Was God in Control? Deliver Us From the Evil One
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.' Matthew 6:13
I received roses for Mother's Day. Roses are very delicate, and they don't last very long. Along with beatiful roses come thorns. Jesus was referred to as the Rose of Sharon. (I am a rose of Sharon, a lily of the valleys. Song of Solomon 2:1) There are people in the Bible that are referred to as thorns. The nations who worshipped other idols were referred to as thorns in Israel's side. Evil people are referred to as thorns.
But evil men are all to be cast aside like thorns, which are not gathered with the hand. 2 Samuel 23:6
The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Matthew 13:41-42 (Matthew 8:12 But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.)
Land that drinks in the rain often falling on it and that produces a crop useful to those for whom it is farmed receives the blessing of God. But land that produces thorns and thistles is worthless and is in danger of being cursed. In the end it will be burned. Even though we speak like this, dear friends, we are confident of better things in your case--things that accompany salvation. Hebrews 6:7-9
Paul talked about a thorn in his side, a messenger of Satan sent to buffet him. (2 Cor. 12:7) Many people think this was Paul's eyesight. With dealing with my own eyesight, I've been thinking a lot about Moses and praying about it because it says that Moses eyes never went dim.
Moses was 120 years old when he died. His eyesight never became poor, and he never lost his physical strength. Duet. 34:7
These examples written in the Bible were not just fairy tales or for our reading pleasure, they are for our admonition.
These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come. 1 Cor. 10:11
Other Bible scholars believe these were evil men that were trying to discredit Paul's testimony.
And pray that we may be delivered from wicked and evil men, for not everyone has faith. 2 Thess. 3:2
But evil people and impostors will flourish. They will deceive others and will themselves be deceived. 2 Thess 3:13
Was God in control when a woman was raped? Was God in control when a father molested his daughter? We lock our doors to our home and set the alarm. We take a number of precautions, because we live in a sinful world. At the university where I work there was an armed robbery this morning at 10:00 a.m. where the classrooms and offices of the school are located. There is a heightened awareness to security threats so we are a country more on high alert. As Christians, we have to be on alert to attacks by the evil one to our brothers and sisters in Christ, attacks in our community and in our lives.
Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 1 Peter 5:8
You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil--the commander of the powers in the unseen world. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God. Ephesians 2:2
If there were no boundaries in this world such as a speed limit than who sets the criteria? If we all could drive whatever speed limit we want, there are dangerous curves on the highway, when we should yield or men working in road construction who could be hurt. This is similar on the road of life.
When people do not accept divine guidance, they run wild. But whoever obeys the law is joyful. Proverbs 29:18
Moses saw that the people were running wild and that Aaron had let them get out of control and so become a laughingstock to their enemies. Exodus 32:25
If there were no rules and Ten Commandments from God in life on earth, and it’s a self-monarchy world, would our society be better, or would we become like the teens in the book, Lord of the Flies? Several of us were around a single’s mother son who had no active father figure in his life, and the single mother does not discipline her son. He acts up in public places, because he is not restrained. A child without restraint can be a nightmare later in adulthood.
Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. Hebrews 12:10
Like a city that is broken into and without walls is a man who has no control over his spirit. Proverbs 25:28
There are physical disciplines which are eating good food, exercise, good hygiene, going to work on time, studying for college exams, etc. Then there are spiritual disciplines which are the thoughts we think about day in and day out, the attitudes of our heart, and our actions towards how we treat others in life. A person like the former Osama Bin Laden first committed murder in his heart.
For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander, These are what make a man 'unclean'; but eating with unwashed hands does not make him 'unclean. Mathew 15:9-10
For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Hebrews 4:12
Some people can be put in two categories. Those who are self-destructive and those who are dangerous to others. Most of my teen life, I was dangerous to myself. I remember getting a girl to smoke marijuana the first time in her life, who ended up a mess in life, I would consider that I was dangerous to another human being at that time. There are times as humans we step in and that is what we call we make “human intervention” as far as helping a person who has gone “off the deep end.” Otherwise a person can pretty much be going on with their life pretty good on their own. God is wanting the reins to our lives, because if we lean on Him and trust in Him, He will direct our paths and that pathway is the path of life.
Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take. Proverbs 3:6
You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand. Psalm 16:11
A set of rules or boundaries are standards for our lives. When people say that God is in control, was God in control when Hitler killed all the Jews? Was God in control when all the priests were killed by Saul? God is in control if we let him take over the reins of our lives. We are co-laborers with God. We do not know why God permitted Saul to continue a period of time on this earth chasing David, just as in the same manner we don’t understand why Hitler was allowed to continue during a period of time to kill and persecute the Jews. Sometimes, God may jerk on the reins to get them from us. I look at it like "if/else statements in computer programming." After one line of code is executed in the computer program, it goes to the other line of code to fulfill a set of criteria or conditions. We can chose life or death in life. To please the flesh or please our spirit man.
Put your sword back in its place," Jesus said to him, "for all who draw the sword will die by the sword. Matthew 26:52
God can use the police, the Navy Seals, the military:
The authorities are God's servants, sent for your good. But if you are doing wrong, of course you should be afraid, for they have the power to punish you. They are God's servants, sent for the very purpose of punishing those who do what is wrong. Romans 13:4
Satan is the God of this world. He had the World Trade Center destroyed, which he was the god of this world’s monetary system. Money is not evil in itself it is just a monetary economy that Satan controls. Jesus said to “render under Caesar the things that are Caesar” I’ve come to the conclusion that Satan is insane. You can’t make rhyme or reason out of what he does. He is “against himself.” A house divided against itself will not stand. We just know he is out to destroy whomever he can in his path and in his insanity he will take out his own system. A person truly insane does not know what he does is insane. With a person mentally ill is getting them to believe they need medication, because they refuse to believe they have a problem.
