Repenting....Sorry for What?

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I have been extremely busy that last few months (my garden has provided me with so much to do) and I have been woefully neglectful of this blog. Sorry!

But being sorry brings me to something I've been tossing around in my head today...when a person is convicted of sin and realizes God sees it all, and is "busted", is he or she (a) sorry for their sin or (b) sorry for being caught in their sin? The Investigative Discovery Channel  provides plenty of examples of true repentance vs. a pseudo-half-hearted variety of repentance to ward off the justice system giving them their due penalty for their sin....are we simply trying to defy the justice system? In other words... if a person, let's give her a name, Betty, if Betty comes under conviction of having become convinced that there really is a God, and He is not happy with Betty's sinful behaviour, and Betty wants to be saved from hell so she "repents" of her sins to gain God's favour, to get her "get out of hell free card"....but deep down she hasn't REALLY repented, she still thinks she isn't really THAT BAD (compared to ax murderers and pedophiles), she just wants to cover her bases and hedge her bet so she can avoid hell.... is  Betty truly saved?

The Bible says "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom" (Proverbs 1:7) so I personally think Betty might be saved even if she progresses no further spiritually in this life, because it does take the Spirit of God to  (James 2:19) reveal the truth of God to us....but I myself wouldn't be very comfortable at that point of the walk with the Lord because the word of God also states that even the devils believe and tremble...and devils are not saved, so it does require something besides simply believing.

I couldn't find the true way  to overcome the fact that I wanted to be saved for selfish reasons within myself, and not finding it in myself to be heartbroken over my sinful nature and my evil desires therefore I confessed to Jesus that I was unable to do it: to truly repent in a true manner that truly grieved over the sin that grieved God. In confessing the truth of that, and confessing my inability, I asked the Lord who in His mercy can supply us everything according to our needs (Matthew 7:7 & Luke 11:9). I would say that having a true and saving faith that leads one to true repentance is something that is VERY needful. (Mark 9:24)

I have seen so many who have made superficial confessions of faith, or confessions of guilt but only for the sake of getting something for nothing by appeasing "a god" with a half-hearted confession that isn't truly heartbroken about sin. If that is your situation, come to Jesus as a beggar knowing that nothing good can come from ourselves (James 1:17), that even true faith and true surrender comes from Him, and that He will richly provide those things to anyone who will ask Him, so ask Him!

In trying to locate a good image for this blog entry, I ran across this nice piece that explains what repentance is not:

http://ekklesiamuskogee.org/7-counterfeits-of-repentance/

Spotting a Counterfeit Part 4

Part One began with the how of spotting a counterfeit. The best way is to get to know the genuine really well. Parts 2, 3, and now 4, are more about my going out of my way to involve myself in arguments over topics that believers can and do disagree over, that may or may not be important enough to win an argument about....a few words from the Apostle Paul:

Titus 3:9-11  

But avoid 

foolish

and genealogies,

and contentions, 

and strivings about the law; 

for they are unprofitable  

and vain. 

A man that is an heretick after the first and second admonition reject;   

Knowing that he that is such is subverted, 

and sinneth, 

being condemned of himself. 

My going round and round arguing over the law or " what came first, the chicken or the egg" types of discussions are not only a waste of time, they can be damaging.  Even if it is in the hopes of converting a "heretic", Paul advised to only attempt admonishing the person once or twice and then to let it go. My husband rightly pointed out to me that (just as the above verses reveal) I continued arguing only to prove being right out of pride and vanity. If it is an important thing for that person, the Lord will bring it in His time, His way. There is nothing to gain in arguing about it, Paul said it is unprofitable.

I agree.

1Corinthians 2:1-4 
And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.  And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling.   And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power

Spotting a Counterfeit

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Do you know how to spot a counterfeit? I've heard it many times that the best way to spot a counterfeit is to be so familiar with the true that you don't have to know the various anomalies in the fakes to be able to recognize the forgery. I have also seen that as a teaching lesson for  knowing difference between the real Jesus amongst all the fakes from the cornucopia of false religions and false doctrines that seem to abound more and more these days. I know this....and yet I still tend to look for the errors instead of continuing to keep my eyes on the genuine. This came to an ugly head for me recently when I mentioned to DebbieLynne that I disagreed with a video link she had up. I did say that it was a minor point, but that in my estimation it decreased the impact of the message.

While out and about today, my husband and I discussed various ways we can get it wrong, and that we can point to errors and shortcomings and flaws every moment of every day and still never come to the point that we discover and disclose all the wrongs in this world. Is that what Jesus meant by saying that we must not hide our light but rather put it on a candlestick (Luke 11:33)? Should we go chasing down every error and every false teacher and point our fingers at them continually? Or will their falseness become apparent if we light up the darkness with the light of Christ? 

My husband wisely said the Bible warns us to avoid those who teach and do falsely. It really doesn't say we are to make a point of continually pointing out those who do not get it right, it just says we should simply avoid them. Yes there are verses where Paul mentions some persons by name to warn others of their evil and destructive ways, but to be honest I do not see the instruction in scripture that we are to make that our way of life in showing our obedience to Jesus.

