Signs that we are to watch for regarding His coming.

Posted on 10/05/2011 by remso

Somewhat based upon Pastor Chuck’s blog.

Luke 21:6,7 As to these things which ye are beholding, days are coming in which there shall not be left stone upon stone which shall not be thrown down. And they asked him saying, Teacher, when then shall these things be; and what is the sign when these things are going to take place?

What were they looking at? The temple.

This is a parallel story to Matthew’s account.

Matthew 24:1-3 (Darby) And Jesus went forth and went away from the temple, and his disciples came to him to point out to him the buildings of the temple. (2) And he answering said to them, Do ye not see all these things? Verily I say to you, Not a stone shall be left here upon a stone which shall not be thrown down. (3) And as he was sitting upon the mount of Olives the disciples came to him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be, and what is the sign of thy coming and the completion of the age?

Consider that some time has passed but in comparison to world literature this time frame is nothing. Matthew had first hand experience with the Lord, and Luke is passing along second hand information. Matthew’s occupation would have meant taking notes with detail, and Luke, the doctor was a detailed man also.

The first response out of Jesus mouth, in Matthew’s account is, “see that no one mislead you.”

Who was Jesus speaking to? His own followers, which we believe numbered about 120, but then there were almost always the twelve. One of the immediate examples of deception may have been with Judas Iscariot. It is believed that his motive may not have one of rebellion, but an attempt to motivate Jesus to act out in the role that Jewish zealots were looking for, a warrior king.

One of the things that demonstrates the parallel of these two accounts is the similarity in message.

Luke’s account also shows Jesus first response to the question about the temple as, “”Watch out that you are not deceived. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am he,’ and, ‘The time is near.’ Do not follow them. ”

Based upon the directive and apparent danger demonstrated by Jesus statement, let’s look at that.

Watch out that you are not deceived.

Deceive: To mislead the mind; to cause to err; to cause to believe what is false, or disbelieve what is true; to impose on; to delude.

Deception comes in so many ways. People will scream loudly about how corrupting some movie is, but the oddity there is that the thing they are screaming about is so obvious, that it is absurd. Although I cannot remember the name of the movie, there was one that portrayed Jesus as a homosexual; I did not waste my time seeing it. Have I watched alien movies? Yes, I think they are fun, no less fun than Star Trek. Do I need to be careful? You bet, for Star Trek was designed to convey the idea that man was good and did not need God. It also filled the mind with concepts about God that even today, all these years later, force me to READ my bible, so that I can see the true image of the almighty, and I have found Him to be more merciful than I ever imagined.

What is really scary about deception, is the subtle things. Think about what makes a magician good at his craft, deception. They do not saw anyone in half, you go to prison for doing that, but what they will do is draw your attention away from the truth.

Yes, I have watched the Ellen Degeneres show, and yes, I am aware that she is a proclaimed lesbian and an advocate of alternative lifestyles; she is also funny. Does that mean that I follow her advice, or worship her? No. Oprah Winfrey, told people that she was raised in church, and yet advocated that all people have God within them, are good, and need to look inwardly, instead of upwardly, for the answers. She seemed to do good things for impoverished children in Africa, and a few here in America, so it is difficult to ascertain if she is doing anything blatantly harmful. You see, here may be an example of such subtlety that people easily get sucked into. Why, because she is believable, likeable, powerful, and well spoken.

For many will come in my name

This is not as obvious as it seems. One of the things that I became accustomed to, growing up in church was the prophetic. I am not afraid of prophecy, because scripture tells me that Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. He, by the way, came to save me, not destroy me, and that is the message that some prophets want to convey. The problem with the prophetic was delivery. Was the heart of the message sincere? Probably, but habit, learned from listening to someone else I suppose, was to tag it immediately with “Thus Saith the Lord”, when really the delivery person should have said, “this is how I feel about it.” The deception involved with such a statement is that the hearer, if they are not attuned to the Word, forces the untrained ear to attribute somebodies junk with an importance that it does not deserve. If God wanted your attention it could come in a whisper, it will typically verify what you already know in your spirit, and will usually touch you deeply. There is no deception involved or needed.

(Folks, I am going to throw this in for free. God has said all that he needs to say through the scriptures. Scripture answers every question, and speaks to every moment in life. So for someone to get weird and creative is just pushing their luck and yours. I have ventured out in giving words to the church body, and people publicly. I cannot remember a time that you could not have found the things that God had me convey to the hearer, in scripture. I personally think that is very cool, for it takes tremendous pressure off me, I do not have to get creative, and it is the safest things to do. Delivery can give the words a negative impact upon the hearer, but the Holy Spirit will smooth that out with practice. God brought you through life, scarred and all, to make you the person that you are today for a reason. Should you respond to his call and give a word to someone, there is no way that you are not going to have a piece of your personality involved. And do not think that God is unaware of that fact. It might be the primary reason he spoke to you about giving that word out.)

What this coming in my name could imply is a veil of religion. Religion often cloaks itself to look like a godly thing. The Christian Science “church” near me, has meetings to teach on spirituality, awareness of the god in you, and they even have an “uplifting service”, but they do not teach that one needs to accept the King of Glory into their life, as the one who purchased life for them, and that he is coming back again.

Claiming ‘I am he’

For a short time, here on a local radio station, was a man that had the Jesus Christ radio show. He spoke as though he was Jesus, and would say things like, “when I did the miracle of changing the water into wine this is what I was saying”. He seemed to be very knowledgeable with scripture, but just the fact that he portrayed himself as Christ, was certainly off, and at the very least dangerous. Outside of this character I have never heard of anyone so stupid as to do that, and yet Jesus said it was important for us to watch out for. How is that even possible?

People may demonstrate power, Santeria priests, voodoo witch doctors demonstrate power (Isn’t odd that in church we deny God any power.), and yet they do not claim to be the Christ.

There is only one that concerns me and I believe should be taken very seriously, ISLAM. The Qu’ran teaches, and their prophets have spoken it, that one will come named Jesus Christ. Now why is that odd? We people “of the book”, as Islam refers to us, know that, for Jesus told us himself he would come again.

The Islamic Jesus Christ, we know him as the false prophet, is:

1. A Jew – That should get somebodies attention for Islam proclaims that the Jew is the enemy. Those who oppose Islam are the enemy. Those who acknowledge Islam, proclaiming Allah to be the true god, and Mohammed as his messenger, can serve a purpose under Islamic rule. The fact that he is a Jew adds a heightened sense of awareness to me, and it should you too. Scripture tells us that the anti-Christ deceives even the elect. Who are the elect? Jesus response was to Jews and he spoke words that they were meant to understand. Jesus was talking about Jews, mentally, and morally superior Jews, that will be deceived by this person.

2. Islam says he will come on a white horse. There is only one scripture in the bible that they will agree upon and it is this, for they believe it speaks of the Jesus Christ of Islam, and fulfills their prophecy, not ours.

Revelation 6:1-2 NIV I watched as the Lamb opened the first of the seven seals. Then I heard one of the four living creatures say in a voice like thunder, “Come!” (2) I looked, and there before me was a white horse! Its rider held a bow, and he was given a crown, and he rode out as a conqueror bent on conquest.

This rider does not come to save, he comes to conquer. He does not come with a sword in his mouth, he has a bow, and this does not imply redemption in any form, it is unleashed deception, along with punishment.

Those that wish to fight with me on this point will say something like, this is a depiction of Jesus coming in glory, riding a noble steed, to conquer his enemies at the end of the world. I respond with, isn’t deception a scary thing, for if you believe that then you have not invested any time what so ever in reading the scriptures, for you would know that Jesus will come, in the clouds, land on the Mount of Olives, split that hill in two, and out of his mouth will come a sword to slay his enemies. He, Jesus Christ, the risen one (which by the way, Islam does not believe in.) will arrive at the end of the seven years of Great Tribulation to judge the earth’s inhabitants. Surprisingly he will show more mercy than you ever thought was possible.

Read what Islam says about Jesus and the anti-Christ.

Jesus in Islam: From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

In Islam, Jesus (Arabic: عيسى ʿĪsā) is considered to be a Messenger of God and the Masih (Messiah) who was sent to guide the Children of Israel (banī isrā’īl) with a new scripture, the Injīl or Gospel.[1] The belief in Jesus (and all other messengers of God) is required in Islam, and a requirement of being a Muslim. The Qur’an mentions Jesus twenty-five times, more often, by name, than Muhammad.[2][3] It states that Jesus was born to Mary (Arabic: Maryam) as the result of virginal conception, a miraculous event which occurred by the decree of God (Arabic: Allah). To aid in his ministry to the Jewish people, Jesus was given the ability to perform miracles (such as healing the blind, bringing dead people back to life, etc.), all by the permission of God rather than of his own power. According to the popular opinion and Muslim traditions, Jesus was not crucified but instead, he was raised up by God unto the heavens. This “raising” is understood to mean through bodily ascension. Muslims believe that Jesus will return to earth near the day of judgment to restore justice and to defeat Masih ad-Dajjal (“the false messiah”, also known as the Antichrist).[4][5]

Like all prophets in Islam, Jesus is considered to have been a Muslim (i.e., one who submits to the will of God-Allah), as he preached that his followers should adopt the “straight path” as commanded by God. Islam rejects the Christian view that Jesus was God incarnate or the son of God, that he was ever crucified or resurrected, or that he ever atoned for the sins of mankind. The Qur’an says that Jesus himself never claimed any of these things, and it furthermore indicates that Jesus will deny having ever claimed divinity at the Last Judgment, and God will vindicate him.[6] The Qur’an emphasizes that Jesus was a mortal human being who, like all other prophets, had been divinely chosen to spread God’s message. Islamic texts forbid the association of partners with God (shirk), emphasizing a strict notion of monotheism (tawhīd).

