Tag Archives: faith

Can You Lose Eternal Life?

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It is a question that has been argued down through the centuries. Some say this. Some say that. As for me, I believe it can be answered with one simple question and again reinforced with a second.

If you are in danger of losing your eternal life, then was it ever truly eternal life? If you lose eternal life, can you again regain it? If so, how many times can this be repeated?

In my book, eternal life is eternal, by definition. Those who don’t have eternal life, never had it.

Eternal life is a gift given to us by God. By definition, gifts are not earned but can only be received. If you work for a gift, then what you get, cannot be a gift but a reward.

More important, earning eternal life is not in our power. To say that it is, is an attempt to negate the need for the gift. With his death and resurrection, he has paid for our eternal life. How can anyone add to that? Why would anyone turn down such a valuable gift.

Yet, people try to earn salvation. Every day, people turn their backs on the gift. So instead of the gift of eternal life, they receive the punishment of eternal death.

Thank the Lord for Discipline

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It is a difficult thing for a child to be thankful when his hand is being slapped but he should be. That slap on the hand is far less harmful and painful than that jolt of electricity from that wall socket.

Okay. I agree. The socket should be covered. Still, a little slap on the wrist is in order when a child starts trying to put his fingers in the socket, covered or not.

To be sure, I believe there is a big difference between discipline and punishment. The object behind punishment is justice; whereas, the object behind discipline is, or at least should be love. We as parents, from time to time, cause a little harmless pain to avoid the larger pain, or perhaps harm. As parents, we need to remember that, regardless of any anger.

When God disciplines us, it is in love and we should remember that. We should always learn from it as well as be reassured. After all, in general, people normally don’t discipline the strange child in love. When God disciplines us, it is a strong indicator that He is our Father and we are His child. It tells us we are saved and we are forever his. No one can ever take us from Him, ever.

Believe me, I have felt the hand of His discipline all too often. I didn’t like it. I am sure, I have asked why me? But He was always right and I was always wrong. And I learned and I continue to learn today, to my dismay.

How-some-ever, let me say this now before the whole world, I am so very grateful to my God that he disciplines me. It is because He loves me and that is very reassuring.

God disciplines nations too. Then, you know that. Repeatedly, he disciplined Judah when they strayed. Then, they repented and God rewarded them. The last time, God disciplined them several times and Judah turned their back on God. They called the chastising a coincidence and continued in their disobedience.

So, God increased the levels. He told them in advance and raised up the nation of Babylon. As predicted, they went into captivity and to this day, they have not returned to their former greatness.

As with Israel, I believe that the US has found favour with God. How else could we get where we are. However, if we keep turning our back to God, I have to believe that the Same thing will happen to us as Judah. If we keep writing off the warnings as coincidence, or weather change! He can raise up a nation and destroy us, as he destroyed Judah. What does makes me wonder, why has He already done it. By the way, He need not raise up another nation. He can use natural disasters, or a few terrorists with a big bomb.

As I write this, I remain in hope while I can’t help but fear. I know what it is like to feel His discipline. I do have something of an idea of what can happen, faster than anyone can imagine.

If you doubt any of this read the books of kings and chronicles in the Bible. The books, true, are religious. However, they are also very accurate history books.

Regardless; with all the blessings we have received as a nation from God, why in the world would anyone want to turn our backs on Him now? Better to receive His blessings than His discipline; or worse, His judgement.

Then & Now

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I was listening to a preacher one time. By the way, it is a good idea to listen to good spirit filled preachers. It is possible to learn things; things that can really help you.

At any rate, he was explaining the reason reason the Romans rejected Christianity. His explanation did make sense. I also suspect, with his education, he knew what he was talking about.

At any rate, you ever notice the Romans had no problems accepting the Greek gods. To them, the way they figured it, the more the merrier. I’m not sure anyone knows how many gods the Romans had. They had one for this and the one for that. If a person wanted to add a god, no problem. You could add your own god and your own religion and no one would complain.

The difference with Christianity was John 14: 6: “I am the way, the truth and the life. No man comes to the Father but by me.” It is a quote by Jesus Himself.

You see that made Christianity different and exclusive. If a person believed in Christianity, he could no longer believe in his gods. Well, in a way, I suppose he might but for one thing. If he tries to believe in both, the above statement by Jesus requires the denouncing of all other gods or he does not believe not believe Jesus.

