My wife and IFiled under: Culture, God | Tags: Chaos, Hatred, hell, Kingdom of Heaven
Gen 1:26-28 NKJV Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” (27) So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. (28) Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
For those of us who are God fearing, who believe that God has created all that is and that includes human life on this planet upon which we all live, it is imperative that we state emphatically that ALL LIVES MATTER, black, brown, white. It matters not what your color, where you came from or more importantly how you live your life. What does matter is that we are all related to one another, we all came from one beginning.
Gen 11:6-8 NKJV And the LORD said, “Indeed the people are one and they all have one language, and this is what they begin to do; now nothing that they propose to do will be withheld from them. (7) Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.” (8) So the LORD scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth, and they ceased building the city.
This is an interesting story, mankind was settled in one place and decided to build a tower to reach into heaven so they would be like God, the original sin was that Adam and his wife, later called Eve, would be like God if they ate the fruit. Here again mankind wants to be like God. Mankind finds itself unable to understand each other any more, and God splits them into language groups and places each group into its own place. Over time the men and women of the different groups change to what we see today, people who came from southern climbs, have darker skin, those from Asia seem to have sallow appearing skin and then of course we have those from the middle lands, Europeans who have white appearing skin. One thing we all have in common, we are ALL human beings, we are ALL mankind, men and women ALL are part of the human experience, we are not different beings, we are ALL mankind.
Yet here we are in our modern day, trying to make out that one group is superior to all the others. BLACK LIVES MATTER. This is the slogan, and if you try to say that, any life matters, not only Black but all lives matter, you find yourself being shouted down, and in some cases actually injured. This is not the nation that I grew up in, I can state that with all sincerity. We had our differences, and over time we had worked much of that out, and were working to try to collectively, realize the dream of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., he realized that we as a nation and as a people were trying to work through the stains in our society. We as honest Christian men and women were working to look at each other not as Black, White, Brown or Yellow, but as American men and women.
Did we have faults? Yes we did, but more and more we were working to end that scourge of racist hatred. The Margaret Sanger’s of this world want us to practice euthanasia, kill babies of those who are, supposedly, inferior so that they will not spread their inferiority to others. That is where Hitler got his ideas about killing of inferiors so that the master race would be the only one left. Thank God we ended that scourge of hatred, but of course we still had those hatreds in our own nation too. In the world I grew up in we were still working to rid ourselves of that horror, then came hatred rearing its ugly head. First the assassination of John F Kennedy, then Dr. King, then Bobby Kennedy. What a horrific time that was, we mourned each of these deaths together, but there were those who rioted in many cities, businesses and homes were burned and people were killed. Finally, we came to our senses and it all stopped, and for those of us in our collective groups, we worked at being good neighbors.
Then came 9/11 and the destruction of the twin towers, the death of the passengers of that plane in the field in Pennsylvania, and the destruction at the Pentagon by another plane. We all came together again in our grief and anger at what had happened. It was short lived and we went back to our lives and well we realized that our lives had changed. We were no longer as free as we had been. Much had changed in our society, the government had become Big Brother, spying on people and interfering in our lives to a degree new to our way of life. Let me now bring us to today, with chaos in our cities and of course Covid the gift of China to the world.
This will be a much longer quote from the Bible: Mat 24:3-14 NKJV Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?” (4) And Jesus answered and said to them: “Take heed that no one deceives you. (5) For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. (6) And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. (7) For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. (8) All these are the beginning of sorrows. (9) “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. (10) And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. (11) Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. (12) And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. (13) But he who endures to the end shall be saved. (14) And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.
Wars: There are 10 official wars and 8 active military conflicts recognized by the United States. There are also other violent conflicts involving 64 countries and 576 militias and separatist groups. This information comes from: https://www.reference.com/world-view/many-wars-going-world-right-now-ffd6236450ccb7ae this is only wars, there is much famine in our world right now as well: Yemen, DR Congo, Afghanistan, Venezuela, Ethiopia, South Sudan, Syria, Sudan, Northern Nigeria and Haiti are all facing famine of greater or lessor degrees. This list is in order of the number of people who will be affected by this shortage of food.
