All posts by Nathaniel Stalling Jr.

About Nathaniel Stalling Jr.

I am founder and pastor of Burning Bush Temple of Christ. I have been preaching and teaching the word of God since 1986. I also have a 501(c)(3) Non-Profit named: Burning Bush Community Enrichment Services. I worked for Chrysler (FCA, LLC) for 23 years. I am married to a wonderful woman, Teresa, and together we are invested in helping people and communities.

Awaken O’Sleeper

Straight Talk, ,

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Wake The Sleeping Church Author calls Christians to Action in Inspirational Commentary

Detroit – Nathaniel Stalling Jr. introduces his new book, Awaken O’Sleeper (now available through Author House), where he identifies key issues and problems practicing Christians encounter today. He hopes to revive the spirit of the Church by clearly defining the Church’s mission and how to carry it out. In this book, Stalling calls Christians to action on a variety of concerns surrounding the church, including the overlap in all areas of life and society, how Christians are defined, how others use these definitions, and divisions in denominations.

“This book will shake your complacency and help move you toward activism. Every time we allow someone else to define us we become more and more someone else,” Stalling says.

One of the topics discussed is how the political arena uses the Church to their advantage in a chapter called “How Much Is Too Much?” In another chapter, he voices concern about the divisions between Churches of different denominations, stating that there are divisions in core beliefs including: baptism, communion, Christ’s Resurrection and, grace.

A lack of sound teaching in many Churches is a major concern. “When you see so many so-called Christian groups stamping Jesus name on these heretical teachings that have become popular today, it makes me bristle with shame and burn with indignation”, Stalling says. These strong feelings show his beliefs that these problems have gone on for too long and deserve an immediate, direct and firm response.

Stalling discusses relationships in all areas of life. He explains that Christians need to treat their relationship with Jesus Christ, their spouses, children, friends and co-workers with a fluid relativity and understand the connection. Additionally, he discusses the importance of knowing and understanding suffering.

“This book is intended for Christians who may have fallen down, but are not ashamed to get back up,” Stalling says. “We need to renew our love, our commitment that we made when we first surrendered to Christ.”

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Who Told You That You Were Naked?

Christian, Straight Talk

I, in my finite mind, always equated nakedness with the lack of clothes. It’s amazing how much we take for granted, until our own reasoning is challenged. I had read the story of Adam and Eve many times, and it never dawned on me to question why they were so shook up behind realizing their nakedness. After all, they had always been naked. So I went over the account again, and there it was.

God, right after the fall of Adam, asked Adam two questions, one of which he never answered. I’ve often heard men and women preach and teach on the second question, and how Adam passed the buck to the woman, and how she passed it to the serpent. But, to my recollection, I have never heard anyone preach or teach on the first question.

The two questions that burned in Adams mind are found in the third chapter of Genesis; He said, ” Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” I kind of equated that first question with the lack of clothing. Wrong! They lacked material clothing from the very beginning, that kind of nakedness was not a sudden new-found awareness. Therefore, when Adam said, ” I heard the sound of thee in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked: and I hid myself”, he was not talking about material clothing. Notice that in verse seven (7) they had already provided themselves with aprons made from sewn fig leaves. So when Adam said he was afraid because he was naked, he already had a type of covering. So, if he was not referring to material clothing, or physical nakedness, what was he referring to?

We know when God created Adam he was a perfect immortal being, clothed in God’s own righteousness. When Adam fell, or sinned, he was changed from immortal to mortal, and Gods’ righteousness was withdrawn from him. Adam was now spiritually naked, as well as spiritually dead.

God, through his written word, tells us that we need to be clothed (spiritually). God, inspiring John to write to the Church at Laodicea said this, “therefore I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, that you may be rich, and white garments to clothe you and to keep the shame of your nakedness from being seen, ….” Revelation 3:18.

Adam never answered that first question because he didn’t have to. No one had to tell him he was naked, he knew.

We know too. When we do things that go against our better judgement, against our conscience, against all conventional wisdom, no one have to tell us, we know.

The Bible says, ” let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready; it was granted her to be clothed with fine linen, bright and pure – for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints”, Revelation 19:7, 8 RSV.

HE DID IT HIMSELF

Christian, Straight Talk

I want to tell you somethingJesus Christ on the cross that you need to know, It happened two thousand years ago, There was a man in the middle that died you see, and he did it so the entire world could be free, He suffered very much for me and you, He said, “Father forgive them, they know not what they do”.

He raised his head to say a solemn prayer, and the whole world stopped right then and there, The planet grew dark from twelve to three, He was the perfect sacrifice, you see, All the angels in heaven couldn’t understand, what made God do what he did for man,

He expressed His love for you and me, when He led us by the hand to Mt. Calvary, which is harder to say ….. I can’t, or I can ..? Make up your mind .., you double minded man, what need to be done, you couldn’t buy it with wealth, so God came down and did it himself, He clothed Himself with humanity, and took on the world, singlehandedly.

Father God had a brand new plan, and made it true through a brand new man. satan shrieked, “it’s a mysterious plot”, but what God started, no one could stop, He promised that He would bring us through, and by His own word ….. He did it too, He shed His blood to make us free, to be with Him for all eternity.

What was a mystery had now been revealed. We had come to the place in God’s plan where He could step into the void of His creation and fill it with His own glory. This not only filled a void in natural space and time, but expanded our mental and emotional capacity to have a relationship with Him. For the first time since the great fall in the garden, we were called into a relationship with our creator.

Against amazing odds from every side Jesus prevailed. He prevailed against the Pharisees, Sadducees and, Scribes. He prevailed against the mighty Roman army and, He prevailed against the Greek philosophers. He prevailed with a simple message: “I love you, and am willing to give my life for you.”

DOES THE END OF A MATTER MEAN IT’S OVER?

Christian

Do we know what the other side of the end hold for us?  Yet.., we go all out to reach it, as though we do.  We assume anyplace is better than where we are.  Not so fast!  ‘Storybook endings only happen in storybooks’.  ‘Happily ever after’, doesn’t last forever.  Not in this life.Men Praying

So what does it mean to end a friendship, a marriage, a relationship or, a job?  Does it mean, “I’ll never do that again?”  No, it doesn’t.  One friendship ends, another begins.  You go from one job to another.  Divorce can bring out the worst in people.  Yet, we’ll do it again.  We go from relationship to relationship, and always believe the next one will be better than the last.  I’ve just described life as we know it.

Remember the children of Israel when Moses led them out of Egypt?  When they got far enough away from Egypt they began to feel safe and comfortable.  That’s when the mumbling and complaining began.  They shouted at Moses, “did you bring us out here in the wilderness so we could die?”  Exodus 16:3

Israel was quick to go back to what they were most familiar with.  That’s what we do when things get tight.  We pretty much know what to expect, whether good or bad.  There are very few surprises, and the ending is almost always the same.

It’s ok to be daring, risking it all.  Isn’t it time we got out of our comfort zone and do something.  I think it’s harder doing the same thing day in and day out, rather than doing something different.  Do something for somebody!

Selfish doesn’t become you.

“A MAN CAN INSTRUCT ANOTHER IN THE WAY,                                                                 BUT IT WOULD BE BETTER TO INSTRUCT ONE ON THE WAY”.

“IF YOU CAN TALK SOMEONE INTO SOMETHING,                                                          SOMEONE ELSE CAN TALK THEM OUT OF IT”.