tag:blog.fbcc.org,2009:/joshlilly//6 2009-12-02T20:20:09Z Movable Type 3.33 tag:blog.fbcc.org,2009:/joshlilly//6.649 2009-09-23T21:53:34Z 2009-12-02T20:20:09Z

So as you read through the spiritual disciplines, really think about the purpose of spiritual disciplines. Check out 1 timothy 4:7-8 It says train yourself to be Godly! Godly training has value for all eternity. That means that there is...

Josh Lilly So as you read through the spiritual disciplines, really think about the purpose of spiritual disciplines. Check out 1 timothy 4:7-8 It says train yourself to be Godly! Godly training has value for all eternity. That means that there is something that you can do that actually has lasting value. Where else can you get this kind of lasting return? Will you take the challenge that Paul issued to Timothy, and all those who are in Christ? Will you train yourself for Godliness? Take the challenge! tag:blog.fbcc.org,2009:/joshlilly//6.648 2009-09-23T21:32:36Z 2009-09-23T21:49:16Z

The 1st discipline i talked about was studying scripture. The 2nd is memorizing scripture. God expects and desires His people to know His word. In fact God tells us to memorize it, and meditate on it day and night....

Josh Lilly The 1st discipline i talked about was studying scripture. The 2nd is memorizing scripture. God expects and desires His people to know His word. In fact God tells us to memorize it, and meditate on it day and night. Check out these verses and meditate on them. Do you think it is important to memorize scripture? Do you think that God wants us to know His word? Is it worth it? Read Dueteronomy 6:6-9, Joshua 1:7-8, Psalm 119(yes all of it), 1 Cor 10:11. tag:blog.fbcc.org,2009:/joshlilly//6.321 2009-06-09T21:08:38Z 2009-06-09T21:10:20Z

A Jesus TAT? So last Wednesday night I was hanging out at the volleyball court waiting on some college kids to show up so that we could kick it together. Anyway, as time continued to pass by the court began...

Josh Lilly A Jesus TAT? So last Wednesday night I was hanging out at the volleyball court waiting on some college kids to show up so that we could kick it together. Anyway, as time continued to pass by the court began to fill up with local college age students. I decided it would be a great opportunity to try and witness to as many of them as I could. Well as the night continued I saw a guy who had a cross tattoo on his arm. This guy throughout the entire night had just really been cursing and acting like a complete jerk the entire time. Well I caught a glimpse of his tattoo, and was at first really upset with guy. My first thought was, what an awful witness. This guy is surrounded by unbelievers and yet he is acting just like them. Well I thought about it for a little while, and then decided to go and talk to the guy about his beliefs. The conversation when something like this, Me- Hey bro how you doing tonight? Bro- Pretty good man, just hangin out! Me- Awesome man, hey I saw that cross tattoo on your arm and wondered if it stood for something. Bro- Yeah man it’s pretty sweet, I guess it stands for my faith. ME- really, what do you believe. Bro- Oh well I believe in God. Me- Oh, ok. Well what do you believe about Jesus? Bro- Well I don’t really claim any specific religion, I just believe that there is a God. Me- oh really! Well I saw that Cross tattoo and thought maybe you were a believer in Jesus Christ. Bro- no, and I really don’t want to talk about it. Well I definitely learned my lesson that night. I walked away really hoping that I could talk with him again, because I wanted to share the truth about who Jesus is and what He had done for him, but Bro did not want to talk about significant things any longer. I guess the morale of this story is, don’t assume anything about a person based off of the tattoo on their arm. In all seriousness, I was reminded of the fact that there are so many lost people right here in our community. Jesus has called us to go out into the community and make disciples aka the great commission, Matthew 28. We can’t make disciples unless we first share the good news of Jesus Christ. So I encourage you guys to begin to pray and ask God to help you share the truth about Christ. And just a heads up, if you pray for an opportunity to share Christ, you will get one! tag:blog.fbcc.org,2009:/joshlilly//6.290 2009-06-03T16:01:25Z 2009-06-09T20:50:31Z

Homosexuality is a hot topic in our culture today. There are many different philosophies in the world regarding homosexuality. I want to look at this issue from several different standpoints. First we will dig into the Bible and find out...

