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Archive for the ‘Reflections’ Category

Almost All False Religions Promise You Can Be Like God

19 Jul

Many times when this subject is talked on it comes across as attacking or self righteousness.  Nothing
can be further from the truth in my post that I’m doing.  It is one hundred percent out of love that I
have for many people.  It’s also a couple of pages long, but please read it all the way through.

Genesis 3:1-5 – 1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made.  He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” 2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must nottouch it, or you will die.’”

4 “You will not surely die,” the serpent said to the woman.  5 “For God knows that when you eat of it your
eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

What happened?

They ate of the tree they were not supposed to and they now were not permitted to eat from the Tree of Life.  They bought the lie of the serpent, which is you can become like God.  There are religions based completely off the fact that Satan or the serpent was telling the truth.

Was he telling the truth?

Genesis 3:13- 13 Then the LORD God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?”
The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

Well Eve now acknowledges she was deceived by the serpent, so I don’t think she believes he was now telling the truth.  God is now punishing them so I don’t believe he thinks the serpent is right.

Genesis 3:16-20 –16 To the woman he said, “I will greatly increase your pains in childbearing; with pain you will give birth to children.  Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.”

17 To Adam he said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat of it,’ “Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of
it all the days of your life.  18 It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the
field.  19 By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it
you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.”

Once again is God interested in you becoming God or like Him?

Genesis 3:21-24 – 21 The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them. 22 And the LORD God said, “The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must
not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.” 23 So the LORD God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. 24
After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.

Isaiah 45:5 –5 I am the LORD, and there is no other; apart from me there is no God. I will strengthen you,
though you have not acknowledged me,

Isaiah 45:18 – 18 For this is what the LORD says—he who created the heavens, he is God; he who fashioned and made the earth, he founded it; he did not create it to be empty, but formed it to be inhabited— he says:  “I am the LORD, and there is no other.

Isaiah 45:22 – 22 “Turn to me and be saved, all you ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other.

Isaiah 46:9 – 9 Remember the former things, those of long ago; I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me.

God’s love came in the form that He couldn’t allow a sinful fallen man to live forever.  Without the Tree of Life one doesn’t live forever.

It doesn’t appear that He is interested in us being God or like Him.  However, He loves us more than we could ever know.

The plan for redemption was already planned just versus before God kicking Adam and Eve out of the Garden.

Genesis 3:14-15- 14 So the LORD God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, “Cursed are you above all the livestock and all the wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust
all the days of your life.  15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”

God’s letting Satan know that He (Jesus) would crush his (Satan) head, and Satan would strike the heal of Jesus.  Satan may have thought he had the Son of God beaten when He was crucified on the cross, but that turned into victory for everyone who is now willing to accept Him as Lord and His death to take the
place of theirs.  His work…nothing of our own .

We might not be able to become God, in fact God opposes that pretty strongly.  However, to be an heir
of the Lord and share in the Kingdom with Jesus, that has been stated.

Titus 3:4-8 –  4But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. 8 This is a
trustworthy saying. And I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good.  These things are excellent and profitable for everyone.

Galatians 4:6-7 – 6 Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.” 7 So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir.

God’s Word makes it clear that He alone is God and there is NO other. The Dead Sea Scrolls have proven the text hasn’t changed in the last 2,000 years, so we can count on it to be accurate.  An opportunity to rule and reign with Christ as an heir, is an incredible opportunity and biblically accurate.

 

Quote – A.W. Tozer

17 Jul

Has it ever occurred to you that one hundred pianos all tuned to the same fork are automatically
tuned to each other? They are of one accord by being tuned, not to each other, but to another standard to which each one must individually bow. So one hundred worshippers meeting together, each one looking away to Christ, are in heart nearer to each other than they could possibly be were they to become unity conscious and turn their eyes away from God to strive for closer fellowship.  Social religion is perfected when private religion is purified. The body becomes stronger as its members become healthier. The whole church of God gains when the members that compose it begin to seek a better and a higher life.
A W Tozer

 

Philippians 2:1-5 – 1 If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 2 then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. 3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. 4 Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.

5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:

The closer we draw near to the Lord as Christians, the closer we as Christians will draw closer to each other.  What are those things that followed verse 5?

Philippians 2:6-7 – 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.

Who does the world look up to?  The one who has servants or the one who is a servant?  He truly is not from this world is He?  Yet when you look at the one who selflessly gives to others and denies themselves, you know in your heart that it is the correct way we all should be.

 

Quote – Martin Luther

10 Jul

Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming
and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us.

Martin Luther

You would think that this quote was made within the last 40 years.  Yet even Martin Luther was seeing it in his day around 500 years ago.

God didn’t create man to be self sufficient.

John 15:5-6 – 5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not remain in me, he is like
a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.

Seek the Lord everyday and remain in Him.

 

Our God Is Mighty

08 Jul

Psalm 147:4-5 –4 He determines the number
of the stars and calls them each by name.
5 Great is our Lord and mighty in power;
his understanding has no limit.

Don’t forget how HUGE our God is and how small we are.  To have the Creator of the whole universe unconditionally love us and all we have to do is love Him, serve Him, accept His sacrifice and make Him Lord.

How Awesome!

 

Quote – D. L. Moody

04 Jul

A man ought to live so that everybody knows he is a Christian… and most of all, his family ought to know.
Dwight L. Moody

 

Let your light shine.

