Godlessness in the Last Days

2Tim. 3:1 But understand this, that (See 1 Tim. 4:1) in the last days there will come times of difficulty. 2 For people will be [Phil. 2:21] lovers of self, Luke 16:14; [1 Tim. 6:10] lovers of money, Rom. 1:30 proud, Rom. 1:30 arrogant, abusive, Rom. 1:30 disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 Rom. 1:31 heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, [Titus 1:8] not loving good, 4 treacherous, reckless, 1 Tim. 3:6; 6:4 swollen with conceit, Phil. 3:19 lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 having the appearance of godliness, but See 1 Tim. 5:8 denying its power. 1 Tim. 6:20; [Titus 1:14] Avoid such people. 6 For among them are [Titus 1:11] those who creep into households and capture weak women, burdened with sins and led astray by various passions, 7 always learning and never able to 1 Tim. 2:4 arrive at a knowledge of the truth. 8 Just as Ex. 7:11 Jannes and Jambres [Acts 13:8] opposed Moses, so these men also oppose the truth, (See 1 Tim. 6:5) men corrupted in mind and Titus 1:16 disqualified regarding the faith. 9 But they will not get very far, for their folly will be plain to all, Ex. 7:12; 8:18; 9:11 as was that of those two men. (ESV)

1Tim 4:1 Now See John 14:17 the Spirit expressly says that [2 Thess. 2:3-9; 2 Tim. 3:1]; See 1 Cor. 11:19 in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to 1 John 4:6 (Gk.); See Matt. 7:15 deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, spells out or defines the topic very well. (all red notations are for Chain Reference use but are, surely, not all inclusive.)

It is a popular maneuver today that we must not offend folks of other persuasions and this is tauted as the Christian thing to do. Jesus did not teach such a thing, although it is popularly laid at His feet and, as per the teaching of the entire Bible, we, Christians, followers of God are not called to never offend. The Gospel, itself, is like a sharp knife, dividing right from wrong. If I want to be popular, I can return to the stage, ditch my wife and give to the young and the old ladies exactly what they actually want from the Lead Singer of any band. Christians are offensive to the Lost man and as long as we follow God, we will remain so.

Everyone I have ever met wants the period after life to be heavenly, and with most, as long as it's not the Heaven described by God in His book, the Bible. Today, in the catholic Church, it is believed that a man and his wife will spend Eternity in wedded bliss. Remember the lust of the Wedding Night? This expectation defines the “lust” I speak of here. This has nothing to do with what God has taught, or in most cases, attempted to teach us, in the Word of God. There is no, zero, sexual activity in Heaven, please purchase a Hard Copy of the Naves Topical Bible Studies and study the subject without anyone, other than God interceding on your thoughts and study.

We have been living in the last two days since Jesus gave His human body over to the Roman Guard Detail for the sacrifice required, by Him, for the forgiveness of sin. Now about verse 2 of 2Timothy, folks, as the Church of the Christ, we are a disappointing lot. Don't get me wrong, I've never seen an old barn that could not use another coat of paint but when I look at my wife it is not about the make up she wears. My wife understands that I loved and that I love her in a work uniform with no make up at all, I love that lady in any condition I happen to catch her in, at any time of the day.

Women, not always the same as ladies, today are consumed with their outward appearance, lovers of self. Men are no better inside the Church than they were, and likely are, in the clubs and joints I played in as a young man. I was a Soldier, Helicopter Crew Chief, Truck Driver, a Carpenter, a Switchboard Wireman, Forklift Mechanic and a few other occupations in a little better than forty years of my life. Yet, for all of my labor, I wore hundred dollar shirts when I went to the club, whether I was performing or not. I, just like the rest of the world was a lover of self and it was fed by pretty ladies of the evening and I believed the lie that I was happy... BUNK!

This is enough for a topic starter. As mentioned, I copied this from one of my Bible Study programs and it is a great study... if you will read the chain Linked Passages. Comments?

When Jesus live here He set the example, the model, we are to follow and though some have and always will debate the usefulness of any of the Jewish Bible, the facts are plain, it is Jesus we are to strive to become like, that we might live a successful life and when we study the four gospel accounts we find that the life of Jesus was so modeled after the Laws and the customs of the Jewish people that even the removal of his fore-skin was done on the proper day, in the proper manner.

Again, if we read John 1:1-3 we see that Jesus has always been and everything we see, He created. Jesus told us, and I agree, that if we love Him we will obey His Commands. The coveted Ten Commandments and, honestly, the other 603 examples of how to implement the Ten, are the Commands of my LORD. These commands were never meant to save a single person.

When Adam sinned, mankind, like it or not, inherited the sinful nature of our forefather and mom. God/Jesus never expected anyone to live a perfect life, He above any other knew we can not because of our inheritance. But, and there is that monster three letter word, but, if we are to ever attempt to follow Jesus we must learn from our teachers and the Ten, molded down to the Two in the Gospel accounts, are our teacher of what is sin. Without that knowledge we can never glorify God.

Folks have, since the first time I taught the Ten Commandments were, as Paul pointed out, our Teacher of Sin, have tried to slam the table with I am not bound by or I do not live under, the Ten Commandments. This is, as we said when I played High School Basketball, trash talk. It has nothing to do, in this case with what I was teaching. I do not live under my First Grade Teacher but at the same time I live on and by the principals she taught me. The same is true of the other seen grades I managed to live through. Teacher are to instruct, nothi8ng more and so it is with the Ten Commandments.

When Jesus live here He set the example, the model, we are to follow and though some have and always will debate the usefulness of any of the Jewish Bible, the facts are plain, it is Jesus we are to strive to become like, that we might live a successful life and when we study the four gospel accounts we find that the life of Jesus was so modeled after the Laws and the customs of the Jewish people that even the removal of his fore-skin was done on the proper day, in the proper manner.

Again, if we read John 1:1-3 we see that Jesus has always been and everything we see, He created.  Jesus told us, and I agree, that if we love Him we will obey His Commands.  The coveted Ten Commandments and, honestly, the other 603 examples of how to implement the Ten, are the Commands of my LORD.  These commands were never meant to save a single person.

When Adam sinned, mankind, like it or not, inherited the sinful nature of our forefather and mom.  God/Jesus never expected anyone to live a perfect life, He above any other knew we can not because of our inheritance.  But, and there is that monster three letter word, but, if we are to ever attempt to follow Jesus we must learn from our teachers and the Ten, molded down to the Two in the Gospel accounts, are our teacher of what is sin.  Without that knowledge we can never glorify God.