Numerous titles are given to Jesus in the Qur’an and in Islamic literature, the most common being al-Masīḥ (“the messiah). Jesus is also, at times, called “Seal of the Israelite Prophets”, because, in general Muslim belief, Jesus was the last prophet sent by God to guide the Children of Israel. Jesus is seen in Islam as a precursor to Muhammad, and is believed by Muslims to have foretold the latter’s coming.[5][7]

If you have read this information taken from Wikipedia, provided by Islam in an effort to provide you with the truth about their, so called, peaceful religion, you noticed a reference to the anti-Christ, the Islamic Dajjal. Our scriptures tell us that there will be two, not one prophet, standing in the street prophesying in the last days. Islam considers these to be the anti-Christ. Why? Because they speak out against the deception that Islam will be spreading. Their version of Jesus will slay these two. Again, if you have done your homework, you know that after three days these two prophets come to life again. What a shocker that will be.

You will have also noticed many things that cause a tremendous amount of people to question their beliefs. How could it be that Jesus Christ could be a Muslim. Many will believe that it was all a lie and fall into the trap of Satan himself.

This is not about a man or a religion, this about the deceiver of the world, Satan. If you have read this and become angry then you need to know that your anger needs to be redirected, and you need to pray that God opens peoples hearts and minds to receive him. People need to be aware that the end is upon us.

Posted in Apostasy, Cult teachings, End times, Thoughts, Thoughts on scripture, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

What are we waiting for?

Posted on 10/03/2011 by remso

My former pastor, (he moved on to another church, and I miss him.) informed us, on Facebook, that he was going to start a new blog on the end times. This is a passion for me and so I responded with “bring it on”.

The second blog he put up seemed to indicate that there are two predominant signs that must be seen before Jesus comes to catch us away.

Look at the verse with me.:
2 Thessalonians 2:1-3 NIV (1) Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him, we ask you, brothers and sisters, (2) not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by the teaching allegedly from us–whether by a prophecy or by word of mouth or by letter–asserting that the day of the Lord has already come. (3) Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction.

Something important that might aid you in your understanding of end times events. All throughout scripture you will find the phrase “that day” or “the day”. Most of the time it has reference to the Lord Jesus Christ’s physical reappearance on the earth. That day he will return to set things straight. He will come with a fury. He will come against those who have refused him, and he will judged those upon the earth. Take a look at Zechariah 14: 4,5.

Now when Paul uses the terminology “the day” as he did here in the Thessalonian letter, he is talking about the time before Christs return to the Mount of Olives, in which Jesus comes with a trumpet blast, remains in the air, and calls those of us who remain on this earth to meet him in the air. We, the church, have gotten comfortable using the term Rapture. That term is not in our bibles. It is a Latin term and only found in the Vulgate translation. The term in the Vulgate is Rapio. What we do have is: harpazō ; to seize (in various applications): – catch (away, up), pluck, pull, take (by force).

The two signs, based upon Thessalonians are:
1. The apostasy
2. The entrance of the anti-christ on the scene.

The Apostasy – It means a falling away or rebellion. Our understanding of the meaning really depends upon the parameters does it not.
Even though a majority of this nation calls themselves Christian, most have no interest in accepting the name of Jesus Christ as their own. Most churches preach a politically correct message, choosing not to offend, and still try to draw people to a generalized message of goodness.

A local Methodist church, that I drive by, sponsored a religious unity day. They put up a sign inviting people of all faiths to come. Islam, Buddhist, Baha’i, Catholic, and Jews; all were welcome.

What would they unite upon? Certainly not Jesus Christ, the risen one, God’s son. Perhaps they could focus on some aspect of God that leads back to the Son. After all, God so loved the world that He sent his only Son. Well, that is not going to happen. There is really only one thing that all can have some form of agreement upon, and that is a goodness aside from God, for everyone wants peace within their own little world. But there is a problem with that!
For any manner of goodness is based upon an absolute moral authority which requires that you accept that there is one who sets the standards and boundaries, and that would be God. Many believe that they are capable of doing this on their own.
Assuming you preach peace based upon Jesus Christ, the Muslim ear, which agrees that there is a person named Jesus Christ, is appalled at the concept of him being a son of God. To them, god (Allah) is entirely pure, and uncorrupted by a woman, therefore it is ludicrous and insulting to imply anything else.
That means our agreement then seems to be limited to the possibility that man can be self-governing, because, again, the world wants to think that man is inherently good. Merely watching the growth of a child will teach you otherwise, for we are all born into a broken condition.

If apostasy means rebellion, then what meaning does the word, as Paul used it, take on?
The majority of the world has rejected and turned their backs upon the Creator. Perhaps we can call that rebellion. Makes sense when you consider that God forgave the sins of the entire world.

What then is God waiting for, things to get worse?
Doesn’t rebellion imply that those who may have been on your side previously have turned against you?
Consider this: Daniel 11 starting at verse 29 describes “the King of the North” showing favor to those who forsake the Holy Covenant. Rebels!
There is a key to this in light of Christ’s coming to catch us away, and the day of the Lord.
1. The “day of the Lord” here in Daniel, has to do with Jesus physically touching down upon this earth, to bring about judgment.
2. This passage of scripture appears to happen after the harpazo (or rapture.)

This brings me to the second point, and that is that pastor says “Christ cannot come until the entrance of the anti-Christ. Whether he is called this or not is irrelevant, but his physical person would have to be here. In one sense we do not have to wait for any fulfillment on this, for even John tells us that many anti-Christs have come already.
If you will read this in 2Thesalonians you will probably agree with me that the timing is extremely tight.

Ask yourself this question: If the Lord Jesus pulled us out of here today, could everything else in scripture begin to fall immediately into place? If you are saying yes then I suggest that you making this harder than it needs to be.
I will give you an example:
1. The mark of the beast.
A. The beast, a spirit, must possess and move a man into a place of power quickly. There are a number of characters that could fulfill that, but Islam believes wholeheartedly in prophecy and end times events as well, and they expect this person, we call the beast to come as the Mahdi. While they believe their prophecies to be somewhat interpretive, you will find that they run somewhat parallel, and close to what Christianity believes, in many ways.
Islam believes that Mahdi is prescribed to be 40 years, and a descendant of Mohammed. Until recently, when the US blew this most recent Al Queada operative, up in Yemen, he fit many of these aspects.
B. The mark – of the beast. English interpretations have butchered this concept so badly, no wonder we have been confused. Scriptures started out as preservation of documents and letters, and were initially written in Aramaic and Septuagint Greek, on skins and clay tablets. There is a man, named Walid Shoebat, a former terrorist, now a Christian, who in giving his testimony, tells how he reading in the scriptures in Aramaic, his native tongue, comes to the place that speaks of the mark. It says “and his mark shall be the number of a man”. In Aramaic it is spelled out clearly “There is no god but Allah, and Mohammed is his messenger.” Mr. Shoebat, even expounded upon this idea by pointing out how a fairly recent movie conveyed this same message when they wore headbands and armbands that read: “There is no god but Allah, and Mohammed is his messenger. To the English speaking mind the symbols that convey this message look very similar to a string to 6’s.

I strongly believe that technology, though a possibility, is not nearly as important to this scenario as people think. Scripture tells us that the “saints” will be beheaded for their testimony. While that is certainly happening today, I can see where we might get one of our concepts that make us believe that the Church goes through the tribulation, for it is God that is calling the beheaded, Saints. We, in our narrow minds, attribute this to Christianities suffering on behalf of the Lord.

Jesus paid our price; get that straight. Either he was enough or not. If not, then there is no salvation, and all we do is waste of time. What we do have is a God whose mercies extend beyond our limitations to people that most of us currently condemn. Think about it, Latter Day Saints, who will not accept Jesus Christ as the price for their freedom, study voraciously. Mormons; advocates of strong families, study voraciously. There has to be others, who on the verge of recognition of Christ as Lord, will be the evangelists of that day.
Islam declares those who call themselves Christians, to be “people of the Book”. Muslims are taught from an early age to hate those who oppose Islam, especially people of the Book.

Spend some time studying the scriptures and you will come to realize that the Holy Spirit is not taken off the earth for many continue to acknowledge Jesus Christ as the Lord. You will also find that an Angel flies around the earth, broadcasting the message of Jesus Christ, and salvation.

I wish I could tell you that the Great Tribulation will be exclusive to the middle east, but Islam is bringing ideals and message into your neighborhood. There is no separation between Islam and fanatical Islam, for it is merely Islam, and what they do and believe is all in the Qu’ran. The Qu’ran teaches and advocates lying, especially with the infidels of the book. My own mother felt she had to respond to this statement, with a story of a family friend who married a Muslim man, and he does interfere with her beliefs.
What would make a situation like this so dangerous? If you are permitted to live a justified lie, while waiting for the appropriate time to act, which is precisely what the Qu’ran teaches, this Muslim man could under the guise of Sharia law kill this woman for Apostasy.
There is that word Apostasy again, but this time Islam sees the woman as trying to convert a Muslim and provides for her to be stoned or beheaded. As a side note here. There is no equality or fairness when it comes to sentencing. If a man and woman are caught in adultery the man is buried up to his waist, his arms and hands are free, and if he can dig himself out before he is killed he is free to go. The woman on the other hand is completely bound, buried up to her shoulders and stoned until dead.
Germany has allowed Sharia law such a foothold that recently they unable to prosecute a Muslim man for killing his, justifiable by Sharia law, his religious right.

Here is the point, if I have not made it. The Apostasy is upon us, and it is getting worse by the minute. I believe that the man who will take on the role of the beast exists and lives among us. Islam believes this too. We have seen the tree produce leaves and bud, therefore our sign that the season is upon us has come. Be alert, and pray.

Posted in Apostasy, Cult teachings, End times, Thoughts, Thoughts on scripture, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

It is given unto you to know.

Posted on 09/22/2011 by remso

1 Thessalonians 5:2-4 NIV (2) for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. (3) While people are saying, “Peace and safety,” destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. (4) But you, brothers and sisters, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief.

In Matthew 13:11 Jesus told his disciples, “Unto you, it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them, it is not given.”

We are in the end times, and the events that are happening on almost a daily basis, are described in scripture. I have always had a desire to understand what is going on in the world in relation to scripture, but found the symbolism, and the things that I thought were symbolic in the bible confusing. My attempts to understand were met with frustration and just seemed to push me away. I honestly believe that part of this confusion is the enemies attempt at keeping not only me, but the majority of the Christian body, blind and stupid.

