Showing posts with label Matt. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Matt. Show all posts

Thursday, April 24, 2014

We Want You...

... To ask us questions!

I am sure that I speak for all of the authors here; sometimes we have a really hard time finding something to write about. As amazing and extensive God's word is, we get writer's block, preventing the progress of posts on this blog. So, to help clear up this blockage out and stimulate the flow of creativity and critical thinking from our brains to our fingers, we want you to ask us questions about the Bible, give use suggestions on posts and share with us your thoughts about things relating to the Bible!

We want to get Dedicated Christians going, but need your help!

Again, we are also looking for more authors to help us write!

To contact us with questions, thoughts, suggestions, or to become an author, write to us at dedicatedchristians@gmail.com! We would love to hear from you!

Sunday, April 20, 2014

He is Risen!



Christ is Risen, He is Risen Indeed!
Just writing that makes me want to jump for joy! Why? Because I know that my Redeemer lives! HE LIVES!! The one who has pulled us up from the grave and washed our guilty stains away with His own precious blood has overcome sin's punishment, yes, even death itself! And for this we will praise  Him in eternity!

Our church service was a different type of sermon this morning. The pastor drifted from the common and normal passages and themes to address a question that we maybe have lost sight of the answer for. He posed the following question: What was the point of Christ death and resurrection?

Of course it was to cleanse us from our sins and to satisfy the wrath of our loving, yet just, God. But yet, what was the motive behind this?

The obvious answer is God's endless and abounding love for His children. However, there is a desire that runs parallel to this attribute. In the book of John, chapter six, verse forty, Jesus was speak about How He is the Bread of Life. He said this "For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day." (John 6:40 ESV). Jesus clearly states that His Father's will is that all believers should gain everlasting life with the Father and Son in Heaven. However, because there had been no atoning sacrifice, eternity the great Holy of Holies, or Heaven, was not possible.

God wants His followers, that had already passed on and who were yet to be born for generations to come, to be with Him in paradise for His glory. Christ death permitted that. He cried "it is finished" and the curtain was torn exposing the Holy of Holies in the tabernacle to anyone to enter, thus showing that His Son's death on the cross was the ultimate sacrifice and sinful man's debt was paid and he could enter into the presence of his Maker.

Rejoice, fellow Christians, because God has made a way to Him through Jesus Christ, His only Son! Amen!
_______________________________________________________________
Changing gears, you probably noticed that this is the first time the DC team has posted anything on this blog in over a year! We apologize for the inconsistency and are happy to announce that this Easter, to commemorate the resurrection of our Lord and Savior, we are bring the Dedicated Christians blog back to life again as well!

Some of the original authors have moved on, but we are also bringing in new blood to give you a fresh perspective. We also want to give a big thank you and shout out to Josiah, the original administrator of this blog. He has moved on from this part of his life and is seeking the Lord where God has him now.  In his place, the other Matthew on the team, Master Matthew Wood, has stepped up to serve as administrator! I would also like to recognize the rest of the team that has been part of the posting in the past! They have offered so much to making this blog what is is! Thank you!

As I said, we will be enacting new authors, so it may be some time before we start getting back into a regular posting schedule, but we will be doing our best! If you desire to see this blog advance and are willing to help, we ask that you consider becoming an author. If you are interested, you can email the team at dedicatedchristians@gmail.com.

We look forward to presenting you with God's word as He speaks to our hearts through His Word!

Have a blessed Easter and remember to rejoice in The Lord always for HE IS RISEN, HE IS RISEN INDEED!

Matt Dustin for Dedicated Christians

Saturday, February 2, 2013

The Most UNBELIEVABLE Bible Verse!

What is the most unbelievable Bible verse? Is it Romans 5:8 “But God commendeth His love toward us, that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us?” John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave His only begotten son, that whosoever believes in Him, shall not perish, but have everlasting life?” Though these verses are miraculous, I believe the most unbelievable verse is the first verse in the Bible, Gen. 1:1. “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.”

