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1.
The atheist doesn't believe in God because you can't prove God exists using the scientific method. Yet neither can they prove God doesn't exist using the scientific method. The atheist doesn't know how the atom came into existence, yet here we are. The atheist doesn't know how DNA came into existence, yet here we live. The atheist doesn't know why people do bad things, why DNA is programmed to die, purpose of life or what happens to us after death. It takes more faith to be an atheist than a Christian.
2.
"Free will" in the context of the Bible is something of a misnomer. Perhaps that's why this phrase is not found in the Bible. Free will biblically means we each have the freedom to accept God or reject Him, but it doesn't mean we are free from the consequences of our choice. The Bible is clear about this. God told the Israelites, I set before you life and death, so choose life. Also, the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is life in Christ Jesus. Life or death. Jesus or your way.. Every choice in our life is one or the other. Even after we accept Jesus. God is the boss. He gets to set the rules. So who would ever choose death? I guess those that want to be the boss instead of God. Even if it leads to death.
3.
Antidote for fear: Greater is He that is in me (the Holy Spirit) than he that is in the world (Satan).
Directions: Chew until totally absorbed and fear is gone. Repeat as necessary.
4.
The devil is a comic figure with a pitchfork and tail. Satan is a fallen being actively trying to destroy you. When the Bible gives something a proper name, you can bet it is real.
5.
How do you know if a thought that pops into your head is from God or you? First, you need to know the Bible. God will never tell you anything contrary to the Bible. Second, for me, I get a confirmation in my spirit from the Holy Spirit that lets me know this is from God. You have to practice getting into God’s presence and learn His touch in your spirit. Listening to Christian worship music is great for this.
6.
Each of us, whether we realize it or not, is in a spiritual battle between sin and Satan versus God. Those who are heading towards God are attacked. Those who aren't, aren't. That's why Christians often struggle and why those who walk away from God often feel "better." But it's not better. It's the illusion of better.
7.
The only thing you can leave this life with is Jesus. And perhaps your memory. Whether a parable or an actual event, Jesus told a disturbing story about a man who had not lived for God and was in torment in Hell. The man asked if Abraham could go tell his still-living brothers not to make the same mistakes he had. Here's my point: the man didn't say he had done all he could while he was alive to point his brothers to God. He knew he hadn't. We don’t know if our family will accept Jesus even if we do all we can to point them to Jesus. But I'm going to die trying.
8.
Jesus is not something you tack onto your life, He is to be the center about which your whole life revolves. If you're not seeing Him that way, something is wrong.
9.
I think one of the biggest causes of anxiety is worrying about things that may or may not happen. In the wilderness, God fed the Israelites with manna. They were to gather only enough for that day. If they gathered more, it would spoil. The lesson is clear. God wants the kind of relationship where each day we trust Him for answers, both for that day and, if He chooses, He may give an answer for something in the future. Either way, He wants us to work on trusting Him. Replace worry with thoughts on how God will give insight into your problems in His timing. Rest on that.
10.
These will not get you to Heaven but, without Jesus, they can get you to Hell:
Love, good deeds, mercy, good thoughts, positive thoughts, pets, vegan, inclusion, benevolence, prayer, Bible study, conservation and everything else the world calls holy.
11.
I have to laugh. For millennia, scientists have been telling us how the physical world works. Now they're saying it doesn't really exist. How the heathen rages against God.
12.
Hell for each person who dies without Jesus is exactly equal to whatever appeases God's wrath against the sins of that person. I don't know if that is the same for each person or whether there are degrees of Hell. Some Bible verses imply there are. I don't like talking about Hell but the Bible talks about Hell more than you think. You can't avoid the topic.
13.
If you leave this life without Jesus and have done nothing to point others to Jesus, then you have wasted your life and done no favors to others, especially your family. Hard words but after a lifetime of studying and living the Bible, I can come to no other conclusion. Jesus said He was the way, the truth and the life. Anything else is not the way or truth or life.
14.
To make sense of what's happening in America, what you're seeing is what happens when a nation drifts from its Christian moorings. But even more It's what happens when Christians stop being light and salt. The Christians must bear the greater responsibility.
15.
CURTAIN CLOSED: Longtime film star once dubbed 'most beautiful woman in the world' dead at 95. (One of the headlines on today's news.)
Live only for this life and however "successful" you are, you will grow old and die. Live for the next life and you will never grow old or die. Go Jesus.
16.
People don't need to be reformed, they need to be transformed. Only Jesus can do that.
17.
