I'M GONNA DO WHAT I WANNA DO

“I’m Gonna Do What I Wanna Do!” Ever heard anyone say that? I have. Many times. I’ve probably said it myself. I remember saying something similar to that several times as a teenager. When I wasn’t allowed to do something I wanted to, I would say, “I’ll be glad when I’m 18 so I can do what I want to.” I left home when I was 16 and after a few years of “doing what I wanted to,” I realized what a big mess I had gotten myself into. There are always rules and guidelines we have to follow, no matter where we are and no matter what age we are. There are man’s laws, and there are God’s laws, and there are consequences for breaking any of them.

I recently told someone that if we don’t obey God, we won’t make it to heaven. They basically said, “I’m Gonna Do What I Wanna Do.”

That’s so sad, and it breaks my heart to see someone have that attitude because I know where it took me and what a terrible condition I was in when I finally woke up. It’s an even worse situation these days, knowing how close we are to the end of this world. Instead of doing what WE want to, we need to obey God. Peter and the other Apostles said, “We should obey God rather than People” (Acts 5:29). That would include anything we tell ourselves. Anything we want to do.

We all need to have the attitude that Jesus had in the garden of Gethsemane when he was contemplating the horrible death and mistreatment he was about to endure for us. Talking to the Father, he said, “Not my will, but you will be done” (Luke 22:42). Not what I want, but what you want, Father.

God only wants what’s good for us, so if we would all do what he wants us to do, and not whatever WE want, we would be much better off. We need to submit our will to the will of God and instead of saying, “I’m Gonna Do What I Wanna Do,” we should ask God, “What Do YOU Want Me To Do, Lord?”

In today’s world, everybody wants to feel good about their life and the choices they make. They don’t want to be told what they are doing is WRONG. Sadly, many preachers are giving them what they want by only preaching the positive side of God. He is a loving God and he does want what’s best for us, and there are so many blessings that come with following him. But here’s something many people are not telling others today. He is also a just God who cannot and will not tolerate sin. Disobeying God and doing “What We Want To Do” instead is sin.

If we reject God’s way and refuse to follow him and obey him, then we have a much worse fate to look forward to; Judgment and condemnation, and ultimately, death in hell fire. If we allow God to lead us, though, we are promised eternal life, and we will be filled with purpose and happiness here on earth. That’s what I want in my life. How about you?

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WORSHIPING GOD IN SPIRIT AND TRUTH

Another subject of controversy is the ability of humans, as individuals or organizations, to worship God any way we want. It seems every denomination has a different idea of how to worship God. Who’s right? Who’s wrong? Does it really matter? Does God have any guidelines, or can we worship him however we choose?

In Matthew 15:9 Jesus said, But they worship me in vain, teaching the commandments of men as doctrines.

So, if we can worship God in vain, it DOES matter how we worship him.

In John 4:24, Jesus says, God is a spirit: and those who worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth.

We’ll come back to worshiping in spirit, but first, let’s focus on the second part of the verse; Truth. What is truth? Pilot asked Jesus that question, but apparently, he didn’t wait for Jesus to answer him. In John 17:17, Jesus, talking to God, said, sanctify them through Your truth: Your Word is Truth.

We must follow the instructions in God’s word, the Bible, in order to worship God In truth.

Revelation 20:12 says, The books were opened, and another book was opened, which is the Book of Life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.

What books do you think will be opened? Well, there is a Book Of Remembrance mentioned in the book of Malachi. The Bible doesn’t explain much about it but, I’m sure it’s one of the books opened for the judgment, along with the Book Of Life. What other book could we possibly be judged from?

In Psalm 40:7 the Lord said, Lo, I come: In the volume of a book it is written of me.

In John 17:17 Jesus said, Sanctify them through your word…

In John 12:48 Jesus said, Those who reject me and do not receive my words, have one that judges them: the word that I have spoken will judge them in the last day.

Another book we’ll be judged by is the Bible; The Word of God. So we need to follow the instructions in God’s book.

