The Conscience

The conscience is a faculty within the human mind. Faculty is, in turn, an inborn ability or power - sometimes called a gift. Other human faculties are reason, memory, perception, will, intuition, and imagination., and several others. The human psyche is as deep as the oceans and as unknown!

Hebrews 2:6b "What is man, that thou art mindful of him? or the son of man that thou visitest him?7 Thou madest him a little lower than the angels; thou crownedst him with glory and honour, and didst set him over the works of thy hands:"

These faculties are gifts that God did by the works of his hands mentioned above. Mankind is somewhere between angels and animals. We have a little of both in us. Animals have some of the same faculties that men have, such as memory and perception but they don't have a conscience.

The conscience is what man uses to evaluate. Man's conscience is a gage which is used for judgment. In order to gage moral values, there must be a frame of reference for comparison purposes. Reason is the process used to evaluate morality, so all human faculties complement each other. For instance, perception is the capacity to understand. The mind takes in information, and then processes it for various uses, usually to make decisions.

The ability to make decisions is the human will. It is either in harmony with God's will or our own. It's not Satan's will that we do, but our own. Satan merely influences. He uses temptation to temper our reason. Temptation is only an input to our mind. Our faculty of imagination turns temptation into sin. When people sin, they take the temptation, embellish it with the imagination, and then enjoy the fantasy. At that point sin occurs in the mind, and that sin is lust.

Once lust has manifested itself, reason says, let's do it for it is the pleasurable thing to do.

However, before temptation gets as far as lust, the mind evaluates all the inputs. That is mankind's faculty of reason. In each person, other than the reprobate, is a moral compass: Shall I, or shall I not? That process of our mind is our conscience. Paul spoke of that to the Romans:

Romans 9:1 "I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost, 2 That I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart."

The gauge Paul used for his moral evaluation was God. He says that my conscience bears witness to the Holy Ghost. His decision was to be on harmony with God, and as such, he did God's will, not his will. Paul had the ability to do that because his moral compass dwelt inside him. Paul was imbued with the Holy Ghost. He had the spirit of Jesus Christ living in him. 

1 Corinthians 6:19 "What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?"

 Paul even speaks of the faculty of emotion: I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart.

Of course, the material heart is only an organ, but emotions are related to the heart because it's beat announces what people feel. As such, the heart is the annunciator  of our emotions. Our conscience is guided by our feelings: heaviness and sorrow, in Paul's case. Our emotions are an outcome of our conscience. Those who have hardened hearts don't have the Holy Ghost within them. Because Jesus doesn't live there, they sin without remorse.

That heaviness and sorrow for disparity with moral values is guilt. Too much can even lead to depression and physical sickness. In order to be both morally and physically healthy, Christians must be in harmony with God's will. As such, sin makes people spiritually, emotionally, and physically sick!

Mankind's will is freedom to use our faculties. That is called free will.  Our inborn nature is to sin because of Satan's deception. Our spiritual nature is the desire to do the will of God - only if we are born-again. The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak! Each temptation is a contest: who influences us the most - God or Satan? With sin, Satan smiles and God cries. With sin, it is written in God's book. When the conscience feels the pressure of guilt, sorrow ensues, and that leads to repentance. Then that sin is blotted out!

When the conscience is apathetic, it fails us. We are so used to Satan's standard with its pleasure that we neglect God's standard. Satan's standard is love of self, according to his law of sin, and God's standard is to love him and others, according to the law of God.  Our conscience sends out those signals: heaviness and sorrow.

To be healed of a guilty conscience, people must first realize that they are guilty. That recognition is when God convicts us of our sin. His Holy Word is the standard which convicts us. Those standards are clear, enduring, and fair. They are the Ten Commandments. Those ten standards are so people are without excuse. They are our moral compass, and if done for the right reasons, represent love of God and others.

All the faculties are what makes men a little lower than angels, but a little higher than animals. We shouldn't even be classified as animals because our nature is one level higher. We are humans who sometimes function like animals because of sin. It seems that when mankind devolved with the onset of sin, that animals did too. It seems that we devolved to even less than the animals because their devolution was one of instinct, whereas ours was one of conscience.

When we are born-again, the creature is changed if it is a change made with efficacy. The conscience is restored because we have had it cauterized with repeated sin:

1 Timothy 4:2 "Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;"

That too is called a hardened heart because our conscience fails to use its moral compass. People without conscience sin without remorse. The Holy Ghost checks us through our conscience, but he must be in us. The soul can't be so full of filth and lucre that God is not within us. Repentance cleanses the soul and provides God a temple.

People are reprobate or "damned" when their conscience is out of whack to the extent that they reject Jesus by living lives of sin without remorse. Sin is so pleasurable that the even when conviction comes about, a guilty conscience is so out of tune with God that repentance never occurs.

I fail miserably sometimes and you may as well. Because my conscience is so out of whack, I sometimes sin passively because it becomes routine. I am spiritually sick when my conscience goes on sabbatical, and I know that I am sick when I don't have great heaviness and sorrow inside. My emotions are dysfunctional when sin becomes too passive. I have prayed before: God, allow me to cry because my soul needs to feel something!  I feel relieved when God allows me to cry in sorrow for my sins. That means my conscience is still working. My power to feel has been restored. That all is a gift of God, and is grace available to all because of his mercy!

Call to Arms: Jew and Gentile

There is a great battle going on -  a spiritual battle. It is time for the children of God to unite. Paul spoke to the Romans about the Jewish people:

Romans 9:30 ^"What shall we say then? That the Gentiles, which followed not after righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness which is of faith. 31 But Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness, hath not attained to the law of righteousness. 32 Wherefore? Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that stumblingstone; 33 As it is written, Behold, I lay in Sion a stumblingstone and rock of offence: and whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.

Which came first, the chicken or the egg? The chicken: God created animals, not eggs. However, technically speaking the chicken and the egg were created at the same time because female animals are born with all the eggs they will ever have: to wit, about two-million immature eggs in their two ovaries. My analogy has a point. Since John chapter credits Christ being with God in the beginning, Christianity is the first and only true religion. In my analogy, Christ is the "chicken" because he was there, and Judaism is the "egg". That's not to say that Jesus was cowardly in the modern vernacular, but he was there first. As such grace preceded the Law because the Law proceeded from grace.

In essence, the Law of God, called the Ten Commandments are metrics to measure grace! How much grace does God have? Enough to pardon all the breaking of the Law! That is sufficient grace for salvation, and deliverance from the penalty of sin is mercy. Since God had one plan all the time, his plan was Jesus Christ who is still his one and only plan. In the beginning, faith in Christ incarnate was the salvation of mankind. Those ancient patriarchs were Christians because of their belief in the Messiah. They took to heart Isaiah's prophecies that Jesus would come from the line of Isaac, and knew that he would be called "God saves", or Jesus!

The "chicken" was fully intact in the beginning. At the same time so was the egg. Judaism was  inside the ovary when the chicken was created. Judaism is not another religion. It is embryonic Christianity. They believed in the Messiah, and because they did, they were Messianic, what we call Christians in the West.

Christians practice the Law as do the Jews. For discerning people, which includes the Jews (Romans 9:1), we have a conscience: they knew that the Law was not saving, but was a result of faith. Christians realize that the Law doesn't save, but faith is demonstrated by being lawful. As such Judaism is embryonic faith in Jesus, or budding Christianity!

