The Days were Filled with Guns and Wars - Ron Graham - twotug@embarqmail.com

“And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.” Matthew 24:6. Just as Jesus told us, the last days would be filled with wars and rumors of wars and they are. No one can dispute that prophecy. Most nations now days have some very impressive armaments and most are fully into saber rattling. Is there any doubt in anyone’s mind that one or more of these nations “psychotic leaders” will launch their nukes one day very soon?

In the verse above, Jesus was speaking to four of His disciples and was unfolding for them and us the events leading up to earth’s final days. Wars and rumors of wars were something we would hear of but the end wouldn’t be just yet. Some look at these rumors as non-events in our day, but not long ago it would have been impossible to hear of the current saber rattling on a worldwide scale. Now we hear about it daily and instantaneously.

“For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows.” Matthew 24:7- 8. Jesus goes on to explain that there are other signs to watch for that would occur on planet earth before His return. Mankind has witnessed these signs Jesus spoke of for quite some time now but they are increasing in frequency and intensity just like the labor pains that come upon a pregnant woman immediately preceding delivery As a matter of fact some might say she’s overdue.

Every day brings about more fears as to who will push that proverbial button, and launch their nukes first. How much longer before the end? Folks the end is in sight. To be sure, everything is winding down to that day of deliverance. Even though we see signs that indicate nukes will be launched in the near future there are many other events Jesus spoke about in Matthew 24 of which people would become acutely aware of during the last few years on planet earth.

Although Jesus is speaking to His Jewish disciples, He’s also addressing the people who aren’t believers at the time of the Rapture, which means Jews and Gentiles alike. Those left after the Rapture will be horribly and adversely affected by all those things Jesus spoke about. Imagine if you will, earthquakes much more devastating than they are now. Hundreds of earthquakes are currently running in the power range of 5 to 6 on the Richter scale and occasionally (but not often) they hit the 7 to 8 range. But how often do the earthquakes push to 9.0 or above on the Richter scale? Think of the devastation on planet earth if they were all 9.0 or better. The United States Geological Survey, or USGS, has tracked hundreds of earthquakes and aftershocks from the recent quake in Chile. What damage would have occurred on planet earth if those quakes had all been at the 9.0 range? What if they were occurring simultaneously all over the planet (in diverse places)? There would be no place on planet earth where one could hide from the devastation.

Jesus also speaks about pestilences. What about infectious diseases more widespread than what we currently experience or have ever experienced in the history of mankind. A disheartening news report recently spoke of tuberculosis coming back with a vengeance and being completely immune to any drug used previously to contain its spread. Imagine pestilences spreading like wildfire with no hope of any cure or vaccine ever being developed let alone distributed. And as in the case of the earthquakes there would be no place on planet earth where people could go and avoid the suffering.

Famines of course are terrible and devastating, claiming many lives and we’ve certainly seen the occurrence of such over recent years in various nations around the globe. But just as devastating would not only be those famines of food and water, but famines of God’s word. Just imagine if you will, the Bible, as we know it, being taken out of circulation in every country. How could such a thing happen, you might ask? Here’s something currently being advanced in today’s culture. I read recently about new Bibles being designed and promoted that will change God’s word to read completely politically correct. Just one example of this change is that the book of Revelation will be eliminated all together. Think of it, the inerrant word of God as we now know it gone, taken away. All that would be left is a horribly watered down contrivance of the original document with no Gospel message and no power at all to change lives.

Nation against nation. Could this mean the internal strife among people of the same nation, now that’s something we could conceivably see taking place in the not so distant future even here in the US. There is currently a ground swell of a revolutionary mindset exploding upon the scene and if we aren’t careful it could lead us into a second civil war. Conceivably, many more people would die this time around if this were to come about. The numbers would make the Haitian earthquake pale in comparison.

Along with Jesus’ Church the whole world is currently experiencing the beginnings of sorrows. Much of the evil things currently being promoted on this planet are aimed specifically at harming Christ’s Church. Evil prevails in every venue and it’s impossible to be unaffected by its continual appearance on the scene. Please be aware, if you are like me and you stand firm on God’s inerrant and literal word you will soon come under intense persecution even from the brethren.

We’re seeing so much misery and death currently being openly displayed that many people have begun to do the only thing they seem capable of doing to protect themselves against the depravity encircling the globe. They build walls around their lives so that the prevailing climate of evil and hatred will not penetrate their world. These walls they build will grow calluses on their hearts and cover over any remaining love for their fellow man. Then they sit back and wait for better times to materialize.

Here’s a news flash. Better times aren’t going to materialize until Jesus returns. This world is only going to experience further inclinations towards depravity. The second law of thermodynamics which is referred to in the scientific community as entropy teaches us that truth. Entropy is explained in laymen’s terms as a process of moving from order to disorder. At one time the human race was supernaturally ordered. In other words, when God finished His creation there was no occurrence of entropy. But since the introduction of sin into God’s economy and the subsequent curse and fall, the enemy of mankind has been hard at work ensuring entropy runs its full course. This world is becoming more disordered and thus depraved every day. This scenario, which included the introduction of entropy into God’s creation, is exactly what Satan had dreamed of accomplishing since he introduced Eve to his most famous lies way back in the Garden of Eden.

All the warnings which Jesus gave to His disciples in Matthew 24 are coming about now. Nations are mostly run by men who for the most part have cold and deceitful hearts. This influx of entropy is the catalyst the enemy uses in turning men’s hearts away from God and His love and toward depravity.

Men have been going forth conquering and to conquer for thousands of years. What’s new about this day and age is that in these end times we’re experiencing, many nations (being run by men with very depraved hearts) standing on the precipice of destroying earth with the idea that with their big guns they can rule supreme over the entire world.

Wickedness abounds and there’s no hiding a wicked heart which is bent on destroying others. We see it from nations such as North Korea and Iran to name just two. These two dominate the headlines these days because they are both governed by rogue and satanically controlled men. Both men seem to be chomping at the bit to destroy other nations. North Korea wants to destroy the US. Iran wants to destroy Israel and the US. Both have very big guns and both nations are run by men who are psychotic.

Can we, the rest of humanity, expect one of these men to go to the extreme and push that fatal button? Analysts say “It’s just a matter of time”. I read a report recently in which the writer claimed that we could expect something catastrophic within the next three months. With all the saber rattling currently being witnessed today, he may be right.

Here in the US the man who claims the title of commander in chief (not capitalized because it’s his claim not mine) is currently scaling back on our military and our big guns to appease our enemies. Let’s see if we can understand his strategy. We have had years of relative peaceful co-existence with all those who would like to see us either destroyed or conquered. But now, in the name of peace, we will drop our guard for that of a greater unified cooperation. All the while the two rogue nations mentioned above are thoroughly arming themselves as we disarm. Our other enemies, such as Russia and China, are also arming themselves to the hilt. So we drop our weapons, raise our hands high in the air, and give up in the name of peace? And that will stop our enemies from destroying us or invading our shores and placing us under their control? If that scenario wasn’t so absurd it would be laughable. You can bet our enemies are laughing.

Neighbors and friends, this psychotic episode in the history of the US might just be the straw that breaks the back of America. But that really isn’t what this commentary is all about.

There will be wars. There will be despots taking advantage of others whenever and wherever possible. All that is currently coming to pass in this world was prophesied in the Bible thousands of years ago. This evil march to the ultimate stage of entropy is biblical. God says it will happen but that He will put an end to all the evil in this world when He returns.

The problem as I see it is there really isn’t much time remaining for us to be about our Father’s business. If Obama is successful in his attempts at change, then the US could very well cease to be a force in spreading the Gospel worldwide. If we continue to allow Obama to have his way we will see the US come to that end. Other nations will follow suit as they always have. The Gospel message could soon become quite rare.

It’s exciting to watch this end game scenario of God’s materialize before our eyes. Just knowing everything God said would happen in the last days is true is encouraging. This generation is incredibly blessed as we are able to watch in amazement and awe the unfolding of major biblical prophecies. And yet it’s more than a little frightening. Why frightening? How many people do you know personally who are currently not believers in Christ? What about those in your immediate family and your close friends you go hunting with who have rejected the truth of the Gospel for years. Perhaps today is the day they well heed the Holy Spirit’s convicting message, and maybe a simple word or two from you will help them see the truth and make a change in their eternal destiny from Hell to Heaven.

Knowing the time is upon us and that Jesus stands at the door, the door of every heart, the burden on our own saved hearts for our lost relatives and friends should be so great that fear for their lost souls should become the motivating factor in our lives.

No need to sit around fretting about some despot with big guns who is bent on ushering in Armageddon. Instead, let’s toss away that callus covering over our hearts and dig out from that sand hill where we have our heads buried. Let’s stand firm in our faith while we continue to spread the Gospel of Christ throughout all nations while we are able and as we anticipate Jesus’ soon return for His Church. Because these last days are filled with rumors of guns and wars, and someday they will no longer be rumors, but a horrible reality.

God bless you all,

Ron Graham
twotug@embarqmail.com
All scripture is from the KJV
 

Evil Days Ahead - Ron Graham - twotug@embarqmail.com

Jesus said, “But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.” Matthew 24:37-39. Even though the people of Noah’s day were marrying and giving in marriage, eating and drinking, and going about their daily lives, these activities were not the cause of the flood. So what was the cause and how will that affect us here on this planet when it hits again?

Although Jesus didn’t go into great detail about what had transpired in the world prior to the great flood of Noah’s day, God does go into a lot more detail in various passages throughout His word. We can be assured, through Jesus’ words, that the conditions on earth just before His Second Advent will be just as they were in the days of Noah and before the flood occurred, which as we all know carried away all but eight people to their destruction. Our Lord Jesus saw the characteristics of Noah’s day and made no distinction between that evil period of time and the evil period that is on a collision course with earth and mankind’s final days.

I heard many commentators repeat the verses above and basically as they speak about the last days they express their opinion thusly: Everything will be business as usual. So, I ask the question, will it?

What was going on in Noah’s day was not normal or business as usual. At least not in what many today would consider a normal business day. Let’s just take a peek at what God tells us was the goings on in Noah’s day.

“And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them,” Genesis 6:1. This verse plainly speaks of an exploding population. The word multiply comes from the Hebrew word “rahab” which means to be or become many. In Psalm chapter 144 verse 13 the same Hebrew word is translated “ten thousands”. So just as earth’s population is exploding today, some six billion people strong and counting, so it was in the days of Noah. But why flood the earth? Certainly not because men began to multiply. Even in the verse above we’re given no indication as to why God would annihilate earth’s inhabitants with a flood.

“That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose.” Genesis 6:2. Now we begin to see some indication as to why God was displeased. The phrase “sons of God” is clearly seen as referring to angelic creatures. We find this phrase three other times in the Old Testament. “Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them.” Job 1:6. “Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD...” Job 2:1. “When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy” Job 38:7.

The translators of the Septuagint (Hebrew text translated into Greek) referred to the “sons of God” as “angels.” Unlike many today, these scholars certainly weren’t confused with the term “sons of God” nor were they trying to remain politically correct in their translation. Obviously the phrase “sons of God” is in no way referring to the descendents of Seth cohabitating with the daughters of Cain, which is what many believe. Thus what occurred there in Genesis 6 was clearly a demonic, sexual perversion, which God was not pleased with.

These demonic fallen angels somehow (we’re not told how) had sexual relations with human women of all they chose. Okay, let’s stop here for a moment. Before we progress any further we need to address what Jesus tells us in Matthew’s Gospel about angels and marriage. “For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven.” Matthew 22:30. Keeping within the context of the conversation here in Matthew we can plainly see that Jesus, after being confronted with a question from those who only wanted to trip Him up, answered thusly. “Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God.” Matthew 22:29. Jesus, nowhere in the scriptures tells us that angels can’t get married or have sexual intercourse, only that they don’t participate in such behaviors in Heaven nor will man when he reaches Heaven. That’s because there’s no further need for procreation once we get to Heaven. Thus we will be as the angels of God in Heaven.

Now that that’s cleared up let’s get back to the case in point. The fallen angels who participated in this abomination took them (women) as they chose. The verse doesn’t say they went to the fathers of the women and asked for their hand in marriage. No, these demonic beings took them, forcefully. Remember the verse states “and they took them wives of all which they chose.” This was all part of Satan’s agenda designed to corrupt the gene pool so the Messiah, and Savior of the world couldn’t come, because He would never come from such corrupted men. This whole supernatural phenomenon was an abomination to God and He was sorely displeased. Except for Noah and his immediate family, the entire planet took part in this perversion.

“And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.” Genesis 6:3. We must consider the fact that God tells us right up front that He was only giving man another 120 years. In other words planet earth had already reached the point of no return and yet God gave them another 120 years to come to their senses, even though He knew they wouldn’t.

“There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown.” Genesis 6:4. To understand this verse correctly it must be understood that the sons of God (fallen angels) had sexual relations with human women and the women bore children. The offspring of this most unholy union created a race of beings commonly referred to as Nephilim. They were huge creatures mighty in power and well known in that day as completely corrupt and evil. Again, there’s no reason not to expect the same corruption when earth enters its last days just prior to our Lords return.

So it’s extremely important to understand what Jesus meant when He said “so shall also the coming of the Son of man be”. He didn’t say that business as usual is going to be the cause for His soon return but that the pervasive evil will be the catalyst that brings Him back to earth. There’s no doubt that the world just before Jesus’ return will experience the same demonic, sexual perversions as that of Noah’s day.

Immorality and perverse sexual relations are occurring by leaps and bounds today. Other than the fact that it’s getting worse with each passing day there’s not much new or different about it, right? Is this the demonic and sexual perversion that we can expect in the last days? I believe that what we see today in the way of sexual perversion is satanic but we haven’t seen anything yet. There will be a height of depravity reached that will be unimaginable for our finite minds. The stage is set for the introduction of the most vile and corrupt sexual perversions since Noah’s time. And it will be a time of pure satanic Hell on earth.

“And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” Genesis 6:5. This verse really does speak for itself. This evil heart syndrome is back and well on its way to overwhelming men’s lives. Wickedness abounds everywhere and even though only God can look into men’s hearts, it’s not difficult for anyone who has eyes to see that a huge segment of society already belongs in this category. But it hasn’t reached its pinnacle of perversion yet and it won’t until a certain portion of society is removed.

Jesus’ words are like a hammer on our brains, when we wake up to the reality of what is going on around us we will undoubtedly have a headache. So completely are His prophetic words being fulfilled today, it’s impossible to misconstrue their meaning. Unless of course we flatly refuse to believe something so sinister, so devilish, so horrible could possibly happen in our time or could have happened in any prior period of human history. But if we believe His words then we must conclude He meant what He said. As it was in the days of Noah so shall it be in the last days preceding His return.

There’s no need for conjecture here or for reading between the lines. Everything in Genesis 6 is spelled out for the discerning eye. God Himself was there in that period of time speaking to Noah. Since He is the same God speaking to His disciples in Matthew 24, we can conclude from His words that the activities associated with the demonic during Noah’s day will be the same activity concluding earth’s final days.

“And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.” Jude 1:6. How is it possible, you might ask, that since the angels that committed this abomination are held in everlasting chains until the judgment that the same thing can possibly occur again? Satan has many more hoards of fallen angels at his command and he is readying them now to resume his unholy agenda of corruption.

Thus the human race can expect the same evil in the last days as Noah witnessed in his day because Jesus Himself said so “as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.” According to this verse there’s no reason to exclude anything that went on in Noah’s day from occurring again.

“The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.” Genesis 6:11. Noah witnessed the filling of earth with violence and corruption in all aspects of human endeavor during that period just before the flood. You and I can see this earth is filling up with this same incredibly widespread phenomenon of evil right now just as Noah witnessed in early stages of this same evil. Every day we hear and/or read news stories in which we are confronted with the obvious lateness of the hour. I believe this is why we have been given the ability to gather and disseminate breaking news as we do. It’s another sign of the times that God has enabled us with so we can be made aware of this evil approaching and act accordingly.

In these last days the human race has been given something that our early ancestors could not have even perceived: World news, which includes the many instances of man’s depravity. This news is now generated instantaneously from around the world. We can discern, with little difficulty that we are quickly approaching the final hour here on earth.

Jesus does not differentiate when it comes to these two time periods, which are separated merely by a relatively small amount of time. Noah’s days and earth’s final days will be very similar in its wholesale depravity and distribution of evil.

“But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name” John 1:12. What becomes of us, those who are now considered “sons of God”? In those days filled with all forms of demonic sexual perversions, corruption, and violence, what will Christ’s Church[be doing? Those who are born again, of God, will be excluded from that horrible hour. Jesus is warning those listening and those who would read His words years later, but He’s not speaking to His Church. Nowhere in Matthew 24 is the Church mentioned, which can only mean we are already gone, just as Enoch was taken away by God prior to the flood of Noah.

But those to whom He is speaking it will be a most horrible and evil time period of which the world has not previously witnessed. “For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened.” Matthew 24: 21- 22.

No one in their right mind would want to be here on earth during that most evil of times. But many will remain tied to this world through their own foolish desires and complete lack of faith in the only one who can prevent their being left to endure such horrid times.

The late Larry Norman said it very well. “I wish we’d all been ready. The Father spoke, the demons dined, the Son has come and you’ve been left behind.” Don’t be left behind.

God bless you all,

Ron Graham
twotug@embarqmail.com
All scripture is from the KJV
 

Carnally Minded - Ron Graham - twotug@embarqmail.com

“For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.” Romans 8:5.

After a year in office it’s obvious Obama is still in love with himself. Sadly, approximately 46 percent of those polled in recent surveys remain totally enthralled with this man. But worst of all are those who profess to follow Jesus Christ yet remain devoted to this man and his agenda, even though Obama stands for everything God abhors.

Knowing that our God is a jealous God, and that He is the one and only true God, how then can professing believers follow a man who looks at himself as the world’s messiah? Where’s the loyalty to Christ? Do we just ignore God’s word and follow His nemesis? Either God’s word is true or it’s false, we must submit to God and His will through His word or we walk away from God and join the camp of the enemy. Is it possible for born again believers in Christ to be so thoroughly influenced by one of His staunchest enemies?

The answer to that question is found in our Bibles. What’s more, it’s as plain as the nose on Obama’s face. Both believers and unbelievers who voted for Obama are after the flesh as stated in the verse above. They also mind the things of the flesh. In other words they are carnally minded. Their minds are focused, even centered on what will benefit them, but certainly they are unconcerned in regards to the will of God. God’s word gives us direction yet many who say they are Christians voted for, and still support, Obama.

“Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee;” Jeremiah 1:5. God told Jeremiah that He knew him before He formed him in the womb. We can certainly conclude from this verse that God knows all of us before we’re formed in our mother’s womb. Therefore He also knows each aborted baby before they are ever formed and ultimately destroyed. Yet many Christians keep right on with their admiration for a man who is 100 percent pro- abortion. If you voted for Obama you voted against God, plain and simple.

“Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination.” Leviticus 18:22. God says homosexuality is an abomination to Him, yet these same Christians elected a man who has given himself over fully to condoning this horrible lifestyle. “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;” Romans 1:18. God destroyed whole nations and some cities of the past because of their flagrant sinful lifestyle of homosexuality because God calls this lifestyle and abomination to Him.

Many will tell you that one sin is the same as another in God’s eyes. Oh Really? Well as far as other sins go, how many cities of our past human history has God destroyed for the sin of lying, stealing, or covetousness? People have condemned themselves and placed themselves in Hades for sinning against their Creator but has God purposely destroyed any other city, or nation for that matter, because of lying, cheating, stealing, even murdering? The whole world is turning a blind eye to the sin of homosexuality. But does the whole world turn a blind eye to any other sin?

As believers, we must stand firm on God’s word and make godly decisions pertaining to who we vote into any office. When a candidate for any office, makes his platform as well known to the voting public as Obama did, a man who is diametrically opposed to God, it’s not hard to understand the mindset of the Christians that voted for Him. Those professing Christians who voted for Obama are carnally minded. “For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.” Romans 8:6. Over the past few months, some of the believers who voted for Obama have written to me expressing their shame in having had that carnal mindset. Praise God they woke up. But as we can all see the damage has been done.

What does it mean for a believer to be carnally minded? It’s a mindset that is contrary to God and His will for their lives. For a person to profess a relationship with Christ and yet to be so fixated on the world that their mind no longer relates to the will of God is to be carnally minded. How can a person such as this actually be born again? Those who are truly born from God are focused on God; their lives have been turned over to Him. They are willing to stand on His precepts no matter what the consequences. And they would never knowingly vote for someone who stands in direct opposition to God’s precepts.

There is no “in between” area to hope for here. Jesus said, “He that is not with me is against me; Matthew 12:30a. We can’t be for Obama and with Jesus at the same time, that’s impossible. Jesus took a firm stand on right and wrong and thoroughly expects His followers to show the same regard for the things we know to be evil. Homosexuality is wrong, and it’s an abomination for a believer “in Christ” to vote for a candidate who openly condones such a abhorrent behavior. It’s wrong to kill the unborn. The baby in the womb is known by God. The baby is innocent of any wrong doing. Why would any believer hang on the side of such error, disregarding God’s inerrant word? Carnality, they are after the flesh, not the spirit.

Being carnally minded leads to death. “Because the carnal mind is enmity against God:” Romans 8:7a. If you don’t know what that word enmity means do yourself a favor and look it up in your concordance. In my Strong’s concordance it’s #G 2189. It actually means hatred. If you are at enmity with God it means you hate God. Wow. How many professing to being born again voted for Obama, the man who stands against the one true God? Many. Well then, how many Christians voted carnally in the last presidential election? Every professing Christian who marked Obama for President on their ballet sheet. Let me ask the question again but phrased slightly differently. How many Christians hate God? All who stand with any man who is at enmity with God.

We’ve now seen this man in action for a whole year and are faced with enduring three more years with a man who being duly elected president of the US is thoroughly content in his failure to follow God in any way. Obama is at enmity with God. In other words Obama hates God, if he didn’t he wouldn’t be so firmly entrenched in the issues that are obviously opposed to God (abortion, homosexuality, etc).

Obama actually had the audacity to make the claim that he is a follower of Jesus Christ, yet he stands against God in every decision he makes. Why then should he have received even one vote from those who profess to stand with God? That carnal mindset is the only answer. Here we are trying desperately to understand how God could allow this man into office to run a nation built on Christian principles, when all it takes is a little perusal through His word to find the answer. Carnality is at the core.

“If ye were of the world, the world would love his own:” John 15:19a. The lost (nonbelievers in Christ) are of the world and they are perishing, and the world certainly loves their own. Believers should not be in love with this world, moreover this world should know that all Christians are opposed to every immoral and evil deed set down. But as long as Christians live with a carnal mindset the world will continue to love them just as they do their own.

“So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.” Romans 8:8. All the while believers remain in the flesh, and carnally minded, they won’t be pleasing God. I wonder how many Christian believers actually understand that verse. Being born again means we are focused on pleasing God, not ourselves. No matter what befalls a true born again believer in Christ we will remain true to God and His word.

When we pursue earthly wealth and materialism to the point that God’s will is diminished in our lives, wrong decisions, like voting for someone with Obama’s credentials or lack thereof, can only lead to becoming even more carnally minded. But if we are spiritually minded our mindset will be one of allowing the Holy Spirit to lead us into godly decisions. Obviously many who profess Christ as their Savior and Lord but are more concerned about the things of the world are not allowing the Holy Spirit a place in their decision making process.

Many lost people voted for Obama because they were afraid of losing their material wealth, they believed his lies. Nothing was as important as the financial situation in the minds of most who voted for him, and that goes for many Christians also. As long as believers stay in that mindset it won’t really matter who runs for the office of president. As long as the candidate relates to that materialistic mindset (the flesh), the other issues of the day will just fade away. The flesh will get in the way of every decision when the mind is in that carnal mode. This is enmity with God.

“But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.” Romans 8:9. The apostle Paul is speaking here to the believers in Rome. He say that if we profess to be a follower of Jesus Christ but we haven’t His Spirit dwelling in us we are not His. If I may elaborate a little further on Paul’s comments, if we don’t have Christ then we are still Satan’s property. And obviously, being in the flesh will be a very natural and basically everyday occurrence.

“Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh.” Romans 8:12. As believers we owe no debt to the flesh or Satan, but to God. We are born from God when we became believers in His Son. We owe God a huge debt of gratitude that we can never repay. Why allow the flesh to reign over us since we owe the flesh nothing? To whom do we give our allegiance?

“For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.” Romans 8:13, 14. Believers have spiritually “died” to sin and the power of the flesh, and in general to all spiritual association with the world. We now belong to Christ and our identification is in Him. We who are believers in Christ are no longer unregenerate (lost) nor should we live according to the flesh (carnally). We have been designated “sons of God”. As such we have put the flesh to death.

This mindset of living carnally and hence in enmity with God has corrupted many a believer. When we who are God’s children take a stance for evil we are in rebellion to God and consequently we are at enmity to God. If you are one of those folks that has placed Obama on a pedestal and elevated him to a status above God in your life because of your foolish tendencies toward wealth and materialism and your fear of losing what earthly possessions you’ve acquired, then Obama has become your god. Who then will you be relying on for your salvation? If you are at enmity with God Almighty you might want to re-think your claim to eternal salvation.

“...carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life... Romans 8:6. Where do you stand in relationship to your Creator God? Are you carnally minded? If you are, then you are living according to the flesh, and your mindset is flawed. Do you hate God? Surely you don’t. But if your mindset is carnal it’s time to make a change. A relationship with God is based on our faith in Him in all earthly endeavors. God is the believer’s providence, and believers are saved to serve not to strive for and attain earthly rewards such as wealth and power. Carnally minded or Holy Spirit filled? You can’t have it both ways.

God bless you all,

Ron Graham
twotug@embarqmail.com
All scripture is from the KJV

“New Christianity” - Ron Graham - twotug@embarqmail.com

“But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.” 2 Timothy 3:13.

There’s a not-so-new “emerging movement” literally exploding onto the scene. It claims to be Christian yet shows clear-cut signs of dancing to a different tune. As you listen to the purveyors of this “New Christianity” you very quickly come to realize they are all about themselves. As a matter of fact you can listen to them for quite awhile before you ever hear the name of Jesus mentioned, and even then it’s only in a fleeting comment.

Honestly, while listening to these folks you will get the impression they are attempting to explain who they are, what they believe, and who they worship, yet when you walk away you’ll find yourself scratching your head in wonderment with no real idea of what they’re all about. Suffice it to say this new emerging movement, leaning heavily towards self awareness and contemplative spirituality, has significant false biblical roots.

“Take heed to yourselves, that your heart be not deceived, and ye turn aside, and serve other gods, and worship them;” Deuteronomy 11:16. Here in the fifth book of the Torah, Moses is addressing the nation of Israel, but in the New Testament we read the same warning over and over again. God knew the Hebrews would be drawn away from Him through the deceitfulness of evil men. There’s no difference today. Many will be led astray by deceit, which is what we see emerging in this “New Christianity”.

This “New Christianity” threatens the Church today just as Gnostic teachings threatened the first century church. This is what the Apostle John warned believers about in his epistles, “Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son.” 2 John 1:9. Both of these erroneous teachings are focused on removing the true doctrine of Christ from Christianity.

As we will soon see they are not alone. The roots of all deceptive teachings were firmly established way back in the Garden of Eden where Satan first put doubt in the mind of Eve. Satan’s lying words convinced Eve, who in turn convinced Adam, to reject God’s truth and accept the lie. Satan still calls God and the Bible into question and ensnares those who are either naïve and scripturally uninformed or who are seeking some personal revelation to make them feel special, unique, and superior to others.

This “New Christianity” is aimed at young adults and those who’ve been disillusioned for one reason or another by mainstream Christianity. Following the inerrant word of God is not part of this new belief system. Actually what the leaders of this movement profess is just opposite. They see a need to re-establish Christianity and re-mold it into a force that fits today’s evolving post-modern culture. I’ve heard they’re now 60 million strong and growing.

As I listen to these folks spew their ten dollar words I hear very little substance, which leads me to conclude they are only full of hot air. How is it that people can get so far away from the truth of God’s word and still look at themselves as Christians? The Bible is no longer significant in their minds but they will follow the writings of their leaders unabashedly. There is no room for absolute truth, and social tolerance has become the gospel of this “New Christianity”.

While in their worship services all the attendees become a living part of the service almost as though they are acting out a scene from a movie. Their meetings include some rituals associated with Catholicism, a little Eastern Orthodox, and for good measure they throw in nuances reflecting other Eastern religions with their yoga and mysticism. It’s not surprising that Jesus is hardly mentioned. Why would he be? Hindus and Buddhist don’t accept Jesus as their savior. Even many Catholics now days look to Mary for their salvation.

When we as Christians step back and take a look at our Christian faith, what is the most important aspect of Christianity? Jesus Christ! As believers, Jesus Christ is the center of our very existence and we know our faith rests in Him. Our lives are His and we are to devote ourselves to Him. A true believer quickly realizes that this new life we now enjoy is all about Jesus the Christ, Creator and sustainer of the universe and everything in it. It’s His game plan that we are His disciples. Christianity has worked for the last two thousand years and true Christianity is still working. There’s nothing negative or boring about the message of the Gospel. Jesus Christ is life itself. Without Christ in your worship service the only message you’ll hear will be from His nemesis.

“The foolishness of man perverteth his way: and his heart fretteth against the LORD.” Proverbs 19:3. When we hear of any “New” movement that lays claim to being “Christian” but actually detracts from God’s inerrant word, think Satanic. The enemy’s purpose is to divide and conquer, to guide people away from the truth of the message of the cross. This new emerging movement along with this worlds other false religions all have satanic roots. Satan begins by placing doubt in people’s minds and he never changes his approach. Why should he? If it ain’t broke don’t fix it.

“Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said” Genesis 3:1a. If Satan can place doubt in a person’s mind which denies God’s absolute truth then even his lies will sound truthful. Soon, even the once faithful Christian is drawn away from Christ. Satan’s goal is to bring a message that will ultimately derail true Christianity. It may seem that he’s succeeding, but we who truly believe and follow the living Christ know who ultimately succeeds in the end.

It’s incredibly foolish to follow someone who professes to be a Christian and yet disregards Jesus and His word. That is the “New Christianity”, very persuasive and even attractive in all its casualness. Jesus is very hard to locate in their worship services. Outwardly this movement is seen by its followers as some great and wonderful replacement to the old tired traditions of the Christian past.

If you’re a young adult reading this commentary and you’ve become disillusioned with “traditional” Christianity, listen up. Even though innumerable multitudes have given themselves to the Lord over the past 2,000 years, many of whom were martyred for standing firm in their faith, you believe Christianity is broken and this “New Christianity” is the fix. This is a huge satanic deception, my young friend. True Christianity has been spread worldwide. Explain to me how that would have been possible without Christ. How could Christianity have ever come this far? In the minds of the adherents to this “New Christianity, for the last 2,000 years Christ’s Church has just been limping along barely surviving.

Because the folks following this new movement are looking for something different, something more exciting, something other than their parents Christianity, Satan will do everything he can to accommodate them in their quest. We shouldn’t be fooled by this easy belief system guided by articulate, persuasive, even charismatic speakers who’ve given themselves over to the enemy. “The tongue of the wise useth knowledge aright: but the mouth of fools poureth out foolishness.” Proverbs 15:2. These foolish leaders are only following their father Satan, liar extraordinaire.

Satanic attempts at re-establishing, or re-making Christianity abound today. The truth is everybody searches for God. They’re searching for something but they know not what. This leaves a big empty hole in their soul that needs to be filled. This “New Christianity” is there to convince the searcher that their club is the best. Actually it’s Satan’s club and he wants you to become a permanent member.

Then again, many erroneously believe that they’ve found God apart from Jesus Christ. This “New Christianity” is just one of the many vehicles Satan is using today to draw people away from the Savior of the world. People occasionally make the erroneous statement “I found God”; God draws us to His Son not the other way around. Only through the Son can we have a relationship with the Father.

Whether you sit around on your circled couches believing that self realization, prayer mantras, prayer labyrinths, yoga, contemplative spirituality, lighting candles or sitting in the dark contemplating your navel will bring you closer to God, or if you follow one of the numerous other false religions of this world, what must be considered is that any teaching which leads folks away from the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and who He really is, conforms perfectly to Satan’s agenda.

Whether it’s Islam, Mormonism, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Buddhism, Hinduism, Zoroastrianism, New Age (which really isn’t new at all), Contemplative Spirituality, Emerging Church or any other false religion that diminishes what Christ accomplished on the cross, you can be assured they all are leading their adherents to Hell. Satan is the father of all lies and he is the initiator and leader of every false religion on this planet. He’s drawing multitudes down that “broad way” that leads to destruction.

“If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed: For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds.” 2 John 1:10, 11. John was quite adamant about these false doctrines. When he addresses his second epistle to the elect lady, who many believe to be Mary the mother of Jesus, he admonishes her and all who are with her to heed his warning, even to the exclusion of inviting them into their homes. Alas, if folks would only pay attention to the scriptures many would not have been deceived.

You and I are only pawns Satan uses in his attempt to thwart God’s end game strategy. Satan hates the human race and that is the truth. Satan’s doomed and he knows it. “And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.” Revelation 20:10. He will scheme and lie and introduce all forms of “New Christianity” (ideas that are actually the antithesis of true Christianity) into the world to take as many foolish, gullible people with him to their destruction.

God tells us in His word what to look for as the days of the end draw ever closer and certainly we can see for ourselves the signs He spoke of are unfolding before us with uncommon speed. Those who are easily deceived are simply falling for the same old tired lie Satan has been throwing at us for the past 6,000 years.

In His Olivet Discourse message, Jesus gives four of His disciples, and ultimately all of us who would listen, a command to “Take heed that no man deceive you.” Matthew 24:4. Jesus is saying “Heed My warning, men are coming, who will deceive you if you let them” (Paraphrase mine).

Jesus knew many would be deceived if He didn’t give that warning, but many are being deceived everyday because they won’t heed His warning just as Adam and Eve did not heed God’s words in the Garden of Eden.

“If ye love me, keep my commandments” John 14:15. Those who love Jesus and study His word are going to be prepared to confront whoever would come to deceive them. Those who don’t won’t.

As I read more and more about these false teachings which are permeating our Church and culture, my Savior’s words in Matthew’s Gospel continually flood my mind: “Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.” Matthew 7:13, 14. The Greek word used here to indicate few is “oligos” and used in this instance denotes a number quantity and size, such as few, little, small, slight.

Jesus Christ, Almighty God, is telling you and me that He is the strait gate, the narrow way and it’s only through Him that we will be able to enjoy everlasting life. This is the truth that Satan is working overtime to corrupt. Satan will live forever but once God sends him to the Lake burning with Fire and Brimstone he’ll not be able to enjoy his deceitfulness ever again. Nor will any of those who followed him.

When I see so many falling for this “New Christianity” and all those other false religions my heart sinks. I can’t help but reflect on Jesus words. “For many are called, but few are chosen.” Matthew 22:14. There’s that word “few” again. The names of the redeemed are written in the Lambs book of life. It is somewhat disheartening to realize God knew these evil deceptions would flourish as the days grew to a close on planet earth.

Before the foundation of the world, God had a little book with everyone’s name written there who would eventually believe the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. These are the ones the Bible tells us will live forever. Certainly taking any other path to God instead of through His only begotten Son would not bode well for ones name being written in Lamb’s book of life.

The phrase “choose wisely” never grows old does it?

God bless you all,

Ron Graham
twotug@embarqmail.com
All scripture is from the KJV
 

Waxing Cold in the Last Days - Ron Graham - twotug@embarqmail.com

“And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.” Matthew 24:12. Jesus, speaking to four of His disciples about the times just before His Second Advent, tells them that because sin will be so rampant, so commonplace in the last days that the love people once had for one another will become, for the most part, nonexistent. The Greek word “polys” is translated into our English word as “many”. It’s used in numerous places throughout the New Testament denoting multitudes, great and very significant numbers. Imagine, if you can, a world made up of people thoroughly devoid of “love” for their fellow man.

I believe Jesus is alluding to the seven year tribulation period that will begin just after the Rapture of His Church. It stands to reason that this “loveless” generation Jesus speaks about as being full of iniquity (wickedness) doesn’t just appear one day after the Rapture, but that societies would gradually migrate toward degeneracy and ultimately to a crescendo of rampant and overwhelming depravity.

In the verse above Jesus speaks of love which will wax (or grow) cold. Since we are living in the last days just prior to His return I believe that the lack of love for our fellow man has begun to spiral toward that final climax. I suppose, then, that it shouldn’t be surprising to biblically literate students of scripture when we see such cold heartedness infiltrating our society. But was Jesus including believers in that mix of folks whose love would progressively wax colder and colder?

What has happened to the once well known demeanor of those who profess to being born again? It seems, to me at least, that the once loving, caring attitude held by those who faithfully follow Jesus Christ is diminishing as we draw nearer to the last days before Christ’s return.

I’m talking about our attitude towards one another as we discuss biblical doctrine or other Christian issues. Discussion boards and forums are alive with debates and at times heated arguments ensue which are filled with angry words one might expect to hear from worldly people, but not Christians. Christians belittling Christian’s using a tone of superiority that bodes only of pride. Where’s that come from if not from the world? Love thy neighbor as thy self seems to be losing its appeal in these last days. My brethren, this should not be so; loving one another is one of Jesus’ most frequently stated commandments for His followers to adhere to.

Because we can now enjoy much more frank discussions which span what once was considered almost impossible barriers, believers can now communicate with one another worldwide, instantaneously, and with little or no accountability. We can join and contribute to forums and use email to express ourselves and if we so desire we can accomplish this new form of communicating with complete anonymity.

As believer’s views are attacked by other believers they, in many instances, attack right back instead of responding in love. Over the past few years I’ve noticed an increased hostility amongst believers who disagree on Bible interpretation.

All of us are confronted almost daily with what seems to be knee-jerk reactions instead of well thought-out and studied responses made through a love for one another and thorough devotion to God’s truth. Where has all the love gone? It seems that among believers today when it comes to discussing God’s inerrant word, love has been jettisoned. “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another” 1 John 1:7. How is true fellowship possible when the brethren continue in constant disagreement and strife?

Why must Christ’s Church argue so? This unholy trend is not hard to see as we peruse various Christian websites and forums. The anger that persists in discussions among believers is very disheartening. At times the very hostility that once was relegated to the heartless, unbelieving, and lost world has now crept into the lives of many believers. “Salt is good: but if the salt have lost his saltness, wherewith will ye season it? Have salt in yourselves, and have peace one with another.” Mark 9:50.

We’re witnessing a chasm growing between Christians today; there are so many different Bible interpretations being promoted that without well studied parameters (context is everything) many can’t distinguish clear and concise teaching from the erroneous. This inability to distinguish truth leads many believers today to argue amongst themselves on subjects such as doctrine and interpretation even though they may be completely wrong.

I believe this absence of love among the brethren can more easily be attributed to being conformed to the world than to a lack of Bible knowledge. Love is the bridge that will span any chasm no matter how big. Where is our Christian love? Are we to conform to the world or to Christ? “For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son” Romans 8:29. The image of Christ is not seen in all this bickering.

The world is only going to corrupt its inhabitants, that’s all unbelievers can expect from this fallen, sin-filled world which they call their home. But believers don’t call planet earth home, we are only sojourners here and thus we should not become conformed to the world. Certainly we aren’t to have the same self-absorbed and prideful attitude as the unbelieving masses. If we allow the world to dilute our souls and corrupt our hearts and minds we will become as hateful and eventually just as loveless as many of those who have no hope. Then where does that leave our Christian witness?

God gives discernment to those who diligently seek His counsel; most believers know this to be so. There are those who will listen to a Bible teacher or a pastor and take everything they say as truth, never to be questioned. Are these teachers and pastors always correct? Not necessarily. In Acts 17:11 Luke tells us to search the scriptures daily to see if what we are being taught is truly following the scriptures (paraphrase mine). By searching the scriptures for ourselves we learn to rightly divide the word of God.

The problem and how it’s affecting the Church today stems from biblically illiterate Christians who only parrot what they’ve heard or been taught. Because many will believe the false teachers of the day they will argue a false doctrine to the exclusion of all else. And when these arguments get heated what emerges is bitterness and mistrust. Satan must be eating this stuff up.

It seems that believers are moving away from following Jesus’ commandment to love one another and beginning to embrace worldly debate as well as confrontation. There’s no doubt, Christians are becoming conformed to this world. “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” Romans 12:2.

I am completely aware of the need for correction today in the Church. But all correction should be tied directly to brotherly love. I’m convinced that Paul addresses the occasional need for correction in 2 Timothy. “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.” 2 Timothy 3:16, 17. God’s word does the correcting when it is interpreted as His literal, inerrant word. We love one another and therefore we instruct and correct with loving convicted hearts. There is no room for contention and strife amongst believers.

As followers of Christ our words and our actions should emulate Christ. If we have a disagreement with a brother about a certain verse in the Bible or even doctrine, we should consider the ramifications of a prolonged and heated public argument on a forum, such as how others might be adversely influenced. Discussion is one thing but when the discussion turns heated something is out of whack. “He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now.” 1 John 2:9. In a public setting, such as a Christian forum, we should never allow heated arguments to develop.

So to what may we contribute much of the bitterness and prideful attitudes being displayed today by believers? The very fact that believers are allowing some of the most depraved visual effects to permeate their minds these days is quite revealing. The more we are confronted with evil passing itself off as entertainment the more our minds will become influenced and guided toward darkness. Television and movies are both culprits in guiding believers away from God. The internet has also become a huge influence in the lives of many believers and non-believers alike. Garbage in garbage out as the old saying goes. Although information is plentiful on the net it isn’t all edifying to the saints. We must beware of wolves in sheep’s clothing.

The unbelieving world is always placing Christians under a magnifying glass. It seems what they want more than anything else is to trip us up. The way we handle ourselves in a discussion can affect the non-believer either positively or negatively. As the world watches us they should see Christ in us. But when the world sees us arguing, when they see our debate become so heated and filled with bitterness, that we now look no different than the rest of the world, the rejection of Jesus Christ becomes a whole lot easier. Instead of the possibility of gaining a new brother or sister in Christ, we’ve just tossed them back into the enemy’s camp.

There’s always going to be disagreements along the lines of Bible interpretation and Christian doctrine. All of Christendom, for one reason or another, simply won’t agree. If we are truly born again then we are brothers and sisters in Christ and Jesus is watching our every move. He can’t be pleased with the current trend towards bickering which in most instances ends up in an attitude of bitterness aimed at others in His family.

“And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment.”
1 John 3:23. John, twice in this verse, places the emphases on the fact that Jesus gave us a commandment, first that we should believe on His name and secondly we’re to love one another. We would do well to heed all His commandments.

Anytime we are in a discussion with anyone, love must never be replaced with anger. Anger will lead to hate. Jesus’ words come crashing down upon us whenever we forget one of His most basic tenets. “If ye love me, keep my commandments” John 14:15. Love one another.

Nothing constructive can be achieved through all the bickering and anger associated with believers debating different Bible interpretations. It will only lead to bitterness and that’s something no believer should allow into their hearts. Bitterness, hate, strife, confusion are all strongholds where the enemy will certainly take up residence.

