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...

“In accord with the purpose of the ages, which He makes in Christ Jesus, our Lord" (Ephesians 3:11). “Purpose” means that God has a plan concerning the outcome of creation. The ages were made by and for Christ, and they are unfolding according to the plan of God. Mankind's so called “freewill” will not deter the purpose of God. God is the God of certainty and not of chance, and He made up His mind what He wanted to do and then created the ages to work out His plan. At the close of the ages God will be "All in all" of His creation. "For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive...When he has done this, then the Son himself will be made subject to him who put everything under him, so that God may be all in all." (1 Corinthians 15:22-28) In our troubled world I am glad God has a plan to save His creation.  Faith in that plan gives me "peace" . "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.  I do not give to you as the w...

God is a strong advocate of capital punishment. "The wages of sin is death... But let's be clear. Death by capital punishment comes to a swift end. God is not an advocate of cruel and unusual punishment like the doctrine of eternal conscious torment. God loves His enemies and after the death penalty is administered, He intends to give them eternal life. ...but the free gift of God is eternal life..." (Romans 6:23) This "free gift" was one of the mysteries revealed by God to the Apostle Paul. "When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations..." (Ephesians 3:5) Down through the years only a few people have tortured others. Much of the torturing was done by political or religious leaders in their wrath against "infidels." But that behavior is how wicked men treat their enemies, not God. When God's wrath is poured out on wicked men it is swift an...

"I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery..that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in; and so all Israel will be saved...God has shut up ALL in disobedience so that He may show mercy to ALL." (Romans 11:25-32) The mystery was that ALL Israel would be saved, but not until the FULLNESS of the Gentiles has come into a knowledge of their Salvation. It was God who made ALL mankind disobedient so that He can show his MERCY to all. "Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God!...For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory...Therefore... do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the RENEWING OF YOUR MIND, so that you may PROVE WHAT THE WILL OF GOD IS, that which is good and acceptable and perfect." (Romans 11:33-12:2) It is God's will to  "show mercy to all"  .  How?  By saving "all mankind" . "...trust...

“Now Thomas, one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore said to him, we have seen the Lord. So he said to them…I will not believe." (John 20:24-25) Thomas is called "doubting Thomas" because he refused to believe until he saw Jesus himself. Actually, that was true of all of the disciples. None of them believed until they saw him after his resurrection. Such is the case for the majority of people who live in this world. They will not believe until they see him. "And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came… and said be not be unbelieving, but believing. And Thomas answered…My Lord and my God!" (John 20:26-28) When Jesus returns to raise the dead, all will see him and all will confess him as Lord, just as Thomas did... "...every knee shall bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ i...

"What you heard from me, keep as the pattern of sound teaching, with faith and love in Christ Jesus. Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you—guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us. You know that everyone in the province of Asia has deserted me...You then, my son, be strong in the GRACE that is in Christ Jesus." (2 Timothy 1:13-2:1) Just because a church is mainstream, fills pews, has clergy, stained glass windows, baptisms, and worship teams doesn't mean it proclaims Paul's message. Paul was shocked that some of his converts were departing from his message of the all inclusive "grace of Christ" . We should remember that grace means unmerited favor, and be "astonished"  that most churches preach a "different gospel" - at best a gospel of grace mixed with free will and works - which is "really no gospel at all" . "I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in...

All Scripture quoted today will be from the Concordant Literal New Testament and Old Testament Versions, the most accurate version I know of and can be read in its entirety by clicking on the right side of this post entitled Best Bible Translation. I use other translations most of the time because they are more familiar to you – but they always should be compared to the Concordant Version for accuracy. “Yet now Christ has been roused from among the dead, the Firstfruit of those who are reposing. For since, in fact, through a man came death, through a Man, also, comes the resurrection of the dead. For even as, in Adam, all are dying, thus also, in Christ, shall all be vivified.” (1 Corinthians 15:20-22 CLNT) ADAM WAS THE PROTOTYPE of our bodies in its present condition. It is “out of soil from the ground” . When God joined His “breath of life” with this “soilish” body, Adam became the first human “living soul” of “flesh and blood” . However, this prototype “is not able to enjoy ...

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation."  (2 Corinthians 5:17-21) When does a sinner become  “in Christ" ? The above Scripture implies that i t is when he becomes  "a new creation" . And when will sinners become  "a new creation" ?  The above Scripture implies that it is after  "old things have passed away". Old things have NOT passed away in this  "present evil age" . In this age, Jesus came to  "save sinners"  and he has done so, all of us.  We have now been RANSOMED, and God is at peace us so He no longer counts our  "trespasses"  against us. ...

“When the seven peals of thunder had spoken, I was about to write; and I heard a voice from heaven saying, Seal up the things which the seven peals of thunder have spoken and do not write them." (Revelation 10:4) I’ve never heard or read a satisfactory explanation of the “seven peals of thunder” . But some bible study and a little common sense helped me understand. I knew from experience that we SEE lightening before we HEAR the thunder. And we know the lightning is the events surrounding the second coming of Jesus to earth.  Therefore, the "peals of thunder"  are what follows the return of Jesus to earth. “For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes even to the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be.” (Matthew 24:27) Chapters 1 through 20 deal with what John was SEEING during the seven years leading up to the return   of Jesus . Those Chapters end with the physical return of Jesus and His reign on this earth for 1000 years. I n the first part of Re...