March 2018 – CHOOSE YOUR ETERNITY

A Breath of Fresh Air at the EPA

Finally, a breath of fresh air with some actual accountability at the EPA.

“…one example, a 26-member board had 24 EPA grantees who had received more than $200 million in research grants from the agency. These scientists were “reviewing” either their own research or the research of their colleagues.” In what universe does anyone think THAT is a good idea, on either side of the political fence? Definitely no bias there (enter, sarcasm).

I began my legal career over 20 years ago working in environmental law, so I’ve had the opportunity to review agency rules over the years and saw first-hand how the EPA had become an “echo chamber[s] of a single point of view”, to the point where it would violate the constitutional rights of Americans in pursuit of its myopic political agenda, often based on “secret” science that it has refused to turn over to Congress for review.

Now I’m all for clean air and drinking water and protecting the environment – I love to spend time out in nature because it reflects the glory of the God I serve and makes me feel closer to him. But I am not in support of lying to people, stealing their land and money through unnecessary regulations, fines and taxation, and then misappropriating those funds to one’s colleagues through crony capitalism to further one’s political agenda.

I seek the truth in what’s really happening in the scientific data and then altering our behavior accordingly. An unbiased review of the data with accountability is where that begins. Bravo, Scott Pruitt.

EPA Chief Puts Science Back into Environmental Protection

Bringing You the Truth – in All its Various Forms

My goal in this blog is to bring you the truth, as I understand it, in all its various forms. As a writer, I don’t want to be pigeon-holed into one topic of discussion on a regular basis, although there are certain topics that interest me greatly and I do acknowledge that I will tend to gravitate to them more frequently than others.

However, I’m a researcher by vocation and natural skill-set, so I spend a lot of time listening to and reading various sources of information from news outlets to YouTube videos, podcasts, other bloggers’ posts, books, researchers, scientists, etc., and I often find myself looking into various topics to discern the truth of the matter for myself. If I think those topics might be of interest to others, or if I think that there is a large amount of misinformation out there deceiving people from knowing the truth, then I will tend to share that information here. And because I like to TRY to stay organized, I plan to set up additional pages to this blog based on topic such as health issues, climate change, current events, resources, books I recommend, etc.

So stay tuned and feel free to check out my other pages from time to time to see if anything else interests you. And of course, if something speaks to you share that with me and with others who need that information.

Until next time, be blessed!

Getting to Know God

People often ask, “How do I have a relationship with God? I can’t see him or hear him talk to me audibly, and he seems so far away.” Perhaps you feel this way too.

Well, how do you get to know another person and develop a deeper relationship with them in your every day life? By spending time with them and talking with them. You don’t learn to recognize another’s voice if you aren’t speaking with them and listening to them speak to you regularly, correct?

A relationship with God is very much the same way. If you want to develop a closer relationship with God, you need to be intentional about betting into his presence, spending more time with him and getting to know who he is and what he’s like. This is primarily done through the following methods:

Spending time reading scripture (the Holy Bible) daily;
Spending time with God in prayer daily (this involves talking to him, but also listening to what he has to say to you);
Spending time in worship, singing praises to God and telling him how much you love him;
Attending a good Bible-based teaching church; and
Spending time with other Christians (we often call this “fellowship”).

God deeply desires to have a personal and intimate relationship with you – yes, you! Just as he walked and talked with Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden, so he desires to spend time with you and communicate with you one-on-one. You are on his mind, and he seeks you out!

I have found that one of the easiest ways to get into God’s presence, and to remind myself of who he is, is through worship. We are instructed throughout scripture to praise the Lord, especially in the book of Psalms. It is through worship that I can set aside all the problems and worries that I’m dealing with, put my focus on God and pour out my heart to him. To quote a worship leader, Mike Harland, “As we focus or time and attention on the Lord in worship, proclaim his place of honor in our lives, and thank and praise him for his eternal promises, we can expect God to intervene in our circumstances.” And he often does! Many times I will feel God’s presence so strongly during worship as my heart draws close to him, and I will usually receive a bigger perspective (God’s perspective) on the things I’m facing in my life. It encourages me and lifts my spirit to be reminded that God loves me, he sees me, he cares about what I’m going through and he has the answers and is able and willing to help me.