The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And he said to him, "I will give you all their authority and splendor, for it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. So if you worship me, it will all be yours." Luke 4:7
We may not see any rhyme or reason to many things that happen and a person is insane does not have to make sense. I believe is that Satan is a like a prosecuting attorney always accusing God’s kids and if he can afflict trouble, persecution or affliction/illness and disease on any of us he will.
Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: "Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ. For the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down. Revelations 12:10
Therefore rejoice, you heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has gone down to you! He is filled with fury, because he knows that his time is short." Revelation 12:12
Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to make war against the rest of her offspring--those who obey God's commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus. Revelations 1:12:17
It’s time Christians learn how to afflict punishment on Satan’s kingdom and it comes prayer to our heavenly Father. We become “powerful Jedi’s” by humbling ourselves and being servants, not by being power hungry.
Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land. 2 Chron. 7:14
Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, "If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all." He took a little child and had him stand among them. Taking him in his arms, he said to them He took a little child and had him stand among them. Taking him in his arms, he said to them, Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me, but the one who sent me." Mark 9:35-37
I get discouraged at the number of selfish men I meet, and I'm talking about in Christian circles. I met my husband who is deceased through a single's ad, but I don't find very men that had the commitment that he did in service to the community. He supported a child monthly for Compassion International, was an assistant Boy Scouts troop leader even after his son was grown, helped lead teen socials in church and teach Sunday School, spent eleven years serving on the Homeowners Board in our subdivision, and gave blood regularly to the Blood Center. That was outside of a full time job, attending his children and step-children sporting events, taking his children to the doctor, loving me, and fixing things around the house.
Many men I meet are more interested in taking than giving. I've been dropped dating a man, because I would not have sex with him or because my salary was not high enough. Many men remind me of what Princess Leia said to Hans Solo when it comes to sex or money: You needn't worry about your reward. If money is all that you love, then that's what you'll receive! [to Luke] Your friend is quite a mercenary. I wonder if he really cares about anything... or anybody.
I don't trust in the goodness of man. It's says that cursed is the man that trusts in the arm of flesh. (This is what the Lord says: "Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who depends on flesh for his strength and whose heart turns away from the LORD. Jeremiah 17:5)
I thought the earth was becoming one huge ball of selfishness, until I had a car accident last weekend when a semi-truck blocked my view turning left and a car hit my right bumper. I did a spin in the middle of the street and there was a lot of glass all over the street. It took the police 1-l/2 hours to get there in Friday rush hour traffic since there were no serious injuries. Many paramedics, EMTs, nurses, good Samaritans stopped to help my girlfriend and I in that car accident. It restored my faith that God still has human angels in this world. That possibly Osama bin Laden is not the norm on the planet.
Luke, Who is Your Father?
For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them into gloomy dungeons to be held for judgment; 2 Peter 2:4
The question is not if Osama Bin Laden is burning in hell. The question is like everyone who watched the Star Wars Episode, The Empire Strikes Back, “Luke, who is your father?” At the end of that movie, everyone wanted to know if Darth Vader was Luke’s father. That is the same question today on earth. Who is our spiritual father? If our father is the devil, does that mean that we will spend eternity with our father the devil rather than God? If I come knock on the door of your house, and I want to come in your house, and you don’t know me, because I’m not a friend or a relative, most likely you won’t let me as a stranger in your home. Same with our Heavenly Father. How can he let those in heaven who don’t have their allegiance and fatherhood in heaven? Was Osama Bin Laden’s spiritual father the devil?
You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. John 8:44
Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life in him. 1 John 3:15
This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother. 1 John 3:10
He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work. 1 John 3:8
There are some people who don’t believe a loving God would send a person to hell. I don’t have a hard time believing that God made man with a free will. God allowed his son to be beat to a pulp, receive many lashes with a whip, his beard pulled out, his hair pulled out, nailed and crucified on the cross. Than it says that Jesus descended into hell and he has the keys of hell and death. I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades. Revelation 1:18. If you can listen to the story of Jesus going to hell by Carmen, it is quite amazing. The devil and demons were rejoicing, because they thought they had conquered Jesus. Satan spoke through the Roman soldiers and mocked Jesus saying that he healed others, he could not heal himself, he had saved others, he could not save himself. One of the thieves on the cross mocked Jesus. Jesus was right in front of him and the thief was getting ready to meet his maker, and yet he still did not repent and humble himself, but he mocked God all the way up to death. Many times, Satan has come against Christians with mocking from other people.
None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 1 Cor. 2:8
Since God allowed his son to go to hell for us so if we accept his sacrifice we don’t have to bear the punishment of hell, I don’t have a hard time believing that a person can go to hell. Besides a person not born again would be uncomfortable in heaven with a sin nature. It would be like going to a grand party, but you don’t feel you fit in and belong there. If you were in heaven with a sin nature, you would not fit in or belong there and you would be uncomfortable in heaven. I blogged previously that we are provided a wedding garment by what Jesus did on the cross. We will not be out of place at the party/wedding feast of the Lamb, because God will give us a wedding garment.