Romans 16:17-19

Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them.   For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.   For your obedience is come abroad unto all men. I am glad therefore on your behalf: but yet I would have you wise unto that which is good, and simple concerning evil.

If we truly continue following Jesus, only looking to Him, continuing in all humility and sincerity to seek His will in our lives, we won't have time to concern ourselves with pointing to the sins and follies of others...and by continually pointing out flaws, big and small, being busybodies in the affairs of others doings, we take time away from worshiping and honouring Him who deserves all our attention, and honour, and praise. Certainly there are times when we are to warn the unbeliever in his way as the Lord gives us the utterance to speak, but more often than not the way we live our lives should show the light of Jesus enough to convict others of sin, and the fountain whereby cleansing and healing is to be found by the Holy Spirit in our lives.

So let us continue in welldoing:

Romans 12:15-21 

Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep. Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits.  Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men.   If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.  Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.   Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head.   Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good. 

Shaking the Dust....

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Matthew 10:11-15  And into whatsoever city or town ye shall enter, enquire who in it is worthy; and there abide till ye go thence.   And when ye come into an house, salute it.   And if the house be worthy, let your peace come upon it: but if it be not worthy, let your peace return to you. And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet.  Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city.

There is someone that I've been carrying a burden over for a couple of years now, somehow I feel responsible for her having turned away from Jesus as those in the gospel of John turned away from Him after following Him, seeking blessings and miracles and signs, and He confronted their shallowness, and instead of being humbled by it and asking forgiveness, they turned and walked away from Him, never to follow Him again (see John chapter 6, and particularly that fateful moment of turning away at verse 66)

I know there will be those that won't humble themselves to the truth, if they humble themselves, it is to look "good" to others who may be watching them, so they can get kudos for their "goodness" and "humility"....much like the Pharisees did while Jesus walked on earth. I tend to want to help them see the error of their way. Maybe if I word it just right they will see, then they will understand....but am I better than the Holy Spirit? Can my flesh improve on the truth of God's word as He convicts their hearts causing a reaction that the Holy Spirit was unable to achieve without my helpful assistance? 

Well....I got told today to listen and obey my Bible and shake the dust off my feet and leave...a blunt way of telling me to take a hike....and she is right, of course, that is what I'm supposed to do. Being told by her to do so I take as a final call, the curtain has dropped on her performance where my interaction with it is concerned...we are completely done, and whether she ever turns to the Lord in repentance or, like the John chapter 6 people, never does, I will not know, it isn't for me to know. It isn't for me to try to change the outcome. I have been told to leave it alone.

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Yes, of course that is true, and the world is offended by the Truth because the world rejects Jesus...however, I don't want to do talk about the Truth, about Jesus, just to be offensive, to prove anything to Him, or to the world, or to my friends. We are to tell the truth, and the truth will offend, but the truth also cuts both ways. What others are guilty of I am also guilty of. When others reject Jesus, I also have rejected Jesus. When others "get it wrong" I have and still do also get it wrong. So does that mean I should not say anything, to anyone, about everything??? I would have to be a mute in order to be able to accomplish that. No, evil triumphs when "good people" say and do nothing. The Bible says "none are good" except God, so does that mean I should shut up because I am not good, only God is good after all, and He can handle His own business without my interference. Except He has also said that whoever is ashamed of Him He will be ashamed of when we meet Him...and if I never talk about Him wouldn't it be because I am ashamed to do so? As much as I talk about Jesus, that isn't going to be my problem, mine is the opposite. I just don't want to give up, it feels like giving up, and my stubborn Dutch blood won't let it happen.

Yet I can take a hint...especially when it is delivered with a sledge hammer. "Why don't you do what the Bible tells you to do and shake the dust off your feet!?"....not a very subtle suggestion, eh? An instruction that I can follow, in the Lord's strength....not kicking dust in her face, just shaking off the remnants of any bad feelings I may have regarding the whole situation, and leaving it with the Lord, for Him to deal with perfectly, in His time. 

:) 

Yes, I can of course trust Him with that.

Who Are You Listening To?

Last month I posted (on Bible Treasures) a sermon by R.C. Sproul on the topic of King Ahab...and in that post I focused on the fact that the scriptures are so multifaceted and complex that we tend to think in either/or and see what seem to be discrepancies. But there is so much more in this sermon, he speaks of the fact that Ahab rejected the truth that God spoke through his prophets, and only listened to the false prophets that spoke what Ahab wanted to hear, tickling his ears with flattery and falseness. Then, at the end of God's patience with Ahab, he uses his false prophets to lie to Ahab in order to bring Ahab using his own lying prophets to bring him to the place where God ends Ahab's life. Interesting side point that I also mentioned in the Bible Treasures post is that Elijah had told Ahab that his blood would be licked up by dogs at the pool where Ahab had Naboth murdered. (1 King 21:19), so Ahab avoided going to that pool...he thought he could outsmart God in this. So when Ahab followed the advice of his lying prophets that told him he'd have a great victory in battle, but just in case Micaiah was correct, he decided to hedge his bet and disguise himself so the enemy army wouldn't recognize him and kill him...but a stray  arrow strikes him, kills him.
Today, again, people would rather hear only what is pleasing to their own understanding rather than listening to the word of God. Judgment is at the doorstep. How much longer will God patiently endure the evil that people are flinging in His face?

