Throw Out the Bondwoman and her Son

This is one of those sermons....one that I almost turned off because the speaker's voice "turned me off", however I was prevented from turning it off, and I listened, and I heard, and I was so very blessed by this message. The past week or so I've been dialoguing with Seventh Day Adventists, if you don't know who or what they are about, do a careful search about them and you will find that they are a heretical cult that tries to present itself as a harmless Christian denomination. It is not. They teach heresy, the worst twisting of scriptures to support a dead false prophetess Ellen G. White. Anyway, I'm getting side tracked. This sermon was like a refreshing cup of cool water after having the life sucked out of me by these heretics that refuse to see the falseness of their religion.

Please take the next 45 minutes to be blessed by this sermon, one that I know I will have to revisit often.

What Are You Celebrating This Week?

Today in remembrance of what October 31 really should bring to mind to Christians, I'm posting a video series by R.C. Sproul. I hope everyone who happens to come by this blog will submit to the wisdom to put this valuable oil in their lamps. The embedded video will go on to each successive video (there are 10 in this series) or you can look at each in your own time by going to this link:

Luther and the Reformation






Also check out this link: Reformation Day

To Confess Christ the Son of God

I've been using the above as a springboard in examining the steps that need to be a part of the salvation process. I am not one to rigidly hold to formulas in regards to what needs to happen to be saved. However there are essential ingredients that need to be there in order for it to truly be true. Just as you need certain ingredients to make a meatloaf (for instance) you cannot use the ingredients to make a cake and then call it a meatloaf. The above outline is the skeleton, the basic framework of what needs to happen in order to be saved by grace through faith in Jesus.

In the previous installments I've looked at hearing the word, believing in Jesus, and repenting of sin. Now we will look at what is meant by confessing Christ.

I'll begin, as I did previously, with the verses mentioned in the outline:

Matthew 10:32-33 (KJV)
Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven.  But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.



Acts 8:37  (KJV)
And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.


and to these I'll add:

Romans 10:9-10  (KJV)
That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.


But what does it mean to confess Jesus? Is it a one time event at baptism that you shout "I believe in Jesus for the remission of my sins!!!" and have that be the magic incantation that "gets you in"? No. Yet that is what I often see. If you continue the above Matthew passage, it gives us another clue about what this is talking about.

Matthew 10:34-40 (KJV)
Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.   For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.   And a man's foes shall be they of his own household.   He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.   And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.   He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.   He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me.

The confession that is spoken about in the Bible is the kind that will cause people who hate Jesus to also hate you, and if you decide that your relationships with family and friends are more valuable to you than risking those relationships, knowing that you might lose that bond of love and friendship with those persons and if you would rather keep your earthly relationships and your earthly rewards rather than speak up the warnings given in God's word, you have decided against confessing Jesus.

True worship and true confession can come only through the One who makes all things true. Without Jesus transforming power none of us could tell the truth because the Bible says:

1 Corinthians 12:3 (KJV)
Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost.

We must be beggars at Jesus feet asking Him for those things that are needful for our salvation. He will turn no one away who asks things of Him that are in accordance with His will.

Matthew 7:7-8  (KJV)
Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:   For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.


James 1:5 (KJV)
If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.



1 John 5:14-15  (KJV)
And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us:   And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.

The next and final installment of this series will be on the topic of the believer's baptism. I hope you  will be able to join me next time.

Believing Jesus

(all scriptural texts in this post are from the King James Version)

Last post explored the first step, hearing the word, in the above list of steps of salvation. The second step according to the above is to believe Jesus.

John 8:24  I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins. 


Hebrews 11:6  But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. 

 A third passage is one that comes to mind in regards to this step:

Mark 9:23-24  Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.   And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.

We are dependent on the Lord for everything (even when we fail to realize it), for the air we breath, the sun bringing warmth to our planet, plants and animals for food, our very existence even depends on Jesus. When this world changed with the fall of Eve and Adam, a breach appeared in the relationship between God and man. Now God had to seek for Adam and Eve because they hid themselves from Him, something had changed. When God called out to him Adam answered God saying that he was afraid because of his nakedness. Fear is the opposite of faith and trust. God casts them out of the beautiful Garden of Eden into a life fraught with danger and pain and sorrow, but He also gives them hope, the hope of overcoming evil, the promise of crushing it's head, but evil will still bruise Eve's offspring's heel.