Revelation 22:7 says, Blessed is he who keeps the sayings of this prophecy of this book.

In 1 Thessalonians 4:1, Paul said, You have received from us how you should walk and to please God.

Revelation 22:14 says, Blessed are they who do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.

The instructions provided and preserved for us by God in the Bible are very important since we will be judged by them. There is a certain way to worship God, and according to Jesus himself, if we don’t worship according to these guidelines, our worship is in vain.; Useless, and worthless.

Remember what Jesus said, in Matthew 15:9. He said, But they worship me in vain, teaching the commandments of men as doctrines.

Notice that these were people who were worshiping God, but, they were following the commandments of men for doctrines. They were worshiping him in vain. The same thing is happening today. People are teaching doctrines, they cannot show scripture for.

In Matthew 15:6, Jesus said, to the Scribes and Pharisees, You have made the commandment of God of no effect by your traditions.

Traditions must be laid aside when there is no support for them in the Bible. We can’t worship God a certain way simply because we were raised in that manner if the Bible says otherwise.

In Genesis 2:15-17, God told Adam he was not to eat from the Tree Of Knowledge Of Good And Evil. Satan entered the picture with lies and deception, and the couple disobeyed God. What did God do then?

Genesis 3:24 says He drove them out of Eden, and put angels there to keep them out forever. We can learn an important lesson from this account. If we don’t obey God and do according to his word, he can not let us into heaven, and just as all the wicked people on earth were destroyed by water in the time of Noah, the disobedient will be destroyed in the lake of fire at the end of this world. We must live our lives according to God’s Word, not the traditions of mankind.

Exodus 20:17, as well as chapters 25 and 28, show how particular God is. When he told Noah to build the ark in Genesis chapter 6, he didn’t just say build a boat. He didn’t say, build it however you want. No, God told Noah exactly how to build it, what kind of wood to use, where to put the door and the window, and he even told him the exact measurements to make everything. If Noah had decided to change anything and build it differently, the ark would not have saved them. Genesis 7:5 says, Noah did according to ALL that the Lord commanded him. So he and his family were saved. God tells us how we are to worship him, in his word, which he declares to be the Truth.

Now to the spiritual part. In our original scripture, John 4:24, Jesus said, God is a spirit: and those who worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth.

He was talking to the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well. He told her that the time was coming when people would no longer have to go to a certain place to worship God. What did he mean? Look at what he told Nicodemus in John 3:3-6.

John 3:3 Jesus answered and said to him, Truly, Truly, I tell you, Unless a man is born again, he can not see the kingdom of God.

John 3:4 Nicodemus said to him, How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born?

John 3:5 Jesus answered, Truly, truly, I tell you, Except a man be born of water and the Spirit, he can not enter into the kingdom of God.

John 3:6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

When we are born again the Holy Spirit comes to live in our minds to guide us in the path of righteousness. This is being born of the Spirit. When the Holy Spirit comes to live in us we become the temple of God, and our worship becomes spiritual instead of physical.

1 Corinthians 3:16 Do you not know that you are the temple of God, and the Spirit of God lives in you?

We don’t have to go to a temple to worship God today. We no longer have to sacrifice animals to atone for our sins. Jesus became the ultimate sacrifice for us. He died once, for us all (1 Peter 3:18).

To be born of water is to be baptized in water (Romans 6:4). Jesus, as our example, received the Holy Spirit when he was baptized (Mark 1:10, Acts 2:38). To receive the Holy Spirit, we must obey God.

Acts 5:32 And we are his witnesses of these things; and so also is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.

1 John 3:24 Those who obey his commandments live in him, and he in them, and this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us.

Obedience is essential to receiving and keeping the Spirit of God (Psalm 51:11). Sacrifice is still part of worship today, though it is not animals we sacrifice.

Romans 12:1  So I urge you, brothers, through God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God; which is your reasonable service.

So offering our bodies in service to God is part of worship. Praise is another.