If you haven't listened to this great sermon, please take the time, and if you already have heard it, it is worth a second hearing.

Blogging vs. Time

We've been incredibly busy lately so I haven't had much time for blogging...  The past week or so I've been digging around the yard doing gardening.

As you can see I still have a lot of work to do...

Not a whole lot is in bloom right now, the tulips just finished, and I started annuals from seeds, and sadly they still are only about 2 inches tall, and also started a vegetable garden, which isn't showing anything yet, I'd show you in pictures, but it's kinda depressing...

Working out in the yard with plants and dirt always brings to mind Jesus parable about the sower and the four soils:

Luke 8:4-15 (KJV)

 And when much people were gathered together, and were come to him out of every city, he spake by a parable:

 A sower went out to sow his seed: and as he sowed, some fell by the way side; and it was trodden down, and the fowls of the air devoured it.

And some fell upon a rock; and as soon as it was sprung up, it withered away, because it lacked moisture.

 And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprang up with it, and choked it.

 And other fell on good ground, and sprang up, and bare fruit an hundredfold.

And when he had said these things, he cried, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. And his disciples asked him, saying, What might this parable be?  And he said, Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God: but to others in parables; that seeing they might not see, and hearing they might not understand.

Now the parable is this:

The seed is the word of God.

Those by the way side are they that hear; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved.

They on the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away.

 And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection.

But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.


When I was a child in the SDA church I remember a sermon preached on the four soils, and I remember sending a hope to heaven that I was "good soil". I'm thankful for this parable because it opened my eyes to the truth, and how easily it could be snatched away from me by an evil enemy of my soul, and instilled in me the notion that I had to be tenacious and stubborn...thankfully those are traits I have (sometimes to other people's frustration) and are put to good use in my walk with Jesus :) 

A Former Messianic Jew Says....

This is very sad for me, and again it reveals a part of the falling away that is going on today, that falling away that Jesus did tell us would happen. This Jewish man says he was converted to Christianity, with Jews for Jesus and Messianic Judaism. I have heard that many of these congregations are very (as Mr. Levey says in the video) cultlike, so again of course the devil can use such things to say "this is what Christianity is, it is a cult"...and this young man now preaches to Jews to warn them about people that evangelize to Jews.

 Indeed, the devil DOES NOT want Jews to truly be born of His Spirit. Satan doesn't want anyone to come to Christ especially the Jews for whom satan has a special and particular hatred and finds all kinds of ways to lead people astray, as he did with this young man, and of course that hatred then gets blameshifted to be hatred that comes from the God of the New Testament and from Jesus. Sigh. It is satan that has sent people to hell, satan is the one that made the need for one a reality. Yes God created satan, yes satan became evil and God knew that would happen...but just as you and I can predict certain things with great accuracy, and perhaps even cause things to be put things into motion that turn out to lead to tragic events does not thereby mean that we made it to be so with that as our sole purpose in mind....even so, God knew that would happen therefore He also created the antidote, the one that is being mocked and jeered about in this video, and lots of other blogs and places as well...


At about the 12:30 mark he mentioned his mother's disappointment with his becoming a Christian: "had I become a Buddhist or an atheist it wouldn't have been as bad..." and there it is, it is better to believe in a fake God or no God at all than to believe in Jesus...and the devil couldn't be behind such a thing because there is no such thing as a devil...or so the devil says....


  Being born again is not just "an experience"... if God did it, it is a reality that doesn't go away.

The Gospel

 http://tractleague.com/tracts/the-gospel--good-news/

 

What is the gospel?

According to the Strong's the word that has been translated "gospel" is from the Greek word meaning "good message" ...I've always seen it translated as "good news"...

The gospel is the good news of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ that provides full and free deliverance from the power and penalty of sin according to the grace of God alone through faith in Jesus Christ alone. Why is this such wonderful news?

You and everyone else have been born with a fatal condition. This condition is called sin. Why is this condition so serious? Because God is sinless and hates sin, for sin is rebellion against His perfect and righteous standard. And your sinful actions makes you an enemy of God (Romans 3:23; James 4:4). God made man imperishable, in His own image (Genesis 1:27). He made man so that he may have continual fellowship with Him. But when sin came, the intimate fellowship between man and God changed.

 http://www.gospeloutreach.net/gospel.html

Things can be faked. We are all wicked, self-serving, self-loving above all others...we want to think that we are "good", but the truth is when push comes to shove, we will shove those who shove us and shove harder. Many times we see those who have a form of godliness yet deny His power (2 Timothy 3:5), and Jesus said they are difficult to tell apart without having His discernment, and even then, only after the wheat (true) and tares (false) grow into maturity (Matthew 13), because while these are yet immature they look very much alike....it is only after they bear fruit that we can see the difference.True godliness truly and honestly (perfectly? no, only God is perfect) loves others more than self. None of us have it truly....unless we have the Spirit of God making that true in our lives.

