Back to the Grinder (sharpen your Sword) #2

Today I was reading in Titus, when I came across something I thought was quite interesting. So let’s take a look at it.

Titus 3:8-11 “8 This is a faithful saying, and these things I want you to affirm constantly, that those who have believed in God should be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable to men9 But avoid foolish disputes, genealogies, contentions, and strivings about the law; for they are unprofitable and useless.10 Reject a divisive man after the first and second admonition,11 knowing that such a person is warped and sinning, being self-condemned.”

And again in out of the messages version

“8 You can count on this. 
I want you to put your foot down. Take a firm stand on these matters so that those who have put their trust in God will concentrate on the essentials that are good for everyone.9 Stay away from mindless, pointless quarreling over genealogies and fine print in the law code. That gets you nowhere.10 Warn a quarrelsome person once or twice, but then be done with him.11 It’s obvious that such a person is out of line, rebellious against God. By persisting in divisiveness he cuts himself off.”

God wants us to be able to do good works. In fact He wants to be careful and maintain good works. (this may mean you and I scrubbing toilets at the church for the next month, or taking a turn in the nursery) He wants us to keep up these good works. Though I have found (when working with people) that there are those times with “those” people that there grows foolish disputes. Or am I the only one who has noticed? Maybe in am the only one who has had a floolish dispute about the things of God. Though at the time I am “sure” it was not foolish…. Either way the word of God says that we must avoid these. Meaning when and we find ourselves in these discussions we must make it appoint to avoid foolish disputes about the things of God. Now don’t get me wrong there are times we must boldly rebuke someone (2 Tim 3:16, Titus 1:9, 2:15). This we must not be afraid to do! (making sure we use the word to do it!)

So lets say that we are making every effort avoid these empty foolish disputes, and someone keeps bringing it up again and again. Or if you resolve the matter and that person brings something else up to argue about. What are we suppose to do? (this is what I found interesting) we are to “be done with them.” We are to stop talking with that person, stop hanging out with that person, we are to cut them off. We give them two rebukes with the word and if they still insist on being argumentative then we cut them off!

So you think I may be a little haste in writing this? Or you may think I may be a little out of line? Well let us take a look at a few more verses that point to the same idea.

2 Tim 2:16

NKJV “16 But shun profane and idle babblings, for they will increase to more ungodliness. 17 And their message will spread like cancer. Hymenaeus and Philetus are of this sort, 18 who have strayed concerning the truth, saying that the resurrection is already past; and they overthrow the faith of some.”

Message “16 Stay clear of pious talk that is only talk. Words are not mere words, you know. If they’re not backed by a godly life,17 they accumulate as poison in the soul. Hymenaeus and Philetus are examples,18 throwing believers off stride and missing the truth by a mile by saying the resurrection is over and done with.”    

We see that idle babblings leads to more ungodliness. And will spread like cancer in the body of Christ. This will inevitably affect the faith of some. (maybe your own). It is for this reason that God does not want us to argue over foolish things. These idle words will cause more ungodliness in the body of Christ and will cause some to stumble in their faith (maybe you!)

1 Tim 6:20-21

“20 O Timothy! Guard what was committed to your trust, avoiding the profane and idle babblings and contradictions of what is falsely called knowledge—

21 by professing it some have strayed concerning the faith. 
Grace be with you. Amen.”

Again we see a warning to “guard” ourselves against these things. For they will cause us to stumble in our faith. It is for this reason that we must CUT those who will not repent of this out of our lives. And if you are the one causing the strife I pray that you find your knees very soon. As you could be the one who causes a brother to stumble out of the faith. His blood is on your hands.

2 Thess 3:6

“6 But we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you withdraw from every brother who walks disorderly and not according to the tradition which he received from us.”

In keeping step with what we have been talking about those that argue over little things and continue in idle babblings those are the ones who are disorderly. They are the ones that we must cut out of our lives. And be far from. For they do not walk in line with the word of God. So again let us “withdraw” ourselves from them.

