Jon the Baptist.

October 16th 2007

This week has been an interesting week. The thought of being myself has become less and less priority in my life. Anything to do with myself is beginning to fade. After being baptized I have come to realize that I am actually no longer part of this body or this world. I look into the mirror; I look down at my hands…What do I see? I see something that does not matter anymore. I look in the mirror and I see potential for good. Such evil that surrounds me could be changed for good, with the use of this body. Why should I any longer think that my body is mine to control, I wish I could just let go and watch. Let God move my body to where he wants it; Let God speak using my mouth, without interruption from my attempting to be obedient spirit.

The more I dig into God and Christianity the simpler things become; simpler, yet harder. Christianity isn’t about waking up one day a week to refill, nor is it about even having to be filled by someone else. Letting God fill you is lasting. If I could explain Christianity in its simplest form it would be: help people. That’s it. When you get past the arguments, interpretations, expectations, and cultural differences, it becomes this one thing. If your main intentions in being a Christian are not to in the end to help this lost world then I suggest you get down on your knees and ask for God’s help. The point of the greatest commandment cannot be fulfilled without the second commandment. In order to love God, you have to love others. You may think to yourself, “As long as I love God I am fine. I have the greatest of all his commandments covered, therefore I’m covered. Loving others is just extra if I want gifts in heaven, but I can live without them. Pff, besides I don’t want to be materialistic in heaven.” This thinking is pure evil. If you choose to believe that lie you are listening to something either then God for the most important decision of your earthly and heavenly life.

God gives everyone gifts, some for learning, some for understanding, some for healing, some for prophesying, and many more. I encourage the thought of learning about God and taking the time to learn how to listen, but may it not be for any other reason besides helping others. Don’t let evil tell you that you are learning because that is how you are going to make money, or that is how you are going to be known; it will try. Don’t let evil tell you that your gifts are not useful unless perfected, or else they will never be. Let yourself be known as a love possessed. Let yourself be known as being Jesus Christ to others of this fallen world. The Jesus Christ who represents sacrifice, purity, compassion, God driven love, death, and eternal life, be the Jesus Christ you are said to reflect.

It may seem a hard to task to do such things, but I tell you it, all it takes it to love others without letting yourself get in the way. Love God through loving your neighbor who suffers, who is in need, who had done evil to you, who is dieing without knowing such a joy as Christ, who is believing the lies evil tells them. It is that simple. Help others with everything God has given you, your hands, your feet, your understanding, your time on earth, and you will understand Christianity’s true meaning.

Hebrews 6:10 “God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them.

1 John 4:16 “…God is Love”

2 John :6 “And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have herd from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love.

We had a discussion today on God and money! Yes the age old question. How do we serve a God when there is no money. I was very excited to hear so many of the stories of God’s provision. It is perhaps the most encouraging thing to hear at a short term missionary. The truth always seems so simple when it is explained to me, but as i begin to think about it, the more question i have. Should i just give everything away i have to the poor? Should I just give up on trying to get money?

Knowing that money isn’t mine I don’t believe is enough. I have to hate money. I can’t serve both money and God. It is the easiest thing to do, to hate money, but to search and rip it out of every part of my life is a much greater task. A task that will never fully be ended.

I think back to how i used to be, only doing things like Quest and Trek because i knew i had the money in the bank to do it. I wouldn’t have done them if i didn’t have enough money to do so. And in doing so, i would be saying to God, “you know what, NO, i don’t trust your word.” How ridiculous is that? So much truth. God tells me to do something for him and I say “NO” because i don’t have enough money is diminishing God; it’s saying that the creator of plants, animals, earth, life, death, love, hope, fear, sadness, happiness, joy, light, darkness, and me, does not have the power to provide, just a few earthly bills. I want to say, “ITS BLASPHEMOUS!”, but i don’t truly understand that word, so perhaps you know a better one that describes true faithlessness.

