The Pounding Continues...

Today, many people celebrate “Halloween”…and to do so they celebrate a theme of fear and death!

Jesus is Lord over fear and death…He has the keys of hell [what more fearsome place then this] and death!

But Oct 31st announces another celebration…

On Oct 31st 1517 a Roman Catholic priest had some questions he wanted to debate within the church…

He had 95 points of debate…and he nailed them on the church door at Whiten burg…

The pounding knocked kings off their thrones…popes off their high seats…

…the pounding is still heard today…almost 500 years later…

…the pounding reminds us that Jesus is the Head of the Church…that salvation is only in Jesus and His finished work on the cross…

…the pounding reminds that that God’s truth will conquer all of its foes!

…but the pounding is also a reminder for our prayers…

…the pounding reminds us that God’s unifying work [John 17] isn’t yet complete…

…the Reformers didn’t want to split the church…they were wrongfully removed…

…as those who are always reforming…may our hearts be praying for the day when the Body of Christ is again unified…

…not unified in some spineless ecumenical “fellowship”…

…but unity…that as we all move closer to Christ [the Truth]…at the same time we will move closer together…

The pounding sounds on…

No Option C [part 1]

People are beginning to open up to the idea that we don’t live in a merely materialistic, physical universe…

…in other words…people are becoming spiritual…they are beginning to look into “spiritual” things…

…as they do…they begin to seek out many avenues of thought within the occult…

T.V shows examine a multitude of spiritual experiences…even exorcisms…

Think about it…people are watching T.V shows about other people who are demonically possessed! They are not watching a movie…they are watching reality T.V!

What are they thinking while watching this poor soul on the tube…this person who is under the control of satanic forces?

The Bible tells us about Satan…he is a fallen angel…a created being with much cunning…

How did Satan become…Satan…the enemy of God and all that is good?

It is a sad story indeed.

God created Satan [his name is Lucifer]…and He gave him great beauty, talents, power and abilities.

There came a time…when Lucifer’s eyes left the fact that God [Jesus] was the source of his existence, beauty, talents, powers and abilities…and he began to see himself as having all these things…from himself…he began to be proud…trusting in himself.

He began to think that he didn’t need Jesus [God the Son] any longer…that all the great and mighty things that made him who he was…were not gifts…they were just who he was.

Satan’s persuasive powers are absolutely incredible, and should not be taken lightly by anyone!

Jesus called Satan the father of lies…and a murderer.

Satan murders through lies and deceit.

Satan’s lies are often subtle to the point where they look like the truth…

Through his lies Satan persuaded one third of God’s angels [spirit “Beings”] to follow in his rebellious ways…

Think about it for a minute!

Satan was so charismatic…so energetic…so compelling in his lying arguments…that he actually convinced one third of the angels that he had what it took to dethrone the Almighty!

How do you overcome One who spoke you into existence…?

How do you dethrone One who continues to sustain your existence by the sheer pleasure of His will?

The answer? You don’t!

Satan was cast out of heaven like lightening [words from an eyewitness…Jesus Himself]…that is a very fast fight.

Satan lost the battle in heaven…but in his mind…the fight wasn’t over yet…

His next scheme was to attack the pinnacle of God’s creation…mankind…

As we see how this battle turned out…it should cause us to be very careful in our assumptions…

Don’t Worry God Probably Doesn’t Exist…

I was watching the tube the other day and saw something that caught my eye…it was called “Ungodly Advertising”…

The news clip was informing the listeners that atheists have come to the conclusion that God shouldn’t get all the best “Ad” space…and that they [atheists] were going to start getting their fingers into these areas as well…

As the talking head told us of this news story…the camera focused in on a city bus and then got a bit more specific and showed us the buses side…where an advertising was proclaiming its message…the message read…

“Don’t worry…God probably doesn’t exist…so be happy and live your life”

I talked to Bonita [my wife] about this ad…telling her that I can’t imagine that this Ad really gave an incredible amount of peace to the person who read it…especially to a person who really thought about its message…

The first thing I noticed was the Ad was trying to rid all onlookers of the any anxiety they might have about God’s existence…

…isn’t that sweet of them?

But why is it that they suppose there may be a point of anxiety…a point of worry?

Are they supposing that the readers may be troubled…may be stewing over guilt in their conscience…may be struggling with failures, short comings, and wrong doings?