Today in many parts of the world Christians are facing death because of their faith. China has been removing crosses from Churches and putting in their place pictures of Xi and demanding that they worship the CCP and Xi as its head. Christians who refuse will find themselves in retraining camps.
In many other countries Pastors and Christians are being killed and their entire villages are leveled and / or burned to the ground. So here is the truth about persecution worldwide today: Every day, 8 Christians worldwide are killed because of their faith. Every week, 182 churches or Christian buildings are attacked. And every month, 309 Christians are imprisoned unjustly. So reports the 2020 World Watch List (WWL), the latest annual accounting from Open Doors of the top 50 countries where Christians are the most persecuted for their faith.
“We cannot let this stand,” said David Curry, president and CEO of Open Doors USA, during the 2020 list’s unveiling in Washington, DC, this morning. “People are speaking out and we have an obligation to hear their cry.” The listed nations comprise 260 million Christians suffering high to severe levels of persecution, up from 245 million in last year’s list.
Of course we cannot forget the chaos in our own streets, the hatred of these marxist groups for our nation is now destroying cities across the nation. Of course Chicago has been home to much of this for many years, but, others have not. Oregon, and Washington States have not experienced this sort of violence until now. the marxist thugs want to destroy our history and rewrite it. One of the things that is particularly troubling is the 1619 project which is attempting to rewrite the history of our nation to say that it began with slavery in 1619 not in 1776 with freedom. It is an attempt to set us on a course of race war in our nation. We have been working since the beginning of our nation to bring freedom to all people in this nation. We are not perfect, but we are working toward perfection, and the end of racial hatred. My pain in this is that hatred and war will continue until our nation is destroyed and our hope for true partnership between all people in this nation will be lost to the marxist thugs who are working to destroy us, with the help of the demoncrat party. I do mean demoncrat simply because I see the members of that party moving into absolute hatred for any freedom loving people. These are people who want absolute power over our very lives.
This is just the beginning, there is more to come, Satan is alive and well and causing Chaos throughout our world. The only thing that holds this horror back right now is the the Spirit of God is still alive and well and living in Christians all across this world. Yes many are being killed and tortured for their faith. However we as Christians know that Satan cannot win, and that he and his evil will be completely destroyed and we will live forever with our Savior and Lord, Jesus the Christ, the second person of the God head, the human Face of God. I say all this because I want to see many thousands more people in this world become a part of our Christian family. It will mean eternity in the presence of God, instead of in the Lake of Fire (Hell).
Contact me, or any other believer that you may know, and we will be glad to help you to understand that God indeed loves you and wants you to be a part of the Kingdom of Heaven. The choice is yours, God will not force you to become a part of the Kingdom. You can only become a part by your own voluntary request, the alternative, is your voluntary membership in the kingdom of Hell and eternity in the lake of fire.
It is always your choice, please choose wisely, learn of the Kingdom of God or choose not to and be a part of the kingdom of death with Satan.
In June I wrote that God will not be mocked, and since then I have seen our nation torn apart by marxist thugs disguised as protestors. Not only the thugs though, they have been allowed to destroy, loot, and kill with the blessings of politicians. The police have been vilified and killed by these same thugs and these same politicians have applauded these murders, not only of police but also of innocent civilians. These are sins of magnitude, but, sin has no magnitude, SIN is acts against God.
It has become a mark of hatred to attack Christians and Jews, and now I find that there is a so-called documentary that has been sneaking around denigrating Christ as being homosexual. This is of course a direct attack against God, although we Christians see it as an attack upon our own faith. It is also an attack against the Muslim faith which sees Jesus as a prophet, and Judaism since Jesus was a Jew, and is seen as being a prophet and teacher as well. This would never be done to Mohammad since it would be an explosion across all countries, and these cowards don’t want to offend the Muslim community. However this is an affront against all three major religious groups.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1697891/?ref_=vp_back This is the trailer for this production, and there are so-called priests, pastors and of course professors who praise this film. Those who think this is a wonderful and freeing documentary are sadly mistaken. It is a sinful and hateful attack against God, another one of the long list of sins brought about by our world which is filled with hatred against everything that restricts its ability to practice moral depravity in all things. We must stand against this and all actions that bring people into acting against God, by joining in the sins of the world.
