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Who am I?

Once upon a time, in the faraway land of Negros Occidental, Bacolod - The City of Smiles, a baby was born, whose ears are like wings and whose cry can shatter a thousand eardrums. His single mother raised him up until he reached the age of 2 where he had a stepfather to raise him in a world full of surprises. That's me and this is my story.

Isabelo is my name and whatsoever is my game! I'm twenty-two and I love Mcdo, too! My favorite colors are anything dark and brown, and my favorite day is when i can just dress down. I am a nature lover and that's what makes me a frustrated photographer. I love coffee, I am great with choco, but I'm ok with tea. I love walking as I also love running but I'm too lazy for jogging; and that's why my tummy went so big, but not as big as with a pig. I'm an impulsive buyer but the amount to be used is hard for me to acquire. I am a theater actor and my favorite role is when I am in rage and anger. Adventure is my mate, but I don't go if it is not safe. I am vertically challenged, just 5'4", but I'm not the kind of person you can just abhor. I'm not the type who reads instruction manuals so I get confused, but when I do without them I am amused! I honestly hate bread for breakfast. That's not my class. I prefer fried rice for I believe that if I eat rice I'll grow taller. And then I'd become a brawler. I know it's superstition but at least I have some motivation. I am single, not ready to mingle because there is a shingle, hahah! I love remaking recipes that already exist, so I try to bend their rules and put a dash of twist. I love to read but can't find time, but reason as such is a heinous crime. I love meditating alone inside a coffee shop, not until my budget has dropped. I can't study in my home because I feel so lazy. If I'd do that my mind goes crazy. By the way, I used to be an introvert, just so you know, but I was changed just like Elsa who chanted "Let it go!"

Performing is my passion, and it is centered in godly ambition. My ambition is to change the world through performing in an inspiring manner. Through this I will raise God's banner. I admire Hugh Jackman so much and he's my favorite actor. His Jean Valjean performance was the determining factor. There's a lot more things I want to say about me, and If I ask you for more time you wouldn't agree.. probably! If you want us to be more acquainted, there's Facebook, Twitter and Instagram--let's get connected.

Done with my "pagiging makata".

We can easily judge people and decide who they are and what they are at first glance. People can easily pass judgment on me by how I move or walk or talk. I actually asked my friends who they think I am and some of them said that they see me as a man of dreams, a man who is not easily bogged down by the storms of life. Some also said I am loyal and shy, nice and thoughtful and ambitious. Some said they think I shows concern to people around him... Perhaps a meddler? Of course, negative things could be said about me. Peevish, attention grabber, over-acting, dependent, indecisive, timorous, sometimes insensitive, naughty, a loner, an isolationist. Someone joked that I have a gift that is extremely dangerous: the incapability of physical human contact, hahah!! Should I care? Let me answer you with a song from one of my favorite musical plays, Les Miserables. The song goes like this:

[VALJEAN] He thinks that man is me He knew him at a glance! That stranger he has found This man could be my chance!

If I speak, they are condemned. If I stay silent, I am damned!

ang goes like this..

Who am I? Can I conceal myself for evermore? Pretend I'm not the man I was before?

And must my name until I die Be no more than an alibi? Must I lie?....

....My soul belongs to God, I know I made that bargain long ago He gave me hope when hope was gone He gave me strength to journey on

Who am I? Who am I? 28370! (2BELO)

Maybe some people might say it correctly or they might misinterpret me, but I am who I am. All I can say is, "I am who God made me to be." Like Jean Valjean, if we find God and start a relationship with Him, we will stop living in a lie. Because our Creator is the reference point of our identity, then we can only truly know who we are through friendship with Him and friendship with people who are all created after His image.

We cannot judge people based on how they present themselves the first time we meet them. Truly knowing someone is accomplished through the process of "friendship," and by that process we learn to accept them. A song from the '90s says, "Friends are friends forever, if the Lord's the Lord of them." There is wonderful acquaintance, friendship and self-discovery when God is our reference point.

