BTZ Blog

I pray that throughout the New Year the Holy Spirt, the Divine Revealer, Teacher and Interpreter of Who Christ is, and what His truth is,  will impart to your heart an understanding of God’s Love and Grace and an understanding of the truth of who the Christ of the Word is. I pray that you will manifest and unfold the Lord Jesus Christ and His desire to be in a relational journey with you whereby you will unveil His glory, beauty, and fullness to define the unity that unites Him to His Church and to bring you into a deeper relationship and realization of Who Christ is to you, and who you are in Christ so you will be the Church daily as He works through you to extend His kingdom.

Seek contentment rather than luxury.  Seek humility rather than pride.  Seek to understand rather than to demand change.  Seek the good of people rather than living self-seeking.  Seek to be forgiver rather than condemner.  Seek to be rich in kindness rather than to be rich in things.  Seek health rather than wealth.  Be a giver rather than a taker.  Be a peacemaker rather than a peace-breaker.  Be lover rather than a hater, it will cause you to be a lovable person.  Be true to God and His ways rather than man and his ways.

May the best day you experienced in 2011 be the worst day you experience in 2012.

At the beginning of a New Year, people’s resolutions involve going through the rooms of their lives looking for some of the negatives that can be worked on, something that they want to eradicate from their living. Why not go through the rooms of your life looking for potentiality. Look at the positives of the potential of what you can become instead of the negatives of who you may be. Instead of condemning yourself for being a slave to habit, prepare yourself for the potential of being FREE!

In most cases it takes more strength to decide what to do than it takes to do it once you have decided on what to do. Don’t fret because you have more to do than it is possible to do, for that will generally be the case, Just make a choice as to what you are going to do and do it!

As believers we claim to know THE WAY. If we know THE WAY it behooves us to walk in HIS WAY and lead people to Him (THE WAY). Instead of just mouthing off  about THE WAY, live in such a way that our entire life is  worship unto God so others can see Jesus (THE WAY) in us. Jesus said; ”I AM THE WAY.”

Spiritual power is not based on emotions, feelings, religious commitments, rule or regulation keeping. Neither is it based upon the theories of men. Rather it is based upon a RELATIONSHIP with God by our oneness with Christ and our agreement with Him Who, is the LIVING WORD. All the programs and show-man-ship in the world is not an indication of spiritual power.  The greatest indication of spiritual power is in LOVINGLY LOVING people with His LOVE!

God is not an egotistical God who can be bought with money as portrayed by most of the celebrity pa-stars. God is not a heartless God that provides blessings only to the highest bidder giver because of the pleadings of the preacher fibber. God is a rewarder of those who diligently seek HIM and HIM alone! So don’t be deceived by the money grabbing manipulators who promise God’s blessing if you give to their ministry!  The merchandising of the Gospel is not a part of the Gospel of Grace!

Some people are so tied to tradition, so dedicated to a denomination, so bound to a constitution , so controlled by the hierarchy, and are so afraid of losing a position, they are willing to go against the clear teaching of scripture regarding the Church, (the body of Christ)!

Non-trust in other people is a sign of a lack of trust in ourselves! If we trust no one, no one will trust us! To be TRUSTED we must be TRUSTFUL, TRUSTWORTHY and TRUSTING!

My prayer for you and I is; Lord, may the gifts that were wrapped up in you as the Christ child, the gift of Love, Forgiveness, Understanding and Peace be experienced by each one of us today and throughout the coming year. May each one of us experience to the degree, that your gift of Love, Forgiveness, Understanding and Peace are shared by us to the across-our-path people that we encounter throughout the coming year as a witness to the reason for your birth causing people to put their faith and trust in You as their Saviour.

May the greatest gift, the PEACE and LOVE of the PEACE GIVER, be the gift that keeps on giving to you throughout the coming year  no matter what circumstance you find yourself in!  Be at PEACE with God, with yourself and and share His PEACE and LOVE with across your path people encounters daily.

Through Christ’s birth, death and resurrection freedom is divinely given to mankind, but God never intended for man to use his freedom to control and regulate the spiritual relationship of people, or abuse and attack people who are searching for the magnitude of His love beyond the walls of structured religiosity.  God’s love extends to all peoples of the world regardless of their religious affiliation. Our acceptance of, our yielding to and our sharing of God’s love is our only hope in breaking down the barriers and hindrances that religion has erected which prevents people from understanding, receiving and sharing God’s unconditional LOVE !

