A Conflagration Rages in Your City

gRACE

2008-06-09T15:56:00.000-07:00

"For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich." - II Corinthians 8:9

"For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." - Romans 3:23

"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God..." - Ephesians 2:8

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us." - Hebrews 12:1

"Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you."

...so if the King of the Universe is willing to forgive us of our sins for no good reason, we should be more than willing to forgive our fellow humans of anything, no matter how hard it could be, and no matter whether or not forgiveness is deserved.

~Amen

Life [101]

2008-05-26T14:46:00.000-07:00

So the other night I was reading my usual random Bible chapter... and I opened Psalm 40. I was completely astonished at the simple wisdom that it contained about life, righteousness, and unrighteousness.

In life, we have ups and downs. No kidding. But check this out... verses 1-5 talk about what happens when we patiently wait on the Lord. "I waited patiently for the Lord; and He inclined His ear to me, and heard my cry. He brought me out of the pit of destruction, out of the miry clay; and He set my feet upon a rock, making my footsteps firm." Then David goes on to praise God "with a new song."

I especially like verses 11-13 saying, "Thou, O Lord, wilt not withhold Thy compassion from me; Thy lovingkindness and THy truth will continually preserve me. For evils beyond number have surrounded me; My iniquities have overtaken me, so that I am not able to see; They are more numerous than the hairs of my head; and my heart has failed me. Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me; Make haste, O Lord, to help me."

Always remember this: when you're down, rejoice and take up hope. When you're up, rejoice and take up love. Have faith in God at all times. In fact, just go ahead and have faith (in God and nothing else), hope (in God and nothing else), and love (in God, to God, and to everyone else) at all times. God will always "[bring us] out of the pit of destruction" when we hold on, refuse to back down, and even continue to move forwards.

~ciao

"What's THAT?"

2008-05-25T20:15:00.000-07:00

So... you might ask yourself "what is the name of this blog supposed to mean?" Allow me to read your mind and answer you.

There's this old game me and my sister used to play on our computers called "1602 A.D." To save you from a long and boring explanation, it was basically a game where you colonized islands and built small settlements, just as if you were in colonial times. Whenever a house started on fire (from a volcano :) ... or something else), the announcer would say, "A conflagration rages in your city."

So... i had no clue what "conflagration" meant (or how to spell it), but I eventually found out that it basically means this: "a large disastrous fire." So... why in the world would you want a disastrous fire in your city? Let me explain...

Revelation 3:15 says ("I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish that you were either one or the other [and not lukewarm]!")... No, God doesn't want you to stick yourself in the oven or freezer. He's talking about our the things we do, our "deeds". "I know your deeds." God knows everything we do, and every thought that we think.

Are we cold? ... Do our lives not reflect Jesus at all? Are we lukewarm? ... Are we living a life of mediocrity? Or, are we ON FIRE FOR GOD? ... Can people see the real Jesus in our works, hearts, and expressions?

If we were really on fire for God, wouldn't everything we touch and everything we do be set on fire aswell? Wouldn't there be a devastating fire going through our cities, states, countries, and world? What is meant by "devastating" is that it will obliterate the Enemy's kingdom, both in our world and in our hearts.

"Well, Jonathan, are YOU totally on fire for God?" I would be wrong to tell you that I am. But I would also be wrong not to tell you this... Bringing forth a fire in your life so hot that it blazes everything sinful in your life and spreads rapidly about you isn't something that can happen overnight. It takes time to work up the fire and to break down the barriers of fear that hold us back from our full potential.

Don't ever lose hope or give up. Most importantly, DON'T SETTLE FOR LUKEWARMNESS. Someone once said that the #1 enemy of greatness is good. He was right. You could also say the greatest enemy of greatness is "okay". Don't ever let yourself lose this mindset, and don't ever slip away into a life of ordinary Christianity once you get there. Keep pressing on, and keep adding firewood to the fire that burns within you... a fire to show the lost the Way.

(...and while you're at it, grap -anice- cold Dr. Pepper)

~Sayonara!

"...thinking God's thoughts after Him."

2008-05-20T19:39:00.000-07:00

"I was merely thinking God's thoughts after him." - Isaac Newton

Hello, everyone...

I'd like to let you know that I've always been a skeptic of blogging, and have never been interested in creating one for myself. However, since you're reading this now, you realize that I HAVE created one. Weird? Yes.

Anyways... the reason I created this is to just open you up to the thoughts that God has put on my mind. Feel free to read, comment, or get a drink of Dr. Pepper while you're on my blog.

Going back to that quote of Isaac Newton... that pretty much sums up what I want to do with this blog.

~Adios!