Tag Archives: holy spirit

Aug 14 2013

Can We Call Christian Music, Christian?

In the Los Angeles area where I live there are two contemporary Christian music (CCM) radio stations, Air 1 and the Fish.

They play a variety of Christian bands and songs, including some Christian crossover bands like Switchfoot and also some more mainstream bands like Lifehouse (whose lead singer is a professing Christian).

Some songs have an overtly “Christian” worship message like songs by  Chris Tomlin and Matt Redman which we occasionally sing at church, while other songs seem to have positive lyrics without mentioning the name of Jesus.

I do not have a problem with their choice of artists and songs.  It’s a free country and radio stations are free broadcast what seems fit for their audience.

But these radio stations are labeled as Christian.

This is where the disappointment comes in.

The Fish advertises their music NOT as Christian music, but music that is “safe for the whole family.”  Why not call it Christian music for the whole family or CCM?

Air 1 advertises itself  as the “positive alternative.” Why not the Christian alternative? 

The answer most likely has to do with ratings and audience capturing. People are not as likely to listen to a station that plays Christian music, even if the music is really good.   So they compromise the message a little to avoid the Christian label.

Because it is offensive to be an exclusive, Jesus only, one-way-to-heaven believer which is how the evangelical Christian is viewed (and should be viewed).

We are diluting the way we are representing ourselves in society, to make ourselves more palatable for it.  Instead of Christian we call the music “positive.” Instead of using specific terms for God like Father, Jesus, Holy Spirit we resign to using generic, inoffensive terms like “god.”

90% of Americans or more believe in god, but just try to mention the name of Jesus in a secular context and see how poorly received it is.

Christian music now is positive music.

Because the term “Christian” is not politically correct.

It is in fact offensive.

Jun 14 2013

Culture of Death: Pediatric Euthanasia

As Belgium is about to pass child euthanasia into law, Delight in Truth will offer a quick review of such practice in light of medical standards and Scripture.

Pediatric euthanasia is the practice of medically assisting in the suicide of a usually terminally ill or hopeless child.  In cases where the child is an infant or a toddler, the euthanasia is no longer an assisted suicide, but a “mercy” killing by a medical professional or the parents.

Pediatric euthanasia is legal only in the Netherlands under the following requirements:

  1. The presence of hopeless and unbearable suffering
  2. The consent of the parents to termination of life
  3. Medical consultation having taken place
  4. Careful execution of the termination

We must specify that euthanasia is NOT what we think about when we consider letting a loved one pass away as they succumb to disease.  I do not endorse aggressive medical interventions in someone who is at the end of the road.    Euthanasia instead is a volitional act of terminating someone’s life prematurely, in this case a child who may not even give their CONSENT to be euthanized.

That is outside of standard medical practice, common sense, and Christian faith.

We have come a long way in alleviating suffering using medications, nerve blocks, nerve and ganglion ablations, epidural and intrathecal medications and many other techniques.  Depression and psychologic hopelessness can also be treated using a variety of interventions.

But to terminate children based on the reasons above!?

That is abominable.

In his sermon in Acts 3, Peter makes a pro-life statement in accusing the Jews of killing Jesus: “you killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead.”  The Bible clearly states that God is the the Author of Life, the same author who raised Jesus from the dead.  He alone has power and rights over anyone’s life.

Euthanasia is a satanic act because it accomplishes the purpose of Satan which is stated by Jesus in John 8:44 “[Satan] was a murderer from the beginning and has nothing to do with the truth”

On the other hand, Jesus came to give live, He came to regenerate, He came to bring hope and He came to save.

The Holy Spirit is the “Spirit of Life” who along with the “Author of Life” and “the Way, the Truth and the Life” form a Holy Trinity of Life.

To allow a child to expire is natural, but to euthanize a child is an act of rebellion against the Author of Life.

 

Jun 11 2013

Shocking Statement Made by Jesus Applies Today

Social etiquette tells us that it is not very nice to call someone or something satanic.  The term “satanic” describes someone or something who belongs to Satan, or shares in his characteristics.

But our Lord Jesus was not shy in making this shocking statement and calling certain people satanic.  In His conversation with the Pharisees and scribes of His day, Jesus said to them:

John 8:44 “You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. 45 Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe me!”

Jesus had to be harsh with these hyper-religious people of His day because they were representing Satan’s interests and opposing Jesus’s work of Redemption.  In fact, it was the truth which caused them to not believe!