All actions that are taken, whether in word or deed, that degrade morality will lead to one place and only one place. HELL awaits all who will pervert Gods activity in our world. Here are the words of the Apostle Paul in the Complete Jewish Bible: Rom 1:18-21 CJB What is revealed is God’s anger from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people who in their wickedness keep suppressing the truth; (19) because what is known about God is plain to them, since God has made it plain to them. (20) For ever since the creation of the universe his invisible qualities—both his eternal power and his divine nature—have been clearly seen, because they can be understood from what he has made. Therefore, they have no excuse; (21) because, although they know who God is, they do not glorify him as God or thank him. On the contrary, they have become futile in their thinking; and their undiscerning hearts have become darkened.
This is truth as told in the scriptures both the Jewish Testament and the Christian Testament are clear in regard to sin and its consequences. It actually does not matter what sin you are guilty of, all sin leads to the same place. Eternity in the Lake of Fire, HELL! We Christians believe that there is salvation from Hell in only one person, that is Jesus the Christ. The human face of God for all generations. The truth of scripture cannot be changed by those who do not like their sin being seen in those scriptures, so they will work to change what is written. Their problem is, God does not change, he is not a man, God is outside of time and space, for he created them both.
There is a time coming fellow human beings when the Creator of Time and Space and of you and I, mankind, we are all creatures and we are all finite beings. One day we will will leave this finite existence for an eternal one, and it will be to one of two places. HELL or HEAVEN, it is your choice, and you choose it by your activity. Will you follow evil, immorality or will you choose to follow Jesus. Immorality, evil will lead to Hell, the only way to heaven is through Jesus. Your choice, I would that you will renounce the sin nature and become one who follows Jesus, but if not I am sorry, hell awaits you.
Joh 3:16-18 CJB “For God so loved the world that he gave his only and unique Son, so that everyone who trusts in him may have eternal life, instead of being utterly destroyed. (17) For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but rather so that through him, the world might be saved. (18) Those who trust in him are not judged; those who do not trust have been judged already, in that they have not trusted in the one who is God’s only and unique Son.
Jesus was born into this world as a baby, not by human means, but by the Holy Spirit sent by God to fertilize the “egg” in Mary his mother. God planted himself in her womb and Jesus was born, fully human and fully God, so that the word of God in Genesis might be fulfilled. Gen 3:15 CJB I will put animosity between you and the woman, and between your descendant and her descendant; he will bruise your head, and you will bruise his heel.” At the cross on Calvary, the serpent was crushed because Jesus in death, brought life and resurrection to new life. Satan has no power except when we humans give it to him. Please, do not give Satan power over you and your life. Choose Life in Jesus.
Jesus never did a Funeral he is God of the Living because he has given all who come to know him as Lord and Savior eternal life in the precincts of Heaven. We live in a world steeped in sin, a people who want only to fill a void in their heart. Drugs, alcohol, sexual pleasures, none of these will fill that void. Money, you can’t take it with you into eternity. Jesus offers what Satan cannot give, his fate is sealed, you as long as you are still alive, can choose eternal life in heaven, or, eternal darkness in the lake of fire. Please listen to what I say in the video. I implore any who hear to act if you do not know Jesus Christ as your Lord. If you think this world is hard, it is going to be much worse! Choose Christ or choose Hell!
Gen 2:22-24 NKJV “Then the rib which the LORD God had taken from man He made into a woman, and He brought her to the man. (23) And Adam said: “This is now bone of my bones And flesh of my flesh; She shall be called Woman, Because she was taken out of Man.” (24) Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.”
Man, a created being, and woman also a created being, become man and wife and it then says that this is God’s plan for men and women. God in his infinite wisdom created all that there is, including people. He set things in motion, and, made it clear that men and women were sexual beings, that were meant to join together in the marital bond and through the sexual act, procreate. They were to be God’s proxies in that they would create more human beings through the act of coitus.
