Yeah, I'm a Believer!

Yeah, I'm a Believer!: Political Correctness: Fact or Fiction?This seems ...

2015-11-29T15:50:00.001-08:00

Yeah, I'm a Believer!: Political Correctness: Fact or Fiction?This seems ...: Political Correctness: Fact or Fiction? This seems to be the goal of everyone in these times of this busted-up world we live in today, no...

2015-11-29T15:45:00.002-08:00

Political Correctness: Fact or Fiction?

This seems to be the goal of everyone in these times of this busted-up world we live in today, not only to be politically correct yourself, but to also force everyone else to conform to your version of political correctness. My first response to this is something along the lines of, "Good golly Miss Molly, I'm sure glad that my LORD JESUS CHRIST had no concerns at all about being politically correct!" His concern was more with being obedient, and that is the only thing that keeps me, and every other New Testament Believer, from being headed straight to an eternity in hell. Ooops! There I go again, not being politically correct. I sure hope that I didn't offend someone by even thinking that anyone who doesn't believe in GOD, and hasn't claimed the [shed] Blood of CHRIST for the redemption of sin, is going to hell. And... make no mistake about it, there is just as much of this fixation on political correctness and avoiding, by all means necessary, offending anyone at all in our local churches today as there is anywhere else. I mentioned obedience a minute ago, specifically the obedience of CHRIST being very much a part of making the eternity of Christians possible to be spent in Heaven with Himself, but His obedience alone doesn't make the Believer's hope of an eternity in Heaven a done deal. His obedience just makes the Believer's hope a possibility, there has to be obedience on the part of every person who comes to the Throne [of Grace]. The thing that gets overlooked all to often is that the required obedience extends far beyond the altar. Being not only 'hearers' but also 'doers' and 'giving no place to the devil' and '[being] aware of our adversary the devil', along with a host of other instructions, not the least of which is found in Acts 1:8 that is often referred to as the Great Commission. And before anyone asks, no, none of these things are politically correct, at least not in this world.

If CHRIST had been politically correct He would not have done a lot of things, not the least of was to stand up and tell the leaders of the Jewish culture of the day that they were wrong in how they worshipped GOD. The thing that He did that isn't acceptable in most of the local churches in our present times was to declare, loudly and clearly, that without the obedient actions of believing and accepting and professing and confessing you are going to hell. Sadly, we don't hear this message being preached nearly enough, and if a person hasn't done these things, and isn't living an obedient life [to GOD's perfect will], then they should be offended, and that to the point of coming to CHRIST!

Thank You, LORD, for not being politically correct, but for being obedient instead. Give me not only the desire, but the need, to be obedient, and that I would also have that same need to follow the examples You set for me with every step You took, every word You spoke, and every breath You drew. Strengthen me so that my life will reflect You, so that everything about me would be a living and breathing testimony to You! Amen! & Amen!

Review - The Heroic Boldness of Martin Luther

2014-04-10T15:19:00.003-07:00

Review – The Heroic Boldness Of Martin Luther

I’ve said it before, and so I’ll make the statement now that I, like a good many people, tend to stay away from Biographies and Autobiographies because while the informative value is usually unequaled, the presentation is generally dry and it seems like the monotony will never end. But I’m more than pleasantly surprised by the superb use of space by the author in the one hundred and twenty-two pages of The Heroic Boldness of Martin Luther.

In the first chapter of this book, Dr. Lawson introduces the reader to the humble beginnings of the son of copper miner Hans Luder and a devout Roman Catholic mother. The manner in which Lawson presents a brief yet complete synopsis of Martin Luther’s life is anything but dry and monotonous, which as I stated earlier is what I’ve come to expect to find in this type of work. By maintaining the use of the same “rapid” writing style that was in evidence from the preface on, this writer doesn’t give the reader time to become bored or overwhelmed by what is actually a goodly amount of information. In fact, I was a bit perturbed that the book ended as soon as it did, I wanted it to continue on.

I came away from this read with the same mindset that I, as an author, work towards developing in my readers. While without a doubt complete, this book left me with the need to do further research on the person of Martin Luther, to answer questions not raised in the book, but by the book. In my humble opinion, this is what a well-written book or a well-delivered sermon should accomplish.

Well done, Dr. Steven J. Lawson!

Review - Extreme Prayer by Greg Pruett

2014-04-06T15:23:00.001-07:00

Okay, I'll admit it, when this book came up for review my first instinct was to pass on it. My reason was legitimate. Prayer, both as a topic and as a practice, has been written on so much that many people are jaded on the subject. But, with a bit of Spiritual pushing and shoving [by His Holy Spirit of course!], I committed to review Extreme Prayer, and what a blessing it's been for me.

Pruett has managed to introduce the same Scripture(s) on prayer that we'll all had shoved down our throats many times in an entirely new way. He doesn't approach either the concept of prayer as a whole or the practise of praying as individuals as a requirement or a duty. By wrapping his life experiences in ministry around solid Biblical teaching on the subject of prayer, the author makes it possible for readers to come away from this one hundred and fourteen page book looking forward to the adventure of a life of prayer with the Lord. By tying different episodes of his, his families, and his ministry partners' live to the absolutes of Biblical prayer, this author successfully introduces prayer to readers in what I believe to be God's intent. Scripture doesn't support that prayer should be a dreaded, or a "to be avoided at all cost(s)" part of the Believer's lives. Prayer is something intended to be a part of Christians' lives that is looked forward to, depended on, and sought after.

The writing of Extreme Prayer is obviously the result of both the inspiration of the Lord's Holy Spirit, and a life lived focused on prayer.

Well done, Greg Pruett!

The book Extreme Prayer was furnished to myself by Tyndale Momentum in consideration for my reviewing the book. In no way was my review influenced by Tyndale Momentum of any other person.

Review: The Rise of Evangelicalism by Mark A. Nolls

2014-03-14T06:34:00.001-07:00

The Rise of Evangelicalism

by Mark A. Nolls

As a history buff of a variety of genres, I've accepted my lot in life is to spend a fairly significant portion of my life reading volumes of either dry and dusty or arrogant and pushy accounts of history. Having read this first work in a set of five, I'm already tracking down as many of the remaining four already in publication, and that is because Nolls has proven to me what I've always suspected. The presentation of easily corroborated historical facts, in regards to the growth and development of Evangelicalism, is done in a manner that is anything but arrogant or dry. Another thing that's easily recognized is the focus of the writer in not getting sidetracked, which is really easy to do, especially when writing from a historical perspective. Finally, although there is much more that I could document in a positive note about this book, I'm going to finish-up by saying that when I was done with the book, I didn't feel that I was finished with the subject. Mark Nolls accomplished what I feel my purpose as a writer is, he left me with the desire to continue researching the subject of Evangelicalism.

Well done Mr. Nolls!

(This Review and others are also available @: www.fellowshipinthescriptures.com, then go to 'Review Central').

Blessings,
Terry a.k.a. k2montana

It Really Isn't That Hard!

2014-03-09T20:24:00.002-07:00

What I'm fixing to say will get me throwed off of quite a few Christmas lists. That's okay though, my wife is always saying that I don't play well with others. This issue has been on my mind for a while, and as I've just finished 'Living Right In A World Gone Wrong' this is a good a time as any to get this out.

When we pick up our Bibles, irregardless of the translation or version, whether or not it's paperback or leatherbound, and not important whether it's brand new or well-used, they all have in common that they're easy to read and simple to understand. One thing that the hundreds and thousands of 'doctrines' and 'theologies' have in common with the even greater number of denominations in the world is that by the very manner by which they came to exist, they all have very little to do with God. God's Word, the Holy Bible, is at one end of a spectrum while all of the doctrines, theologies, and denominations are at the other end. Based strictly on Scripture, it's safe for me to say that when we're closest to the Bible end of the spectum, we're also the closest to God and His Will for us. Necessarily contrary to this position is the [requirement] that the closer we get to the other end of this spectrum, and all that has accumulated there, the farther from God we get. I mentioned that it was [Scripturally] safe for me, or anyone, to take this position and it is, but I'm not going to tell you why just yet. In a day or so I'll take this a little farther, so either check back then, or use the option on the left sidepanel to be updated via Email.

Right now we're in prayer over whether or not to do a book on this issue. As I said earlier, we just wrapped up a book and another is about finished. We do have several outlines ready to go forward on, but we're not sure where the Master Publisher would have us go to just yet. So please do join us in prayer on this matter.

Many thanks,
Pastor Terry Keiner
Absarokee MT

Are You Ready?

2014-01-09T07:05:00.000-08:00

Why do you suppose it is that so much of the time we either cannot or refuse to choose God as the focus of our lives until we're in a position that He is the only choice we have left? In the Gospels, Jesus actually extended His invitations specifically to those who were at the bottom of the barrel, so to speak.