Jesus is that offspring.

We all have fears, fear of heights, fear of spiders, fear of the dark, fear of public speaking, fear of death....the things you fear might not be the same things that I fear however we all have fear of something. Fear stems from our broken relationship with our Creator. The Apostle John said "Perfect love casts out all fear"

 1 John 4:18  There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.

Let's look at that passage:


1John 4:15-21  

Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God. 
 And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us.
 God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.  
Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment:
 because as he is, so are we in this world.  
There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: 
because fear hath torment. 
He that feareth is not made perfect in love.   
We love him, because he first loved us.  
 If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: 
for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, 
how can he love God whom he hath not seen?  
And this commandment have we from him, 
That he who loveth God love his brother also.



To believe Jesus, we need to seek Him continually until we find Him, even asking Him to help our unbelief because without His help we are helpless. Jesus loves us. He loves us so much He laid His life down for us. He took the worst the devil could dish out to Him, bruising His heel for us. Our unbelief comes from our broken relationship with God. Only He can repair it, and He has! By the cross. He poured out His life for us. He threw Himself on the grenade that was meant to kill us, and took the punishment for us. His perfect love removes and heals our fear, replacing it with trust, a loving trust in Him seeing what He has done for us, and that love and trust then goes out from us to others, as He has forgiven us we can now forgive others, as He has laid down His life for us we also can lay down our lives for others.

I pray that you will find that rest, that perfect peace, that removal of the fears that beset you, in that perfect love that Jesus has for all who truly come to Him.

Our Fractured Understanding

Nice article link to above photo

Regarding words appearing over this blog post: I don't know how this happened, and am not able to get rid of it, however if you click on the title for this post (at the top) it won't show up and you will be able to read this article without that which hinders a portion of this offering. Sorry about the annoyance.

2Kings 8:7-15 (ESV)
 Now Elisha came to Damascus. Ben-hadad the king of Syria was sick. And when it was told him, "The man of God has come here,"  the king said to Hazael, "Take a present with you and go to meet the man of God, and inquire of the LORD through him, saying, 'Shall I recover from this sickness?'"  So Hazael went to meet him, and took a present with him, all kinds of goods of Damascus, forty camels' loads. When he came and stood before him, he said, "Your son Ben-hadad king of Syria has sent me to you, saying, 'Shall I recover from this sickness?'" And Elisha said to him, "Go, say to him, 'You shall certainly recover,' but the LORD has shown me that he shall certainly die."  

 And he (Elisha) fixed his gaze and stared at him, until he (Hazael) was embarrassed. 

And the man of God wept
.  
 And Hazael said, "Why does my lord weep?" 

He answered, "Because I know the evil that you will do to the people of Israel. You will set on fire their fortresses, and you will kill their young men with the sword and dash in pieces their little ones and rip open their pregnant women."  

And Hazael said, "What is your servant, who is but a dog, that he should do this great thing?" Elisha answered, "The LORD has shown me that you are to be king over Syria."   

Then he departed from Elisha and came to his master, who said to him, "What did Elisha say to you?" 

And he answered, "He told me that you would certainly recover."   But the next day he took the bed cloth and dipped it in water and spread it over his face, till he died. 

And Hazael became king in his place.

I read this passage a few days ago in my daily Bible readings. As I read this (I've read this before but I think I got tangled up in the various kings and battles and names and somehow I didn't understand what what going on in this passage) , but as I read this a few days ago it struck me again that we often see things in "either/or" when God isn't limited in any way by our limited way of how we think things need to be fulfilled.

In the above passage Elisha says: "Go, say to him, 'You shall certainly recover,' but the LORD has shown me that he shall certainly die."  

Now I would interpret that to mean that Elisha is telling this messenger to lie to the king, and indeed as I was reading this I wondered why Elisha would tell this man to lie. Then as I read further as to how the events unfolded I saw that isn't what Elisha was saying at all. The actual events fulfilled exactly what Elisha said would happen, yet it happened in a way that was completely unexpected.