Hebrews 13:15 So, through Jesus, let us continually offer a sacrifice of praise to God; the fruit of lips that confess his name.

Psalm 29:2 Give to the LORD the glory due to his name; worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness.

Philippians 3:3 For we are the circumcised, who worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Jesus Christ, and have no confidence in the flesh.

Obedience, praise, and sacrifice are key parts of worshiping God in spirit and in truth, as a church, as a family, and in our everyday worship as individuals. There are other aspects as well; such as thanksgiving, prayer, giving, singing, etc. Bible reading and Bible study are also very important parts of worship (Luke 4:16). God’s word has all the answers. It’s where we always need to look for the truth. We need to READ and STUDY the Bible to see what God really wants from us. By searching through his instructions, we can see how he wants us to act, and what he wants us to do, and in this, we will learn to worship him in spirit and in truth.

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My Blogs
https://teddylynn.blogspot.com
https://teddylynn.wordpress.com

© 2015 Teddy Lynn – All Rights Reserved

My books are available in paperback and digital format on Amazon @
https://www.amazon.com/Teddy-Lynn/e/B01MZDB6L6

THE HOLY GHOST AND FIRE - MYSTERY SOLVED

There are so many subjects in the Holy Bible that have been misunderstood by many. This is one of them. Many people misquote the Bible and don’t even realize it by just repeating what they’ve heard others say. Some just read a line or two and don’t get the context, but there are some who actually twist the scriptures to try to make them support what they already believe. Let’s see what the Bible really says about the Holy Ghost and Fire.

In Matthew 3:11, John the Baptist said, “I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he who comes after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he will baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:”

Some use this verse to show that when the Holy Ghost comes upon a person it is like a fire affecting your body. That’s not what John was saying at all. He was saying that one group of people would receive the Holy Spirit and another group of people would burn in hell fire. The very next verse explains exactly that.

Matthew 3:12
12 Whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the barn, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.

Here John is using an analogy of someone separating the wheat from the chaff to describe Jesus separating the saved from the lost, or the sheep from the goats, or the righteous from the wicked. Again, he was saying that some would receive the Holy Spirit, and some would burn in hell fire. John was not saying the Holy Spirit is like a fire inside us.

The other verse used in conjunction with Matthew 3:11 has been misquoted to describe a feeling some say the Holy Spirit gives. The verse is Jeremiah 20:9. When quoting this verse, some say, “Jeremiah said, the Holy Ghost is like a fire shut up in my bones,” but that’s not what he said. Read it carefully.

Jeremiah 20:8-9
8 For since I spoke, I cried out, I cried violence and spoil; because the word of the LORD was made a reproach to me, and a derision, daily.
9 Then I said, I will not make mention of him, nor speak any more in his name. But his word was in my heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay.

These verses say it’s God’s word that’s like a fire, not the Holy Spirit. Look at Jeremiah 23:29.

Jeremiah 23:29
29 Is my word not like a fire? says the LORD, and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?

We need to be honest with ourselves when studying and looking for proof-texts in the Bible. Otherwise, we’re misleading ourselves and others, and that’s not acceptable to God. We’ll be judged by everything we say and do (Rev. 22:12).

So, instead of twisting the scriptures to fit what we believe, we need to read the Bible and follow the clear instructions of our Lord. Only then can we worship him in spirit and in truth.

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My Blogs
https://teddylynn.blogspot.com
https://teddylynn.wordpress.com

© 2015 Teddy Lynn – All Rights Reserved

My books are available in paperback and digital format on Amazon @
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GETTING COMFORTABLE WITH SIN

Do you remember when you were a young child? Remember when you would get hurt? I sure do. I got hurt a lot when I was young. Most of the time it was because I was doing something I was told NOT to do.

When my children were growing up I observed lots of things they did, and I learned all kinds of lessons from them. I think they taught me as much as I taught them. One thing I observed was their pain threshold. A child cannot endure the same amount of pain that an adult can.

