Whats been happening

Tonight I want to write a few things, and I wish to thank a person that we love for their words that helped me want to write in our blog.
I also want to thank them for always visiting our blog to read our posts.

I want to write about the things that have happened these past days, and one of them is that my birthday was January 23 and I can say that it was a very special birthday, and I give thanks to God for that.

My husband was the first one to tell me happy birthday, and also to sing happy birthday to me. It was really special, but that was not all. He had other surprises for me. He made a delicious banana birthday cake. It was topped with whipped cream and strawberries. Also he gave me a tshirt with one of our wedding pictures on it. It really was nice.

Today some friends from work came here with a cake :), My birthday was 3 days ago, but it´s good that they even continue to celebrate my birthday. Really that has never happened, and I give thanks to God for all his help each day.

I also have more good news to give. My husband has been in Peru for more than 4 months, and we have been going through the procedure so that he could be a resident in Peru. At the start things were difficult and the paperwork was frustrating, but I can only say that God helped us to be patient on every document that we had to submit and when all the documents were ready, then they said that every 10 days we needed to go to a place and ask if the visa is ready. They also said to get a resident visa would take 30 to 45 days. But when we went to ask about the visa, they said it was approved. That was really a surprise because they said it would take more time. We know that God is in the middle of everything and he did that. It has been incredible how God has helped us with everything.

Now we are preparing to go to Arica, Chile. They do not give us the visa in Peru, but we must leave the country, and we will go to the Peru embassy in Arica, Chile, and if it is Gods will, we can immediately pick up the visa, and return to Peru. With Gods help, we will leave Monday. We wish to ask for your prayers.

Change

Ephesians 5:3 says:
¨But there must be no sexual sin among you, or any kind of evil or greed. Those things are not right for God´s holy people.¨ (NCV)

This verse explains God´s standard for a Christian. Gods standard is not ¨only a little bit of sin, as long as you can keep it under control¨. That is not His standard. His standard is ¨not even a hint¨.

But why would God hold us to such a standard? I can think of a few reasons, and I am sure there is much more that God has. One reason is that we can not stay content with just a little sin. A person that partakes in sin, a little bit is not enough. Sin can never satisfy a persons thirst. They always want more. I have experienced this in my own life, and seen it in others. A little sin does not satisfy us, and so we try more, and since that does not satisy us, we continue. I will take an example that is common to men, although also happens to many women. That is lust and pornography. It doesn´t matter if it is lustfully looking at the people in the underwear section of a magazine, or it is looking at pornography in a magazine or the internet, or a women who is walking down the street. Those images enter persons hearts, and the consequences are devastating. But this usually starts with a little bit, but the thirst is not quenched, and we seek more. And the truth is that we cannot find happiness in sin. It only brings heartache, and destruction. And if a person never turns to Jesus Christ for forgiveness, the result is eternity apart from God.

The other reason that God does not want ¨just a little sin¨ in our lives is because it keeps us from the blessings that God intended for us. I think it is important that we do not focus only on the sin, but remember that the sin is keeping us from something very special. Can a man who lusts for other women be content and happy with his own wife? Does he know the happiness that comes from being faithful to his wife, and loving her like Jesus loves all of us? I believe the answer is no. Can a woman who has become addicted to stealing at the same time experience the joy that comes from giving? No, because sin is committed with a selfish attitude, and giving is done with an unselfish attitude. The two are contradicting. Does a judging person or a person who is quick to speak with condemning words, can that person at the same time experience the joy that comes from forgiving and helping another person by using loving words? The first is sin, the second is what God wants for our lives.
I think it is great to want sin out of our lives, but what is the motivation? Are you doing it for salvation? I think if you are working toward your salvation, even if your work is trying to obey God, you are only spinning your wheels, and the truth is, your going backwards, and not forward. Because salvation was achieved at the cross, and not by us. Jesus Christ died for our sin, and by faith in Him we are forgiven. Salvation is gained the moment we accept Christ. It is a free gift from God, but all gifts must be accepted. By knowing that we can not achieve our own salvation, but knowing that Jesus Christ paid the price for our sin, that is how we are saved. And so to any person reading this that has not accepted Christ into their lives, I hope that you do. I wish that you are aware of the sin in your life, and can say ¨Jesus, I am a sinner, forgive me¨.