The Romans didn’t like that. I mean everyone was getting along really well and then Jesus comes along and tells us that if you are going to accept Jesus as your savior, you must deny all the rest.

Believe it or not, some people actually had investments in the other gods. They sold idols and I am sure that they took offerings to them. Moreover, they had their customs, some of which encouraged some very horrible rituals. Strange as it may seem, some actually offered their children as sacrifices.

So it was, if a person was to become a Christian, they had to give that all up. Moreover, those that did not accept Christianity were looked on by the Christians as godless and lost. They were always going around seeking people to convert to this new faith. It was bothersome, you see. One minute you are carrying this nice conversation with an acquaintance and then, of all things, they were talking about you being a sinner and being in danger of hell forever.

That is basically what the preacher said, though I did add a little. You can imagine how this irritated the Romans. Think about it. Sort of the way that Christian neighbor keeps trying to get you to accept Jesus as your savior. I mean, it is a bummer trying to come up with all these excuses as to why you just can’t go to church with him.

The way it was back then, is sort of the way it is now. It’s sort of why people don’t like us Christians acting like Christians.

There is one more thing that is the same. Those that die without Jesus as their savior, will spend eternity in hell. It is kind of why we Christians become so bothersome. We are only trying to provide you with some very important information. It just might save you.

One more thing that is the same now as then. Jesus is the only way to salvation. It is perfectly exclusive and there is no other way. If your faith is in another religion of any kind, it will do you no good. You call yourself Catholic or Baptist, it won’t help you. You must accept Jesus as your savior.

The tragedy is that there will be many “good men” who don’t make it to heaven. Being good does not help you at all. No one, but no one is good enough to go to heaven. If we could be good enough, Jesus would not have needed to go to the Cross. If you say you are good enough you don’t need salvation, you are calling Jesus a liar. That in itself will be enough to send you to hell.

What’s in a Name?

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I happened to land on station where a Church of Christ preacher was trying to convince us that The Church of Christ is the only true church. He said it is only logical as it is named The Church of Christ. Better for him to teach about Jesus and salvation than to take such pride in his church. I mean, he has the attention of people for 15 to 20 minutes. Is it more important to speak on the Church of Christ or about Christ and salvation in that short time.

I listened to him for a while. I found it rather interesting the mental gymnastics he was going through to prove his point. The thing is, it had no standings. There is nowhere in the Bible that says that only the church named, Church of Christ is the real church. On the contrary. In the one place where people were trying to do anything like that, Paul scolded them. He said that some were saying that they they only believed Jesus, and some only Peter. (I Cor. 1:12…)

The only real important thing was what they taught. If they taught the word of God accurately, then they were part of the church of Christ. For years, the Catholics tried to claim they were the only Church. Today, there are still some that believe it. The hitch is that many of the things they teach are not biblical.

The way I judge a Church is very simple. If they teach the word of God accurately; if the church, especially the leadership practices what they preach, then I will give that church at least part of my approval. However, to give it my full approval, I have to see evidence that the Holy Spirit is moving in the church. If the Spirit of God approves of the church, who am I to say any different.

How do I know if the Holy Spirit is moving in the Church? It’s easy. If you have seen the Holy Spirit move in a church, you’d never again ask that question.

How-some-ever, here are some hints. The Holy Spirit always points to Jesus. It is part of his mission. If the preacher tries to claim the glory, he is not working under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. If he says, his church is the only church, it is time to get highly suspicious. I believe there are likely 4 or 5 major denominations are valid representatives of God, though there may be more.

I am Southern Baptist. However, I have listened to several Presbyterian preachers that I respect very much. I have heard some non-denominational preachers too that I believe teach the word accurately. I have heard a few, not many, Lutheran preachers who knew of what they spoke. And, yes I have heard a few Church of Christ preachers who I respected. Strange as it may seem, I have even heard a few Catholic preachers who seemed to have it right.

The thing this. We really need to be careful about who we say are not of Jesus Christ. If the church is teaching good sound doctrine and the Holy Spirit is on them, maybe we should just hold our tongue.

If they are teaching unbiblical doctrine, yeah, then it is open season on them. However, take care. Before you open your mouth, open the Bible and make sure of your position.

