Turning away from the Bible?

Many people, it seems, are more than willing to turn their back on the Bible just because someone can make a case against its accuracy. But if you pick up a copy or two you will find that most translations do agree with each other. So why do we turn away from the book that has shaped civilization for at least the last five centuries?

Mostly it is due to our own idea of what Truth really means to us today. Some people who have turned 30 or even younger are turning away from the Bible and the churches that teach from it. Truth is not relative or individual. God’s Word is True and it is the Truth. Like it or not it was given to the Jewish people first but salvation comes through Jesus Christ and belief in Him alone. Each of us has to have faith to believe in Jesus and in the Truth of the Bible and God is the Author and Finisher of our faith but you won’t hear that from a church that doesn’t teach and preach from the Bible.

The refusal of people to believe God’s Word is a far more dangerous tone to take than what is happening in regard to our healthcare and the election too. God is not some fairy tale and His Word has been proven to be true. The prophecies have all come true except for the taking up of the church, those who believe in Jesus for their salvation. When that prophecy finally happens the whole world will know that God is real but whether the news will report the truth about it will be another “spin” which will hurt more people for eternity.

Why do I defend the Bible like this? Because if it isn’t true…then God is a liar and that is something that He cannot do. The life that is in the universe and that which we see every day on Earth could not be here if it weren’t for God and His Son keeping the little things and the big things in balance. There are so many documents which prove that the Torah and the Prophets are true and have been copied accurately down through the years. There are more than five thousand copies of most, if not all of the New Testament.

Please go to a Bible teaching church, pick up a copy of the Bible if you don’t already have one and begin reading it. So much of the Bible backs up the New Testament because Jesus and His disciples only had the Old Testament to read and go by. We benefit from Paul’s letters which were written mostly from prison due to his preaching about Jesus and His sacrifice for our salvation. In fact, Paul wrote almost half of the New Testament himself so if it weren’t for his letters we would have a much smaller New Testament and Bible.

I urge everyone who reads this to tell others about it especially if they don’t go to church or if they don’t know Jesus as their Savior. He came to give us eternity with Him and save us from an eternity in hell. Make sure of your salvation because not one of us is guaranteed to be here tomorrow.

PTSD-Pray through sin’s denial

How should we live and act when we sin each day of our lives? Should we just shrug it off and tell ourselves that “God has already forgiven us through the blood of Jesus because I am saved by my belief in His atonement for me.” These words are true…but God’s Word says that we should confess our sins and He is just to forgive us. We should NOT assume God’s forgiveness because of our belief in His Son.

Consider this: many people, especially in the “Bible Belt” of the South, THINK that they are truly saved by Jesus but their life doesn’t show behavior that proves this out. Why is that? Because of our culture in the South. We attend church almost from the day we are born and we grow up in the church. Many of us can quote Scripture almost as good as our pastor can…but have you truly given your heart to Jesus? Did the conviction of His Spirit touch your spirit and show you that your life doesn’t reflect what you say you believe?

Many of the people in America, whether you are from the Midwest or the Northeast or the South, claim to be Christians! In some recent polls, there has been as many as 80 to 90 percent of the population making this claim. Then why are so many churches closing their doors because there are too few people in the congregation to keep the doors open? Those same polls show that when the questions get down to true, serious, Bible studying Christians the percentages drop to as little as fifteen percent regardless of their location in America. Now that this “new” coronavirus has hit and churches have been told NOT to meet together in groups of more than fifteen persons I wonder how many more churches will close their doors?

So…should we pray through the denials that we have been inflicting on ourselves for more than forty years? Of course, we should! The Church is the people who make up the Body of Christ here on Earth, not the buildings. Prayer is our connection to God in all of His Glory and it is He that will bring about a return to church and the study of the Bible. How can we just hide behind a tree the way Adam did when he heard God walking in the Garden so long ago? We should confess our sins and beg for His forgiveness of our sins. It was our sins which nailed Jesus to the cross and it was for our atonement that He died and rose on the third day to bring that forgiveness to each person who will ask for it with a humble heart knowing that each of us is truly in need of His forgiveness today and forever.