First of all, this verse says that there was a beginning. A beginning for creation; a preordained date for the beginning of time; one that was preordained by God. Therefore, if God preordained the beginning, He must have been before the beginning and if He had the power to preordain it, He must have been all powerful before the beginning.

Next we see that God and only God created everything. He needed no one else to help Him. He needed no one else to guide Him. He did it by Himself, with no assistance. Our lives are useless to Him, because He is all powerful and all knowing, for His knowledge and ability go beyond what our finite minds can fathom, yet He lets us live to see the wonders of His work, because He loves us! 

Then we see what He created. God Created everything! God created everything from the entire outer space and all the incredible stars and planets to the Hydrogen Atom, the smallest measurable mass. He created the earth and all that is in it. All the plants and animals, and, most of all, he created man. He created man in His own image to be able to research His creation, to take domain over the plants and animals, but to ultimately glorify Him. He also created man to be able to build things and create things with what God has given us. But we often fail at this. We try to do things, yet they never seem to quite come out the way we planned. But God never has that happen to Him! God did not need to sit down and write out His plan, or stop and think about how everything would work, He spoke everything into existence and it works perfectly, just as He designed it to. He knew how Nuclear Fission worked before He created Uranium. He knew how far the Sun is from the Earth before He created them. He knew all mathematical equations before numbers were created. All was preordained, all was created to work without us knowing anything about it, all was created in the beginning, right when He wanted it to. 
Conclusion:
So the verse could be translated: “At a time that was preordained by God, which God was before and all powerful before, God, and God alone, spoke into existence everything that was created in a certain order so that His creation would work flawlessly until the end of time.” From Gen. 1:1, we see that God is all powerful, all knowing, eternal, ruler of everything, loving, and demands our praise and allegiance! The message is clear, right in the first sentence in the Bible!
If you can believe the first verse in the Bible, you can believe any verse in the Bible.  

Matt

Monday, October 15, 2012

Dinosaurs? Alive? TODAY?

 



Are dinosaurs alive today? That’s a good question. A lot of us will jump to the conclusion that the idea is ridiculous, outlandish and totally impossible, not stopping to examine the facts and make an accurate assumption on whether or not dinosaurs might still be alive today. But the fact of the matter is, there is more evidence that dinosaurs are still alive than extinct. 