As faithful believers we should always be prepared to take loving correction whenever it applies and even rebuke if applicable. But outright bitterness as an approach to one another in what started out as a simple discussion brings reproach on the Church as a whole. Arguing is wrong and divisive, and it might stumble a brother “He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him.” 1 John 2:10. Even worse is how this constant arguing will send unbelievers scurrying for cover anywhere but to the side of a Christian. “And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.” Matthew 24:12.

Even in His Church? God forbid!

God bless you all,
Ron Graham
twotug@embarqmail.com
All scripture is from the KJV
 

Consequences to Bad Decisions - Ron Graham - twotug@embarqmail.com

There are consequences, sometimes overwhelming consequences, when bad decisions are made. Sometimes we ignore or shy away from the really complicated decisions, avoiding them all together if at all possible. It’s hard to always be right when it comes to making decisions. Occasionally we blow it. Sooner or later regret sets in as we’re faced with consequences we never expected.

There may be times when we are afforded the opportunity to change our decision before some horrible outcome materializes. Wouldn’t it be great if there was someone else who would make those difficult decisions in life for us so blunders and regrets might be avoided? Mostly we learn and grow stronger from mistakes but there are many who, as each new opportunity arises, will repeat the same erroneous decisions again and again.

Many of life’s bad decisions can be avoided by studying our Bibles. By making decisions based on God’s word the road ahead pretty much smoothes out in front of us. Through the diligent study and adherence to God’s inerrant word we can avoid making bad decisions.

The lack luster life of a biblically illiterate Christian is evident in how many wrong decisions occur in that individual’s life. But there’s a great deal of godly evidence in the life of a believer who has become committed to studying God’s word. Is it God’s word that holds our attention or the world? “He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful.” Matthew 13:22. The cares of this world too often get in the way and God and His word became relegated to the back seat of lives.

Daily we’re faced with the decision of whether or not to ignore God’s word. The more we neglect reading and studying His word the easier it gets to just forget about it all together. “My Bible’s not going anywhere and tomorrow is another day.”

There’s an excellent line from a “Rocky” film that I just love. As Apollo Creed is speaking to Rocky Balboa trying to convince him to get with the program Rocky makes the statement “Tomorrow, we’ll pick it up again tomorrow” and Apollo yells back at Rocky, “There is no tomorrow!” Friends, tomorrow never comes, especially when we are putting off doing something that we now find tedious.

If you find Bible study monotonous or boring you’ve allowed outside interests to burden your thought process. The world has become more important to you than God. This is easy to see happening in a believer’s life when they are avoiding God. The more we avoid God the more He’ll just keep silent. If we aren’t walking with God guess who’ll be there to keep us company? The enemy relishes the opportunity to stumble us. He’s right there waiting to pounce and devour at a moment’s notice. It’s our decision to allow this attack to happen.

The decision to skip a routine of devotional time or to neglect the daily reading of God’s word will have profound effects on the other decisions of the day. Praying, for example, will not be important before we commit ourselves to any new course or action. Eventually our prayers will become less of a priority in our lives. The less relevance we place on prayer the further we’ll move away God. Through prayer a believer speaks to the Creator of the Universe. If we love God with all our heart, speaking to Him will become our highest priority.

Witnessing becomes almost a non-event when Bible study is forfeited for other more appealing activities. Who can be an effective witness without sufficient knowledge of God’s word? Questions will arise from nonbelievers that will confuse and even cause doubt in the mind of biblically illiterate Christians. And doubt can inevitably lead the believer to avoid witnessing altogether.

When you wake up and spend a little time in prayer and devotion to God the rest of that day’s decisions are then made with a completely different attitude. Always seek God’s council first. A godly decision that is based solely on God’s will, not our own selfish, wicked hearts, will be no match for the enemy. But the ill effects of godless decisions can cause profound consequences.

Reading and basking in God’s word can be as stream of living water rushing through our souls. Believers are empowered as we read and study His word. Through our diligent study of His word God lays more discernment upon us. Glimpses into who He is are as nuggets and pearls stored up in a believer’s heart.

Bible study becomes very enlightening as our desire to learn more of what God’s word says. But if the desire isn’t there the occasions to study will cease to materialize. Sometimes it takes a little motivation to get started, but once you’ve committed to a routine of study you’ll begin to progress and the more you learn the more you’ll want to know. You’ll never know it all but being grounded in God’s word becomes evident in a believers life. As you dig deeper you’ll be given more knowledge as a reward for your diligence.

Without biblical knowledge believers are as logs floating on an ocean filled with many misleading currents. They may find themselves drifting from one current to another void of any real direction. When believers allow themselves to be “current driven” or “guided” without knowing where they are heading they may not be aware, until it’s too late, who’s doing the guiding.

The enemy takes great delight in guiding believers off course. Satan will take advantage of believers who are ignorant of God’s word. Pushing the warm fuzzies of the current trendy alternatives to a real Christ centered biblically based message is Satan’s endgame strategy. Those who refuse to study or who deny the truth of God’s word become easy prey for the enemy, these folks will believe anything but the truth.

This life is a never ending assortment of decisions. Read my Bible today, don’t read my Bible, go to the movies, don’t read my Bible, watch television don’t read my Bible, begin my day reading my Bible, begin my day in an argument with my spouse, and on it goes. It’s your decision and it must be made daily.

There’s another decision, though, that only needs to be made once. The most important decision to ever confront humanity is the decision to follow Christ. Jesus is the Messiah of the world, the Creator of the universe, the propitiation for our sins. “Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” 1 John 1:10.

“Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision.” Joel 3:14. Man does indeed stand in the valley of decision, but it is God who does the deciding, not man. It is a valley of judgment–and we should decide for Jesus right now so we never stand in this valley of decision. Where do you stand?

Reading the Bible is awe inspiriting, and the most worthwhile and incredibly fulfilling journey that a believer can take. To be completely forthright though, the only way to actually grasp much of the nuances of God’s word is to become a believer and then read His word with a new heart and love for God. Paul the Apostle refers to the Gospel message as foolishness to those who are perishing. “For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness;” 1 Corinthians 1:18a. Who is Paul speaking about? All those who will be standing in the valley of decision at the end.

We aren’t saved by reading the Bible, but by reading it after we are saved we are given direction for this life. God’s direction is the only correct path to walk.

If you’re reading this commentary today and you’re not a born again believer in Christ you were guided here by the Holy Spirit to read this message.

In God’s economy everything happens for a reason. The Holy Spirit is beckoning you to believe in the One who God the Father sent. That’s Jesus Christ, our Lord, the Messiah of Israel, and the Savior of the world. We have been given an incredible gift, a free gift from God Almighty. God’s gift to us (which means everyone) was the life of His only begotten Son who died in our stead. He took our sins upon Himself, died, was buried, and rose again on the third day all according to the scriptures. Whose scriptures? God’s scriptures.

You can believe and accept God’s free gift of salvation today and be assured of your place in Heaven for eternity, or you can make a bad decision by choosing to ignore the Holy Spirit’s message and go your way. Before you close this page and relegate it to obscurity, please give these last few words some serious thought.

Remember earlier in this commentary I spoke about the regret from the consequences of bad decision making? Think about this, you may never have the opportunity to say yes to Jesus again. Your life could end in a heartbeat before you reach the door.

If you choose to ignore God’s Holy Spirit today and then die in that lost state, your final decision in this life will result in the most horrible regret you could ever imagine. Unlike a decision that can be changed and the regret of a bad decision avoided, this ultimate decision of yours will fill you with a regret that will last for eternity. You will have just afforded yourself the same horrifying, awful, and dreadful eternal reality that so many before you have done. Hell will not be a huge kegger in the park with your buddies. The reality of Hell will be fully realized the instant you die as the result of your final bad decision.

So please, take a moment and come to the good and correct decision, the decision that will place you in Jesus’ loving hands for eternity. Say yes to Jesus now! You won’t regret that decision.

God bless you all,

Ron Graham
twotug@embarqmail.com
All scripture is from the KJV
 

Giving Up - Ron Graham - twotug@embarqmail.com

“Rejoice the soul of thy servant: for unto thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul. For thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee. Give ear, O LORD, unto my prayer; and attend to the voice of my supplications. In the day of my trouble I will call upon thee: for thou wilt answer me.” Psalm 86:4-7. Do you, my brethren, believe God’s mercy is plenteous, and that He is ready to forgive?

Because I had the audacity to suggest in a commentary that Christians participate in a nationwide prayer vigil. My brethren felt the need to rebuke me, first for suggesting that God just might be willing and able to heal our land and then for suggesting our nation is worth healing. I thought that there were many others with the same mindset as me. Although there were a few who agreed with me, clearly the majority of responders to my commentary, “A Prayer for Change”, were decidedly against prayer in any form that would focus on our nation, or its leadership.

Apparently a good portion of my readers feel God is hard at work laying judgment traps for the rebellious to fall into, which means He’s just too busy or He doesn’t care to hear our prayers for healing. I believe America may very well be under some form of God’s judgment, but I will never believe He’s not interested in hearing from His children, or that He’s unwilling to stay His judgment as He hears from more and more of us.

God expects to hear from those who belong to Him. I hate using the following term and I will avoid it at any cost, but I’m going to use it here because it seems most appropriate on this occasion. Stop putting “God into a box”. Stop it. God is bigger than any box you and I will ever imagine and He can do anything He wishes. If God wants to heal America or any other country for that matter because He’s heard from His Children how arrogant is it of us to say He won’t or He can’t?

Interestingly there are some Christian commentators that are suggesting we believers should not pray for America, “Its glory days have ended” they say. “It’s foolishness to pray for this nation, God has condemned America.” One such commentator says “There are only two kinds of believers who want to save our country. Those who subscribe to Dominion, or Kingdom Now, theology, and those who don’t really believe the Lord is coming back and don’t want to lose the lifestyle they enjoy here. They are amillennialist who think things are always going to be the way they’ve been.”

I believe there’s at least a third group. I for one know full well that God’s word will be fulfilled and that at any moment He may remove His Church from planet earth. But until then believers are told to occupy until He comes. That means we continue to spread the Gospel of Christ while we pray for God’s blessings to continue. I don’t believe that the Church has replaced Israel, but that the Church has its own distinctive place in God’s plan.

Life as a believer will be much better if we are free to go about our Father business. That commentator I mentioned has no idea what life will be like in America just prior to the Rapture. Why? Because America isn’t in biblical prophecy. All he can do is assume this or that will happen to America. Besides that, Paul tells us to “pray without ceasing” 1 Thessalonians 5:17. I don’t see where Paul or any other New Testament writer tells us not to pray for God blessing on our Nation.

Many, including myself, believe God may be judging America by allowing a socialist government to come into power for reasons of chastisement. Why? As I mentioned in that commentary Americans, by and large, have turned their collective backs on God. But I’ve never suggested giving up, nor will I.

Be assured God is not sitting back waiting for America to implode. No, He’s patiently waiting to hear from His children, all His children. He expects His children to stand firm on their faith in Jesus Christ, no matter in what direction this nation heads. From what I know of American history this nation has been fraught with evil demonic forces trying desperately to disrupt its growth and morality while adding massive amounts of violence into the mix from its inception. America has always been at odds with other nations as well as the discontent from within itself. Throughout the past two centuries Americans have fought and bickered amongst ourselves. Somehow we always come through it and for the most part unscathed. Could the reason be because of the unfettered prayers of God’s children?

It seems like World Wars I and II were catalysts in bringing Americans together. Then we had lesser wars that seemingly tore us apart. America is certainly a diverse nation, made up of a great ethnic and religious hodgepodge, and of course we have our share of sociopaths (people who are affected with a personality disorder marked by aggressive, violent, antisocial thought and behavior and a lack of remorse or empathy) thrown in for bad measure. We see a lot of those people currently exploding onto the scene committing horrible atrocities. Then of course there are the sociopaths running most world governments including that of the United States.

Many of my brethren complain that by my suggestion that we continue praying for this great nation, which they believe is completely doomed, that I am giving false hope to my more gullible brethren. “What an imbecile you are Ron. You’re like Nebuchadnezzar’s grandson Belshazzar who couldn’t see the attack coming on Babylon until the writing showed up on the wall”. Perhaps they’re right, so shoot me for being a firm believer in the power of prayer. I sure don’t see any reason to just give in or give up. I will not, nor should any Christian give in to apathy.

I’m not asking my brethren to take up arms and fight this new evil that has taken over our government. All I’m saying is at least give God the benefit of the doubt and a chance to fight for His children and bless them.

It’s becoming apparent that the hotly debated topic of America once being a Christian nation is gaining steam. It’s obvious that some American’s no longer wish the U.S. to be known as a Christian nation, nor do they want to acknowledge that this country was ever a Christian nation. We see Christians torn apart and extremely divided by what they have been force fed from the media as well as many of our Christian pulpits.

I heard from a pastor recently that the tax exempt status is something the government of the United States has graciously bestowed on the Church. I’d be very careful. The powers to be aren’t going to give anything without wanting something in return. Churches must maintain their anonymity so the IRS doesn’t take away their coveted tax exempt status (501) (C) (3). Wouldn’t it be better to go ahead and pay the taxes instead of being forced to water down God’s word? Pay the taxes and tell the truth. And let’s keep God’s truth and our American history visible and accessible to all.

We can see a hug groundswell of dissention in the ranks these days. American s, Republicans, Independents, and others are becoming more and more sure they made a massive mistake in placing these particular Democrats in charge of this country. Americans are now becoming keenly aware that their Democratic super majority run government isn’t even close to enacting the will of the people. Nobody in their right mind really ever wanted a gigantic super government structure taking over all aspects of our personal lives.

It’s the power of prayer which is currently changing the political landscape of our country. States, one by one are refusing to allow same sex marriages, and many States are turning against the Dem/Fed government. Massachusetts just voted into office a Republican Senator where a Democrat sat for the last 47 years, people are waking up and praying for this nation and God is listening. New Jersey and Virginia have also made the change over to Republican after many years of Democratic control.

We must be careful in this country, we must be fully aware of a politician’s past voting record. We shouldn’t believe everything we hear from our elected officials, whether they be Democrat or Republican. Both political party’s have their hands in the till so to speak. It becomes kind of a crap shoot if we aren’t familiar with a politician’s position on the issues prior to election day. Shame on us for not knowing who we voted for until he/she takes office.

There is much misleading information being presented to the public these days, but lately it seems many are turning their backs on the purveyors of lies and seeking truth from outside the normal arena of news sound bites. This practice of misleading the masses has been a growing threat to Christianity and is doing great damage to an America that once was the beacon of hope to many other nations.

God will not interfere in our government if we, His children, see no need to pray for Him to intervene in our affairs. He’ll simply comply with our desire to go it alone. Personally I like having Him along. After all He’s the one who gives us the ability to bear up under whatever evil is forced upon us. Even by this Christ rejecting government we are currently strapped with.

There are, of course, many who stand on the inerrancy of God’s word while “rightly dividing the word of truth” 2 Timothy 2:15b. They are those who are speaking out against the evil in this land, they have little fear of the Federal government snatching away their tax exempt status because they don’t claim it. They firmly stand against evil such as the man who currently occupies the Oval Office, and against all those other liars and sadists in his administration. These fearless believers include lay men and women, pastors, evangelist, and others who will surely be remembered in the Kingdom of Heaven for standing firm on God’s word.

America is at a crossroads. If Obama and company are allowed to continue to have their way, America will cease to be a sovereign nation made up of freedom loving, God fearing people. I know many don’t see it yet, but they will very soon now. Unless we stop the advancement of radical socialism from taking root there will no longer be an America to save. The power that’s wielded through prayer is, in many cases, underestimated. But there is power, great power when we invoke God’s help. “What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?” Romans 8:31. When we stand with God, God stands with us.

Jesus is the Messiah of the Jews and the Gentiles, the Savior of the world. Christ overshadows all human endeavors. But human pride blinds men’s eyes and many can’t, or won’t, see the truth. You who bashed me because of my suggestion that Christians pray for their nation are indeed not seeing the whole picture. Jesus is among us and hears our prayers. I’ll leave the future of America in Jesus’ capable hands as I continue to pray for America. Whether or not we should pray that America is taken back out of the hands of the man who, more than anything else, wants to see her converted to a socialistic, totalitarian, dictatorial, czar run, Muslim country is the question.

I don’t care how many of my brethren write and tell me how ignorant I am or how biblically uninformed I am. I serve an awesome God who can and will do great things if we will only believe. But that’s the rub isn’t it. Believing God will continue to bless our nation is what many abhor. “What do you mean Ron?” Just this, many of my brethren are so fixated on the Rapture that they want to see the destruction of America happen, believing this will usher in the snatching away of the saints. That scenario is not biblical and may very well result in some horrible Christian persecution through apathy inside Christ’s Church.

We in America may see the elimination of our freedoms. We may witness the rise of socialism. America’s Christians may be persecuted to the point we currently witness in other nations. We may be forced underground to live and to worship our Lord Jesus Christ. Then again Jesus may take us home tomorrow. Nobody really knows what America will be like just before the Rapture happens, so why not keep God in the loop?

As long as I’m alive and kicking I’ll be praying that America’s liberties remain intact. I pray that God continues to bless His people and this great nation so we may continue with His commandment of spreading the Gospel unimpeded.

Patrick Henry said “Give me liberty or give me death” and many of my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ feel the same way. We don’t want to be here if America is going to go through the change Obama has planned. Like I said previously, we are told to occupy ‘til He comes and so we shall, but I can promise you this, we are going to need prayer and lots of it.

To succumb to an “I give up attitude” is to proclaim the enemy has won the battle. If your attitude is to surrender then you might want to re-examine your faith–held–belief that God is in control. Those of us who are actually born again aren’t going to surrender, ever. Why? Because we know who’s in charge and that He fights our battles.

If you are one of those who wrote condemning me or chiding me for praying for my country, then all I can say is stay out of my way. You give up if that’s your mantra. I’ll continue to call on God to withstand the enemy through prayer until I’m taken out of the way. I know God is not going to give up on His children, but I also know that if we give up on Him and His awesome ability to make changes then we should be prepared to accept the consequences. Without God in the mix our time remaining on earth will be hell.

Is America being judged? Maybe. Can we as God’s children do anything to abate God’s judgment? Possibly. Why not pray about it? “...then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land” 2 Chronicles 7:14b. He stayed His mighty hand against the city of Nineveh why not the US?

What do ya say? “Pray” or “Give Up”? As for me and my family we will continue to PRAY God’s intervention and healing for the land of the free and the home of the brave.

God bless you all,

Ron Graham
twotug@embarqmail.com
All scripture is from the KJV

Saved, and I Know it - Ron Graham - twotug@embarqmail.com

How? How do I know I’m saved? That’s a question I receive from time to time and which is almost always followed with the statement “I want to know for sure I’m saved”. Every believer wants to be assured of their eternal salvation. Even those who believe in another god apart from the God of the Bible. Hey, even atheists want to be sure of what they’ve placed their faith in. All believers in Christ should know that there is no other God than the God of the Bible. And as far as atheists are concerned, well, they’ve placed their faith in man. Of course, beliefs in other gods or no God at all are both huge errors that by witnessing we hope to rectify.

Let’s take a look at how God looks at His salvation plan which is available to everyone. When did God first start dealing with you? “According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:” Ephesians 1:4. God chose us “the elect” before the foundation of the world. That’s when God began dealing with each and every one of us. Believers are God’s “elect”. “Ye have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you” John 15:16. God has moved us into the position of a believer. How did He do that? Keep reading.

God’s offer of salvation is given to everyone (John 3:16, 3:36, 5:24, Romans 10:9, 13.), but the lost “choose” to remain lost. I want to make that statement as plain as I can. It’s a choice of ours to either believe or not. “But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth: Whereunto he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
2 Thessalonians 2:13, 14.

God draws us to hear the Gospel, “he called you by our gospel”. If when we hear it we believe “the truth”, this moves us into the position of being God’s “elect”. On the other hand, many of those who God draws to hear His Gospel (and He draws everyone) refuse to believe, they are lost because they refused to believe His truth. Either way God chose us to come and hear His word. How do you know you have been “elected” by God to Salvation? By your response to His Gospel that He drew you to hear. Did you all get that? God is the initiator of our being drawn. He does the drawing. “Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father” 1 Peter 1:2, only means you heard the truth of the Gospel and you believed. We either respond in the affirmative or the negative but everyone is drawn to hear. The “elect” hear and believe. It’s a simple yes answer.

I’m not actually attempting to get into arguments with the Calvinists here. I don’t believe there’s any reason for those who diligently study their Bibles to come away with such a huge misunderstanding when it comes to foreknowledge, predestination, and the elect. So as far as I’m concerned, there should be no debate of whether or not some of us are predestined to be saved and others aren’t. Yes there are those who are God’s elect, and there are many who are not God’s elect. Why? God has made it abundantly clear that everyone is invited into his family (John 3:16). It’s just that some choose to turn down his invitation, and God knows who they are and He knew them, and their choice, before the foundation of the world. Yes there are many arrogant and foolish people who after receiving the truth, “their invitation”, refuse to say “Yes, I believe”. Some of these foolish people actually become so belligerent with God that they begin to blaspheme Him and spew hateful words at Him as they willfully return His invitation. In other words their refusal often times contains more than just a no thank you God. Hence these foolish, arrogant, belligerent people remain in their sins, thus they are not His elect, but they are perishing.

But what of those who’ve said yes to God? Those who’ve heard His Gospel message and believed. Those are who God calls His “elect”. What is it that gives them their sense of security? It’s simple. All those who’ve heard the Gospel and believed are immediately sealed with the Holy Spirit, and that’s a promise from God. Those of us who are sealed with God’s Holy Spirit are no longer under the power of the enemy.

So we learn that all believers fall under the banner of the “elect” of God. But all believers don’t feel the same way about their salvation. Some bask in the assurance of God’s gift of salvation and go about their lives seemingly fearless, almost as though they can’t be bothered about any attack from the enemy. These folks fully grasp the truth. When they are attacked their faith is so strong that they’ve learned how to overcome the enemy. These people know God will fight the battle.

Others, once justified, don’t give their salvation much thought at all. After their conversion there’s nothing else that brings out any signs that they were ever justified. Thus the enemy doesn’t see much reason in attacking them. After all, they probably aren’t doing any witnessing and they show little to no concern in producing and living a fruit filled Christian life.

Then there are the worry warts; those who think they’ve lost their salvation for some sin they committed after becoming a believer. These are the folks who listen to the false teachings of those who contradict God and teach that you can lose your salvation. Until they learn to listen to God instead of the naysayers they’ll be miserable. Many live a useless Christian life unable to break away from the condemnation of the enemy. Condemnation is laid on believers by Satan and his followers and sometimes by the brethren who’ve misinterpreted their Bibles, but never by the Holy Spirit.

This next group are the born again believers who cannot seem to grasp the fact that even though they feel they’re born again, there’s a nagging suspicion which tugs at their heart telling them they aren’t really saved at all. “Yes, I believe that Jesus is the Son of God, that He died on the cross for my sins, and that He arose three days later and sits at the right hand of God. I’ve repented of my sins and asked Him to rule and reign in my heart. And I believe that with all my heart. But, I still have doubts now and then about my salvation. Why?” That “but” is a security killer.

All believers go through ups and downs in their walk with the Lord. Doubting one’s salvation from time to time can eventually strip a believer of his/her joy, In some believers lives doubt seems to be a frequent, sometimes habitual occurrence. In some cases it’s a quick downer and the believer is back up and walking in fellowship with the Lord. With others the downer last through their entire Christian walk because they’ve never learned how to overcome the enemy's attacks. (Read Ephesians 6 for your allotment of armor).

Here’s what I see happening to these folks. They are allowing Satan to plant in their mind, a pattern of guilt and fear. Through his prodding he’s convinced them to question their salvation. It’s amazing to me just how many believers write and tell me they doubt their salvation. Satan is very good at stealing the joy we have in Christ. By placing doubt in our mind he’s gotten us to doubt even our own beliefs, our own faith, and our security in Christ.

Everyone reading this commentary must understand at least this one part. When we neglect God’s word we become most vulnerable to the enemy’s attacks. But when we take on a daily routine of Bible reading and study we remain much more secure and avoid those horrible darts of self defeat. Just a few paragraphs each day will do wonders in fighting off those enemy darts. Read more if you can of course, but even a page or two a day will help. Always pray for guidance from the Holy Spirit before you begin your Bible reading. Do this in the morning and you have put on the armor of God to help you through the entire day.

Believers have the Holy Spirit sealed within them. If we weren’t sealed with God’s Holy Spirit we would have plenty to worry about. This seal gives us the ability to rest in the knowledge that we are completely secure in God’s hands and that we have no reason to doubt our salvation, or fear our eternal destination. “Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” Luke 12:32. Remember my brethren, God delights in keeping His promises, and He promises to keep you in His hands.

If we continue to allow the enemy to place doubt in our minds we will, sooner or later, feel we’ve lost our salvation, or at the least live a miserable Christian life. This is the enemy’s purpose when it comes to believers, and he’s perfected his craft to nth degree. Understand, Satan can’t do anything to those who believe. He has no power over us unless we allow him that power. Why? Because we belong to Christ. We are living in Christ. We are God’s “elect”. We are completely secure when it comes to our salvation. All the elect will go to Heaven either in the Rapture of the Church or by passing from this life through death.

If you are worried about whether or not you’ve lost your salvation, or that you might lose it, you’ll be of no effect as a witness for God. That’s where Satan hopes you’ll end up, and that’s the purpose for the doubt, the condemnation, the guilt he bombards us with every day hoping to catch at least some of us in his snare. The emails I receive indicate that he’s been very successful. Think about it, if we don’t or won’t witness to others about the good news of Jesus the Messiah, Satan will keep those souls in his camp. Oh sure you’re still saved but what about the person who gets overlooked when it comes to being witnessed to, all because of your fear and preoccupation with losing your salvation?

Don’t fall for the enemy’s lies. That’s all they are. Satan is the father of all lies. And all those who tell you a born again believer can lose their salvation, for whatever reason, are doing Satan’s work for him, whether they know it or not. Don’t listen to them. Just keep reading your Bibles and studying. Allow the Holy Spirit of God to dwell in your mind and teach you God’s word. He’s a much better teacher than those who only want to bring you under condemnation. “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus.” Romans 8:1.

Saved! And I know it! If you’re born again claim your security and stop allowing the enemy a foothold. “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” James 4:7.

God bless you all,

Ron Graham
twotug@embarqmail.com
All scripture is from the KJV
 

I Pledge Allegiance - Ron Graham - twotug@embarqmail.com

At some point in everyone’s life there has been a pledge made to someone or something. For example, here in America most of us as we were growing up recited the pledge of allegiance to the flag of the United States of America every weekday in school. For those of you reading this commentary in other countries our pledge goes like this “I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.” Most of the very young probably haven’t a clue as to what they are actually saying or what that allegiance refers to. But as adults we know that if we recite that pledge above we are aligning ourselves with the laws and rules that govern this country. Basically we are placing ourselves, quite willingly, under that professed allegiance.

We can refuse to recite that pledge if we so desire. No one will do anything to you for your refusal to pledge allegiance to the flag. There is absolutely no punishment forthcoming because of a steadfast refusal to pledge your allegiance to the U.S. The Gestapo will not be knocking on your door at 2:00 am and hauling you off to some concentration camp. There’ll be no fines, no imprisonment, and no condemnation of any kind for refusing to stand and recite the pledge of allegiance to our flag.

Interestingly, there is coming a time when Americans along with the rest of the world will become united in a new pledge of allegiance. And this pledge, one that many believe is coerced, will be to a certain person who will come onto the scene in the not so distant future. This person will demand that every human bow down and worship his image as god. If they refuse there will be severe consequences attached to that refusal. Those consequences will very likely include a detachment of one’s head from the rest of their body. “And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.” Revelation 13:15.

“And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:” Revelation 13:16. Many people are confused when it comes to this verse. The word in the Greek for causeth is “poieō” and it is the same Greek word used in verse 15, but in this context it has a different meaning. Here it simply means “to continue in”. There’s no coercion involved with taking the mark of the beast. It’s only a continuation of verse 15. The damage has already been done. Those who’ve bowed down and worshiped the image of the beast do so willingly and then they take the mark of the beast, also quite willingly. In other words, their pledge to worship the beast will not come as a surprise or through some false pretence; those who do so will know exactly what the ramifications of pledging themselves to the beast will be. They’ll believe he’s god and they will worship him as such.

During the Tribulation period multitudes of people will be fully engulfed in the lie. “And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.” 2 Thessalonians 2:11, 12. They will willingly worship the beast as their god. Still, a few will not fall under this delusion but if they are discovered without his mark they will be killed for not submitting. Obviously the great delusion sent by God will not affect everyone because the Bible talks about the Tribulation saints. But even many of those who know the truth may be so full of fear that they worship the beast to keep their heads from being detached from their bodies, and thereby receive his mark and the same condemnation as those who do so willingly.

When we as believers give ourselves to Jesus Christ He becomes a part of us and what we’ve actually done is we’ve pledged ourselves to Him. That means we belong to Him and no one else. This allegiance to Christ is so binding that nothing outside of Christ can touch us, that is our spirit, from then on. Yes, these bodies can be killed but no one can touch our spirit.

Similarly, once those who bow down to this coming world leaders image and pledge themselves to him, they will belong to him for the remainder of their earthly lives. And their eternal destination will be shared with this false god. He demands allegiance to him and him alone and all who submit become bound to him, nothing can change that ownership. Those of you reading this commentary who don’t belong to Christ will be left here on earth after the Church is removed. Something else you might want to consider is this, if you’re not a born again believer in Christ right now, you are already dwelling in the enemy’s camp. Whether you bow down to him or not if you die during that time without Jesus as your savior you’re still condemned to Hell.

Of course, everyone should know by now that I am writing of the anti-Christ, the man of perdition. The pledge made that this man demands by those left behind will be a final act of rebellion to God. I can’t overstate the point I’m making here. To become a servant to the anti-Christ one must willingly submit to him by pledging themselves to him. It won’t be by accident that that pledge is made. It won’t be done out of an acceptance of some government enforced embedded chip program placed under the skin of the populace. Pledging allegiance to the anti-Christ will be done willingly and with complete knowledge of what that allegiance means.

I’m not saying that this chip program won’t be in some way the vehicle that the anti-Christ uses as his mark when he’s ready, but that they who accept it will do so willingly. This will not be a concern to those who are in Christ because this will not happen until after the Rapture of the church. I don’t think anyone can actually pin down what form this mark will take, only that it will be a sign of allegiance. What's really important is that the condemning factor will be making the pledge of allegiance to the image of the beast; then the mark will be placed on them as a proof of that pledge.

After the great and terrible totalitarian rulers of the 20th Century (Lenin, Stalin, Hitler, Mao), it isn’t hard to imagine a dominating world leader demanding a declaration of allegiance, tantamount to worshipping him (Obama?). Here we are in the 21st Century and we’re seeing signs that the whole world is searching for a true leader, a world leader, basically a messiah figure to usher in a euphoric sense of nirvana. In the past year how many times have we heard Obama referred to as the “messiah” or the “one”? And as a “professed Christian” how many times have we heard him rebuke those who place those names on him? Not once.

The fact is, this world leader, whoever he is, is very close to being revealed and some of you reading this commentary have no protection from his influence and the “lie” that’s on the horizon. That fact alone should be terrifying. It won’t be much longer before some of you will find yourselves living under the rule of a one world government and its dictatorial god.

There is a sense of fear even among evangelical Christians that they may soon be coerced into receiving the mark of the beast. Many of my fellow brethren are actually promoting this fear. Why? Because they lack a full understanding of what it means to be a part of Christ’s Church. We believers can’t pledge allegiance to the anti-Christ because when this usurper is finally revealed and demanding all to bow to his image, the Church will no longer be on planet earth. At some point after the church is removed he will demand all those remaining to worship him and then take his mark. And as I said before those who do worship the beast will do so quite willingly.

For believers there’s nothing to fear from this man. But for those who are left behind? There’s plenty for them to be fearful of. As God sends the great delusion onto the populace of the world the majority remaining will not be interested in the truth of the Gospel. The reason for the delusion is that they have rejected God’s free gift of salvation through His only begotten Son.

Some people will become believers during the Great Tribulation period. All Jews who are still alive during the last half of the tribulation period will be saved. They will finally have their blindness cured and they will recognize their Messiah, Jesus. But, unfortunately most of them will be martyred for their faith as they make their stand for Jesus. “And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them” Revelation 13:7. This verse is proof that there will be believers on earth during the Great Tribulation. Some people will, somehow, dodge all the bullets and scimitars and while keeping hold of their heads and refusing to bow down to the image of the beast and take his mark, they may actually survive that horrible period of time and go into the millennium unsaved. But most will willingly condemn themselves to Hell.

For all those who bow their knee and worship the beast and then take his mark their destiny will be set in stone. Equate bowing to this beast in a posture of worship and taking of his mark to jumping out of a plane at 30,000 ft. without a parachute. No matter how much you might regret that jump you’ll never recover from it and the regret will last for an eternity. My advice is, never bow the knee to the beast, and never accept his mark. Better yet place your faith and trust in Jesus Christ right now before it’s too late.

When the tribulation period begins the Church will no longer be present and the Holy Spirit will be in a different capacity then He is now. Because we’re told that there are saints on earth during the Great Tribulation we know that the Holy Spirit must still be here but His primary job classification will change slightly. Every person who becomes a follower of Jesus Christ during the tribulation period will be responsible for keeping themselves saved. Unlike those of us who are currently born again, those who are saved during the tribulation will not be sealed with the Holy Spirit.

The tribulation saints are going to go through perilous times, thus these saints might be persuaded to take the mark of the beast just so they can buy and sell. If they do they will lose their salvation. “And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:” Revelation 14:9, 10.

What I’m getting at here is just this. Why wait? Do you really want to experience life during the tribulation period? The chance of becoming a believer and remaining a believer during that time will be slim. If you’re a holdout to the truth, it isn’t too late to accept Christ as your Savior. If you know someone who is going through a phase of rebellion to God, please pass this commentary on to them. We must at least try to convince the lost in these last days that life during the last three and one half years of the tribulation period is going to be so horrific they most certainly won’t want to be a part of it. But if they wait much longer they may wake up some morning in the middle of Hell on earth.

Spreading the Gospel of Christ is essential for every believer, especially now that we can see the end approaching. Jesus tells us that there’s an end coming and that we should all be working. “I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.” John 9:4. By adding the phrase when no man can work, Jesus is saying all of us must be about our Fathers business while it is day. That night is almost upon us. Therefore continue to spread His Gospel while it is day.

God bless you all,

Ron Graham
twotug@embarqmail.com
All scripture is from the KJV
 

False Teachers – Damnable Heresies – Apostasy - Ron Graham - twotug@embarqmail.com

“But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.” 2 Peter 2:1-3.

I was listening to a radio call in program the other day when a man came on and asked the radio host if he knew anything about a new offer by a college to teach anyone how to become a biblical prophet for a mere $4,000 dollars. In other words they will sell you the gift of prophecy. “And when Simon saw that through laying on of the apostles' hands the Holy Ghost was given, he offered them money, Saying, Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost. But Peter said unto him, Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money.” Acts 8:18-20.

The gifts given us by God through His Holy Spirit can’t be bought as Simon found out. They are a gift and they are given to whomever He chooses.

“But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal. For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit; To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues:” 1 Corinthians 12:7-10.

Paul tells us that we’re each given a gift, but that those gifts vary. Not everyone is given the gift of healing. Similarly, not everyone is given the gift of prophecy. You can pay one million dollars to become a biblical prophet but if the Holy Spirit hasn’t given you that gift then you’ve just wasted a million bucks. The people that promote this type of heresy are false teachers and the Bible says they will abound in the end times.

We’re also told in the Bible that in the end times the Church will go into a massive and destructive stance of overwhelming apostasy. In my estimation, most of the Church today hasn’t a clue as to what’s happening or that the apostasy is here. The most pervasive and gross attacks on the Christian Church today will come from within the church body itself. False teachers are rarely attacking the Church from the outside. More than anything else the false teachers are standing behind the pulpits.

People know the truth from reading the scriptures yet teach false doctrines for the purpose of promoting themselves and for obtaining financial gain from their followers. “And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you:” These folks either don’t care or don’t understand that they are receiving their reward now in this life. “And shall receive the reward of unrighteousness...” 2 Peter 2:13.

“Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Core.” Jude 1:11. There is no greater curse on the earth than empty, vain religion; “This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud..., unholy..., lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.” 2 Timothy 3:1, 2, 4b, 5. Many Christians are afraid of secular humanism or atheism or the world. But false teaching is far more dangerous, and sends more people to hell than anything else. These who teach thusly are going the way of Cain, ungodly, greedy, and finally apostasy.

False teachers twist scripture like nothing we’ve ever seen before and all to fit their own fancies. Evangelists have appeared on the national scene many of who the uninformed simple minded folks swoon over because of their appeal and charisma. And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of.” And by the sheer number of email responses I receive from folks who have been taught false doctrine, there must be a great amount of these preachers on the scene today.

I receive letters from folks who tell me the Trinity is a false teaching because the word Trinity isn’t in the Bible. Next they’ll complain because I equate Jesus to God because (they say) everyone knows Jesus isn’t God, even Jesus Himself never said He was God. They continue with the following lie, if you aren’t baptized you’re not saved. Others say if you can’t speak in tongues you’re not saved. Here’s one that really gets me. If you worship on Sunday you’ve taken the mark of the beast. Then of course there are always those who condemn me for teaching on the Rapture of the Church which they see as heresy, and on and on it goes. What in the world are these people being taught? And what does the person who’s teaching them this tripe hope to gain?

God, in His word, isn’t condemning those who honestly misinterpret a verse or make a mistake, but who are open to correction. He’s speaking about blatant and persistent false representation of His word. Lying for the purpose of fulfilling one’s own agenda, such as monetary gain, that’s the heretical teaching God hates.

Heresy is akin to leaven; it only takes a small amount to infect the whole bunch. Heresy spreads beginning from a small misrepresentation and almost without notice this lie begins to grow, and before long it has infested the whole congregation. Then some of those lie polluted people leave that congregation for another and they take the lies they’ve been taught with them. Within a very short period of time the Christian Church becomes replete with heretical teachings and false doctrines.

A friend of mine recently told me of a book he is reading where the author gives all authority for the interpretation of scriptures to the Catholic Church. How many people are going to read this same book and be swayed by the author’s un-biblical arguments? This is just one instance of leading people astray. How many Christians and non-Christians read the Da Vinci Codes and were swayed by Dan Browns attempt at fiction? Millions. Then the movie did it’s best to give credence to this same heresy. The same can be said for the book entitled “The Shack”. A book of fiction, yes, but with horrible misrepresentations of God, and the simple minded are led astray.

These are the times Jesus speaks about “And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.” Matthew 24:4. How many today are following Jesus admonition? By what I see going on in the media and different ministries, not many.

Peter tells us that such teachings are “damnable heresies”. What does damnable mean? The Greek word used here is “apōleia” Which is explained in my concordance as the destruction which consists of eternal misery in Hell. People who teach others heresies are on a one way trip to Hell.

Can you just imagine the snowball effect associated with the promotion of a heresy? Here’s an example to consider, Joseph Smith claimed he was visited by an angel named Moroni. This angel told him that he was giving Smith a new gospel because the original had become corrupt. “I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.” Galatians 1:6-9. Paul repeats the condemnation twice, “let him be accursed”. I’ve noticed in the scriptures that anytime something is reiterated twice it carries much more weight.

Joseph Smith was certainly accursed; he soon became involved in a shootout in which he died a horrible bloody death. And of course he is in Sheol awaiting his turn to appear before the White Throne Judgment Seat of God which occurs at the end of the thousand year reign of Christ here on earth.

How severe will Joseph Smiths punishment be? Well he started off with a handful of converts to Mormonism leading people away from the true Gospel and over the years the church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints has grown into a huge conglomerate, a false religion of which millions of followers are already condemned to Hell. Joseph Smith is responsible for the condemnation of millions of simple minded people who are all perishing because of his false teaching. How severe will his punishment be? We mere humans would probably consider Smiths punishment extreme. But through his own actions Smith condemned himself.

Another man who is awaiting his turn before the White Throne Judgment seat of God and who is even today continually adding more and more severe condemnation to himself is Charles Russell. Russell was the first president of the Jehovah’s Witnesses. Russell originally denied the doctrine of Hell, and would go on to reject nearly every other Christian doctrine, as well as add many physically and spiritually dangerous doctrines of his own making. Many of these unique and bizarre teachings were to be found in his six volume series titled, Studies in the Scriptures.

For the year 2000, the Watchtower Society claimed a worldwide membership of over six million (about one million U.S.) in more than 91,000 congregations in 235 countries speaking 340 languages, and takes in approximately 300,000 new members each year (288,907 in 2000). Charles Russell no longer denies the doctrine of Hell; he has since learned that Hell is a real place. What kind of severe punishment will Russell endure? God knows.

“Denying the Lord that bought them” Peter continues with his explanation of the false teachers and what they can expect as punishment. But what constitutes false teaching? Anything that adds to, or takes away from, or that runs contrary to God’s inerrant word.

When men and women stand before an audience, and deceive that audience for the explicit purpose of monetary gain or some other agenda or write books for the same purpose, those folks are void of conscience. They are reaping their reward here on earth. They should do everything they can to live the happiest life they can because when all is said and done and they leave planet earth for their eternal destination, the fun and games will be over.

“Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.” Matthew 7:15. Wolves in sheep’s clothing? In other words they will look like you and I. They will speak words that seem to be so true. They will give great advice and lecture on current societal problems which will make all the sense in the world. But their motives will be selfish. Many will follow their evil ways. They will begin to behave in bazaar manners but they will be recognized as leaders in the Christian evangelical movement. Beware!

Some of these wolves will be debased sexually and after they’ve deceived many their dark secrets will be revealed, but it will be too late for they will have influenced many of the weak minded and biblically unstudied masses. People, this is going on right now in many Christian churches and it needs to be nipped in the bud. We need to make a stand against anyone who stands against Christ in any way. We need to remove leaders who don’t actually believe what they teach, and all who teach false doctrines.

And just how do we know they are teaching falsehoods? We study our Bibles and we learn the scriptures for ourselves. This way no church leader or any other Bible teacher can deceive us with words of deception. If this were the case those who teach false doctrines wouldn’t make it past a sentence or two before someone in the congregation would stand up and call them on the lie they are proclaiming.

The rub is we must study our Bibles otherwise I can promise you, you will be deceived. Whether intentionally or not, false doctrine will creep into your congregation when the flock hasn’t the biblical knowledge needed to confront those heresies. “For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them.” Acts 20:29, 30.

We are held responsible to know the truth, each one of us individually. We are to work out our own salvation as Paul tells us “Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.” Philippians 2:12. Paul means to put forth real effort into our Christians lives. This is not to work our salvation in the sense of accomplishing it, but to work out our salvation - to see it evident in every area of our lives, and to activate this salvation God freely gave us. The believer must know God’s word so as not to be led astray.

Only those foolish enough to believe every word someone tells them are foolish enough to be led like sheep to the slaughter. Don’t allow this to happen to your family or to your congregation; don’t allow deceptions and false doctrine to ruin your life and your eternal destiny. Continue to study God’s word, and stay alert.

God bless you all,

Ron Graham
twotug@embarqmail.com
All scripture is from the KJV
 

GOD CAME – Let’s Celebrate - Ron Graham - twotug@embarqmail.com

“Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God.” Hebrews 10:7.

