Barbara Henderson

If You Are a Christian You Should Know Bible Doctrine

2012-01-31T14:13:00.000-08:00

Can You Define theWord ‘Doctrine’?

Inthe Bible we find many recorded words of God. Actually, the entire Bible is the written Word of God. Some of it is recorded history. Some of the Bible is direct quotes from GodHimself. He makes some very definite statements on how people should act. It is settled for true Christians that Godhas the authority and the power to make the rules. What seems in question for some Christians is,‘Did God REALLY mean what he said? AreHis rules still relevant, and are they for everyone in every situation?’

Thereis proof aplenty that many who claim to be followers of the God of the Bible donot do the things God says to do. Theyclaim to accept Jesus, but they disannul the DOCTRINE of Christ in order tofollow their own doctrine. They in fact,reject the doctrine of God as revealed to us in the Bible in favor of cunninglydevised fables. Actually, some peopleturn from the doctrine of Christ in order to follow their own selfish lusts andideas. There is often nothing ‘cunninglydevised’ in the fables they follow. Mydad says they get their theology from the seat of their pants.

Cunninglydevised fables can be identified in worship services that put the traditions ofmen above the doctrine of God. ‘Tradition’did not die for sinners on Calvary. Traditions that work for our good are traditions that make worship ofChrist and following His teachings easier. Traditions are wicked when the tradition itself begins to substitute fortrue worship. Keep in mind that if there was salvation available in followingthe ‘traditions of men’, then Christ need not have died that we might be saved.

Cunninglydevised fables may be seen in rituals. There are ritual religions outside and inside Christianity. People believe that through certainrepetitions and rituals they will be able to obtain something they want, causesomeone to do something they want done, and even gain eternal life. You can also gain wealth and health throughritual sacrificial giving according to some purveyors of cunningly devisedfables. That means watch out for thewealth and health preachers. Remember,that if there was salvation in rituals, then Christ need not have died that wemight be saved,

Cunninglydevised fables may be seen in vain repetitions and babbling. People will chant a mantra as though oftenrepeated words somehow gain the power, or call upon some unknown power to granttheir request. It may work even betterif the mantra is chanted while the chantor is sitting in some uncomfortableposition. Again, if vain babbling andchants could gain salvation for the lost soul, then Christ need not have diedthat we might be saved.

Arampant cunningly devised fable in the church today is the myth that church growthis proof of a spiritual church. A growthoriented church, believing that church growth proves their relationship withGod is good, will often set aside doctrine in favor of ‘doing what it takes toget the church roles to grow in number.’ Suchchurches are willing to destroy families in order to establish a mega church. Everyone in the church is supposed to beinvolved in every church function, or their salvation is suspect. A family cannot survive as a strong familyunder such circumstances.

Inorder for His children to avoid being deceived by a cunningly devised fable,God gave us DOCTRINE.

Thisdoctrine is based on the truth, as given to us by our omnipotent, omniscient,omnipresent, infallible Creator and God. This Doctrine is written down for us in the Bible. It is not a tradition that was handed down byword of mouth for a thousand years and then written down.. It was written down directly from the mouthof God through the hand of the writer. Knowingand living the Doctrine of the Bible gives us the prescription to avoid beingdeceived by the great abundance of cunningly devised fables.

Accordingto biblegateway.com the term ‘doctrine’is used in the Bible fifty (50) times. Dueto the limits of space, I won’t be able to include all fifty here. However, I will use some of them.
Proverbs 4:2
For I give you good doctrine, forsake ye not my law.
Remember that thedoctrine given us by God is infallible. It is correct, truthful, and good. To forsake it is foolish; yet many do.

Isaiah 28:9
Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whomshall he make to understand doctrine?them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts.
God will giveunderstanding to the willing. OftenChristians are like adults who try to live as though they were stillteenagers. They never grow up, and theyare very unpleasant people. They arealso useless to those around them. Thereis nothing lovely or cute about idolizing the foolish actions of rebelliousteenagers. The same goes forChristians. There is nothing cute orappealing in a Christian refusing to learn the things of the Bible, preferringinstead to remain ignorant and easily beguiled. Remember Eve. She was beguiled and look what happened because of her actions.

Jeremiah 10:8
But they are altogether brutish andfoolish: the stock is a doctrineof vanities.Beware of vaindoctrines. Only those teachings that arecompletely within the boundaries of the teachings of the Bible are good. Vain doctrine places man, or a particularman, or a particular humanist ideology as the solution to the world’sproblems. Jesus Christ is left somewhereout in left field.

Matthew 7:28
And it came to pass, when Jesus hadended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine:

The doctrine of JesusChrist is astonishing. It stays in themind of the hearer.

Mark 1:22
And they were astonished at his doctrine: for he taught them as onethat had authority, and not as the scribes.
The Triune God of theBible is the authority behind the doctrine of the Bible. It is powerful andastonishing when told in humility by believers.

Mark 1:27
And they were all amazed, insomuch thatthey questioned among themselves, saying, What thing is this? what new doctrine is this? for with authoritycommandeth he even the unclean spirits, and they do obey him

The mighty power of the doctrine of the Bible has not been seen in any earthlyteaching, theology, ideology, sorcery, or anything else outside the Bible.

Mark 11:18
And the scribes and chief priests heardit, and sought how they might destroy him: for they feared him, because all thepeople was astonished at his doctrine.
The doctrine of theBible brings about fear in those who reject it. They will seek in vain todestroy it. They know that if the doctrine of the Bible is true, then all otherbeliefs, or belief systems, or deeply held beliefs, are false. The Bible is not compatible with any otherdoctrine. When you see someone trying to be reconciled with other doctrines,then they are following fables.

Luke 4:32
And they were astonished at his doctrine: for his word was with power.

The doctrine of JesusChrist has power.

John 18:19
The high priest then asked Jesus of hisdisciples, and of his doctrine.

The doctrine of JesusChrist causes curiosity when people hear it.

Acts 2:42
And they continued stedfastly in theapostles' doctrine andfellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.

The doctrine of JesusChrist inspires great loyalty in those who believe.

Acts 5:28
Saying, Did not we straitly command youthat ye should not teach in this name? and, behold, ye have filled Jerusalemwith your doctrine, and intendto bring this man's blood upon us.

The doctrine of Jesus Christcannot be stopped by the edicts of men. The Christian will be like the Psalmist who tried, but could not keephis mouth shut. (Psalm 39:1-3)

Acts 17:19
And they took him, and brought him untoAreopagus, saying, May we know what this new doctrine, whereof thou speakest, is?

The doctrine of the Lordarouses curiosity. It is something newand wonderful to those who have not heard. They want to hear more.

1 Timothy 1:3
As I besought thee to abide still atEphesus, when I went into Macedonia, that thou mightest charge some that theyteach no other doctrine,

Christians are chargedto teach no other doctrine. That reallykicks things like all the eastern mystic teachings out of the church. Things outside the gospel have no place inthe church, no matter how much they will ‘help people lose weight’, ‘chillout’, ‘get in touch with themselves’, and so on. They certainly have no place being taught tothe youth of the church, except as things that are outside the doctrine ofJesus Christ. Churches should be teaching the doctrine of Jesus Christ alone. By the way, when I was in school in Anchorage, Alaska, wewere to taught to sit and stand straight, breath through our nose, and keep ourshoulders back. No one had ever heard ofyoga; it was just commonly accepted as good health practice. And it was not taught in church.

1 Timothy 4:16
Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for indoing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.

Christians are tocontinue in the doctrine that is taught in the Bible. This keeps the believer out of trouble andconverts those who hear what the Christian says. (That is not out of all the troublesometrials of life, but out of the stupid mistakes made by those who step outsidethe doctrine of the Bible.)

2 Timothy 4:2
Preach the word; be instant in season,out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long suffering and doctrine.

Preach the doctrine ofJesus Christ with patience, continually, and with sound theology.
Titus 1:9
Holding fast the faithful word as hehath been taught, that he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the gainsayers.
It takes a solidknowledge of the doctrine of Jesus Christ in order to convincenon-believers. Nowhere does the Bibleteach that we are to look for things we have in common with non-believers. We are to teach them and tell the truthaccording to the Bible.

2 John 1:10
If there come any unto you, and bringnot this doctrine, receive himnot into your house, neither bid him God speed:

When someone comes toyou with a different doctrine than what was preached by Jesus Christ, you arenot supposed to let him into your house, nor bid him God speed.

Nowhere does thedoctrine of the Bible teach that we are to band together with unbelievers inorder to bring about good. This meansany mega church that is trying to be inclusive and work together with allfaiths is not following the teachings of the Bible.

Revelation 2:14
But I have a few things against thee,because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumblingblockbefore the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and tocommit fornication.
The doctrine of Balaamwas ‘anything for money’, even treachery toward one’s own people. Today the ‘anything for money’ doctrine isseen in politicians, businessmen, and Christians all the way up to the clergy.

Revelation 2:15
So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes, whichthing I hate.

This is the doctrinethat believes that ‘once saved one could still engage in sin because they areno longer under the law’. NaturallyChrist hates such false doctrine.

There is no questionthat Biblical ‘doctrine’ is important. Doctrine is the message of the Bible. How foolish that some people who profess Christ as their savior don’teven know what it is. Many churchmembers have no idea what their church teaches as doctrine. This is the fault of the church leaders. It is their duty to instruct their flock inthe doctrine of the New Testament Church. It is the duty of the pastor tooversee those he allows to teach in the church that God has given him. It is the duty of the pastor to spot error inits infancy and squash it before it has time to grow.

It is also the duty ofevery Christian and church member to check the things the pastor/preacher teachesagainst the Bible itself. We have theBible readily available. We have noexcuse to put up with preachers spewing false doctrines from the pulpit.

Doctrine, doctrine,doctrine….. Jesus Christ is theCornerstone. His teachings are thefoundations of the faith. This is thedoctrine by which we are to live. Thedoctrine of the Bible does not change. The doctrine of the Bible providesstability in an unstable world. The doctrine of the Bible is the key to wisdomand understanding.

There are those who seekto destroy the doctrine of the Bible, in which case the world would be left worshipping one of Satan’s manylies. All religions and belief systemsoutside the doctrine of the Bible are false religions. They are based on lies. Satan is the father of lies. Therefore, anydoctrine outside the doctrine of the Bible is really Satan worship. In that case, is there any way the importanceof the doctrine of the bible can be overstated? The answer is, ‘No! The importanceof the doctrine of the Bible cannot be overstated.’ That is why Satan is trying so hard to dojust that.

Christian, are youwilling to follow the instructions in Jude 1:3 which says, ‘Beloved,when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it wasneedful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestlycontend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.

If youanswered, ‘Yes! I am willing to earnestly contend for the faith.’ you need torealize something very important. Nomatter how willing you may be, you cannot earnestly contend for the faith ifyou do not know the doctrine on which the faith is built. Without knowingthe doctrine of the faith you profess, then you will be like Eve. You will bebeguiled and led into tragic error. Zeal,but not according to knowledge, is a tragedy waiting to happen. For your soulto prosper you must know doctrine.

The songfor this article is ‘My Sheep Know My Voice’. When you know the doctrine taught in the Bible then you will know thevoice of the Shepherd.

BarbaraHenderson

My SheepKnow My Voice

‘My sheep hear Myvoice, and the path that I take,
They follow wherever I go;
My sheep know My voice and come at my call,
But a stranger’s voice do they not know.

Refrain

Mysheep know My voice, and day by day
They abide in the fold and go not astray,
They love Me because I have made them my choice,
And they follow My call for My sheep know My voice.

My sheepknow My voice, and the pastures of green,
Where I lead them so often to feed;
My sheep know My voice and the cool sparkling stream
Where beside its still waters I lead.

Refrain

My sheepknow My voice, and the valley of death
Through which I shall lead them some day;
But no danger nor harm can touch one of them,
For I will be with them alway.

Refrain

http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/m/y/mysheepk.htm

God Loves You

2012-01-25T10:02:00.000-08:00

Daniel was Greatly Loved by God and YouCan be Too!

I wrote a short article for my blog afew years ago titled ‘Give Your Spiritual Immune System a Boost. Here is the article with additionalthoughts.

(quoted material)

‘Are you a little weary and soul sicktoday? Would you like to improve your spiritual health? Let's take a look atthe example of Daniel the prophet who was greatly beloved by God and see whatinstructions we can find there to help us today.,

Daniel 10:19 says,

'O man greatly beloved,

fear not:

peace be unto thee;

be strong, yea be strong.

1. Daniel is beloved by God. To be'beloved by God' see that God is beloved by you. Give God first place in yourlife. Set your priorities so that there is nothing more important to you than agood relationship with the God of your salvation.

2. God told Daniel to 'fear not'. Thisrequires fellowship with God. The more you fellowship with God, the more youunderstand the power of God to keep you safe. The perfect love of God casts outfear. You can live your life unafraid.

3. God told Daniel 'peace be untoyou'. Without fear, there is peace, even in the midst of turmoil. God gives thepeace that passes understanding. He will give it to you if you are willing toreceive it.

4. From the vantage point of no fear,and peace with God, it is much easier to be strong. Fear and turmoil zap yourstrength like a virus attacking your soul. You can 'boost your spiritual immunesystem' by continuing to:

seek God;
trust Him so much that you are notafraid;
seek the peace of God that passesunderstanding;
take hold of the strength of God toface whatever the day brings.’

(end quote)’

I am always pleased to read an oldarticle and find that it encourages me again right now. I was thinking on this article and decided towrite down a few more thoughts on Daniel.

Daniel was a captive in a heathenland. He was undoubtedly homesick forloved ones, familiar places, sounds, and smells. He was probably even wearing strange clothing. The language was different. Everything in the physical world wasunfamiliar and even repulsive to him.

Fortunately, there was something veryimportant and constant that Daniel was able to bring with him from home. Daniel brought with him the knowledge thatGod was not only with him, but that God would hear his prayers. God listened when Daniel prayed. Daniel wasn’t speaking into the air just tohear himself speak; nor was he engaging in some ritual chant. He was speaking directly to God, and God waslistening to exactly what Daniel had to say. In spite of being taken from home and family, the Hebrew lad was nottaken from the constant fellowship of the Most High God. The most importantpart of his life in his native land went with him to the courts ofBabylon. God did not set Himself to obeyDaniel’s every request, or to work on Daniel’s timeframe, but God wasdefinitely listening. For the Christiantoday who is separated from home and family, it is still the same. Whether they are serving in the military awayfrom loved ones, or separated by a new job in a new place, or away from home atcollege, or even imprisoned for some reason, God is with them and God willlisten when they pray.

This reminds us that God also hearsyou and me today right where we are in whatever circumstances we may findourselves. In God Almighty we not onlyhave someone to talk to, we have someone who is actually listening to us! No matter where we are or in what diresituation we may find ourselves, we have the presence of God with us. Like Daniel, the knowledge that God hears usdoesn’t guarantee the answer we want, or the time frame we want, but we can bepositively sure that God is hearing our prayers. AND – remember James 5:16 which clearly saysfervent prayer avialeth much. Itranslate ‘avialeth much’ to ‘gets result’.