Folks have, since the first time I taught the Ten Commandments were, as Paul pointed out, our Teacher of Sin, have tried to slam the table with I am not bound by or I do not live under, the Ten Commandments.  This is, as we said when I played High School Basketball, trash talk.  It has nothing to do, in this case with what I was teaching.  I do not live under my First Grade Teacher but at the same time I live on and by the principals she taught me.  The same is true of the other seen grades I managed to live through.  Teacher are to instruct, nothi8ng more and so it is with the Ten Commandments.

When Jesus live here He set the example, the model, we are to follow and though some have and always will debate the usefulness of any of the Jewish Bible, the facts are plain, it is Jesus we are to strive to become like, that we might live a successful life and when we study the four gospel accounts we find that the life of Jesus was so modeled after the Laws and the customs of the Jewish people that even the removal of his fore-skin was done on the proper day, in the proper manner.

Again, if we read John 1:1-3 we see that Jesus has always been and everything we see, He created.  Jesus told us, and I agree, that if we love Him we will obey His Commands.  The coveted Ten Commandments and, honestly, the other 603 examples of how to implement the Ten, are the Commands of my LORD.  These commands were never meant to save a single person.

When Adam sinned, mankind, like it or not, inherited the sinful nature of our forefather and mom.  God/Jesus never expected anyone to live a perfect life, He above any other knew we can not because of our inheritance.  But, and there is that monster three letter word, but, if we are to ever attempt to follow Jesus we must learn from our teachers and the Ten, molded down to the Two in the Gospel accounts, are our teacher of what is sin.  Without that knowledge we can never glorify God.

Folks have, since the first time I taught the Ten Commandments were, as Paul pointed out, our Teacher of Sin, have tried to slam the table with I am not bound by or I do not live under, the Ten Commandments.  This is, as we said when I played High School Basketball, trash talk.  It has nothing to do, in this case with what I was teaching.  I do not live under my First Grade Teacher but at the same time I live on and by the principals she taught me.  The same is true of the other seen grades I managed to live through.  Teacher are to instruct, nothi8ng more and so it is with the Ten Commandments.

GOD'S UNLIMITED POWER

Proverbs 19:21
Romans 8:28
Jeremiah 29:11
Isaiah 45:6-7
Joshua 1:9
The study of the power of God a truly eye opening study. These five verses were intentionally extracted from the study located at http://www.openbible.info/topics/god_is_in_control in order to avoid posting an entire study list.

In the world and in the church I am often met with fierce rhetoric declaring my teaching on this matter heretical. I am guilty of, most often, taking the easy way out by asking these folks to read the entire book of Job, please. It appears that I am, today, considered to be unreasonable, asking people to read a whole book of the Bible.

But there is a rule I live by, concerning scripture, "If God had a thing recorded once in the scriptures, we need to pay attention. If God has directed anything be repeated, it is like unto highlighting a critical instruction on a set of Blue Prints or the highlighted path to a delivery point handed to a Driver by his dispatcher. If a thing is retold three times, it is not to be forgotten." The fact that God controls everything is recorded over and over throughout the whole of scripture.

Yet we have in the Church Universal a huge movement declaring that God is not in control of Hell, not in control of ISIS and not in control of my life. This is but one of the proverbial Match Boxes we seek to hold God in inside our pocket and purses. God is without limit, so much so that in my opinion, we do not yet and might never fully understand His unlimited power.

There is a product of extreme racism and the ¿leader? of the US, today, has proven over and over that  he and his wife are extremely racist.  The Federal AG, Eric Holder, is also a member of their class of human beings and suddenly with their aid and the aid of the liberal left press core the US is witnessing race riots once more, sad.

As a people watching old man I remember a lesson taught to me by a very nice Black Lady, lies always travel faster than the truth,  In Ferguson Mo. today we are witnessing this truth in action, just as we did in Florida with the ridiculous trial of George Zimmerman.  Darren Wilson, with a broken eye socket will stand trial for defending himself in the performance of his duties... sad.

Free Worship mp3

The Link is to am mp3 file, available, for free download.  If you can enjoy worshipping God to this number, give the file to your Pastor or, and, Worship Leader.

http://www.4shared.com/mp3/JPim8f7vba/We_Shall_See_The_King.html

Genesis 6:4 and Answers

A very respected source for this study is the Bible Answer Man, Hank Hannigraph, found on some radio stations and at equip,org. Hank is a very Basic Pentacostal preacher that is often at odds with the Assemblies and some of the other Left Wing Pentacostals because his very Baptist stance on speaking in Tongues being THE SIGN of salvation.

I became interested in doing the study from listening to him answering folks on this mater. What I learned from the study is that God is always holy and has no part with sin. But I get ahead of myself, must be old age. Jesus taught us that we would not know our wives in Heaven and the context for that discussion gives us the meaning. We will not now them sexually and the reason is because "we will be as the angels."

This singular point plugs a hole no 20 Gauge at close range could inflict. But. then, as you point out... those two angels that ate, drank and, perhaps, conversed with Abram and did speak with Lot. From this account we learn that these are, indeed, in physical form but worthy of note is the truth that they have no part with sin. These angels are not named again but it is, therefore, also, reasonable to read into the scriptures that their service, in these bodies, was completed and they were ten reverted t their Spiritual or natural form.

And to this you will often hear, WHAT! Hear you go back to the Holiness of our God. And yes there are those Fallen Angels of unknown, to us, number. But there is one very important lesson in the Book of Job to be learned, Satan, oft considered, the most powerful of the Fallen could do nothing to Job without the permission of our Heavenly Father. This, God established, principle is never violated in the scriptures and the Word of God is our final authority, until the return of the Author, Jesus.

So it is that the summary goes somewhat like, God is omnipotent and therefore controls everything! (Requires a study all by itself or you will go nuts trying to understand why!) God controls everything, angels can do nothing without God's permission and foreknowledge. (Omniscience) And God allows some evil with His permissive will as illustrated in the Book of Job to teach us who we are and how strong we are and perhaps many other life lessons to grow strong and faithful followers.

But God, because of His Foreknowledge, will never grant any angel, fallen or not, a body to have sex with a human female. There is a good deal more to this issue than people want to study but intelligent answers are never found by reading into scripture what is not there. That is a short prescription for a ride into Hell.

I am a combat veteran and when the residents of the Hanoi Hilton were brought home I was moved to tears.  This American Deserter that was traded for the worst possible detainees does no more than to make me want to spit somewhere!  And how in the name of Hell did he get promoted from am E2 Private to the E5 rank of Sergeant, the same rank as a 1960s Specialist or Spec. 5 the rank I exited with after eight year of service?