This time of year brings great joy to folks all over the world and from just about every walk of life. Admittedly we’ve entered a very festive season, but few recognize the real reason behind all the festivities. As strange as it may seem many folks have no clue that Christmas is a birthday celebration. Christian’s especially enjoy this time of the year because we know whose birth we’re celebrating.

2,000 years ago God came. He entered His Creation and became a man, the man Jesus Christ. The Bible declares it; that should be enough evidence for anyone to believe it, and many do. But many disregard what the Bible says about the birth of the Savior of the world. Hey it’s a holiday, that’s good enough.

God went from being spirit to being a flesh and blood man. A perfect God became a perfect man. “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” John 1:14. Jesus is our Messiah, our perfect God, and our Great Savior, and Redeemer. He’s the Creator of the entire universe. He came to set us free.

Most have either heard or read the account of Jesus’ birth. Jesus began His earthly life as an infant. He was born in a manger and His birth was heralded by an angel. “And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.” Luke 2:9-11.

Undoubtedly great joy and celebration erupted in Heaven when the little baby Jesus cried His very first cry proclaiming the beginning of His human life. And here on earth that very night a whole host of angels appeared before those lowly shepherds “And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.” Luke 2:13, 14. Peace on earth? It won’t be long now.

God came as a propitiation for our sins. Those sins began four thousand years before Christ’s birth and they have continued for 2,000 years after His death, burial, and resurrection. Even though sin abounds today there is salvation, there is forgiveness, and there is hope for all who have sinned. And all have sinned. I guess that means there’s hope for some us, right? No, it means there’s hope for everyone. The angel that appeared to the shepherds that night told them that there would be great joy for all people, all people. We are all invited to accept the free gift that God gave to the world that night. When baby Jesus grew into manhood He became the sin offering for all of mankind, “for this He did once for all when He offered up Himself.” Hebrews 7:27b

Trying to explain to the lost that God came and that He died on a cross for the sins of the entire world can be an arduous task. Why? Because preaching the cross and Christ crucified is foolishness to most people. “For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.” 1 Corinthians 1:18. They either refuse to believe in a God of the universe, or they believe in God but refuse to believe He could die, let alone die for the sins of man. But He did. “And you know that Jesus came to take away our sins, for there is no sin in him.” 1 John 3:5.

Even before Jesus became a full grown man He knew He had an eternal plan to accomplish. That plan was conceived between Father and Son before the foundation of the world and accomplished on an old wooden cross. Jesus’ death was not a tragedy, it was an achievement. Although God the Father and God the Son both knew few would enter through the narrow gate they still went ahead with their plan.

God knew from the beginning that man would fail the test of following His commands to the letter, and was fully aware of what He would need to do to move His children back into a right relationship with Himself. “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8.

The Pharisees of Jesus’ time believed they could obtain eternal life because of their strict adherence to the scriptures, but Jesus told them “Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.” John 5:39. Sadly, many today have the same mindset as those Pharisees of old.

Preachers have been pounding the tops of pulpits for years trying to get the Gospel message out to a rebellious people so they might grasp the truth. Many have succeeded in their attempts, but many more have not. Rebellion is a difficult thing to counter. Moms and dads know this all too well. Children begin to rebel almost from birth. “No” becomes their favorite word in many cases. Whether or not you’d like to admit it folks, that’s rebellion. That’s what God sees in His children, but that’s what He overlooks once we’ve heard the Gospel and believed.

Each year the unbelieving world seek to change the name of this particular season to “winter festival” or some other non-biblical name, anything to take the emphases off Christ and His birth. All those who wish to eliminate Christmas from the season and change the name and the meaning of the 25th of December to “happy holidays” will soon get their wish. Here comes Santa Claus will be the only reference to this particular day in the not so distant future. After the Rapture of the Church there will be no further resistance to changing the name of the season. But there will be nothing to ho, ho, ho about either.

Call it what you will, God came to replace death with life. “I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” John 10:10. There’s no denying the facts for those of us whose blinders have been removed. Believers could no more deny Christ or the fact that He came than deny the sun shines every day.

But for many lost souls denying Christ is prominent, many times in the forefront of their minds and at this time of year the denial becomes even more extreme. Some of those who deny Christ become abusive and lash out at any reference to God and Jesus during the Christmas season.

But all the denial in the world doesn’t change the facts, God came. The Bible contains many scriptures about the Christ child and His arrival. Go ahead deny the Bible that’s easy, but you must deny truth at the same time. The Bible is true and complete; all of life’s questions can be answered from the Bible. As I’ve stated in previous commentaries the Bible was written as a history lesson in advance. That’s how God authenticates His word.

Reading and studying the Bible brings comfort in the form of truth. The Bible is God speaking to us and His words comfort our soul. This time of year can be especially comforting as we celebrate the birth of our Savior and King, our Messiah, Jesus.

Many people refuse to believe that God came because of what they’ve been taught; a lie that has been handed down from generation to generation is still a lie. People become convinced there is no God and then they choose to remain in their unbelief. Some when they are presented with the truth believe, but many more don’t. However, nothing can stop the forward progress of God’s advancing Kingdom, whether we run into unbelief or rebellion of any kind, God will not be stopped. He’s proved this time and again.

Those who reject the true fact that God came are in for a surprise of enormous proportions. It’s not going to be a pleasant surprise of course, but most certainly enormous. You see, all those who continue in unbelief continue to belong to Satan and they are condemned. God has made it plain that to reject His truth is to stand against Him. All who reject the truth announced throughout the scriptures of the birth, ministry, death, burial, and resurrection of the Messiah of the world are only following their father the devil.

God came, and Jesus is God. This biblical truth is disparaged by various religions as well as the Christian cults. In their case condemnation reigns supreme. But that condemnation can be avoided. How? “...Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved ...” Acts 16:31a. By believing that Jesus is who He says He is, earth’s populace can avoid condemnation. But many just flat out refuse to believe, thus they remain Satan’s property.

Jesus Christ is the Messiah that came, a descendant from the tribe of Judah, to proclaim salvation to the Jews. The Jews, many still in rebellion to this day, rejected their Messiah. The Gentiles, on the other hand, were excited about their Messiah and embraced Him with open arms and the Church was born. Many Jews heard the Apostles preaching and believed and joined the body of Christ. Many more did not. And to this day have not.

The Church is God’s creation and He had it in His mind to send His Son to begin the Church at a specific time. Yet many still don’t get it, so we pray for them, family members and friends. We pray that the scales that cover their eyes would melt away just as they did from our own, and the truth would become crystal clear.

All those who believe God came, will, one day soon, accompany Him to Heaven. All those who don’t believe will remain behind and life will be very different here for them once the Church is removed. Even though God came and died for all men He’s willing to allow men their freedom and their choice. He’s willing to refrain from interfering with man’s decision of where to spend eternity. You see, it really isn’t sin that sends people to Hell. No, it’s the refusal of God’s free gift of salvation. Jesus paid the price for the sins of the world. All we must do is believe in the Gospel of Christ.

Rebellion is rebellion, some get over it but we are all born with it. Some never get past that childish rebellious nature of saying “NO” so they can come to the truth of the Gospel. If you’re reading this commentary and you’re at a point in your life where you are beginning to feel a tugging on your heart that something is amiss in your life, then you might want to heed these words. The Holy Spirit of God is doing the tugging/drawing and if you’ll let Him He’ll help you remove those old stubborn scales covering your eyes and toss away that infantile rebellion you’ve been clinging onto for all these years.

Well, that’s it, that’s the whole shebang, the whole enchilada. It’s really that simple. God came, showed up here on earth as a little baby boy, grew to manhood, still fully God and fully man. If you believe that fact, if you believe Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, the Savior of the world, and the propitiation for our sins you will no longer be under condemnation, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” Romans 8:1.

Christmas is so much more than ho, ho, ho. “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9:6.

A Gift Idea:
We are given a perfect opportunity to explain the Gospel to folks who at other times of the year may not be in the frame of mind to hear it. Christmas is a time of joy and many feel the need to give and so why not give the gift that keeps on giving. Give them this gift. Give them the message of the Gospel of Christ.

Merry Christmas, and God bless you all,

Ron Graham
twotug@embarqmail.com
All scripture is from the KJV

Homosexual Bishops - Ron Graham - twotug@embarqmail.com

The Episcopal Church has once again committed heresy. Not only have they named a woman as bishop, but she is a lesbian. What does the Bible teach on such things? “A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober of good behavior, given to hospitality, apt to teach;” 1 Timothy 3:2. Blameless means that a bishop must be without reproach and living a godly lifestyle to the best of his ability.

We read throughout scripture that homosexuality is condemned by God, so a homosexual is not without reproach. They are making no attempt to live a godly life. According to Paul, when held to just the first adjective in the above verse a homosexual/lesbian would be automatically disqualified from such a position as bishop in the church.

The next qualification for a bishop is he must be the husband of one wife. This is something that is impossible for a woman and not likely in a homosexual.

Let’s look at what it means to be vigilant and sober. From the Greek words we get the following definitions. “of a sound mind, sane, in one's senses, curbing one's desires and impulses, self-controlled, temperate”. Hmm, sound mind, sane, curbing one’s desires and impulses, need I go on? This description just doesn’t fit as we observe the lifestyle of a homosexual. Anyone living such a lifestyle certainly is not of a sound mind.

How about of good behavior? God refers to homosexuality as an abomination. If they are involved in that abomination their behavior is anything but good. I’m sure Homosexuals can be hospitable; hospitality isn’t difficult, anyone can do it. But would you want to be invited to the home of a homosexual knowing that in their home they practice what God explicitly abhors?

Apt to teach? My last question concerning the above verse is, what are homosexual Bishops going to teach? Are they apt to teach their flocks that their lifestyle is perfectly normal and that it should be condoned as such? Are they going to explain away the verses in the Bible which teach against homosexuality as nonsensical, out dated, unreliable, or maybe they’ll just exclaim that that was then and this is now.

We can see by the above verse that placing a homosexual in the position of a Bishop is not acceptable to God. It is doubly wrong for a lesbian woman since a Bishop needs to be a man. In Leviticus 18 God admonishes His people “the Hebrews” to abstain from all forms of evil. This whole chapter is devoted to sexual perversions that God considers abominations. He continues to explain that even the land, in which He was giving to the Hebrews, was defiled because of the evil sexual practices of the previous inhabitants. “Defile not ye yourselves in any of these things: for in all these the nations are defiled which I cast out before you: And the land is defiled...” Leviticus 18:24, 25. God tells His people that even the land where these abominable sexual practices were taking place was defiled. Another word for defiled is ruined.

Many unbelievers, as well as folks who only profess to be Christian, remain unopposed to homosexuality. They believe the lie that homosexuality is a normal lifestyle and that people are born that way. But God says differently, thus, the land is becoming more and more defiled.

I realize that many Christian Churches have minor to extreme doctrinal problems, but to place a homosexual in the position of Bishop is way beyond potentially problematic. Many in the Episcopal Church exited after a homosexual man was appointed as Bishop, but now they’ve only added to their own perversions by placing a lesbian in the same capacity. Man condones what God abhors.

This is clearly an act of rebellion against God. For the life of me I will never understand how people who claim to follow Jesus and revere Him as Messiah and Savior of the world could purposely turn against God’s inerrant word and promote such a completely heretical doctrine as this organization has done. When God in His word speaks of apostasy, this is exactly what He’s talking about. “Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?” 2 Corinthians 13:5. Where we see God rejecting people become the elders of the church apostasy abounds.

As believers we are told to abstain from all appearances of evil. Homosexuality, to the sane mind, is inherently evil. It is clearly a satanic seduced lie. Satan has convinced many in the church that homosexuality can be practiced and even condoned as a perfectly normal lifestyle. God would never condone homosexuality as such. This, folks is pure insanity, it’s not natural yet now we see that man has changed this abomination into a completely normal “alternative lifestyle”.

How can God’s word be so ignored even in the Anglican Church? The very fact that people are leaving this church in droves must tell them something. The people don’t agree with the foolishness of the hierarchy of this Church, and it’s not bigotry, the abandonment of this rogue church by their body is simply Christians standing on God’s inerrant word.

Can a homosexual be a believer? Can they live this God professed abdominal lifestyle all their adult lives and actually claim to know Jesus intimately? How can they live a life as a homosexual, which is in direct opposition to God, and still claim to be one of His children? Is it because Leviticus is in the Old Testament and thus it can be ignored? Okay take the Old Testament and toss it out the window if you wish. Now all we have is the New Testament.

“Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, (homosexuals) nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God,” 1 Corinthians 6:9, 10.

That’s in the New Testament? Yeah, and so is this, “Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen. For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.” Romans 1:25-27. These verses are referred to by Barack H. Obama as obscure. Obscure means difficult to understand. Wow, and that man was elected our president?

God’s word is God’s word Old Testament or New and we either believe it or we don’t, but why claim a relationship with God if you don’t agree with what He’s given us as guidelines to live by? In the above verses as well as others in chapter 1 of Romans Paul is telling us that God is giving these people who have ignored Him over to this vile lifestyle. How do we ignore God? By reinterpreting the Bible to fit our on sinful lifestyle. People do this because they would rather live in their sins than to live as God says.

No people, God is not happy with homosexuality or any other sin for that matter. And He certainly doesn’t want people who are blatantly and openly claiming to live such a lifestyle as the abomination of homosexuality to be in a position as a teaching authority in His Church.

As born again believers we are to leave our old sinful lifestyle behind and strive to do God’s will. It will never be His will to remain in our previous state of rebellion. Homosexuality is a state of rebellion. Born again believers in Christ would certainly leave that lifestyle behind. Those who refuse to leave that lifestyle should re-examine their salvation position.

Here’s an example of how foolish it would be to place such a person who is the antithesis of a person God would want in a position of leadership in a Christian Church. Let’s say the Southern Baptist Association of America placed an atheist in the position of president over their whole organization. What could the Church be taught by an atheist? How much damage would be done by such a person while being seated in that high official capacity? Don’t tell me that he/she might become a believer while in that position. The damage, exacted by such a person, on the brethren, would be catastrophic. It just can’t happen, not that it shouldn’t happen, but it can’t.

“But these, as natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things that they understand not; and shall utterly perish in their own corruption; And shall receive the reward of unrighteousness as they that count it pleasure to riot in the day time. Spots they are and blemishes, sporting themselves with their own deceivings while they feast with you; Having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin; beguiling unstable souls: an heart they have exercised with covetous practices; cursed children: Which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray...” 2 Peter 2:12-15.

The Apostle Peter is speaking about people who live in direct opposition to God and bask in their rebellious corrupted lives. Their minds are only on evil continually. Is this the person you want as the leader of your Christian Church? These people have no understanding of God’s word they are wholly following Satan not Christ. And this enemy of Christianity (Satan) has thoroughly seared the senses of these deceived and foolish souls.

For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.” 1 Peter 2:25. Peter tells us that Jesus our Messiah and Savior is the Shepherd and Bishop of our souls, are we to place a homosexually deviant person in a position where he/she will assume the posture of a shepherd of a flock? A flock that supposedly belongs to Christ? What truths will they teach their flocks? Or should I say, what lies will they teach their flock as they stand in defiance to their Messiah? How can a homosexual uphold the whole counsel of God and blatantly live a life that is contrary to God’s word? A person such as this can do nothing but lead others astray.

If you’re a Christian believer reading this commentary and you approve of homosexuality as a normal lifestyle then you are apostate. If your church condones this activity as normal your church is apostate. Either way you’re outside of God’s precepts and commandments.

“All scripture is God breathed...” 2 Timothy 3:16a. So where in God’s word does He condone sin? Any sin? He doesn’t and that’s why the Bible is disparaged when it comes to homosexuality. That’s why many countries, including the United States of America, have enacted legislation that prohibits preaching homosexuality as a sin. And that depraved mind is what has caused God to abandon those individuals to that lifestyle. Don’t believe me, do the research for yourself.

“Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:” Romans 1:24. God not only doesn’t condone the sin of homosexuality but He actually uses it as a judgment on those who’ve turned what they once knew as the truth into a lie. This is exactly the position of the current Episcopal Church of the United States. God, because of their Bible knowledge and because of their arrogance in ignoring His commandments, has given them up to uncleanness and He’s allowed them to dishonour their own bodies with the vilest of affections. In other words while they remain in their disobedience they will continue to be judged, and homosexuality will abound.

As we read the news, almost every day there’s another article about another Christian organization going apostate. Brethren be ever so watchful that these abominations don’t take root in your Church lest ye to are judged. “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.” Romans 1:18, 19. God is the revealer of truth. He doesn’t change, He can’t learn, it’s against His own nature to lie, and He can’t defy His own laws. From eternity past to eternity future God will never condone such an abomination as homosexuality. That’s a promise.

The Anglican Church will be held responsible by God for their condoning of such behavior. “Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.” Romans 1:32. Condoning this insanity is no different in God’s eye than participating in the abomination itself. All believers should give that serious thought.

God bless you all,

Ron Graham
twotug@embarqmail.com
All scripture is from the KJV

My God Won’t Send Me to Hell! - Ron Graham - twotug@embarqmail.com

“But where are thy gods that thou hast made thee?” Jeremiah 2:28a. Clearly many people create their own god–one which will conveniently suit their personal needs. Basically what they’re creating for themselves is a designer god. “My god won’t send me to Hell!” Here we go.

Why would a loving God, a God who is described as pure love, condemn any of his children to Hell? This is very a common question especially among those who don’t believe the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, or who have little to no Bible knowledge. Believe it or not even Christians ask this question, and few are able to give a sound, Biblical answer.

A common statement from non-believers is “My god would never send anyone to Hell, he’s a loving god. Only an evil god would create people and then send them to Hell.” Good point, but since these folks are non-believers their god is Satan. And his main modus operandi is to convince man that he is god and that he would never send anyone to Hell. Well he certainly isn’t God, but he is very efficient and persuasive when it comes to promoting his lies. After all he’s been at it for 6,000 years give or take a year or so.

What I tell these folks is that my God wouldn’t send any human being to Hell either. Now this really throws them for a loop and even some of my readers might be scratching their heads right about now.

Here’s what I tell these doubters. Since I’m a believer “In Christ” my God is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. My God is the God of the Old Testament and of the New. My God is the Lord Jesus Christ, God Almighty, Creator of the universe and everything in it. There is no other God. Now they’re saying “Well, your God sends people to Hell; He’s not my god. The God of the Old Testament was a horrible and gruesome God full of hate for the very people He created.”

So, what do we tell a person such as this? They don’t want anything to do with the God of the Bible because they assume He sends people to Hell. They’ve made up their own god, thanks to Satan, to associate with and to accommodate them in this life. Then they classify and condemn God, God Almighty, the one and only true God, as evil, unloving, and uncaring.

To obtain a little knowledge can be useful but sometimes a little knowledge of the Bible can be dangerous, even destructive. This is exactly how cults get started. People try reading the Bible without any discernment from God and they usually begin in the Old Testament and find scriptures where God condemned whole cities. Or they read where God would command his people to go into a particular city and kill all inhabitants. But because they don’t understand what God was doing in those instances they look at God as an evil and maniacal God, completely out of control, and certainly without love.

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:16. Arguably the most quoted verse in the entire Bible. If God loves the whole world why does He condemn some people to Hell? How can this presumed hateful God of the Old Testament be the same God of the New Testament?

There are many picture types of Jesus Christ in the Old Testament; Bible teachers will claim Jesus Christ is on every page. Jesus said, “Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.” John 5:39. When Jesus made that statement to the Pharisees the only scriptures in their possession were what we call the Old Testament. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” John 1:1.

Clearly Jesus the Messiah is the God of the Old and New Testament. The writer of Hebrews tells us “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.” Hebrews 13:8. So God never changes and since Jesus is God and always has been He must be the same God, Old Testament and New.

How can that be? Jesus is very loving when we read about Him in the New Testament. Jesus never changes He was as loving before the foundation of the world, when He and the Father came up with the plan to save their Creation from destruction, as He is today.

Now that we’ve established that Jesus Christ is the God of the Old and New Testaments let’s get back to the question at hand. Why does God send people to Hell? The simple answer is He doesn’t.

“Wait a minute, you’ve told me that if I don’t accept Jesus Christ as my Savior, if I don’t believe He died for my sins and repent then I will go to Hell when I die.” Yep, that’s what the Bible tells us. “Well I’m not going to believe in who you call your God so why am I going to Hell if your God doesn’t send me there?”

Wow, you’ve just about got it. God, in His word, gave us the keys to entering Heaven. “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” John 14:6. God Almighty tells us that only through Him (Jesus Christ) may we enter Heaven, and that any other means of getting there which we perceive is a possibility is actually just foolishness. “My god would never send anyone to Hell!” Nor would mine, but the question remains, who’s your god?

You don’t want to believe the truth so you’ve made up your own personal god who won’t send you to Hell no matter how you live your life. This is exactly what Satan promotes. You might want to rethink placing your faith in some nonexistent god. Here’s what has happened, you’ve accepted the following lie from the enemy. “God will never send me to Hell, I’m a good person” While it’s true that God doesn’t send people to Hell, we can see the lie of the enemy in that statement, “I’m a good person”. “And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God.” Mark 10:18.

People who want to believe they can get to Heaven just by being good are horribly deceived. Many people live an exemplary life and are convinced they’re going to Heaven because of how they’ve lived, how generous they are, how loving they are, how respected they are. The cults will confirm this same lie just to get you into their fold. But it’s all still a lie, and a very destructive one at that.

Being sent to Hell only comes from one entity, you. You are the only one that is responsible for your eternal destination. God made it easy. “...believe on him whom he hath sent.” John 6:29b. It’s not very difficult, it only takes faith. But then again so does belief in your designer god, or no god. If you think you can get to Heaven by being good and nothing else, that my friend, still takes faith, albeit your faith is in a lie.

Many have said they just don’t believe this salvation thing can be that easy, there must be more to it than that. They just can’t get their minds around the fact that God had to die a horrible death on some old cross so the rest of us could go to Heaven instead of Hell. That unbelief is the condemnation that people just don’t understand. A hardened heart will never get it, and Satan is diligent in his efforts to keep you in that state of mind.

God made it easy for His creation to believe and be saved. But it was not easy for Him. He had to stand by and watch as man spit, beat, and humiliated His Son. Then surely the tears flowed as He watched man drive spikes into the hands and feet of His only begotten Son when they placed Him on that cross. God’s creation was instrumental in placing Jesus the Christ on that cross. “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8.

Nope, it couldn’t have been easy for God. Yet, He loved us so much He was willing to watch from the sideline as His Son died. Now the awesome part is God (the Lord Jesus Christ) arose from the grave three days later. That accomplishment (prophesied throughout Old Testament Scriptures) is what it took to redeem mankind in God’s eyes. The only thing we must do to be redeemed (saved) is to believe that He did what He said He did. “...Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved...,” Acts 16:31. Yes, it must have been hard for God and we may never understand just how hard but God doesn’t ask us to attempt to understand His pain. He only asks us to believe.

People, you can believe in Jesus Christ as your Savior or choose not to believe, but you can’t blame God for sending you to Hell. He did His very loving part in sending His Son Jesus our Messiah to die for our sins. Jesus Christ is our Redeemer and we must do our part, and accept that fact as truth. God’s free gift of everlasting life is not costly; His free gift of salvation is not a hindrance. He did all the work. We get to enjoy all the benefits of eternal life without paying a cent, or being nailed to the old rugged cross ourselves, which, by the way, should have been our punishment not Jesus’.

You may be steadfast in your unbelief but that rebellious attitude will not diminish the fact that Jesus Christ died for the sins of the world. My God, Jesus the Christ, will not send you to Hell. Only your unbelief can do that. God made Hell for Satan and his minions of evil, it was not meant for mankind. But it’s there and wide open to anyone who chooses to follow Satan and enter that realm for eternity. Satan and all those angels that fell from grace with him prefer Hell. By the way, there’s no truth to annihilation, and there isn’t any truth to the Catholic concept of purgatory, both of those doctrines are unbiblical.

You’ve made your choice to continue in your rebellion to God, to live your life in unbelief and spend eternity in Hell. Remember this, when you die in that state of mind there’s no going back on that decision. There will be no reprieve from the governor, or the president or any other earthly leader. There will be no commutation of your sentence or any time off for good behavior. Once you’re there, you’re there for eternity.

If you’re not a believer today, right this minute, God says you’re already condemned. “...he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” John 3:18b. God’s not condemning anyone to Hell with this statement. He is, though, making it quite obvious what the consequences are in rejecting His free gift of salvation. Those who are condemned are so destined because of their unbelief. Consequently, those folks are sending themselves to Hell because of their own foolish rebellion. “For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.” 1 Corinthians 1:18.

This foolishness doesn’t need to last. You can come out of that lost state and believe the truth. Your life doesn’t need to end in rebellion. Just say yes to Jesus Christ right now. Become born again. Place your faith and your trust, even your very lives, completely in His hands. If you would still rather not believe in the God who saves instead of the god who destroys then your destination is already set, Hell it is. My advice–choose life.

So go ahead, you keep your god, because he won’t send anyone to Hell and I’ll stay with the one true God, Jesus Christ, who similarly will never send anyone to Hell, but who will allow you to make your own decision as to where you would like to spend eternity. I can tell you this, only one of us is right. Are you willing to stake your eternal existence on a god which the enemy planted in your brain and who is completely nonexistent? Eternity is a very long time, without end.

The last thing Satan wants is for you to believe in the God of the Bible. He’s working overtime trying to get you to see things his way. He uses many deceptive devises. He convinces men who’ve hardened their hearts against the God of the Bible to promote his schemes and many are more than willing to do so. He wants you to either believe in a god that doesn’t really exist or, better yet, no God at all. Either way you lose.

Choose Christ and live.

God bless you all,

Ron Graham
twotug@embarqmail.com
All scripture is from the KJV

And the Bible’s Attacked Again - Ron Graham - twotug@embarqmail.com

“For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away: But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.” 1 Peter 1:24-25 Peter is placing his emphasis here on the fact that, unlike men’s lives, God’s word is eternal.

The new “hate crimes” bill passed in congress and signed into law by Obama is just another attack on the Bible. You say “How is that possible Ron”? For those of you who aren’t already aware of the agenda behind such a bill I’ll tell you. Homosexuality and the promotion of same are behind this bill. This bill effectively levy’s strict punishment upon anyone who speaks against homosexuality. Well guess what? God speaks against homosexuality as well as all sin. So, this is just another attempt to rid us of the Book that can and has changed lives.

Interesting isn’t it? The word of God has endured for thousands of years and yet the naysayers continue with their attacks. They’re always around to contradict God’s word. Much too frequently for my liking. There isn’t one day that passes without reading somewhere that someone is telling us the Bible is a bunch of fanciful stories for entertainment purposes alone. It’s not to be read as God’s word, after all it was written by men and we all know where that will get us. It’s just a bunch of hooey.

They come and go, don’t they? Who are they anyway these foolish people who won’t believe the truth? Even though the Bible has endured for thousands of years people still can’t, or won’t grasp the significance of such a humanly impossible accomplishment.

Think about it, here we have men writing what God has given them to write down and for the most part these men did not know each other. Yet as you read through the Bible as a believer you will shortly come to realize hat it is God’s inspired work. There’s no doubt He’s the author; we find its one integrated design from cover to cover. Only the Holy Spirit could have supernaturally accomplished such a feat.

How do we explain to the unbeliever that the Bible is true? Well how about telling them how long it has endured and then ask them if they know of any of man’s works that have endured as long. Just in case they come up with something like the writing of Plato or Homer’s Odyssey or Iliad, let them know that they aren’t even close to the long standing presence of the scriptures. No other writings will stand up to the test of time especially after what the Bible had to endure to stay around ‘til today.

When we come to the realization that the Bible has been the object of such persecution it’s a wonder, no it’s a miracle it’s still with us. The Bible has been the most bitterly hated book in all history. For the last two thousand years man’s hatred of the Bible has been persistent. Man with all his knowledge has been determined to rid the world of such a horrendous influence corrupting the minds of men. Every possible effort has been made to undermine faith in the inspiration and authority of the Bible, and innumerable enterprises have been undertaken with determination to consign it to oblivion. Yet it remains the most beloved book of all time. Just how is that possible? Could it be that the Bible is supernaturally protected?

Supernaturally is the only explanation, God wants His word available to all people. Some countries just can’t comprehend and refuse to even allow it to be a part of their society. Imperial edicts of past rulers have been issued to the effect that every known copy of the Bible should be destroyed, and when this measure failed to exterminate and annihilate God’s Word, commands were given that every person found with a copy of the Scriptures in his possession should be put to death. Hoards of Christians were put to death for their disobedience in not relinquishing their Bibles. The very fact that the Bible has been so singled out for such relentless persecution causes us to wonder at such a unique phenomenon.

Saudi Arabia is one of those countries in the Middle East that will not allow the Bible into their country and the punishments for disregarding this edict are severe. Don’t let that discourage you; many people put their lives on the line to get the word of God into the hands of those who seek His truth. Some are successful in their distribution attempts, others aren’t. God rewards the diligent, successful or not.

Why does the Bible receive such treatment? Well it’s really quite simple. The scriptures convict men of their guilt and condemn them for their sins. We see groups of people today that are determined to either eliminate the Bible all together or at the very least they want to change the wording to fit today’s advanced civilizations. The concentrated efforts of the Emergent church, and the contemplative spirituality crowd, are focused on ridding mankind of this book of antiquities which they say is full of myths, but they will utterly fail. God is in charge and unless He says “That’s it, my word is gone”, then it will remain completely intact.

It is humanly as well as supernaturally impossible to rid the world of God’s inerrant word. Every engine of destruction has been hurled at it to destroy God’s word yet the Bible stands firm and resolute. Is there an army defending the Bible? Is there a King defending God’s holy word? I say yes. An army of angelic hosts defend it against the powers of darkness. Our King the Lord Jesus holds sway over His word and no supernatural demonic creatures of evil will prevail against it.

It seems that in just about every field of academia there stands a huge throng of individuals ready to condemn the most important and influential book of all time. Only a relatively small amount of these folks actually honor or revere the Bible. The cities of the ancients were lighted with bonfires made of Bibles, and for centuries only those in hiding dared to read it. How then, can we account for the survival of the Bible in the face of such bitter persecution? The only solution is to be found in the promise of God. “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.” Matthew 24:35.

During the first three centuries AD the Roman Emperors tried desperately to destroy any and all vestiges of God’s Word. One of them, named Diocletian, believed that he had succeeded. He had so many Christians put to death and so many Bibles destroyed, that when the lovers of the Bible remained quiet and stayed in hiding, he was sure he had ended the Christian religion and destroyed their God.

Diocletian was so ecstatic at his victory over those hard headed Christians that he ordered a medal to be struck inscribed with the words, “The Christian religion is destroyed and the worship of the gods restored.” But Diocletian was wrong and the Bible and Christianity are both thriving today. And we all know where Diocletian is spending eternity.

Missionaries and Bible smugglers have just about covered the globe with Bibles in almost every language. To this very day Bibles are being supplied either openly or in secret to just about every country the world over. It can’t be stopped by man, and it won’t be slowed by the forces of evil. God is behind this venture.

The Roman Catholic Church played its part in attempting to rid the world of the word of God to the point that if you were found with a Bible you were tortured and killed. That persecution ended with the Reformation at the close of the sixteenth century and the Word of God was again given to the masses in their own language. Bibles today are plentiful here in America; even secular bookstores carry the Bible. Why? Because the Bible has been, and remains to this day, the bestselling book of all time.

Whether for profit or for God, the Bible is being distributed. Does Jesus care whether or not His word is distributed through secular bookstores? “And John answered and said, Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name; and we forbad him, because he followeth not with us. And Jesus said unto him, Forbid him not: for he that is not against us is for us.” Luke 9:49, 50. God will use whatever means He wishes to get His word out.

What do we see happening today, attempting to dismiss the Bible as foolishness? Evolution. Scientists claim there is no god; that we evolved from pond scum millions, or is it billions, of years ago. They change it so often I’m never sure any more. So what good is the Bible if we weren’t created by a god? Since we evolved the Bible is useless. Oh sure there’s a few profound quips that might be useful but for the most part it’s just a very irritating and defamatory book. It ridicules our lifestyle and promotes nonsensical ideas of love and hope. It’s just foolishness and it’s not needed here in the enlightened 21st century.

The lie of evolution has been grossly and satanically fed to the world’s populace for many years now. Just after this commentary is posted to the internet I will begin to receive many emails from the brethren. They will attempt to prove me wrong in my estimation of evolution. Again, more attacks on the Bible, from those who profess to believe.

Every day the Bible comes under attacked and from many different directions, and what is accomplished with these attacks? Nothing, God won’t let His word become of no effect. He knows how much we need it. And like I said, until He’s ready for it to disappear no attack will ever remove His word from our lives. The Bible has been horribly mistreated. It has been burned, thrown into the ocean and drowned, locked away, ripped out of our hands, and torn to pieces, yet never destroyed. God’s word endures; God’s word is power.

All the attacks on the Bible are of a satanic nature, and all of the attacks will enviably fail. There will come a time when God’s word will seemingly disappear from the land. All those who’ve ignored it or tried to eliminate it so as not to be confronted with the truth, as well as those who’ve read it but disparaged it, will all regret their foolishness one day soon.

The souls of those who are foolish enough to dismiss the Bible as hooey and who have placed their faith in man instead of God will also endure forever, but in a place of torment Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. Mark 9:48. Paul says “But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks (Gentiles) foolishness;” 1 Corinthians 1:23.

Now after all I’ve just written about God’s word being indestructible this part of my commentary may seem a little confusing to some of you. “Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD: And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the LORD, and shall not find it.” Amos 8:11, 12.

God’s word will endure forever; we know that from Peter’s proclamation in the 25th verse in the first chapter of his first epistle. But God tells us those who’ve rejected His word, will, in the last days, seek it, but they won’t be able to find it; God is going to keep it from them. There will be a famine for His word (similar to a famine of food or water and just as necessary) all because of the rebellious nature of those who’ve been left behind.

There are always consequences to our foolishness. In the case of those who are perishing the consequences will be severe. Pick up your Bible before it’s too late. Study God’s inerrant word. Trust in the Lord and His word and accept the truth. Or, ignore God’s word at your own peril.

God bless you all,

Ron Graham
twotug@embarqmail.com
All scripture is from the KJV

Chicken Feathers - Ron Graham - twotug@embarqmail.com

“Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths,” Proverbs 3:5, 6. This proverb is so important to every one of us. Something my wife and I experienced recently brought this scripture verse to mind. The following is the saga of some trials the Graham family of Missouri have been experiencing of late. We’ve learned many humbling lessons through this experience. Especially, we’ve learned to lean on Christ more and we have come to fully understand the importance of a church family. “For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat...” Matthew 25:35.

About 8 weeks ago my wife had an accident. She broke her right ankle bone, both bones in her right wrist, and dislocated her right knee cap. She messed up the right side of her body pretty good. No, she didn’t fall off the roof of the house, and no, she wasn’t bungee jumping. I must admit that those two scenarios sound better than falling down in the chicken coop on a bed of straw and chicken poop while reaching for a chicken feather she thought would make a nice addition to the collection of five million chicken feathers she already has stored up in our spare bedroom.

I have a couple of reasons why I’m writing about my wife’s accident. Firstly, my wife ministers to many people online through a Christian forum and she also edits my commentaries. It may seem to some that this current set of circumstances could be an attack by the enemy. The enemy knows that if my editor was laid up and unable to render my commentaries readable I may just decide to give up and not write them at all. Not to mention disrupting her work with the folks who seek spiritual as well as biblical help from her on the forum.

Through this whole ordeal Mrs. Graham has had the best attitude I’ve ever seen in any person who has gone through what she has. Why do you suppose that is? Well I’ll tell you why. “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart” this is her attitude towards Jesus. She loves Him with all her heart and has turned her life over to Him. As such, nothing like a few broken bones can deter her from the tasks at hand. She still has daily contact with her Christian forum group and she still edits my commentaries, all left handed I might add. She’s right handed. Okay, household chores are out, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel; she is getting better. In the meantime, our daughter and I pitch in and do all the chores. I’ve now learned how to operate the dials on the washer and dryer, and can even cook a mean batch of biscuits and gravy. Did I mention she has no trouble doling out orders from the couch?

What I’m getting at is even if the enemy throws us a curve we can adjust and continue to meet life’s challenges if we are living for Christ. He will see us through any situation and mishap. But we must truly trust Him to see us through. I can’t imagine how folks who have rejected Jesus as their savior ever cope or expect to cope with tragic circumstances when they arise, and they will arise.

I’m not trying to imply that the enemy had anything to do with my wife’s accident, but only that some might feel he should take the blame. To us it was just a very simple fall that resulted in some major breakages. We live in a rural area of Missouri so she had to be air lifted out to a hospital that had an orthopedic surgeon on staff. At least she finally got to ride in a helicopter and while in that helicopter she sang “I’ll Fly Away” all the way to the hospital. Knowing Jesus and trusting Him helps us find the positive side of even the most horrendous situations. The rub is we must truly trust Him. Do you truly trust the Lord Jesus?

Interestingly, while we were waiting for the ambulance to come and take her to our neighbor’s cow pasture where the helicopter could land, she had no pain and she was in great spirits. Some of our neighbors had gathered around the chicken coop for moral support and to keep the chickens from roosting on her. But seriously, it was the Holy Spirit of God who watched over her and gave her the comfort and even joy at a time when she should have been in extreme agony.

Even if it was the enemy who was doing the attacking there was no fear in her because her heart is set on Jesus. Even the thought of this being an attack from Satan hadn’t come to mind and wouldn’t have except for a call-in radio program we listen to where a woman had a similar experience and some of the folks where she attends Church told her she had been satanically attacked.

But we know that with God on our side nothing the enemy does can really harm us. Oh sure, we can go through some difficulties and bad times that may seem impossible to cope with, and they may well be satanic. The word of God always has an answer “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” James 4:7. He will flee when we pay him no mind. That, my brethren, is exactly what we all should be doing. Satanic attacks are going to become more frequent and fierce in these last days as the minions of evil realize their time is short.

Imagine the little power Satan would wield if we all ignored him and resisted his foolish, lying snares. He’d be as powerful as a wet noodle. I know that life has its many pitfalls and Christians are under constant attack from our enemy; I’m not making light of any trials that others may be going through. But harmful as pitfalls can be, and seemingly impossible to avoid, they are avoidable.

Many times we get ourselves into situations that we shouldn’t have. It might even be while flirting with sin that we slip into one of the enemies pitfalls. If that be the case you may find yourself paying man’s price for your short comings, but God will always forgive the repentant sinner. There may be much misery associated with the price we pay because of the foolish things we do. Once we repent there may still be consequences to pay, but through all those hard times God is with us and He will see us through even the hardest of times, if we trust Him.

God’s power is what we must enlist as we claim the name of Jesus for protection. That protection focuses against powers and principalities, against the powers of the prince of the air. God’s power is all we need, and actually it’s all that can ward off the evil and satanic attacks of the enemy.

The second thing that can set in is depression. In the case of my wife she has plenty to do. Even though she’s in this disabled condition she constantly keeps her mind on God and His will. There are many who after such a severe accident can and do fall into great despair and depression, many for the simple reason that they exclude God from their lives. Others because they’ve not completely turned their lives over to God, there are still areas of their lives they hold onto not willing to let go. Some try and deal with the enemy themselves which is impossible. Supernatural battles are fought solely by supernatural beings. Believers must rely completely on God to fight all supernatural battles.

Still others live alone and sometimes there’s no comfort from loved ones and worse yet no help at all. Many times in cases like this it’s God who’s blamed for the misery they’re experiencing. If we can be of help to others while they are going through a trial we should do all we can to commit to them our services. So many little things we do for one another show God’s love. When the doctor took the cast off my wife’s leg he replaced it with what they call a boot. It actually looks like something out of Star Wars. Every couple of days I would take that boot off and wash her leg and then rub body lotion over that area. This just thrilled my wife. Imagine the little things done through God’s love that can bring peace, and even faith, to another.

My wife is on the mend and the doctor says probably another three weeks of couch-sitting will do the trick. I must admit she is getting cabin fever. She can hardly wait to get back out to the chicken coop and continue her search for that elusive perfect chicken feather.

The next part of the Graham saga is a little more difficult to explain. I’ve been enduring a lot of medical problems and the specialists can’t seem to put their finger on the cause of all my ills. The muscles around my eyes are very weak and it’s difficult to hold my eyes open. Severe headaches are an everyday occurrence and I’m almost always dizzy or light headed. It’s not the spinning kind of dizzy but the off-balance dizziness one might feel when one has an inner ear infection. I’ve had two brain scans and every blood test you can think of, and still no answers.

High blood pressure, enlarged prostate, and a sphincter muscle in my stomach that’s giving me fits all add to my inability to work efficaciously on my wife’s honey-do list. Many of the things I once was able to do I just can’t do any more. But the interesting thing is I can still type my commentaries. Every week I write two or three commentaries to stay ahead just in case something happens that slows me down or brings me to a halt.

We both have had people from all over the country and even folks in other countries praying for God’s hand to heal us and comfort us and make all these medical problems go away. I’m sure God hears every prayer and in His time He’ll reveal His will. Some families from our Church have been very Christ-like in their response and outpouring of love during this crisis. We know that it is more blessed to give than receive, and that’s another lesson we’re learning – how to receive. In order for there to be a giver, there must be a receiver. It has always been easier for me to give, but I am learning that sometimes I must receive. That is humbling.

Why does God allow bad things to happen to His children? Through all the mishaps and miseries we’re going through we’ve never once thought of blaming God. We both know God is in charge and it’s our love for God and our faith in Him that gets us through day after day, and we thank Him for that faithfulness. “In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” 1 Thessalonians 5:18.

That’s the truth. Only by knowing God are we able to maintain some semblance of sanity through all this. I don’t know why all this happened, especially all at the same time, but it did. Praise God we have a relationship with Him that supersedes all misfortunes that can be thrown at us either by our own foolishness or by the enemy. We are in God’s hands and as His children we are completely safe and secure. This is the attitude which binds us to God, our faith in Him to do what He promises to do. As believers we can take stock in the fact that God is true to His word; He means what He says. The Graham family knows that truth and that’s what has sustained us through these trials and tribulations. We have learned to look for opportunities to serve Christ and not wallow in some kind of self pity.

If you’re reading this commentary today and you don’t know the only begotten Son of God, or if you’re out of fellowship with Him because of some sin in your life that you haven’t repented from, then all I can say is hesitation is a killer, a killer of joy, the joy of the Lord. Christ is more than eager for you to have fellowship with Him. Get into that fellowship before it’s too late.

There will be times when we all perceive our trials as so big that we just can’t see any way out. That is when it’s time to turn it all over to God. God is, and since He is, He can be that comfort you’re searching for in a world of madness and disappointments. Let God in. Let Him have control of your life and those trials will begin to disappear and at the very least seem un-intrusive. You’ve given them to Him to handle. He’ll deal with them in His way and in His time. Believing that He deals with our trials can give you great peace of mind; unbelief only leads to more misery.

If you’re not a believer today and your reading this commentary there’s a reason you’re doing so. Know this, Jesus is standing at the door of your heart and He’s knocking. And if you will only open that door and let Him in He will come in and He’ll stay with you. Shortly, you too will begin to know the peace that my wife and I have through Jesus Christ our Lord.