I actually believe that my desire to learn has been fueled all along by the Holy Spirit, but having a desire to learn and learning are two different things. I have only recently begun to gain some clarity.

I am not a theologian by any means, but with a sincere heart I read regularly, and I write those things that the Spirit speaks to my heart, about what I read. While reading, I attempt to apply logical thought and intelligence to what I am reading; I do not think God expects anything less. Consider that when God says, “come let us reason together” He may well be asking you to do just that, apply thought to what you read, and then talk to Him about it.

If a lack of scriptural clarity is an issue that restricts one from understanding then looking at other versions of the Bible that say it more clearly may be in order, so take a look at the Message.

1 Thessalonians 5:2 MSG (2) You know as well as I that the day of the Master’s coming can’t be posted on our calendars. He won’t call ahead and make an appointment any more than a burglar would.

One of the things that make this an important issue is the “pastor” that recently put up billboards declaring a specific date for the return of Jesus Christ, for the express purpose of gathering His saints. Well, that day came and went, and we are all still here. Do I believe that the return of Christ to gather us to him is that imminent? Absolutely. That means that this pastor was “in the ballpark,” but we do not get to pick the day. If his flock had applied logic and intelligence to scripture, I seriously doubt they would have followed through with this pastor’s wishes.

It is fairly clear that Jesus return is going to sneak up on a lot of people, but his return does not have to sneak up on us, the believer.

1Th 5:4But you, brothers and sisters, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief.

God has always been very upfront in the way he has dealt with man; he is not changing his tactics now.

I guess you noticed that the thief uses darkness to cover his movements. The problem here is that God is not a thief and is not sneaking up on anyone. When you read about what He is described as when he appears you will notice that it is filled visuals of light, lightning, and color. There is vivid imagery of the King riding upon a magnificent stallion, displaying his authority and majesty, and every eye will see him.

Matthew 13:26 and Matthew 24:30, both speak of Him coming in the clouds, and every eye will see him. Does that sound like someone sneaking up?

Matthew 24:30 RV and then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

If I have given adequate examples of God not sneaking up then how is it possible that there could be any sense of sneaking involved in end times events. Let’s jump back to Jesus comments for an answer to the question.

Matthew 24:37-39 NIV As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. (38) For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; (39) and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.

 So what we see is that life was continuing to go on just as it was the day before. Nothing made a difference to them. They paid no attention to the clues around them.

 – What was there that would have made a difference?

 Without an in-depth look Noah seemed to be the only man that lived a righteous life, and we assume that he preached a message that to their ears sounded impossible. Up to that time the earth, scripture tells us, was watered by a dew, so the concept of rain was completely foreign to them. Maybe the scenario is as simple as the Bill Cosby comedy routine of years ago. In that skit, people would come up to Noah and ask what he was doing. He  responded with the instructions that God gave him, “building an ark.” “Why”, they would ask, “because God told me it was going to rain.” “Whats rain?” and so on. Simply put, they only had one option and that was to believe God, get on board, and escape the coming destruction. It just occurred to me that there was no great demand to change your ways as a stipulation for getting on the ark; observe what happened after the flood, for sin returned in full force through one of Noah’s sons.

 – What do you know about the times the Noah was involved in?

Genesis 6:5 NIV The LORD saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time.

 – What was there that would have alerted them to some impending doom?

 We make the assumption that Noah preached to them, and that may well have been, but that is not spelled out in scripture. What is clear is that Noah was an upright and blameless man. Why is that significant? Because he stood out like a sore thumb in the midst of violence, evil, and perversion.

Genesis 6:8-9 NIV But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD. (9) This is the account of Noah and his family. Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked faithfully with God.

 The fact that he built a boat in what may have been a waterless environment had to have drawn attention. 100 years of collecting, reshaping, pounding upon and nailing wood made no sense to them. When God began drawing the animals to the ark do you really believe that no one noticed, people asked questions? It is probable that Noah told them what he knew; impending doom is coming, and your entrance into this boat will be your only chance of escape.

 “and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away.”

 – Considering that God gave them plenty to understand, how is it that they knew nothing?

 This is disturbing, for today we are surrounded by people that know nothing. What do I mean? Sure the earth is filled with so-called intelligent people, and they would be insulted to be called anything less, but their wisdom and intelligence have nothing to do with God. An example might be Islam’s influence, and it’s dangers today.

 I make posts about Islam’s dangers in America, only to be rebutted with “maybe they are just trying to enjoy freedom of worship, and want to be left alone.” I wish that were true. Statistically only 14% of the Muslim’s in America are fanatical. Meaning they desire a pure Sharia law run country and are willing to make that happen. Take a look at countries run by sharia law and then ask yourself, do you want to live like that?

How many Muslims are there in America? That is not well documented, because the freedoms that we enjoy here do not exclude, nor count people based upon their beliefs, but estimates put them at over 400,000. That means with 14% of them taking an actual Islamic position, there are at least 56,000 people spread across this nation that are willing to give their lives, at a moments notice, in an effort to establish sharia law and a global Islamic religious leadership, a Caliphate. It will only take one to ruin your day. On the plus side, if your a believer, you may instantly be with the Lord. Isn’t that odd, that is kind of what they believe also. They have no assurance of salvation as you can have in Christ, but only understand that their acceptance in paradise is only guaranteed at the first drop of their own blood given in an act of Jihad. That might be one of the strong motivations they have for suicide bombings. That might be why Islamic mother’s can send their young children off for training to be a human weapon of mass destruction.

 Having recently read a brief interview in International Christian Concern’s newsletter “Persecution”. The author, Jim King, is publishing an interview that he had with Anjem Choudary, a leader of a well documented radical Islamic group in the UK, refutes the idea that Islam is a peaceful religion. This radical leader, born and raised in the UK, declares that Islam is a religion of Jihad and terrorism. This is not just a fluke, or one mans opinion, Anjem Choudary, in his words, “simply adheres to the teachings of the Qur’an and Hadith.”

 It is Islam’s goal to bring about a global, religious, world order based upon sharia law. If you have been paying attention to world news, they have been rapidly making that happen. Sharia law does not tolerate any religion outside of “there is no god but Allah, and Mohammed is his messenger.” So what you find is persecution and beheadings in the name of Allah.

 The last part of the verse I started with is very revealing, and my final point. Look at it with me, once again:

1 Thessalonians 5:4 NIV (2) for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. (3) While people are saying, “Peace and safety,” destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. (4) But you, brothers and sisters, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief.

 The important part here is that we, believers, are not in the darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief. If Paul is conveying the heart of God here, and God does not lie, then what is the problem and where is it coming from.

Ignorance: Ignorance can be a choice, especially when someone says, “I will not listen to that!” Or ignorance is a lack of information. Sadly we may have had a lack of knowledge, but even worse when we were mislead. Think about what scripture says, “the god of this world has blinded them, so that they believe a lie.”

2Corinthians 4:4 The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, …..

1John 2:11 But anyone who hates a brother or sister is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness. ….

Revelation 13:14Because of the signs it (the antichrist personified) was given power to perform on behalf of the first beast, it deceived the inhabitants of the earth.….

Revelation 20:10 And the devil, who deceived them, …

This last one may not apply to you or me, especially since we are the church and not the Jews, but the message is scary in that God hardened their hearts for a reason. I honestly believe that God wants you to understand and believe.

John 12:40 NIV (Jesus speaking about the Jews in their understanding) “He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, so they can neither see with their eyes, nor understand with their hearts, nor turn–and I would heal them.”

 It has taken me the course of many days to edit this and pull my thoughts together. There are many reasons for that, some of which are attributable to learning disabilities, but time is a major factor for me because of my variable work schedule. Life continues to happen around me. Just last night I was invited to a Bible study in which we looked at the first three chapters of Proverbs. This section of the scripture is similar to a prayer that I have spoken to God about. It has been especially important as I find myself not remembering things like I did when I was younger.

 Proverbs 2:1-5 NIV My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you, (2) turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding-– (3) indeed, if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, (4) and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, (5) then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God.

 Seeking wisdom is a gift that the Holy Spirit has given to every believer. I cannot understand why we refuse to accept or open our gifts after we receive them.

 If you are interested in knowing what is coming then find the book “The Islamic Antichrist” by Joel Richardson.

 No matter how this makes you feel, your greatest motive should become one of intense prayer for the persecuted church, Israel, and the health of this nation.

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There are three separate gods, not one God in three persons.

Posted on 09/11/2011 by remso

What some groups teach about Jesus and the Bible’s response

Adapted from Rose Publications, Christianity, Cults & Religions, 7th Edition

My disclaimer upfront: I do not agree with this belief. I am though reaffirming my beliefs and hoping to impact others. Another thing you need to know about me is that I am just a guy that is trying to put intelligent thought down on paper; something that I have never been very good at. So if you are going to criticize, be kind.

One of the decisive responses to a statement like this is: Deuteronomy 6:4. It says, Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.

As with all scriptures this requires faith. Faith becomes a little easier when like the children of Israel God demonstrates who he is and what he can do for you, on a daily basis. But here we are so many years later, surrounded by a sea of doubt and unbelief.

The children of Israel are dead, there descendents live on, but they have been infiltrated, and integrated into the unbelief of the nations that they were to have conquered. Now comes Isaiah the prophet. God wanted us to understand who he is, and speaks through one of his prophets in an attempt to convey who he is and his plan.

Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. (Isaiah 7:14 NIV)

One might miss the significance of this when considering who God is until you look attentively at the word Immanuel; for that word means: God with us.

Now how do I integrate what Isaiah said into an argument against the concept that there are three separate gods. How does God, the almighty, stay where he is, and present himself here on earth as a child. He attempts to establish this by having a virgin give birth, and giving the child a name that signifies that he, the child, was God.

Thoughts about a virgin birth:

  1. Who is going to believe you, especially when you are betrothed?

  2. The women folk have ways of telling if you are telling the truth, as humiliating as that can be, and it is hard to believe that they did not scrutinize this young girl thoroughly.