The word "gospel" first shows up in scripture here:


 Matthew 4:23-25  And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people.   And his fame went throughout all Syria: and they brought unto him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with devils, and those which were lunatick, and those that had the palsy; and he healed them.  And there followed him great multitudes of people from Galilee, and from Decapolis, and from Jerusalem, and from Judaea, and from beyond Jordan. (KJV)

This is really the first time that I'm noticing that this good news went out beyond the borders of Israel during the time of Christ's ministry on earth....

Anyway, the good news is that we were doomed to hell, doomed in our sin, forever outcast from the presence of a holy and righteous God. The good news (gospel) is that God is merciful. He made a way out of this mess through the shedding of His Son's blood as payment for the ransom that needed to be paid for our transgressions.

When I watch the Investigative Discovery channel, the family of victims which were raped, tortured, and/or murdered are relieved when the perpetrator of the crimes is apprehended and sentenced to his just punishment. While he is not yet found, they worry that justice will not be served. But we fail to realize that because of our sinful nature we are all guilty before the perfect law that God demands to be able to stand in His presence. While we yet love sin (and face it we all do, it is part of our fallen human nature to love sin...even if it seems that we only love minor sins to a small degree, we are guilty to the full extent of the law), we do not want to stand in the presence of a holy God. I know that prior to being saved I hated anyone who told me the truth about my sin. Therefore how could I  stand before a perfectly holy God who would see every glaring but secret sin I ever committed that went without His punishment?....however He provided His Son to pay that debt! That's good news! It is like getting a reprieve from the governor while on death row.

A day or two ago DebbieLynne touched on the topic of "the gospel" while I was considering doing a post about it. She has some beautiful insights on this subject. Do take a look and meditate further on this blessed gift of God:

http://debsheadstick.blogspot.ca/2015/03/why-did-he-do-that.html

End Times and Other Speculations

http://ray032.com/2011/11/29/the-armageddon-generation/

Disclaimer: I have no idea about anything definite regarding the end times, Armageddon, the Gog Magog War, the new millenium, except for the vague mental pictures we get from scripture.

These things are so mind-boggling to me, and I know that speculations abound, and have succumbed to some speculating myself, however, the truth is what it is and sometimes we just won't know until the day we see it happening. In the meantime Jesus only cautioned us to understand the times from the point of being aware of today, this moment in time. He does not require that we understand everything about what will happen tomorrow, next week, or next year, but to remain faithful and aware today, to keep our eyes open and lifted up in anticipation that it can be any time....and in fact if I were to die today, my next moment of what I will experience will be what is often called "the rapture" or the resurrection of the saints (some might also speculate that we will have awareness between that time of our death and the time our body is reunited with our spirit to again be a living soul...I guess we will know for sure when that happens.

I was watching a few Youtube videos about the Gog Magog War, and a few different ideas circulating about what it is and when it will happen....and it made me realize that with all of scripture the Lord wisely gives us just enough "manna" for today. He knows that our puny brains would implode with all that He knows, so He gives us just enough for today. As Jesus put it:

Matthew 6:33-34  But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.   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.  (KJV)

So true.

So when I read the scriptures, I store away treasures that as the Lord sees the need, will bring to my remembrance and understanding the need of them for each day as it comes. I can learn from Mary:

Luke 2:19  But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart. (KJV)

There is so much that we do not know, but so much that has already been revealed to give us enough food for thought to get us through the evil that will face us today, and Jesus promised that tomorrow would take care of itself, and we would be wise to continue to seek His righteousness (prayer).

Another Post on Hell

I've touched on the topic of hell from time to time, I have a video on Bible Treasures here that explains from scripture what it is and why it is.

From most pastors descriptions of it we get this mental picture:

That isn't what I see in scripture. What I see is even more terrifying. This is what I see from the Bible what hell will be like:

The depictions of burning and agony are descriptions of "likeness"....like me trying to describe the color red to someone who is blind. From the descriptions of "outer darkness" and "weeping and gnashing of teeth" I see a consciousness that still has understanding and forever feels the horror of being outside of the presence of God (all that is good, merciful and true understanding of all things that are godly) to be left only with their own dark thoughts of selfishness seething and writhing in their conscious thoughts, in eternal, dark, solitary confinement to themselves, because it is themselves whom they worshiped instead of God.

A couple of posts ago Alice asked me to read a link (if you wish to search it out you can find it, but I won't put it here, I find it to be a huge waste of time and effort, so I hope to spare you that trouble). I did read this man's thoughts on the topic of hell and why he doesn't believe there is one...the same tired reason I keep hearing about: "A loving  God would not send anyone to hell", then gives only those verses that seem to support his notions that a "true god" (of his imaginings) could never send anyone to hell because it is God who is responsible for making us fallible, therefore, He will simply and graciously forgive everyone because it was all His fault to begin with...because God created us to be like Him and the only way we could become like Him is if we ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil....wait....isn't that what the serpent told Eve? And, isn't the serpent in the garden of Eden....satan, the devil?....so, was satan then actually telling Eve the.....truth? Sigh. Anyway, yeah, gave me a huge headache to read his ramblings....and, sadly, it is no wonder that poor Alice went further and further away from the truth by believing and trusting this kind of foolishness....if you can drop one fact given in the Bible, why not continue on and find more "evidence" that the Bible contradicts itself and that it's all just a bunch of stories or fairytales or what have you.

