“And Jesus answering said, Were There not (10) ten cleansed [of leperosy]? but, where are the nine? There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger.”                                                                                                                                                (Luke 17)

“…[W[hen they knew God, they glorified [H]im not as God, neither were they thankful; but became vain in their imaginations [plural], and their foolish heart [Singular] was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools…” (Romans 1)

 

“For men shall be lovers of their own selves, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy…”  (2 Timothy 3)

 

Our texts above confronts atheists with their vain imaginations, which are vain and personal. The text also confronts the atheists with their imaginations and their, grammatically singular, heart was darkened. Unbelievers may have their own private mind’s eye but their darkened heart is singular, communal, shared and hardened toward God. The atheist and atheistic world thinks or likes to pretend that we are the strange, we who give Glory to God, just like the one stranger healed of leprosy. We are not strange, nor are we outnumbered; we are the new Creation of God in Christ and we are much thankful….we are the thankful.

Before we proceed, allow me to define the atheist; The Athiest knows that God is but pretends that God is not. Romans (chap. 1) chapter one spells that out by saying, man is without excuse for his prideful, and purposeful ignoring of God; the current state of events in this world is the Judgement of God upon man for his blatant and rebellious existence.

The definition for atheist will also (for the purpose of this article) include persons that believe in some god or another or in a high power or speak of the universe as having a will and purpose for all people. Those persons who are not saved, but profess their belief in their idea or conception of God or those who profess that they are “spiritual” will also be included or considered as atheist. If we want to be very anylitical, technical, and truthful, even true believers can be considered atheistic if or when they do not give glory to God and offer up a sacrifice from  their lips; a sacrifice from their lips acknowledging their thankfulness to God. The unthoughtful and unthankful believer, (who does not offer up thanks to God for all that God is, for all that God has been, for all that God has done, for all that God is doing, and because of His great and overflowing wealth of grace, mercy, and love will continue to do) can be considered as being atheistic in their practice, as well.

A vacuum, by definition, is a space entirely devoid of matter. Synonyms for vacuum include, emptiness, void, nothingness, vacancy, absence, and black hole.

On November 23rd, God willing and Allowing,  persons will be speaking of their thankfulness. They will say they are thankful for family, friends, health,  their career, their this and their that, but to whom are they thankful? Persons will say, ” I’m thankful for X,” and into the vaccum it shall go.

This may sound elementary, but when one has something to say to God, one must direct words and thoughts to God. We need not do anything to atract God’s attention, He is always Present and Aware when one has an offering of praise, of acknowledegment, of thanksgiving. One should knowingly and cognitively direct their attention to God, Who is graciously inclined to hear your cares, concerns, requests, petitions, confessions, acknowkedgements, praises, thanks-givings, and sacrifices of worship.

Why does Scripure, in Hebrews 13, call the Christ-ians’s praise and thanksgiving the sacrifice and fruit of our lips? Do you ever feel like you are sacrificing something by thanking and praising God? The answer is probably in the negative. So then, why does the inspired Scriptures; the Word of God, call our praise and thanks a sacrifice? One might think it is to cause us to remember the sacrificial system from the Old Testament, which of course, points to Christ and His great Sacrifice for His own. Those thoughts and considerations are right, good and certainly worthy to be remembered and meditated upon however, methinks the Spirit of God means something else.

Why or when would praise and thanksgiving be a sacrifice? When all is well and fine it is easy to be thankful to God for all His givings. It is also easy to forget to be thankful and to remember our need (and hopefully our great desire for God; the desire to dwell in His Presence) for God when all is seemingly well. The sacrifice and fruit of our lips become important, and are well received by God, when all is not well and when there appears nothing to be thankful for, when there seems to be much to complain about, when we are walking by sight, or when we begin to grow faint.

This is the time and the opportunity to refuse to doubt God, to faint before God, to be angry with God, to lose faith in God, and to refuse to be comforted by God; these acts of faith, these acts from faith are the sacrifices of praise, the sacrifices of thanks to God, and the fruits of our lips offered up to God, to Jehovah Jireh (The LORD Who provides).

While the professing, and pretending atheists and those who, in practice, are atheistic are spewing pretenses into the air, let us be certain to thank our Great and Glorious God, for this is His will for those in Christ.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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“Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.”  (Matthew 5:4)

“…[A]ll things work together for good to them that Love God, to them who are called according to [H]is purpose.  (Romans 8:28)

 

Before anyone thinks I have gone mad, let me explain my titles, but before I explain my titles let me preface this article by saying, sin is the enemy of the Christ-ian and the Christ-ian is the enemy of sin. God hates sin and the person who finds pleasure in sin is the enemy of God. In fact, Psalm 5 is clear, God hates all workers of iniquity, ie. those that will rebel all their lives against God and war against God’s Holiness until they are dispatched. My point in this paragraph is to state categorically that sin is bad and we should resist it by all the graces God has given us and by the empowerment of the Holy Spirit, Who dwells with us. I hope we are clear….Sin = bad……However….

However, As God is absolutely sovereign, He is absolutely sovereign over sin and all sin’s effects. In fact, God is sovereign over the serpent that introduced the temptation to sin. God is absolutely sovereign and in complete control of  “all things” as He works “all things according to His will” and as He has done “Whatsoever [H]e pleased, that did [H]e in heaven, and in earth, in the sea, and all the deep places.”