This is a counterintuitive proposition, but on further analysis it proves the point that Jesus was making.  His opponents did not believe Jesus because He told them the truth, which consequently points to the fact that they belonged to the father of lies.

The same phenomenon is happening today with respect to the truth.

While the Holy Spirit is carrying out His work of Redemption, Satan is also carrying out his work of blinding people with respect to truth.

Not only do we have atheism, agnosticism, and other theisms opposing the Holy Spirit, we now have so-called Christian churches which no longer believe the Bible.  The Evangelical Lutheran Churches of America (4 million members) have just ordained their first openly gay bishop overseer covering a large segment of their church.  The Presbyterian Church USA (1.9 million members) has been accepting openly gay pastors for at least a couple of years.  These are acts of rebellion toward God.

It is a difficult statement to make, but certain members of the apostatic church today are exhibiting satanic behavior, that is they are representing Satan’s interests just like the religious leaders of Jesus’s time.

Delight in Truth is pointing out these developments because the authentic Church, the true Body of Christ across the world needs to realize the rapid decline in faith within the Christian establishment.  Jesus said that these events must occur, and He even wondered if there will be faith on Earth when He returns.

Because of this, the Church must be on guard and remain grounded in biblical truth.

May 18 2013

The Baptism with the Holy Spirit Follows Conversion

Conversion and baptism in/with the Spirit are two glorious but separate events. 

What is the biblical/historical proof for this?  

It is found in the book of Acts.  Let us look at the five baptisms with the Holy Spirit described there and conclude that the people who received this empowering experience were already renewed.

1. Pentecost

  • The disciples had already made Christ the center of their lives, and they were illuminated by the Holy Spirit to believe in the risen Christ when Jesus breathed on them the Holy Spirit ( John 20:22).  Their baptism in the Spirit came 10 days after Jesus was lifted up to heaven as they were obeying His command to wait for it.

2. Samaria 

  • Philip preached the Gospel to the Samaritans and they believed and obeyed by getting baptized in water. 
  • Peter and John visit the Samaritans and the baptism with the Spirit is given subsequently 
    • Acts 8:14-17 “When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to Samaria. 15When they arrived, they prayed for the new believers there that they might receive the Holy Spirit,16because the Holy Spirit had not yet come on any of them; they had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 17Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.”

3. Saul

  • Saul had a dramatic conversion event on the road to Damascus, and after three days of fasting and praying he is baptized/filled with the Holy Spirit
  • Acts 9:17 “Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.””

4. Cornelius

  • the Bible calls him righteous.  To achieve such standing one has to have a renewed nature.
    • Acts 10:22 “He is a righteous and God-fearing man, who is respected by all the Jewish people”
  • Cornelius needed correct theology and Peter is used by God to deliver it.   During that visit, Cornelius is baptized with the Holy Spirit.

5. Ephesus

  • Following Apollo’s preaching, the Ephesian disciples believed and were converted to Christianity.
  • They were believers, they were Christians but were not baptized with the Holy Spirit
  • Paul visited subsequently and baptized them in water in the name of Jesus after which they received the baptism in the Spirit
    • Acts 19:6 “When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied.”

These five accounts show that conversion is not the same spiritual or temporal event as the baptism with the Holy Spirit.  

The baptism with the Holy Spirit is an empowering, post-conversion experience that elevates the believer to become an effective witness for God (Acts 1:8)

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May 17 2013

The Baptism with the Holy Spirit Is a Commandment

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The Baptism with the Holy Spirit as a separate event from conversion is a commandment in the book of Acts.

Which makes it anything but an optional thing.

Jesus commanded a number of things to His followers among which are the baptism in water, communion with bread and fruit of the vine in His remembrance, and baptism with the Holy Spirit.

Here is the command given to His disciples before His ascension:

“4 And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me; 5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”

These verses contain an emphatic statement: “he ordered them.” When the Creator of the universe gives an order there is no room for debate. The same order applies to Christians today, in addition to the other commandments that Jesus gave His disciples.

The reason for this commandment is obvious throughout the book of Acts as the Holy Spirit’s supernatural work is critical for effective evangelism, power over demonic forces, and sanctification of the believer.

One cannot be an effective witness for God without the filling with the Holy Spirit:

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Acts 1:8

The born again believer must pursue the filling with the Holy Spirit, must earnestly desire the gifts of the Spirit, and must effectively use this empowerment for spreading the Gospel.