Before I pose the evidence that dinosaurs could still be alive, I would like to address the reason that most people believe they are not. The main reason is because the hypotheses of evolution says that they are dead. Evolution lives off of lies and, when put to the test, will decay under the stresses of scientific data and biblical truth.
Evolution states that the earth, and everything inside and outside of it, was made as a result of an intergalactic explosion about 4.54 billion years ago. Then, after several different stages on biological and geological changes, random chance created dinosaurs from some unexplainable and improvable oozy, spineless amphibian about 230 million years ago at the beginning of the Triassic period of the fabled stage of evolution. “Dinosaurs are a diverse group of animals of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic period, approximately 230 million years ago, and were the dominant terrestrial vertebrates for 135 million years, from the beginning of the Jurassic (about 200 million years ago) until the end of the Cretaceous (65.5 million years ago), when the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event led to the extinction of most dinosaur groups at the close of the Mesozoic Era. The fossil record indicates that birds evolved from tetrapod dinosaurs during the Jurassic Period, and consequently they are considered a subgroup of dinosaurs in modern classification systems.” Quoted from Wikipedia’s page on dinosaurs.  According to evolution, the dinosaurs went extinct a long time before man came on the scene. They were wiped out by the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event, which people say was an asteroid hitting the earth but they really don’t know, or it could have been some really big volcanoes or maybe they all turned into birds and flew away or, their newest guess, the dinosaurs flatulence burned a hole in the O-Zone layer and the UV rays from the sun killed all of the dinosaurs. All of their guesses on how the dinos went extinct are just uneducated guesses fueled by the false belief that there is no Creator. (The interesting thing about the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event is that the evolutionists admit that it happened over a short period of time. The death and fossilization of almost all living things in a short amount of time, a catastrophic event, it sounds more like a worldwide flood to me. ) So I am going to take the evolutionary “truths”, as they call them, and blow them out of the water.
Let’s start with the supposed evolution from dinosaur to bird. Supposedly, our little feathery friends came from dinosaurs. Let’s look at the impossibilities of this assumption. First, let’s examine the external parts of a bird compared to the parts on a dinosaur.
First, the legs. The legs on a dinosaur come off the side of the animal, the legs on a bird come out the bottom. It is impossible for the skeleton of an animal to change so much that the legs come out the bottom of the animal instead of out the side.  Second, dinosaurs were reptiles and, according to the evolutionary thinking, must have had scales. That poses a problem for the mutation. Scales are part of the skin, whereas feathers grow out of the skin and are not part of the skin. It would be impossible for feathers to grow out of scales and for the scales to change into skin that feathers could grow out of. Third, birds are designed to fly, but in order for them to fly, their bones need to be hollow. Dinosaur bones, with the exception of ptarasures (Flying Dinosaurs), have solid bones like humans, dogs, cats, and most other creatures.  In order for dinosaurs to become birds, their bones would have to be hollow, another impossible feat. Next, we have the respiratory system. A dinosaur breathes the same way we do; in one way and out the same. A bird breaths completely differently, it breaths in through its nose, but, instead of breathing out through its nose, the oxygen is sent out to the most active parts of the body to oxidize the blood (the tail, the wings, the heart, etc.). In order for the dinosaurs to become birds, their respiratory system would have to completely change. This is also impossible. You cannot have a half evolved respiratory system or else the animal would die! Lastly, this point has disproven all of the Macro-Evolutionary assumptions; an animal cannot and has never been proven to be able to change into another animal. A dog can never change into a cat and visa-versa. There are other points I could talk about relating to this subject.
What about the asteroid hitting the earth, the hole in the O-Zone layer and the really big volcanoes? Well, there is no substantial evidence for any of that except the volcanoes. Is this a problem for creation? Nope! Creationists believe that during the time of the flood, some major volcanoes may have accrued. In fact, many believe that they are mentioned in the bible. “In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the fountains of the great deep burst forth and the windows of heaven were opened.” Gen. 7:11. It is possible that some of the “Fountains of the Great Deep” were volcanoes. So are volcanoes a problem for the creation model? Not at all, in fact, they better prove creation than evolution.
So what about the dinosaurs being extinct before man evolved from some lesser being? Well, there is a little problem with that. You see, there are dinosaur fossils in the fossil record and right next them are the fossils of people. That causes just a little problem with their evolutionary theory.

