Tag: #life

Price Tag

Kristian M. Marion

Let’s look at two scriptures in the Bible:

Genesis 37:28 So when the Midianite traders passed by, his brothers pulled Joseph out of the pit and sold him for twenty shekels of silver to the Ishmaelites, who took him to Egypt.

Matthew 26:14 Then one of the twelve, named Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests 15 and said, “What are you willing to give me to betray Him to you?” And they weighed out thirty pieces of silver to him.

In these two scriptures, we find two profound individuals practically sold for silver by people that they not only trusted but were most accompanied with. How many times are we sold by our friends or family and we never expected it from them? Fair enough, Jesus definitely expected it because He knew the future as well as the fulfilment of prophecy. But the audacity is that Jesus was given a price tag!

There’s a story I’ve heard before about a shop that was secretly broken into at night. the intruders didn’t break in with the intention to steal but to rearrange the price tags. The customers were astonished at their bargains but the cashiers had no clue of what was going on. Sometimes, circumstances or people can place price tags on us without us even knowing. This price tag can become a limit for us especially when we want to do great things for God.

You have price tags like:white-price-tag-on-human-palm-1201721

Your bad past

Your bleak future

Your critical illness

Your disappointing failure

Your captivating addiction

Your empty loneliness

All these price tags are like labels that prevent us from living the life that God wants us to live. And just like that, we stand at a fork in the road. One tells us to listen to the opinions of people and the other, the Truth of Gods word. The choice remains up to you. The worse thing is when we choose to believe the price tag.

Your price tag says your past is bad but 2 Corinthians 5:17 says: Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away. Behold, the new has come!

Your price tag says that your future is bleak but Jeremiah 29:11 says: For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, to give you a future and a hope.

Your price tag says that your sickness is critical but Isaiah 53:5 says: But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His stripes, we are healed.

Your price tag says that your failure is disappointing but Romans 8:28 says: And we know that God works all things together for the good of those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose.

Your price tag says that your addiction has you captivated but John 8:36 says: So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.

Your price tag says your loneliness makes you feel empty but Hebrews 13:5b says “Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you.”

 

People can try to get rid of you but they can’t get rid of your purpose. You are here for a reason, don’t let people stop you from doing what God has planned for you. Those who betrayed Joseph and Jesus always regretted it. The only problem we face is when we choose to believe the price tag. Your worth is found in Christ, not in other people. It was Jesus who died for you, no one else. His blood is what makes you precious, nothing else.

You will never find a price tag on something that’s priceless.

Christianity and Ancestral Worship

Kristian M. Marion

Since heritage day is coming up, I would like to deal with the question that seems to rise up is: Can a Christian serve Christ and still worship their forefathers? What I have found is that this brings up an ultimatum. It is either Jesus or your ancestors. You can’t worship both. You may ask why? Let’s read the Bible…

Deuteronomy 18:10-11

10“There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, one who uses divination, one who practices witchcraft, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, 11or one who casts a spell, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead.

Isaiah 8:19

19When men tell you to consult the spirits of the dead and the spiritists who whisper and mutter, shouldn’t a people consult their God instead? Why consult the dead on behalf of the living?

So, since the Bible is compatible with Jesus but not compatible with ancestral worship. We can now say that there is now no commonality between them whatsoever.

Most people use the Transfiguration story to justify consulting the dead because Jesus called up Moses and Elijah. However, one must understand that Moses and Elijah did not die a natural death. Also, the disciples did not have a conversation with Moses and Elijah.

It is also vital to know what Ecclesiastes 9:5-6 says:

5For the living know they will die; but the dead do not know anything, nor have they any longer a reward, for their memory is forgotten. 6Indeed their love, their hate and their zeal have already perished, and they will no longer have a share in all that is done under the sun.

The dead doesn’t know anything. They can’t help you! It also says that they will no longer have a share in what is happening on earth. The question arises: Who are you communicating to? Are they really your forefathers? Are they really your ancestors? Or are they spirits disguising themselves as your loved ones deceiving you and drawing you away from Christ Jesus?