  3. This is not only impossible in mans eyes, but God also tells anyone who will listen what the sex of the child will be. In today’s modern world Doctors can determine what the sex of the child is before it is ever born. It was not that long ago that the sex of the child was totally random.

Consider that God himself wanted us to know and believe; look at Isaiah 43:10.

“You are my witnesses,” declares the LORD, “and my servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me no god was formed, nor will there be one after me. (Isaiah 43:10 NIV)

God testifies about himself, saying: Before me there was no god formed, nor will there be one after me. How would anyone but a supreme being be able to make such a bold statement?

Matthew 1:18 NIV

(18) This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit.

If the writer uses the terminology “found to be” then there is the implication that she was examined. That should dispel all doubt, but it did not. By the way, did you notice that the terminology just changed. Whereas Isaiah, by inspiration, had said that God will give a sign, we now have the young girl pregnant through the Holy Spirit. So if you are counting we now have God the Father, having God the Son, through an act of God the Holy Spirit. But as usual this still takes some faith on your part.

Matthew 28:18 NIV

(18) Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.

Wait a minute. Even in my limited human mind I know that all authority comes exclusively from God, and yet Jesus now says that all authority, in heaven and on earth has been given to him. How can this be without being God himself?

I am well aware that Jesus now sits on the right hand of the Father in heaven. So how do I rectify this situation now, for Jesus seems to be a separate entity. Even as a Son of the creator of the universe he would have had immense power available to him. From what I gather, the mindset of the hearer when this was written was one with no disassociation between the Father and the son. The son carried the weight of the Father and the authority. The Jewish mindset had no separation between the two. To prove this when Jesus argued that he only did the work of the Father, the Jews picked up rocks to stone him because he had, in their minds called himself God.

John 10:30-39 NIV I and the Father are one.” (31) Again his Jewish opponents picked up stones to stone him, (32) but Jesus said to them, “I have shown you many good works from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?” (33) “We are not stoning you for any good work,” they replied, “but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God.” (34) Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your Law, ‘I have said you are “gods”‘? (35) If he called them ‘gods,’ to whom the word of God came–and Scripture cannot be set aside– (36) what about the one whom the Father set apart as his very own and sent into the world? Why then do you accuse me of blasphemy because I said, ‘I am God’s Son‘? (37) Do not believe me unless I do the works of my Father. (38) But if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father.” (39) Again they tried to seize him, but he escaped their grasp.

To further establish this Jewish mindset let’s look at the letter to the Hebrews.

Hebrews 1:1-14 NIV In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, (2) but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. (3) The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. (4) So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs. (5) For to which of the angels did God ever say, “You are my Son; today I have become your Father”? Or again, “I will be his Father, and he will be my Son”? (6) And again, when God brings his firstborn into the world, he says, “Let all God’s angels worship him.” (7) In speaking of the angels he says, “He makes his angels spirits, and his servants flames of fire.” (8) But about the Son he says, “Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever; a scepter of justice will be the scepter of your kingdom. (9) You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy.” (10) He also says, “In the beginning, Lord, you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. (11) They will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment. (12) You will roll them up like a robe; like a garment they will be changed. But you remain the same, and your years will never end.” (13) To which of the angels did God ever say, “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet”? (14) Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?

So lets’ bring this to a close with a passage from one of Peter’s letters to the church. Peter is writing to the church, when he says, “To God’s elect, strangers in the world, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, (1 Peter 1:1)”. We who have chosen to give him our trust, therefore our lives, are the chosen. There is nothing elitist about that attitude, it is merely an understanding that God made the choices long before the world began. God did not exclude anyone by making this choice, for there are no parameters that define those that cannot be chosen. God, while the world was yet in sin, sent His only Son, to die for us; all of us. Where is the distinction then? People have to choose whom they will serve. I know, you think you serve yourself and no one can tell you how to live, but God has an answer for that too, for you are slaves to the one you obey. Take the time to read the sixth chapter of Paul’s letter to the Romans. There you will find many references to slavery, in terms of a change of ownership.

1 Peter 1:2 (NIV)

who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by his blood: Grace and peace be yours in abundance.

 We are all merely slaves, who have changed ownership. Chosen because of the foreknowledge of God the Father, and his great mercy. We who have come to him have done so through the sanctifying (that means to be set apart for righteous service) work of the Spirit (The Holy Spirit of God). So that we could serve in obedience to our new owner Jesus Christ.

 Peter assists us in the argument by showing the three personages of God: the Father, the Spirit, and the Son, Jesus Christ.

It may be just that simple, and it may be that they work in such perfect unison and harmony that there really is no difference. I became a huge fan of the book “The Shack” for in it God, in the form of a large, black lady attempts to define this concept to the main character, Mack. It is not a hard concept, and seems perfectly legitimate, but my mind, and yours too, is broken because of sin. Get real, scripture tells us that all creation is broken and cries for it’s time of redemption as well. Understanding that, I have learned that there are some things that I have to take by faith. This faith thing should not be a hard concept for any of us, because we do this on a daily basis. We believe that cars will stop for red lights as we attempt to cross on the green, and that the money we carry around in our pockets will be acceptable as exchange for things, and food. What makes that concept work? Faith in government that backs it. Is that government quickly failing us? Yes.

 I will throw this in for free, because I struggle with the concept of being a slave, everyone in their right mind will, for God made us to be free and to have dominion (That never meant dominate one another).

In all the years I have known the Lord I have never experienced a feeling of bondage. Sure religious zealots have tried to put me and anyone else they can, in bondage, but that is man’s attempt at damage control, for they do not believe that you will do the right thing, and ultimately they do not believe that the Spirit is capable of guiding us, but there always seems to be rules. Some slave owners were very oppressive and gave those they owned no freedoms at all.

As a slave to Christ are there things that you should not mess with? Certainly. I will give you an example. A married person should not allow themselves the thought of exploring another person outside of their marriage. Why? Because we all have weaknesses, and while one person can hug everyone in the office with no apparent ulterior motive, another may struggle with weaknesses, and a perceived lack of acceptance at home. That lack of acceptance may be real, but that comes out our brokenness as humans and our selfish desires to dominate. That is exactly what slavery is based in, a domination of another. The bottom line here is that an extra-marital affair, whether imagined or real can be like alcohol to an alcoholic; one drink is never enough.

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Jesus was merely created.

Posted on 09/09/2011 by remso

What some groups teach about Jesus and the Bible’s response
Adapted from Rose Publications, Christianity, Cults & Religions, 7th Edition

My disclaimer upfront: I do not agree with this belief. I am though reaffirming my beliefs and hoping to impact others. Another thing you need to know about me is that I am just a guy that is trying to put intelligent thought down on paper; something that I have never been very good at. So if you are going to criticize, be kind.

John 10:30 GW “The Father and I are one.”
Even the trained pharisees and rabbis that he said this to did not accept his statements. They were more than willing to stone him for blasphemy. I find it such an oddity that the world can say He never made any statements declaring that He was God. Are you serious. You only prove that you do not read the scriptures when you say something like that, for the crowd before him heard it. They even restated it back to Him and tried to kill him by throwing him off a hill on one occasion.

I do not think that God expected us to accept everything thrown at us without giving these concepts some thought so look at Isaiah with me: (Isaiah 1:18 ASV) “Come now, and let us reason together, saith Jehovah: ..”
Just because he invites you to reason with him does not mean that you are going to change God’s plans, but it does demonstrate his desire for relationship.
Moses approached God, reasoned with Him, and God withheld his judgment.

I do think that applying your brain to statements like this is appropriate. By itself the statement, “the Father and I are one.” has nothing that gives it merit. Take other factors into consideration and it takes on a much larger meaning, and deserves consideration, and your eventual acceptance.

Factors to consider:
1. What evidence does Jesus have to back his claim. In this case “Jesus was created by God”. The strongest argument anyone would have for Jesus being created could be His virgin birth. Did you ever stop to think that God knew you from before the foundations of the earth, and we do not hold a candle to Jesus and the Father’s relationship. What we do have is a pattern to follow. One of the major claimants for Jesus being created would be the Latter Day Saints. Satan is a created being, and for your theory to hold true Jesus would have to follow pattern.
2. Did Jesus follow a consistent pattern. Did he consistently say the same thing, therefore NOT creating holes in his own “brash” statements, or act out of sync with the Father’s wishes?
3. Was there anything else that would corroborate his testimony. Things like miracles, angels, or witnesses. The answer is yes, and though many still will refuse to believe, you should still consider the reactions of the pharisees that heard and saw what he did. They knew and believed that only God could do what this man Jesus was doing.
4. We have the Father’s acknowledgment of Jesus as the Son. When Jesus was baptized in the Jordan the Father acknowledged him as the Son in which he was well pleased, and again upon the cross.
5. After Jesus death, the Angels acknowledged him.
6. He was witnessed by over 400 people after his death, and He rose to the Father just as he said he would.

(John 17:21 MSG) The goal is for all of them to become one heart and mind– Just as you, Father, are in me and I in you, So they might be one heart and mind with us. Then the world might believe that you, in fact, sent me.
I am not sure how this refutes the concept that “Jesus was created”, but let’s attack it anyway.

There is a strong theme that runs through this statement and that is oneness. This might be a cruel analogy but a servant never has the same status as the Son, and a created being (Satan) is not a Son, so get the idea of Pinocchio becoming a little boy out of your head. That is not happening.

The point in all this is that whether it is one heart and mind, or what appears in Jesus statement as a clear cut definition of His relationship with the Father as being one in the same, it is there. What it seems to require of you is thought.
An adequate assessment by you will only lead you back to the one who poured out his life for you, and really does not demand you wrapping your brain around every concept.

John 10:31-39 NIV Again his Jewish opponents picked up stones to stone him, (32) but Jesus said to them, “I have shown you many good works from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?” (33) “We are not stoning you for any good work,” they replied, “but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God.” (34) Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your Law, ‘I have said you are “gods”‘? (35) If he called them ‘gods,’ to whom the word of God came–and Scripture cannot be set aside– (36) what about the one whom the Father set apart as his very own and sent into the world? Why then do you accuse me of blasphemy because I said, ‘I am God’s Son’? (37) Do not believe me unless I do the works of my Father. (38) But if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father.” (39) Again they tried to seize him, but he escaped their grasp.