( Confess your faults one to another,and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer ofa righteous man availeth much.) Godhears your prayers. God will help you.

Psalm 4 tells us:

‘1. Hear me when I call, O God of myrighteousness: thou hast enlarged me when I was in distress; have mercy uponme, and hear my prayer.

2. O ye sons of men, how long will ye turn myglory into shame? how long will ye love vanity, and seek after leasing? Selah.

3. But know that the LORD hath setapart him that is godly for himself: the LORD will hear when I call unto him.’

In verse one the Psalmist is askingGod to hear him. In verse 3 he isconfident that the Lord will hear him.

Verses 4 & 5 say give instructionson waiting for an answer.

‘4. Stand in awe, and sin not: communewith your own heart upon your bed, and be still. Selah.

5. Offer the sacrifices ofrighteousness, and put your trust in the LORD.’

I am sure Daniel remained in awe ofGod, refrained from sin, thought continually on the things of the Lord, behavedrighteously, and trusted God. Waitingfor his prayers to be answered did not weaken Daniel’s faith that God had heardhis prayer. Nor did he use God’s delayin answering prayers as an excuse to sin.

Micah 7:7 says, ‘Therefore I will lookunto the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation: my God will hear me.’

I love this verse. ‘MY God will hearme.’ Specifically, it is MY God who willhear me. It isn’t a false god, and itisn’t a servant of God. It is GodHimself who will hear me. Just likeDaniel, God is with us. God will hearus.

What did Daniel do with his confidencethat God would hear his prayers? I amsure he prayed for his own needs, but he also prayed for the needs ofother. To know that God hears yourprayers is an awesome gift and an overwhelming responsibility. Pray for thegood of your loved ones, family, acquaintances, those in authority, and alwaysfor the lost. Consider the possibility that there is no one besides you whowill pray for your enemies. (Luke 6:35,‘But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; andyour reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for heis kind unto the unthankful and to the evil.’)

Today it is often said that we havemore stress than generations before this age. The truth is that while each generation may have had peculiar stress forthat era and location, most of the things faced by every generation are thesame. In every generation people wantfood, shelter, love, peace, health, and freedom. In every generation people die and faceeternity. Certainly life at its best canbe overwhelming. A life patterned afterDaniel will be a life not only well spent, but also a life that has as high alevel of personal peace and success as is possible. Let’s do a recap.

Daniel was special to God. There is no doubt about that.
Daniel had a personal visit from God’smessenger telling him:
That he was greatly beloved
Not to fear
To be at peace
To be strong

And he was told one more time to bestrong.

We have the Bible, so each Christianhas that same message.

We know that Daniel lived a life thatwas

Obedient to God
Prayerful

Bold in living and speaking the truth,and
Uninhibited by any laws or decreesthat interfered with his worship of God.

A key element in Daniel’s life was hisfaith that God would hear him when he prayed.

That is the key to prayer. God will hear me. Why else would it be useful to pray? Of course God will hear me.

In prayer God will guide us to praywhat is right. He may guide us to changesome of the things for which we pray. But it isn’t futile prayer because God hears us. We may find our minds changed about onething, and we may find that something else is of greater importance than we hadoriginally thought. Prayer is a means bywhich we gain direction from God as well as obtain specific blessings. Sometimes we pray very hard for one thing,get another, and are eventually very thankful that we didn’t get the item forwhich first we prayed. It can’t be statedclearly enough that God is listening! Have you ever needed to talk to someone who was not paying attention atall, or who was giving lip service like they were taking you seriously whentruly they didn’t take you seriously at all?

God will not only hear you when youpray, God will help you!
Psalm 46:1 promises, ‘God is ourrefuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.’

Because you KNOW God will hear youkeep praying.

Colossians 4:2 instructs us to, ‘Continuein prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving;’.

Daniel 6:10 tells us that givingthanks was part of Daniels routine when he prayed. ’Now when Daniel knew thatthe writing was signed, he went into his house; and his windows being open inhis chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, andprayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime.’

Be thankful.

Watch for your answer and watch outfor distractions.

Continue in prayer

God will hear you.

Daniel prayed on a regular schedule,and we should do the same. Sometimes ourprayers are more dedicated than others because of a specific trouble. Often when we are compelled to pray withoutceasing, there is a tempest raging in our lives. This song was written for such a time. Regardless of circumstances, our prayer lifeshould be a part of our daily life.

Master the Tempest is Raging
http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/m/a/mastertt.htm

Master, the tempest is raging!

The billows are tossing high!

The sky is o'ershadow with blackness,

No shelter or help is nigh;
Carest Thou not that we perish?
How canst Thou lie asleep,
When each moment so madly is threatening
A grave in the angry deep?

Refrain
The winds and the waves shall obey Thywill,
Peace, be still!
Whether the wrath of the storm tossed sea,
Or demons or men, or whatever it be
No waters can swallow the ship where lies
The Master of ocean, and earth, and skies;
They all shall sweetly obey Thy will,
Peace, be still! Peace, be still!
They all shall sweetly obey Thy will,
Peace, peace, be still!

Master, with anguish of spirit
I bow in my grief today;
The depths of my sad heart are troubled
Oh, waken and save, I pray!
Torrents of sin and of anguish
Sweep o’er my sinking soul;
And I perish! I perish! dear Master
Oh, hasten, and take control.

Refrain

Master, the terror is over,
The elements sweetly rest;
Earth’s sun in the calm lake is mirrored,
And heaven’s within my breast;
Linger, O blessèd Redeemer!
Leave me alone no more;
And with joy I shall make the blest harbor,
And rest on the blissful shore.

Refrain

Point of Contact Between the Lost and the Saved

2012-01-18T17:55:00.000-08:00

Point of Contact

There is a point in time when the lostand the saved meet. At this point ofcontact, there is opportunity to speak Jesus Christ to the lost. The opportunity may never come again…

To make effective use of the point ofcontact”

1. Take God’s Word seriously – for our good, the good of our families, andthe good of society.

2. Determine truth from falsehood by the scripture alone

3. Hold fast to the truth.

4. Avoid worldly entanglements.

Remember the Bible is the Word of God.

The Bible is carried to the worldthrough the churches, and the people who make up the churches.

The church has the duty of teachingthe congregation the Word of God according to the Bible.

The congregation of true followers ofJesus Christ has the duty of teaching the world.

It is the duty of every believer toapply Bible teachings to personal actions.

It is the duty of every believer totake obedience to God very seriously.

The contact of the believer with theworld is limited because the people of the world are going in one direction,and the people of God are going in another direction. A believer cannot turn from the narrow way inorder to ‘reach the lost’. However,there is a point in time, a point of contact when the lost are face to facewith the redeemed. At that point ofcontact there isn’t time to consider what the believer should tell thelost. The believer must already knowwhere he or she stands regarding what the scripture says. The believer must be able to articulate truthin a clear but brief manner. Thefollowing, while not Bible passages, are taken from the Bible and condensedinto tenants of the faith. They are togive believers guidelines for Bible study, proper ways to watch for error fromBible teachers so-called, and to use to convert the lost and set the feet ofnew believers on the path to Bible knowledge instead of ‘seat of the pants’theology.

Obviously, the first thing to know arethe fundaments of the faith.

1. The Bible is inerrant

2. The pre-existence and deity of Christ

3. Jesus was born of Virgin

4. Jesus was crucified, died, was buried.

5. Jesus was bodily resurrected from the dead

These things are concrete thingstaught in the Bible on which all Christians who understand the power andauthority of God should be able to agree. Today unfortunately, there are many who disagree with point number one,and from there they question all points. They are not really considering the power and glory of God. In their minds they think, ‘If God is notable to get His book written correctly, then He probably doesn’t really havethe authority to make the rules. Ifthese aren’t God’s exact rules, then I have leeway to interpret them in the waythat suits me. It boils down to everyone doing what is right in his or her own eyes.

There are other tenants, or statementsof faith that apply to all the ages as well. This was taken from Wickapedia.com and regards the tenants set down during the Protestant Reformation.

‘The Five solas are five Latin phrasesthat emerged during the Protestant Reformation and summarize the Reformers'basic theological beliefs in contradistinction to the teaching of the RomanCatholic Church of the day. The Latin word sola means "alone" or "only"in English. The five solas articulated five fundamental beliefs of theProtestant Reformation, pillars which the Reformers believed to be essentialsof the Christian life and practice. All five implicitly rejected or counteredthe teachings of the then-dominant Catholic Church, which had in the reformers'mind usurped divine attributes or qualities for the Church and its hierarchy,especially its head, the pope.

1 Sola scriptura ("by Scripturealone")

2 Sola fide ("by faith alone")

3 Sola gratia ("by grace alone")

4 Solus Christus or Solo Christo ("Christalone" or "through Christ alone")

5 Soli Deo gloria ("glory to Godalone")

( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five_solas)’

Those five solas alone, if taught withpassion and love, are excellent tools to explain the Gospel to someone wantingto hear the truth.

(All Christians should know that whilethe Catholic church claims to be thechurch established by Jesus Christ, they most certainly are not the NewTestament Church of Jesus Christ. Theyhave no scriptural authority. In thisday of ‘reconciliation’, there is a push to be reconciled with the Catholicchurch. The Bible says we are to bereconciled to God – not errant teachers. 2 Corinthians 5:20)

In a later era J. C Ryle preached:

‘There were three great doctrines orprinciples which won the battle of the Protestant Reformation.

These three were:

(1) the sufficiency and supremacy ofHoly Scripture,

(2) the right of private judgment, and

(3) justification by faith only,without the deeds of the law.

http://www.biblestudytools.com/classics/ryle-knots-untied/private-judgment.html (J. C. Ryle)’

(Acts 17:11 says, ‘These were morenoble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with allreadiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things wereso.’ They exercised the right of privatejudgment to make sure Paul was telling the truth.)

Number one tells us the scripture is sufficient. Today there are some who claim ‘newrevelation’. They are liars, perhapsfooling even themselves, but never the less they are liars.

Furthermore, the scripture is the ruleabove anything a man may say, though he be pope or beggar. The Bible is also supreme or stands inauthority over the traditions of man. There is no man made revelation (so called) or tradition that can beright if it usurps God’s authority. TheHoly Spirit will never speak what is contrary to the written word of God.

Number two reminds us that allChristians have the right to evaluate the scripture based on thescripture. Therefore, if a man or womanpreaches something that is error, then the lowliest Christian has the right to disavowwrong teachings. Currently he or shealso has the right to separate themselves from the church without fear of beingburned as a heratic.

Number three reminds us that it bygrace through faith that a lost soul is saved. It is without works, or obedience to the law.

In a more modern day I have beentaught in church that the Bible is:

Inerrant

Sufficient

Relevant

Here we go again with that inerrantstuff. Fortunately, it is true. The Bible is inerrant. That is the rock solid unshakable foundationon which a committed Christian can stand. This book is true. It is the Wordof God. It has the words of life.

Sufficient is also a wonderfultenant. The Bible is complete and makesclear the way of salvation. There isnothing new to be added to it or taken away from it.

The Bible is also relevant to whateveris happening at any given moment in time. No matter what era or age, no matter who the person, no matter what thenation or people, the Bible has the keys for the individual to make peace withGod.

You may be thinking that these thingsare best suited to convert those who are in a false form of Christianity, orwho have fallen into some doctrinal error. It is true tenants of the faith are a good way to approach someone likethat. They are also good to show the wayof truth to someone who may be a social Christian, or has some idea ofChristianity from living in culture with some of the traits of Christianbehavior and hospitality still left.

However, knowing these things isuseful in approaching anyone. If you areable to engage them in a conversation regarding their eternal destination theywill have questions. The point ofcontact is always scripture from the Bible.

The Bible is the word of God. It is the truth. The Bible has power to convert to a receptiveor non-receptive audience. Take a lookat an example of the Apostle Paul’s life.

The Apostle Paul preached to a groupof non-believers on a place called Mars Hill. That was his point of contact, and he definitely made the most ofit. He preached the unwavering truth ofJesus Christ to a totally pagan society. The story is told in Acts 17. (Take the time to read the entirechapter. It is really good.)

Things just did not appear to be goingwell for Paul. He got himself kicked outof Thessalonica for preaching Jesus Christ. He was escorted to the next city called Berea, where he again set out toimmediately preach Jesus Christ. Thingswent a little better there, but the trouble makers from Thessalonica came andstirred up trouble there as well. Thenext thing Paul knew, he was kicked out of Berea and escorted to Athens.

So, what did Paul do in Athens? Did he keep his mouth shut in order to stay outof trouble? Did he re-evaluate hisapproach to preaching? Did he try tocome up with a way to better engage society and then slip in a few upliftingthoughts about Jesus Christ? No. His heart saw the need of the people to hearabout Jesus. So, he started preachingJesus again! The end result was thatsome were saved.

How did Paul manage to win convertsfrom such a group of stuck up scoffers? He didn’t do anything except preach the same message that had gotten himkicked out of the last two towns.

He preached the scriptures tellingthem:

ABOUT GOD

24. Godthat made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heavenand earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands;
25. Neither is worshipped with men's hands, asthough he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and allthings;
26. And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all theface of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and thebounds of their habitation;

TO SEEK GOD

27. That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, andfind him, though he be not far from every one of us:

WE ARE THE CHILDREN OF GOD:

28. For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also ofyour own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.

CHILDREN OF GOD SHOULD NOT MAKE THEGODHEAD INTO AN IMAGE

29. Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to thinkthat the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art andman's device.

NOW IS THE TIME TO REPENT

30. And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth allmen every where to repent:

JUDGEMENT DAY IS COMING

31. Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world inrighteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath givenassurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.

RESURECTION DAY IS COMING

32. And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked: andothers said, We will hear thee again of this matter.

PAUL QUIT SPEAKING WHEN HE HAD SAIDALL

33. So Paul departed from among them.

SOME BELIEVED

34. Howbeit certain men clave unto him, and believed: among the which wasDionysius the Areopagite, and a woman named Damaris, and others with them.

When considering this story, youcannot get past one thing. Paul’s methodwas effective. Some were converted outof a very hard audience.

The Bible is our example in allthings. Because this is the message Paulused to a pagan society this is the message Christians today should use to apagan society, or a Communist society, or a New Age society, or apostates, orany person or group of people that don’t know Jesus Christ. Paul faced the arrogant when he faced theAthenians. They thought of him as a‘babbler’ (V.18), someone fit for amusement. Paul didn’t care. He had a message to preach and he preachedit.

In most of the societies around theglobe today, the gospel is either not known or not respected. The people of most societies are like thepeople of Athens, they just want to hear something new and try it out. Obviously a lot of them will not repentthough they hear the truth, but some of them will. Paul had a point of contact with the lost inthree towns in this one chapter of Acts! He didn’t waste any of his time. He seized the opportunity to preach Jesus Christ on all three locations. And, some were saved in every instance.

Paul didn’t know how much time he hadto preach, so he didn’t waste any time trying to fit into society, or easepeople into the idea of Jesus as the way, the truth, and the life. He just jumped in with both feet and startedtelling the truth.

