Posts filed under ‘Emotional virtue’
Does God Allow Bad Things to Happen to Good People?
This idea that God should step in and stop bad things from happening to supposedly good people is a doctrine born in the pit. There is no truth to it but it has an air of correctness to it, though dare I say it is only politically correct in a world that generally denies God even exists. People want only good things to happen in their life, but they also only want to exercise their free will. It would seem that exercising free will is what got Satan and his angels into trouble and the same occurred with Adam and Eve. Free will seems to always set itself against God. Maybe this is why Paul referred to the angels who did not fall through rebellion as the elect angels of God (1 Timothy 5:21)? Maybe that had no ability to choose to rebel. It’s possible they were created elect already, without any ability to fall away from God in rebellion.
Continue Reading October 15, 2016 at 9:34 AM Leave a comment
Living in Light of the Times, Part 2
We need to get with God’s program and stop worrying about how we can change society so that things will “improve.” They aren’t going to improve. Hell is destined to be unleashed onto the earth and Satan will have his day in the form of Antichrist and he will be defeated with finality. Aren’t you glad? There is an end to this growing, stupefying morass of evil and it is on the horizon. Can you not see it? Can you not yet hear the footsteps of the Messiah as He returns in complete and utter victory to a world that has always rejected Him and His sovereign rule?
Continue Reading October 14, 2016 at 8:38 AM Leave a comment
Living in Light of the Times, Part 1
As we focus on the eventual return of Jesus (or the fact that we will see Him face-to-face upon our death, which as far as we are concerned, could occur at any moment), John tells us that focusing like this creates a purity within that we otherwise did not have. It is incumbent upon us to literally look for that future time when Jesus will rule physically over all Creation. Is that not something to be excited about?
Numbers: Census and History of Israel
The book of Numbers is a book that should remind us of our propensity to wander away from God if left to our own desires. We must be diligent in serving Him and reminding ourselves that we need to do whatever it takes to remain true to our calling. Our calling is to faithfully submit our will for His at every turn.
Continue Reading October 12, 2016 at 1:33 PM Leave a comment
Government Keeps Giving Us More Reasons to Not Trust Them
Folks, if you are not aware, we cannot place our faith in government unless that government is headed up by Jesus (and that won’t happen until the Millennium). We cannot expect that government to do what is right because it has been doing what’s wrong for so long. At the same time, God is still directing humanity’s affairs to His preconceived conclusions and He does so for His glory. Yes, people will be held responsible for their actions in working against God just as Judas was held accountable for His even though Jesus came to die and willingly gave up His life for you and for me. Judas was the personal instigator who personally made Jesus’ death possible. He is culpable and is paying the eternal price for his sin. However, aren’t you glad that Jesus died?
Continue Reading October 5, 2016 at 12:33 PM Leave a comment
Psalm 2: Puny Man Waging War Against God, Part 2
By the time King David wrote the words of Psalm 2, much of what I’ve related was already behind him. Of course, the birth of the Messiah was yet in front of him, but the hard work of creating Israel from Abraham (and everything that included), was done! King David could understand Psalm 2 from his perspective knowing that God had already been faithful because of all the things He had promised and brought to the fore.
Psalm 2: Puny Man Waging War Against God, Part 1
During King David’s day (and he is the assumed author of Psalm 2 based on the testimony of Acts 4:25), the Holy Spirit prompted David to see a larger picture and gave him an eyeful about how desperate humanity is to throw off the “bands” and “cords” (Psalm 2:3) of God’s rule. This has been Satan’s goal since he first fell and after he managed to succeed in getting Eve and Adam to fall, he put his plan to use humanity to help him break free of God’s rule. That’s what it’s all about. Satan wants to be God (Isaiah 14:14) and he’ll use humanity in his attempt to make that happen. Will he succeed? Psalm 2 tells us he won’t.
Seed the Untold Story: Monsanto’s Destruction of Plants and Eco-System
The more you know, the less you’ll be taken by surprise. There are terribly evil people throughout the world who see only their needs and wants as something to be sought after. They couldn’t care less about you or me. They seek only profits and if that means destroying vegetables and fruits that God gave us, so be it. Do you think these people – the wealthiest in the world – eat foods that have been genetically altered or sprayed with pesticides? Of course not. They have the best of everything with truly organically grown foods, meat that is devoid of hormones and antibiotics, and beverages that are the best money can buy. They have their cake and they eat it too while the rest of us scramble for the scraps that these ultra-rich folks would never even consider putting in their mouths. Truly, they have their rewards now.
Leviticus: The Law and Sacrificial System
It cannot be stressed enough that just as the Israelites were expected to eschew evil and live lives that extolled the virtues of holiness before a holy God, Christians are to do the same thing. We are to flee from all sinful desires and endeavor to live holy lives (in His strength), from the time we receive salvation to the very moment He takes us home to be with Him in eternity. Of course, it is impossible for the Christian to live a perfectly sinless life because of the inherent sin nature within us. Sinless perfection is something that will only become reality for the Christian when the sin nature is excised from us and that will not occur until we pass through the door of death.
Continue Reading September 29, 2016 at 9:05 AM Leave a comment
Racism Used to Divide, Conquer, and Create New Truth
The first time Christ came, He did not come to change society. He did not come to eradicate lies. He came to create a way for humanity to gain salvation. Certainly, if all people were authentically saved today, society would be a different place, but the sin nature would still exist. It will only be when there is a society of people who do not have the sin nature and have Jesus as Lord and Savior that the change will be complete. Until then, we live not only among sinful people, easily swayed by the deceits of the enemy, but we ourselves continue to be taken in by our own resident sin nature. Though we have salvation in Christ and the Holy Spirit lives within us, our inherent sin nature keeps us at odds with ourselves and with God at times.
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