A lot of people say, ¨if a Christian is forgiven not only for their past sins, but all their sins, including those in the present, and future, then what is keeping that Christian from sinning in the future?¨. If a person has really accepted Christ into their lives, then they have the Holy Spirit in their hearts. I truly believe that a Christian can then not love sin like they did before. They then begin to hate sin. I think that is why in Romans 7:19 the apostle Paul says ¨I do not do the good things that I want to do, but I do the bad things I do not want to do.¨ NIV. I think the apostle Paul is speaking about sin in the lives of Christians. A Christian has a spiritual battle going on inside of them. They have a sinful nature which they have always had, but they also have the Holy Spirit, and those two are in conflict. I think a Christian can not truly love sin because they have the Holy Spirit (God Himself) inside of them. And also assurance of salvation in Jesus Christ produces a thankful heart, and that person then wishes to obey God because of their thankfulness and love for Him. But a Christian can also commit sin because they continue to have their sinful nature. A non-believer (person who has not turned to Jesus Christ for their salvation) does not have the Holy Spirit in them, but all they have is the sinful nature. They are slaves to sin. But that does not mean that God is not working in the lives of un-believers. God works in peoples lives in countless different ways. I think the main reason that God gives the Holy Spirit to his servants is because God wants to change us, and use our lives to help others.

If we believe that salvation is gained by our own works, even our work for God, then what Christ did at the cross would mean nothing. If we believe that salvation is gained by Christ, and then we keep our salvation by obedience, and works, then salvation is not a free gift, and we have reason to boast. But if salvation was completed at the cross, and has nothing to do with us, then salvation is a free gift from God. God does not save us because of what we have done, but because of what Jesus did. It has nothing to do with us.

All Christians will be judged, the same as all unbelievers. And the judge is Jesus Christ himself. Jesus Christ died for our sin, but he was dead for only 3 days, and is now in Heaven to the side of His Father. But Jesus Christ is both Savior and Judge. Whether you see Him as a Savior or Judge, that depends on if you look to Him for your salvation. On judgement day, a non-believer will see him as a Judge, a Christian as a Savior. Most will tell the Judge how they lived a good life, or that they did something to gain salvation, but that will mean nothing. Those people had never met the judge, or know him. And the Judge will say the same to them, ¨I do not know you¨. The reason is because the person never accepted the Judge (Jesus Christ) into their lives. But those who have accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior, I believe we will stand before Him without fear. It may be judgement day, but there will be no judgement for us. There will be no penality, no punishment for us, ever. We know Him, and He knows us. I think our words will be ¨Jesus, my Lord, My God, My Friend, thank you for taking my punishment for me!¨

I want to say salvation is gained through Jesus Christ a lone. And change is from the Holy Spirit a lone. When it comes to changing, and turning away from sin, and staying away from it, we can do all sorts of things and work really hard to try to achieve this. And it is great that we want to have lives without sin. But I think that when we try to change, our eyes can be on the wrong thing. And the wrong thing is ourselves. When we think it is by our own strength, and our own work that we can change, the results will not be good. I think we will fail time and again. And the person that achieves to change a behavior with their own strength, that will only lead to pride, because they will think ¨I have victory over my temptation, and I achieved it¨. But a change in behavior is different than true change. True change is change that happens in the heart. And that is from the Holy Spirit. Don´t get me wrong, I think that we need to submit to the work that the Holy Spirit is trying to do inside of us. But when we say ¨Ok, I want to have victory over this temptation, and so I will write a set of rules for myself that will help me to have victory¨. I think that is good, but your eyes can not be on those rules. Because those rules will not change a persons heart. We can say, ¨Ok, now I have a Christian friend who can help me¨, but our eyes can not be on that friend, because that friend can not change our heart. Only God can change a persons heart. That is the work of the Holy Spirit.

And I want to say something I think is so important. I know how it feels to fight and fight against temptation, and then sin against God time and time again. And each time I sin, I say ¨now I will try harder, and have victory¨. But that is a lie! Because our strength is nothing. But when we are weak, God is strong!. When we can despair in ourselves, and our ability to change, that is when we can truly look to God for that change. When we can say to God ¨God, I have tried time and again, but I can´t do it, I need you to take this from me. I need you to change me¨. I believe that is what God has been waiting for. And then God can begin the true change that happens from the inside out.