In reply Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again." V. 7 You should not be surprised at my saying, 'You must be born again.' John 3:3
For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. 1 Peter 1:23
It’s rather amazing that I could go from an altar girl at a Methodist Church, forward to be born again at a Baptist church and water baptized at 12 years old, and then end up a Satan worshipper. Part of the problem is my parents were unbelievers and were ignorant that my ordering books on reading horoscopes, fortune telling cards, palm reading, playing with a Ouija Board, séances at slumber parties, attending slumber parties where people were hypnotized, books on astral projection was opening the door to the occult in my life. I did not hear preaching against these type of activites at any of the churches I attended.
I had a hunger to experience the supernatural, and I did not experience the supernatural power of God at my sister’s Baptist church. I was a dry sinner and went down a wet sinner in baptism. I sang in the choir for about one year at the Baptist Church, and tried to read my Bible, but nothing in my Bible made a bit of sense to my mind. I went forward out of the fear of going to hell rather than faith in accepting Jesus into my heart.
The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. 1 Cor. 2:14
But if our good news is veiled, it is veiled from those who are on the way to destruction: The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 2 Cor. 4:3-4
I started listening to Black Sabbath music Iron Man and would glorify Satan in my mind for his power. It was like joining a gang for protection. There was a motorcycle gang of girls who were harassing me. These women used fear as a weapon to control my life. I determined if I had more hatred from Satan that would give me power to overcome them. At the time, I was rather mixed up in my theology as far as thinking that God was like the Star Wars god (this was before the movie) in that he was both good and evil. I was reading books on Eastern Religion. When I was dating my boyfriend, he introduced me to a form of mind control. Like Darth Vader could play on the weak minds of others, I saw my boyfriend use his power of mind control on some of my girlfriends. One night I was sitting in the car with him in a parking lot at Indiana University in Bloomington, and I could tell he was channeling his thoughts to take control over my mind, and I resisted it. When I resisted his mind control, a power came into me and I looked at him and I said in his face, “Why don’t you love yourself, why don’t you love me?” I know it was God’s love. He took off running out of the car and so did his two friends in the front seat.
I was uncomfortable with that experience of love in my heart, and I asked it to go away, and it left me immediately that night. Later, my boyfriend came back to the car and told me that he almost had a nervous breakdown from what I said. The best way to describe this in the Bible many times when the children of Israel were fighting their enemies, God would allow a spirit of confusion to come on them, and their enemies would start killing each other. At that time, I was uncomfortable with God’s love. Since then, I can’t imagine my life without God’s presence.
Then Saul and all his men assembled and went to the battle. They found the Philistines in total confusion, striking each other with their swords. 1 Samuel 14:20
There were also times I would be talking to my boyfriend, and his face would look like the devil to me. It was similar to the movie Call Me Claus with Whoopi Goldberg. Her calling was to take over as Santa Claus, and she was sitting in the car with her manager, who said since they both loved money, they should get married, even though they did not love each other. As she watched her boss talking, he looked like the devil, and she knew he was trying to keep her from following her calling in becoming Santa Claus. This was a similar experience in that I recognized my boyfriend was full of evil spirits. Later, when I told him I was thinking about becoming a Christian, he was trying to convince me not to become a Christian. My ex-boyfriend did give his life to the Lord a couple years after me, and a Christian minister said they casted several demons out of him. When I became a Christian, I felt several evil spirits leave me also. It was like a monkey was on my back, and I had such a sense of liberty when they left. I’ve been around other people with extreme hate, and I know God’s love is more powerful than hate. At that time I was giving into hatred in my life. My spiritual father was the devil, because I had hated in my heart.
My life was going downhill so I asked God if He was real to show me the way to find Him. I kept hearing a voice inside my mind, and I thought it was my reincarnated grandfather, but I know it was the Holy Spirit. I met some long-haired Jesus freaks who told me more about God’s love and their genuine concern over my soul, who caused me to ask Jesus into my heart. I was seeking the goodness of God this time rather than a fear of going to hell, and wanted to identify with living right and on the straight and narrow path not a path of destruction. I recognized that I was not only on the path of self-destruction, but I was on a road of spiritual destruction.
Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it. Matthew 7:13-14
Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God's kindness leads you toward repentance? Romans 2:4
I believe we are living in the latter rain. The Jesus movement was in the 1970’s which was part of the later rain, but I believe there will be a show down with the power of Satan and the power that God will demonstrate through his people.
The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with how Satan works. He will use all sorts of displays of power through signs and wonders that serve the lie, And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 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 Thess. 2:9-12
And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth." These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth. If anyone tries to harm them, fire comes from their mouths and devours their enemies. This is how anyone who wants to harm them must die. Revelation 11:3-5
Much like Pharaoh had his magicians who withstood God’s authority through Moses. God cannot trust a stick of dynamite in a person’s hand unless they have been through the wilderness like Moses became meek after 40 years. Many Christians are going through a wilderness experience so God’s power and strength can move in their life. Even before I became a Christian, God poured out his spirit on me when I resisted the devil although, I was not comfortable with His love, because I had not humbled myself and accepted Jesus sacrifice on the cross. I’m already hearing testimonies of dreams that God has been giving Hindus that Jesus is the Savior/Messiah.