Since God set this in motion, we are not to change the set that God has ordained. The Bible talks a lot about sexual immorality, mostly about sex outside of the marriage bond, and more about men with women other than their wife. It is also important that we understand, that concubines, or, other relationships which are sexual in nature are not in God’s plan. In other words, marriage between a man and a woman, is the plan, and as it says the man shall set up housekeeping with his wife, and it is supposed to be a forever bond.
In our society today, we find all sorts of relationships, we also see trio’s as well as homosexual matchups, and of course polygamy. None of these are acceptable in God’s eyes. The sad part of this world in which we live today, is, that the Church is also supportive of many of these relationships. One that I am aware of is a Lesbian married to her wife, and, is a bishop of the church. Male with male and woman with woman, these are not acceptable in or out of the Church. If we profess to follow Jesus Christ as Lord, then it behooves us to act as He would act in these situations. We must point out that God is not pleased with those who are living in sin, Heterosexual or, homosexual. The scriptures just talk about heterosexual sin more than homosexual sin, but, it is clear in the scripture that neither sin is acceptable to God.
Jesus talks about the wide gate and the narrow gate: Mat 7:13-14 NKJV “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. (14) Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.” What is meant here is that walking down that road that is easy will lead you into Hell and you will spend eternity with Satan and his angels in the lake of fire. The narrow gate is the difficult path that leads to heaven, and, eternal life in heaven with Jesus. It is difficult, because, the world in which we live hates those who will follow Christ, and work out their salvation by walking in his footsteps. Those who do so will stumble and even fall, but, Jesus is there with you and will help you get back on that narrow path.
Your friends and relatives who do not know, do not have a relationship with Jesus, will work hard to discourage you. They will do all in their power to get you back on that wide highway that leads to destruction. How many people on that wide road are still searching for the million dollars, the mansion, the big car, and all the other things that are supposed to bring happiness? How many are actually happy with all the things in life? Most keep on wanting more, because, what they have is never enough to fill that void in their lives. The void can only be filled by the presence of God, never by material things.
If you are reading this and you do not know Jesus as Lord and Savior, please contact me, and let us have a conversation. Your eternity depends upon your acceptance of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. If you do not know him, or if you have rejected him, then your eternity will be spent in hell. If you do have a relationship with Him, then heaven is your destination.
Jud 1:3-16 ESV Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. (4) For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ. (5) Now I want to remind you, although you once fully knew it, that Jesus, who saved a people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe. (6) And the angels who did not stay within their own position of authority, but left their proper dwelling, he has kept in eternal chains under gloomy darkness until the judgment of the great day– (7) just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which likewise indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire. (8) Yet in like manner these people also, relying on their dreams, defile the flesh, reject authority, and blaspheme the glorious ones. (9) But when the archangel Michael, contending with the devil, was disputing about the body of Moses, he did not presume to pronounce a blasphemous judgment, but said, “The Lord rebuke you.” (10) But these people blaspheme all that they do not understand, and they are destroyed by all that they, like unreasoning animals, understand instinctively. (11) Woe to them! For they walked in the way of Cain and abandoned themselves for the sake of gain to Balaam’s error and perished in Korah’s rebellion. (12) These are hidden reefs at your love feasts, as they feast with you without fear, shepherds feeding themselves; water-less clouds, swept along by winds; fruitless trees in late autumn, twice dead, uprooted; (13) wild waves of the sea, casting up the foam of their own shame; wandering stars, for whom the gloom of utter darkness has been reserved forever. (14) It was also about these that Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied, saying, “Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of his holy ones, (15) to execute judgment on all and to convict all the ungodly of all their deeds of ungodliness that they have committed in such an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things that ungodly sinners have spoken against him.” (16) These are grumblers, malcontents, following their own sinful desires; they are loud-mouthed boasters, showing favoritism to gain advantage.