In my saying “NO” to even attempting what God has told me to do because I don’t have enough money, is exactly what the Spirit of mammon wants to hear (see below for more on Spirit of mammon). He loves every second of it. My fear is that he has gone so deep into the lives of every person who has even just herd of the word money, that no one is willing to fight him. No one wants to confront this Spirit, because they have been imprinted into a culture where to be independent is the greatest achievement, and care for their needs first, then, whatever is left over, if any, can go to the poor. We all know what ends up happening, we end up thinking we NEED more, and “it’s ours in the first place. I earned it!” comes to mind. It isn’t ours. Who was the one who made your body able to move and make such things as money? Who is the one that made you see, hear, talk, taste, touch? God could simply so “NO” to being generous to you…and it’s all over. All that money made and kept because perhaps tomorrow will bring a storm…gone. Every earthly possession down to your wedding ring is gone. What will matter then? The fact that you made all this money, and now finally have earthly “security”? Or is it something bigger? Perhaps your relationship with the one who controls live and death!? It’s God’s begin with, and I’m sorry to say, but it aint coming with ya to heaven or hell.

No only is trusting God to provide one of the most freeing things Christianity has to offer, but it is essential to seeing his indescribable power in a fallen world.

“Two things i ask of you, oh Lord; do not refuse me before i die: Keep falsehood and lies far from me; Give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. Otherwise I may have too much and disown you and say, ‘Who is the Lord?’ Or I may become poor and steal and so dishonor the name of my God.” Proverbs 30:7-9

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Below is something I found from just looking up stuff on “Spirit of Mammon”

(http://www.kaog.org.my/resources/sermons/pdf/2005/050213.pdf)
By: REV CHAN NAM CHEN 13th Feb 2004
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The Spirit of Mammon
Text: Matthew 6:24

Matthew 6:24 “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the
other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and
mammon.” (NKJV)

Note – In the NIV the word translated here as mammon is given as Money. However, Money is an
inadequate translation because the original word means riches (not just money)

In dealing with wealth, there are two “spirits” or perspectives operating in the world today – the
Spirit of Mammon or the Word of God. The Spirit of Mammon is operative because Satan is the
prince of this age. When we accept Christ as Lord and Saviour and we look to the Bible as our
rule of faith and practice, we bring in God’s Spirit and perspective. Unfortunately most
Christians still live and operate under the Spirit of Mammon.
From the text (Matt 6:24) we see that it is an impossibility to serve both – it is one or the other,
never both. The word “despise” means to think against; see it the opposite way that God does. In
using the word “master” it means that one will have authority over your life. Which one?

Well this past week has been absolutely incredible. Learning how to slow life down a little has made me realize there is a lot more to God then I ever knew. In stead of always rushing to get my assignments done, my book read, my bible reading done, my prayers sent out, I learnt to first at the beginning of each day just be quite. Go out in the wilderness and bring nothing (we have a little forest area i like to visit at the house). By bringing nothing it really limits you to just either praying or listening. In growing up i never herd of such things as listening to God I just thought he was a way to complain and ask for more. But as I continue to learn I begin to realize how much God is a living relationship. In relationships there is trust both ways, there is encouragement both ways, there is love both ways, and in my most recent case conversation both ways.

Now when I put the title of this as “The Father, The Son, and the Holy what…?” you may be thinking I am bashing the trinity in some way but the truth lies in my own beliefs. For me personally, when i was growing up, I knew of the Father, I knew of the Son, but the Holy Spirit was always a mystery. Maybe it was the baptist background, or maybe just my own ignorance I done blame anyone. The Holy Spirit was just the fact that God had to somehow know what was going on in the earth because Jesus no longer lived there. Mannn… I was so wrong. The Holy Spirit is far from it. As well as being God, he (lets keep it a he) is our best friend. We had this couple come in and speak about the Holy Spirit and they told us to think of a friend that we have had since as early as we can remember. And I mean, it was hard to think of many but theres usually one in your life. So i did that and then they said, “Now picture the Holy Spirit as the same, but 100 times more loving, and 100 times more encouraging.” And it hit me…all these things that i could remember in my life that were randomly encouraging came to me and I began to see the Holy Spirit.

All this time I was ignoring the voice of God and putting it off as just another dream, or just an odd coincedence, or just a weird feeling to call someone up. God had been speaking to me the whole time! I just never was able to be quite and listen. I would get to wound up in doing things for God that I would forget that no matter how much to do for God he is never going to love me more; I get to wound up in doing that i forget that God is there whispering in my ear encouragement, direction, and love; I get so wound up in doing that i begin doing the opposite of what God wants me to do. Sure he is happy with the fact that I have a desire to do for him, but when it comes down to it, he just wants to love me and I to love him.