Random Thoughts on the Really Good News

New Years Resolution: We will stop trying to repent our way to heaven, witness our way to heaven, tithe our way to heaven, pray our way to heaven, or attend church to increase our odds of getting to heaven... "...because we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all people, and especially of those who believe. " (1 Timothy 4:10)

"He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world." (1 John 2:2) Think about that for a moment. "The whole world" Before Christ Jesus, once a year, on the Day of Atonement, the high priest of Israel would enter the Most Holy Place in the tabernacle to apply the blood of a bull calf sacrifice to the mercy seat to cleanse himself of sin. He would then leave to sacrifice a goat and return to apply the blood of the goat to the mercy seat for the sins of all other Israelites. As a result, the sins of all Israelites were atoned for that year. This occurred year after year, a never ending ritual of blood sacrifices, to atone for the sins of Israel. Then came Christ Jesus... "But when Christ came as high priest of the good things that are now already here, he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not made with human hands, that is to say, is not a part of this creation. He did not enter by

"No man ever believes that the Bible means what it says: He is always convinced that it says what he means." --George Bernard Shaw "I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel...if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be anathema!...For I would have you know, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man. For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ." (Galatians 1:1-11) George Bernhard Shaw was correct. I would put it this way... "No religious institution of man believes what the Bible says, instead, they are convinced the Bible says what the religious leaders of that particular religious institution say it means." Thus the Bible has become a commentary on the various doctrines of the men. Instead of the Bible being the in

“There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus…the time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side.” (Luke 16:19-31) So is this a historic account of two men, or a parable. A careful examination of the context beginning in Luke 14:7 shows me it is one in a series of parables, and therefore not a literal story. Everyone should be glad for it would teach that rich people who receive good things in this life go into hades, but the poor who receive bad things in this life go to heaven, regardless of the Cross, the Grace of God, or good works. “So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’ But Abraham replied, ‘Son, re

"This is good and pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, Who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all—the testimony that was given at just the right time." (1 Timothy 2:4-6) In ancient Israel there was the "kinsman redeemer", the firstborn male of the family who had the responsibility of saving the family from extinction. If he was asked to do so and refused he was required to pull off his sandal and give it to the relative who needed to be saved, and would forever after be known as the "so in so" of "the house of the house of the pulled-off sandal". At least that is how I interpret the story of Ruth and Boaz in the 3rd chapter of Ruth. The bible calls Jesus Christ "the firstborn of all creation" .  "We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ...The Son is the imag

“The Law was given so that the trespass would increase; but where sin increased, grace increased all the more, so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness, to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 5:20-21) What value is there to the Ten Commandments, and the rest of the Law given Moses if its purpose was to increase trespasses? Paul says it reveals just how sinful "all" people are... “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God …Is God the God of Jews only? Is He not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles too…"  (Romans 3:23, 29) What value is there to the Love and Grace of God? " …at just the right time, while we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly…God proves His love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Therefore, since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from wrath through him?...For t he wages of sin i

“To this end, we always pray for you, that our God will count you worthy of His calling, and that He will powerfully fulfill your every good desire and work of faith…” (2 Thessalonians 1:11) The church today is all about works. It is implied, if not taught directly, that the more work you do for God through the local church, the more righteous you become. But often those works become wearisome and take time away from what gives us joy and peace. The only work that brings lasting peace and joy in this age is the “work of faith” .  It is OK to do stuff in and through our churches if it is YOUR desire to do so. Paul says God will “powerfully fulfill YOUR every  good desire" . Sooo, what is it YOU "desire" that is “good” ? Once you figure that out, get after it so “that our God will count you worthy of His calling” . As for me, well I “desire” to trust God, and to be a good husband, father, and grandfather. I am pretty sure those "desires" are among the &qu