May 12 2013

Treatise on the Trinity with a 6-Year-Old

6-year-old Michael: Daddy, are Jesus and God the same person or two different persons?

Daddy: Yes and Yes.

Michael: How is that possible?

Daddy: There is only one God.  The Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit are three distinct persons, but they are One.  And there is only One God.

Michael: I really don’t get it.

Daddy: Me neither. But we do not have to understand it.  We just have to believe it!

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May 6 2013

The Holy Spirit Can Break the Cycle of Addiction

vapor cigarette reviews

I caught up with an old friend of mine last night after about 18 years, and he told me his conversion story.

He was born and raised in church, but he did not receive the new birth until he was well into his 30’s.  He never prayed in his life.  He never read God’s Word except when his father forced him to do it.  He became a rebel from all points of view, and got to the point of hating the thought of God.

His conversion came after a series of miracles took place in his life through which the Holy Spirit pointed him to Christ.

One of these miracles was the fact that he stopped smoking cold-turkey.

After a series of devastating events in his life, he fell on his knees and said the first prayer ever.  He asked God for a sign. He even asked for it in a belligerent way.  He said Jesus, if you really exist, prove it and make me quit smoking.  He had been smoking for about 12 years, and he was up to 3 packs-a-day.  He had tried to quit on his own initiative many times but was unsuccessful.

The next morning he lit a cigarette but a physical miracle took place.

He was unable to inhale the smoke as his pharynx went into spasm, and he became nauseated.  The same episode repeated later.  And again for a third time.

That is when he remember he had asked for this sign.  He came to the realization that God just proved to him that He exists.  He never put a cigarette in his mouth again, and more importantly he never desired to smoke again.  It has been 6 years since that event.

For those who have never struggled with nicotine addiction this may not sound like a big deal.  Those who have been through it know that a three pack-a-day smoker who failed miserably multiple times when attempting to quit does not just quit all-of-a-sudden…

Unless the Holy Spirit makes that change in him.

This was the initial step in his coming to Christ, and it was a powerful one.  He is still amazed that God listened to a sarcastic and rude prayer.  God’s ways are not our ways, and sometimes He goes out of His way to listen to a belligerent prayer out of the mouth of a sinner.

He proved once again that His grace is beyond our understanding, and His goodness beyond compare.

If God listens to an unconverted sinner, how much more will He listen to His Children who have put their trust in Him?

Psalm 130:1-2 “Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD!  O Lord, hear my voice!…”

May 3 2013

Theology 101: Jesus is Glorified by the Father and the Holy Spirit

I love the doctrines of the Trinity because, as CS Lewis said, the idea of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit existing as Three-in-One essentially proves that Christianity is the one true religion.

CS Lewis points out that the mind of man could not come up with such an idea about God.  All other gods are man-made, except the One Triune God revealed in the Bible.  Many authors of the different books of the Bible, spanning over a thousand years remain consistent in this revelation!

That is amazing!

The Three Persons of God are all over the Bible, and once the believer understands this through the illumination of the Holy Spirit, he will understand how God relates to humans in His redemptive plan.

The relationship within the Godhead is such that the Father shares His glory with the Son.

“And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.” John 17:5

Before the foundations of the world were laid down, the Son and the Father shared a perfect glory which we do not understand at this time.

But wait… How is that possible?

The famous verse from Isaiah 42:8 says:

“I am the LORD; that is my name; my glory I give to no other…”

The only explanation is that the Father and Son are One.  That is, They are One Being, yet distinct.  This glory between the Father and Son is reciprocal:

“glorify Your Son, that the Son may glorify You.” John 17:1

This is the only way possible that the entire host of Heaven is able to rightfully worship Jesus the Lamb in Revelation 5, as only God Himself is the One able to receive worship.

The Holy Spirit also attests to the divinity of Jesus because the Holy Spirit glorifies Jesus.

“He [the Holy Spirit] will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you.” John 16:14

We see that the Holy Spirit shares in the Son’s divine attributes (“what is mine“) and at the same time He glorifies the Son.

Why is it important that 21st century Christians understand these crucial biblical teachings?

It comes down to the plan of redemption.  We must understand how we are being saved, how the Persons of the Trinity each has a specific role in our redemption.