And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him. Then He opened His mouth and taught them, saying: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven, blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

(Matthew 5:1-5 NKJV)

In this particular Scripture, which is the beginning of what is commonly referred to as 'The Sermon on The Mount', Jesus goes on to include many others in what I've always thought of as an invitation of a sorts.

At this point, we need to back up just a bit. To fully appreciate how Jesus came to be delivering The Sermon on The Mount, which many wrongly believe to be when He began His public ministry, we need to do just a bit of background. After being baptized by John [the Baptist] in the river Jordan, Christ spent forty days in the wilderness, at the end of which He was tempted by satan. This is when His public ministry begins, and before He delivered The Sermon on The Mount near Capernaum, He'd already preached at Galilee and Nazareth before going to Capernaum, which fulfilled prophecy found in Isaiah nine and forty-two. Then, going back to the region of Galilee, He recruited the first four of his disciples as well as doing all kinds sickness and possessions. A huge crowd developed there and followed as He made His way from Galilee to Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and to the area beyond the Jordan River. It was at this point that He returned to Capernaum, with His huge crowd of followers intact and growing, and delivered The Sermon on The Mount.

When reading through the second half of Matthew chapter four, it becomes obvious that the focus of Christ was on those who were sick, diseased, poor, and possessed, and this same focus is present in the first five verses of The Sermon on The Mount. What we need to understand here is what I think of as the 'cultural climate' within the Jewish world at that time. First of all, Judaism is much more than a religious belief system, it is actually a culture within itself. What was going on during the time of Christ was that the Jewish culture was so watered down, or distorted, by legalism that the leaders, mainly the Pharisees, pretty much decided who was worthy, or fit, to be a part of the Jewish 'in-crowd.' A good example of this is found in Luke 18:9-14.

Also He spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, 'God, I thank You that I am not like other men - extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.' And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me a sinner!' I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted. (Luke 18:9-14 NJKV)

By and through the earlier Babylonian Talmud, and then later on the Jerusalem Talmud, the leaders of the Judaic world had added at least six hundred 'laws' that had nothing at all to do with God or His Will. The end result of all of this was that it wasn't just the Gentiles who were pretty much reduced to vermin in the eyes of the mainstream Jews, it was also those Jews who didn't meet the criteria of the Pharisees. Then the coming of Christ, which was first prophesied of by God Himself there in the garden of Eden, (See Genesis 3:14-15), wasn't exactly what the mainstream Jews had envisioned. While it was never even hinted at through Old Testament prophecy, the Jewish hierarchy had decided over the four thousand or so years since the first mention of a Messiah that when He did come it would be with a lot of to-do and fanfare, parades and marching bands, festivals and singing. As we all know, it didn't happen quite like that, and this is one of the major problems that the Jews had with Jesus, He didn't fit in with their ideas and notions of what He should be and do. This bring us full circle back to where we started, that the focus of Christ during His early public ministry was those who weren't recognized by the 'uppity-up' as being fit for anything. Perhaps this is why so many of us refuse Christ until we're in the position of having no one else to turn to.

But, there is a big difference between us today and those Jesus was focused on two-thousand years ago. Society and culture had decided that those people weren't fit for anything, and a great many of those people had lived in a subsistence lifestyle for generations, with no way to change it. That's not true today. We all know people who 'had it all' and then lost it by their own actions. In our world today there are many, many people who were wealthy and accepted one day, and are living in a shelter the next. Remember the story about the man who built his house on the sand? There you go, it's the same [figurative] thing going on all around us.

Okay then, here's the point I've been headed at since we started. You don''t have to wait until your straw house, built on sand, had collapsed around you to be the wealthiest healthiest person there is. Unlike some who've been unable to do better not by their own doings and who waste no time coming to the altar, let's not wait until we've lost everything before we turn to Christ. It says nowhere in the Bible that we have to be poor and broken before He'll accept us, that's something we do on our own. It's a cycle that only we can break, and He's standing there, ever so patient, waiting.

How about it? Has He waited long enough? Are you ready?

Brunner on Prayer

2014-01-06T13:17:00.003-08:00

I'm doing an Article on Prayer, and came across what to me says as much as all of the other, non-Biblical, sources I've researched put together. I pray that this piece by Emil Brunner, who I admit was controversial in a lot of ways, may bless you as it did me.

Terry

"Indeed, the belief in the answering of prayer is victory over the abstract impersonal concept of God, even within Christian theology."

Emil Brunner

(The Christian Doctrine of the Church, Faith, and Consummation, Pp. 335)

Antinomianism, Say What?

2013-12-30T19:10:00.001-08:00

I know that I normally don't get into too much theology, but I'm going to make an exception here. If everyone will just bear with me, the reason will become obvious pretty quickly. So, here we go.

Antinomianism, now that's a mouthful of word. To get a very basic understanding of what it means, we're going to start with the etymology behind the word. 'Against' (anti) 'God's law' (nomos). The root word anitnomos gives way to our word antinomianism, with the definition 'against God's law[s]' giving way to something along the lines of 'the act of' (ism) [being] against God's law[s].' There, that wasn't too hard, now was it? Everyone needs to keep in mind that what we've got here is a very basic and bare bones meaning of both a word and a [belief] system that has been used in a constantly changing application over the many years since it first surfaced. Everyone let out their held breathes now, because we're not going to explore the applications of this word very much farther than we're at right now.

Okay then, let's get at it. Antinomianism has basically two lines of thought. First, we have Theoretical Antinomianism, which denies the [third] use of God's Law as a practical guide, or moral component, of the Christians everyday lives. A good example of this is found in Ephesians 6:1-2, which is where Paul re-states a section of the Law that talks about honoring our parents.

"Children,, obey your parents in he Lord, for this is right. Honor your father and mother, which is the first commandment with promise:" (Ephesians 6:1-2 NKJV)

Then we have Practical Antinomianism, which actually has two separately recognized forms. The first of these forms is evidenced when we have professed Christians who openly show a complete disregard for God's Law(s) in their lives. Then we see the other form of Practical Antinomianism hard at work when we find no reference to or mention of God's Law(s) in the Sermon Content of certain preachers. Whether this occurs by choice, or as I have personally experienced, or results from censorship really doesn't matter, as the end result is the same.

What we've just gone over is what we see in our Churches and lives of Believers today, this isn't something that used to happen. I'll say it again, Antinomianism is alive and well today, in our Churches and our lives. You may not have recognized it by it's proper name, but that doesn't deter in any way the damage that is done by whatever name you choose to give it.

What we'll call the 'English Antinomians,' as a part of this mindset, place such priority to the doctrine of justification by faith alone that it overshadowed their doctrine of sanctification. They also present that since God cannot see sin in the Believer, that sin no longer poises any danger to Believers. To further complicate the Believer's sense of spiritual self, this strain of Antinimianism redefined the application of sanctification, reducing it from an on-going process only completed with the coming of Christ to something much less, specifically to the 'art' of adjusting to the new status of being justified.

Well, there you have it, meaning, purpose, and application of Antinomianism. It wasn't too bad, now was it? The purpose today was not to give a lesson on this subject, although it may appear to be. Our purpose here today is to remind everyone to be ever vigilant. What we covered today is not a repeat of some old theological arguments that are not relevant to our lives today. Take a look around, not just in your secular world, but specifically at your Church environment. Be honest with yourself and God when you look at what is and is not being taught that should be, and what is being taught that shouldn't be. Just as important as that is to look at what people, maybe yourself included, are 'living' in their Christian lives. What role, if any, does God's [Old Testament] Laws play in your life, and also in the Church you attend?

Okay then, I'm done. My prayer is that I've left everyone with more questions than answers, and with more of a desire to learn more than the thought that you've learned enough about this matter.

Be Blessed!

What's The Fuss?

2013-12-30T01:04:00.002-08:00

Hey, so I know that I may not be the sharpest knife in the drawer, but even I know that up is up, black is black, and so on. But what I see more and more of is making less and less sense to me, as regards sin and homosexuality. Used to be it was only those who'd chosen the homosexual lifestyle, and were ashamed of their choice, who tried to convince everyone else that being gay, or queer, or whatever was okay and normal. If you'll just think about it for a minute, the shame and guilt that comes from deciding to live a life in total disobedience to God has got to be a tremendous burden. I suppose it's a normal thing to try to either try to convince the rest of humanity that the sin they choose to have as a very active part of there life is either okay and normal, or that it's not their fault that they have decided to live the homosexual lifestyle. It used to be only God that got the blame, that He had made them the way they are. But now genetics gets to share the fault, and even then those who claim to be Christians bring God into it since He did speak mankind into being.

What I'm trying to figure out is exactly what the fuss is all about. Nobody seems to have any trouble at all in identifying murder as unacceptable, not only because it's against the law but also because it's a sin. We have criminal codes and statutes that says it's illegal and God's Word declares it a sin. The same thing with rape, assault, robbery, breaking and entering, child molesting, and a great many more things that some folks make the decision to do. So why aren't there advocates lined up from here to there in support of murderers, and rapists, and thieves, and child molesters? Why aren't the perpetrators of these other actions trying to convince those of us who've decided to not break the law and to not sin against God that what they've done is okay and normal? To make all of this even worse, to me at least, is that in most states, engaging in homosexual activity is in fact a criminal offense. Why is it okay to break both man's and God's Law in this one particular area, to the point of making people who refuse to accept homosexuality as okay and normal as being horrible people?