Bergdahl, according to some of the reports was on OP duty and some reports put him on Gate duty.  OP Duty places a soldier some predetermined distance from the outside line of defense.  On the Gate I somehow doubt, in the Army I served in the Gate was manned by the MPs and at even distance for crossfire we had Guard Posts where two men switched out at 2 hour intervals to sleep and to stand guard.  I tend to place him on OP duty where he is the first alarm to save his ?friends? lives and he left his weapon and ammo and just deserted.

Then the Pretender, seated in the Oval Office tries to present him as an American Hero after this squirrel deserts his post and declares himself a Jihad Warrior for Islam, suddenly he is a hero?  Mr. Obama promised he would change America... are you happy?

Righteous Judgment

2Tim 5:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: 17 That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished to all good works.

It has become increasingly popular, as Satan has invaded the Church, to judge without scriptural basis. This is done in spite of the clear and correct instruction of the scriptures. Many, today, use the Lost Man's favorite verse, Matthew 7:1 to silence the Christian and to make him or her, very unprofitable in the service of the LORD. (1 Judge not, that you be not judged. 2 For with what judgment you judge, you shall be judged: and with what measure you mete, it shall be measured to you again. 3 And why behold you the mote that is in your brother's eye, but consider not the beam that is in your own eye? 4 Or how will you say to your brother, Let me pull out the mote out of your eye; and, behold, a beam is in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of your own eye; and then shall you see clearly to cast out the mote out of your brother's eye.)

In the seventh chapter there are a couple or more paragraphs and until we learn about context we can never properly understand what God is saying to us. i.e. I cannot read the latest Best Selling Novel by reading the first sentence and the last. This will not work, even, if I read the first and the last chapters. If I do this I might learn that Lefty walked into this, current, mess smoking a Camel and drove away smiling in his Old Buick... but I'm left with, “What happened?” This is also true of the Bible.

If we read Matthew 7:1 we learn that we need to shut up and not to disturb people. If we bother t read the first five verses we learn that before judging other we must seek to clean our own act up. Not that we do not judge but that we judge from the position of imputed righteousness. Where did I get that from?

2 Corinthians 5:21 - For he hath made him [to be] sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

Isaiah 53:11 - He shall see of the travail of his soul, [and] shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.

Philippians 3:9 - And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:

Just as Matthew 7:1-5 are essentially connected to the rest of chapter seven for understanding so it is that Chapters 5, 6, and 7 are connected to become the Sermon on the Mount. Then, to understand the depth to be found in this sermon we must realize the sermon can never be fully understood without the understanding found in the scriptures between Genesis 1:1 and the end of Revelation 22. it is safe to say that there is a context found in the scripture that lends it's whole meaning is about the salvation, redemption, of the souls of men ad women.

There are many other lessons to be consumed and then worked into our life styles but, from the beginning, God has had a plan of Eternal fellowship in place. After Adam sinned there can be no fellowship without redemption because of the sinful nature we inherit from him through our ancestors. There can be no salvation without the imputed righteousness of our Saviour and we cannot ever hope to judge with righteousness and I suggest to you that we cannot fully fulfill the Great Commission without our Submission to the leading of a righteous heart, righteously instructed and led by the Indwelling of the Holy spirit. This is not understood without reading all of scripture.

The Truth Matters

There is a move inside the Christian Church that is not of God centered on a single verse of scripture, Matthew 7:1.  This verse is the first sentence of a complete chapter, it is the first sentence of the first paragraph and is, therefore, the introduction to a core thought but it is not the core verse as the influence of the Lost Man and Woman has driven it to be.  The Worldly have used this single verse to close the mouths of the Christian and to, therefore, make them, at the best, Disobedient Servants.

In the context of the chapter we are commanded to, first, clean our own lives up to be pleasing in the sight of God and to, then, judge righteously.  In verses 15 through 20 of this chapter we learn the target of the Righteous Man's judgment, what does the tree or the man bare in the way of fruit?  As the followers of Jesus, the Christ, we do not have the power nor the right to judge a fellow man's salvation but if we do not judge the fruit of a man, to determine his or her character we are disobedient servants and worse yet, Worldly Fools.

If we take our children to a baby sitter we do not know ad we have not run a Criminal Background Check on we are setting our children up to be abused in manors we would never dream of.  Additionally, a good friend of mine and I often greet one another with Honest Bill Taylor, Used Car Salesman.  With us this is a standard Joke, flowing both directions but when I was 14 I was trained by a former Air Force Engine Mechanic to work as a mechanic for a Used Car Lot on Jensen Drive in Houston, Texas and every Houstonian will warn you to never shop for an automobile on Jensen Drive, they be crooked as snakes!

You cannot live a successful life without judging the fruits of the people you chose to deal with.  Neither can you ever obey the command of the Great Commission, found in the last three verses of the last chapter of Matthew without judgment.  Every Sunday Morning you are seated in the middle of a white to harvest field of unrepentant sinners.  And you must get to know them to help them and to help them you must judge the fruit of every one of them.

This is a short lesson but it has eternal bearing on every lost man and woman.

Gen 6:1 Now it came about, when men began to multiply on the face of the land, and daughters were born to them,

Gen 6:2 that the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves, whomever they chose.

Gen 6:3 Then the LORD said, "My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, because he also is flesh; nevertheless his days shall be one hundred and twenty years."

Gen 6:4 The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men, and they bore children to them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown.

Gen 6:5 Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

Gen 6:6 The LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart.

The fourth verse of this passage is, perhaps, the most contested passage in scripture and this condition exists because of a combination of the refusal to commit to a serious study of the Word of God and the general dumbing down of the world. When I was an atheist child I was taught by my Public Education Teachers and my Mom and Dad to pay, strict, attention to the context of any writing. This requires the knowledge of how to learn a thing but the Public School System today specializes in teaching the exams and that, by Rote Memory resulting in two generations of lesser well educated graduates.

In verse 1 we see the subject of this passage is mankind and using a bit of logic it is reasonable that we are about learn about our forefathers. So Man has been, forcefully, ejected from the Garden of Eden and has begun to be a force of himself by numbers. So, context being as important to any story, tale or recounting we must remember we are talking about men when we come to verse 2. Now I've never used the scripture to prove who the sons of God are but have rather gone extra-biblical for ancient Hebrew customs. Since there is no contest on who the daughters of man are I will deal, here, only with the proof the sons of God are not Fallen Angels;

1. Duet. 14:1
2. Rom. 8:16
3. Rom. 9:14
4. Rom. 9:8
5. Rom. 9:26
6. Gal. 3:26
7. 1John 3:1

In Verse 3 the subject is for the second time defined or as I point out often, God is highlighting that this is about mankind and not the “man imposed”fallen angels. I have been banned from more web sites than I can count on one hand because of this subject and, who knows, it might not have run it's course yet and I still expect no special consideration from any man because the Bible is divisive and there is nothing I can do about that although modern man seems determined to do so.

