Saturday, December 30, 2017
Thursday, December 28, 2017
Tuesday, December 26, 2017
Monday, December 25, 2017
God wants us to acknowledge Him. Psalm 46:10 says "Be still and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth". When we acknowledge God, there will be a confession of sin (Proverbs 28:13), a confession of salvation (Romans 10:10), a confession of the Savior (John 4:15). We must admit our own weakness in the flesh, our inability to help ourselves and our total dependence on Jesus Christ. Jesus said "without me, ye can do nothing" John 15:5. Paul said, " I can do all things through Christ which strengthen me" (Philippians 4:13). We are to commit our ways to Him (Proverbs 3:6), we are to commit our lives to Him (Philippians 1:21), and we are to commit our will to Him (Luke 22:42).
God wants our allegiance. Jesus commanded, " And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple" (Luke 14:27). We give our allegiance to many different things, political parties, employers, family and friends and many other things, but God wants us to give Him our allegiance first. We will make time for what is most important in our lives. Colossians 3:2 says "Set your affections on things above, not on things of the earth".
God wants us to be available to Him. We need God. Many time's people think that God needs them. People who think this have, an overinflated ego. Nothing could be further from the truth. Romans 12:3 says "For I say through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think........ The Lord wants to use us but He can and will use someone else if we are not willing to be obedient to Him.
Sunday, December 24, 2017
none can do good without the grace of God, the strength of Christ and the assistance of the Spirit; there is not even a spiritual man that can do perfect good. We all have sin in us. The works of the flesh produce evil meaning that we are naturally weak and are being opposed by evil spirits and by evil men. Our good intentions can easily be derailed. The fruit of the Spirit results in doing good (Galatians 5 19-26).
Christians very often feel that there is so many things that need to be done that they can't possibly do it all. Remember we can only do one thing at a time. We as individuals can only do so much. We should schedule times to rest ( Mark 6:31). We can be overcommitted to a cause. This can cause burnout and say what's the use. Discernment is essential here. Often times all God wants from us is to take a deep breath and calm down (Psalm46:10: Luke10:41).
We will never grow weary of doing good if we have Christ Jesus (Galatians 5:24). We should give ourselves fully to the Lord because we know our labor is not in vain (1 Corinthians 15:58).
Saturday, December 23, 2017
Friday, December 22, 2017
LYING TO FBI IS ILLEGAL; HOW ABOUT THE FBI LYING TO US?
LYING TO FBI IS ILLEGAL; HOW ABOUT THE FBI LYING TO US?: LYING TO FBI IS ILLEGAL; HOW ABOUT THE FBI LYING TO US, Special Counsel investigation, Russian collusion, Justice Department’s collusion with Hillary Clinton, Trump National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, Loretta Lynch, Bill Clinton, Judicial Watch
Wednesday, December 20, 2017
Tuesday, December 19, 2017
Monday, December 18, 2017
Sunday, December 17, 2017
Soap
Have you ever heard someone say, "I'm going to wash your mouth out with soap"? According to Wikipedia the first recorded incidence of this was reported in the Legal Examiner in 1832. A husband and wife were always arguing. One day he came home and found her drunk. He said, "She has had plenty of water to wash with, she ought now to have a little soap." With that said he stuck soap in her mouth. Over the years sticking soap in a child's mouth for using profanity was used as a form of discipline to teach them not to cuss. This is rarely done today due to legal and health concerns.
Saturday, December 16, 2017
Friday, December 15, 2017
Hyper-Calvanists
Our beloved Spurgeon battled the Hyper-Calvinists and gave four characteristics (the following is an excerpt written about Spurgeon, not from Spurgeon himself, and the source is linked below):
1. The Hyper-Calvinist denies that gospel invitations are to be delivered to all people without exception. He limits the purpose of gospel preaching to bringing in the elect, and so only the elect is to be addressed with the commands, invitations, and offers of the Word. There is to be no pleading with, exhorting and beseeching of an entire congregation of sinners. That attitude was totally rejected by Spurgeon, who on many occasions addressed every single hearer thus: “‘These are written that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.” Look to him, blind eyes; look to him, dead souls; look to him. Say not that you cannot; he in whose power I speak will work a miracle while yet you hear the command, and blind eyes shall see, and dead hearts shall spring into eternal life by his Spirit’s effectual working’ (MTP, 40, 1894, p.502).
2. The Hyper-Calvinist declares that the warrant a sinner has to come to Jesus Christ is found in his own experience of conviction and assurance. That warrant, the hyper says, cannot be obtained until we are inwardly spiritually exercised. But, Spurgeon preached that all mankind has a warrant to believe extended to them, giving them the right to place their trust in the Lord Jesus. That warrant is the universal command found in the Word of God that all men should repent of their sins and should believe in the Lord Jesus. ‘Do not wait for your feelings to convince you that you can venture on Christ,’ urged Spurgeon, ‘you have the right to come just as you are today because God is sincerely beseeching you to come to his Son for pardon.’ In his 1863 sermon on the, “Warrant of Faith,” Spurgeon tells people that if the warrant were not in the Word of God but in the sinner’s own condition, the result has to be that people would be driven to look within themselves and ask, ‘Have I sufficiently broken my heart?’ rather than looking to a welcoming Saviour (MTP, Vol.9, p.529ff). And what exactly is the case today?. Spurgeon pointed out pertinently that those whose hearts are most broken feel most the obdurate hardness of their hearts.