As Christians we know that salvation is in Christ alone. The Jews believe that too, but don't accept that he has come. Jesus then, is a stumblingstone for them. Because he has come, they trip up. However, since they still believe in His coming, they are still potential Christians, but haven't metamorphed from egg to chicken. In fact, look at the Thirteen Principles of Judaism:

1. Belief in the existence of the Creator, who is perfect in every manner of existence and is the Primary Cause of all that exists.

2. The belief in G‑d's absolute and unparalleled unity.

3. The belief in G‑d's non-corporeality, nor that He will be affected by any physical occurrences, such as movement, or rest, or dwelling.

4. The belief in G‑d's eternity.

5. The imperative to worship G‑d exclusively and no foreign false gods.

6. The belief that G‑d communicates with man through prophecy.

7. The belief in the primacy of the prophecy of Moses our teacher.

8. The belief in the divine origin of the Torah.

9. The belief in the immutability of the Torah.

10. The belief in G‑d's omniscience and providence.

11. The belief in divine reward and retribution.

12. The belief in the arrival of the Messiah and the messianic era.

13. The belief in the resurrection of the dead.

Because they don't believe the Messiah has come, but will come, Jesus is a stumblingstone for them. In their principles, only the Torah and Moses confound their acceptance of Jesus. Of course, the Torah (teaching) includes God's Law, it has also the Mosaic Law. Moses (principle #7) is their primary teacher. They look to Moses for truth. Of course, Moses spoke truth, but it came from God's Voice. According to John the Voice or Word, was pre-incarnate Jesus. Moses's mouth interfered with God's Voice - Jesus Christ.

Is Moses the stumblingstone or is Christ? Which came first, the chicken or the egg? The "chicken" came first, but the egg was in the chicken's embryo. Moses was in God's plan from the beginning. Moses is complementary to Christ, but he makes Jews stumble over Christ. It is not Moses who has supremacy, but the Messiah. They put #7 before #12, and fail to realize that they are in the Messianic era.

Because of principle #12, discerning Jews were always Christians. Because of #7-9, Jews never grew, and are still embryonic, or potential, Christians.

My call to arms is that we Christians recognize that Jews have faith in Christ. They believe that the second-coming will be the first coming. They are Peter's, so to speak, who continually deny the reality of the one they worship. The cross was there for the Jews, but it never had God hanging from it. Christ is their stumblingblock because they fail to accept his birth, life, death and resurrection (#12 and #13). They believe in the Messiah. They have yet to accept that Jesus is Him. They still linger in the embryo and fail to achieve maturity - Christianity, because Jesus is their stumblingstone.

Rather than a stone which makes people stumble, Christians believe Jesus is the cornerstone!

Psalm 118:22 "The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone."

That's from their own (Jewish) teachings! David knew that the Jews would reject the cornerstone! And they did. 

Acts 4:11 "This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone."

Jesus is the cornerstone, or the foundation of Judaism: 

1 Peter 2:6 "For it stands in Scripture: “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.”

That is quoted from the Law which is in the Torah. The stone of Zion is the cornerstone, and that foundation is Jesus!

You see, the Jews have ears but do not hear, and eyes but do not see:

Isaiah 6:10 "Make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and blind their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.”

The Jews must disallow their eyes and ears, and listen to their hearts. It is their conscience to which they must listen. They must come to realize what they believe has already been made manifest. Why dilly-dally around a book of regulations when the Law has already been fulfilled (Matthew 5:17). Jesus said that, and Jews wrote that! Oh, Jews, come home. . .  come home! He's already come.

Judaism is those who stumble from truth. It's those who profess Christ, but reject him at the same time. Peter should be their saint, but Peter's eyes were finally opened. That Jew answered to call -  he believed in Jesus!

 My call to arms, is that the sword is the same Word. Jesus spoke the same words which Moses spoke long before Moses ever spoke them, and explained them years after Moses died. You must admit it, they are not Jews but embryonic Christians. You must first be born before you can be born-again, and as eggs, you are surely of the body of Christ! Let Him adopt you into his family. Until then, our beliefs are those of Christ; Jews need only to accept his death to experience their long sought-after resurrection.

My book should persuade Jewish people that it's simple to be born-again, but they first must suffer the birth pains. Please consider the video herein, and understand that the Voice in the garden was indeed the Messiah speaking.

Now COMMERCIAL TIME:

YOUTUBE VIDEO: THE SKULL OF ADAM

Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God

Jonathan Edwards read this sermon at Christchurch in Northampton in 1741. The stern old preacher seldom looked up as he read his prepared sermon, but yet he tenderized hearts such as a cubing mallet does the loin of a hog, or perhaps it was the hearts of the listeners which were being circumcised. With that event, Edwards merely read, but God worked wonders! People shed tears as they sought redemption. Why? Because one thing we all have in common is that we want to live forever!

Even the atheist desires that, but because of profound unbelief they can't submit. Hell is an anti-paradise designed specifically for unbelievers and insincere Christians, if that means anything at all. I believe it applies to those who believe, but fail to trust in Jesus. They are the demons in the midst of the church, feigning submission, but never having submitted. They heard about Jesus' crucifixion, but never allowed themselves to be crucified with him.

The crucifixion of the self is seldom preached, but in order to be born-again that must happen:

Galatians 2:20 ^"I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me."

Luke 9:23 "And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me."

Galatians 5:24 "And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts."

Edward's sermon was not on these verses, but the malady those had who ran  forward and cried sincerely was the sickness of those who had never been crucified. They were those who hung onto their flesh. Our own god must stand upon a Tree right along there with Jesus. In a divine sense there were not three crosses on Calvary because we should have been crucified right there alongside Jesus. Only two others were filled in a spiritual sense, but they represented the rest of us: (1) the one who preserved himself and (2) the other who was spiritually crucified right alongside Jesus. Sure both died on the cross, but only two of the three lived forever.

The problem with the stubborn malefactor on the cross was pride. He believed in Jesus because he saw him. With the popularity of Jesus, he also surely knew Jesus. However, he had never trusted in Jesus and wasn't about too. I bet he even knew the consequences of unbelief,  but still failed to submit!

Amos 9:2 "Though they dig into hell, thence shall mine hand take them; though they climb up to heaven, thence will I bring them down:  3 And though they hide themselves in the top of Carmel, I will search and take them out thence; and though they be hid from my sight in the bottom of the sea, thence will I command the serpent, and he shall bite them:"

The Word of God speaks of the Israelites. The notion here is that there is no escaping justice! God offered grace to the Israelites and Edwards spoke of this grace. I, as he did, believe that salvation was always by grace. All of us deserve to die, but that is divine justice. Life is reserved for those who never submit to God.

That submission is the act of being crucified. It is when we present ourselves to God in servitude, and pick up our own cross and follow him. If we pick up that cross, we are safe from eternal punishment, but woe to those who don't get near their own cross. That is claiming to belong to Jesus, but living in the flesh.

We see all sorts of people who believe in and even praise Jesus, but do so with uncircumcised hearts. They may be shacking up, living as slaves to drugs or alcohol, cheaters, liars, lustful, and such; but they are living for themselves, not for Jesus. Christians nowadays sit in darkened theaters and listen to  and watch licentious filth with heinous language, but claim they can ignore sin! We should never ignore sin; we should relinquish it to Jesus. When we do that, we hang our own flesh on the cross and die for Jesus:

Romans 12:1 "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God."