An Analogy:
In the court room the judge has the authority to keep certain pieces of evidence out and this is in favour of the defense. However, if the defense slips up and mentions the certain pieces of evidence, the certain pieces of evidence can now be used. The evidence is in play and can be used against the defendent, by the prosecuting attorney.

Sin(s) are in play and can be and will be used by our Sovereign God, as He worketh all things according to His Absolute Sovereign Will.

Sin is useful to our Sovereign God. Sin keeps the Christ-ian, humble and far away from pride, and the pleasuring in sin. Sin draws us closer to our Heavenly Father for His forgiveness of our sin.
Godspeed.

“He that saith he abideth in [Christ] ought himself also so to walk, even as [H]e walked.”                                                                                                                                             (1 John 2:6)

 

A direct charge if there ever was one. This passage could be taken as a challenge by some, others may see it as a goal. Scripture presents it as a fact and the prestinated end of the believer. God’s purpose in Salvation was not and is not, primarily, to save some from Hell, however, this is what is taught, thought and believed by many, if not most, believers.

God’s purposes in Salvation was and is (7) seven fold (Me humbly thinks). God’s purpose and pleasure in Salvation was and is to *save His elect from themselves, ie. their sins. God’s (2nd) second purpose was and is to *transform His elect, that is, certain, chosen persons, into the Christ-likeness that they were and are predesinated to become. God’s (3rd) third purpose was and is to *differentiate the reprobate from His elect.

God’s (4th) fourth purpose in man’s Salvation was and is to *Glorify the Lord Jesus,…. Wait! Actually the Glorification of God’s Son was and is still the preeminent cause and or reason for man’s Salvation, what was I thinking placing the Glorification of the Son as the (4th) fourth purpose? 

God’s (5th) fifth purpose was and is *the demonstration of His Grace and His Wrath. God’s (6th) sixth purpose was and is to *bring His Kingdom and Righteous Rule To man. God’s (7th) seventh purpose was and is to *put the rebellious in their place and this includes the serpent who was and is a murderer and liar from the beginning.

We would, in this article, like to draw your attention to the (2nd) second purpose of God’s Salvation of man. Peter, as you read above in the quoted text from Scripture, “He that saith he abideth in [Christ] ought himself also so to walk, even as [H]e walked.

The word, even in the text, =’s specifically or particularly. In other words, we who say we abide in Christ ought to walk, specifically and particularly, as He walked. He is the Standard each Christ-ian reaches for, however this is impossible to do in the flesh. It is the Abiding, the dwelling, the inhabiting  and the possessing Spirit of Christ that enables us to walk as He walked if we are to walk as He walked.

We have taught and said many times, the Holy Spirit is to each of us what Christ was to the disciples, in other words, as the disciples walked with Christ, we are to walk with and in The Spirit of Christ that resides in our hearts, mind, and instincts. This is the one and only way we can walk as He walked. We can and should talk with the Holy Spirit as the disciples spoke to Lord Jesus. We can and should engage and be engaged by the Holy Spirit as the disciples engaged and were engaged by Christ. In simpler words, The Holy Spirit is to you, or can be to you, what Christ was to the (11) eleven.

A good prayer is asking God to grant you a sensitivity to the Spirit’s will. The Spirit’s will is the same will as the will of the Father and the Son, your Christ-likeness; even to walk as He walked.
Godspeed.

 

 

“The counsel of the LORd standeth forever, the thoughts of [H]eart to all generations”                                                                                                                                         (Psalm 33:11)

“…[O]ur God is in the heavens” [H] hath done whatsoever [H]e hath pleased.”                                                                                                                                           (Pslam 115)

“….[H]e worketh all things after the counsel of [H]is [O]wn will…”   (Ephesians 1)

 

I can remember the first time I came to understand the doctrine of God’s absolute sovereignty. I came to understand this foundational and fundemental doctrine when I learned the doctrine of Election. The manner in which I came to understand election was when I heard a preacher said that man cannot be saved whenever he wants to and he cannot be saved without the initiating work of the Holy Spirit.  This was a mind blowing comment.

The reason this preacher’s comment was so life changing was due to my incorrect view and understanding of God’s way of salvation. I had been led to believe that a person could be saved whenever he wanted to, all he had to do was to come to an understanding of the Gospel on his own volition and ask God to save him.  I was not taught that the Holy Spirit was absolutely necessary for one to come to this understanding. I thought all men had the ability to decide for himself, someone simply needed to lay the facts before him. Many persons are still under this erroneous doctrine. These persons, though well meaning, are sorely mistaken and under tremendous amounts of stress to get their fellow man saved. These misinformed persons believe they will be responsible for their neighbor and family if they go to hell and the blood of the Hell-bound will be on their hands.

If asked these persons will try to deny this stress but I was there.  The problem with this incorrect understanding of salvation is while it is stressing to the spirit, it is also logical that this understanding will cause the flesh to feel very self important. The flesh, at some point will begin to glorify itself. The flesh will begin to steal glory from God even though God says He will not share His Glory with another. This self importance may not be self evident but it is there…I was there and I know of what i speak.

After I heard the preacher speak on the absolute necessity of the Spirit’s initiating work in the spirit of the lost man all the stress and responsibility began to lift (However and although, we are called upon to speak of Christ, we are not responsible for the outcome. Salvation is of the LORD, salvation is not in accordance or compatable with the self will of man.
I began to study this doctrine of the Spirit’s sovereignty in election for myself. I read Luther’s, “Bondage of the Will,”  Arthur Pink’s,  “The Sovereignty of God,” and I looked up every mention of election, elect, chosen, and predestination in the Scriptures by using a concordance. I then read R.C. Sproul’s book, “Chosen.”