Make the most of points of contactwith the lost. Preach/teach the samemessage Paul preached/taught to the Athenians.

Remember Colossians 4:5, ‘Walk inwisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time. Let your speech bealways with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answerevery man.’ Just like Paul, no one hastime to waste skirting around the issues and mentioning Jesus Christ as anafterthought. Many people may have onlyone point of contact with a Christian in their life time. Others may have many points of contact withChristians, but no one knows when it will be their last point of contact withthe truth.

Always be ready to throw out alifeline to the lost. Tell them aboutJesus Christ.

Throw Out the Lifeline

http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/t/h/throwout.htm

Throw out the life line across thedark wave;

There is a brother whom someone should save;

Somebody’s brother! O who then will dare

To throw out the life line, his peril toshare?

Refrain

Throw out the life line! Throw out thelife line!

Someone is drifting away;

Throw out the life line! Throw out the lifeline!

Someone is sinking today.

Throw out the life line with handquick and strong:

Why do you tarry, why linger so long?

See! he is sinking; oh, hasten today

And out with the life boat! away, then away!

Refrain

Throw out the life line to dangerfraught men,

Sinking in anguish where you’ve never been;

Winds of temptation and billows of woe

Will soon hurl them out where the dark watersflow.

Refrain

Soon will the season of rescue beo’er,

Soon will they drift to eternity’s shore;

Haste, then, my brother, no time for delay,

But throw out the life line and save themtoday.

Refrain

This is the life line, oh, tempesttossed men;

Baffled by waves of temptation and sin;

Wild winds of passion, your strength cannotbrave,

But Jesus is mighty, and Jesus can save.

Refrain

Jesus is able! To you who are driv’n,

Farther and farther from God and from Heav’n;

Helpless and hopeless, o’erwhelmed by thewave;

We throw out the life line, ’tis “Jesus cansave.”

Refrain

This is the life line, oh, grasp ittoday!

See, you are recklessly drifting away;

Voices in warning, shout over the wave,

O grasp the strong life line, for Jesus cansave

Why do Some Call Themselves Christians for a Time and then Turn Away?

2012-01-10T17:56:00.000-08:00

WhyDo Some Call Themselves Christians for a Time and then Turn Away?

Have you noticed that if everyone whojoined the church stayed in church, there wouldn’t be room enough to holdthem? Have you wondered why they comeinto the church and then leave it?

1. People leave the church because they are disappointed in how Christianityis working in their lives. They havebeen taught a wrong idea of what the faith in Jesus Christ is supposed to dofor them. For the most part, Christianevangelism teaches that people who accept Jesus Christ as their savior havetaken the right step to a life where troubles and trials will be minimal. So, people are becoming Christians to maketheir lives easier and less stressful. Fear of God and fear of eternal torment in a place called hell are nottaken into consideration. True followersof Jesus Christ live and die just like everyone else. Christians have the presence of Christ to gowith them through trials, but they still have to go them. (Suggest reading Romans chapter 8 –especially the last five or six verses. And remember Hebrews 13:5 Letyour conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things asye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee)

2. People leave Christianity because they are disappointed in people whocall themselves Christians. Anyone, Christian or not, who has paid attention topeople who call themselves Christians will likely be able to list at least fiveso-called Christians who are terrible hypocrites. They can probably list at least five more whoare just trouble makers. These‘Christians’ may be obeying some of the commandments most of the time, but theyare also the ones in the middle of strife and disagreement in the church. People like that eventually hurt every singleperson in the church. Never the less,they and their gossipy cronies are faithful to attend church and put somethingin the offering plate. If they wouldlook to Christ Himself for their example, the imitators of Christ would not beso troubling to them.

3. People leave Christianity because they were never really part ofit. They went into the church for aspecific reason. Perhaps someone wanteda Christian for a spouse, but the desired person refused to marry a non-Christian. Adam wanted to marry Eve. Eve takes him to church a few times; he goesthrough the sinners prayer,; he sticks with church fairly faithfully longenough to make Eve think he really has converted; She marries him; and his faithfulness to theLord evaporates. Or a group ofbusinessmen who call themselves Christians seem to be doing better than othersin the same business. The owner of thefaltering business joins the church thinking his business will prosper. It doesn’t, so he leaves. If the uncompromising truth of the way ofsalvation was being preached from the pulpit with conviction and passion,perhaps a few of these people would recognize the truth and respond to it, nomatter what their original reason for attending church.

All these people have something incommon. They expected something fromjoining a church that they did not get. They had a specific agenda in joining the church, whether it was aneasier life, a group of perfect people, or a life of material prosperity, theyall expected things that are not promised by God in the Bible. When they didn’t get what they wereexpecting, they counted Christianity as a failure and walked out. They may have never even heard much lessconsidered that they are sinners separated from God by their sins. (Sins are things you do that break thecommandments. It doesn’t matter if it isa big sin or a little sin. It is stillsin.)

To set the record straight, Christiansneed to clearly tell the truth. Church is something you do in obedience to theteachings of the Bible. Truth is seldompopular, but that doesn’t change the truth or make it less important. There is nothing as important as the truth. And, church attendance is not what gets youinto heaven. Turning from your old lifeto a new life in Jesus Christ is what actually assures a believer of a place inheaven.

The truth is people need to get savedso they won’t go to hell. Escapingeternal damnation is a lot more important than escaping the troubles that comein this life. I know that is dreadfully old fashioned and totally unpopularidea. However, it is definitely thetruth. Fear of hell is a highlymotivating factor. The reality of hellcalls for a decision. Either you do whatis necessary to escape hell, or you go to hell. (Thank God He has given us a clearly defined plan for being saved fromhell.)

There is a giant difference betweenheaven and hell.

In hell there is torment.

There is nothing good.
There is no hope for change or escape.
There is no friendship.
Hell is eternal for those who gothere. There is absolutely nothing inthe Bible that says people eventually get out of hell. People in hell remain un-repentant.

Take a look at Lucifer. The Bible tells us he will be chained for1000 years in hell during the Millennium Kingdom. Yet when he is let loose for a little while,he does not repent or beg for mercy. Hecomes out of the pit filled with hate and encourages rebellion in theworld. He was totally unrepentant. And so will all the people be who go tohell. They will never repent oracknowledge their sins. The Bible says,‘It is appointed unto man once to die and after this the judgment’. (Hebrews 9:27) Also consider the rich man who was intorment and saw Abraham across the great gulf. Did he cry for mercy or show the slightest bit of repentance? No, he still saw himself as the boss. He wanted Abraham to send the former beggarwho had lived by the gate of his house to bring him water. He had no thought of repenting for the evilhe had done and certainly not of apologizing to Lazarus for his lack ofcompassion on the poor sick man while they were both living. He was the same, without repentance. Even after eons of torment in hell, he willnot be fit for the kingdom of heaven because he is without sorrow over hissins. Both Lucifer and the rich manstill have their pride.

In heaven there is eternal love,peace, joy, hope, contentment, satisfaction, and more than we can even imagine. Heaven will not be a boring place. According to 1 Corinthians 2:9, ‘But as it iswritten, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heartof man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.’

Given the two choices, what stopspeople from taking the road to heaven instead of the road to perdition? Pride. Pride is the deciding factor.

Along with pride is the power. Although it is a delusion, people prefer tobelieve they have some sort of power that will allow them to enter heaven onthe basis of their own merit.

Greed is another deciding factor. Earthly riches and wealth are not forbiddenby God. However, these things must begained while staying within the boundaries of behavior set down by God in theBible. This may prevent some people fromconsidering Christianity, although today terrible filth is accepted in manychurches, so that isn’t as important as in the past.

All these reasons are real, and thereare many more. These are simply examplesof the sin nature in all of us. We areborn with a bent to do wrong. Our bodiesare born to wear out and die. It isbasically a lose lose situation. Still,rather than acknowledge there is an insurmountable problem, the many of the lostwill stick with their pride, their power, and their greed.

Every reason could probably becombined and explained with the original sin. Eve and Adam thought they could be like God if they disobeyed God andate the fruit. Satan tempted them, andthey fell for it. However, if theyhadn’t been proud to begin with they might not have fallen for the story. If they hadn’t thought they could have powerto make their own way into heaven, perhaps they would not have fallen. Perhaps they were greedy, wanting the wealthand riches that belong to God.

These are all things that canencourage people to follow the broad way to perdition. I am sure there are many more. Christians, true believers in Jesus Christ,cannot turn all the lost to faith in Jesus Christ. But we surely cannot turn any to Christ ifthe truth is not told.

Jesus is the way into heaven. On the world of God Himself, Jesus Christ isthe way, the truth, and the life. No onecan go to God the Father except through Jesus Christ the Son. (condensed from John 14:1-6)

Honestly, the only real recourse oftrue followers of Jesus Christ is to tell the truth. The silly worldly tactics that draw peopleinto Christianity for selfish reasons will not lead to true conversions. Once they are disillusioned and rejectChristianity, it is much more difficult to gain their interest again. In their minds, they have ‘triedChristianity’ and it just didn’t work. Theydon’t know following Jesus is a decision, once made, from which there is noturning back.

It will always be far better to tellthe truth to the lost instead of try to reel them into the fold with falseteachings, or teachings that are so watered down as to have no strength inthem. All they get is a false idea ofwhat Christianity is all about.

True converts to Christianity neveractually leave it. Hebrews 11:16 tellsus, ‘But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore Godis not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city.’

True converts decide to follow Jesusbecause they have heard the truth and took it to heart.

Where ever Christians are, whatevertheir position in the world, whatever their influence, they can make a differenceby just telling the truth that:

Everyone is separated from GodAlmighty by their sins. That means Godis perfect and they are not.’ (Isaiah59:2 But your iniquities have separatedbetween you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that hewill not hear.)

Through Jesus Christ there is a way tobe reconciled to God.’ (Romans 6:23

For the wages of sin is death; but the gift ofGod is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.)

God is not willing that any shouldperish but that all should come to repentance.’ (2 Peter 3:9

The Lord is not slack concerning his promise,as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing thatany should perish, but that all should come to repentance.)

The way of salvation is made clear.‘Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shall be saved.’

(Romans 10:9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth theLord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from thedead, thou shalt be saved.)

We won’t turn the entire world toChrist, but we can turn some. To thosepeople it will make a difference for eternity.

Galatians 6:9 gives us ourinstructions. It says, ‘And let us notbe weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.’

To keep telling the truth is the dutyof every Christian.

In Times of Turmoil the Christian Knows.....

2012-01-06T15:02:00.000-08:00

InTimes of Turmoil the Christian Knows.......

We are living in religious, social, political, and probably personal turmoil. Fortunately, Isaiah 26:3 gives us thesecomforting words; ‘Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed onthee: because he trusteth in thee.

Hereare some things that the Christian whose ‘mind is fixed’, who ‘stays thecourse’, or ‘who perseveres’ in keeping their thoughts stayed on the Lordknows:

Iknow my redeemer liveth. Job 19:25

Whatwould be the point of trusting in the ideology of a dead philosopher? The Redeemer of the Christian liveseternally. He has power of death forHimself and for those who believe in Him.

Iknow Jesus is the Christ. John 4:42

Christiansneed look no further for their salvation.

Iknow all things work together for good to them that love the Lord and arecalled according to his purpose. Romans8:28

Howhard it is to see this with our eyes when facing turmoil. Matthew Henry explains it this way.

‘That is good for the saints which does their souls good.Every providence tends to the spiritual good of those that love God; inbreaking them off from sin, bringing them nearer to God, weaning them from theworld, and fitting them for heaven.’

The good may not be that the event itself works out for good,although it often does. There willalways be good in events that draw us closer to the God of our Salvation.

Iknow that if our earthly house is dissolved, we have an eternal home withGod.

2Corinthians 5:1

Basedon God’s abilities, we have a secure future in heaven. We will have health for eternity. We can lay up treasures now for that brightfuture.

Iknow whom I have believed and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which Ihave committed unto him against that day. 2 Timothy 1:12b

GodAlmighty who created all things is able to keep and sustain all things.

Iknow believers are sons of God. When Heappears we shall be like Him. 1 John 3:2

Christianshave been adopted by the King of all kings.

Wehave passed from death to life because we love the brethren. 1 John 3:14 God gives His children love for the brethren. Like God’s love, it is unconditional. (This does not mean we approve of or acceptimmoral behavior. It means we love thebrethren regardless. Of course, how mucheasier it is to love those who are of like mind and are in fellowship withGod.)

Infacing the turmoil or storms of life, first consider the things that you doknow regarding the character of God and His care for His children. Then obey Philippians 4:8 which says,‘Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest,whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things arelovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and ifthere be any praise, think on these things.

This will help you to keep your thoughts andactions in harmony with each other.

Thiswill help you have perfect peace in your own heart.

Yourlife may encourage non-believers to reflect on how it is that you have peace inthe turmoil of our times.

Year Round Joy for God and His Children and Hope for All

2011-12-26T11:37:00.000-08:00

Christmas came and went - but the message of Christmas is for every day.

There is never enough time toget it all done to make sure Christmas is perfect.

Christmas preparation really is a yearround job for Christians. If you are nota Christian I will tell you how to become a Christian at the end of thearticle. If you are already a Christianhere is a partial list of the gifts God would like you to give to Him. After all, Christmas is about Jesus’birthday. He should be the one who getsthe first gifts, the best gifts, and the most gifts.

The Gifts God Wants from you are your:

Heart – God wants your heart. He wants to be first in your heart. He wants you to love Him the way He lovesyou.

Mind – God wants your thoughts to beever toward Him and the instructions He gives you on how to live yourlife. He wants you to give Him the giftof trust. Trust Him that the boundariesHe sets for you are for your own good.

Ears – God wants you to give Him thegift of your ears. He wants you to hearwhat He has to say to you in the Bible. He wants you to not listen to evil words or music.

Eyes – God wants your eyes. He wants you to keep your eyes on Him. He wants you to keep your eyes off the evilthat is in this world.

Mouth – God wants your mouth. He wants you to speak what is true andright. He wants you to avoid evilspeaking and gossip.

Hands to work – Godwants you to work for Him. He wants youto actually do the things He says to do. -

Feet to go – God wants your feet. He wants you to go where His word leadsyou. He is not going to lead you astray,or anywhere that breaks a commandment. He will lead you in the best path.

Body to work – God wants your body towork for Him. He wants you to dowhatever you do in a manner that would please Him. Your work for an employer is reflection ofhow you work for God.

He wants all of you – God wants you tolove Him and work for Him with all your heart and all your mind and all yoursoul.

Christians are supposed to pledgeeternal and unchangeable allegiance to God, to His kingdom, and to a futurethat is not of this present world. Christians are supposed to view the world through the eyes of what theBible has to say about this world and our lives in this world.

This is not a one-sided deal. God has far more for Christians thanChristians have for God. Lets take a look at Psalm 103:3.

It says, ‘Who forgiveth all thineiniquities; who healeth all thy diseases;

And don’t for Psalm 147:3 which says,‘He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds.’