“…they saw that I had been entrusted to preach the gospel to the Gentiles, just as Peter had been to the Jews.” (Galatians 2:7) When we get to the part of the New Testament that is authored by Paul we find no references to fig trees, beautiful cities, lambs, promised lands, or the garbage dump of Gehenna (hell). Those things are related to Israel and its Kingdom on earth. Those blessing for Israel are FROM heaven, not IN heaven. We are told that the destiny of the “body of Christ” is “among the heavens” . This body is composed of both Gentiles and Jews. Our blessings are not FROM heaven but IN heaven, and Paul tells us to “set our minds on things above” and look forward to being “caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air” . “Now you are the body of Christ, and each of you is a member of it…so in Christ we who are many are one body, and each member belongs to one another… And he is the head of the body, the church; He is the beginning and firstborn from among

There have now been 44 different men elected to be President, all of them imperfect. God intended that citizens pray for them and God demands that from us after this election.  God does not sanction the protests and violence...those doing so are just immature, selfish, imperfect people out of control and their childish tantrums will not change anything. However, prayer might...  "First of all, I urge that petitions, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgiving be offered on behalf of all men, for kings and all those in authority, so that we may lead tranquil and quiet lives in all goodness and dignity.  This is good and pleasing in the sight of God our Savior..."  (1 Timothy 2:1-3) It is hard for me not to get mad at imperfect people out of control, however I have to remind myself that we are all imperfect.  And being imperfect people, our views about life are imperfect.  That is never more obvious than in politics and among religious people.   But God is in control if

The Bible says this about Jesus Christ… “For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross. Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation— if you continue in your faith, established and firm, and do not move from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant.” (Colossians 1:19-23) “Before the creation of the world” God chose to RECONCILE sinners to God “through the blood of his cross” , “if” we “continue in” our faith. NOTE: He is talking about the gospel (good news) of “reconciliation” (being at peace with God)

“Then Joshua secretly sent out two spies from the Israelite camp at Acacia Grove.   He instructed them, Scout out the land on the other side of the Jordan River, especially around Jericho. So the two men set out and came to the house of a prostitute named Rahab and stayed there that night.” (Joshua 2:1) Ok, did you notice that the first place the two spies go to in Jericho is the local Brothel where they are introduced to Rahab the prostitute.  I can hear the Church fathers weeping and gnashing their teeth – sorry, but that is what the Bible says. Rahab had heard about the God of Israel, believed and feared what she heard, and so she helped the two Israelite spies get away from the King of Jericho.  Nothing says she changed her profession and I doubt she did. And, as payment for her varied services, she is saved when Israel comes to destroy Jericho.  And later she hooks up with a good old Jew named Salmon and they have a son named Boaz, the great, great grandfather of King Dav

When all the theologians and politicians have finished arguing about what man must do to be saved; When the Calvinists and Armenians have finished bludgeoning each other with lengthy and boring arguments about predestination and free will; When Christians and Muslims have finished threatening and killing one another with words and weapons; When all religious and governmental organizations have failed to save and deliver a better world - what do we have left to give us strength and hope? What it comes down to is pretty simple for me. I either find peace in my faith in what God has promised in the bible, or I do not. And what God has promised is easy enough for a child to understand. God has promised to… Save me, my family and friends, and the whole world, “We have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world.” (1 John 4:14) And He has promised to send Jesus back to earth to raise us all from the dead... “Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all

“And His name, through faith in His name, has made this man strong, whom you see and know. Yes, the faith which comes through Him has given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.” (Acts 3:16) Here we see clearly that it is the faith OF JESUS, not our own faith, which makes us strong, or makes those we see strong. Faith that comes from our own heart or desires cannot and will not strengthen us. Most likely it will depress us for often our will does not coincide with His, therefore it does not come to pass... “Jesus explained, my food is to do the will of Him who sent me and to finish His work…The One who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, because I always do what pleases Him." (John 4:34; 8:29) So what is the will of God that Jesus finished?  The salvation of the world! Don't fall into the trap of thinking our free will is stronger than God's will. It is not, nor can so called free will prevent Jesus from finishing that which he came to do -