However, like it or not, there is a God, who sent His Son to die for our sins in our place, who will keep those who are born of His Spirit from getting their just desserts, hell. Whether we believe the truth or not, whether we want to believe whatever it is we would rather believe, it won't change the truth. Even if I could convince EVERYONE, that what is true really isn't, and that what I want to put in its place is so much better than what the Bible says is true, that my ideas are so much more profound, so logical, so appeasing and pleasant, so loving (I would be elevating myself in place of God here...do you see where I'm going with this?)...rejecting the truth of God, and wanting to replace my ideas with what God has made, and done, and what He promised He will do.....I have then made myself the emperor of the kingdom of myself....and He will give me the desires of my heart as a reward, or rather, as a punishment, because if I continue in that way, I will be in hell, with myself as my "god" forever, and my loyal subject is only myself, forever...and forever I will seethe in the reality of where that self love brought me.

God's love, however, is the kind that would die to self to save another. God's love is exemplified in Jesus, who died for sinners who did not deserve His love. His love doesn't save everyone. Those who love themselves so much that there is no room for God, will get what they worship, they will get what they love, they will end up with what they deserved. Those who repented, and humbled themselves before a holy God, who are born of His Spirit, and who then receive the gift of faith which brings them into true communion with Him (not as a religion, but as a reality) who would and do lay their lives down for their faith in Him, will get what they worship, eternity with a holy and loving God and all the good things that come with that eternal reward.

Seek Him while He yet may be found, and beg His forgiveness...and if you feel that He has not granted you the request of being renewed by Him, continue to be that beggar that begs His mercy, that seeks His forgiveness, and that seeks to forgive others and love others in the manner that He loves us.

God is a loving God, but He is also a just God. He will give everyone according to what we deserve. To those who seek forgiveness, He will forgive (not earned or deserved, it is grace). To those who seek self-gratification and self-righteousness and self-justification, He will give the reward of having themselves, forever, without Him, in hell, because hell is being eternally separated from God, eternally separated from the light of Truth, only  having yourself and your own lies and self-delusions to keep you company forever. Do not seek justice, because truly we all deserve that awful fate of being eternally separated from God. Instead of justice (eye for an eye) seek mercy and forgiveness, and if you continue in seeking He promised that He would lead you to Himself. That is my hope for all my unsaved family and friends, and for you dear reader that is reading this right now.

Chosen by God

Yesterday's post about the reformation and what we now call Calvinism barely scratched at the surface of the issues regarding how we regard God's sovereign rule over us. Before reading this offering please read the previous post, and links provided would also be a good read in preparing to approach the topics that I hope to touch on.

In debating with "anti-Calvinists" three things that irritate them the most come up, and I'll try to talk a little about them in separate posts. The three things are:

1. God not giving us the choice of being saved or not

2. Universal atonement vs. limited atonement

3. Perseverance of the saints (or what it has degraded into with "OSAS")

We'll start with #1.
Did God leave the saving power on our side? To choose or not to choose, that is the question....

I recently had a discussion over this with a couple of men who vehemently oppose Calvinism and promote the idea that John Calvin is a "pope of the Calvinists". One man boasts that he is very knowledgeable on the topic of evil Calvinism, stating that he has researched this for 40 years, yet in my discussions with him he acknowledged that he has never read anything written by John Calvin, or even Charles Spurgeon, stating that he doesn't want to poison his brain with such things. He said some other quite remarkable things that left me wondering why anyone was still giving his comments "likes" and calling me some kind of heretic for trying to tell others to go to the sources to read these things for themselves. I was going to share some of these characters' comments which reveal just how little they understand about this subject, but the one with the most ridiculous comments has deleted them all. Therefore we will look at what Mr. P has to say regarding unconditional election:

 First I'll start with a very brief overview of how God saved me in answer to his question:

Mr. P: "Susan did God force you to love him Or did you see God and run to him and love him because he first loved you"

Me:  "I was brought up "religious" in SDA, reading the Bible, asking and not receiving, yet God did it later after I went through all kinds of paganism and witchcraft, and He got me while I was on drugs and not able to help myself. That is grace"

Mr. P:  "I was brought up in catholics then I read the bible and saw the truth and make the free will choice to love my God who saved me"

 Me: "Believe whatever you want to Mr. P, I'll take God at His word in what He says in His word to me. He chose me and I take full comfort in it, you can thank yourself for choosing Him, I'll thank God for choosing me."

then he says

Mr. P: "Your God a raper and Calvinism just as bad as all the other false stuff you were in.. Susan get save ask Jesus to forgvie (sic) your sins he will .He ask you he does not force you to love him .He not a rapist .God seek ALL to be saved . Love does not force itself bible says plainly"

hmmm, alrightythen...yeah, I can see where Mr. P found THAT in scripture.

Me: "You choose to see a Sovereign God as a rapist because you still judge with the "eyes of the flesh", if you don't see it I cannot force you to understand things of the Spirit because you still judge by your lusts of your flesh. Take care, I'm done"

Mr. P:  "Susan did God force souls to go to hell . .God cannot judge someone he force to sin and force to reject him"

Me:  "the fall of man in the garden of Eden caused all to be destined for hell, but grace of God allows some to not receive justice instead receive mercy, gift, not earned through choosing, God chooses some, His word is everywhere but not all choose because most have not been given that ability, even many who hear the word preached cannot hear because the gift of hearing is not given, those who repent are given sight to see the truth about their utter depravity and are given the gift of repentance. We have nothing that hadn't been given to us by God."