Josh Lilly Homosexuality is a hot topic in our culture today. There are many different philosophies in the world regarding homosexuality. I want to look at this issue from several different standpoints. First we will dig into the Bible and find out where the Bible stands on Homosexuality. We will therefore talk about how a follower of Christ should view this issue, and how they should relate to those who are involved in a Homosexual lifestyle. For those of you who may not agree with what the Bible says about Homosexuality because you feel like it is judgmental and condemning, I encourage you to read this entire blog. I think that you will find that although the Bible is very clear that Homosexuality is a sin against God, God is a God of Compassion and Forgiveness, who desires all men to come to the truth of who He is and be saved. God desires no one to be condemned, but desires a relationship with each and every person that he has created. What does the Bible Teach about Homosexuality? Sin or Not? 1. Romans 3:23- First we must understand that everyone who has ever lived has sinned against God at least once. This sin has lead to us being separated from a relationship with God. So is homosexuality a sin? 2. Bible passages dealing with Homosexuality- Old Testament passages- Genesis 19:1-7 (God destroyed this city for their perversion, which among other serious sins was Homosexuality), Leviticus 18:22 (homosexuality is detestable), Leviticus 20:13 (Homosexuality is a serious sin, so serious that the people caught in this act were put to death in the Old Testament times. New Testament passages-1 Corinthians 6:9-11 (Homosexuality is a sin), 2 peter 2:6-10 (Homosexuality is a sin), Jude verse 7 (Homosexuality is perversion). With these verses in mind I think we can understand that God really does mean to condemn the act of Homosexuality. The bible is very clear on where God stands on this issue. Homosexuality is a sin. Is the Law of God still Valid? There has been an idea going around for many years about Jesus bringing in the new covenant, which makes homosexuality cease to be sinful. This of course is false. Let’s take a look at this idea by looking at the two different types of laws in the Old Testament. 1, CIVIL or CEREMONIAL LAWS 2. MORAL LAWS in the Bible. While civil or ceremonial laws can and do change from country to country and from generation to generation, moral laws do not change because they are rooted in the nature of man. Example of a civil/ceremonial Law- you must only eat of an animal that has a split hoof completely divided and that chews the cud (Leviticus 11:3) This is an example of a ceremonial law, this type of law was made obsolete by the new covenant which Christ brought into existence ( Hebrews 8:13). Example of Moral laws - Do not Murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal (Deuteronomy 5:17-19) Do you see the difference? One law is more serious than the other. In fact the consequences for breaking these laws even differ, but more on this later. The New Testament repealed various Old Testament ceremonial Jewish laws, but did not repeal the Moral laws. Although the New Testament does throw out the ceremonial law, Jesus is still very clear that the moral law is still very intact. In fact if anything can be said about how Jesus interprets the Old Testament Moral law and how he puts it into practice the Gospels clearly proclaim Jesus not only upholding these laws, but even taking them a step further. For a great example of this we should look at Matthew chapter 5. In this chapter Jesus takes the law from Deuteronomy 5 about not committing adultery and takes it one step further. Jesus says that "anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart." You can see from this example that the Bible is very consistent throughout its entirety on moral law, and Jesus being God sets the standard for morale law very high! So what does Jesus Say about Homosexuality? -Many people don’t believe the bible, but do like what Jesus had to say. This does not make sense because Jesus is the fulfillment of the Law. Jesus did not change the moral law, in fact he upheld it, and was found to be without sin (Hebrews 7:23-28, 2 Corinthians 5:21, Hebrews 4:15). Although Jesus did not ever specifically mention homosexuality he did talk to us about proper sexual relationships. The Bible does not record that Jesus ever mentioned rape, incest, pedophilia, bestiality or other blatant sins by name either. Yet we consider all of these things to be wrong! -Jesus taught us in Matthew 19:4-5 “that at the beginning the creator made them male and female, and said, for this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” Jesus taught that that the proper sexual relationship is between one man and one woman, inside of a marriage. For an example of this let’s look at John Chapter 4. -John Chapter 4:1-26-Jesus meets a woman at a well, and talks to her about her sin problem. Jesus is clear that she is living in sin. This woman has been married 5 times, and the guy that she was with currently was not her husband. Jesus told this woman that He could offer her forgiveness and eternal life, but he first had to talk to her about her sin problem. You see our sin problems have to be taken care of by Christ before we can begin a relationship with Him. Jesus was pointing out this woman’s sin, so that she could repent and put her trust in Him. Jesus points out very clearly that this woman, who was living with a man that she was not married to, was in an improper sexual relationship. You see we can’t weasel out of what Jesus taught about proper sexual relationships. Jesus makes it very clear that the only proper sexual relationship happens inside of marriage, and that marriage can only be between one man and one woman. Are People Born Gay? Many people today are trying to say that if you are gay it is because you were born that way. Biblically we know that this is simply not true. We saw earlier that the bible tells us that God despises homosexuality because it is a sin. This is a sin because it goes against the fact that God designed one man and one woman for a sexual relationship together. By merely looking at the design of the male and