And we are at the heart of the matter, “The Nephilim.” These are giant humans. As this matter has not progressed beyond the first paragraph, the subject is still the deeds and sins of mankind. We learn in verse 4 that they, the Nephilim, were in the land in this day and also afterward and it is right here that most people do not pay attention. The Nephilim are not said to come into the daughters of men. The scriptures say the sons of God, men, went into the daughters of man and the scriptures as well as ancient cusom make the sons of God to be created mankind.

A minor matter of consideration but important to avoid venturing into heresy is, “The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward.” Noah did not break out his Dodge Ram and run down to the lumber yard for his supplies. And when they began to be gathered, neither did he break out his DeWalt, plug it in and butcher the lumber to his need. No, it took about a hundred years for Noah to build the Ark God required of him. And then there is the proclamation that man's days were 120 years showing that the Ark would float 120 years from this point. So the Nephelim were there after this revelation for 120 years more.

I believe, it's been a long time, that the first I heard of this that made scriptural sense was from the Bible Answer Man, Hank Hanagraph at equip.org, when he explained how angels, fallen or not, had no extension in space and time without God granting them a temporary human body.

Verses 5 and 6 sum up why God is shortening the life span of man and why He is about to charge Noah with building the Ark. In summation, men and women cohabited, just as God had command us to do and they sinned worse, if there is such a standard, than Adam and God was upset. And as Paul Harvey used to say, Now you know the rest of the story.

Angels And Sex, What A Topic

I have discussed Genesis 6:4 (The [1] Nephilim were in the earth in those days, and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them: the same were the mighty men that were of old, the men of renown.) until I have gotten blue in the face.

I, some years back, became so engrossed with understanding this verse that I prayed over it after the Holy Spirit had shown me the truth of it. Why?  I needed to be able, not to explain it for anyone's sake, but rather, I need the ability to send others seeking the truth from the Holy Spirit.  For this I was led by the Spirit to do some research on the customs of ancient Hebrews.  I found that if we know that it was customary for the Hebrew man to consider himself a Son of God this scripture can lose a great deal of it's possibility to be corkscrewed by the Lost Man.

I did not record my research and cannot give anyone the bibliography to follow where the Spirit led me, you will need to approach the Holy Spirit or spend the time, probably hours, in the local library to discover what I am saying. So, what about the Daughters on Men? We must remember that the, so called, Noahdic flood has not, yet, occurred and Cain, for his sin against God, has been exiled. My adventure into the ancient customs taught me the sons and daughters, descended from Cain were known as the sons and daughters of man.

Why God chose to bless the union of Seth's and Cain's descendants with giants when they broke ranks and bred one another I have never cared to examine and I will not trouble my LORD over a reason I do not need to know. But let's examine what I have received from the Spirit of God about the situation these scriptures present.

God and the angels are Spirit beings and from this point we must be very careful because it is, far, to easy to make a mistake and to fall into heresy. As we search the scriptures we do not find an angel appearing to man without a mission God has sent them on. i.e. When Daniel Fasted and Prayed for an answer God dispatched one angel that was detained by Satan's Demon so God dispatched another. The first was involved in a Spiritual battle and the second, Michael, came to fight the Spiritual Prince of evil as the first angel, after 21 days of battle, completed his or it's (your preference) mission, again in the spirit.

God does grant angels a body men can see, He did so in the case Abram and Lot and that is, indeed an important matter to consider. First thing to remember, God has no part with evil. God cannot be fooled because of His foreknowledge of all of His creation. Angel and fallen angels/demons cannot appear in bodily form except God grant them a body to do so. God will not allow evil for the sake of evil and once again I return to the book of Job. Satan was granted permission to harm Job, more specifically, Satan was granted permission to test Job.

God knew what Job would do and God knew job was faithful but Job had no idea what he would do under the circumstances Satan presented him with respect to God. God does not want people that are unsure of themselves. 365 times, one for each day of the year God has taught us to fear not in His Word. (search for it and you should find http://musingsofaministerswife.com/2012/08/so-how-many-times-is-fear-not-actually-in-the-bible/ ) After reading the Bible through a few times I would suggest to you that God allows testing, not for the purpose of Him finding out how we are doing, no, God allows testing that we might recognize and that we might know our strengths.

The same is true of our dealing with the understanding of scripture.

When I was a soldier and engaged in Close Combat Support I learned to be on edge and to observe what was going on at and beyond the edges of my vision. This trait, to some extent, has become a permanent ingredient in my composition, making me careful to observe. Couple this with the lack of enough formal education to make one that enjoys learning and you find that, although I extended my education with the taking of several college courses, all on the side, and I realized, when they were plentiful, Newspapers were written to be read by people with a Fifth Grade Reading Level.

As a result, I like many folks with a B.A. or higher can misspell a number of words. I wanted to know why the newspapers, all of them, were written at the Fifth Grade Level and I found that most of the English speaking world was best read at this level. Most novels are published for the fifth grade reading level also because of the market requirements to generate income. For this reason I do my best to not use words such as antidisestablishmentarianism, they make people edgy and distrusting of one. I know that the Internet gives all it's users an instant dictionary but I also know that people dislike having to use it as such with any degree of regularity.

On the Web there is a written and an unwritten code that should always be used. i.e. A sentence written in all caps is seen as shouting. When I am conversing with a group of people, I do not use seventy-five cent words for the same reason I do not use them on the web, people see such usage as either arrogant or as used to start trouble and actually, I do not talk that way. Without my G.E.D. And the college courses I took by mail and community colleges, I have an Eighth Grade Education and my transcript looks rough.

My advice to anyone is to remember what the Bible teaches us, to be humble in all things. Matt. 23:12

The past is sometimes a strange thing and it often is unpleasant. One instance of this was shown in the Korean Action of the 1950s. The men that returned from that conflict, often, committed suicide, not so much because of what happened in war but, more so, according to a couple of the survivors I was kin to, the way the American People treated them on their return. In like manor, a couple of my friends that survived the Vietnam Summer Vacation have terminated their lives because of the manor in which the American People treated and remembered them.

Most of us have long ago given the bitterness over to the hopelessness it is in reality. We that served are a proud lot, as a whole. We did what was required of us and every one of us knew we were defending South Vietnam to put a halt on the growth of the now, failed Soviet Union and the growth of Communist China. Is was and it is a noble endeavor that free people engage in and pay for with their lives in many cases.

Is there a, possible, correction for what has passed by? Yes, there is. Just as Lyndon Johnson set the soldier of Vietnam up for failure, Barrak Obama has set the young men of the present military up for condemnation... don't fall into the trap of convenience. If you, truly, want to express your gratitude to the remaining Viet Vets and the small number of surviving Korea Vets, treat these young heroes like the honorable young men that they are and we will bask in that and that will mean everything to us. In this you can begin the healing of America.