This speaks of Larry as to what it takes to be crucified with Jesus: I am to present myself as a living sacrifice. That's what you must do as well. It isn't optional! Paul said that is your reasonable service. It is more than reasonable, it is necessary, and it's what no atheist does and what few Christians ever do! We tend to serve two masters, thinking that we have fire insurance as we languish in the parlors of spiritual whore houses. Those Christians who have yet to be crucified with Christ fornicate with the world because that is where there love lies. The world is their first love, and God only gets a few crumbs from the table of harlots.

I'm not speaking of sex, but it is part of it. Things of the flesh are those things we do to please our true gods: us! It's those idols of our own flesh which we must hang on the cross for crucifixion. That is called submission. Living in sin after being born-again just cannot be! New creatures do new things. They put off the old flesh and put on a new spirit. We must allow our own fleshly desires to die to be with Jesus!  The submissive thief on the cross quit worrying about himself and empathized with Jesus! His submission that day saved him, and his reward was paradise that very day!

On the other hand, the second thief had no love in his heart. He stubbornly clung to his hardened heart. He never submitted to the real King, and spent the hereafter in a burning hell merely because he failed to submit. His physical flesh was on the cross, but the foreskin of his heart was not. Justice was served. He died that day - forever! Hell is his reward.

The thought of hell is why I sought salvation. If hell didn't exist, there would be no punishment for the disobedient. I am certainly willing to submit my heart, but my own flesh is weak. It's the willingness which is the crucifixion.

Matthew 26:41 "Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak."

The key word to crucifying ourselves is the willingness to sacrifice what is most important to Jesus. That is our own flesh. Willingness to obey is not a work, it is a spiritual condition. It represents contrition and submissiveness. Abraham was credited with great faith because he was willing to sacrifice what he most loved -  his own son. We aren't called to do that. We are called to merely sacrifice our own wicked selves. There is no blood shed in the sacrifice, but we are to spiritually bleed for Jesus. We are to give up the flesh until it hurts because relinquishing sin is painful! Few Christians do that and few have done that.

Deuteronomy 32:35 "To me belongeth vengeance and recompence; their foot shall slide in due time: for the day of their calamity is at hand, and the things that shall come upon them make haste."

 Edwards spoke on this passage. Their foot shall slide in due time. This was in reference to the Jews and it came about. They were destroyed, and only a few were saved.  Just a few remained because of God's grace. He made a promise to Abraham that his nation would prosper and a savior would come from his seed. There were few that made it because His path was narrow, but those who were saved provided salvation for us all: the Jew Jesus Christ!

If you don't know what happened to God's people - yes, God's people; they failed to submit. They failed to make that reasonable sacrifice to God. They failed to put their flesh to death for him. Sure they were circumcised and appeared to belong to God, but their hearts had never given up the flesh. The Hebrews feigned belief in God, but their hearts were not in it. The flesh retained its hold on them. They were symbolic of Christians in name only. They believe, but have never submitted. Vengeance belongs to God for their insincerity because they will slide in due time: their calamity is at hand, and that is hell!

Those with uncircumcised hearts stand on that slippery slope. Their spiritual condition will be revealed when they fail the test. Just as Abraham never had to submit his son, we don't have to submit ourselves! However, we must be willing to do that!  Most Christians believe, but are unwilling to give up the flesh. That same flesh that they preserve so well on earth will be the fodder for fuel in a burning hell. The fire of hell burns hot with the abundant fuel of uncircumcised hearts. Yours might burn there too if you are unwilling to change for Jesus!

There it is not hotter than hell as people say in vain today. It will be hell and no laughing matter. The Cross on which Jesus was nailed was his judgment day. God judged him pure from his throne in heaven. Although pure, he suffered death and hell for us, but yet the one who failed to submit to him represented most of us. Jesus asked why God had forsaken him. God never did. Likewise, he will never leave or forsake us, but if we fail to provide our own sacrifice as Jesus did, God will be an angry God and the vengeance is His.

Don't go there! It's too simple. Submit that flesh to him and it will never burn. On the other hand the aroma of burning flesh never moved God from his anger. Don't chance it!


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The Changing World: France Too

Revivals have went in cycles. Those who were born-again in the Great Awakening had personal experiences with God. Thanks to preachers like Jonathan Edwards who preached Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God,  sinners began to take God seriously! God is not the pancake God of Joel Olsteen, but has depth. He not only is the God of love, but the God of justice. Because he provides a way out of justice being meted is His display of love!

Isaiah 45:21 "Tell ye, and bring them near; yea, let them take counsel together: who hath declared this from ancient time? who hath told it from that time? have not I the Lord? and there is no God else beside me; a just God and a Saviour; there is none beside me."

There is the well-rounded God. He is the God of justice and the God of love! Because all have sinned, we all deserve death.  Because Jesus died in our place out of love for the creature, by grace we are saved. Grace is love manifested. God has grace. That much Olsteen acknowledges. That is his one-dimensional pancake God. The full stack is His justice - because God is fair, those who never claim Him as Savior should never expect salvation because they don't deserve it! Olsteen fails to preach the full gospel. His is half the story.

I call this type of doctrine selective Christianity. Those Christians don't accept God for the full truth. Their doctrine is a menu with square boxes that are checked off: heaven - check; hell - nope! Love - check; obedience - nope!  Science -  check; faith - nope! Blessings -  check; sin - nope! You see where I'm headed. It's all one-dimensional with doctrine without any teeth.

This is now the church. People created this religion, and those who did, are false teachers:

Matthew 24:24 "For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect."

This describes selective Christianity. It is the religion of all the West, and if scripture offends anyone, it should never be taught. It's not that those false teachers fail to teach about Christ, but it is the Christ they have personally designed. How about that? Designer Christ! Just like the clothing they wear, those pancake Christians can design their own God.

While the world loves selective Christianity, those on the right abhor it! Right is not only a political ideology, but a spiritual position. God teaches righteousness, and the left are the progressives who expands on truth, and makes false truth out of deception, Those with liberal political leanings most often are the selective Christians who follow the progressive secularists. They are the elite who determine correctness, and insist that even Christians follow their religion.

"That's too right-wing!" you are thinking. As right-wing as we will ever get is left of Jesus Christ. All of us ignore the boundaries of the kingdom of God and create boundaries which include doing what's right in our own eyes. That is selective Christianity. It's pretending to follow Christ while doing wrong things. That's progressive and far removed from the right side of the spectrum.

Selective Christianity is right now the norm. The Estates General in France for a time quit even pretending to be Christian. They worshiped the goddess of Reason for a spell. Churches were turned into centers for prostitution. The revolutionaries prostituted Christ for a republic. Thousands were guillotined in honor of liberty, ironically.

I believe that with the election of Trump, who is a nominal Christian at best, that America can be great again, but only when Americans turn to the One True God - the one that is loving and just!  The first step to spiritual independence was revealing the deception of political correctness. What does this have to do with France? I believe that the time is ripe for them to return to the One True God.

In this election year in France, the right may return to power with the support of the younger generation. The youth in America are years behind France. The elect here are just now being manipulated. In France they have been since the days of Louis XIV or even earlier. I believe that the youth of France are poised for another revolution: they want to make France great again! May God grant them the wisdom to see his justice to administer fairness.

Nigh Time

Romans 13:10 "Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law. 11 And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. 12 The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. 13 Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying."