One last thing, my wife has no insurance. The hospital bill was astronomical for a couple living on a fixed income. The doctor’s bills and associated bills that followed would also have been very intimidating to anyone who doesn’t understand the peace of Jesus Christ. My wife and I never had a moment’s fear or concern for our lack of funds to take care of our obligations, only peace through the whole ordeal. That peace can only come through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. In our case He’s working it out. Both the Hospital and the doctor whose care my wife is still under are allowing us to pay small monthly payments as we do our best to take care of our responsibilities.

What I’m trying to say is just this, if you are not a believer, if you don’t have a relationship with Jesus the Christ (you don’t know Him and He doesn’t know you) you will never understand the peace I’m trying to convey in this commentary. There’s still time to get your life right with God. Place your faith and trust in Jesus Christ today. Just say “Yes Lord Jesus, I believe in your death, burial, and resurrection and that you died for me, for my sins, I’m sorry I’m a sinner, please change me Lord Jesus”.

You’ll be eternally grateful you said that prayer. That’s a promise.

God bless you all,

Ron Graham
twotug@embarqmail.com
All scripture is from the KJV
 

Is Obama a Muslim? - Ron Graham - twotug@embarqmail.com

What could that possibly mean for America today? What’s wrong with a Muslim president? Keep reading.

“I will convey our deep appreciation of the Islamic faith which has done so much over the centuries to shape the world...a great and celebrated culture...I know civilization's debt to Islam...that carried the light of learning through so many centuries paving the way for Europe's renaissance and enlightenment...US has been enriched by Muslim Americans....” Barack H. Obama

What have the Muslims done in America that has afforded them so much acclaim by a sitting president? Why does the president of the United States of America dote on the Muslims as though they were the answer to all of life’s problems? It’s as though he believes the Muslims have the answer to just how to find the way the truth and the life.

Here are a few Muslim contributions of late. One American Muslim, Major Nidal Malik Hasan who was just practicing his religion, saw fit to practice it recently by murdering 13 Americans and wounding another 29 who were going about their daily routine just doing their duty, not off in a foreign country fighting to preserve our freedoms, but just going about their business on a military base right here in the safety and security of the good ‘ol USA.

Others who saw fit to practice their Muslim religion here in America were 19 Arabs who murdered 3000 innocents on September 11, 2001, a tragedy of enormous proportions causing a few billion dollars worth of damage. Obama overtly praises and glorifies this religion–which he campaigns for and sees it to be his duty as President to continue forging its Ummah (domination) into America.

Those of you who take the name of Christ and who’ve proclaimed His gospel to the lost of this world and yet voted for Obama should be thoroughly ashamed of yourselves. America is fought for land. For hundreds of years men and women have been fighting and dying to preserve our way of life, and in the blink of an eye many of you who call yourselves Christian gave our rights away to the Muslims who have only one desire and that is world domination. All of you Obama supporters just gave the Muslims a huge leg up. We may, very soon now, find out, up front and personal what life as a Muslim is all about.

You see Muslims won’t accept anything less than total adherence to their religion. If you decide to abstain from becoming a Muslim you’ll no longer have any worries, you’ll have no pains in your body, and you’ll never again be commanded to pay taxes. Sounds too good to be true doesn’t it. You might ask, “What’s wrong with that Ron, no more taxes, no pain, no worries, I say bring it on” Yes life will be grand. Oops, did I forget to mention that the reason you’ll lack pain and suffering is that you’ll no longer have a head attached to your body? It is written in their Koran that if you choose not to become a Muslim you must forfeit something near and dear to you – your head.

All of the above leads many to ask me the question, “Is Obama God’s judgment on America?” Let’s look at some pertinent information concerning our commander in chief. Has Obama actually paid his lawyers $1.7 million so far to keep his birth, college, and travel records confidential? I’ve read this many times on different news agency websites. If so, why? If you are like me you’d probably like to know the whole truth. Some day the truth will be revealed. That day may well be after Obama has left office, or maybe God’s judgment is that he never leaves office. Maybe we will have one Obama after another here in the new land of Allah.

If the truth be found that Obama was born in Kenya then he will have violated Article II Section 1 Paragraph 5 of the Constitution which states: “No person except a natural born citizen, or a citizen of the United States, at the time of the adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the office of President; neither shall any person be eligible to that office who shall not have attained to the age of thirty five years, and been fourteen Years a resident within the United States.” Thus he will have set a new precedence for holding the office of President here in the US. From that point on it will be a simple process for those constitution hating lawyers to convince an ignorant citizenry that anyone no matter where they were born in the world can be President of the United States of America. Wouldn’t that send a message heard round the world?

There has been no proof of a real birth certificate for Obama as to where he was born. Only that he was alive when he reached Hawaii with his mom and dad. It’s a statement of live birth, that’s it. No information on the time of delivery, or the doctor that delivered him. What his weight and his length were at birth or even a foot print that is usually present on hospital birth forms. It was not an actual birth certificate but that fact will never be proven because of who is behind this man.

Interestingly, a video that circulated for a while on the internet during Obama’s campaign for president, which has now been removed, included Obama’s grandmother making the statement that she was at BHO’s birth in Kenya. Funny how things like this seem to disappear at the most inopportune moments. Of course it was quite opportune for Obama.

Our constitution has been trampled on for some time now but Obama and company are doing more than treading on it. They are actually disregarding and discarding the US Constitution for their own set of rules and regulations. It’s a new world we live in and a new country, that’s for sure. We should be getting used to the new rules. Here’s a new one that was just signed into law by the our could be Kenyan president, it’s no longer okay to preach from certain portions of the word of God because they are accusatory in nature and you will be arrested for being hateful to your fellow Americans.

This is nothing new. Other countries have already enacted such legislation and have actually sent ministers to jail for disobeying their new law. America the beautiful ain’t so beautiful anymore is it? A country that was once a joy to be a resident of, or a native of, or even a visitor to is now growing into a nation of ugly. You disagree? Just keep watching the up and coming events as they unfold. You will become more and more convinced that even ugly hardly describes the new US.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, nothing derogatory sticks to this guy. He walks around spouting off “in error” about whatever subject he pleases and the ignorant masses still just swoon over him as though he’s perfect. The scales on people’s eyes are so heavy I doubt they’ll ever see the truth. As long as Obama allows Satan to control his every move masses will follow him right straight down that path that leads to destruction.

No real birth certificate? Who cares? Obama is doing great and wonderful things for this country and for the whole world. Abortion? He’s added to the abortion debate by opening up US funding for abortions worldwide, that’s a pretty big one. Homosexuality? He’s filled his cabinet with homosexuals and all sorts of perverts, go figure. Debt? He added trillions of dollars to the US debt, that’s no big deal we’ll just print more money to cover all that. Surely he wouldn’t put that burden on the American taxpayers that voted for him or their children, would he?

Talk about big government. Our government is now in the automotive business, the banking business, the health care business, besides being embedded in about a jillion other aspects of our meager lives. Have any of you reading this commentary ever asked yourself why? Why is Obama so hell bent on taking over everything he can? What does he want to achieve for his troubles?

Where is the accountability for the Obama administration’s shenanigans? There is none. He’s not responsible to anyone. He’s certainly not responsible to the American populace, not even to those who blew it big time by casting their vote for him. Obama is King of America and there is nothing that can be done to him by his subjects. You think he can be impeached? Not with Congress behind him. He controls both houses and that means he controls America. He’s the commander in chief which means he controls the US military which is the most powerful fighting force on earth. To those of you who think Obama is a weakling and naïve, he’s also the most powerful man on the face of this round orb and with the supernatural satanic and maniacal entities pulling his strings, well folks America is in big trouble. God’s judgment? Possibly.

“Ron, you’re not telling us anything we don’t already know. We’ve heard all this before; it’s old news to us. So what are you getting at?” Just this, now pay attention. In the book of Jonah we read about the city of Nineveh, a Gentile city, and the final chance they were given by God to straighten up. God sent the Gentiles at Nineveh a warning by the mouth of Jonah. “And Jonah began to enter into the city..., and he cried, and said, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown.” Jonah 3:4. America has been warned for years. We’ve had our Jonah’s warning.

Who sits in the highest office of this land doing everything he can to destroy our way of life? That’s correct, Barack Hussein Obama, who, in my view is a Muslim. We must believe that God puts those of His choosing in positions of power, and for what reasons we don’t always know. It’s God’s plan and He doesn’t always let us in on the details but He does expect us to see the writing on the wall so to speak. To me it’s plain as day.

Many of you have emailed me asking why God doesn’t judge America. Then in the next sentence you complain about Obama being made president and seemingly destroying our way of life, our freedoms. So I write more commentaries with my thoughts on God’s word and how it may pertain to us here in America today.

I believe Obama is here in the capacity of President of the United States of America for one reason and one reason only. He’s here to deliver a form of judgment from God. Oh boy, please, don’t start writing me yet. Finish reading, then if you think I’m nuts go ahead and hit me with everything you’ve got.

This nation was an experiment; God used the United States of America to be a beacon of light, one of hope to the rest of the world. America sent out missionary teams by the thousands all across the globe. For what? To preach the gospel of Christ to all nations. This we did for years. As a nation we had our ups and downs but for the most part we thrived because of God’s awesome blessings.

Well guess what America sends out across the globe now? Pornography. That’s right, that’s our big export now. Do you actually think God is pleased with the way we spread “filth” to the rest of the world? Not hardly. America has turned its collective backs on God. God will not be mocked. America was His experiment as a shining light on a hill to a dark and depraved world. Obama is here for a reason.

God is not pleased with America and in a short while we’ll be toast if we don’t turn from our evil ways and repent. If Obama is actually God’s plan for our destruction or downfall, whichever comes first, He may have included a little more time for us to realize the consequences of our past actions. Maybe, but don’t count on it. We need to repent now.

Many of my brethren are expecting judgment to come, but judgment is here. “Wait a minute Ron, we thought God’s judgment would come in the form of a storm or pestilence or an earthquake. You know Ron, something we can get the government to take care of for us”

God sent us a man seemingly bent on destroying America which might just be exactly what we deserve. Now is the time to turn back to God or the punishment will only get worse. We must stop relying on the government for all our needs and turn once again to the creator of the Universe. God deserves our respect and our devotion, not our distain. He will not be ignored.

Nineveh had 40 days until they were to be totally destroyed. But God stayed His mighty hand. Why? Because from the king down to the least of the Ninevites all repented of their sins, all their evil ways, and God spared them. Now this action on God’s part infuriated Jonah. He was at his wits end because he wanted Nineveh to be obliterated.

Obama won’t be happy either unless his agenda is met, fully and without delay. But America’s judgment is not up to Obama it’s up to God and it depends on the American people whether or not they will recognize what their God is doing to get their attention. With Obama continuing in office I see the judgment becoming worse not lessening.

We as believers should never stop praying for God to continue to bless us and to lift His judgment from our land. As His children He expects to hear from each and every one of us on this subject. We need to pray for our nation and for our leaders because God expects it; to not do so would be the same as giving up, throwing up our hands in defeat.

America was once a God-fearing nation, but that fear (respect) has been replaced by apathy and ignorance. The judgment that God has sent is not pleasant as most of us have noticed by now. The judgment may remain for quite a while, and even get worse. Unlike the Ninevites, America may choose to just say “Oh well Obama will figure it all out, after all that’s why we elected him president”. But Obama isn’t looking for repentance from the people of America, he’s looking for adoration, a following if you will, right down that path to destruction.

Ignore God and His timely judgment at your own peril. Perhaps America will go the way of the dodo bird. The balls in your court America, what’ll it be folks?

God bless you all,

Ron Graham
twotug@embarqmail.com
All scripture is from the KJV
 

“I’m one of them” - Ron Graham - twotug@embarqmail.com

In a recent speech Obama admitted that he is a Muslim. What could that possibly mean for America today? What’s wrong with a Muslim president? Keep reading.

Obama admits he is a Muslim, “I'm one of them.” “I will convey our deep appreciation of the Islamic faith which has done so much over the centuries to shape the world...a great and celebrated culture...I know civilization's debt to Islam...that carried the light of learning through so many centuries paving the way for Europe's renaissance and enlightenment...US has been enriched by Muslim Americans....” Source: Obama admits he is a Muslim – Caryl Productions

How? Where? When? What have the Muslims done in America that has afforded them so much acclaim by a sitting president? Why does the president of the United States of America dote on the Muslims as though they were the answer to all of life’s problems? It’s as though he believes the Muslims have the answer to just how to find the way the truth and the life.

I’m one of them? One American Muslim, Major Nidal Malik Hasan who was just practicing his religion, saw fit to practice it recently by murdering 13 Americans and wounding another 29 who were going about their daily routine just doing their duty, not off in a foreign country fighting to preserve our freedoms, but just going about their business on a military base right here in the safety and security of the good ‘ol USA.

Others who saw fit to practice their Muslim religion here in America were 19 Arabs who murdered 3000 innocents on September 11, 2001, a tragedy of enormous proportions causing a few billion dollars worth of damage. Obama overtly praises and glorifies this religion–his religion–which he campaigns for and sees it to be his duty as President to continue forging its Ummah (domination) into America.

Those of you who take the name of Christ and who’ve proclaimed His gospel to the lost of this world and yet voted for Obama should be thoroughly ashamed of yourselves. America is fought for land. For hundreds of years men and women have been fighting and dying to preserve our way of life, and in the blink of an eye many of you who call yourselves Christian gave our rights away to the Muslims who have only one desire and that is world domination. All of you Obama supporters just gave the Muslims a huge leg up. We may, very soon now, find out, up front and personal what life as a Muslim is all about.

You see Muslims won’t accept anything less than total adherence to their religion. If you decide to abstain from becoming a Muslim you’ll no longer have any worries, you’ll have no pains in your body, and you’ll never again be commanded to pay taxes. Sounds too good to be true doesn’t it. You might ask, “What’s wrong with that Ron, no more taxes, no pain, no worries, I say bring it on” Yes life will be grand. Oops, did I forget to mention that the reason you’ll lack pain and suffering is that you’ll no longer have a head attached to your body? It is written in their Koran that if you choose not to become a Muslim you must forfeit something near and dear to you – your head.

All of the above leads many to ask me the question, “Is Obama God’s judgment on America?” Let’s look at some pertinent information concerning our commander in chief. Has Obama actually paid his lawyers $1.7 million so far to keep his birth, college, and travel records confidential? I’ve read this many times on different news agency websites. If so, why? If you are like me you’d probably like to know the whole truth. Some day the truth will be revealed. That day may well be after Obama has left office, or maybe God’s judgment is that he never leaves office. Maybe we will have one Obama after another here in the new land of Allah.

If the truth be told that Obama was born in Kenya then he will have violated Article II Section 1 Paragraph 5 of the Constitution which states: “No person except a natural born citizen, or a citizen of the United States, at the time of the adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the office of President; neither shall any person be eligible to that office who shall not have attained to the age of thirty five years, and been fourteen Years a resident within the United States.” Thus he will have set a new precedence for holding the office of President here in the US. From that point on it will be a simple process for those constitution hating lawyers to convince an ignorant citizenry that anyone no matter where they were born in the world can be President of the United States of America. Wouldn’t that send a message heard round the world?

There has been no proof of a real birth certificate for Obama as to where he was born. Only that he was alive when he reached Hawaii with his mom and dad. It’s a statement of live birth, that’s it. No information on the time of delivery, or the doctor that delivered him. What his weight and his length were at birth or even a foot print that is usually present on hospital birth forms. It was not an actual birth certificate but that fact will never be proven because of who is behind this man.

Interestingly, a video that circulated for a while on the internet during Obama’s campaign for president, which has now been pulled, included Obama’s grandmother making the statement that she was at BHO’s birth in Kenya. Funny how things like this seem to disappear at the most inopportune moments. Of course it was quite opportune for Obama.

Our constitution has been trampled on for some time now but Obama and company are doing more than treading on it, they are actually discarding it for their own set of rules and regulations. It’s a new world we live in and a new country, that’s for sure. We should be getting used to the new rules. Here’s a new one that was just signed into law by the Kenyan, it’s no longer okay to preach from certain portions of the word of God because they are accusatory in nature and you will be arrested for being hateful to your fellow Americans.

This is nothing new. Other countries have already enacted such legislation and have actually sent ministers to jail for disobeying their new law. America the beautiful ain’t so beautiful anymore is it? A country that was once a joy to be a resident of, or a native of, or even a visitor to is now growing into a nation of ugly. You disagree? Just keep watching the up and coming events as they unfold. You will become more and more convinced that even ugly hardly describes the new US.

One thing about Obama is he’s not prejudice, I don’t believe he likes anyone. How can you say that Ron? It’s simple, Satan has indwelt Obama and Satan hates all humans. Go ahead and disagree with me, send me your condescending emails, tell me how I can’t be a believer if I say the things I say about Obama. Then we’ll all set back and play the wait and see game.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, nothing derogatory sticks to this guy. He walks around spouting off “in error” about whatever subject he pleases and the ignorant masses still just swoon over him as though he’s perfect. The scales on people’s eyes are so heavy I doubt they’ll ever see the truth. As long as Obama allows Satan to control his every move masses will follow him right straight down that path that leads to destruction.

No real birth certificate? Who cares? Obama is doing great and wonderful things for this country and for the whole world. Abortion? He’s added to the abortion debate by opening up US funding for abortions worldwide, that’s a pretty big one. Homosexuality? He’s filled his cabinet with homosexuals and all sorts of perverts, go figure. Debt? He added trillions of dollars to the US debt, that’s no big deal we’ll just print more money to cover all that. Surely he wouldn’t put that burden on the American taxpayers that voted for him or their children, would he?

Talk about big government. Our government is now in the automotive business, the banking business, the health care business, besides being embedded in about a jillion other aspects of our meager lives. Have any of you reading this commentary ever asked yourself why? Why is Obama so hell bent on taking over everything he can? What does he want to achieve for his troubles?

Where is the accountability for the Obama administration’s shenanigans? There is none. He’s not responsible to anyone. He’s certainly not responsible to the American populace, not even to those who blew it big time by casting their vote for him. Obama is King of America and there is nothing that can be done to him by his subjects. You think he can be impeached? Not with Congress behind him. He controls both houses and that means he controls America. He’s the commander in chief which means he controls the US military which is the most powerful fighting force on earth. To those of you who think Obama is a weakling and naïve, he’s also the most powerful man on the face of this round orb and with the supernatural satanic and maniacal entities pulling his strings, well folks America is in big trouble. God’s judgment? Possibly.

“Ron, you’re not telling us anything we don’t already know. We’ve heard all this before; it’s old news to us. So what are you getting at?” Just this, now pay attention. In the book of Jonah we read about the city of Nineveh, a Gentile city, and the final chance they were given by God to straighten up. God sent the Gentiles at Nineveh a warning by the mouth of Jonah. “And Jonah began to enter into the city..., and he cried, and said, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown.” Jonah 3:4. America has been warned for years now, we’ve had our Jonah’s warning.

Who sits in the highest office of this land doing everything he can to destroy our way of life? That’s correct, Barack Hussein Obama, a Muslim. We must believe that God puts those of His choosing in positions of power, and for what reasons we don’t always know. It’s God’s plan and He doesn’t always let us in on the details but He does expect us to see the writing on the wall so to speak. To me it’s plain as day.

Many of you have emailed me asking why God doesn’t judge America. Then in the next sentence you complain about Obama being made president and seemingly destroying our way of life, our freedoms. So I write more commentaries with my thoughts on God’s word and how it may pertain to us here in America today.

I believe Obama is here in the capacity of President of the United States of America for one reason and one reason only. He’s here to deliver a form of judgment from God. Oh boy, please, don’t start writing me yet. Finish reading, then if you think I’m nuts go ahead and hit me with everything you’ve got.

This nation was an experiment; God used the United States of America to be a beacon of light, one of hope to the rest of the world. America sent out missionary teams by the thousands all across the globe. For what? To preach the gospel of Christ to all nations. This we did for years. As a nation we had our ups and downs but for the most part we thrived because of God’s awesome blessings.

Well guess what America sends out across the globe now? Pornography. That’s right, that’s our big export now. Do you actually think God is pleased with the way we spread “filth” to the rest of the world? Not hardly. America has turned its collective backs on God. God will not be mocked. America was His experiment as a shining light on a hill to a dark and depraved world. Obama is here for a reason.

God is not pleased with America and in a short while we’ll be toast if we don’t turn from our evil ways and repent. If Obama is actually God’s plan for our destruction or downfall, whichever comes first, He may have included a little more time for us to realize the consequences of our past actions. Maybe, but don’t count on it.

Many of my brethren are expecting judgment to come, but judgment is here. “Wait a minute Ron, we thought God’s judgment would come in the form of a storm or pestilence or an earthquake. You know Ron, something we can get the government to take care of for us”

God sent us an evil man which is exactly what we deserved. Now we must turn back to God or the punishment will only get worse. We must stop relying on the government for all our needs and turn once again to the creator of the Universe. God deserves our respect and our devotion, not our distain. He will not be ignored.

Nineveh had 40 days until they were to be totally destroyed. But God stayed His mighty hand. Why? Because from the king down to the least of the Ninevites all repented of their sins, all their evil ways, and God spared them. Now this action on God’s part infuriated Jonah. He was at his wits end because he wanted Nineveh to be obliterated.

Obama won’t be happy either unless his agenda is met, fully and without delay. But America’s judgment is not up to Obama it’s up to God and it depends on the American people whether or not they will recognize what their God is doing to get their attention. With Obama continuing in office I see the judgment becoming worse not lessening.

We as believers should never stop praying for God to continue to bless us and to lift His judgment from our land. As His children He expects to hear from each and every one of us on this subject. We need to pray for our nation and for our leaders because God expects it; to not do so would be the same as giving up, throwing up our hand in defeat.

America was once a God-fearing nation, but that fear (respect) has been replaced by apathy. The judgment that God has sent is not pleasant as most of us have noticed by now. The judgment may remain for quite a while, and even get worse. Unlike the Ninevites, America may choose to just say “Oh well Obama will figure it all out, after all that’s why we elected him president”. But Obama isn’t looking for repentance from the people of America, he’s looking for adoration, a following if you will, right down that path to destruction.

Ignore God and His timely judgment at your own peril. Perhaps America will go the way of the dodo bird. The balls in your court America, what’ll it be folks?

God bless you all,

Ron Graham
twotug@embarqmail.com
 

Does God Care - Ron Graham - twotug@embarqmail.com

“No, the Father himself loves you because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God.” John 16:27.

Of course God loves all His children. The question we sometimes ask is who are God’s children? Those who are His enjoy an awesome relationship with Him. What God wants for each of His children is for them to understand His perfect will. But that can’t possibly happen if we are living a lifestyle that is contrary to what God’s word says. Why would anyone expect God to condone what His word specifically condemns?

Sometimes it seems as though Christians, when they read God’s word, aren’t convinced it’s God speaking to them. I imagine it’s because they don’t see God’s lips moving as they’re reading along. So they find His word, in many cases, to be unbelievable. “Just too tough to believe God actually breathed those words”. “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, (Greek word “theopneustos” meaning God breathed) and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:”
2 Timothy 3:16.

What God delights in is to see His children filled with the joy of the Lord, His joy. But many want a different joy, sinister, an evil; something God never intended His children to experience. The Bible gives us insight into God’s attributes and what He expects from those who’ve taken His name. But what we find is God’s word being ignored, even by many in the Church.

“It’s time to shelve the Bible. There are new and exciting alternatives to what people believe to be God’s word so we don’t really need that fuddy-duddy old book any more. It just doesn’t fit in our society. Our civilization has grown and advanced. That old book might have sufficed back in the stone age but it was certainly never meant for the 21st century.”

Here’s an excellent example of how the Bible is not taken seriously these days. Failed marriages in the Church are as commonplace as in the world. Many Christians today don’t know the word of God and don’t care to know it. The Bible makes it clear that God hates divorce. He hated it from the beginning when He created man and woman and He hated it when the “Word became flesh and dwelt among us” John 1:14. He hated divorce when the Apostles were preaching and teaching, and He hates it today.

Too many people today seem to think that God has lowered His standards. They have a “that was then and this is now” type of mentality. The truth is, these people are trying to conform God to man in order to justify their own sin. You may think I’m painting with a broad brush but it seems to me that Christians today are conforming to the world instead of to Christ.

The problem, as I see it, is many Christians have determined to ignore God’s word as it relates to certain areas of their lives. It’s as though they live in a dream world made up of their own ideas overlapping or superseding what God’s word says. Even many little “man invented quips” supersede God’s word, and become the norm. God’s word is relegated to a position of insignificance. That’s just pathetic.

People “think” they know God’s heart better than He does. They will makeup what they “feel” should be God’s response to certain circumstances that have arisen in their lives. They circumvent God’s word so their minds won’t be tortured with guilt. Many will go as far as to design their own personal god. They place their own feelings and ideas of right and wrong into the caricature of their personally designed god, in this way they’ve eliminated the restrictions and regulations of the one true God of the Bible. Although they believe their invented god is the God of the Bible He’s actually just a figment of their multimedia driven imaginations.

“If ye will not hear, and if ye will not lay it to heart, to give glory unto my name, saith the LORD of hosts, I will even send a curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings: yea, I have cursed them already, because ye do not lay it to heart.” Malachi 2:2.

God has been falsely and horribly portrayed through so many media outlets that people actually believe the many false representations portrayed as the god seen in the movies. We’ve all seen the different actor’s playing the part of God in movies and on TV sitcoms. Actors attempt to portray a version of God each adding his or her own entertaining perspectives on what they feel best represents God. Then, although it’s impossible for any human to ever play God and get it right, many people will accept their favorite actor’s portrayal of God. Morgan Freeman is a good actor but he shines a horrible light on the one true God.

People begin to pick and choose the god they want from what they’ve seen on the big screen. Some of those movie gods would let us get away with anything. These are the only kind of god’s people want when they wish to live a lifestyle that is contrary to the true words of the Creator God of the universe. In their minds they’re doing fine because their “self designed god” is behind them 100 percent.

My wife had an occasion to exchange emails with another believer who was convinced that God looked the way many different artists have portrayed Him over the years. Tragically, those paintings were all she had and all she knew as God. Let me ask you, did she really know God? Does the Sistine chapel actually display any likeness to God on its ceiling, or is that painting a figment of Michelangelo’s creative imagination?

Our minds can play some amazing games with how and what we believe. We can motivate our minds to accept anything we want so long as it corresponds with our desires. Our desires can be overpowering most of the time, and if we have little biblical knowledge to draw from there’s no limit to how far away from truth our desires will lead us. We’ve all seen the shipwrecks of people’s lives who thought they were sailing along pleasantly going about their business only to end up beaten and broken by the rocky, stormy seas along the shores of their lives. Their lives then become garbage heaps, full of pain and misery and they don’t understand why. Ultimately most blame the God of all creation for their misery. Why not blame the actor who deceived them by giving them their specially designed multimedia god?

Another example of how God’s word is ignored even in the Church can be attributed to the lust of the flesh. “For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.” Galatians 5:17. This is another huge problem that plays havoc with our minds. Old or young many today, because of the immorality shoved down their throats through what Hollywood calls entertainment, can no longer determine the difference between genuine love and lust. “But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.” James 1:14. So, many marriages end up in disaster even though they began with what the couple thought was love. Lust is never fulfilling; even when it is satisfied for a moment it’s never lasting and certainly is no substitute for true faithful love.

With faithful attentive love, our relationship with our spouse will have some great accompaniments. For example, along with our love and the togetherness we share there is also a fulfillment for the need of compassion, companionship, devotion, honor, trust and respect. These are all human desires that are fulfilled when we truly love our spouse. There must be a true desire to give of one’s self wholly to a spouse if a marriage is going to last a lifetime.

According to the one true God of the Bible, marriage between one man and one woman is the only sanctioned and acceptable marriage He will accept. Entered into correctly with the right motives marriage will last a lifetime.

You know and I know that much of what’s happening around this nation of ours stems from a direct result of the influence of secular humanism. From our government run public schools to the disasters in our Christian churches the evil influence flourishes. As rules are relaxed, morals are relaxed and what was an evil and untouchable taboo in decades past is now, among many, looked upon as quite normal.

Christians, through God’s word, are given guidelines to live by. Over time those guidelines have become less and less intrusive in the Christians life because, for many, they’re now looked upon as foolishness or they’ve given up on the Bible. “God’s rules are outdated and old fashioned and nobody lives that way today”. This is all because we’ve been re-programmed to accept what God says as unacceptable.

Also, many Christians see what they’ve been “missing out” on by watching television programming such as soap operas and late night movies which make sin look like fun. When the Bible says such things are sin and that we aren’t to condone or participate in activities that would be considered by God as sinful, then we must follow what the Bible says. Many of those sinful things we see the “world” obsessed with have begun to look very inviting. They’re better known as temptations, something Satan is very good at developing.

“There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.” 1 Corinthians 10:13.

This worldly influence invades our Churches and every corner of our lives. It’s just a lot easier to ignore some parts of the Bible so we can enjoy the simple pleasures the rest of the world enjoys. This way we can be happy and much more content in our Christian walk. It’s easy to ignore the Bible, just stop reading it. Oh, and we better find a church where the pastor knows how to tickle our ears because we certainly don’t want to be offended by him bringing up those old outdated taboos (sins). This shouldn’t be too difficult these days. “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Romans 6:23.

All that I’ve mentioned so far brings up a question asked frequently. “Why is it that God doesn’t seem to be very involved in my life? It seems to me that God just doesn’t care.”

Men and God have been at odds for thousands of years. Man, for the most part, just can’t get his mind around what God’s word says is the truth. Therefore man makes up his own truth, teaching that man’s truth is correct and God’s word is, well, fantasy.

Secular teaching in America has actually pitted man against God and has brought our nation to a point where our society is now made up of mostly unbelieving secular humanist devoted to man’s opinions. This kind of teaching is so prevalent that there now remains very few die hard believers devoted to God. Secular man looks at these die hard holdouts to God’s truth as strange, flat earth, morons completely devoid of common sense.

“These holdouts to our truth of evolution are killing this planet. They worship a nonexistent God, how can they possibly compare a nonexistent God to man’s intelligence? Where is their God? From the beginning of man’s existence they’ve been searching for some form of a god, so where is he?”

“Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.”
2 Peter 3:3, 4.

Why doesn’t God care?

Many of my brethren disparage the Bible and wonder why God is seemingly ignoring them, their lives are a mess. And continually the question is asked, “Why doesn’t God intervene in my life? Why doesn’t God care?” “I don’t bother with the Bible in its entirety, for me it’s just the New Testament that has some relevant ideas. After all everyone knows the Bible was written by men.”

If you don’t take God’s word seriously and if you don’t believe the Bible in its entirety is God’s word, then your god is not the God of the Bible and you are relying on a false god to intervene in your life. Believers who don’t believe the book of Genesis which contains the creation explanation must also dismiss the book of Exodus and the fact that God wrote in stone using His own finger: “For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested... And he gave unto Moses...two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God,” Exodus 31:17, 18. At this point those who misinterpret the book of Genesis must feel God has lied.

I will never understand my brethren who tell me that man has discovered the age of the earth to be billions of years old, even though they know God says He created the whole universe in six literal 24 hour days approximately 6000 years ago. Why do Christians believe man over God and then turn around and make the statement “God doesn’t care about me. If He did then why won’t he fix my messed up life?” To me it’s a no brainer. To God it’s a no brainer. When we oppose God in our personal lives and circumvent His word for man’s presuppositions there will be unpleasant consequences.

God will not be mocked. “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting,” Galatians 6:7, 8. All God asks of His Children is that we believe He is who He says He is and that we believe He speaks to us through His inerrant word. Isn’t it interesting that God only asks us to believe, but belief in man’s “discoveries” are demanded of us.

Christians claim to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ but how is that so if they continually mock God through their unbelief of the literality of His word? Are they not deceiving themselves? Who among us would ever call God a liar to His face? But isn’t that exactly what some are doing by placing what man has said above that of what God says. Think about it. Even if there is uncertainty in your mind, when it comes to a debate between what God says and what man says, it would benefit you greatly to always side with God. “Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory:” 1 Peter 1:8.

Believe God, you’ll be glad you did.

God bless you all,

Ron Graham
twotug@embarqmail.com
All scripture is from the KJV

Perplexity, Despair, and Hope - Ron Graham - twotug@embarqmail.com

“And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring;” Luke 21:25.

These days are certainly bewildering. It just keeps getting better doesn’t it? Everyone reading this commentary is certainly aware of all the distressing news now hitting us between the eyes. One might call this current round of events mystifying to say the least. Which of us would have ever dreamed that America would someday give up her sovereignty or make it illegal to preach from the Bible? It probably even baffles the mind of even the staunchest of pessimists. Many who consider themselves patriots are watching all this happen yet for the most part are in denial. It just can’t happen to America.

“Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken,” Luke 21:26. Men and women are going to be witnessing some very strange occurrences going on in these last days. As everyone knows men’s hearts fail them all the time, but what the Bible says is going to be much more severe and with a much greater frequency rate. Men will be confused, and confounded, and their minds will be overwhelmed by the crazy things they witness that just aren’t normal, at least not the normal they’ve been accustomed to.

Living and growing up in America today, is there any reason to be in despair? How does a sixty-ish year old man who grew up in the fifties and who became accustomed, as a young man living in America, to all the freedoms this country had to offer, possibly get used to a totalitarian government taking over his once free country?

Soon this middle-age man will be moving into a mode of a well deserved retirement and possibly even slowing down a bit. Looking at the events of the day, would this gentleman have any reason to despair? The destruction of the United States of America is at hand and even the bravest of hearts can turn to despair when they see something that was at one time so fine, turned into to something so dreadful it makes true patriots ill.

I wonder sometimes how people cope with current events. How many may be in the midst of or even totally engulfed with a deep feeling of despair these days. Is there any light at the end of the tunnel? Some may have thoroughly lost hope. But what is it that they’ve lost hope in? Is it that they see no way out of the current worldwide economic crises? Perhaps they despair over the state of moral decay in America today. Although many didn’t see it coming, and even more still don’t see it, socialism has been thrust upon us. Even many believers seem to be at the end of their ropes. Despair seems to be the flavor of the day. Those who are lost and perishing have no real hope and so perplexity and despair can certainly set in and devastate men’s lives.

What then, should we despair at all the insanity currently permeating our land? Absolutely not. “Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer;” Romans 12:12. I once heard it said that to despair is to turn one’s back on God. The definition of despair is: a profound feeling of hopelessness. Anguish, gloom, depression, despondency, desolation, and misery are but a few of the synonyms that go along with this same definition. As believers an attitude of despair certainly doesn’t befit us.

We are secure in our life in Christ. The kind of hope believers have in Christ gives us a sense of security that covers us like a safety blanket. As we see the destruction of America coming down the road our anticipation grows for the soon return of our Lord and savior Jesus the Christ. We are mocked and ridiculed by the unbeliever, but we are undeterred.

Many people have placed their hope for the future in a man. Their kind of hope is of no avail. Man will always fail to hold up his end. Sooner or later, no matter who the man is, there will be disillusionment. One man has been thrust upon us, seemingly bestowed with a supernatural power to influence the weak minded to follow him and his foolishness. Thus it will take much longer for those individuals to see the fallibility of such a man. Sadly many of these weak minded souls will never see the truth. A huge number of Americans are so completely blinded by this man that it seems he’s placed a hypnotic trance over them. After all these months they still don’t see the idiocy of his mindset.

Can you remember watching all the hysterical wailing by both men and women as Obama won the presidential election? If you’ve forgotten the insanity and would like to be reminded just Google it or do a search of YouTube. There are plenty of videos that will remind the masses of just how much influence this man wields over the weak minded. Has Obama told the truth or fulfilled even one of his campaign promises? Only to the homosexual community. Come on people, talk about disillusionment. It’s time for those of you who voted for him to open your eyes to the truth. There is absolutely no hope for the future of American, or the world for that matter, with Obama at the helm.

Soon, if not already, you who voted for Obama will come to the realization that you’ve made a huge mistake. When this happens, you may well be overcome with despair, knowing you’ve helped with the destruction of America.

“Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time” 1 John 2:18. Obama is certainly one of them, anti-Christ that is. Everything he does is in direct opposition to God, that’s anti-Christ. That, my brethren, is what the Apostle John is referring to in his epistle to the church. He speaks of the spirit of anti-Christ. Obama is filled with the spirit of anti Jesus Christ. We can see it in all his works and attitudes. Unless you are born again his agenda will be difficult to comprehend. You who voted for this man be on your guard, because as you begin to realize how evil he is despair may well overcome you, especially as you realize how terribly deceived you’ve been.

Having lived in a country of many freedoms, most assumed it would remain forever as a free nation. Christians figured it would remain so at least until the rapture of the Church. The completely open satanic nature of this man will turn out to be a tragedy for America. Those who believe in him, those who’ve placed their trust and even their lives in his hands, are being lulled into a condition of passivity and false prosperity of political rhetoric and lies about our improving economic conditions. The awakening that hits them will be severe and painful. Many will think peace and safety but it will all be empty lies. When those weak minded individuals finally realize they’ve been duped it may well be too late.

Newsflash:

Our freedoms are very quickly eroding. Some are already gone and unless the Rapture happens within the next year or so everyone will feel the wrath of Obama’s changes firsthand. This ultimate change thrust upon America will remove all our freedoms; we the people will have little or no remaining rights. Despair will set in on a huge scale and many nonbelievers may very well despair unto death. “Men's hearts failing them for fear” Luke 21:26a. Many of my brethren can’t or won’t even consider the possibility of the coming persecution affecting the Church. Little do they know it’s already here. 

Let’s travel back in time a couple thousand years and take a look at how the believers of the first century Church were treated. They were persecuted and martyred for their steadfast faith in Jesus the Christ. “Yes Ron, but that was back in the days when knowledge and wisdom were sorely lacking. Men feared the unknown. People had a fear of Christians and their beliefs”. Fine, let’s move forward in time now a few hundred years. What was happening to the believers of that era? How were they treated at the hands of folks who were a little more enlightened than, say, the first century persecutors? More persecution and more martyrdom. Do the research for yourself and you’ll find that from the early church’s history right up until our present day there have been literally millions upon millions of Christians killed, martyred for their faith in Jesus Christ.

“Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you;” John 15:20. Why, in the name of God, do so many of my brethren in the United States at least, feel they are exempt from such an end? Personally, I see the church in the good ol’ U.S. of A., especially in these last days, as quite arrogant. To think for a moment that in this day and age Christians can’t possibly be martyred if they live in the U.S. is to ignore the truth of the scriptures. All born again believers are God’s children. Even though millions of believers have perished under the sword in the past two thousand years, and thousands of believers are being put to death today in many different countries around the world, the church in America is immune to such treatment. That type of persecution can never happen in America. Not in the land of the free and the home of the brave. Correct?

Well, guess what? No born again believer, who stands up for their Lord and vocally proclaims the message of the cross and does not cower, will be exempt from the persecution that’s on the way. Satan delights in stealing the joy of the brethren, we all know that to be true, he’s even more delighted when he can convince the unbelieving masses that those who follow Jesus Christ are evil and a detriment to any normal and progressive society. When he can get people to see his lies as the truth he can convince them of anything. The first thing he’ll want to do is to get rid of the stone walls (believers) that inhibit his unfettered advance. That means he needs to turn perfectly decent law abiding people into animals on the prowl to persecute the Church, and if possible remove those arrogant Christians from existence.

Knowing this ahead of time can lead believers to despair, but it shouldn’t. We, as Christ’s followers, know where we are going. We know this world is not our home and we should be in a mode of anticipation as we see the end approaching. To despair because of what’s happening before our eyes displays a lack of faith in Christ. This can be caused by a lack of knowledge of God’s word and even a lack of belief in what the Bible tells us will come about in the last days. Believing that God’s word is irrelevant and partly fable or mostly a myth is a real good indication some will end up in very deep depression and despair. Remember to despair is to turn ones back on God. Allegorize the Bible and you will find much to despair about.

The following quote shows up in many of the emails I receive, “I’ve read the end of the Book and God wins.” Yep, I agree God’s plan is being accomplished. God wins in the end as they say. But don’t you see, God won before the foundation of the world. As a matter of fact there was never even a contest. In God’s mind there was no win or lose scenario. God always knew Satan’s destiny. This was no surprise to God. He even placed all the names of His redeemed in the Lambs book of life before the foundation of the world. Nothing surprises God. And no, I’m not a Calvinist.

Believers can take heart in knowing that God knows each of us intimately and is completely aware of whatever our plight is. If we are living happy blessed lives or unhappy lives full of despair God knows where we are and what we are thinking. “The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:” Romans 8:16. And I can assure you God isn’t going to take it well when He sees any of His children wallowing in the depths of despair. “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Hebrews 11:1. God expects us to stand and be strong in the faith and trusting Him and His word. 

If I could convince the brethren to study their Bibles I know that they would become certain that God can take away their despair through His word. Our hope as believers is in Christ, and by reading His word believers can avoid the pitfalls of despair. There’s hope for all believers nestled between the pages of God’s word and you won’t find anything to despair about in the Bible. Yes, our hope is in Christ. We are believers because we believe Jesus died, was buried, and rose again on the third day. That’s our hope, that’s our strength. That’s His promise to His people. Fear is to be nonexistent for the believers as we know for certain where we will spend eternity. “For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.” Romans 8:15.

Day by day as we see this world slipping further and further into the abyss our hope grows exponentially. Nothing in this world can touch the soul of a believer, not even the supernatural evil underworld of malevolent demons. Jesus has given us new life and that life is only accessible through Christ. Oh sure, outside influences bombard our minds and even our subconscious at times. It’s a constant battle with supernatural beings that inhabit other dimensions and that constantly infiltrate our dimension to wreck as much havoc as possible. Try as they might, nothing can touch those who belong to Christ.

If we believers could only grasp just a smidgen of how great and powerful God is and how much bigger He is than the lowly demonic hoard that wants to corrupt us and destroy us, we would never despair again. No matter how far this country slips into the wrong direction. We should never despair about our future since we know our future will be nothing less than awesome, full of joy and peace where God’s will is done for eternity.

“And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.” Romans 8:17. Don’t despair at the coming evil but rejoice in knowing you are a joint-heir of the King. That when you suffer persecution you suffer with Christ.

“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:35-39.

His Kingdom is within sight. So shout out your love for Christ if you dare. “I love you Lord Jesus and I’m waiting for Your soon return”. Now, shout it again.

God bless you all,

Ron Graham

twotug@embarqmail.com

All scripture is from the KJV  

Complete Lack of Understanding - Ron Graham - twotug@embarqmail.com 

This phrase, “Complete lack of Understanding”, is from a news headline I read recently. It was in reference to this whole idea of global warming, or as your president and others of his like-mindedness refer to it now, “climate change”. Over the past few months, Obama has demonstrated what many perceive as a shallowness of understanding; he seems to be proving his shallowness as he and his administration lead the US into a posture of “government controlled everything”.

When I read that headline something dawned on me. I thought about Obama’s claim of being a Christian, and his claim to taking a pro-life stance, but then I looked at all the devastating and satanic moves he’s made since taking office. I soon came to the conclusion that this man does not lack understanding he lack something much greater.

While looking at his term in office thus far, not just his stance on global warming, I see this man as making a firm stance against the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Just read about what went on in the building where he attended church services for twenty years. Then as president, signing into law the most sweeping agenda for murdering babies in the history of the US, and offering homosexuals equal legal and moral rights as though God would actually encourage such abominations. You might just come away with a sense of how much understanding this man lacks.