female body, we can see that God strategically and beautifully designed the man's body for the woman, and the woman's body for the man. Because so many people do not want to accept the biblical truth presented, we must turn to science for this moral issue. By doing this I hope that you will see that Homosexuality is not something that is natural. The American Psychological association recently came out and said the following about Homosexuality, and I quote “There is no consensus among scientists about the exact reasons that an individual develops a heterosexual, bisexual, gay or lesbian orientation. Although much research has examined the possible genetic, hormonal, developmental, social, and cultural influences on sexual orientation, no findings have emerged that permit scientists to conclude that sexual orientation is determined by any particular factor or factors.” You can see from this statement by the APA that there is no evidence that a person is born with a predisposed sexual tendency for desiring the opposite gender in a sexual manner. What is the theology of the homosexuality issue? How did we get here? The theology of this debate is as old as Adam and Eve. In Genesis 3, - Adam and eve decided to disobey God. -Adam and Eve decided for themselves what was right when they disobeyed God and ate of the fruit. Ever since that day, mankind has tried to decide for themselves what is good or bad, without regard of God's commands. -People are trying to live their lives for themselves instead of God. Living your life according to your own made up morals and ethics is known as sin! What people are doing who are trying to say that homosexuality is not wrong, is that they are going back and committing the very same first sin of trying to decide for themselves what is right and what is wrong just like Adam and Eve. God has already told us what is good and what is evil, what is right and what is wrong. God sets the standard, we do not! It was never Gods desire for people to be in improper sexual relationships. We already stated that an improper sexual relationship is any sexual relationship outside of a committed marriage between one man and one woman. As follower of Christ we must understand that Homosexuality is a sin just like having sex before marriage is a sin, just like being impure in your thoughts is a sin. -We as Christians need to stop putting the sin of Homosexuality up on a Pedi stool, and acting like it is more wrong than any other sin. We must stop hating the people who are in this sin. It is not a greater sin to God than you men who look at a woman in lust, or the heterosexual relationship that is impure before marriage. We must love these people by showing them the love that Christ offers them. Just as we would love a friend who is struggling with some other sin such as pornography, we must also love those who are struggling with homosexuality. As Followers of Christ we must stand our ground on the fact that Homosexuality is a sin, and should not be allowed, but we must also help those who are struggling with this sin. The good news and the greatest news! The good news is that because people are not born with a “gay gene” they are able to leave their homosexual lifestyles. This is something that many people have done throughout the history of the world which further proves that homosexuality is a choice. The greatest news is that God loves people! Yes, we have all sinned just as Romans 3:23 says, and fallen short of the Glory of God. And because of those Sins Romans 6:23 says that we deserve death. The greatest news is that there is a way that we can be forgiven and walk in a peaceful relationship with God. This forgiveness that is offered to all men is found in the person and work of Jesus Christ. Jesus is the son of God who was sent to earth to live a perfect life and die for the sins of the world. He took our sin upon himself and endured the punishment of death and separation from God, that we deserve, and that he did not. For our sins to be forgiven we must believe that Jesus is who he said he is! John 14:6- Jesus says that He is the way and the truth and the Life and that nobody can come to the Father except through Him. John 3:16 says that God loved the world so much that he sent his only Son into the world to save the people in the world from their sins, and that whosoever believes in Jesus Christ will be saved. The greatest news is that although we all have sin in our life, Jesus died on the cross so that we would not have to pay the ultimate penalty for our sin. The ultimate penalty for our sin is death. This death is not just a physical death, for we know that everyone who is ever born will eventually die. This death is also a spiritual death. This spiritual death is known as hell. Spiritual life is known as heaven. But we must understand that Heaven and Hell are two opposite places that do exist. In these opposite places each person will eventually find a home. The bible clearly teaches that we must receive Jesus as the Lord of our lives by placing our faith in Him, and then we prove that our faith is true by properly obeying His commands for our life. By believing Jesus is who He said He is we receive forgiveness for our sins, and do not receive condemnation. Jesus said "I tell you the truth; whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life." (John 5:24) God does not want to condemn anybody. He has done everything He can so that we don't have to be condemned. He even gave Himself for us! See God is holy and perfect. He cannot allow anything that is unholy and imperfect to have a relationship with Him. Therefore He made a way for us to be made new and clean. As 2 Corinthian 5:17-21 says so clearly, "17Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! 18All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God. 21God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." Also Romans 8:1 Says that "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus," So I ask you now if you have never accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior to believe and be saved, and be set free from sin and death! tag:blog.fbcc.org,2009:/joshlilly//6.90 2009-04-13T21:15:01Z 2009-04-21T02:37:49Z