In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. Acts 2:17
Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain. James 5:7
Fortunately, like Darth Vader, although I went down the dark path, I came back to the light Jesus Christ. There are people that continue down the dark path, doing evil. We are to be innocent concerning what is evil. I was not innocent about evil when I was glorifying Satan. In the book of Revelation when difficult things come on the earth, some people will curse God rather than turn to Him.
and cursed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, but they refused to repent of what they had done. Revelation 16:11
Everyone has heard about your obedience, so I am full of joy over you; but I want you to be wise about what is good, and innocent about what is evil. Romans 16:9
My daughter was shot in a drive-by shooting at a gas station. When a gang was shooting up the gas station, she glanced up with her head in the her car, and the bullet went through the back window, and glazed her ear and landed in her cheek. She was very upset that she got shot at all. I was very thankful she did not have brain damage, and came out so good when it could have been a whole lot worse. I met a woman when I worked at Ivy Tech State College whose son was shot in a driveby shooting at Broad Ripple High School and he had some physical problems because of that drive-by shooting.
Jesus did not say that we would not go through tribulation in this world. He said that he had overcome the world. We are going to make mistakes and go through mishaps. I've had a number of close calls with driving around semi-trucks. One time I had a blow out on the interstate when I was passing a semi-truck. Scared the semi-truck driver and myself, but I kept my car under control. I just listened to a message by a minister who said that his wife had a blow-out on the interstate, and landed up against a barrier, but avoided going over a bridge. One time I wanted to pass a semi-truck that was slowing down in the right lane, but I hesitated and up ahead there was car upside down in the left lane. If I would have passed the truck, I would have smashed into the overturned car. I've also been driving where a person's wheel fell off next to me in the right lane and bounced across the front of my car.
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: "For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered." No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. Roman 8:35-37
Some of us may pass through a fire in life at times in life, and our hair may get singed. When I was a little girl, I was playing with matches, and a candle in the closet that I made in kindergarten, and caught my clothes on fire. My parents managed to put the fire out with buckets of water, before it spread to the attic so our house did not burn down. My long hair got singed. I believe that is simlar experience in playing around with the occult when I was a child and teenager. The four Hebrew children were thrown in the fiery furnace and their clothes did not even smell like smoke. The son of God (Jesus) was in the firey furnace with them. Jesus is in the firey furnace of life with us.
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. Isaiah 43:2
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.' Matthew 6:13
I received roses for Mother's Day. Roses are very delicate, and they don't last very long. Along with beatiful roses come thorns. Jesus was referred to as the Rose of Sharon. (I am a rose of Sharon, a lily of the valleys. Song of Solomon 2:1) There are people in the Bible that are referred to as thorns. The nations who worshipped other idols were referred to as thorns in Israel's side. Evil people are referred to as thorns.
But evil men are all to be cast aside like thorns, which are not gathered with the hand. 2 Samuel 23:6
The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Matthew 13:41-42 (Matthew 8:12 But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.)
Land that drinks in the rain often falling on it and that produces a crop useful to those for whom it is farmed receives the blessing of God. But land that produces thorns and thistles is worthless and is in danger of being cursed. In the end it will be burned. Even though we speak like this, dear friends, we are confident of better things in your case--things that accompany salvation. Hebrews 6:7-9
Paul talked about a thorn in his side, a messenger of Satan sent to buffet him. (2 Cor. 12:7) Many people think this was Paul's eyesight. With dealing with my own eyesight, I've been thinking a lot about Moses and praying about it because it says that Moses eyes never went dim.
Moses was 120 years old when he died. His eyesight never became poor, and he never lost his physical strength. Duet. 34:7
These examples written in the Bible were not just fairy tales or for our reading pleasure, they are for our admonition.
These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come. 1 Cor. 10:11
Other Bible scholars believe these were evil men that were trying to discredit Paul's testimony.
And pray that we may be delivered from wicked and evil men, for not everyone has faith. 2 Thess. 3:2
But evil people and impostors will flourish. They will deceive others and will themselves be deceived. 2 Thess 3:13
Was God in control when a woman was raped? Was God in control when a father molested his daughter? We lock our doors to our home and set the alarm. We take a number of precautions, because we live in a sinful world. At the university where I work there was an armed robbery this morning at 10:00 a.m. where the classrooms and offices of the school are located. There is a heightened awareness to security threats so we are a country more on high alert. As Christians, we have to be on alert to attacks by the evil one to our brothers and sisters in Christ, attacks in our community and in our lives.
Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 1 Peter 5:8
You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil--the commander of the powers in the unseen world. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God. Ephesians 2:2
If there were no boundaries in this world such as a speed limit than who sets the criteria? If we all could drive whatever speed limit we want, there are dangerous curves on the highway, when we should yield or men working in road construction who could be hurt. This is similar on the road of life.
When people do not accept divine guidance, they run wild. But whoever obeys the law is joyful. Proverbs 29:18
Moses saw that the people were running wild and that Aaron had let them get out of control and so become a laughingstock to their enemies. Exodus 32:25
If there were no rules and Ten Commandments from God in life on earth, and it’s a self-monarchy world, would our society be better, or would we become like the teens in the book, Lord of the Flies? Several of us were around a single’s mother son who had no active father figure in his life, and the single mother does not discipline her son. He acts up in public places, because he is not restrained. A child without restraint can be a nightmare later in adulthood.
Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. Hebrews 12:10
Like a city that is broken into and without walls is a man who has no control over his spirit. Proverbs 25:28
There are physical disciplines which are eating good food, exercise, good hygiene, going to work on time, studying for college exams, etc. Then there are spiritual disciplines which are the thoughts we think about day in and day out, the attitudes of our heart, and our actions towards how we treat others in life. A person like the former Osama Bin Laden first committed murder in his heart.