This passage goes along with the ones about the hope of salvation:

Lamentations 3:26 "It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord."

1 Thessalonians 5:8 "But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation."

Let us be clear: salvation is not at the moment of the new birth. That's when we receive hope! That is in anticipation of some desired future event. The hope that Christians have is that we will be saved - not should be, or shall be - but will be. The degree of hope that we have is proportional to our faith. The more that we trust the Lord, the more hope that we have!

According to Romans above, the hope of salvation is dependent on our love. The more faith we have, the harder we work because work is accounted to us as faith. Of course works is not physical things, but things of the heart which demonstrate love (Romans 13:10 above).  This love that we are to have is the assurance that we (Christians) will be saved. The more that we are inclined to love, the more grace we receive.  The ultimate love is when God says, well done good and faithful servant. That happens when the Christian is presented to Him on his throne. That is the day that salvation is consummated. Until then, God keeps us safe from evil the evil one. He protects us from our wicked genetic father, and adopts us as his children. That adoption is when we are born-again.

At that time God cloaks us with his armor. That is our safety until the judgment comes. We must use the armor, for it's ours for the wearing. Wise men of faith bear the sword of the Word. That keeps us safe, and out of the clutches of the evil one!

If we are sober and do the work of love (Romans 13:10), then with each labor we are closer to the day of salvation (Romans 13:11). The day of salvation is sometimes in the future, and each day that we persevere in Christ, we are closer to that day. The day of salvation is there at the end of the narrow path, and is the location of the prize - eternal life!

Some say, "I know that I know that I know that I am saved." That certainty is a good feeling, and comes with great faith. Those with less faith and more doubt are less certain, and rightfully so, because Satan can convince them that the wide path is more pleasurable. With deception, even the elect can be deceived. Those who know salvation aren't saved yet, but they take comfort in their safety. In fact, they are so trusting in the Lord that for them, salvation is already a certainty. If only we all were that trusting, then Satan's task would be impossible!

My point is as we approach the day of salvation, we are not to assume that we can live a life of sin. To demonstrate our love to God, we must want to obey his commands. It's not the obedience that gains favor, but the willingness to obey God out of love. Sure, we can show just a little love for God and squeak through, but we want to arrive there in heaven full of passion! To have passion later, we must have it now!

As we get closer, the time of salvation is nigh upon us. We are not even assured that tomorrow will come, It may be the day of salvation for Christians. On the other hand, the day of salvation for a few, may be the day of damnation for most. We will all stand before God and make our excuses, but to no avail. We must love now because the day of salvation is upon us!

COMMERCIAL TIME:

Who dunnit: the devil or you?

My aunt Georgia often said, "The devil got into me and I did it," whatever sin it was. The devil gets too much blame and credit! Did the devil come down to Georgia, or did Georgia do it on her own? (It was really great-uncle Fred, but Georgia works better in the question).

God is Almighty!

Genesis 35:11a "And God said unto him, 'I am God Almighty'".

 Because God is all powerful, that means no one else is! Any power that the angels have comes from God. Any power that we have comes from God. We seem to forget the source of all power because it is mentioned in the Old Testament, and only in Revelation in the New Testament. The beloved John, in his revelation there, and in the first chapter of the Epistle of John, does an excellent job of understanding the eternal power of God.

God has Almighty power. He said so. Theologians call that omnipotent. How about his presence?

Matthew 20:28b "I am with you always, even unto the end of the world."

God was, is, and always will be! That is always.  He is a personal God because he is always with you. His always presence is omnipresence. 

God is the source of all knowledge, for it is asked rhetorically:

Isaiah 40:13 "Who hath directed the Spirit of the Lord, or being his counsellor hath taught him? 14 With whom took he counsel, and who instructed him, and taught him in the path of judgment, and taught him knowledge, and shewed to him the way of understanding?"

Of course, it is God who is the source of all knowledge. That is called omniscience.

God is Almighty, always present - everywhere, and all knowing. Whatever power, presence, or knowledge that any other creature has is less than God, and from God. All creatures are for God's purposes. That leads to the question: What is the purpose of Satan? Now let's look at Satan: His role is merely as a tester. In fact, the entire Book of Job is a series of tests of the faithfulness of Job. Nowhere are sinners given a test by God. They are children of Satan already.

John 8:44 "Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it."

From birth every person's father is the devil. He or she already belongs to Satan because of original sin. Because Adam sinned we all belong to the devil even in infancy. Sin is an inherited trait because both Adam and Eve failed the test. She blamed the serpent, and Adam blamed her! We all still do that rationalization because we are deceived. Who was to blame? Since they both failed the test, each of them are responsible for their own sin. The devil never made them do it, and he certainly never came to Georgia!

Because Satan cannot make us do anything, we are free moral agents. With that, we always have the power to do whatever we will. God even gave us our faculty of will. We either are willing or unwilling to sin. It is our own will which determines our fate. Satan can merely tempt, and he tempts for God's purposes. With His power, God could make us all pure against our will, but we are much more than automatons. He wants our love and respect of our own volition!

The power lies in us,  not Satan. Sure he has the ability to travel outside the boundaries of time. Satan has the power only to be free of time constraints, and being a fallen angel he can undergo metamorphosis - transforming himself from an angel of some type, to a serpent, or to a man. This ability is so that he can deceive. To be honest, Satan does have limited power. He can cause catastrophes as he did with Job, but it is only because God allows him it. God placed one constraint upon Satan: Upon Job, put not thy hand, as he said in Job 1:12. Satan called that constraint a hedge because it protected Job from death.

The hedge belongs only to those who have faith in God. Because the unsaved belong to their father the devil, there is no protective hedge. When one is adopted by God and becomes his son, the hedge goes up to protect. This protection is safety, and is called being born-again because the person's master changes: Emancipation from Satan to adoption by God.

Those without faith would have failed Satan's test. As the authority over sinners, they do his will. Those not of the faith would fail every time. Only truly faithful people can pass the test. Job could have traded his faith for safety, and fallen away from God. His hedge of safety would have been shorn. By faith, he obeyed God, and trusted Him in all things. With that faith, he was safe from the wiles of Satan. As Christians we too live inside God's hedge: the whole armor of God, but unless it's the whole armor, Satan's barbs can kill the soul without even touching you!

Job 1:7 "And the Lord said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the Lord, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it."

Thankfully, Satan is not omnipresent. He is one place at a time. His method is that everyone are born already his. He can merely rush from one Christian to the next, even ignoring those who are already his because he can't waste the power that is already his.

Of course he has legions of fallen angels called the sons of God because God made even them. They too, are controlled by God, and are used for testing! Neither can they harm Christians, but can those non-Christians outside the hedge. Thus, we are safe until we are saved in the end, and have the hope of salvation! We can deny God even as Job could have. Guess who the fallen angels spend their time with? Christians - because those not belonging to God are already his. However, neither can they touch Christians or make you do anything. As such it is our own self who is our worst enemy. We do what we want to do! That is mankind's problem, not the alleged power of Satan.

In the beginning Satan, disguised as the serpent, warned them -  they will be as gods. (Genesis 3:5). It's not Satan who makes people sin; it is the person who chooses sin, so quit blaming Satan and giving him the power that he doesn't have! By crediting Satan for our sins, is making him out to be a god. He becomes our other god besides God (Exodus 20:3). As children of Satan, some worship themselves as gods, but in reality, they are in obedience to the god of this world, the prince of the air - Satan.