As I was studying the Scriptures and reading these books I was asking God for understanding and clarification as well as a confidence to make a stand on this/these doctrines.

Once I came to a place where I was pretty confident on a position and after trying to argue with that new position from Scripture, I contacted the preacher mentioned above and spoke to him concerning my findings and new understanding of God and His Sovereignty and asked if I was on the right track.  The preacher said, “Son, you are not crazy,” and he began to discuss these great truths with me.

Paul mentions a (2nd) second blessing in Scripture. He may not have been speaking to these doctrines but I can confess to a SENCE…a feeling comparable to a (2nd) second salvation or blessing. What I mean by a (2nd) second salvation is how i saw God in a new and glorious Light. I understood God in a new way and I was truly awe-struck. I then started finding the absolute sovereignty of the Godhead everywhere. I gloried in the Sovereignty of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. I understood Ephesians 1:11, Christ’s teachings in John 6 and 10, and John 3 in the (b)right Light of Glorious Truth!!!

When I said this illumination was like a (2nd) second salvation I also meant that I began to share this great, this glorious, this comforting, this awesome truth with anyone who would listen.  To my surprise I was not met with great enthusiasm nor was this liberating, inspiring, golden and God Glorifying doctrine. I found that the circle/camp I was in was opposes to this doctrine and considered it heresy.
I continued to teach it and preach it because, like Luther, my conscience was held captive to Scripture. It got to the point that I actually said to God, either my family and I must leave the church (A huge and scary move) or the current pastor would have to go. We were very close to this pastor and his family, so this made the crumbling relationship especially difficult. I found out within the last year that the preacher said the same thing to God as I did, ” Either they go or we go.”

The preacher announced that he would be leaving the church and would begin pastoring another church.  This was staggering (probably to both the preacher and me), God had answered our prayers and it was a blatant answer. I was glad and relieved to see this pastor leave however, I want to state very clearly this was not a personally satisfying answer to prayer. The preacher’s resignation was necessary for the health of the church. This preacher must not be seen in any kind of a negative light.
The pastor’s resignation was God’s will and it took the form it did. This preacher was an exceptional teacher of the Word, I don’t know if I have ever, personally,  known a better or more detailed teacher than this man. His teaching on the tabernacle still remains with me to this day, almost (2) two decades later. This preacher was used by God to bring me back to the fold, his teachings and his friendship laid the foundation to what I am today. This pastor was a “chief corner-Stone” to my development.”

It is sad that our differences caused the division that they did. I blame the spirit legalism and a flesh centered understanding of the Gospel that drove the wedge between he and i. The church was not growing as the pastor expected and I believe, right or wrong, he placed the blame of this retardation of church-growth squarely on this writer.  He is not to be faulted in anyway for this, he was the victim of legalism’s possessing and tasking spirit.

A preacher must be conscious of God’s will. He must be inclined and open to the Spirit’s movements and purposes. He must be submissive to the will of the Godhead, no matter how much it may hurt or disrupt. I know it was God’s will that the aforementioned pastor leave his ministry because of the pastor that came next. This pastor was a great blessing as he was not possessed by the legalistic spirit. The new pastor understood grace and liberty, he was used of God to continue my education of Christ-ian liberty.

I stood in the pulpit, as I was one of the members of the committee to elect the new pastor, and stated unequivically that it was the will of God that this pastor lead this church. Ron Ruben is still pastoring the church almost (18) eighteen years later. A more faithful and dedicated man you will not find………………………..However,

The dividing but true doctrines of God’s sovereignty and of His free and unconditional election of certain sinners to salvation made it’s divisive presence known again. Within (4) four to (5) five years, I again was asking God, is it Thy will that Ruben remains or I remain in the church. This time it was my turn to go.
The doctrines of God’s absolute sovereignty and God’s free and unconditional election of certain sinners to salvation (As He passes over others) are very devisive, these doctrines draw a line in the sand and they turn brother against brother.
But do these doctrines have to be a deal breaker? The answer is yes and no. These doctrines do break apart relationships and church families yet they do not have to, but they do and they will.

These foundational and fundemental doctrines are not to be blamed nor is God. God is pleased when brethren dwell together in unity, and He hates the dividing up of brethren. The blame lies upon one’s refusal to see the clear and prevalent teachings of Scripture on God’s sovereignty and free election.

I wrote above that it was my turn to leave the church. Years later I crossed paths with Pastor Ruben and we spoke of old times and we found that we (2) two could, in fact and indeed, walk together, having differences and disagreements between the (2) two of us.
Pastor Ruben sees God one way and I see God in another way, but we both vehemently and fervently agree that Christ Died and rose again for sinners and whether God elects certain persons to salvation or not, (He does) persons; sinners must be told of the consequences of their rebellious acts against the Holy God and of God’s grace that can save them from the consequences of their rebellion.

I am a home preacher and Pastor Ruben is the pastor of Lighthouse Church in Plainfield/Romeoville/Bolingbrook area. We respect each other and more importantly, we love each other and God’s callings on both of us to be shepherds to God’s people, whether God’s people are elected by God to salvation or not…………………………………… (they are).
Godspeed.