In Psalm 103:3 we get the overwhelminggood news that God forgives all our sins. God is concerned with ALL your sins. He is big enough to forgive your very big sins, and please be honestenough with yourself to admit you have committed at least a few very bigwrongs. He also cares about thecontinual sins in your life, and the little occasional sins. If you are a child of God, then even thelittle sins bother you at least part of the time. Please don’t make the mistake of comparingyour little sins to the big sins of others and thinking God really doesn’t careif you have a few small sinful things you do. He does care. He wants to forgiveyou of ALL your sins and help you have a better life. You get a clean slatethrough God’s forgiveness.

Your body bears the consequence ofsin, whether it is a big sin or a little sin. Healing begins with a heart that is healed of its sin and grief. This is obviously NOT a license to do morewrong. It is a true way to get past thewrong things you have done in the past. Even if you happen to have a very good excuse or explanation for wrongsyou have done, you still need forgiveness. Don’t waste time justifying or explaining your actions by the actions ofsomeone else. Instead go to God forforgiveness and healing. Also go to Himfor healing wounds caused to you by others. Let God heal your heart of those wounds as well as the self-inflictedwounds.

Joy is much more natural when you aretotally forgiven by God. He willstrengthen you to go forward to a better life. If you have wronged someone you need to sincerely ask theirforgiveness. You can ask for it, andpray for it, and do you very best to make amends; but no matter what happens,God has forgiven you!

Most people are interested in physicalhealing when they think of going to God for healing. Physical healing is possible. Sometimes God heal infirmities for at least aseason. But, healing of the heart iseternal. (Eventually the body isrestored for eternity.) If a physical body is racked by a sin-sick heart itwill show. Loss of joy and mental depressionare to be expected in the heart of the Christian who is separated from ourheavenly Father by sins.

When you are making your list ofChristmas gifts for other, remember the list of things God wants from you. Don’t consider it hard. Remember Matthew chapter 11:28-30 which says,

’28. Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will giveyou rest.

29. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly inheart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

30. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.’

Follow these instructions and yourspiritual life will improve. Give the gifts to God that He asks of you.

Hebrews 11:6 tells us, ‘But withoutfaith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believethat he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.’

God has rewards for those thatdiligently seek Him. Believe what God is telling you. If you lack faith, ask God to increase yourfaith. In obedience to God, you are giving God the things He asks of you, andyou are setting yourself up to receive good things from God. Diligently seek His face. Learn what He asks of you through reading thestudying the Bible, and apply Bible teachings to your personal actions. That is the gift God wants from you on adaily basis. In return you will receiverest for your soul. In resting there ishealing. Give to God and He will give toyou.

Please remember that I am not speakingof material wealth or physical healing. It is true that you God may give you material wealth and physicalhealing, but that is not what these verses are promising. You can give to God of your material wealth,whatever it may be.

For those reading this who are notalready Christians, you may be wondering if this applies to you, or how to makeit apply to you. To personalize God’spromises, you must be adopted into the family of God. This is done through salvation by gracethrough faith in Jesus Christ. Itrequires that:

1. You recognize that your sins have separated you from the God of theBible who is the God of creation. Youneed to understand that there are two divisions of ‘righteousness’. First, there is the utter continualperfection of God. He is perfect inevery way every single second. There isno human being who can say that about themselves truthfully. Many people are much kinder and morerighteous than other, but none but Jesus Christ has ever been without somesins. The human division ofrighteousness is between human beings. We can compare ourselves to others, and find ourselves better than manyevil people in the world, but none of us can honestly call ourselves perfect.

2. God has made a place for sinners or the unrighteous. This place is hell.

3. God has made a place for therighteous, those who have been made righteous through Jesus Christ’s sacrificeat calvary, called heaven.

4. God is willing to save the unrighteous from hell. When a man or woman turns from the life he orshe is living and turns to God, God saves them from hell. It is a personal choice that everyonemakes. It requires a specific definitedecision to turn to God and His ways. Through Christ, hell is escaped and heaven is gained!

Some verses that are good to considerwhen seeking the way to God are:

Hebrews 11:6

But without faith it is impossible toplease him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is arewarder of them that diligently seek him. (I know – I already used that verse – but it is worth reading twice.)

1 Timothy 1:16

Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, thatin me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern tothem which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting.

1 John 5:13

These things have I written unto youthat believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye haveeternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.’

I love this verse. You can KNOW that you have eternal life. Remember God is greater than how youfeel. Once you are God’s child, you are Hiseternally. That means He is with you onthe days you ‘feel’ His presence and on a dark night when you may feelalone. Feeling abandoned is just afeeling. It is not a reality.

DO YOU WONDER WHAT WILL HAPPEN WHENYOU DIE?

1. Hebrews 9:27

And as it is appointed unto men once to die,but after this the judgment:

So first is the judgement.

2. John 11:25

Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection,and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:

Next – those who have believed inJesus will live again.

3. Revelation 14:11

And the smoke of their torment ascendeth upfor ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beastand his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.

Those who have refused Christ’s offerto save them from hell will go to hell.

DO YOU WONDER WHAT HEAVEN WILL BELIKE?

1 Corinthians 2:9

But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, norear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which Godhath prepared for them that love him.

1.Matthew 19:14

But Jesus said, Suffer little children, andforbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven.

Some of the things we see in childrenthat will be in heaven are innocence, honesty, trust, joy, unconditional love,many other wonderful things.

DOES GOD WANT YOU PERSONALLY? HAVE YOU BEEN SO BAD HE WILL NOT TAKE YOU IFYOU ASK HIM?

2 Peter 3:9

The Lord is not slack concerning his promise,as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing thatany should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

WHAT DO I NEED TO DO TO GO TO HEAVEN?

John 3:16

For God so loved the world, that he gave hisonly begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but haveeverlasting life.

John 3:36

He that believeth on the Son hath everlastinglife: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath ofGod abideth on him.

CAN I GET TO HEAVEN SOMEWAY WITHOUT JESUSCHRIST?

John 14:6

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

IS THE GOD OF THE BIBLE GENERIC? IS HE THE SAME AS THE gODS OF OTHERRELIGIONS?

Exodus 20:5a

Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, norserve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God;

There is an old Christian hymn thatasks the question ‘Are YOU ready for the judgment day?

If you cannot say – YES! I am ready! I am safe in Jesus Christ. By HISsacrifice I have been promised entry into heaven, then now is the time to askJesus to save you personally from the evil times to come.

There’s a Great Day Coming

http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/t/g/tgreatda.htm

There’s a great day coming, a greatday coming;

There’s a great day coming by and by,

When the saints and the sinners shall beparted right and left,

Are you ready for that day to come?

Refrain

Are you ready? Are you ready?

Are you ready for the judgment day?

Are you ready? Are you ready?

For the judgment day?

There’s a bright day coming, a brightday coming;

There’s a bright day coming by and by.

But its brightness shall only come to themthat love the Lord.

Are you ready for that day to come?

Refrain

There’s a sad day coming, a sad daycoming;

There’s a sad day coming by and by,

When the sinner shall hear his doom: “Depart,I know you not!”

Are you ready for that day to come?

The Battle for Civilization as We Know it

2011-12-14T13:00:00.000-08:00

Christians Are Losing the Battle forCivilization Because They Are Using the Wrong Weapons

When I was in school a history teachershowed a documentary film of Ethiopians using spears to go out and fighttanks. Ethiopia lost. Her warriors were brave and valiant, but theynever had a chance. Obviously, theEthiopians fought with spears because they had no better weapon. There was never any question regarding whowould actually win that war.

Christians today seem to be losing thewar to maintain a form of Christian civilization. Now why do you suppose that is? I think we are told what is wrong in 2Corinthians 10:3-5

3. For though we walk in the flesh, we do notwar after the flesh:

4.(For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to thepulling down of strong holds;)

5.Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself againstthe knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to theobedience of Christ; 2 Corinthians10:1-5

Verses 3-5 should hold our undividedattention. If you want to know whyChristianity seems to be on the losing end of almost every battle then paystrict attention to verse 3. Christiansare obviously living people just like anyone else on the planet. We definitely do walk in the flesh because weare living human beings. However, we arenot supposed to war after the flesh meaning we aren’t supposed to use normalweapons of war in our battles. (Notspeaking of national warfare arms. Christians and nations are allowed self-defense.) Our weapons aresupposed to be those provided for Believers through Christ and His word. If the Ethiopians I mentioned at thebeginning of this article had had weapons by which they could have won the war,don’t you think they would have used them? Today Christians have jumped into the middle of political and socialinjustice with the weapons used by people of the world. They are fighting with protests, and lawsuits, and marches, and whatever they can get away with. All they aresucceeding in doing is degrading society and civilization as a whole. Isn’t it about time Christians brought outthe weapons that have power to win? Someearthly battles can be directly won now, and ultimately the war between ourPerfect God and evil will be won. Whatare the weapons available for the use of Believers by which we may win greatand small battles? Actually Ephesianschapter six gives us the rules by which we are to live. Don’t trivialize God’s blueprint for facingthe trials of life. Be obedient to theLord and set your heart to do the things He tells us to do.

Ephesians begins by telling us how toget our minds ready to face the challenges ahead. Our actions follow our minds. Once a mind is set to obey the Lord, thendoing the things He says to do becomes more automatic.

Ephesians chapter 6:

Verse 1 - Children, obey your parentsin the Lord: for this is right. OBEY –as children we are to obey our parents. As adults Christians are to obey the rules God gives us. They are for our own good. Also, they are not a heavy burden tobear. They are to keep us fromharm. God didn’t randomly write a bunchof rules that are just busy work. Hisinstructions are for our personal good.

Verse 2 - Honor thy father and mother;(which is the first commandment with promise;)

Honor – giving moral allegiance to theBiblical principles taught by parents – while giving outward and inward respectto parents.

Verse 3 - That it may be well withthee, and thou mayest live long on the earth.

The life a committed believer may haveeffects that live on after them for generations.

Verse 4 - And, ye fathers, provoke notyour children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of theLord.

Parents – be consistent in teachingyour children the things of the Lord. Let them see you practice what you teach. This goes for your children andthose over whom you have any authority. Beas gentle and kind as circumstances will allow. Discipline may be required, but do what you can first with love andgentle persuasion.

Verse 5 - Servants, be obedient tothem that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, insingleness of your heart, as unto Christ;

Pay attention to your own taskmasters. Do with care what is requiredof you. It is shameful to the Lord tosee so called Christians spending more of their time trying to get out of workthan actually doing work. Christiansshould go about their daily chores with a mind that is set on doing a good job.

Verse 6 - Not with eyeservice, asmenpleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from theheart;

This means that you are doing yourbest to do a good job whether the boss is watching you or not! You are working to please God and acknowledgethat He sees what you are doing whether the boss is watching or not!

Verse 7 - With good will doingservice, as to the Lord, and not to men:

You are cheerfully seeking to pleaseGod.

Verse 8 - Knowing that whatsoever goodthing any man doeth, the same shall he receive of the Lord, whether he be bondor free.

Ultimately, people do reap what theysow. If you are doing good according toGod’s definition of good, you will receive good treatment from the Lord.

Verse 9 - And, ye masters, do the samethings unto them, forbearing threatening: knowing that your Master also is inheaven; neither is there respect of persons with him.

I you have authority over others,treat them with gentleness and kindness. Don’t ‘lord it over them’, but remember that you have a greatresponsibility to represent the God you serve.

Verse 10 - Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord,and in the power of his might.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, bestrong through God’s power. All peopleare beset by ills and woes. But nomatter our weakness or strength, the Lord has power beyond what we canimagine. Plead for His strength to carryyou through whatever is happening.

Verse 11 - Put on the whole armour ofGod, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

Christians are to put on the completesuit of armor provided by God. Nosoldier would go to battle only wearing half a suit of armor providing he hadan entire suit of armor available. Howfoolish of Christians to only make use of only part of the armor God provides.

12. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities,against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, againstspiritual wickedness in high places.

This verse reminds Christians ofexactly who the enemy really is, and why they need the armor of God.

The chief fight of Christians is notchiefly with the living men and women we see in politics and society or eventhe fleshly things of this earth. It isagainst the powers and rulers of darkness – or the angels who fell from heavenwith Lucifer. These evil beings, thoughunseen, are very powerful and have armies of fallen angels at theircommand. How ridiculous is it forChristians to not take this seriously?

Verse 13 - Wherefore take unto you thewhole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, andhaving done all, to stand.

This verse tells us how to face warfarewith these fallen angels. No, I don’tmean some sort of face to face combat. But there will be combat with those who are tools of the devil. It is imperative that the Christian alwaysremember that while the weapons of the devil are often people who serve him,the enemy is the devil and his followers. To forget this something like thinking a military tank is the enemyinstead of the powers that are manning and driving the tank. Evil days are scary days. You do not want to face them without God. Then just stand still, and keepstanding.

Verse 14 - Stand therefore, havingyour loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate ofrighteousness;

Entangle your thoughts with the truthgiven to you in the Bible. ThinkBiblically. Ask yourself what the Biblehas to say about EVERYTHING. And askyourself what the bible says to do in all situations. You KNOW what the commandments are includingthe new commandment to love others as Christ loved us. To a large part it is simply determine whatthe commandments are in your situation. If all else fails go by the rule ‘treat others the way you want to betreated’. Knowing and doing what isright according to God gives you the breastplate of righteousness.

Verse 15 - And your feet shod with the preparation of thegospel of peace;

The gospel is the ultimate gospel ofpeace because it brings makes available peace between God and man. The shoes have a grip on the soles as thoughyou are crossing an ice field. The shoesare tough enough to take you through whatever rough terrain you must cross inorder to get where God is leading you. You cannot overstate the importance of proper shoes either spirituallyor physically.

Verse 16 - Above all, taking the shield of faith,wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.

More than anything else, you need theshield of faith. Faith ignorescircumstances and knows God is with you whatever mess you might be in at themoment. When the devil throws a fierydart of doubt at you regarding prayers not yet answered, or wicked temptations,or fear of the future, the shield of faith bounces them off.

Verse 17 - And take the helmet ofsalvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:

Well – you need to guard your headbecause if the devil knocks you coco then you are not able to function wellanywhere else. Don’t let things of thisworld capture your mind. Don’t let thelove of money, or the material world, or the fleshly world, or the world ofpower capture your mind. Christians aresaved by grace to enter the kingdom of heaven. They are safe from worldly lusts by guarding their minds from evil.

Now the sword of the spirit is theword of God. It is a mighty tool. An excellent companion verse to this one is Psalm149:6 which says, ‘Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and atwo-edged sword in their hand;’. Theword of God is a mighty two edged sword.

Verse 18 - Praying always with all prayer andsupplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance andsupplication for all saints;

THEN, when you are all decked out forbattle it is time to start to pray continually with perseverance and pleadingfor all the Christian brothers and sisters. Pray continually, urgently as needarises, and with eyes watching for answers from God and to guard against theenemy. Be steadfast to the end of your days. You will not regret for one second of eternity living for Christ today.