A couple of years ago I hated Pit Bulldogs and told anyone that I believed the governments needed to declare open season on them.  And then I was introduced to Zechariah.  She is a rescue dog and has a number of scars from the Pit on her head and body and to be frank and completely honest I was not, all that, comfortable with this dog being close to me, and it is living with the grandkids?

She had that tail, just, a movin' and laid her head in my lap, totally submissive.  Every time I go to visit the kids she makes sure to kiss me before or as I enter the house and as big and as strong as she is, coupled with the way she loves those boys, I never see anybody attacking them when she is with them and that is, such, a comfort in this world we live in.

And you say, "But  Pit Bulls attack and kill children and old folks all the time."  And I must admit, that is true so we need to look at why.  These dogs when rescued and when raised in a house where they are loved and expected to love, that is what they do.  They are never tied to a short chain and tormented to make them mad when they are raised like other dogs and, it seems, when they are rescued, there are an incredible number of them that make fantastic Family Pets.

So the issue is, what do we do about the obvious problem?  My two favorites will never be enacted but I wish one or both of them would be.  The first solution I see is a life term in prison and the second is death by the Electric Chair.  But, being practical, not all attacks, not all dog bite result in the death of a child or elderly woman.  So I guess that a lessor sentence for first and second offenders of 15 to 40 years would be reasonable.  Oh, I'm not talking about jailing the dog, they will be killed anyway, I'm seaking of the monsters that train and treat their dogs this way, the humans?

This problem is with the owners and the drunken and high gamblers and not with the dogs.

When I returned from three tours in Vietnam and went to looking for employment the people at the Unemployment Office sent me to TIRR (Texas Institute for Rehabilitation and Research) to take an IQ Test. I've got to tell you that the people in Austin, Texas are the best people to deal with in this world. Two weeks after my test at TIRR I received a very official looking letter from the state capital and inside was a twenty dollar bill and a Get Well card!

Bill Taylor
Killer Spade 806 CE
1969

If we take the time to meditate  on the Word of God as and after we read it the Holy Spirit will teach us the Life Application we need to learn at that time.  Inferred here is the truth that the Word of God is the Living Word of God.  Some will scream at you for worshiping the Bible but that is not your, nor is it my, problem.  I have read the Bible a few times in the past twenty-five years and as I read a passage I know well for the lesson God has taught me, He teaches me a new application of the same scripture.  And no, neither one is in error, the two compliment each other and each application shed more light on other scripture a the same time making the Word a never ending exploration map.

In 1Peter 3:7 we learn to love our wives in knowledge.  Now, I gained knowledge of the, then, brand new HU-1 (Huey) by going to school on the aircraft and before I was allowed to place a finger on the craft I studied books.  Only after a nearly full course was I allowed to turn a wrench on, what became, my baby.  After I had spent five years working on the Huey and had turned down a promotion twice that would move me from the Crew Chief position, I was the Senior Crew Chief on the Flight Line and the Senior Mechanic in my short stint in Field Maintenance.

In like manor I wed my Christian Wife, at first I kinew she was a very good lookin' lady and I knew I had her fooled into thinking I was a good man.  Because I have spent the last twenty-four  years studying her I not only love her, I know we will work together in Heaven for the LORD and there is nothing better than living forever with your best friend.

When we look at Deuteronomy 11:19, Proverbs 29:15 and Ephesians 6:4 along with a ton of other scriptures we find, what appear to be, a contradiction in scripture.  On one hand we find that we must not provoke our children to anger and on the other hand we are instructed not to spare the rod.  That is the rod or the belt on the soft padding God put in place for such a thing, their hinny.

I am guilty of being a proponent of corporal punishment but I am also a proponent of long, long. prison terms for those that beat their children.  If you have read this far you understand that I can generate a lot of anger and a good deal of it inside the Church.  This generation's parents, seriously, need to learn to compare the lessons being taught from the pulpit wit what God has said and to learn to ignore the government when their word is in conflict with your God's words.

One thing we learn in the Scriptures is that the Only Holy God does not give any people the right of discretion that He will or must bless it. If we seek to follow God we must, all of us, repent of celebrating the Pagan and to instead celebrate the Sunday following the Passover, the day Jesus arose.

Last year my Church family invited a Messianic Priest over to help in serving the Massah and the Roasted Lamb and there was no Easter Celebration nor egg hunt nor any of the rest. We celebrated the Death, the Burial and the Glorious Resurrection of our Master from the Grave. We have surrendered and repented of the sin, Ishtar invokes when celebrated. Please read and pray over the information found in the tract linked below.
http://www.lasttrumpetministries.org/tracts/tract1.html

Bill Taylor
Killer Spade 806 CE
1969

A Bed Time Story

Once upon a time, long, long, ago and teenager joined the US Army and upset his dad a great deal. After a few years in the Army he was serving, safely, in Europe when a war in another country erupted with people trying to force the people there into subverting what freedom they did have and to force them under the rule of an evil man named Ho.

The young soldier wanted to be a good leader and knew that respect was everything and those leading people into the Field of Battle must know, first hand, what to teach his men to expect and he volunteered to serve and to protect his nation and the Little People in Vietnam. His First Sergeant, His C. O. and his Sergeant Major thought to protect him and refused to let him go there.

This caused the youngster to destroy his career and to get a flag on his Personal Records as being P. I. (He broke the Chain of Command and used Political Influence.) The lad wrote His congressman to get orders into the Field of Combat.

There is a nation, here in the U. S., full of such old men today. Some of them were forced to go to Vietnam and some of them volunteered but none ever refused to defend their nation, discarding the Saigon Warriors, and they, everyone of them, were a little crazy. Some of them tromped around the Jungle Floor and some of them flew LOG (Logistical Resupply Missions) with the unfriendliest people in the world shooting Quad Fifties, B40s and all other manor of, terrible, instruments of death at them.

Some of these kids were Killer Spades, Black Bandits and some, bless their crazy hearts, were Smiling Tigers. They did LOG Missions and Insertion and Extraction Missions and when thye MedEvac could or would not land, they did MedEvacs at three in the morning instead of sleeping to be ready for the missions in the morning.

Today, they, finally, have a reason to be proud of their people because they are not treating their new Veterans with the disrespect that was, over-abundantly, afforded the Korean and the Vietnam Veterans. But America, the man in the Oval Office is setting you up to fall. Combat has no equal for evil on this earth and none of your vets want you to, ever, know the evil we saw first hand, please, wake up.

Christian Position on Evolutional Creation

I scanned the OP and page 14 so this point might have already been made but here goes.