The instances of PTSD that we hear of today can come from many different situations, but God can get each of us through them if we will learn to rely on Him every minute of every day. What do I mean by “different situations”? The teenager who was sent into a war zone during the Vietnam war gets it because of what he feels or sees around him in the jungle. If he sticks his head out too far the enemy may put a bullet in it. The child of an alcoholic develops it because of how their personality changes and they become violent for little reason. A policeman or woman develops it because of the culture that we live in today that seems to be hunting cops while they are working. Firefighters and ambulance workers get it because of what they see and hear and fear during their shifts. God can help us through all of these but we have to know Him to come to Him for our comfort during our episodes of PTSD. Seek Him every day for His strength and His comfort in every trial, no matter how small or big it may seem to us.

Life and Love

Both of these words are part and parcel of the message which Jesus taught to His disciples. What do I mean by “life”? Well, you are alive and the life that you live every day is a message that others see when they see you on a daily basis. People notice how you walk and talk, especially when they find that you have given your heart and life to Jesus. When Jesus went to different towns during His ministry do you think that He announced His coming? No, the word spread because of what others had experienced because of His life and because of the love that they felt when He spoke to them or preached to them or blessed them.

His ministry was and is the same as our ministry today. We are supposed to go out into the world and let people see Jesus in our daily life. Not being arrogant or boastful about our life but simply living our life with His life as a pattern by everything that we do or say. If a person can’t see Jesus in your daily life by how you speak or your actions then you may not have Jesus in your heart at all.

What about “love”? How do we incorporate that into our lives? According to the apostle Paul, “if we do not have love then we are just a clanging cymbal“. Why would he say something like that? Because everything that Jesus did in His ministry was done because of His love for His people and for each of us. Jesus healed people because He loved them. He blessed children because He loved them. Every action that He took during His ministry, even His death on the cross, was done because of His love for us.

In the culture that most of us live in today, the word “love” has been used and abused so much that it means much less than it should. Even saying “I love you” used to be an endearing thing to say but today love doesn’t carry the weight that it did in the past. There are many words that don’t mean the same today and many of them have been reduced to abbreviations or even emoticons.

God’s love is deeper and more meaningful than we can imagine but many people who attend church today don’t seem to see God in that way anymore. Mostly because very few people even believe that the Bible is the actual Word of God and that it is ALL TRUE! God cannot lie and yet many teachers and preachers will tell you that God didn’t mean it that way or that it only meant that when it was written but today it doesn’t mean that at all.

The Ten Commandments are still commandments and God meant every word. The Bible, Old and New Testaments, was inspired by the Holy Spirit and since He can’t lie then every word is true and was meant to be taken as absolute Truth then and now. Some people try to water down or change some words so that the message is skewed or changed to have a different impact on people today. In other words they don’t want to offend people. I don’t remember Jesus backing away from His critics or changing His message so that they wouldn’t be offended.

Live your life as a reflection of Jesus so that others will see Him in your words or your actions and maybe they will want the Savior that has come into your life and made such a change in your life and the way you live it.

Have you ever wondered…

How did the universe get so big in six days? How did God make some stars HUGE and some that are just the right size to provide warmth and life? Why did God create people who can be so cruel and who will reject Him as their Savior?

These are just a small sample of questions that have come through my mind in the past few weeks, but I still don’t have an answer to any of them. I probably won’t get an answer to any of them until I meet Him in eternity one day. I pray that my life and the decisions that I’ve made in life will at least get me inside the door to Heaven. It will not be my life or any of the “works” that I have done which will bring me to heaven’s door. What will get me in will be the fact of my salvation by my belief in Jesus and His atonement for my sins.