I follow a fellow-pastor on Twitter who made the statement via a post last week that he would be arrested before he would consider performing a same-sex wedding ceremony, and I am in total agreement with him. We have courts issuing judgements against people who refuse to do business with declared homosexuals. But, and this is a big 'but', I still don't see what all of the fuss is about. Let's get it together people, and quit bowing down to satan, because that's what is really at the bottom of all of this. If you don't believe me just read your Bibles. Whether it's homosexuality, child molesting, murder, rape, thievery, or any other act that is identified as sin by God, the person who makes the choice to participate in the act is actively working for satan. Just to make myself clear on this, any person who makes the conscious decision to participate in any act or behavior that is identified by God as sin is working for satan. If when I get up in the morning and I make plans for what I'm going to do tomorrow I include raping a women, molesting a child, or having sex with another man, then I'm living contrary to God. No amount of advocating or blaming someone else can change that fact. And I'll tell you something else, Scripture makes it very clear that no particular sin is worse than any other sin. Whether you steal a dollar candy bar or have a homosexual relationship with another person, both acts are still sin.

I've been asked what I feel people who've made the decision to have same-sex relationships should do, and my answer is the same that I give to anybody who's not a Christian and wants to start living the life God would have them live. Come to the altar, accept the shed blood of Christ as atonement for sin, and renounce satan in his many forms. Though it may sound easy, take my word for it, it's far from easy. It's hard to change your lifestyle, but it's not something you'll have to do by yourself.

So I'll ask it again, what's all the fuss about?

The Friend That Counts!

2013-12-25T13:10:00.002-08:00

When I refer to the gift of life that Jesus gave all of mankind when He claimed the Father's Will as His only purpose for becoming Man, I'm aware that I'm not saying something that hasn't been said a thousand times over. That in itself illustrates a point that also is older than the ages, that nothing about God, that is God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, has ever or will ever change. God, in His entirety, is static, consistent, never changing. Use whatever word or phrase you choose to describe something or someone that is constant, and you're describing God. Now I want you to keep this little intro in mind while I share how this morning went.

Earlier this Christmas morning I had my wife, Faith, give me some instruction on how to navigate through Facebook. When we got to the place where all of my friends were listed, I was a bit surprised to find out I had so many. I've never heard of a vast majority of the people on my friend list. Faith assured me that I had to have excepted each and every one of their 'Friend Requests' or they wouldn't be my Facebook friends. Be that as it may, and I really think that somehow all of those people put themselves on my friend list, as I was looking down the list of friends, I was amazed at how many friends some of my friends had. I mean some people on Facebook have hundreds and thousands of friends, and that got me to thinking about how few friends I actually have. I don't mean on Facebook or any of the other Social Media WebSites. I'm talking about actual, know them face-to-face, call them on the phone friends. Then I had it explained to me that people on Facebook didn't actually know all of their friends, but that their friends actually included all of their friends friends, and so on. Anyway, ....

All of my rambling about the way the whole 'friend' thing works on Facebook sort of describes the process by which the best Friend any of us could ever have is actually our friend before we ever know Him. Everything He has ever done has been for the benefit of untold millions of people who started out not knowing that He even existed. Then as people excepted His friendship and told others about Him, His circle of friends grew, even though some people haven't accepted His 'Friend Request.' But in spite of denied 'Friend Requests' He was still friends with the one who denied His request simple because other friends had accepted His request. Does any this make any sense to anyone except me? I sure hope so, because it's as clear as a bell to me.

While there are some similarities in how friends are made and what defines friends on the Social Media thing and our Lord Jesus Christ, the purpose that He has for requesting our friendship doesn't resemble anything we'll find in this busted-up world we live in. His desire to befriend us has nothing to do with who we know, how much money we have, how well 'connected' we are, what we can do for Him or someone else, or anything else on this list that can go on and on. He comes to us, wanting to be our best friend, with no strings attached, unless you call the gift of eternal life, endless love, and all-encompassing grace and mercy a string. What I've just described is the most perfect and best friend any of us could ever hope to have.

How about it, is He your 'bestus' Friend?

Blessing everyone on this day of celebrating Life!
From my family to you'll, Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!
Terry, Faith, & the kids

He Said, "No!"

2013-12-24T06:50:00.001-08:00

A bunch of years ago I delivered a sermon on answered prayer. This was at a medium-sized local church down in Metarie Louisiana, and I guess that they hadn't had a guest speaker for quite some time. After the service was over, the pastor and I were standing in the foyer talking with some of the church members when this fellow came up and told me that he just wasn't so sure about God answering prayer. Everyone standing there got real quite, and were listening when I asked the guy what he meant. He said that he'd prayed for a new truck to pull his boat with, and God never answered his prayer. I asked what made his say that God hadn't answered, and he said that he'd never got the new truck. That's when I told him that God had answered his prayer. He asked what I meant, and I told him that God obviously said, "No!"

This is a true story, and to me it illustrates mans mindset when it comes to prayer. A lot of us are real quick to claim Scripture when it comes to asking God for something.

"Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you." (Matthew 7:7 NKJV)

What we do, particularly when we're on the subject of petitioning God for 'wants' is that we have what I think of as 'selective recall.' We don't recall other Scripture that is very relevant to the issue of God answering prayers.

"Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit”; whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.” (James 4:13-15 NKJV)

The point I'm working towards here is that while, yes, we do have the authority to ask of the Father whatever we would, along with that authority comes the responsibility to ensure that before we do the asking, we've already done the praying necessary to make sure that what we're asking for or to be done is in accordance with His Will. Does this mean that He will only respond positively to our absolute basic needs? No, not by any means, in fact Scripture is very clear about that.

"Be anxious for nothing, but in every thing by prayer and supplication, let your requests be made known to God;" (Philippians 4:6 NKJV)

In wrapping up, I want to revisit the main points again. First, New Testament Believer's have Scriptural authority to go to our Lord God for both our wants and our needs. Second, with that authority comes a responsibility to do our very best to make sure that what we're asking of God is in line with His Will. Third, and last, God does say, "No" sometimes.

Be Blessed my brothers and sisters, as we're celebrating the birth of the Son. Keep in mind that when we celebrate Christmas, it's not just the birth of Jesus that we're heralding. December 25th, as the day set aside for this celebration, should be held dear as a celebration of life for every person who has ever and will ever accept the Christ as their personal Savior.

God be with you all,
Terry

Apologetics & Biblical Criticism

2013-12-22T10:51:00.002-08:00

Today I'm going to throw a couple of excerpts at everyone that does a whole lot better job of explaining a couple of areas that are a part of every New Testament Believer's life. Please feel free to follow the link at the bottom for even more information.

Be Blessed,
Terry

The Word Apologetics: Christian apologetics doesn’t mean saying sorry for being a Christian. The confusion arises because, in modern English, the word “apology” has a different meaning from the classical Greek word (apología)from which it was derived. Apología meant a defense or justification of one's beliefs, attitudes, or actions. For example, The Apology is Plato's version of the speech given by Socrates as he defended himself in 399 BC against the charges of corrupting the young by not believing in the gods recognized by the state, but inventing new deities. In other words, apologetics is the discipline of defending a position through the systematic use of information. Christian apologists also set forth positive grounds for Christianity.

Criticism: Most critics of the Bible assume that because something is unexplained it is unexplainable. When a scientist comes across an anomaly in nature he doesn't give up on science. How many scientists resigned when they found rings around Jupiter, which was contrary to all scientific explanations?
When the Bible has been proven to be accurate over and over again in hundreds of details, the burden of proof is on the critics, not on the Bible.
Most skeptics do not bring to the Bible the powers of comprehension and interpretation that they would bring to a reading of the average newspaper. Perhaps this uneven treatment should not be surprising. After all, the skeptic has much too lose if the Bible is right.
Unfortunately, most Christians have not been able to give adequate answers to the questions skeptics as as most churches are woefully lacking in the teaching of apologetics. This is particularyly sad as there are virtually no so-called Biblical discrepancies that do not have an explanation. As a result, the world thinks Christians cannot defend the authority of Scripture and, thus, the Christian faith.

http://www.inplainsite.org/html/Page3b_questions_skeptics_ask.html

Death = Life

2013-12-15T16:03:00.000-08:00

Matthew Henry, who is known as one of the most insightful commentators [of the Bible] , began his commentary on the fifty-fourth chapter of the book of Isaiah with these words,

'The death of Christ is the Life of the Church.'

