Written by Jon Acuff remixed by Tony Ares.

I met a man that worked at a slaughter house. He shared how he killed animals. He said, "I like to bleed them out slowly! If they die a sudden death then it is difficult to remove all the blood. If you cut an artery though, the heart will pump out the blood. It's more painful for the animal but it is much cleaner for the butcher."

I began to realize...that is what the devil wants to do to us. He doesn't want a sudden fall or death. He wants us to slowly die to this world. He wants a slow kill. If your dying slowly...you don't have to give up your idols. When you hit rock bottom though, you learn to trust in the ROCK of God, Jesus Christ!

We all have a decision to make. Do we want to bleed out slowly over 70 years? Or do we want to really die suddenly...so that we can really live?

We need to get busy dying...so we can get busy living!

(The original version is posted on the link below. It is much longer and rambles a bit[sorry Jon]
http://stuffchristianslike.net/2010/09/3710/#comments )

Sent from my iPad

On several websites and blogs, I have been encouraging people to wait and withhold judgment regarding Eddie Long. I have reminded people that the accusers broke into the Pastor's Office and stole an IPAD which would explain the pictures. (Many of us have pictures in our cameras, IPODS, and IPADS that we pray that NO ONE ever sees.)

Thank GOD it wasn't for anything sexual but I too have had people lie on me. When folks in a congregation don't get the money or support that they expect...they can get VICIOUS! (Ironically..the same people who give NOTHING, expect a lot when they get in trouble.)

So I was waiting for his Sunday Message with bated breathe. I was expecting one of two scenarios:

A.) I did it. I am wrong. I am seeking help. I am stepping down for a few years to reform my character. (We all fall down.)

Or

B.) I did not do this! I never engaged in any sexual behavior with those kids! I am innocent!

Here is what I didn't expect. I didn't expect a half tail explanation filled with ambiguous statements and the puzzling self-evident, "I am not a perfect man"! I didn't expect him to hide behind his attorneys.

Greater than his legal responsibility, the Bishop has a responsibility to his congregation and the Body of Christ. If he did it, he should MAN UP and take responsibility! If he didn't do it, he adamantly and clearly should stand up for the truth!!!

As a mature person in Christ, I KNOW that Pastors aren't perfect. Worshiping men is for babies. Everyone is struggling with something and before it's over, Jesus will expose us all!

As a Pastor once told me, "If you fall privately, confess privately, if you fall publicly, then you owe it to the Body to confess PUBLICLY!"

To come out half stepping is unfair to the congregation. The congregations applause to ambiguous statements demonstrates an unhealthy church. We are a nation in need of responsibility and accountability.

If the Body of Christ, does not function with responsibility and accountability...then where will the world find it?

Sent from my iPad

     Once upon a time there was much debate about which Martial Art was the best.  Then suddenly....there was a Martial Arts Apocalypse.  A mixed martial arts tournament was held appropriately named, the Ultimate Fighting Championships(UFC).  A Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu expert named Royce Gracie dominated other styles, including boxing, shoot-fighting, karate, judo and tae kwon do. 

 

     Due to his dominance, today all MMA fighters need SOME training in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in order to survive.  The centuries old question was answered, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu became the dominant martial art.  As a result....boxing is no longer even relevant.  For the first time, the World Heavyweight Boxing Champion was/is no longer regarded as the baddest man in the universe.  (The current world heavyweight boxing champion...probably wouldn't last five minutes with most Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu experts.)

    Why do I share this?  Sometimes all "styles" aren't equal.  Sometimes we all can't be right.  Sometimes the concept of "your truth" or "my truth" gets washed away into the reality of “THE TRUTH”.  Out of political correctness and fairness, we all deep down want to believe that ALL RELIGIONS are equal.  We sometimes want to believe that God just explained things to different groups in different ways and we all are going to heaven because after all...our different styles or religions have to all be equal….right?

    I wonder how it felt.  I wonder how it felt to study a martial art for your entire life and then to have an expert in your “style” totally emasculated in front of the world over and over and over again throughout the nineties.  How would it feel to study a style your whole life, only to discover that the style was indeed inferior to another martial art?
     For many, the martial arts are serious issues.  Where you spend Eternity is much more serious though.  In a post modernistic America, we have been trained that we are all correct, we just have different perspectives.  I point out the Martial Arts Apocalypse for a reason.  Sometimes life has nothing to do with different perspectives.  Sometimes RIGHT IS RIGHT and WRONG IS WRONG.  Sometimes there is no gray area.  Sometimes one person is correct and ten people just THINK they are right.  It will be hard to swallow for some, but one day all of the ideologies, traditions, opinions, religions and opinions will be exposed.  
     In the Spirit, there is but one “art” which stands apart from the rest.  This Earth will one day experience a much broader Apocalypse where many “styles” or “faiths” will be exposed.  As magnificent as he is, Royce Gracie’s dominance will pale in comparison with the 2nd coming of Jesus Christ. 

 

Which style are you following?

Will your style be exposed?

Are you following the right SENSEI?

 

Romans 14:11

      “ As I live, says the LORD,
      Every knee shall bow to Me,
      And every tongue shall confess to God.”

2 Timothy Chapter 1 verse 7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but ofpower, and of love, and of a sound mind.
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I recently endured a physical pain that was greater than the pain when I broke my leg. It literally had me laying on the bed scared to move again, because I didn't want that pain to come back. The pain was so bad that I laid very still for the next two days.

This explains a lot to me about life. This world is filled with people who have been hurt.

Some physically, some mentally and some spiritually but many have discovered INCREDIBLE pain.

The question is after that pain will you be paralyzed by fear of that pain coming back?

How long will you lay on your bed of affliction, scared to move again, scared to try something new again or scared to love again?