Just before Jesus ascended, He commanded us to go into all the world and tell them about Him. Tell them what? I believe the most important verse is where Jesus said "I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father (God) except through me." This is what we are to proclaim. But in doing this we are also proclaiming that without Jesus you are going the wrong way. I've just read some articles on "conversion ban" laws in various countries, not just the Middle East, which basically mean you can't share your faith with others. It first sent a chill down my spine, then I realized Christianity flourishes when persecuted. As long as there are Christians willing to take a stand when threatened with fines or imprisonment. Jesus told His disciples that if people hated Him they would hate His disciples too. He also asked, Will there be faith on the earth when I return? That verse has been on my mind lately. Those bans are coming here if I read the Bible correctly.
18.
The fear of the Lord really just boils down to acknowledging that while God gives us free will how we live our life, ultimately we have to answer to Him for the choices we made. The wise person then lives their life accordingly.
"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom."
19.
Jesus said you must be born again. When you accept that you are a sinner in God's eyes and you need Jesus, your sins are covered by the cross and your human spirit is made alive to God. You are no longer the same. The Bible says you are a new creation. You can sense God's presence and feel His touch in your spirit and mind. It takes some Christians longer than others to realize this, but those who are truly born again and live for Him will know they are not the same person they used to be.
20.
Some thoughts on "wokeness."
There have and continue to be injustices, both deliberate and systemic. We all need to acknowledge this and want to address it. True change comes when we ask God to reveal any wrong attitude in us. Then we ask Him what to do about it. This is God-wokeness. Nothing new. It's how the Bible says to live. We just need to do it. Christians should lead the way on addressing injustice. But not at the expense of pointing people to Jesus, the true cure for injustice. There's room for both.
21.
The only individual who can go by the pronoun "they" is God because He has all the characteristics of both male and female.
22.
Warning: longer post!
Some musings on mental illness
I don't think we should see mental illness the same way we view physical illness. I believe mental illness has a much larger spiritual component than physical illness. I think physical illness is caused by sin's distortion on the physical world. I think mental illness is caused by Satan's attacks on our mind and our sinful nature's thinking contrary to God. Bottom line: I believe many mental illnesses can be defeated.
For with God nothing shall be impossible.
Luke 1:37
The key in the verse above is "for with God."
If you don't know God, how can you know what he can do? How can you have faith in him? We have faith in Jesus for salvation but not much is said about having faith in God for anything.
Good things to start meditating on every day:
Do you believe God is who the Bible says He is?
Do you believe God can do what the Bible says He can do?
Do you believe nothing is impossible with God?
If you'll mull over these as much as your problems, who knows what God can do? I've struggled with depression and anxiety and it wasn't until I let the truths of the Bible be continually in my mind that I could stand against them.The Bible calls it washing the mind with the Word of God. Positive thoughts won't work. Did you know you have the legal right to reject depression, anxiety, fear, worthlessness and thoughts of suicide? On the cross Jesus broke Satan's right to you. Chew on that for awhile. God is waiting for you to have the same faith in Him that you do in Jesus. He isn't a stern forbidding figure. He's our loving Father. I'm just out-there enough to believe God can do a lot more mental healing than we let Him.
Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh: is there any thing too hard for me?
Jeremiah 32:27
23.
In a previous post I warned that conversion ban laws may be attempted in the not-so-distant future whereby one would be prosecuted for sharing one's faith in Jesus. We might also see phrases such as anti-proselytizing. Here's where you have to have spiritual discernment to see what's really going on. The truth is, there is no neutral position, even if you think you are being neutral. You are either for or against God. Saying you don't believe in God but are open to the idea there might be a God won't cut it because your lifestyle will not point people to Jesus. Spiritually you are proselytizing people away from Jesus. We all are proselytizing those around us, either for or against Jesus, whether we think we are or not. So conversion ban laws would convict those in favor because they are trying to convert people against Jesus. That's proselytizing. Life is not what it appears on the surface.
24.
Random thoughts:
Life doesn't begin until Jesus.
Point, don't push, people to Jesus.
When discussing belief systems I sometimes get a sarcastic post saying that it must be nice having all the answers. I think to myself, "You say that like it's a bad thing." First, the truth answers all questions. Haven't they watched Dateline? Second, we are to have faith in the answers, not non-answers. Christianity doesn't require blind faith. Just the opposite. We have faith in the answers it provides. It's with science you have to have blind faith. They don't have any answers. Not for the real questions of life.
25.
I see so many posts from people who think they have life figured out. Philosophers, actors (really?), those who endured hard things but overcame them, and so on. The Bible says Satan is more cunning than any person. Those who think they are overcomers are deceived. Bible says only way to overcome Satan is by the blood of Jesus and by the word of our testimony about Jesus. Don't be fooled.
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