“Behold, as for the proud one, his soul is not right within him; but the just one by faith shall be living…Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith…” (Habakkuk 2:4; Hebrews 12:2) Quite frankly, my personal faith for most of my life was not authored by Jesus, much less finished. My faith was authored by the denomination that I grew up in.  It was a faith in a decision I had been encouraged to make.  “God was reconciling the world to Himself in Christ, not counting people's sins against them…through him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross.” (2 Corinthians 5:19; Colossians 1:20) There seems to be little “peace” within evangelical Christianity, especially between those who differ on doctrine.  They do not believe that the "blood of his cross" has reconciled the world to God.  They are ever creating new programs and plans to get members on fire to go save the lost,

“We walk by faith, not by sight…” (2 Corinthians 5:7) Biblical faith is a term which most people struggle with. Faith is not a blind leap into the dark, nor is it just saying we trust God or Jesus. Faith is believing something God or Jesus has SAID he has done or will do for us. Salvation by faith is not “inviting Jesus into your heart”, or joining the church, or confessing your sin, or “calling upon the name of the Lord”, or getting baptized. If those things are of any value at all, they are just a way to express that we believe what God says he will do. Those things are NOT a condition to God being faithful to save mankind, they are a response to the realization that they have been saved by the GRACE of God “not of works lest any man should boast” . (Ephesians 2:8-10) “Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners…” (1 Timothy 1:15) All of our evangelistic efforts will not add to what Christ Jesus came into the wor

"Weeping may last through the night, but joy comes with the morning." (Psalm 30:5) Grief is not our home. Joy is our home. Just like our memories, grief is just a place we visit from time to time. So remember, visit and grieve...then wipe away the tears and go home. "...forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 3:13-14)

“All things work together for good….” (Romans 8:28) Is your God in Aladdin’s lamp? I get mad at that god sometimes. I rub the lamp with much prayer and yet He doesn’t grant me any of my three wishes. The last time was an immature and childish attempt at getting my Genie to help me play golf better. I mentioned in another post my score of 102. What I didn’t mention is that I tried to put the blame on God for not helping me do better, being the righteous person that I considered myself to be….I deserved a couple of wishes, or birdies. What I got was triple bogies or what my golf buddies like to call TFBs. You can ask them what that means. But that Genie god is not the God of the bible. It is the God of men and their religions. He is seen as some powerful entity sitting on a throne somewhere in Heaven just waiting for us to get his attention by rubbing the lamp with just the right amount of prayer time and faith.  Again, that is the Genie of Aladdin’s lamp, not the God of the b

"We urge you, brethren, admonish the unruly, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with everyone. See that no one repays another with evil for evil, but always seek after that which is good for one another and for all people." (1 Thessalonians 5:14-15) Is that all Paul? Well no... "Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." (16-18) Good grief, are you done? Not quite... "Do not quench the Spirit; do not despise prophetic utterances. But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good; abstain from every form of evil." (19-22) Alrighty then, guess I'll just mosey out to the golf course where I'll attempt to make a hole in one on every hole....be much easier. No wonder I have never met anyone from Thessanolica. That letter ran them off. Surely there is more to this than meets the eye... Yep, there is another way, you can chill out and l

“Those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” (Isaiah 40:31) Does God like people more than other animals? I wonder. Sue Ann loves animals, and she and I have been trying to save a newborn Llama. Its mother abandoned it at birth for some reason. She just now called to tell me it did not make it, but in the few days we nurtured it, she and my grandson gave it some of their love and compassion. Yesterday I told Sue Ann it was not going to make it and did not notice that my grandson was in the room. When I saw that he had heard me I spontaneously told him “just believe that in the resurrection she will be perfectly healthy and she will remember you with a smile for caring for her”.  I am not sure why I said that to him. We normally only think of people as the object of God’s love and salvation thanks to religious tradition. But what I said made my grandson smile and