You cannot follow your ancestors and Jesus. They are going in two opposite directions. You can’t be in America and England at the same time. You will have to choose who you will be in. You may that it is your pride or your tradition but the Bible says in 2 Corinthians 5:17,

17Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away. Behold, the new has come!

Unless you leave the old things, you can’t be with the new. You don’t need your forefathers to take you closer to God. We have Jesus for that. Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life. No man comes to the Father but through Him. John 14:6

In 1 Timothy 2:5; 

5For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,

Hebrews 9:15

15Therefore Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, now that He has died to redeem them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant.

Therefore, Jesus is the ONLY essential person that will take us to God for in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form. Colossians 2:9

Repent and turn to Christ. Put away all false gods aside and serve the true living God.

The True Gospel

Kristian M. Marion

Previously, I have written warnings on this blog about false gospels that have infiltrated churches. But what is the true Gospel? People don’t have a clue! So I have taken the liberty to let everyone know. You might not like it but you have to know it.

Christians do not know the depravity of a soul caused by sin. When sin entered the world, death reigned. Romans 6:23 The wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life. Sin is the reason why God and His people were separated, Romans 3:23 For all have fallen short of the glory of God. So from ancient times, this chasm between God and man has have had many attempts to fill it up with good works and religion. Nothing changed until God Himself decided to fill the gap so that He could be in union with the people He loved. And this is how the Gospel story began. Jesus came down as God in the flesh and gave His life for us so that we can have eternal life. The crucifixion of Jesus Christ was the only way that we could be saved. No other way. Matthew 26:39, Jesus prayed to the Father asking if this cup could be taken from Him, yet not as He will but what the Father wanted. In other words, if there was any other way…

But there wasn’t…

He died and was buried for three days and then rose again. Understand that He died for the remission of our sins and then rose again for our justification, Romans 4:25, Because if Christ died, who would be the advocate that would plead our cause and tell the judge that someone died for us? Hence, Christ rose so that He could intercede on our behalf. He has been doing it since A.D. 30?

While we were sinners, Christ died for us, Romans 5:8. Our good works can’t get us into heaven, Romans 3:27, it is only through faith in Christ Jesus that we can receive salvation. Jesus is the only way to heaven, John 14:6. Jesus is the way, the truth and the life, that means He gives us new life. 2 Corinthians 5: 17, Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! Correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t the new always different from the old? If there is no change, then you are still old. A convert cannot be living the same way he was living before he knew Christ. The Holy Spirit will bring conviction. Hence, if someone wants to follow Christ, He must repent and believe in Christ, Acts 2:38. Repentance means to turn from your old wicked ways and strive towards holiness and live a life that pleases God, and only God…

Conviction and repentance aren’t a once of thing in the life of a Christian. It’s ongoing, God begins to trim the fat of worldliness so that we become closer and closer to His image. It isn’t easy but I can assure you that it is worth it.

But it doesn’t stop there…

You also need to go tell others about Jesus too! They also need to be saved, I mean, without Jesus, the only destination is hell…

Mark 16:15 Therefore go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. We must go and make disciples, not sit in church every Sunday until your life is over! What does it mean to follow Christ? Do we know what it costs? I don’t think we do. We think we can just say a prayer and smooth sail into heaven. Nope. To be Christian means giving everything to God. Everything belongs to Him. Even your very life. Jesus didn’t suffer and die on the cross so that you can sit on your couch and watch Netflix. There is a calling we need to respond to.

We can’t carry on walking in darkness, we can not continue to live in sin, Romans 6:1. The Bible says in Hebrew 10:26-27, If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice of sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God.

John 14:15, If you love me, you will obey what I command. That means if you don’t do what Jesus commanded us to do, you don’t love Him!

John 14:12, I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do greater things than these because I am going to the Father. That means if we don’t do what Jesus was doing, we don’t have faith in Him! Answer this question: Does a person who does not love God and does not have faith in Jesus go to heaven?