I started looking at the fruit this man has produced over the span of his life thus far. I’m no longer somewhat skeptical of Obama’s claim as a Christian, I’m sure he doesn’t know the Savior of the world. Obama has a gaping hole in his understanding of who Jesus Christ is and what it means to be born again. “Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,” Romans 1:22. Why would a born again believer in Christ congratulate the Pope for his pronouncement of five more individuals who the Pope has declared saints? The Bible says we are all saints when we become born again. Only those who don’t know Jesus Christ are able to see anything special in what the Pope did. A Complete lack of Understanding? Hmm.

Obama isn’t lacking in his understanding about what he’s doing as president, he knows exactly what he’s doing. Even some leaders of other countries perceive Obama to be naïve and without understanding. But they too lack understanding, they just don’t understand where Obama is headed and why. If we step back and focus our view on the big picture we can see his agenda is to dismantle every remaining vestige of what Americans once thought of as freedom. “Give me understanding, and I shall keep thy law; yea, I shall observe it with my whole heart.” Psalms 119:34. David is asking God for understanding as should we all. Is Obama seeking God’s heart? Is he seeking understanding from the creator of the Universe? Does he have any intention of keeping Jesus commandments? Not so you’d notice.

Here’s the problem. America has for the most part become a nation so wrapped up in the luxury of materialism, and degrading immorality that any perceived threat to their comfort zone or their immoral liberalities by anyone in government would bring swift retribution. So our leaders we’re bent on supplying Americans with all the pabulum they could dish out to appease the masses. Then someone came along who had no real answers but was articulate in his speech and charismatic in his demeanor. This man came on the scene with a simple message of change and it was swallowed hook, line, and sinker by the same masses that require pabulum to achieve understanding.

Obama’s real agenda wasn’t actually understood by the pabulum crowd. So in the mind of this heartless man he had fed the masses what they wanted to hear and it was easy. They fell head over heels for a man whose whole life has been devoted to creating a socialistic state. But that pabulum crowd could see only dollar signs and comfort zones being re-established throughout America once again, even if it had to happen at the expense and suffering of others. Obama’s vanity came shinning through. “He that tilleth his land shall be satisfied with bread: but he that followeth vain persons is void of understanding.” Proverbs 12:11. In other words whoever follows Obama has most assuredly checked their brain at the door.

Now here we are 9 months or so into Obama’s presidency and we’ve seen a man who is bent on destroying our republic, bankrupting our economy, and turning the US into a slave state. Mark my words, we will be slaves to the government because we are currently relinquishing every freedom, even our God given freedoms are falling by the wayside just so we Americans can continue to live in what is perceived to be a land of plenty. It’s no longer a land of plenty because our national debt is so high that even Solomon in all his glory couldn’t possibly contemplate paying it off.

America will never be able to withstand four complete years of this man’s narcissism without losing much of what it once stood for. We will cease to be the nation we once were and by the time the opportunity comes around again to vote him out of office it may be four years too late. I wonder sometimes just how many actually see this man for who he really is. I recently received an email from someone who told me that voting in America is completely rigged and it will do no good in the future to vote. If that be the case folks we are doomed. But perhaps that’s just what the enemy wants us to believe so we won’t bother casting a vote at all. In that respect evil would certainly take over our country completely.

To some it may seem Obama hasn’t any common sense. That’s not what I see. I see Obama as a man driven by an external force speeding to accomplish a major change in this country in a very short period of time. Why? Because the force driving Obama knows there is very little time remaining to accomplish his agenda. Satan can also see the handwriting on the wall and he knows the hour is late. I know there are many who look to all those secretive organizations such as the Bilderbergers, the Illuminati, the Council on Foreign Relations and all the rest as being the power behind Obama, and in one sense they may be correct. But there is something even more secretive and sinister behind him and that force is what’s driving Obama as if he were the engineer on a runaway train with no brakes on a downhill slope to destruction. Our destruction is what he wants, no more USA. Think about it. What’s his all fired hurry? It’s almost as though he doesn’t even catch his breath before another act of lunacy is shoved down America’s collective throats.

It’s important for all those who agree with me on this subject to take an active role in the affairs of their government because we can no longer rely on our elected officials to act on our behalf. No matter how insane a measure appears to most of us on the outside, it’s pushed through the house and senate and signed before America has a chance to blink. Or it’s rammed through even though most of America doesn’t want it. Doesn’t all this seem just a little fishy? Does Obama have a complete lack of understanding? Or is Obama’s path set by the evil one? Are Americans in for the most terrifying ride this country has ever seen? “The man that wandereth out of the way of understanding shall remain in the congregation of the dead.” Proverbs 21:16.

There still seems to be a majority of the populace who see this man as their messiah. Some of them, though, are no longer basking in all the good they expected to see accomplished by this man. Some of those Obamaites are far less excited about their false messiah these days. Many have begun to see the truth and are not looking forward to the impending doom on the horizon. The slightly decreasing numbers of Americans that still approve of Obama’s presidency thus far are a real boost to those of us who have known the truth all along.

As believers we are given the strength to withstand whatever the enemy can throw at us, and throw at us he will. And that’s every bit of “ugly” he can muster. Believers won’t go through the wrath that is to come from God during the last half of the tribulation week, but nothing is said about believer’s avoiding persecution. Persecution can come subtly or aggressively but by the look of where this world is headed, especially when Islam becomes as dominate as many suspect and if the Lord tarries, aggressive persecution of the Church will soon be upon us.

“Even so, come, Lord Jesus.” Revelation 22:20b John prays this prayer at the end of the book of Revelation. John put that verse there for us to read and repeat. Every true believer should be repeating it daily. I know we can’t speed up Jesus’ return, but we can let Him know we earnestly desire His soon arrival for His Church. But until then we need to intensify our efforts in spreading the truth of the Gospel of Christ, for the end is in sight.

Complete lack of understanding is certainly an appropriate response to some politicians these days. On the other hand understanding has nothing to do with most of the actions taken by politicians as they sit in their comfortable chairs and allow Obama to destroy our nation. They are scared to death of the evil this man oozes, and that is a fact. Some will stand against Obama, but not for long. Before we know it they’ve changed their attitudes and their votes and begin to side with the rest of the lame-brained chicken hearts we’ve elected to represent us.

There is a real attitude of cowardice that runs rampant in the halls of government these days. Many politicians have been representing their constituents for so long they believe we owe it to them to continue to vote them into office. Then they have no intention of following the consensus of their constituency. They become embedded in their office and enamored with their power and oblivious to the needs of the American people. They only care about how much power and money they will retire with. So they aren’t about to upset the apple cart even if it means bowing to Obama as he bowed to the Saudis.

Obama is evil through and through. He doesn’t care anything about this country. He only cares about what this country can do to elevate him to an even higher level. Obama seeks to be leader of the world and worshipped by all people worldwide, and nothing is going to stand in his way to accomplish his goal. You think Ron’s gone off the deep end don’t you? Well, if you believe differently, if you believe that Obama is on his way to establishing a utopian world for us to enjoy, then just sit back and enjoy your ride to nirvana.

If, on the other hand, you see what I and many others see, that this man is treacherous and not one tiny bit without understanding of exactly where he intends to lead America, you better get to as many as you can with the truth and at least try to convince them of the lateness of the hour and what’s coming. I made the statement earlier that Obama lacks something much greater than understanding; he lacks heart and a conscience. Of course he’s not alone in his lack of these two very important traits but he’s in charge.

Jesus is at the door. There’s a point coming very soon when the very last believer will be acknowledged by God and the door will slam shut as far as the Church is concerned. God the Father will turn to God the Son and say “Go get ‘em Son”. In the twinkling of an eye the Bride of Christ will be rescued out from among the realm of this world’s persecution. At that point all those who were on the fence concerning whether or not to believe in Jesus as their Messiah will be sure they’ve blown it big time. At first their only indication that something went terribly wrong will be that they find the malls of America are never crowed anymore. Mall or Heaven, make your choice, but make it soon.

God bless you all,

Ron Graham
twotug@embarqmail.com
 

Jesus Saves, for Life - Ron Graham - twotug@embarqmail.com

“And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.” John 10:28.

God entered His creation, and became flesh. “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us...” John 1:14. Jesus is God incarnate.

Jesus is God. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God,” John 1:1. The Apostle John identifies Jesus Christ as the word, and the Word was God. Now that we’ve established Jesus’ credentials we may proceed. In the verse from John 10 Jesus gives believers the wonderful promise of eternal life and eternal security.

God has given mankind a great resource for knowledge and truth. That resource, the Bible, is replete with how man must respond to God’s free gift of salvation in order to be justified in God’s eyes. Let me also say that no man can enter Heaven unless they have responded to God’s free gift of salvation by receiving the Son of God (Jesus the Christ) as their savior.

Over and over again I receive messages from folks who are very concerned that I’m leading people astray because of my stance on the believer’s security. I’m told that “Just because a person believes and becomes a follower of Jesus Christ (a born again believer) doesn’t mean they are completely secure”. I am then inundated with scripture verses that, in their minds, prove beyond the shadow of a doubt that believers can lose our salvation. Losing our salvation is completely contrary to God’s word. If you and I, once we are justified (saved in God’s eyes), can lose our salvation or even walk away from our salvation once we are born again, then God becomes a weak and insignificant God, one who certainly wouldn’t have the power to create the universe let alone save us from our sins.

It simply amazes me that born again believers will dispute God’s word, and at many different levels of understanding. To me it makes no sense, if we are born again, to argue with the one who saved us. After all who’s word is it? It’s not man that we’re disputing and squabbling with when we disagree with the word of God. It’s God Himself. For example, man has come up with many different scenarios as to how the creation of the universe came to be. Man has decided to believe in billions of years for the creation of the universe. They’ve plainly stated and they teach the earth to be billions of years old, and that man evolved from pond scum. In God’s word He tells us how it all happened in six literal, 24 hour days but as man’s “knowledge” has increased over the centuries so has his arrogance. God’s now wrong or the Bible is a myth. Many of my brethren will without any hesitation place their faith in man’s new “discoveries” over God’s word. You may be surprised to find out just how many Christians believe man’s published discoveries over God’s inerrant word when it comes to the age of the universe or the evolution of man.

Actually there is a lot more to that verse in John 10 than initially meets the eye. I’ve read John 10 many times and written about the believer’s security in past commentaries. The part of this particular verse that has eluded many Bible teachers in the past is, “they shall never perish”. I don’t know why Jesus’ words don’t always get all the recognition they should but if you will bear with me you will see how very significant they are.

We’ll need to go back a verse to get the full impact of what Jesus is saying. “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:” John 10:27. Okay, Jesus is speaking about born again believers. The best part of that particular verse is Jesus says “I know them”. God knows us when we become born again “But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God...” Galatians 4:9a. Paul is speaking to the Galatians who are saved as being known of God.

Side note:
I can tell you for certain that if Jesus doesn’t know you, you’re not saved. “And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” Matthew 7:23. The relationship we enjoy with our Lord Jesus is a two way street. We know Him and we are known of Him.

Then Jesus goes on to specifically convey His truth. He says, “I give unto them eternal life.” That should be good enough for anyone who feels the need to argue with God. When we read those words and we are truly born again, we can be certain we are going to spend an eternity with our Lord Jesus. Not to ever be separated from Him such as those who will be spending eternity in Hell. Believers will always be with Him. Jesus will never take away your eternal life if you truly have eternal life.

Jesus says neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. Well, first of all Jesus is God so who would be able to pluck any believer out of His hand? Who would even try to do such a thing? Let’s see, he isn’t a man but Satan would love to take believers away from God. All believers should be keenly aware that that scenario just isn’t possible. This is the part of that whole verse that trips up many Bible teachers. They say, “Yes, we agree that a believer can’t lose their salvation, but they can walk away from it”. Well, not according to the creator of the universe.

Still, they’ll focus their argument on other parts of God’s word. So, Jesus, giving his followers eternal life does little to convince the skeptic of the security of the believer. Their argument continues, “Jesus didn’t say a believer can’t walk away from that eternal life He gave them.” Au contraire my friends, Jesus made it perfectly clear in the very next part of the verse. But just like many others these skeptics skip right over these five little words “and they shall never perish”. Key word? Never.

Those who belong to Him are His sheep and His sheep know His voice “and they shall never perish”. The Greek word that God used here is ou mē translated “never, certainly not, not at all, by no means”. Jesus expresses, purposely for all the doubters, a double negative, strongly expressing a negation. “In no wise” can one of my sheep ever lose or walk away from the eternal life I’ve given them.

You still want to argue with God Almighty? If you insist we’ll keep going, although for the life of me I can’t see why you insist on arguing with God. At any rate let’s proceed. The word Jesus uses for “pluck” as in “neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand” is Harpazo in the Greek. That word may be very familiar to most of you rapture enthusiasts. It means to seize and to carry off by force. So, just who is able to seize the believers “In Christ” (Christ’s sheep) and carry them off, by force no less? What did Jesus say about the importance of even one of His sheep “... if a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and goeth into the mountains, and seeketh that which is gone astray? And if so be that he find it, verily I say unto you, he rejoiceth more of that sheep, than of the ninety and nine which went not astray.” Matthew 18:12, 13. Every one of those who have been born from above is as secure as Heaven itself. If it were not so Jesus would have certainly told us.

“My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand. I and my Father are one.” John 10:29, 30. After Jesus finishes telling us that no man can pluck (Harpazo) those who are born again out of His hands He takes us a step further and seals the whole concept of the believer’s security by proclaiming that all believers are in God the Father’s hands also. And “no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand”. Now we have the skeptic to the believer’s security telling us we can walk away from God the Father and God the Son by escaping out of their hands. God the Father gives all believers to Jesus His Son. Would God give His only begotten Son a bunch of renegades who, at the first chance they get would conspire to escape his clutches? Why? So they can escape that horrible idea of eternal salvation in Heaven with Jesus Christ? Not hardly.

It has always amazed me how the emails come flooding in about how wrong I am. They try and remind me of all the scripture verses that seemingly contradict what I’ve espoused above. Incredibly many people will continually stand adamantly against the believer’s security and they will diligently work at convincing me to do the same. If we will remember that there are no contradictions in God’s word it will help to affirm what I’m trying to explain. Actually all those other verses the skeptics love to point out only add to the whole proof of the believer’s security.

Case in point “He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.” Revelation 3:5. Obviously, if Jesus can blot out the name of a born again believer from the book of life, believers can lose their salvation, right? It’s only a misinterpretation that leads people to conclude Jesus would ever remove a believers name from the book of life.

But if we look at the verse correctly, in context “He who overcomes . . . I will never blot out his name from the book of life.” The “overcomer” mentioned in this letter to Sardis is the believer. John tells us “For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world.” Also “Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?” John 5:4, 5. “I write unto you, young men, because ye have overcome the wicked one” 1 John 2:13b. All believers are “overcomers” in that they have been granted victory over the sin and unbelief of the world.

Some people see in Revelation 3:5 God’s pen ready to strike out the name of any Christian who sins. They read into it something like this: “If you mess up and don’t win the victory, then you’re going to lose your salvation! In fact, I will erase your name from the Book of Life!” But this is not what the verse says. Jesus gives the overcomer (believer) a promise here, not a warning.

In His word God never says that He erases a believer’s name from the Book of Life –there is never even a warning that He is contemplating such a thing! The wonderful promise of Revelation 3:5 is that Jesus will not erase one’s name. Speaking to the “overcomers”–all those redeemed by the blood of the Lamb–Jesus gives His word that He will not remove their names. He affirms that once a name is there, it is there forever. This promise is not based on our faithfulness but on the faithfulness of God.

On the other hand “And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.” Revelation 22:19. This verse is another of those verses that these skeptics will trot out to prove me wrong. The problem with this verse is those who would change God’s word are not believers. No truly “born again” believer “In Christ” would ever tamper with His word. No, these are those who are of pseudo-Christian cults and those who hold to very liberal theological beliefs. Many cults and theological liberals claim the name of Christ as their own, but they are not “born again”. Names that aren’t in the Lamb’s book of life can’t possibly be removed.

There are, of course, many other scripture verses that confirm Jesus’ own words. Once a person becomes born again, born from above, born from God they are sealed until the day of redemption. There are no more arguments. If you must argue, take them up with God.

For all of those who read this commentary who aren’t born again, it’s not too late. Speak to the Lord Jesus Christ yourself, and say “Yes Lord, I believe” before time runs out...tick, tick, tick.

God bless you all,

Ron Graham
twotug@embarqmail.com
All scripture is from the KJV
 

For Every Man - Ron Graham - twotug@embarqmail.com

“But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.” Hebrews 2:9. No one is excluded from receiving the free gift of salvation. God died on that cross so every human being on this planet could obtain salvation and continue on to a new and awesome Heavenly home. Jesus suffered and died for all humanity.

What stops man from wanting such a home? Pride. That’s it, it’s prideful to reject God’s free gift of salvation. Only by believing in the death, burial, and resurrection of His only begotten Son can we obtain that free gift. Many might disagree with me and say it’s a hardened heart, or ignorance, even self-reliance that keeps man from believing the truth. Pride is what got in Lucifer’s way and it’s been the one thing that has been so prevalent in so many lost souls since the beginning of time. “The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts.” Psalm 10:4. Using God’s name as profanity doesn’t count as keeping God in all our thoughts.

To humble one’s self before God requires an abandonment of pride and there are so many who won’t allow that to ever occur in their meager and short existence. So many people actually believe that this world holds the answer to everything–every question, every thought, every experience and there is nothing at the end of one’s life but a cold dark grave. When some folks hear the question, “Are you a believer?” or “Do you have a relationship with Jesus Christ?” their pride is activated and they reject such nonsensical questioning with a prideful “I don’t believe in God” or “I don’t need your God”. This one really saddens me, “I don’t fear your God”. Pride is the culprit and many a lost soul will find this out the hard way. “Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.” Proverbs 16:18.

We read in the book of Hebrews that Jesus tasted death for every man. That means everybody that ever lived or ever will live has been covered by the blood of Christ. In the past, before Jesus’ First Advent, if folks believed in the coming Messiah and were faithful to God, when they died their souls were sent to Abraham’s bosom. After Jesus died all who profess their faith in Him go directly to Heaven. But the one thing they all have in common is that they all, at some point, dropped that prideful attitude and humbled themselves before God. Alas, Jesus tells us many will never lose that prideful attitude. “Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.” Matthew 7:14. They not only can’t find it but pride keeps them from seeking the truth.

Many will hold to the two big lies of Satan, “Yea, hath God said”, and “Ye shall not surely die” Genesis 3:1, 4. And they will remain in that state of condemnation. They will never give up the pride that holds them captive like zoo animals in cages. Jesus died for the express purpose of saving all the lost from an eternity in Hell. All are given the same opportunity to believe and repent. “Therefore pride compasseth them about as a chain,” Psalm 73:6a.

Have you ever wondered how God could possibly love a person whose whole life is or has been devoted to sin? He can, and He does. A person who has never acknowledged God’s grace or His love but who has taken advantage of every good gift which can only come from God is still loved by God. God knows how the evil one works and He knows the influence Satan has on you and me. That’s why He made the following promise “For He Himself has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." Hebrews 13:5b. God does not love you and me more than He loves the lost. The lost have access to that same promise and can, with a little faith and a changed attitude toward submission, obtain that same promise immediately.

God loved us from before the creation of the earth, “According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world” Ephesians 1:4. Until we breathe our last breath God will remain true to His word. He will love us and He will continue steadfast in His attempt to convince every unbelieving person on earth of the truth of who He is. And His free gift of salvation is continually offered to everyone.

When the end comes, as we know it will very soon now, all who believe death is the end of all things will be greatly surprised; death is in no way the end. Death is just an excursion into a whole new realm. It’s the end of life on earth yes, but not the end of our existence. It is the end of all earthly problems, worries, materialism, bank accounts, favorite cars, love affairs, and everything else worldly. All earthly treasures which we built up over a lifetime are instantaneously someone else’s at death. As followers of Jesus Christ we know our earthly gains won’t come close to our heavenly rewards. But for the lost, they not only lose everything they had acquired while alive, but they lose their souls to an eternity in Hell. A double whammy you might say. But the latter is so much worse than the first.

Did you know that at the exact moment that death grabs the unbeliever he/she suddenly believes in Jesus? It’s no joke; they are believers at the nanosecond they die. They instantly become keenly aware that Jesus the Christ is God Almighty even though they wouldn’t believe it while they were alive. But it’s too late for the unbeliever. They had their chance to accept the free gift of salvation while they were alive. But all their thoughts went to accumulating a house and garage full of material wealth, never a thought to their eternal destination.

Imagine the hopeless feeling of those who remain in rebellion to God ‘til death as their eyes close for the last time. Everything they did and everything they possessed will come into view and they will scream with all their spirit “Lord, Lord”. “Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord... ‘And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” Matthew 7:22a, 23. As we can plainly see their screams will be to no avail.

As Solomon aptly penned after a lifetime of acquiring a world of wealth, and trying just about every perversion known to man, he came to the conclusion “Vanity, all is vanity”. Those who die without Christ will come to the same conclusion as Solomon. They’ll utter the following sorrowful words “I chose poorly” because they will quickly realize they can never return from their now eternal hellish home. Even the nicest, kindest person we know is destined for Hell if they haven’t believed in the “One” God sent, Jesus the Christ.

Facing an eternity in Hell is a horrible thought. It’s nothing to make light of. I can’t imagine any of my brethren wishing anyone that type of eternal existence. If they do they don’t understand the full concept of Hell. All of the brethren have a great opportunity to share Jesus with the lost, to explain the difference between an eternity in Heaven and an eternity in Hell. Death isn’t on the minds of most folks; most give no thought whatsoever to where they will remain for eternity. The Great Commission given to all the saints is that we deliver the truth of the Gospel of Christ to the lost. Basically, as we go about informing them of their choices, we enlighten them as to the specific differences between Heaven and Hell. This may motivate them to have a change of mind, and hopefully they will make the smart decision.

As believers we see the end approaching more and more rapidly with every passing day. But the lost don’t see anything different from day to day except maybe their retirement portfolios declining. Is there a believer who hasn’t thought about Hell? Probably not. No matter how much we think about it we never see it as a huge kegger in the park, but that’s how so many of the lost souls of this world see Hell. “Well, I’ll be with friends” goes the old joke. “No, you won’t” should be our response and we should never laugh at that sorry quip. We should be as serious as the grave when we proclaim the truth about Hell. It’s terrible, painful, sorrowful, extremely hot, and completely void of the existence of God. No one will want to stay there after they realize where they are. But they will have no choice, once there Hell will be their domain for eternity.

Atheists and the rest of the unbelievers don’t understand that they are never out of the presence of God while they are alive on this earth. God is everywhere and He sees everything we do. Every believer rejoices in the fact that God is always with us, but unbelievers want nothing to do with God. At their death they will get their wish, but not while they are alive. Whether they like it or not God is ever present in all our lives. But God will not be in Hell; that’s what makes it Hell, it is void of God. All God’s grace, and His mercy, and of course His awesome love is present with us. In Hell there will be none of His attributes present. That, my friends, is the indisputable truth.

Salvation by the grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ is all we need to avoid that horrible place called Hell or Hades. And it’s available to every atheist, agnostic, secular humanist, and all the other nonbelievers out there. It’s even available to all those who are wrapped up in Christian cults such as the Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and all the rest of the false religions floating around these days.

Islam, the fastest growing religion today, has 1.5 billion followers, and yet they are all perishing if they continue in their unbelief. Jesus wants to be their Savior the same as He wants to be yours and mine. All can come to Jesus for salvation while they are still alive, because He died for everybody. But God will not accept any excuses and there will no doubt be many. Let me put it another way, the fact that you were sold a bill of goods by some false teacher or a lying prophet is no excuse for rejecting the truth of the Gospel. The lie you were fed will most certainly affect your final eternal destination. And once you’re there, you’re there for good. The foolish people who have been captivated and sucked into these false religions and cults have had every opportunity to seek and find the truth. They can reject the falsehoods that they’ve been taught and embrace the truth of the scriptures. But they better do it soon.

Have you been deceived? Will you believe the truth? Only you can answer those questions. Salvation is personal and it’s for everyone, but it only comes from the one true God. Lord Jesus the Christ.

God bless you all,

Ron Graham
twotug@embarqmail.com
All scripture is from the KJV
 

A Prayer for Change - Ron Graham - twotug@embarqmail.com

“For my love they are my adversaries: but I give myself unto prayer. And they have rewarded me evil for good, and hatred for my love. Set thou a wicked man over him: and let Satan stand at his right hand. When he shall be judged, let him be condemned: and let his prayer become sin. Let his days be few; and let another take his office,” Psalm 109:4-8. King David had enemies, and David’s enemies were also enemies of God. Psalm 109 is David’s prayer against an un-named enemy and it could have been Saul, Absalom, or a nation. In the same way, Christians have an enemy and our enemy is God’s enemy. Our government is filled with people who follow Satan and just like their leader they too are bent on destroying those who are called by God’s name, and believers need to humbly pray for God’s intervention.

“Father in Heaven, our present leadership in this country is bent on destroying all vestiges of freedom. The man who occupies the Oval Office is undoubtedly being led by Satan. Let his days in office be few, and let another, a godly man take the reins of leadership. We make amends O Lord, we repent of our past sins and though they are many it is with earnest and heavy hearts that we ask You, O Lord, to act upon our prayers today. We pray for the healing of our land and for Your intervention in all our lives and in our human system of governance. We ask You, Father, to bless our land with change, but with Your change, Lord, not man’s notion of how life should be. We pray that our hearts and minds would be devoted to You, O God. We pray for a godly leadership in this country. Please Father allow a godly man to assume the office of President of the United States of America, a man who would lead us in accordance to Your will, a man who would pray with us “Thy will be done”. We pray, Father, that You would place a man over us who will make it his goal to stand up for our Lord Jesus Christ in all circumstances. Father this is our heartfelt appeal to you, and as always through the precious name of our Lord and Savior Jesus the Christ we pray. Amen.”

The above scripture verse was sent to me a few weeks ago. I thought, “How appropriate it would be to build a prayer around that verse asking God for the restoration of our country and for the presidency with that verse”. Many of you share my concerns for this country and I know you’re praying that same prayer or at least one very similar. Believers must focus on prayer especially since we are surrounded by overwhelming proof we are in the last days here on earth. We must be serious in our convictions so that God will hear our prayers and send relief from the evil that currently holds sway over us. If we mindlessly mouth prayers without a fully convicted heart then God may well respond in kind. I say shame on us if we water down our prayers. In the end we’ll get what we deserve. We may already be receiving our due.

Analysts will claim the worldwide recession is over and everything is getting better, then they turn around and the very next day it’s that same old tired doom and gloom hitting us smack between the eyes. We may not be able to trust analysts anymore than we can trust the wind to cease blowing from the south. But we can trust the word of God, and we can discern the signs of the times. How many warnings are we given throughout God’s word that present us with a nice clear picture of what to expect in the very near future? If God’s children would actually believe His written word and study it diligently we wouldn’t be in the mess we’re in today. Every believer should be keenly aware of the evil facing us on a daily basis. Instead of our continuing decent down that slippery slope we might just be seeing a more positive perspective confronting us. Sadly we are not only on a slippery slope, but we’re rapidly picking up speed.

We’ve all made mistakes in the past and we will no doubt make new ones in the future, but one thing we can resolve to do right now is to refuse to make the same mistakes twice. Electing evil people over and over again to run our government can only be classified as a huge mistake. Accountability in government is the responsibility of all Americans.

Patriotism and loyalty to one’s country is all well and good, even necessary, but for the believer it is essential to be completely devoted to Jesus Christ. Many of our fellow citizens have put their lives on the line for their country and many have died for that cause so their families as well as their countrymen can live in peace and safety. Freedom is costly, and anytime a patriot loses his or her life for the cause of freedom we who remain should do all we can to keep their memory alive while preserving what they died for.

But preserving our freedom today is quickly becoming an exercise in futility. Freedom is easily distorted and can be eliminated through the apathy of any countries citizenry, and removed by those who would trade freedom for servitude. The most important factor or cause or devotion we can possibly be involved with, is our declaration of love for our savior Jesus Christ, and the promotion of His Gospel. The fact that we have freedom in Christ is the only true freedom we will ever have while we’re occupying these bodies and this land.

Many Christians have been put to death for the cause of Christ; many more will lose their lives in the future so Christ can be preached continually. Without freedom the believers work here on earth would be much more difficult and costly. Because America has been a free country for the last 233 years, the word of God has been spread throughout the world. Jesus has been preached continually and will continue to be so if believers will stand up for their Lord. The only thing that can really stop us is apathy.

We can all see that attitudes are changing in this country with regards to Christianity. Attitudes now center on godlessness and even hatred toward Christians, and those attitudes will be detrimental to our freedom and our ability to spread the word of God unencumbered. In many parts of the country there are police officers that will arrest you for just praying in public or distributing Gospel tracts. Some are being arrested and jailed for preaching on a sidewalk or in a park, and what’s their crime? Proclaiming the message of salvation through Christ our Lord. A decade or so ago sidewalk preaching was just as normal as breathing. “Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.” Matthew 10:16. Believers will need to become ever so crafty with regards to our presentation of the Gospel lest we all be thrown to the lions.

America would be much more conducive to Christians if Christians would take the land back. A good way to do that is to get God involved. “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” 2 Chronicles 7:14. I know this verse is passed around a lot these days and I’ve used it myself in previous commentaries, but listen to your God as He speaks the above verse to you. Can you not see the tears in His eyes as He admonishes his people? Many think this verse was only for the Jews but the Jews were never called by His name. They are Jews, Hebrews, Israelites, Zionists but they were never called by God’s name. Jews aren’t even permitted to speak the name of God. Christians are called by His name, so this verse is for those of us who claim salvation through Christ and Christ alone.

Pray without ceasing. That’s Paul’s admonition to us. We are to be in constant communication with our Father in Heaven. Prayer is so important to our walk with Christ that if His people would just humble themselves, seek His Face, and turn from their wicked ways He would heal their land. South Africa, Europe, Asia, Australia, South America, North America, Greenland, you name it God will restore your land if you will only humble yourselves and turn from your evil ways.

I can only conclude that there must be a huge lack of faith in God, or few believe that the above verse was meant for them. Why? Because our lands are far from experiencing any real healing. I know for a fact that prayers for our country and our leaders here in America are part of the daily devotions for many of my brethren. But here’s an addendum to our prayer life. If we have leaders who are trying to run our country into the ground for some sinister reason, then besides prayer Christians must take some physical action. America’s Christians must stand up for their rights or they will have no rights to stand up for. We must stand against tyranny. In America we can accomplish huge changes through peaceful revolts, just by casting a vote against our elected officials who are bent on turning a blind eye and a closed ear toward our voices.

It’s extremely important that we who are called by God’s name get involved and stay involved with the process of making changes in regards to those who currently lord over us. It’s not necessary to keep the same old tired souls in office term after term. If we’re aware of how our representatives vote on every issue then when we don’t like the way they vote, we tell them so. Then if they continue to vote against our wishes, we must revolt against them with our voice and our vote. If Americans really cared about their future they would make the necessary changes. But it must be important enough to us or we will never get involved. It seems that only when our lives or livelihoods are threatened with disaster that we finally get angry enough to protest.

Currently the majority of our government officials are ungodly. We’ve voted in a majority of democrats and they have taken it upon themselves to make some of the most sweeping evil changes this country as ever seen. The republicans aren’t helping matter as they side with the opposition on issues they shouldn’t. This is how you and I know we need to make changes in our leadership. When the elected leaders no longer listen to their constituents it becomes necessary to eliminate them through our electoral process.

Godly change is what’s needed in America. You and I can, if we all ask God for help, initiate that change confidently. If you are reading this commentary and you think it’s time to get off the stick the first thing you must do is get registered to vote. Then make sure you know where your communities balloting locations are. Mark your calendars with the date of the election and then tell all your family and friends to do the same thing. If our current leadership won’t listen then let’s kick them out of our offices. Remember the offices that house the people we elect belong to us, they are ours and we select who will occupy them.

Across this land there is a satanic deception that many just don’t see. Many people who are eligible to vote don’t, or won’t. Christians would hold the majority vote in America if we would all vote. Those who never vote have no voice in the process. We can effect change if we so desire to do so. But it must be paramount on our minds and we must be resigned to help in forging changes in our government leadership or it will never happen, and the evil that currently permeates our land will continue unabated.

“Let his days be few; and let another take his office.” Psalm 109:8. This prayer of David’s is perfectly pointed at all who would try their hand at destroying our great nation. God stands on the side of the righteous He will not stand with our enemies. We are a nation of believing, caring, giving individuals who know the difference between right and wrong. We currently have the wrong leaders in place; let’s determine, once and for all, to only elect godly men and women to manage our government.

God bless you all,

Ron Graham
twotug@embarqmail.com
All scripture is from the KJV

Exclusivity of the Christian Faith - Ron Graham - twotug@embarqmail.com

“But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost:” 2 Corinthians 4:3. Its fine to talk about Jesus in Church, but whatever you do don’t mention His name outside the confines of that big white building.

The government of the United States of America along with some very satanic organizations such as the A.C.L.U. has given Christians a new commandment to top all of God’s commandments. Stop promoting Jesus Christ in public, stop mentioning Jesus by name, and displaying your messages pertaining to Jesus Christ in any form outside of a church building. “No more crosses on government run military cemeteries” says the A.C.L.U. “Tear down every remaining vestige relating to Jesus Christ in the public square” is the cry of most of those followers of Satan. “In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them,” 2 Corinthians 4:4. That blindness is spreading far and wide.

The Apostles Peter and John give us the appropriate response to these foolish lost souls. “But Peter and John answered and said unto them, Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye,” Acts 4:19. Peter and John stood firm on their faith in Christ. More and more many of our elected officials here in the U.S. along with many secular organizations are aligning themselves with our enemy and are becoming quite extreme in their stance against the Church, even suggesting that homeschooling is a form a child abuse. You see, if the government can’t have your children for 6 or 7 hours per day how then can they brainwash them? Clearly, before long, standing firm on the Christian faith will bring the wrath of our new socialist government down upon us.

If the children in public schools mention the name Jesus Christ during class it will bring swift retribution. The ACLU has their moles sticking their dirty little noses into every classroom in the public school system. Oh, and yes, all the false religions are more than welcome in those same public schools. For example, the religion of Islam is welcomed in our government run public schools and in many of those institutions it is encouraged, even promoted right along with secular humanism.

Those of us who belong to Jesus Christ are being forcefully mandated as to when and where we may proclaim the message of Jesus Christ. The spiritually dead have spoken. They want nothing less than the total eradication of the Christian faith. Why? Because of the exclusivity of the Christian faith. The Bible states emphatically there is no other way that one might be saved. No other way to the Father but by the Son. That’s too exclusive and the lost don’t like it.

Yes, Christianity is very exclusive. No other faith claims God died for His creation. Other faiths actually disparage Christians for believing such an outlandish concept. “God dying for humans, that’s utterly ridiculous”. They just can’t wrap their minds around the God of all creation dying. It’s not a concept that comes easy to anyone. But it’s wholly and completely the truth and we as believers should never be ashamed to preach that truth. “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth;” Romans 1:16.

Many of my professing brethren don’t agree with the exclusivity part of our faith. I’ve heard Christians actually embrace the fallacy that many paths lead to God. Jesus was quite open in His public statements about this very subject. At times He must have come across as rather arrogant to those unbelievers of His day. Most of the Pharisees, scribes, and lawyers of Jesus’ day never believed what He was saying. To them He was a blasphemer for claiming equality with God Almighty, never realizing He is God Almighty. They were always trying to trip Jesus up to get some dirt on Him so they could condemn Him to death. They were unable to find fault in Him, but nevertheless, prophetically speaking they succeeded.

Jesus continually saw through their deceptive plans and rebuked them. He spent years attempting to get across to those foolish men the fact of who He was. He explained that He is the only way to the Father. Today, there’s not much difference in people’s attitudes, but it seems the spiritual blindness is much worse. The exclusivity of the Christian faith stands as a road block to many. “The foolishness of man perverteth his way: and his heart fretteth against the LORD,” Proverbs 19:3.

Anyone who sees the Bible as just an antiquated, outdated book of obsolete scripture verses, especially out of date for our post modern times, can’t actually grasp the truth of the scriptures. Therefore to those individuals the Bible’s truths remain indiscernible and just plain foolishness.” For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.” 1 Corinthians 1:18.

Yes there are many religions around the world but Christianity holds the top spot for exclusivity. Actually, Christianity isn’t even a religion, it’s a lifestyle and it is so very exclusive that many people hate hearing those two historically famous words that bring hope and joy to Christians, “Jesus Christ”. Jesus, because of His proclamation that there is no other way to the Father but by Him, is being banished from most public arenas. He’s just too exclusive.

The Holy Bible, the awesome word of God, is very direct in what we are to believe. Jesus tells us in His own words that we will only be allowed into the presence of God through Him and Him alone; and as I mentioned previously that truth is way too exclusive for those who are perishing. No one on this planet will ever obtain salvation through any other means, try as they will. God’s word is quite clear on this subject. All those who deny Christ as the propitiation for our sins are in rebellion to God. So when anyone quotes the verse from John (... I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” John 14:6) the rebellious and foolish lost become agitated with us. This is when the name calling begins. Arrogant, bigoted, self absorbed, high minded, exclusive, ignorant, Bible thumping Jesus freaks. Actually believers will wear any title put on them for Jesus’ sake and be worn like a badge of honor.

Why are so many at odds with the truth? Why is the correct path so hated? Jesus tells us that the path that leads people to their own destruction is wide, and well traveled. The truth is not elusive but it does convict the sinner, which is what those who remain in their rebellion to God can’t stand. Unbelievers, sooner or later, will begin to blame Christians for every disruption in their lives. The Christian faith and believers are becoming outcast in countries all across the world. I’m praying right along with many of you who would love to see Christ remove His Church prior to the full exclusion of Christianity from all societies.

There are many Christians today who desire to remain politically correct in their approach to all the false religions being promoted today. They water down the truth or they just skip the truth all together. Many of my brethren won’t believe the truth. Peter, being filled with the Holy Spirit, is quoted in the Book of Acts as saying “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved,” Acts 4:12. Why would Luke place this quote of Peter’s in Acts? Because the Holy Spirit knew there would be those who claim many paths to God.

“Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain,” Exodus 20:7. It’s considered hypocrisy to claim the name of God but act in a way that disgraces Him. Believers who claim the name of Jesus but disparage His words are also hypocrites because they dishonor His Holy Name through their rejection of the exclusivity of Christianity. Those who claim many paths to God and also claim to follow Jesus Christ are actually declaring themselves to be gods; they’ve placed their knowledge and wisdom above God and His word. That’s exactly what Satan did which is what got him banished from Heaven. What makes people think they can usurp God’s word and still be permitted to join Him for eternity?

Again, it’s that old political correctness that distorts the minds of so many. Who do you want to be accountable to? Satan or God our Creator. We can’t have it both ways. When we become believers we cast off the old man, political correctness is out when it comes to the inerrancy of God’s word. We now follow God’s truth which is the antitheses of political correctness. Jesus says “He that is not with me is against me...” Matthew 12:30. Jesus is being very exclusive here by removing any thoughts of neutrality. Believers need to recognize that exclusivity. We need to stand wholeheartedly with Jesus. If we don’t stand with Him on His ground we stand against Him on all other ground, and will undoubtedly end up far below ground.

All other religious faiths in this world are on a sure path to Hell. They have condemned themselves through their continued embrace of false teaching and teachers. I’m not saying they can’t be turned from that condemnation (actually many are being rescued daily), but while they remain in unbelief they remain condemned. Many of our government leaders fall into that same category.

Today and forever, believers must accept the fact that our faith in Jesus Christ as the only way one may be saved is exclusive. Just how exclusive is this Christ centered faith? Here’s the simple truth of it, God’s free gift of salvation is available to every man, woman, and child on planet earth. “Wow Ron, if you put it that way it sounds completely inclusive”. Yea, that’s what our Bibles tell us. All who believe in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and Him alone for salvation will be saved. We need to be right up front with all those we witness to that there is no other way to the Father but by the Son.

“And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt,” Matthew 26:39. How did God the Father answer that prayer from His only begotten Son? There’s no other way Son. Jesus being completely obedient to the Father died on that cross for the sins of the world. If there was another way in which man could be saved, then God the Father didn’t answer His Son’s prayer and Jesus died for nothing which means our faith is in vain.

God bless you all,

Ron Graham
twotug@embarqmail.com
All scripture is from the KJV
 

Dead Faith - Ron Graham -  twotug@embarqmail.com

“But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?” James 2:20. Many an individual claim they’re saved yet continue in their same sinful lifestyle without any visible change. We aren’t God, we can’t see into the hearts of others. We can only see visible outward signs that give us any indication whether or not a person is a believer. James says without works faith is dead. Our works are the result of our love for God and they should come instinctively after conversion. As believers, born from God we should be passionate, even driven, by a desire to please God and to give our lives to Him.

So how do we know whether or not our faith is dead? Honestly, a professing believer who is living a lifestyle contrary to God’s will may not even care whether or not their faith is dead. Our faith in Jesus Christ needs to be a living faith. It’s not to be misplaced out in the world somewhere; it’s placed in a living God. What’s that mean, living faith? “If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit? Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.” James 2:15-17. Jesus tells us to love one another but if we show no compassion toward others, or very little for that matter, or if we can’t seem to get motivated enough to help our fellow man then our faith may very well be dead.

Many Christians are non-participants in God’s plan for humankind. They just aren’t interested in fulfilling God’s commandments. What that means is even though they’ve made the statement that they’ve repented of their sins and asked for forgiveness, and say they’ve asked Jesus Christ to be the savior of their lives, there’s no visible change between their current status and their pre-conversion state. This is where James chapter 2 comes into play in all our lives. If there is no visible difference in a person’s life after the conversion experience, what kind of faith is that?

After conversion Christians should begin to look at the world with a whole new perspective. As we become more and more familiar with God’s word we begin to see the evil that’s been surrounding us much more clearly. We begin to eliminate the baggage we’ve been carrying and are then free to pursue God’s will for our lives. By baggage I mean being stuck with the mindset of mass accumulation, such as materialism. Even attributes such as self-reliance, pride, haughtiness, etc., are all hindrances to our relationship with God. These hindrances should be significantly reduced at some point after conversion so a believers life will become completely devoted to adhering to God’s will.

Now that our blinders have been removed we need to tell others about our new relationship with God, and the saving grace only obtained through Jesus Christ. This becomes our works which God has ordained as a part of our new life in Christ. All of our works need to bring glory to God and it should be our good pleasure to help others to come to the saving knowledge of the Gospel of Christ. The truth is the world has been blinded, and because of our new ability to see the truth we can play a big part in God’s plan just by witnessing to the lost. The Holy Spirit will do the rest by removing the blinders of all those who want to see the truth.

Our conversion/rebirth puts us forever in the hands of Jesus Christ, and as such it’s essential that our actions and even our conversations produce good works. The more we grow in our Christian walk the more we will accomplish for the Kingdom of God, and we will continue to grow as we study His word and give ourselves wholly to Him.