For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander, These are what make a man 'unclean'; but eating with unwashed hands does not make him 'unclean. Mathew 15:9-10
For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Hebrews 4:12
Some people can be put in two categories. Those who are self-destructive and those who are dangerous to others. Most of my teen life, I was dangerous to myself. I remember getting a girl to smoke marijuana the first time in her life, who ended up a mess in life, I would consider that I was dangerous to another human being at that time. There are times as humans we step in and that is what we call we make “human intervention” as far as helping a person who has gone “off the deep end.” Otherwise a person can pretty much be going on with their life pretty good on their own. God is wanting the reins to our lives, because if we lean on Him and trust in Him, He will direct our paths and that pathway is the path of life.
Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take. Proverbs 3:6
You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand. Psalm 16:11
A set of rules or boundaries are standards for our lives. When people say that God is in control, was God in control when Hitler killed all the Jews? Was God in control when all the priests were killed by Saul? God is in control if we let him take over the reins of our lives. We are co-laborers with God. We do not know why God permitted Saul to continue a period of time on this earth chasing David, just as in the same manner we don’t understand why Hitler was allowed to continue during a period of time to kill and persecute the Jews. Sometimes, God may jerk on the reins to get them from us. I look at it like "if/else statements in computer programming." After one line of code is executed in the computer program, it goes to the other line of code to fulfill a set of criteria or conditions. We can chose life or death in life. To please the flesh or please our spirit man.
The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Galatians 6:8
If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. John 15:7
"I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. John 15:5
This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live. Duet. 30:19
Saul’s rebellion and disobedience cost him his life and he killed himself rather than face the consequences of his actions from his enemies, the same with Hitler and Judas. Osama Bin Laden faced the consequences through the Navy Seals. Those who murder by the sword will be killed by the sword. Saul killed himself by his own sword in the Bible. Saul was angry and murdered several priests. Osama Bin Laden was responsible for the murder of innocent people.
If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. John 15:7
"I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. John 15:5
This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live. Duet. 30:19
Saul’s rebellion and disobedience cost him his life and he killed himself rather than face the consequences of his actions from his enemies, the same with Hitler and Judas. Osama Bin Laden faced the consequences through the Navy Seals. Those who murder by the sword will be killed by the sword. Saul killed himself by his own sword in the Bible. Saul was angry and murdered several priests. Osama Bin Laden was responsible for the murder of innocent people.
Put your sword back in its place," Jesus said to him, "for all who draw the sword will die by the sword. Matthew 26:52
God can use the police, the Navy Seals, the military:
The authorities are God's servants, sent for your good. But if you are doing wrong, of course you should be afraid, for they have the power to punish you. They are God's servants, sent for the very purpose of punishing those who do what is wrong. Romans 13:4
Satan is the God of this world. He had the World Trade Center destroyed, which he was the god of this world’s monetary system. Money is not evil in itself it is just a monetary economy that Satan controls. Jesus said to “render under Caesar the things that are Caesar” I’ve come to the conclusion that Satan is insane. You can’t make rhyme or reason out of what he does. He is “against himself.” A house divided against itself will not stand. We just know he is out to destroy whomever he can in his path and in his insanity he will take out his own system. A person truly insane does not know what he does is insane. With a person mentally ill is getting them to believe they need medication, because they refuse to believe they have a problem.
The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And he said to him, "I will give you all their authority and splendor, for it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. So if you worship me, it will all be yours." Luke 4:7
We may not see any rhyme or reason to many things that happen and a person is insane does not have to make sense. I believe is that Satan is a like a prosecuting attorney always accusing God’s kids and if he can afflict trouble, persecution or affliction/illness and disease on any of us he will.
Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: "Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ. For the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down. Revelations 12:10
Therefore rejoice, you heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has gone down to you! He is filled with fury, because he knows that his time is short." Revelation 12:12
Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to make war against the rest of her offspring--those who obey God's commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus. Revelations 1:12:17
It’s time Christians learn how to afflict punishment on Satan’s kingdom and it comes prayer to our heavenly Father. We become “powerful Jedi’s” by humbling ourselves and being servants, not by being power hungry.
Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land. 2 Chron. 7:14
Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, "If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all." He took a little child and had him stand among them. Taking him in his arms, he said to them He took a little child and had him stand among them. Taking him in his arms, he said to them, Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me, but the one who sent me." Mark 9:35-37
I get discouraged at the number of selfish men I meet, and I'm talking about in Christian circles. I met my husband who is deceased through a single's ad, but I don't find very men that had the commitment that he did in service to the community. He supported a child monthly for Compassion International, was an assistant Boy Scouts troop leader even after his son was grown, helped lead teen socials in church and teach Sunday School, spent eleven years serving on the Homeowners Board in our subdivision, and gave blood regularly to the Blood Center. That was outside of a full time job, attending his children and step-children sporting events, taking his children to the doctor, loving me, and fixing things around the house.
Many men I meet are more interested in taking than giving. I've been dropped dating a man, because I would not have sex with him or because my salary was not high enough. Many men remind me of what Princess Leia said to Hans Solo when it comes to sex or money: You needn't worry about your reward. If money is all that you love, then that's what you'll receive! [to Luke] Your friend is quite a mercenary. I wonder if he really cares about anything... or anybody.