Who dunnit? Who made you sin? It is you. You made the wrong choice without Satan even laying a hand on you. He is less powerful than Hitler who did kill Christians! Quit crediting Satan for your own acts. You are the one who can make the choice; Satan merely smiles when you do.

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THE SKULL OF ADAM by Larry R. Herrin

Anxiety

1 Peter 5:6 (ESV) "Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, 7 casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. 8 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.9 Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. 10 And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you."

Anxiety is all the things that you care about from the KJV of verse 7. If we didn't care, we wouldn't be anxious about anything! Some anxiety is normal because we're human. This same scripture indicates that you are not the only one with anxiety, even your Christian brothers throughout the world are!

Anxiety, from a psychological perspective, is to worry about the future, and fear in reacting to current events. Worry is the cause of anxiety, and fear is the result.

Psalm 56:3 (ESV) When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; 4 I shall not be afraid. What can flesh do to me?"

The key to life is to trust in God to defeat fear. He is the protector of your soul, and the things of the flesh are insignificant to that. As an example, what is the most important thing in anyone's life? For the person to live eternally. No one wants to die, and be dead forever. Therefore, our hope is on Jesus. Anything or anyone less is of little consequence compared to that! We worry about things which God takes care of:

Matthew 6:25a  (ESV) “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life..."

We want things to go our way because we focus on ourselves more than God. If you fear what you don't have, that is God's will. For some obscure reason, it's in your best interests. When the time comes, God will provide. We must not doubt, because if we trust in him, he will comfort us!

The Holy Spirit is the Comforter. He is there in times of anxiety. We must allow him to comfort us. That happens best when our minds are not on ourselves, but humbled instead. Verse 10 says:

"And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you."

That worry and fear that we have, after some suffering, God will restore us to health. You see, anxiety is not a psychological problem at all; it's a spiritual problem. We think about ourselves, but when we begin to focus on others, God strengthens us! Nothing is to hard for God if we trust him for it.

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Free Stuff: What's In It For Me?

Face it; most people look at everything with the outlook: What's in it for me?

People want free things. Just look at the number of people at grand openings at new stores. They are there to get free things!  Socialism is a big thing now because people believe they have a right to free things. Of course, almost everyone wants affordable health care, but way too many want free health care. The rise and fall of Bernie Sanders was because the spoiled generation only know about free stuff. (See, I'm dexterous with grammar - I went from free things to free stuff).

Everybody does deserve a job if they want to work. However, want to work eliminates nearly half the nation! Those are the people who want free stuff, ignoring the hard workers who pay outlandishly to pay for the free things that other people get. The American Dream at this moment is getting all the free things out of life that one can!

Why work when things are free? asks the socialist. The same attitude exists in many who never heard of Marx, but are merely natural-born Epicureans, having enjoyment from luxury items as if there is no tomorrow. Paul accused these folks of worshiping an unknown god.

Acts 17:23 "For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, To The Unknown God. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you."

Jesus spoke to Paul; who knew Jesus first-hand. He knew that Jesus is God.  The Stoics and Epicureans to whom he spoke in this passage, didn't know God. As philosophers, their god was the quest for knowledge, but that god had no name! He was their Unknown God. Believe it or not, everyone has a god! The Stoics sought solace for themselves, and the Epicureans sought pleasure for themselves. Who was their Unknown god? Their own god was each of their own selves,

It is pitiful, is it not, that these two groups of people were appeased by what they did, and what they wanted? Epicureans appeased their god with rich food, high-living, prestige, presents for themselves, and partying. Things were all about them! They wanted free stuff which delighted themselves.

We all have a little self-indulgence in us. Of course, we want necessities and a few frivolities, and some of us work hard for them. Others just expect gifts because for some reason they feel entitlement. They often think: I deserve whatever. The only thing any of us truly deserve is divine justice -  we all deserve eternal death for rebelling against our Creator!

Admit it... before we're saved, we all are our own gods. You may not have known it until just now, but before that, your god was an Unknown god. I proclaim Jesus Christ as the God whom is unknown to you.

Guess what else? Our own little god wants the One True God to save us from hell! Isn't it ironic that we are the god besides God, but we can only be saved by Him? Through Jesus Christ, our god is hung on the cross with Jesus, and his blood and death paid the penalty for our god to live forever. In order to be saved, we must present our god to God for redemption because our weak god only wants free things, and has no power to save ourselves!

Romans 12:1 "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service."

This sacrifice that God wants is you! He wants your god to submit to him! Submission is when our god is toppled, and then quit demanding things, but desiring Jesus for what He can do for us - save!

 John 13:12  ^"So after he had washed their feet, and had taken his garments, and was set down again, he said unto them, Know ye what I have done to you? 13 Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am. 14 If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another's feet. 15 For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you."

What's in it for you? You should be washing the feet of others.  You should be serving the Lord and even your enemies, but yet your focus is on: What's in it for me? You are still worrying about new things, birthday presents, fun, Christmas presents, and having it your way; but Jesus wants you to take the focus off you, and put it on service. Rather than: What's in it for me? It should be: Let me help you, and be there for you.

What is in it for you at the end of the day? Eternal life! You don't even deserve that, but by God's grace it is there for the taking. It's free stuff, but few even want it! Most are still more troubled by not getting what they want and demand. Rather than love, they will terrorize to get what they deserve (sic).

The secret to your success and eternal prosperity is to get rid of that other god by placing him at the altar to be a love gift to God. Then maybe your god will get something he or she doesn't deserve - salvation!

Obsessive-Compulsive?

Jesus, wasn't obsessive-compulsive, but he folded very neatly his napkin before leaving the tomb.

John 20:3 "Peter therefore went forth, and that other disciple, and came to the sepulchre. 4 So they ran both together: and the other disciple did outrun Peter, and came first to the sepulchre. 5 And he stooping down, and looking in, saw the linen clothes lying; yet went he not in. 6 Then cometh Simon Peter following him, and went into the sepulchre, and seeth the linen clothes lie, 7 And the napkin, that was about his head, not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself."

Why was Jesus not OC? Because he didn't organize his linen, but he did his napkin. If he had been OC, he would have neatly folded them both, but he didn't. It was the napkin only! Because scripture makes a point of mentioning the specific place and condition of the napkin, it must have importance.

This napkin wasn't something to wipe the sweat off the brow or moisture from the lips. It had a specific purpose. It was a soudarion for covering the face of the corpse.  Head-coverings had significance in the early church. Women wore them as a demonstration of submission.

1 Corinthians 11:6 "For if the woman be not covered, let her also be shorn: but if it be a shame for a woman to be shorn or shaven, let her be covered. 7 For a man indeed ought not to cover his head, forasmuch as he is the image and glory of God: but the woman is the glory of the man. 8  For the man is not of the woman: but the woman of the man."

Only women were to have their head covered; for men they were not to do that, because their head is in the image of God's. Women were to cover their head because men have dominion over the women - like it or not. They are to be submissive to the men, and the head-covering is a symbol of submission. Some sects still do that, and it is an honorable thing to do,

Jesus's head was covered even though men should not! Why? Because he is not the image of God, but God Himself!  There was no reason that he should not have his head covered, but there is one good reason that his head was covered: Jesus's death was the ultimate servitude. He submitted to death for all mankind -  men, women, Jew, and Gentile.

