Obadiah's House

Israel: we stand with you

2006-07-15T00:04:00.000-07:00

Wow! What a week! Things have just exploded over in the middle east. I couldn't pass up this opportunity to say something about the current situation in Israel. I am glad that Israel is taking action and I hope they completely root out(neutralize) the Hezbollah terrorists. I'm sick and tired of hearing about the poor suffering Palestinians. There isn't one innocent person being targeted by Israel. The Hezbollah on the other hand is shooting missiles directly at innocent civilians. Yet, all we hear form the whining UN security council(what a joke) is poor Lebanese, they are suffering so much. What about the thousands of innocent Israeli citizens who are being attacked? What about their suffering? Once again Jewish suffering doesn't count. Well, It counts to God, and He's keeping track of all the crap that people are doing and saying against Israel. I recently heard a pastor say that his Jesus isn't the Jewish Jesus. My Jesus is the Jewish Jesus, He is the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, The Son of David the Messiah of the Jews and He will rule and reign from Jerusalem. We have a choice to either support God's people or not. If we support Israel we will be blessed if we don't we will suffer the consequences. I for one am glad to sacrifice a little money with the current gas prices to see the terrorist in southern Lebanon vaporized. "Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem"

2006-03-14T16:46:00.000-08:00

What am I here for? Has this thought ever crossed your mind? In our busy world, where there is so much distraction the questions of meaning sometimes get lost in the frantic shuffle of our lives. We have about 70 years give or take to live and then we die. To what end or purpose is our life. There are many philosophies and religions that try to answer this question. Some include a all powerful God or gods and others try to explain our existence scientifically. If There is a all powerful God controlling everything it makes sense to try and discover what makes Him happy. If there is no God, and if we just evolved by chance, then the only thing that makes sense is living for myself and doing what I want, love becomes meaningless. If there are many gods then I have to work to appease the most powerful one and hope that it's the one I know.
I have chosen to believe in a all powerful loving God. I believe the very existence of self-sacrifice and selfless expression of love is strong support for the existence of God. If I believe in an all powerful loving God then I should wish to know Him and please Him. What better place to look for information about God then in the Book that defines His nature, the Bible. In this book is the answer to our questions and the answer to why I am here. To love, glorify and honor God.

2006-01-16T12:32:00.000-08:00

I was reading this morning about Israel in Isaiah 1. God had been so faithful to them, bringing them out of over 400 years of bondage and preserving them through the wilderness. God gave them the land of Canaan, a lush green land, a land of abundance. Time and time again they turned against God and were unthankful, ungrateful and rebellious. The Lord allowed different nations to come in and take their land for the purpose of getting their attention and so that they would turn back to him. God delivered them many times from their enemies. God gave them a King when they ask for one and established the kingdom of David. Still after all this that God did for them they are refusing to follow Him. Isaiah 1:2-3 Says that Israel rebelled against God and that they don't even know who he is any longer. In verse 4 it says they are no longer being corrupted but that they are the corrupter and that they have made God angry. Verses 5-9 describe the depth of depravity to which they have sunk. In verse 9 it talks about a remenant, but even the remenant is corrupt. In verse 10 - 15 God says that he is sick of their offerings and the multitude of sacrifices, their services, feasts and sacred meetings. In verse 15 it says that He will not even look at them or listen to them. So what is the state of Israel is it hopeless. What about us!! We are no better than wicked Israel in our rebellion and idolatry. If we are honest with ourselves we will admit that we are in the same state as Israel. We have been continually rebellious toward God. We act as if everything is ok. We bring him our offerings of prayer and sacrifices of praise but our hearts are far from Him. We get together on Sunday or Saturday and smile and act holy, but inside we are like Sodom and Gomorrah. God says to us just as He said to them Isaiah 1:15 " When you spread out your hands, I will hide My eyes from you; even though you make many prayers, I will not hear". We wonder why our prayers are not answered and why we feel so dis-satisfied and confused. What is God's solution? Verse 16 + 15 says: " Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; Put away the evil of your doings from before My eyes. Cease to do evil. Learn to do Good; seek justice, rebuke the oppressor;
defend the fatherless, plead for the widow.
Verse 18:

"Come now and let us reason together ," says the LORD,

"though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow;

through they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool.

verse 19:

" If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land"

If you find yourself in the situation that Israel was in, there is hope!! Turn to the LORD today is you are a Christian(follower of Jesus Christ) REPENT and it says in first John 1:9 that " He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all un-righteousness". If you don't know Jesus you can become His child today. Romans 10:9 "If You confess with your mouth the LORD Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead you will be saved."