I see from this that Hazael had evil motives against his king (of Syria) and Elisha perceived it. What you cannot see from this passage right away is the fact that the king was so sick that many thought he would die. Even the king himself thought he was going to die from his sickness, but the truth was that he would recover from his illness IF he was allowed to live....but Hazael used the opportunity to pretend that the king died of his sickness, because no one but himself and Elisha knew what transpired between them. I think Hazael became so evil toward Israel because he might have thought they could perceive his evil and didn't like being exposed. Evil enjoys remaining hidden. The truth always come to light.

You see similar events throughout the Bible, but an untrained eye, one that only looks for easy explanations provided by people such as atheists who haven't a clue, they destroy the context or jump to conclusions (like I just did before I realized my error) and never see beyond their initial errors thinking themselves to be so much smarter than "stupid brainwashed Christians".

There have been so many archeological evidences that prove the Bible's accuracy again and again, yet these poor "very super intelligent people" (said with tongue in cheek of course) want to hold on to their feeble misinterpretations as the only right way to read the scriptures. How sad.

I see more and more falling into these mistaken ways, thinking they are now free from having to believe in a true God and heaven and hell. Well, it doesn't matter whether you believe the truth of scripture or whether you want to believe your mistaken ideas...it won't change the truth of the matter....and one day you will see it in panoramic clarity whether you find yourself in the hell you've destined yourself for by rejecting God, or in heaven with God sharing His blessings forever. Time will surely reveal the truth to everyone.

The Fool Says in His Heart....

 image link

 Today my mind kept thinking on this Bible verse:

The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.
1Co 2:14  (ESV)

I'm guilty of sometimes (often?) going round and round and round in an argument I cannot win. I still am infected with the idea that if I can find the correct words to say I can convince others of the truth, and can save them from their foolishness and their ultimate self-destruction. My husband chides me about it. He often says to me "A stupid person doesn't know he is stupid". He's great about coming up with such witticisms. He's right you know. How often have I done really foolish things without realizing just how foolish it is? I don't want to answer that question on the grounds it will definitely incriminate me. And then I find a wonderful quote like the one above (which reminds me of the P.T. Barnum quote: "There's a sucker born every minute")...and realize just how easily people will believe a lie, any lie, over the truth.

The fool says in his heart, "There is no God." They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds, there is none who does good. 
Psalm 14:1 (ESV)

and

Do you see a man who is wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.
 Proverbs 26:12 (ESV)

Ok, that one pinches a little...


A fool gives full vent to his spirit, but a wise man quietly holds it back.
Proverbs 29:12 (ESV)

OUCH!

Thankfully the Lord is patient, and LONGsuffering, and my trust is in Him to teach me His ways. Woe is me if I trust only in my own wisdom to carry me through. I have had much experience in viewing my life in hindsight and in that rearview mirror I can see that the Lord has been patient and gracious with me for a very long time.... even when I was VERY foolish.

 I will praise the LORD as long as I live; I will sing praises to my God while I have my being. 
Psalm 146:2 (ESV)

Amen, thanks be to God who is merciful and forgiving forever!

To Speak or not to Speak...

 Colossians 4:5  Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time.
Colossians 4:6  Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.

Titus 3:2  speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people.


James_1:19  Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger
James_2:12  So speak and so act as those who are to be judged under the law of liberty.

Let me say right off the bat that I agree that many are "preaching" incorrectly, taking verses out of context etc., and that is not what I hope to do with bringing up these verses. I agree that we should speak up about the things that go contrary to God's word, no question about that...but lately I've been pondering on how to truly be led to do so in the Spirit of the Lord, and not with a contentious spirit (of that I have been often guilty, to my shame). Paul asked for doors to be opened:



Colossians_4:3  At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison—


and this where he said a wide door:


1Corinthians 16:8  But I will stay in Ephesus until Pentecost,
1Corinthians 16:9  for a wide door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many adversaries.


and this one:

2Co 2:12  When I came to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ, even though a door was opened for me in the Lord,
2Co 2:13  my spirit was not at rest because I did not find my brother Titus there. So I took leave of them and went on to Macedonia.
2Co 2:14  But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere.