Who Am I? I invite you to judge me. But before you judge me, I invite you first to make friends with me. For only in relationship can we really say who we are.

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Apostle Paul said,"

Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am.  I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.

What a magnificent satisfaction Paul had found... 

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Paul said:  I am obligated both to Greeks and non-Greeks, both to the wise and the foolish.  That is why I am so eager to preach the gospel also to you who are in Rome. For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.  For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: The righteous will live by faith" Romans 1:14-17

Are you ashamed of the gospel of the Lord?... Are you ashamed to worship God when people's mockery eyes and insults are toward you?... We should not be!!! Like Paul let's worship God and preach the gospel with love and awe in God.."For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed"! 

Be Bold! Be courageous !! Become God's voice!!!

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Insight on preaching :D

It's always been a privilege to serve God, to live for God and to study the word of God. And it's a very rewarding experience when God reveals Himself when we study His word diligently and intently. 

One Sunday Service, while listening to the preaching of God's word through Ptr. Jade Gascon's life, I tried to look at the people around me and observe their actions. Some of the congregation are intently listening, well based on my observation, while some of them are flying and floating in day dreaming. But at one point on that preaching, I was surprised that when kuya Jade point the issue of a person's life - letting go of their beloved sins - all eyes are toward the pulpit, all ears are opened, all heart are pierced and convicted. I was so disturbed and astonished by the presence of repentance and faith. That's the real obligation of a preacher, to convict the sinners to repentance and to inspire believers to let go of their remaining sins, and for both of them to turn to God covered by His divine grace. And that's the most effective way of preaching - to trouble and to convict the congregation in their sinful lives, not by flowery words but by the demonstration of the Holy Spirit. Credits are not to kuya Jade but to the one who carefully and craftily chooses people to diligently and faithfully study and proclaim His sufficient and satisfying word of God in which people's live might save, heal, deliver and transform - Jesus Christ, our Lord!

This photo was taken last November 11,2012, Sunday Service. 

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Knowing God - J.I Packer

"In expressing our prayer, may we feel tremendous sense of God's holy majesty, God's moral perfection, and God's gracious faithfulness that keep us humble and dependent, awed and obedient to Hid." - J.I Packer, Knowing God

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"I never thought"

I never thought that God could create life so beautiful in this world so unworthy of His glory

I never thought that God could take a man from "Devilish Red Fiery Hell" and be part of His "Angelic Sky High Heaven"

I never thought that God could manifest His unfathomable greatness and reveal it to those who believe

I never thought that this God, in His sovereignty will pour out his grace abundantly

I never thought

I never thought

I never thought that God could hide great and wondrous things inside a dung, and make it so precious to Him

I never thought that God could use water and fire to tear down and to pulverize, at the same time to build up and to sympathize

I never thought that God could make things possible even though it's unthinkable

I never thought that this God is always available in this pre-occupied and unavailable world

I never thought

I never thought

I never thought that God would save me from the pit of eternal hell so that His Word might in me dwell

I never thought that God would use my mouth to proclaim the hope of His Word to this dying and fallen world

I never thought that God would make me a herald to rebellious and disobedient people like me, and  jubilate in the justice of Scripture to make wise the simple

I never thought that God would use me as His voice calling out His salvation and preparing for his much awaited return with so much anticipation

I never thought 

I never thought 

But now I know!

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#AKOangTINIG

October 8 na!!! So much with October 7, and much is to come this day for days to come... I remember Luke 12:48 says, ".... From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked."

how much will you give to this very demanding generation?.. just go with the flow?.. or counter flow and become "The voice" to this generation?... What shall we do?... Excel and become "The Voice".. consider this qoute from Dr. Ajith Fernando:

"In a world that places high value on excellence and quality, our ministries must reflect a professional excellence that will favorably adorn gospel and commend Christ to this generation" .. 

yeah!!! #akoangtinig KKB Movement

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Discernment

I am inspired by our talk last Sunday with kuya Jade, kuya Peter, kuya Reggie, Jehiel and Ritchman about everything.. at sakto nabasa ko while preparing for our SOL3 paper, I red Job 34:1-3 and ffind so amazing!!! Here is the outcome...