Why do they suppose this?

Neither Europe [where these Ads were being projected] nor North America are Christian governed lands any longer…we can’t use that old excuse…it just doesn’t work anymore…

…Why…in cultures where atheistic, humanistic naturalism, and Darwinian evolution is ‘religiously’ taught in our government schools…teaching us for 12 of the most influential years of our lives…do we still struggle with the concept that we have done bad things…and that we fall short of some universal, higher standard?

Why is it that the teaching…that “truth is relative“…even though it is “drilled” into us from a multitude of angles…throughout our school years…through the media, through the entertainment medium, through our Universities and Colleges…just doesn’t seem to catch?

Could it be that we are made in the image of God…that God made us and our very make up is drawn towards our Creator.

He made us and we know we are accountable to Him…no matter what any one else tells us.

Let’s move on…

Why shouldn’t we worry? Here is where our ad experts were at least truthful…even if they weren’t effective…because God “probably” doesn’t exist.

The Ad expert knows enough “philosophically” to understand that atheism cannot make a universal negative about God.

For the atheist to say…that God doesn’t exist…with 100% knowledge would in effect make the atheist God…because for someone to make a universal negative…would mean that they knew all things…the very “Being” they are trying to refute.

But why should I not worry? The atheist doesn’t know God doesn’t exist…why is he telling me not to worry?

Where is he getting support for his “probably”?

Not from ethics…we just talked about that.

Certainly not from science…Darwinian evolution is itself a dinosaur that is on the verge of extinction…not even coming close to giving an explanation of how an organism can evolve into higher life forms…when to do so highly complex and inter-related systems would all have to appear at the same time [in other words…how does an organism evolve…when its circulatory, respiratory, lymphatic, digestive, etc, systems all are multi-leveled and all need each other for survival]

Certainly not philosophically…one of the most devastating arguments against the atheistic worldview is that the atheist uses “probability” in order to try and promote atheism and debunk theism…and yet…the atheistic worldview cannot even justify the concept of probability.

To use probability…a person has to believe in the uniformity of nature…that the future is going to be like the past…but the atheist doesn’t know the future…and doesn’t claim to know anyone who does…

The Christian can justify his use of probability because his world view is governed by the God who created the world and rules the world…he knows that God has created an orderly world…where day time and night time exist…constantly…where seasons exist…constantly…where the uniformity of nature exists…because God the Creator exists.

In the end the atheist should worry…as his conscience warns him.

He can’t really be happy…no matter how many lies he tries to fill himself with…because God’s truths keep shining through…

He can’t even say God probably doesn’t exist…because in his world probability doesn’t exist…and he can’t say God doesn’t exist…because in his world view there is no such thing as an universal negative…

This leaves us with the truth that God does exist…Jesus is God…and God will accept all rebels who come to Him for forgiveness and restoration…

The Bus Ads will encourage those who like “sound bite” teaching…they already believe the lie…and just need a short…all be it…false…message to hold them on their destructive route.

May God give them the grace to get off the bus they are on...before it reaches its final destination...

What Flavour is your self righteousness?

Most religions of the world…including beliefs that don’t define themselves as “religions”…fall into the thinking that righteousness is something that men offer to God…or if they don’t believe in God…then righteousness is something they offer to themselves and to the society they belong to…

Christianity is the one exception…

The Bible teaches us that men do not seek for truth…and if they did…what exactly are they looking for?

Instead…Truth came looking for them…

Righteousness is not something that man offers up to God…but what God graciously gives to man…as a free gift.

I have heard people who aren’t religious make the comment that religious people are very self righteous…and at times they are right…

We who are religious must take this judgment against us seriously…because we are prone to be self righteous…whenever we take our eyes off of Jesus…and forget that our salvation is not in ourselves…but only in Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection…

But the unbeliever must also understand that he is also “self righteous”…he is trying to get through life on his own merits, he is judging the religious person…thinking somehow he is better then him…he is trusting in his own merits…this is why he gets so upset when someone comes along and tells him that his righteousness…his efforts and merits are not good enough…

He gets upset…because he thinks highly of his own righteousness…his self righteousness.

In the end…both religious and non-religious people can be “self righteous”…the only way you can be freed from “self righteousness” is to believe what God tells you about it…

God says that He compares man’s righteousness to used menstrual rags and piles of dog crap…not very flattering is it?

