Posts filed under ‘salvation’
Rapture, Increasing Lawlessness, and the Tribulation, Part 1
Besides the constant push toward evil that currently exists in global society, certain events highlighted in the Bible will play their part in allowing and advocating a greater advance of evil than would have occurred had those events not happened at all. Certainly one large, unmistakable event is the Rapture. Yet, too many people tend to think of the Rapture as merely an event in which millions of authentic Christians “escape” from this planet. That is certainly part of it; one side of the coin. However, the other part of the coin – as the result of the Rapture occurring – is represented by the things that occur in society because the Rapture has taken place. This cannot be stressed enough.
Technocracy and the New Tower of Babel
What Satan was unable to accomplish the first time (essentially because of God’s timing and purposes), he has worked to achieve now and it appears as though God is going to allow Satan to build what he failed to build in Genesis 11. Of course, Satan has learned from his mistakes. He’s not interested gathering everyone together to build a physical structure that attempts to reach to the heavens. Today’s individual couldn’t care less about that. Unlike those who lived during the days of Noah after the Flood and believed in some sort of very powerful deity, today’s average person is lost, without God in the world. They more than likely see themselves as some sort of deity, if they have any religious beliefs and affirmations at all. This person would not benefit from a physical structure that directs their attention to the heavens, when in point of fact, Satan has been directing people to see themselves as gods.
Though They Claim to Support Israel, Netanyahu Speech Leaves Dems Angry
Israel will stand. The truth of the matter though is that Israel has never been alone. While Jews who reject Jesus as Messiah go into eternity without the salvation that Jesus provides, God stands with the nation of Israel. It is His land. The Jews – as a group and culture – are His people. Will all of them be saved? No. There is no special dispensation that allows Jews to bypass Jesus and His salvation (something that is falsely taught by numerous pastors today). All have sinned (Jew and Gentile) and have fallen short of God’s glory (cf. Romans 3:23). All need Jesus (both Jew and Gentile).
Supporting Islam While Throwing Israel Under the Bus
But on a day when being Muslim is actually celebrated in an Oklahoma State house, Muslims came, knelt, and prayed to Allah (Satan, by another name). I don’t recall ever seeing a situation where Christians were actually invited into a government building, allowed to kneel, and pray to the God of the Bible. In fact, there have been numerous cases where DC police have stopped Christian groups from praying on the steps of the Supreme Court building. They were told if they continued, they would face arrest. I have no doubt that this would not be the case if Muslims threw down their prayer rugs and knelt in prayer. In fact, they have not been interrupted when groups of Muslims have gotten together to pray on or near the White House property. Christians are not given the same courtesy and respect.
How Should Christians Live in the World?
For now, what I’m saying is that in the world – which is again, Satan’s kingdom – I’m not sure we have a biblical leg to stand on when it comes to trying to change people without considering that they must be changed from within (through receiving salvation) before any real changes can occur. But when it comes to the life of the church, leaders should do everything possible to take care of problems and issues in the most loving way possible. This means never by accepting the sin of the person and simply allowing them to participate in activities that are for only those who have salvation and through commitment and surrender, endeavor to live (through the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit) to please God.
Christians and the Old Testament, Part 4
Also note that our friend thoroughly believes alien life does exist in the galaxy though I’m quite certain he’s never been visited by any or had conversations with them. In short, he’s taking this on faith, based on hearsay and alleged anecdotal evidence from science. In essence though, there has been nothing that has proven beyond doubt that aliens exist, but our friend – though he is repulsed by the notion of any god existing – simply accepts without proof aliens existing. How this connects with the scientific mind or process is beyond me, but I’m quite sure he has rationalized it enough to believe it without issue.
Christians and the Old Testament, Part 2
But atheists, who often come across as extremely arrogant, don’t see it that way. Yet, I’ve shown in my last article that they don’t see it that way for a variety of reasons and certainly the fact that they do not at all consider context of Scripture says quite a bit regarding their absolute lack of research. Again though, as I mentioned last time, they’re not interested in that any way. They simply want to find some “zinger” they can fling at Christians like a monkey in its cage at the zoo.
Christians and the Old Testament, Part 1
These laws assured God’s blessing on the nation. People often make the mistake of believing that salvation was gained for the average Israelite by following the laws of God. This simply isn’t true. Salvation was gained then the same way it is now – by believing God, which allows Him to credit our account with His righteousness. The laws were given so that the Israelite people would keep themselves set apart from the nations that surrounded them and were heavily involved in all types of idolatry. This rarely happened though.
God provided very strict rules/laws for Israel because of course, He knew how difficult the temptations would be to conform to surrounding nations. It certainly seemed as though God had no mercy on these nations when it came time to conquer them as they did through Joshua.
What Happens When Perfect Peace Doesn’t Come?
I would submit that the ability to obtain and maintain God’s peace often rests on our shoulders, but not for the reason(s) you might think. Consider Job and the hellish experience he went through. Let’s not forget that this man – at the time of his physical and spiritual sufferings – had no clue as to why any of it was happening. We know that he experienced severe problems, including hallucinations, his teeth falling out, scabs and terrible blisters all over his body, not to mention that he virtually lost everything except his wife.
It is difficult to comprehend how Job was able to continue trusting God when things were so horrible. Can we agree that maybe – for at least part of the time he suffered – he was not at peace with either God or himself based on what he said?
Continue Reading February 12, 2015 at 1:17 PM Leave a comment
God’s Perfect Use of Imperfect People, Part 5
Today, most people live a sedentary lifestyle and eat junk for food. We are paying the price for it. There are things you can do to take charge of your physical and mental health. I hope this short series of articles has piqued your interest. I hope that it has provided some measure of hope.
StudyGrowKnow 