3. The Hyper-Calvinist declares that human inability means man cannot be urged to come at that moment to Christ. A universal command must presuppose a modicum of ability, he says. Spurgeon replied that he would not tone down man’s depravity and helplessness one whit. The gospel is one of grace and therefore rests upon despair of human resources and potency. It is only on the presupposition of total depravity and complete human impotence that the full glory and power of the gospel can be declared. Spurgeon then would exalt God’s power to save. There are two lines found in Scripture, one that declares man’s helplessness through being dead in sin and yet that he is responsible to turn to God, and the other, that the Lord is sovereign to save. As John Duncan said, ‘the idea that God did half and man did half is utterly false. God doing all and man also doing all is the teaching of the Bible.’
4. The Hyper-Calvinist denies the universal love of God. He has a fearful caricature of the real nature of God which would present him as fierce, and not easily induced to love. ‘If we fellowshipped more with Christ,’ said Iain Murray, ‘we would know and love him more. Then there would be no uncertainty that God desired the salvation of sinners. ‘How oft would I have gathered you,’ says the Saviour to recalcitrant Jerusalem. – From Spurgeon's Battles with the Hyper-Calvinists (source link) [Emboldened type is my addition].
Giving
It is right to have a heart that would continually give to others, and it pleases God to see this wonderful characteristic in our lives. However, in this area of giving and helping, the Bible also teaches that we must have wise discernment. God gives us certain standards that we must take into account when it comes to giving our time and money to others. When the Bible tells us we are to help others, the purpose is never for us to do this to the point where it becomes detrimental. It's good to do what we're able to do, but 2 Thessalonians 3:10 also reminds us, "If a man will not work, he shall not eat." There are people who want to live an irresponsible lifestyle with absolutely no accountability. So there must be limits; we will help someone with a need, but if we see that it's become a chronic life pattern, it's wrong for us to continue to encourage that. It's very harmful to others to contribute to their indolence, laziness, and lack of effort. The old saying "Give a man a fish and he eats for a day, teach him to fish and he eats for a lifetime" is very true. As long as we see that someone is sincerely making an effort, we should be there to support him in whatever way God leads.
Thursday, December 14, 2017
God exalted
God wants us to acknowledge Him. Psalm 46:10 says "Be still and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth". When we acknowledge God, there will be a confession of sin (Proverbs 28:13), a confession of salvation (Romans 10:10), a confession of the Savior (John 4:15). We must admit our own weakness in the flesh, our inability to help ourselves and our total dependence on Jesus Christ. Jesus said "without me, ye can do nothing" John 15:5. Paul said, " I can do all things through Christ which strengthen me" (Philippians 4:13). We are to commit our ways to Him (Proverbs 3:6), we are to commit our lives to Him (Philippians 1:21), and we are to commit our will to Him (Luke 22:42).
God wants our allegiance. Jesus commanded, " And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple" (Luke 14:27). We give our allegiance to many different things, political parties, employers, family and friends and many other things, but God wants us to give Him our allegiance first. We will make time for what is most important in our lives. Colossians 3:2 says "Set your affections on things above, not on things of the earth".
God wants us to be available to Him. We need God. Many time's people think that God needs them. People who think this have, an overinflated ego. Nothing could be further from the truth. Romans 12:3 says "For I say through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think........ The Lord wants to use us but He can and will use someone else if we are not willing to be obedient to Him.
Wednesday, December 13, 2017
Hebrew Roots Movement, Roman Catholic Church and Judaizers
There are many groups today with beliefs/practices very similar to the Judaizers of the New Testament. The two most prominent would be the Hebrew Roots Movement and the Roman Catholic Church. The teachings of the Hebrew Roots Movement are virtually identical to those of the Judaizers whom Paul rebuked in Galatians. A primary focus of the Hebrew Roots Movement is to put followers of Christ back under the bondage of the Old Testament Law.
The Roman Catholic Church teaches a doctrine similar to that of the Judaizers of the New Testament in this way: its doctrine is a mixture of law and grace. At the Council of Trent in the 16th century, the Catholic Church explicitly denied the idea of salvation by faith alone. Catholics have always held that certain sacraments are necessary for salvation. The issues for the 1st-century Judaizers were circumcision and Sabbath-keeping. The issues for modern-day Catholics are baptism, confession, etc. The works considered necessary may have changed, but both Judaizers and Catholics attempt to merit God’s grace through the performance of ritualistic acts.
