Month: June 2018

Earthquakes Increasing

If you’ve been paying any attention to the latest trends on earthquake frequency and intensity, then you know that we’ve been experiencing an uptick over time (https://quakewatch.net/statistics/ ).  If you haven’t heard anything about this, then you may be relying on mainstream media for your news coverage and you are not being fully informed and, dare I say, lied to.

Check out this interview with John L. Casey, Ph.D., policy advisor to the White House and Congress, Senior Field Engineer on the Space Shuttle Program, Consultant to NASA, CEO of the International Earthquake and Volcano Prediction Center:

Interview with John L. Casey, Ph.D.

Disappointment in Organized Religion

(originally published 09/11/2011)

I was reminded yet again yesterday one of the reasons why I started this blog – and that would be to educate the believer and unbeliever alike about the truthfulness of God’s Word, and the never-ending patience of God in drawing all men unto Himself.  Allow me to explain . . .

I was attending the funeral of a friend’s mother, who happened to be Catholic.  So I was attending a funeral Mass in her memory, and trying to be supportive for my obviously distraught friend.  And while I’m there I hear repeatedly during the service that Jesus is the Christ and is the only way to heaven (which I agree with, of course).  But I also hear prayers to the “Holy Mother” and St. Bernadette, asking that they watch over and pray for the deceased (which I don’t agree with).  The Bible says that Christ is our intercessor, and apart from God the Father, Jesus the Son, or the Holy Spirit, I pray to none other.  I see the priests going through much fanfare in their man-made formalities with incense and holy relics.  And then, upon preparing Communion, the priest invites those attending to receive, but only if you are Catholic.

Let me start by saying that I have several close friends who are Catholic, as well as several work friends who are Catholic.  I also have several friends who are no longer practicing Catholics, but have chosen instead a more non-denominational approach in their relationship with God.  I also know Catholics who no longer have a relationship with God.  Truly, I mean no offense to my Catholic friends, but I have to say that, as a practicing non-Catholic Christian, I was truly offended yesterday by the Catholic Church.  Please know that I have made every attempt to communicate this experience without malice or anger, but instead, strive to “speak the truth in love” as commanded in Ephesians 4:1-6:

“ . . . I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.  Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.  Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.  There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.”

“Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching  and by the cunning and craftiness  of people in their deceitful scheming.  Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the head, that is, Christ.  From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.” Ephesians 4:14-15

It is my sincere prayer that the Catholic Church refrain from its arrogance and realize that you don’t have to be Catholic to go to heaven, and you don’t have to be Catholic to receive Communion.  You do have to be a believer in Jesus Christ as the Son of God, the Redeemer of mankind, and the Lover of our Souls.  Stop making it more difficult than it needs to be.

It grieves me, and I’m sure the Holy Spirit as well, that organized religion would forbid any true believer to receive Communion in remembrance of Christ.  It was Christ himself that instituted the act of Communion, not the Catholic Church.  And by the way,  it was conducted amongst Jesus and his Jewish disciples at (what many Biblical scholars believe) the Seder meal during the Jewish feast of Passover – the Catholic Church was nowhere to be found at that point in history.  And I’m not even going to address here the Catholic arguments about transubstantiation.  Suffice it so say, while I’m well aware that many find comfort in the traditions of organized religion, we must all be continuously on guard that we remain true to the Word of God and what it teaches us about how we are to live as believers in Christ Jesus, and not what some organized religion teaches us from the pulpit.  As I’ve encouraged you before, read your own Bible, pray about what you learn and seek God’s wisdom in everything.  Talk about your questions and concerns with someone you trust in your faith to be honest with you.  God promises us that if we seek His wisdom in this manner, He will answer us.

“My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you, turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding – indeed, if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God.” Proverbs 2:1-5

Have you done any “treasure hunting” today?  Until next time, be blessed!

You Can Be Certain Christ Will Come Again

(originally published 08/31/2011)

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 recent 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.”

The underlines in the above passage are my own 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!’”

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.  The people mentioned in this scripture knew about Jesus, and evidently 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 pride and 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 must 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 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

So the outcome comes down to what you choose to believe.  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 so we can know what to look for – very exciting! Until then, be blessed!