The Signs of Rev 12

Revelation 12:1-9

And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars:

2 And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered.

3 And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.

4 And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born.

5 And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne.

6 And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days.

7 And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,

8 And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.

9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

The Signs of Revelation 12
YouTube Video by Shane Nelson

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=5vSqP_oZ7Ps

America Mourns

 Why does America Mourn?

This is the prayer that the US Supreme Court struck down in 1963 as unconstitutional and prohibited school children to pray if they wished:

"Almighty God, we acknowledge our dependence upon Thee, and we beg Thy blessings upon us, our parents, our teachers, and our Country."

As you can see from the prayer the children were acknowledging God and their dependency upon Him, and asking Him to bless them, their parents, their teachers, and their country.

1 Samuel 2:30 - "Wherefore the Lord God of Israel saith, I said indeed that thy house, and the house of thy father, should walk before me for ever: but now the Lord saith, Be it far from me; for them that honour me I will honour, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed."

When America honored God God in turn honored America. Prior to 1963 America was elevated among the nations of the world in achievement, morality, productivity, stability, and reputation.

That all changed when the US Supreme Court decided that the voluntary school prayer was unconstitutional and forbade the students to pray it. No longer were we as a nation going to acknowledge Him, depend on Him, and ask Him for His blessings.

God honored their decision and removed His blessings upon our children, our families, our teachers, and our nation. No longer is America greatest among all the nations of the world. According to government statistics student achievement has greatly decreased. There are more divorces now than prior to 1963. Many of our teachers are incompetent and can't pass a test on the subjects they teach.

What our country is able to produce has greatly decreased.

America is no longer a superior nation. We are mediocre in achievements when compared to other nations. We are number one in the world when it comes to teenage pregnancies. We have the highest illiteracy rate in the industrialized world. We lead the world in violent crimes, divorce, and illegal drug use.

Our government before 1963 knew God's blessings. But they did not glorify God as God and were not thankful for His blessings. They thought themselves as wise but in reality they became fools. Because our government rejected God He has rejected us and given us over to a reprobate mind. (Romans 1:21-32). Romans 1:29-32 aptly described what has happened to America and it came upon us like a flood when the US Supreme Court told God He was no longer welcomed in our society.

Romans 1:28-32

28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;

29 Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers,

30 Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,

31 Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful:

32 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.

Our government has tried desperately to address these problems and find solutions. However, nothing to date has worked. Why? Because they are trying to fix America's sin problem without God. As King David, the Psalmist,said

Psalm 127:1 - "Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it: "

The laws that a nation's government passes will either brings blessings on their people or curses.

Proverbs 29:2 - " When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn."

God brings blessing on a nation when their laws are written in accordance with His commandments. He brings judgment on a nation when their laws go against His commandments.

America is experiencing God's judgment because of abortion (the shedding of innocent blood) , embracing homosexuality as an acceptable lifestyle, and the way we treat Israel.

God brings judgment on a people who shed innocent blood. God's Word says that (1) God considers the unborn child as a human being and has a plan for its life (Psalm 139:14-16, Jeremiah 1:5). (2)God hates the shedding of innocent blood (Proverbs 6:16-19). (3) God considers the act as wicked and will judge the mother (and father) who does it (Exodus 23:7). (4) The abortion industry is all about making money and God curses the doctors who perform it ( Deuteronomy 27:25). (5) God brings judgment (by the sword) on a nation that sheds innocent blood (Jeremiah 19:3-7). The people have and will continue to mourn as America aborts her unborn children.

God brings judgment on any nation that embraces homosexuality as an acceptable lifestyle (2 Pet 2:6). Starting with Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen 19:24-25,28-29) and all down through history God has brought to nothing all nations that have embraced homosexuality as an acceptable lifestyle. America will be no exception. God will destroy America. The people have and will continue to mourn as a result.

Obadiah 1:15 - "For the day of the LORD is near upon all the heathen: as thou hast done (To Israel), it shall be done unto thee: thy reward shall return upon thine own head. "

Obadiah 1:15 says that God will do to any nation what that nation has done to Israel. Our government is trying to make Israel give up their God given land and to divide Jerusalem for peace. Every time America has tried to push that God has struck America usually with some powerful storm. It started with President George H W Bush and has continued to this day. It will continue as America demands of Israel to give up their God given land for peace. If our nation requires Israel to split Jerusalem God will split this nation. The people mourn and will continue to mourn because of it.

God turned this nation over to a reprobate mind when our government said "No" to God when declaring in 1963 that a voluntary school prayer that acknowledged Him, our dependency upon Him, and asked for His blessings was declared unconstitutional and the students were forbidden to pray it. The people mourn and will continue to mourn because of it.

Why doesAmerica mourn?  It is because we have rejected God.

Pray for the Lost to be Saved

Matt 24:3-8

3 And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?

4 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.

5 For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.

6 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.

7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.

8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.

The signs of Jesus' coming and the end of the world  are being played out right before our very eyes.

Nations are against nations.  Russia and Iran are against America.   North  Korea is against America and her allies.  The lists goes on.

Kingdoms  are agsinst kingdoms.    For example,  the blacks are against the whites, ISIS is against anyone who they consider infidels, and etc..

Civil wars and wars among the nations are taking place in various area of our country and the world, rumors of war are floating around.  Eventually this will culminate in WWIII.

Pestilences, famnes, and earthquakes are happening in various places arond the world.

 America has not experienced these sorrows as much as many places in the world have but soon that will end.  One day we will awake to attacks on our soil, disesase for which there will be no cure for, food shortages of great magnitude, and powerful earthquakes.

All these sorrows and more  are God's judgments against our nation and the world because of its iniquities (like the shedding of innocent blood and sexual immorality) .

Many people will die in the wars, pestilences, famines, and earthquakes.  Some may even be members of our own family, friends, and communities.  Many of those we know are not saved.  Pray for their salvation.   The time is short.

Pray for the salvation of your family whether they be young children, handicapped, old, in a coma,  or  healthy and successful in life. It matters not what state they are in.

God can reach anybody with the gospel even if they are sick and in a coma, handicapped (dementia, autism, intellectually challenged), or if they are very young.

Here are some articles for your encouragment that God can reach young children, those sick and in a coma, and those who are intellectually challenged with the gospel.

Age of Accountability
http://christianfaith4today.blogspot.com/2011/12/age-of-accountability.html

Death Bed Salvation
http://christianfaith4today.blogspot.com/2015/12/death-bed-salvation.html

Can the Demented be Reach with the Gospel?
http://christianfaith4today.blogspot.com/2015/05/can-demented-be-reach-with-gospel.html

To God be the Glory

“My glory will spread across South Africa, Africa, and will then continue to flow to cover the whole earth"

https://z3news.com/w/glory-spread-south-africa-africa-continue-flow-cover-earth/#wrap

The Lost Secrets of Easter

The Lost Secrets of Easter

http://thelostsecretsofeaster.com/?utm_source=SQ180_LSOE_470x125_BlueYellow&utm_medium=SQ180_LSOE_470x125_BlueYellow

Death Bed Salvation

My father was married four times. My mother was his second wife. My mother filed for a divorce while she was still pregnant with me and received the divorce about nine months after I was born.

After the divorce my father married a woman by the name of Judy. They had a daughter. Her name is Linda.

My father was a Chef - Restaurant owner and he and Judy spent a great deal of time working the restaurant. My father was not a religious man and Judy was a Jew but not a practicing Jew. They wanted Linda to grow up with some religious and moral instruction so they sent her to a private Catholic School.