I don't trust in the goodness of man. It's says that cursed is the man that trusts in the arm of flesh. (This is what the Lord says: "Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who depends on flesh for his strength and whose heart turns away from the LORD. Jeremiah 17:5)
I thought the earth was becoming one huge ball of selfishness, until I had a car accident last weekend when a semi-truck blocked my view turning left and a car hit my right bumper. I did a spin in the middle of the street and there was a lot of glass all over the street. It took the police 1-l/2 hours to get there in Friday rush hour traffic since there were no serious injuries. Many paramedics, EMTs, nurses, good Samaritans stopped to help my girlfriend and I in that car accident. It restored my faith that God still has human angels in this world. That possibly Osama bin Laden is not the norm on the planet.
Luke, Who is Your Father?
For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them into gloomy dungeons to be held for judgment; 2 Peter 2:4
The question is not if Osama Bin Laden is burning in hell. The question is like everyone who watched the Star Wars Episode, The Empire Strikes Back, “Luke, who is your father?” At the end of that movie, everyone wanted to know if Darth Vader was Luke’s father. That is the same question today on earth. Who is our spiritual father? If our father is the devil, does that mean that we will spend eternity with our father the devil rather than God? If I come knock on the door of your house, and I want to come in your house, and you don’t know me, because I’m not a friend or a relative, most likely you won’t let me as a stranger in your home. Same with our Heavenly Father. How can he let those in heaven who don’t have their allegiance and fatherhood in heaven? Was Osama Bin Laden’s spiritual father the devil?
You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. John 8:44
Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life in him. 1 John 3:15
This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother. 1 John 3:10
He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work. 1 John 3:8
There are some people who don’t believe a loving God would send a person to hell. I don’t have a hard time believing that God made man with a free will. God allowed his son to be beat to a pulp, receive many lashes with a whip, his beard pulled out, his hair pulled out, nailed and crucified on the cross. Than it says that Jesus descended into hell and he has the keys of hell and death. I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades. Revelation 1:18. If you can listen to the story of Jesus going to hell by Carmen, it is quite amazing. The devil and demons were rejoicing, because they thought they had conquered Jesus. Satan spoke through the Roman soldiers and mocked Jesus saying that he healed others, he could not heal himself, he had saved others, he could not save himself. One of the thieves on the cross mocked Jesus. Jesus was right in front of him and the thief was getting ready to meet his maker, and yet he still did not repent and humble himself, but he mocked God all the way up to death. Many times, Satan has come against Christians with mocking from other people.
None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 1 Cor. 2:8
Since God allowed his son to go to hell for us so if we accept his sacrifice we don’t have to bear the punishment of hell, I don’t have a hard time believing that a person can go to hell. Besides a person not born again would be uncomfortable in heaven with a sin nature. It would be like going to a grand party, but you don’t feel you fit in and belong there. If you were in heaven with a sin nature, you would not fit in or belong there and you would be uncomfortable in heaven. I blogged previously that we are provided a wedding garment by what Jesus did on the cross. We will not be out of place at the party/wedding feast of the Lamb, because God will give us a wedding garment.
In reply Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again." V. 7 You should not be surprised at my saying, 'You must be born again.' John 3:3
For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. 1 Peter 1:23
It’s rather amazing that I could go from an altar girl at a Methodist Church, forward to be born again at a Baptist church and water baptized at 12 years old, and then end up a Satan worshipper. Part of the problem is my parents were unbelievers and were ignorant that my ordering books on reading horoscopes, fortune telling cards, palm reading, playing with a Ouija Board, séances at slumber parties, attending slumber parties where people were hypnotized, books on astral projection was opening the door to the occult in my life. I did not hear preaching against these type of activites at any of the churches I attended.
I had a hunger to experience the supernatural, and I did not experience the supernatural power of God at my sister’s Baptist church. I was a dry sinner and went down a wet sinner in baptism. I sang in the choir for about one year at the Baptist Church, and tried to read my Bible, but nothing in my Bible made a bit of sense to my mind. I went forward out of the fear of going to hell rather than faith in accepting Jesus into my heart.
The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. 1 Cor. 2:14
But if our good news is veiled, it is veiled from those who are on the way to destruction: The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 2 Cor. 4:3-4
I started listening to Black Sabbath music Iron Man and would glorify Satan in my mind for his power. It was like joining a gang for protection. There was a motorcycle gang of girls who were harassing me. These women used fear as a weapon to control my life. I determined if I had more hatred from Satan that would give me power to overcome them. At the time, I was rather mixed up in my theology as far as thinking that God was like the Star Wars god (this was before the movie) in that he was both good and evil. I was reading books on Eastern Religion. When I was dating my boyfriend, he introduced me to a form of mind control. Like Darth Vader could play on the weak minds of others, I saw my boyfriend use his power of mind control on some of my girlfriends. One night I was sitting in the car with him in a parking lot at Indiana University in Bloomington, and I could tell he was channeling his thoughts to take control over my mind, and I resisted it. When I resisted his mind control, a power came into me and I looked at him and I said in his face, “Why don’t you love yourself, why don’t you love me?” I know it was God’s love. He took off running out of the car and so did his two friends in the front seat.
I was uncomfortable with that experience of love in my heart, and I asked it to go away, and it left me immediately that night. Later, my boyfriend came back to the car and told me that he almost had a nervous breakdown from what I said. The best way to describe this in the Bible many times when the children of Israel were fighting their enemies, God would allow a spirit of confusion to come on them, and their enemies would start killing each other. At that time, I was uncomfortable with God’s love. Since then, I can’t imagine my life without God’s presence.