All believers are admonished to spread the Gospel. The commandment wasn’t meant for just a select few. So, do we spread the Gospel as commanded? Preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ is a huge part of what James is speaking about as works. You see, works is doing what God wants of us, and even commands us to do. Please don’t misunderstand James’ admonition of works based faith. James is speaking of a believer’s life after justification.

“Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure,” Philippians 2:12. This is another easily misunderstood scripture verse. Paul’s statement of “work out your own salvation” means that after conversion we need to be diligent as we go about our Fathers business. Continuing day by day in God’s will, and working out our own salvation is God’s will for our lives. It’s obedience to God that Paul is speaking about. Again, works aren’t what saves us, but works will certainly follow our born again experience.

We should see evidence of works in every area of believer’s lives. We need to activate the awesome salvation God freely gave us. By activate I mean we are to involve ourselves with sharing God’s Gospel, activate it. Paul, like James, is actually bringing the same concept into view, albeit a slightly different approach, but both approaches are completely complementary of each other. If there is no activity in a believer’s life, activity associated with spreading the Gospel, feeding the hungry, basically showing others the love of Christ, then as James explains, our faith is dead.

“For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also,” James 2:26. God has given us an awesome advantage over the lost in that He has allowed those who follow Him to see things the lost cannot. When believers read God’s inerrant word they are blessed with understanding, and they gain insight into God’s nature. Believer’s advantage is that they now know God, and since we know God and we know what He expects of His own, we must train ourselves to do the works He has assigned to us. Occasionally believers fail to be attentive to God’s will and must be admonished to continue to seek His will. Faithful mature believers will apply themselves to accomplishing that task.

Many reading this commentary will conclude by this point that I am advocating salvation through works. No, I’m not. God offered His Son to die for our sins. We accept His free gift and are then justified through our faith. “The just shall live by faith,” Romans 1:17, Galatians 3:11, Hebrews 10:38. And in Habakkuk 2:4 we’re told “The just shall live by his faith. Clearly we live by faith, we promote the Gospel through and by our faith, and we exist as believers by faith through God’s grace. Once we have the Holy Spirit sealed within us we are completely secure in God’s hands. “In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.” Ephesians 1:13-14.

What we do after our becoming justified (born again) for God’s Kingdom is what James considers as works. We are adhering to God’s will by following His commands. If believers aren’t interested in following all of God’s commands, well then James says our faith is dead.

James’ admonition that faith without works is dead isn’t a contradiction of the other scriptures that plainly state we are saved by grace through faith, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast,” Ephesians 2: 8, 9. But what he is saying is once we’re born of God our works will be the natural progression in a believer’s life. What you can take away from all this is if a person shows no interest in following Christ even after conversion then they are probably living a lie. On the other hand there are many who do a ton of works thinking that’s what puts them in a right relationship with God. No sir! Get right with God first then the attitude of working for God’s Kingdom will manifest itself in your life like rivers of flowing water.

James and Paul aren’t saying anything we don’t already know. To believers, doing the works of God is a blessing. Being works oriented is our biblical manifesto. Works are simply our marching orders. A truly born again believer “in Christ” will find no drudgery in following God’s will. As we go about our daily routine it is a natural occurrence for believers to be the light of Christ. Simply put, works are the believer’s pleasure and as such their accomplishments are assured.

Jesus tells us that not everyone who calls Him Lord is in line for any inheritance. “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.” Matthew 7:21. Doing the will of the Father, the Son tells us, is essential for admittance into the Kingdom of Heaven. “Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?” Matthew 7:22. Here we see that many will say they did many wonderful works for the Lord but as we’ve already learned works aren’t what saves us. “And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” Matthew 7:23.

Faith without works is dead and faith in Christ is what we need for salvation. Jesus makes it plain to all those who have eyes to see and ears to hear how we enter Heaven. It’s a yes, a done deal, for all those who have placed their faith and trust in Him. All those who do the will of the Father will be saved. What is the will of the Father? “Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.” John 6:29. We see from all this that faith and works are associated in that one is dead without the other. It’s plain what kind of Christians we are if we remain in our comfort zone and never embark on a path that involves adhering to God’s will.

“Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.” James 2:19. James tells us that without works our faith is the same as demons who believe and tremble. Such a faith cannot save anyone, because there is no verifiable works that would naturally accompany a saving faith. Where faith abounds there is the fruit of the Spirit which is always accompanied by works. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.” Galatians 5:22-25

What kind of faith do you have? Are you one of those James addresses whose faith is dead or are you alive with the Spirit of God and following His commands? We should all give it some serious thought.

God bless you all,

Ron Graham
twotug@embarqmail.com
All scripture is from the KJV
 

All Appearance of Evil - Ron Graham - twotug@embarqmail.com

“Abstain from all appearance of evil” 1 Thessalonians 5:22. Paul admonishes us to abstain (stay away) from even the very appearance of evil. He’s speaking about the outside, visible part of us as what others might perceive as evil. Born again believers in Christ have an awesome responsibility to Jesus, we’ve put on Christ therefore we are to hold ourselves above what even the appearance of evil. By the way Christians should know what constitutes the appearance of evil and what doesn’t.

I read a news article recently about a woman scorned. The woman’s husband had been caught in an extra marital affair and she decided to embarrass him by going public with the news and details of his lapse into infidelity. In today’s culture where we see and hear about this type of activity continually, just how embarrassed would this guy be if he had to stand out in public with a sign indicating his infidelity? Later I read that the article was a hoax, still my conclusion doesn’t change. Are people actually embarrassed when their infidelities become public domain? The sin of adultery seems to be at a point of commonality that would rival the sin of homosexuality. Under normal circumstances adulterers would be outcast until they had repented and asked for forgiveness. Today adultery seems to be so commonplace that their boldness goes unnoticed. Where’s the outrage from God’s people? Even in the Church today there’s a problem with adultery. Many just ignore God’s word.

The Church has allowed the appearance of evil to manifest itself right inside the sanctuary. Yet God’s word is true and unchanging. The seventh commandment proclaims “Thou shalt not commit adultery.” Exodus 20:14. In Leviticus we read “And the man that committeth adultery with another man's wife, even he that committeth adultery with his neighbour's wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death,” Leviticus 20:10. Obviously our civilization now looks on adultery with a lackadaisical attitude. I live in a community that boasts of its many Churches, yet adultery’s ugly head is raised even here among all these saints.

A married brother in Christ asked me once if it was alright for him to be alone in his car with a single woman. I quoted the verse found in 1 Thessalonians to him and tried to explain why this was not a good idea. My explanation of why this would be seen as inappropriate went right over his head. Another man asked me if two older people in their sixties could live together without being married. Again, it’s the appearance of evil, it isn’t a Godly behavior, and it could lead others astray. That brother went on to give the reason why this older Christian couple opted for living together instead of following God’s precept of uniting in holy matrimony. “But if they get married they’re placed in a higher tax bracket and that’s why they remain unmarried”. Excuse me, but where in the Bible is there a verse that condones living together to avoid paying your taxes?

People will invent a plethora of excuses that allows them to dabble with or even wallow in the pig’s trough. Then they begin to flaunt their sin since they’ve been able to condone it in their own eyes. As for those who belong to Jesus, we must find ways to prevent even the slightest manifestation of evil in our lives. Our intensions may be perfectly innocent but remember it’s the perception of evil that’s being addressed here.

“He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him” 1 John 2:10. In Greek the word “meno” can be translated as “Abide, tarry, remain continually, and endure”. As followers of Jesus Christ we are to remain (abideth) steadfast in the light; all of those translated English words above apply. There should be no variance or movement out of the light into darkness. As Christians we are to not only avoid the darkness but even the appearance of darkness in our lives. We know God sees everything, every sin we commit whether out in the open or hidden by darkness. “The eyes of the LORD are in every place, beholding the evil and the good,” Proverbs 15:3. When we are out in public others can see how we act and how we speak. Believers know it’s their responsibility to present Jesus to the lost and they see Him through our lives. How can we be His light to the lost if we are stepping back and forth in and out of darkness?

The second part of John’s admonition is for the brethren to have no occasion to stumble a fellow brother in Christ. In other words there should be nothing in our walk with Christ that would lead another into sin. Again, we abstain from every appearance of evil (sin). Just how do we go about that seemingly elusive task? There’s an old adage I’m sure you’ve all heard before, “What Would Jesus Do”? This comes from a book entitled “In His Steps” and was written by Charles Sheldon back in the 1800s. If you haven’t read it I highly recommend you purchase a copy or go to www.kancoll.org/books/sheldon/ and read it online for yourself. It’s a story of a pastor who challenges his congregation to repeat the words “What Would Jesus Do” each time they were about to make an important, possibly life changing, decision.

I know what you’re going to say “WWJD is an old and tried idea that had its run and now is thoroughly out dated” it may seem that way to some because we’ve stopped applying it to our lives. Nothing about keeping Jesus on our minds can ever be considered outdated. WWJD was marketed and sold to the public as a merchandizing scheme. It seems this is always the case when something good is identified as a money maker. My challenge to you this day, is to grab that old tried idea back up off the shelf and restore it to its position of prominence. And the next time you are about to make that very important decision which just might have the appearance of evil ask yourself the question “What Would Jesus Do”. But take it a step further next time and ask yourself this, “How will what I’m about to do glorify God?” If it doesn’t glorify God, abstain. It’s that simple.

Many Christians today have become lax in their attitudes toward sin. Because of the influence of the world and the temptations put before us by those who are lost, many followers of Christ stumble and some make a habit of stumbling. I’m sure there are many who see nothing wrong with being alone with someone of the opposite sex. That’s because our morals have been tampered with. Just look at all the movies that have been produced to lure us into evil. Sin (evil) is sin and there is no hiding from it when it appears in our life, we can’t fool God. Having a grasp of what may constitute the appearance of evil before we step into that dark arena might just keep us from stumbling a brother, not to mention ourselves. Wisdom, knowledge, and understanding, comes with maturity, Christian maturity. Christians who are mature in their walk with Jesus will do anything to avoid the appearance of evil; no one wants to knowingly lead another astray.

I mentioned two different accounts of believers participating in what would be an appearance of evil; there are many more. As believers who have been reborn, born of God, and since He now owns us we should do everything possible to keep from associating with even the tiniest fragment of evil. Why be conformed to the world. Since we’re only passing though this world to get to our permanent home we should have that home on our minds. It should be our privilege and honor to lead others into the light of Christ while abstaining from all appearances of evil in our own life.

Conforming to the world is a pit many Christians have fallen into. Some of whom have knowingly, and willingly conformed their bodies into the exact image and lifestyle which they were brought out of. Instead of separating themselves from the world they’ve joined the ranks of the walking dead. Certainly this is the appearance of evil.

When believers get caught up with the cares of the world they lose their focus and begin to put on the world. There are those who mark up or punch holes in their bodies then say it’s done so they can witness to others who are into that type of mutilation. They want to be on a level playing field so to speak with those they are witnessing to. Some believers seem to be under the false assumption that if they take on a similar look as those who are lost their witnessing will be more productive. This is a huge error. We’re not taught in the scriptures to conform to the world in order to be a better witness “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” Romans 12:2.

To abstain from ALL appearance of evil means just that. If believers become intertwined, so to speak, with the walking dead, the lost can have a devastating effect on the saved. They may very well bring you down to a level that will be difficult, if not impossible, to separate from, “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?” 2 Corinthians 6:14. If we follow Paul’s admonition, then we shall find it much easier to abstain from any appearance of evil.

When we look around at the world today we can plainly see evil permeating every nook and cranny of society. There will always be folks who try to tell us that what we once perceived as good is no longer good and they’ll turn normal around and replace it with abominations. They’ll tell us that bad and evil are now good. Believers must be constantly on guard and thoroughly prepared for what’s coming. This world is turning upside down. We must abstain from joining in with the crowd.

I made, in the beginning paragraph, a very important statement. Christians should know what constitutes the appearance of evil. Many today who call themselves Christians haven’t a clue as to the full scope of evil that currently permeates our society. The truth is, evil abounds in both its scope and its depth. Believers have neglected their Bibles long enough. We read and study God’s word thus we learn His truth and what God considers evil and what He accepts as good. Then we need to take it one step further and apply His precepts to our lives.

Gird yourselves with righteousness, allow no evil into your circle of influence, be the light Christ has ordained you to be. Be wise, be prudent, be an example of Christ on earth. Avoid at all cost the appearance of evil. Remember the temptation to embrace evil comes from the lust of the flesh which is Satan’s domain. “...every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.” James 1:13-15.

God bless you all,

Ron Graham
twotug@embarqmail.com
All scripture is from the KJV

Thy Will Be Done - Ron Graham - twotug@embarqmail.com

How often do we pray “Thy will be done” and then go about doing our own will instead of God’s. Why is that? Is it God’s will that we become slothful and apathetic instead of focused on His coming Kingdom? The Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses are certainly deceived as they remain in their false religion, yet the one thing we must give them credit for is their very aggressive stance on witnessing and their evangelistic approach. Comparatively those two false religions are head and shoulders above Christianity in regards to their evangelistic approach especially when it comes to witnessing. Why aren’t my Christian brethren as aggressive? Is the body of Christ so full that there’s no further need for evangelism? If we’re sincere when praying those words “Thy will be done” then we would see many more positive results. Sadly, what we see, in America at least, is Christ’s Church losing ground, fast.

With so many ignoramuses running the Christian churches today guiding their flock into complete heresies there’s no wonder true Christian evangelism has declined. Here’s what the Lutherans have recently come up with to be a light to the lost world. They now allow homosexuals to takeover of the administration of the Church, thus, they’ve now allowed the fox into the hen house and they’ve closed and locked the door behind them. We will see much more of this nonsense in the near future as we grow ever so much closer to the biblically prophesized last days. In the meantime the Great Apostasy is here.

Why do so many Christians simply ignore scriptures? Once we’re “in” that’s it, that’s good enough. “Well I’m okay. I’m headed in the right direction. The rest of those folks out there have had the same opportunity as me.” Have they? I wonder. With all the false teaching being promoted as truth these days and as the church is seemingly going along with it like sheep being led to the slaughter, are all the walking dead actually given the same opportunity as the rest of us?

Have you ever talked to a Mormon about salvation? They do feel, through a burning in their bosoms, that they know Jesus Christ, but if you really delve into their church doctrine you will find that they teach that Satan and Christ are spiritual brothers. Wow. They don’t know my Messiah at all. My Messiah is God Almighty; He’s not brothers with Satan. Jesus Christ created Lucifer as the cherub that covers but who later fell into rebellion against Him. True believers know Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses are condemned but how many of my brethren ever attempt to explain the truth to these foolish people?

Isn’t it possible that many in these cults have never heard the true Gospel? It is God’s will that His Gospel, His truth be preached to the entire world, not false gospels. God’s command to spread the good news includes witnessing to all those individuals who are stuck in false religions. They may even live right next door to you. Your next door neighbor, who, in your mind may be past the point of no return, may only be a few yards and words away from hearing the truth and becoming born again. My fellow brethren, it’s time to burden our hearts with a desire to spread the truth to all the walking dead.

Let me tell you a story about a man who previously filled the ranks of the walking dead. Not that he was in a cult, but he was just as dead. He was a man who would not allow the subject of God to be brought up in his presence. This man had no desire to know God or to include Him in his life. Oh yes, he had heard about God in his past, he had an Aunt who would take him to Sunday school now and then, a dad who liked watching Billy Graham on TV, and a mom who would cry whenever her son would claim he didn’t believe in Jesus. This man had at least heard something of what people said about Jesus Christ. He had seen the signs on storefronts indicating “Jesus Saves” but he really hadn’t a clue as to what any of it meant. He thought being born again was for those fringe religious freaks, hippies and other weirdoes. For the first forty-four years of this man’s life no one even made an attempt at specifically explaining the Gospel to him. There were the occasional Christian cults that would show up at the front door of his home, but they would not endeavor to return once they encountered this man’s hostility.

This heathen man was an alcoholic, a blasphemer, a liar, a cheat, and what’s worse he would browbeat his fellow man to submit to his will. At six feet four inches tall and weighing in at 250 lbs he was a formative foe to any who would dare challenge him or stand in his way. Some of his neighbors attended church each and every Sunday, but never once witnessed to him. Were they afraid of him? Possibly. But where in the Bible are we told, by Jesus, or any of the biblical writers, that if we are afraid never mind witnessing? God will get someone else, you just take it easy. God placed no such qualifying words in His command to go and preach the Gospel to all nations.

America has been very diligent, even impressive, in past accomplishments at spreading the Gospel of Christ to foreign shores. Such has been the case for many years, yet, in the meantime, America itself suffers. We have now become a country where believers from other nations come to evangelize us. America’s spiritual heart is out of order. Certainly something has fallen through the cracks. That something is God’s word. Oh sure, the cults are still out there actively seeking converts and doing quite well I might add. But where’s the Church, the true body of Christ, the front line if you will?

The religion of Islam is making huge strides here in the US. Many people are becoming Muslims, even many who were brought up in the Church are turning to Islam for their answers. Why? What could Islam possibly offer people who were brought up in the Christian Church and in Christian homes? What would be so appealing that these folks would turn their backs on Jesus Christ? It’s my opinion that no truly born again believer “in Christ” would ever turn their backs on Him and attempt to join the ranks of the condemned. But for those who are only going through the motions not really believing the word of God I can see how they could be led away. No roots, no commitment, no real faith, but totally lost.

What does all of this have to do with the man I was talking about? The man who, for forty-four years lived as a walking dead person because no one with any intestinal fortitude ever took the time to witness to him? Some of you might have figured out by now that the man was me. Although I was and am married to a wonderful Christian woman, she was going through a lapse of faith when I met her and so her witnessing was at a standstill even before she met me. Finally, one day after some years of marriage she came to me and told me she needed to get back to Church. I thought to myself “that’s no big deal I can tag along every now and then” and so I did.

In the church we attended was a man, 20 years my senior, who was a fishing guide on the famous Rouge River in Oregon, one day this man decided I needed a fishing lesson. If he was scared of me he never showed a sign of it. Sitting in his boat for almost 8 hours gave him ample opportunity to explain Jesus Christ to this heathen. After that full day of fishing spent with my new friend in his boat in the middle of a freezing cold raging river, in the middle of March, and after landing two of the biggest Salmon in mankind’s history (okay, that’s a fish story) I asked Christ into my life and became born again. This older gentleman never worried about what my response would be or whether or not I’d lose my temper and possibly lash out at him with a volley of foul language, which I was quite proficient at by the way.

Elvin was his name and what he did was he simply shared the Gospel with me that day and it was as though the proverbial light bulb had just come on. Suddenly the whole world changed before my eyes. The Holy Spirit, through His constant prodding, finally chipped away at the last remaining vestige of my prideful self-reliance, self-will, and doubt. The seeds that had been planted years before finally bore fruit and my eyes were opened to the truth of the Gospel.

Elvin went home to be with the Lord a few years ago, but through his diligence the Gospel continues to be preached. Not only by me but by numerous others he touched as he guided them in a fishing journey of a lifetime.

Every believer has the same responsibility lying at their doorstep. Preach the Gospel to the world. Remember most of the lost world is outside the church buildings doors. Believers who actually do witness and evangelize are in no way waging a losing battle. God opens doors, opportunities if you will, and His word will never come back void. It may only be one person you witness to who becomes a part of the body of Christ, but that one person may affect the lives of thousands, even millions. You have no idea of your potential and you may never know the flood gate you opened. But God knows and He never forgets. “Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour. For we are labourers together with God: ye are God's husbandry, ye are God's building,” 1 Corinthians 3:8, 9. We are to be about our Fathers business as He directs, and his directions never include simply standing by as others perish. We are God’s husbandry, teachers, preachers, ministers and laborers with God spreading the truth to a lost world.

Many of you will recall the conversion story of D.L. Moody. For those who have never heard or read this story here’s a quick synopsis. A youth pastor by the name of Mr. Edward D. Kimball pursued the young Moody, even going as far as reaching out to him at his place of employment, Holton’s shoe store. Kimball shared the truth of the Gospel with D.L. and there in the back of that shoe store in Boston the future great evangelist gave himself and his life to Christ. If that youth pastor (E.D. Kimball) hadn’t bothered taking a few extra moments with Moody, how many others worldwide might never have had the opportunity to hear and receive the Gospel of Christ?

Believers cannot surrender or retire; there are no qualifying words in Mark 16, or Matthew 28 for that matter, that give rise to the idea that there is ever to be an end to our witnessing and spreading the Gospel while we are alive. “And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.” Mark 16:15. Matthews Gospel is just as clear we find no reference to a time when we are to cease evangelizing the lost. “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:” Matthew 28:19.

I’ve heard from some who complain that the lost have so thoroughly hardened their hearts toward God that it’s a futile waste of time trying to evangelize them. I know when it comes to a hardened heart and the subject of God many have been so deeply influenced by the lie of evolution, or by the seductive programming of the secular media, and even the many lies of most of those who run our federal, state, and local governments, that they seem to have no mind or heart of their own. Some of you have responded to me in the past with “they belong to Satan and he’s not letting go, why should I continue in what is certainly a futile effort?” If that’s your attitude toward evangelizing go back up the page and read again about my life as a dead man walking and then think about your attitude and what God is able to accomplish through our perseverance.

All humans while living and breathing can be converted from dead to alive. There’s a story in our Bibles of a woman who had a problem and she went to a judge for help. This judge had no fear of God or man. He told this woman to scram he couldn’t be bothered with her problems. The woman wouldn’t give up; she persisted in her attempts to find relief for her problems and continued to petition this judge to intervene. She confronted him over and over with her problem. Finally he relented. He had had enough. He told the woman he would help her so he could finally be rid of her.

This story is of course a paraphrase of Luke 18. Although Jesus is speaking about our persistence concerning our prayer life and petitioning God, we learn that persistence is the key to open many doors. Will we meet with brick walls? I say “most assuredly”. Here’s the reality, as we spread the Gospel to an individual or even a group, we then move on to our next challenge. What we left behind is the word of God planted as a seed in the minds and hearts of those folks. Some will believe and become born again, and yes there will be those who won’t accept the truth and they will continue in their rebellion to God. Even though we may never know which of the folks we encounter will become believes we can be assured that the word of God will take hold in some hearts. How do I know? (So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. Isaiah 55:11.) Again, how do I know? Because God says so.

“Thy will be done” is a prayer most of us have committed to memory, many have prayed this prayer from the time they were children. We pray that God’s will is accomplished here on earth and it will be. We also know that His will is for us to continue in His service until He brings us home, as it should be. When you pray that prayer stand by it, it’s the right thing to do.

God bless you all,

Ron Graham
twotug@embarqmail.com
All scripture is from the KJV
 

Every Kingdom Divided Falls - Ron Graham - twotug@embarqmail.com

“...every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation...” Matthew 12:25. Jesus goes on to say in that same verse “and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand” Division is exactly what those in power are causing to happen in America. Jesus is telling us that when a kingdom becomes a divided kingdom and stands in opposition to it self it eventually crumbles into dust. History proves that Jesus’ words are correct and America will be no different as we watch this country become more and more divided.

According to Dr. Chuck Missler www.khouse.org America has a Sunni Muslim currently usurping power as the occupier of the Oval Office. This country is headed into a whole new realm of existence. Much of the eligible voting citizens of America are oblivious to the very nature of the Islamic religion. Obama claims to be a Christian and yet he never renounced his Muslim religion. Many people when running for office will profess to be Christian but their actions once in office prove otherwise. Most Americans see no evil associated with the “moderate” Muslims and their religion. What most don’t understand is that Islam and Christianity are completely antithetical. There can never be an ecumenical existence between these two groups of people.

Here’s a little something for women to chew on. There are many women out there who just love to show off their bodies in public. Well, under Islam’s “Sharia law” that practice will cease. Women must be covered from head to toe. Violations of this law will result in 100 lashes or worse. Can you just imagine Britney Spears wearing a veil and burqa everywhere she goes? Personally I’d like to see women cover up more but a burqa is going too far.

Islam is not a religion of peace. Too many people today don’t understand anything about this religion and that’s because they listen to the mainstream media and how they sugar-coat it. This thoroughly pervasive evil is the religion of the antichrist and is bent on world domination. If you read the Koran you will soon come to understand just how Islam is the antithesis of Christianity. The man in the Oval Office of the United States of America may be more aware of his role in moving this country towards the Islamic religion than you and I might think. He is a facilitator and as far as he’s concerned all is going according to plan. Is BHO aware of Satan’s plan to dominate the world with his preferred religion, (Islam)? Or that we are seriously close to the introduction of Satan’s man of the hour to the world? Hmm.

This nation must be brought to its knees in respect to its financial institutions, its manufacturing conglomerates, and its world domination of currency, its overall debt, and its conservatism. The only way for the enemy to accomplish his ultimate goal of world domination is to move the US out of its place of prominence and relegate it to a lesser position, such as that of a third world culture. Islam is standing in the wings, so to speak, ready to be the only religion legitimately accepted in this world and anyone who stands in its way will be eliminated. The man in the Oval Office may be fully aware of this satanic scheme; it seems as though he may be using his presidential powers and every fiber of his being to accomplish Satan’s goal quickly before the American populace catches on.

America seemed to want change at any cost. Many wanted a woman president and thought Hilary Clinton would have made a great choice. Others were in favor of Sarah Palin as vice-president, but are now looking forward to 2012 when she might run for the presidency. Some were contemplating Colin Powel as a viable candidate for president. Change is what America wanted and change we got.

The result of our desire for change got us more than we bargained for. America voted into office what they thought would be the first African-American president. But in all actuality, what they got is a demonic forerunner to a system that we Christians refer to as the anti-Christ. The color of his skin is not an issue. America elected a man who appeared upon the scene as basically an unknown entity, yet from behind those scenes lurked an evil force that had the ability to catapult this man systematically and stealthily like a well orchestrated military campaign into the White House. This was nothing less than supernaturally miraculous in nature. The problem being it was supernaturally demonically inspired. If the enemy of mankind wasn’t behind this man he would not have gotten to first base. He’s never supplied any true legal proof of his right to sit in the Oval Office of the United States of America as its duly elected president. And he had absolutely no managerial or executive experience whatsoever. Yet, there he sits basking in his false power tossing out our new marching orders to be followed as though he’s actually the king of the world.

You can disagree with me all you like but please don’t write me and tell me you believe he’s a Christian or that I’m being judgmental. “For a good tree bringeth not forth corrupt fruit; neither doth a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. For every tree is known by his own fruit. For of thorns men do not gather figs, nor of a bramble bush gather they grapes. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh. And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?” Luke 6:43-46.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, many people say they are Christians (especially those running for the office of President) and yet haven’t a clue as to what it really means to be born again. When people place their faith, their trust, their very existence in Jesus’ hands they do not produce evil fruit. Besides, Jesus Himself warns us of wolves in sheep’s clothing. “Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits..." Matthew 7:15-16a. Many will say “God puts whomever He chooses into leadership”. No, God gives us in His word parameters to look to and warnings to beware of. He tells us to be mindful of false prophets. Then we ignore His word and vote in the worst of the worst, it’s our fault not God’s.

Some of you may be quite angry with me right about now and want to turn me into the government goons so they can come and take me away from my family and place me in one of their new government run internment camps. Rocky Balboa would say “Go for it”. If those internment camps really do exist and that is my fate and the end of my life, none of that will change the facts. Reading or watching secular run, “in bed with Obama”, liberal news agency’s reports on what’s happening in our nation will only embed the lie further into your brain and you will find it impossible that so many can be so wrong. So you will continue to drink from that arsenic laced cup of Kool-Aid.

Believes and non-believers alike can see the evil direction in which this county is bound. We are being led to the slaughter by a man who claims to only be enacting what he was placed in office to do, make changes. I’d really like to know how many in this country actually accept this type of nonsense as a positive instead of negative, and just how many of my fellow Americans, after enduring seven months of this man’s idiocy, still have an outlook of positive change for the future of the US. I’ve read recently that his approval ratings are in the toilet. Go figure. I wonder where we’ll be as a nation after four years of this man.

As Islam emerges onto the scene, there seems to be a worldwide delusion that this is a peace-loving religion. Somehow they miss the fact that Muslims behead people simply because they are non-Muslim. The world, as a whole, is going in the way of Islam. Liberals, who, for the most part proclaim there is no God, have no problem with this horrible false religion because they don’t understand it and they think the Islamic god is the same as the Christian God. Since they don’t believe He exists they accept this Islamic foolishness wholeheartedly. Liberals ignorantly refer to the religion of Islam as peaceful which is actually ludicrous and can only come from people who are deceived, lost, and perishing.

There seems to be a world-wide push to try and eliminate the one true God. For instance the religion of evolution has no God and that’s been one of the main reasons for its fervent push into our government run schools. Only by eliminating God – the God of the Bible – from the minds of Americans and ultimately from all nations could the evil powers-that-be create all the liberal deep thinkers who currently claim there is no God. Have you ever noticed that it’s only Christianity that is being eliminated from our public schools? The religion of Islam is wholly acceptable if students wish to practice it while at school. Of course the religion of secular humanism is required teaching, forcefully administered to our children.

I know there are plenty of you out there that believe in the lie of evolution. Please don’t email me with your corrections to my stance. There are some very good sites out there for learning the truth from PhD scientists who are creationists. They will be glad to explain all the fallacies of the religion of evolution to you. www.icr.org and www.answersingenesis.org are but two that are exemplarity in their teachings.

Now that the goal of the elimination of Jesus from our public schools and from most of other government run agencies has been all but fully achieved, Satan and his minions of evil are aggressively pushing the Islamic religion on the unsuspecting and deluded world populace without much resistance at all. The god of Islam is Satan and as he pushes this evil through our land and upon our citizenry we may soon find that any resistance to this scheme will ultimately result in the loss of one’s head. That’s how the religion of Islam converts those who will not be converted. They simply eliminate the source of the opposition by separating you from the part of your body that does the thinking.

I don’t need to get into the unfavorable new policies that are coming down like an ax upon the American people. Because of Obama you can all see for yourselves the destruction of the American way of life. Collectively, the whole world is watching America as though they are awaiting the new policies here to begin to be endorsed worldwide. Satan’s evil plan is world domination through force of course. This is not just an American phenomenon. The completely evil and destructive sequence of events currently being espoused by our government leaders are nothing less than the systematic destruction of America, and every nation that isn’t already fully Muslim will be in line to be converted.

If any of my readers are at odds with me on this subject there is a place one can go to get the precise information about this subject and ultimately confirmation. The place I’m speaking of is God’s Holy Word of course. The Bible tells us that all the nations that the Lord comes back to fight against and destroy are Muslim nations. Do the research for yourself and you will find this to be so. At some point all of the world’s nations and peoples will submit to the anti-Christ and will be in line with him to war against Israel. “And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, [at some point all of Israel will recognize Jesus as their Messiah and be saved] and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations. And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. If any man have an ear, let him hear.” Revelation 13:7-9. Some Bible teachers might tell you that “all” doesn’t really mean all nations, but in the original Greek language “all” actually does mean just that, all.

Once again believers have nothing to fear from any of this evil. They can kill us but they can’t touch our souls. “And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them? I tell you that he will avenge them speedily ...” Luke 18:7, 8. Those who belong to Jesus Christ are eternally in God’s hands. All who have placed their faith and trust in Jesus shall have everlasting life. But those who are not believers probably don’t know it yet, but they have much to fear.

You might be thinking right now “Well what about the Rapture, I thought we would be out of here before this all was to come down?” Here’s the rub. What I’m writing about here is currently happening all over the world. There are Christians in many nations around this globe being killed and for no other reason but for their refusal to convert to the religion of Islam. So we see many suffering and dying for the cause of Christ. And guess what? Christ’s Church is still here. What I’m saying is America is not immune to the workings of Satan. It’s here and we’ve elected his servant as our president.

Not only are non-believers in for the shock of their mortal lives as they are forced into reciting the creed of every Muslim “There is no god but Allah, and Mohammed is Allah’s messenger”, but if you refuse this invitation from the adherents to Allah the only alternative is to be beheaded. Now if you don’t accept the creed of the Muslim faith and you are beheaded and you’ve not placed your faith in Jesus and committed your life to Him, then your ultimate eternal destination will be located at the same address as all the Muslims who have recited that creed. A lake burning with fire and brimstone is the punishment for rejecting God’s free gift of salvation. Those who follow the religion of Islam will undoubtedly receive what they are pursuing by associating themselves with this evil, complete and unfettered dominion, but only over their portion of Hell.

Please consider this carefully. Don’t recite that Muslim creed if you are invited to do so; instead ask Jesus into your life. Say yes to Him before all the you-know-what hits the fan.

Oh, and be careful my friends you don’t lose your heads.

God bless us all,

Ron Graham
twotug@embarqmail.com
All scripture is from the KJV
 

Strongholds and Weak Folds - Ron Graham - twotug@embarqmail.com

“For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds” 2 Corinthians 10:4. Strongholds are fortresses where Satan’s demonic hoards set up their residence and attach themselves to your life in a very personal way; the weaker the believer the easier the enemy’s job and the more secure his stronghold. Weak believers are abundant in our Churches today. Ultimately, if a significant enough number of weak believers become entrenched in a congregation the entire fold may very well become an encampment for the enemy.

Paul the Apostle knew how to fight those strongholds and it wasn’t through the use of carnal weaponry. In Ephesians chapter 6 Paul gives us a list of the spiritual weapons to be used as we stand against the enemy the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shoes of the gospel, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit. It’s a war we’re in and these are our weapons for battle. God knows exactly what we need to fight this war and how to arm His soldiers (believers).

Weak believers might try to use persuasive words as a weapon, or manipulation, even portraying an image of success as their spiritual weapon. These are not weapons with which to fight a spiritual battle, these are weapons of political diplomacy where compromise and making concessions to the enemy is championed. Using the perception of power and human schemes and programs to set up feeble attempts to stifle or dispose of the enemy strongholds is a recipe for failure. Strong, capable believers are those who probe deep into their Bibles and search and learn the scriptures and take heed of those scriptures. These are the folks which give Satan his most fierce opposition.

“Our spiritual weapons are scorned by the world, but feared by demonic powers. When we fight with truth, righteousness, evangelism, faith, salvation, the Word of God, and prayer, no principality or power can stand against us.” John Trapp

The believer’s enemy has little opportunity for building strongholds when we are fitted for battle with God’s weaponry. He’s forced to stand by and watch or flee as believers roll out the heavy artillery belonging to the Lord. It frustrates the enemy when believers are so well equipped. No matter what Satan throws at us, if we are strong in our faith and secure in our biblical knowledge the minions of evil will always retreat.

Congregations need strong, committed believers in their midst. When more believers submit to Jesus’ authority and His precepts wholeheartedly each Christian fold flourishes. New believers need to be equipped in this battle from the start of their conversion. We must remember that conversion is only the beginning, too many treat it like it’s the end, and that once they become believers that’s good enough. Many congregations today are overly focused on new membership, adding noses add billfolds to the fold. But neglecting a regime of teaching new converts will undoubtedly compel the enemy to increase his strongholds.

Pastors especially need to rally the troops and lead in the battle to proclaim God’s word and adhere to it completely. If we aren’t really following Jesus wholeheartedly then we aren’t empowered thoroughly. What does it mean to follow Jesus wholeheartedly? Everything Jesus taught becomes our way of life. We don’t argue with our Savior. His way is the only way. Partial or a less than total commitment just won’t do for fending off the enemy or for eliminating his strongholds.

Weak, uncommitted believers damage the folds ability to stand against the wiles of the devil. They are a drain, if you will, on the whole congregation. Basically, what we need to see in the body of Christ is the same thing we see in our national sports teams, “total commitment”. A sports team works together to accomplish their goal, and are successful only as a team. If one person is carrying all the weight on their shoulders, that team will ultimately fail. In the Believers case it’s a thorough and complete commitment to the cause of Christ. All believers are in the game and carry the same weight. If some, or in the case of many congregations today most, allow others to carry all the weight the Christian Church weakens. Certainly we see this all around America, the true body of Christ is diminishing.

Enemy-built strongholds thrive in weak congregations. Weak congregations are those consisting of people who are uneducated in the truth of the Bible. They attend church services every week but seldom, if ever. pick up their Bibles during their away-from-church time. There are 168 hours in a week, and the vast majority of Christians only devote 1 hour a week to God Almighty. That leaves 167 hours to weaken and get into mischief. I know what many of you will say “Some devote 2 or 3 hours per week and more to church and to study”. Some is not all, or even most. Most people these days place studying God’s word at the bottom of their priority scale. Let’s be honest, if we aren’t interested in learning what God says in His word, if we place more interest and devotion in worldly pursuits, then how will we ever fend off the advances of the enemy? It just isn’t going to happen.

Unpopular as this subject may be, it’s the most important focus believers must concentrate on as they adhere themselves to God’s will. Building our walls of protection through the word of God is imperative. It won’t happen through a single hour in Church on Sunday mornings. God’s power to overcome the enemy’s advances in our lives is only accessed through our faith in Him and our fervent prayers and Bible study. Understand, my brethren, our commitment to Jesus really means we will not deviate from His plan. We will not let anything come between us and our devotion to Him. Then, and only then, will we be a part of the winning team. Believers know that, as the body of Christ, we are on the winning team which means no matter who promotes a different gospel it won’t affect us because we’re able to differentiate the truth from a lie. As biblically knowledgeable believers we will only adhere to the truth. But be careful my brethren “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge:” Hosea 4:6.

Jesus tells us to be watchful of deception “And He said, Take heed that ye be not deceived...” Luke 21:8. Deception comes in many forms, such as smooth talkers, deceptive practices, blatant liars, even well meaning but misinformed pastors can lead to deception. Satan has designed some deceptions for the intent of specifically corrupting the saints. “For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many” Matthew 24:5. Jesus gave His disciples many specific warnings about the deceptions to come. Many would come in His name saying they are the Christ; history has proved that prophecy correct. Many have been led astray by these false Christ’s, having fallen for that great deception. We, as His followers, are admonished by Him that deceptive people abound, ready to lead us down that slippery slope to destruction.

Believers won’t fall for that deception if we are strong in our faith and utilizing God’s awesome power in our lives. But if we’ve allowed the enemy in to build his strongholds then the result is a flood of deception. Remember the deceptions are many and most of the time they are thrown in with a bit of truth, just enough mind you to sound biblical to the uninformed ear.

It is very difficult to eliminate the enemy’s strongholds from within the body of Christ; it doesn’t take much to weaken believers today. The body of Christ is constantly being attacked and weakened. When the church allows evil to permeate its fold, it permits the infusion of evil intent which is bent upon destroying the body itself, and the cause of Christ suffers greatly.

More and more this is happening around the world because Christians aren’t standing on God’s precepts. Either they don’t know the truth, or they don’t believe God’s word. They don’t take the scriptures seriously, consequently they put no stock in the warning from Jesus Himself and more strongholds are erected in favor of the enemy. Just take a look at how the contemplative/emergent/purpose driven agenda has infiltrated the Church. Their main purpose is to separate the fold from the truth of God’s word. Hence, the weakening goes forward and another of the enemy’s strongholds is erected.

Carnal thinking, when attributed to the believer, is a true stronghold where the enemy lavishes and basks in his lair. He laughs at the believer. The enemy has nothing but contempt for all people, but even more so for believers. He knows by a believer’s carnal thinking that he has him, and in some cases whole congregations, exactly where he wants them. Believers remain basically useless for the Kingdom of God while the enemy’s strongholds become more and more fortified. Instead of God’s word being the whole truth, other avenues (mans precepts) are pursued in an attempt to gain a higher sense of spirituality. This is a satanic stronghold perpetuated by deceived individuals and packaged and sold to the church today. Example: Many believers accept the lie of evolution and try miserably to tie that lie to God’s creative work.

I’ve noticed that some of the brethren aren’t convinced Jesus is God. It’s scary to think there are many who call themselves Christians yet can’t seem to grasp the truth of who Jesus really is. Some don’t believe that the Bible is really God’s word. They aren’t convinced that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life, that no man comes to the Father but by Him. Over the past couple of years as I’ve posted commentaries to the internet, many have disputed God’s truth with me. Most who argue with me use phrases like “I think” or “I feel”, but then add no Scripture to back up these feelings. We should all be aware that our feelings can be one of the enemy’s strongholds and they aren’t to be trusted. Our feelings need to conform to Scripture instead of trying to conform Scripture to us. If we don’t believe God’s word then we are nothing more than heathens totally lost parading around in believers clothing.

Weak believers won’t commit to Jesus’ teachings. They refuse to be placed in with those fundamental followers of Christ who actually take the Bible literally as the true living word of God. Thus through erroneous teachings many become wrapped up in a delusion which proclaims the Bible to have been written by man and it includes outdated, mythological, or even falsehoods that diminish its other context. Other weak believers conclude the Bible to be mostly allegorical and therefore basically useless in today’s culture.

Strongholds appear to be overwhelming as we begin to see more weak believers infiltrating the body of Christ and infecting the Church with their learned hypocrisy. The body of Christ can’t afford weak believers. We are coming down to the final hour, folks, and we must remain strong. There are strongholds to defeat, and defeat them we must. Only through a commitment to the truth of God’s word can we regain the ground that was previously ours but has been lost to the charlatans.

God chooses to work in the lives of believers. He uses believers to accomplish his goal. He uses us to spread His word and to help enlighten and attract others to the truth, and to edify one another. We, the body of Christ, are a light for the lost world. Weak believers shine forth weak light or no light at all. Strong, committed believers shine forth the powerful light of Christ. Which light shines from you?

Complacency and apathy in a believer give the enemy his greatest strength. When believers are no longer motivated to be a team player and to help motivate the flock they become more of a detriment to the fold instead of a deterrent to the enemy’s building of strongholds.

I must reiterate that fervent prayer and a committed regime of Bible study is the key to avoid the formation of strongholds by the enemy. Over and over again this has been my mantra and the theme of most of my commentaries. If, by writing these commentaries, I can convince even a few of the brethren to read and study their Bibles, to receive from God his gift of knowledge and wisdom which translates into discernment, that would be worth all the effort placed in these commentaries.

God’s word is the power we need to sustain us in these soul trying times. I challenge every believer to study God’s word an hour or more every day or night of the week. If that means you miss the reruns on TV, which you’ve already seen, or you miss the ball game because you were studying your Bible it won’t really affect the outcome of the game because you missed watching it. But, by studying your Bible, you can help the fold where you worship strengthen its stance against the invading enemy.

God will work his plan through every believer who will commit to saying yes to Him. If you are protected by God’s mighty power who can stand against you? Certainly by studying your Bibles and by living through God’s power the strongholds of the enemy can be eliminated. The fold can and will survive.

God bless you all,

Ron Graham
twotug@embarqmail.com
All Scripture is from the KJV
 

Speaking the Truth - Ron Graham - twotug@embarqmail.com
 
“Then He said to the disciples, "It is impossible that no offenses should come, but woe to him through whom they do come!” Luke 17:1. Ridiculing a brother in Christ because you believe him to be teaching erroneously by twisting scripture is a grave accusation. Indeed, Bible teachers who take it upon themselves to re-interpret scripture from what the word actually says are an abomination to God. God’s word warns us over and over again about the consequences of teaching our brothers in Christ erroneously. “It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones.” Luke 17:2.

