Tuesday, January 30, 2007
What Matters?
Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength and your neighbor as yourself. If you love the Lord like this you will obviously obey His commands such as being baptized, becoming a disciple, and gathering with believers to worship the Lord on the Sabbath etc. Being a disciple of Jesus Christ, learning His ways and walking as He walked, is the pinnacle of Christianity, not a mechanical outward showing to go through the motions and prove to someone you did what you were suppose to do. The sum of it all is to live as Christ lived. That is true conversion. Oh, how I need to practice this myself! I fall short, even though I think myself to be a holy man at times. It is laughable. The moment I think myself a holy man I immediately see in the mirror of truth how short I fall from the image of Jesus Christ, the perfect, holy, beautiful, peaceful, loving, healing, helping, servant King of kings and Lord of lords. How I need to listen to His admonition to wash the feet of the brethren, to humble myself, to esteem others as better than myself, to be not a respecter of persons, to help the poor, widows and orphans. I am also guilty of imitating the world around me; that is, the people in this world. It is very true that bad company corrupts good morals. It so often happens that I am not a good example as I think I might be, but that more of the sinner rubs off on me than I rub off on them. Dear Jesus Christ, help me to love you with all that I am and walk with me every moment of every day that I may do your will and be pleasing in your sight. Amen.
Saturday, January 20, 2007
There is only One who is good
On my blog site I ask the question, "Are you a good person?” To sum up all my other posts and make it really simple, here is truth; You are a sinner and sins don't go away because you feel bad for committing them; you need to pay for them and you can't pay for them except to suffer eternal punishment. If you don't call out to Jesus Christ, confess your sins, repent of them and ask Him wash them away with the blood that was shed on the cross you still have a debt to pay before God, for the Bible says, "For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God. So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God." in Romans 14:11-12. There is one way to heaven and to God; "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life; no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. If ye had known me, you should have known the Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him." John 14:6-7. Jesus Christ is the only way to God; not self righteousness, but self humility; not in extemporaneous good works, but faith in Jesus Christ as the savior and Lord; for if good works could save you then there are many muslims, budhists, hindus and pagans on their way to heaven and Jesus Christ died for nothing. It is only through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ that you can enter heaven. Get on your knees, ask forgiveness and, as Jesus says, "go and sin no more". Do it before it's too late. "Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow; for what is your life? It is even a vapor that appeareth for a little time and then vanisheth away." (James 4:14).
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
What Matters?
Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength and your neighbor as yourself. If you love the Lord like this you will obviously obey His commands such as being baptized, becoming a disciple, and gathering with believers to worship the Lord on the Sabbath etc. Being a disciple of Jesus Christ, learning His ways and walking as He walked, is the pinnacle of Christianity, not a mechanical outward showing to go through the motions and prove to someone you did what you were suppose to do. The sum of it all is to live as Christ lived. That is true conversion. Oh, how I need to practice this myself! I fall short, even though I think myself to be a holy man at times. It is laughable. The moment I think myself a holy man I immediately see in the mirror of truth how short I fall from the image of Jesus Christ, the perfect, holy, beautiful, peaceful, loving, healing, helping, servant King of kings and Lord of lords. How I need to listen to His admonition to wash the feet of the brethren, to humble myself, to esteem others as better than myself, to be not a respecter of persons, to help the poor, widows and orphans. I am also guilty of imitating the world around me; that is, the people in this world. It is very true that bad company corrupts good morals. It so often happens that I am not a good example as I think I might be, but that more of the sinner rubs off on me than I rub off on them. Dear Jesus Christ, help me to love you with all that I am and walk with me every moment of every day that I may do your will and be pleasing in your sight. Amen.
Monday, January 08, 2007
A Self Examination
“But let a man examine himself”
Remember, as you read this self-examination, that God is perfect and requires complete perfection in order to have eternal life and live with Him in heaven after death. One transgression of one of these Laws is enough to condemn a man or woman for all eternity. Matthew 5:48 says, “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” Jesus also says, “Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:19. It is not I, the writer of this tract, which says these things are truth; these truths come directly from the Holy Bible, the source of divine knowledge.
1. Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
Have you invented God in your head? Have you said to yourself or others, “The God I know wouldn’t send people to Hell” or “I think that God is like…” or “Surely God would never punish me for something so small”? If you have done this you are guilty of breaking the first commandment and have created a false god. You have not gone to the source of the knowledge of God which is the Scriptures.
2. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, nor bow down to them, nor serve them.
You don’t have to melt gold and make a golden calf and bow down to it to be guilty of breaking this commandment. Turning to anything besides God for comfort or salvation is considered worshipping an idol. Putting anything in the place God deserves is idolatry.
3. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.
Do you use God’s precious name in the place of a curse word? Do you use God’s holy name loosely, such as saying, “Oh my God!”? That is blasphemy and you stand guilty before the Lord God Almighty and will have to give an account before the Lord on Judgment Day.
4. Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
When is the last time you’ve been to church? When is the last time you have set aside one day in seven to worship God, read the Scriptures, and practice holiness?
5. Honor thy father and thy mother.
Do you disrespect and disobey your elders? Have you neglected the care of your parents?
6. Thou shalt not kill.
If you have not directly murdered anyone, Jesus says that hatred of your brother (fellow man) is murder. And, yes, abortion is also murder.
7. Thou shalt not commit adultery.
Have you committed adultery? If you haven’t committed the physical act, have you lusted after another man or woman rather than your God-given spouse? If so, Jesus says that you have committed adultery in your heart. Are you living in sin by having sex outside of marriage?
8. Thou shalt not steal.
Have you ever taken anything that was not yours, no matter how small? Have you taken two newspapers out of the paper box when you only put in money for one? Have you taken supplies from work unauthorized?
9. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.
Have you ever lied? Yes, you have.
10. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thy neighbour’s wife, nor anything thing that is thy neighbour’s.
Have you desired to have what your neighbor has? Have you been jealous of the things that your neighbor has acquired?
If you have lusted, lied, stolen, and taken the Lord’s name in vain you have become an adulterous, lying thief who is guilty of blasphemy. That isn’t even all of the commandments! This transgression of God’s Law is called sin and “the wages of sin is death;” (Romans 6:23). Everyone dies, so you may be thinking, “What’s so bad about that?” The death the apostle Paul speaks of is the second death as mentioned in Revelation 21:8, “But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.” (This is only a partial list of grievous sins, by the way. If I were to mention all violations listed in the Bible you would never finish reading this tract). We shall all face judgment as St. Peter writes in 1 Peter 4:17, “For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?” Everyone will stand before God as mentioned in Romans 14:12, “So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.”
Every sin we commit is like gathering up traffic tickets. Imagine you are caught speeding and are fined $75.00. You are summoned to court because you haven’t paid the ticket and you reluctantly drag yourself to court. The judge asks you why you haven’t paid the ticket and you respond, saying, “Well, Judge, I know I have broken the law and that I am guilty, but I figured that since you are a nice man and good that you would forgive me of this fine and let me go.” If that judge is indeed just, he will make you pay the full amount of the traffic ticket and will probably also fine you or give you jail time for not paying the ticket when you were suppose to. Many people perceive God to be the same way. “Because so many people are breaking God’s Law and because there are so many people doing worse things than me, I must be pretty good. God will not judge me for breaking His Law because many people are worse than me.” It doesn’t matter how many bad things you’ve done compared to others. If you have broken God’s law and have not paid the fine, you are guilty…just as guilty as any other sinner, no matter how bad.
Thanks be to God for creating a way to escape this second death as mentioned in Revelation 20:6, “Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.” Since you have been accumulating an abundance of sin debt against God, you need a way to pay the massive fine. There are two ways you can pay; pay for it yourself (which you do not want to do) or repent of (turn away from) your sins, confess them to God and ask the Lord Jesus Christ to take away your sins. The most familiar verse in the Bible is John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life.” Romans 10:9-10 says, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” 1 John 3:4-6 reads, “Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law. And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin.” 1 Peter 2:24 says, “Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.”
You see, Jesus Christ was God in the flesh. Jesus took on the wrath of God against sin for all who would believe in Him. When Jesus Christ, God in the flesh, was beaten, spit upon, tortured and crucified He was taking away the sins of the world, for all who would love Him. He was perfect and we are not. He was guiltless and we are not. By His stripes we are healed. By his resurrection from the dead after three days we will be raised to live eternally. Ask Jesus Christ to forgive you and sin no more. Go to church, observe the Sabbath, honor the God who saved you. Stop living in sin before it is too late. Jesus Christ can save you today! Read Psalm 51 and make it your own penitential prayer. Jesus is merciful and full of compassion. He will take your sin debt and give you a new start, and will save you from eternal damnation. TURN TO HIM TODAY!!
Remember, as you read this self-examination, that God is perfect and requires complete perfection in order to have eternal life and live with Him in heaven after death. One transgression of one of these Laws is enough to condemn a man or woman for all eternity. Matthew 5:48 says, “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” Jesus also says, “Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:19. It is not I, the writer of this tract, which says these things are truth; these truths come directly from the Holy Bible, the source of divine knowledge.
1. Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
Have you invented God in your head? Have you said to yourself or others, “The God I know wouldn’t send people to Hell” or “I think that God is like…” or “Surely God would never punish me for something so small”? If you have done this you are guilty of breaking the first commandment and have created a false god. You have not gone to the source of the knowledge of God which is the Scriptures.
2. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, nor bow down to them, nor serve them.
You don’t have to melt gold and make a golden calf and bow down to it to be guilty of breaking this commandment. Turning to anything besides God for comfort or salvation is considered worshipping an idol. Putting anything in the place God deserves is idolatry.
3. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.
Do you use God’s precious name in the place of a curse word? Do you use God’s holy name loosely, such as saying, “Oh my God!”? That is blasphemy and you stand guilty before the Lord God Almighty and will have to give an account before the Lord on Judgment Day.
4. Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
When is the last time you’ve been to church? When is the last time you have set aside one day in seven to worship God, read the Scriptures, and practice holiness?
5. Honor thy father and thy mother.
Do you disrespect and disobey your elders? Have you neglected the care of your parents?
6. Thou shalt not kill.
If you have not directly murdered anyone, Jesus says that hatred of your brother (fellow man) is murder. And, yes, abortion is also murder.
7. Thou shalt not commit adultery.
Have you committed adultery? If you haven’t committed the physical act, have you lusted after another man or woman rather than your God-given spouse? If so, Jesus says that you have committed adultery in your heart. Are you living in sin by having sex outside of marriage?
8. Thou shalt not steal.
Have you ever taken anything that was not yours, no matter how small? Have you taken two newspapers out of the paper box when you only put in money for one? Have you taken supplies from work unauthorized?
9. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.
Have you ever lied? Yes, you have.
10. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thy neighbour’s wife, nor anything thing that is thy neighbour’s.
Have you desired to have what your neighbor has? Have you been jealous of the things that your neighbor has acquired?
If you have lusted, lied, stolen, and taken the Lord’s name in vain you have become an adulterous, lying thief who is guilty of blasphemy. That isn’t even all of the commandments! This transgression of God’s Law is called sin and “the wages of sin is death;” (Romans 6:23). Everyone dies, so you may be thinking, “What’s so bad about that?” The death the apostle Paul speaks of is the second death as mentioned in Revelation 21:8, “But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.” (This is only a partial list of grievous sins, by the way. If I were to mention all violations listed in the Bible you would never finish reading this tract). We shall all face judgment as St. Peter writes in 1 Peter 4:17, “For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?” Everyone will stand before God as mentioned in Romans 14:12, “So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.”
Every sin we commit is like gathering up traffic tickets. Imagine you are caught speeding and are fined $75.00. You are summoned to court because you haven’t paid the ticket and you reluctantly drag yourself to court. The judge asks you why you haven’t paid the ticket and you respond, saying, “Well, Judge, I know I have broken the law and that I am guilty, but I figured that since you are a nice man and good that you would forgive me of this fine and let me go.” If that judge is indeed just, he will make you pay the full amount of the traffic ticket and will probably also fine you or give you jail time for not paying the ticket when you were suppose to. Many people perceive God to be the same way. “Because so many people are breaking God’s Law and because there are so many people doing worse things than me, I must be pretty good. God will not judge me for breaking His Law because many people are worse than me.” It doesn’t matter how many bad things you’ve done compared to others. If you have broken God’s law and have not paid the fine, you are guilty…just as guilty as any other sinner, no matter how bad.
Thanks be to God for creating a way to escape this second death as mentioned in Revelation 20:6, “Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.” Since you have been accumulating an abundance of sin debt against God, you need a way to pay the massive fine. There are two ways you can pay; pay for it yourself (which you do not want to do) or repent of (turn away from) your sins, confess them to God and ask the Lord Jesus Christ to take away your sins. The most familiar verse in the Bible is John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life.” Romans 10:9-10 says, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” 1 John 3:4-6 reads, “Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law. And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin.” 1 Peter 2:24 says, “Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.”
You see, Jesus Christ was God in the flesh. Jesus took on the wrath of God against sin for all who would believe in Him. When Jesus Christ, God in the flesh, was beaten, spit upon, tortured and crucified He was taking away the sins of the world, for all who would love Him. He was perfect and we are not. He was guiltless and we are not. By His stripes we are healed. By his resurrection from the dead after three days we will be raised to live eternally. Ask Jesus Christ to forgive you and sin no more. Go to church, observe the Sabbath, honor the God who saved you. Stop living in sin before it is too late. Jesus Christ can save you today! Read Psalm 51 and make it your own penitential prayer. Jesus is merciful and full of compassion. He will take your sin debt and give you a new start, and will save you from eternal damnation. TURN TO HIM TODAY!!
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