And here is something for you to think about. I know I’m crossing the line here. Read Matthew 25:31-46. We have the sheep and the goats. The sheep were welcomed into heaven because they fed the hungry, quenched the thirsty, invited strangers in, clothed the naked, helped the sick and visited those in prison. But the goats were cast into the eternal fire because they never did what the sheep did. We need to be careful that we don’t fall into a legalistic works based doctrine here but if we worship other gods instead of Jesus then we are hellbound. Jonah 2:8, Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs. This scripture says that if we have idols in our hearts, we can actually forfeit the grace that has been given to us. The worst idol of today is ourselves. We worship ourselves so much that we just don’t care about anyone else. Our selfishness will drag us to hell.

There will have to be a part 2 of this blog. Has to be…

Prosperity Gospel #2

Kristian M. Marion

In my previous post on this topic Prosperity Gospel, I discussed the dangers of a money orientated gospel. I would like to touch on this topic again with a bit more shocking information. I would also like to show you why I hate the prosperity gospel.

When I used to go to church when I was young, I attended a church that was spiritually competitive. A spiritually competitive church will never be spiritually edifying. It was the type of church that if you were the richest, then you were the closest to God and that’s why you were blessed. So if you drove a Mercedes or a BMW, it’s because you were spending a lot of time with God. Which is strange because non-Christians also drive those cars and so do thugs!

I remember reading prosperity books that members of the congregation recommended and sold. I would pray and read my Bible. Pray and be as good as I can be so that God would bless us. Spending money for school was a rare privilege. We sometimes walked to school. We couldn’t do what the other kids did because I couldn’t afford it. We were just happy with the plate of food we had on our table every day. I would pray for clothes, shoes and money. It was like talking to a brick wall. My uniform would get small and I would need new school shoes hoping that God would provide but nothing seemed to happen. Eventually, I would get what I needed but what about the abundant blessings that God spoke about in His word?

I remember walking 4Km to church while I saw other people with cars never show up. I never had money to godly things but others had cash for alcohol and club nights. God, why are you so unfair?

I remember when I stopped praying about all these things. I just believed and trusted God irrespective whether He ‘blessed’ me or not. I didn’t care whether he provided or not, my allegiance is not conditional. If I die today, I know where I’m going. I’m not living for here and now, I’m living for the mansion that Jesus is preparing for me. We should pray more for our eternal destination rather than temporary things. Don’t get me wrong, God does provide our needs, and wants! However, you have a problem if you only want to get close to God so that you can get what you want. You go to God to get God!

I have no respect for churches who have chosen leaders based on their paycheck. Wearing suits and expensive dresses doesn’t bring you closer to God. Owning that mansion won’t take you to heaven and driving that Ferarri won’t take you closer to God.

One of our leaders said this: “Are you still successful if you excel at your workplace but fail God and your family?”

 

Now to the scary part. The real scary part. Revelations 13:

16And he causes all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free men and the slaves, to be given a mark on their right hand or on their forehead, 17and he provides that no one will be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has the mark, either the name of the beast or the number of his name

 

According to Revelation 13, The Bible predicts that unless you accept a mark in exchange for your soul, you will not be able to buy or sell. That means that you cannot work or own a business. No income. No way to pay for your house. No car debit orders. No way of purchasing food or water for your family. It is practically choosing to be a hobo on the street! You can beg all you like but no one can give you money because the mark is what the economy runs on. People will be told not to give you any food, besides in a world like today, people don’t help the poor. Why would they help Christian people that they hate? Farming would be illegal by then. Christians would have to live in jungles or on mountains, anywhere that has water nearby. And you would probably be hunted for breaking the law.

The question is: If the mark were enforced into the economy today, would you leave your job, your bank accounts, your home, your car? Would you leave everything for the sake of eternal life?

The prosperity gospel preachers are preparing people today to receive that mark! People are chasing the dime instead of drawing close to God. And when the mark of the beast comes out, people will take it because they believe in a God who wants them to be wealthy. How many Christians will be taking that Mark? How many will sacrifice their eternity for the sake of status and comfort? Who will tell these prosperity preachers to shut up?

Has God Rejected Israel?

Kristian M. Marion

I have come across many articles written by many walks of life regarding the Holy Land and their occupants. Some are supportive of the Jews and some are antisemitic.