“I have come as Light into the world, so that everyone who believes in me will not remain in darkness. If anyone hears my sayings and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world.” (John 12:46-47) There are multitudes of Christians and others who do not believe Jesus came to save the world. They believe he has commissioned the church to do so.  They spend countless hours and millions of dollars trying to do what Jesus has already promised to do… “save the world” …he does not need help.  I do not believe he will  judge us for not getting people saved, he will judge us for not believing he would save them. And when he does save them, his word will judge us for our unbelief. “He who rejects me and does not receive my sayings, has one who judges him; the word I spoke is what will judge him at the last day.” (John 12:48) Whatever you have heard this means in a church, forget it, it most likely is wrong. The judgment he is tal

"And He was saying to them all, If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me." (Luke 9:23) Have you ever been told "Don't burn your bridges"? Not always good advice. There are some bridges that should be burnt to the ground.  Traditions of Religious institutions are some of those bridges that we need to burn. Not  because people might follow you across them...few will be so bold. Most are bound with an oath to what you left behind. The bridges need to be burnt so that YOU can't get back to what you left behind. You will be tempted to do so...at least I am.  The Greek word translated "cross" in verse 23 above is "stauros" which literally means an upright stake in the ground. When Jesus told his fellow Jews to "Take up your cross and follow me " I think he was saying untie yourselves from the stake in the ground you are bound to...the Jewish Rabbinical traditions of men. O

Did you see the movie “The Green Mile”. It was about a man on death row. On death row when the inmate made his final walk to his death they called it the Green Mile and those around him would say as he passed by - “Dead man walking”. Mankind, from the cradle to the grave, are simply dead men walking for the Bible tells us that… “All have sinned...the wages of sin is death…” (Romans 3:23a; 6:23a) But God has given us the good news that after our death… “…the free gift of God is eternal life…” (Romans 6:23b) Baptism is sometimes misunderstood in churches. In the church where I grew up in the Pastor would repeat these words when he baptized someone - “buried with Christ in Baptism, raised to walk in newness of life”.  To many this meant that the one being baptized had been saved, had died to sin of the old life, and when they come up out of the water they were clean from sin and would go live thereafter in newness of life among the church family.  That is not what Baptism repres

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father in heaven.  Many will say to me IN THAT DAY, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you who practice lawlessness!’” (Matthew 7:21-23) The "many" who have prophesied in Jesus' name, cast out demons, and done wonders in his name "in that day" cannot be unbelievers, atheists and Muslims, etc. None of them do such things. So who are the  "many " ? Assuming we are “in that day” today, the "many" are probably: 1.  Many Jewsish religious leaders who deny Jesus is their Messiah. 2.  Many Christian leaders calling him Lord and preaching and teaching in his name...Catholics, Protestants and Independents. 3.  Many Christian leaders casting out demons, prophesying

“I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly” (John 10:10) I do not think Jesus was referring to abundant life in this present age. Jesus knew that it is appointed that all men must suffer and die. All mankind are in the process of dying, not living abundantly. Jesus came so that we may have life "abundantly" when he returns to resurrect us to "immortality" . Jesus is the only man who has been raised and now has immortality…. “For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive…When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: Death has been swallowed up in victory…which He will bring about at the proper time. He who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone possesses immortality” (1 Corinthians 15:22-54; 1 Timothy 6:15-16) We do not have abundant immortal life yet, only the promise of it and

“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16) Neither commentaries and books written by Theologians, Sunday School literature or Pastor's sermons are Scripture, and yet most Christians have gained what knowledge they have about God from those sources. That is much better than nothing I suppose yet as scrumptious and filling as it may taste, it is still the product of sinful men, mostly very fine people, but as good as they may be, their thoughts, nor mine, are “God-breathed” .  Pork is one of my favorite foods, and I occasionally dine on swine. Bacon, ham, ribs, sausage and pulled pork, all of it.  But when I get heartburn from the pork, I know to take a strong dose of Scripture and soon return to a more joyful and healthy life focused on the Spirit of God. But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the