Then Saul and all his men assembled and went to the battle. They found the Philistines in total confusion, striking each other with their swords. 1 Samuel 14:20
There were also times I would be talking to my boyfriend, and his face would look like the devil to me. It was similar to the movie Call Me Claus with Whoopi Goldberg. Her calling was to take over as Santa Claus, and she was sitting in the car with her manager, who said since they both loved money, they should get married, even though they did not love each other. As she watched her boss talking, he looked like the devil, and she knew he was trying to keep her from following her calling in becoming Santa Claus. This was a similar experience in that I recognized my boyfriend was full of evil spirits. Later, when I told him I was thinking about becoming a Christian, he was trying to convince me not to become a Christian. My ex-boyfriend did give his life to the Lord a couple years after me, and a Christian minister said they casted several demons out of him. When I became a Christian, I felt several evil spirits leave me also. It was like a monkey was on my back, and I had such a sense of liberty when they left. I’ve been around other people with extreme hate, and I know God’s love is more powerful than hate. At that time I was giving into hatred in my life. My spiritual father was the devil, because I had hated in my heart.
My life was going downhill so I asked God if He was real to show me the way to find Him. I kept hearing a voice inside my mind, and I thought it was my reincarnated grandfather, but I know it was the Holy Spirit. I met some long-haired Jesus freaks who told me more about God’s love and their genuine concern over my soul, who caused me to ask Jesus into my heart. I was seeking the goodness of God this time rather than a fear of going to hell, and wanted to identify with living right and on the straight and narrow path not a path of destruction. I recognized that I was not only on the path of self-destruction, but I was on a road of spiritual destruction.
Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it. Matthew 7:13-14
Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God's kindness leads you toward repentance? Romans 2:4
I believe we are living in the latter rain. The Jesus movement was in the 1970’s which was part of the later rain, but I believe there will be a show down with the power of Satan and the power that God will demonstrate through his people.
The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with how Satan works. He will use all sorts of displays of power through signs and wonders that serve the lie, And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 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 Thess. 2:9-12
And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth." These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth. If anyone tries to harm them, fire comes from their mouths and devours their enemies. This is how anyone who wants to harm them must die. Revelation 11:3-5
Much like Pharaoh had his magicians who withstood God’s authority through Moses. God cannot trust a stick of dynamite in a person’s hand unless they have been through the wilderness like Moses became meek after 40 years. Many Christians are going through a wilderness experience so God’s power and strength can move in their life. Even before I became a Christian, God poured out his spirit on me when I resisted the devil although, I was not comfortable with His love, because I had not humbled myself and accepted Jesus sacrifice on the cross. I’m already hearing testimonies of dreams that God has been giving Hindus that Jesus is the Savior/Messiah.
In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. Acts 2:17
Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain. James 5:7
Fortunately, like Darth Vader, although I went down the dark path, I came back to the light Jesus Christ. There are people that continue down the dark path, doing evil. We are to be innocent concerning what is evil. I was not innocent about evil when I was glorifying Satan. In the book of Revelation when difficult things come on the earth, some people will curse God rather than turn to Him.
and cursed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, but they refused to repent of what they had done. Revelation 16:11
Everyone has heard about your obedience, so I am full of joy over you; but I want you to be wise about what is good, and innocent about what is evil. Romans 16:9
My daughter was shot in a drive-by shooting at a gas station. When a gang was shooting up the gas station, she glanced up with her head in the her car, and the bullet went through the back window, and glazed her ear and landed in her cheek. She was very upset that she got shot at all. I was very thankful she did not have brain damage, and came out so good when it could have been a whole lot worse. I met a woman when I worked at Ivy Tech State College whose son was shot in a driveby shooting at Broad Ripple High School and he had some physical problems because of that drive-by shooting.
Jesus did not say that we would not go through tribulation in this world. He said that he had overcome the world. We are going to make mistakes and go through mishaps. I've had a number of close calls with driving around semi-trucks. One time I had a blow out on the interstate when I was passing a semi-truck. Scared the semi-truck driver and myself, but I kept my car under control. I just listened to a message by a minister who said that his wife had a blow-out on the interstate, and landed up against a barrier, but avoided going over a bridge. One time I wanted to pass a semi-truck that was slowing down in the right lane, but I hesitated and up ahead there was car upside down in the left lane. If I would have passed the truck, I would have smashed into the overturned car. I've also been driving where a person's wheel fell off next to me in the right lane and bounced across the front of my car.
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: "For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered." No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. Roman 8:35-37
Some of us may pass through a fire in life at times in life, and our hair may get singed. When I was a little girl, I was playing with matches, and a candle in the closet that I made in kindergarten, and caught my clothes on fire. My parents managed to put the fire out with buckets of water, before it spread to the attic so our house did not burn down. My long hair got singed. I believe that is simlar experience in playing around with the occult when I was a child and teenager. The four Hebrew children were thrown in the fiery furnace and their clothes did not even smell like smoke. The son of God (Jesus) was in the firey furnace with them. Jesus is in the firey furnace of life with us.
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. Isaiah 43:2
Then Nebuchadnezzar was furious with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and his attitude toward them changed. He ordered the furnace heated seven times hotter than usual. Then he ordered some of the strongest men of his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and throw them into the blazing furnace. So these men, wearing their robes, trousers, turbans and other clothes, were bound and thrown into the blazing furnace. The king's command was so urgent and the furnace so hot that the flames of the fire killed the soldiers who took up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and these three men, firmly tied, fell into the blazing furnace. Then King Nebuchadnezzar leaped to his feet in amazement and asked his advisers, "Weren't there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire?" They replied, "Certainly, O king." He said, "Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods." Nebuchadnezzar then approached the opening of the blazing furnace and shouted, "Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out! Come here!" So Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego came out of the fire, and the satraps, prefects, governors and royal advisers crowded around them.