Verse 19 - And for me, that utterance may be given untome, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel,

When you are ready for battle, theLord gives you a word to speak. He opensyour mouth to tell others about Jesus Christ. THAT is the real battle, and you are ready to join in.

Verse 20 - For which I am an ambassador in bonds: thattherein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.

Paul was compelled to tell the Gospel.He wasn’t as an ambassador of one country to a different country. He was a heavenly ambassador to the entire world. Christians today are heavenly ambassadors toevery person with whom we have contact.

I think we have all heard terriblestories of ambassadors to different nations who are disrespectful to the laws of their host nations? They have diplomatic immunity, and theycertainly use it. Christians are notso. We are subject to obey the laws ofthe land and the laws of God. Theexception is that no rule or law of man breaks a law of God, Christians are toobey God above all earthly rules.

Verse 21 - But that ye also may knowmy affairs, and how I do, Tychicus, a beloved brother and faithful minister inthe Lord, shall make known to you all things:

.Verse 22 - Whom I have sent unto you for the samepurpose, that ye might know our affairs, and that he might comfort your hearts.

Verse 23 - Peace be to the brethren,and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Verse 24 - Grace be with all them thatlove our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. Amen.

Sincerely and obediently follow theinstructions in this book of the Bible. Do not forsake weapons that work for weapons that the world hasdesigned. Christians who choose weaponsof the world over weapons provided by God are choosing defeat anddisgrace. It is time to get ready forthe real battle using the powerful weapons that God has provided.

Memorizing Christian music that is relevant to the faith is an extremely easy way to encourage yourself in the Lord and remind yourself of important lessons the Bible teaches.

Obedience and faith are crucial, so Iput in links to two songs.

Trust and Obey/On Christ the SolidRock

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGKuBZ120Rs

Faith is the Victory

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80C3xvrrCZw

How to be a Man or Woman Who is Blessed of God

2011-12-10T12:45:00.001-08:00

The Blessed Man Loves the Lord’sTruth AND Avoids Trouble

Blessedis the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly….

Eve walked in the counsel of theungodly. She went near the forbiddentree where the wily serpent awaited her.

norstandeth in the way of sinners…….

Eve stood in the way of sinners. She stopped walking and stood there andlistened to the devil’s arguments. Oh,the devil spoke cunningly. He didn’tcome out and say, ‘I hate you and want you to turn from God and worshipme.’ He asked her questions that actedas though God was not entirely truthful with Eve, and that God was keeping goodthings from her.

norsitteth in the seat of the scornful……

Eve sat down and joined the counsel ofthe ungodly. She fell under the devil’sevil spell and believed the his cunningly devised fable.

In short, Eve walked by a place wherethe ungodly lived. She should haveavoided that place all together once she knew it was forbidden,

Eve not only walked by the forbiddenplace, she stood there to listen to the snake question and call God a liar. Why didn’t she stand up and defend God’struth instead of allowing Satan to question God’s truth? Probably she was just to weak to do anything. The devil and cohorts are powerful. It was utterly stupid or arrogant of Eve togo anywhere near the forbidden place. For whatever reason, Eve listened so long that she was convinced. She ate the fruit, and then set out toconvince her husband to eat of the fruit as well. (Blessed is the man that walketh not inthe counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth inthe seat of the scornful. Psalm 1:1)

In short, Eve was drawn into sin. She became a servant of the snake, and shewent to her husband and drew him into sin. Then, their children were born in sin, and so has the world been eversince.

It is sort of like a Hollywood horrormovie where the vampires or zombies take over the world. (I watched a few of those movies on black andwhite TV when I was a kid. I absolutelydo not watch them now. I shudder tothink how bad they are on the big screen and in color.)

Eve’s story gives us a history of theactual events that happened and an example of disobedience that brought sorrowand suffering to all humanity. When wehear of the ‘world that perished’, we think of the world that was drowned inthe global flood in Noah’s day. But, wecould also think of the world that perished when Eve sinned. The world of perfection was gone.

The devil has not changed histactics. He is still a liar. He still uses the same strategy.

He entices people to walk in thecouncil of the ungodly. ‘Just walk byand take a peek,’ he says. ‘What harmcan there be in that? If you don’t reallyknow what is going on, who are you to judge it as wrong? And, with your life and work schedule, youcannot afford to miss out on something that will give you pleasure and help youforget your troubles and cares for just a little while.’

Another despicable but effectivetactic the devil uses is coveting, also called jealousy. Today class-war-fare is global. The poor hate the rich and look to thegovernment to equal things out. To thepoor I would say this. Forget therich. Forget the government. Remember God. God is the one who created you, and God is the One who will care foryou. Don’t let demanding a pittance fromthe government take up the time you could be spending growing as aChristian. Don’t be like the one named‘Foolish Heart’

Foolish Heart walks by acquaintanceswho are indulging in something worldly. The next thing Foolish Heart knows he is standing there gawking atsomething ungodly. ‘Looks like fundoesn’t it?’ says the devil. Or, he says, ‘That looks interesting and youmight learn something.’ Or, he says, ‘Thoseare the right people for you to get to know. It could really help your career or job prospects.’ Soon, Foolish Heart is drawn in to the pointthat it sits and relaxes in the situation. ‘This isn’t so bad,’ Foolish Heart tells himself. He relaxes. He listens. Sooner than he everthought possible, Foolish Heart has joined the ranks of the ungodly. He may have found a source of undeservedincome either from the government or illegal activity. He may have found an immoral activity thatbrings him pleasure for a season. LikeLot, Foolish Heart would still be a saved man if ever he was saved to beginwith, but he is still sitting in a seat by those who reject Gods teachings andboundaries with every thought in their hearts and minds. Some reject Him openly. Others reject more subtly, simply questioningGod’s word here and there, His authority another place, and His mercy otherplaces.

The beginning of walking in thecounsel of the ungodly begins in the mind. Every Christian who wants to avoid walking in the counsel of the ungodlymust begin by delighting themselves in the law of Lord. This delight comes and is maintained bymeditating day and night on the things God has told us in His word.

There truly is a battle for the minds of all people. For the lost, the battle is to keep them fromeven considering the Bible and its teachings as the way of redemption andreconciliation between God and the individual human being. For the Christian the battle for the mind isto at least distract them from some of the Bible truths and instructions forliving. They may be saved, but perhapsthe devil and the world will be able to distract them from the importance ofconforming to the image of Christ. Afterall, a Christian who walks like the world, talks like the world, and acts theworld will not be an example of the differences between the saved and the lost. Walking, sitting, or standing in the counselof the ungodly all decrease a Christians personal witness to the world. It makes trivializing the salvation messagemuch easier to the people of the world. It makes for a watered down version of Christianity. It allows the devil to gain a stronghold inthe youngest generation. Lot escapedwith his life from the destruction of the city, but I suppose he would haverather perished than faced what happened afterward. The thought that probably ran through hismind like a video on repeat was, ‘If only I had never walked by Sodom to seewhat was going on……. Take heed fromEve. She strolled by the forbidden treeand look what happened. Take heed fromLot. He strolled down to Sodom to lookthe place over. The next thing heprobably knew he was a powerful man sitting in judgment at the gates of thecity. The next thing he knew he was ahomeless man with immoral daughters.

There is no forbidden place by which aChristian can safely walk. Evil is likethe tide going out. When you wade in thewater you may get sucked out with the tide. When you get close to evil you will be sucked into it. Keep your feet on the stable land ofobedience to God and faithfulness to His instructions.

If you want to change the world forthe better, the change begins with yourself. Take the Bible seriously. If theBible says we are to do something, then that is what we are to do. If says we are not to do something, then itis important that we do not do it! Makeit a constant goal to let your own heart be changed to be more like Christ.

Know the Gospel.

Preach the gospel by how you live.

Takethese things to heart:

God is Truth

God communicated the truth to us inthe Bible.

Christians are to

Know the Truth – which is to know Godand what He says in His book.

Conform to the image of God

Communicate the truth of God’s word toothers

The constant goal of a committed Christianshould be to walk closer to Jesus. Christians who seek to set the pace of their own steps to match the paceof the steps of Jesus will have a better Christian walk. You want to be in step with Christ on thedays your life is going fast and furious, and on the days it is slow andboring. Whatever is happening in yourlife now, do your best to get in step with Jesus and stay there. It is human nature to want to run through therough times, and linger in the times of joy. The correct pace or speed with which you pass through something, good orbad, is the pace that Christ sets for you. Commit yourself to a regime of Bible study and meditation. Any spare thought should be on Christ and Hisword, and not to forget scheduled time for Bible study.

Christians need to strive to:

Stay away from temptation – don’tthink about it and don’t even walk near things that might tempt you

Stay in step with Christ – let Him setthe pace for what is happening in your life today – and cast the cares oftomorrow upon Him. Remember, sufficientunto the day is the evil thereof. Matthew 6:34

Just a Closer Walk With Thee

http://nethymnal.com/htm/j/u/justaclo.htm

I am weak, but Thou art strong;

Jesus, keep me from all wrong;

I’ll be satisfied as long

As I walk, let me walk close to Thee.

Refrain

Just a closer walk with Thee,

Grant it, Jesus, is my plea,

Daily walking close to Thee,

Let it be, dear Lord, let it be.

Through this world of toil and snares,

If I falter, Lord, who cares?

Who with me my burden shares?

None but Thee, dear Lord, none but Thee.

Refrain

When my feeble life is o’er,

Time for me will be no more;

Guide me gently, safely o’er

To Thy kingdom shore, to Thy shore.

Refrain

Things That Are Unchangeable

2011-12-01T13:23:00.001-08:00

Things that Are Unchangeable

There are certain things that aretoday for everyone in general and for everyone specifically.

Things that ‘are’ for everyone areplanetary locations and rotations, star location, seasons, time, place, andspace. It is a particular day, week,month, year, and season of the year. There are certain laws that are in effect. The law of gravity is a well-known law. If you jump off a cliff, you will fall to thebottom of the cliff and probably kill yourself. Who can argue with that?

Things that ‘are’ include physicalneeds. People need food, water, andshelter from the elements to survive.

Individuals are living in a certainplace, surviving by specific means, are a particular gender, heights, size,skin color, age, with a particular level of health.

Measurements are what they are,whether you are measuring time or distance or square feet.

Now, what happens when someone decidesthat things that ‘are’ ‘are not’? I mean, if you are measuring time and decidethat Christmas is on a Tuesday when it is really on a Monday, will your holidayplans turn out ok?

Or, if someone living in Fairbanks,Alaska, decides it is July when it is December, and dresses accordingly, willthey avoid the frostbite the comes to exposed skin in December in Fairbanks?

If someone who is a size 12 decides tobuy clothes that are a size 8, will the clothes fit?

If an architect decides a foot is 10inches rather than 12 inches, will a 2000 square foot home really have 2000square feet?

It doesn’t work does it? Things that are just are. That is the way it is and we cannot changeit. It is called the truth. And, if anyone has a misconception of thetruth of time, distance, measurement, necessities, and so on, they are settingthemselves up for a BIG fall.

Something else that is an unchangeablefact is the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This is the truth that saves. It tells thetruth by which man can be saved from hell and obtain heaven. If it is dilutedto the wisdom of man, then it is not the truth that has power to save.

Join the task force of true Believeswho earnestly contend for the faith. Take the true Gospel to the lost. A watered down social gospel has no power to save anyone fromanything. A lesser gospel is sort oflike taking rainwater to a sick person and telling them it has the nutritionaland healthful benefits of chicken soup. Even if you throw in a couple of tablespoons of real chicken soup, itwill be rainwater. It also will not haveany benefits to the health or recovery of the sick person.

It is also an unchangeable fact thatin order for a Christian to have a faith that is strong enough for the journey,they must be firmly grounded in Bible teachings and truth. A strengtheningtruth from the Bible is that God deserves our thankfulness, and thatthankfulness to God benefits the believer as well.

It is an unchangeable fact thatsomething crucial to the well-being of Christians is thanksgiving. God deserves our thanks. It is wrong to with-hold thanks when it isdeserved. As usual, God gives more thanHe gets.

Thanksgiving DOES have benefits foryou personally. God takes notice ofobedience in His children. A moment ofsincere thanks to God will most certainly bless you. The world tends to look at ‘blessings’ asmountains of material wealth. This isnot the case with believers. Honestly,the material blessings are wonderful. However, they do become secondary to other blessings like life, thehonest love of family and friends, liberty, freedom of worship, and freedom tofollow the dreams that God puts in your heart. Still, Christians are not to make light of material blessings like anice wood burning stove on a cold day, a roof that doesn’t leak during a rainstorm, or that really neat new refrigerator that makes shaved ice when you hitthe right button. (No, I don’t have sucha refrigerator, but I want one. Ofcourse first I need a house to put it in, but I still want one.) Specific Thanksgiving to God Almighty for Hiswonderful blessings to mankind and to you personally brings you closer toGod. The closer to God you are thebetter your life will be.

We are approaching the end of2011. Thanksgiving is just on thehorizon, and then comes the most famous holiday of them all. For ChristiansChristmas should be a time of even more thanksgiving. Honestly, I like to start celebrating Christmason Thanksgiving Day, or a week or two before. Get into the mood of thanksgiving and let that be your constant thoughtthrough the rest of the year. It is sortof a time of rest from worries. Thanksgiving to God Almighty has the power to give you rest fromwhatever worries you have. A very commonworry from now until the end of the year is money. How are you going to pay for all that holidaycheer? Meals, travel, present, and evencharitable giving all adds up to a lot of extra money. If you don’t have extra money during the restof the year, why would you have extra money for the holiday season whichincludes Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year? This time of year is either the time to cave into social pressure to spend spendspend, OR become scrooge like, OR become more thankful. In becoming more thankful, the other problemsdo two things. First they go from being most important down to being far lessimportant. Sometimes unexpectedsolutions present themselves. Whateverhappens you are far better off being thankful than you are worrying about howto get it all done.

Also, to all my readers, I know someof you aren’t really worried about Christmas presents and expenses. You are worried about having no job, and howyou are going to pay your electric bill in the dead of winter. I prayed for you just now. I ask all other readers to take a minuteright now to pray for our brothers and sisters in Christ who are hurtingfinancially right now. Also pray forthose who have suffered loss this year such as death of a family member, anunwanted divorce, and other such terrible losses. And, for the brethren who are without evenpersonal safety, much less a constant way to provide for their families. God help each of you, and God give each of usthe means and a generous heart to help those we meet who are in need. I want to speak to both those who have suffered terribly this year aswell as to those who have prospered spiritually and materially in thisarticle. Thanksgiving is the help foreveryone, regardless of circumstances. But,let me speak to those going through rough times just a moment. An example of thanksgiving in direcircumstances is given to us by the Pilgrims who first came to what wouldbecome the United States of America. During their first year, the Pilgrims suffered approximately 50%casualties. HALF their number died! Yet when the opportunity came they offered ahuge thanksgiving to God for His goodness to them. The legacy left by their behavior rocked theworld. So, if you are in direcircumstances, the most effective thing you can do is sincerely thank God forthe daily benefits He gives to you. Ifthings seem to be going your way now, it is an equally good time to givethanks.