The Father did not die for us, but the Son did (John 3:16).  The Father’s wrath and justice had to be satisfied (in the substitution made on the cross), not the Son’s.  The Holy Spirit is the One who convinces us of our need for Jesus (John 16:7-10), and the Spirit is the One at work in our regeneration and sanctification (John 3:5, 1 Peter 1:2).  The Father is the One who draws us to believe in the Son (John 6:44).

And the list of complementarian roles of the Godhead for redemption continues…

But it all comes down to the glory of God.  The Father glorifies the Son.  The Spirit glorifies the Son.

Should not we, the redeemed, glorify Jesus every second of our lives?!

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Apr 13 2013

Suppressing the Truth About Modern Infanticide

The trial of Dr. Kermit Gosnell who is accused of killing late-term babies who survived abortions is not receiving mainstream media coverage due to spiritual reasons more than political reasons.

To date, out of all the major news outlets, only the slightly more conservative Fox News has covered it.

Why?

Our godless modern society is tacitly approving Gosnell’s actions.  Abortion is the outcome of self-idolatry which is rampant in our culture.  It so happens that a baby interferes with the interests of the self, and in their mind killing the baby solves the problem.

So they suppress the truth in order to avoid the guilt and the conviction that comes along with acknowledging the truth.

The heathen would rather have a Gosnell-type decapitating a crying 28 week GA baby and suppressing news of the event, then ensuring justice for the murder of that innocent baby!

We know it is so because the Word of God tells in Romans 1:18 that they “suppress the truth by their wickedness.”

The latest ungodly argument is that Gosnell proves the need for abortion in our society.  The liberal left is arguing that abortion must be done ‘right’ to avoid another Gosnell scenario.

To them I say, that committing a crime at home or abroad does not change the fact that it is a crime.  Killing a 24 week baby in-utero or outside the uterus is a mere technicality! Shame on them!

This is happening because they do not know that the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Life.  They do not know that God is pro-Life.  They do not want to know that Jesus died so we may have life, and abundant life!

Even though the truth is suppressed, we must fight on to share the truth and the gospel.

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Apr 12 2013

How to Overcome Lustful Temptations

The primordial sin of the flesh according to apostle Paul in Galatians 5 is lust and the sexual sins associated with it.

It is the number one struggle of young men and women, and it is magnified in the information age when they are bombarded by all sort of immoral digital data.

After a long and admired pastoral career, John Piper offers relief for young believers who struggle with this problem in an interview transcribed by the Christian Post.

“Why does lust, I’m thinking mainly men but not just men, why does seeing have such a force to draw us to click on pornography or linger over some bathing suit issue of Sports Illustrated or to linger over some ad for a movie. What is it about us?” asked Piper.

“And my answer? It’s like drunkenness,” he said.

“In the same way drunks need designated drivers to help them out when they are too inebriated to function, Christians should have friends in their life whom they can count on to help them through lustful addictions.”

“My question is, is there something like that that we should do for each other? If ‘psycho-erotic euphoria’ is as powerful as drunkenness and I think it is, then we need people in our lives who will break our arm. Paul says I pummel my own body; you should pummel me,” said Piper.

“Look, if you’re drunk and you’re about to kill yourself, you better be glad there is somebody in your life to throw you in the backseat of the car,” says Piper.

“But this lust thing is much more like drunkenness than it is like anything else and so we may need this kind of personal accountability.”

Piper endorses accountability partners and relationships within a very close circle of friends (2-3 people) who can keep each other accountable by close monitoring from many aspects.  This is a physical and emotional approach.

To this I would add that fighting lust and its derivatives (such as pornography) must be done “BY THE SPIRIT” as commanded in Romans 8:13

“For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.”

BY THE SPIRIT means by the supernatural work of the Holy Spirit in the believer’s life:

  • The believer must allow the Holy Spirit to continually point him to Christ and to the cross when temptation comes.  Looking at the precious sacrifice of Christ will help the believer realize the suffering that Christ endured for him and for his sin.  Such an approach will make the believer realize the importance avoiding the trap of sin, and ask “will I crucify my Savior willingly again by indulging in sin?”
  • The believer must allow the Holy Spirit to remind him of Scripture.  Just like Jesus fought the devil using Scripture while tempted in the desert, so must the believer fight using “It is written” Luke 4:8
  • The believer must be filled with the Holy Spirit in order to receive power for witnessing to the world (Acts 1:8) which will inherently shift focus away from lust and unto the Kingdom of God.

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