The question of the universe and the stars which God placed in it is actually answered in Genesis. The “how” God did it part was by His Word. Everything that God created was spoken into existence with the exception of mankind, the man and his wife. God sculpted him from the clay or mud if you like it that way and then He breathed His breath of Life into the man and he became a living soul. When God formed the woman, He put Adam to sleep and took one of his ribs and formed her from that.

Mankind was formed by God’s hands. Everything else was spoken into existence, even the fish and the birds and the animals and trees. God wanted a special relationship with mankind which is why He formed him from the clay like a potter but I’m sure there were no imperfections in His creation at all.

Why was mankind created in this fashion? Because God wanted to have an intimate relationship with us and for a time He did have that relationship. But…when mankind disobeyed God’s rule about the tree in the midst of the Garden, he was cast out of the Garden and into a world which suffered because of his disobedience. Death wasn’t spoken of at all until the Fall and then even the stars and the planets and the animals and everything else that God had created felt the sting of the disobedience and the fall. God cursed the ground so that Adam would have to work hard to make things grow to support his family.

Life had been as close to heaven as possible before mankind disobeyed God’s rule about the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. That is where all of the evil in man’s heart began and we have made it show in many ways over the thousands of years since then. God had seen that man would not be able to resist the temptation to give in to enticement from Satan or from any other source. Which is why He told the woman that one day the “seed of the woman” would conquer the sinful ways of man and pay the price to redeem everyone and bring them back into a relationship with God again.

Jesus was that seed and He did fulfill that prophecy because nobody else in humanity would be able to live a spotless, sinless life in order to pay the price for all of mankind, past present and future. The sacrifices of goats and sheep and birds and bulls in the Old Testament were just a foreshadowing of Jesus shedding His blood to atone for all of mankind’s sins. They could not wash away man’s sins because they were only temporary substitutes for Jesus Christ’s blood which would take all of our sins away.

I pray that all who read this will take it to heart and believe in Jesus for your salvation today! Because you don’t know when your days may be over

Have you ever heard God speak to you?

Many times we think we hear or feel a small voice or something that is telling us that we are not doing what is right. We may call it our conscience, but whatever you call it I believe that it is the voice of God by the Holy Spirit. Touching your spirit with His words of wisdom and caution in our time of spiritual need. Sometimes we listen to it and sometimes we just push it aside and forget about it for a while.

God does speak to people today, maybe not from a cloud or a burning bush the way He did when He called Moses, but He does speak every time you hear a message from His Word. When you read the Bible you are hearing His voice from its pages because He inspired the writers to pen those words. Why do I point this out today? Because the Bible was written many thousands of years ago by over forty writers separated by geography and time as well and yet it contains a coherent story line that points to our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Hearing God’s voice today is harder than it has ever been. Not because He isn’t speaking but because of all of the other competing voices that get in the way. Our jobs, our family, our own self-interest gets in the way and many times shouts louder than God ever would. We are too busy to go to church. We have a game or a recital to attend. We need to visit our parents and grandparents this weekend. All of these and more get in the way of our discipleship to Jesus Christ. We allow these important, to us, “busyness” events to take our attention away from God and from our education by the Holy Spirit. Most of the time we don’t even pay attention to the fact that is drawing our attention away from our walk with Him.

One day it will make more sense to those who know Him and it will be a terror to those who are not known by Him and for those think they know Him but do not. I pray that all who read this will make sure of their relationship to Jesus and their belief in Him or not before His return for the church. Will you be able to accept Him as your Savior during the Tribulation? Yes, but the consequences will be much more severe and immediate at that time, but if you do accept Him your eternity will be much better than it will be if you don’t.

What is God’s will for me?

Unless your pastor or your parents tell you where you can truly find out His will is for you, it can take a long time to find it. Being a Christian is not a simple decision with a easy pathway. God gave us a way to find His will but most people will miss it. It takes study and prayer through the Word of God to learn what your place is in His Kingdom. That is where you will find His will for your life. Every day thank God for allowing you to be alive for one more day, study His Word, praying about the scripture you are reading then use the scripture that day. Then do this again tomorrow and the next day and the next day. Learning more about the God Who loves you will bless you in ways that you cannot imagine.

