BTZ Blog

At the very core of being a member of the community of the redeemed and grace living is the truth regarding Jesus’ finished work of the cross, His Lordship and the necessity of people not usurping His Headship of His people. “For if we live, we live for the Lord, or if we die, we die for the Lord; therefore whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s. For to this end Christ died and lived again, that He might be Lord both of the dead and of the living. (Romans 14:8-9) It did not take long after I embraced and promoted the biblical doctrine of grace before the grace plus works people opposed and charged that the “grace gospel” automatically supports a careless attitude toward conduct and morality and promotes sinning as you see fit. I realize this charge is not new and is as old as the Grace Gospel itself. But it is staggering to me how giving Jesus His rightful place, believing in His finished work on the cross and that the gaining and maintaing of our salvation is ALL

Religious people think they have a special favor of God, and the higher they are on the religious hierarchy scale the greater favor they have. Many religious people brag about their relationship with God. In conversing with a guy the other day, based on Acts 17:11 which states; These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so...he had this to say; I quote "So according to this all Christians are not equal. Paul makes a distinction between those who study the Scriptures and those who don`t. He says that those who study the Scriptures are more noble. I have made up my mind of which group I will be in this modern time when some of this things appear to be old fashion and outdated." End quote This superior elitist attitude shows the depth of deception people are in and their ignorance of what is meant by the word noble in that they think th

Indeed you are called a Jew, and rest on the law, and make your boast in God, and know His will, and approve the things that are excellent, being instructed out of the law, and are confident that you yours elf are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of babes, having the form of knowledge and truth in the law. You, therefore, who teach another, do you not teach yourself? You who preach that a man should not steal, do you steal? You who say, “Do not commit adultery,” do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? You who make your boast in the law, do you dishonor God through breaking the law? For “the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you,” as it is written. For circumcision is indeed profitable if you keep the law; but if you are a breaker of the law, your circumcision has become uncircumcision. Therefore, if an uncircumcised man keeps the righteous requirements of

"Brethren, my heart's desire and my prayer to God for them is for their salvation. For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not in accordance with knowledge. For not knowing about God's righteousness, and seeking to establish their own, they did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for right eousness to everyone who believes." (Romans 10:1-4) The organized religion code is just a mind game in which the people in their chosen sect are pawns in the shame and blame game of their religious extremist views. It is a system of behaviors, moral and ethical, required by humans to be in good standing with God, a system of rules revealing the shoulds and shouldn'ts, the do's and don'ts to be adhered to to please God. Religion has hijacked the greatest event in the history of the world, the death and resurrection" of Jesus, to further their diabolical devilish scheme by offering pe

Casting Crowns...."Jesus, Friend Of Sinners" Jesus, friend of sinners, we have strayed so far away We cut down people in your name but the sword was never ours to swing Jesus, friend of sinners, the truth's become so hard to see The world is on their way to You but they're tripping over me Always looking around but never looking up I'm so double minded A plank eyed saint with dirty hands and a heart divided Oh Jesus, friend of sinners Open our eyes to the world at the end of our pointing fingers Let our hearts be led by mercy Help us reach with open hearts and open doors Oh Jesus, friend of sinners, break our hearts for what breaks yours Yeah... Jesus, friend of sinners, the one who's writing in the sand Made the righteous turn away and the stones fall from their hands Help us to remember we are all the least of these Let the memory of Your mercy bring Your people to their knees Nobody knows what we're for only what we're again

In the religious world there is much ado about...popes, superintendents, bible schools, pastors, bishops, reverends, right reverend priests, seminaries, sermons, tithing, choirs, alter calls, signing member shi p forms, standing for "christian causes", and scaring the hell out of people. What is ironic about this ado is; I have searched the Bible and I can't find where Jesus ever talked about or participated in any of it. But I did find He said; "And you must not be called masters (leaders), for you have one Master (Leader), the Christ." (Mat. 23:10) In the religious world we are inundated with; denominated churches, Sunday-go-programmed, event-driven-meetings, collection plates, Sunday school, children's church, and Bible study. Again I cannot find in the Bible where participated in any such thing. But I did find He said; " making void the word of God by your tradition, which you have handed down. You do many things like this.&q

The fruit of the Spirit is not a list of things we are to strive to do...be loving, get more patience, strive to be kind, but forth a gentle spirit, force yourself to have self-control, work at being faithful, suffer t o be long suffering. It is the fruit of the Spirit not the fruit of human effort. Jesus is the vine, we are the branches. Branches don't strive to produce fruit, the life of the vine is the life in the branches, it is the life of the vine that produces fruit through the branches.