We are trying to refute the statement that “Jesus was created by God.” To be created sounds so mechanical, and Satan is not, but Satan is not the son or brother. He was created to do God’s bidding. Satan’s error that got him cast out was in trying to rise above God, by exerting his own will.

The Jews understood, with precision, Jesus statements about His relationship with the Father. To prove that point they are trying to stone him, again. In verse 33 (“We are not stoning you for any good work,” they replied, “but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God.”) They answered Jesus question as to why with, because you claim to be God. There was no skirting the issue here, no speculation about being a creation of God, they would not even allow him that error; they were on a mission to kill him because he claimed to be God, and God is not creating himself.

Jesus attacks their logic by pointing out that the things he had been doing, right in front of them. The Jews knew these were things that only God could and would do. The alternative, God forbid, is that the miracles could be attributed to the devil. For them to say that could have put them into blasphemy and then they would have to be killed, and that was not going to happen.

They were the ones that used the term “a mere man”, therefore we see Jesus turn that back on them.
(34) Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your Law, ‘I have said you are “gods”‘? (35) If he called them ‘gods,’ to whom the word of God came–and Scripture cannot be set aside– (36) what about the one whom the Father set apart as his very own and sent into the world?

We can reference Jesus response to something God previously said in the Psalms verse 82:6 BBE
I said, You are gods; all of you are the sons of the Most High:”

The passage goes on to say: Psalm 82:7 But you will come to death like men, falling like one of the rulers of the earth.

The Jews called him a mere man, so his comparison is then with a passage in which God refers to mere men as gods, and in their minds Jesus was certainly that, therefore God was fully capable of working through him as well. If they were going to use this kind of logic on Jesus then I suppose they deserved such a retort.

John 10:31-39
(35) If he called them ‘gods,’ to whom the word of God came–and Scripture cannot be set aside–
They had already called him a mere man. In referencing this passage, one in which God is referring to mere men as gods, he is also pointing out that he himself, acting as a mere men, is still acting on behalf of his Father for he is doing the works of His Father, and that they should believe that He is who He claims based upon that fact alone.

all of you are the sons of the Most High
This appears to have been penned by King David, and we all know the release from sins had not come yet, for there was no death on the cross. Is he then talking about a time to come, prior to the cross? Even that is a dim piece of logic for Jesus uses it with authority prior to the cross. Is he actually talking about mere men, throughout the course of time? That does not make sense for we have historical record of men throughout the generations that have performed atrocities upon people. Surely God is not talking about them. Are we like Job, thinking that we can tell God how he is to make his decisions?
Is he speaking about a future time frame, after the cross? That would make more sense for the act of becoming a believer brings about an adoption, henceforth making us sons. Alright then, what about those who prior to Christ’s death performed such horrors upon people. We know from scripture that Christ preached to the captives, and that may have included them. While I am trying build a case against fallacy, they is no denying that statements like “all of you are the sons of the Most High” lend themselves to more confusion than, unless you look everything in context.

(36) what about the one whom the Father set apart as his very own and sent into the world?
In spite of His substantially clear assertion that he was not a mere man, he follows an aggressive path by reiterating that the Father set him apart as his very own, and sent him into the world. If you followed the story in scripture then you know that though they may have been silent for a moment they picked up stones again to throw at him. Why? Because once again he made himself very clear in his assertions of who he was, God’s only Son.

In John 17:5 we have Jesus praying. “And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.” This he did quietly, in the presence of a few of his disciples. He again has reiterated his association as son, as one that was with the Father at the beginning, and that he was the only one.

God gave us a prophetic word by the mouth of Isaiah. In Isaiah 7:14 it says: “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.”
Immanuel – meaning God with us.
Things that strike me as significant in Isaiah 7:14, if they paid attention, is:
1. The time factor. How many years before Christ’s birth was this declared.
2. God himself thought this would be significant to them.
3. It will just be some random child, but a boy.
4. He is to have a specific name. That name carries with it the depth of God himself.

The Jews were confronted with the truth that he, God, was standing before them in so many ways. I have heard it said that there were a large number of prophecies concerning Jesus coming and his life here on earth, all of which the learned ones would have studied. They supposedly awaited his coming, and yet when he came in the specified manner, and lived out a life that fulfilled everyone of those prophecies, they refused to believe it. How much different are we today if we refuse to believe.

One last shot at using scripture to enforce my beliefs.

Proverbs 8:22-31 NIV “The LORD brought me forth as the first of his works, before his deeds of old; (23) I was formed long ages ago, at the very beginning, when the world came to be. (24) When there were no watery depths, I was given birth, when there were no springs overflowing with water; (25) before the mountains were settled in place, before the hills, I was given birth, (26) before he made the world or its fields or any of the dust of the earth. (27) I was there when he set the heavens in place, when he marked out the horizon on the face of the deep, (28) when he established the clouds above and fixed securely the fountains of the deep, (29) when he gave the sea its boundary so the waters would not overstep his command, and when he marked out the foundations of the earth. (30) Then I was constantly at his side. I was filled with delight day after day, rejoicing always in his presence, (31) rejoicing in his whole world and delighting in mankind.

Strong arguments these may not be, but scripture itself is an argument for the existence and veracity of God. Jesus is God whether I can handle the concept or not. I am not alone in that struggle. I recently sat next to an acquaintance from high school, and I asked him, “do you know the Lord?”, he responded with, “I think that God is so beyond our comprehension and ability to know.” I responded by saying, “I can understand why you might say that.”

How does one comprehend a love so great that he gives his only Son to a world that certainly did not deserve it, unless there is a greater goal, the restoration of life in me.

How do you comprehend someone who has always been and there has been no other. This becomes difficult because all I see is death around me, and no one lives forever.

How is it that this God of ours turns out be so compassionate, forgiving, and a lover of beauty, much like me. Perhaps I have this all backwards and the reason that I love beauty is because I am made in His image.

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Jesus was not God.

Posted on 08/22/2011 by remso

Jesus was not God.

What some groups teach about Jesus and the Bible’s response
Adapted from Rose Publications, Christianity, Cults & Religions, 7th Edition.

First off; I do not agree with this statement, at all. I will admit difficulty totally understanding the concept, but I comprehend through scripture that He was God, and therefore have confidence in Jesus being God and accept that as fact.

What initiated this brief dive into the cults and their opposing statements, was a question asked by a co-worker about what the Jehovah Witness believe, because he felt that a person at work was trying to convert him. I did not feel like I gave him a good, solid answer. I have the book, Kingdom of the Cults, by Walter Martin, but I find my self overwhelmed by the amount of information. The Rose chart seems to give me just enough information to satisfy the inquiries of my shallow mind. (My sense of humor)

The Rose chart used John 1:1 as their first definitive answer, so lets take a look at that.
IN THE beginning [before all time] was the Word (Christ), and the Word was with God, and the Word was God Himself. [Isa. 9:6.] (John 1:1 AMP)

That is a an excellent portrayal of not only Jesus as God, but Jesus as the Word of the living God. A concept that people, primarily non-believers, will struggle with. One really needs to take in the whole scene, in context, therefore I suggest that you spend some time thinking about John 1:1-5. That way you can see the intricacies of the portrait, much like a painting of a sunny day, with the sun dominating in the sky, there are so many other subtle details that enhance the composition.

The translation, Word, is from the Greek word Logos, meaning a spoken word; a thought or concept, and an expression of utterance of that thought. With 325 occurrences of the word Logos, over half are translated as the Word of God. Virtually every other has to do with some method of communication.

One of the problems that anyone has to deal with is a lack of belief. You can beat people over the head with scripture all day long, with conviction, and still not get them to change their minds. Sort of like that old saying, you can lead a horse to water but you cannot make him drink. Perhaps overwhelming evidence is the way, presented in love.

John 1:1 is understandable to me, but then I chose to understand, and I have come to know that the Holy Spirit is playing a major role in mine or anyone’s ability to grasp and pursue the truth. Jesus made a few other statements concerning himself as the Word.

Luke 8:21 “My mother and brothers are those who hear God’s word and put it into practice.”
Here he had been teaching. Challenged because of the potential scene his mother and brothers (James) were making outside; he responds with this statement. Did you notice that He attributed the Word coming out of his mouth to being God’s words. If Jesus had not been God then this statement would be blasphemous.
John 5:24 “Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my Word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life.
In this verse lies the key that opens anything about scripture that the world perceives as a mystery. Paul uses that term when he wrote his letter to young Timothy. Jesus points out that anyone responding to His Word and having a belief, in God, has eternal life and will not be judged. This is the same message that Paul preaches in his letter to the Romans. Paul never stood before Jesus, that we know of, listening intently, allowing it to grow faith in him. So where do you think Paul got this from? You would be right to say directly from Jesus himself.
John8:37 I know that you are Abraham’s descendants. Yet you are looking for a way to kill me, because you have no room for my Word.
I chuckle as I read these passages for the Pharisees knew exactly what he was saying. It is possible that the common folk did not grasp it. Keep in mind that not everyone had a bible sitting on a table next to the Lazy Boy.
What is dominate to me in this passage is that they had no room for his Word. How does that happen? They were the learned ones, they studied “God’s Law” with diligence. One might think that all they had room for was God’s word, and yet standing before God he tells them they do not. Reacting purely out human emotion their anger and rage must have boiled to the surface. They did not accept Him as the Messiah, they certainly were not going to accept him God, so to kill him was a prescribed recourse, because that is what you do to blasphemous persons.