A lesson from the Book of Job; message of Elihu, the youngest among the odds..

Job 34:1-4

“Hear my words, you wise men;

    listen to me, you men of learning.

 For the ear tests words

    as the tongue tastes food.

Let us discern for ourselves what is right;

    let us learn together what is good."

What an astonishing insight from a young man... kung baga, wag tanggap ng tanggap, "discern" ... as we taste food using our tongue, we must scrutinize every word from other people.. Usisaing maigi lahat ng sinasabi especially when it comes to the  faith that we are fighting for, the doctrine in which we spiritually grow. How can we do that?.. Psalm 19:11 gives us the answer, "By them [Scriptures] your servant is warned; in keeping them there is great reward.".. by daily meditating the Word of God! 

Ngayon kapag may narinig kayong doubtful or ngayun nyo lang na encounter, ask yourself this question: Is this based on Biblical Experiences(Biblical principles) or just mere human,mundane personal experiences ?... 

Remember the Devil himself *Disguises as an angel of Light, then he will *distort the Truth, and will make you *disappointed about it and eventually he will *destroy you!  

God bless!!

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The Comfort within

Masarap basahin ang 1 Peter ngayong panahon... It's very comforting to know that God is sovereign and holds everything in His mighty arms... Let's all stand up for what we know and what we believe is right and true about God and rejoice when this situation is trying to hurt us.  1 Peter 1:3-7 "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire —may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed."

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Our description of blessedness is way too far from the blessed person Jesus describes. It is exactly contradictive. What we see is that you are blessed if you gain your life in this world, while Jesus reverse this thought with a mind-blowing cogitation that if you looses your life here - forgetting yourself for the sake of God, you are blessed. To be poor in spirit is to acknowledge our spiritual poverty, our bankruptcy before God. Those who are spiritually poor longs for something that only God can satisfy and nothing this world could offer. It longs for God that it centers God more than anything else and it already received the kingdom of heaven because the King is already enthroned!!

Matthew 5:3, NIV

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The sum of the whole matter is this: He who is one in will and heart with God is a Christian. He who loves God is one in will and heart with Him. He who trusts Christ loves God. That is Christianity in its ultimate purpose and result. That is Christianity in its means and working forces. That is Christianity in its starting point and foundation. -Alexander Maclaren

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Exceedingly joyful!!

As an individual, we are all facing trials and challenges of all kind that causes us to cry, to suffer, to be in need, to faint, and to feel so uncomfortable and wanting a peaceful and easy life, but it won't happen. As long as we are in this fallen world, we will perhaps experience trials of all kind.,specially when you are a Christian who lives for Jesus Christ. 

Actually the Apostle James encourages us to continue our walk even we face trials. In the book of James chapter 1, he encourages the believers to "Consider it pure joy, whenever you [they] face trials of many kinds" (James 1:2). As we read, James used the word "whenever" which means will happen at any time, whether you like it or not -- and James is speaking to those who believed. He further discuss that all of this will take place to strengthen the faith of the believers of Jesus Christ.

Now the word "joy" used here is originally from the Greek word "chara" which means 'exceedingly joyful', 'overjoyed' 'greatly joyful'. Means, that the Apostle James strongly embolden the believer to have that supreme joy no matter what their circumstances are. But how can we gain joyful life when circumstances snatch every bloom of joyfulness in our heart? How can we reach the peak of joyfulness even while in this world full of sorrow? How? -- Let's find the answer in the book of John chapter 3 verses 16-17:

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved."

  (To be continued...)

