Friday, July 31, 2020
Thursday, July 30, 2020
Marriage is a Picture of Salvation
God joins all marriages, even for the unsaved. Unsaved people are dead in their trespasses and sins, that is anything against God's Law, His principles in His Word. The unsaved are held accountable for all their sins because they have not trusted Christ. Divorce and remarriage is as much a sin against God for the unsaved as it is for the saved.
Mark 10:8-9…"8 and the two will become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two, but one flesh. 9 Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate.”
Meaning of "let man not separate" is "no man can separate" what God has joined.
This is true of salvation too, when someone believes on the Lord Jesus Christ they will be saved and cannot become unsaved. They have become an entirely new person with a new character by the hand of Christ. He then comes to live in those He saves.
God will not save anyone who does not want to be saved, those who will not believe in Him as the only way to heaven, will not go there.
Christ comes to live in believers changing their character to the opposite of what it was before.
Ephesians 2:10 "10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them."
Only those who have been changed into a new creation by Christ will be saved. God never forces anyone, it is their choice.
2 Corinthians 5:16-18 "…16 So from now on we regard no one according to the flesh. Although we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. 17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away. Behold, the new has come! 18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation:…"
Do you want to be changed into the likeness of Christ by Him? There is only one way and that is to believe that He died to pay the price for your sin and desire for Him to change you. Its not words you say or things you do, it is a genuine sorrow over your sin and belief that Christ will change you if you ask Him.
We were dead in our sins without any ability to change ourselves. It is only Christ changing us that we can be a completely different person, our character is changed from a worldly perspective to a heavenly one.
Don't wait to ask Christ to cleanse you, we may not have tomorrow. Things are ramping up for the end times, Christ may take His church home any day, don't be left behind.
How to be Born Again
Many people who say they are Christians believe its just a matter of joining the group. They have no desire for Christ, even though they may wish to think of themselves as a good person for attending this "church club."
I heard a woman once said, "I go to church because that's what they do here in the South." She said nothing about God or Christ, only that its the thing to do here. That's where the social connections are, in the church.
If this is someone's understanding of church gatherings then they are not born again.
If attending a church gathering makes you feel safe in case life will bring some trials, then you are not born again.
Someone who becomes born again does so because they have realized they are sinful creatures on their way to hell. They want Christ because they desire to be cleansed of that sin and changed into an entirely different person by Christ when He comes to live in them.
No one will be born again until and unless they believe in Christ as the sacrifice for their sin. They must know first that they are sinners in need of saving.
Far too many people have attended churches to hear music and motivational speakers with big happy smiles and all kinds of lies about how good they are as human beings and how they deserve whatever they want in life. No one will be saved hearing messages like this that just build up pride in the hearer.
John 3:1-21
"3 Now there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews;
2 this man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that You have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.”
3 Jesus answered and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
4 Nicodemus *said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born, can he?”
5 Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
7 Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
9 Nicodemus said to Him, “How can these things be?”
10 Jesus answered and said to him, “Are you the teacher of Israel and do not understand these things?
11 Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know and testify of what we have seen, and you do not accept our testimony.
12 If I told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?
13 No one has ascended into heaven, but He who descended from heaven: the Son of Man.
14 As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up;
15 so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life.
16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.
17 For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.
18 He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
19 This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil.
20 For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.
21 But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.”
He Orders Our Day!
May every born again believer seek the Lord today for everything! When I do this He even orders my day.
Wednesday, July 29, 2020
C.S. Lewis to be Avoided
So many things that are praised by Christians today are actually tools of the devil to desensitize believers to evil. Sadly too these very things are cloaked in Biblical language and cartoon form to entice children to be interested in the occult.
In "The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe", the author, C.S. Lewis, depicts the lion as Christ and the white witch as Satan.
In one of the scenes, the Lion went into a tent with the white witch to negotiate the price for sin. In other words, the devil and Christ were equal and the price that would be paid would also have to be agreed upon by the white witch too, thus making the witch equal to Christ.
This is blasphemy against God to place any credit at all on the devil for the price of sin. God the Father set the price for sin and Christ obeyed His Father.
2 Corinthians 5:21
21 God (the Father) made the one who did not know sin to be sin for us so that in Him we would become the righteousness of God."
In the Lewis writings, he mixes every doctrine of every religion within the stories but hidden so well if the person watching doesn't know the doctrines of the other religions or even their own Bibles they will believe he has written Biblical things.
In the stories of Lewis is inculcated Catholicism, his favorite religion by his own testimony, as well as Mormonism, that is satan and Christ being brothers, a form of this in allowing the witch depicting Satan as having equal say in the price for sin. There is Greek mythology in the Centaur, who is half man and half horse. There is much magic and sorcery throughout Lewis's writings.
In the C.S. Lewis movies and in the books there is much sorcery and false doctrine that seem innocent enough, after all, they are just cartoons written for children.
By the way, Lewis's books were not an allegory, they were fantasy with much false doctrine. Pilgrims Progress was allegory directly relating the events of the Bible to what happened in the book. The two are vastly different in nature.
