Archive for May, 2015
Satan Quit Gig and Owns a Nightclub in the City of Angels
Frankly, I think the real Satan enjoys these kinds of shows because they portray him as more like a human than the Bible does and that’s because he’s not human. As far as we know, Lucifer (before the fall, but now Satan), is the highest created being that God created. We’re not really sure if Michael the Archangel or Gabriel (both mentioned in Scripture) are equal to him and chances are that they are not. The testimony of Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 28 seem to verify that Lucifer was indeed the highest of all of God’s Creation. But he also sinned when pride took up residence in his heart. He made some promises that he’s worked very hard to bring to fruition. Isaiah 14 tells us that he promised to become like the Most High. How exactly does that work when that promise comes from a being who has been created by this God that he swears he will become like? The hubris is amazing.
Your Blood, Your Body, and the Holy Spirit’s Temple, Part 4
Remember the adage, you are what you eat? It’s very true. Christians who eat garbage (whether they know better or not) can end up dealing with health issues that seem to come from nowhere. Because of that, doctors don’t know where to look.
Your Blood, Your Body, and the Holy Spirit’s Temple, Part 3
By the year 2000, nearly 31% of Americans were considered obese. Certainly, exercise would help this, but since we know that one of our food’s staples was drastically altered in the 1950s/1960s, that bears at least some of the blame and should be seriously scrutinized. Yet, when people like Drs. Davis or Perlmutter come out with their findings, they are often ridiculed. Why is that?
Your Blood, Your Body, and the Holy Spirit’s Temple, Part 2
How is the problem corrected? If it starts in the gut, that is where the focus needs to be. If something is causing a person to have a leaky gut (increased permeability of the intestinal lining to the blood stream), then the best way to solve the problem is by determining what is causing the leaky gut in the first place and eliminating it from the body, correct?
Your Blood, Your Body, and the Holy Spirit’s Temple, Part 1
I firmly believe that while it is extremely important to avoid sexual immorality, drugs, drunkenness, and the rest of what Paul speaks of here in Corinthians and elsewhere, it is equally important to avoid eating and drinking things that will cause the type of physiological issues that can do tremendous harm to our bodies. In essence, as Paul says, many of the things we eat and drink are not beneficial to us at all! We need to take note of it and learn exactly how harmful they may be for us, including what type of toll they take on our physical bodies.
Something is Emotionally, Mentally, and/or Physiologically Wrong and It’s Not Spiritual
Within the past three months, it was determined that I have an overactive parathyroid gland (hyperparathyroidism). The parathyroid is made up of four individual pea-sized glands that often sit near and behind the thyroid gland. Their job is to control how much calcium gets into our blood stream. All human beings need some calcium in their blood. However, when the parathyroid becomes overactive, by secreting too much PTH (parathyroid hormone), too much calcium is introduced into the blood stream. Too much calcium in the blood stream can cause minor to serious and even fatal (yes, the word is FATAL), problems for people. If left untreated, strokes and heart attacks can occur.
It is Easy to Misinterpret Scripture By Ignoring Context
THEN we get to verse 6b of Zechariah 13 and the famous verse that some take to refer to Jesus. It is clear that the false prophet is being questioned here, but about what? The “wounds” on his arms. This is where some people assume it refers to Jesus (because of the wounds He received leading up to and including the crucifixion). Unfortunately, IF we consider that the context is all about false prophets, then the wounds referred to here are more in line with what the prophets of Baal did to themselves in 1 Kings 18:28. They cut themselves in order to get Baal’s attention, much the same way Muslims cut themselves today during certain ceremonies to gain Allah’s attention and favor. Throughout history, there were many of these types of self-mutilation ceremonies connected with Phrygian, Syrian, Cappadocian, and other cultures.
New World Government Has Been in the Works in America for Generations
Christians today need to grasp the big picture, the one from God’s perspective. Instead, we are often too concerned about saving America. Our job is the Great Commission, in which Jesus tells us to go and make disciples of all nations. He never tells us to save a specific country. He is concerned about lost souls and so should we be. The problem is that all too often (and we can all fall prey to this, including this author), we become embroiled in the political scene because we think that if good men “do nothing,” disaster is the result. We need to choose carefully what it is we are “to do,” because we cannot be both evangelists to the lost and politically involved to save America.
Is Salvation a Sure Thing or Dependent Upon Us? Part 4
I’m not sure the average Christian truly understands how important it is that Christians actively persevere in the faith, on a daily basis. Though I believe that this will occur for all true Christians, too often today, those who profess to be Christians provide themselves with every excuse to act like the world. We have lost a true reverence for God (if we ever had it). We have no real fear of failure. We do not understand the depth to which our sin causes the Holy Spirit to grieve. We are constantly giving ourselves a pass on the things that we do that we know are wrong. Our job is to submit to Him that His will might be lived out in and through us. He doesn’t expect us to do that in our own strength. He will provide the strength. He simply says we must open ourselves to His will all the time. This is what actively recreates the character of Jesus in our hearts and lives, though clearly, God is in charge of that. Nothing can be taken away from Him.
Is Salvation a Sure Thing or Dependent Upon Us? Part 3
What our friend completely fails to grasp is that the chapter began with a brief parable of the lost sheep, then segued into the lost coin. In both of those brief stories, the emphasis is on the sheep owner and the woman, both of whom went out of their way to search for what was lost. In essence then, we could say that these are examples of Jesus coming to the “lost sheep of the house of Israel” and attempting to win them to Him. Israel has always had an “in” and “out” relationship with God. That cycle continues to this day, yet I do not believe for one moment that just because someone is an orthodox Jew, they are “saved.” Jews need to be saved today the exact same way that everyone else is saved, by grace, through faith, in Christ. I also believe that God will one day take from the nation of Israel a final “remnant” of people who will come to believe in Jesus as Lord, Savior, and Messiah. These will represent the final version of the nation of Israel. Still, the method of salvation is always the same.
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