The Gospel is GOOD news. If you hear people preaching blame, shame and guilt that makes you feel blamed, shamed and guilty, rest assured, you are not hearing the good news gospel therefore, you are not hearing the Gospel of Jesus Christ! Zephaniah 3:11 In that day you shall not be shamed for any of your deeds In which you transgress against Me; Romans 9:33 As it is written: “Behold, I lay in Zion a stumbling stone and rock of offense, And whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.” Romans 10:11 For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.”

“Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense; and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.” (Rom. 9:33) For the Scripture says, “Everyone who belie ves in him will not be put to shame.” (Rom.10:11) For it stands in Scripture: “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.” “Everyone who trusts in Jesus will never be put to shame or suffer blame.” (1 Peter 2:6) Shame means disgrace, dishonor, disfavor. It is being out of favor; a loss of favor. Shame is literally the opposite of grace. The shame and blame gospel is not the gospel of Christ's grace. In playing the shame and blame game with people we cause them "turn in upon themself" thus the shame and blame game causes guilt and it cause a peoson to indulge in a pity party where they devalue themself or think that God devalues them based their behavior or actions. That type of guilt

"Brethren, my heart's desire and my prayer to God for them is for their salvation. For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not in accordance with knowledge (about God). For not knowing about God's righteousness, and seeking to establish their own (righteousness), they did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes" (Romans 10:1-4). The righteousness of the self-righteous is a stench in the nostrils of God reeking of the aroma of putrified filthy rags. In the community of humanity self-righteousness is an affront to the righteousness of God. This is especially true in the community of the redeemed. Self-righteousness is not an emotional attitude that people like to hate, it is all a way of life people are living, that is accepted as being the righteousness of God. Though wanting to avoid self-righteousness like the plague, people have learned to hate

People need to understand that learning about or thinking about God (though is commendable) does not constitute a relationship with God...reading about, or listening to somebody talk about God does not constitute relating to God...experiencing a religious experience does not constitute an intimacy with God...going to a building that is claimed to be the house of God does not make it the house of God...giving tithes and offerings to so called "men of God" does not constitute giving to God...going to Sunday-go-meetings and calling it Church does not constitute being the Church...preaching from the Bible does not constitute preaching the Gospel. Religious people find satisfaction in doing these things but are they authentic? We can do all these things and only have an imaginary relationship with God. Far to often the doing of these things is used as a substitute for knowing God intimately. God is is in us and we are in Him so the manner in which He relates to

In the world of believer segregation fostered by denominationalism is in direct violation to the admonishment of Paul in Romans 15:7. The division that believer segregation spawns is denominational thievery because it robs God of the very reason He created man therefore it is sin. The scripture tells us that man was created to praise God, yet because of denomination's refu sal to accept each other as equals and shuns one-anothering is robbing God of praise: “Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God” (Romans 15:17). Accepting one another is an effective means of praise and worship. Notice there’s no mention of a twenty minutes set aside in a Sunday-go-meeting known as the "worship time", there is no mention of music, raising of hands, shouting hallelujahs, amening the preacher or any other phrases of adoration that we practice. There is no mention of the functions we normally associate with worship. Just accepti

I have found out that some things of which I had thought to be most certainly right, in reality have been most certainly wrong. I now conclude that my persistence to believe what I believed was right was because in my deception, I liked my delusion because it agreed with what I accepted as truth and lined up with my denominated bel ief. I chose to believe the delusional delusions of the denominated spiritual elite was God's method of supplying me with spiritual truth that He wanted me to know. The self-delusion of the self-disillusioned fostered my self-delusion as to what I accepted as truth. The fact is that in our delusional delusion we interpret our own spiritual ‘experiences’ according to our denominational influences, agendas, and desires that conform with denominated group influences that is most important for the denominated groups survival. In this day of the high-tech world, one person can influence millions and we need to be careful about the truthfulness

The blind are uninformed, misinformed and delusional leaders leading people who are unable or unwilling to think for themselves regarding the deceptive doctrines of the deluded leaders thus, accept the delusional doctrines as truth and become blind themselves. Choosing to wallow in their ignorance, thinking themselves Biblical learned and spiritually wise when in reality they are wise fools going aimlessly hither and thither teaching the doctrines of men and their denominational delusions, blinding the minds of the people who follow therm. When evidence rises that sheds light on their illusional delusions, their reasoning is so polluted by the hog-wash of man-made doctrine they unquestioningly blindly accept and follow when told by their religious leaders without questioning the validly and authenticity of what they are believing simply because, “it is what the denominated "man of God" told them! The element of confusion is rapid within the religious world