So now we ask the big question. What happened to the dinosaurs? The answer; nothing. Nothing that didn’t happen to other animals happened to the dinosaurs. How did they survive the flood? Well, how did other animals survive the flood? They went on the ark. But dinosaurs didn’t go on the ark, did they? “You are to bring into the ark two of all living creatures, male and female, to keep them alive with you. Two of every kind of bird, of every kind of animal and of every kind of creature that moves along the ground will come to you to be kept alive” Gen. 6:19-20 answers that question very well, I think. We know the dinosaurs were alive during the time of the flood because they are in the fossil record from during the time of the flood. So if some of them died in the flood, then they were around when the animals went into the ark, which means they were around when God commanded Noah to put two of every kind of animal in the ark and the dinosaurs are certainly a creature that moves on the earth. So there for, dinosaurs must have been on the ark. But how could he fit the dinosaurs on the ark? Here is a little known fact. About 85% of dinosaurs are the same size or smaller than your average Labrador Retriever.  Only 15% are bigger than that and 5% of those are bigger than a horse. 2% of those lived in the water. This would cut down on the size of the space needed to have dinosaurs on the ark. Also, they might have taken babies of the larger dinosaurs. This would cut down on space and would lower the amount of food and waste. Also, we seem to forget that the ark was designed by God. If God wanted dinosaurs on the ark, he would have made it big enough to fit them.
So, once they got off the ark, what happened to them? The same thing that happened to the other animals. They spread out and covered the earth. Some species died out because they were hunted and killed. Others died because there was not enough vegetation. And some died because the climate could not support them. But the majority lived through the flood and the time after the flood. A lot of animals were also killed in the Ice Age. So, going through that process of elimination, how can I say that dinosaurs are still alive? Easy, dogs are still alive and they were at the ark. Cats are still alive and they were at the ark. So, why can’t dinosaurs still be alive? They can still be alive and, I personally believe, are still alive to this very day.
Yes, I know I sound quite a bit radical, but please hear me out. Since the days following the flood, different accounts of dinosaurs have shown up in history. One of the first accounts is found in the book of Job in the Old Testament. “Behold, Behemoth, which I made as I made you; he eats grass like an ox. Behold, his strength in his loins, and his power in the muscles of his belly. He makes his tail stiff like a cedar; the sinews of his thighs are knit together. His bones are tubes of bronze, his limbs like bars of iron. He is the first of the works of God; let him who made him bring near his sword!” Job 40:15-19 ESV. And then again in Job 41. “Can you draw out Leviathan with a fishhook or press down his tongue with a cord?  Can you put a rope in his nose or pierce his jaw with a hook? Will he make many pleas to you? Will he speak to you soft words? Will he make a covenant with you to take him for your servant forever? Will you play with him as with a bird, or will you put him on a leash for your girls? Will traders bargain over him? Will they divide him up among the merchants? Can you fill his skin with harpoons or his head with fishing spears? Lay your hands on him; remember the battle—you will not do it again! Behold, the hope of a man is false; he is laid low even at the sight of him. No one is so fierce that he dares to stir him up. Who then is he who can stand before me? Who has first given to me, that I should repay him? Whatever is under the whole heaven is mine. “I will not keep silence concerning his limbs, or his mighty strength, or his goodly frame. Who can strip off his outer garment? Who would come near him with a bridle? Who can open the doors of his face? Around his teeth is terror. His back is made of rows of shields, shut up closely as with a seal. One is so near to another that no air can come between them. They are joined one to another; they clasp each other and cannot be separated. His sneezings flash forth light,
and his eyes are like the eyelids of the dawn. Out of his mouth go flaming torches; sparks of fire leap forth. Out of his nostrils comes forth smoke, as from a boiling pot and burning rushes. His breath kindles coals, and a flame comes forth from his mouth. In his neck abides strength, and terror dances before him. The folds of his flesh stick together, firmly cast on him and immovable.  His heart is hard as a stone, hard as the lower millstone. When he raises himself up the mighty are afraid; at the crashing they are beside themselves. Though the sword reaches him, it does not avail, nor the spear, the dart, or the javelin. He counts iron as straw, and bronze as rotten wood. The arrow cannot make him flee; for him sling stones are turned to stubble. Clubs are counted as stubble; he laughs at the rattle of javelins. His underparts are like sharp potsherds; he spreads himself like a threshing sledge on the mire. He makes the deep boil like a pot; he makes the sea like a pot of ointment. Behind him he leaves a shining wake; one would think the deep to be white-haired. On earth there is not his like, a creature without fear. He sees everything that is high; he is king over all the sons of pride.”