In addition to our Lord Jesus Himself, the apostle Paul along with several others who either wrote, while under the inspiration of God, or were quoted in regards to the Bible have all made reference to the fact that it's only by the death of Christ that man can live. What I'm getting at here is that while most of us know this already, is it only an intellectual knowledge or is this a very relevant part of our Christian walk? This happens far more than most of us realize or want to admit too, that the knowledge of certain things about God and His Will for us never gets beyond the intellect. The end result of this is that while we know these things we never live them.

In this particular instance, knowing but possibly not living the reality that without the death of our Savior we would have no eternal life, what would the alternative be? I think that oftentimes there's some confusion or misunderstanding when we start talking about things that come after our trip to the altar. Well, here's a hint: It's not an option to live as if you're a new man or woman before the Lord. There's not a list somewhere that we can pick and choose from, to decide what we're going to do as a part of our new life with Christ. This mindset has gone a long way in getting the Church in the sad state it's in right now.

Okay, right about now is anyone shaking there head and wondering, maybe aloud, "How can the truth that 'the death of Christ is the life of the Church' be seen in my life? That is a really good question, and I would love it if it was asked more often. This is one of those times where I like to reverse engineer things, so lets don't try to identify what should be going on in your life as you grow before the Lord and isn't, let's list some things that are in your life that shouldn't be in any New Testament Believers life.

"I desire therefore that the men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting;" (1 Timothy 2:8 NKJV)

"But reject profane and old wives fables, and exercise yourself toward godliness." (1 Timothy4:7. NKJV)

" But shun profane and idle babblings, for they will increase to more ungodliness." (2 Timothy 2:16 NKJV)

"...men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God," (2 Timothy 3:2-4. NKJV)

Now I don't want anyone thinking that this is a complete list of what shouldn't be a part of any Christians life, but it is a really good start. Like I said earlier, we don't have the option of whether or not to have any of these things in our lives, when each of us accepted the shed blood of Christ for the remittance of sins, we also accepted the responsibility to to not have any of this type of mess in our lives. Here's the thing, the way we live our life reflects who and what we are and seeking after. Jesus set examples for us to follow, and when we each follow His examples with our lives, then we're setting examples for those we testify to about Christ to follow.

So, do you just know that the death of Christ is the Life of the Church, or do you live it?

www.youravon.com/fkeiner

2013-12-14T17:24:00.002-08:00

Well, she did it! Faith, who some of you know is my wife, is now officially am Avon Representative. She has her own Page on Avon's WebSite ( www.youravon.com/fkeiner ) for long distance customers, and also for those who may live close by but would still rather do their shopping online. I know that she's kind of nervous about kicking this new venture off, but we both know that by Gods Grace and lots of prayers everything will work out just fine. So, if everyone would, please throw up a prayer for Faith for some peace of mind. And by the way, if you need some Avon, just follow this Buy Avon link and visit her WebPage.

Everybody be blessed!

Terry

Subject: International Prayer Response

2013-12-13T12:46:00.002-08:00

I know that I kind of left every hanging with my last post, but I really feel led [by Guess Who?] to introduce everyone to one of the few Ministries that I feel comfortable giving an 'A+' to. But, in order to get a clear idea of the ministry, I first need to tell you s bit about the man God handpicked to start International Prayer Response.

I've known Jim (James R.) Fox since right before Thanksgiving of 1979. I was a snot-nosed kid of 17 years who knew it all. (Does that sound familiar to anyone?) If Jim had of ever started preaching at me in the days of our friendship, that would have ended it right there. Something else that sticks in my mind, and this is still true to this day, is that I've never heard the man tell a single person that he was a Christian. I was aware that Jim was a minister, the shipboard friend who introduced us made told me that before I met him. I don't know, maybe my shipmate told me about Jim as a means of hoping I would dial it back a notch or three since I was a bit more of a trouble-maker than most 17-year old know-it-alls.

Now I don't want anyone starting a petition aimed at getting Jim Fox nominated for sainthood, because the fact is that Jim is like everyone else in that he has his faults. Jim and I have had our differences, I've done and said things that he didn't approve of, and he's done and and said things that I didn't approve of. In spite of our occasional disagreements we have remained friends, and in a lot of ways Jim was as much if not more father to me than my own father ever was. One thing that I could always count on from Jim, and that was he has always shot straight with me, even when he knew that I wouldn't like what he had to say. Another thing that helped define our relationship was that not once have I ever heard him say,"I told you so." In fact, I cannot remember a time that he said anything about something I'd done until after I brought it up. Right about now some may feel as if I'm sending mixed signals about the man, but that's not my intent at all. I need everyone to realize that Jim Fox is just like all of us who profess Christ, he strives every day to be a stronger Christian, a more nurturing father, and a more understanding husband that he was the day before.

So, about six years ago Jim was pretty much retired from pastoring, he thought. Without knowing the full details, I can only say that I'm sure that Jim was just a little surprised when God made His choice about who was to head up this prayer ministry. There's been more than a handful of bumps and bruises along the way, but the Lord never said that anything He calls us to do would be easy, now did He?

I resigned my position of Evangelist from the ministry about a year ago, and being that I didn't leave due to any doctrinal issues I have no problems endorsing International Prayer Response. After I left this ministry, I found out in short order that God had new plans for me and my wife, Faith, which was to start an educational ministry. ('www.fellowshipinthescripture.com' & 'www.yeahimabeliever.blogspot.com')

If you feel that God is calling you to get involved more in His Will, and believe strongly in the authority of Prayer, then this ministry may be the place for you. For some more information about International Prayer Response, take a quick tour of the Ministries WebSite. Then, as the Holy Spirit leads you, send Jim an email from the WebSite or get his number online and give him a call.

This ministry is not a church, but is a part of 'the' Church (capital C), and is not meant to replace your local Church.

'Lord Father, I come before You now with a grateful heart, and ask that You would bless the lives of those of Your children that may be being called to International Prayer Response. Father, I also ask that You would continue to bless this ministry You called into being, and that people worldwide will continue to be comforted by the many prayers offered up through this and other Ministries. Thank You Father Lord, Amen

Rev. Terry Keiner
Absarokee MT

Was Aristotle Nuts Or What?

2013-12-09T18:58:00.001-08:00

Now don't get me wrong here, I'm on board with the whole idea of Aristotle being a really 'with it' kind of guy. But I'll be honest here, I had to read a reference made by Sproul (What Is The Lords Supper; Chapter 4) to him several times before I could even scratch the surface. Basically what he said was that Aristotle had some concerns in regards to the nature of reality. He seemed to be okay that reality was real, and that's a good thing, because it seems to me that if reality was not real then it wouldn't be reality, it would be [something like] unreality. Anyway, where Aristotle was getting hung up was when the substance (what made the object, person, place, or thing what it was) and the 'accidents' (as in the external, perceivable qualities) were such that the distinction of reality became clouded by the objective and subjective natures of the same reality.

Everyone probably thinks I've gone round the bend for sure, but I really do have a good reason for spending some time on Aristotle and his concerns over the natures of reality, and we'll get right to that reason. In a lot of ways Aristotle created a lot pain for himself by 'over-expanding' the whole issue of substance and accidents as regards this particular subject. But as usually happens when someone over thinks something, somebody else will benefit from it.

Okay, now it's my turn to make a statement, and while the issue my statement will introduce also has subjective and objective positions, there the similarities end.

God is case-sensitive.

Guess what? That's it for tonight, so everybody get a good nights rest.

God Bless!

You're Out!!

2013-12-08T18:10:00.001-08:00

One of the first things I realized about life was that we're all born with three strikes already against us. What took me quite a while to do, and it wasn't for lack of trying, was to give each of those three strikes a name. When I finally did come face to face with the name of the first strike, it was quite an eye-opener, and then the other two strikes names almost immediately into place.

Oh, did I mention that none of these series of events began until I made a decision to learn more about God than I was getting from attending the occasional church service?

So anyways, things got real freaky for awhile since I had it in my mind that the next major thing that was going to happen in my life, considering that I already had three strikes, would be that I was going to be 'out'. Well, to make a long story short, me, myself, and I did the best they could to destroy me. And, when the day came that I was declared to be 'out', well that was the best day of my life.

Everybody be Blessed!!!

Is Believing A Part Of Being?

2013-12-07T18:15:00.001-08:00

'Without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.' (Hebrews 11:6 NKJV)

We've devoted the two previous posts establishing the premise that man has spent a considerable amount of time (about six thousand years, but who's counting, right?) attempting to make God more 'manageable' and 'convenient.' Early on in this exercise in futility some folks realized that what God, through His spoken and written Word, has always declared as truth, that His was the only game in town worth being in.

'I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, says the Lord, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.' (Revelation 1:8. NKJV)

I've said on several occasions, and I'm sure I will do so again in the future, that until each of us can get just a tiny glimpse of ourselves the way He sees us, through His eyes, that we'll not begin to be able to understand how how He can love us the way He does. The writer of Hebrews, when he was following the inspiration of God in putting what we commonly refer to as 'the faith chapter' to paper made the very relevant point that one of the things made possible [for man] to do was to believe that God 'is', that He existed. Okay, now let's keep going and take the Biblical truth that a very important thing for man to believe is the fact that 'He is...'' with us on a short trip down history lane.