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good report.”  (Hebrews 11:1-2)

 

“I have faith”…”  “S/he has faith,”  “Put your faith in God.”  Statements like that are made and believed by both lost and saved persons. The (3rd) third statement is said by theologically incorrect ministers. The (3rd) third title of our article asks the question –  Does a lost person, intrinsicly, have a faith s/he can put in God? The answer, according to Scripture, is in the negative. No one has a faith in and of themselves to savingly believe in Christ’s death and resurrection. The (1st) title asks what is faith. The answer is not simply believing in Christ, but the God-gifted power to act upon the revelation of the Gospel. Faith is a gift from God, a gift given to those he quickens which then allows them to believe upon the divinely revealed truth concerning Christ and His love for a sinner. Man cannot understand, much less obey the Gospel lest the fallen and dead spirit in man is given life by the Holy Ghost of God and followed by the gifting of saving faith, which enables one to understand and respond to the God revealed truth of the Gospel. The actions that follow the Holy Ghost’s enlightenment and gifting of faith are repentance and belief.
Some may think that understanding and belief are equivelent to one another, they are not. Understanding is the enlightenment and belief is one’s love, desire to obey God and child-like trust in Christ. Belief follows repentance as repentance is the new willingness to submit to God’s ways. This is why Scripture puts repentance before belief.

Some think the study or the preaching of these works of the Holy Spirit is splitting hairs, it is not, it is theology. They think that since all these acts occur simultaneously that there is no need to get “too detailed.” It is true these graces, the Holy Spirit’s gifting of a quickened spirit or faith and His gifting of repentance followed by the ability to believe may happen simultaneously but they are still separate works performed by the Spirit. To suggest that these graces and giftings occur together there is no need to complicate the matter is similar to suggesting that since the Triune Godhead acts as One there is no need to teach or to understand that They/He are (3) Three Distinct Persononages forming One God.

Some analogies:  1. Since multiple and simultaneous actions can cause one single outcome, the multiples and simultaneous actions are not important in their singular, specific and independent actions.  2. A police officer will speak to the (10) ten witnesses to the accident instead of only one, thinking he needs to speak to only one, since they must have all seen the same thing.  3. There are many independent gears that cause one watch or clock to keep time, though they all work together they are all independent and essential.  4. There are many organs working independently of one another, yet they operate in unison in one body. If one necessary organ is diseased it causes trouble. Each organ is necessary and each organ has it’s own medical professional dedicated to it.

By the above analogies I am attempting to point out that each miraculous and independent operation of the Holy Spirit should be pointed out and God should receive glory and much thanks for all He does even if they appear to be one act. No time is lost or wasted in the study of all that God does. One more analogy to drive home the point: When one prays the table grace, he is thanking God for all that has done toward the meal. By saying, “Thank You Lord for Thy Provisions,” the pray-er is acknowledging the air and strength God grants the workers that grew and harvested the food, the sun, rain and soil the food grew in, the truck driver, gas, oil, etc that is used to transport the foods to the store, all the store workers, the money and strength and effort that allowed the purchase of the foods, the preparer of the foods, and so on. Each person or operation is necessary for the table spread.

Proverbs (3) three tells us to acknowledge God in all our ways, we should also acknowledge God for all His ways and works. It is proper to magnify each single act and operation of God, that is one purpose of Bible study and meditating upon Biblical truths, and the works and ways of God. To look upon the singular and independent works of God is not getting to detailed or mired down in the unnecessary or complicated, it is arrogant, lazy and shallow to suggest so.

To speak of salvation is to speak of God, the glory of God, the mercy, the grace, the longsuffering, and the hope that is of God, the everlating covenant between the Godhead, the fall of man, sin, the devil, the law, election, God’s preservation of the elect person to the point of the new birth, the calling of God, the justification and sanctification, and predestinated end of the believer, the glorification of the believer, and the return of Christ for the believer and the reward the Lord brings with Him, and eternity future, that has been prepared from before the beginning. In other words, the Salvation that is of God is the sovereign operations of grace that He ordained in eternity past and through the prophetic and priestly offices of Christ, performed in the stead of the believer which brings the believer into the Presence of the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ and into Eternity future. That is the salvation of God.

If one wants to get “mired down” in the details of God’s salvation of His elect, one would  note that all the Works of God wrought in the Old Testament (The birth of Israel/the call of Abraham, the killing of pagan and enemy tribes, kindreds, tongues, peoples and, nations, the establishing of those who did right in the sight of the LORD,) were  done to bring about God’s Salvation to, for, and of man.

It is said, “God is in the details,” I would concur and add that God should be thanked, praised and glorified for each and every work He does. His Great Glory is in the details.

Godspeed

 

 

 

 

“I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go in the house of the Lord.”  (Psalm 122:1

 

There are many blessings to pastoring a small house church and there are some responsibilities if one is to be faithful to God and to God’s flock.  One of the responsibilities in speaking to a smaller fellowship is that we are speaking to only a few persons and when an elephant enters the room we cannot overlook it by a pretence of speaking in general term for the betterment of all. Everyone knows what I’m talking about and to whom I am speaking to. On the other hand I need not be concerned with losing a job or members, which the Bible knows nothing of.

Another perk is being able to write a blog without fear of repercussion. No one is paying me and I need not fear offending anyone or fear any negative feedback when I do. So hear are some things, i would suspect many pastors would like to say but are reluctant.