Hate is a strong word and not, usually, applicable, to this false teaching as being truth. As a Christian, I believe, no I know, the Bible is the Word of God and God has no part with sin. For this "Theory," not empirical science, to be true God would have to leave part of the truth out of the Genesis 1 through 3 story. That would be the "sis" of omission and remember, God has "no" part with sin.

The latest "argument" for this position is the attempt to make theories stand as empirical science by redefining the truth to be relational, it is not! What is truth to me and what is truth to you are not both true... perhaps both are not!

This entire discussion is designed by Satan to destroy the witness of the saved by dragging them deeper into sin and making them feel guilty... silly discussion.

Rev21

Rev 21:1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea.

I have, since shortly after beginning to teach the Primaries class in '92, believed that the oceans of the Earth were not here or were all one span, when the LORD created the Earth. (Not being perfect, I might be wrong.) As I understand it, the Earth, just like the Saved Man and Woman, will be restored to it's intended state. (Folks tend to think the Earth was flooded by the 40 days of rain and I tell you that if that was what our Almighty Master wanted, it would have been that way. But, the waters under the Earth, also, erupted from under the Earth. (See the Flood texts in Genesis.) There were no seas or oceans when God created the Earth and it was perfect.)

Rev 21:2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband.

Rev 21:3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them,

Rev 21:4 and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away."

Rev 21:5 And He who sits on the throne said, "Behold, I am making all things new." And He *said, "Write, for these words are faithful and true."

Rev 21:6 Then He said to me, "It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost.

Rev 21:7 "He who overcomes will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son.

Here we find such Life Application and reason for Faith. The cute, little ditty, 'I know how this all ends because I read the end of the book,' has real meaning to the Faithful... we really do win! Ever since I volunteered to serve in South Vietnam, people have cautioned me to be careful because I might die. In verse 16 Jesus informs us that it is He we need to be mindful of, not ourselves. He is the beginning and the End so as long as I serve Him, I cannot die, period.

In the service to my country, I learned that good leaders are,also, good followers. At the age of 24 I served under a few 19 year old Officers and though I sometimes pulled them aside for Survival Lessons, I followed these, very, brave young men where they led. With the NVA, in the north end of South Vietnam, tracking us with SAM Radar, Shooting at us with Quad Fifties and every manor of Small Arms, B40 Rockets and an assortment of weapons, still I followed... could I, should I, ever not trust and follow my Saviour?

Rev 21:8 "But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death."

There are Annihilationists among us today, claiming the name of the Christ as their own. Are they saved? I cannot judge that! Are they wrong? According to the 'whole' Word of God, yes, they are. We have read, in God's Word, Rev. 20:4&5, that, even, the Lost are resurrected. They remain in the Grave until the Thousand Year Reign is fulfilled by our LORD and then they stand the Great White Throne Judgment. From there they suffer the Second death, the eternal, unending death... forever dying, not exterminated.

Rev 21:9 Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and spoke with me, saying, "Come here, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb."

Rev 21:10 And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God,

Rev 21:11 having the glory of God. Her brilliance was like a very costly stone, as a stone of crystal-clear jasper.

Rev 21:12 It had a great and high wall, with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels; and names were written on them, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel.

Rev 21:13 There were three gates on the east and three gates on the north and three gates on the south and three gates on the west.

Rev 21:14 And the wall of the city had twelve foundation stones, and on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

Rev 21:15 The one who spoke with me had a gold measuring rod to measure the city, and its gates and its wall.

Rev 21:16 The city is laid out as a square, and its length is as great as the width; and he measured the city with the rod, fifteen hundred miles; its length and width and height are equal.

The normal position of the Average Man (not Christian) is that Heaven cannot be all that large... if it is real. For the Bride of Christ... it is real! God's Holy Word says it and I believe God's Word! Life Application? Who in their right mind would choose a life in a Lake filled with burning Brimstone over a life, both for eternity, in Heaven?

Rev 21:17 And he measured its wall, seventy-two yards, according to human measurements, which are also angelic measurements.

Rev 21:18 The material of the wall was jasper; and the city was pure gold, like clear glass.

Rev 21:19 The foundation stones of the city wall were adorned with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation stone was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, chalcedony; the fourth, emerald;

Rev 21:20 the fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, topaz; the tenth, chrysoprase; the eleventh, jacinth; the twelfth, amethyst.

Gold, so pure it can be seen through like glass. My take? Yes, that is what I read when I read this and diamonds and all other precious stone in the foundation and the walls, now, let's look at the gates.

Rev 21:21 And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; each one of the gates was a single pearl. And the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass.

Rev 21:22 I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.

The gates must be awesome and then the streets are paved with Gold! We are given these references to stir us because there is nothing to compare Heaven with, it is unlike anything else.

Rev 21:23 And the city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God has illumined it, and its lamp is the Lamb.

Rev 21:24 The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it.

Rev 21:25 In the daytime (for there will be no night there) its gates will never be closed;

Rev 21:26 and they will bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it;

Rev 21:27 and nothing unclean, and no one who practices abomination and lying, shall ever come into it, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life.

So, we need to be perfect to enter? No! Our righteousness is the imputed righteousness of the Christ, received, only, when we submit to the Lordship of Jesus. If you feel the need for more information on receiving Jesus, please ask me.

The Image of God

Many are they that cry out against God for the unfairness of it all. They are protesting their sin nature (Rom. 3:10,23) inherited from the father of mankind Adam. But the truth is that, for a couple of, and perhaps more reasons it can be no other way. I’m stepping off the deep end here to cause thought, meditation on the Word of God and research into that same Word. God created Adam in His own image and that is an entire subject, by itself. Many have determined that God has the physical appearance of a man, but does He? Is that the image God created man in? I think not. We see in the first three chapters of the Holy Bible that God created the star, planets, universes and critters of the Earth and finished His creation with His most cherished creation, man. When we read the beginning of the Bible we see that God walked in the cool of the evening with Adam, God loved Adam. For this reason it follows that the man, created in the image of God, can also love. When we look at young men and women today, heck, look at our own youth, at the courtship rituals we went through, we spent time with our perspective mates expressing our love for them. Can you see the image of God?
Or a man or a woman to love they, absolutely, must have free will! A very similar free will to that of our Creator. We are much like our Father and yet, because of our free will we are different. My physical appearance is a combination of my mother’s father and my birth father. My grandfather was a farming railroader and my birth father was a cab driving alcoholic but because of my free will I am a Christian that chose to follow my step-father into military service in Aviation. Just as Adam was made perfect, in God’s image and chose to sin, in like manor I did my best to leave the bad behind me and be an honorable man who followed God. But as hard as I’ve tried, I still look like my father, in many ways.
My point is and what I wish for you to consider is that we inherited certain qualities from God, our Creator but we also inherited certain qualities from Adam and Adam used his free will to sin. We, having that same free will, do not have to live in the sin of our choice! As men and women, of the image of the most Holy God, we can choose to live a holy life, separated to God. We can also choose to eat, drink and be merry and die, the choice is one we make by choosing God or by refusing to choose. In either case we make a choice that we will be bound to for eternity.