I remember my youngest son touching something made of metal that had been out in the sun and it burned his hand, but when I touched it, it was tolerable to me. Same thing with washing dishes. I could stand much hotter water than my children could because my hands were tougher and I had been used to heat longer than they had. The older you get the tougher your skin gets, and the more it can take.

I’ve been shaving for a lot of years. When I first started my face was tender and I got a lot of cuts. The aftershave would burn so bad at times I didn’t want to use it again. The more I used it though, the more tolerable it became. My face got used to it and built up a tolerance for pain. I guess it got tougher and doesn’t hurt as much as it once did. It was the same when I first started shaving my head. I put rubbing alcohol on it afterward, and I wanted to scream the first few times. Now it hardly bothers me at all.

Some people have chronic pain that never goes away. I have suffered from extreme back pain for many years now. At times it has been almost unbearable. After several years I came to grips with the fact I would never be free from pain again. I’ve learned to live with it and to do what I have to, to deal with it.

I hate the pain. I don’t want it in my life, but I’ve become used to it. I no longer pray every day it will leave like I used to. It has become part of my life that I have incorporated into my daily and nightly routines. I have decided there’s nothing I can do to get free from pain.

That’s how it is with sin. We know we’re not supposed to sin, and when we do it hurts. Baring the consequences, the pain is usually just emotional, but if we’re faced with that temptation again it’s easier to give in, and it doesn’t bother us as much as it did the first time. Eventually, we’re living in that sin, daily. We’ve made it part of our lives, and we no longer pray daily to be free from it. We decide there’s nothing we can do to get free.

The Bible tells us that by looking at Jesus we become like him (2 Corinthians 3:18). In the same way, whatever bad things we look at, we become like that. Some will argue that this is not true, but we see it all the time. You become like the people you hang out with whether they’re good or bad. My grandmother used to say they rub off on you. Ever hear the saying, “If you lie down with dogs, you get up with fleas?” Ever hear “to be successful you must surround yourself with successful people?” It’s common sense. Whatever we focus on daily, we’re molded and shaped into that very thing.

I know TV and movies aren’t all bad, but the entertainment industry has an agenda other than just entertaining us. If we watch things with cursing and sexual content over and over, we get desensitized and we barely notice it anymore. Pretty soon, we let words slip that should never come out of our mouths, and soon we’re talking and acting just like the world.

Every time we give in to temptation, it becomes easier to sin the next time that temptation comes. On the other hand, every time we resist temptation, it becomes easier to resist that temptation, the next time it comes.

We have to be careful about what we look at, and what we listen to. We need to identify sin and call it by its name. There’s no such thing as a little sin. Sin is sin, and if we don’t identify it and stomp it out, it will take over our lives, and we won’t even know it until it’s too late. Don’t get comfortable with sin.

We need to look at Jesus and get to know him by reading his word and praying to him every day. We need to develop a close personal relationship with him, and he’ll show us what’s right and what’s wrong. Don’t just talk to him, listen to him as well. He’ll tell us when we do something wrong, and he’ll change us into the people he wants us to be; If we’ll only allow him to.

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© 2015 Teddy Lynn – All Rights Reserved

My books are available in paperback and digital format on Amazon @ 
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IS GOD LOVE, OR IS HE A TYRANT?

Several years ago, I was talking to someone about Jesus, and he told me he was no longer on the “Jesus Plan.” He said he used to be stressed out all the time, thinking he was going to hell because of a certain sin he was not willing to give up. He said he looked at some other religions, searching for one that wouldn’t “rule” him, and “doesn’t threaten” him “with punishment” for things he does. Now, he’s “an Ex-Christian with no stress about going to hell.”

At first, I thought to myself, “this guy’s crazy,” but later, after carefully considering what he said, I think I can actually see where he’s coming from. I certainly don’t agree with his decision, but I think I somewhat understand his thinking. None of us really want to be told that we’re doing something wrong. We don’t want anyone to tell us what we should and shouldn’t do, and none of us want to be threatened with consequences for doing something we really enjoy. We certainly don’t want to hear that we’re going to hell if we don’t give it up.