We talk a lot today about false teaching and how the Church has strayed so far from the truth of the gospel. Yet as the letter of Jude shows us this began very early in the Church, we find that there was such a problem that instead of talking about that which was the way, Jude felt the Spirit leading in a different direction. The direction that the Spirit wants him to take is to show the necessity to contend for the faith “once for all delivered to the saints.”
What is the truth he is speaking of? It is that which we find enshrined in our Old and New Testament books. We have all the doctrine that God has for us to know, and to follow, if someone says he or she has received a new revelation from God, they are lying, there is no new revelation from God. Jude will go on to explain what he means, in that the truth was delivered to us through Jesus Christ, and the Apostles who established the church throughout the world of that day. There are many who take what the scriptures say and twist it to fit the way of the world, instead of the Kingdom of God.
The Bible tells us that the Devil is the Liar in Chief, he is the leading deceit deliverer to the world. The devil knows the scriptures and knows how to twist them to his own benefit. Where we see that the gospel delivers us to freedom from sin, false teachers will use it to say that we are free indeed to practice any thing we want. We are free from sin so we can sin all the more. That teaching was prevalent then and it is so today, God’s people need to stand against this deceit.
Jude 1:4 tells us that those who tell these lies will have to pay the price for their lies and sinfulness in lying to people. The gospel makes it clear, Jesus chastised the Scribes and Pharisees for being false teachers, and the scripture tells us that those who are leaders in the church that are also deceivers will pay the price as well. There is only one Lord and God, Jesus the Christ is the one who saves and sets free, free to live as God intended us to live. It is our duty to stand for the truth, no matter who we must stand against. If what a teacher, preacher or other leader in the church tells you something that disagrees with the scriptures, stand against that teaching.
I went to a conference of the United Methodist Church one year, the discipline of the United Methodist Church states clearly that they are to abstain from alcohol because of its negative impact on morality.
As we were enjoying our lunch in a restaurant in Corpus Christi, I noted that at a table near Yvonne and I were a couple of the leaders of the Church, also eating lunch, they had a bottle of wine on the table and were enjoying their lunch and their drinks. Hypocrisy of course since they knew what the teaching was, and it was also taught in the scriptures. As the apostle Paul wrote in Eph 5:18 “And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit,”. We are to be filled with the Holy Spirit and not with alcohol.
The point being we are to be like our Lord as much as we can, yes, Jesus drank wine, however, he did so in moderation. He expects us to act accordingly, staying sober, but filled with the Holy Spirit and working to keep ourselves in holiness as much as we can as sinful human beings.
In verse 5 Jude talks about those who rebelled against Moses and God in the wilderness after their escape from Egypt. In the book of Numbers 13 and 14 God acts against those who are rebelling and they are destroyed from the face of the earth. Those who pervert the word of God who rebel against God are slated to spend eternity in hell, those who strive to live in the way of God will instead reach the holy land, Heaven where they will live in the presence of God for eternity. Those who have confessed Jesus Christ as Lord, are destined to live in Heaven, those who reject Jesus Christ, will also live forever, in hell. Jude goes on to show what happened to all who flouted the way of life that God had set down from the beginning. Sodom and Gomorrah, and many others all who have or will pay the price for their rebellion against God. Beginning in verse 6 and going through verse 16 we see the litany of those who will suffer eternal damnation. It hurts me to see this nation of ours going the way of all of Europe, chasing after the lie that there are alternative ways of life when God has clearly said there is only one right way to live. Again the Apostle Paul wrote that “All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” He also says that “the wages of sin is death.” All sin earns the same wage, whether it is telling a lie, or, cursing God, adultery or another sexual sin. Disrespecting your parents, or, perjuring yourself. Hell awaits those who blaspheme God, those who refuse to accept their need for a savior, God will not be mocked, he is in control.
Jud 1:17-23 ESV But you must remember, beloved, the predictions of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. (18) They said to you, “In the last time there will be scoffers, following their own ungodly passions.” (19) It is these who cause divisions, worldly people, devoid of the Spirit. (20) But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, (21) keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life. (22) And have mercy on those who doubt; (23) save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh.