Praise God for being so good to us, and for His mercy, and forgiveness. God accepts us even while we are sinners, but does not wish to leave us that way. His will is to change us to have a heart like that of Jesus Christ. And only God can change a heart full of hate and sin, to a heart that is full of love.

P.S., this message was not written because of my own wisdom or work, but I truly believe it is only because God has used Christians with more wisdom than what I have to recently teach me some things, and also this morning I prayed for Gods help to write this message.

Jesus: The Name That Saves

Let´s go back to my sailing invitation. I know you said you probably wouldn´t go, but let´s pretend that you aren´t as smart as you look, and you accept and board the boat.
You begin to worry when you notice that I lift the sail only a few inches on the mast. You think it even stranger that I position myself behind the partially raised sail and begin to blow.
¨Why don´t you raise the sail?¨ you ask.
¨Because I can´t blow on the whole thing.¨ I pant.
¨Let the wind blow it,¨ you urge.
¨Oh, I can´t do that. I´m sailing this boat by myself.¨
Those are the words of a legalist, huffing and puffing to push his vessel to heaven. (Ever wonder why so many religious folk seem out of breath?)
With time we drift out to sea, and a powerful storm hits. Rain splatters on the deck, and the little vessel bounces on the waves. ¨I´m going to set the anchor!¨ I yell. You´re relieved that I at least know where the anchor is, but then you are stunned at where I put it.
First, I take the anchor and set it up near the bow. ¨That should steady the boat!¨ I shout. But, of course, it doesn´t. Next I carry the anchor to the stern. ¨Now we are secure!¨ But the bouncing continues. I hang the anchor on the mast, but it doesn´t help. Finally, in fear and frustration, you take the anchor and throw it out to the deep and scream, ¨Don´t you know you have to anchor to something other than yourself!¨
A legalist doesn´t know that. He anchors only to himself. His security comes from what he does; his lineage, his law, and his tattoo. When the storm blows the legalist casts his anchor on his own works. He will save himself. After all, isn´t he in the right group? Doesn´t he have the right law? And hasn´t he passed through the right invitation? (Even wonder why so many religious people have such stormy lives?)
Here is the point: Salvation is God´s business.
...God is the One who saves his children. There is only one name under heaven that has the power to save, and that name is not yours.

(From In the Grip of Grace by Max Lucado)

God has a set of laws, and when a law is broken, that is sin. The list of laws is long, and we are not able to completely obey them. Not only that, but God says that when we break just one law, then we break them all. Ever had lust in your heart for someone other than your spouse or said a hateful word to someone? I have, and I imagine you have also. And so we have not only broken those laws, but every single law. And that is the same for every person in the world, because God says that all have sinned. But a legalist is someone who tries to obey all those laws in order to have salvation, and go to Heaven. But the problem is that he or she has already broken them and sinned. If we want to go to Heaven by living a good life, then our life needs to be perfect, and we must obey every law that God has, and do that every day of our life. But we haven´t, and we can´t! We all have sin, and we can´t erase it from our past. But there is someone who can, but we have to rely on Him for our salvation, and not ourselves. It is the One who came here, and died for our sin. Its true, someone loves us so much that He came down from heaven, and although He was sinless, he took our sin, and our punishment for us. And so he suffered and died for us, and was dead for 3 days, and then rose again, and is now in Heaven again. But who was it that did that for us? It was God Himself, and who we know by the name of Jesus Christ. The One who created the universe, and the heavens, and the earth, and who created us, that is who came and died for us. Gods justice does not allow sin to go unpunished, but his love caused Him to punish Himself for our sins. Don´t you want to know Him? Don´t you want to know the One that loves you so much that He died for you, in order to save you? Trust in Jesus Christ for your salvation. Know that you have sin in your life, and ask for forgiveness, and God promises to forgive you. But whatever you do, do not trust in your own life and works for salvation, because it will not happen. There is only one way to eternal life and that is through Jesus Christ.
I would like to talk about what happens after receiving Christ in your life, and what is Gods plan for us as Christians. Once we are saved, God wants us to give us a heart like that of Jesus´s. And so He sends the Holy Spirit to those who believe in Jesus Christ, and it is the Holy Spirit to guides us, and changes our hearts. And when God has more and more control of our hearts, then he can truly use us for good in this world. The problem is that many Christians, many times including myself, think that it is by our own strength and knowledge that we serve God. And so we have our eyes on serving God, and not on God Himself. But the only good that we can accomplish is because God is in us, and we allow God to use us to accomplish his plan for our lives. And God wants to use our lives to spread the good news about Jesus Christ, and so more can be saved, the same as we were. If you have any questions, please feel free to email me at timstine_00@yahoo.com