The difference, bottom line, is that Mr. P thinks the person being saved is the primary object of importance, when in fact the Bible reveals that everything that happens is not for man's sake but to reveal the truth and mercy of God. The problem with most "Christians" today is they do not admit or understand what complete and utter depravity is. They believe there is still a little bit of their own innate goodness that gives them the freedom to choose God. The Bible reveals that we all are utterly hopeless and slaves to sin, worse than that, we are "dead in our trespasses" (Ephesians 2:1; Colossians 2:13) which is....well, dead is dead. Dead people don't make choices any more than Lazarus "chose" to come forth when Jesus called to the dead man Lazarus and said "Lazarus! Come forth!" (John 11:32-43)

So in the next episode I will explore the utter depravity of our natural condition prior to the saving power of God who transformed us by the power of His will.

I Told You So

Don't you just hate it when someone had told you something and they turned out to be right...and then comes the dreaded “I told you so”?

Yeah, been there done that.

We have a beautiful (although sickly and dying) earth, flowers, trees, all sorts of animals from the small and cute to the huge and ferocious and frightening. We have the ability to see it with our eyes, to smell the roses, and to love....

                ......or not.

Hellen Keller was deaf and blind, and yet God touched her heart causing her to love and praise Him. How much more indebted to God are we who see and hear, and yet many still say “But I have no proof that there is such a being as a “God”. Will He hold those people accountable? Will He say “I told you so”?... because He has told us,  you know. None can use the excuse of "I didn't know...He didn't tell me."

When Jesus spoke of Lazarus and the rich man He said the rich man begged Jesus to send Lazarus to his brothers so they would believe. Jesus said that they had Moses and the prophets (the Old Testament writings) to tell them about Him and that even if one were to come back from the dead they wouldn't believe him (Luke ch 16) How true. Many want to believe that this is just a parable, a story, that has no truth to it. A parable like a fable, Aesop's Fables, to have a moral lesson to teach children to be obedient out of fear. I believe this is a true story and not a parable and  that the people Jesus was talking to knew the man Lazarus and the rich man from their life experience. Jesus doesn't name people in His parables, yet here He gave a name and a situation that the hearers knew about. He was telling them the truth,  telling them a deeper something about people that they actually knew.

The Bible tells us that many will shake their fists at God, blaming Him for their troubles....and they do. I see them saying “If there were a God, why doesn't He make it obvious that He exists? It's His fault I don't believe...if He indeed does exist at all”, and then they claim that they do not hate God, they simply do not believe in Him. Can you think of a more terrible thing to do to a person than say to Him: “You don't exist for me, I don't believe you”. There isn't a more hateful thing you can do to your enemies than banish them by saying “You are dead, you are nothing to me”.

When these hate-filled, pride-filled unbelievers die and see that they were wrong, will He say “I told you so”?

He won't have to because they will get what they always wanted: Eternity without God. That is what hell is. It is the exact opposite of blessing. They will be cursed forever, and forever will curse God blaming Him for their inability to be blessed by Him. Forever cursed and forever cursing, gnashing their teeth in their utter hatred of God and His blessing also hating those who have believed and trusted Jesus. They will have no more earth, no flowers or trees or beauty. All they will have is themselves and their own hatred, and their self-centered life, forever, a solitary confinement with the only person they truly love, themselves ...and those who agree with them. They will be eternally without blessings because they rejected the source of the blessings.

Psalm 2

(KJV)

Why do the heathen rage,

and the people imagine a vain thing?

The kings of the earth set themselves,

and the rulers take counsel together,

against the LORD,

and against his anointed,

saying,

Let us break their bands asunder,

and cast away their cords from us.

He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh:

the Lord shall have them in derision.

Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath,

and vex them in his sore displeasure.

Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion.

I will declare the decree:

the LORD hath said unto me,

Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.

Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance,

and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.

Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron;

thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel.

Be wise now therefore,

O ye kings: be instructed,

ye judges of the earth.

Serve the LORD with fear,

and rejoice with trembling.

Kiss the Son, lest he be angry,

and ye perish from the way,

when his wrath is kindled but a little.

Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.

Summer Reading

My DH got me started on a Jeffrey Archer binge lately, just finished "Kane and Abel". I enjoyed it, although...well, it was one of his earlier works so perhaps that might be a reason that I found portions of it good and some portions of it were so-so. Overall it was an enjoyable read.