Why is it so hard to trust God?

2005-10-26T23:14:00.000-07:00

Have you ever asked yourself the question, why is it so hard to trust God? I ask myself that question often. It seems to me that no matter how many times God answers my prayer and keeps his promises I still have a hard time trusting him. Why? I could tell you that I have been let me down so many times that I just can't fully trust God. But that would be untrue. The truth is that I don't want to acknowledge God's faithfulness because then I have to acknowledge my unfaithfulness. Yeah I'm a scumbag. I don't like to admit it but it's true. I want to give myself some wiggle room. I want an out in case things don't work out with God. If I acknowledge that He has fulfilled His promises and has never let me down, then I would be admitting that I am wrong and He is right. Basically it comes down to the common struggle with pride and the flesh. "Dear God please strip me of my pride and rip apart my stinking flesh till I am spiritually bare before you". "That I may decrease and you might increase". I choose to trust You Jesus.

2005-10-24T20:07:00.000-07:00

A necessary death

2005-10-23T12:32:00.000-07:00

"Everybody wants to go to heaven but nobody wants to die" My new favorite CD, by David Crowder starts out with these words, and they are so true. Many of us ascribe to this philosophy; we want the joy and pleasure of life but none of the pain and hardship. We want satisfaction now instead of waiting for the right time. We find this idea is encouraged in our modern American culture. Fast food, fast shopping, fast sex, fast drugs, fast music, fast relationships, fast cars/trucks, fast communication. There is nothing wrong with any of these things, but there is something wrong with our attitude of instant satisfaction. Why, what’s wrong with being instantly satisfied. The first problem is that it usually comes from a self focused or selfish attitude. We want satisfaction and we want it now. We are unwilling to wait for anything. Whatever your religious beliefs may be the Idea of selflessness and sacrifice is usually praised. Unless you ascribe to Satanism or hedonism which is all about self. Watching someone wait with patience or grace happens so rarely anymore that it is looked at as a virture. I have heard even atheist praise a selfless act. It seems to be a human trait, that although we want instant gratification we praise those who are willing to suffer to obtain their goals. There is a problem, we find ourselves unable to act in a purely unselfish way. Even when we do something for others we have to fight wrong motivations and pride. The motivation to be recognized or to be liked is selfish. The feeling of satisfaction at doing a good job can turn into pride which is the epitome of selfishness. We can't seem to win. If you’re honest with yourself (which we can all be, because this is the internet) you will agree that you and I are selfish. We can't fix this problem no matter how hard we try. What is the answer? Death, yeah I said it DEATH!!. No, I am not encouraging mass suicide. I'm also not encouraging the messed up idea of sacrafice encouraged by racical Islam. It's not a physical death I am speaking of but a death to self. I was reading 2 Corinthians 4:10 this week which says; "Always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, That the life of the Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh". Notice it says dying which implies that there is still life there. As Christians we should be in the constant process of dying to ourselves and our flesh by conforming to the dying of Jesus So that His life can be seen in us. Jesus Said, "If anyone wants to be my disciple he must first deny himself, take up his cross and follow me". There is much suffering and pain in choosing to follow Jesus but in the end pure joy. If you don't know Jesus you can know Him today. Confess your sin to Him and ask Him to forgive you and He will. Ask him to be your Lord and Savior. You immediately become His and he will begin to work in your life. From then on you will suffer & succeed for a purpose. The Apostle Paul says in Romans 8:28 " For we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose". Die today so that you can really live.

Ok! so I'm a Jewish Christian Zionist!!