After elementary school Linda wanted to go to a regular public school. While she was in High School she started attending a Baptist Church at the invitation of one of her friends. In college she joined the Campus Crusade for Christ organization and eventually got saved.

Linda left college and went to work. She had worked for the police department as a dispatcher and worked on Sundays.

One day she announced to her mother that she was not going to work on Sunday anymore because she was going to go to Church. Sometime afterwards , on an Easter morning, she went forward during invitation time and recommitted her life to Jesus.

Some years later her mother came down with breast cancer. She had surgery and the cancer was gone. However, some time afterwards the cancer came back but this time it was in her bones. Judy was on her death bed.

Linda became panicky because she knew her mother wasn't saved and would perish if she died. She witnessed to her mom and Judy prayed the sinners prayer.

Judy didn't die but instead got better. She moved into a Jewish retirement home. Linda tried to get Judy to attend Church with her but her mother refused. Instead Judy attended the Jewish Services at the retirement home. Occasionally on Sunday she would attend the Christian Services. Linda told her that it was either Jesus or Judaism and that it could not be both. Judy said that she was trying to cover her bases.

Well, Judy continued to get better. Her cancer went into remission. She went from being confined to a wheelchair, to walking with a cane, to walking without assistance. She went out shopping and lived life like she hadn't been sick with bone cancer.

After about two years Judy's cancer came back. She again was on her death bed.

Linda called my brother, Earl, to let him know that she was dying. She told him that if he wanted to see her mother he would have to come now.

My brother made arraignments to go. For a week he and Linda would go see Judy in the hospital.
Judy had gone into a coma. The hospital called Linda one night and said that her mother would be dead by morning and if she wanted to see her mother she had to come now.

Linda and Earl went to see Judy. They reminisced about the past. They asked Judy to wiggle her toes, or move a finger, or blink her eyes or make some kind of movement that would let them know that she could hear them. She made no response.

After awhile Linda felt led to witness again to her mother. She told Judy that her time had come. She told her that she had to make a decision; it was either going to be Jesus or Judaism. It could not be both.

Linda told her mother that if she wanted Jesus to pray the sinner's prayer with her. Linda bowed her head, closed her eyes, and prayed the sinner's prayer. Earl had his eyes open and watching Judy as Linda prayed.

Then Linda said, "Mom, Jesus is here. His hand is stretched out to you. If you want Jesus, lift your arm and place your hand into His and He will take you home." Immediately, Earl said, "Look Linda!" as Judy raised her arm and breathed her last breath.

Though Judy had asked Jesus to save her a couple of years before she died she did not live for God nor did she show much interest in her new found faith but instead sought out the religion she was born into.

Judy was not right with God. Had she died in the state she was in she would have perished. But God is a good God. In His mercy and grace He gave Judy a second chance to decide for Him.

You may have family, friends, or acquaintances that are lost or that are backslidden Christians. You may be worried about where they will spend their eternity. You may have been praying for them to get saved or to repent and turn back to the Lord. They may be nearing death; they may be in a coma, like Judy was. You may feel like there is no more hope for them to get right with God before they die because you feel like they can't be reached and are not able to make a decision for Jesus.

They can be reached. They can make a decision for Jesus.

Those in a coma can hear and understand you but they just can't physically indicate that.

Pray for them. Give them the gospel. Invite them to receive Christ or to recommit their life to Jesus.

Never give up on them because they can be reached with the gospel and can be saved if that is the desire of their heart.

Can the Demented be Reach with the Gospel?

My father had three brothers and two sisters. They were born and raised in Clinton County, Kentucky.

One brother, Marvin, was killed when his vehicle overturned when he was in his early 20's. One sister, Ruby, moved to Louisville with the family and remained there all her life.

My father's parents, Martin and Delia, one sister, Bonnie, and two brothers, Willie and Payton relocated to Miami, Florida where my father, who was in the Coast Guard, was stationed.

My mom use to take me to see my grandparents. They were good to me.

Uncle Payton was good to my mom when she was separated from my father because she was filing for divorce. He was a big help to her when she was bed-ridden during her pregnancy with me so she wouldn't miscarry.. Aunt Bonnie was the sole testifier at my mom's court hearing.

Aunt Bonnie and my mom were good friends. She was there for my mom when she needed help. I was her favorite niece. She was my favorite Aunt.

My mom took me many times to her house for the weekend so I could be with her and play with her four grandchildren.

My Aunt Bonnie and Aunt Ruby were the only siblings that had faith in God. They were raised Nazarenes. Aunt Bonnie switched over to the Baptist Denomination in Miami and even at one time taught Sunday School.

Aunt Bonnie was married to a man named Neil. Neil was her second husband. Neil was Catholic and religiously attended Catholic services on Saturday night.

Uncle Neil wasn't much for talking, his voice was low volume, and he constantly had a cigar in his mouth.

Uncle Neil was good to me. I liked sports and he taught me some methods to improve my game.

Back in the early 80's Aunt Bonnie and Uncle Neil sold their Miami house and bought a house in Albany which is located in Clinton County, Kentucky where she was raised. They moved to their new house from Miami during Thanksgiving that year. It was bitter cold that evening when they went to go inside their house from the car and Aunt Bonnie got frost bit on one of her toes.

The toe became infected. My Aunt was diabetic. The doctor could not heal her of the infection.

Aunt Bonnie and Uncle Neil lived in Albany for approximately three years. Twice I took vacation to go visit with them and stayed one week each time.

Uncle Neil had digressed mentally from when I knew him in Miami. He had a moderate form of dementia that left him not wanting to talk much, and not wanting to do anything other than watch TV occasionally.

My second visit I was down in the basement trying to scrape clean the wood burning stove that was used to heat the house during the winter because it had rusted when the basement flooded..
God spoke to me and told me to go upstairs and talk to Uncle Neil about Jesus.

When I did I found Uncle Neil watching a Billy Graham service. Uncle Neil was bothered by what he heard.

For about an hour and a half I talked to him about Jesus and gave him the gospel. I asked him if he wanted to invite Christ into his life. He told me that he was Catholic. He showed me his baptismal papers that he got when he was baptized as a baby. He told me that he was confirmed in the Catholic Church when he was twelve years old. He was certain that he was saved.

I was going nowhere with him. So, I just accepted it. I asked him if I could pray for him. He said, "Yes". After I prayed we both went to bed.

Nothing more was said about Jesus for my remaining time with them.

I went home. Less than a year later my Aunt woke up one morning and the infected frost bit toe became gangrenous and the gangrene spread up her leg. She was rushed to the hospital where her leg was amputated above her knee.

My Aunt had two sons from her first marriage. The youngest son, Buck, a Pentecostal believer, went to be with his mom. He was concerned for her relationship with Christ and wanted her to pray the sinner's prayer again so she would be right with God and for sure when she died she would go to Heaven.

He asked his mother if she would mind recommitting her life to Jesus. She said, "No, I don't mind doing it at all."

Buck asked if she believed that Jesus died for her sins. She said, "Yes." He asked her if she forgave everybody that had wrong her in life. She said, "Yes."

Uncle Neil was also in the hospital room. He was standing by the door.

Buck led his mother in the sinner's prayer.

When doing so he heard some weeping and some mumbling behind him. He turned and saw that it was coming from Neil.

Buck went to talk with Neil. He said, "Pop, do you want to ask Jesus to save you?" Uncle Neil said, "Yes". Buck led him in the sinner's prayer.