In the Bible we are told five times ofthe ‘sacrifice of thanksgiving’. I thinkthe more dreadful the circumstances the people are facing, the morethanksgiving is a sacrifice. They haveto take their thoughts off their problems, or sacrifice the sorrow’s firstplace in their thoughts, and give thanks to God first place in thoughts. Isuppose even sorrow or trials could be a taken as a ‘god before God’ if thetrials are getting first place in the believer’s life. The Pilgrims were certainly an example of asacrificial time of thanks. But in thethanksgiving there is rest from which it is hard to turn away. When you stop thanking God, you have to facethe trials alone. Always remember thatwhile you are thanking God, God is working on solutions for you. Also remember that among all our worldlygoods, though they be great, no one has anything worthy of an offering toGod. Thanking God for His goodness to usis the way to express our thanks properly, AND rest from our sorrow and trials,

AND give God the authority to work outour difficulties on our behalf.

Take the time to go to a web site likebiblegateway and look up thanks, thanksgiving, thankful and read theverses. Believers are called upon to bethankful in all circumstances. I don’tthink we are supposed to be thankful when tragedy or hard times strike, butrather to be thankful for the goodness of God that continues through whatevercircumstances we are facing.

The best way to prepare for the comingseason of holidays including Thanksgiving and Christmas is to pay strictattention to thankfulness to God. Thebest way face the rest of your life is to set a pattern of thanksgiving in allseasons in all circumstances.

If you are in a dire set ofcircumstances, faith in God’s ability and willingness to fulfill his promisesto His children is the beginning of change. Have faith. God is righteous, andGod loves His children. Givethanks. It takes a lot of faith anddetermination to set aside sorrows and thank God that His word is true and thatHe will do all that He has promised. (Remember that little song ‘Every Promise in the Book is Mine’? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-lqYLoBZqI )

If you are in good circumstances nowand living the life of which you always dreamed, remember that it is God whohas blessed you. Give thanks.

I have two songs for this articlebecause thanksgiving seems to be accompanied by music.

The first is Amazing Grace because itis a ballad that tells the story of conversion, life, and heaven. Memorize all the verses. There is no song like it all creation. The verse that says, ‘The Lord has promisedgood to me – His word my hope assures’ – explains the reason we have courage togive thanks in the midst of trials. TheLord promises us good. His thoughtstoward us are good. We can’t see the bigpicture most of the time – but that does not change what the true picturereally is. God had promised good to mepersonally – and to you personally as well. Give thanks.

The second song is ‘Faith is theVictory’. Hebrews chapter 11 tells offaithful acts of the saints of ages past. For the individual Christian to take his/her focus off their troublesand focus on giving thanks requires great faith and determination. God has not changed. He still takes note of those who go forwardby faith, seeing the greatness and power of God instead of the impossibility oftheir tasks. By faith, set aside yourdistractions whether they be good or bad, and make thanksgiving a constant andcontinual part of your daily thoughts and routine. Faith and thankfulness are first and foremostan attitude of the heart. A rightattitude has its roots in thanksgiving and faith. I wish to all of you a blessed time from nowthrough the rest or the year. I thankGod for believers around the world, and pray for His the continued blessings ofHis help to each of us.

Faithis the Victory

http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/f/a/faithist.htm

Encamped along the hills of light,

Ye Christian soldiers, rise.

And press the battle ere the night

Shall veil the glowing skies.

Against the foe in vales below

Let all our strength be hurled.

Faith is the victory, we know,

That overcomes the world.

Refrain

Faith is the victory! Faith is thevictory!

O glorious victory, that overcomes the world.

His banner over us is love,

Our sword the Word of God.

We tread the road the saints above

With shouts of triumph trod.

By faith, they like a whirlwind’s breath,

Swept on o’er every field.

The faith by which they conquered death

Is still our shining shield.

Refrain

On every hand the foe we find

Drawn up in dread array.

Let tents of ease be left behind,

And onward to the fray.

Salvation’s helmet on each head,

With truth all girt about,

The earth shall tremble ’neath our tread,

And echo with our shout.

Refrain

To him that overcomes the foe,

White raiment shall be giv’n.

Before the angels he shall know

His name confessed in Heav’n.

Then onward from the hill of light,

Our hearts with love aflame,

We’ll vanquish all the hosts of night,

In Jesus’ conqu’ring Name.

Refrain

Amazing Grace

http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/a/m/a/amazing_grace.htm OR

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LUfe_XX8K0I

Amazing grace! How sweet the sound

That saved a wretch like me!

I once was lost, but now am found;

Was blind, but now I see.

’Twas grace that taught my heart tofear,

And grace my fears relieved;

How precious did that grace appear

The hour I first believed!

Through many dangers, toils andsnares,

I have already come;

’Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far,

And grace will lead me home.

The Lord has promised good to me,

His Word my hope secures;

He will my Shield and Portion be,

As long as life endures.

Yea, when this flesh and heart shallfail,

And mortal life shall cease,

I shall possess, within the veil,

A life of joy and peace.

The earth shall soon dissolve likesnow,

The sun forbear to shine;

But God, who called me here below,

Will be forever mine.

When we’ve been there ten thousandyears,

Bright shining as the sun,

We’ve no less days to sing God’s praise

Than when we’d first begun.

The Image of God - What Does it Look LIke to You?

2011-11-21T04:27:00.001-08:00

The Image of God – What Does He LookLike To YOU?

It was a dark night in the souls ofthe Israelites. God had brought themthrough the plague visited on Egypt. Hehad brought them through the Red Sea on dry land. The Egyptian task masters following afterthem were drowned in the sea. Theymarched onward until their leader Moses left them alone for a while. Then the foolishness in their hearts wasshown in what they did. They decided tomake an image of god/God. I don’t knowwho decided the God who saved them looked like a golden calf. And, I also don’t know if they decided fullyto dump God altogether and accept Baal as their god. Anyway, for some rebellious reason, theydecided to make an image of god/God so they could worship it. I don’t know why they wanted an image of god,because they had the presence of God and the power of God with them. But I do have a guess as to why they wantedan image of God.

An image such as a golden calf was thepeople’s way of going to God or replacing God with a god who required nothingof them. It was limiting God’s power totell them what to do.

An image of a god is made bymankind. It is made to suit mankindinstead of God. God made man in Hisimage. When man makes an image of god, he is really promoting himself to god,and demoting God to the created being.

This behavior, this conforming God toone’s own image of God, loses God altogether. The conformed image is not God at all. It is just an image that cannot do anything. It may be a mental image or a literal image,but it still can’t do anything for the individual or mankind as a whole.

God is actually a very complex beingto say the least. He is omnipotent,omnipresent, and omniscient. That meansthe God of the Bible really does know everything, He is everywhere, and He isall powerful. He is the God of love andmercy. He is ALSO the God ofjudgment. He really is continuallyperfect in every way. And that is justto name a few of the attributes of God. Now, how can all those qualities be put into an image? They answer is they cannot! The only thing an image might do is capturesomething like a one dimensional snapshot of God’s eyelash.

There are many images of God todaythat are shaping the world as a whole. Let’s take look at a few.

Here is a very common image of godrunning rampant throughout Christianity. It is the image of God as love. That’s it. In the mind of theindividual God may be imagined as an elderly grandfather type, or a soft spokenshepherd walking about a mountain meadow playing with the animals. Regardless, He is seen only as a God oflove. God IS love, but He is also muchmore. An image of God without alsoseeing the God of judgment is incomplete. It does not give the believer the necessary knowledge to make sounddecisions. Yes God loves His children,but that does not give them a free pass to ignore what the Bible has to sayabout Christian living.

Another common image of God is that ofjudgment only. God is seen as someonetrailing you like a hungry grizzly bear. He is just waiting for you to slip up so He can punish you. How unfair is that? The devil is the hungry lion wanting todestroy you. God is the Good Shepherdwanting to keep you from harm. Anyparent knows it is far better to give a precious little hand a small spat tokeep them from playing with light sockets than it is to let them actually sticktheir finger into the light socket. Certainly God does the same for us.

There is another image of God thatshows Him to be a negotiator. The Bibleclearly states there is one way to God the Father and that is through JesusChrist the Son. Yet, from the very firstfamily until now, there have been multitudes who try to go to God in a way thatsuits themselves. Cain tried it. He didn’t like the blood sacrifice, so hedecided to negotiate with God instead of doing the thing God required. Cain offered God the produce from hisgarden. It wasn’t a case of Cain ‘justoffering what he had’. It was a case ofCain trying to negotiate his way into heaven by his own way.

Another image of God is that of a greatcollectivist. In the end He is going to‘collect’ all the souls of mankind and take them to heaven. He is ultimately going to let everyone intoheaven because everyone deserves it as much anyone else. To the ‘everyone is going to the same placecrowd’, God will finally cave in and let all the un-regenerated souls intoheaven along with those who followed God’s instructions on how to enter theKingdom of Heaven.

There is also the image of God as thefrazzled ineffective parent whose children are out of control. The world is in a mess, and God is withoutpower to deal with what is going on. Hecan’t keep the world running by Himself. He needs ‘co-saviors’ who come in the form of little childrenremembering to turn off light bulbs and signing petitions to stop globalwarming. Co-saviors are those who preacha social and/or globalist gospel. Thosewho get on the ‘save the earth’ bandwagon are little saviors of the world. The God of their salvation just can’t do itby Himself anymore.

There are those who have an image ofGod as ‘The Great Acceptor’. They aresort of like Cain, in that they want to give to God the work of their ownhands, or their own preferences. You seethem taking their music preference to church without regard to what God prefers. You see them ignoring part of the Bible thatcause them to feel uncomfortable, or passages that offend the ungodly. They do what is right in their own eyes andjust ‘know’ God will eventually accept it. (An aside here to parents – don’t let you kids wear you down intoletting them do something you know is not right. Parents are the first image a child has ofGod. If you set aside what you know isright because of their continual pressure, they get the idea that is all ittakes to get their own way. You are freeto say no to wrong behaviors and stick to your right decision.)

The truth is that there are many whowould rather have an image of God than God because it is just easier. God has standards by which His followers areto live. If someone makes an image ofGod, they can put into what they want. If they don’t like some of the boundaries God has set, then leave thoseout of the image. If they don’t like thejudgment aspect of God, then that can be left out as well.

Images always give a small view of agreat God. They also do not have thetruth in them. It is true that:

God loves you.

God is with you.

God has a plan to help you.

It is also true that:

The Lord chastises those He loves.

Most believers begin their Christianlife with an image of God. He can’t beseen clearly to begin with. God reallycan’t be seen clearly this side of heaven. But, what begins to happen in true believers is that changes begin tooccur in their view of the greatness of the God of the Bible. As they hear the truth preached and as theypersonally study the Bible for themselves, they begin to get a glimpse of Godthat cannot be contained in any image the human mind can conceive. They begin to realize their idea of God, theGod of their salvation, is just too small. And then they begin to dig deeper into the teachings of the Bible. They begin to desire that be made over againin the image of God. Their heart desiresall that the Lord has to offer them. They want to be more like God instead of making God more like them. Transformation begins in the life of thebeliever when he or she sets out to be more like God. (This is NOT to becomeGod, but to conform to His image.) The Holy Spirit begins to work in suchbelievers and enable them to conform to the image of Christ. They have stopped MAKING an image. They wantto BECOME the image. They want to nolonger conform to the image of the world, but instead be transformed into someonewhose life shows other Jesus Christ.

Changing one’s life to be more likeChrist is hard work. In fact, withoutthe aid of the Holy Spirit, it is impossible. Change requires the Holy Spirit’s help, and constant determination onthe part of the believer. Those who havechanged the Gospel Message to a social gospel are impatient people, preferringthat Christ work on their time table and produce the level of obvious fruitthey want. And, no matter how hard theywork, they are ultimately lazy people because it is much harder to work atchanging your own life than it is to work at changing the lives of others.

Is the leading guiding light in yourlife the Holy Spirit? You will not beled to create mental images of God that limit Him to one realm by the HolySpirit. Neither will the Holy Spiritlead you to try to do things that only God can do. The Holy Spirit leads believers to be morelike Christ. Through Christian actions,impossible things can be done.

Emotionally Needy People and Pity Addicts

2011-11-10T09:25:00.001-08:00

Emotionally Needy People and PityAddicts

Do you have to deal with anyone inparticular that you would consider ‘needy’. I don’t mean they are in need of something physical. They are just needy. They need constant assurance. They need to feel good about themselves, andtheir need is usually filled at someone else’s expense. Actually their needs can never really befilled. They can never have enoughassurance or self-esteem. They can neverhave enough adoration or encouragement from others. They can never have enoughpower to make them feel fulfilled. They can never have enough emotional supportor things to make them feel secure or satisfied.

In the category of emotionally needypeople, there are two sub-categories. The first

sub-categoryis made up of the type person who needs other people to look up to them. They want to be seen as sort of a savior to someone,or a bunch of people, or something. Theyare often in the limelight whether they are in a very small group or in a largegroup. They are the control freaks whowant to control everything. It doesn’thave to be important. If it is a reality,they feel they should be in charge of it. It satisfies their need to be important to someone in some way. Disgustingly enough, these people don’tconfine themselves to the work place and families. They creep into the public eye, and evenworse into public office.

The second sub-category is filled withpeople who are fearful, or filled with fear. They are afraid of life. Theemotionally needy politicians give these fearful emotionally needy people alittle. The poor are told they can neverescape the bondage of poverty, but that they will never actually starve todeath. All they have to do is realizejust how pitiful they are, and from that point, the needy politician has the emotionallyneedy poor person trapped. The needyperson becomes not only emotionally needy, they become addicted to pity. It is a sort of vicious circle. The emotional need feeds on pity and pityfeeds on the emotion. The emotionallyneedy leader has the emotionally needy person trapped. Addiction to pity in an emotionally needyperson is something from which it will take a miracle to escape.

Honestly, everyone is emotionally needy. We need hope. We need love. We need peace ofmind. We need God. Then those having found God and His companionshiphave a personal need to serve Him whole heartedly. They don't need to exploit others in order to have feed their own emotional needs.

Emotionally needy people have a hard timegoing to God in the way He requires. Theleaders among the emotionally needy have a great deal of trouble doing thatbecause it requires that they give up the emotional control they have overothers. The emotionally needy who areaddicted to pity also have a difficult time in giving up their addiction andtheir emotional instability. To go toGod following His instructions requires that the individual makes changes. To stay in one’s comfort zone requires nothingexcept to keep doing the same things.

When people accept a lesser god overAlmighty God, their emotional neediness grows to the point of instability. (Thereare no gods equal to the Most High God of the Bible.) Emotionally needy peopleare driven by emotions. How they feel atthe moment is what drives their decisions and their moods. Solid footing is not in their life. They are tossed about by whatever they feellike at the moment. Often they get an emotionalhigh from the pity of others. Or, the emotionallyneedy in the public eye get an emotional high from being the emotional saviorof others. The so called elite/celebrityof the emotionally needy may also cast themselves in role of savior of theearth, or the whale, or choosing the direction of a club or group of people,pets, wild animals, or something they consider being led in a wrong path. It doesn’t matter what is actually goingon. The emotionally needy will invent acause for which they will become the savior. They are dreadfully dangerous when given power of even the pencilsharpener in the office supply closet.