Human beings are stubborn creatures, and we want what we want. Even when we love God, and are trying to obey him in every way, we’re still somewhat selfish. That’s human nature. It’s not always easy for a loyal disciple of Jesus to give up something that God says is a sin, but when you’re not completely committed to obeying God, then giving up a cherished sin is impossible. We make all kinds of excuses for hanging on to it, and as hard as it is to understand, many even turn and walk away from God rather than give up the sin.

That’s why a close, personal relationship with God is crucial. That’s what my book THE JOURNEY TO HEAVEN is all about. We can’t be good by ourselves. Oh, we can do good in certain areas of our lives, but there are areas where the flesh is just stronger than we are. For those areas, we need the supernatural intervention of a power much greater than anything we could ever conjure up. We need the power of our creator to change our hearts.

Here’s something that many people don’t understand. The first step to real change is simply this: We “must be born again” (John 3:1-7). Only then will we truly want to obey God. Many are being deceived into disbelieving that the Bible is really God’s inspired word to us, and yes, many are choosing not to believe because they don’t want to obey God and give up sin. Others, however, refuse to believe and serve God because Satan and his followers have perverted and twisted many teachings of the Bible.

The doctrine of hell, for example, is very misunderstood. It has been twisted, and distorted for centuries, making God seem like some tyrant who loves to punish people in the flames. The character of God has been terribly marred by the distorted teachings on this subject. In 1 John 4:8, the Bible tells us that “God is love.” Verse 9 offers us proof of that love. Echoing the words that Jesus told Nicodemus one night, the Apostle John says that God loves us so much that he sent his only Son into the world, so we might live because of his sacrifice on the cross (1 John 4:8-10).

He loves us with a love that we sinful humans could never completely comprehend, and he wants what’s best for us. He wants to be with us, now, and forever, but sin separates us from God because he is holy (Psalm 99:9). That’s what happened to Adam and Eve when they sinned, but God had a plan to fix everything. Part of that plan is to someday eradicate sin from the universe, forever. Here’s where many are confused about the character of God. Many think he’s some kind of dictator, who wants us all to do what he says, or else. They think he’s up there, looking down on us, just waiting for us to mess up so he can send us to hell, but that’s not the case at all. Take a good look at these three verses from God’s holy book.

9 In this was revealed the love of God toward us, because
that God sent his only begotten Son into the
world, that we might live through him.
(1 John 4:9)

16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only
begotten Son, that whoever believes in him
should not perish, but have eternal life.
(John 3:16)

11 Say to them, as I live, says the Lord God, I have
no pleasure in the death of the wicked:
(Ezekiel 33:11)

The fact is, hell fire is designed for Satan, who started the sin problem in the beginning, and for the evil angels who follow him (Matthew 25:41). Hell fire is the method God will someday use to destroy sin from the universe for all time. The sad thing is, many of us allow ourselves to be slaves to sin and that puts a wall between us and God. The Prophet Isaiah said that our sins separate us from God (Isaiah 59:2). Sin is attractive and fun, for a while. We get so caught up in it, and the pleasures it offers, that we don’t realize we’re slaves to it. In fact, the opposite is true. We think we’re free. We hang on to sin and reject Jesus, like the guy I mentioned earlier. God WILL destroy sin someday, and if we’re still hanging on to sin, then we’ll be destroyed right along with it; Not because God is mean or sadistic, but because we have allowed it to become part of us. Sin actually controls the sinner. Sin becomes the sinner’s master. Look what Jesus said in these next three verses.