2005-10-16T17:06:00.000-07:00

I recently heard that Israel may be planning to give up more land to the Palestinians. That would be a huge mistake!! It would also be a mistake for our country to support this decision, or even worse to pressure Israel to do this. We should not have given up any land in fact the surrounding Arab countries should be giving Israel land for all the attacks and suffering and pain they have inflicted on the Jewish people. I'm tired of whining Palestinians who already have a homeland called Jordan begging the world to help them in their "struggle for freedom". I'm playing the world smallest violin for them right now but you can't see it because this is the internet, ok I could take a picture and post it, but I won’t. If you say "don't you want peace" I say no, not if it means that Israel has to give up more of there God given inheritance, yes I said "God given". There are millions more Jewish people around the world that will be returning to Israel and they are going to need land. We need people like Netanyahu back as the Israeli Prime Minister. Sure I'm sorry that Palestinian children suffer but the responsibility of most of their suffering lies squarely on the shoulders of the Palestinian people not on Israel. The Bible is very clear about the future of Israel and its ultimately good. Yes, you all better get used to matzah ball soup, because when the MESSIAH returns he will be ruling from a Jewish Jerusalem and HE will be ruling over the whole earth. BARUCH HABA BSHEM ADONAI!!!

2005-10-15T20:42:00.000-07:00

the temple mount

2005-10-15T19:30:00.000-07:00

The Bible doesn't just compare the coming of the Lord Jesus to a baby being born for nothing. I am currently waiting for my sixth child to be born. My wife who is doing all the work, is very anxious and wants this baby to come SOON!!! In the same way the church has been waiting 2000 + years for the return of Jesus. The bible describes the end times in these terms (paraphrase); there will be earthquakes in various places, famines, diseases and many other disasters these are just the beginning of labor pains. Anyone who has been through the labor process or watched it (in my case, thank God), Will tell you that it is unpredictable. Yet as the time of birth draws near the contractions become more frequent and grow in intensity. Labor can start and then stop and then start again. What is for sure is that the Baby will eventually come out and the pregnancy will be over and a new life begun. In a similar way the return of the Lord will be preceded by disasters that will grow in frequency and intensity until the Lord returns. What does that mean for us as Christians I believe it means the time is very short. It is no secret that recently we have seen disasters of unparalleled intensity like the Tsunami and recent hurricanes and earthquakes. There seems to be less time between these disasters as well. I realize that these things have been happening for centuries but I believe we still need to be watchful. If you are not a believer and you read this, you can change that today by asking Jesus to be your Lord and Savior. Don't put it off, none of us knows how much time we have. If you live in Magalia or Paradise CA. Come join us for church at http://www.magaliapines.org we look forward to seeing you.

Friends

2005-03-02T10:30:00.000-08:00

We have a lot of ideas about friendship today. Whatever our feeling about friends there's one thing that is certain, we all need them. It is as if we come into this world with a missing piece that can only be found by the friendships that we have with others. We long for this piece of ourselves and we will do almost anything to find it. People do a lot of things for friends both bad and good. Friendships are sometimes really weird and they don't make sense. You may have heard the saying "Opposites attract" this seems to be true especially in friendships. This is not always the case however many people with common goals and likes are brought together and become friends as well. There is a story in the Bible about a strange friendship between two people who should not have been friends but yet they were. In 1st Samuel 18:1 I talks about the friendship between David and Jonathan. "The soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David and Jonathan loved him as himself". This is a description of deep friendship for someone. It goes on to say that in verse 3 that Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as himself. Once again showing commitment to the friendship. Why was this friendship strange? Because Saul, Jonathan's father was the King of Israel and he hated David. Jonathan should have viewed David as a threat to his future rise to the throne but instead he saw him as a friend. I think today that we have lost the meaning of friendship. A friend is not just someone you like being with or that you are nice to and they are nice to you. A friend is someone who you love as yourself, who you would die for and protect at any cost. Jesus shows his friendship toward us in that while we were still sinners and enemies toward God, He died for us. If you are lonely today, don't just settle for a buddy but ask God for a friend. Start by asking God to be your friend, He will, He already is. He loves You.