1. The church attender is not doing the pastor a favour when they attend church. God has and is showing favour by calling anyone to church services. I remember when I taught in a church, persons would say, “You never know when I might pop in,” or   “Maybe I’ll see you soon.”  They were acting as though I was the one benefitting by their attending services.  Christ-ian, you are the one who benefits by attending service. You are not doing anyone but yourself a favour by showing up.
2. One cannot take a passage of Scripture and apply it or to interpret it however one feels like. There is no private interpretation of Holy Writ. One is to take it as the Holy Spirit and the inspired writer intended.  One cannot take a set of directions to a destination and say, “I interpret this right turn to mean a left turn and expect to arrive at the destination anytime soon and the same is true with inspired Scripture, the passage means what it means and not what one wants it to mean.
   I remember preaching on election and using Noah’s Ark as an example. My point was, there was only room for (8) eights persons and no more.  One dear woman said to be afterwards, ” What I got from you message was that anyone could be saved at anytime.”  That was the opposite of my message!!!
3. Hears one that will shock.  Your preacher does not live up to his high standard of preaching nor does this writer. The same thoughts go through our heads as the ones that go through yours.  A minister or writer cannot preach according to his level of living, if he did there would be no point to preach. As Hercule Poirot said on the Orient Express, “We must hold the law up higher…”  In the case of this writer and your minister, we must hold the bar of our preaching way up here and not at the level of our state. If we preached according to our state there would be no point. You are not to be like your preacher. You are to be like Christ.  No preacher should be telling his flock, “Be like me,”  instead he should be saying, “Be like Christ.”
4. Christ-ian, You should spend more time preparing your spirit for the church service than your hair, makeup, which tie should be worn, which cologne or perfume should be spritzed, etc. Church is for the worshipping of God in spirit and for the feeding of that spirit. Church is not a contest nor is it a runway or catwalk. God and the pastor are interested in the beauty of your soul and not the beauty that is to fade.  I’m not saying one should not show up to church in their best, they should for they are entering the house of God. Would you wear shorts and a tank top or jeans and a t-shirt to the White House or Buckingham Palace?  I think not….well then what should one adorn themselves in when entering God’s House?  One should spend time preparing their appearance as a sign of respect to God and the household of God but do not forget to prepare the inner temple as well.
   One must not simply get up, get dressed and drive to church…no, no, no. One should prepare their spirit by reading Scripture, thinking on God if you haven’t been God-Conscious like you should be, you should seek God in prayer and ask Him to quicken your mind and spirit to receive what He has for you. You must pray for your pastor and ask God to speak to him and through him. Ask God for the spirit of worship so you might praise Him properly….People, you are entering the House that the Apostles built with Christ as the Architect, Designer, Chief Cornerstone and Foundation !!!  “Prepare to meet thy Maker” each time you enter His doors.  Persons, for years, have criticized my dress habits. I normally dress in a white shirt or other color button up oxford, a pair of pants and a tie, sometimes my tie matches my socks, that’s on purpose, as i have said before gentle men, The belt should match the shoes and the tie should match the socks. My attire really was and is a sticking point for many persons and don’t ask me why because, Know not I (in Yoda voice). The reason I dress this way is, “This is the day the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it.”  My Attire = My Rejoicing.  It is a personal choice and I do not expect others to follow suit…follow suit, get it?  follow suit…we’re talking about dressing and i wrote follow suit.
5. “That’s not how or what I was taught,” is a statement each and every minister has heard or will hear.  Christ-ian, The Bible is the Sole Authority on doctrine, on conduct becoming a Christ-ian and what is appropriate and what is not.  If what you have been taught does not line up with Scripture then you must bow to Scripture and not the teachings of men or traditions, we aren’t Catholic,  are we?
6. It’s okay to say,   “Amen” and to raise hands in worship to God.
7. Seven is the Biblical number of completion therefore we will rest after (7) Seven and number seven is a big one.
   Christ-ians,
   God, your pastor (whom ever he may be), and this writer want and expect you to read and study the Bible on your own. Spending time in God’s Word is spending time with God, especially if you read the Word and study the Word in a spirit of prayer. To study in a spirit of prayer is to notice an attribute, that you are lacking, Hannah’s faith (Mother of Samuel) for an example, ask God to increase the measure of your faith, it’s good to ask for that, the disciples did. Maybe you come a cross a negative trait in someone that you have as well, you might ask God to help you curb it or to help you manage that trait, Paul had a temper and I’m certain he sought grace so that he could be, “slow[er] to wrath” because he said, “The wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.”
   The true end or purpose of our salvation is to become Christ-like, so as you read the Gospels or you read an epistle that speaks to an attribute of Christ or even the fruit of the Spirit, ask God to release a measure of that specific trait or fruit in you. Prayerful Bible study is like the doctrines of justification and sanctification, they go together. One must prepare to prayerfully read and study the Word just like one must prepare to enter God’s house.

Godspeed.

“These things have I written unto you that believe on the [N]ame of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the [N]ame of the Son of God.”  (1 John 5)

 

It is written, …”the [W]ord of God …is sharper than any two edged sword…” The Word of God and the doctrines contained therein cut (2) two ways.  We will see this divine dynamic in this article (Dv). We will seek to define what a Christ-ian is. We will not go to a dictionary or an encyclopedia. We will go to the source, Scripture. In definining what a Christ-ian is will give many readers assurance.