'So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.' (Genesis 1:27 NKJV)

Okay then, we've got it straight from Scripture that we're all walking and breathing and believing in Gods own image. Here's the thing that all too often slips by and causes man to slip up, and that is that man has an inborn need to believe in something or someone. We all received this need as a part of what should be thought of as our spiritual DNA. Does anyone have any idea where this is heading? If we accept as truth that we're all created in God's own [Spiritual] image, and within our Spiritual DNA is the coding that leaves each of us with the need to believe in something or someone, is it a logical step to make the statement that God needs to believe in us just as much as He needs us to believe in Him? Did anyone see that coming, or did everyone else, except me, already understand this? Because I didn't until He had the Holy Spirit take me by the hand and lead me down the road that brought us to this point.

Here's the thing to keep in mind, man is a mutant. By this I mean that man, made in the [Spiritual] image of God the Father, is as foreign to this world as moose scat is to a bowling alley. A large part of what man has done in the last six thousand or so years while trying to make God Himself more convenient or 'user-friendly' has also been aimed at man trying to fit [comfortably] into the world. Let's take a quick look at what two of the better-known apostles have to say about this.

'I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.' (Romans 12:1-2 NKJV)

And,

'Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul,' (1 Peter 2:11 NKJV)

Jesus made the point more than once that He was not [Spiritually] of this world, and in one of the last prayers He put before God He included the recognition that neither He nor His disciples and followers, whom He acknowledged as having been 'given' Him by the Father, were 'of' this world.

' I have given them Your Word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.' (John 17:14-16 NKJV)

Now we're in a real predicament, and that is how to wrap this up, for today at least. Normally I would give you'll a couple mind-boggling words of wisdom that would leave everyone with their mouths hanging open in awe at my amazing intellectual prowess. But I feel that this is an issue that should never be put away or set aside for another time. So, what do you say about keeping this issue always in the forefront of our prayers, our thoughts, and our daily lives before the Throne?

BE BLESSED BROTHERS AND SISTERS!

Here We God Again - Part 2

2013-12-03T08:26:00.002-08:00

Okay then, so now we're going to take this thing just a bit farther.

Have you been doing any pondering over what I left you with a couple of days ago? Whats say we get right to the heart of this matter, and not spend a lot of time wallering around in it? Works for me!

I don't care what your 'position' is or what your 'mindset' may be telling you. Everything from politicians and their agendas come and go. The same is true with everyone else from so-called atheists to zen Buddhists, it all comes and then is gone. We've had the Mormons in Utah, Jim Jones in Guyana, and the Koresh followers in Waco along with literally hundreds of other not-so-well-known groups scattered about the globe. Have you ever thought about what is the obvious motivation for these kind of people? Check this out: They were all started by some guy who couldn't keep his drawers pulled up! Think about it for a bit, do some research, and then get back to me. Then we have the politicians. Wow!!! What a mess we've got going on there. The worst thing about this for me is that at least in most of the foreign countries the wanna-be dictators, who in reality are only puppets on strings, don't try to hide the truth about what they are or what they want. Here in the U.S., which I happen to believe is the greatest nation on earth, we've seen our first half-baked, want to be something I'm not, socialist doing his best, or rather doing what he's told, to destroy this country. I'll tell everyone something, if you or I even thought about doing half of what old whats his name has done to destroy this country, we'd already be bedded down in GITMO. Okay, enough of my ranting.

Here is the point I'm trying to make. Long after all of these idiots are gone, two things will still be here, and that's only true until a Certain Someone decides otherwise. This earth will still turn on it's slightly akilter axis, and it's still be occupied by a bunch of folks looking for someone to lead them. Read your history, but don't get serious about it if you are ready for a very rude awakening. What you'll find is that history is a story of insanity. Remember what that frizzy headed guy said about insanity? Something along the lines of keeping on doing the same thing exactly the same way yet expecting different results? Sounds like he nailed it. Why don't we all take a huge step, and this will not be encouraged by any business mogul, sorry Trump, aspiring world leader, you're out Obama, and use just a tiny bit of rationale? Let's quit doing what has never worked out well in the last six-thousand or so years.Why don't we give some serious consideration to the one process that has remained consistent during all of man's recorded history? What do you suppose would come about if we quit looking for something or someone new to believe in, and grabbed ahold of what has been right in our faces for far longer than any of us can remember?

How about God?

Here we go again!

2013-11-29T08:14:00.001-08:00

So, has anything changed at all? I'm asking this specifically about two things that are very relevant to every Americans life, whether we want to acknowledge it or not.

First, I'm talking about God in your life. Are you still going to church, donating to whatever charity or cause is popular at the moment, and doing any number of other things that Christians do? Or are you still promoting the thought that 'I believe in God, but....'? Maybe you're hanging with those who are doing their best to convince anyone who'll listen that God isn't even real. Perhaps there is some other category or subset that better describes you?

No one needs to sweat it today, I'm not going to be throwing a bunch of Scripture at everyone, so take your fingers off of the 'back' button or the red 'X'. Just plain language, straight from the heart that isn't meant to answer any questions that may have been spoken, or maybe just thought about. Just hang on for a bit and my rambling for today will be over, I promise.

The second thing I'm asking about today has to do with how well the politicians from all points of the compass are managing the worlds affairs. I want everyone to think for a moment about how well things are going. Start with your immediate family, then include your extended families along with intimate and close friends. Now move on to your city, county, state, and federal governments. If you have the stomach for it, take a long hard look at what's happening in the rest of the world. Is there anyone who can say honestly that everything about life is perfect? Regardless of what your official 'Party Line' is at the moment, just take a step back from it, and everything else, and think for a moment about you. This needs to be an original thought, not influenced by something or somebody, whether it be me, important people in your life, family, and even God.

Be back here tomorrow at the same place and time. Between now and then, do what I've asked and spend some serious time with 'self' thinking about who you are, why you are, how you are, and what you are.

See you then,
Terry

We The People Need Change!

2013-08-06T17:10:00.000-07:00

Campaign & Election Process Reform,

It's actually easy to reform not only campaign finance, but the entire election process as well. But, this is only true so long as we keep the politicians out of the process!

When we talk of reforming the area of Campaign Finance, it’s an operation of logic to understand that unless the entire Election Process, beginning with the money and ending with an elected candidate taking office, is reformed, then nothing has been accomplished. As a former residential contractor, many is the time that I would have to give a homeowner the unwanted news that some particular part of their home couldn’t be repaired, that the damage or wear had produced a situation in which the only logical remedy would be to start fresh. This is where the United States Government is at with many of its agencies and programs. There are many areas in our countries governance that needs not only an overhaul, but a completely new mindset along with a whole new ‘playbook’, so to speak. With all of this in mind, our purpose here at this point in time is to address the faultiness of the Election Process of the United States of America. I feel that this is the proper place to start restoring our country to its rightful place as a leader among leaders, in that we need any entirely new set of procedures in order to put in place any entirely new mindset amongst our elected political leaders. This, the Election Process, is where true and meaningful change has to start if the obviously needed change is to have any relevant purpose and longevity. We, the American people, already realize what so many of our system-weary political leaders are spending vast amounts of their time and insanely large amounts of our money trying to avoid first acknowledging, and then acting on. What is demanded by the state of our government and by that our country? Change, with all caps.

ü Change, (with all caps), that really means something.

ü Change, (with all caps), that isn’t built around how much someone can profit, monetarily or politically, from.

ü Change, (with all caps), that reflects the will of the American people, not the bottom line promoted in countless boardrooms.

ü And the Election Process is where this Change, (with all caps), has to start.

So, where do we start this Change, (with all caps)? I’m not talking about which program or Agency, I’m talking about where in the Election Process do we start. How about we start with what most things in this busted-up world we live in revolves around? Let’s start with the money.

1) Get rid of the entire mindset of donating money to your favorite candidate. Each candidate will be allowed the exact same amount of time on TV and Radio Ads, as well as the same amount of exposure in the printed media outlets.

2) If someone wants to make donations to the Election Process, which by the very nature of its purpose has to be recognized as Non-Partisan, then that money is used to pay for the advertising for all of the candidates.

3) Public media, irregardless of the genre, is not required to promote any candidate through advertising. But should a News Channel or Newspaper decide to carry advertising for a certain candidate, then they also have to carry the exact same amount of space or time for every candidate, with the content being approved by the candidate.

4) Each candidate will be provided with the exact same amount of discretionary funds for the operational costs incurred by their campaign. An equal number of overseers will be selected from each party, by the opposing party, to maintain the integrity of the accounting process.