Seriously, that’s how Christians need to take these words of our Lord, very seriously. Studying God’s word should be a labor of love. We should always be ready to help others obtain a more complete understanding of God’s word. But as we study and teach God’s word, we must be careful not to twist scriptures to fit what we want them to mean. Too often when people contact me to point out what they perceive as errors in my interpretation of Scripture, they neglect to include Scripture, taken in context, to support their positions. This leads to many misunderstandings. “Who is as the wise man? and who knoweth the interpretation of a thing? a man's wisdom maketh his face to shine, and the boldness of his face shall be changed.” Ecclesiastes 8:1

If a person disagrees with another’s interpretation of God’s word, there needs to be discussion between the two parties. Too often, though, one or both begin to quote Scripture out of context and without taking the original words and meaning of God’s word into account. Every English translation of the Bible uses words based upon common usage at the time of the translation. For instance, many claim that there is no reference to dinosaurs in the Bible because the word does not appear. If we look closely at various passages we find that, indeed, there are descriptions of unusual creatures.

The book of Job describes the behemoth: Behold now behemoth, which I made with thee; he eateth grass as an ox. Lo now, his strength is in his loins, and his force is in the navel of his belly. He moveth his tail like a cedar; the sinews of his stones are wrapped together. His bones are as strong pieces of brass; his bones are like bars of iron. Job 40:15-18. There is much more description in the following passages. Now, when these verses were translated in the King James Version in 1611, nobody knew what a dinosaur was. Through the years the notion was promoted that this described an elephant or a hippopotamus. Go back and read the description and see if it sounds like an elephant! It wasn’t until the mid 1800’s that a dinosaur skeleton was unearthed and the word “dinosaur” was coined. But to this day people twist God’s word to justify evolution and say that dinosaurs are not in the Bible. This is just one way in which God’s word, if not properly studied and taken in context, can be misunderstood.

There is a growing desire and hunger world-wide for God’s truth. Not twisted interpretations of God’s word, but the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Twisting scriptures, in my view, is the same as teaching false doctrine and needs to be avoided like the plague. As we study and learn more of God’s word He adds to our understanding. As He sees our diligence and desire to become more informed as to what His word reveals, He allows us a deeper understanding of His precepts. The more a person studies God’s word, the more discernment God gives to that person. The believer must actively pursue knowledge and wisdom through study and prayer, always striving to receive from God blessings of more and more discernment. “Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.” 2 Timothy 4:2.

“But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.”2 Peter 2:1. I see the twisting of Scripture all the time. I see it and hear it and am sometimes at a loss as to why it’s done. Sadly, there are many in teaching ministries who do just that. Blatant scripture twisting is obvious to those with a discerning eye and ear. But to those who have little Bible knowledge just about anything will pass as biblical. “And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of.” 2 Peter 2:2.

Many who complain about scripture being twisted are only parroting what someone else has told them. They haven’t actually searched the scriptures for themselves to learn the truth. Listening to any particular Bible teacher without searching the scriptures for yourself is to your own detriment. If a Bible teacher tells you to trust him because he knows the scriptures and that you need not even read or study for yourself, run from one such as this. This is how cults get started.

I’ve studied for years under the tutelage of various Bible teachers who always quote Acts 17:11 “These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so” either as they begin their teachings or at some point during their lessons. In other words, they want their students to search the scriptures for themselves and not just take their word for anything. I’ve also heard numerous other teachers claim dogmatically their interpretation is the only correct interpretation. Again, this would be someone to run from.

The internet is a great source for searching out and obtaining biblical insight. It is also the biggest source for distributing tons of erroneous Bible teachings, twisting of scriptures, and lies that’s ever been invented by man. Be careful and diligent about testing the information gleaned from the internet against the truth of God’s word. There’s also a plethora of books at Christian book stores that teach pure lies. The emergent Church folks have moved into the mainstream of Christendom and are utilizing Christian bookstores as well as secular bookstores, and of course the internet, to distribute their satanic teachings worldwide. All of which is intended to move the masses from a Christ centered life to a god-is-in-everything type of existence. Every bit of which is done through the twisting of scriptures. “Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;” 1 Timothy 4:1, 2.

I don’t have all the answers and that’s for sure, but God’s word does. We should be able to find the answer to all of life’s most intriguing problems not to mention our little idiosyncrasies and quirks. God, in His infinite wisdom, has anticipated our every question, our every whim, and our every thought. He’s made His word available to those who want to get to know the truth, and He’s certainly available for all those who have the desire to get to know Him personally. God, through His Holy Spirit, has asked me to make myself available to anyone who is seeking and needs a little clarification. But one thing I won’t do is twist scriptures.

If I don’t have the answer right off the tip of my brain I search for the answer throughout the scriptures until I’m sure I have the correct answer and always through prayer. This should be every Christian’s desire. To search Scripture and come to a deeper and truer knowledge of God’s Holy Word should be pure joy to every Christian. We should all want a deeper understanding of God’s word so that we’re conformed more to His likeness and not twist scriptures to justify our lifestyles or try to conform Him to us.

Disagreements will always arise when two or more people discuss their individual interpretations of scriptures. Because of various commentaries I’ve written, and my endeavoring to stay true to God’s word, I have been called many names such as hate-monger, bigot, and racist. Some exclaim that I can’t possibly be a Christian and tell me to just shut my mouth. They say that my stance on God’s word is the problem with church today. They want scripture twisted to justify sinful lifestyles. I won’t do it. If you, like me, take God’s word serious and refuse to twist scripture, then you and I can both relate to David’s words in Pslam 56:“Every day they wrest my words: all their thoughts are against me for evil.” Psalm 56:5

When the Holy Spirit leads me to write these commentaries He directs me to the scripture verses He wants inserted. Its Gods word that is prominent in my commentaries and it’s His word that the commentaries are built around. I hope that before you attack my stance, or anyone else’s for that matter, that you will do due diligence and search God’s word and see what He says. Don’t twist His words, but honestly see what He says. “These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise thee.” Titus 2:15.

We all have the responsibility to keep each other on the right track. When I, or any other commentator, writes a commentary or lesson, everyone reading must do so with due diligence. If there is an error in the Scripture interpretation, then respond. But be sure not to twist scripture in doing so.

In conclusion, if you disagree with me on any topic, please, as you sit down to compose a rebuttal include the scripture verses that pertain to your perception of my error. This way I can respond with more resources and information that might help clear up the confusion. Another reason to add Scripture is to support your own position, and I just might be pointed to something I’ve overlooked. Remember we are all on the same team. We are the body of Christ. We must stand up for Jesus Christ together and against the evil of this world. Let’s work together, we’ve certainly worked against each other long enough.

I’ll add another passage from God’s word quoted from the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Galatians, which, I hope, would tie this entire commentary together. “I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.” Galatians 1:6-8.

“As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.” Galatians 1:9.

God bless you all,

Ron Graham
twotug@embarqmail.com
All scripture verses are from the KJV

 

Blessed are the Persecuted - Ron Graham - twotug@embarqmail.com

“Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:10. Can we, as believers, actually look at persecution as a blessing? There probably isn’t a Christian alive today who is looking forward to a future filled with persecution with much excitement. Ours is the kingdom of Heaven and we will be persecuted before we leave this earth. Jesus’ Church has been persecuted from the outset. If we are truly His followers then we had better get use to the idea of persecution, and soon. Yes, even in America.

Have you noticed that the news media will put the name “Christian” on anything they perceive to be something they can use to condemn the Church? A Christian Evangelist who took young girls across state lines to engage in sex has, in the media’s view, been news worthy for weeks now. A Christian drifter on the beach in California was recently linked to killing two couples. The actual headlines themselves are quite telling they show just how much distain the secular news media has for all Christians. We’re hated and persecuted as the followers of Jesus Christ and condemned right along with the sex perverts, and murderers.

American media, being mostly secular, hasn’t a clue as to what it means to be a Christian. Through their ignorance of the truth, they seem to lump all professing Christians together in the same bad light. That’s like saying all Americans agree and follow Obama because he’s been elected president of the United States, which, as most of you well know, would be a huge error.

If believers are guilty by association then, yes, I’m guilty. But my guilt lies in being a devout follower of my Lord Jesus Christ, not with deviants who erroneously claim a kinship in His name. For example, I and many of my brethren claim no association with the man occupying the Oval Office. Although he claims to be a Christian, the lack of fruit in his life would move him closer to claiming a kinship with the aforementioned miscreants than with Christians. There’s no one who can legitimately claim a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and yet wholeheartedly stands against Him. That’s a notion wrought with failure. Christians don’t persecute Christians.

If there is any way to persecute the Church or to put an unfavorable look on us, the secular media will find it, even if they have to print half truths and misleading facts. Hollywood is behind much of the persecution of the Church. They assign top paid actors and directors to produce films that denigrate Christianity. They’re like wild dogs searching out a blood scent from ten miles away. They are relentless in their pursuit to bring down the Christian Church, and that means each individual Christian is in the line of fire. If there is any doubt in your mind as to the accusation I just made, step back and take a good look at Sarah Palin’s life over the past year or so. Whether or not you agree with her politics you must admit she’s endured far above her share of persecution. And it’s her biblical stance on the issues that the media can’t tolerate.

The news media and their satanic efforts of digging out corruption in the Christian community will never succeed at bringing down the Church. These folks will stop at nothing in their attempts to smash the Church and destroy it for good. And they laugh at Jesus’ followers as they proceed with their persecution of His Church. But Christians can take heart in Jesus words, “...and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” Matthew 16:18b.

Although many believers here in the states live fairly comfortable lives, many of our brethren in foreign countries are suffering tremendous persecution including, at times, martyrdom all because they are known to follow Jesus Christ, period. “Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.” Matthew 5:12. Sounds like dome and gloom, Ron. Mark my words, people; what we once took for granted is disappearing. There’s a new dog in town.

It’s not that difficult to see the persecution coming our way. Many of my brethren have blinders on when it comes to viewing the US and the rest of the world falling into perfect step with one another. Much of the rest of the world has been building up to a confrontation with Christians for years as nations execute our brethren, destroy our places of worship, and eliminate any and all references to the Bible. Christians understand fully who it is these people really hate. Just His name seems to invoke hatred.

As we get farther and farther into the current administration’s four year stint, we’re beginning to see many signs that point to more and more animosity towards Christians, and as I stated before, this coming from a president claiming to be Christian. I suppose if the news media can believe a man who takes young girls across state lines for the sole purpose of having sex with them is a Christian, they can believe our president is one, too. Looking at all the gross, blatant, evil denigration made against Biblical truths these days we become more suspicious of our government and their agenda with each passing day.

The American culture is changing exactly as promised by you know who, just like the majority of voters wanted to see happen. Along with those changes came new restrictions aimed at the followers of Jesus Christ. Those of us who take the word of God literally will soon find new un-Constitutional restrictions imposed upon us which are designed to stop us from speaking Biblical truth. If we choose to stand on God’s infallible word we will find Christian persecution at every turn. Then again, many will just bury their heads in the sand and pretend it doesn’t exist. That won’t do them any good, though, unless they are prepared to renounce Christ. If not, they, along with the rest of the Church, will soon come to understand that persecution is most certainly upon us.

“Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed;” 2 Corinthians 4:9. Paul lived a life of almost continual trials after his conversion. He endured horrible persecution, probably much more than you or I will ever have occasion to experience in our lifetime, but then again who knows? The way in which the persecution can come upon the Church can be almost stealth-like at first. For example, the pulpits of our churches are to be silent when it comes to endorsing or speaking out against those running for political office; any Church found not following these guidelines can and will lose their tax exempt status. How would the IRS find out about this dastardly deed? Someone in the congregation would most certainly need to be a snitch. So, for the most part, the Church has caved in on that front. After awhile, though, that persecution won’t be enough. Soon orders will emerge from a hostile government telling us to stop using that hate-filled book, the Holy Bible, when we assemble or, again, we’ll lose that most revered and favored tax exempt status and much more. In a socialist society there’s no room for “people of the Book”. Paul knew that only his faith in Jesus’ power and victory could see him through his trials. The mind set demonstrated by Paul is necessary in every believer’s life today.

Believers must keep this very important fact in mind we aren’t suffering because of some evil deed we performed. We followers of Jesus Christ we’ll be judged for taking His name and rightly so. We should never feel ashamed if we suffer for Christ’s sake and in His name. “Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf. For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?” 1 Peter 4:16, 17.

The world sees Jesus not as their savior, but as an antiquated intolerant, religious carpenter, or a myth. They see His precepts as being way too exclusive. They blaspheme Him daily in their ignorance and their pride. They use His name as profanity. They see His followers as foolish, non-participants of their ideal normal society. When the world recognizes us as Jesus’ followers, rejoice for that’s exactly how we should want to be known.

Depressing as this world may seem at times, we must remember that God triumphs in the end, which means we also win. As believers, our lives are in God’s hands and there is nothing to fear from this old sinful world, even though so many shun the truth and live the lie that currently permeates the world. I’m sure there are horror stories out there of all forms of Christian persecution of which I’ve not even scratched the surface in this commentary. But through our sufferings and persecutions we will see God accomplish great things. “Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.” Matthew 5:11. The more we are persecuted the more we can revel in our afflictions and bask in God’s glorious love.

Honestly, after living 58 years in the U.S. of A, and for many of those years living as a worldly, ignorant, self-seeking, follower of Satan, it’s extremely refreshing now that Jesus rules and reigns in my life, to know I’m now on the winning team. During my early years as a believer I hadn’t really noticed the Church being persecuted. That’s because I was ignorant of the scriptures and didn’t recognize it. Persecution has always been around knocking at the door of the Church. Anytime we believers are forced to comply with laws or regulations which are contrary to the word of God, whether in America or any other nation it’s called Christian persecution.

For example, as American citizens we live in a country that murders millions of unborn babies and has done so for years. As believers we know this evil is contrary to the word of God, and yet, the Church has been unsuccessful at eliminating this scourge on society. As a matter of fact, with this current administration in place, abortion has now exploded with a new vigor. This current usurper of the Oval Office has made it his goal to eliminate all unwanted babies. Even those who escape the abortionist and live, he demands they be left to die on the garbage heaps. Your president, America, using your tax dollars to abort those innocent little ones God loves so dearly.

All laws which Congress passed or intends to pass in the future and which run contrary to the Bible, of which Christian are forced to adhere to or suffer dire consequeses, are Christian persecutions. Whether forced on us singularly, or collectively as Christ’s Church, it’s still persecution. What’s more, Jesus told us persecution and hatred, were coming. It would be extremely arrogant of believers to think He excluded those of us living in America from this persecution. No, my brethren, persecution of Christ’s Church is here and it’s only going to get worse.

You may ask, “What must we do to head off this persecution?” First of all, when Jesus says something is going to occur we would do well to heed what He says. As His followers we will be forced to endure persecution, He says so. I don’t know how much persecution or how severe it will be, and as far as heading it off, there will be a future event that will cause all Christian persecution to cease, at least temporarily. That event will be the Rapture of the Church. Those who are left behind and come to a believing faith during the tribulation will endure much worse persecution.

As I’ve mentioned before, the Church in American, as well as worldwide, has already been hit with tons of persecution. Still, in many countries the Church flourishes. Why is that? Because God says His word shall not return void. Christian evangelism is still prominent in many third world countries. In America though, many evangelist have turned emergent and no longer preach Jesus Christ and Him crucified. If it’s not God’s word, then it’s not God’s will. Anything else is void.

What believers need is to get back into a routine of wearing out our knees. Humble ourselves before God in fervent prayer. Take it to Him every day. The hour is late and God waits to hear from His children. Sometimes I wonder how the world would react if believers just started humbling themselves out in the open. Not just mouthing silent prayers but verbally spoken prayers before God and all of His creation. I mean bowing our heads in prayer at a moment’s notice, in the middle of a shopping mall, in an airport, or in a crowed elevator. Some might poke fun, we might even be ridiculed (persecuted), but all would see God’s power revealed.

We see many individuals in public with purple hair and other characteristics that we find weird. We see men holding hands with men, and they all defy people to mock them. Why are Christians the ones who seem to be ashamed of our beliefs? Why can’t we be as blatant and obvious about our love for Jesus Christ?

Standing up for Jesus in all situations will bring persecution, that’s just the facts of life. But it doesn’t need to be a frightening experience. Actually it should bring an abundance of joy to our hearts. Our Christian brethren would be comforted and emboldened by witnessing other believer’s steadfastness. The Holy Spirit is sealed within every believer “...in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,” Ephesians 1:13, and He is thoroughly capable of handling any and all situations.

If we trust God to supply us with compassion and love as we witness to our neighbors shouldn’t we also trust Him to embolden us in the hour when it becomes necessary to address our persecutors? “...that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints” Jude 1:3b.

“Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ.” Philippians 3:8.

God bless you all,

Ron Graham
twotug@embarqmail.com

“I’m Not a Practicing Christian” - Ron Graham - twotug@embarqmail.com

Whenever I’m confronted by someone who says they are a Christian but not a practicing Christian it really makes me cringe. I don’t know where that phrase first came from, but after studying the Bible for years my first thoughts go to what Jesus taught about those who think their saved. “Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.” Matthew 25:11. And also “Then shall ye begin to say, We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets. But he shall say, I tell you, I know you not whence ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out.” Luke 13:26-28.

I recently received an email from a lady, who is a fairly new believer, who had a complaint against a friend of hers. She’s known this friend for 30 years. When this lady told her friend that she had become a born again believer in Christ, the friend told her that she, too, was a Christian. For 30 years they had known each other and had enjoyed a close relationship, but the friend had never brought up Jesus Christ in conversation.

If we are truly born again, Jesus is our best friend and we love Him more than anything. Is there any chance we would live thirty years as a follower of Jesus Christ and never mention Him to others? If we are truly living the Christian’s experience, the lost will take notice of that fact. That’s our opportunity to discuss the Gospel of Jesus Christ with them, unless we are no longer a practicing Christian.

If someone who at one time considered themselves a Christian but no longer has a desire to practice Christianity (live a Christ centered life) then they will have no desire to promote the truth of God’s word, and so the question arises are they really born again? Are they following Jesus’ commands? “The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise.” Proverbs 11:30. Certainly if anyone makes the claim “I’m not a practicing Christian” they aren’t standing up for Jesus Christ by winning souls.

When someone admits to no longer being “a practicing Christian” it tells me they are much more concerned with the world and with all of its tentacles than with Christ. This concern for the worldly pleasures will result in a thorough neglect of the truth of God’s word. They will quickly revert back to their old way of life. They want little or nothing to do with other believers. This, in itself, is quite telling. Think about it, just where is Jesus in their heart? And, of course, reading their Bibles becomes non-existent.

When Christians stop associating with likeminded brethren and become embroiled in worldly affairs and with worldly folks who have no use for God and certainly no regard for His word, they will begin to renounce Christianity, and the following mantra will become their phrase of choice “I’m not a practicing Christian”. It’s offensive and discouraging to be confronted by someone making that statement. You’re either a Christian or you’re not. “They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate.” Titus 1:16.

Recently I came across an old friend from high school and began an email correspondence with this person. I knew my friend had attended a Christian elementary school until entering high school. We talked about our families and the old days in school. Before long, my emails began to include Jesus and what He has done in my life. As I broached the subject of Christ with my friend, I also began sending this person my commentaries. Almost immediately I was asked to discontinue our email exchange. Why? Because the views I now hold are quite different than those I held as a senior in high school, some forty years ago. I had changed and this old friend had become worldlier. The last email I received from this person held almost exclusively these words, “I’m no longer a practicing Christian, and I do not agree with your conservative stance on things.” I was then asked not to email again. “He shall die without instruction; and in the greatness of his folly he shall go astray.” Proverbs 5:23.

I may get a lot of email on this subject and that’s fine, but personally I see a huge gulf between a Christian, that is a true believer and follower of Jesus Christ, and a person who claims “I’m no longer a practicing Christian”. That gulf may very well span the same distance as Heaven and Hell. The chasm between these two concepts of being someone who is devoted to Jesus Christ and someone who declines to have an association with Jesus may very well span eternity. “If you love Me, keep My commandments.” John 14:15. Can anyone honestly love Jesus without keeping His commandments? “They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us.” 1 John 2:19.

To me the life of a Christian is not just something we practice but it’s a new way of life we’ve chosen to embark on. We live our new life in Christ daily; there are 24 hours in a day and 7 days in a week, and we are to be an active follower of Jesus Christ in every waking moment. Believers don’t turn on and off their faith and trust in Jesus Christ as the hour dictates. We belong to Him. He owns us. He gives us our marching orders and we follow His commands. Believers can’t walk away from everything Jesus teaches and still claim to be a born again Christian; it’s an obvious contradiction which has lead to open apostasy. (Here come the emails). Again, the question must be broached, was that person really ever born again?

I’m not trying to be judgmental with these observations. I am not God and I can’t see into a person’s heart, that’s God’s domain and His alone. Yet He tells us to look to a person for the fruit that they produce to determine their relationship with Him. “Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit.” Matthew 12:33. Jesus made this statement while speaking to the Pharisees about blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. In God’s view there is no in between. Rejecting the message given us by the Holy Spirit is the only sin that will not be forgiven, either in this life or the one to come. Aren’t those who are no longer practicing Christians rejecting the message?

True born again followers of Christ no longer want to have anything to do with that old sinful life. We are filled with remorse each time we stumble and take a step back. Our lives as Christians are focused on our first love, our most precious love, Jesus the Christ. Everything is second to our Lord and Savior. Jesus wants to be where we know He should be in our lives – at the highest rung on the ladder of our lives. The reason the Bible warns us so vividly against apostasy and false prophets is because true conversion can only be measured by visible fruit. “Ye shall know them by their fruits...” Matthew 7:16a. Non-practicing Christians will find it virtually impossible to bear fruit for the Kingdom of God because they aren’t interested in doing so. They want their cake and to eat it too (they want to live like the world but inherit Christ’s promises).

Those who make the claim “I’m no longer a practicing Christian” wish to remain neutral. They are fence setters. From afar they see the path of least resistance and are able to change their colors like a chameleon so as to not be detected as a rival by whomever they see approaching. To be truly born again is not an easy road. Persecution can and will come into the lives of all believers, even from one’s own family and friends, and this, my brethren, can be daunting. But there is no neutral ground when it comes to following Jesus. “He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad.” Matthew 12:30. Jesus Himself tells all those who would make such a statement as “I’m no longer a practicing Christian” they are in big trouble. Therefore one must weigh the cost to see whether or not following Jesus is worth the final prize.

Folks such as those who claim this status of “I’m a Christian but I don’t really want to live my life like you other Christians” can be easily manipulated by God’s adversary. They grow in their acceptance of the worldly influence and before long they can no longer see truth. They become adverse and blinded to the truth. What was once preached to them at church is foolishness, and now they put their faith and trust in what is preached to them from their television sets. Blindness to God’s truth turns the world upside down. Black is white, up is down, right is wrong, good is evil, love is hate, and on it goes.

I am a firm believer that once a person is born again, born from above, born from God, that that person is forever in God’s hands. It’s God’s responsibility to keep us that way. I can almost hear the computers being fired up and readied to bombard me with an onslaught of emails refuting my claim. Guess what? God’s declares it so. Of course I must agree with God. “And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.” Ephesians 4:30. Paul tells us that those who are born from above, born from God, have the Holy Spirit of God sealed within them unto the day of redemption. That’s God claim, His promise. Who am I do argue the point?

There’s an old movie that includes the following line “It’s not my fault, I only read it”. Those who were listening to him read from that particular news story tried to blame this guy for the bad news he continually read to them. In my case, though, it’s only good news; you can’t lose your salvation if you are truly born again, period. Here’s the rub, those who were once professing Christians but who now recite the statement “I’m no longer a practicing Christian” may not have the Holy Spirit sealed within them, thus they may be in for quite the surprise as they reach their eternal destination.

There are many people, especially here in America, who claim the title of “Christian”, yet haven’t a clue as to what that title encompasses, which in turn makes it easy to claim a position of non-practicing Christian. They have no comprehension of what it means to live a life devoted to Christ therefore they have no idea the consequences of that statement and how it puts them at odds with the Savior of the world. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.” Galatians 5:22, 23. These nine characteristics will become evident in the life of a true believer in Christ.

How can anyone take the position “I’m no longer a practicing Christian” when they know the truth? Perhaps they never really believed and what they heard about Jesus was robbed from them at some point by Satan. Take a look at the explanation Jesus gives His disciples when asked about the parable of the sower. “Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. Those by the way side are they that hear; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved. They on the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away. And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection.” Luke 8:5-14. In this parable Jesus is speaking about those who would make the following statement “I’m no longer a practicing Christian”. They no longer hold on to the hope and joy of knowing who Jesus really is.

“These things have I spoken unto you, that ye should not be offended.” John 16:1. Offended in the Greek is “skandalizō”. The complete meaning behind the rendering of this word is: To put a stumbling block or impediment in the way, upon which another may trip and fall, metaphorically to offend, to entice to sin, to cause a person to begin to distrust and desert one whom he ought to trust and obey, to cause to fall away. Jesus taught all things to His disciples and to us so that we “should not be offended”, fall way.

I’m continually being bashed about by my brethren for my biblical stance on abortion, homosexuality, same sex marriage and the fact that I believe Obama is the worst and most offensive Muslim to invade the U.S. in the last 233 years. Those who make the statement “I’m no longer a practicing Christian” will never feel the heat of persecution and maybe that’s why they continue to recite that statement. Perhaps it just got too hot in the kitchen. Those who make that offensive statement are most certainly at odds with the Creator of the universe.

God bless you all,

Ron Graham
twotug@embarqmail.com
All scripture is from the KJV
 

Health Hazard - Ron Graham - twotug@embarqmail.com

“For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book. He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly ...” Revelation 22:18 -20.

At first glance the above admonition seems to be directly referring to the book of Revelation. The book of Revelation is the concluding text that closes out the entire Bible. From cover to cover, God designated the Holy Bible as a whole, a completely integrated design. The Bible is also a book of prophecy, and in light of that proven fact and the warning given by Jesus, anyone contemplating making any change to any chapter or any verse would be guilty of corrupting His word.

God takes His word very seriously, much more so than man, and as such He’s willing to protect it tenaciously. Jesus is warning all who hear the word of prophecy in this book that adding man’s flawed concepts to His word, or subtracting any part from His word would be a fatal mistake, both physically and spiritually. Jesus’ warning is explicit. His word needs no adjustments no tweaking, no additions, and no subtractions. It’s perfect as written.

When a believer reads the Bible it becomes a love search. We gain a greater knowledge of who God is and with that new knowledge there becomes a need to continually pursue a better grasp of God’s plan for our lives. God loves us and He loves it when we immerse ourselves in His word. But He’s adamant about making changes to it. No born again follower of Jesus Christ is going to intentionally make changes to God’s perfect and inerrant word. Those who profess having a relationship with Jesus, but in all actuality don’t, are the ones who these scriptures are speaking to. It would be completely arrogant and foolhardy to tamper with God’s word. Many, in the past, have ignored these warnings and without either understanding or believing it possible, they’ve corrupted the word of God. Where will this lead those who follow such people? Now that’s a scary thought.

God’s Holy Spirit moved among selected men to record events in their specific day and to give them history lessons in advance so they could record this information for all posterity. The Holy Spirit inspired those men to place prophecies throughout the Bible so that God’s word would gradually, over a period of many hundreds of years, develop into one complete unit, The Holy Bible. Keep in mind that all the chapter and verse portions of the Bible were developed by translators, not the original writers. If you want to get a better concept of the Bible as one complete book, consider each book in the Bible as a chapter title, all formulated in the authors mind to be read as one book.

“All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:” 2 Timothy 3:16. All scripture is “God breathed”, who in their right mind would want to mess with what God Himself has designated as true and complete?

Some will take 2 Timothy 3:16 and say when Paul wrote those words to Timothy there was very little of the New Testament completed, let alone circulated. Timothy, for the most part, had only the Old Testament scriptures, and thus Paul was only referring to the Old Testament as God breathed. Since God is thoroughly able to see the future of mankind shouldn’t we at least consider that the Holy Spirit inspired Paul to write those words in anticipation of a still future completed book? “And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you; As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.” 2 Peter 3:15, 16. Even the Apostle Peter refers to Paul’s writings as scripture comparing them to other scriptures.

There are those who won’t see Jesus’ warning pertaining to the entirety of the Bible and will not agree with me on what I’ve stated, at least not from just three verses extracted from the book of Revelation which I laid out in the beginning of this commentary. As we study our Bibles we should find that there will be two or three witnesses to prove a matter. There are other verses that confirm this truth spattered throughout the Old and New Testaments.

“Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you.” Deuteronomy 4:2. Does anyone dispute that what God is addressing here is the taking away or the adding to His word? The warning, given in the book of Revelation, is of course a warning that transcends all scripture. Certainly we read the result of Bible tampering as a warning God takes very seriously. God has applied His warning to all of His words. There will be a huge price to pay for anyone who refuses to heed His warning.

What is meant by “add unto the word”? How do we do that? Here’s just one example (of which there are many) of how some add to God’s word. Baptism as a requirement for salvation is a heresy promoted by numerous Churches around the world. Adding to the sufficiency of the cross is wrong. It’s bad doctrine and it’s dangerous. How dangerous? Does plagues and having your part removed from the book of life jar your memory?

“What thing soever I command you, observe to do it: thou shalt not add thereto, nor diminish from it.” Deuteronomy 12:32. We find this same admonishment twice in the book of Deuteronomy. God says what He means and means what He says. Jesus said, “If ye love me, keep my commandments.” John 14:15. He isn’t just requesting we observe what He tells us, He’s telling us that if we love Him we will keep His commandments, and He commands us to leave this book as it is written.

These other verses that speak about adding to and subtracting from God’s word are very telling. God, by placing them strategically so many times throughout His word, fully expects some people to ignore His warnings. And guess what? They do. Is it that some folks think they are smarter than God in that re-writing His word has become their perceived destiny? Think about it this way, we change God’s word to fit our interpretation and we teach others our interpretation which is at odds with what God has plainly stated. Then this erroneous teaching gets passed on and on down the line and pretty soon there’s a snowball effect happening with loads of bad and destructive false doctrine being promoted as truth.

“...visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation...” Deuteronomy 5:9. What we can take from this scripture verse is that the sin of the father is taught to the children even unto the third and fourth generation. The children pickup the sins the father commits and carry them on in their generation and even pass them on to their children and so on. In that sense we see what’s being taught by one is passed down to those he is teaching. If someone changes God’s word and teaches these changes to others and they in turn teach the changes to still others we see that this can lead to generation after generation being taught false and destructive doctrines. Just take a look at the Christian cults that have flourished for generations. They’re all guilty of making fatal changes to God’s inerrant word.

“Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him. Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.” Proverbs 30:6. Doubting God’s promises as described in Revelation 22:18 and 19 will lead to perilous times for those foolish individuals who take from or add to His word. Warnings which are purposely and openly observable abound throughout the scriptures to keep us from harm. Over and over again we’re admonished to listen to God and He will be our shield and make our paths straight. If we don’t listen to God our paths will be wide and will undoubtedly lead to destruction.

“And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.” Luke 4:4. Jesus used those words in response to Satan’s attempts to tempt Him during a 40 day fast in the wilderness. The word of God is the key. Jesus knew it and He’s been trying to get the rest of us to see it for years now. The Bible is perfect and believable and many do believe it, and many hold it in the highest esteem. But many more disparage, neglect, hate, dismiss and even change God’s word to fit their agendas. Those who treat God’s word with contempt will regret their life and their decision to do so.

My wife and I attended a conference in Tennessee a few months ago. While we waited for it to begin, she and I went to a coffee shop for some coffee and a donut. Seated near us two men, who seemed to be pastors, were discussing the Bible. We weren’t eavesdropping, but could hear the conversation clearly. One was explaining to the other how the Bible should be re-interpreted to take in a broader scope. He actually said “We need to take Paul’s letters and extrapolate them forward to fit today’s society.” In other words, take the words that God told Paul to write and change them to make the Bible conform to us rather than us conform to the Bible. Be Careful my brethren, this approach to God’s word will lead to a very sticky end.

“Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.” Jude 1:3. This verse is an admonishment to the believer to declare the truth about what they believe. Contend for the faith. The truth we know as God’s word is something we must, with complete conviction, stand firm on.

Keep a watchful eye and ear out for those who have their own dubious plans to corrupt the word of God. Through the arrogance of people such as these, many of our brethren are being falsely led. The outcome of this type tampering can only result in the further dumbing down of the Church.

God bless you all,

Ron Graham
twotug@embarqmail.com
All scripture verses are from the KJV

Earth’s Final Days - Ron Graham - twotug@embarqmail.com

“Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.” Jude 1:7.

There is an aggressive world-wide push to replace natural societal behavior with that of a completely unnatural and thoroughly corrupt behavior. This push involves a tiny community of people so consumed with lust that they go so far as to flaunt their abhorrent behavior in the streets as they march in sanctioned parades in cities around the world. This is a satanic agenda of monumental proportions. As we watch Bible prophecies unfold before us, we who believe and accept this unfolding as proof that the end is very near know that many evils will become commonplace during the time leading up to the end. We might get a little dizzy in our heads at the sound of the approaching hoof beats and queasy in our stomachs as we as we see End Time prophecy come to life before our very eyes. But for now one thing is obvious, this world is turning homosexual.

The Bible tells us that there will be unusual worldwide events happen as the end days approach, as well as societies becoming thoroughly corrupt. India’s high court recently reversed a 150 year old law outlawing homosexual sex. Before the news even broke here in the US a brother emailed me from India very concerned about this decision. What do I say to this man? “Welcome to the 21st century”? Hardly. I encouraged him to look to the scriptures that show God’s sentiments on this hotly debated subject. Why? Because at the end of the day, it’s God’s word that stands strong and which believers are to look to as the only remaining truth.

This situation in India is certainly indicative of where the world is headed, and in many cases is already there. Most nations of this world harbor a very vocal, aggressive, well financed, well organized, and at times militant homosexual subculture. The homosexuals want to be recognized and legitimized as the mainstream culture. Their language leads one to believe that they are only interested in equal rights. This is a lie.

Lying in the underbelly of this monstrous, ungodly and very pervasive agenda is something else, something even more sinister. The homosexual community, which is made up of many zealots, is prepared to fight all the way to the highest courts in every country and province where they will push their agenda of legitimacy to the extreme, all in the name of equal rights? They have now become a force to be reckoned with. Not because they are some kind of enormous community that dwarfs all others on planet earth. No, what’s happening is what is normal that is marriage between a man and a woman, is quickly becoming dismissed as intolerant and bigoted. What God tells us is normal for a society is now going by way of the dodo bird. Now these once normal civilized communities are accepting, even welcoming, this lifestyle which was once perceived as wicked. Homosexuals will soon control the media, our public and private schools, and every world government. The world is bending over backwards to comply with the homosexual agenda. Why is that? God tells us why in His word.

Homosexuals have now been given access to our children as young as kindergarten and preschool so that they may corrupt their very small impressionable minds. Through the public School system they are now teaching their way of life to these innocent children. Their way of life includes, for the most part, sex. That’s the driving force behind why they lead such evil and debase lives. They are fueled by what a normal human would consider as uncontrolled lust filled minds. Sex is the motivator and the sustainer of this lifestyle. If they were honest they would admit that fact.

Obama, the usurper of the Oval Office, wants to be the leader of the pack when it comes to homosexual rights. He’s used his newly acquired powers to ensure the homosexual is given the green light in society to do as they wish in public as well as in private. He wasn’t able to attend any National Day of Prayer meetings but he certainly never misses an opportunity to promote the homosexual agenda. He’s now designated June as national LGBT pride month. Obama made the following comments at a White House reception honoring "Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Pride Month":

There are unjust laws to overturn and unfair practices to stop. And though we've made progress, there are still fellow citizens – perhaps neighbors or even family members and loved ones – who still hold fast to worn arguments and old attitudes, who fail to see your families like their families and who would deny you the rights that most Americans take for granted. And I know this is painful, and I know it can be heartbreaking.
– Barack Hussein Obama, June 29, 2009
When it comes to rights, homosexuals have all the same rights as heterosexuals. Except one, marriage still eludes them, but it looks as though Obama will do his level best to insure they will win on that front also.

Homosexuals want one more right than that of the heterosexual world. They want to take away our right to verbally oppose them. They don’t want to be confronted with God’s view on their lifestyle ever again. It’s alright to speak out against other sins, but speak against the sin of homosexuality and there will be dire consequences.

Right now there are an alarming number of teenaged homosexuals committing suicide or who attempt suicide. If you read the homosexuals response to this tragedy they claim that when society puts their stamp of approval on the homosexual lifestyle this will all stop. Actually, society as a whole is becoming more and more tolerant of this abomination and yet the numbers of suicides are increasing not decreasing. If you would like to do your own research on homosexual suicide statistics, just Google it.

"Gay Affirming Pastor" Jay Bakker feels God has now changed His mind about homosexuality “The more I follow grace, the more I'm drawn to him [God], the more I'm willing to stand up for people being persecuted," said Bakker. "It sounds so churchy, but I felt like God spoke to my heart and said '[homosexuality] is not a sin.”
From an article by Lighthouse Trails- www.lighthousetrails.com   

If God spoke to this man’s heart and told him homosexuality is not a sin then He just contradicted His very word and has now changed His mind as to what homosexuality really is. But we should all know by what we are taught in God’s word that that just isn’t possible. It wasn’t God speaking to this Gay affirming pastor’s heart. It was God’s adversary, Satan.

Of course if you don’t believe the Bible is the inerrant word of God then you will probably just write this commentary off as another homophobic spouting off. If, on the other hand, you do believe the Bible is the inspired and inerrant word of God then keep reading. We’ll begin by taking a look at what the Bible tells us God did to Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities of the plains.

“And the LORD said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do; Seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him?” Genesis 18:17, 18. Abraham was a man of God and God wasn’t inclined to keep what He was about to do from Abraham, even the destruction of these two cities. “And the LORD said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous;” Genesis 18:20. Just what was this grievous offense Sodom and Gomorrah had committed in God’s eyes?

“And there came two angels to Sodom at even; and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom: and Lot seeing them rose up to meet them; and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground; And he said, Behold now, my lords, turn in, I pray you, into your servant's house, and tarry all night, and wash your feet, and ye shall rise up early, and go on your ways. And they said, Nay; but we will abide in the street all night. And he pressed upon them greatly; and they turned in unto him, and entered into his house; and he made them a feast, and did bake unleavened bread, and they did eat. ‘...the men of the city, even the men of Sodom, compassed the house round, both old and young, all the people from every quarter: And they called unto Lot, and said unto him, Where are the men which came in to thee this night? bring them out unto us, that we may know them.” Genesis 19:1-5. We’re told that all the men, young and old, from the city came and surrounded Lot’s house demanding he bring his two visitors out. Why? Were they being hospitable? Were they just being good neighbors welcoming the strangers to their city? Not hardly.

To fully understand what the men of Sodom had on their minds we must understand the following phrase “that we may know them”. Earlier in the book of Genesis we’re told Adam “knew” his wife and she bore more children. The Hebrew word is “yada” and one of the uses for this word is to know a person carnally. The men of Sodom wanted to have homosexual sex with these two strangers visiting Lot. These two cities and even the sounding plains were replete with homosexuality, to the point that God could no longer allow this all encompassing evil to continue.

Homosexuality is clearly connected to the men of Sodom. The Bible declares it to be sin. “For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompense of their error which was meet.” Romans 1:26, 27.

Side Note:

The sin of the men of Sodom is plainly connected to their homosexuality. There is no doubt the Bible declares homosexual conduct is sin (Romans 1:26-28).

The Bible condemns homosexuality in the same context as it condemns incest and bestiality (Leviticus 18:22, 20:13). If we ignore the word of God at the point of homosexual conduct, then we have no standing to say any of the other three sins are sin.

Homosexual advocates have an interest in saying homosexuals are exactly like everyone else, except they love people of their own sex. But when the conduct of homosexuals is observed, this is not the case.

We can bring out statistics on the number of partners homosexuals have: 43% of homosexuals say they have had 500 or more sexual partners in their lifetime. Only 1% of homosexuals say they have had four or less sexual partners in their lifetime. According to the United States Department of Health and Human Services, 77% of homosexuals say they have met sexual partners in a city park, 62% in a homosexual bar, 61% in a theater, 31% in a public restroom. Only 28% of homosexuals said they had known their partners for at least a week before participating in homosexual sex.

Undoubtedly, one of the reasons why males pursue and give in to homosexual desires is because they want to immerse themselves in a lifestyle of dangerous sex with no inhibitions or obstacles, and sense that sex with other men is an easier path to this. No wonder Paul connects “burning lust” and a debased mind with male homosexuality in Romans 1:27-28.

Homosexuals also have an interest in saying that up to 10% of the population is homosexual. But the most reliable statistics show only 2.3% of men in their 20’s and 30’s report ever having had a homosexual experience. Only 1.1% reported being exclusively homosexual. These low figures agree with several other recent surveys and surveys done in Britain and France.

Homosexuals also have an interest in saying they were “born that way.” All attempts thus far to prove this have been based more on wishful thinking than solid biological research, but if it is found to be the case, so what? The Bible teaches we are all born with a predisposition to sin. It shouldn’t surprise us that some 2% of the population finds this predisposition expressed in homosexual desire.

Homosexuals also have an interest in defining themselves as “gay,” a word that used to mean “happy” or “carefree,” but it is a poor description of a lifestyle that has such a high rate of death, disease, and suicide.
David Guzik - www.enduringword.com

Even though many won’t take the Bible seriously or literally God does. Homosexuality is condemned by God. “Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination. If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them,” Leviticus 18:22, 20:13. This is what Obama was talking about when he addressed those homosexuals gathered at the White House, “who still hold fast to worn arguments and old attitudes.” That’s Obama’s attitude when it comes to the word of God, and he professes to be a Christian.

If the word of God is ignored by any nation, God will, at some point, remove his blessings from that land. The more homosexuality is condoned, the more the Bible is ignored. Ergo there go God’s blessings.

Was all the above information necessary just to get to my point? I believe so. Jesus tells us that the society living in the last days just before His return will be as perverse as those societies that both Noah and Lot experienced.

Homosexuals will be and are being fully appeased and placated and earth will become much more frightening and nightmarish to all who oppose them. All civilizations on earth will ultimately accept the homosexual lifestyle as completely normal. Paul tells us in the book of Romans chapter 1 that God’s judgment is pronounced on all who practice, what’s become commonly referred in our day, as the Gay and Lesbian lifestyle, as well as all those who condone it and embrace it as normal.

That’s how it was all over the planet in Noah’s day which is why God sent the flood. Their sin was so heinous that God had no choice but to eliminate all who had corrupted themselves with this immorality. Only Noah’s genes remained untainted by this corruption, thus God spared him and his family as He saw them safely through the flood. Many have come to believe that through all the begats in the Bible and the longevity experienced by the folks before the flood that there were as many people on earth in Noah’s day as what we see currently on earth. God protected Noah and his family as He flooded the earth and eliminated a mass of fully corrupted individuals.

God’s will is that everyone would repent and turn from their evil ways, but not everyone will comply with His will. A huge portion of society will continue in their rebellion against Him. That rebellion will be their undoing, and it will be their choice.

God hates all sin, but clearly His wrath has been revealed against the sin of homosexuality most intensely in that He flooded the earth to completely eliminate it from planet earth and at another point He wiped out a whole region of earth that was consumed with it. In God’s eyes it’s a very grievous sin indeed. God tells us in His word that there is going to come a time when He will lose His patience (longsuffering) with the rebellious, but before He does He’ll remove those who belong to Him. In Lot’s case for, example, two angles came and removed Lot and his family just before God in His wrath destroyed the evil presence in that region.