What I have listed below is a short collection of passages that speak toward Jesus being God. I pretty much operate out of the NIV, so the verse will be from there unless otherwise stated.
Much like many movies these days where there is some humorous gem that follows along with the credits, I suggest you read to the end.
1Corinthians 1:24 Christ is the power and the wisdom of God.
Colossians 2:3 Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom an knowledge.
Colossians 2:9 In Christ all the fulness of the deity (God) lives in bodily form,
John 1:3 (GW) Everything came into existence through him. Not one thing that exists was made without him.
John 1:14 That Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.
Colossians 1:15-19
(15) The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.
(16) For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him.
(17) He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
(18) And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy.
(19) For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him,

Whether I made my point or not is somewhat dependent upon the reader. An argument is constructed in such a manner as to convince the opposition of it correctness. Jesus needed no proofs and yet God provided them; perhaps that is because He knew how broken and skeptical we were. Jesus was described before He came. His name was established in the heavens and foretold. He walked this earth as a man fulfilling every prophecy about him. He did precisely what He said He would do. He died and rose again. He was witnessed by many after he arose, and He ascended into the heavens, sending us His Holy Spirit, just as He said He would do. This is what Paul tells Timothy in the passage below.

1 Timothy 3:16 (MSG) This Christian life is a great mystery, far exceeding our understanding, but some things are clear enough: He appeared in a human body, was proved right by the invisible Spirit, was seen by angels. He was proclaimed among all kinds of peoples, believed in all over the world, taken up into heavenly glory.

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Ferrets and Hearing loss

Posted on 08/11/2011 by remso

Early one recent A.M. I was watching a program about people and their pets, specifically ferrets. There is something captivating about how animated they are. Attach a wrecking ball and they could destroy anything. They grab and hide everything. Strangely, while watching, I found myself analyzing whether or not I could fit all these quirks and demands into my life.

What does any of this have to do with hearing loss?

I passed by Dad a short time later and tried to talk with him about. (This was meant to be a funny conversation as I had no intention of getting a ferret.) I already had an idea of what he would say, if he heard me. He did not.

I tried getting louder and even changed the wording, but he still could not hear enough to understand. His mind apparently went to the visit by the great grand daughter the previous day. I know this because when I said, and motioned to indicate how ferrets would get into all this stuff, he said something about ‘yeah, that little kid was all into this stuff’.

OK, he is not hearing me, and I refuse to scream. – Now is when it gets worse.

Side note: I have been noticing a phenomenon that happens with me also. If I only hear a portion of what was said, and the portion may have been critical to the story, the minds tends to create a logical assumption and fills in the blank spot. So in the case of my Dad, a child was the logical assumption for the missing ferret.

I had given up the attempt to communicate this ferret story to him and was past ready to move away, but I now found the correlation between ferrets and children worthy of a chuckle.

Mom, notorious for her interjections, whether called for or not, is standing in the hall. She had already started muttering something about this, as she was also aware of this correlation. She is facing dad, who is frustrated because he could not understand. I quickly mentioned the subject to mom and she starts laughing.

Dad sees mom’s laughter, makes a huge assumption, and begins screaming, “go ahead, make fun of me because I cannot hear.”

I suppose in truth that is what we were doing, but I do not think it was intentional, at least on my part. Dad said a few other things in next few seconds, but a deeper source of anger came to the surface, and that was the interruption of his plans with having to watch an eighteen month old child that previous day.

The child has to be entertained, but worse is that at grandpa’s house there far to many things within reach of a small child that can harm them. We have lived with it and pay little attention to them. One might equate it to going into the barn, at a farm. You might find pitch forks, axes, hoes, and large animals, that are more than willing to kick you into next week if you annoy them. Dad was raised with a farm mentality and thinks little of it.

This all reminds me of a landscape design project that I worked on for a man that lived in the high desert. Even though he had small children, that would be playing hard, right next to these cactus he wanted, said, “if they get hurt, they will only do it once.”

Obviously hearing loss has been a theme as I have been writing, so here goes.

What can one say about hearing loss? Aside from the disappointment you endure, not much good. I have some, and I have blown up at my girlfriend over it, just as my dad did. It is not a joke to me.

There are several causes, but a couple of things that are common with me are: divided attention; lack of focus, and external noises.

If I am focused on the television or my mind gets involved in some thought, then I probably will not hear or at least register what you said to me. Mind you I probably heard something, it just did not register as intelligible with me. I also find that my hearing is affected quite a bit when I am driving, for now I am competing with all the street noises and other cars that are not paying attention, because of their own personal distractions.

Now, relate all this to the Holy Spirit trying to speak into our lives on a daily basis. There are times that I cannot hear anything for all the voices in my head. No, I am not losing my mind, but be real for a moment. I stop to get a bite to eat prior to work in the morning. This often feels like the best part of my day, for now I can be alone, get quiet, read the Word, and try to tune out whatever funk they have playing on the overhead radio. So here I sit, thinking about the time, avoiding upcoming traffic, what God may be saying to me, attempting to listen to his voice, tuning out some of my own thoughts, and all this while competing with 80’s disco and boy bands that were so popular then.

Get it – voices. All of them competing for my attention, and I have to learn to pick out the most beneficial one. Ideally I want that to be the voice of the Holy Spirit.

In the midst of all this, you need to know that God is not going to yell in order to get your attention. No doubt he can make a ruckus, we saw that when he was making his point along these lines with Elijah. The end result of that teaching session was that God communicated with a still small voice.

” Then he said, Go out and take your place on the mountain before the Lord. Then the Lord went by, and mountains were parted by the force of a great wind, and rocks were broken before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind there was an earth-shock, but the Lord was not in the earth-shock. And after the earth-shock a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire, the sound of a soft breath. And Elijah, hearing it, went out, covering his face with his robe, and took his place in the opening of the hole. And there a voice came to him saying, What are you doing here, Elijah? ” (1 Kings 19:11-13 BBE)

I can tell you from experience that I have to be paying attention to hear a voice like that.

An analogy: My girlfriend and her daughters have learned to communicate with very high frequency, low volume, vocal tones. It seems to me that happens when they do not want me to hear them. In truth, they are just used to each other and do it all the time.

The nice thing about the Holy Spirit is that he speaks to and through our spirits, and that is internal, not subject to physical impairments that prevent a hearing loss. And the Holy Spirit can speak to you whether you belong to Him or not.

Why might that be? He paid the ransom price for us, and technically owns us. Ponder that!

Why then do we not hear Him?

Having taken grandma to the hearing specialist we learned that arthritis can effect the inner ear, causing the eardrum to toughen, therefore not responding appropriately to the sound it hears. We seem to suffer from a spiritual version of this in which we harden our hearts. God speaks of this when he says “do not harden you hearts..”. You will find references to this in: Psa 95:8, Heb 3:8, Heb 3:15, Heb 4:7

This hardening is a selfish act that desensitizes the heart against God’s voice. I might note that grandma, in our opinion, could not hear, and yet he claimed she has no hearing loss as we understand it. If not for the hardening, she would hear.

I suspect that little occurs outside the umbrella of self inflicted hearing loss when it comes to God speaking. Let’s suppose that you are not intentionally trying to ignore God, then we have to consider the distraction factors. Scripture tells us that the world and all that is in it are hostile against God.

Your mind balks at that because you have to work, and I am sure that God intended for you to relax. Perhaps, but there is little about your life that promotes focused concentration on God’s voice.

For me, one of the ways I focus my attention upon Him is through worship. That word means different things depending upon the hearer. Many will tell you that every aspect of being on the property of our religious edifice fills the need for worship. I don’t think so! I have run sound boards and had to walk away. I ran the computer interfaced projection screen, and directed the camera people, and I had to walk away. WHY? Because it became a tedious job and ceased to be a part of worship. No doubt for a time it was, and felt like it. I can remember how it felt to be able to dance before the Lord, in a booth that I thought no one could see into. I remember being able to comment to a camera person how what the Pastor had just said spoke into my heart. But it all turned into a stressful, tedious, job, and I have that on a steady basis at work, and do not want that in any form come time for me to go to “church”.

Women, at least in my opinion, seem to think all of us men are shallow because we might go and buy a card and merely sign our name to it. I can tell you that I picked up and read every one of them. The one I signed has been one of those that expressed most clearly what I wanted to convey. I have learned that I must take this card thing a step further by adding some additional emotion. Worship, singing out to the Lord, is the same thing to me. I make many of the songs we sing mine, and I sing them back to God as a prayer, or a plea.

It excites me that so many songs extol God for his greatness or his grace and mercy. There is one that says, “but that is not who you are”. In so many places in scripture there are descriptive words defining who we are in Christ, and how God sees us. I cannot get enough of this. It focuses me, clears out the cobwebs of daily life, and it often causes me to be overwhelmed with waves of joy, and I find myself laughing. Given a more liberal environment I would just let that joy wash over me, for that is a place I love, and long to be enveloped in.

Why is it that you can take a quiet, reserved, confined person, add alcohol and they will do things with little regard for the people around them?

Consider that we as believers have been invited to come and drink from the fountain of life. I might add that Jesus turned the water into wine. Life tends to evoke thoughts of things that though strenuous, bring joy and mental relaxation.

Ponder the reaction many have to alcohol. It shuts down or mutes many of the brains receptors, and apparently concerns for what people think about you and perceive are one of those. If you are out of control and humiliate yourself, though you may have no concerns at the time, many will remind you later about what you did.

I spoke to a hypnotist on one occasion and asked him why people do crazy things under hypnosis. He said those people are doing no less than what they would under the influence of alcohol, and they are only doing what their conscience and personal limitations will allow. In other words, you will not do thing that go against your will.

God asks us to step out in faith and speak something that is unknown to us, into someone else’ life. His intent, though that is really not our concern, often involves some form of healing or revelation of God’s love toward the individual. (I realize that was a simplistic answer, but “God’s love” is inclusive of most of what God does, therefore a fair answer.) I have many times seen the recipients tear up as God speaks to them through a willing person. (I am usually overwhelmed by the mercy of God as I give out something like this, and you would typically see me in tears as well.)

If I cannot step outside those things that constrain me internally then how do I respond to God’s voice?

If there is really no hearing loss, what then are we dealing with?

Lack of focus – upon God, his Word, his voice?

Outside distractions – There are so many.

No interest – In what, knowing Him?

Self conscious issues – you are so concerned about what, how this makes you look? I wanted to much to be cool and accepted. Fortunately I have become old enough to realize how stupid that is, most of the time.

A fear of ….

Lack of trust – Really this could easily fall under the category of fear. But if you do not trust God then you are showing me that you do not know Him, and that is a situation that you can remedy.