1 Thess 4:11-12

“11 that you also aspire to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you, 12 that you may walk properly toward those who are outside, and that you may lack nothing”

This one speaks for itself. Do not be a busybody (1Peter 4:15) .

I did not intend for this to come off like I am bashing people in the body. But there are those that we are told to stay away from. We are to first give them two warnings (according to the word) then we are to cut them off.  Let us to the things necessary to grow in Christ, and to grow the body. If we are to walk in freedom and power in Jesus we must adhere to the whole word of God.

Be blessed and may you walk in freedom

An Anchor of the Soul

Heb 6:13-20

“13 For when God made a promise to Abraham, because He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself, 14 saying, “Surely blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply you.” 15 And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise.16 For men indeed swear by the greater, and an oath for confirmation is for them an end of all dispute. 17 Thus God, determining to show more abundantly to the heirs of promise the immutability of His counsel, confirmed it by an oath, 18 that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us.

19 This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil,20 where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus, having become High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek”

It took me a minute to get this. I had to sit down and wait on God to bring clarity. But when He did man was it good. Let me just share with you the amazing word I received from God.

Verse 13 we see that God made a promise to Abraham. Well has not God also made a promise to us (those in bondage of sin…. That would be every one walking on earth) Isaiah 61:1-3. “….to proclaim liberty to the captives….” This is the promise we have in Jesus. It is Him that brings us our freedom. This has been given to us my God Himself. Again a promise we have in Him. You will be freee!

Verse 14, as we learn to walk in freedom it is not easy, and it is not something that feels good at first. It hurts and is very uncomfortable.  This is because our old man is dyeing and we are being born again into Christ Jesus. Therefore “after we have patiently endured” the pain of dyeing and being born again we will obtain the promise we have in Jesus. That is FREEDOM! Freedom from our bondage. Freedom to live and breath in Christ. Freedom…….etc…….

Verse 17-18, God wants to show us His heirs (heirs of Christ) more abundantly the promise of His unchangeable counsel. His unchanged able word. God’s word will never change, God will never change, so the promise we have in Him will never change! We will walk in lasting freedom! For it is “impossible for God to lie!” this is our “strong counsel,” this is our hope that we lay hold of.”

Verse 19, the unchangeable counsel of God, the promise that Jesus brings freedom, and knowing that God cannot lie is the anchor of our souls. It is sure and steadfast. It is through this hope that we enter the holy of holies. It is through this hope that we are able to come to Jesus and sit at His feet. It is this hope that enables us to walk in Heb 4:16 “16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

If you are hurting and in need of some Jesus don’t let the lie of the enemy stop you from going to the thrown room of God and obtaining mercy and grace from Him. And be blessed that our God is unchanging and He has already given us a way out (Heb 2:18). Our way out is JESUS CHRIST!!!!!

Be blessed and may you walk in freedom

Receive the Implanted Word

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James 1:21 “therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness , and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.”

Is there any need to write on this? It goes so perfectly with yesterdays writing (1 Peter 1:1-3). Just as you desire the pure word of God to grow in the fullness of Him, so desire it because it is able to save your souls! The word of God is living and powerful.

Yesterday we were told to lay aside “all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking” and today we are told to lay aside “all filthiness, and overflow of wickedness.” These things, these sins (even if yours is not listed here) are a hindrance in us receiving the word of God. When I walked in porn I understanding of the word was off a little bit. Though I could read and “get” stuff my prideful actions of not laying aside my sin prevented me from receiving the word with meekness. If I could not receive it then how could it “save my soul?” it couldn’t! once I found myself in complete brokenness, a place of repentance and humility, I found the saving grace of Jesus. It was then that I started coming to the word of God having “laid aside all my filthiness, and overflow of wickedness.”  And it was then that I found the word of God desirable and able to save my soul.

