This one I read at Purgatorio. Just had to share it.



One day the local Arminian Methodist minister was walking through the small town he pastored in. as he walked by one house he looked over the picket fence and saw a little boy with a dog that was nursing some newborn pups.
The Methodist minister asked “What kind of pups are they son?” The little boy replied “These pups here are Arminian pups.” The Methodist minister chuckled and went back to his office at the church.
A week later the Methodist minister saw the local Presbyterian minister in the local deli. Remembering the little boy’s comments about the pups, he thought he would have a little fun. He told the Presbyterian minister that he had something he wanted him to see and led him down the street to the little boys home.
The ministers came to the house and there was the little boy in the yard with his pups. The Methodist minister with a big grin told the Presbyterian minister to ask the boy what kind of pups they were.
The Presbyterian mininster asked “Young man what kind of pups do you have there?”
The little boy answered, “Why these here are Calvinist pups.”
The Methodist minister quickly jumped in “But son you told me last week they were Arminian pups.”
The boy replied “Well yes sir, they were, but that was before their eyes were open.”

8 If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us.
1 John 1:8 (NASB)
     I don’t know how many times in witnessing encounters I’ve heard the statement, “Well I’m a good person.  God is love and He won’t send a good person like me to hell…”
     
     But you see that ideology, or line of thought, is a good ol’ boy line of thinking.  It comes from too many years of hearing preachers only say that “God is Love!” never knowing that in Scripture is a clear depiction that yes God is love, but it is not love that we understand it to be.  It is a HOLY Love.

     A love that loves what is holy-despising and rejecting that which is NOT holy as He is.  What does that mean?  If you are not completely perfect, from childhood until death, you will be rejected by Him. Why? Because your holiness is not even close to what is necessary- nothing but filthy rags before Him.


      But this is how we are deceived.  It is the positive side of the view.  That we are good enough is the deception.  The idea that anyone could gain heaven on their own is ludicrous.

     The language used implies that the deception is on ourselves from within ourselves.  In other words, we are so corrupt in our nature with sin that we think we can deceive even our own self.  Only through the revelation and light of the Holy Spirit can we see the reality of our own condition.

     Total depravity is dead on here.  We cannot see the truth because we have pulled our heads under the covers (on ourselves) that we don’t need grace or forgiveness or a Savior.  There is such a good job of deception that when confronted with the truth, we deny it.

     Therein lies the negative.  If we can’t see our selves for who we really are, then we will never know who He really is.  The truth will not be something that we can be apart of when we deny that it is needed.  What is it that is needed?

     Hear then the word of the Lord:

31 So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, "If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free." 33 They answered Him, "We are Abraham's descendants and have never yet been enslaved to anyone; how is it that You say, 'You will become free'?" 34 Jesus answered them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin. 35 "The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son does remain forever. 36 "So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed. 37 "I know that you are Abraham's descendants; yet you seek to kill Me, because My word has no place in you. 38 "I speak the things which I have seen with My Father; therefore you also do the things which you heard from your father." 39 They answered and said to Him, "Abraham is our father." Jesus said* to them, "If you are Abraham's children, do the deeds of Abraham. 40 "But as it is, you are seeking to kill Me, a man who has told you the truth, which I heard from God; this Abraham did not do. 41 "You are doing the deeds of your father." They said to Him, "We were not born of fornication; we have one Father: God." 42 Jesus said to them, "If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and have come from God, for I have not even come on My own initiative, but He sent Me. 43 "Why do you not understand what I am saying? It is because you cannot hear My word. 44 "You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies . 45 "But because I speak the truth, you do not believe Me. 46 "Which one of you convicts Me of sin? If I speak truth, why do you not believe Me? 47 "He who is of God hears the words of God; for this reason you do not hear them, because you are not of God."
John 8:31-47 (NASB)
     “If you continue in My word…and you will know the truth and the truth will make you free…”  We find freedom when we see who He is.  How do we know who He is?  

     By His word.

Soli Deo Gloria,
Aaron “Tree” Landis
Psalm 1.3

NKJ 1 John 1:7 But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.


One thing that has been kinda on my mind lately is the debate that has been going on about invitations. There are those who hold that if you don’t have an invitation you are automatically a hyper-calvinist, one who doesn’t believe that we should have to evangelize because God has already chosen whom He will save.

As a ministerial student, and one day pastor, that line of thinking, carried to extremes has its own dangers. Is the invitation the only place of salvation? How do we know the person who is coming forward for membership is truly saved? Can we know?