Assurance is a doctrine of grace along with: God’s sanctifying election (Jude v.1), God’s calling, justification, sanctification, and glorification (Romans 8). The doctrine of assurance does just what it sounds like, it is that which assures me that I am, indeed, saved; that Christ did, in fact, die for me and that the Holy Spirit actually indwells my heart, mind, and my instincts.

As we said, this doctrine will cut (2) two ways, it will assure the believer that s/he is born again and is safely in Christ. On the other hand this doctrine can also alert a person to the fact that their profession of faith is merely that, a professing. Some may learn that they are not a Christ-ian at all. Some professing “believers” know that they are not the real deal and this does not bother them at all.  While others may be startled by this knowledge, to them we say this, if you are startled by the knowledge that you have never been truly born again, your response is a good response. This may be the time to be certain of your salvation.

Persons who are susceptible to this feax belief are those that have been victimized by the name it and claim it crowd or even the eager door-knocker that said a prayer with them and then told them they were now saved. I’m not belittling anyone who goes door to door, I’m simply saying it can be misunderstood by the one “saying” the sinners prayer, note: I said, saying not praying the sinners prayer. I must confess, I do not have a lot of hope with the practiced and very plastic door to door salesman/witness routine. One reason is that so often it is done in the flesh, if it’s the same spiel time and again, how can it not be flesh. The Spirit moves freely not according to script. When we knock at a door we should have freedom to address the person and not a script.

Pastor Ron Ruben of Lighthouse Church in the Bolingbrook, Plainfield, and Romeoville area, a good man and a good friend to me knows how to go about it. He goes to garage sales and converses with the persons he meets and before he leaves he tells them of Christ and invites them to church. No script, no rehearsal in front of a mirror, he simply walks in the Spirit and goes where the Spirit leads and you know what? Some of these persons actually show up and stick around!

Now to answer the question in one of our titles. How do you know you are saved. We might approach this as if we were in a court of law.  It might go like this,

Prosecuting Attorney: Bro. X, You have been charged with being a Christ-ian.
Bro. X: I have and I am.
PA. Speaking to the jury: Today i will use evidence that will prove beyond any reasonable doubt that Mr. X is, in fact and indeed, a Christ-ian.

Pieces of evidence:
*A picture of Mr. X reading a Bible.
*An audio recording of Mr. X praying.
*A witness will testify that Mr. X loves his Christ-ian family, his neighbors, and even his enemies.
*Another witness will testify to Mr.X’s speaking in public about his love for Jesus Christ and Christ’s love for him.

*And yet, another witness will testify to the purity of life that Mr. X seeks to live.

 

The defense will now present it’s case:
Defense Attorney (DA): N/A

 

The Jury verdict is in:  We the jury find Mr. X  Guilty of being a Christ-ian.

Godspeed.

 

 

“A righteous man regardeth the life of his beast…”  (Proverbs 12)

 

To some this may be a rather silly topic to discuss. At one time I would be the one thinking this silly.  Let me preface this article by stating I am not a overly sentimental man, not at all.  I have never been accused of being mushy or gushy, never once. I am on the other hand a sober and grave minded servant of God. That does not mean that I’m cold or withdrawn either.  The point is, this article is not being written by a sappy, over-emotional dog lover. In fact, with the exception of my dog, Dr. Watson and my mother’s dog, Miss Maddie,  I am more of a cat person….maybe even a fish person.

I began wondering about dogs and their eternal state when I was studying psycho/sociopaths.  The psy/soc-path is an individual that is free of a conscience. This individual does not fear, feel, or ever experience remorse or sorrow. These individuals lost their conscience through incomprehensible childhood abuses or as it is with the psychopath, he was born without a conscience or through the damaging of the frontal section of the brain. A person can become a psychopath by damaging that frontal section even as an adult.

When you look at animals and insects, you find this same behaviour in some species. When a snake births a brood, the young snakes are on their own, the same with spiders. There exists no motherly bond once the offspring is birthed/hatched. Of course with other species there is a very paternal and nurturing aspect. Primates are paternal as are lions.

When it comes to dogs however, it’s different.  Dogs show remorse, dogs do care for their offspring, and they do have a high intelligence. Dogs do become a special part of a family.  Dogs care for their family by keeping watch and warning away trespassers.

Evolutionists say that these are learned traits so that they will be fed and cared for. The so-called scientist ….how will these scientist feel when Christ returns?  All their work and effort is proven wrong and their work will stand as a witness against them….moving along…these scientists tell us that the dog does not feel any remorse at all if it does wrong, the feax or false remorse is an evolutionary trait. This fake remorse is used so that we will continue carrying for the dog and feeding it.

Our other choice is, God created the dog with the ability to feel remorse which speaks to a conscience and dare I say, a soul?

I used to hear persons say, “the dog is a member of our family,” and I would think what non-sense it all is.  I was a fool answering a matter before hearing it.  (9) nine to (10) ten years ago I gave Dr. Watson to my wife for Mother’s Day.  I have come to see this dog as a friend. Watson seems to understand me very well, he get’s my moods, ie. he knows when not to bother me or interrupt me. When he was younger, he would have accidents when we were out for a few hours. We would arrive home to see Watson in a state of remorse. This is not evolutionary as there is no such thing, this is genuine, “I’m Rorry.” Watson can show happiness, boredom, he can communicate his wants and needs to me.