Power

The pole of power is greasy.
The Roman emperor Charlemagne knew that. An interesting story surrounds the burial of this famous king. Legend has it that he asked to be emtombed sitting upright in his throne. He asked that his crown be placed on his head and his sceptor in his hand. He requested that the royal cape be draped around his shoulders and an open book be placed in his lap.
That was A.D. 814. Nearly two hundred years later, Emperor Othello determined to see if the burial request had been carried out. He allegedly sent a team of men to open the tomb and make a report. They found the body just as Charlemagne had requested. Only now, nearly two centuries later, the scene was gruesome. The crown was tilted, the mantle moth-eaten, the body disfigured. But open on the skeletal thighs was the book Charlemagne had requested- the Bible. One bony finger pointed to Matthew 16:26, ¨What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul?¨
You can answer that one.

A sidenote from The Devotional Bible: Experiencing the Heart of Jesus (New Century Version). This is not actual words from the Bible, except the verse from Matthew 16:26.

Many people seek happiness from money, possessions, power, relationships, or many other things. But the truth is that none of those can truly bring us what our hearts desire. God designed us so that we could not be made content with these things, but only God himself could fill the true desire of our heart. Let me be the first to say that I have looked for happiness in all these things, but have not found it there. I am new to the marriage thing, but I know one thing, and that is when we look to our spouse to fill the void in our heart, and to bring us true happiness, it is not going to happen. A person is not able to give another person the type of happiness that is everlasting. I think that the only thing that will quench our hearts thirst is knowing God more and more, and knowing Gods love for us. I want that to happen more and more in all our lives, including my own.

Eliana and I are doing well. We have been married for almost 2 months, and I feel very blessed to have Eliana as my wife. She truly is a very wonderful and special woman. It truly has been remarkable how God has helped us. Helped us in our relationship, and in many other ways. We are waiting on my resident visa. We have finished the paperwork, and are now waiting. We wish to soon have my visa, but I will first need to go to Chile to pick it up. I am not sure why, but that is how they do it here. A person has to leave the country to pick up their resident visa, and can then return. Going in a bus is not very expensive, and also is only about a days drive to Chile. Please pray for that, and that everything goes according to Gods plan. Thank you!

Passion of the Christ video.

I wanted to post a video with clips of the passion of the Christ. Possibly you have not seen the movie, so let me tell you about it. It is a reinactment the focuses mainly on the last days of Jesus Christs life. The movie is graphic, but I believe it is very realistic of the suffering, torture, and crucificion that Christ went through for all of us. I think that what He went through for us we can not imagine.

In Isaiah 52:14 says: ¨Many people were shocked when they saw him. His appearance was so changed he did not look like a man; his form was changed so much that they could barely tell he was human.¨

Those words describe what Jesus Christ would go through, and how bad he would be beaten and tortured. The video is a graphic reinactment, but I think that what actually happened was even worst.

Jesus Christ suffered and died for a reason. He did it because He loves us all, and died for our sins. None of us are without sin, but all have sinned, and that is why he died for us. God cannot ignore sin, but sin must be punished. But because God loves us, He himself came and died for us, and took the punishment. And all those who put their faith in Jesus Christ for their salvation will be saved. Acknowledge that you have done wrong, and have sin in your life, and accept Jesus Christ free gift of salvation. Do not think that you can be saved by living a good life, because all have sinned, and need a Savior. Jesus Christ was without sin, but took our sin, and died for us. But He rose again after 3 days, and is now wanting you to accept his gift of salvation. The price has already been paid, and punishment has been taken for you. Salvation is a free gift, and I hope that you will accept it.

P.S. The song in the video is by Barlowgirl. Basicly the song is about that often we feel alone and abandoned, but we are not along, because God is always with us. Although we can not see Him with our eyes, He is there, and knows everything about us, and everything we need. God loves us very much.