Finally, one more thing. I have noticed that preachers of different faiths do have discussions with each other from time to time. This, believe it or not, without throwing bookends at each other. The good thing about that, each preacher will go away better for it. They will both understand the Bible better after when their ideology is challenged.

Two Flags?

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I have said more than once, a person is really only has an allegiance to one flag. That creep that used that car as a weapon in New Orleans had an allegiance to one flag and what it represented. For some reason he decided to act on that allegiance at that time in that place.

My best guess is, someone gave him the order and he obeyed. My best guess is that there are a lot more men in this country who owe their allegiance to other flags, to other countries. It’s time to brace ourselves. My best guess is there will be more… for which we can thank Old Joe. He invited them in by the thousands. My best guess is that that character that set that bomb in Los Vegas got his marching orders too. My best guess is that his allegiance is to some other country too. Old Joe made the decision. We will be the ones to pay the price.

The Beginning to a Glorious Plan

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Many of us celebrate Christmas and then we go on our way. Frankly, we often forget that the birth of Jesus is only the beginning. In truth there was much work, and suffering ahead before the plan was complete.

Indeed, on the cross about 33 years later Jesus, from the cross, says, “It is finished.” And then 3 days later, he arose from the grave. The plan was laid down before the planet was spoken into existence.

As a newborn baby, he became all human while remaining all God. How can this be, you ask? I don’t know. It is but one of the many miracles that was part of the plan. You see, it had to be that way. It is why God did it that way.

While with us, He was an example, a teacher, a miracle worker, but all this time, he knew his primary mission was still ahead of him. He knew the pain and suffering he would go through certainly at least by the time He was 12.

He knew what the “Good” people in the leadership of the Jews would do and why. He knew Judas would betray him. He knew how the religious leaders would pronounce false judgment on Him in an illegal trial and turn Him over to the Romans.

You see, He knew it was part of the plan. He actually took part in the plan. Even before God said, “Let there be Light,” He knew the pain and suffering he would go through, which is far more than any of us can comprehend.

He knew about the Roman judgment. He knew He would die on a cross made of wood. It was not a surprise to Him. The people taunted, “others he saved. Himself he cannot save.” The thing is, the people didn’t understand, He could step down off the cross, but that was not the plan, you see. He knew his mission was to die on the cross; and, of course, the taunting just added to the suffering. You see, it would have been so tempting for Him to just step down off he cross and say, “See. I can do it.” It would have been very impressive but he would not have saved us by doing that.

You see, it was the plan, from the beginning it was the plan and He steadfastly was determined to see the plan through. And so it was, He died, He was buried and then, 3 days later, he rose from the dead.

Now, you ask, why would He do such a thing. He didn’t have to. He could have come to earth as a king and rule here forever. However, that was not the plan.

The plan from the beginning of the planning to the end of the execution was for one and only one reason. It was all to provide a way to save mankind.

What did we do to deserve such an act by Jesus? Nothing. Not a thing. He did it because He knew our punishment was eternal death in hell. So He stepped in and took our punishment totally and completely because He wanted to for our sakes. Such love goes well beyond human comprehension.

In order to receive that salvation, we must totally accept that salvation. To accept that Salvation we must recognize our need for that salvation and we must turn from the desire to sin to the desire to follow Jesus.

If we recognize our sin and turn to Jesus and then accept Jesus as our only salvation, The Holy Spirit will put his seal on us, which no one can remove. It insures eternal life with God and no one can change it. Indeed, if someone could change it, it would not be eternal life, would it?

If you can’t see the benefit in that deal, I simply have no idea what might be standing in the way of the most important decision you will ever will make.

By the way, you might want to tell others about it too. You know. Friends, neighbors and relatives. You might even tell your enemies about it. It just might make that enemy into a friend.

And just one more thing. It will make Jesus very happy too.

Recognizing False Prophets

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I wish there was some way of easily recognizing false prophets, you know, like a requirement where a shirt with the label, “FALSE PROPHET,” on their shirts. Unfortunately, it is not that easy.

Nonetheless, there are some things we can do that make it somewhat simpler. May I write a quick word on history here, perhaps something you already know.