Some Christians believe that the references in Job are referring to an elephant or hippo and a crocodile. They say that God was talking about something else but it sounded like He was talking about a dino like creature or that Job just took poetic liberty writing down this part of his encounter and conversation with God. This, I believe, is more radical and dangerous than saying that dinosaurs are alive today. Why would God tell us something that is different from the actual facts? Why would Job, when writing about have a conversation with God and seeing His incredible creation, leave out or change anything that was said or happened? To me, it makes no since to say that. So, what about the ideas that the Behemoth is an elephant or hippo and that the Leviathan is a crocodile? I see them to be false. In verse 17 of chapter 40, it says that the tail of the Behemoth is “stiff like a Cedar.” Now look at the tail of an elephant or a hippo. The tail on an elephant is a string that hangs down in between their legs, and a hippo’s is a short little stub. Now tell me how you can make either of those animal’s tails “stiff like a Cedar?” Impossible! In one translation of Bible I read, though I do not remember which translation it was, they had changed Behemoth to Hippopotamus, and the foot note for verse 17 said something along the lines of “Probably the trunk.” The last time I checked, hippos didn’t have trunks. Another thing that they forget is verse 19 which says “He is the first of the works of God; let him who made him bring near his sword!” The first part of the verse can also be “He is chief of the ways of God” which, when translated from Hebrew, basically means “Greatest” or “Largest of the works of God!” So we know that the Behemoth was the biggest of all the land creatures, and we know that the elephant is larger than the hippo, and we know that there have been fossils of dinosaurs found that were a lot larger than elephants, so I would say that it is safe to assume that the Behemoth was not either of the two and Behemoth might have even been a dinosaur. Same with Leviathan: Crocodiles can be killed with a bow and a spear, they don’t make wakes in the ocean, they can’t shoot fire out of their mouth. All of these things are what made the leviathan so great. So, if it wasn’t a croc, what was it? I, along with many others, believe it was a dinosaur.
Why would someone want to say that these two incredible creatures that God made to show His power are not what God said they were? I see it as they are a shamed of what the Bible says. They think it makes the Bible sound like a “Fairy-Tale” when it talks about fire breathing dragons and creatures that are virtually invincible to mankind, and can make the deep “like a boiling pot.” But to me, it shows me that our Creator is powerful and is stronger than the strongest and most dangerous of the beasts of the earth. It also says that our God makes amazing creatures. Who doesn’t think a sea monster that can shoot fire out of its mouth and is so big that it makes a huge wake in the ocean isn’t cool?
Our next encounter takes place in the extended book of Daniel. Part of Daniel was left out of the canonized Bible, but is included in the Apocrypha. In Daniel chapter 14, it talks about Daniel’s encounter with a dragon.  “In the brief but autonomous companion narrative of the dragon (14:23-30), "there was a great Dragon, which they of Babylon worshiped." In this case the supposed god is no idol, but an animal. However, Daniel slays the dragon by baking pitch, fat, and hair (trichas) to make cakes (mazas, barley-cakes, but translated "lumps") that cause the dragon to burst open upon consumption. In other variants, other ingredients serve the purpose: in a form known to the Midrash, straw was fed in which nails were hidden, or skins of camels were filled with hot coals, or in the Alexander cycle of Romances it was Alexander the Great who overcame the dragon by feeding it poison and tar.1” It is not a huge reference to dinosaurs, but it still talks about them. But wait a minute; it talks about dragons in this reference, not dinosaurs! Did you know that the word “Dinosaur” was not invented until the 1800’s with the discovery of Iguanodon? During the time of the Bible and after, in records from different cultures and countries, there appear these strange references and drawings of “Dragons.” The descriptions and pictures of these dragons are very similar to the dinosaurs that have been excavated in the present day. It is very possible and likely that these dragons and the dinosaurs are one and the same.
Other references in the Bible are found in Psalms. David talks about both the leviathan and the dragon in the book of Psalms. And in the Revelation, John wrote about the dragon that gets thrown into the lake of fire in the last days.
What about the more recent sightings? What about the flying creature of Tombstone, the torpedoed sea monster in World War I and the “Flying Lizards” of Papua New Guinea? There is also the Loch Ness Monster and Champ and the supposed “Plesiosaur” that was pulled in by a Japanese fishing boat. And then there are the cultures that were built around the dragon or greatly influenced it. The Chinese culture was based on the dragon. In all of their artwork, you see the dragon. In Scandinavia, we have the story of Beowulf who saved his people from the dragon that was torturing his people. We also have the account of St. George and the Dragon, and the list of dragon or “Mysterious Dragon-like Creature” encounters continues to go on. Most of these reports have been researched and been found to be possible and some true, others have been found to be fraud or over-exaggerations like the “Plesiosaur” that was pulled in by a Japanese fishing boat was found to be a decapitated shark. But the winged creature of Tombstone, Arizona was found to be true. Others like the Loch Ness Monster are still not proven to be true or false. I hope you now understand why earlier I said that there is more evidence that they are still alive than against it. The only true argument that people have for saying that dinosaurs are not alive, is that they have not seen them, and, as we have just seen, that argument is not completely valid either.