Psalm 145:17-20 says, “The Lord is righteous in all his ways and loving toward all he has made [that’s you!]. The Lord is near to all who call on him [in prayer and in worship], to all who call on him in truth. He fulfills the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cry and saves them. The Lord watches over all who love him ….” [emphasis mine]

So, in the hopes that it will prove helpful, I’m including some of the worship songs I have found that draw me closer to God and really magnify how big he is over my life. I hope, as you listen to these and focus on God, that you’ll feel God’s love for you and how much you mean to him – he died for you.

Until next time, be blessed!

You Can Be Certain Christ Will Come Again

[Originally published October 11, 2011]

Most people know of Christ’s first coming to Earth through the traditional Christmas story – the virgin giving birth to a child in a stable because there was no room in the inn, laying him in a manger, the angelic visitation to the shepherds, the star in the sky leading the magi to visit from afar bringing gifts of gold, frankincense, myrrh, etc. But did you also know that the Bible assures us He will come to Earth a second time?

A 2011 Gallup poll reveals that 66% of Americans believe that Jesus Christ is coming back to Earth in the future. That is at least 25% more Americans than those who claim to be born-again Christians. So it is not only Christians who necessarily believe it. A lot of people are beginning to sit up and take notice, and they believe Christ is coming back again.

But aside from personal opinion, Tim LaHaye points out that the second coming of Christ is mentioned eight times more frequently in the Old and New Testaments than His first coming was. This leads us to believe that “Christ’s second coming is evidently the second-most-important doctrine in the entire New Testament, for the only subject mentioned more frequently is that of salvation!” Tim LaHaye, Understanding Bible Prophecy For Yourself. I would venture to say that the two doctrines are inter-related, since Christ tells us in John 14:1-7:

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. My Father’s house has plenty of room; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.” Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.” (NIV)

The underlines above are my emphasis, pointing out that Jesus himself has promised us that He will return again to take us to be with Him in heaven (i.e., his Father’s house). He didn’t say if he should come back, He said, “I will come back.” So the key to making it to Heaven is knowing Jesus – really knowing Him – having a personal relationship with Him, not just head-knowledge about Him. In fact, Matthew 7:21-23 tells us:

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only those who do the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’” (NIV)

So we see that our salvation is not based on our works (what things we may do in the name of God), but on a personal relationship with Christ. Those mentioned in this scripture knew about Jesus, and knew the power in his name, but they did not know him – and he did not know them. It’s not a head issue (knowledge about God), it’s a heart issue (have you surrendered your heart to him?).

This is where your choice in the matter comes into play. Many people have asked, “How can a loving, forgiving God send people to Hell?” The point is, He doesn’t! THEY CHOOSE to go themselves by denying His Son, Jesus, as their Savior. God has given us a tremendous gift in the exercise of our free will. He doesn’t desire mindless robots or slaves to worship and fellowship with Him. He desires that we choose to love him. Anyone who is married, or has children, will tell you that love, true love, is a constant choice that we make. Emotions are fickle; they wax and wane by the day, and the people we care about will say and do things that hurt us deeply. They will repeatedly fail to meet our expectations and will let us down. But if we truly love them, we choose to overlook their faults and forgive them, and then make the choice to love them anyway. This is what God does for us, repeatedly. We don’t deserve His love. We are sinful by nature, and deserve nothing but His wrath and damnation – but for Jesus.

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.” John 3:16-18 (NIV)

It is my sincere prayer that you would choose today to believe in Jesus and the salvation He offers you through His death on the cross. The choice is yours on where you will spend eternity – God has already made a way for you, but you must choose to accept it – so choose wisely while you can.

Next time, we’ll look at numerous scriptures that describe the second coming of Christ. Until then, be blessed!