Jude now goes on telling us we must remember that there will be those who scoff at the gospel, working to serve the flesh instead of the maker of the flesh we live in. There are people who work hard to divide us, one against another, closing down any faithful group of people by finding and exploiting any weakness in our church. Remember that Satan is the great deceiver, and will work to exploit any weakness in our faith walk. Do not just listen to the Sunday message, read the verses for yourself, is the message true to the gospel or is it false? Study the word of God every day, even if just a short passage, just keep up diligent study to be sure you are able to answer the scoffer with the truth.
The question you must ask yourself is, “Who am I?” Am I truly the child of the King or am I a child of the devil. Do I believe that Jesus Christ is Lord and Savior, that He died and was raised from the dead to bring me salvation for sin? Or do I believe the scoffers who say there is no God and this is the only life there is. Which one do you believe? If it is the scoffer, then you are destined to an eternity in Hell with Satan and all his minions. If you have believed that you are a child of the King, have confessed with your tongue that Jesus Christ is indeed the Savior and Lord, then Heaven awaits.
Jud 1:24-25 ESV Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, (25) to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.
Jude closes with a Doxology, a short piece that tells us exactly who Jesus Christ is and what happens to those who believe.
We find that Jesus is the only one who can keep us from stumbling, the only one who can present us blameless in heaven by the power of his blood spilled on the cross at Calvary by which we are saved for all eternity from sin and death. Then Jude goes on to show us that it is Jesus Christ, who is the only God and our Savior. God himself came and lived as a Jewish lad, lived a sinless life, and then gave his life an atonement for my sin and your sin. We are set free when we recognize that we are sinners and that Jesus died on that cross, to allow us to be reconciled to our Holy God. Also by his resurrection, we too are guaranteed resurrection one day to be with him in heaven.
Lift your voices in praise for the Lord Jesus Christ is the one who saves, and we are the ones in need of salvation.
Lost and Found
In the gospel of Luke the 15th Chapter we read stories about Lost and Found and how there is a rejoicing over that which was lost and is now found.
The first three verses in this chapter of Luke’s gospel we are told that Tax Collectors and the sinners drew close to Jesus so as to hear him speak. The religious leaders, Pharisees and Saducees were very displeased by Jesus allowing these people to come near to hear: Luke 15:2 And the Pharisees and scribes complained, saying, “This Man receives sinners and eats with them.” So Jesus tells them some stories to make things clear to those who did not understand the truth of God’s word.
Luk 15:4-6 NKJV “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? (5) And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. (6) And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!’
It makes good sense if you are a shepherd and one of the sheep gets lost, you would go and find that sheep to bring it back to the fold. The next story also makes sense, since even today silver is a commodity which is worth holding onto.
Luk 15:8-9 NKJV “Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it? (9) And when she has found it, she calls her friends and neighbors together, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the piece which I lost!’
I hear all kinds of advertisements for people to run out and buy silver right now, it will gain in value soon.
This next story is one of my favorite stories because it reminds me of myself in many ways. Perhaps you can see yourself in this story which we know as the story of the Prodigal Son.
Luk 15:11-24 NKJV Then He said: “A certain man had two sons. (12) And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the portion of goods that falls to me.’ So he divided to them his livelihood. (13) And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far country, and there wasted his possessions with prodigal living. (14) But when he had spent all, there arose a severe famine in that land, and he began to be in want. (15) Then he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. (16) And he would gladly have filled his stomach with the pods that the swine ate, and no one gave him anything. (17) “But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! (18) I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, (19) and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants.” ‘ (20) “And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. (21) And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ (22) “But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet. (23) And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry; (24) for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ And they began to be merry.
After each of these parables Jesus adds the fact of a celebration that what was lost is now found, “Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” So the religious leaders hear this lesson but, like the older son in the parable of the son who returns to the home of his father, they too cannot bring themselves to realize that they are in the presence of God, and need to repent of their own sin and join in the celebration.