But I don’t care about people’s preferences and opinions. I believe in the Bible and not what the media shoves down our throat.

Let’s go straight to scripture…

Jeremiah 31:35-37 This is what the Lord says:

The One who gives the sun for light by day, the fixed order of the moon and stars for light by night, who stirs up the sea and makes its waves roar – the Lord of Armies is his name:

If this fixed order departs from before me-

this is the Lord’s declaration-

only then will Israel’s descendants cease to be a nation before me forever.

This is what the Lord says:

Only if the heavens above can be measured and the foundations of the earth below explored, will I reject all of Israel’s descendants because of all they have done – this is the Lord’s declaration.

This is what scripture states. God has NOT rejected Israel. How could He? Is not salvation first for the Jews, then for the Gentiles? Romans 1:16…

Christians fail to realise that Christianity originated in Israel by a Jew named Jesus. He died so that all could be saved if they repented and believed in Him. Now, some of the Israelites became Christians, are they still rejected? No. There are still Messianic Jews who believe in Jesus! God is fighting on behalf of Israel even though some of them don’t believe in Him. In 2014, an article was published about how enemies of Israel launched rockets in an attack against Jerusalem and those rockets swerved away from the Holy City for no reason. Why? God protects that Land. Today, Israel live in Kibbutz. A kibbutz is a self-sustaining village. they can survive without any help from the outside because they have everything they need. God provides for them. So if God is protecting them and you are against Israel, doesn’t that mean that you are fighting against God?

God still has a purpose for Israel which will be revealed in the last days. They will see the King of Kings and know who their Messiah is. Then they will believe. All Israel will be saved.

Romans 11:1 Did God reject His people? By no means!

As Christians, we need to support Israel and not back out because of politics. Israel was recently attacked by Palestinians and the media twisted the story stating that Israel attacked the Palestinians. We live in a world that is very biased. They don’t want you to know the truth.

Another issue in the church that is leading people astray is this crazy notion that the church is the new Israel! How absurd! There is Israel and there are Gentiles. Those who accept Jesus are Believers, also known as Christians. There is a huge difference. When we adopt the idea that we are the new and improved Israel, then we begin to believe the heresy that Israel was rejected by God.

So support Israel in your prayers. Support them by buying their products. Support them because when everyone turns against them, understand then that the end is near. Extremely near…

Poetry And Stories

Kristian M. Marion

Words and phrases entwine

Metaphors and allegories realign

Connotations and rhymes

Formed in this mind of mine

 

I remember back in the day when I was in grade 2. The art class was told to write a poem. At the age of 7, I didn’t what poetry was apart from the fact that the lines needed to rhyme. So I wrote random two line sentences that rhymed. The poem didn’t really give a message but to me, it seemed good since it rhymed. Everyone was told to stand up and read their poem out loud to the class. Once mine was said, it was severely criticised by the art teacher in front of everyone.

From that day, I hated poetry. I hated reading it let alone writing it. The English language, however, forced me to read poetry that made no sense because it held deep meanings in it. In grade 4, we were told to write a story or an article. I had terrible handwriting but I wrote an extremely exaggerated story about a tsunami. It was just a wild card sent from my crazy imagination. The teacher had all the writings marked by an external art teacher. When it came back, the art teacher told her that there was one in particular that had caught her attention. This piece of work as read out to the class. It was the story I wrote…

In grade 5, one of the projects we had was to write a book. I wrote a detective story and submitted it. But that got me thinking. Why don’t I write my own book for fun? And that’s what I did. Using an old computer my Dad had, I wrote in my free time.