I hope that I will be more obedient to follow the Lord's leading on when and where to speak, and when to remain quiet and watch, paying attention to what Jesus would have me understand, about the doors He opens, and the doors He closes. I hope this will be your desire in Him as well.

Spiritual Gifts

My morning reading was in the book of 1 Corinthians, and it is interesting to me that the things that caused contentions then still do so even today. I guess we do not change all that much, do we?

1Co 11:18 ... when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you. And I believe it in part,
1Co 11:19  for there must be factions among you in order that those who are genuine among you may be recognized.


The Lord even has a plan in this, He's got it under control even when it all looks out of whack to you and me. And we must take care when we think we have it so much better than everyone else, because all good gifts come from God, not from ourselves, and He has these things to further His kingdom, which in His kindness and generosity He has made available to us who do not deserve it, let's face it NONE OF US do.

1Co 12:22 ... the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable,
1Co 12:23  and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty,
1Co 12:24  which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it,
1Co 12:25  that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another.


When we proudly wag our finger at others for their shame, shame, shame, we need to be careful (and I say this especially to myself!!!I am GUILTY, GUILTY, GUILTY  of this terrible offense),  because the Lord who sees all will correct the problems correctly in His time. In the meantime let us not know anything more than Jesus and that He was crucified for our sins that we might live and reign with Him forever.

1Co 2:1  And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom.
1Co 2:2  For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.
1Co 2:3  And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling,
1Co 2:4  and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power,
1Co 2:5  so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.

Saved? or Self Deceived?

In this 2 part sermon, John MacArthur pours out his heart to exposit on the passage:

Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:  And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.   And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:   And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.   And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine
Matthew 7:22-28 (KJV)

Pastor MacArthur explains what he sees as marks of a true believer, and the evidences that expose those who may be false and self deceived "followers" of Christ.

False "believers":

1. Want signs and healings
2. Want gimmicks
3. Want to feel good
4. Want to receive blessings
5. Or they may be religionists. Many "Christians" that aren't are simply trying to work their way there by doing all the moral and religious works they believe will make them good enough...

True believers:

1. Want only Jesus
2. Are penitent and truly sorry for their sins

He says much more, take a listen...the good medicine convicts and brings you truly to the throne of forgiveness and God's grace:

The Pathology of False Disciples

John MacArthur nails it. Wow.

The Problem of Atheists

It's Sunday night and we just got back from a long drive to visit relatives. One of the things we do on these long road trips is listen to sermons that my husband downloads onto an MP3 from Sermon Audio. One of today's selections (we listened to four today, I think) was a sermon given by (my favorite) Phil Johnson entitled "What You need to Know About Answering Atheists". There were so many things that came to mind as I was listening to this, things that I also have heard time and time again when I've dialogued with atheists, or read in the comments sections of various blog sites from people who seem to think they know a whole lot more than the Christian ignoramuses who blindly believe the unprovable and therefore (they think) unbelievable...and while I considered this I also thought about the fact that they are right, partially anyway. It would be stupid to trust and believe something that is unknowable and unbelievable, and in this fallen condition that is what the things of God are to those who do not (and cannot) believe. But there are enough hints to reveal that there really is a God that made the heavens and the earth, and if He is perfect (which He would have to be to masterfully have created this universe and everything in it) He also would provide the way to the redemption that is needed to be made whole (which we definitely are not, everyone who is honest will admit to the myriad of problems we encounter at present).

Phil explores these issues and more in a very pragmatic approach which defines these problems and how the scriptures really do answer these problems. These things can only be understood by having the Holy Spirit intervene on our behalf, these things truly are foolishness to those who do not believe. The paradox is that the Bible reveals the true fools to be the atheists:

"The fool says in his heart, "There is no God." They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds, there is none who does good. " Psalm 14:1


Phil then brings up the fact that many atheists are "nice people" who do "good deeds". However, none of us do good unless the Lord gives us the ability to do good (without any ulterior motives that is, we all want some kind of pay off). Phil explains this and many other fallacies that atheists make here. I hope you will enjoy this sermon as much as I did.

The Danger of Dialoguing with Devils

image link

Remember Eve? What happened when she started joining in a conversation with "the serpent"? He influenced her thinking...he poisoned it, he polluted it with exactly enough misinformation to draw her away from what she once believed to be true. She doubted God, not because God is a liar, but because the devil who was speaking through the snake, muddled up her thinking with half-truths and outright lies.