Do we know if dinosaurs are still alive? In short, no, no one really knows if dinosaurs are still alive except for God. What if someone found a living dinosaur? Well, if someone found a dinosaur that was still alive today, the discovery would be monumental. For Creationists, it would help to further prove that Creation better fits science than Evolution, and Evolutionists would have a lot of explaining to do. If dinosaurs were found living, it would demolish one of the few remaining evolutionary pillars that the atheists cling to so dearly. But would they care about the new evidence, or would they cling to and continue to spread their poisonous lies to children through our corrupt education system? We do know that in the end, truth and good will overcome all.

Monday, July 2, 2012

You shall not lie.

“You shall not bare false witness against your neighbor.” Ex. 20:16

You probably have never been to court and false testified against your neighbor. So you should be in the clear on this commandment, right? Wrong! Basically, God was saying “Don’t lie!” Now, I know that you have lied, and if you say you haven’t, well, you just did.

In Colossians, Paul says that we have died to the world and are alive in Christ; we have put on the new man. We once walked in sin, but now we are saved in Jesus.

Col. 3:1-17 “If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. 2 Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. 3 For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.
5 Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. 6 Because of these things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience, 7 in which you yourselves once walked when you lived in them.
 8 But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth. 9 Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, 10 and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him, 11 where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all and in all.
12 Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; 13 bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. 14 But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection. 15 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. 17 And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.”

Here is something else to think about: Isaac Newton said that “for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction." That is the same with the actions that that we do, there a consequences for everything, either good, or bad.

The next time you are tempted to lie, remember what Christ wants you to do.

Matt  

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Keep the Sabbath Holy




Ex. 20:8-11 "Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. in it you shall do no work: you, nor your son nor your daughter, nor your male servent, nor your female servent, nor your cattle nor your stranger who is within your gates. for in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and al the is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the lord blessed the sabbath day and hallowed it."


 In today’s world, it seems that Sunday has become another day for work. Businesses are now open on Sundays; people skip out on church to do yard work, and so on. Our culture has declined from the “Good Ol’ Days” in “Mayberry” where the people understood that the Sunday was a day to be reverent and spend in worship, both corporately and privately. In the 1800’s, church was an all-day event. You would arrive in the morning, get a break a noon for lunch and then came back to church and were there until dark. It was not an extra day to split wood, make hey or hunt, it was a day that the family was to rest and go to church.

God gave us 6 days to work and 1 to be set aside for worship of Him. Can’t we spare 1 day not to work? Can’t the choirs wait? Of course, this is not an excuse to not work. We are to be like Christ, doing our work on the 6 other days Christ made and then resting on the 7th.   2 Thess. 3:10 says “For even when we were with you, we commanded you this: If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat.”

This Sunday, remember that it is a day of rest and worship.
Matt

Monday, June 18, 2012

"When the Stars Burn Down"

I first heard this song on the radio a couple of months ago on my way to church. It's called "When the Stars Burn Down" by Phillips, Craig, and Dean. I really couldn't understand the words from where I was sitting, so I came home and looked it up.
I really enjoy this song.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bvMf4W78MDo
The songs words are taken from Rev. 5:13-14 "And every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, I heard saying: "Blessing and Honor and Glory and Power be to Him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb, forever and ever." And the four living creatures said, "Amen!" And the twenty-four elders fell down and worshiped Him who lives forever and ever."

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Should we "dance" in church?

Mrs. Pastoor sent us an e-mail asking what we thought of dancing in church. Here is what she asked:


" Some people think that dancing in church is a sin. Do you think you can write something about dancing to show that dancing in church is good as long as you are dancing to god praising to him. That would be very wonderful if you did that because that is something that has always confused me."

Below are the responses from several of the authors.