Hey gang, I want this blog to be short and sweet for a purpose. I just simply want to ask you a few questions. Be real with yourself for a few minutes. How relevent do you feel the Bible is...

Josh Lilly Hey gang, I want this blog to be short and sweet for a purpose. I just simply want to ask you a few questions. Be real with yourself for a few minutes. How relevent do you feel the Bible is to your daily life? Honestly, how relevent is the bible to your life? Most Christians admit that the bible is the Word of God, but they don't ever read it. If you don't find the Bible relevant to your life, I can promise you that it is not the Bible's, or God's fault. It is your fault. Charles Spurgeon said " Perhaps some of you can claim some sort of negative purity, because you do not walk in the way of the ungodly; but let me ask you- is your delight in the Law of God? Do your study God's word? Do you make it the man of your right hand-your best companion and hourly guide?" Look at your life, and be real with yourself. Is the Word of God just a book for you, or is it the priority in your life? tag:blog.fbcc.org,2009:/joshlilly//6.89 2009-03-23T16:57:07Z 2009-04-21T02:37:49Z

Hey gang, Regardless of how we live our lives we always receive reputations. Reputations can be both good and bad. For example, do you know those students in your school who have the reputation of being the uber athlete or...

Josh Lilly "Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches." Paul and Silas had gained a reputation as troublemakers, "Jesus Freaks" who were not afraid to go against the culture in which they lived. As followers of Christ Jesus, Paul and Silas were swimming upstream so to speak in the opposite direction of everyone else who were not believers in Christ. As we know for every action there is a reaction. Paul and Silas definitely found this to be true in their lives as they reacted to the message of following Jesus Wholeheartedly. So the question still remains the same. What will your reputation be? Will your reputation be like that of Paul and Silas? Will you be known as the type of person who turns the world upside down because of their daily life decision to follow Christ or will you conform to the world in which you live?]]>