"No one has ever seen God...God is Spirit"  (John 1:18; 4:24) I like the following common sense statement by Arthur P. Adams (1847-1925)… “Why do people not trust God? For the very same reason, I answer, that we do not trust strangers, because we are not acquainted with Him.” So how do we, or will we, or can we become acquainted with Him who is an unseen Spirit? Good question and I find little if no help from Theologians. Not that there are not countless commentaries written by them on how to “walk in the Spirit” or be “Spiritual” or produce the “fruit of the Spirit”. There is so much written on the subject that it has become mind numbing to me…and useless mumbo jumbo for the most part. After thousands of pages of writ, their conclusions are essentially the same - If we trust God and get saved, we will change into a “Spiritual person” who is like God, with the fruit of the Spirit flowing out of us. Which of course is not true and simply brings us full circle to Arthur P. A

“God is love…Love never fails” (1 John 4:8; 1 Corinthians 13:8) That God is love is a characterization of his essence. When we talk about God being Just, or God being Omnipotent, or God being Omniscient we are talking about his attributes. But His essence is love and it is absolute.  And it dictates that He must save the sinner and He must justify the unjust…because He has the power and wisdom to do so. His love, operating through His attributes of justice, power and wisdom, is directing the outcome of His creation to a place where every knee will bow VOLUNTARILY to God, because they have experienced his Love in the undeniable truth that they are alive, though they had been literally dead. They cannot deny the obvious truth that He has at that time resurrected both the just and the unjust...by the grace of God alone. “…there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust...For by Grace are you saved...Look unto me and be saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am G

"Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins...truly I tell you, whoever obeys my word will never see death" (John 8:24, 51) So what did Jesus mean when he said “you will die in your sins” and “whoever obeys my word will never taste death” ? First let’s be honest and admit that even believers “ die” . All those who believed and followed Jesus during his earthly ministry died. Jesus was simply saying that it was sin for the Jewish leaders he was addressing NOT to believe that he was sent by God as their Messiah. And since they did not believe this, when they died they would die in that sin of unbelief. Now look at verse 51 when Jesus says to them “I tell you, whoever obeys my word will never see death” . Again, be honest and admit that none who heard him say that are still alive, even his followers. So what did Jesus mean when he said “whoever obeys my word will never see death” ? It has always b

“…pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance and gentleness. Fight the good fight of faith; take hold of the eternal life to which you were called…looking for that blessed hope and glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ” (1 Timothy 6:11-12; Titus 2:13) To be honest, I sometimes doubt the gospel. And by gospel I mean the biblical good news that after I die, at some point Jesus will return to resurrect me to immortal, eternal life.  Is that bad? No, just common sense working in me questioning something that I have never personally seen. That is, I have never seen someone who has died and was later brought back to immortal, never ending life. Jesus is the only person who has done so according to the bible and that occurred 2000 years ago and he is no longer physically present to prove to us he is alive, or immortal. “…our Lord Jesus Christ…who alone possesses immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see.”

It has been a week since my father in law went to sleep in Christ and I have been trying to find the right words to say about him. I cannot imagine another father in law who holds as much respect from a son in law as he has from me. There is so much good to say and condensing it into a short narrative is difficult but here goes. “I was born to work” – That is the summary from his own mouth of what he was created to do. “He was born to work in the service of others” – That is the summary from my own mouth of what he was created to do. Ernie’s dad was born in Wild Horse Hollow Kennady in the Indian Territory now known as Oklahoma. Ernie himself was born in Paris, Texas. Those early years of his life are interesting and being the oldest of seven children he learned to work early and the value and satisfaction of hard work. He served his country in World War II in the 12th Air Force of the US Army Air Corps in the support group for the famed “Flying Tigers” attaining the rank of Serg