Genesis 3:1

 Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? (KJV)

We see from this verse that:

1) the serpent is subtle...what does that mean? This link gives these synonyms for the word subtle: sly, tricky, foxy, slick. 

2) the serpent uses God's own words against Him with Eve by asking Eve a question, a simple question which seems so harmless, a question that carries alot of baggage, because it carries defiance and hatred against God. Satan through the serpent said "Hath God said 'ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden' ?" Pure poison.

Genesis 3:2-3

  And the woman said unto the serpent, 

"We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:   But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. "

What happened there? Is that what God said to Adam? Was anything said about dying if they touched it? 

God told Adam:

Genesis 2:16-17

And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:   But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.  

 We see that already Eve is a little defensive in answering the devil, causing her to feel the need to embellish God's words as given to Adam. Have you ever done that? Someone challenges you so you get a little nervous, and add to your argument to make it sound more dramatic...? I see that tactic used in dramatic presentations on television or in the cinema quite often, and I know that I've done it myself. 

So then what happens?

Genesis 3:4-5 

And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:   For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. 

The devil does two things here:

1) He lies outright: "Ye shall not surely die". This goes directly against what God said for God said "thou shalt surely die"

2) He says God is withholding knowledge from them: knowing good and evil. The devil says with this knowledge they will be as gods. Here it gets tricky, hence he is showing that subtle nature with this slight of hand. Why would she need to know about evil? She knew what was good because she and Adam were very close and well acquainted with God, who is the ultimate good. The devil must have known that Eve had a curiosity about the tree, and a desire to know more about it. He supplied her lust for wanting more. She had everything she needed, and she had eternal life, but she wanted more. By wanting more the devil tricked her into giving away her immortality. He encouraged some thoughts in her head that would lead her away from God's protection by calling God a selfish liar, qualities that actually apply to the devil and not to God.

So then what happens?

Genesis 3:6

And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. 

Three things: appetite, sight, and a prideful desire to be wise. Where have we seen this before? The Apostle John warns about these very weaknesses:

1John2:16

 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. 

The same thing happened with the Israelites while they wandered in the wilderness. Read the book of Numbers to find how they had the perfect food, manna, but they lusted after more. The perfect food got boring. They wanted meat. So God gave it to them, and they gorged themselves on it, to the point that God sent a pestilence as a consequence to their vile and disgusting behavior. It is just as the writer of Ecclesiastes tells us: "there's nothing new under the sun".

The true wisdom that is from above is humble. God was never prideful. That is the devil. When pride rears it's ugly head in us, and we doubt God and then think we know more than He does (how utterly foolish!) that is the devil having a dialogue with us, calling God a liar, questioning us on the reliability of what God says to us.

Guard yourselves because the devil goes about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. 

God Doesn't Make Junk Part 3

On thinking on this topic this scripture passage came to mind today:

Romans 9:21-24  Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use?   What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction,   in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory-- even us whom he has called, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles? (ESV)

Contrasts are everywhere. When I see someone who is very sick I am more thankful of my health. When I see someone living in squalor I am grateful for my home with all of it's conveniences. The fact of the one highlights the blessing of the other. The fact that there are vessels of wrath prepared for destruction (which we all are prior to conversion) accentuates the blessedness of being saved from it. If there wasn't the one (hell), there is no need for the other (salvation).

Prior to being saved I had asked a pastor why God would even create a hell, a devil, and people who will be destined to go to hell. He was unable to answer this to my satisfaction. When God confronted me on my relationship to Him, my rebellion, the truth about me, the me I kept stashed away in the deepest darkest recesses of my being, that is when I recognized the truth of what the Bible was saying about my fallen condition. At that time,

"God Doesn't Make Junk" Part One

This is a quote I've heard often...and it is true, yet and however, the Bible does tell us that the good that God created had a potential for becoming bad, and as we can see, it did.

The things of this world, including you and I, are decaying and dying. Yet God made a way to infuse us with His Spirit, but it is done under His conditions, and He causes the healthy changes, not our will...not our religion, not our goodness...His power, His will and done His way.