Uncle Neil changed.

Pippin, Buck's wife, said that his mind was being renewed everyday.

After Aunt Bonnie prayed the sinner's prayer God manifested Himself to her for the remaining time she had before she died. Aunt Bonnie died three weeks after her leg was amputated.

My brother Earl and I attended the funeral. I noticed Uncle Neil was different. He no longer wanted to smoke cigars or anything even when he was offered one. He didn't drink alcohol any more either. He was a gentleman. When I entered the snack room at the funeral home he got up and offered me his seat at the table. He seated me at the table when I went to sit down. This he never had done before. His demeanor was different. He didn't cuss any more.

Buck and Pippin did not want Neil in a nursing home. They took him into their home. He lived the rest of his life with them.

After Uncle Neal went to Buck and Pippin's house I called Pippin. I asked how he was doing. She said he was doing good. He didn't smoke the cigars anymore. He helps around the house. His mind is renewed everyday. He went to Church with them. He did as everyone else; he stood up when told too and he sang the songs from the hymnal. He certainly was a changed man.

Uncle Neil died three years later.

God saved Uncle Neil because that was the desire of his heart. God changed his life. He is now in Heaven.

You may have family, friends, or acquaintances that have some form of dementia. You may think that they cannot be reached with the gospel because of it.

I most assure you they can be.

Pray for their salvation. Share the gospel with them. Invite them to receive Christ as their Savior or recommit their life to Jesus.

God can reach them with the gospel and save them if that is the desire of their heart.
 

The Gospel

Any person who hasn't received Jesus as Savior and Lord will go to hell.  It doesn't matter if he/she is a homosexual, an adulterer, a murderer, a thief, a liar, a drunkard, a drug addict, a rebellious person, an idolater, or any other kind of sinner.

Man is accountable to God.  Every person who has ever lived, lives now, or will live must give an account for the life he/she has lived.  If all their sins have been forgiven by Jesus before that person enters into eternity then he/she shall inherit eternal life.  If not, then God will cast him/her into hell as punishment for having sinned against God.

God does not want anyone to go to hell.  He made a way for you, me, and everyone else to be forgiven of their sins.  He had Jesus, who knew no sin, to become sin for us.  When Jesus died on the cross He took God's judgment for our sins upon Himself.  Jesus paid the price for our sins, which is death, so we would not have too.

Jesus is not dead.  God raised Him from the dead.  He sits at the right hand of the Father.  Because He does we can be set free from sin, have a meaningful  life here on the earth, and have eternal life when we die.

If you believe that Jesus died for you, and you want to receive what Jesus did for you, then you can be saved  if you turn to Him in prayer, and ask Him to forgive you of your sins, to come live in your heart, and be the Lord (boss) of your life.  If you do, then Jesus will come live in your heart, and He will  make you a new creature in Christ Jesus.  He will give you a new nature which is after His own.  As you live for Him He will give meaning and purpose in your life, and He will set you free from the sins that plague your life.

If you don't, life will continue as it is or even get worse, and when you die you will perish because you died in your sins.

Do you want Jesus to save you from the penalty of sin, which is eternal death?  If you do, then turn to God in prayer and ask Him to forgive you of your sins, to come live in your heart, and be the Lord of your life.

 

What it Takes to go to Heaven

What it takes to go to Heaven (minimum)

[1] BELIEVE ON THE LORD JESUS CHRIST

Mark 16:15-16
15 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.
16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.

[2] OBEY

Hebrews 5:9 - "And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;"

[3] KEEP THE COMMANDMENTS OF GOD

Revelation 22:14 - "Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city."

[4] - BE STEDAFAST IN THE FAITH UNTIL THE END (DON'T DENY JESUS)

Hebrews 3:14 - " For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end;"

Revelation 2:10 - "Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life."

[5] LIVE GODLY IN CHRIST JESUS

Titus 2:11-13
11 For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,
12 Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;
13 Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;

[6] REPENT FROM SIN

Revelation 3:1-5
1 And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead.
2 Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die: for I have not found thy works perfect before God.
3 Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.
4 Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy.
5 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.

List of sins Christians need to repent from fornication, adultery, homosexuality, uncleanness, abuser of themselves with mankind, thievery, covetousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, wrath, strife, sedition, envy, drunkenness, filthiness, foolish talking, jesting, variance, emulation, extortion, sorcery, all liars, murders, fearful, unbelief, heresy (1 Cor 6:9-10, Gal 5:20-21, Eph 5:4-6, Rev 21:8, Rev 22:14-15)

Forgive

Ephesians 4:31-32

³¹ Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:

³² And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.

People are human and they sin. Their sin against us can hurt us in many different ways. Whether a person's sin against us is sexual, physical, emotional/psycholoical, spiritual, financial, or in some other area it effects our relationship with them. We don't want to be around them.  We don't care about them.  We don't care about what they need.  We don't have any respect for them. We are malicious in our gossip about them to others. We become critical and judgmental.

We become bitter and resentful. Sometimes we become full of hatred towards them and even entertain the thought of wanting to kill them or at least desire for them to experience the same kind of sin we experienced so they can hurt like we do.

Our relationships with others are affected as well.  Sometimes in a similar way as it was with the person who originally hurt or sinned against us.

We don't forgive because we feel justified in our feelings against them. And justified we are.

We sin against God. God is justified in his judgment or anger against us. But God is a forgiving God. He wants us to be forgiven. That is why He had His Son the Lord Jesus Christ pay for our sins on the cross and rose Him from the dead so we could be forgiven if we accept what Jesus did for us, and receive Him into our hearts.

As God has forgiven us He wants us to forgive those who have sinned against us.

God wants us to be kind towards one another, tenderhearted, and forgiving. If we don't forgive those who have done us wrong then we will walk in vs 31. If we forgive those who have done us wrong then we will walk in vs 32 because when we forgive God  heals our wounded spirit and set us free to love others.

Salvation, the Afterlife, and the Reconciliation of all Things

Scripture teaches that a person who dies in their sins will suffer conscious torment day and night forever.  There are some in the Christian community, like Rob Bell, who teach otherwise.

There are many different beliefs about the fate of the damned in eternity.  Some believe that all in hell will eventually accept Christ and will be allowed to go to Heaven.  Others believe that God will allow everyone, whether they believe or not, to go to Heaven when they die.  Yet others believe that if a person dies in their sins they will not have any consciousness until they are awakened after the millennial reign of Christ and stand before God at the Great White Throne Judgment,  and cast into the Lake of Fire because their names were not written in the Lamb's Book of Life and will  be annihilated a short time later.

So, who is right?

Scripture establishes what truth is (John 17:17).

This is my commentary on what Scripture teaches in regard to salvation, the afterlife, and the reconciliation all things to Jesus Christ.

Salvation

1) Jesus died for the sins of all mankind. (1 John 2:2, 1 John 4:14, John 4:42, 1 Tim 2:6, 1Tim 2:10)

2) Jesus desires that all men be saved. (1 Tim 2:4)

1 Tim 2:4 - "Who, will [desires to] have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of truth."

3) Man has a free will to choose. (Joshua 24:15, Rev 22:17)

4) Not everyone wants Jesus.