You believe that you are lacking the venue in which to deliver your message. – This one is such a trap. I fell into it myself. If God gives you a word for someone, while tact may be in order, the place has nothing to do with some church structure. I watched a group who opted to take the prophetic ministry to the street and integrate it into their street ministry. I watched the tears flow on the street as well, as God showed people who might not have stepped inside a church, how much he loved them. God will invade your dreams and the dreams of others if you ask him.

A lack of recognition of God’s voice. – That is one you will have practice. It requires that you take risks, and therefore allow your steps to be subtle and small at first. If you use this as a guideline you will probably be relatively safe. God has said all that he needs to say in his word, therefore what you say can easily sound so much like bits of several scriptures and have such a tremendous impact. If you merely told someone, with sincerity, that God was especially fond of them, you would not be wrong.

Be careful. If you deny or attribute God’s intent or activity to the Devil then according to Matthew 12 you are in the place of blasphemy, and that cannot be a good place.

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What do you mean by idle words, virtually everything we say is idle.

Posted on 07/16/2011 by remso

A chance meeting has led me to Matthew’s gospel.

Matthew 12:9-37

God has settled me in chapter12 and I find myself focused on verse 36 for several days.

The context of verse 36 is part of his response to “It is only by Beelzebub, the prince of demons, that this fellow drives out demons.”

These Pharisees attributed his work, God’s work, the Spirit’s work, to the devil. A portion of his response includes this: “men will have to give an account for every careless word they have spoken.”

We have this tendency to take a verse like this and beat people up with it. Another way of stating that idea would be the undue guilt and condemnation we lay upon people who will not look at scripture for themselves.

Let’s take a look at the possibilities of what he was talking about.

Matthew was a Jewish oriented writer and part of his mission seemed to be convincing the Jewish believers that Jesus was God, through lineage, prophecy, actions, and words. Chapter12 gives us a taste of many aspects of this.  Since the Pharisees were notorious for their long eloquent prayers that truly meant nothing, Matthew went right for the heart. You will be held accountable for every word.

But I say to you that every idle word, whatever men may speak, they shall give an account of it in the day of judgment. Matthew 12:36 MKJV)

One might think that he had turned his attention back to his disciples, or the crowd that seemed to follow him everywhere. That would be a logical assumption except that He, in verse 34, states: “you generation of vipers”, a specific reference to the Pharisees that had challenged him and were still standing before him.

Although the target of His conversation is the Pharisees, He is also talking to the Jewish crowd that always followed Him; the fact that Matthew points all this out then by extension applies to us as well. But does it really?

Only seconds before Jesus made this statement of condemnation he made a startling statement, to those that heard it, that was very freeing, and a reference to a future act, the cross, and his death.

“I tell you therefore, men will be forgiven any sin and blasphemy, but they will not be forgiven for blaspheming the Spirit. Whoever says a word against the Son of man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven, neither in this world nor in the world to come.” Matthew 12:31-32 Moffatt NT)
If you had previously dived into Paul’s letter to the Romans you got a taste of this as he speaks about sin, the struggle, and how we, as followers of Christ are to consider ourselves dead to sin. Now, here in Matthew, we are dealing with somewhat conflicting messages. One seems all-encompassing in terms of condemnation, and the other implies a blanket freedom from sins. This freedom is not exclusive to future believers only, but in the chronology of Christ’s life and death, will soon be inclusive of everyone.

There seems to be a dividing line.

The Pharisees were educated and there should be no doubt about that. Paul was one, and his zeal drove him to murder early Christians. (Do not think naively that Stephen was the first and only.) And yet, with all their education, they could not see or understand that God stood before them. Matthew was still trying, all these years later, to point this fact out to them.

Why, with all your education, would you make a statement like this; “When the Pharisees heard this, they replied, “He drives out demons only because their ruler Beelzebul gives him power to do so.”” Matthew 12:24 GNB)

Revelation 20:13 Indicates that those being judged at the great white throne are judged based upon their deeds and not their words.

Here again, we have another clue to help us interpret scripture. In Revelation 20 verse 4, John tells us that he saw those who had been beheaded because of their testimony for Jesus. Doesn’t this imply that words were the reason they were killed? Not necessarily.  Were they simply careless? It does not seem to matter when it comes to making a final stand for the true God, as they demonstrated exemplary action.

These are the tribulation saints – those who did not believe prior to the harpazo (the rapture.) These saints, as God called them, certainly experienced a judgment based upon their words and actions. 

The pathetic aspect of this is that they did not have to go through the “great tribulation”, and that in itself exhibits a disregard that is mind-boggling. Even still God is not bringing judgment upon them because of this lack of activity on their part.

As I write this I am thinking about a guy at work, a Jehovah Witness, that does not know the true God, and yet has a vague understanding of God and who he is. He does, however, believe that Jesus and Satan were brothers. Why wouldn’t a belief system like that not fall under the category of blaspheming against the Spirit? If anything I think that we find that God is much more merciful than most of us imagined.

One other thing to note about these people who disregarded God’s pleas for them to come to Him. Faults or not, they (if deemed a part of the tribulation saints,) will rule and reign with Christ during the thousand years, merely because they finally took a stand and chose God over the beast.

There are other predominant flags here that lead us to an understanding of what and to whom Jesus is talking.

  • First, let’s not just classify them as Pharisees but deeply religious people. Now we can extend this to today, and we have plenty of those.
  • Secondly, Jesus deemed their words as careless. Perhaps we can substitute thoughtless, derogatory, in opposition, blatantly lacking belief, and therefore in denial of the power of the Holy Spirit and therefore God. If you attribute an act of God to the Satanic then you are not just denying the power of God, you may well be denying God himself.

The passage tells us that Jesus knew their thoughts. Doesn’t that mean that they had not openly spoken out the negativity that filled their vile little hearts? What if, even on a small scale, they had broadcast their denials of God and his power?

The Pharisees, do they not become the poison that begins to kill the tree? Alright, you caught me, I left out an aspect of Jesus response to the Pharisees; his comments about trees producing good fruit. So, let me interject them for a moment.

“Make a tree good and its fruit will be good or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is known by its fruit.
Matthew 12:33 NET.)
I was trained as a Horticulturalist so this speaks to me on a couple of levels. So I ask myself, how does one make a tree good?

  1. If I want an Apple tree that is what I buy, therefore the tree is expected to produce a particular fruit.

  2. In its early stages of growth, not having reached maturity, I would be foolish to expect fruit. Therefore patience is a virtue, and condemning the tree without giving it a chance to grow is foolish. Jesus was from an agricultural environment and may have had a firm grasp of this. Even if farming was not in his knowledge base he was a carpenter, and who better would have understood trees.

  3. These days we know that certain trees have issues in particular environments. (No kidding, are we not the same way.) It is safer, on the part of the grower, to graft an excellent apple variety onto a variety that may not be known for its edibility as much as it is for disease resistance. Hence the trunk of the tree is different from the producing portion. The rootstock (the part in the ground that becomes the anchor in a sense) often resists a common nematode that impacts apple varieties, while the canopy produces a much-desired fruit. (This should have a familiar ring to it, as scripture tells us that we believers have also been grafted in.)

  4. Placed in a preferred environment (good soil) the tree what it was meant to do. Can it be nourished through fertilization? Yes, and a knowledge of pruning techniques that enhance production is essential, for some trees produce on the second-year growth of wood.

How would you make a tree bad?

That does not even sound right, to a farmer that is counterproductive, as a majority of a farmers time is spent fighting against influences that can cause a tree to go bad.  If I wanted to harm a tree, or purposely kill it, then a simple method would be to withhold water. A lack of water will stress the tree, impacting the fruit and production; and, if the drought is prolonged and severe enough the tree will not recover from the stress, and die. Isn’t death bad enough?

How does this relate?

Obviously, it does because Jesus presented it. Have you not read that in the life of the believer, the word of God is the water. Now picture putting yourself under a self-imposed stress, because of a lack of water. How far do you have to push the limits of non-watering before your chances of recovery are maxed out? (In a plant’s life, removal of water impacts every aspect of the plant. Each aspect is essential; and, taken together over an extended period a death sentence for the plant.) The point here is that stressing a plant is a bad thing, and at minimum causes the plant to wilt until more water comes. Now why would you want to intentionally do a similar thing to your own life; and yet, that is what we do. Most of us, from the standpoint of God’s word, never water ourselves, and if the Holy Spirit shows himself strong anywhere near us, most will cry that they want none of that.

What did the Pharisees say that was so bad? “It is only by Beelzebub .. that this fellow drives out demons.”

Are you serious? This was a direct affront to the idea that Jesus was God, and even they understood that only God could cast out a demon. This makes me chuckle for people are ignorant enough to say that Jesus never said that he was God. If he did not say it when he was demonstrating it, the Pharisee’s had just watched it happen, and they are now confronted by evidence that conflicted with and convicted them of their unbelief.

There is something that happens in people, and they will not accept responsibility for their mistakes.

Seriously, how many times have you heard someone say “I knew that!” or “that is what I meant to say!”. The Pharisees did not waste their time saying those things, they take it to the next step; they immediately start plotting to kill Jesus. Knowing this concerned him to the degree that he pulled away from these madmen. (Do not think that Jesus pulled back out of fear. I believe that he knew the precise timing, and when he needed to ride into Jerusalem on the donkey, as scripture and the prophets foretold; and therefore, relocated so as not to provoke unnecessary and premature murder attempts.)

Calling Jesus “this fellow” is another slap in the face of God. Even if you cannot attribute his works to God, they knew his name, and evidence alone told them that Jesus was God, just as he had stated.

The bottom line here is that the blasphemy that is unforgivable is a denial of His name, son-ship, authority, claims, and power; effectively refusing to accept who God is. It is not just your playing with words, this is a choice and lifestyle. That should have rung a bell for belief in the one who raised Jesus from the dead is the key to salvation.

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We were deemed righteous.

Posted on 06/10/2011 by remso

Through Justification – We were deemed righteous.

Without fanfare, hoopla, and all the festive sounds of a celebration it came – our justification.

Life came in place of death. Previously we had no options, we were all dead men walking, but on that day everything changed.