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“The illumination comes to the minds of God’s people—not just to the spiritual elite. There is no guru class in biblical Christianity, no illuminati, no people through whom all proper interpretation must come. And so, while the Holy Spirit gives special gifts of wisdom, knowledge and spiritual discernment, He does not assign these gifted Christians to be the only authoritative interpreters of His Word. It is up to each of His people to learn,to judge and to discern by reference to the Bible which stands as the authority even to those to whom God has given special abilities. To summarize, the assumption I am making throughout the entire book is that the Bible is God’s true revelation to all humanity, that it is our ultimate authority on all matters about which it speaks, that it is not a total mystery but can be adequately understood by ordinary people in every culture.” - James W. Sire

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Satisfied!!!!

Have you ever been in a situation that you felt unsatisfied in everything that you have? Ever been wanting for more or craving for something you don't have and when you already have it your existence is longing for something you don't even know? 

          Satisfaction is an act of satisfying of being content. It is the fulfillment of a desire, reparation or compensation for a wrong done or received. Being satisfied or content means that someone is in state of peaceful happiness, desiring no More than what one has.

          Now, a satisfied life or Life Satisfaction is the way a person perceives how his or her life had been and how they feel about where  it is going in the future. It is a measure of well being as well as a cognitive global judgement. It is favorable attitude of one's life as a whole. Life satisfaction has been measured in relation to economic standing, amount of education, experience and the people's residence as well as many other topic.

          According to Martin Seligman, Ph.D a professor of Psychology at University of Pennsylvania, life satisfaction has a formula that encompasses the factor that go into general happiness. The formula can be equate as: H=S+C+V

H = Person's enduring level of happiness

S = Set Range ( biological boundaries ) 

C = Circumstances of a person's life

V = Voluntary control ****

          But if they formulated an equation, why there are still people who has everything and yet wanting for more? People who might have a great contentment on his or her set range, all the circumstances of that person's life are favorable and his control to his decision and awesome and no error ,perhaps. Why?!!!!

          Because of our present generation which we can characterized as a ' Discontent Generation' . This world is asking for more, wanting for more ,longing for more, and still is not satisfied. And discontentment is a sin because it doubt the enabling power of our God who can provide our need according to his richness and glory ( Phil. 4:19 ). It will ask a terrible question that dishonors God: Is he a real God? Is he really sovereign? Can we trust Him? Can we become content even though the situation is unfavorable? 

          The Apostle Paul teaches us how to become content in every circumstances and through this give glory to God. Let's read his letter to Philippians. In Philippians 4:10-20  "I rejoiced greatly in the Lord that at last you renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you were concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it. I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.I can do all this through him who gives me strength.Yet it was good of you to share in my troubles.Moreover, as you Philippians know, in the early days of your acquaintance with the gospel, when I set out from Macedonia, not one church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving, except you only;for even when I was in Thessalonica, you sent me aid more than once when I was in need. Not that I desire your gifts; what I desire is that more be credited to your account. I have received full payment and have more than enough. I am amply supplied, now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent. They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God. And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.To our God and Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen."  Here the Apostle Paul, teaches us what he had learned from all of his experiences toward favor and undesirable circumstances. He emphasizes that He learned to become content whatever circumstances he is in. He acknowledges the sovereignty of the Lord and His power to provide all we need according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus (v.19) and through this glorified God. 

          More to Apostle Paul's letter that was sent to Corinthians, he mentioned that God's grace is sufficient for him and God's power is made perfect in weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9). Apostle Paul believes that the power of Christ is resides on him(v.10a) and that's how he created the perfect equation of life's satisfaction; for when he is weak then he is strong(v.10b). He acknowledges that he is weak, and equated the formula of satisfied life:

****  zero percent of his power and inability to do anything + the infinite power of God that can do everything = infinite power of God residing in Him! ****

          That's it! The secret why the Apostle Paul reached the state of satisfaction though he is in pain and chain. He might not have the perfect Set of range because he has thorn in the flesh (2 Corinthians 12:7), he don't even have a favorable circumstances, in fact he experienced the most unfavorable situation that a man could ever experience(2 Corinthians 11), and He don't even have any control to his life( 2 Corinthians 1:15-17) but how this man who experience a lot of trial gain satisfied life? How?.. because He BELIEVE!!! John 3:16-17 says, "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him." He acknowledges Jesus Christ, acknowledges his nothingness before God, acknowledges that he is a sinner and repent and turned to God. He once was a persecutor of those who believed in Jesus Christ and was converted and become a believer and apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 9). 