We are seeing this today in Americaand around the world. The emotionallyneedy politician/celebrities/saviors of the world are busy saving the world andsucking the life out of the people who depend on them. They are also causing a great deal of troublefor the rest of the population as well.

Then there are the emotionally needywho are addicted to pity as well. Theyare afraid and dissatisfied with the world in which they live, but they are evenmore afraid of change. They are afraidof giving up the pity given to them by others. In their hearts, they know there is a better future possible than livingthe way they live. But, they have noclear cut way out of their lifestyle, and they are afraid of an unknownfuture. Then there is the addictionproblem. Like an alcoholic or drugaddict, they know they need to change, but it is very hard and they don’treally see a way to change without a lot of pain and risk. So, they crawl back to their pity party andgo ahead with their lives the way they are. It will take a miracle to change their mindset. It will take the REAL Savior. (This is not about gaining wealth – it isabout gaining a better life which would rely on Christ for help instead of thegovernment.)

And so, as we see the politicalupheavals going on around the world, the cultural collapse, preachers of theGospel denied the right to speak and preach the world of God in public,Believers driven from their homes and imprisoned around the world, what shouldwe do? We, those who have believed onJesus Christ and follow Him, should work to at least give people a chance tohear the word of God Almighty so they can make a choice based on facts insteadof emotion.

We can have compassion on theemotionally needy. It is true that butfor God’s grace it could be one of us sitting in an emotional tornado, afraidof life, and addicted to pity.

More than compassion is needed. Work is needed. Support for the full time Christians workersis needed. A sound mind is needed. A Biblical world view is needed by believers. One’s eternal destination is serious! Those who know the way of salvation need totake it seriously and work to give everyone a chance to clearly hear the truth. What they do with the truth is up to them,but they at least need to hear it.

It is time that Christians come outfrom among the people of the world and show themselves to be different. The things of this world passing forChristian need to be spoken against. Some wickedness needs to be thrown out of the church.

First, and most dangerous, thepreaching of the world instead of the gospel is in many churches of everydenomination. The church is the place topreach the truth above all else. It isnot the place to greet and get along with the world. It is not the place to put not offendingpeople above everything else. It is theplace to where the truth should be told above everything else. It is not the place for accepting all thethings of the world in order to make people feel at home. Sadly, many membersof the church are more concerned with pleasing themselves. They are more at home in the world than inthe church. Rather than give up churchentirely, they make the church into the world. They offer what they want to the Lordinstead of what the Lord requires. Eastern mysticism in any form has no place in the church. Paganism has no place in the church. Ungodliness has no place in the church. Here’s a hint – preachers and church workersaddicted to pornography need removed from all positions of authority. They actually need kicked out of the churchuntil they repent.

As you know, the music of the world isin the church. People are offering toGod as praise what pleases their emotional instability. They are not offering what God wants tohear. He is holy. Make no mistake about it. Music either praises God or it praises theworld. The purpose of music in thechurch is to praise and glorify God. Anemotional response is not the first purpose, but it certainly can bring aboutan emotional response on the part of the congregation. It is just wrong to put an emotional responseor personal preference above pleasing God.

Even worse than offering personalmusic to God, churches are offering personal preferences on other things. If a congregation doesn’t like what the Bibleteaches, they go with personal preference over the words in the Bible. If theBible is compromised on anything, why shouldn’t it be compromised oneverything? The traditions of man areset above God. People who should knowbetter follow the way of Cain and try to go to God on their own terms. Repentance is not an issue. God is likened to a merciful fellow who willeventually allow everyone into heaven because He is merciful. The perfection and holiness of God is setaside as trivial. The imperfection ofman is set aside as trivial. Theunimaginable horror of hell is trivialized as non-existent or a place wherepeople go to party for eternity. Peoplecould be going to Glocca Morra instead of heaven or hell for all the preachingyou hear in some churches on Sunday.

Our church is good. The preacher does a very fine job. Because of the distance some people drive, wehave two services in the morning and none in the evening. This breaks tradition, but it doesn’t breakany scripture. It is a good. But, some people would rather blather aboutchanges in the order of church service than confront unsound theology in thechurch.

The fundamentals of the faith arestill the same.

1. TheBible is inerrant.

2. Jesus is eternal – and pre-existent prior toHis birth in Bethlehem.

3. He was born of a Virgin (no big deal for Godwho created the Adam and Eve from dirt.)

4. Jesuswas crucified and died. He bodily roseup from the grave in three days.

5. Jesusis the way into heaven. God made onevery expensive way into heaven and everyone gets a first class invitation.

6. Jesusis coming again.

People are looking for so many things that Godis willing to give us, but they are looking in the wrong places. All they will ever get is a weak knock off ofthe true good things God has for those that love Him.

People are looking for the peace thatpasses understanding. They look to yogaand mindless meditation instead of to the words of wisdom written in the Bible.

People go the occult for answers. The Bible has all the answers and it staysthe same yesterday, today, and forever. The unsaved don’t know this. Would you like to know how many actual Christians know this? Probablynot very many.

Christians need to begin to take theirfaith seriously. God is the GreatForgiver. Most Christians knowthat. But, they forget God is also theGreat Judge. There is a time of judgmentcoming. In that day the emotionallyneedy people of the world, both the small and great, will see the truth thatthey need a savior. But it will be toolate then. As of today, there are somewho can come to a realization that they actually need more than the world cangive them. There is hope for those whobegin to look for a better way to live. At that point in time, if they hear the plan of salvation, perhaps theywill be strengthened to step out of their comfort zone and accept Jesus Christas their savior.

For Christians to do a good job intelling the lost that Christ died for them, they first need to come to termswith their own neediness. Christians,those who are truly believers and followers of Christ, need a growingrelationship with God. We need thecompanionship and provisions He has for us hear on this earth. We personally have a need deep inside us toplease the God of our salvation. We needto be about the business of spreading the gospel. The emotional and physical needs of God’schildren can be filled on this earth and in eternity as well. The emotional needs of the children of thisworld cannot be filled either in this world or the next.

God have mercy on those who need Him

And God strengthen His children totell those who need Him how to be saved.

2011-11-02T15:34:00.000-07:00

I Want My Dull Life Back!

What has happened in your life thelast few weeks? It’s OK. You can tell me. Seriously, my email is tosergeant@gmail.com. The flip side is you have to listen to what happened to me the last fewweeks! And, just so this won’t be allabout me, I will tell you what happened to the Gano’s first.

Their son Spencer was burningbrush. He used gasoline to start thefire and got more than he bargained for. He personally caught on fire. From the photos Ray posted on facebook itlooks like it was a wonderful blessing that he was wearing a t-shirt. That protected him to some extent. He was burned pretty badly. He had to be taken to a burn unit. And of course, while I have a LOT of sympathyfor Spencer, as a parent I may have more sympathy for his parents Ray andTrayce. I think it may actuallyphysically hurt parents more than kids when a kid gets hurt.

In my life I have a bit of good newsmixed with bad. A doctor has a clue tomy extreme fatigue – and it isn’t something you die from. You just have fatigue. I was so tired I couldn’t even get on theplane for a planned visit to my mom. Ilost my money for the ticket and mom is still bawling. My doctor says he may be able to help me alot – so there is a silver lining there.

THEN my son and husband were ready fortheir week at deer camp. They had set uptheir tent a few days earlier. They andmany other people do that every year. Well, this year someone went through and stole everything! So we had to replace a lot of expensive stuffon a minute’s notice.

Then I didn’t get to go because I amsupposed to be spending all my time resting. It isn’t that hard to lay down most of the time, but it is boring.

THEN, setting up the tent and cots mydaughter Raina had the tip of one finger crushed into smithereens. The Surgeon says he cannot help; and that sheshould expect extreme pain for around six months minimum. I think she needs a second opinion.

THEN, someone broke into the pickuptruck in the driveway last night and stole her new camera, a Zen, a back packfilled with hunting paraphernalia, a new set of Leopold binoculars, and othermiscellaneous items.

All these things going on here, and Iam thinking, ‘I am supposed to be at my mom’s right now eating my birthdaycake. It is a special cake that only mygrandmother and mother can bake. Well, Icould probably do it, but it takes a lot of work to make that sort of cake. It is called a Prune Cake – which mom alsomakes the complimenting prune frosting. (I don’t like prunes, and the name sounds awful but the cake isgood. I will get you the recipe if youwant it.) Instead I am sitting on mycouch, where I have been for weeks, (except for the 3 days I went to my sisterin laws house and laid on her couch), and thinking, ‘Wow! This is a lot to happen so closetogether.’

In categorizing my disasters, I haveto be honest, the only thing that really matters is my daughter’s finger. Shehas been in extreme pain ever since it happened. It is big mess. On a personal note, my doctor has a plan toimprove my health, so that is good. Thishas been an overwhelming few वीक्स.

So, thieves, accidents, and illnesshave all had an unusually high impact on our lives lately. And you know what that makes me? Homesick. That’s right. I want mymama! I also want my daddy, who is inheaven. In fact, I want everything thatis heaven. In heaven we know there willbe no thieves, and nothing will be eaten by moths or rats when you store it fora while. It will be a wonderful place. Heaven will never be dull. There will be no trauma in heaven. Who wouldn’t want to go there?

The current situation is the world hasa lot of problems, bad people, and hard times. We are stuck on this planet as long as we breathe air, or until the Kingof kings decides it is time for that great supernatural evacuation we call theRapture.

So, what are we supposed to do whilewe are here? How are we supposed to copewith disaster weeks in our lives? Whatare we supposed to do when disaster month, or even disaster year happens tous? There are disasters from which wecan never recover. I will never recoverfrom the death of my sister. I havelearned to sort of deal with it and cope with it. But, life has never been the same withouther, and it will never be the same. Don’tdo it, but if you sat down to make list of all the traumatic events in yourlife, I am guessing it would not be a short or trivial list. You would have plenty to say. What is more important than the list is howyou react to the difficulties that you personally face.

I believe there are two importantthings you have to do when there is even a small problem in your life.

First you have to actually admit thereis a problem. Being ‘tuff’ enough to keep going doesn’t include beingdelusional enough to convince yourself there wasn’t really a problem to beginwith, or that you pushed your way through the problem without any personalstress. Even small problems do requiretime to mentally recoup and come up with a plan of how you are going to facethe future. The best way to ‘rest yourbrain’ and unwind is through light reading of the Bible. Just pick a few chapters and read them overand over every morning and evening for a few weeks. Right now, I personally am using the firstfive chapters of Luke. It becomes like avisit with a dear friend by the time you have done that for a few days. I just finished reading the last 5 chaptersof the book of Psalms. I was stuck on that for nearly a month. Every chapter begins and ends with ‘praise theLord’. It is pretty clear. I learned that praise of the Lord is acommandment, a joy, and even a weapon. That is just my suggestion. Youmay have a better way to unwind, but this is a good and productive way tounwind for me.

Second, while you are in the mode of‘taking to the Lord’ you need to consider if there are any ways you can ‘tweak’your walk with the Lord. You may realize that more thankfulness and praise arein order. These two things are theattitude changers that will pull you toward the future instead of letting youspend an overly lengthy amount of time dwelling on whatever has happened to yourecently, or even what has happened long ago. From the vantage point ofthankfulness and praise to our God, you will likely get a twinge of sorrow forthe unsaved of the world. You will belooking forward to heaven and start thinking about the people you will see thereand how much you will enjoy seeing them again, and all the things you will dotogether for eternity. Then the faces ofthose you know won’t be in heaven start to creep into the pleasant thoughts ofheaven. You realize there will be gapsin your family and friends. Then youthink about where they will be. Theywill be in that eternal place of separation from all the good things ofGod. They will be in hell. It matters not what false god they followedhere on earth. They all lead to a placethat is separate from God Almighty. Itis a place of eternal torment.

When your evangelical zeal begins togrow, you will know that whatever trial you have just faced, be it great orsmall, that your trouble has begun to work for good. It is working for your good and for the goodof the lost.

In America today we are seeing stormson the horizon coming toward us quickly. Our first thoughts are usually regarding the safety of our families andourselves. Next we think of friends, Wewant to help those in danger. Whether itbe financial problems, personal loss, or even persecution of specificideologies, we would like to help. Mostly we would like to help if it costs us little to nothing. On a grander scale, we may even be willing tohelp if it costs us a little more money, but less personal effort. Honestly, just do what seems good at themoment. If you can help someone, youbetter do it.

Honestly, I believe the events of ourpersonal lives, as well as social and political trends at least partly designedto encourage Christians to evangelism. Evangelism is for our good as well. Can you imagine a better treasure to lay up safely in heaven than thesouls of the lost? Christ placed suchvalue on those separated from Him that He died so they would have theopportunity to choose life with Him in heaven. By His example we know that the lost won to Christ are treasures.

Honestly, I am not the most successfulof one on one soul winners For onething, I just am not around many people. I find that instead of a soul-winning event, I much more often have achance to make a right comment, or answer a question. That is usually as far as it goes. I have learned that you can’t push it. I sometimes have good luck by asking leadingquestions. In the United States, mostpeople have heard the Gospel and rejected it off hand. They are hard to even get to the meetingtable, much less convince to join the party. Their lack of response doesn’t give us an excuse not to try.

I believe the best success nationallyfor Christians to impact the world for Christ is for the individual Christianto begin to act a Christian. Forget themega church, church growth, and pay attention to your own actions. If you love the Lord, then keep Hiscommandments. They are not that hard to understand. Do the things Christ says to do. Treat others the way you want to betreated. There is no magic in the wordsof human beings. Just because someonesays, ‘I will keep the commandments. Ilove God. I will show Him I love Him bymy actions,’ doesn’t mean they have suddenly become a fine example of Christianbehavior. They have to actually DO theythings they say they are going to do. (Iam appalled at the number of people who say they are going to do something,then don’t do it, and then never even realize it didn’t get done.)

Remember that national evangelicalsuccess begins with the individual, then the family, then the churches, andthen the nation.

So, live like you are aChristiअ n. God doesn’t need you to lie,cheat, or steal, to accomplish His will in your life. He needs you to rely on Him for real comfortand help.

Be ready to speak a word or answer aquestion about Jesus Christ at every opportunity.

If you get someone who is reallyinterested in salvation, be ready to tell them what is required of them to besaved.

Recognize separation from God becauseHe is perfect and we are not.
Perfection cannot allow imperfectioninto heaven.
Don’t compare yourself to the goodnessof some good people you know, but to the utter perfection of God.

Turn from the life you now lead andput your faith in Christ.

You salvation is not based on works,but the proof of your salvation is based on your actions.

Live according to Bible teachings.

Tell others that Jesus Christ is the wayinto heaven.