Some Examples: He was rejected by His own people (John 1:11), people wouldn't come to Him because they loved their sin (John 3:19), the Jews and religious leaders rejected Him and wanted Him to be crucified (Mark 15:13,14, Luke 23:21, John 19:6,15), people hated Jesus (John 7:7, John 15:18, John 15:23,25), on the cross 2 thieves were put to death along with Jesus, one wanted Jesus and turned to Him for salvation the other did not (Luke 23:32-33, 39-43), during the end-time many will reject Jesus (2 Thess 2:10-12) and those who are Christian will forsake him and turn to the anti-Christ (Dan 11:30), people during the millennial reign of Christ will turn on Him at the end and go to war with Him (Rev 20:8-9).

The Afterlife

1) Jesus said that once a person dies it is all over with. There is no second chance at redemption. Where ever you end up in eternity that is where you stay. (Luke 16:26)

a. People who die in their sins will be eternally separated from God in a place called hell/Lake of Fire and will suffer conscious torment day and night for ever. (Luke 16:23,24, Rev 14:10-11, Rev 20:15,10)

Scripture does not teach that a lost person who is in hell or the Lake of Fire will have a chance to or will ultimately be reconciled to God and be allowed to go to heaven.

b. People who die in the Lord, meaning that they believed on and received Jesus as Savior and Lord (John 1:12, John 3:16, Rom 10:9-10, 13) will inherit eternal life if they live godly in Christ Jesus (1 Cor 6:9-10, Eph 5:3-5, Gal 5:19-21, Tit 2:12), walk in obedience to Him (Heb 5:9), be steadfast in the faith unto the end (Heb 3:14, Matt 10:22). They will be in the presence of God forever (Luke 16:26) knowing the love of God without comprehension and without measure. (1 Cor 2:19) They will rule and reign with Christ forever. (Dan 7:18, Rev 20:4,6)

The Reconciliation of all Things


1) At the end of the great tribulation Jesus reconciles all things in heaven and on earth to Himself.

Col 1:20 - "And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven."

a. Note that Paul does not mention anything in hell being reconciled to Jesus nor will you find it anywhere in scripture.

b. God gave Jesus for the world, which is the cosmos, the created order (John 3:16). Because Jesus paid for sin by dying on the cross, Jesus is heir or is given the right to take back from Satan, who is the prince of the world (John 12:31; 14:30) and the prince of the air (Eph 2:2) all the created order; this includes all things seen and unseen, all thrones, dominions, principalities, power (Col 1:16); that is, in part, since Jesus rules in righteousness (Is 11:5) then it will affect government (Col 1:16), way of life like no more war (Is 2:4), and laws that govern society (Is 11:4), health of all life (for example, people have a long length of life (Is 65:20), animals are at peace with people and one another (Is 11:6-9), religious worship (Zach 14:16-19, Is 66:23), restores the earth and the heavens after his fiery judgment. He restores or removes the effects of sin in the non-conditional part of the created order.

c. The reconciliation of the created order is non-conditional except for people. Their flesh is restored non-conditionally but not their soul/spirit [soul-mind,will,emotions], though they will not have to deal with the temptations of Satan for a 1000 yrs because he is bound in the bottomless pit (Rev 20:1-3), Jesus rules with a rod of iron (Rev 2:27, 12:5, 19:15), He requires of people in the millennial reign of Christ obedience to righteousness and to worship Him . Lack of obedience to righteousness results in death (Is 11:4) and failure to go up to Jerusalem to worship King Jesus at the Feast of Tabernacles from year to year will result in no rain. (Zech 14:16-19)

d. People during the millennial reign must be saved to go to Heaven as well. We know this because at the end of the 1000 yr reign of Christ they will stand before the Great White Throne of God and be judged out of the books. If their names were not written in the Lamb's Book of Life they are cast into the Lake of Fire where they are tormented day and night forever. (Rev 20:11-15, Rev 20:10)

Put Jesus back in Christmas

The Christmas season is a very busy time of year.  Getting a tree and decorating it, decorating the lawn with a pagan or religious theme, lighting the outside of the house, buying gifts for family and friends, going to parties at work, school, and Church, taking the kids to see Santa Claus,  going to a Christmas Eve Service, sending out cards plus other activities takes much of our time and thoughts.

When I use to celebrate Christmas in this way the reason why Jesus came was not on my mind.  The significance of His birth was not even a consideration.  I was too caught up in the pagan aspects of the season.  I am sure I am not alone in this experience.

Nearly all of the godless activites of the Christmas season I no longer participate in. You may still participate in these activites of the season. If you do I would like to encourage you to put  Christ back into Christmas by sharing the love of God to a lost, hurting, and dying world. 

Pray.  Seek God on what He would have you to do to show those who are lost, hurting, and have a need to know that God cares about them.

Is Music Neutral?

 According to the Word of God music can have a powerful influence on one's emotions, mood, and state of being (1 Samuel 16:15-17, 23).  Secular researchers have confirmed this to be the case.

Music that produces positive effects on the listener is considered 'good'.  Music that produces negative effects on the listener is considered 'bad'. 

Music has five parts to it.  It has melody, harmony, rhythm, pitch, and intensity.

The principles that control these five parts must be followed in order to write good music.  If  one or more of these principles are not followed then the music is considered partially bad. If all of these principles are violated then the music is considered bad.

Good Music: The principles for writing good music is as follows:
 
Source: "What's Wrong With Christain Rock", by Jeff Godwin, Dec 1990, pages 37-40

"Melody - True melody will combine ascending and descending pitches that will end with a definite high place showing resolution."

"Harmony - All harmony is based on chordal patterns which support the melody. There are no excessive consonance and/or dissonance."

"Rhythm - Rhythm is the orderly movement of music through time. Constant alternation of triple and duple measures creates a driving syncopation (a musical rhythm accenting a normally weak beat), producing tension. Subtle balance between regular accent patterns and occasional syncopation is necessary to avoid hypnotic effect."

"Pitch - True music has a variety of pitches which are accurate. Very high pitches are used only for contrast and climax points."

"Intensity - True music employs much contrast between loud and soft, with a constant change in the dynamics level. This is not true about rock music. It has an intensity that is pretty much loud all the time.

Classical and semi-classical music follows these principles."

Rock Music: Rock music violates all the above principles. Specifically,

"Melody  - In rock music there is no melody that combines ascending and descending pitchs but instead it has for the most part static movement and lack of balance which produces either a hypnotic effect or a sense of despair in the listener."

"Harmony - In rock music there are excessive consonance and/or dissonance."

"Rhythm - In rock music, the rhythm is a combination of unending back beats and break beats. The purpose of this is to produce an environment of dominance."

"Pitch - Rock music has constant repetition of pitches almost never modulates, and is slightly under true pitch. The unorderly high pitched screams through out the rock music results in nothing but musical chaos."

"Intensity -   It has an intensity that is pretty much loud all the time."

Rock music does not conform to the principle of what makes for good music. It is not music at all; it is noise.

Secular researchers have carried out experiments to determine the effects of good and bad music on all forms of life;  plant, animal, and human.

Here are a few examples of the experiments that were conducted and their results.