People who hold to a performance behavior as the way to a relationship with God believe that "good behavior leads to God's favor" and "bad behavior leads to God's disfavor", as if what God thinks of people or the wa y He treats people is based on them and their performance. However, what God thinks of me or the way He treats me is not based on my doing. My focusing on my doing to gain God's favor causes me to be obsessed with my performance and give rise to self-righteousness and hinders me from seeing and understanding what God has done that disqualifies my performance as a way to gain His acceptance or favor. The Gospel is not what I can do or should do for Jesus, it is based on what Jesus has already done for me and is doing through me. And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood

Is about what God has done for us to bring us into relational journey with Himself for us to establish loving relationships with people. The Grace Gospel was God's method of replacing the Law which showed our inability to gain and maintain right standing with Himself. The Bible is viewed as the written word of God that points to the living Word of God (Jesus) and is best understood when viewed through the lens of Jesus. If what we believe the Bible is teaching does not line up with Jesus who is the express image of His Father, then we need to conform to the Jesus view of God. The motivation to live right, and live in obedience is love realizing that it is God's doing not man's doing. Ministry is God ministering to people through us, it is not our work. Man has no ability to provide the means or do anything to gain favor with God or for God to love him any more or do anything for God to love him any less. God imputes His righteousness to us and we no

A system of behaviors, moral and ethical, required by humans to be in good standing with God. A system of rules revealing the shoulds and shouldn'ts, the do's and don'ts to be adhered to to please God. The Bible is the beginning and end of our relationship with God. It is viewed as the revelation of all that God wants us to know and do. The motivation to live right is to escape eternal punishment and the responsibility to live right is our obedience to established religious rules and regulations. Ministry and mission to people is based on what we should do FOR God by warning people about hell so as to scare them out of Hell. Humanity is viewed as being nonspiritual and in need of the spiritual elite to show them the way and how to live for God. While man comes into relationship with God by grace, the maintaining of the relationship is through self-effort in doing good, resulting in self-righteousness. Denominational doctrine and spiritual experien

The language of Gossip and the language of Slander should remain unspeakable and unlistenable to true Believers. The Gossip Language is second, third, forth...etc. hand information that someone tells you without the consent of the person being gossiped about. Gossip can partially true, or completely false or even the whole truth and it can be motiva ted by good intentions, but the personal information about the person is always negative because the objective is to show them in a bad light. The Slander Language is defined in scripture as accusatory verbalization that is injurious to a person's name and reputation? It is murder of a person's character by smearing one's reputation. The languages of Gossip and Slander cloud people’s perceptions of another person unfairly and unjustly without their knowledge or consent. One major component in both of these language sins is that the person being discredited is unaware of what is happening. People who speak the

The question I am about to ask will not be viewed as productive to people with a religious mindset. Is religion a major roadblock to a vibrant, intimate relational relationship with God? I am of the opin ion that it does. I do not believe that the people caught in the religious trap intentionally hinder our relationship with God. But in their pursuit of religion and exploring what they perceive as truths and beliefs about God, as taught by their denomination sidetracks their focus and they fail to pursue God Himself. It is so easy to go to the Sunday-programmed-event-driven two hour meeting...it is so easy to pay your debt to God by the paying of tithes...It is so easy to participate in a twenty minute worship time...it s so easy to amen a preacher preaching denominated doctrines...instead of coming together as the community of the redeemed to encourage each other with a psalm, hymn and towards good works. Denominational people have gotten the idea that we need t

Many professing believer's" speak with "forked tongue", they speak words from their mouth with mind belief that is void of heart understanding. Many respond to subjects they do not comprehend or understand with the ir mind that definitely shows a total void of heart understanding. Some even call a friend, read the topic to them soliciting support for their discrediting it, and hope for their friend's denouncement of it, and in some cases support for their slandering of the person who wrote it. True believer's value a heart without spoken words over spoken words without a heart. These people though sincere are sincerely wrong. It would be beneficial for them to read and heed the wisdom of the words found in Proverbs 18:13, He who answers a matter before hearing it, it is folly and shame to him. Answering before listening is not only shows stupidity and rudeness, it also shows the depth of ignorance of the subject at hand.

Isn't doing the right thing for the wrong reason just as bad as doing the wrong thing for the right reason? Isn't it better that the right thing not get done if it is being done for the wrong reason? Isn't doing the wrong thing for the right reason making the right reason the wrong reason for doing the wrong thing? Doing the right thing for the right reason is always the right thing to do.