Do you think anyone noticed, felt different, or made radical changes to their lives because of it. Yes, there were some dramatic moments. Some of which equaled any nail biting movie scene, for graves popped open and people came back to life. There was an earthquake, the sun went dark at midday, and the one that few would have been aware of, the curtain within the temple, thick and dense, ripped in two starting at the top and tearing all the way to the floor; in a sense exposing God openly to the world and the world to God.

Justified in God’s eyes. Paid for, and now free to choose. Prior to Christ’s death man had no choice. Instructions after the law came showed man how to momentarily alleviate guilt, but it brought no life.

Abram, he hoped for …
But what did he base his hope upon? God had showed himself to Abram in dreams and visions on several occassions. Apparently they were so explicit that Abram was able to relay what he saw at a later date.

Having had one of those moments I can remember thinking that I should write this down. I did not. Upon awakening I remembered little of what was said, only the concept that the end of my life was filled with great joy. Having lived another 32 years since that revelation I have experienced very brief punctuations of joy in a sorrow filled life.
Do I understand it all? No. What I do take away from all this is that there is something more; a promise of things to come, perhaps heaven, and that I have my hope in.

Abram had a promise of things to come and he hoped in those things. Apparently he remembered his.
Did he have the potential for sorrow and doubt? Yes.

Let’s ponder this for a moment. God hears his plea for a famiy, and yet it is many years before Issac is born. You really think that space in time did not get to him. When Sarai offers him Hagar, Abram seems to jump at the chance. He certainly did put up much of a fight.
Looking forward a few years later. Ishamael, the product of his relations with Hagar, has to be sent away almost as though he did not exist. Good, bad, or indifferent this is a son to Abram and a crushing blow.

Isaac comes along, and is now of an age where he can see the logic of what is happening  and might even be able to put up a fight, and yet the boy becomes obedient, perhaps even submissive to the father’s will. Isaac may have even had an understanding of what was taking place. Unless God comes through this boy is about to become the sacrifice. Obviously God comes through, but make note you hear nothing of Sarah anymore until her death.

Sometimes it feels as though even if you can read about the love that God has toward us, that it is still just a mind game. How much less would this have been the case with Abraham. He had the same potential issues to deal with, and Satan was not going to let up on him any less than us.
Here is where we have a slight edge. Abraham had to believe that there was a reality to what he saw in the dreams and visions in order to obtain righteousness. A right standing with God. He had no life in himself; he was a dead man. Christ died for our sins, and rose again for our life, our justification. Therefore we are alive and righteous in God’s eyes. Paul makes clear that we have to believe that to be considered sons, adopted, and joint heirs with Christ, and a joint heir enjoys the same benefits as the heir does, right? Then if nothing else happens, heaven is my hope. There are other things that make me feel alive, kinda like writing this blog, or responding to the spirit when He tells me to speak.

I truly believe that there is a heaven, promised by Jesus himself, and that he invited all who will believe in him, a life with him and the Father.

What do you hope in?

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Abraham believed God

Posted on 06/09/2011 by remso

Rom 4:3  For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.
Seems straightforward enough, but very simplistic. In reality I suppose it is. Stretch this out there a couple more years perhaps, to a time after the snatching away has taken place. All those people that the church has deemed evil have had to take a stand, refusing to take the beasts mark, or worship the beast. For their stand they will be beheaded (this, by the way, is a fundamental Islamic teaching and methodology.) Because they have refused to take the mark, then we have to assume that in some bizarre or sincere way they have accepted that Jehovah is God. Here is the absolutely amazing part, God calls them saints. After a period of time, which is God prescribed, he raptures them to heaven.
Now did anyone see the FAITH in this, for it was certainly counted unto them as righteousness. That should sound familiar seeing as it is the same phrase that was used on Abram.
Consider that word “it”, we will come back to that.

Now for a brief interlude:
Warning!!! I am going to leave this in because this is a great example of why we should read our bibles for ourselves, and not allow someone’s fairy tale to allow us to form an image or opinion of who God is.
Abram, apparently an old man, has set up camp in the desert. Let’s call it that for the sake of the story. Flat, somewhat desolate, and relatively open; anyone could see for miles if a camel was approaching. The tent where Sarai is getting ready to cook dinner is about a hundred yards away, and Abram has bent over gathering some sticks. Totally aware of what is around him because there are some dangers around these parts due to snakes and such.
When Abram stands himself up and turns to go back to the tent there is a man standing there. Abram leaps a few feet backward, drops all firewood he has gathered and grabs his chest in shock. Where did you come from?

This was a man standing before him. Alright let’s think this through. When Jesus’ disciples said show us the Father, what was Jesus response? Possibly a little dissapointment then a revelation unveiled to them. If you have seen me, you have seen the Father. That should not be so odd to us then to make the connection. This was Jesus, himself, standing before Abram.
What other possibilities are there? An angel, someone might say. Ok, lets ponder that a moment. Daniel saw an angel and he fell on his face as if dead at the presence of the angel.
Here is the passage that I am referring to.
Daniel 10:4-9 KJV  And in the four and twentieth day of the first month, as I was by the side of the great river, which is Hiddekel;  (5)  Then I lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold a certain man clothed in linen, whose loins were girded with fine gold of Uphaz:  (6)  His body also was like the beryl, and his face as the appearance of lightning, and his eyes as lamps of fire, and his arms and his feet like in colour to polished brass, and the voice of his words like the voice of a multitude.  (7)  And I Daniel alone saw the vision: for the men that were with me saw not the vision; but a great quaking fell upon them, so that they fled to hide themselves.  (8)  Therefore I was left alone, and saw this great vision, and there remained no strength in me: for my comeliness was turned in me into corruption, and I retained no strength.  (9)  Yet heard I the voice of his words: and when I heard the voice of his words, then was I in a deep sleep on my face, and my face toward the ground.

Abram experienced nothing like this, and did not describe the person he saw in this manner. Someone so remarkable would surely evoke some kind of comment. Just to stretch the imagination a bit I will use the imagery of Tom Selleck. Tall, handsome, a sturdy frame, and I suppose you could say he is dimpled, but there is that signature moustache. I can picture him in my mind just that quickly. And yet Abram does not yet speak of anything remarkable. How odd.
What does scripture describe Jesus as? “he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. ” Isa 53:2

But here is the rub, what did he say?
Suppose some stranger startles you, and before you can take a breath begins his spill about the latest super sponge that will absorb 1000 times its own weight in liquid simply by dropping it lightly upon your carpet. Say what!
I think my response might be something along this line. I do not know who you are or why you have just sneaked up on me, now get out before I help you out.

In a way that was pathetic. Pathetic because I used it as an analogy of what an amazing story Abram’s faith is.
But here is the practical truth. No less amazing, but God was showing himself to Abram over the course of time in dreams and visions. Why is that so remarkable? Because God is doing this with the Muslim peoples, and many are coming to Christ. It is said that they go in pursuit of the Jesus of their dreams, wishing to speak out to someone who will understand, that they have chosen to follow the true God and king.

God had spoken to Abram on several occasions, and in a sense had become a familiar acquaintance with Abram. After rescuing Lot, blessing Melchizedek, refusing the king of Sodom’s attempts at gifting, Abram has another vision. In it he asks God “what will you give me, seeing I go childless,?” Continue to read the 15th chapter of Genesis and you find a man that seems to have become well acquainted with the most high.

So God tells him that his seed will be as the stars in the heavens. Abram has seen a lot, and God has spoken to him on several occasions at this point. God has shown himself strong on Abram’s behalf and is very believable by this time. When God says you are going to have children, when after many years of trying, and apparently quiting that idea. What do you do? You try again. That may not be the keenest idea that Sarai has heard lately, but she goes along with it.
Did it work immediately? No. Sarai even suggests that he try it with Hagar. Bad idea, but it proves a point, the problem is not with Abram.

Is this the point at which we can definitively say that Abram showed tremendous faith and that was what demonstrated to God that Abram should be counted as righteous?
Doesn’t answering this question tend to evoke ramifications that we are trying to tell God what should and should not be deemed faith?

I told you to consider “it” earlier. Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. I do not see any way you can see this as anything other than belief. Belief in what though?
If I used the poor example of a someone big and scary suprising me, then telling me what was expected of me, my motivation might be more fear motivated, and that is certainly not faith. The simple kids song that goes like this, “faith is just believing what God said he would do” might be the simplistic explanation.

Paul’s letter to the Romans, where this sort of started for me, has one of the simplest recipes for belief, therefore our being counted as righteous is as simple as:

Romans 4:21-25 Moffatt NT  (21) Abram was .. convinced that He was able to do what He had promised.  (22)  Hence his faith was counted to him as righteousness.  (23)  And these words counted to him have not been written for him alone  (24)  but for our sakes as well; faith will be counted to us as we believe in Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead,  (25)  Jesus who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised that we might be justified.

– The “Him” – is of course God.
– Jesus our Lord implies that you choose to belong to him.
– Jesus died. There is no two ways about that, and the responsibility falls solely on God, for scripture tells us that God put him on that cross. The fact that he was delivered up was explicitly for the purpose of covering our trespasses, once for all time. Any attempt at diminishing that is to say that God’s payment of his son was not enough.
– That same Jesus who died, rose again. He was raised that we might be justified.  The ISBE defines the term “to justify” as:  in a legal sense, the declaring just or righteous.

Pastor Greg Laurie of Calvary Chapel defines justified this way. It is just as if I had not sinned.

Well I have blabbed on long enough. I hope you find that God is particularly pleased with you, as you have chosen to walk with him. I will thrown in one last example that I threw at the bible study the other night. If in the process of making a cake you decide to make it blue. You get the food coloring and drop in several drops. As you begin stirring the batter it eventually becomes entirely blue with no trace of other color seen. The day we accepted Him that raised Jesus from the dead God dropped some of his color in us. It is impossible to get that color out from that point on, and over the course of our life here on earth we get stirred, so gradually, until on that day we meet him face to face, that color is permeating every aspect of who we are until we are completely overtaken by his color and none of our own shows anymore. Now there is little hope for you.
God bless and love ya.

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