The same men who cling to their own righteousness often are also quick to quote “to err is human…everyone makes mistakes.”

Does everyone make mistakes? God doesn’t.

For man to fellowship with God…he needs to be without sin…he needs to be perfectly faithful in this righteousness…

Only Jesus [God/man] was perfectly righteous…and only His righteousness will be accepted at God’s judgment…

Thank you Lord

One of the great blessings of being able to preach God's word to others...is that first you need to preach it to yourself. As you prepare the sermon...at the same time...the sermon is preparing you.

I am so often blessed by the Lord as I think and rethink through different passages of Scripture...praying on how does this apply to me...and how can I encourage God's people with it...and as I meditate on God's word...the Holy Spirit teaches me many wonderful truths...and my heart soars...as I see Jesus more clearly...see a little bit more exactly how loving, how wonderful...how great He really is.

What is the difference??

Last night I went into the Young Offender center…it was Bible study night…and it was my turn to teach…

…we are going through the Gospel of John and this week we were at chapter 14...

In chapter 14 Jesus tells His disciples something that is really, really politically Incorrect…a real narrow, intolerant teaching…or so our culture tells us…

Jesus tells His disciples not to be troubled…because He was going away to prepare a place for them…

…Jesus was knowingly about to be executed in the most cruel and torturous way…and not only suffer the wrath of the cruel Roman cross…but also drink the cup of His Father’s fierce wrath [so that His people wouldn’t have to]…

…and He is encouraging His disciples not to be troubled? He is truly the Great Shepherd…concerned only for His sheep.

His disciples are confused…if Jesus was going to prepare a place for them…then they needed to know the way to that place…but they don’t know the way…

Jesus answers them…I am the way, the truth and the life…NO One comes to the Father except through Me.

WHAT!! HOW INTOLERANT AND NARROW is that?

Jesus says that He is the only way, the only truth, the only life…that there is only ONE way to the Father [eternal blessings]…and that was through Him…and our culture of open-minded and tolerant folk go absolutely ballistic…

They say that its beliefs like that which make the world a hateful…ugly place…

They say that people should accept all views…and that no one has the right to try and say that their way is the only way…and then try and convert people to their way…

Doesn’t that sound more tolerant? It is actually a fancy work of magic…where the words are quicker then the brain…

Watch closely and I will try and uncover the trickery.

Let’s ask a few questions.

Do these people accept all views of truth? Are you kidding…just think deeply for a minute.

What is one view of truth that this type of thinking cannot accept? They say that all beliefs are equal…all beliefs are valid…all beliefs are the same…but they cannot accept certain beliefs…

…those beliefs that say that they are the only way. They cannot accept these beliefs into their circle…because they spoil the rest of the batch…the only people they receive into their inner circle is those who agree with their definition of truth…the rest are excluded.

Then they become very intolerant towards those who they view as intolerant…and they proclaim into the public square that no one has the right to tell someone else that their view of truth is wrong…and everyone must accept everyone else’s view of truth…

What they are doing is telling those groups who say that our way is the only way… “that your understanding of truth is wrong”…and now you need to shut up about your way…and be converted to our way of thinking…

…you can keep your beliefs about Jesus to yourself…

In the end our culture has just as narrow, just as intolerant views about truth as the Christian. Our culture is very aggressive in converting all people to its way of thinking…

Don’t get me wrong…the Christian is just as narrow…and also is trying to convert people to the only way…to Jesus…

The real difference? The Christian admits it.

There is no Hell?

Hell is very real…God created it for rebels who refuse to turn from their rebellion…

Because hell is real…and its existence [reality] is held together by the Creator of the Universe, who is Almighty [this means God’s will cannot be thwarted]…then we must not ignore its reality…

We cannot close our eyes and wish it away, like a little child playing “hide and seek”…sitting in the middle of the well lit room with his eyes closed…thinking because he can’t see you then you can’t see him…laughable in little games…horribly frightful and fatal in real life…

Because mankind has fallen into sin…their heart is rebellious against their Creator…they openly want to seek out “lies” that will allow them to remain in their rebellion…trying to grasp onto their self made, make believe authority…sitting on their own little thrones…holding down their self made crowns…refusing to bow to the God who made them and who continues to give them every good gift they enjoy…including each breath and heartbeat…

Rebellious man will go to the scientist to hear that hell is a fairy tale…and his heart is temporarily comforted…

He will go Eastern religions that tell him that hell is here and now, or that hell if it does exist is only temporary…you can work or earn your way out…

Rebellious man may even go to a Christian church…but he will want to find an unfaithful one…a church that flies under the banner of Jesus but has thrown away the Bible a long time ago…including its teachings on the existence of hell…

Hell…as a place of unending torment…forever and ever…for those who spit in the face of God and who refuse to quit doing so…even when cast into eternal punishment [which is one of the reasons for its eternality].