I've done quite a few posts on the topic of falling away on my other blog I wanted to have this blog to focus more on the Bible, mostly on refreshing and uplifting topics...

Street Preaching Part 8

Street preaching is tough, no doubt, and I applaud ANYONE who attempts to go out and "make a fool of themselves" for Christ, because this has to be one of the most thankless things you can do, especially these days.

However, I do think there are things, suggestions, that might be helpful in honing this activity and doing it so that it can have the most benefit. Of course first and foremost one should be scripturally sound in doctrine being presented.

This article lists some additional helpful suggestions if one feels led to preach on the streets:

http://www.reformation21.org/blog/2013/09/thoughts-on-street-preaching.php

Flattery? Or Truth? Which Shall it Be?

This has been on my mind for several months now. I notice within myself this tendency to want to flatter others because it gets me (((((((((hugs))))))))) and KUDOS back. Who doesn't "love" that? Our flesh loves flattery, both to give it and to receive it. Empty, fluffy, sweet nothings, like empty calories, that give you a momentary "buzz".

There's a difference between "encouraging" and "flattering". How can we tell the difference? When someone wears a really terrible looking dress, too low cut revealing a bit too much cleavage, too short revealing the undergarments, and you say "You look lovely! I love that dress on you!"....what's the harm right? A little "white lie" never hurt anyone, did it?

What about the "white lies" regarding the truth of God's word? It's so much easier to agree with error, and to encourage people in their delusions than to have to break it to them that the Gospel includes repentance, which means acknowledgment of the fact that even our righteousness appears to God like used menstrual pads (according to Isaiah)...so imagine what the rest looks like, if that is our "righteousness". Much easier to say "God loves you just as you are"....actually that is not quite what the Bible reveals. We come just as we are, He died for sinners so that He can redeem them (us) from sin.

The worst of all sins is pride, because that was the sin that caused satan to fall from God's grace. Pride keeps us from acknowledging our sin, keeps us from coming to Christ for true cleansing. It keeps us thinking that we aren't as bad as some people, so God must think we are alright. Judas was prideful, and he thought Jesus was getting it all wrong. Judas looked down on the woman who broke costly ointment on Jesus' feet because that money could have gone to feed the poor. That sounds righteous, doesn't it? I could just see the other disciples agreeing with Judas and telling Jesus "What a waste!".

When confronted with whether to stand for or against perversion, such as homosexuality, it is so much easier, and seems so much more loving too, to say "It's just a preference, there's nothing wrong with it, it's between consenting adults so live and let live".... except the Bible tells us that those who do not repent of it go to hell, so "encouraging" (flattering) people in this is encouraging them straight to hell.

The truth, on the other hand, is considered "harsh" and "unloving". To encourage someone truly, we should tell them about the cleansing fountain that is available to those who repent of their sins...even that "little sin" called pride. Pride says we know more than God, and that a little sin shouldn't  send anyone to hell...and that God is very wrong to set things up this way. Pride says the God of the Bible is an angry and vindictive being who loves to send people to hell.

Jesus showed the truth about who God really is. He is humble. He is loving. He healed all who asked Him for healing. He raised the dead. He raised Himself. He loved us enough to even lay down His humble earthen vessel on our behalf...but those who say He is hateful, vindictive, angry, etc, are those very things that they accuse God of. God is holding a mirror to their face because truly they are worshiping themselves, so their "god" truly is all that they say. But beware, if you tell them the truth, they won't love you for it. Their claws and fangs will come out all the more. Jesus had the same thing happen with the chief priests and Pharisees. The people who thought they were the most (self)righteous were also the most hateful when it was pointed out to them.

But we who are of the truth, must speak the truth, in love, because if we do not tell them they will go to hell unwarned. If you warn them and they say all manner of hateful stuff to you, REJOICE, because the same thing happened to the OT prophets and to Jesus Himself.

Let us not be flatterers. Let's tell the truth, God has given us the authority to do so, and thereby we also risk losing brothers and sisters, fathers and mothers, and friends, because some of them might realize the truth, and then escape the destiny that we all deserve.