          Are you in need? Are you not satisfied in your life? Are you desperate to become satisfied in your life?.. Then the Lord Jesus Christ , the Wellspring of Satisfied life, is offering you to just confess your sins and turn away from your sins and believe in Him. You don't have to be a rich individual to come to Him, you don't even need to become too poor to need Him.We don't have to have everything in this world. We just need to bend our knees, raise our hands and surrender everything to God. We all need God. We need Jesus in our lives. And he came here to save us from this fallen world. In the Book of John, the Lord Jesus mentioned his very purpose in this world. John 10:10 says, "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." His purpose is to give us life and have it to the full! And that's satisfaction! No one ever claimed and ever can claim that his very purpose is to give every person life to the full knowing that they are all sinner! A promise for those who believe! And what shall we do attain this? 

          As you confess your sins and turned from them, we need to ask. Matthew 7:7-8 is telling us practically,  “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened." We just need to ask. The Lord Jesus didn't failed to remind us about asking, in fact He said,"And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it." Asking "in the name of Jesus" is not a secret code to renounce, or a password to an extraordinary power to unleashed, instead it is asking for a favorable will to be upon our desires. If it is Jesus will to have this or that, then shall it be.   Because it is as we pray we are sending a request to God in the name of Jesus Christ by the help of the Holy spirit. That's the reason Jesus came here; to save us from the doom of eternal Hell, gives us eternal and satisfied life and to give us an access to the throne of the Father. 

          Psalms 145:16-21 declared," 

You open your hand 

   and satisfy the desires of every living thing.

The LORD is righteous in all his ways 

   and faithful in all he does. 

The LORD is near to all who call on him, 

   to all who call on him in truth. 

He fulfills the desires of those who fear him; 

   he hears their cry and saves them. 

The LORD watches over all who love him, 

   but all the wicked he will destroy.

My mouth will speak in praise of the LORD. 

   Let every creature praise his holy name 

   for ever and ever."

          And that's how good our God is! He satisfied our desires as we believe in Him. And this echoes Hebrews 13:5,

"Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said,

   Never will I leave you; 

   never will I forsake you."

Are you feeling discontent? Do you want to be filled and be satisfied? Then, come to Jesus Christ and believed in Him because he alone is the "Wellspring of Satisfied Life"!!!

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THE OLD CROSS AND THE NEW - A.W Tozer

     ALL UNANNOUNCED AND MOSTLY UNDETECTED there has come in modern times a new cross into popular evangelical circles. It is like the old cross, but different: the likenesses are superficial; the differences, fundamental.

     From this new cross has sprung a new philosophy of the Christian life, and from that new philosophy has come a new evangelical technique—a new type of meeting and a new kind of preaching. This new evangelism employs the same language as the old, but its content is not the same and its emphasis not as before.

     The old cross would have no truck with the world. For Adam's proud flesh it meant the end of the journey. It carried into effect the sentence imposed by the law of Sinai. The new cross is not opposed to the human race; rather, it is a friendly pal and, if understood aright, it is the source of oceans of good clean fun and innocent enjoyment. It lets Adam live without interference. His life motivation is unchanged; he still lives for his own pleasure, only now he takes delight in singing choruses and watching religious movies instead of singing bawdy songs and drinking hard liquor. The accent is still on enjoyment, though the fun is now on a higher plane morally if not intellectually.