Acceptance of religious authority and ritual and man-made hierarchy control led by men-appointed man in the headship role of the “churches” is a denial and a refusal of the legitimate authority and headship of Jesus as Head of His “Church.”  Really...can the man-made concoction that is called the “church” really be the “Church” of Jesus Christ?

Are we guilty of taking the name of the Lord in vain, not by using His name as a cuss word but by misrepresenting His name and Who He is? Could it be that people who invoke the name of Jesus because they know about Him without really knowing Him are guilty of taking His name in vain? Would that also include when His name is used in religious formulas to invoke Him to do their bidding by people who know about Him enough to use His name for their benefit in manipulating people to promote their popularity and increase their ministry donations...but they really do not know the heart of Jesus?

As Homo sapiens we fail to understand the love relationship Father God has for PEOPLE! You...yes YOU, are so loved that it is beyond the articulation of any language to verbalize it! It is beyond the comprehension of your family or your best friend, you or anyone else could never replicate it. You are loved by the One Who is the Source of all life, just reflect on that! YOU are more valuable to God than any of the rest of His creation, in fact, the rest of His creation was created for YOU and God made everything so it could sustain your life! Without YOU everything on planet earth loses its value! But He’s got YOU, He has YOU in the palm of His hand and YOU are the pearl of great price that is worth more than all else He owns, He holds you tightly but gently, YOU are the reason He desires the world to shine with the warmth of his love. YOU are the one He died for. Yes...it is hard to believe...but YOU are the one that motivates God to win and win He will! For YOU, for me, for all o...

Many people are taught and believe that FAITH is the currency of the believer that is spendable in the spiritual realm in order to draw upon God’s power to get done what we want or think God wants done or, what people need to be manifested in their lives in the natural realm.  That belief is a wrongheaded understanding of what FAITH really is yet, it is purported by people who use pulpits, TV Screens, conference podiums and internet portals as a preaching platform and have deceived many to accept that meaning. FAITH is not about making something happen that we want or think should happen, faith is having confidence and trust in God that He will work through us to accomplish what He wants to happen through us. FAITH is simply recognizing that we have a loving Father in God, who lovingly cares for us in every situation and is there going through every circumstance with us.  Faith is not documented by a desired outcome. Faith is confidence and trust in a Person who loves us and i...

Christ came as a babe in a manger because of the IMPORTANCE of PEOPLE to God! Christ showed people how to live a life in relationship with God because of the IMPORTANCE of PEOPLE TO GOD! Christ died on the cross because of the IMPORTANCE of PEOPLE to GOD! Christ was resurrected from the dead because of the IMPORTANCE of PEOPLE to God! I believe this is evidence enough to prove that PEOPLE are most IMPORTANT to God! HOW IMPORTANT ARE PEOPLE TO YOU!

Anything we do for God in the flesh is self-effort and is Law living and is not pleasing or acceptable to God because it is not Grace living.

Mr./Mrs. Preacher...Mr./Mrs. Teacher...Mr./Mrs. Believer...If people walk away from what we say thinking more about what they should do, than what Jesus has already done we have failed to present the gospel of GRACE. The Gospel is the good news that Jesus has done for man what man could never do for himself. A lot of preaching, teaching these days is “do more, try harder,” the gospel is not a beha vioral modification attitude change that man can accomplish, it is a personal relational transformation that only Jesus could accomplish. The gospel is not a to-do-list but a Jesus-has-done-list. As long as we are given a to-do list, we or someone else maintain some measure of control over our spirituality.

The answer to the greed, hatred and war in this world is LOVE. The same LOVE that brought Christ to this world as a babe in a manger, the same that God demonstrated to redeem man unto Himself, the same love that believers are to love people with, a selfless LOVE.

God’s desire is that man to be conformed to the image of His Son so His life can be lived through man. But most group gatherings seem to think that Jesus is to conform to man’s image and do their bidding at their beckon call. Is that why the  Jesus they present is somewhat different than the Bible Jesus?

Things are not what brings JOY, PEACE, CONTENTMENT and lasting  HAPPINESS...God through people brings JOY. PEACE, CONTENTMENT and lasting HAPPINESS! So why not receive from God through people by befriending people!  

One way the heart of God is reflected to non-believers is by what they see in believers. Many people cannot fathom God with an open, receiving and loving heart because of the way He is displayed by those who claim to know Him. Many non-believers have been blackballed by “godly” people because of some mistake they have made. Doesn't observers have a right to make assumptions about God by how the people who call themselves “Christians” act. As a believer does our actions inspire people to know God?