5) Campaigning will start ninety days before National Elections, sixty days before State Elections, and thirty days before County and City Elections, period. Any candidate identified as has done anything to promote his/her-self in an upcoming campaign will lose eligibility for that election along with a 5-year ban on holding any political office. Any other person found to have been promoting any person for any particular office prior to the Authorized Campaigning Periods will, in addition to receiving five years (flat-time) in Federal Prison, be banned from any Elected or Appointed position in any level politics for life.

Excerpt #2:

What I’ve already outlined in Excerpt #1 is what I think of as the ‘bare-bones’ guidelines of the very beginning of Campaign Finance Reform. Remember that these are my own ideas. Some may question what gives me the right to declare that everything to do with the Election Process of the United States of America needs not an overhaul, but completely scrapped and a new Election Process developed. I’ll tell everyone how I have the right, but note that it isn’t only a right I have as an American citizen. The fact is that every American citizen has this same right, and equally important, every American citizen has the responsibility to address not only the defunct Election Process, but everything that is wrong with any part of every level of government. As I stated in the very beginning of this piece, the only way to change anything and insure that we’re not setting ourselves up for [more] failure is to keep the politicians out of the process of change. Right about now I’m sure that if anybody at all is reading this work, especially if any politicians are reading this, that there’s bound to be some head shaking and grumbling. Maybe more than just a few curse words are being thrown in for good measure. The thing is that politicians have to object to anything taking place that doesn’t involve them. Most politicians are probably afraid that if the American people, as a whole and individually, realize that we have both the power and the responsibility to demand changes, to and oversee the demanded changes, that they would be facing a very harsh reality. Only the few who legislate from positions of sincerity and genuine love of country will support, without qualm or hesitation, the changes being demanded by the people who deserve a whole lot better than we’ve been getting.

Okay then, some may be asking, how do we go about bringing positive changes without the politicians being involved? It’s really not that hard. Just think about it for a minute, and consider what would happen if certain things in the life of a politician took on new form and meaning. Here is a short list of the things I’m thinking about:

Ø All legislative bills would present ‘single item’ or ‘standalone’ issues. If a bill is drafted and presented addressing Immigration Reform, that’s the only issue talked about or referred to. No ‘pork’ or special considerations to anybody or any business or political entity.

Ø No bill would be presented that contained more than forty-nine pages of legislative language. I’m not the only one who feels that anything worth saying can be said in less than fifty pages of single-spaced typing. “Hey Pelosi, no more voting something in just to find out what’s in it.” Talk about pure stupidity!

Ø Every bill presented would have to be sponsored by three members of each party, no more and no less.

Ø Anytime an Administration fails to present a balanced budget to the Senate & Congress, then that Administration is not eligible for re-election. If an incumbent President and Vice-President are seeking re-election, then by the sixth quarter prior to the Presidential election, a balanced budget must be presented and passed, or guess what? You’ve got it! The sitting President and Vice-President are neither eligible for re-election, to any Federal position.

Ø Senators and Congressmen are only eligible for re-election after their third term if the country has been in a positive growth position for a majority of the years that the Senator or Congressman has already served in the Senate or Congress. This will do a lot to get rid of corruption and personal agendas, and yes, some of this comes straight from the proposed 28^th Amendment.

That’s if for now folks, my brain is tired. I’ll be back in a day or so with a few more ideas.

Be Blessed,

Terry

We Have The God of Covenants, Signs, & Promises!

2012-12-09T22:03:00.000-08:00

"...and I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel." (Genesis 3:15    NKJV)

Here we have a Covenant. God established the premise that the only way any person who truly feared, (i.e. revered, held in awe, ect.), God could live in this world with satan running wild would have to be in a [type of] relationship with satan in which enmity, or outright hatred, was the most relevant attribute of that relationship.

"Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel." (Isaiah 7:14    NKJV)

These words of God were spoken to King Ahaz by the prophet Isaiah to convey a Sign of God's faithfulness to His promise to him after he refused to ask for a sign, and after the prophet made it clear that he was well aware the Ahaz was trying to play mind-games, we as New Testament Believers have to accept these words as the affirmation of a Covenant established between God and man. This verification by God of the Messiah to come carried much significance for not only the Jews of that specific time period it was voiced to by Moses, but also right up until the time the final condition of the Messianic Prophecy was fulfilled.

"13 For when God made a promise to Abraham, because He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself, 14 saying, "Surely blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply you." 15 And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise. 16 For men indeed swear by the greater, and an oath for confirmation is for them an end of all dispute. 17 Thus God, determining to show more abundantly to the heirs of promise the immutability of His counsel, confirmed it by an oath, 18 that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us. 19 This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil, 20 where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus, having become High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek." (Hebrews 6:13-20    NKJV)

Now we have a Promise that outlines for us a '...hope we have as an anchor of the soul,...'

We've looked at three Scriptures that display for us three very important attributes of God. Without any of these three characteristics of the God - man relationship, that relationship would be incomplete. Now let's look a little closer at each of these three attributes.

1) The first Scripture we looked at, Genesis 3:15, is actually very important to the establishment of the second of the Biblical Covenants, the Adamic Covenant. God goes on in Genesis 3, speaking through Moses, to outline the conditions of that Covenant before fixing Adam and Eve up with some clothes and then kicking them out of the Garden in the eastward of Eden.

2) Then we have a Sign in the second Scripture, Isaiah 7:14, that goes a little further to make clear what may be a little confusing to some, in regards to the Lord God making reference to the coming Messiah mentioned in Genesis 3:15. (Note: Genesis 3:15 is actually the first time any person in the Bible, specifically God, first performed in the role of an Evangelist, or 'bearer of good news/glad tidings.'

3) Finally, in the last of the three Scriptures, Hebrews 6:13-20, we have the all-important Promise that should be at the very core of every New Testament Believer's life. An often overlooked fact here is that this Promise isn't limited to the hope of an eternity with God. This Promise is of a life in the Kingdom of God, and that life begins the moment we come to the Throne of Grace and accept the shed blood of Christ as [the only] atonement for sin.

"20 Now when He was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He answered them and said, "The kingdom of God does not come with observation; 21 nor will they say, 'See here!' or 'See there!' For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you." (Luke 17:20-21    NKJV)

Up until now we've looked at Scripture supporting that we do indeed have a God of Covenants, Signs, and Promises, and each of these Scriptures make reference to the coming Messiah. Now let's look at this Covenant, this Sign, and this Promise fulfilled.

"18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: after His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit. 19 Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly. 20 But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in here is of the Holy Spirit. 21 And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins." 22 So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, 23 "Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel," which is translated, "God with us." 24 Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife, 25 and did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn Son. And he called His name Jesus." (Matthew 1:18-25    NKJV)

As we read earlier in Hebrews 6:18, "it is impossible for God to lie..." With this in mind, it shouldn't have come as any surprise that in His time, the promised Messiah was borned of a virgin of the House of David.

So, where does this leave us, as New Testament Believer's, today? Do we sit back and mark time until the rest of the Biblical Prophecies are all fulfilled?

"21 Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father. 22 You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. 23 But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. 24 God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth." (John 4:21-24    NKJV)

While Jesus was in fact talking to the Samaritan woman specifically about her people and how and where they worshipped God, we have to take these words as words of warning for this present day. Our time, as New Testament Believer's bound by the commitment we each made in regards to what we call 'The Great Commission' is growing shorter and shorter with each passing day. This is evidenced by the constant changes we're seeing in this world gone totally mad that we live in, changes that while are not good for the general welfare and safety of mankind, are Scripturally necessary.

Are you ready for the end of days?

Easier Coming or Going?

2012-08-06T11:43:00.000-07:00

I heard it said recently that on average a given person only responds and seeks Salvation after there has been what I think of as an 'in your face' invitation to come to the Throne of Grace at least three times. That number may be significantly higher, but I don't think there is much argument that most folks don't come to Christ with any fewer promptings. What often happens in a Christians life after the initial trip to the Throne of Grace, regardless of how many or how few invitations led up to that life-saving trip, is that for any number of reasons many Believers turn away from Grace.

While Grace leading to Spiritual Salvation is by and large a New Testament concept, if we ignore the Old Testament presence of Grace, to both Old Testament Worshippers and pagan god worshippers, then at the very least we are committing a serious injustice in regards to the authority of God. With this in mind, let's take a good look at chapter five of 2 Kings by breaking this bit of Scripture down into six sections, which will make it much easier to clearly understand what God would have us to learn from this piece of the Old Testament.

'Now Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Syria, was a great and honorable man in the eyes of his master, because by him the Lord had given victory to Syria. He was also a mighty man of valor, but a leper.' (II Kings 5:1 NKJV)

This first verse is pretty much self-explanatory, in so far as the author of this Book is introducing the pertinent facts about Naaman, who along with Elisha and Gehazi are the main characters of chapter five of 2 Kings. The only thing absent in this background on Naaman is that like his master, the king of Syria, Naaman was a worshipper of pagan gods, specifically in the temple of Rimmon. (Note: Rimmon, in addition to being a town allotted to the Tribe of Judah (See Joshua 15:32), was also the chief [pagan] god of Syria.) It's important that we establish this background on Naaman, if only for the purpose of developing what is contrary to what many may believe in regards to God's intent for Old Testament people other than the Children of Israel. We mentioned earlier that Grace was present in God's dealings with Old Testament people, and while that Grace didn't lead to Spiritual Salvation at that time, it did provide the means to salvation of a different sort, usually being delivered or rescued from bad situations or imminent physical harm or death. The point of establishing Naaman's pedigree, so to speak, is to realize that this Old Testament Grace was not only available for the Children of Israel.