To be free from the destination of hell…one must fear it…BUT…fear alone of hell will not deliver you from hell…

Heaven is not the place for those who merely feared hell…

Heaven is the place for those who love Jesus more then all else…

How can you love Jesus?

Love gives birth to love. God is love…Jesus is God…

If you want a love for Jesus to be born in your heart…go to the Bible and begin to study about God’s love for you…look to God’s amazing love…
God is perfect…needing nothing outside of Himself…

God created in order to pass blessings on to others [creation]…even though creation could do nothing to improve or better God…

Mankind rebelled against God…but God did not cast them away…even though He would have been perfectly “just” and “righteous” to do so…

Instead God began to reach out to rebellious humanity…

God entered human history…the Almighty Himself became a man…lived a life of hardships and trials…was betrayed…falsely accused…falsely tried and condemned as a wicked, horrible man…BUT ALL THE WHILE HE WAS SINLESS…

But He didn’t open His mouth to defend Himself…BECAUSE…He didn’t want to be saved from death…that was the very reason He came…

The punishment of sin and rebellion is death…and Jesus [God] came to pay our debt!

Jesus, the sinless One, was willing to drink the cup of “hell” so that we rebels could drink deeply from the fountain of eternal life…

As you begin to see God’s love in Jesus…as He entered human history in order to pursue you, live for you, suffer for you…

As you look at Jesus…as He suffered and died on the cross…for your sins…then and only then will the love of God begin to grow in your heart…

As you behold the empty tomb…rejoice…knowing that as you trust your soul upon the One on the Cross…He didn’t remain dead…on the cross…and He didn’t remain cold and lifeless in a dark unknown tomb…

…He Rose victorious…

…He is seated on the Throne of the Universe…and He loves you!

Turn from rebellious death…and come to Jesus for everlasting life…Jesus is the LIFE!

Self Righteous?

Have you ever noticed that Christians can be very poor at taking rebukes from the world…?

We always have some comeback…if not verbal…it is simmering in the back of our brains…removing any desire to listen to the “heathen” before us.

Sure their words may be true…

Sure they may be hitting the nail on the head about our moral failures…

But then comes the relief…our justification for not having to listen to them…

But look at them!

They are calling me a hypocrite, a liar, a cheat?

They don’t even trust Jesus…they curse like drunken sailors, sleep around like they had an annual membership at the brothel…and break all the other commandments on a daily basis…

And they are rebuking me!?

Why not?

If a man is speaking words to me…and they are true…shouldn’t I listen to them?

God can speak through people who don’t yet trust Him…to rebuke those who are trusting Him…we need to be humble enough to listen.

We need to get off our self righteous, high horses…and realize that we are in great need of much instruction…

If someone who doesn’t claim to be a follower of Jesus, rebukes you for sin in your life…humbly receive it…not because you see it practiced in their lives…but because it is true.

How do you see it?

The following word game shows that the atheist and the Christian look at the same evidence...but come to opposite conclusions...it is all in the presuppositions that they have, and use to interpret the evidence before them...

God is now here
or
God is no where

A Little more wisdom...please!

As I read the newspaper this morning my heart could not help but try and think what the last hours of 13 year old Nina Courtepatte were like. Being forcefully taken out to the empty, dark country side...where adult men...were going to abuse her...and eventually murder her...

...my heart felt sickened...

...how could a judge let even one of these men off?

Well, the one man got off...because he only drove the others out to the dark country side...the screaming, crying girl in the car...

...oh...so he only was the driver in the kidnapping?

Do our Judges have brains...or is it that they just don't have a standard for justice any more.

Thankfully, someone appealed this ruling and Michael Briscoe is going back to be tried again...pray that justice is sentenced.