So fellow believers let me encourage you to seek the word of God like a new born babe. But let me also encourage you to lay aside (put away, radically amputate) all you sins, and overflow of wickedness. There is freedom in Jesus. By His strips we are headed.

Be blessed and walk in freedom 

Let's Get Some Milk

1 Peter 2:1-3

“Therefore laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking, as newborn babes desire the pure milk of the word that you may grow thereby, if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious. “

Let us come to the well of life today and let is drink from it. Let is seek the pure word of God today. My I encourage you today to fill yourself with the pure word of God. If you are in a bible study that teaches out of a book ,  if you are watching a DVD study, or  just getting a word on a Sunday from the preacher,  let me spur you on to open your bible today to get the “pure word.” Get it unfiltered and unhindered by someone else’s thoughts, or preconceived notions. Fill yourself with the pureness that can only come from the bible itself.  

Let us lay aside everything that may hinder us from getting into the word of God. “all malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and evil speaking” only to list a few.  Let us come as one who cannot survive with the pure word of God. Let this be our food for the day. Let us eat and get fat on the word. Let us eat to the overflow. As you find the goodness in God’s word today please share it with those that are around you. I would love it if you shared it with me. Let us spur each other on in the fight of our lives.

Be blessed and may you walk in freedom

Back to the Grinder (Sharpen your Sword) #1

As I was doing my daily reading of the word I came across something that I thought to be very helpful. Or at least something that I can add to my “battle plan.” It starts in 1 Peter 1:13-16.


“13 Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; 14 as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; 15 but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, 16 because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.”

These verses show several things we should do to ultimately “be holy.”

#1. Gird up the loins of your mind

#2. Be sober

#3. Rest your hope fully of the grace of Jesus

#4. Do this as obedient children

#5. Not conforming to the former lusts

#6. NOW be holy as He is holy



Let us now look at this one by one. As we do this lets look at the scriptures that came to my mind while reading.

#1. Gird up the loins of you mind.

We know that the enemy comes to attack us. We know that he comes to attack our minds. We see this in:

2 Cor 10:3-6 “3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, 5 casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, 6 and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled.”

There is no doubt that there is a war going on. It is for this reason that we must have “battle plans.” As I am sure you already know and have read these scriptures it is good to review them and remind ourselves of the greatness of God and the weapons He gives us. As we must fight. Again we see this in Eph 6:10-18. We are told to put on the whole armor of God. As we will be fighting against the devil and all his warriors. If you have been saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ you are going to be attacked. It is now a matter of how well you are equipped, and how sharp your sword is. For me and others that were/are in bondage to porn we know that the one of the battle fields is our mind. It is why 1 Peter 1:13 is so important to us. Again take heed and apply “gird up the loins of your mind!”

#2. Be sober

There were times while in bondage to porn I found myself almost drunk with temptation. I also found that when I did drink alcohol there was no way I was able to fight the temptation. I also found that when I would be tempted it was strongest at night. The same when it came to drinking, it was always at night. 1 Thess 5:4-8 “4 But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief. 5 You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness. 6 Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober. 7 For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night. 8 But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation” 1 Peter 5:8 “8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.” In these two verse we are strongly told to be Sober and vigilant. There is a reason for this. That is also stated in the last part of 1 Peter 5:8. As believers we are being hunted down and destroyed by the devil. For quite a few (those like me) were being hunted down and destroyed through pornography. It is time to take a stand against the devil and fight back. “be sober and be vigilant.”

#3. Rest your hope fully on the grace of Jesus

I could spend quite a bit of time writing about the grace of Jesus Christ. But for today I will only spend a few minutes. It is only through the grace of Jesus that I was able to find lasting freedom from porn. It was through faith that I was saved. Let us look at James 4:6-7 “6 But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: “God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.” 7 Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” Just as the grace of Jesus save me in the beginning, it also saves me for the lasting. I must remain in Him and His grace in order to continually walk in lasting freedom from the bondage of porn. Jesus give more and more grace, but it come at a condition. That is we must be humble. There is no room for the proud with God. For me when I was in porn I was a proud person. I refused to confess my sins, walk in accountability, and be obedient to His word. It was for these reasons that God was “resisting” me. I felt so far from God. Well that is a no brainer James 4:4 “4 Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God” God wants us to be humble and confess our sins, then we must “rest our hope fully on the grace of Jesus” to be saved. We must turn to Jesus to find lasting freedom from our bondages. We must trust that on the day of Judgment He will be our payment for our sins.