34 Jesus answered them, Truly, truly, I say to you,
Whoever commits sin is the servant of sin.
(John 8:34)

24 No man can serve two masters: he will either hate
the one, and love the other; or else he will hold
to the one, and despise the other.
(Matthew 6:24a)

30 He that is not with me is against me;
(Matthew 12:30a)

Just a quick recap here. Sin controls the sinner. Sin is the sinner’s master, and no one can serve two masters. If you don’t choose to serve Jesus, you have chosen to continue serving sin. You have made your choice and you will be destroyed with sin at the end of the world. Do you see how it works? God is not cruel. He doesn’t want anyone to experience the flames of hell. Think about this for a minute. People who live a life of sin are very uncomfortable around people who are truly living their lives for God, and they don’t want to hear about holy things. Many are even hostile about it. A person like that would be miserable in heaven. Plus, sin can not exist in the presence of our holy God. That person would be destroyed just by being there.

That’s the whole reason he sent his Son, cloaked in human flesh, to pay the penalty for our sins and to pave the way for us to get back into the presence of God. So many people don’t realize exactly what happened when Adam sinned. It involved so much more than just being put out of the garden of Eden. It threw everything in God’s perfect creation out of balance. It brought chaos to the perfect ecosystem that God had so carefully set up. It brought pain and suffering, along with death and destruction upon every living thing that God had so lovingly created. It put a barrier between the Creator and the entire human race.

For the past six thousand years, God has been working tirelessly to bring us back to him so when he finally destroys sin, mankind will be able to live in his presence again. That’s the end result of the plan of salvation, but God is holy, and just, and he will not force his will on us. He made mankind with the freedom to choose. He can not save anyone who doesn’t want to be saved. All he can do is try to convince us that we need saving. That’s what the gospel is all about.

Imagine, for a minute, that you can’t swim. You wake up on a huge barge in the middle of a deep, wide river. The sun is shining, and the water is calm and peaceful, so you begin to enjoy the ride. After all, you can’t swim so there’s nothing you can do. Surely it won’t be long until the barge runs into shallow water or drifts to the edge where you can get back to land.

Now imagine that a man comes down the river in a speed boat and drives up beside you. He tells you the barge is headed for a waterfall and he came to save you. The barge is too big and too heavy for the speedboat to pull back up the river, so he wants you to get in the boat with him. That sounds simple enough. All you have to do is step off the barge you are on, into his boat, and he’ll speed you back up the river to safety.

What would you do? You may not believe him at first. You may not understand his motives for wanting you to leave the barge. You may have questions, but one thing is sure, there’s nothing you can do to save yourself. If what he says is true, and you remain where you are, you’ll go over the waterfall with the barge, and you’ll die.

Because of Adam’s sin, we’re all born on that barge. We’re all cursed and condemned to death. Jesus came to earth and lived a holy, sinless life. He now offers us eternal life by substituting his sinless life for our sinful one. All we have to do is accept it. It’s entirely up to us. He won’t force us. As I said, all he can do is try to convince us that we need saving. He’ll keep pleading with us, and he’ll give us chance after chance. If we end up lost, it’s nobody’s fault but our own.

The barge in this story represents sin. The one who put you there is Satan. If you choose to stay on the barge (sin) while the man (Jesus) is offering you a free ride to safety (salvation) then you will go over the waterfall (hell) with the barge (sin) and you will die. You can’t blame God because he created the waterfall. He sent someone to save you. There are only two options. The choice is yours. If you refuse his help then YOU are choosing death. If you end up in hell it will be because that’s what YOU chose. You can’t blame God. He did everything he possibly could to save you.

God has made it perfectly clear, he will destroy sin in the lake of fire, at the end of the world (Matthew 13:1-50). If we choose to hang on to sin, we will be destroyed right along with it, even though Jesus is trying desperately to save us. If you’re still on that barge, please, step off now, and let Jesus carry you to safety. He desperately wants to save us all, and he’s doing everything he can to make sure everyone has the opportunity.

———————————————–
My Blogs
https://teddylynn.blogspot.com
https://teddylynn.wordpress.com

© 2015 Teddy Lynn – All Rights Reserved

My books are available in paperback and digital format on Amazon @ 
https://www.amazon.com/Teddy-Lynn/e/B01MZDB6L6