Here is the rest of the story of the prodigal returns: Luk 15:25-32 NKJV “Now his older son was in the field. And as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. (26) So he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. (27) And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and because he has received him safe and sound, your father has killed the fatted calf.’ (28) “But he was angry and would not go in. Therefore his father came out and pleaded with him. (29) So he answered and said to his father, ‘Lo, these many years I have been serving you; I never transgressed your commandment at any time; and yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might make merry with my friends. (30) But as soon as this son of yours came, who has devoured your livelihood with harlots, you killed the fatted calf for him.’ (31) “And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours. (32) It was right that we should make merry and be glad, for your brother was dead and is alive again, and was lost and is found.’ ” I always wonder, how did the older brother know about the harlots? Christians seem to know about these things too, yet like the older son, seem to forget that all sins are able to be forgiven by the Lord God.
As Christians, we believe that God created all that is, including man. The story is that man and woman were placed in the garden of Eden to care for it and to live in it and enjoy the fruits and vegetables that the garden produced as they cared for it. There was only one thing that they were not allowed to eat, that was the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. When they did eat of that fruit, they disobeyed God, in other words they sinned. Up until that time they were perfect creatures, once they sinned God could no longer allow them to stay in the garden for their sin would pollute the garden, just as sin has polluted our world. I hear so many people talking about the greatest problem in our world being global climate change, and that it is caused by man. This is not the greatest threat to our existence, the greatest threat is sin, immorality and its attendant ills. That is the greatest threat, because it means we are living in opposition to God.
Since we were made in God’s image, God has been calling us to return to Him, that we might be cleansed of our sin and become again part of the Kingdom of God, a Kingdom that has been and will be forever. It was torn by Adam and Eve and Jesus was the only one who could return it to reality. He came to find and return to the fold, all the lost sheep who are living in sin.
One other truth, we see a lot of people who push one or another sin as being what is wrong with the world. The truth is, all that we do that is against the word of God, is sin. The apostle Paul wrote in Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Note please that he does not say, this or that sin but rather sin by itself. That means that anything that is against the word of God, from coveting (wanting what is your neighbors), we call it keeping up with the Jones’, to worshiping idols such as money, fame, people, (you shall have no other gods before me). That is why there are 10 Commandments, actually Jesus added one more, “love your neighbor as yourself.”
These three parables or stories above talk about bringing back those who are lost in sin, and that when one is returned to his or her status as a child of God, there is great rejoicing in heaven. A soul has been saved from eternity in the fire of hell. Note that it is not that anyone is forced to come to saving knowledge, but that a person voluntarily comes to that place where they realize that Jesus Christ is really God and they need that saving grace that only He can supply.
So, know that theft of a paper clip from your place of employment, causes the same punishment as adultery or murder. The choice is always yours, the prodigal son did not have to return, he could have learned and grown into a better worker getting better pay and taking care of his physical needs, but he still would have been divorced from his father. We too can pursue the things of this world, but we are still divorced from our Father in heaven and the riches that can be ours when we are part of the family of God once again.
How about you? Do you know Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord of your life, or are you still convinced that you are able to take care of yourself and will have everything you want in this life. Satan will be more than willing to let you believe that this is all there is and when it is over there is nothing else, but what if that is the lie, and an eternity awaits all of us. We can spend eternity in the presence of God in heaven, or in the outer darkness, the fire of hell divorced from God. Are you willing to take that chance?
I have heard so much this week about these two, Jenner who has decided he is a she even though the body says he is a he. Meanwhile the Duggar family is being castigated for their Christian way of looking at the world, they are called hypocrite by many for their tribulation in dealing with Satan invading their family through Josh their son.
I have to wonder why Jenner is celebrated as a hero and some even say a goddess, while a family who has tried to work through the trials they had to face is vilified.
Let us look at this from the perspective of what God has created and what man has decided to destroy. Now I do understand that there will be those who will not want to hear about God, yet will profess to worship Jenner as a goddess, but that is not who Jenner is. In the beginning, God (by the way, God has no gender). God created the universe, and after all had been set in motion on the last of creation (6th day) God created man. Now whether you believe this or not is not material, I am speaking from my own perspective, I know we cannot have a discussion with each other since you will not start at the same place that I start from. I firmly believe that God did what the scripture said he did. Now, in the process, God said let us (royal us) make man in our image, and so man and woman were created. God ordained that the man would be male and head of the household, while the woman was to be the assistant, not less than the man, she was the helpmate. The scripture says that the man would leave his family and live with the woman and the two would become one flesh, sorry to say this because I know it will upset those who do not want to hear it, but men and women fit together, it is how God made them.