Why did Jesus take the time to fold, twist, or otherwise position the napkin? It was his way of symbolically saying: It is done!

Revelation 21:6 "And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely."

Folding that napkin, that burial head-covering, so neatly; implied that it would never be needed again. Jesus's death on the cross was of his own volition, and was the most submissive thing he could do. Never again would he have to shed his blood for mankind again, because it indeed was done!



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Out of Your Box

John 20:19 (ESV) "On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, 'Peace be with you.'”

 If walls can't contain God, your box that you have him in, can't either. In this passage Jesus just appeared into the locked room where the eleven apostles were gathered. They thought that he was a phantom, and were afraid!  Even though masonry or stone walls are immaterial to Jesus, so is your own preconceived ideas of him. Many people have created their own Jesus (sic) in their minds, who is in a box about three feet wide, eighteen-inches thick, and six-feet tall - it is the box the size of you! That box is immaterial, but it's walls are made of pride, and is your own doctrine!

Jesus doesn't do this. Jesus doesn't do that. Jesus only works this way. Jesus is always positive. Jesus's grace doesn't require obedience. Jesus requires this or that. You must actually say Jesus name for that to work. Jesus will allow me into heaven although I deny him. Jesus won't send anybody to hell. These are some of the attributes of your boxed in Jesus. Your Jesus must follow your strict rules, and he is not allowed o deviate from your own doctrine!

For instance, Calvinists have put Jesus in a horrible box. You can live a life of sin without remorse, and expect eternal life. As a Calvinist, you merely stand, lay, or sit there; and Jesus saves you, and you have no say in the matter. As a Calvinist, if you have been selected, you get a free ticket to heaven, plus a bonus ticket to a life of hedonistic pleasure. If you are a Calvinist, those who oppose your doctrine are evil because they believe works mean something!

Then there are many who steal justice from God, and fail to allow him to judge. In their minds, they have done good, and God will never punish them. Many even believe hell is non-existent, and that Jesus has no place to allow justice to be served. They put Jesus in a strong container, and don't allow him to judge!

Others use God's name in vain, and contain Jesus with flippancy. He won't care if you use his name for Surprise! or as a comma in a sentence. Their Jesus is a weak God, and apathetic to our vanity.

Some don't even put Jesus in a box, but contain him at arms length. He never existed, even in spite of historical evidence.

Some put him in a educational box, and allow him to be only a teacher. Others put him in a pretty box and use him as an example of a do-gooder.

Others have him in an mythological box where he can't be in heaven because heaven is fictitious.

Most people put him in a box with them on top. They are the people who are self-indulgent, and do what they want to do, because their desire is more powerful than God's will.

Let me explain Jesus to you: He IS God! He does whatever is his will, because whatever he does is right and good. If he wants to have you, you are his. He doesn't do things by formulae or by the individually created doctrines of others. He can rebirth you even if you resist, but he can also wait until you accept him. He suits his own purpose. He is Almighty God!

If you deny him, he can allow Satan to take even Christians away. If he feels overly graceful, he can protect you from the evil one. If you live a life of goodness, he can turn his eyes from your works, If you sin all through your life, if he wants, he can reward you with heaven. His only requirement is belief, and that you remain faithful. Jesus is not in your box; he crated the box and called it the heavens. There are no walls to heaven. It's expanse goes on forever. God's world is without walls; why do you attempt to contain him with your narrow viewpoint.

The reason that some scripture appears to have contradicting doctrine is because God's doctrine is flexible; he does whatever he wills! You can't say: God doesn't do things that way! because God can do it anyway he wants! Simon Magus put God in a box:

Acts 8:12 (KJV)  But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. 13 Then Simon himself believed also: and when he was baptized, he continued with Philip, and wondered, beholding the miracles and signs which were done. 14  Now when the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John: 15  Who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost: 16 (For as yet he was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.) 17 Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost. 18 And when Simon saw that through laying on of the apostles' hands the Holy Ghost was given, he offered them money, 19 Saying, Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost."

Simon saw Peter and John laying on hands, and believed this method was a secret way of obtaining power. He wanted to know the process for calling up the Holy Ghost - the very Spirit of Jesus. Simon put God in a box of his own, thinking that he could control Jesus. This notion was from a new-born, and baptized Christian who immediately developed his own doctrine -  his Jesus was one he wanted to control. His box was his own mind! If you have placed God in your doctrinal box, you are much like Simon! 

Open the door to Jesus. Take him out of your doctrinal box. He has the power to do whatever he wants, so your attempt to boxing him in is silly in his eyes. Maybe it is you that is in the box, and need out!

John 8:32 (KJV) " And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."

Book Titles Available

KIDS OF THE KORN (Click here to view this Kindle Book).

ABOUT THE BOOK:
The Kidd children take a journey through the cornfield in search of the prize at the end of their path. Along the way they meet some of the Korn Kiids of the Kornson family, and they learn together the doctrines of God as they share their faith. Kobby, Tassle, Pop Korn, Kernal Korn, Mama Maize and several other korn characters learn with them. This book is geared for middle school age readers and above. Although, it is to teach youngsters, adults can learn much as well.

The book teaches faith, love, grace, patience, purity, and essential doctrine for salvation. Lessons are learned as the youngsters travel and meet Worm, Bumble Bee, Snake, Stalk, and a man with cancer running the course; Herald Runner.

The book is intended to teach not only doctrine, but also vocabulary. As such difficult words are defined and religious concepts are explained. This text is intended to be an interesting, fun, and simple way to learn about God.

Credit must be given to Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan, the second most read work behind the Holy Bible, for the concept for this book.

THE SKULL OF ADAM (Click here to view the Kindle Book or purchase a paperback or hard cover)

ABOUT THE BOOK:
In Holy Scripture, words mean things! Why is the "place of the skull" so important when three of the four Gospels mention Golgotha? Inquiring minds long before ago answered that question!
It may not be because the rock formation resembles a skull. It may have deeper meaning. Perhaps as some church fathers believed, Adam is buried on Calvary.
In this book, that contention is explored. Did Adam lose his significance at his death, or is there a link throughout the Scripture? That may never be known, but the thought is intriguing.
This is a work of fiction, but in the stories of biblical characters, there seems to be much more implied than said. John made that clear when he wrote his Gospel. Since Jesus was here in the beginning, where was he? He was always there! He still is always with us!
The skull of Adam is used herein to present essential doctrines in a casual conversational manner. It is all about the mystery of God. The mystery revealed is that in all times, the Scripture is all about Jesus.
What is said in these conversations explain the words of Jesus before he was ever born.

Please rate these books on Amazon if you like them. That will be greatly appreciated.

Unwilling to Willing

The Pharisees were called vipers by Jesus for following, not only all the Law, but to the T - all the  regulations which they added to the Law. They created an impossible legal system that none could possibly obey. One must give them credit though - they tried to keep the Law.

Calvinists would disagree, but abiding by the Law is a good thing! However, the reasons must be right. Law-keeping is not the way to heaven, but is a way to show love for God and fellow persons. The Pharisees were so set on keeping the Law, that they did so out of obligation, and not because they loved. For instance, it's admirable not to steal, but being honest (good) is the road to failure. At some point in time even a Pharisee would fail. What's worse, if they failed on one point of the Law, they failed on all points.

There was a command:

Exodus 23:19b "Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother's milk."