From about 300 AD and for centuries after, the Catholic Church taught that the common man should not read the Bible. There reason sounds logical. They said the Bible was to complex and difficult to read. II Timothy 2:15 says “Study the Word to show yourself approved.”

This is one of the primary way of finding a false profit, or at least a false teacher. They will discourage you, even forbid you to read the Bible. This, of course, is completely opposite to the above package and it cannot be argued, at all. The teaching by the Catholic Church was clearly wrong. Anytime that anyone or any organization says something different, or as in this case, opposite, they are teachings are false and the Bible specifically says not to believe them, at all.

Then, of course, if you don’t read the Bible, how do you know this? I mean, don’t take my word for it. Please read it yourself. I don’t ever, ever want you to take my word for anything Biblical. For this reason, I will try to cite the chapter and verse so you can actually read it from your Bible.

At any rate, going back to the history lesson. In 1440, the printing press was invented, which was a major problem for the Catholic Church. The fact is, they were teaching many things that were contrary to the Bible, some very major.

This was revealed by another big event in history. This time, it came from a Catholic Priest by the name of Martin Luther. So much was the Catholic Church, that is by the pope, they tried to have him killed.

These two things alone, broke the hold on the people that church had on most of the people in Europe. They were teaching that people could buy the souls of ancestors out of purgatory and into heaven. Not so. The word purgatory does not even occur in the Bible. With the Bible being in print, people were discovering it and that the church told the lie in an effort to bolster the treasures of the church, and by church, at this time I mean Catholic Church.

Moreover, Martin Luther started quoting the Bible for one and all, causing the protestant revolution. To be sure, there were churches other than Catholic before Martin Luther, but they generally had to hide. Because the Catholic Church tried to destroy them.

Now, people were going all over Europe saying things like, “By faith you are saved, not of yourselves, lest anyone should boast.” (Ephesians 2 8-9). Moreover, people were reading it for themselves from the Bible. They could see it for themselves and they Catholic Church’s lock on being the sole interpreter of the Bible fell to pieces.

What I have said hear, in a round about way, if the person or organization teaches something to contrary of the Bible, he is a false prophet, or at least a false teacher.

Now, how do you know if what they say, agrees with what is in the Bible? That’s easy. Read the Bible. Learn it forward, backward and inside out. That way, the instant someone says something that is contrary to the Bible, you’ll know.

You might ask, are there false teachers? Guess what. Don’t take my word for it. Look it up in your own copy of the Bible. You can look it up in the concordance. Or… if you like, just look up false prophet on the internet. You will find dozens of verses and they will be quoted in maybe 4 or 5 translations.

By the way, if you do look it up on the internet, there is no reason for me to go farther. You can easily read for days on what the internet has to say about it.

Nonetheless, might I suggest, start reading the Bible. I did and I read very slow and I hate reading. None the less I read it 8 times, not to brag but to show, if I can, you can and you should. You should read it, if for no other reason than knowing who is teaching the truth and who is trying to distribute a lie.

Oh. By the way. I gave up believing what the Catholics are teaching a long, long time ago.

Now Here’s a Novel Idea

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I can’t say it’s Biblical. I’m not even sure that it something that God wants us to teach. However, I can’t help but think that, if any nation followed this one thing, it would be a very big profit to that nation and it’s people. As an aside, I can’t help but believe that it would help the world as well.

God gave Israel the ten commandments. They were a gift. Those people that follow The Ten Commandments will prosper, even if they refuse to believe in God. It sounds ridiculous, but I have given the matter a great deal of thought. Consider, if all Americans stopped lying, killing, robbing, or even seeking after that which is owned by another.

However, putting that aside for a moment, and what makes my suggestion unique, what if the national government sought to follow the Commandments diligently. I mean, do we really want a government that mistreats our citizens, such as killing the innocent, like unborn babies. Do we really want a government that steals from the citizens, such as exorbitant taxation for the benefit of those that are part of the government. Do we really want a government that is dishonest that lies to us and diligently hides pertinent information from us.

Perhaps, most of all, do we want a greedy government that provides lavishly for itself while taking from those who put in an honest 40 or 45 hour week without valid reason. Do we really want a government that denies the existence of God and instead worships evolution, a baseless, unproved theory. Do we want a government that viciously endeavors to hide and deny the existence of the one true God.