Recently I saw one of the complainers against God and His word say that the book of Daniel is one of the problematic areas that caused this person to think the Bible is not true...then as I sought out more info (I admit that Daniel and the 70 weeks prophecy is not a strong area for me) and found this:

www.tektonics.org/af/danieldefense.php#nodan

It is true that you will find whatever supports what you want to believe. If you want to believe the Bible is true, of course you will seek the information that substantiates and confirms that idea. If you want to believe those who hate the Bible and hate the God of Israel and distrust Jesus sacrifice for sin, you will seek the sources which will support you with the "proof" to further entrench you in that kind of thinking as well. I guess it is clear whose side I'm on. ;-)

Regarding Honesty and Openness

It has been requested of me (more than once) to share my testimony. Portions of how the Lord has intervened on my behalf can be found here and there on this blog amongst a few separate blog posts however I have yet to write out a formal testimony of my conversion to the God of the Bible, Who is the only true God.

It isn't that I'm embarrassed or afraid of anyone's disapproval or rejection in this matter. 

That is never a consideration when doing anything truly for God, nor should it be; self-congratulations and self anything have no place in it therefore if everyone except God rejected me for it I would still be on the side of the majority of the only One who matters. I have little patience nor respect for cowards who shirk from doing what is right because those who are wrong seem to be the majority and then these likewise shrink from the side of right to submit to the seemingly popular wrong (perhaps they are only more vocal and boisterous?) to gain popularity and acceptance.

I've been wanting to make a few changes to this blogsite before writing out my testimony and I hope to get to these matters soon, all in God's time, eh?! (slowly but surely, remember that it was the tortoise and not the hare that won the race)

Blessings, and I pray that Jesus gives each person reading here a boldness in Him, not in selfish endeavors that focus only on yourself and your own ideas of what you think best, but what is truly good, holy and pure and the only outcome that is truly a blessed one. 

I pray that when I do share what God has done for me in my testimony, that it will be for blessing others not for the purpose elevating myself, and ultimately only for bringing blessing to Whom all blessings belong in the first place, 

from Whom all blessings flow: 

Jesus our Lord and Saviour, Almighty God

TRUTH

Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth.

Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice.

Pilate saith unto him, What is truth? (John ch 18 – JKV)

      The TRUTH depends on this: Was Jesus telling the TRUTH? Or was He a liar?

      An atheist will say there isn't enough information to answer this properly and that it will depend on one's own opinion of what the TRUTH is...however the  TRUTH  is not effected by our opinion of what it needs to be, is it?

      C.S. Lewis was an avowed atheist. He often enjoyed debates with J.R.R. Tolkien who spent many hours trying to convince his friend of the TRUTH about Jesus. One day while walking along with Tolkien , Lewis said he began the walk an atheist and doesn't know how it happened but by the end of that walk he was a Christian. Lewis in his book “Mere Christianity” states that many who do not believe Jesus is God will say that Jesus was a “good man” but then goes on to say that it would be impossible for Jesus to be a good man if He was not indeed God because the claims He made about Himself would have to be true for Him to be good because if they were false He then would be either a liar or a madman, and neither of those would be “good”.

      The TRUTH stands not on what we want to believe, but on what IS.

      If we want to believe the world is a flat plain which if we follow to it's outer extremity we might fall of the edge of it into an abyss such thinking would not change the TRUTH of it actually being a sphere. So it is with Jesus, and it is not up to Him to prove to us that He is who and what He says He is...it is up to us to discover the TRUTH and just as the evidence for a spherical earth is there to be discovered so it is with TRUTH, it is there to be discovered. The failure to discover the TRUTH is not a failure of the TRUTH, it is a failure on the part of the person(s) that for whatever reason block themselves from truly receiving it, whether it is because of pride, not wanting to let go of besetting sins, laziness, there are a number of reasons for such a failure. The Bible says we are without excuse. He has proven that TRUTH to be so in my life not because I desired it to be so, the TRUTH is what it is regardless of how I want it to be.

      Jesus said:

I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

John 14:6 (KJV)

      Either He  told the  TRUTH or He was lying, and it is up to us to fervently desire the TRUTH more than anything else in this world. If He is right (and I of course believe He is) who is to blame for your rejection of Him? Is He to blame for being honest? Or are you to blame for not believing Him?

     If you want the TRUTH it is out there to be found, it is up to you to find it and not for it to find you...however He did promise that if you sincerely seek Him (and He knows who is sincere and who is just playing games) you will find the TRUTH and it will set you free of your delusions and the destiny of hell that we all  actually deserve. His grace will free us from such a deserved fate. Bowing at the throne of grace is where the TRUTH can be found, by those who sincerely seek it (Him).

" Is eternal torment a just punishment for being wrong? "

I cannot for a moment expect to convince anyone (including myself) that I know everything about heaven and hell and exactly what that will be like, however I do have a trust that the One who has created these as well as so much more that I do not know about has a full understanding of them, and of us and our ways of justifying ourselves when we go against the One who made us.

When God originally created us He made us to be without death. There is a portion or element (that isn't exactly right either, but how to word it???) in us that God created to be like (having similarity to) Himself. Many think that our reasoning ability or our creative ability is that quality, and many think it might also include our physical appearance having qualities that have a likeness to God's physical appearance, which does agree with Jesus being God and Him having those physical and reasoning/creative qualities.

A long time ago when I only saw God as a figment of man's religious imaginings and also viewed each religion having good things to offer, I wondered why the Christian's God would knowingly create a devil and people that He knew would screw up and send us into a situation that would end up with MANY people going to a place of eternal torment. How could that be loving? Why would He do that? The problem of course is that I look at these things from fallen mankind's point of view. When I surrendered to Christ I submitted myself to wanting to understand it from His point of view, and that is obtained by seeking Him out sincerely in His word to us and through the confirmation He gives through His Holy Spirit of what is true and what is false.