Luke 8:16 –  16 “No one lights a lamp and hides it in a jar or puts it under a bed. Instead, he
puts it on a stand, so that those who come in can see the light.

Mark 8:38 – 38 If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.”

Our relationship with the Lord should be the most important thing in our lives.  The most important
thing in anyone’s life is revealed when you know them.

Your family is your first mission field and is your biggest responsibility when it comes time to standing in front of the Lord.

 
 

Psalm 19:1

23 Jun

Psalm 19:1 – 1 The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.

Just a scripture to reflect on the obvious and yet man would rather take the position that the universe happened on its own out of nothing.

Absurd!

Just another reminder that man will go to any length to make it where God is not to get glory and try to convince others that He shouldn’t get any.  It’s not science, it’s evil.

 

They Were Warned Already What Would Happen

22 Jun

Genesis 3:1-2 – 1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”

2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”

Confirmation from Eve’s own lips.  If they ate from the tree in the middle of the garden or even touched it they will surely die.  No confusion here.  She heard God’s words completely correct.

So what happened?

Genesis 3:3 –  4 “You will not surely die,” the serpent said to the woman. 5 “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

She listened to Satan and bought the lie.  Why did she buy the lie?  Because she wanted what it offered which is the same thing Satan wanted and why he fell.

She bought the lie that you can be like God.  It wasn’t good enough that she was ruling the earth with Adam and God was their God.  No she wanted to be like God.

That was the reason she grabbed and ate the fruit.  No tricks.  Probably regret.  Satan was telling her what she was longing for and she bought in.

Satan is still selling the same lie to many different religions in this world.  You can be like God.

To say that we can be Gods is to say that Satan in the form of the serpent was telling the truth.  I think
most of us who read the Bible can make it out that Satan wasn’t telling the truth to Eve.  He tricked her and when she got Adam to come along, it allowed Satan to take the reins of this world.

How much does Jesus believe that Satan is a truthful person?

John 8:44 – 44 You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he
lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.

The devil is peddling every known lie he can to keep us from the Father.  Our only protection to know
if it is a doctrine of demons or the true Word is to know the Bible.  Take time to know His Word, because in these last days, more apostasy is being dealt through the Church then anytime during our lifetime.

 

No Hell???

20 Jun

There is some popular teaching lately that there is no hell or the Lord would never send anyone there.
I got news for you.  Hell is for those who don’t repent and accept the free gift of salvation that God himself provided.  To say it doesn’t exist is to say one doesn’t believe in the Word of God.

Warnings!  Stern warnings are throughout the whole Bible from our loving Lord.

We as humans warn each other.  Don’t jump off that cliff, the fall will kill you.  Now what if someone looked at someone else and said, “Oh, if I jumped off that cliff God would never allow
that to happen to me.”

Actually God wants you not to put him to that kind of test and two doesn’t want you to jump off the cliff or there is a bad result waiting.

Don’t touch a power line with a metal rod.  Don’t jump in a fire.  Don’t go out in the middle of 20 below
weather without warm clothing.

Warnings!  The Bible is full of LOVING warnings.

Hell is defined as a place of torment.  A lake of fire.

Luke 16:22-24-    22 “The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s
side. The rich man also died and was buried. 23 In hell, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. 24 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.’

2 Peter 2:4 – 4 For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them into gloomy dungeons to be held for judgment;

Revelation 20:11-15 – 11 Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. Earth and sky fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. 12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. 13 The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done. 14 Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. 15 If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

There is no benefit to man on preaching against hell.  The only thing preaching against hell does is
makes someone more secure that nothing will happen if they do whatever they want on this world.

The Lord is loving and does not want anyone to have to suffer Hell.  But the law stands and justice will happen for those who reject Him.  No one has to.  The free gift of salvation is for ALL to accept.  If you
haven’t accepted Jesus, I pray that you do so now.  I have a page to walk you through on the right hand side of the blog.

 

Quote – C. S. Lewis

19 Jun

Pride gets nopleasure out of having something, only out of having more of it than the next
man.
C. S. Lewis

This is a hard one to understand unless you get around it
and see it happening first hand.  Our natural
instinct is to want blessings, however, the fall has caused the appetite of man
not be able to be fulfilled.

Why?

Man is trying to quench his wants rather than his needs.  He’s trying to do it without God.

Since there is never enough to satisfy in this world without
God and Jesus being number one, pride steps in and the want is never quenched.

Matthew 6:28-35- 28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and
your heavenly Father knows that you need them.

33But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things
will be given to you as well.

 

I Don’t Think We Want To Cause Little Ones To Sin

16 Jun

Matthew 18:5-6 – 5 “And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me. 6 But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.

Do you believe the Bible is the Word of God?  Do you believe these are the words of Jesus?

I do.

To cause a young mind and little child to not know Jesus or tries to get them further away from Jesus, has a stern warning.

“It would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.”

The first thing that echoes through my mind is the people that want their children to be whatever it is they want to be.  Hmmm, that’s not what Jesus appears to be saying.  It looks like he is saying whoever welcomes a little child in HIS NAME welcomes Him.  That sounds like a blessing.  Not only for the person who welcomes the child to Jesus, but for the child themselves.

On the flip side to encourage them not to seek Jesus, help them to stay away, or cause them to sin, sounds bad.  It needs to be taken seriously.  If one believes the Word of God, they need to make it a point to help reach the youth and their own children to know Jesus.

To say it would be better to be drowned at sea, is to say Hell is not a good place.  We’ll be talking more on that Monday.