#4. Do this as obedient children

It is easy to read the bible and walk away and not think about it. It is possible to read and even memorize scriptures and still be in bondage to sin. Why you might ask. Well that is because we (even I) do not apply the scriptures to our lives. We do not literally walk them out. James 1:22 “22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” We must be DOERS of the word! When we read and study the word and it tells us to radically cut off sin (Matthew 5:29-30) then we MUST do it. If we don’t we very well could find ourselves being friends with the world and enemies of God. Therefore be doers and not hearers only.

#5. Not conforming to the former lusts

Could this be anymore clearer? No it is just what it says. I am still to this day tempted to return to the former bondage that I was in (2 Peter 2:22, Prov 26:11)(Gal 5). This is the attack against many people. The enticing way to “return to the former lusts.” When I was in bondage to porn I found that I would always go back to my sin, even when I hated it. I was conforming to the lust of my flesh. Again I was not obedient to the word of God in Romans 13:14 “14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.” I did not take all “provisions” away from my flesh. Therefore I always seemed to fall into sin. When I walked in bondage I found myself not spending time in the word. I didn’t read I didn’t study, I didn’t do anything. (probably because I was His enemy). So it was again it was hard for me to be obedient to His word in Romans 12:2 “2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” Again we see that the battle field is in our minds. If you do not want to conform the former lusts then we must renew our mind to be the mind of Christ. This is done my ready/studying the word of God.

#6. NOW be holy as He is holy.

This is our call to be like Jesus. This is not the first time we are called to be like Him. This is a running theme throughout the bible. If we want to be holy like He is holy we must become slaves of righteousness instead of sin Rom 6: 17-18 “17 But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered. 18 And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.” Let us now apply the word of God to our lives and let us live and be holy as He is holy.



Be Blessed and my you walk in freedom in Jesus name



Scriptures used:

1 Peter 1:13-16

2 Cor 10:3-6

Eph 6:10-18

1 Thess 5:4-8

1 Peter 5:8

James 4:6-7

James 4:4

James 1:22

Matthew 5:29-30

2 Peter 2:22

Prov 26:11

Gal 5

Romans 13:14

Romans 12:2

Rom 6: 17-18

It has been a long time coming

Image by madison.murphy via Flickr

it has been a long time since the last time i wrote a blog. if you notice i changed the name of my blog as well. it changed it because God has changed my heart. if you were to read my last few posts you will see that i was in bondage to porn. from hear on out you will see a redeemed heart. by the grace of Jesus Christ i have been set free from my bondage. i am no longer a slave to sin, but slave to righteousness.

i changed the name of my blog because my heart has been changed. see i was a poster child of Matthew 7:21-23 "21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’" i walked and talked like the best of them. i looked the part. in fact i acted the part very well. i really prayed for people and i really saw things change due to prayer. i have done and been apart of everything listed in these verses (prophesied, cast out demons, and done many other things). i did all of them in the name and power of Jesus. but the one thing i could not do was brake free from porn. i was in complete and utter bondage to it. i tried with everything i had to brake free. i know now that there is nothing i could have done to brake free. because it is not me who did the "setting free" it was and still is Jesus Christ!


i could go on about this for some time and will probably write more on this subject in the coming days. but i have to say i am glad that this freedom i walk in (in Jesus name) has "been a long time coming." i wish i walked in it sooner but all things can and will be used for the glory of God.

until next time be blessed and walk in freedom!