Jesus gave us many parables of what the Kingdom of heaven is like. Why didn't God just come right out and show us all directly? Why do we have to work so hard at this and why must it include having a trust in a God that we cannot all see with our physical eyes in our mortality? Why did Jesus have to die and leave so that we would receive the Holy Spirit to have to rely on? Many, many unending questions and God simply says "trust Me", but how? How does one trust anyone? You learn about Him over time and He does promise to reveal Himself to those who honestly seek Him out with passion and conviction of knowing and confessing our weaknesses and shortcomings.

The question "Is eternal torment a just punishment for being wrong?" is a question that I've asked myself prior to being saved and have struggled with after being saved. The difference is that prior to my salvation I thought that my reasonings on this were just as qualified and justifiable as any other on any topic and that everyone has a right to their own opinions on this and anything else, and that would be true if God indeed is a product of mankind's imagination. But then if there is no God, why is there a deep down desire in us to worship (setting aside all of the holes in the theory of evolution and that whole mess, let's just focus on our spiritual inclinations or the opposing spiritual revulsions we as human beings have)? I've heard it said, and I wholeheartedly agree that we all worship something whether it be the God of the Bible, or things in this world, people we admire and set up as idols, the world itself as Gaea the "earth mother", money and the things that it can provide us with, or ultimately we worship ourselves and elevate what we ourselves want to think and want to believe as the highest of what is to be worshiped.

So is THAT a just punishment for being wrong? Eternal hell? Really?

According to what I've learned from the Bible, the premise for that question is incorrect. Going back to the fact that we have inside of us a quality that is like God, a spiritual quality, an eternal quality, then it is reasonable to understand that this quality will continue on without end. If God is the ultimate good, then anything that stands opposed to the ultimate good is evil. The devil was once "good" and then for whatever reason (the Bible said he desired to put himself above God, and I can see this as perfectly logical) he turned against God and took a third of the angels of heaven to be on his side. When God created this devil didn't He know that this creature should not be created? Why did He? We can ask why questions all day long as a petulant child could wear out a parent with incessant "why" questions, and in the end it truly is "Because God said so".

I believe from what I see in the Bible that when God created everything He created it "good" but not "perfect" because only He is perfect. If I were to liken it to a parable that has meaning in our human life it would be that I can create paintings and sculptures etc, but these will never be the equal of what I am and have all the qualities that I have as God created me to be. So God created good things that had a potential inherent in it to be able to go bad. When I create something that turns out to be (in my estimation) a failure, I scrap it, out it goes into the rubbish with all other rubbish. God created us as good with a quality that has a likeness to Himself, and according to the Bible, that likeness includes an eternal spiritual element or quality.

When Jesus died He was on a cross that was just over a giant trash heap that was always burning which was named Gehenna. Everything that happens and is retold of in the Bible has a reason for being so. The pagan symbolism that many might equate with this Christian narrative might be of a phoenix rising up out of it's own fiery ashes of it's destruction. But that isn't the complete story of what is being represented with this occurrence in the life of Christ. The trash heap is a result of the trash that is made by us, by mankind, one of the physical consequences of our decline into spiritual depravity. He provided a way that takes us from this trash, to pay the ransom price that releases us from what our destiny is. Because of the fall we are all destined for that eternally burning trashpile because we are horribly disfigured spiritually by the rebellion against God. God has made a way---only one (like a governor's pardon for a death row inmate) way to be released from a destiny that is absolutely the one we are all justly headed for, and if we do not accept it, it is our one and only ticket out of that certain destination.

So then the answer to the question "Is eternal torment a just punishment for being wrong?" is "yes", and the answer to "why?" is:
               "Because God said so".

If that isn't good enough for you, you worship your own way more than you worship God's way, and you will have no excuse.

False "Men of God"

 image link (great article here btw)

There are many false teachers these days, I've been posting about the obvious ones on my other blog under "The Gifts of the Spirit" series...but there are those who are just as false, but more stealthy and snakelike...I've always enjoyed John MacArthur, however someone (thanks Lyn) gave me a heads up about him and his ties to the Rockefeller Foundation. You can read about it here.

I found his pre-trib position difficult to bear with, but I didn't find it something that I would dismiss a pastor for...but now this goes a bit deeper...because it looks as though soon people will be required to be chipped (as in verichip aka MARK OF THE BEAST), and these "ministers" (read it as "of Satan") are saying it is not THAT MARK because we who are saved will have been raptured before the MARK makes it's appearance. Sigh. Wow.

In past conversations on Christian forums I've had quite a few people dismiss the chip saying "it isn't the MARK, and even if it were, God knows we have to eat, work, etc, so He is forgiving and will forgive us..." then the martyrs of previous times had it all wrong and died for nothing??? No, dear friends. Be assured that the Bible says that all who take the MARK will go with the false Christ and the false prophet to hell. Too strong for you? Read the book of Revelation for yourself and ask the Lord for wisdom, truly.