From Matt: 2 Samuel 6:14 says "Then David danced before the Lord with all his might....."

David worshiped the Lord with dancing. We can worship God in song and in dancing. God wants us to give him Glory in everything that we do. If you dance, then you should dance in a way that glorifies God and brings Him honor. If you play the piano, you so pay in such a way that brings honor and glory to God. The same with Football, and anything else.

Dancing to praise God is great, but I would say that it is not appetite to dance in front of everyone in church. You should be aware of what you are doing, too. Some dances are not appropriate or meant to bring glory to God. Exodus 32:19 "So it was, as soon as he came near the camp, that he saw the calf and the dancing. So Moses' anger became hot, and he cast the tablets out of his hands and broke them at the foot of the mountain." Lots of dances are made to worship idols, not the one true God.


I would conduct your own bible study on dancing and see what conclusions you come up with.


From Victoria: I think it’s obvious that dancing for the Lord is a positive thing. It’s accounted so many times in Scripture as a legitimate worshiping of our Lord, I think it’s pretty undebatable. Things become less obvious when we start talking about dancing in church. So is dancing in church a sin? The short answer: no I don’t think it’s a sin. Is it wise? That depends. Like everything we do in church from singing, to raising hands, to clapping, to testifying, I believe there’s a time and a place. Church is for the saints, and more specifically for the edification of the saints (1 Corinthians 14:12), so whatever we do in church must be to encourage and lift up our brothers and sisters. Does dancing in praise to God fit that bill?

Before you start dancing in the aisles ask yourself these questions. Am I doing this for Christ and will this edify my church, not causing dissension? If the answer is yes to those, then I believe you are perfectly in the right to rejoice. "God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints." 1 Corinthians 14:33 I don’t believe dancing in church fits into the “confusion” category of this verse. I think if entered into with discernment and the right heart attitude, rejoicing before the Lord in the house of God can edify your fellow believers and bring much glory to Him.



From Josiah: Just like Matt quoted from the Bible, David did dance to glorify the Lord. He danced along side the ark of the Lord! Now I have mixed feelings about this topic, and hopefully I'll be able to clarify what I mean in the following paragraphs.


First off, glorifying the Lord in anyway, whether by dancing, singing, or praying, is wonderful; however I don't think that we should be a "scene" or make others marvel at what we do. Don't be like those rock stars who draw people's attention to yourself. You are doing it for God, not for man. Keep that in mind.


Second, today's culture in America (not sure about other cultures, but they are probably the same) dancing is a form of drawing closer to someone intimately. If you were dancing on your own in church, then it might be okay, but if your dancing with others then that is probably not okay in a church.


Overall, I would just be careful, don't dance in a church because you want to show off your skills, dance with someone, or be popular; dance because you want to glorify the Lord in what you do best. I wouldn't say that dancing for the Lord has to be done in church, you could do it at home also! :-)


From Matthew: Throughout the Bible and throughout our culture, dancing has been used as a form of expressing joy and having fun. My friends have expressed that in their responses. I do not have the time to go into all of the concepts and topics I would usually like to, but I do want to go into a few things that have not been covered yet.


When I read the question, the words "in church" stick out at me. I am not against dancing as a whole, and usually enjoy doing it. But in church is a different matter entirely. Let's look at 1 Corinthians 14:40.


"Let all things be done decently and in order."


When in church, our affections should be set on the Lord Jesus. When I dance, it is usually at an organized event where everyone dances in sync... to a degree. But if one person is dancing in church and another is singing, etc. That does not seem orderly to me. When worshiping, we worship in order. When we dance, we disturb that worship. That brings me to my second point. Let's look at Romans 14:13.


"Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumbling block or an occasion to fall in his brother's way."


When we are in church, it is a place of fellowship with other believers. Though a lot of true Christians disagree on several minor points, we all get along together with the unity and love of Christ. The second part of this verse talks about not being a stumbling block for another. I have several friends who do not believe dancing is something they should do. This falls under a minor point in theology, meaning it is not something that determines Salvation. But we should still be considerate of another's Christians beliefs. If you are dancing in a church where others have convictions against dancing, it can hurt their spiritual walk.