Affects of Music on Plant Life

Source: How Music Affects Your Kids..., What Parents Need to know

Researcher: Dorothy Retallack

A. Experiment #1 - Plants  exposed to semi-classical and rock music

At the end of 2 weeks

a) plants exposed to semi-classical music (good music)
-- plants were leaning toward source of music

b) plants exposed to rock music (bad music)
-- plants were leaning away from music source
-- grew erratically
-- died within a month

B. Experiment #2 - Plants (beans, squash, corn, morning glory, coleus plants) were exposed to four different kinds of music (rock, avant-grade atonal, no music, devotional)

After 10 days, researcher Dorothy Ratallack found

a) Group #1 - Plants exposed to Led Zeppelin and Vanilla fudge (hard rock) [bad music]
-- all plants leaning away from music source
-- after 3 weeks all plants were stunted and dying

b) Group #2 - plants exposed to avant-grade atonal music [partially bad music]
-- all plants were leaning 15 degrees away from music source
-- had medium size roots

c) Group #3 - plants exposed to no music
-- had the longest roots than Groups #1 and #2
-- grew higher than Groups #1 and #2

d) Group #4 - plants exposed to devotional music [good music]
-- grew towards music source
-- grew 2" taller than Group #3

Affects of Sound on Animals

Source: How Music Affects Your Kids..., What Parents Need to know

Researchers - Studied affects of sound and music on mice
   -- Dr Harvey Bird, Physicist from Fairleigh Dickinson University
   -- Dr Gervasia Schreckenberg, Neurobiologist from Georgian Court College in Lakewood

Three test groups.  Mice were tested to see how well they could run a maze to get food after exposed to voodoo music (bad music), Strauss Waltzes (good music), and no music.  All music was kept at low volume.  Done over a period of time.  Mice were tested for their ability to remember the maze over time.

a) Group #1 - exposed to incessant voodoo drum beats (bad music)
    (i) -- had a difficult time running maze
         -- over time this difficulty increased to the point they became totally disoriented and unable to
          complete maze
         -- after a 3 week break from the voodoo drum beats and running maze the mice still could not run
         maze
    (ii) At the end of the experiment brains were dissected
         -- "had abnormal structural changes in their brain cells"
         -- "the neurons in their brains were growing out widely in all directions without connecting to
         other neurons"
         -- "There was abnormal amounts of Messenger RNA, a chemical that the brain uses for restoring
         memories"

b) Group #2 - exposed to Strauss waltzes (good music)
-- had no problem running the maze
-- after a 3 week break from the waltzes and running the maze the mice could run the maze quickly
--  had a slight edge over Group #3

c) Group # 3 - mice were kept in silence
-- had no problem running the maze
-- after 3 week break from running maze the mice could run the maze quickly

Researchers Conclusions:
a) Music effects mental function
b) Exposure to harmful music (disharmonic noise) causes brain damage

Affects of Music on Humans

Source:  "Christian" Rock Music, Christian or Satanic?

1) Researcher - John Diamond, MD
-- "man is rhythmic in respiration, heartbeat, pulse, speech, and gait"
-- "when the rhythm of music corresponds to the natural body rhythm, it produces feeling of ecstasy, alertness, and peace.  It energizes the mind and body, and facilitates balance and self-control."

2) Researcher - David Nobel, MD: an authority on music
-- "has done extensive research on the value of music rhythms corresponding to body rhythms"
-- "rock music contains harmonic dissonance and melodic discord while it accents rhythm with a big beat.  In fact, the anapestic beat (two short beats, a long beat, then a pause) used by many rock musicians actually is the opposite of  our heart and arterial rhythms [thereby causing an immediate loss of body strength]."

"Dr Diamond confirms Dr Nobel's findings and adds that the stopped anapestic rhythm "heightens stress and anger, reduces output, increases hyperactivity, and weakens muscle strength.""

3) "Clinical researchers at the UCLA School of Nursing in Los Angeles, and at Georgia Baptist Medical Center in Atlanta found that premature babies gained weight faster and were able to use oxygen more efficiently when they listened to soothing music mixed with voices or womb sounds."


Summary

In summary researchers has shown that

a) Rock music (without words) causes negative effects on all forms of life
-- plants lean away from music source
-- mice can't run maze due to brain damage from music
-- all life forms experience either stunted growth, brain damage, and/or death

b) atonal music [partially bad], music that lacks a tonal center, or key (ie, pitch), has a limited negative effect on all forms of life

c) Classical, semi-classical, and devotional music [good music] had a positive effect on all forms of life; it improved the quality of life.


Jesus said, "The thief cometh not, but for to steal, to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." (John 10:10)

God created music and the laws for making music that blesses and/or improves the quality of the life of  the hearer.  When the laws are disobeyed then the hearer is negatively affected.

Is Rock Music demonic?  Rock music causes destruction and sometimes death to the hearer.  Since the objective and purpose of  Satan is to kill, steal, and destroy then rock music is of the devil.

Many Christians play in Christian Rock bands.  Their music is no different than that of secular rock music.  Do the godly words they sing make their songs godly?  The answer is "No".   Rock music causes negatives effects on the hearer and it matters not what the words are.  Godly words will not override the negative effects of the music.

See: Is Christian Rock Music Godly?
http://christianfaith4today.blogspot.com/2011/12/is-christian-rock-music-of-god.html

Sources:

 "What's Wrong With Christain Rock", by Jeff Godwin, Dec 1990
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss/190-2427935-5343069?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=what%27s+wrong+with+christian+rock


The effects of rock music on all forms of life cited in this article plus other experiements performed that were not mentioned can be found in the following articles.

"Christian" Rock Music, Christian or Satanic?
http://www.av1611.org/crock/crock1.html

How Music Affects Your Kids..., What Parents Need to know
http://www.vanillafudge.com/link_backups/music2.htm

Are You Ready for Jesus' Return?

2 Peter 3: 3-4,8-9

3 Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts,
4 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.
8 But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

Jesus is coming back. The Word of God says He is. The signs of His soon return are quite evident. Nations in the world are at war with one another. Earthquakes are increasing and getting more and more intense around the world. Pestilences and famine are wiping people out. The hatred for Christians worldwide is growing. Sin is greatly increasing. Many false prophets are appearing and leading people away from the true and living God. The gospel is being preached around the world. (Matt 24:4-14)

The world and even some in the Church scoff at this prophecy regarding His second coming (2 Peter 3:3-4). They say things are the same since the beginning of time. Yes, that is true; it has been. However, time is not the same with God as it is with people. (2 Peter 3:8) We might think He is slow about fulfilling His promise but He is not. He is long-suffering with us because it is His desire that we all come to repentance.(2 Peter 3:9)

There are many people in the world that God wants to save before He comes back. We must be about the Father's business. We must pray for them, show them the love of God, and share the good news of the gospel with them so that they might be saved.

There are many people in the Church that are saved but are living their life like they are not saved. They, too, must come to repentance. God's Word teaches that believers are to live godly or they will not be ready for His return. (2 Peter 3:11,14-15)

Jesus told His disciples what the signs of the end time were regarding His second coming (Matthew 24:4-35). He also told them what they needed to do to be ready (Luke 21:34-36).

Jesus gave the disciple some parables that told them what is required of them to be ready for His coming. (Matthew 24:45-51, 25:1-46) These parables teach that a believer must be faithful, live godly, and serve God in word and deed. Those believers who are not ready for His coming will perish.

Are you ready for Jesus' return? Are you living for God?

If not, then recommit your life to Jesus, make Him Lord of your life, and walk in obedience to Him.

Age of Accountability

The age of accountability is an age where a young child knows the difference between right and wrong and is capable of making a decision as to which to choose (Isaiah 7:16). This can vary based on the young child but it probably is somewhere around 3 yrs old.

God saves young children the same way He saves older people; that is, by dealing with their heart about sin, their need for a Savior, and that Savior is Jesus Christ.

Here are a few testimonies of mothers whose young children received Christ as their savior.