The Book of Acts

I just completed reading the book of Acts of the Apostles...again....and it was great to read it anew. There is so much packed into every verse in every book of the Bible that you cannot "get it" all in one reading, and often on the first reading you may focus on minor points that have no bearing on the main thrust of the message, and link various of these minor points together incorrectly and make a mess of the message, lol. That is why it takes years and several readings, and the gentle leading of the Holy Spirit, Who doesn't give us everything in one dose.

On reading it this time, I focused in on what the apostles were saying. What was their message? They were telling the people what they had witnessed in Jesus the Messiah, and that they were direct witnesses of His resurrection from the dead.

Here is a video of a young minister (he looks like a kid to me) expounding on the book of Acts. One thing that I enjoy from his message is the fact that many (just like the people of Jesus and Paul's day) were only interested in miracles and signs. This young minister, Caleb Schaller, says (24 minutes in) "the miracles were to confirm the message" (Acts ch 16) and "Christianity with no miracles would still have the message of sins forgiven through Christ, Christianity with miracles but no message would have very little to offer." Excellent point.

The Sound in the Mulberry Trees

This sermon by C.H. Spurgeon is lovely and refreshing. I hope if anyone hears it, they will take the full time to listen all the way through...to not make a judgment at the 5 or 10 minute mark and decide they don't need to hear more, because you will rob yourself of some of the richest blessings that come from hearing the full of it all the way through. What a sweet, sweet blessing.

Lazy Atheism

"The Catechizer and the Deacon" posted some very good reasons why Penn Jillette's comments on his "lazy atheism" cannot stand.

Link: http://wittenberg-door.blogspot.com/ (October 4, 2013)

and it brought to mind:

Mat 25:24  Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed:
Mat 25:25  And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine.
Mat 25:26  His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed:
Mat 25:27  Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury.
Mat 25:28  Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents.
Mat 25:29  For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath.
Mat 25:30  And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.



The word "slothful" here means extremely lazy. Hmmm, laziness is bound together with wickedness here and is worthy of being thrown to outer darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth!

Anyway, it's a great blog article, be sure to visit there and read and learn...don't be slothful!

Proverbs 27:6

My dear hubby and I went to the movies on Saturday and were pleasantly surprised with a wonderful film  directed by Ron Howard. We are not auto racing fans, however the movie "Rush" really caught our fascination. It is a story based on the real life rivals Niki Lauda and James Hunt and what took place in the Grand Prix Championship of 1976.There were several good things that could be said about this film, but this isn't going to be a movie review. There was one scene in particular in which methodical and practical "Niki Lauda" tells the playboy "James Hunt" that James needs to stop his partying and get on his game. He advises "his enemy" that it is wiser to listen and learn from your enemies than it is to only look for kisses from false friends. It was a paraphrase of Proverbs 27:6 which says:

Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.

Your real friends would tell you the truth, and if necessary, make it sting with it's bluntness so that the truth will hit home. Those seeds can then do their work to cause a person to realize their situation honestly, because we can be very good at lying to ourselves about it. I often read blogs which garner many "friends" who love to "love" the blogger with all kinds of "kisses" (compliments), but as Christians are we called to be flatterers? Or must we weigh all things by the word of God? When someone who calls him or herself a Christian just goes on and on about him or herself with rarely (if ever) a nod to Jesus, is that something we should encourage and fawn over? It may seem like a minor or trivial issue, but it actually goes to the heart of what is at stake. Paul goes on and on about the deceitfulness of our flesh, and of all the dangers that the enemy wants to entice us with. Did he waste his time in doing so? Was there no reason to consider such dangers? Is the foolishness of such idolatry of self worthy of  our attention at all?

Today's "gospel" centers on self, and it is no gospel. It is all about what Jesus can do for me, and about how I want to interpret the Bible myself, and about how the Holy Spirit in ME might be telling me something different than He tells everyone else...really? I've even seen those who claim to be Christians, claim to not be for the self-centered "Christianity" and still only talk about themselves and their own experiences, as if that is the most important thing in the world. What should we then say to such a person? Would it be faithful to encourage such behavior? Or should we encourage them to talk more about Jesus and what He TRULY is all about instead? What would Jesus do?

Some things that I have been pondering much about lately, and praying that the Lord Jesus shows me the way to honor Him in all things by being true to His word, and not just a flatterer.