Random Thoughts on the Really Good News

Celebrated feminist Gloria Steinem is quoted as saying... "The truth will set you free, but first it will piss you off." (Pardon her French) That is the reaction I generally get from Christians to the truth that Jesus is the Savior of ALL mankind, that the hell of religion is a myth, and that the whole creation will be reconciled to God...but it is the teaching of the Bible... "For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him...This is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners...we have placed our hope in the living God who is the savior of all people... God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against us, and  He has committed to us the word of reconciliation...in him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace."   ( John 3:17; 1 Timothy 1:...

"For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of SOUL and SPIRIT, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart." (Hebrews 4:12) Soul and Spirit are not the same. When God joined His Spirit (breath power) with a body He "formed" from the soil, it became a "living SOUL" . This is true both of mankind and other animals and birds. "And Jehovah Elohim formed Man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and Man became a living SOUL...And out of the ground Jehovah Elohim had formed every animal of the field and all fowl of the heavens, and brought them to Man, to see what he would call them; and whatever Man called each living SOUL, that was its name." (Genesis 2:7; 19 Darby) Christianity has robbed mankind of the difference between "SOUL"  and "SPIRIT"  , treating them as one and ...

The disciples of Jesus came to him and asked who would be greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven. Note it is his "disciples" who asked the question...and it was these followers that needed a "change" . "The disciples came to Jesus and asked who would be the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven. He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me... " (Matthew 18:1-5) Have you ever noticed how a little child reacts to being told about God loving them and Jesus dying for them? It makes them happy and they believe without question - UNTIL - they get to some church that tells them if they have not been saved they will be forever separated from God who will eternally pu...

“We know that the whole creation will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God… The "whole creation" has been promised "liberation"  in the Word of God  That is the "hope" for the salvation of mankind because it is the "will of God" . ...in this hope we are saved…we wait patiently for it…the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God." (Romans 8:22-27) This promised "liberation" is not immediate, it comes after resurrection, so we have no choice but to "wait patiently" for it. We learning to "wait patiently" as we gain the "knowledge of the truth" . “God our Savior, Who will have ALL mankind to be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth... For there is one God, and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus; who gave himself a ransom for ALL, to be testified in due time." (1 Timothy 2:4-...

Why does God allow evil things to happen? This question came in a group setting from a person who says he does not believe in God because a real God would not allow children to be sick and abused. It was a good point and I sat there for a moment waiting to see if the Christians in the room had an answer. They did, they blamed it on the Devil and man's free will.  Not sure I would believe in God either if that was the only answer I could give. The question deserves a biblical answer and not some manmade hogwash of “free will”, or the "Devil made me do it". Learning some Bible verses helped me answer the question: “…the Lord God caused to grow…the tree of knowledge of good and evil." (Genesis 2:9) "I make peace and create evil, I the LORD do all these things." (Isaiah 45:7) "It is an experience of evil God has given to men to humble them...He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them His way" (Ecclesiastes 1:13; Psalm 25:9) “God is ...

"This Jesus God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses…the Prince of life, whom God raised from the dead, of which we are witnesses…Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead…And with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And great GRACE was upon them all... I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile...  (Acts 2:32; 3:15; 4:10, 33; Romans 1:16) The message of the Jewish disciples to the Jewish people was the RESURRECTION of "Jesus Christ of Nazareth" . The resurrection of Jesus proved he was their Messiah and Savior. And when they shared that they had witnessed his resurrection - "great GRACE was upon them all" . At first they went ONLY to their fellow Israelites. Then Cornelius, a devout and God-fearing Gentile, had a vision and sent for Peter. Peter told him about the RESURRECTION o...

“ Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength...Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these. ”  (Mark 12:30-31) God gave Israel the Law they were to obey which included what is called the 10 Commandments. The Jewish religious leaders identified a total of 613 laws and have written volumes to explain how to observe them. Then the "Word became flesh" , and he reduced that law into two commandments - love God and each other, introducing us to the glory of " grace and truth" .  "The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we saw his glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth...For the law was given through Moses: grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ." (John 1:14-17) The written law brings death to all, yet the new covenant of "grace and truth" "gives life" to all. "...because...

"The divine alchemy which transformed the Victim of human hate into the Sacrifice for their sins is almost too wonderful for human apprehension." A. E. Knock - All in All "The Word became flesh and dwelt among us...He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything. For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself,...

Speaking of the Law Moses wrote... “It is not up in heaven so that you have to ask, "Who will ascend into heaven to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?” Nor is it beyond the sea, so that you have to ask, “Who will cross the sea to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?” No, the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so you may obey it." (Deuteronomy 30:12-14) The children of Israel were afraid of God so they asked Moses to go up into heaven on Mount Sinai and get the word of God and bring it to them, and then they would do what Moses told them. Paul said this about the above passage in Deuteronomy... "Moses writes this about the righteousness that is by the law: “The person who does these things will live by them." (Romans 10:5) Before Christ Jesus came to save mankind, and make us righteous by faith in him, obeying the law was all that could be done to become righteous. How does that work out for people?  Isa...