     The new cross encourages a new and entirely different evangelistic approach. The evangelist does not demand abnegation of the old life before a new life can be received. He preaches not contrasts but similarities. He seeks to key into public interest by showing that Christianity makes no unpleasant demands; rather, it offers the same thing the world does, only on a higher level. Whatever the sin-mad world happens to be clamoring after at the moment is cleverly shown to be the very thing the gospel offers, only the religious product is better.

     The new cross does not slay the sinner, it redirects him. It gears him into a cleaner and jollier way of living and saves his self-respect. To the self-assertive it says, "Come and assert yourself for Christ." To the egotist it says, "Come and do your boasting in the Lord." To the thrillseeker it says, "Come and enjoy the thrill of Christian fellowship." The Christian message is slanted in the direction of the current vogue in order to make it acceptable to the public.

     The philosophy back of this kind of thing may be sincere but its sincerity does not save it from being false. It is false because it is blind. It misses completely the whole meaning of the cross.

     The old cross is a symbol of death. It stands for the abrupt, violent end of a human being. The man in Roman times who took up his cross and started down the road had already said good-by to his friends, He was not coming back. He was going out to have it ended. The cross made no compromise, modified nothing, spared nothing; it slew all of the man, completely and for good. It did not try to keep on good terms with its victim. It struck cruel and hard, and when it had finished its work, the man was no more.

     The race of Adam is under death sentence. There is no commutation and no escape. God cannot approve any of the fruits of sin, however innocent they may appear or beautiful to the eyes of men. God salvages the individual by liquidating him and then raising him again to newness of life.

     That evangelism which draws friendly parallels between the ways of God and the ways of men is false to the Bible and cruel to the souls of its hearers. The faith of Christ does not parallel the world, it intersects it. In coming to Christ we do not bring our old life up onto a higher plane; we leave it at the cross. The corn of wheat must fall into the ground and die.

     We who preach the gospel must not think of ourselves as public relations agents sent to establish good will between Christ and the world. We must not imagine ourselves commissioned to make Christ acceptable to big business, the press, the world of sports or modern education. We are not diplomats but prophets, and our message is not a compromise but an ultimatum.

God offers life, but not an improved old life. The life He offers is life out of death. It stands always on the far side of the cross. Whoever would possess it must pass under the rod. He must repudiate himself and concur in God's just sentence against him.

     What does this mean to the individual, the condemned man who would find life in Christ Jesus? How can this theology be translated into life? Simply, he must repent and believe. He must forsake his sins and then go on to forsake himself. Let him cover nothing, defend nothing, excuse nothing. Let him not seek to make terms with God, but let him bow his head before the stroke of God's stern displeasure and acknowledge himself worthy to die.

     Having done this let him gaze with simple trust upon the risen Saviour, and from Him will come life and rebirth and cleansing and power. The cross that ended the earthly life of Jesus now puts an end to the sinner; and the power that raised Christ from the dead now raises him to a new life along with Christ.

     To any who may object to this or count it merely a narrow and private view of truth, let me say God has set His hallmark of approval upon this message from Paul's day to the present. Whether stated in these exact words or not, this has been the content of all preaching that has brought life and power to the world through the centuries. The mystics, the reformers, the revivalists have put their emphasis here, and signs and wonders and mighty operations of the Holy Ghost gave witness to God's approval.

     Dare we, the heirs of such a legacy of power, tamper with the truth? Dare we with our stubby pencils erase the lines of the blueprint or alter the pattern shown us in the Mount? May God forbid. Let us preach the old cross and we will know the old power.

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THAT INCREDIBLE CHRISTIAN - A.W Tozer

     The current effort of so many religious leaders to harmonize Christianity with science, philosophy and every natural and reasonable thing is, I believe, the result of failure to understand Christianity and, judging from what I have heard and read, failure to understand science and philosophy as well.