So I would not recommend dancing in church... but dancing as a whole is alright in my opinion.


From Tirzah:
"To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven:" Ecclesiastes 3:1 (NKJV)
Personally I love to dance; I think that to truly dance for Jesus, and Him only, is an incredibly beautiful sight. I believe that certian kinds of dancing, however, are not pleasing to Jesus. Some kinds of cultures only learn certain dances though, so I think that your dance, if it proves to be a stumbling block to others, should be done someplace where it is just between you and God.


"A time to weep,
And a time to laugh;
A time to mourn,
And a time to dance;" Ecclesiastes 3:4

Hopefully these responses answered your question Mrs. Pastoor!


God bless!


The Dedicated Christians Team

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Who are you?

If you are between the ages of 13 and 19, ask yourself these questions:

What are you?
What are you supposed to be?
Who are you?
Who should you be?
What is your goal in life?
What is your purpose in life?
What are you doing with your life?
What should you be doing with your life?
Did you answer the questions truthfully?
It seems that in this day and age that the world around us, the culture, the entertainment and even the way we speak is centered around the teen. So, what are you? Are you a teen? Are you a young adult? What is the difference and why does it matter?

Did you know that the word teen was not used until an author for the magazine Readers Digest wrote an article about work-ethic? The word was only used once to describe people from the ages of 12-19.
So, what are you supposed to be? Are you supposed to be a teen that is living for self, having fun, being cool? Are you supposed to be a young adult that is training to be a godly young man or young lady, to work to train for when you are married and have children and must lead your family through troubled times? Will you be ready when it is time to do the Lords will?

Proverbs 22:6 “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.”
Proverbs23:22 “Listen to your father who begot you , and do not despise your mother when she is old.

Who are you? Are you trying to fit in with the world around us, trying to hang out with the people that are cool? Are you trying to fit in to the mold that the world has made for us and want to push us through? Romans 12:1-2 “I beseech you therefor brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present you bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your responsible service. And donot be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of you mind,that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”
Who should you be? We should be children of God trying to serve Him as best we can, giving Him our all!
What is your goal in life? Is it to have fun and do what you want to do? Are your goals what God want of you?
What is your purpose in life? God want us to serve Him with our lives. As Christian, we must be willing to give our all for God, including our relationships, money and even our lives! 1 Cor. 10:31 “Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or what so ever you do, doall to the glory of God.”
What are you doing with your life? Are you submitting to God or the world. Are you doing Gods will or are you doing the will of the devil? There are only two people that youcan serve, God or Satin?

What should yoube doing with your life? You need to give your life to Christ to take and fix. Let God in to your life and NEVER let Him out!
Now ask yourself these questions again, examine your life and then go pray that God will change your life to do HIS will!
Matt

Friday, April 13, 2012

Blessed are the Poor in Spirit.....

"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." According to the world's point of view, this verse is messed up. "In order to get into heaven, we need to be sad?" That is what the world would think. But is that what Jesus was saying?


This verse comes from the book of Matthew 5:3. Jesus is giving the sermon on the mount. Looking on the surface of this verse, it looks like Jesus is saying that in order to get into heaven, we need to be unhappy. That is not the case. What Jesus is saying is that in order to get into heaven, we need to recognize that God is great and perfect and we are insignificant and sinful. Our sin is an abomination to God and we need to realize that. We need to see that we cause so much pain to God and we are so unworthy of God's love and what Jesus did on the cross, that we should be full of grief, poor in spirit. Isaiah 53:6 says "All we like sheep have gone astray. We have turned, every own, his one way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all."

We must repent and give up our all to Christ, but we must also rejoice, because Jesus paid it it all with his blood. ".....And the Lord laid on Him the iniquity of us all."

Romans 5:8 "But God demonstrated His love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."

Be sorrowful for your sins, rejoice because Jesus paid the price.

Matt (Not Matthew, he is the other author)