I believe this command is so that people will respect animals, for obviously boiling a kid goat in its own mother's milk is disrespectful. However, the Jews took this one step further - Do not eat meat and drink milk in the same meal.  The original command was easily obtainable, and not a burden on anyone. It was a fair command! On the other hand, the regulation added to the command, made it burdensome.

God's Law was written on stone for a reason. It was to endure forever.

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. 18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. 19 Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven."

 The reason for writing the Ten Commandments on stone are to last till heaven and earth pass away. As such they are forever, and have significance. Those Calvinists who minimize the Law shall be called less in the kingdom of heaven. In other words, they are indeed important because they are to complement and compliment Jesus!

To complement: He (Jesus) came not to destroy the law, but to fulfil it!

To compliment:  If ye love me, keep my commandments. (John 14:15)

Now for unwilling and willing: Abraham obeyed God, and it was credited to him as faith:

Romans 4:20 "He (Abraham) staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; 21 And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform.22 And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness. 23 Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him..."

In other words, Abraham was willing.

Now let's look at another situation:

Mark 10:19 "Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honour thy father and mother. 20 And he (rich young man) answered and said unto him, Master, all these have I observed from my youth. 21 Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me. 22 And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions."

Therein, the rich young man kept all the Law, but was unwilling. He was unwilling to offer himself as a living sacrifice to Jesus, whereas Abraham was willing to sacrifice his only remaining son, but was not required to actually obey what God commanded. As such the willingness to obey is of the heart, and is done out of love and respect.  Actually following commands out of coercion is unwillingness to do things out of love. Indeed, "If you love me, keep my commandments," said Jesus.
We all find ourselves in this dilemma, and it is dangerous. We all are at liberty to sin, and can if that's what we want. However, as Christians with changed hearts, we are to no longer desire sinful behaviors:

James 2:12 "So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty."

Here is another Law. We now have (1) The Law of God, (2) the Law of Sin, and (3) the Law of Liberty.

The Law of God is the Ten Commandments, and represent the ten ways to love God and others. The Law of Sin is the violation of the Ten Commandments, and are effectually ten ways to hate God and others. The Law of Liberty is the willingness to obey God for right reasons - out of love and respect for him.

We all struggle with the Law of Liberty. We are free to lie, covet, steal, etc., and we don't, but it's more to validate our fire insurance policy with God, than because we love him! In other words, we do it not to please God, but to keep our lousy skins out of hell. We don't obey willingly, but unwillingly because it's for wrong reasons.

What must we all do? We need to change. We are to obey, but because we want to please God. We are to hate sin, and be willing to sacrifice our pleasure for Jesus. Just think: It wasn't pleasurable for Him that day he died on the cross. We are to hang our pleasures right up there with him - willingly.

Galatians 5:13 "For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another."

It boils down to this: Are we willing or unwilling to please God?

Why France?

For my blog this past month both the United States and France had 5000 plus hits. For that, I appreciate France, but why France? They dwarfed all other nations of the world.

I gather that the French people read my commentary because they are longing for spiritual truth. I don't try to deceive anyone with what I write, and I call a spade a spade. We all need to hear truth, not something to tantalize us, or build up our egos. God knows that our own egos are mankind's biggest problem!

2 Timothy 4:3 "For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears..."

For Frenchmen, they have had itching ears since the Huguenot days. Those folks were early protestants of the French Reformed Church -  non-Catholics. Because they were of a different doctrine than either the Catholics or Lutherans, a war started in 1562 - the French War of Religion. Many of those Huguenots, due to persecution, came to America in it's early years. My own Gastineau line was one of those families.

During the time of the First French Republic, there existed a new church with a new god, for a short time, anyway. Their God was Reason, and prostitution replaced holiness in the churches. The French itched for freedom, and they got so much of it, that there was a holocaust of one group after another. Even as late as 1886 when the Statue of Liberty was donated to the United States by France, French ears were still itching - she is Libertas, a Roman goddess who represented the overthrow of Tarquin kings, thus creating the Roman Republic. Libertas was worshiped as a real goddess. She is not merely symbolic. She tickled the itching ears of those who sought civil  rather than spiritual freedom.

France today has few Christians. The Eurobarometer Poll conducted in 2010 reported that only 27% of the French people believe there is a God. Of course, god is not necessarily Jehovah God. Who knows how few believe in the One True God, let alone are faithful Christians! Throughout history, the ears of the French have itched. They believed in about any doctrine or false god which came along. The time is ripe now, for a true conversion of the French people. Only by being emancipated from false doctrine will the French ever be free. Until then, they are slaves to sinful doctrines.

The French people's ears have been tickled by about every false doctrine because they itch to hear what they want to hear. The French, since the days of Louis XVI who was guillotined in 1792, have had so many republics and empires - mostly agnostic ones, that they are ready for truth!

Throughout history there motto has been: "Do what thou wilt!" Unbridled liberty is as tyrannical as the old monarchy and Marxism, which the itching ears of the French love to hear! The French are still slaves. They are in bondage to secular humanism disguised as Liberty. While they are serfs to Satan, true freedom lies in servanthood to Christ.

Colossians 3:24 "Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ."

Freedom is what the French people desire, but they look for it all places other than in the kingdom of God. His is a righteous kingdom, and none of the Bourbon kings or princes rule there. The French people can find freedom in being servants to God, ironic as that may seem. Blessed - the utmost blissful, they shall be when they are subjects of the kingdom of God!

Why France? They are tired of the tickling of itching ears, and are ready for some sound doctrine with the icing of truth, knowing how they love their pastries!


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Change

The question of the day is:  What is the most significant difference between the once-born to the one born-again? Several versus point toward that:

Romans 12:1 "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. 3 For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith."

Have you spotted the answer to the question? It is in one of the phrases high-lighted - transformed.

Transformed is figuratively metamorphosed - the person changes: A striking alteration in appearance, character, or circumstances. (Merriam-Webster Dictionary). To clarify that change, think of the two different types. A good example is when the caterpillar turns into a butterfly - a worm (sic) turns into an beautiful thing. The change that should be obvious is when a non-Christian changes into a Christian, going from worm to butterfly symbolically. That type of change is not something concealed, but is something which is obvious.

Another term for transformed is transfigured. When one thinks of that, Jesus Christ comes to mind - the transfiguration of Jesus. Up on the mountain with God, Jesus changed!

2 Peter 1: 16 "For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty. 17 For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. 18 And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount."

Jesus somehow changed: He received honor and glory from his Father. This change is a transfiguration -  A change in form or appearance :  metamorphosis, or an exalting, glorifying, or spiritual change. (Merriam-Webster Dictionary). We can see from scripture the change itself:

Luke 9:29 "And as he (Jesus) prayed, the fashion of his countenance was altered, and his raiment was white and glistering... 32  But Peter and they that were with him were heavy with sleep: and when they were awake, they saw his glory."

Jesus was changed, and it was both a physical and spiritual change. His countenance, or outward manner changed. Likewise, what he was wearing turned the whitest of white and glistened. This I suppose was a cleansing of the contamination of the world from his body.  That leaves another change -  glory.   As we find from Moses conversation with God, starting in Exodus 33:19, glory is God's goodness, and God's appearance was as a shining light, so bright that eyes could not behold Him, as Ezekiel described Him.