If dogs do go to Heaven, they too, will need a changed body, as I do not think dogs will be doing business on streets of gold or along the banks of a chrystal sea.

As the titles of this article state, this is nothing to be dogmatic about, it’s a thought….but, why not?

Is it okay to pray for a pet?
It is always okay to pray for a friend or a loved one, even in animal form.
A syllogism:
* The Bible tells me to cast my cares upon Christ for He cares for me.
* I care for my pet
* Therefore, the care you feel for your pet can be cast upon Him, for in caring for you, He cares about what you care about.

An Analogy:
When we travel we ask God for traveling mercies, ie. vehicle runs well, we drive safely, we are protected from other drivers, etc.
In Scripture, there were no cars. They rode beasts of burden, like mules, donkeys, horses, and camels. When Joseph and Mary were traveling to Jerusalem, do you not think they prayed for their beast?

Anything one cares for can be mentioned to God.

Godspeed

“Do unto others as you would have done unto you.”  (Luke 6)

“Love God…”  (Luke 10)

“Pray without ceasing.”  (1 Thessalonians 5)

“Teach me [T]hy statutes”  (Psalm 119)

 

Sometimes something seems so simple it seems too simple or it seems too good to be true.  How mant times have we heard it before, “If it sounds to good to be true, it probably is?”  We hear that so often because it is true, most of the time…most of the time.

If you are a night owl like me and you spend some of your overnight hours watching television you see some of these to good to be true ads.  If you believe these ads you believe their products can turn you into a completely different person, a much much better person.

These products promise the perfect body with minimum effort if any effort at all.  The books will make you wealthy beyond your imagination, the pills will give you a genius I.Q. and make you a master of sex.  You would think that the problem with everyone else is their sleep pattern. If everyone would stay up all night and watch T.V. instead of sleeping, everyone would be perfect.

I would like to draw your attention the the last (4) four words in the (1st) fist paragraph, “most of the time.”  The point I was driving at in the above paragraphs is the truth that when something sounds too good to be true, it probably is…most of the time.

The promises of God are not too good to be true.  God’s promises are too good AND they are very true and worthy of you full acceptance!!!  Peter in his (1st) first epistle called them precious promises. I believe they are called prcious because they are so very precious to those whom they were made and they were made to a precious few.  What Hope there is in the promises of God!!!

One of the great if not greatest promises God makes is to those few who will repent (Turn from their sinful ways and submit to Christ), and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ (love Him, obey Him, trust Him). To believe in Christ is to understand that He lived a perfectly sinless life, but was crucified anyway, not for His own wrong doing but for the wrong doing of anyone who will believe. One must also understand and believe that Christ Jesus rose from the grave (3) three days later, was seen by over (500) five-hundred men over a period of (40) forty days!!!

To benefit from the above, one merely must repent and believe, ie. understand that all Christ did He did in your stead.  The life he lived, He lived in you place. His death was in your place, His burial and resurrection was done in your place. If He had not done all of this for you, you would have absolutely no hope other than eternal punishment in hell and eventually the lake of fire.  If there was any other way for you to evade eternal destruction, why …why would Christ do it all?  Another way of explaining it is the trade-off.  The sins of all who would believe were put upon Christ and the righteousness of Christ was imputed to those that would believe. In other words, Christ’s righteousness was put to your account and with that being accomplished God no longer sees you as a sinner but as justified.  All of this and much more occurs when one believes.

 

Once a sinner has been justified before Heaven’s Triune Court he can begin a new life as he has been *born again, *born anew, *born from above, *born of the Spirit and washed in Christ’s Blood….God be praised…thanked….and Glorified.
In this new life there are responsibilities that will allow him to walk in the Spirit and with God.  There will be very simple activities that he can be faithful to that will please God and keep him on the narrow path.  But let me warn you………..

But let me warn you, you will think these  “too good to be true.”  Let me assure you these are not too good to be true, they are simply very good and very true. We will bullet point these basic works of faith.
*Love God with all your heart, mind, strength, and body. In other words be consumed by your love for God and His greater love for you. A mature love for God and a mature understanding of God’s love for you casts out fear.
*Pray. Prayer is the means whereby you will communicate and fellowship with God and A way He will communicate and fellowship with you. I would encourage you to read “Practicing the Presence of God.”  This tiny, tiny little booklet will help you develop a God-Awareness that is perpetual.
*Study and Read your Bible which is God’s Holy Word and another Way He will communicate with you.  This is an absolute must it goes with  and accompanies prayer, in terms of value and necessity.  Never let any other book replace the Bible, ie. don’t read another book instead of the Bible. However, one should read other books in addition to or along with the Bible.
*Do unto other as you would have them do unto you.
*Attend a church or fellowship. If you identify with my teachings you would probably be at home in a non-denominational church, a house church (I’m a minister in a house church), or a sothern baptist, sovereign grace baptist, but never a legalistic babtist. The point is you need Christ-ian fellowship. There is no where in Scripture that allows you to go it alone all the time. To avoid church is to displease God and hurt yourself. Having said all of that let me say this, if you really do not have a sound church or fellowship in your area, then by all means go to the net. Look for sound teachings like John MacArthur,
R.C. Sproul, Alistar Begg, Joel Osteen…….joking….I’m joking, no Joel Osteen, Chuck Swindoll, Tony Evans, Paul Washer, Wretched Radio with Todd Friel (he’ll grow on you). There is a good website called oneplace.com. there are well over (100) one-hundred preachers available 24/7. Another great resource is the “Gospel Bus” with the late J. Vernon McGee. He works thru the entire Bible in (5) five years.