Some people are not enjoying life because they are all taken up in what they have done or who they have been in the past. Listen friend, the TRUTH about you has nothing to do with your past! God does not view you through your past! God’s eyes are fixed on the TRUTH of who you can be and He is rejoicing, because what He sees is MARVELOUS! See yourself through God’s eyes, that is the secret to your freedom!

Our relationship with God is not a commander to soldier relationship of mindlessly following orders of the commander. God does not mind “why” questions in fact, He relishes them because that develops relationship. He will help you understand and patiently teach you until you get it. A relationship is a DIALOGUE not a MONOLOGUE, it is a two way communication! The one way lecture style of communication is not conducive to relationship.

Jesus came to provide salvation from sin, to take us from legalism to life, from relationship with organizations  to relationship with God and people and He demonstrated this by His first miracle where He intentionally desecrates a religious icon, the religious holy water jars by filing them with party wine. The new wine that He gives cannot be contained by the old wine skins of religion, it requires new wine skins of relationship.

If you WOULD do what you SHOULD do then the things you COULD do but didn’t do wouldn’t matter because what you SHOULD do WOULD be done by you!

Religion is a microcosm of society at large. In society people possessing gifts that are used to entertain are elevated to celebrity status. In the “church” world some people who are called pastors are also elevated to a celebrity status. “PA-STARS” as opposed to pastors are the ultimate entertainers, gifted through oratory skills to motivate and inspire and entertain. Their audience is more of a follower of them then they are of Christ! How did the regression from the FUNCTION of pastor to the POSITION of “PA-STARS” evolve. If we look at it closely it is much our fault as the “laity” and the fault of the traditional religious hierarchy structure that has caused the regression.  We flatter over and encourage others to flatter over and cater to the whims of leaders.  As parishioners, we are fearful to ask the questions that count and we measure their spirituality on the Sunday-performance-hour.  As parishioners, we are eager to the point of being giddy while in their pre...

If Christmas is all about Christ, why does so much of what happens during Christmas have so little to do with Christ or His teachings? Did Christ sanction by His birth, Christmas with all the lies, all the wastefulness, all the fake-ness, all the gluttony, all the partying, or did He sanction because of His birth, the life He lived, the death He died and His resurrection the ability for people to be in relationship with Him so that His life is lived through them demonstrating the reason for His birth by loving, showing compassion, showing kindness, giving forgiveness, to people who cross our path daily. Would this not be a more positive witness that Jesus is who the word says He is....the resurrected Son of the living God...who His doing His work through His people, than the Christmas festivities where people use His birth to sanction and gratify their fleshly desires? Christmas has become a commercialized event focused on the selling of wares and the reaping of profits using Chris...

The kingdom of God is not primarily about PRINCIPLES! The kingdom of God is primarily about PEOPLE! Without PEOPLE there is no extending the kingdom of God, of what value are kingdom PRINCIPLES then!

When it comes to ministering on earth Jesus sets, and is the example for conducting ministry. Is there a difference between His ministry and the institutionalized ministry that post-cross religious organizations developed and participate in?  Was the ministry of Christ a sanitized ministry of clean carpets, padded pews, corporate suited professionals, Sunday-best-cladded pew-warmers, event-driven-programs, following man-made agendas in Sunday-go-meetings, held in stained-glass, denominational tagged buildings? Does not this perverted view of the Church cause us to miss the messiness of what it means to partake with Christ in His ministry?  Jesus set the pace for all of us with His own brand of hands-on earthly outreach. He got up close and personal with sinners so that He could transform them into saints. As a result, He got dirtier than a farmer in the crop field during His three and a half year earthly ministry. If touching contagious lepers, casting out pesky demons, ...

The platform in churches and conference centers, the window of the TV are launching pads for attention seekers to perform extraordinary phenomenon of seemingly supernatural events and outstanding feats that holds spellbound the audience who seem to get a spiritual high from the tricksters seemingly supernatural feats. Let me be clear, I do believe that God can and does supernatural things, but most of what we see within the programmed events and the high profile manipulators is of another spirit other than the spirit of God. Tricksters take the stage and perform their seemingly impossible magical feats because of the tickets sold and the accolades of the audience. As pathetic as it may be, the religious world also has its tricksters who seemingly pull supernatural events from the heavenly realm with supposedly accurate results and self-proclaimed outstanding accomplishments. This proclaimed Holy Spirit spiritual aura has hypnotized the attention and minds of “Christ...