Source: http://christianforums.net/f32/hjave-your-children-been-saved-what%20-age-6571/

Poster ID:  Guess

"I know there will be some who will disagree with me, but I really believe that my 3 1/2 has already made a commitment with full knowledge to Jesus. She has already started to evangelize
I was listening to a radio broadcast of James Dobson and he said he made a full commitment to Jesus at age 3 and remembers exactly how he felt - I think we need to not under estimate the ability of a child to comprehend.

A child's faith is an amazing thing."

Poster ID:  lovely

"I do not disagree with you M&M...at all. I was saved at a very young age as well...at age three. There was a woman on our block who taught in her home during the week after school, and attended our neighborhood church. A girl who lived beneath us in our flat use to take me after preschool until my dad was home from work, and she took me to this kind lady's home nearly every afternoon. She taught us all about Jesus, and I fell completely in love with Him. My father was an atheist, but I asked him to let me go to church because I loved Jesus...he did. That woman taught me until I was nine nearly everyday after school, and I sat with her in church on Sunday mornings. I just turned 35, and have served Christ for 32 years now. The Lord bless everyone."

Source: http://www.onlinebaptist.com/home/topic/8830-children-accepting-christ/

 Poster ID: Trish

"about one year ago matt and I became very burdened about Bethany. she was only five but I was five when I was saved. we did not want to rush her we just asked questions and made sure if she ever wanted to talk to us about being saved she could. We just prayed really hard because I really felt she understood. About two weeks later she came to us separately and told us that she was saved. She told us both the same story of her personal conversion. She has such a desire to see people saved and prays every day for her two unsaved friends. she also askes God to let her be a missionary. And just last week she was all broken up because she had lied and felt bad about it. I told her all about confessing our sins to God. The point is I see fruit in her life."

Corrie ten Boom was saved at five years old.  We all know what a servant of God she was.

One Wednesday evening she was speaking in a Church giving her testimony and she encouraged those there to not hesitate to share the gospel with their young children because they are capable of understanding the gospel.  There was a parent there that night that had a five year old and decided to do that.   When she got home she went to her daughter's room and explained the gospel to her.   The young girl wanted to ask Jesus to save her so she did.

The next morning this young five year old girl kept singing about heaven and how she was so happy that Jesus saved her.

Her father drove her to school.  In the afternoon he went to pick her up.  He saw children surrounding the front of a school bus and wondered why.  He went to where they were and he saw his daughter laying on the ground dead; she had run in front of the school bus and it hit her.

Steven Curtis and Mary Beth Chapman had an adopted daughter from China that was four years old.   Her name was Maria.  She attended a Christian School where the teacher had the children sing a song about God's big, big house. 

One morning Maria asked her mother while she was getting dressed how she could go to God's big, big house.  Mary Beth decided that Steven needed to talk to her about it.  So when Steven came home after driving another one of their children to school Mary Beth told him that Maria wanted to know how she could go to God's big, big house.  Steven did his best to explain the gospel to her at her level.  He told her about sin, the cross, the resurrection, and forgiveness.  Maria wanted Jesus to save her, so she prayed.  She prayed on her own  asking Jesus to come live inside her and to take her to His big, big house when it was time.

She was so happy and couldn't wait to tell her teacher at school that she was going to go to God's big, big house.

Three months later,  Maria was out playing with some of  her other siblings when she saw her big brother Will coming down the road.  She loved him so much.  She thought that he would help her get on the monkey bars that the others wouldn't help her with.  So she ran to the drive way to greet him.  Will didn't see her and he hit her.  She was badly injured and died.

God knows each person's future.  He knew that the five year old in the first story and the Chapman's four year old were going to die soon.  These children were at an age where God held them accountable for their sin.  God made a way for them to be prepared to stand before Him without sin when they died.

A child is protected by God's grace before he reaches the age of accountability.  But there comes a time when a young child that knows the difference between right and wrong and can make a decision as to which to choose is no longer under that same grace.  The child must decide for Jesus.

The age of accountability is probably different for each child but God knows when the child becomes accountable to Him for their sin.

Pray for the salvation of your young children.  Ask God to help you share the gospel with them at their level.

[Note:  The story of the mother who heard Corrie ten Boom's lecture in Church encouraging parents of young children to share the gospel with them I read in a book many years ago.  I have forgotten the title and author of the book.  The story of the Chapman's four year old adopted daughter's salvation experience can be found in Mary Beth's book, "Choosing to SEE"] 

Fear of Dying?

Jesus said that if you love Him you will keep His commandments (John 14:23).  God says in His Word through the Apostle John that if you keep Jesus' commandments then you will be perfected in His love (1 John 2:5).  He said that if you are perfected in His love then you will have confidence before Him on the day of judgment (1 John 4:17).  If you don't have confidence but have fear it is because you have not been perfected in God's love which means you didn't keep His commandments (1 John 4:18). The unknown writer of Hebrews says that Jesus Christ is the author of eternal salvation to all who obey him (Heb 5:9).

Once a person becomes born-again through the regeneration of the Holy Ghost and evidences this new birth by a changed life, he is expected to walk in obedience to Jesus (make Jesus Lord) and is to live godly in Christ Jesus. Every truly born-again person starts out on this path but reality has it that some get away from God. They may have been hurt by someone and chose not to forgive. They may have gotten their eyes off of God and had an adulterous affair like King David did or like the man at the Church of Corinth who had relations with his father's wife. They may have gotten involved with the occult (played with the Ouija board or went to a fortune teller for fun). Maybe they just got rebellious towards God about something God wanted them to do. Whatever they have done they begin to walk in the flesh, they come under condemnation for their sins (Romans 8:1), and over time they end up losing interest in the things of God and they live like the world. I have witnessed this in different degrees in several believers.

Jesus place the retention of our salvation into the hands of God.  God will make every effort to bring a wayward Christian back into a right relationship with Him.  The believer can either choose to obey or choose to disobey.  If the believer chooses to disobey and he dies in his sin then he will perish because God is not a respecter of persons. If he chooses to obey then he will live.


Testimony of Gladys, a born-again Christian, who feared dying.

When I met Gladys in the nursing home she was a very difficult person to deal with.  She cussed and was very ugly towards everyone. When I told her she needed Jesus she would say that she already had Jesus.  I told her that she needed to act like it then.

I was going nowhere with Gladys in this issue. God told me to fast and pray for her salvation.  I did. Then some time later when I was visiting her in her room God told me to deal with her in her need to recommit her life to Jesus. I told her that she needed to recommit her life to Jesus and that she heard. When I gave her the gospel the Holy Ghost was all over that lady in a very strong way convicting her that she was a sinner and that Jesus died for her. She wanted to recommit her life to Jesus and she did.

That lady changed. She no longer cussed and was no longer a difficult person to get along with. Plus, there were other changes in her life.

A short time later, maybe 3 weeks or so, when I walked into her room, she said that she was afraid to die. I was sort of taken aback by this. I told God that I didn't understand. She just got saved not too long ago and this shouldn't be. God told me to ask her about her past.

As Gladys recounted her life I found out that she had been wounded real bad by her husband and other people.  She was holding unforgiveness in her heart towards those people. I told her that she needed to forgive them or God would not forgive her. She began to forgive each person as she recounted her experiences with them. When she was done with what God was dealing with her about she said, 'I am not afraid to die anymore.'

Gladys was truly born-again. She showed it by a changed life. But there was an unforgiveness issue that God needed to deal with. When God dealt with it, she responded and forgave. She then was no longer afraid to die.