No Literal Hell?

I have just been surfing a few Christian Forum sites and the things promoted by people naming the name of Christ amazes me. Over the years I have heard the name Rob Bell more than once and in seeking the wisdom of other Basics Grounded Teachers have avoided wasting my funds on the books he pushes as Christian. There is a post on one forum this morning that seeks? to equip other members of this particular forum for the upcoming debate that is, apparently, sure to come. I’m going to attempt to be kind here but the truth is that in his link I did not find the scriptures.By the scriptures, of course, I mean the Bible, the Word of God’s personal revelation of Himself. The book, it is reported by the poster, is concerning the lack of any real Hell. In all the copies of the Bible that I own Genesis 1:1 points out that it is Almighty God that created the Universe and all that it contains. And when we go to John 1:1-3 we learn that the Son of God, popularly known as God in the flesh and Jesus, is the Creator of all of this. As it is very popular to ignore the Bible and to read the Commentary instead, I’ll limit this post, from here forward to that Commentary, the New Testament. In the Four Gospels, Jesus/God taught more on the turth and fact of Hell than He did on Heaven. If any of us then puts it forward that there is no such place as a literal Hell… we are guilty of calling God a liar!
I know that I will stand, what is popularly known as, the Bema Seat Judgment but I certainly never wish to even be near the Great White Throne Judgment and calling God a liar, directly or by inference, is one sure fire way to get there and to, experientially, find out that Hell is real and that it is never ending. Throughout the scriptures we find that God cannot tolerate sin in His presence and Jesus stated that he was ‘the’ way, ‘the’ way and ‘the’ life. (John 14:6) Not even that He was or might be one of the ways, He is The Way.(Emphasis mine.)
So my question is this, “Why do we believe that a Finite Man, created by God knows more that the Infinite Creator that has forever been?

the Rapture

For some time since my salvation I have been presented with a variety of ideas as to just what a Christian is and it has become very popular to lower the standard to allow greater numbers to come into the fold and to disregard what the Bible, the revelation of God and f His will for His people. Before I became a follower of my LORD, Jesus, the Christ, I thought the idea of any of the scripture being the truth. Since my conversion in 1990 my entire out look and my complete life has been regenerated and it is my firm position that every word of the scriptures, contained in the Christian Bible, is the God inspired truth. Now you have my statement of faith and we’ll move on to the subject matter. The variety of beliefs today that attempt to be labeled ‘Christian’ run a very wide range from my position to ‘the Bible is not the Word of God but the Word of God can be found there.’ After the past 21 years of study, the one thing that I know for certain is that a saved man, woman or child are indwelt with the Holy Spirit of God! Now, on that basis and God’s knowledge of what each of His Children needs I understand that the applied meaning of any scripture or group of scriptures will vary from Child of God to Child of God.
As I have studied and as I have matured in my faith over the past two decades I have read and reread the scriptures. On each reading God has revealed new truths and all of them from the same scriptures. Not one lesson learned disagrees with any other lesson from a certain point in scripture but rather each lesson clarifies and magnifies the other. As the years have passed I have learned some great points I had not discovered yet and at the same time I have been used of God to teach some points others had missed until God revealed them through me.
From all of this we have, what I am instructed to understand as twelve points of Christianity. I submit to you;
Twelve Points That Show Christianity is True
Truth about reality is knowable.
The opposite of true is false.
It is true that the theistic God exists.
If God exists, then miracles are possible.
Miracles can be used to confirm a message from God
(i.e., as an act of God to confirm a word from God).
The New Testament is historically reliable.
The New Testament says Jesus claimed to be God.
Jesus’ claim to be God was miraculously confirmed by:
a. His fulfillment of many prophecies about Himself;
b. His sinless and miraculous life;
c. His prediction and accomplishment of His resurrection.
Therefore, Jesus is God.
Whatever Jesus (who is God) teaches is true.
Jesus taught that the Bible is the Word of God.
Therefore, it is true that the Bible is the Word of God
(and anything opposed to it is false)
Copied from theologyweb.com
Now we are at my point concerning the Rapture! The term rapture is not found in the English translations I have read, rather the term is used to codify the teaching of Paul in 1Thes. 4;13-18. In a recent post, in response to one of mine a slippery accusation was leveled at me that fell just short of accusing the person of not being saved. While in my post I had not even alluded to such I am guilty of believing every word of the scriptures and I have serious doubt of anyone that does not hold that position.
So we have arrived at the point where I usually recommend self examination because I am not God and I can condemn no one, that is God’s providence. As per Matt. 7, all of it, it is my place to judge/discern the truth and the criteria I am to use is to inspect their fruit. If a person tells me they do not believe anything the Bible teaches, their fruit is suspect! It all comes down to one point, if the Bible, the Holy Scriptures, teach it we must believe it by faith or we need to nourish our faith a bit more, one or the other.