Holiness

2004-11-15T08:37:00.000-08:00

What does God require of us? What are His expectations? They are found in The first five books of the Old Testament. The Law or Torah gives us a discription of God's righteous requirements for holiness or sinlessness. Jesus in Matthew 5:17-20 says that He has not come to do away with the Law or the Prophets but to fulfill them. He also says in this same passage that unless our righteousness exceeds that of the scribes or Pharisees we shall not see the kingdom of God. So what hope do we as common everyday non-pharisee types have. NONE apart from the sacrifice of the spotless Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. Jesus lived a sinless and holy life before God the Father so that He would be able to be the holy sacrifice for the sins of the whole world. But it doesn't stop there, He did this so that all those who accept Him could be free from the power of sin and death. That means we no longer have to live in bondage to sin and death but we can walk in holiness, and when we do sin we can recieve forgiveness by confessing our sins to Him and He will cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Saved!!

2004-10-11T09:34:00.000-07:00

What do our lives as Christians look like to those around us. I just finished watching the movie Saved. Which is a critical look at Christian teenagers in America. Although there were some parts of the movie that were exaggerated, unfortunately there were many that were pretty close to the truth. We live in a time when students are looking for truth, love and acceptance.
As Believers in Jesus we have the truth and we can be filled with his love. I love the line in the movie after the the main charater throws the bible at Mary. Mary turns around and says "This is not a weapon". That is partly true, the bible is not a weapon to be used in a physical battle against people, but it is a mighty weapon that can be used against the philosophy of the world and the lies of the enemy of our souls. It time for us as Christians to stop being hypocrites and start living our faith.

Open Wide

2004-09-29T11:31:00.000-07:00

My wife and I just returned from the most awesome conference I have ever been to. The National Youth Workers Convention, held in Anahiem CA. What was so Awsome was the focus on Brokeness before God as well as being wide open to what God has for us as a church. Every denomination was represented yet their seemed to be an incredible oneness and unity. I believe we are on the verge of the greatest outpouring of God's Spirit that we have ever seen. As it says in the book of Joel "I will pour my spirit out on all flesh". I was so refreshed and encouraged and empowered by God to do the task that he has put before me. It was awesome. We need to be Open Wide to Jesus and his revolutionary leadership. Denying ourselves, taking up our crosses and following him.

Acceptance

2004-09-10T17:32:00.000-07:00

In Romans 14 it says "Accept him whose faith is weak". Many times as Christians we have a hard time accepting those that have particular struggles. We don't have a problem accepting someone that has a problem with lying or anger, but we shun someone who is struggling with homosexuality or maybe someone who has had an abortion. Romans Chapter 15 says "We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Each of us should please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. For even Christ did not please himself but as it is written, the insults of those who insult you have fallen on Me." I know I run the risk of sounding like I'm condoning sin, but that is not at all what I am saying. All sin separates us from God and is detestable to Him, but he loves the sinner. We need to show love to the sinner no matter what the sin not only if its a sin that we can stomach. Romans 15:7 says accept one another, then just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.

Hymns

2004-08-30T11:55:00.000-07:00

I attend a church that sings traditional hymns for their Sunday services. Personally I enjoy a contemporary worship style and as far as music I like to listen to, it ranges from folk to Christian goth/punk. This can sometimes be a problem when trying to worship at church. There is a need for understanding on both sides of this issue. Those of us who were born after the 60's for the most part have a contemporary style of worship that is constantly changing with our culture. To some this seems wrong because it is seeker sensitive. I disagree, it has nothing to do with the seeker, it's how I enjoy expressing myself to God in worship. God will draw the seeker to Himself regardless of whether we sing hymns or contemporary worship songs. God gave us the ability to communicate in many different creative ways and worship is just communicating to God, how thankful we are for his love for us. It is us acknowledging who He is. That he is awesome, holy, great, beyond our imagination. There is no end to the praise songs or hymns that could be written to express this. This expression finds differing styles that agree with the worshiper in different ways. The style should not be the issue but that we are worshiping God in Spirit and in Truth. Some would try to say that one style of music is more worshipful or more Godly than another. I don't find any support for this in Scripture. If you express your worship of God by the singing of hymns I think that is great. I find it easier to express worship through more contemporary music. What is important is that we worship God in Spirit and in Truth.

Why do you wear black?