First Timothy 4:3 says that, in later times, false teachers will “forbid people to marry and order them to abstain from certain foods, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth.” This sounds suspiciously close to some of the teachings of Roman Catholicism, which requires priests to be celibate(“forbidding to marry”) and proclaims some food to be off-limits during Lent (“abstaining from certain foods”).The Judaizers upheld the Mosaic Law as necessary for salvation; Catholics uphold man-made tradition as necessary; both view Christ’s death as being insufficient without the active and continued cooperation of the one being saved.
The Roman Catholic Church teaches a doctrine similar to that of the Judaizers of the New Testament in this way: its doctrine is a mixture of law and grace. At the Council of Trent in the 16th century, the Catholic Church explicitly denied the idea of salvation by faith alone. Catholics have always held that certain sacraments are necessary for salvation. The issues for the 1st-century Judaizers were circumcision and Sabbath-keeping. The issues for modern-day Catholics are baptism, confession, etc. The works considered necessary may have changed, but both Judaizers and Catholics attempt to merit God’s grace through the performance of ritualistic acts.
First Timothy 4:3 says that, in later times, false teachers will “forbid people to marry and order them to abstain from certain foods, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth.” This sounds suspiciously close to some of the teachings of Roman Catholicism, which requires priests to be celibate(“forbidding to marry”) and proclaims some food to be off-limits during Lent (“abstaining from certain foods”).The Judaizers upheld the Mosaic Law as necessary for salvation; Catholics uphold man-made tradition as necessary; both view Christ’s death as being insufficient without the active and continued cooperation of the one being saved.
Tuesday, December 12, 2017
Evangelist
An evangelist is one who preaches the gospel or is a missionary. A person called by God to be an evangelist often times travels to different places to preach and call for repentance. If one is called to the mission field they will need to attend a school for missionary work to learn a new language and the culture of the place you go to. If you are not called to the mission field and desire to become an evangelist in your own country then there would be nothing wrong with attending Bible college.
Monday, December 11, 2017
Ceremonies and rituals cannot save a person, only Jesus can save us. Observing traditions of whatever sort cannot save anyone, only the blood of Christ can do that, and being transformed into His likeness can only be hindered by such things, for the only personal relationship between the Master and His disciple can transform a person.
Sunday, December 10, 2017
Use of the word satyr in the Bible
In Greek and Roman mythology the satyr is a half man half beast god. There is no relationship between this pagan god and any passage in the Bible. I just wanted to clear that up first.
In the Old Testament, the Hebrew word sa'ir is found more than fifty (50) times. Related to the term se'ar ("hair") meaning a "hairy one". the word is used most times to refer to a male goat that was used as a sin offering.
Twice in the KJV sa'ir is translated "satyr" Isaiah 13:21; 34:14). These two verses clearly mean wild goats.
In (Leviticus 17:7; 2 Chronicles 11:15-KJV) the term is rendered demon because it signifies a pagan god that takes the form of a goat.
Careful investigation shows that the writers of the Bible did not lower themselves to the superstitions of paganism.
Saturday, December 9, 2017
Friday, December 8, 2017
Thursday, December 7, 2017
Wednesday, December 6, 2017
Tuesday, December 5, 2017
Curse's and Christians
No, Christians cannot be cursed (Proverbs 26:2). Curses are of no effect. God does not allow His children to be cursed. God is sovereign and only He can pronounce judgment.
The Bible count's those who cast spells with other things that are detestable in the Lords sight, child sacrifice, witchcraft, sorcery, divination and one who inquires of the dead (necromancy) (Deuteronomy 18:10-11). God will destroy witchcraft and all those people who cast spells (Micah 5:12). The end-time deception will be great and even the elect will believe if God did not intervene (Matthew 24:24). Spells will be used by the anti-Christ as part of the deception. In Revelation 19 and 20, God will destroy Satan, the antI-christ and all their followers.
A Christian has been born again in Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17), and the Holy Spirit lives in us and protects us (Romans 8:11). There is no reason for us to worry about someone casting a spell on us. These powers come from Satan and we know and we know that Christ is greater than Satan 1 John 4:4). God has overcome him (John 8:36). Psalm 27:1 tells us that the Lord is the stronghold of our lives. We do not need to be afraid.
Freewill
God has given mankind the free will to obey or disobey him (Col.3:17). This started in the garden of Eden with Adam and Eve and then their children Cain and Abel (Gen.2:17; 4:7). Ultimately people have to desire to change themselves. We can try to influence them for good but we cannot make them change. God and the devil both seek to influence man, in totally opposite directions. God seeks to influence for good and the devil attempts to cause mankind to sin. The devil appears to be more direct in his appeal to man, while God works through mediums such as the word (Gal. 6: 1; Jn. 6: 44, 45). Also, on the surface, doing evil requires less effort than doing right (Matt. 7: 13, 14).
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