Hell

In the past 20+ years I have encountered an incredible number of positions on the matter of Hell. The Jehova´s Witness deny it´s existence even though it is found in the text of their misinterpretation, known as the New World Translation, makes a great deal of mention about it. The Universalists deny it´s eternal nature because it is their position, as explained to me, that everyone goes to Heaven… we just use different routes to get there. Then there are a group of New Testament Christians (oxymoron) that teach that God is love (this is true) and a loving God will never send anyone to eternal suffering in Hell. There are a whole catalog of other positions, none of them based on the Bible, so let´s look at scripture for a moment.
Luk 16:15 And he said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God.
Luk 16:16 The law and the prophets were until John: since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every man presseth into it.
Luk 16:17 And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one tittle of the law to fail.
Luk 16:18 Whosoever putteth away his wife, and marrieth another, committeth adultery: and whosoever marrieth her that is put away from her husband committeth adultery.
Luk 16:19 There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day:
Luk 16:20 And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores,
Luk 16:21 And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.
Luk 16:22 And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried;
Luk 16:23 And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
Luk 16:24 And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.
Luk 16:25 But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented.
Luk 16:26 And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence.
Luk 16:27 Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father’s house:
Luk 16:28 For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment.
Luk 16:29 Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.
Luk 16:30 And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent.
Luk 16:31 And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.
In verse fifteen we find Jesus making a remarkable and very note worthy statement that, when meditated on, has some very serious and note worthy points to consider. The Pharisees are the people being addressed in these remarks, so Jesus is speaking to and of the very religious Church Leaders of that day. Just like the most noticeable Christians of today these men are content with their position and seem to have grown some rather long pointed noses to look down as they examine folks of less stature. In verse fifteen Jesus delivers a blow, right to the mid-section.
These rulers had taken on the air of self righteousness as do a, far to, large portion of the Church Families today. Much to often, in today´s church, the average member has never read his or her Bible through the first time but instead have latched on to this or to that verse and use that, single, verse for their Justification. The Christian Adulterer (oxymoron) often will devote a good deal of effort to condemning the Homosexual, the Rapist, the Thief or some other class of sinner to make him or herself feel good about their ¨lessor¨ sin!
Now, there is a great deal more to be learned from this passage of scripture but for the moment, at least, let´s move into what some call a Parable and others, like myself, view as a literal story told to us by Jesus. It matters not, one´s position on this story being literal or parable, there is a lesson to be learned and in this story, several lessons.
Hell is a touchy subject and one that receives far to little attention in today´s, much more, liberal assemblies. The first thing I seek to do when I hear Hell mentioned is to figure out the speaking individual´s definition of Hell. Most of the Christian Church will admit that it exists but will not teach on it because it is divisive and does not seem to build numbers in the attendance column.
My understanding of Hell is from the scriptures and more often than not I am told that I´m all wet. My view on the passage above has a very large bearing on my definition of Hell. We find here that Lazarus has gone to Abraham´s Bosom, also known as Paradise from the account of the Thief on the cross, and the Rich Man we see in Hell. We know that Paradise has been emptied out (Matt. 27:52, 53) and we know that the people in Hell are there until the Second Resurrection, coming after the Millennial Reign of the Christ. (Rev. 20:1-14)
What I hope all can see here is that Hell will end up in the Lake of Fire, a.k.a. The Abyss, but Hell is not there now. For this reason, when I speak of Hell, I am not speaking of the final destination of the unforgiven. Actually, this, for the sake of P.R. and unity in the Church, where it is important, is for every Christian to agree on. The childish, sporadic debates that take place in public discussions and public forums does great damage to the Witness of today´s Christian. When we attack one another, because we do not understand the other´s position we look very foolish and under educated.
One more of the parallels I´m famous for. When I landed in the 229th ASH Bn. Before I could get my feet on the ground there was a nineteen year old WO I trying to get me to commit to flying with him and noone else. Before I landed he had already checked me out, records and reputation. (The men in the U.S. Army´s Aviation wing are very tight knit.) This one of the kids that knew better than to trust anybody over thirty, I´m already twenty-four but he saw that I was to be the Senior Huey Crewchief and he wanted only the best.
He questioned me for over twenty minutes about the aircraft to find out if I was for real and all of my answers were spot on. If we, the Christians, do not appear to know what it is we speak of, would you want to follow us?

the Holy Life

Posted on June 21, 2011 by th1bill Jer 7:3 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, Amend your ways and your doings, and I will cause you to dwell in this place.
Jer 7:4 Trust ye not in lying words, saying, The temple of the LORD, The temple of the LORD, The temple of the LORD, are these.
Jer 7:5 For if ye throughly amend your ways and your doings; if ye throughly execute judgment between a man and his neighbour;
Jer 7:6 If ye oppress not the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, and shed not innocent blood in this place, neither walk after other gods to your hurt:
Jer 7:7 Then will I cause you to dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers, for ever and ever.
Jer 7:8 Behold, ye trust in lying words, that cannot profit.
In last Sunday´s Scripture Lesson the question was asked that is, by and large, ignored in this world today, ¨How much of your daily lifestyle is shaped by popular culture and how much is influenced by God´s Word?¨
The Grumpy Old Men´s Class did run 7 to 10 when I assumed the privilege of teaching it, for the want of a willing teacher. Because of my teaching the possibility of living a ¨Holy Life,¨ (a life devoted to the service of God. Rom. 12:1) combined with problems that occur in any Church Family with a very Biblical Pastor, two members left the class and the fellowship of the Church. Others have left for an assortment of reasons until the class is now made up of 3 to 5 members on any given Sunday. And here we are now striving to build the LORD´s Church Family with, hopefully, dedicated Christ Followers.
In verse 3 we see Jeremiah delivering a message to God´s people that, through-out the past six thousand years, has never changed, ¨Amend your ways.¨ From the time God called Abraham away from his family in Genesis, the LORD has looked for a separate, a different people. God created Adam a perfect man with a free will and Adam chose to follow his good looking woman, Eve, and to disobey God From that moment forward the ¨world¨ has been trouble and God has been calling people, all people, to return to Him. (2Pet. 3:9)
Jesus reduced the Ten Commandments down to two Great Commandments, which if followed, will see a man or a woman obeying all 613 explanations. Yet, in spite of Jesus’ statement in the Gospels that He had not come to do away with the Law and that not one title would ever pass away, the New Testament Christian, an oxymoron, has, indeed cast the Law into the Dung Heap! And yet if we go no further than the Book of Romans we find Paul, in the KJV mentioning the Law 78 times in 52 verses.
Now, up front, we are not under the penalty of the Law, we, Christians, are under Grace but the Law is very important to us for many reasons, two of them I´ll mention here. First, the Law is the perfect Word Picture, or Illustration of Jesus who is God in the flesh of a man. And second, the Law is our Code Of Conduct! This is the example we are to seek to model to the Lost Man.
Over the years I have been permanently banned from a number of web sites, claiming to be Christian, because my teaching of the importance of the Law to the Christian has offended folks. God has not put His call on any man´s life to tickle the ears of the masses. If you look at teachers like Joel Osteen and Rick Warren you will see that tickling ears builds monster followings but who are they following? If a man, any man, follows God and obeys God to receive his messages, only, from God, he will offend people. God´s ways are not preferred by most of the world, that is why The Christian Faith is such a small following.
So, can a man live a Holy life? Not without the indwelling of the Holy Spirit! When Jesus departed the Disciples, He promised the Comforter would be sent, by Him, to us. That is the Holy Spirit and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit is there with any Saved Man. The difference between a God fearing Christian and a carnal Christian is the quenching of the Holy Spirit. The God fearing Christian makes the effort to listen to the Spirit he or she is indwelt by and everybody else quenches that same Spirit whether saved and indwelt or unsaved and the Spirit knocking at their heart´s door. With the indwelling of the Spirit of God and the personal commitment to follow the leading of the Spirit, any person can lead a life dedicated to God, a Holy life.
Like myself, you will have times that you stiffen your neck and disobey but, again, like myself, you will fall down, repent and be forgiven and reinstated if you love God.