God’s will for each of us is different but studying God’s Word is the best way to find His will for you and your life. Some people in the church never find out what His will is for their lives because they read the passage that the preacher is talking about and that is as far as their reading of God’s Word goes. You will never know God’s voice listening to a few verses on Sunday and His will for your life is not contained in a couple of verses either. The Bible is written as a living document from God so it needs to be read as if you and God are having a conversation about lots of different topics.

God loves and cares for every person on the Earth but He knows that many will not accept Jesus as their Savior. Only those that He calls and who choose to follow Jesus will know Him and be known by Him. Is this fair? Yes it is because it is the same for everyone! God doesn’t choose us by our name or how much money we have or by our ability to speak to a crowd. He chooses each of us because He knows that each of us can touch someone’s life in a way that may get them to seek out their Savior, Jesus.

Our lives and the lives of many people, in fact all people, are orchestrated and guided by God. We think that we are in control but God can move each of us around so that our life and His plan for our life will line up and match exactly the way He wants it to. Your will and God’s will are only the same when you are searching the Scriptures for your destiny, seeking Him as your Savior and living by what God says in it. Make sure that your life and His will for it line up at some point before your life is over.

Too many…too few

Even after two thousand years there are still many places and people who still need to be reached for God’s Kingdom! In today’s world there seem to be more who don’t want to hear about the Savior Who gave His blood and His life for them. But we are still supposed to get the message out even if it is only a few who truly take it to heart. Why do we need to do this? Because it is our duty, it is our solemn duty because Jesus said it was our commission to take His message to ALL of the world. True, He was talking to His disciples but by extension it falls to us.

Even if all of the Christians in the world just told one person and that person told one or two people and each one accepted Jesus as their Savior, we could truly evangelize the world in a very short time. But not everyone is going to hear the message with their spiritual ears because it says in God’s Word, “many are called but few are chosen“. God does send His Spirit out into the world and some will accept His message and some will not. Why does the call of God’s Spirit touch some and not others? For the same reason that God said “Jacob I loved, Esau I hated” before they were born. He named them and He knew their futures before they were born.

I’ve heard people say that if God chooses who will be saved and who will not then there is no reason for us to tell them but it is still our job. Many people will never hear about Jesus or His message if we don’t take the message to them in some way. By preaching or in person and sometimes by our posts on this medium. Whichever way works to get the Lord’s message of grace and salvation out to those who are lost then that is the one we should use. Are we living in the last days? Yes! Some may be telling you that we aren’t, but if you read the prophecy books like Daniel, Isaiah, Ezekiel and Revelation, many of their prophecies have already come to pass. The only ones left are the taking up of the Bride of Christ (the church) and the seven years of tribulation.

Seek Him while there is time.

How do you feel?

In one of my favorite movies the computer is trying to teach Mr. Spock all that he should know in order for him to take his place on the bridge of the Enterprise. He answers all of the questions correctly except this one: How do you feel?

The computer repeats the question and his mother comes in to find him with a quizzical look on his face. She tells him that the computer knows that he is half human and it wants an answer. An answer that he doesn’t know how to give or even how to phrase correctly until the ending of the movie when he tells his father to tell his mother that he feels fine.

How do we feel in this world of contradictions and confusing twists that seem to show up in the news and in other places as well. Particularly in reference to so-called “sexual preference” or “sexual orientation”. These are states of being which our society today is telling us that we are born that way and we are not. God created each of us male or female. There are no third choices or choices of any kind when it comes to how you live your either are what you were born as or you aren’t. But how are you going to answer that question in front of God?

You will stand in front of Him as the person that you were meant to be not the one that surgery and chemicals caused you to look like someone else. Live your life as God made you to be not what your parents or society would choose for you.

God considers every person to be unique and special and worth the life of His Son to save your soul from hell. So regardless of how you may feel right now, today, God loves you. Don’t forget that.