Some people are deceived by believing that years of study and years of preaching some pet doctrine, makes that doctrine correct. But if the doctrine you have studied is wrong, then no amount of preaching that wrong doctrine will make it right. So be careful little preacher what you preach and be careful little teacher what you teach, for the Father up above, who does, you love, will not make a false doctrine true. You may be sincere in what you preach and teach but, you may be sincerely wrong, if so, at the end what will be your song?

“Movements”,“Denominations”, and “Christians” feel that giving people information about Jesus is fulfilling the mandate of the Church. How often have you heard over the TV and the pulpit, “God has given this ministry the mandate to tell the world about Jesus, be a part of reaching the world for Christ by sending your much needed support and we will send you a prayer cloth that “I” have personally prayed a financial blessing over”? The giving of money has not done it, is not doing it and will not do it. People need to MEET Jesus through people as we live in His love, compassion and understanding, they will be drawn to the power demonstration resident in His love.

Truth is absolute, but is being correct and having the right truth enough? We need to be careful how we use the truth we know. Truth was never meant to be a weapon used to advance a particular brand of religion. When we use truth in this manner it warps the believers ability to see others through the love and compassionate eyes of their Maker. It causes a low theological and practical view of others by trumping truth over the value of people! We are to LOVE people with TRUTH not use it as a weapon to beat them into conforming to our brand of religion or even use truth to blindside them into accepting salvation. The value of other people is not tied to them accepting our truth, even if our truth is right. When viewing people through the eyes of what we believe to be truth it blinds us from seeing the inherent value that God gives them as people and sets us up to be their JUDGE, JURY and EXECUTIONER by believing  their belief is untrue because it does not line up with what we think...

The world is focused much on Christmas during this time of year and the church world is concerned with keeping Christ in Christmas. The greatest way to keep Christ in focus is for Christ to be paramount in your life all through the year by Him living through you as you love with His love in showing kindness and compassion to the across your path encounters with people. Would not that ensure more of an allegiance to Christ than erecting superficial displays of figurines and promoting programmed concerts where Christ as a baby is planted in the forefront of people’s mind. How many believers out there honestly believe that it was Christ who designed the celebration of Christmas that allows the commercial world to rake in the money and profit from selling their wares, most of which is not needed by the people for whom the wares are bought. I wonder....is the heart of Christ made glad by all the festivities that are partaken in to celebrate Christmas, yet He is probably not thought abou...

Promoting falsehood as truth leads to deception and confusion, whereby the falsehood is accepted as truth even though truth it is not! Do not be deceived by falsehood mixed with truth!

Those who bring joy and laughter to the  lives of others cannot keep it from returning to themselves!

God puts all of us on earth as ordinary, then He desires to do the extra-ordinary through us...the ordinary. That does not mean that we are extra-ordinary!

I am not trusting in God if I am looking to compare how He is dealing with others as to how He is dealing with me. Neither am I a positive witness to show His GRACE and COMPASSION to people, if I deem myself to be on a higher spiritual plateau because of any position I may hold!

When the sun rises it dispels the darkness of night, but it cannot banish intolerance and selfishness from the hearts of humanity. The SON’S LOVE rising in the heart of man, demonstrated through the life of man is the only SON energy that can break down barriers and set men free from the intolerance and selfishness of humanity to LOVE as He LOVES!

If we spent less time concerned about the fact that we are not PERFECT, because, in and of ourselves we cannot be PERFECT, and become more concerned about abiding in Him who is PERFECT we would cease trying to be PERFECT while becoming closer to being PERFECT by letting the life of the One who is PERFECT live His PERFECT life through us.

Have you ever wondered what motivates God to HATE sin so much? Sin hurts people, God LOVES people and doesn't what people hurt, hence He hates sin! People are not the enemy of God, even when people do wrong God’s LOVE for them does not weaken one iota. Sin is the enemy of God because it fractures the object of His unwavering love...PEOPLE!

Though one can give an argument for their belief in God, (and I have had many in the past) what is the benefit to the kingdom of God or to people? A good argument does not make a difference for good in a person’s life. But if one truly loves, faith is produced that will make a difference for the kingdom of God in life.  The best argument you can give for the gospel is to live the gospel. If you live the gospel, you will live life loving to love people.