God didn't give you the fear. Faith is pushing past the pain. Pain is a factor of life and so is healing and resurrection.
 
Don't let fear or pain box you in, keep on pushing!

Sent from my iPad

1 Corinthians 15:31
31 I protest by your rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.
KJV

2 Corinthians 4:10-12
10 Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.
11 For we which live are alway delivered unto death for Jesus' sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh.
12 So then death worketh in us, but life in you.
KJV
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Have you ever wondered why Jesus promised the abundant life yet you still suffer and struggle?

We are supposed to be New Creatures in Christ, yet the old man remains.

The old Tony or Kim or whoever still lives.  He or she is struggling to survive.  They want to live with all of their selfishness and sin.

The Apostle Paul talks about "walking circumspectly".  In some translations that means "walking in a straightline".  Walking straight is a metaphor for walking righteous.

Ironically our walk in our New Life is never perfectly straight until the Old Life flatlines.

Who is living within you?

Ephesians 3:8-11

8 Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ;

9 And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:

10 To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God,

11 According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord:

 

Have you ever noticed that most computer systems have “bugs” or “errors” in them?  Often times this is because the programmers do not account for human failure.  Many times, they design programs with the thought that everyone will understand computers and software the way that they do.  They do not account for the free will, lack of maturity and lack of understanding of the every day user. Henceforth the program does not endure or accomplish what it was designed to do.

 

Thankfully OUR GOD is a greater programmer than any man!!!!

 

When He created the universe, He knew that He would give us free will.  He knew that with that free will, we were going to hurt ourselves, our families and our environment.  Knowing that, He planned for our human failure.  He put several “triggers” within the programming system of the universe.  The most significant “trigger” is the birth, life, death and resurrection of Jesus the Christ.

 

So don’t worry about the “errors” in your life, Jesus has planned for your human failure.  Just reboot in Christ and remember that “Jesus SAVES”.

 

 

Exodus 12:1-6

12 And the Lord spake unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying,

2 This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you.

3 Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house:

4 And if the household be too little for the lamb, let him and his neighbour next unto his house take it according to the number of the souls; every man according to his eating shall make your count for the lamb.

5 Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats:

6 And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening.

KJV

 

Romans 12:1-2

12 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

KJV

 

In the Old Testament, God required sacrifices to make the people think about the consequences of sin.  The sacrifice was costly.  With a scarcity of resources an unblemished lamb was costly.  This was ordained to synchronize the soul.  The sacrifice brought awareness to the spirit about the depravity of sin and the need for God, specifically a savior.

 

In the New Testament, what does God require?   God requires a sacrifice of the Spirit.  He already died for our sins.  He is the sin sacrifice.  He still requires a sacrifice from us though.  It’s no longer for our sins, it’s in appreciation of His grace and mercy.  What do we give now?  How much do we give?  Answer:  We give our lives and we give in remembrance of the unblemished lamb.  We give until it hurts and then some.

Matthew 16:15-18

15 He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?

16 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.

17 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.

18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

 

 

When Jesus used the word “church”, he wasn’t talking about a building.  The word in the original language meant, “congregation”.   It’s amazing that today that word has been twisted to mean “building”. 

 

It’s always been about the people…and not the steeple.
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"Why build these buildings glorious, when man unbuilded goes, in vain we build the world unless the builder also grows."  - Markham

2 Corinthians 4:17

17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;

 

Have you ever heard the saying, “Let the baby cry, it develops their lungs”?  Well, actually that’s not true.  There is no scientific evidence that crying develops a babies lungs.  Actually that can cause despondency in a child.  This is especially true for the first three months.

 

It is believed that this “old wives tale” developed because in the olden days there was manual labor that needed to be accomplished.  Some mothers were constantly nursing and attending to their babies.  For the sake of the tribe, they needed to put their babies down and get something done.

 

Most old wives tales have a glimmer of truth though.  After the first three months, as the child develops, slowly but surely a parent must wean the child and prepare them for the rigors of life.  While it won’t develop the lungs per say, consistent “spoiling” will delay or impede their spiritual, social and physical development.

 

This is also why God does not immediately answer all our prayers in the affirmative.  It’s important for us to not remain “babies” in understanding.  We should remain childlike in our disposition but not our understanding. Part of adulthood is understanding that everything is not about us.  We don’t or shouldn’t eat every time we are slightly hungry.  It’s alright if we are a little cold or a little warm.  God will not hug us the second we get a little uncomfortable.

 

God has a plan to develop us all and to lead us to adulthood.  His decisions of whether to bless us are not based upon our “feelings” or “cries”.  They are based upon what’s best.  So the next time you cry out to God, remember He hears your cries.  He will pick you up and comfort you.  He will feed you.  He will CHANGE you.  He will anoint you with oil. (and baby lotion)  He will do all of this…when the time is right.  He is preparing you for an ABUNDANT LIFE.

Disclaimer:  I thought about posting the references for the "child development" portions of this devotional.  I know that some mom will email me arguing about the details of child rearing.  Please don't allow the analogy to shake you off the greater spiritual truth.

 

 

 

 

Psalms 22:3-5

3 But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel.

4 Our fathers trusted in thee: they trusted, and thou didst deliver them.

5 They cried unto thee, and were delivered: they trusted in thee, and were not confounded.

KJV

 

Psalms 27:7

7 Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice: have mercy also upon me, and answer me.

KJV

 

Psalms 40:1-4

40 I waited patiently for the Lord; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry.

2 He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings.

3 And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the Lord.

4 Blessed is that man that maketh the Lord his trust, and respecteth not the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies.

KJV

 

Romans 5:3-4

3 And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience;

4 And patience, experience; and experience, hope:

KJV

 

Romans 8:28

28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

KJV