:21 KJV) In order words, you are worse off than before you knew Christ.
Here is how Jesus reacted when he saw injustice. “Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money-changers and the benches of those selling doves.” (Matthew 21:12 NIV) Today many use the idea of love and kindness as the cowards way out of defending the faith. Yes, we are to pray for our enemy and turn our cheek to a minor offense but that is no excuse to not step in and stop injustice. If you permit it to happen you assist in the action and therefore you have done it to Jesus. You turned your back on Christ and in doing so you become as Judas Iscariot the betrayer.
The Spirit revealed that God’s personal presence in Christ is to be strong and brave for God is Almighty. The Holy Spirit revealed that we need to be encouraged and mighty and ready to do battle against the forces of evil and to protect the old, young and innocent. We are to be wearing the armor of God and to be ready to defend His Kingdom. The spirit revealed that we receive from Him, the Holy Spirit, the strength to serve the Kingdom as brave and mighty soldiers of God. Jesus showed us how to be a mighty warrior in the passions of Christ as he was wiped and crucified we never read he said ouch or cried out to stop the torture. Finally, the Lord revealed pray for your enemies but we are not to stand by and do nothing that permits evil to continue. We are to be strong in the Almighty power of the Holy Spirit. “Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.” (Matthew 24:12-13 NIV) That is an indirect order from the King of kings. Courage is also a gift of the Spirit.
This is just a sample of one of the days in a 40 day Faith Challenge.
Today I would also invite you to a 30 challenge ending with the final day’s entry. The purpose of the challenge is to build our Faith in the Blessed Trinity, and in our salvation, but more important to be able to hold firmly to the Word of God in our lives.
Begin each day by saying out loud and as often as you remember the following short prayer request. Unlike many of our prayers this is not a shopping list of material things we need, but more of God’s Grace in the form of Faith. Therefore repeat this often: ”Father God in the name of your Son Jesus Christ increase unwavering Faith in my heart, mind, and soul.”
Try and set aside a place in the morning to begin your day in Faith. Use your cell phone to remind you to repeat the daily challenge. I would also suggest you also keep a journal and record any spiritual changes in your life. Thank you and have a blessed day.
Visit Amazon for a copy of Faith Challenge. Increasing someone Faith is the greatest gift you can give someone for Christmas.
The final destination for the majority of human beings.
Today’s Christians at best are nothing but weekend warriors!
Take a Journey through the book of Revelation without any form of doctrine, but by a literal reading of the information. A book will soon be available.
Mark Taylor a retired fireman on April 28, 2011 received a message from God stating that God had anointed Donald Trump to be the next president of the USA. God also included what His Well was that His Anointed president would accomplish. Much of what God revealed to Mark Taylor as come to pass. Listen, share with others, and pray. God wants us to pray, and return to him.
Dr. Anthony Raimondo 