2004-08-26T11:50:00.000-07:00

Has someone ever asked you why you wear black as a Christian goth/punk and you had no answer, or you said in the typical punk/goth style "because I @#$*! want to". Well here are some other alternative answers. Black is the color of mourning. In the Old Testament when someone was in mourning or humbling themselves they would put on sackcloth and ashes. In James 4:8-10 It says "Draw near to God and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands you sinners; and purify your hearts you double minded. Lament and mourn and weep! Let your Laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up". We are to have broken hearts over our own sin and the sin of others. It says in the Psalms "A Broken and contrite spirit Oh Lord, you will not despise". Many times with mourning comes fasting. Jesus was once asked by the pharisees why his disciples didn't fast. His response was that they would not fast while their master was with them but that they would fast while he was away. Now is the time for the church to humble ourselves to fast to seek God for revival. As a Christian goth/punk you can be used by God to start a revival.
goth/punk music

What about the way I look?

2004-08-26T11:11:00.000-07:00

If you are a Punk or Goth or just like to wear black, you probably get a lot of comments about how you look. Some people probably like it and think its cool others may think your weird or satanic etc... What does God say? I Samuel 16:7 " But the Lord said to Samuel. "Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." God does not judge us like man does. He knows your heart. Obviously sometimes the outward appearance reflects the condition of the heart, but not always. Jesus confronts the religious leaders of his day by say that they are like white-washed tombs, beautiful on the outside but full of death and decay on the inside. Each of us should search our own heart to see where we stand with God. Jesus says in John 7:24 "Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment." This goes for Christian Goths/Punks as well as clean cut Christians, we are not to judge each other on appearance but with righteousness. Righteous judgment never points the finger only at others but it is convicting to all because it comes from God's Spirit. Righteous judgment is always done with love preferring others before oneself. Only God is really able to judge righteously. So what does this mean, we need to humble ourselves before God. Resist the Devil and he will flee.

WMD

2004-08-16T23:34:00.000-07:00

We have heard a lot lately about Weapons of Mass Destruction. The Bible talks about a WMD that is in some ways more destructive than any physical weapon. I'm talking about our tongue. What we say with our mouths can destroy the reputation and in many cases even the very lives of others. Scripture says in James 3:6-8 that "the tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire and is itself set on fire by hell." What can we do about this? The only way to tame the tongue is to yield control of it to God. For those of us who know Jesus this means denying ourselves and the things that we want to say and letting God speak through us. If you don't know Jesus and you are reading this, He loves you and he died on the cross for your sins. Just take a moment to thank God for the free gift of salvation given through Jesus God's Son. Accept that free gift and make Jesus the Lord of your life. Only when we acknowledge His Lordship can we begin to heal with our words instead of hurt.

The Violet Burning

2004-08-14T09:12:00.000-07:00

I have been listening to this group for a while, they are totally awsome if you like sounds like the cure, etc. take a listen The Violet Burning.

New Identity

2004-08-10T20:16:00.000-07:00

If your struggling for acceptance and looking for an identity but you don't want to be labeled or put in a box. You can find what your seeking in only one person. Yes I'm talking about Jesus.
A a disciple of Jesus, Christian, believer in Jesus, Messianic Jew, etc. I have found an identity without the box. I am free to be the person that God has created me to be. I am free to be holy because God has given the power through his Spirit to obey Him. I have found that sin while it may seem like freedom puts me in bondage and limits the creative abilities that God has given me. As I surrender more and more of my life to God he restores and makes new those abilities that my sin has caused to rot and decay. If the Son sets you free you are free indeed.

Death to Self

2004-08-08T09:40:00.000-07:00

Here is a link to a sick Christian Goth site.

Galations 2:20 I am Crucified with Christ, yet I live, yet not I but Christ Lives in me. The Life I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

Bond Servant of Jesus

2004-08-07T19:43:00.000-07:00

Jesus said in Luke 9:23 "If any one wants to be my disciple, he must deny himself, take up his cross and follow me. I ask my self am I really acting like his servant? What have I denied myself today. Have I been willing to be wrong or have I fought for my rights. Have I given sacrificial of my time or resources to others? What about the taking up my cross part. Am I willing to identify with Jesus and his sufferings? Am I a true Disciple?