The only way for a believer to have peace on his death bed is to be right with God (1 John 4:17). If  he has fear, then he is not right with God (1 John 4:18).  If a believer is not right with God it is because there is some sin in his life that God needs for him to repent from. For Gladys it was unforgiveness. For others it might be adultery.  For others, it might be a judgmental spirit.  For others, it may be that they never put God first in their life. What ever the case may be, God knows what it is and He will deal with a believer about the sin issue and give him a chance to repent. If he obeys God, he is cleansed from his unrighteousness and will go to heaven when he dies. If he rebels and refuses to obey, then God cannot cleanse him from that unrighteousness. The believer will perish because he died with unforgiven sin.

Where do Babies go when they Die?

The Word of God says that if we believe on the Lord Jesus Christ then we will be saved.

But what about babies?  They do not have the cognitive abilities to believe.  What happens to them?

Some Christian parents worry about what will happen to their babies should they die before they are able to make an informed decision for Christ.  Many Churches baptize their babies believing that this will assure the child of eternal life.

But is this necessary?  According to the Word of God, "No".

King David had a son that was conceived through an adulterous affair.  God brought judgment on King David that resulted in his son dying.

God said that King David was a man after God's own heart (Acts 13:22).  He kept God's commandments, he followed God with all his heart, did that what was right in God's eyes (1 King 14:8).  From Psalm 23 we can see that King David placed his faith and trust in the living God to meet his needs, to protect him from his enemies, to be with him in the shadows of death, and etc.. King David ends the Psalm with "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever." (Psalm 23:6)

King David knew that when he died he would go to heaven.

After King David's son died,  he cleaned himself up, anointed himself, and went into the House of the Lord to worship God (2 Samuel 12:20).

Afterward King David ate. When his servants asked why he ate, he said, "But now he is dead, wherefore should I fast? can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me." (2 Samuel 12:23)

 I believe God revealed to King David when he went into the house of the Lord to worship God that he would see his son again. Or he spoke through the inspiration of the Holy Ghost.  Either way, King David knew he would see his son again.

Since King David would see his son again, and since he was going to go to heaven when he died, then King David's son had to be heaven.

Is Christian Rock Music Godly?

Scripture tells us that we are to love one another. This love is agape love and is defined in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7. Agape love is an action you show towards someone whether that person is nice or mean, friend or foe, Christian or lost, family or stranger.

There are two aspects to our relationships with people. One is the words we speak and the other is how we treat people.

In our relationships with people, hopefully, we will share the love of God with them by ministering to their need whether it be for salvation, helping to soothe their wounded spirit or whatever. God's Word says in 1 Cor 13:1 that if in sharing the love of God with people through our godly words if we do not show them agape love our words are like sounding brass and tinkling cymbals. The hearer of our words will just want to put their hands over their ears to keep from hearing us for the sounds of our words are wild, harsh, disturbing, repulsive and sometimes our words can't even be clearly heard by the hearer because they have become distorted.

We can conclude from this that if agape love, an action we show someone, is not present, then the words we speak no matter how godly they may be are nothing more than wild, harsh sounds that the hearer tries to block out and reject.

Godly words will not be received by the hearer if it is embedded in an ungodly action. The word-action relationship will not be godly but ungodly because godly words alone are not sufficient to make the relationship godly.

We are commanded to make melody in our hearts to God. The songs we sing we sing for God. But does He receive it? Will He receive a song that is ungodly?

No, of course not, because God is Holy and we are to be holy. If our song we sing to Him is not holy he will not hear it.

A song that is sung has two parts to it also. It has words and it has music. In order for the relationship between the two to be considered godly both parts have to be godly. The godly words have to be embedded in godly music before the song becomes godly just like the godly words spoken to someone in a relationship has to be embedded in a godly action for the recipient to receive the words.

Thus, if we want our song that we sing to the Lord to be received by Him then the godly lyrics we sing must be sung with music that is godly. If the music is not godly then God will not hear us because what we present to Him is polluted.

Adding clean water to dirty water will not make the water clean.  Neither does adding godly words to ungodly music  make a song godly.

Conclusion:

Secular rock music without the words is ungodly (demonic). Since Christian rock music is the same as the secular rock music then Christian rock music without the words is also ungodly (demonic). Adding godly words to ungodly music will not make the song godly.  Thus, Christian Rock music is not godly.

Testimony of Inner Healing

On Sunday evening, the first Sunday of the month of October 1980,  I was talking with the Single's Minister, Bud,  at my Church.  One of his sons, Greg,  came up and asked if he could go eat pizza with the youth.  Since he was busy with me he told him to go ask his mother.   I could tell that Greg didn't want to by his facial expression.

For some reason Greg's response to his dad brought up in me a feeling of hatred.    I began to spew out some hateful words.  Bud just listened.  Afterwards he said that God impressed on him that what I needed was inner healing.  He asked me if I knew anything about it.  I told him that I knew something about it.

Bud said that he knew of someone in the city that had a ministry of  helping people receive inner healing.  He said that he wanted me to pray about it and told me to let him know in a week if I wanted to go see that person.   If I did, then he would have his wife, LeVita,  make an appointment and she and I could go together.

That week I prayed about it.  I studied the New Testament  and concluded that that is something God wanted for me.

The next Sunday I told Bud that  I wanted to go.  Bud had LeVita call this person, her name was Betty, to set up an appointment. We were to go Friday, Oct 31.

When Oct 31 came LeVita and I went to see Betty.

Betty explained to me that to receive inner healing that I needed to be born-again.  I assured her that I was and that the weeks leading up to this day I had recommitted my life to Jesus.

I told Betty a little about my life.  I told her about how my mother, brother, and father hurt me while I was growing up.  She told me that to receive inner healing that I need to forgive them or God would not forgive me.

She asked me, "Do you forgive your mother?"  I responded that I would try.  She asked me if I forgive my brother.  I responded that I think so.  She asked me if I forgive my father.  I responded that I guess so.

She wasn't quite sure of my responses but she decided to proceed.  She explained that I was to visualize Jesus holding my hand as she brought up all these experiences and then to forgive the family member that hurt me.

I bowed my head, closed my eyes, or looked away from her as she brought up some of these memories.  I had no visual imagery.  God protected me from it since visualization is not of God but is an occult technique.

One memory was particularly troublesome.  Betty decided to stop since she could sense that this was not working.

Betty asked how I felt.  I didn't feel any better.  Actually, I think, I felt worse.  Betty explained that sometimes inner healing comes gradually and it might take some time.

Betty made some final remarks.  She had written two books on inner healing that she gave to me.  She asked that I read the first book she wrote within the next week. I told her that I could not promise that I would do it within the next week but that I would read it.

That night, Oct 31, I was invited to a local high school football game by an older couple that I knew.  I don't like football but I went because I liked them and wanted to be with them.

All during the game I kept crying out to the Lord to help me forgive my mother.  I told God that I had little to give in forgiving my mother and that He had to make up for what I did not have.

For over a week I did not read the book that Betty had given me.  However, on Nov 10 I developed an interest in the book and began to read it. I had read that God wanted believers to be healed from the wounds of their past.  To receive healing the believer needed to be born-again.  She continued to say that the believer needed to forgive in order for God to forgive him/her.  She instructed that, with Jesus, the believer should go through all the hurtful memories he/she had and forgive the offender.  Then when that was finished that the believer should ask God to fill him/her with His Spirit.