Biology says that men have certain equipment, and women have another type of equipment, that is the way it is. You can cosmetically change the appearance if your mental illness is taken that far, but you cannot change the biological reality. So, even the Jenner wants to be referred to as a female person, his biology says he is a male.
Now the Duggar tragedy, and it is a tragedy. Lawyers can argue all they want about whether or not it was legal to release the information to the public, but, the truth is, it was an immoral act. It re-victimizes the ones who were originally wronged. Of course many will now salivate as they condemn the family for not having done what they consider the right thing in this situation. I guess the first question is, what if was you who found yourself in this situation? This family lives by a set of guidelines that say, God is in charge, and God wants you to act with calmness and deliberation. They did, they worked with their son and their daughters, they assured themselves that the girls would be safe, and then tried to get through to their son just how wrong his actions were. When that did not work as they had hoped it would, they sent him for counseling. They did bring him to the police, he did confess what he had done, the police decided that they would not do anything in regard to this after an investigation. The family later became celebrities because of the TV show, and their son who is now in his twenties, and was forgiven for his transgression, has gone on to his own career with the Family Research Council. Not a terrorist organization, nor a hate group, that we leave to those who would shoot the people working there because some sleazy lawyers declared that they were a hate group. Nothing new of course, but, we hear this kind of drivel all the time from the left who of course do not take an responsibility for the injuries caused.
Anyway, the family is pro-life, and are solidly christian in their belief structure, and they are of course NOT PERFECT! None of us are perfect, we are finite beings, we are not God. The scriptures tell us that “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” But God is perfect, and he expects us to strive to be like Jesus, we struggle with it but we also work at it. Yes I too believe that Jenner is a person with a serious problem, and is in need of God in his life. I will not call him a female, he is a male no matter the cosmetics applied to his outer self. I cannot agree to homosexual marriage, or behavior, nor can anyone who truly follows the teaching of the scriptures which clearly tell us that homosexual activity is sin. Note I said activity, I do not condone the action, but I must pray for the person who is trapped in this lifestyle. I am enjoined by my God to do all in my power to try to help change the idea that this is just another way of living, it is not so. This lifestyle leads to eternal death, God does not condemn the unrepentant sinner to eternal death, that is the choice that the person makes. It is my responsibility to try to show them that sin leads to eternal hell, but that God through Jesus Christ leads to eternal life.
I know that there are those people who claim to be Christians, but who live a sinful life, and they too will answer to God for their actions, as will I when the day comes. I want to be able to come before God and know that although I am not perfect, I have striven for holiness in my own life. That is what the Duggar’s are doing as well, striving to do that which is pleasing in the sight of God, not what man wants, rather we live for what God wants.
The shame of this is, that no matter what I may say or do, there are those who will never, ever, admit to their sinful state, and they will one day find themselves in hell. I will mourn for their souls. The Duggar family is working to be what God has for them to be, you may consider them to be wrong, but at least they are true to their belief. So, it seems that our nation is moving away from the moral imperatives that brought us to the 20th century and moving in a terrible, anti moral stance. The prophet Isaiah said in Isaiah 6, So I said: “Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, The LORD of hosts.” (Isa 6:5 NKJV). I too can say that I am a man of unclean lips among a people of unclean lips. For I too am a sinner, sins that I have confessed to God and repented of, but still I stumble every day. All of us do, but, and this is the important thing, repentance before God, gives us eternal life. Repentance and working to live as God would have us live.
I don’t know if any who read this will understand but I do hope that if your heart is touched, if you find that you too are in need of the grace of God in your life, you will pray for forgiveness, repent of your sin and follow Jesus Christ into eternal life.
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