The Caffeinated Christian

Merry Christmas

Define the Relationship from Brian Branam on Vimeo . Mark 3 reveals several groups and how they relate to Christ- the crowd, called, critics, common, and the chosen. It seems that the common thread in Mark 3 is about defining the relationship. We often portray Jesus as a needy lover who will take you in a relationship any way he can get you. We really believe Jesus is good with that. I don't have to go to church to be saved, and Jesus is good with that. How do you define your relationship with Jesus? Ultimately He defines the relationship and there is one measure of it - do the will of God. It is based on obedience. It is not enough to see His cause, not enough to be passionate, and fickle will never pass for being faithful. We must do the will of God.

Discouraged but not Destroyed from Brian Branam on Vimeo . The opening Psalm sets the tone for the rest. It compares two people on two paths. The one is the blessed man who doesn't walk in the counsel of the wicked. He loves the Word of God and he is like a tree planted by a stream of water that constantly nourishes his life and in everything he does, he prospers. The wicked man isn't like that. His wickedness gives him to ground to stand on. It fails him. He is exposed. That's the way life is supposed to work... So what happened in the last 36 Psalms?  By the time we get to Psalm 37 we are angry? "Fret not yourself because of evildoers, be not envious of wrongdoers." Two dangerous things are happening to the righteous who in Psalm 1 were to be bearing fruit. Here they are fretting themselves, which means to be angered or burned up. To add to the danger, they are actually envious of the wrongdoers. They begin to question if God is fair, listening, good, e

"Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need to have anything written to you.  For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. . . But you are not in darkness, brothers, for the day to surprise you like a thief. . . So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober."  2 Thessalonians 5:1-6 According to the Mayans and Nostradamus, the world is scheduled to conclude one week from today.  The prospects of finality bring several critical questions to the forefront.  What should we do with our final seven days?  What will I wear next Friday?  Will I have enough Double Stuffed Oreos to get me through my final week on the planet?  Should I do any Christmas shopping?  Does this mean I have to shave or can I let myself go?  I am supposed to finish a root canal on Tuesday, why? I have too much to do for the world to end in a week! As a Christian our response to doomsday should be