Eyes front!

Life is supposed to be lived with your eyes front. Looking forward to what lies ahead of you. But do we live this way or is it just a fond saying that we hear or maybe learn at some point in our life? Eyes front! is a command that I remember hearing in basic training a few decades ago. So what does it mean to us today?

The better part of it is that we shouldn’t be looking behind us and we should be making plans for the life that is ahead of us. The present, which is today, is something that we can’t plan for because we got up this morning living in it. The “present” is today and it should be used as a way or a pathway to get to our future…tomorrow.

Jesus said: 34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

Look toward tomorrow but do not fret about it. Keep your eyes on the work that Jesus has given you to do and the days will take care of themselves.

Do you know why?

Most believers and the churches that they attend know or think they know “what they believe” and “how to tell others about their belief in Jesus”. In many ways, the pastors of those churches feel that they know these things as well. Some do know these fundamental beliefs of the church and they preach them from God’s Word. But do you know why you should study God’s Word? Do you know why you should tell others in your family and those who live nearby about your Savior?

Is there a reason why we should tell others about Jesus? Why do we come to church?

Telling others about our Savior throws a lifeline to them so that they can know their Savior and escape an eternity in hell. Why do we come to church? Because the Bible says, “forsake not the assembling of the brethren or believers”. We are strengthened in our Spirit when we worship Jesus together. We learn more about our Savior and how to be His disciples when we meet together and study the Bible about His work. We learn about who we are to take this good news, the gospel, to every tribe and nation and tongue, whether it is across the ocean or the street.

But…do we take this good news even to our own family? The “why” of the gospel is simple, maybe too simple, and it is love. God loved us and still loves us so deeply that He sent Jesus to live and die for our sins, no matter how big or small our sins may seem to be to us. The sins that we commit each day in our thoughts and in our speech and with our eyes tend to make a mockery of our claim of being a Christian. We don’t take our faith and our walk with Jesus by our side seriously. Sometimes we rarely think about Him at all outside of the church. It’s almost like when we were young and we would go to visit our grandmother or an aunt that we only see once or twice a year.

We would be told in very stern words to be on our best behavior while we are there. The problem with this kind of thinking and living as Christians is that unlike our grandmother or our aunt, God knows what we think and say even if we don’t say it in church. He knows about your sins regardless of their perceived size because to a holy God…every sin is the same. It is our rebellion against Him and His commandments. That is hard for us to understand because we categorize sins as big or little, white or black. To God, telling your Mom that you didn’t eat the cookie when you did is the same as killing your brother or someone in anger. They don’t seem to be the same to us, but to God, a sin is a sin…period.

Your life and mine are an open book to God. He can turn the days back and see the day you were born and He can look ahead to the day you will die or to the day that we will be taken up to heaven. He knows you and me far better and more completely than our family does. So answer this question in your mind: do you know why you are important to God? It is a simple answer but it is one that we rarely believe or understand because it is too simple.

The reason that we are important to God is LOVE.

Plain, simple, and boring…but from His perspective, it is the most important reason of all! Why is love so bland and boring to us? Because we have used the word for so many things which are not actually “love” until we have tarnished its meaning and weakened its importance. For some people, the expression of love can be done in ways that others would find obsessive or offensive. Then there are times when we say, “I love that show!” or “I love shrimp!”

We use the word “love” in ways and for the expression of feelings that really have no resemblance to love at all. At least not the type of love that God has for us and for all of His Creation. We have stretched it and turned it into a word with little meaning at all because we use it so much. But…God’s Love for us is overflowing with meaning and purpose and it’s alive just like His Word in the Bible. It inspires you and it burns within you and it compels you to do things that you wouldn’t normally do like get in front of a group of people and speak for almost thirty minutes!

Love is the reason for everything that God made. Especially when it comes to His feelings for you and me. God’s love came to Earth so that we could come to heaven. He came to pay for our mistakes so we wouldn’t have to pay the penalty ourselves.