It does make me ask, how and why is it that God would ever want to bless such a nation.

And feeble men ask why we have troubles and trials.

Come to think of it, maybe it is about time to rethink the way that businesses are ran as well. Is it really such a novel idea? Seems that that was kind of the way we ran things after the Revolutionary War, or at least tried. Have we actually been improving things since then?

I wonder, just what would kind of report card would George Washington and Abe Lincoln give our current day government. I have the suspicion they would be more than a little embarrassed by what we today call the United States of America. That, by the way, is true of those on both sides of that theoretical line that is in Congress.

Not Appropriate

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When a man stands behind a pulpit and preaches the word of God, he should be careful to teach the truth according to the Bible. As I was going through channels a couple of days ago, I heard a person who claimed to be teaching the Bible who implied that eating meat was Biblically wrong. He was very proud of himself that he had been a vegetarian for all these many years and he is healthier because of it.

Fact is, if he wishes to preach not to eat meat, he should be careful to say that it is his personal feelings. It is not Biblical. Throughout the Old and the New testament eating Meat is directed. Indeed, it is required in the first Passover. Jesus cooked fish for the disciples. Indeed, it is part of the requirements of the rituals of the Temple.

I do understand the concepts of not eating meat. Many are are healthier when they don’t eat meat. Most of us do eat too much meat leading to many health problems. However, just because a vegetarian is healthy, it does not mean that he owes it completely to his diet. Moreover, we have not one bit of proof that he might not be healthier if he had ate some meat.

The thing is, if a person wants to preach not eating meat, they ought not try to say it is biblical, because it’s not. When you try to make the Bible say things it doesn’t, it undermines the truth that you do preach. The one speaking should precede it with something saying it is personal opinions based on facts outside the Bible.

Understand, I am not saying that it is wrong to teach eating only fruits and vegetables. It’s up to you. I am just saying it should not be taught as Biblical.

Censors?

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At one time, movies were actually censored officially. Whenever a movie was produced, it had to be previewed by sensors and if it didn’t pass the sensor’s rules, it could not be released until it did.

I guess it was continued until some time in the seventies. Until then, the content was guarded, both visual and audio.

Even today, in theory, what goes out into the world of radio and TV is regulated. I get the feeling that many FCC regulators intentionally look the other way. I can’t imagine that it is legal for some of what is broadcasts meets specs. Moreover, they are all the time pushing the envelope, always just pushing it more and more, day by day. The swimsuits keep getting smaller; the language is getting worse; and the activities/subjects becoming more graphic.

That is not to say that we don’t still have sensors. Only the sensors have started limiting in other ways. Already, preachers are beginning to have some fears in preaching about homosexuality. If churches wonder into the politics, they stand in danger of losing their tax free status, unless it is a Black church. Then it is encouraged.

Worse, there is the unspoken censoring. Preachers aren’t kept from preaching on certain subjects, but when they do, the media launches assaults on them. They joke about them and they search for ways to make them look like hypocrites. Look how they went back into the pasts of the more recent judge appointments, also coined as Borking. Moreover, there is no shame, even when there is no proof. In the court of public opinion, none is needed. The allegation is all they need. Saying it enough makes it so.

These same methods are now used on preachers and conservatives. I am not proud of some the things Trump said and did, but no one gets called on any of it if they have a D after their name. Perfection is required for republicans only.

Moreover, politically incorrect things are not permitted on radio, TV and even on college campuses. This censoring is more powerful and stringent than any of the old censoring. Worse, things such as the Ten Commandments are not permitted in many places and it’s getting even more so disallowed over time.

Could it be that they will even be disallowed in our churches; or Bibles; or casual conversation, or thoughts.

I mean what is so objectionable about the words, “Thou shalt not bear false witness?” Why does anyone want to block the words, “Thou shalt not murder,” from our schools or courts? Why is it so bad to suggest that we encourage our nation to honor our fathers and mothers?

It would seem that there are those afraid of the words. If I put them out on my front lawn, I suspect that someone would sue me the next day to have it removed. They just can’t stand to have the words in their face reminding them daily of what they are doing wrong. If there is no God, why are they afraid of His law? Why to they fear His words?”

Why is it so important that they censor every word of the Bible? What harm does it cause them?