The writings of Lewis are best left alone. It is good to warn the people caught up in Lewis's writings of the cultic nature of them as well as the Calvinistic nature of Lewis's other books.
Lewis loved the Catholic religions, he said it was his favorite, enjoying the rituals of that religion he based much of what he wrote on that cult. This makes sense because many doctrines and beliefs in Calvinism come directly from the Catholic playbook.
Those who call themselves by a man's name, that is Calvinist, are defying Scripture and by doing so denying Christ.
1 Corinthians 3:3-5 "…3 for you are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and dissension among you, are you not worldly? Are you not walking in the way of man? 4 For when one of you says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not mere men? 5 What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? They are servants through whom you believed, as the Lord has assigned to each his role.…"
God made it clear that we were not to follow any man, especially a man who has written many cultic stories.
C.S. Lewis and Calvin both had deep ties to the Catholic church, even teaching doctrines of devils coming directly out of that system. I am a former Catholic, don't even try to come and convince me otherwise since I have known intimately what the Catholic church teaches far more than someone who has never been Catholic.
Those who are caught up in idol worship through their elevation of man need to stop it and focus on Christ alone. Anyone who will fight to defend a man when that man is exposed has an idol. This person needs to pray for discernment to see the truth and repent from following men.
Proverbs 14:12
"There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death."
Matthew 15:9
"In vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’”
1 Corinthians 1:10-13
"I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment. For it has been reported to me by Chloe's people that there is quarreling among you, my brothers. What I mean is that each one of you says, “I follow Paul,” or “I follow Apollos,” or “I follow Cephas,” or “I follow Christ.” Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?"
Galatians 1:9
"As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed."
And, finally, I follow Christ and Him alone, I will never follow the writings of any man. I often read things written by men if I believe they are godly men, but I will be able to discern what is from God and what is not and I will never be angry at anyone for pointing out an error written by any man. All men must be scrutinized through the Word of God. Never hold someone in such high regard that he cannot be criticized. If you are angry over someone's criticism of a man then you have an idol to be repented of, do it quickly!
Anyone who speaks more about a man than they do about Christ must rethink their focus, idolatry is condemned by God.
John 10:27
My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow ME (Jesus Christ).
Jeremiah 17:5
"Thus says the Lord: “Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart turns away from the Lord."
John 8:12
"Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
In "The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe", the author, C.S. Lewis, depicts the lion as Christ and the white witch as Satan.
In one of the scenes, the Lion went into a tent with the white witch to negotiate the price for sin. In other words, the devil and Christ were equal and the price that would be paid would also have to be agreed upon by the white witch too, thus making the witch equal to Christ.
This is blasphemy against God to place any credit at all on the devil for the price of sin. God the Father set the price for sin and Christ obeyed His Father.
2 Corinthians 5:21
21 God (the Father) made the one who did not know sin to be sin for us so that in Him we would become the righteousness of God."
In the Lewis writings, he mixes every doctrine of every religion within the stories but hidden so well if the person watching doesn't know the doctrines of the other religions or even their own Bibles they will believe he has written Biblical things.
In the stories of Lewis is inculcated Catholicism, his favorite religion by his own testimony, as well as Mormonism, that is satan and Christ being brothers, a form of this in allowing the witch depicting Satan as having equal say in the price for sin. There is Greek mythology in the Centaur, who is half man and half horse. There is much magic and sorcery throughout Lewis's writings.
In the C.S. Lewis movies and in the books there is much sorcery and false doctrine that seem innocent enough, after all, they are just cartoons written for children.
By the way, Lewis's books were not an allegory, they were fantasy with much false doctrine. Pilgrims Progress was allegory directly relating the events of the Bible to what happened in the book. The two are vastly different in nature.
The writings of Lewis are best left alone. It is good to warn the people caught up in Lewis's writings of the cultic nature of them as well as the Calvinistic nature of Lewis's other books.
Lewis loved the Catholic religions, he said it was his favorite, enjoying the rituals of that religion he based much of what he wrote on that cult. This makes sense because many doctrines and beliefs in Calvinism come directly from the Catholic playbook.
Those who call themselves by a man's name, that is Calvinist, are defying Scripture and by doing so denying Christ.
1 Corinthians 3:3-5 "…3 for you are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and dissension among you, are you not worldly? Are you not walking in the way of man? 4 For when one of you says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not mere men? 5 What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? They are servants through whom you believed, as the Lord has assigned to each his role.…"
God made it clear that we were not to follow any man, especially a man who has written many cultic stories.
C.S. Lewis and Calvin both had deep ties to the Catholic church, even teaching doctrines of devils coming directly out of that system. I am a former Catholic, don't even try to come and convince me otherwise since I have known intimately what the Catholic church teaches far more than someone who has never been Catholic.
Those who are caught up in idol worship through their elevation of man need to stop it and focus on Christ alone. Anyone who will fight to defend a man when that man is exposed has an idol. This person needs to pray for discernment to see the truth and repent from following men.