The next five verses lay the groundwork for Naaman to even consider going to what to him would be a foreign land in search of salvation, that being delivered or rescued from his affliction of leprosy.

²And the Syrians had gone out on raids, and had brought back captive a young girl from the land of Israel. She waited on Naaman’s wife. ³Then she said to her mistress, “If only my master were with the prophet who is in Samaria! For he would heal him of his leprosy.” ⁴And Naaman went in and told his master, saying, “Thus and thus said the girl who is from the land of Israel.” ⁵Then the king of Syria said, “Go now, and I will send a letter to the king of Israel.” So he departed and took with him ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold, and ten changes of clothing. ⁶Then he brought the letter to the king of Israel, which said, Now be advised, when this letter comes to you, that I have sent Naaman my servant to you, that you may heal him of his leprosy.' (II Kings 5:2-6 NKJV)

I've often said, and firmly believe, that we do not have a God of coincidence. There is no room in any Christian's life for 'luck', good or bad, or things that 'just happen.' With that fact firmly in mind, think for just a minute about how events were orchestrated so that; 1) Naaman, a pagan god worshipper, had leprosy; 2) a young girl of Israel had been captured from her homeland and was now a servant to Naaman's wife; 3) this young servant girl had the steadfast belief that Elisha, a prophet of God in Samaria, could by the power of God heal Naaman of his affliction and; 4) that while the king of Syria did not worship God, he still sent Naaman to the king of Israel with a letter of introduction and expensive gifts for the express purpose of receiving healing from his leprosy.

^'7And it happened, when the king of Israel read the letter, that he tore his clothes and said, “Am I God, to kill and make alive, that this man sends a man to me to heal him of his leprosy? Therefore please consider, and see how he seeks a quarrel with me.” ⁸So it was, when Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, that he sent to the king, saying, “Why have you torn your clothes? Please let him come to me, and he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel.” ⁹Then Naaman went with his horses and chariot, and he stood at the door of Elisha’s house. ¹⁰And Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, “Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored to you, and you shall be clean.” ' (II Kings 5:7-10 NKJV)

Now things start to really get interesting in this mini-saga of Grace in Naaman's life. First, upon receiving the letter of introduction from the king of Syria, Joram the king of Israel from 852-840 BC, immediately thought the worst. While a quick read of this Scripture makes it very clear that Joram, the king of Israel at the time, was extremely upset when he read through the letter from the king of Syria, a more thorough reading combined with an understanding of the times will serve to wonder just exactly why Joram was so agitated. Look back at 2 Kings 5:2 and you'll see a part of why King Joram might have looked at Naaman's letter of introduction with not only anguish, but quite possibly with suspicion as well.

'And the Syrians had gone out on raids, and had brought back captive a young girl from the land of Israel. She waited on Naaman’s wife.' (II Kings 5:2 NKJV)

The thing that was probably foremost in Joram's mind was that here he had the king of Syria's right-hand man, who had in the recent past, as evidenced by the age of the Jewish servant girl, raided victoriously against Israel, coming with a letter of introduction that in his mind basically demanded the king of Israel to have Naaman healed. Was there an underlying connotation? I would say that it's safe to say, 'Yes'. At least in Joram's mind. We also have an irony here, and that's putting it mildly. As the subsequent events tell us, the intent of Ben-Hadad II, the king of Syria from 860 through 842 B.C., was not to put the king of Israel in any kind of jepardy. His apparent purpose in this matter was also his honest intent, to seek healing from leprosy for the supreme commander of his armies, Naaman. This is what illustrates the irony I mentioned just a moment ago, that being that in a time of specific need, and we can be sure that Ben-Hadad II and Naaman would've already exhausted all of the resources available to them in both their own land of Syria and their temple of Rimmon before even thinking of following the Israeli servant girls advice to seek help in a foreign land from what to them was a foreign god, these two men, who were pagan-god worshippers, were so much more ready to turn to God for His grace than was Joram the king of Israel. From the Scripture, Joram's first reaction was to rant and rave and throw a big fit about how Ben-Hadad II was trying to pick a fight with him, (See 2 Kings 5:7). This is something that we, as humans, are prone to do, to think the worst about everything that happens. It's our first instinct to only see the negative aspects of any given situation, and so the question comes to mind, "Where is God in all of this?" Keep this in mind as we move on.

Now we come to a very important happening, and this event, although it did in fact take place about 850 years before the birth of Christ, the lesson to be learned in many ways is more relevant today in regards to the Believer's status before God while living in a secular world gone completely mad.

⁸So it was, when Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, that he sent to the king, saying, “Why have you torn your clothes? Please let him come to me, and he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel.” (II Kings 5:8 NKJV)

Let's look closely at the words of the prophet of God, particularily the last sentence in this verse when Elisha made the all-important point that only if he (meaning Naaman) came to Elisha would it be possible for Naaman to know that there is a prophet [of God] in Israel. Now let's tie this lesson in with the question we're keeping in mind from our look at verse 7, that being, "Where is God in all of this?" The point I'm working towards in all of this is that it's easier for us, especially as New Testament Believers, to separate ourselves from the Grace of God than it was for us to come to the Throne of Grace to begin with. There are several reasons for this, with the first being that after the initial 'flush' of the newness in Christ begins to fade away, we begin to try and maintain the feeling of Spiritual well-being by our own means. We begin to decide what we should feel, and think, and do as Christians. We morph into the type of Believers that Paul described in the beginning of Romans 10.

10 'Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved. ²For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. ³For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God.' (Romans 10:1-3 NKJV)

I'm going to leave you with this thought today, and my prayer for everyone is that this thought, and the admonishment it holds, will never leave anyones thoughts. Our Lord God promises us that He will, '...never leave us nor forsake us...' Now this promise of God to us has to be held true in our hearts and minds or nothing else will ever come of our coming to the Throne of Grace. If you think about it for just a short minute, if this most basic of promises is not true, then the shed blood of Christ is of no value and carries with it no hope. But now let's look at the other side of this equation, so to speak. God promises us to never leave us, but He doesn't promise us that we'll never leave Him, and that's where the trouble begins. I made the statement earlier that it's far easier for us to separate ourselves from the Grace of God than it was to make the initial trip to the Throne of Grace. The only way to successfully guard against this happening is to keep Elisha's words in mind, "Please let him come to me, and he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel.” Naaman came to Israel seeking to be cured from his leprosy, and since he was a worshipper of pagan gods, it was only natural for him to go to the secular leader of Israel. That's how things are done in the non-Christian world even today. Then we have King Joram reacting in a totally natural and worldly fashion, which we still see today, by assuming the worst. Joram was the king of Israel, so it would only be logical to assume that he was a believer in God, yet his reaction to the arrival of Naaman with his letter in hand was what we would expect from anyone except a believer in God. But it's sad to say that this exact sequence of events is what is seen constantly throughout the churches filled with New Testament Believer's around the world today. Why is it so much easier to fall away from Grace than it was to obtain Grace in the first place? Maybe it's because most of us come to Christ only after exhausting all other resources, and we feel as if we have nowhere else to turn to. Then when things no longer seem so bad, we begin to try to rationalize away the awesomeness of God. We try to either elevate ourselves to His level, or lower Him to ours, or maybe combine the two.

So, is it easier to come to Grace, or to fall away from Grace?

Be Blessed in your daily walk in the Light of His Grace!!!!

A Dumb Decision, or What?

2012-05-26T10:05:00.000-07:00

The facts of how what has always been a topic of controversy came into being have never been hidden from people, they just haven't been learned by a great many people, both Christians and non-Believers alike.