 

The above bullet points are valuable beyond words. None of the above is difficult but many fail to engage themselves in them.  It is mind blowing.  There is so much return on investment, but many miss out on God.  If believers would simply pray and prayerfully study their Bibles they worl find the answers they need instead of having to ask others. That’s not to say that believers shouldn’t seek counsel, they should…they certainly should on the tricky stuff. What I’m talking about is the very basics.
*”Should I marry x even though s/he’s divorced?”
*”Pastor, I am unfulfilled in my marriage, are there any loopholes that would allow me to divorce?”
“Pastor, What color should I paint my house?”  not joking.
“Pastor, I’m so mad at x, what should I do?”
“Pastor, is it okay if I date x? I know x isn’t saved but…”

With the exception of the last question, all the others could be answered by a reading of the Gospel of Matthew.

Reasons persons do not read their Bibles like they know they should.
*It’s the preacher’s job to teach me the Bible……..Woefully, woefully Wrong Wrong Wrong!!!
*Laziness….plain laziness
*Honestly, they don’t care what the Bible says.
*”I know all that ” ie. “I don’t want to waste my time reading it again.”  When someone says “I know all that” they show that they devalue God’s Word or they betray the fact that they do not know the Power that is contained in God’s Word. Whatever the case may be, it’s not good.
*(s)atan has put a deterrant upon the Word, which keeps a believer from reading….this is a real thing, I know from experience.  I also know the answer to this deterrent from experience, Pick up the Word of God and read it…study it. While (s)atan’s spiritual chain lock is a real thing so is an act of faith. By acting on faith and picking up the Word, the chain falls away.
*Procrastination
*No time…eliminate other less valuable activities….it’s that simple and it’s that important.

In closing, have you ever looked at another believer and wished you could be a bit more like them, in terms of faithfulness, attitude, knowledge, etc?  These attributes were gleaned through prayer and Bible study.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“And as they came down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, saying, Tell the vision (Television) to no man…  (Matthew 17)

 

Thinks me, I’ve written on this before. Therefore, this can be a reminder for those who read my thoughts on this topic. For those that have not read my thoughts on this topic, this will be new.

Television is very useful. Television can teach much to many. The T.V. is one of the main sources where persons obtain their information. The other sources being the internet, radio, ham radio, and word of mouth.  However, T.V. can also infiltrate homes, desensitize the watchers, and slowly train persons to be a certain way. In this article (Dv), we will look at ways the T.V. can cause harm if we aren’t vigilant and discerning of the T.V.’s intentions. (To be clear, the T.V. is a non-living object. In itself T.V. is neither good or bad. The producers of T.V. are the persons sending out the product and it is with their intentions we are speaking of).

There once was a kid’s show called “Bear in the Big Blue House,” This show had an agenda. Persons think me crazy or paranoid when I speak of this show. In (1) one episode, (2) two chipmunks were sent to gather nuts. When the Chipmunks returned (1) one had a mountain of nuts and the other chipmunk had a far smaller amount of nuts. The chipmunk with the smaller amount was lazy and distracted. Enter The Bear of the big pink, errr, blue house. The bear looks at the (2) two baskets of nuts and he see’s one has more than the other. The communist, err, the bear then takes from the mountain of nuts and gave the nuts to the lazy and distracted chipmunk.

Some would see this as sharing, I see this as communism. The Bear in the Big Blue House, without consent of the hard working chipmunk, TOOK his day’s work and “shared” ie, GAVE it to the other chipmunk. The Bear in the Big Blue (pink) House wanted everthing to be equal.

This T.V. show is like (s)atan, this show subtley teaches our children the tried and died way of communism.

Another infiltrator is Dora, the Explorer. Children grow up watching and learning from Dora. Dora ingratiates herself to our youth, the intent?  When the children grow up they will see illegal aliens as Dora the Explorer. It may be sub conscious, but the now grown up adults have sympathy for illegal immigration.

Another way T.V. can harm us is the depiction of predator vs. prey. In many T.V. shows the predator has all the power and the prey is helpless. Could this teach the sub-conscious to cower under a predator? I don’t know. However, God made us and He put organs in us. These organs are suseptable to harm. If a predator does focus on a potential victim, said predator could and should be surprized. Surprized by what?  Thumbs driven through the eyes and into the brain. Another surprize could be boxing the ears…to box someone’s ears is as easy as clapping your hands when praising the Lord.  Simply use the palms of the hand and clap the predator’s ears.

Another surprise can be the jaw. A Hammer fist to the jaw will put anyone down or wide open hand thrusting up toward the jaw, ie. open hand to the jaw. A  side-swinging headbutt to the jaw will certainly win the day.

The charlie horse is an underrated weapon. One could use the fist, the knee, and or the elbow to temporarily put a predator down. (1) one good hit to the thigh will give a person the time to get away.

All of the above is good to know but when one is actually in a situation all of the above is worthless if one’s mindset and emotions aren’t under control. If one is put into a situation one must be able to call upon the right mindset if one is to survive.

When one can call upon the right mindset and use the body that God gave us as a weapon, the predator may see a potential victim, but to his surprize he is about to be victimized, himself.

Godspeed.