In the case of the Church Jesus Himself will remove all those who belong to Him. That time is almost upon us. Then God’s wrath will once again be manifest on earth. In the meantime, as the Church sits back on its haunches and refuses to get involved in this political correctness gone completely amuck mindset, any and all evil will prevail. As we sit around wondering just how much persecution the Church will be forced to endure, before Christ returns for His own, keep in mind we did little to stop it.

God bless you all,

Ron Graham
twotug@embarqmail.com

Mustard Seeds and Mega-Churches - Ron Graham - twotug@embarqmail.com

“Then said he, Unto what is the kingdom of God like? and whereunto shall I resemble it? It is like a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and cast into his garden; and it grew, and waxed a great tree; and the fowls of the air lodged in the branches of it. And again he said, Whereunto shall I liken the kingdom of God? It is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened.” Luke 13:18-21

It’s important to see that Jesus, speaking of what the Kingdom of God is like, follows up the large tree and birds of the air parable above with a lesson on leaven. First of all mustard seeds don’t morph into huge trees, they only grow as small bushes. In this parable Jesus is exaggerating the growth of the mustard seed to instill in the reader a reality of massive proportions.

Many see this parable as an explanation of the ever expanding influence of the Church around the world. Some actually preach that the Church will be the all encompassing world influence before the end. But in these same verses Jesus tells us the birds of the air are nested in its branches. In Jesus’ parables, the birds of the air consistently refer to an evil presence, and this evil presence has made their homes in the branches of this huge tree. Certainly we see Jesus referring to something much more sinister in this parable. After all, He commanded us to spread the Gospel around the world, and in that respect His Gospel has been and is being expanded worldwide. What do all the birds of the air and the leaven have to do with the Kingdom of God? Is there something evil lurking in the Church?

Considering the concept of leaven, which is a reference to sin, Jesus has just given us a glimpse of what He saw happening as the enormity of His church became manifest. The birds of the air and the leaven refer to the corruption of His Church. False religions have been around and flourishing since the tower of Babel. As the Church became established it has been bombarded with false teachings to lure people away from the truth. The birds of the air are infiltrators adding infusions of false teachings to the body of Christ’s Church. Our Lord is providing us with a picture of something very disturbing coming upon the body, His very Church, in the last days.

It began with just a small amount of untruth. An insignificant amount of leaven added to the dough and after a while it encompasses the entire mix. Sound doctrine becomes flawed as tiny bits of erroneous teachings begin to spread through the Church. Eventually major doctrinal flaws develop. Consequently these flaws begin to become established as truth all co-habituating in the Church.

The woman has three measures of meal which was a normal grain offering to God in those days. She hides leaven within the grain offering thereby corrupting the whole offering. Many congregations nowadays attempt to place on the altar of God totally corrupt offerings. God doesn’t accept corrupt offerings but He will accept a change of heart and a return to the truth of His word.

Leaders and others in the Church who have been taught through corrupt sources, such as their liberal professors in seminaries, that the Bible is in error try almost with abandon to ingratiate themselves to their flocks so they may teach as experts on the fallacies of the Bible. They will use allegory or twist words, even go as far as to say the Bible has never really been the inerrant word of God. In this way these false teachers can substitute their message for the truth. Their message will be one of deceit, completely untrustworthy, but it will sound as though it were doctrinal, even biblical. Jesus saw His Church growing into a massive gathering of believers, but becoming corrupted from within. As sad as this reality seems, Jesus tells us it will happen and it is.

Many heresies permeate our Churches today and it’s hard to completely identify them and expose them before they’ve actually gained a strong foothold and accomplished their evil goal. It’s Satan’s agenda to corrupt from within and to lead astray whole congregations. Many falsehoods have crept in unawares and like leaven have now corrupted to a point that many of these once sound doctrinal congregations may be un-salvageable.

You’ve all heard the old adage “If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em”. Satan has joined the Church. Why? It’s much easier for Satan and his minions of evil to instill their corrupt ideas into an established community of believers who won’t study their Bibles. Especially since many now believe the Bible to be erroneous. All Christian cults began with a smidgen of truth. They continue because they’ve convinced masses of people they’re right and the Bible is wrong.

Satan, for the most part, was hitting a brick wall in his deceptive practices against the established Church until he joined it. Just like the leaven in the above verse, little by little these satanic lies spread among the saints. It’s not difficult to recognize those who have been deceived by his lies. Those who are deceived and leading congregations are the ones taking Satan’s lies to the next level. These are folks who are well trusted by the flock, and thus they are doing Satan’s biding and leading whole congregations down that slippery slope to destruction.

How is it this possible to deceive from within you might ask? It’s really quite simple in these days of self importance and time limitations and constraints. Satan knows many won’t take time out of their busy schedules to read their Bibles. How many will spend a few hours watching an ungodly movie and then turn right around and say they have no time to study their Bibles? Satan knows of the apathetic attitude towards God’s word because he has been the major source leading to that apathy. Satan’s influence in the Church is apparent. The Bible which was once revered and looked upon as God’s truth and sought after, has now, become to many as just an old, antiquated, mythological nuisance. Through Satan’s leadership some have even re-written the Bible so it will adhere to his agenda. He’ll use any means to show the Bible to be of little or no consequence spiritually or truthfully. Many have fallen for his deception and many more continue to allow themselves to be led in that direction.

As we watch the growth of the mega-church we can see, in many cases, a shift away from being a Christ centered community of believers to a worldly outreach center. Just like the exaggerated results of a mustard seed in the above Scripture verse, we watch the growth of the mega-church with astonishment. Corruption is there as those with discernment watch the “birds of the air” – Satan’s minions of evil – landing in those branches spreading their evil influence throughout.

Why are so many weekend Christians attracted to these mega-churches? Could it be because they offer so much in the way of worldly pleasures? Coffee shops, book stores, bowling alleys, really, the list goes on and on. Is Christ the attraction or has He been relegated to a back room where no one really needs to be bothered by Him? Are these weekenders attending so they can return home with the knowledge they paid tribute to their god and his huge new pleasure dome?

There are many pastors, some from the mega-church and some not, who have a skewed view of the Bible. In some cases we see these pastors teaching non-biblical self-reliance and prosperity gospels, writing books and becoming themselves more popular to their congregations than Jesus Himself. Is it the Gospel and Christ that’s being promoted, or is it the pastor who is promoting himself? Many are only tickling the ears of their parishioners to the exclusion of the core teachings found in the Bible. What’s worse, this is exactly what many weekend Christians want to hear. “For the turning away of the simple shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them.” Proverbs 1:32.

Convicting messages from pastors are also on the way out these days, and feel good messages are in. Passive messages from pastors that will bring people back to fill pews week in and week out are the current rage, whether or not these folks receive any edifying truths is certainly in question. Church growth at any cost now seems to be the norm. God loves us, no debate there, but neglecting core Christian issues is not preaching the whole truth.

If we need to supply people with creative nuances within our church buildings to draw them in, then we’ve traded the truth of the Gospel for a lie. We’re never told to entertain the masses to achieve high number results, we’re to preach and teach Christ and His doctrine. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the key teaching that will lead a soul to God. We are to pray the Holy Spirit’s conviction upon hearts of the lost people as they sit in those pews.

Jesus tells us that many will hear the message (receive an invitation to the feast) but will come up with many excuses as to why they can’t commit. In Churches where the Gospel message is made fluff and of no significance, many will never come to understand that becoming a born again believer in Christ is a life change and a full life commitment to the One who paid the price “In full” for our salvation and who now owns us.

Jesus tells us in Luke’s Gospel to count the cost before deciding to commit our lives to Him. “For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it? Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him, Saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish. Luke 14:28-30. If this message never gets preached many will never come to a full understand of just what it means to “If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.” Luke 14:26-27. Hate is a harsh word used here by our Lord. No, He’s not telling us to hate anyone. Jesus is telling us to be prepared for the cost of following Him. Many, even in our own families will believe we hate them because we put Jesus first before anyone else. Is this a part of the teachings in those feel good, Church growth centered congregations?

Brood of vipers, serpents, (Mat 12:34, 23:33), woe to you hypocrites, (Mat 6:2, 5, 16, 15:7, 16:3, 22:18, 23:14, 15, 23, 25, 27, 29, 24:51, Mar 7:6, Luke 11:44, 12:46), blind Pharisees, (Jhn 9:40), fools, (Mat 23:17, 23:19, Luke 11:40, 24:25), did Jesus pull any punches when He addressed the Pharisees in the midst of the crowds with those words? Most pastors, when addressing their congregations, would not go near those terms today avoiding them like the plague. By using the words “brood of vipers” and “serpents”, Jesus was referring to those whom he was addressing as “the children of Satan”. By using the word “hypocrite”, it would be the same as referring to someone today as “two faced”.

Would it not be appropriate for us to teach and preach as Jesus taught using the same methods as He? Many pastors today could take a lesson from Jesus on how He built His ministry. What truths did He use to convict the hearts of those who listened to Him and followed Him all around Galilee? Can we not assume that, not just occasionally but constantly, we must proclaim the whole truth of God’s word, just as Jesus did? “For the LORD giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding.” Proverbs 2:6. Pastors should be speaking to the heart of every lost soul that sits before them.

Granted, Jesus performed many miracles and through the public viewing of most of those healings He established His ministry. But it was His words that actually brought the people to Him and left them in wonderment. We have those words written within the pages of our Bibles. He wants us to learn His words and to teach others those words. We aren’t to proclaim a new message to the masses. We stand on the truth of the Gospel. We believers are admonished to spread the message, His message which is the truth. That’s our job and it’s been our job for almost two-thousand years now. It’s never changing, it’s ever powerful, and it’s more than adequate for producing the miraculous.

Jesus Christ spoke the truth no matter to whom He spoke or what He encountered. Everywhere He went He had to confront obstacles such as doubt, hatred, even attempted murder, and He always used truth to establish His footing. He never relied on entertainment to pull in a crowd, as a matter of fact Jesus, for the most part, tried to distract those viewing the miracles He preformed, even telling those who were involved to keep silent about them. Most who heard Him speak loved His words which were and still are the core of His ministry. Those same words should be the core of our ministries also.

As I watch in astonishment where the Church heading today, I must ask the question: Isn’t it about time for some old time Gospel preaching? A little hellfire and brimstone Jonathan Edwards’s style couldn’t hurt in these times of political correctness where everything has been watered down through the delivery of milk to the parishioners instead of meat. Think about it.

God bless you all,

Ron Graham
twotug@embarqmail.com
All scripture is from the KJV

His Name, Our Hearts - Ron Graham - twotug@embarqmail.com

There are many people today who claim they have a relationship with Jesus Christ and are basking in what they perceive to be their salvation security. They feel they are secure in knowing their eternal salvation is in Heaven just by saying Jesus Christ is the Son of God, but if you press them they may actually confess something else, something very disturbing. Listen carefully and you might just hear them say “I don’t actually believe Jesus Christ is God”. Are they really saved if they don’t believe Jesus is God? “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:16. Does that verse actually say we must believe Jesus is the Son of God or does it say we must believe in Him? The Greek word for believe is “pisteuō” The following are all of the words my concordance gives as the English equivalent to this Greek word: believe, commit unto, commit to (one's) trust, be committed unto, be put in trust with.

When anyone says yes to Jesus Christ, they’re saying, “yes this sinner believes”. They’re saying, “Lord Jesus, I believe you paid the price for my sins, that you died for me on that cross, and that you were buried, but rose from the grave after three days just as the scriptures state. I believe who you are and what you did for me, and I’m sorry you had to die that horrible death to save your creation”. Surely this should be the response to the calling of the Holy Spirit as another sinner becomes truly born again. “He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” John 3:18. What’s in a name?

Jesus explains unequivocally that he who does not believe is condemned already. Why? Because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. We believe He is the Son of God, that’s true, but a complete understanding comes only after we confess that we believe He died on the cross for us and rose again on the third day. “But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.” John 20:31. Through His name we might have life.

“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9:6. God gave us His only begotten Son and He shall be called what? Wonderful – Counsellor – The mighty God – The everlasting Father – The Prince of Peace. So, what’s in a name?

What does Jesus mean by His statement “hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God”? John 3:18b. Here’s what it means to believe in the “name”. His name defines His authority, character, rank, majesty, power, excellence, etc. His “Name” represents “the title and dignity” of our Lord. “Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come:” Ephesians 1:21 and also “... as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name ...” Hebrews 1:4. That’s what He means when He tells us to believe in His name. But is that all of what He means when He says “whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life”? “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.” John 3:36.

“Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.” John 6:28, 29. Recognize that phrase “believe on Him” in the above two verses? That phrase is also in John 3:18. We must understand the meaning behind those verses. The original Greek used here actually signifies continual and unbroken succession, until the end. As we can clearly see there is more to the Greek word “pisteuō” translated into English as “believe” than our English rendering conjures up.

“Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when he had found him, he said unto him, Dost thou believe on the Son of God? He answered and said, Who is he, Lord, that I might believe on him? And Jesus said unto him, Thou hast both seen him, and it is he that talketh with thee. And he said, Lord, I believe. And he worshipped him. John 9:36–38. Jesus had just healed a man and then asks him whether or not he believed on Him. By the way, if Jesus weren’t God why would He allow the man to worship Him? We are only to worship God.

“That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.” Romans 10:9. Paul is telling us we must believe in our hearts. What’s he mean by that?

“Vines Expository Dictionary of New Testament words gives us this explanation for the word heart: Our hearts are the seat of physical life. The heart also denotes the seat of our moral nature and spiritual life; it’s the seat of grief, joy, desires, affections, perceptions, thoughts, understanding, reasoning powers, imagination, conscience, intentions, purpose, will, and faith.” There is so much more to believing than what comes across from reading the English word “believe”.

What do people believe in? Let’s take evolution for example. Many believe in evolution because that’s what they are taught in public school. Even though there is absolutely no proof of that fairy tale? Students believe their teachers and grow up and teach their children the same. They might just as well say they believe in the tooth fairy since there is actually more proof of a tooth fairy then there is for evolution. It’s easy to say we believe in something without actually placing our faith and trust in that something. To believe in Jesus means we place our absolute and total trust in Him. This is at the core of what it means to believe in Jesus Christ which is what we plainly see from the original Greek renderings. To admit that Jesus is the Son of God stems from believing everything else about Him including the fact that He is God. Even the Pharisees of Jesus’ time knew, without a doubt, that Jesus, when admitting He was the Son of God, was actually saying He is God. That’s why they always tried to kill Him. It was blasphemy for anyone to say they were God except God.

It’s really only been since moving to the Mid-West portion of the United States with my wife and daughter that I’ve encountered folks who profess to be Christians and yet openly admit they don’t believe Jesus Christ is God after admitting He’s the Son of God. To tell you the truth I’m literally shocked each time this occurs. Why? Because I’ve only been confronted by this anomaly in Christian Church services. I’ve even encountered pastors who tell me they aren’t sure Jesus is God or that He is the only way to Heaven. One pastor actually told me we can’t be dogmatic about whether Jesus is actually God or not. Folks, if Jesus Christ, the Old Testament prophesied Messiah, who came into this world and died on a cross as our kinsmen redeemer, who took upon Himself the sin of the world isn’t God, then I must tell you flat out that there’s not one person saved, past, present, or future, and our Christian faith is only a vain pretence and we have no assurance of eternal salvation.

“Depend upon it, my hearer, you never will go to heaven unless you are prepared to worship Jesus Christ as God. They are all doing it there (in Heaven)” Charles Spurgeon

Only a perfect God could possibly have sacrificed Himself for His Creation as Jesus did. Then this perfect God raised Himself again from the dead. These are two of the main beliefs we as believers must have if we are to be called by His name. If you believe Jesus died on a cross two thousand years ago for your sins and yet you don’t believe He’s God, then you believe in human sacrifice. No human sacrifice could possibly suffice as the propitiation for the sins of mankind.

“Well I believe Jesus is the Son of God, but I don’t believe He’s God.” That very statement is a damnable heresy. It isn’t enough to simply say Jesus the Christ is God’s Son but believe He’s some sort of lesser god or no God at all. How can we possibly believe everything He did and not believe He’s God? After all we believe in the virgin birth, we believe He had an earthly ministry, we believe He changed water into wine, He healed the sick, cast out demons, raised the dead, gave sight to the blind, walked on water, made the lame to walk, and fed thousands with just a few loaves of bread and a couple of fish. We believe He went willingly to the cross, that He died on that cross, and that He told one of the thieves hanging next to Him that he would, that very day, be with Him in Paradise. We believe He spent three days in the grave and rose from the dead on the third day all according to the scriptures. Isn’t that what Christians believe? And much more? How can Jesus the Christ not be God Almighty?

“These things have I written unto you that believe on the name (there’s that phrase again) of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.’ ‘And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life,” 1 John 5:13 and 20. Jesus is the true God and eternal life.

In a Bible study class I attend there’s a man who professes to be a Christians yet he doesn’t believe Jesus is God. He was asked what he does with the scripture verses where Jesus said “when you’ve seen me you’ve seen the Father” and also “I and the Father are one”. He said he had never heard those verses before. Then I asked this professing Christian man if he believed the Bible is the inerrant word of God. He said ‘No. Man has corrupted it over the years”. This man obviously needs a lot of help, but it’s interesting that he’s been attending a Christian Church for years. What’s he come away with in all the teachings that he’s attended? “I don’t believe Jesus is God”.

Is this man, along with his apparent complete lack of biblical knowledge, indicative of many in our churches today? Possibly. There is a huge void where the word of God is concerned. I’m at a loss to understand the reasoning behind such a lack of biblical knowledge in these final days especially since there is so many different teaching aids available for those seeking the truth. Aha, there it is, the key words here are “seeking the truth.”

What is the purpose of attending church services if you don’t believe the book the pastor is teaching from? Why attend a Christian Bible study class if you don’t believe in the book you’re supposedly studying from? What’s the point of calling yourself a Christian if you believe the One who is called the Christ was only a nice guy or a good teacher? If necessary, would you lay down your life for this good teacher?

Some of the most obvious scriptures proclaiming Jesus’ deity are in John’s Gospel. Jesus refers to Himself as the I AM in the Gospel of John chapter 8, verse 58. He’s claiming to be God Almighty. John refers to Jesus as the Creator of the world “All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.” John 1:3. Paul does the same thing in Colossians 16 and 17. Jesus Christ is the Creator God who created this Universe.

The verse that is most often overlooked when we seek to point out to those who doubt the deity of Jesus Christ is, “I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am [he], ye shall die in your sins.” John 8:24. Jesus is stating emphatically that He is God; By making the statement “I AM” Jesus is claiming to be the voice which spoke to Moses from the burning bush in Exodus 3:14. In the original Greek language the he in the above verse is not present. I AM is in the original language and it’s “egō eimi” in the Greek but there’s no “he” to be found in that verse in the Greek. The phrase which follows stating “you shall die in your sins” is the Greek word “apothnēskō” and is speaking of eternal death, to be subject to eternal misery in hell. This is a scathing indictment for all those who can’t seem to get their minds around the fact that Jesus is God.

If you’re one of those individuals getting your biblical knowledge from the discovery channel you might want to actually pick up your Bible and read it for yourself. Stop listening and parroting what you hear from the secular establishment about the fallacy of the Holy Bible and start believing. The truth of the matter is the Bible is the inerrant word of God. Jesus is God, and the Bible states that fact more times than I have room for here in this commentary.

I could write a book on the fact that Jesus is God using both Old and New Testament scriptures but for now this commentary will have to suffice. The first five words in the book of Revelation tell us whose revelation it is. This is Jesus the Christ speaking as John wrote it down. “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.” Revelation 1:8.

Not to discount the rest of the verse, but did you get those last two words “the Almighty”? The Greek word used here is “pantokratōr” and can be translated into English as Omnipotent and when it’s used it refers only to God.

“Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Philippians 2:5-11.

If you’ve been wrestling with this idea of whether or not Jesus Christ is God you had better make up your mind in a hurry. Life, as we’ve grown accustomed to, is drawing to a close. There’s an evil dawn on the horizon, and the rapture of Christ’s Church is imminent. We must all choose to place our faith, trust and our entire lives in Jesus’ hands because Jesus is God.

God bless you all.


Ron Graham
twotug@embarqmail.com
All scripture is from the KJV

Where’s Your Home, Christian? - Ron Graham - twotug@embarqmail.com

With all the talk of last days, Jesus coming to retrieve His bride, and all the saber rattling bombarding us daily, those who believe in Bible prophecy realize we as a church are actually coming down to the wire. In fact we are getting so close to what many of us have been patiently, and in some cases impatiently, waiting for that the excitement is almost to a fever pitch. There are no limits it seems to written commentaries on the subject of end time’s prophecy. Some people get so keyed up they find it difficult to concentrate and they get consumed with the inevitability of the imminent rapture of the Church to the exclusion of all else. Yet others belonging to the same fold of Christianity pay all this prophecy stuff little mind.

For those of us who actually believe in Bible prophecy, we see the universal church being prepared for a great event. A huge departure of believers is on the near horizon. Believers who’ve fixed their sights on their home in Heaven are seriously anticipating that snatching away of the saints. We are going home! Praise God.

On the other hand the question begs to be asked. Christian, where’s your home? I’m sure we’ve all heard the quip, “Home is where the heart is”
but how many of us can actually say Heaven is where my heart is? Are Christians truly excited about going home? If so, why is it so many of God’s children are seemingly clinging to planet earth like a tree that has grown roots a mile deep?

Believers and non-believers alike have lived on planet earth for the last six thousand or so years and this has been the only home we’ve known. Good or bad, happy or sad, angry or glad this is where we have grown and flourished and this is where many have died and more will die.
We’ve become familiar with, even dependent on, our surroundings. For the most part, we’re patriots of our particular country of origin. But sometimes patriotism to country gets in the way of believers devotion to their God and Savoir Jesus Christ.

I must say I am somewhat dismayed by what I see happening around this nation. Not because of all the repulsive things I see coming about through our government’s leaders, we are to expect persecutions and trials coming from the world. What really concerns me is what I see taking place in the lives of many of my brethren.

For some time now, the United States of America has been a nation bent on giving God the boot, no new revelation there. It’s also being said that America is no longer a Christian nation, others say it never was.
There was a point in America’s history when many of the government leaders were indeed Christian. Sadly that is no longer the case.

Whether America is considered a Christian nation or not is irrelevant.
Believers shouldn’t be looking at America or any other country as their home. We know through studying God’s word where our long term residential care home is and it isn’t on planet earth.

That’s something else that has bothered me for quite some time now; I’m speaking of Bible illiteracy. Along with biblical illiteracy goes a lack of discernment. Just because Christians are seemingly in the majority in this nation doesn’t mean the majority of those Christians have any biblical discernment, or if they do from what I’ve seen, it’s precious little. After all, as a nation made up of a supposedly Christian majority we’ve now allowed ourselves to be placed under the control of a fully secular humanistic government that gives no more consideration to the God of the Bible than does a worm. How is that possible with a 70% majority of Christians? Failure to know and understand God’s word for one thing, and apathy and greed for another.

Believers should not be holding onto this country, or this world for that matter, as though it were their final destination. If we read, study, and believe the scriptures we are fully aware of something greater existing on our horizon. I’m sure many will agree with me when I say planet earth is, at times, a very beautiful place. There are numerous reasons why we enjoy our earthly existence. After all God wants us to enjoy this life and each other for that matter. But even before the fall of man God has had another plan for humanity and it isn’t going to involve what we currently see in our surroundings.

We only know what we’ve seen and we have all seen a beautiful flower or a fiery sunset. Unless we have been walking around with blinders on we have also seen much of what we would certainly consider the opposite of beauty. The Bible doesn’t give us a clear picture of everything we will see in Heaven. Even Paul was given a look into Heaven yet he would not describe it. On the other hand the Bible does tell us about what won’t be there.

Most people on this planet would love to see the end to war, famine, hatred, all forms of evil, and have everything opposed to our well being eliminated from our environment. The Bible tells us none of that will be in Heaven. All evil, malice, strife, hated, envy, sickness, sadness, wealth and poverty will be completely forgotten the moment we enter that realm. So why do so many of my brethren hold onto this earthly existence as though Heaven doesn’t even exist? Could it be that the riches of this life are so controlling that even believers can’t resist their attraction? “But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition.” 1 Timothy 6:9.

Christians love it when they can recite the following quote to another believer or even to non-believers for that matter, “I’m living in this world but I’m not of the world. I’m only a sojourner here. I’m one of God’s ambassadors and soon He’ll call me home.” Sadly, more and more we see that many Christians today have the same mindset as their worldly counterparts. Greed, lust, and fear are evident in the lifestyles of many of my brethren and it’s becoming clear many of America’s seventy or so percent Christians are not just in the world but of the world. “Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter.” James 5:5.

Among Jesus’ earliest followers there were some who were wealthy, Zaccheus, Joseph of Arimathea, Barnabas, but they we not ruled by wealth. Today there are many Christians that have obtained great wealth, yet we’re presented with sufficient evidence of just where the pursuit of wealth can lead, especially when we allow that pursuit to motivate our lives. Sin can and will avail itself when Christians become consumed with attaining wealth. The key word here is consumed. “For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.”
1 Timothy 6:10. And wealth can create a significant obstacle to the Kingdom of God. “Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven. And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.” Matthew 19:23-24.

Ask yourself this question: If when tomorrow comes I‘ve lost everything I have will I trust God to supply my needs? Or, will I worry and fret and scheme and connive to get back what I’ve lost? It’s easy to say I’ll trust God when we haven’t really lost anything yet, but what if it really happens. What if you really did lose your home, your car, your bank account, all your earthly possessions, and lastly, your spouse walks out on you? That scenario sounds like Job’s situation, doesn’t it?
What did Job do? And how did God reward Job later on? If you haven’t done so already, read the book of Job, the answers to those two questions are in plain view.

We hold onto worldly materialism way too tightly. I know we need things and I know most, in this country at least, are prosperous and many are thriving. Knowing all this, sometimes I wonder how many Christians are really looking forward to the rapture of the Church. How many of my brethren will need to be dragged, kicking and screaming all the way to Heaven when the rapture happens? Remember Jesus’ admonition to the young wealthy man who wanted to gain eternal life? “Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.” Matthew 19:21. Where did that young man’s treasure get him? “But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions.” Matthew 19:22. His riches had too strong of a hold on him and he was unable to see any benefit in knowing and following Jesus Christ.

“I just bought a new and very expensive BMW, awesome car.” “Have you seen my new Harley? Wow what a ride.” “We we’re finally able to buy our new ‘dream home’.” The bank account is fat, the garage has two new cars sitting all waxed and ready for cruising, the lawn is manicured, the new giant flat screen TV is installed on the wall and you’ve just invested in a surround sound system for your home, you’ll never need to go to the theater again. “Yes sir, now this is Heaven.” And all is well in suburbia. Heaven? Dream home? Earthly materialism? Ask yourself Christian, where is my home, really. “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do
not break through nor steal:” Matthew 6:19-20.

It seems in many cases Jesus’ words go unheeded. “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” Matthew 6:21. How many believers are storing up treasure here on earth just like the heathen?
Sadly, it seems many see no benefit in moving on to Heaven, they seek after earthly rewards and have stored nothing up for their eternal home.
It seems as if many of my brethren are looking for some specific sign or Jesus’ glorious appearing before they’ll begin to get ready for the great escape, but what they don’t seem to realize is there will be no sign given. There will be a great disappearance of believers at some point, but that isn’t a sign for believers, it’s a sign for non-believers. We are witnessing many events falling into place that lead us to believe we are very near the end, and it’s exciting to watch.
These events fuel our anticipation of what’s coming. But for the most part the signs Jesus’ disciples asked Him to reveal to them are concerning the end of days just before His Second Advent. They aren’t really signs for determining a time for the rapture of the church.

We are admonished to be ready for the rapture. Jesus is coming as a thief in the night. That’s not speaking of His second coming, that’s telling us the rapture of His Church is imminent. As I visit various prophecy websites this question inevitably pops up. “Are you ready?” I honestly don’t believe many of my brethren are ready and we know the lost aren’t.

Central to the Christian faith is the knowledge that we, as born again believers, are set apart from the world. We belong to Jesus Christ. That really does place a huge responsibility upon us. We aren’t to conform to the world so why do we? Jesus tells us over and over again what happens to those who become consumed with the cares of this world. Pride, greed, fear, covetousness, lust are ever recurring themes throughout the entire Bible, all of which stem from losing our focus on Jesus and replacing that focus with a materialistic world view.

The more we have the more we want. Instead of seeing Heaven as our real home where we will spend eternity with Jesus Christ we become enamored with all we can accumulate. This accumulation of materialism becomes the love of our lives and our god. There is a direct correlation between where your treasure is and where your heart is. If you regard your material possessions as your treasure then your heart is set here on this earth, and that my friend is a far shot from Heaven.

We should look at Heaven as the believer’s “Dream home”. Jesus tells us there are many mansions in Heaven and He has prepared a place for each of us. “In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.” John 14:2. Heaven will be far superior than even the most luxurious of mansions here on earth. But that’s not why we look to Heaven. We look to Heaven because Jesus is there.

There’s an old adage that says “To be too Heavenly minded is to be no earthly good” this is nonsense. Being too worldly minded is exactly the problem today with many a Christian, they have no sense of Heaven whatsoever. This little adage may well be part of the problem. Jesus, in the Gospel of Matthew, speaks of Heaven 69 times He wants us to be Heavenly minded, there is no possible way to be too Heavenly minded.

I was born here and if the Lord tarries I’ll die here, but I am certainly not remaining here. The dwelling I call a house and this country that has me registered as a citizen even this planet that gravitationally holds my body here is not my home.

Where is your home, Christian?

God bless you all,

Ron Graham

twotug@embarqmail.com

Thief on the Cross - Ron Graham - twotug@embarqmail.com

“And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.” Luke 23:42, 43. As Jesus hung on the cross, dying for the sin of the world, two criminals hung on either side of Him. Condemned for their crimes, they too would die that day. But one of them ultimately recognized who Jesus was. It was that criminal who called Him “Lord”. The Greek word for Lord Is “Kyrios” which is a title given to God, the Messiah. And with his own mouth, one of these thieves professed that Jesus is God.

In the above verse the word for kingdom comes from the Greek word “basileia” It is primarily an abstract noun, denoting sovereignty, royal power, dominion, and it is used especially of the Kingdom of God and of Christ. The thief addressed Jesus by using the word “basileia” which pointed to Jesus’ right or authority to rule over a kingdom. It refers to the royal power of Jesus as the triumphant Messiah.

So this thief through one little statement spoken from the most terrible place possible – hanging on his cross – was given permission by God Himself to enter paradise that very day with the King of Kings. Most Bible scholars agree that, for the most part, those criminals who earned the “privilege” of dying that horrible death, by crucifixion, were suspended there for days before finally dying. Jesus told that believing thief that that very day he would be with the Lord in paradise. How could Jesus have known that He and this thief would die that very day? Jesus is fully God, and as such He knows all things. He knew He would die that very day because He arranged all the events associated with His crucifixion. He also knew that one of the men hanging next to Him would believe and be saved that day, and that this man would also die in a matter of hours.

“And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.” Luke 23:43. Some believe that Jesus was speaking figuratively; not actually meaning the thief would be with Him that very day but that he would be joining Jesus in Heaven at some point in time. Those who believe in soul sleep interpret the “to day” that Jesus spoke of as being in this period of time, the Christian era.

The Greek rendering of the phrase “to day” means just that. The Greek word is “sēmeron”, and it means this very day, or what has happened today. The Greek word for “I say” is legō, which in this instance is rendered as a command. Clearly Jesus pronounced a command that the thief would be with Him that very day in Paradise. We know from the scriptures that Jesus, before His resurrection, went to where the believers of the past were waiting and “... led captivity captive...” Ephesians 4:8. He removed everyone who was in Paradise, and took them to Heaven. This puts the kibosh on soul sleep; there are other verses that also point to the whole idea of soul sleep as being unbiblical. Such as, 2 Corinthians 5:6-8; Philippians 1:23, but I digress.

As Jesus hung on that cross He was mocked and reviled by the crowd gathered at the cross, as well as the two criminals who were being crucified with Him. “The thieves also, which were crucified with him, cast the same in his teeth.” Matthew 27:44. But something changed the mind of one of those thieves, and in his heart he became a believer. It’s amazing just how quickly that change took place. “But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss.” Luke 23:40-41. That thief knew he and his companion deserved the punishment they were receiving. Interestingly, one criminal confessed with his mouth and believed in his heart that Jesus was Lord, which is exactly what Paul tells us in the Book of Romans how one is saved. “For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” Romans 10:10.

The man’s partial statement “Lord, remember me” was a profession of faith and it was the catalyst that moved him from being condemned to being saved. Yet it still remains that this saved sinner was being punished for the crime he committed against society. Two men, found equally guilty by the ruler in that land, were separated that day by the cross of Christ, separated by the One who was found guiltless yet condemned by that very same Roman ruler. Today they remain eternally separated by a simple faith which leads to the cross and a lack of faith that moves people to reject their Messiah.

Clearly we can see this once lost and condemned man becoming transformed before our very eyes by going through a change of heart and a transformation of his mind right there on that cross. This same change can happen to anyone today. We see many who have hardened their hearts against God and His Christ these days and we think to ourselves “How can these lost people who seem to be so far removed from God ever come to an understanding of who God is? How can they ever come to a saving relationship with Jesus Christ? Wouldn’t we be wasting our time trying to confront them with the truth of the Gospel?” Have you ever heard that old adage, “There but for the grace of God go I”? It’s only hopeless when that lost person dies in unbelief.

Two men, nailed to their own personal cross both suffering in pain and agony right along with Jesus. In this moment in time their eternity was in the balance since both would soon expire and be transported to the destination of their choice. There they were hanging and dying right next to the very Creator of the universe. Yet only one would recognize Jesus and confess before the world just who Jesus was. If these two criminals were Jews then they had just been put to death without being able to atone for their sin against God through the usual means, the Jewish Law of sacrifice. That opportunity was lost forever. One saw the Hope we all have in Christ and the other remained in his blindness.

Two very similar criminals made completely opposite choices, those two men had completely different mind sets. Both men had the same opportunity to avoid Hell that day. One ultimately made the correct choice. That’s a fact that should provide ample reason for believers today to pause and reconsider their drive to spread the Gospel. Those two men were hanging awaiting deaths door to slam shut, one became a believer before it was too late. We, as followers of Jesus Christ, need to spread the Gospel message to the lost as much as possible before it’s too late.

Everyone alive today is sitting at deaths door. Our lives could be snuffed out in a simple heart beat. Since man can’t see the future he can’t see his last moment on earth before it appears. There comes a point in time when all the good intentions for spreading the Gospel fall short if the believer lacks commitment.

Most people today believe they have plenty of time to make a decision for Christ, never really coming to the understanding that delaying that decision for Christ automatically condemns them to Hell. If they die in that lost state of mind they are condemned for eternity. The message of the cross is powerful and can and will bear much fruit if it is spread by Jesus’ followers as He commanded.

Remember Jesus’ words in the parable of the sower? The last ground mentioned by Jesus was good ground. “But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold” Matthew 13:8. We all like to think that we are the good ground spoken of by Jesus in this parable, but are we living up to what Jesus meant by bearing much fruit even thirtyfold?

I know, by some of the emails I’ve received in the past that there are believers out there who refuse to witness to the lost, erroneously assuming there’s nothing further to be accomplished. Their attitude in many cases is that the hearts of the rest of humanity are left hard and cold, and are completely unreachable for Christ. Obviously there are some who believe the Holy Spirit has been removed from planet earth. After all it’s the Holy Spirit who convicts a person and leads them to Jesus. If God’s Holy Spirit is not here to do His job what can believers expect to accomplish?

In the beginning of this amazing, wonderful movement called Christianity, God placed on man an awesome responsibility, and that was to spread the Gospel to all creatures. “And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.” Mark 16:15. That responsibility hasn’t changed in the last two thousand years. We must continue to, as Paul says, fight the good fight; we must remain active in our Father’s business, and be fully aware that the forces of evil will continue to buffet us at every turn.

Preaching the Gospel of Christ may seem difficult at times, even useless. The message of the cross, in many cases seems to be falling on deaf ears. Remember my brethren we are only seed planters and after planting we move on. We aren’t told in the scriptures to hang around watching that seed grow. We may not witness the fruit produced by that seed. But God promises it will produce fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold.

My brethren, another of Satan’s deceptions is to convince the Church to become complacent even apathetic. Along with all the other lies and deceptions infiltrating our churches today, one of the most far reaching is that the Holy Spirit has been removed. The Bible, the inerrant word of God, contains the very scriptures that Jesus quoted while here on earth, and they are non-negotiable. Nothing changes in God’s word. People change, yes, and become more “enlightened” in areas of worldly knowledge and through this kind of knowledge they are inclined to move away from any belief in God and His word. We don’t need to re-create or re-design the Gospel of Christ. It’s worked for almost two thousand years now and it will continue to be a beacon of light until Jesus returns. Nowhere in the scriptures are we told to avoid the lost and discontinue witnessing.

Jesus, being fully God, died on that cross, a most excruciating form of torture, and He did so to take away the sin of the entire world. He followed His Father’s instructions to the letter. Shouldn’t we, who are called by His name, continue following His commandments to the letter? At any rate it’s a command from God, not, as many would like to believe, a request.

God bless you all,

Ron Graham
twotug@embarqmail.com
 

“In Christ” - Ron Graham - twotug@embarqmail.com

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” 2 Corinthians 5:17. Remember when you first accepted the truth of the Gospel and invited Jesus Christ into your life? You were changed at the instant you first believed. Old things, things you weren’t very happy with in your life, were deleted (passed away). Why then do you dwell on those things God has tossed away? Why do many believers go back to what influenced them and moved them towards evil desires?

That’s how Satan works. He knew you before you were a new creation, and he thoroughly enjoys watching you squirm as he reminds you of your past. But it doesn’t need to be like that. “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus...” Romans 8:1. What does Paul mean when he refers to those who are “in Christ Jesus”? There is a spiritual union between Christ and believers. We are “In Christ” by faith, and Christ is in us by His Holy Spirit.

Condemnation only comes from Satan or his minions of evil, never from the Holy Spirit. But oh how we moan and groan as we’re reminded of our past failures. We have been changed in God’s eyes and He now sees us through His beloved Son, Jesus the Christ. If that’s how God sees us then it makes sense that Satan would have his work cut out for himself trying to get us to look back at what we once were. Sadly, many believers today allow Satan to have his way with them. Not only by looking back but going back to what we know is not of God.

Satan has no authority over the heart, soul, mind, or spirit of a believer. He can’t touch who we are unless we allow him access through what we allow to enter our minds. The actions of many Christians today prove he has been allowed access to their hearts. In other words, every time we, for even just a moment, take our eyes off Jesus, Satan is there to move us further away from God and His truths until we either realize what he’s doing and make a beeline back to God, or we fall flat on our face having given in to the flesh once again.

Satan’s influences in this world are quite pervasive. It’s very difficult to live in this world and not be conformed to it. As believers it’s even more troublesome trying to get through life untouched by Satan’s influences. “Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:” Ephesians 2:2. Satan is the prince of the power of the air and as such he controls the minds and the actions of many who have influence over us. Satan has his hand in our government, our news media, our movies and television programming, and sports that so many are completely addicted to. Satan’s influence in this world should be a daily reminder to believers of just how depraved this world is, and how we were once a part of that depravity.

Going to church on Sunday and Wednesday will help keep us focused on God, but it isn’t enough to completely stave off Satan’s influential attacks. We fellowship on those days and for a while all outside influence seems to melt away while we are worshipping God and our minds are being renewed and refreshed. Then we step back out into the world, and many of my brethren no more than reach their couches than they grab the remote and voilà the church’s influence wanes and Satan begins to take control and project his messages into their minds.

In most secular homes where there is little or no godly influence, we can expect the average individual’s mind to be filled with what’s spewed from the airwaves and cable and have little regard to how all that filth might be affecting their outlook on life. But for those who are “In Christ” it’s more than a little disheartening that they too would allow their minds to be opened to such a huge evil influence as TV. Many of my brethren are shocked when I tell them that my family and I exist without television programming in our home.

“In Christ” means that we are different than those who don’t believe, it means we do everything we can to eliminate the evil that can corrupt our minds as well as the minds of our loved ones. Satan will attack us through whatever means possible and his influence over the media and entertainment industry is obvious. If we are truly “In Christ” then we are a new creation, and as such we are not of the world any longer but we are of God. Everything we do and every decision we make should be as though God were making the decision with us. How many times a day do we mindlessly allow Satan to have his way with our minds?

Why are there so many problems in my life? Why can’t I have a good solid loving relationship with my partner? If we live together aren’t we married in God’s eyes? Why do I need to be married to have sex with the boy I love? Why can’t I view pornography, I’m not hurting anyone, and how can it be a sin if it is only something my eyes are seeing? Why can’t I get a divorce, if I don’t love my wife any more I should be able to seek and find happiness with someone who will love me and fulfill me, shouldn’t I? These and many other questions come to me via the email inbox on my computer. Again, I must ask you, the reader, what does Paul mean when he makes the statement “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” 2 Corinthians 5:17. Ask yourself are all things new with me or am I still of the world?

Are you allowing Satan to bring to the forefront of your mind all the past sins you were involved in so he can bring you to a point of despair? If so, you’re allowing Satan to win and you will lose the joy God has given you through Jesus Christ our Lord. I’m not saying you’ll lose your salvation, but you will be miserable as you allow Satan’s attacks to numb your mind to his evil influences.

When we first believe we’re excited even energetic and become like a magnet drawing others to us. Even those who don’t believe see a difference in us. Then we get a little further in our walk with Jesus and many times we become complacent and can even become a little discouraged. Eventually many turn back, they’re back in the world again and begin to take up where they left off doing many of the things they did before they were saved. I’m not using a wide brush here saying this happens to every born again believer, but it does happen to many who are professing Christians and the question is why? Why do so many professing Christians allow themselves to be influenced in such a way that they would return to a life that they once wanted out of?

In the parable of the sower, Jesus points out four different soils, but here I’m only going to address the first of the four. Where did some of the first seeds fall? “And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up:” Matthew 13:4. In Luke’s Gospel we are given a clear look at what’s behind this parable. “Those by the way side are they that hear; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved.” Luke 8:12. Interestingly, Jesus is telling us that this group of people heard the word of God preached and it actually entered their hearts. A question I get all the time is “Can a Christian lose their salvation”? The answer to that question is an emphatic no. Those mentioned above who heard the word but allowed Satan to remove it from their hearts may actually think they are saved. But Jesus says “lest they should believe and be saved.” There is no salvation for them to lose. They never had it.

Could this be the reason so many who’ve professed to being Christian and seemed at times to be following Jesus turned back to what they gave up after they first heard the word? We can’t be “In Christ” and of the world at the same time. That would be a contradiction in terms. We can’t worship God one or two hours per week, and then arbitrarily turn off our Christianity so we can assimilate into the world system, and then back to Jesus on Sunday again. Jesus doesn’t want that kind of follower. Jesus bought and paid for us with His blood and He owns every part of us which gives Him the right to all our time for all our remaining life, not just our Sunday morning worship time. We m