In grade 7, I was addicted to reading. I spent my breaks in the library and worked there as a media monitor. I could find anything in that library. Information, books and subjects. By high school, I had memorised the universal library number system. I would just walk to the shelf and find the subject you were looking for. I used to listen to the teacher’s lesson, do my work and then read. Just read. I would zone out and enter another world that was hidden within the pages of my book. I would forget where I was and what I’m doing because I would be lost in the story. Many learners would tease me because of my book addiction. But what really got me baffled was that my teacher used to ridicule me whenever I had a book in my hand. He would call me “bookworm” and laugh at me. Imagine a teacher! The same person who was supposed to encourage you to learn!

art-artistic-blank-page-371954.jpg

By the end of the year, I walked into school, that same teacher was standing outside waiting for me. He told me that I had achieved the third highest in English. He admitted that it was due to my persistent reading. I smiled and walked away. I’m not going to change who I am for people…

When I had left school, I was exposed to a lot of spoken word poetry by members of my church. It really intrigued me. So I decided to write my first poem called “New Season” which was the theme of the youth camp we were going on. It really amazed the youth and the church. I started writing more and only to realize that I was unlocking the gift that I had in me all these years without me even knowing…

I wrote a book over seven years and I got a story that inspires people. The boo is currently published on Amazon and it’s only a matter of time before it will come out in paperback. And that’s not the only story I’ve written…

So, if you have a passion, don’t let people bring you down. Sometimes the devil uses people to stop you from using the gift God has placed inside of you. Don’t let that happen! There will be people who will help you expose your gift and there will be people who will try to cut it down. Recognize who is for you and who is against you and stick with those who help thrive your gift

You were given the gift for a reason… use it…

Observe The Sabbath

Kristian M. Marion

I have been seeing a lot of scriptures about the Sabbath lately. Many pages stating that church must happen on the seventh day and that we must worship Jesus on Saturday. Stop! You don’t designate one day to worship God. You worship Him every day! The Seventh Day Adventist Church began in the 1830s with the help of Ellen G. White. It was also derived from the Millerites, followers of William Miller who preached that Jesus would return somewhere between March 1843 and March 1844. After twisting scriptures of the book of Daniel, they concluded that Jesus was going to have His second coming on the 22nd of October 1844. Over 100000 people came out to watch the empty sky that night only for it to end with weeping. It became known as the Great Disappointment.

Today, Seventh Day Adventist cook all their food every Friday and they go to church. they spend the whole day at church and eat there. They don’t work on any Saturday because they believe that it is a sin. However, I have come across some that do work because the scriptures say that we must be obedient to their earthly masters. So does the earthly master mean more than the heavenly One?

Is the Sabbath nullified? No. It is still alive. In Matthew 12, Jesus and His disciples were walking through a grain field and they were eating some of the heads of grain. This was considered to be unlawful. By that time, there was a lot of man-made rules. For example:

A woman couldn’t take a grey strand of hair out her head.

You could ride a donkey but couldn’t beat to go faster.

If a beggar came to your window for alms, he had to stretch in to take the money because stretching out to give him anything would break the Sabbath.

Today in Israel, you are not allowed to press the button for the elevator to go up or down. They have automatic elevators that stop a minute at every floor.

Jesus is the Lord of the Sabbath. What does that mean? Jesus is Lord every day. That means the Sabbath is every day! And the rest we have is in Him! Hebrews 4 speaks of a different rest. The rest we have in Jesus. It’s a special type of rest that no one can take away. It’s the type of rest that brings peace and joy. This rest does not come by doing nothing on a Saturday. It comes by spending quality time with Jesus every day.

Hebrews 4:11, Make every effort to enter that rest…

And for those that go to church on Sunday, God did not change the Sabbath to Sunday. no scripture states that. The disciples never sat at home on a Saturday doing nothing. They did what was good on that day. Remember, the Pharisees had a problem with Jesus healing on that day. The disciples went out and preached on that day. Why? Because they knew that all the Jews would be at the synagogue on that day.

You want more proof?

Saturday is named after Saturn, the god of time. Sunday was named after the sun god. Thursday was named after Thor, the god of war. In fact, all the days of the week are named after gods! So which is the Sabbath? How do you know that Saturday is specifically the Sabbath when the days were renamed?

Why did God give us the Sabbath? He knew that our physical bodies need rest because if we overdo it with ourselves, we can get sick. That is why people get sick often. So rest is needed, no doubt. But don’t make it a religion. Rest can be taken any day but spending time with God is something that’s done every day.