Proverbs 14:12
"There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death."
Matthew 15:9
"In vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’”
1 Corinthians 1:10-13
"I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment. For it has been reported to me by Chloe's people that there is quarreling among you, my brothers. What I mean is that each one of you says, “I follow Paul,” or “I follow Apollos,” or “I follow Cephas,” or “I follow Christ.” Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?"
Galatians 1:9
"As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed."
And, finally, I follow Christ and Him alone, I will never follow the writings of any man. I often read things written by men if I believe they are godly men, but I will be able to discern what is from God and what is not and I will never be angry at anyone for pointing out an error written by any man. All men must be scrutinized through the Word of God. Never hold someone in such high regard that he cannot be criticized. If you are angry over someone's criticism of a man then you have an idol to be repented of, do it quickly!
Anyone who speaks more about a man than they do about Christ must rethink their focus, idolatry is condemned by God.
John 10:27
My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow ME (Jesus Christ).
Jeremiah 17:5
"Thus says the Lord: “Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart turns away from the Lord."
John 8:12
"Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
Tuesday, July 28, 2020
Remaining Friends with the Unsaved
God told us to evangelize our family and friends but He never said we should remain as close friends. Here are some principles from the Word that warn us about keeping close friends who do not love the Lord.
Amos 3:3 "3 Can two walk together, except they be agreed?"
The answer is no because we become like those who are our close friends.
1 Corinthians 15:33-34 "at did I gain? If the dead are not raised, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.” 33 Do not be deceived: “Bad company corrupts good character.” 34 Sober up as you ought, and stop sinning; for some of you are ignorant of God. I say this to your shame.…"
The problem I see often is the excuse to be friends with unbelievers to evangelize them is not completely honest. The truth is that if we speak of God frequently in our walk the unbeliever will become weary of hearing it and go away. I suggest that to maintain friends with an unbeliever we must remain silent about God.
How can we not speak frequently about our Lord Whom we love above everyone and everything else in the world?
What good is our testimony if we never speak of Christ. It only makes the unbeliever comfortable in their own sinful life. "Lifestyle evangelism" is a lie. That being just living for Christ is enough without saying anything.
Romans 10:14 "How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher?"
We are not called to be "friends" with unbelievers, we are called to speak the truth of Christ to them, if they do not listen we are to remove ourselves. We can always be available if they want to come and find out more. They know where we live and what we believe.
Matthew 10:14 "Whoever does not receive you, nor heed your words, as you go out of that house or that city, shake the dust off your feet."
James 4:4 "You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God."
Our modern Christianity claims that if we just hang around non-believers a lot eventually they will want to hear. This could not be farther from the truth.
I believe there are many people using the excuse about evangelizing their unsaved friends to remain friends with those who do not love God. They enjoy the company of their friend more than they love God. If they loved their friend they would evangelize them. The believer would speak of their Lord often because He is everything to them.
I hear believers all the time using filthy or crude words, its because their constant companions are unbelievers more than righteous Christ-followers. This is strong evidence that non-believers influence our ways if we have them as our constant companions. God said this was true in 1 Corinthians 15:33 "33 Do not be deceived: “Bad company corrupts good character.”
Amos 3:3 "3 Can two walk together, except they be agreed?"
The answer is no because we become like those who are our close friends.
1 Corinthians 15:33-34 "at did I gain? If the dead are not raised, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.” 33 Do not be deceived: “Bad company corrupts good character.” 34 Sober up as you ought, and stop sinning; for some of you are ignorant of God. I say this to your shame.…"
The problem I see often is the excuse to be friends with unbelievers to evangelize them is not completely honest. The truth is that if we speak of God frequently in our walk the unbeliever will become weary of hearing it and go away. I suggest that to maintain friends with an unbeliever we must remain silent about God.
How can we not speak frequently about our Lord Whom we love above everyone and everything else in the world?
What good is our testimony if we never speak of Christ. It only makes the unbeliever comfortable in their own sinful life. "Lifestyle evangelism" is a lie. That being just living for Christ is enough without saying anything.
Romans 10:14 "How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher?"
We are not called to be "friends" with unbelievers, we are called to speak the truth of Christ to them, if they do not listen we are to remove ourselves. We can always be available if they want to come and find out more. They know where we live and what we believe.
Matthew 10:14 "Whoever does not receive you, nor heed your words, as you go out of that house or that city, shake the dust off your feet."
James 4:4 "You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God."
Our modern Christianity claims that if we just hang around non-believers a lot eventually they will want to hear. This could not be farther from the truth.
I believe there are many people using the excuse about evangelizing their unsaved friends to remain friends with those who do not love God. They enjoy the company of their friend more than they love God. If they loved their friend they would evangelize them. The believer would speak of their Lord often because He is everything to them.
I hear believers all the time using filthy or crude words, its because their constant companions are unbelievers more than righteous Christ-followers. This is strong evidence that non-believers influence our ways if we have them as our constant companions. God said this was true in 1 Corinthians 15:33 "33 Do not be deceived: “Bad company corrupts good character.”
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