Take a close look at verse 7 again. We can only have fellowship with one another if we walk in the light as He is. We can tell if someone is saved by the way they are walking (i.e. their lifestyle, living out their faith).

It is absolutely paramount that we guard the church doors so as to not allow anyone who is not saved to have a voice in the ongoings of the church. We are the bride of Christ, the one who bore our sin and suffered on our behalf, being risen on the third day and ascended to heaven for us. We must keep the bride pure and white as possible.

What does your walk say about you? Would those in the church say that you take your relationship with the Lord seriously or just haphazardly like the rest? You can turn that around starting now. There is never any place in life that His grace and forgiveness cannot be found. Especially in His house. Come to Him and find rest...


NKJ Ephesians 5:27 that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.

We are to be a pure, holy people before Him. Not what we have in many churches today. Too many people play church and think that they can go about their lives, banking on their "decision" that they made way back when. The problem is it is just fire insurance. I pray, I pray, that you would see the need of your own soul to call upon Him. You cannot do it on your own.

The very fact you may be reading this could be evidence that some reason, whatever it may be you are searching and seeking answers to a question that you don't know how to ask. Who is Jesus?

He is the Light that can bring hope of new life. His blood can cleanse us from our sin against God. Call on Him by faith.

If there were ever any reason to be part of the fellowship of believers it’s this—the blood of Jesus covers us. We have this in common and can share in the fellowship of His sufferings and our own. Walking in the Light gives us fellowship with one another and forgiveness is found there.

We are a people of grace and forgiveness. When we walk together in the Light.

Go on…fellowship with one another.

Soli Deo Gloria,

Aaron “Tree” Landis
Psalm 1.3

     Oh, man, has it been this long since I posted?  Wow, where has time gone.  I been doin a lot of reading and writing of papers the past couple of weeks.  Hopefully I’ll be back on track soon.  
     I’ll also be posting on a group blog hopefully soon once we get it set up. I’ll let ya know when that happens.  
     Keep praying for me as I get into the crunch of the semester.

Soli Deo Gloria,

Aaron “Tree” Landis
Psalm 1.3

7 But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.
1 John 1:6-7 (NKJV)
     Ok, here is a big word, sanctification.  Yes, I know it’s a biggy, so here is a definition, “It is the putting to death of my free will for the faithful obedience of Christ’s commands.”(Blount).
     You see as we walk in the light as He is in the light we will become more and more like Him, and less and less like what we were.  Sanctification is a process that takes place in us when we continue to be enlightened by His Word.  
     But do remember this, it is HIS work that is sanctifying you.  Yes what you do through obedience has an impact—if it is done for His glory and not your own.  Why? Because we were chosen for His glory:
     13 But we should always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth
2 Thess 2:13 (NASB77)
11 For both He who sanctifies and those who are sanctified are all from one Father; for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren,
Heb 2:10-11 (NASB77)
     He also preserves us.
      23 Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass.
1 Thess 5:23-24 (NASB77)
     We are to pursue being like Him.
     9 Do not lie to one another, since you laid aside the old self with its evil practices, 10 and have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him —11 a renewal in which there is no distinction between Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and freeman, but Christ is all, and in all.
Col 3:9-11 (NASB77)
      1 Finally then, brethren, we request and exhort you in the Lord Jesus, that, as you received from us instruction as to how you ought to walk and please God (just as you actually do walk ), that you may excel still more. 2 For you know what commandments we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus. 3 For this is the will of God, your sanctification; that is, that you abstain from sexual immorality; 4 that each of you know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor, 5 not in lustful passion, like the Gentiles who do not know God; 6 and that no man transgress and defraud his brother in the matter because the Lord is the avenger in all these things, just as we also told you before and solemnly warned you. 7 For God has not called us for the purpose of impurity, but in sanctification. 8 Consequently, he who rejects this is not rejecting man but the God who gives His Holy Spirit to you.
1 Thess 4:1-8 (NASB77)
     Even though we are called to be live sanctified and we have been sanctified by the work of Christ—we will never be able to be perfectly and completely sanctified till the future when we are with Him.
8 If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
1 John 1:8 (NASB77)
12 Not that I have already obtained it, or have already become perfect, but I press on in order that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. 13 Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. 15 Let us therefore, as many as are perfect, have this attitude; and if in anything you have a different attitude, God will reveal that also to you; 16 however, let us keep living by that same standard to which we have attained.
Phil 3:12-16 (NASB77)

Keep pressing on.
Soli Deo Gloria,
Aaron “Tree” Landis
Psalm 1.3