     At the heart of the Christian system lies the cross of Christ with its divine paradox. The power of Christianity appears in its antipathy toward, never in its agreement with, the ways of fallen men. The truth of the cross is revealed in its contradictions. The witness of the church is most effective when she declares rather than explains, for the gospel is addressed not to reason but to faith. What can be proved requires no faith to accept. Faith rests upon the character of God, not upon the demonstrations of laboratory or logic.

     The cross stands in bold opposition to the natural man. Its philosophy runs contrary to the processes of the unregenerate mind, so that Paul could say bluntly that the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness. To try to find a common ground between the message of the cross and man's fallen reason is to try the impossible, and if persisted in must result in an impaired reason, a meaningless cross and a powerless Christianity.

     But let us bring the whole matter down from the uplands of theory and simply observe the true Christian as he puts into practice the teachings of Christ and His apostles. Note the contradictions:

     The Christian believes that in Christ he has died, yet he is more alive than before and he fully expects to live forever. He walks on earth while seated in heaven and though born on earth he finds that after his conversion he is not at home here. Like the nighthawk, which in the air is the essence of grace and beauty but on the ground is awkward and ugly, so the Christian appears at his best in the heavenly places but does not fit well into the ways of the very society into which he was born.

     The Christian soon learns that if he would be victorious as a son of heaven among men on earth he must not follow the common pattern of mankind, but rather the contrary. That he may be safe he puts himself in jeopardy; he loses his life to save it and is in danger of losing it if he attempts to preserve it. He goes down to get up. If he refuses to go down he is already down, but when he starts down he is on his way up.

He is strongest when he is weakest and weakest when he is strong. Though poor he has the power to make others rich, but when he becomes rich his ability to enrich others vanishes. He has most after he has given most away and has least when he possesses most.

     He may be and often is highest when he feels lowest and most sinless when he is most conscious of sin. He is wisest when he knows that he knows not and knows least when he has acquired the greatest amount of knowledge. He sometimes does most by doing nothing and goes furthest when standing still. In heaviness he manages to rejoice and keeps his heart glad even in sorrow.

     The paradoxical character of the Christian is revealed constantly. For instance, he believes that he is saved now, nevertheless he expects to be saved later and looks forward joyfully to future salvation. He fears God but is not afraid of Him. In God's presence he feels overwhelmed and undone, yet there is nowhere he would rather be than in that presence. He knows that he has been cleansed from his sin, yet he is painfully conscious that in his flesh dwells no good thing.

     He loves supremely One whom he has never seen, and though himself poor and lowly he talks familiarly with One who is King of all kings and Lord of all lords, and is aware of no incongruity in so doing. He feels that he is in his own right altogether less than nothing, yet he believes without question that he is the apple of God's eye and that for him the Eternal Son became flesh and died on the cross of shame.

The Christian is a citizen of heaven and to that sacred citizenship he acknowledges first allegiance; yet he may love his earthly country with that intensity of devotion that caused John Knox to pray "O God, give me Scotland or I die."

     He cheerfully expects before long to enter that bright world above, but he is in no hurry to leave this world and is quite willing to await the summons of his Heavenly Father. And he is unable to understand why the critical unbeliever should condemn him for this; it all seems so natural and right in the circumstances that he sees nothing inconsistent about it.

     The cross-carrying Christian, furthermore, is both a confirmed pessimist and an optimist the like of which is to be found nowhere else on earth.

When he looks at the cross he is a pessimist, for he knows that the same judgment that fell on the Lord of glory condemns in that one act all nature and all the world of men. He rejects every human hope out of Christ because he knows that man's noblest effort is only dust building on dust.

     Yet he is calmly, restfully optimistic. If the cross condemns the world the resurrection of Christ guarantees the ultimate triumph of good throughout the universe. Through Christ all will be well at last and the Christian waits the consummation. Incredible Christian!

[incredibelo]

"One marked difference between the faith of our fathers as conceived by the fathers and the same faith as understood and lived by their children is that the fathers were concerned with the root of the matter, while their present-day descendants seem concerned only with the fruit." - A.W Tozer