No matter what is going on in thelives of Christians, there are certain guidelines by which they are tolive. One of those guidelines is tonever miss an opportunity to tell the world that Jesus Christ is the way, thetruth, and the life. Tell them that noone gets to God the Father except through Jesus Christ the Son.

One of the most interesting thingsthat has happened to me in recent years is to begin selling Siberian ForestCats. It is somewhat overwhelming thenumber of people we have met through the cats, and through our web site. Many are lost. Soon there will be a page on our web sitecalled ‘My Pet died. Did it go toheaven?’ We have quite a few hits to ourweb page, and a lot of people are looking for another pet because a well-lovedpet has died. We are telling them tofirst make sure where they are going when they die – because they want to makecertain that they and their pets wind up in the same place. Then we are telling them how to besaved. What an opportunity!

Wherever you are, whatever you do,there is opportunity to live like you take God’s instructions seriously. There are people who will notice how youact. Sometimes you will have anopportunity to speak out about the saving grace of Jesus Christ. Don’t missthat opportunity to tell someone about Jesus.

The World that Perished v the Generation that Survives

2011-10-19T12:22:00.000-07:00

The Worlds that Perished - The Generations that Survived

A generation is usually defined as a group of people born in the same time frame. For the purpose of this article, I am looking at ‘generation’ as a group with shared beliefs, interests, and attitudes. People of all the ages belong to one of the two generations.

One generation belongs to a group that shares the belief that God Almighty is the creator of all things and the One who deserves worship. Through Him the individual believer can inherit eternal life.

The other generation shares its rejection of the God of the Bible. They have many creeds, but the core belief of all of them is rejection of God. Some may pay Him lip service, but their hearts do not really worship Him.

Thousands of years ago, there was an unknown man who belonged to the generation who follows God. The Bible hadn’t been written, and Moses hadn’t even been born when this man lived. His name was Abraham. He received a promise from God Himself that He would make of that man a great nation. Through Abraham’s grandson Jacob the people we now know as the Jews began. Through many years and a number of generations, the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob eventually were led to and lived in what became known as the Kingdom of Israel. It began with a generation of people who believed God’s promises, crossed over Jordan, and possessed the land. The nation of Israel began with the Jews who crossed over Jordan with Joshua.

The book of Joshua tells us what happened then. Here is a quote from Joshua 2:7-10 that pretty much sums up a cycle of worship that has been played out over and over in the history of mankind.

Joshua 2:7-10

⁷And the people served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great works of the LORD, that he did for Israel.

⁸And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died, being an hundred and ten years old.

⁹And they buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnathheres, in the mount of Ephraim, on the north side of the hill Gaash.

¹⁰And also all that generation were gathered unto their fathers: and there arose another generation after them, which knew not the LORD, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel.

There was a generation, specifically a generation of leaders, that served God. That generation gradually passed away.

There were probably many people left at this time who loved the Lord, taught their children to love the Lord, and faithfully served God. But, the LEADERS became corrupt. They ignored God and did not give Him credit for the blessings of freedom and prosperity in their own land. Like today, there were probably many people who wanted to change what was happening to their country. They wanted to turn people to God. But, they were helpless to do it.

All the people suffered. All the people suffered for the leader’s lack of faithfulness to God. Even those who were doing right had their lives turned upside down by the wickedness of others.

Israel was governed by a theocracy, with priests who were supposed to be fine examples of how the people were supposed to live. Instead, the priests grew increasingly corrupt. In 1 Samuel we are given the history of the fall of the priesthood.

One day Eli, the high priest, heard a woman praying. Because her prayer was so intense, Eli supposed she was drunk. How sad that Eli didn’t know the difference between sincere prayer and drunkenness. God heard Hannah’s prayer, and gave her a child who was the prophet Samuel. What a blessing to Israel this man was! The leadership of Israel had rejected God’s authority to tell them how to live. So, God raised up a new leader who was willing to teach the people the truths of God and encourage them to live within the boundaries set by God.

During Samuel’s life time, the people rebelled farther, demanding a king to rule over them instead of a priest. First Saul was made king. He overstepped his boundary as king, and attempted to place himself in both the role of king and priest. Then David was appointed king by God. And, David loved the Lord, but the people did not turn to God with their whole hearts.

After David, God spared the nation of Israel through the lifetime of David’s son Solomon, but then the kingdom crumbled. From all those thousands of years ago until still today, the children of Israel have lived on. The world of safety and prosperity that was given to them when the people crossed over Jordan was flitted away. Their world perished. It will not be resurrected in its full glory until God Himself raises it up. We can see the beginning of God’s handiwork today, as the nation of Israel does exist.

So, the world which God gave the Israelites when they first went over Jordan perished, first in actions of the people, and eventually physically. I don’t know exactly how idols replaced the living God, but it was through rebellion against the rules God had given them. Idols do not require anything from the people who worship them. God almighty requires that people turn from sin and follow Him. By whatever means, idol worship crept in. The priests liked a god who couldn’t convict them of sin, or tell them what to do. The people followed the leadership of the priests as well.

Within the nation of Israel, there resided two separate generations. You could say there were people of two mindsets. One follows the God of the Bible, and the other generation or mindset rejects Him.

There were those who followed the Lord. Like David they were imperfect in keeping all the commandments all of the time. Never-the-less, God Almighty was the one they worshipped.

There were also those who rejected Christ. They might pay God lip service, but like most of the leaders today, they either don’t know what God requires of them, or they flatly don’t care.

Eventually, the world that was Israel perished. While the Jews remained as a distinct people, their way of life in the promised land perished.

The two generations of that age lived on, and are still with us today. No, those generations are not here in the flesh. But, they are here in the spirit. There are those who love Almighty God and work to do the things that please Him. There are those that are in rebellion against God, and do not care whether they please Him or not. Basically, they want God to step back and hand the world over to them. They are sure they can do a better job of ruling than God does.

From the time of Joshua to now, there have been other worlds that came and went. There have been times of peace and prosperity that people enjoyed. Sometimes it has been an entire nation, sometimes just communities within a nation, and sometimes families within a community and nation. There have been worlds that stable and good. The blessings of God Almighty to the United States are immeasurable. Communities and families have been blessed. My family is from generations of the sweet world of the Southern United States. For the most part, the family was not wealthy. ‘Dirt poor’ would be a more accurate description. But what the family and the community had was a conviction that the Bible was true, a spirit of kindness, a duty to be polite as much as possible, and to treat others the way they wanted to be treated. Even in material hardship, that world was a good place. As the older generations have died out, it has drifted more toward the things of the world instead of the things of God.

The backbone of the stable nation, one that is living within the boundaries set by God, is the individual who is following the instructions of God with his or her whole heart. The backbone is strengthened when individuals join together to build families. Families make up nations. As the family is weakened and even redefined entirely, the nation is weakened and eventually redefined entirely. This is true no matter what the time frame in which a person or family lives. It was true in ancient Israel. It is true today.

Eventually, God Himself will set up a kingdom that will not perish. The generation of those who reject God will not be in that kingdom.

In the meantime, Christians live in a world that is perishing. Society is ‘changing’ according the news media. Actually, society is rotting. There are still two generations that remain.

The first is the generation of vipers, those who follow after the things that are not from God. Christ spoke of this generation.

Matthew 3:7 says, ‘But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?’

Matthew 12:34 says, ‘O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.’

Matthew 23:33 says, ‘Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?’

Then there is the generation of the righteous. This generation is not righteous by its own righteousness, but rather through the righteousness of Jesus Christ.

Here are a few verses to encourage those who follow Jesus Christ.

Psalm 14:5 says, ‘There were they in great fear: for God is in the generation of the righteous.’

Psalm 24:6 says, ‘This is the generation of them that seek him, that seek thy face, O Jacob. Selah.’

Psalm 112:2 says, ‘His seed shall be mighty upon earth: the generation of the upright shall be blessed.’

The children of God and the children of this world live in the same space. The evil that is done affects each of us. The stupidity that passes for wisdom by most of the current world leaders affects us all. I always think of the prophet Daniel and the three Hebrew brothers and how they were affected by the leadership of Israel. It got them carried away from their own lands and made into slaves in a pagan nation.

None of us can know what disasters the mistakes of the current world leaders will bring to the world and to the individual. Turbulent times are ahead, and Christians must go through them along with the rest of the world.

Being a Christian does not guarantee peace and safety.

It guarantees us help in time of trouble.

It guarantees us that God will never leave us nor forsake us.

Christians undoubtedly have God Himself to help them face the future and go through whatever happens.

The best way to impact the future for the better is to reach the world with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. There is no other way that will get results both now and in the future.

There is a world that is coming that will never perish.

Only the generation of the righteous will live.

Look forward to that perfect world that is coming. Follow the instructions in the Bible for living in this world. Occupy until our King comes.

What is the Most Important Tool to Prepare for the Future

2011-10-07T04:32:00.000-07:00

THE FIRST BEST PREPPER TOOL

He was definitely a stranger in a strange land. He was God on earth in the body of Jesus Christ.

He was locked into a specific body, time, and place. He could have set Himself free, but He chose to stay and carry out His plan, His duty, and to be obedient to God His Father.

In this strange land, He lived in a nation occupied by Rome. The government was hostile to Him and to all His people.

His adversary was the devil himself.

It was the devil who attacked Him in the wilderness.

At His disposal were legions of angels, not to mention His own power, a power so great it spoke the world into existence.

Jesus had prepared Himself for that day. His weapon of choice was the Word of God.

Now it obviously was not fair that Jesus was tempted at all.

He was prayerful.

He was humble.
He was obedient.
He was not in a place of obvious temptation. He was in the desert.
He heart and mind were steadfastly set on doing His duty.
He was actually utterly perfect.

You could say Christ had His eye on the prize, His nose to the grindstone, His jaw set like a rock, or that He was single-mindedly doing what He was supposed to be doing. All this is true. He was doing everything right, but yet He faced temptation from the most dreadful of adversaries. He faced the devil himself.

Jesus faced the devil with the same weapon that you and I have. Jesus faced the devil with the written word of God. That’s it. To the devil’s temptations Christ replied by quoting what had been written down by men moved by the Spirit of God.

What has been written down for us in the Bible is always for our good.

It is written to teach us.
It is written to comfort us.
It is written for our defense.
It is written to people of all ages and sizes.
It is written to people of all economic stations.
It is written to people of all nations.
It is written to people of all social standings.
It is written to all skin colors.
It is written to people who are weak and to people who are strong.
It is written to people of all beliefs. (It is written to convert those heading down the path to destruction, but it is written to all people.)
It is written to tell us the truth.
It is written for our defense.

Seeing as this was the weapon of choice for Jesus Christ against such a powerful adversary, it is silly for Christians to choose any other weapon when facing such a foe. Now if you are being charged by a grizzly bear and happen to have a 306 rifle in your hands, it is very likely that the rifle should be your weapon of choice. There is a call for common sense here. If you are being charged by a grizzly bear it would be a good idea to cry, ‘God help me!’ while you are aiming. But, go ahead and shoot.

Unfortunately, it might be easier to face a charging bear than to face the more subtle things that you face every day.

As a man, Jesus had nothing with which to face His foe.

He didn’t have an earthly army, servants, personal possessions, political friends, friends in high society, or a computer on which to begin a petition to limit the devil’s power and influence.

I was taught growing up, and have found it to be true, that you really only own one thing. That is your attitude. Your attitude is what you make of it. It can be good or bad. The more you know the word of God and the more you practice it, the better your attitude will be. The more you know scripture, the easier it will be to quote scripture when you are tempted. You will not face the devil face to face. It will be more of a battle for your thoughts. The first practice you will get at quoting scripture will be to the evil or rebellious thoughts in your own mind.

In past articles we have covered:

Self-definition
Self-discipline
Self- reliance

Knowing who you are is essential in preparing for the future.

Preparing physically for potential difficulties, disasters, hard time, and even persecution is a very good thing. You don’t want to be trapped in your home wishing you had bottled water, toilet paper, and a Twinkie. You also don’t want to be wishing you had more than a rock and pocket knife to take down that rabbit that occasionally passes under the bushes near your driveway. A nice fat rabbit would make a meal for a hungry family

So, do be prepared materially as much as is possible and reasonable. It isn’t a good idea to actually go hungry today in order to have food for a potential disaster in the future. You can cut back on your how much you spend on groceries today in order to spend a little on a food stash for the future. (I personally think putting in a fish pond in your basement is a little extreme – given the possibility of growing mold as well as fish. But do what you think is best.)

However, no matter what the future brings, there will be a lot of ‘down time’.

You will be alone, waiting, trying to rest, trying to get a moments peace, trying to figure out how to ‘tweek your plan’, wondering how to better prepare for the future, or possibly even sitting in prison for exercising your faith. That is the battle for which you must prepare. Because Jesus Christ Himself used the word of God to answer temptation, we can be sure that is the best way to fight temptations our selves.

Probably the most dangerous and destructive temptation the individual faces is doubt.

The best way to fight doubt is through knowing and quoting scripture. I know I already said this, but everyone needs to have some scriptures memorized so they can quote them to themselves. The second best thing to do is learn Hymns based on scripture.

Are you doubting the power of knowing God’s word? Psalm 149:6 says, ‘May the praise of God be in their mouths and a double-edged sword in their hands,’

The praise of God IS a double-edged sword. It was a powerful sword that cut through the chains of Paul and Silas when they were beaten half to death and then chained in the deepest darkest dungeon of the ogre’s jail. I don’t think they were singing Amazing Grace because it hadn’t been written yet. They were probably singing Psalms or some of the prayers of the Old Testament. (Read Acts, Chapter 16.) They couldn’t have sung what they didn’t know.

Preparing for the future is difficult because no one knows exactly what the future will be specifically. We should all use common sense and do the best we can with our current situations. This varies person to person and family to family. At best, try to have a few weeks food on hand.

The thing everyone will face is a mental assault from the devil and his followers.

The leading weapons used against you will be worry and doubt.

The weapon with which we can defeat these terrible foes is the same weapon that Jesus used. Use the scripture.

Use it to encourage yourself.

Use it to encourage and teach others.

Just like any soldier going into battle, you need to be very familiar with your weapons. You need to know what is in the Bible.

Barbara Henderson

Ps. In this article I mentioned eating a rabbit.

I never ate a rabbit, but you can buy them in grocery stores in the frozen food section. If you were ever actually hunting for your food, you would have to consider eating a rabbit if it was available.

I thought it a good idea to cover rabbit fever in case you ever wind up hunting wild rabbits or even growing rabbits as a food source. Tularemia, or rabbit fever, is a very real and dangerous disease. It is carried to the rabbits in the usual way – through bugs like ticks. It is transferred to people through the body fluids of an infected rabbit. This might happen when skinning the rabbit. The blood of the rabbit might touch a scratch on the skin of the person butchering the rabbit. Before you decide not to ever eat a rabbit, you need to remember that wherever there are ticks, fleas, flies, mites, and other insects, there will be bug borne illnesses. You do need to be aware of them, and take precautions as much as possible.

Tularemia info http://health.utah.gov/epi/fact_sheets/tularem.html