They saw that the fire had not harmed their bodies, nor was a hair of their heads singed; their robes were not scorched, and there was no smell of fire on them. Daniel 3:20-27
Angels by Amy Grant
Take this man to prison," the man heard Herod say,
And then four squads of soldiers came and carried him away.
Chained up between two watchmen, Peter tried to sleep,
But beyond the walls an endless prayer was lifting for his keep.
Then a light cut through the darkness of a lonely prison cell,
And the chains that bound the man of God just opened up and fell,
And running to his people before the break of day,
There was only one thing on his mind, only one thing to say:
Angels watching over me, every move I make,
Angels watching over me!
Angels watching over me, every step I take,
Angels watching over me!
God only knows the times my life was threatened just today.
A reckless car ran out of gas before it ran my way.
Near misses all around me, accidents unknown,
Though I never see with human eyes the hands that lead me home.
But I know they're all around me all day and through the night.
When the enemy is closing in, I know sometimes they fight
To keep my feet from falling, I'll never turn away.
If you're asking what's protecting me then you're gonna hear me say:
Got His angels watching over me, every move I make,
Angles watching over me!
Angels watching over me, every step I take,
Angels watching over me....
Angels watching over me....
Angels watching over me.
Got His angels watching over me, every move I make,
Angels watching over me!
Angels watching over me, every step I take,
Angels watching over me!
Angels watching over me,
Angels watching over me,
Angels watching over me,
Angels watching over me!
Though I never see with human eyes the hands that lead me home....
They saw that the fire had not harmed their bodies, nor was a hair of their heads singed; their robes were not scorched, and there was no smell of fire on them. Daniel 3:20-27
Angels by Amy Grant
Take this man to prison," the man heard Herod say,
And then four squads of soldiers came and carried him away.
Chained up between two watchmen, Peter tried to sleep,
But beyond the walls an endless prayer was lifting for his keep.
Then a light cut through the darkness of a lonely prison cell,
And the chains that bound the man of God just opened up and fell,
And running to his people before the break of day,
There was only one thing on his mind, only one thing to say:
Angels watching over me, every move I make,
Angels watching over me!
Angels watching over me, every step I take,
Angels watching over me!
God only knows the times my life was threatened just today.
A reckless car ran out of gas before it ran my way.
Near misses all around me, accidents unknown,
Though I never see with human eyes the hands that lead me home.
But I know they're all around me all day and through the night.
When the enemy is closing in, I know sometimes they fight
To keep my feet from falling, I'll never turn away.
If you're asking what's protecting me then you're gonna hear me say:
Got His angels watching over me, every move I make,
Angles watching over me!
Angels watching over me, every step I take,
Angels watching over me....
Angels watching over me....
Angels watching over me.
Got His angels watching over me, every move I make,
Angels watching over me!
Angels watching over me, every step I take,
Angels watching over me!
Angels watching over me,
Angels watching over me,
Angels watching over me,
Angels watching over me!
Though I never see with human eyes the hands that lead me home....
There's a big difference between agreeing with Jesus that ALL people will, eventually, come to him...and that somehow evil actions are OK. The Gospel or the GOOD News is that God loves us, EVEN THOUGH, we are sinners, EVEN THOUGH, we do bad things to hurt ourselves and others. He most definitely hates the sinful things we DO, but He still loves us, IN SPITE OF how we behave.
ReplyDeleteTo say that God will, in the end, torture people, with fire, for eternity, is to say that His love is conditional, that He will give up, that he doesn't really love everyone in spite of our sins. To believe in Hell is to say that the Gospel is false and God will fail. It's to say that He will end up committing much more evil than all the evil all people have ever committed!
The real Good News is that God has acted, through Jesus, on the cross, and ALL sins are ALREADY forgiven. No one can pay for his/her own sins and no one can UNpay for his/her own sins.
Yes, today, we all have the choice to believe or not, but believing means that you REALIZE what God has ALREADY done for you! Your believing is NOT what saves you!. By contrast, those who have yet to believe don't realize what God has done for them! This is why we say they are "lost in the dark." They are children of God who don't realize they have a Father in Heaven who loves them unconditionally, not yet.
But we have the promise of Jesus that, in time, if not in this age, then in the next, EVERY knee will bow and EVERY tongue will confess Jesus as Lord. And we know they will do so because they will have invited the Holy Spirit to dwell in them because the Scriptures say that NO ONE can confess "Jesus is Lord" except by the Holy Spirit!
So, instead of proclaiming the terrible, bad news that God is going to torture vast billions, that God is going to lose, that God loves only some of the world, that God is going to give up on most people and that much of Jesus' blood will be wasted...let's proclaim the really Good News, that God loves the WHOLE world, has forgiven us, and seeks every out and will continue to do so UNTIL the very last lost sheep is found!
I don't see where we can just do anything we want on earth as far as killing and hurting people and there are not consequences for our actions. Man has a free will. I don't see that for those who choose to continue to live in wickedness there is forgiveness without repentance. If is possible to restore a person than I know God can make a way to restore a person. I have heard that even a murderer like Ted Bundy apparently prayed the sinner's prayer. God is very forgiving and loving. It we repent, he is willing to forgive. Not sure that all men will come to repentance. Some may not.
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