In essence, Jesus was transfigured from the Son of Man to the Son of God. When God disappeared from the transfiguration, Jesus remained alone with those watching. My belief is that Jesus became as he would be after he died, glorified: He was endowed with all the goodness of God, the world being washed from him, not sin from him, but on him. He became the perfect sacrifice, pure and without tarnish, so that he could take on all the sins of mankind. His change was that the world was cleansed from him, and he was as he would be in heaven.

Now back to us: we are to be transformed, or transfigured if you prefer that.

2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

After a person is born-again, he or she is a new person in Christ. Old things pass away, and the person is transformed into a new creature. The caterpillar -  the first birth, is changed into the butterfly -  the second birth. The change should be obvious! It was for Jesus, and it should be for us. Our countenance should change. Since we were washed clean, not by water, but by the spirit, we should appear to be sparkling white since we are at that instant pure. At salvation is the time that we are good -  just like Jesus, because he took our sins away! Jesus transfigures us, similarly as God transfigured him!

What is the most significant difference between the once-born to the one born-again?

We should be changed, and it should show. If there is no evidence of change, it is possible that the old creature still lives, and is an imposter. The old creature merely poses as the new!

Calvinists minimize, and some even trivialize obedience to the Law of God. Those laws are the Law of Love, because the transformed creature changes from one of hate or apathy, into one who loves:

1 Peter 1:21 "Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God. 22 Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently: 23 Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever."

This describes the change from old creature to new -  when one who has only being born once, then  is born-again. The change is one of countenance -  going to pure love. The way to love is to obey His commandments (John 14:15). The new creature is obedient; it is hard, but the spirit helps us. People fail God because they ignore the spirit. As Christians, we're never left to our own devices. The transformation means that the spirit lives within us.

With his transfiguration, Jesus was glorified. He received his heavenly attributes. All sin was cleansed from touching his flesh, and his body was made eternal. It was if he had already died, and as such, He and God were united. He was truly God - all goodness, who died on the cross. However, we won't be glorified until we die. Glorification is the reward for being born-again, and enduring in faith until the end.

Christians don't have to sin; it is always a choice. The transformed creature has a new beginning. We are at liberty to sin if we will to do that. The test of faith is if we choose not to sin, even though we are at liberty to sin if we want. Our countenance changes from one who takes pleasure in the world, to one who is appalled by it! If after being born-again, the Christian is still living a life of sin, without repentance, then the person has not changed -  they aren't like Jesus. Then one should ask: If I have not changed, am I truly born-again?

I'll mention willingness here, but expound upon it later. Willingness is the change from old to new. It is our reasonable sacrifice: to go from unwilling to willing!

Change is our gift to Jesus for dying on the cross in our place. It is how we show our love and appreciation for him not only on Good Friday, but everyday!

Hope

What is hope? It is elpes from he Greek, which means to anticipate. It has nothing to do for wishing, because one who anticipates has the expectation that the event will happen. With that said, anticipation means something has yet to occur. It is sometimes in the future. Of course, the verse in mind is the following:

1 Thessalonians 5:8  (KJV) "But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation."

The event that Christians await is salvation (KJV)., implying that Christians will be saved sometimes in the future. In all fairness, we need to look at the Greek for salvation as well. It is soteria, meaning to rescue. This word is a little different than we find in this verse:

Matthew 24:13 "But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved."

The KJV saved is sozo in the Greek., which means safe. There is a difference between saved and safe. The latter means not in danger. The former means delivered, and in that sense rescued.  With the true definition of soteria, then it is seen that Christians have the hope of being rescued. They have yet to be rescued, but because they trust God (faith), their hope is that they shall be. Matthew 24:13 establishes the criteria for soteria (rescued): He that endureth to the end. Enduring is staying true to the end.

The vehicle for staying true is faith (back to 1 Thessalonians 5:8): trusting in, and loyalty to God.

Ephesians 2:8 "For by grace are ye saved (sozo, safe) through faith (pistes, persuasion); and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God."

A person who is brought to safety is persuaded, and have had their opinion changed, but Satan endeavors to unpersuaded (sic) by raising doubt. With scripture, persuading is leaving deception or apathy, and arriving at truth, and of course that means trusting the gospels about Jesus Christ.

The phrase shall be (Matthew 24:13) is not even in the Greek. It is an English transliteration, and the KJV sometimes renders it should be (John 3:16). Should raises doubt because it leaves open the possibility that the person won't be. Should is past tense. Shall is firm. It means that it will occur. It is future tense. Most places sozo is rendered shall be safe, meaning at sometime in the future. The future is anytime between this moment until the time when the soul is removed to paradise.

That is important: What we call saved is brought to safety. That's when God makes us righteous and puts a protective hedge around us (Job 1:10), called the whole armor of God:

Ephesians 6:11 "Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil... 13 ...that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day."

In essence, what we call salvation is God protecting us from being destroyed by Satan, but just as Job was tested, we too are tested. Testing allows the Christian to remain in the faith (endure) or blaspheme (cease being faithful to God).

Faith is a gift from God, and we Christians exercise it. Scripture refers to the work of faith (1 Thessalonians 1:3). Indeed, maintaining faith is hard work because Satan and his legions go to and fro trying to destroy it. God protects us from Satan's wiles by using his sword (word) and armor. The Christian who fails to wear God's armor is in danger of Satan's barbs killing their faith.

The hope of salvation does raise some concerns about doubt because it is anticipating a future event which has yet to happen. The faith of God is certainty.  Because he is God, he knows the future. Faith is for us a variable: (1) No faith, (2) a little faith, (3) great faith, and (4) the faith of Abraham - as much as humanly possible. Anything less than the faith of God is doubt. We all have doubts at time. To deny that is deception. We must always be in the word to keep doubt out of our minds. Doubt is one of Satan's barbs.

Some are certain of their faith, or so they say. We do have assurance.

Hebrews 10:26 (ESV) "For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, 27 but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries."

If one remains in a life of sin (go on sinning), after knowing the truth (about Jesus), judgment and hell awaits them. With that said obedience to the faith is the test of efficacy. Christians are to remain steadfast in the faith (1 Peter 5:9).

Some ask, "Do you know beyond a shadow of a doubt that you are saved?" That question makes one doubt, whereas before it wasn't on the mind. We all have doubts; that is imperfect faith. Satan raises doubts; God doesn't. Claiming to be certain, which only God can be, is prideful. It is making oneself out to be as God (Genesis 3:5). We must be wary of Satan and keep our armor shiny, polished, and in use! We anticipate that we will in the end be saved, but until then we walk in safety because we exercise our gift of faith.

This is my belief from scripture. I am dogmatic in my belief. This is called conditional security. Because I'm not God, I am convinced that I understand doctrine. Others are just as convinced of their position. However, I do not have the ability to declare mine to be divine truth, because to claim that I would be prideful. Likewise, for those in the eternal security camp, and are just as dogmatic, if they declare their truth to be profound, then they have pride in their doctrine.

These two doctrines are opposite, and are in direct conflict. One must be right and the other wrong. I won't put God in an Arminian box, and my desire is that others will take God out of his Calvinistic box. What I am saying, God is God. He can do as he pleases on an individual basis to suit his purposes. It would seem that Paul's conversion was a model for Calvinism, but Simon Magus's conversion and blasphemy was a model for Arminianism.

We can all get along, if we're Christians. In Paul's time there were even then doctrinal differences. He asked for unity. I will be in accord with my fellow brethren without regard to disputes. After all, who am I - God, to declare his every intent? I won't be that prideful because pride kills.