As I was nearing the end of her book on Nov 11, I went into my bathroom.  I was looking in the mirror and I began to cry.  I said a couple of times, "I want to forgive my mom.  I want to forgive my mom."

I went and sat down on the floor and leaned against my bed.  I began to pray.  I told God that I wanted to forgive my mom.  For an hour and a half God brought up memories of my past that I held against my mother.  With each memory I made the choice to forgive my mom.  As soon as I told God that I forgive He convicted me of having committed the same sin.  I responded, "Oh God, forgive me for having done the same thing."

After God ceased bringing up memories of my past I got in bed and said a general prayer.  I told God that I forgive my mom, ask Him to forgive me for having done the same thing, and concluded the prayer with asking God to fill me with His Spirit.

I went to sleep.

I was awakened in the morning when my radio came on.  I had it tuned to a local Christian Radio Station.  The song, "He Touched Me" was playing.  I sat on the side of my bed listening to the song.  I knew that God had touched me and that I was not the same person.

Everything became different for me.  Nothing bothered me anymore.  I felt like I was on Cloud Nine. If things didn't go right at work, while everyone else was responding in a negative way,  I just said, "Oh well, there will be another day."

I went to my brother's house for Christmas.  My mother came as well.  All the things that she did to me while growing up she did to me again.  It didn't bother me; it was like those things had never happened. I responded to her with agape love (1 Cor 13:4-7).  She would get mad because she could not control me.

My mother use to be able to control me emotionally.  She could break me with just a look.  I was afraid to make mistakes.  At times I hated her.  But after I received healing from the things she did to me while growing up she no longer had any control over me.  It was like those things had never happened. 

I indeed was healed.

There is Power in the Name of Jesus

Philippians 2:9-11

⁹Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:

¹⁰That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;
¹¹And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Several years ago I use to take my dogs out for a walk in my neighborhood every night weather permitting. There are many cats in the neighborhood that live outside. All cats that I come across while walking my dogs either ignore us or they run away.

There is one cat in the neighborhood, though, that is totally the opposite. He is all black (not that that matters) and is very aggressive if anyone comes into an area he thinks is his territory.

Well, one night when I was walking my two dogs I came across him. When he saw us he started to slowly approach us with his back arched as if he wanted to attack.

I certainly didn't want the cat attacking me and my dogs, so, as my dogs were sniffing the neighbor's yard, I pointed my finger at the cat and said in a very loud, forcible, and harsh way, "Go, in the name of Jesus!" The cat ignored me and continued to approach with back arched and aggression in it eyes. Again, I said,  with a lower voice this time, but with force and with harshness, "Go, in the name of Jesus!". Still the cat ignored me and continued to approach.

I still felt like the cat might attack. I didn't know what to do. I thought I would change my approach. Again I pointed my finger at the cat, and in a soft, and gentle voice I said, "Go, in the name of Jesus." Well, the cat looked away and started to retreat. He looked back at me again as if he wanted to attack. I said to him again in a soft and gentle voice, "Go, in the name of Jesus." This time he turned and walked away.

There is power in the name of Jesus.  However, that power was hinged on how I delivered it.

God anointed my words when I spoke them in a godly (gentle, meek) way.  He did not anoint them when I spoke them in an ungodly (loud, harsh, forcible) way.

Testimony: God's Creative Power

A Testimony of God creating flesh from nothing.

Back in 1990, I knew a man by the name of Paul that had an elderly basset hound by the name of Dude.

Dude was an outdoor dog and liked to roam the streets. When I came home one afternoon I saw Paul with his dog. Dude was walking on three legs. I asked Paul why. He said that Dude spent the night roaming the streets and came home early in the morning limping. Paul examined his injured paw and discovered that Dude had severed off completely three of his pads down nearly to the bone.

When Paul showed me his injured paw my heart went to that dog. I went home and immediately got on my knees and cried out to God to heal Dude.

About 3 or 4 weeks later I saw Paul and asked him how Dude was doing. He said that he healed up. I asked if his pads were back and Paul said "No". I was disappointed because I believed that God would restore his pads to him.

About a week or so later later Paul and I were talking with a mutual friend. Dude was with him. Paul was trying to explain to our friend what had happened. She didn't believe him so I rolled Dude over to show her. Much to my surprise the pads were there along with the grey matter. You would not have been able to tell that anything ever happened to Dude's paw. Since muscle can't grow back then the only explanation was that God recreated Dude's pads and grey matter supernaturally.

 God did not use natural means to have Dude's pads and grey matter appear; instead He gave the word for Dude's pads and grey matter to appear from nothing in response to my prayer.

 God , through His Son the Lord Jesus Christ, is truly a miracle working God.

Why Jesus Came

Back in the early 90's I was making my own Christmas cards that had a  message that the reason why Jesus came was to save people from their sins.  As I was making this card for the people I would give it to the question came to mind, "Why did Jesus come?"  I decided that I would search the scriptures to find out why.  I found that there were 17 different reasons why Jesus came.  Below is a compilation of those reasons.


1) Jesus came to do the will of the Father.

John 4:34 - Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.

John 5:30 -  I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.

John 6:38-40

38 For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.

39 And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.

40 And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.


2) To die; to be crucified

John 12:27 -  Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour.

3) To call sinners to repentance

Mark 2:17 - When Jesus heard it, he saith unto them, They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.

Luke 5:32 - I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.

Matthew 9:13 - But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.

4) To save that which is lost

Matthew 18:11 - For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost.

Luke 9:56 - For the Son of man is not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them. And they went to another village.

Luke 19:10 - For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.

5) To be a minister

Matthew 20:28 - Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.

Mark 10:45 - For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.

6) To preach, heal, deliver

Luke 4:18-19

18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,

19 To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.


7) To give you life

John 10:10 - The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.

8) To preach to other cities

Mark 1:38 -  And he said unto them, Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also: for therefore came I forth.

Luke 4:43 - And he said unto them, I must preach the kingdom of God to other cities also: for therefore am I sent.

9) Came in His Father's name

John 5:43 - I am come in my Father's name, and ye receive me not: if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive.

10) God sent Jesus

John 7:16 - Jesus answered them, and said, My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me.

John 7:18 - He that speaketh of himself seeketh his own glory: but he that seeketh his glory that sent him, the same is true, and no unrighteousness is in him.

John 7:28-29

28 Then cried Jesus in the temple as he taught, saying, Ye both know me, and ye know whence I am: and I am not come of myself, but he that sent me is true, whom ye know not.

29 But I know him: for I am from him, and he hath sent me.

John 8:42 - Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me.

John 9:4 - I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.

11) For judgment

John 9:39 - And Jesus said, For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind.

12) As a light

John 12:46 - I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness.

John 3:19 - And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

13) Not to condemn

John 3:17 - For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

14) Not to send peace

Matthew 10:34-36

34 Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.

35 For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.

36 And a man's foes shall be they of his own household.


Luke 12:51-53

51 Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather division:

52 For from henceforth there shall be five in one house divided, three against two, and two against three.

53 The father shall be divided against the son, and the son against the father; the mother against the daughter, and the daughter against the mother; the mother in law against her daughter in law, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.


15) Not to destroy the law

Matthew 5:17 - Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.

16) To send fire

Luke 12:49 - I am come to send fire on the earth; and what will I, if it be already kindled?

17) Bear witness of the truth

John 18:37 - Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice.

As I was nearing the end of this search, the Lord kept saying to me in my thoughts,  "So send I you."

John 20:21 - Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.