'8 Now it came to pass when Samuel was old that he made his sons judges over Israel. ²The name of his firstborn was Joel, and the name of his second, Abijah; they were judges in Beersheba. ³But his sons did not walk in his ways; they turned aside after dishonest gain, took bribes, and perverted justice. ⁴Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah, ⁵and said to him, “Look, you are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now make us a king to judge us like all the nations.” ⁶But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, “Give us a king to judge us.” So Samuel prayed to the Lord. ⁷And the Lord said to Samuel, “Heed the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them. ⁸According to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt, even to this day—with which they have forsaken Me and served other gods—so they are doing to you also. ⁹Now therefore, heed their voice. However, you shall solemnly forewarn them, and show them the behavior of the king who will reign over them.” ¹⁰So Samuel told all the words of the Lord to the people who asked him for a king. ¹¹And he said, “This will be the behavior of the king who will reign over you: He will take your sons and appoint them for his own chariots and to be his horsemen, and some will run before his chariots. ¹²He will appoint captains over his thousands and captains over his fifties, will set some to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and some to make his weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. ¹³He will take your daughters to be perfumers, cooks, and bakers. ¹⁴And he will take the best of your fields, your vineyards, and your olive groves, and give them to his servants. ¹⁵He will take a tenth of your grain and your vintage, and give it to his officers and servants. ¹⁶And he will take your male servants, your female servants, your finest young men, and your donkeys, and put them to his work. ¹⁷He will take a tenth of your sheep. And you will be his servants. ¹⁸And you will cry out in that day because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves, and the Lord will not hear you in that day.” ¹⁹Nevertheless the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and they said, “No, but we will have a king over us, ²⁰that we also may be like all the nations, and that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles.” ²¹And Samuel heard all the words of the people, and he repeated them in the hearing of the Lord. ²²So the Lord said to Samuel, “Heed their voice, and make them a king.” And Samuel said to the men of Israel, “Every man go to his city.” (I Samuel 8:1-22 NKJV)

First we have here what it was that changed in regards to the life of the Children of Israel, that Samuel, who had been the judge over Israel for some time, was getting old, and so appointed his sons to carry on his judgeship. It wouldn't be a reach here to assume that Samuel did this so as to not leave a vacuum in this important office should his death come suddenly, which is still not uncommon amongst those who have a long life behind them. Now, whether Samuel's sons had always lived in ways contrary to what God would require from any of us, or only began the type of behavior discussed in the beginning of our Scripture with their judicial appointments we don't know from the reading of it. The only real reason for this to become an issue would be for those who would want to question Samuel's judgement in appointing his offspring as successors, and exactly what point that would serve, I've no idea. So, let's get on with our purpose here today, shall we? The point we're looking at here is that the people gathered together and let Samuel know that they wanted a real, live, flesh and blood king. They didn't want to have a king they couldn't see anymore to rule over them, and as God pointed out to Samuel, who it sounds like got his feelings hurt (See I Samuel 8:7), the people were not rejecting Samuel, but God Himself. Samuel warned the people of what to expect, that they would be used and abused by any earthly king, but the people persisted, with God finally telling the retiring judge to give the people what they wanted, and to send all the people home. (See 1 Samuel 9 and 1 Samuel 10 for more on the first king of the Children of Israel).

Now let's jump ahead several thousand years to when the Pharisees were attempting, yet again, to entrap Jesus with a combination of legalism, Old Testament Law and traditions, and downright orneriness.

^' 15Then the Pharisees went and plotted how they might entangle Him in His talk. ¹⁶And they sent to Him their disciples with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that You are true, and teach the way of God in truth; nor do You care about anyone, for You do not regard the person of men. ¹⁷Tell us, therefore, what do You think? Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?” ¹⁸But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, “Why do you test Me, you hypocrites? ¹⁹Show Me the tax money.” So they brought Him a denarius. ²⁰And He said to them, “Whose image and inscription is this?” ²¹They said to Him, “Caesar’s.” And He said to them, “Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” ²²When they had heard these words, they marveled, and left Him and went their way.' (Matthew 22:15-22 NKJV)

A good friend of mine acually brought up the subject a couple of weeks ago of just where the line was that Christians have no business crossing in regards to getting the Church (the one built without hands) involved in secular politics. The whole reason I got into the history of how God's Chosen People, and have no doubt that New Testament Believers are just as much His Chosen People today as the Children of Israel were during the days of the Old Testament, was to get in firmly in mind that God never intended, by His choice, that mankind would have a secular government leadership apparatus. In God's Perfect Will for His people, He and He alone, would be our only King, in all respects. Just one of the reasons for this is illustrated in our Scripture from the book of Matthew we've just looked at. Man, and it doesn't matter for this point whether they were Pharisees or Sadducees or Babylonians or Muslims, has always and will always use anything to attempt to undermine the authority of God. We're warned about this throughout the New Testament, to ever be on watch for any kind of contrary teachings and rifts and dissension amongst those who profess Christ.

^'17Now I urge you, brethren, note those who cause divisions and offenses, contrary to the doctrine which you learned, and avoid them. ¹⁸For those who are such do not serve our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly, and by smooth words and flattering speech deceive the hearts of the simple. ¹⁹For your obedience has become known to all. Therefore I am glad on your behalf; but I want you to be wise in what is good, and simple concerning evil. ²⁰And the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.' (Romans 16:17-20    NKJV)

And,

^'10Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. ¹¹For it has been declared to me concerning you, my brethren, by those of Chloe’s household, that there are contentions among you. ¹²Now I say this, that each of you says, “I am of Paul,” or “I am of Apollos,” or “I am of Cephas,” or “I am of Christ.” ¹³Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? ^'14I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, ¹⁵lest anyone should say that I had baptized in my own name. ¹⁶Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas. Besides, I do not know whether I baptized any other. ¹⁷For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of no effect.' (I Corinthians 1:10-17    NKJV)

As we can easily see here, what we refer to as the 'Early Church' was no stranger to people trying to use God's people, His Words, and His Will to accomplish their own ends. In both of these excerpts from epistles, or letters, written by the apostle Paul to the churches in Rome and Corinth, Paul warned of what we still see today. I included these last two bits of Scripture for the purpose of making it clear that what we had looked at earlier for the account of Matthew wasn't, and isn't, limited to just those who are openly adverse to the teachings of Christ and the Will of God. There are many in this world [gone mad] that we live in today who do their best to distort the Word of God while at the same time professing the [shed] blood of Christ. So, a word of caution to my Brothers and Sisters, 'Beware!'

In getting back to the attempted trickery of the Pharisees, they were trying to trip Jesus up by mixing secular statutes up with what should be Spiritual worship of God. If Jesus had been anyone other than who He was, and is, He would have found Himself crossing the line that we all should learn by His example to not cross. We, as Christians, have available to us an invaluable weapon in our Spiritual arsenal, if we'll only use it.

2 My son, if you receive my words, and treasure my commands within you, ²So that you incline your ear to wisdom, and apply your heart to understanding;³Yes, if you cry out for discernment, And lift up your voice for understanding, ⁴If you seek her as silver, And search for her as for hidden treasures; ⁵Then you will understand the fear of the Lord, And find the knowledge of God. ⁶For the Lord gives wisdom; From His mouth come knowledge and understanding; ⁷He stores up sound wisdom for the upright; He is a shield to those who walk uprightly; ⁸He guards the paths of justice, And preserves the way of His saints. ⁹Then you will understand righteousness and justice, Equity and every good path. ¹⁰When wisdom enters your heart, And knowledge is pleasant to your soul, ¹¹Discretion will preserve you; Understanding will keep you, ¹²To deliver you from the way of evil, From the man who speaks perverse things,  (Proverbs 2:1-12    NKJV),The very important Spiritual weapon I'm talking about is identified by name in verse three up above here, as discernment, and then verse four stresses just how valuable discernment can, and should, be to those who believe in God. It's important to have developed the habit of praying for discernment on a whole multitude of issues, with this line between secular politics and New Testament worship of God being right near the top of the list.

Let's talk some more about this line I keep going on about. I'm not talking about not voting for elected officials and public issues put up for a vote. Neither am I talking about isolating ourselves from the secular world in its entirety. What I am talking about is first and foremost seeking direction from God, often in the form of the discernment we just looked at in the book of Proverbs. What I've often heard from people when this subject comes up is something like, 'Well, that don't always work.' Hey, here's a newsflash, if praying for discernment doesn't always work, then maybe you aren't always praying! God will never abandon any of His chosen ones when the need and the petition is real and sincere.

⁵Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” ⁶So we may boldly say: “The Lord is my helper;
I will not fear. What can man do to me?” (Hebrews 13:5-6    NKJV)

These two verses are what I think of as 'promise verses' from God to all Christians everywhere. If anybody says that they've prayed for discernment from a sincere heart based on a real need and didn't get an answer, they are a liar. The alternative is that God lied when He made the two promises recorded here in the book of Hebrews, and God is not a liar!

So where exactly is this line I've been going on about, the one we should never cross between secular politics and our Spiritual worship of God? That's the tricky thing about this whole issue, which is why discernment is so important. The line doesn't stay in one place, it can and does move around quite a bit, but what else should we expect from something firmly anchored in a world ruled by satan? One easy test to conduct that will show us whether an issue is something we need to get involved with is a simple question, 'Does this issue have any impact on my, or anybody elses, ability to start and maintain a relationship with God?' This is the ultimate 'litmus' test. It's a pass or fail situation. If you find yourself having to qualify your answer, then something is already wrong.

Be right, and be strong in all that you are before the Lord!

Be Blessed Don B., and we thank God everyday that you and your wife are who you are!

Serving Him in Absarokee MT and all points of the compass,
Reverend Terry and Faith Keiner