The Four Horsemen

“I looked, and there in front of me was a *white horse” ~Revelation 6:2

 

“As we come to Revelation, chapter six, the scene shifts to earth, and the question naturally is: What happens on the earth when the church leaves? The Great Tribulation takes place, and that is the subject of chapters 6-18. The opening of the seven-sealed book is the subject specifically of chapter 6 through verse 1 of chapter 8. These seven seals open up the Great Tribulation Period. The Lord Jesus breaks the seals, and the four horses ride forth.

   The important thing for us to keep before us is the One who is worthy to open this book. He is directing everything now. As we were told at the beginning, this is the Revelation, the unveiling, of Jesus Christ. He is no longer the High Priest, standing as intercessor, but He is now the executor of God’s will upon the earth as He opens the seals of the book. All the judgments of the Great Tribulation usher forth from the seals out of which come the trumpets, the persons, and the bowls.

   The church will be delivered from this period of judgment because they are saved by the grace of God. Only those who reject the grace of God go into the Great Tribulation Period. There are certain factors that are brought into focus which increase the intensity and the ferocity of the Great Tribulation:

1. The Holy Spirit will restrain evil no longer. Do I mean that He will leave the world? No, He won’t leave. He will take the church out of this world, but that does not mean He is going to leave. He will still be here, but He will not restrain evil any longer. In other words, man is going to have his little day during that period, and so is Satan.
2. The true church, as light and salt, will be gone from the earth.
3. The Devil knows he has but a short time. He is going to take advantage of it during this period, and God is going to give him free reign.
4. Evil men will be free to carry out their nefarious plans. In other words, Antichrist will be able to take over this earth for a brief period of time.
5. There will be direct judgment from God. We see that here in vs. 17, which says, “For the great day of His wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?”

   I do not think that the Great Tribulation breaks suddenly like a great tornado. The opening of the seals is gradual, logical, chronological. They are opened one at a time. The Lord Jesus Christ, the Lamb, takes the seven-sealed book, and He breaks the first seal. Christ is going to break all the seals one after another. He is in full charge, and every creature in heaven is moving at His command. So the four horsemen are now going to ride forth. He breaks each seal, and says, “Go.”

   The Lord Jesus, the Lamb, opened the first seal and the first horseman on a white horse in Revelation 6:2 appeared, which likely refers to the Antichrist, who will be given authority and will conquer all who oppose him. The antichrist is the false imitator of the true Christ, who will also return on a white horse (Revelation 19:11-16).

   Antichrist does not appear as a villain. After all, Satan’s angels are angels of light. He is not going to have horns or cloven feet. Rather, he is going to be the most attractive man the world has ever seen. They will elect him, and the world will acclaim him because he has come in his own name. But when he takes over, it sure is going to be bad for the world.

   The Lamb broke open the second seal and a horseman on a red horse (Revelation 6:4) with a long sword and the authority to banish peace and bring anarchy to the earth  was revealed. War and killing broke out everywhere.

   The Lamb opened the third seal and I saw a third horseman, riding a black horse (Revelation 6:5-6) holding a pair of scales in his hand representing a world-wide famine.

   When the fourth seal was broken, a rider on a pale horse was seen (Revelation 6:5-6). It’s rider was named Death, and Hades was close behind. They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine, plague; and by wild beasts of the earth!

   The pale horse represents plague and pestilence that will stalk the earth. It also encompasses the possibility of germ warfare. Dr. Frank Holdman, head of the University of Tennessee’s bacteriological department, said, “While the greater part of a city’s population could be destroyed by an atomic bomb, the bacteria method might easily wipe out the entire population within a week.”

   We have seen the riding of the four horsemen, and this follows exactly the pattern that the Lord Jesus gave while He was on the earth. In Matthew 24:5-8, in the Olivet Discourse, He said: “For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many [the white horse]. And you shall hear of wars and rumours of wars [the red horse]: see that you are not troubled: for all these must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines [the black horse], and pestilences [the pale horse], and earthquakes, in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows.” This is the opening of the Great Tribulation!

*White – speaks of peace (the true prince of peace, Jesus, rides the white horse in Rev 19) but this is a false peace and a false rider coming in the name of peace in Rev 6 – the antichrist.

Red – the red colour speaks of bloodshed and war which is what this rider on the horse causes.

Black – pictures famine here. Used in Lam 4:4,8-9 to speak of the effects of famine.

Pale green, Ashen – the colour of death which is what this horseman brings.

~Information taken from J. Vernon McGee (Revelation 6-13) and gotquestions.org

 

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Book Review: Another Bible. Good Enough?

 

I love books and especially Bibles. But when I received a free copy for review of the CSB Worldview Study Bible, I wondered if this was just another attempt at selling Bibles. I was skeptical.

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1. Worldview study notes, Christian Worldview Elements, Timeline for each book.
2. Over 130 articles by notable Christian authors
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I was very impressed by the Navy, leather-like covering and supple feel. Even more impressive is this Bible has not sacrificed reference material for the articles, which is what I thought might happen. I use references all the time as I read any Bible and these are good. Additionally, there are ample study notes at the bottom of each page, with a timeline at the beginning of each book. And– the font is very readable and I wear glasses!

From appearances, this Bible stands out among most in its category. From a reading/study perspective, the CSB Worldview Study Bible is not lacking in any way.

In case you are curious, they made room for an ample concordance too.

I found this excellent Bible a surprise. A wonderful surprise that has kept my attention since the day I opened the box.

I received a free copy of this CSB Worldview Study Bible from Holman Bible Publishers.

Unseen Warfare

 

“Our struggle is not against flesh and blood”  ~Ephesians 6:12

Dark Clouds

We consider the problems in our life as originating from flesh and blood conflicts. For example, we are knocked off our perch by greedy, inconsiderate, backbiting, unfaithful, deceptive, unfair, fraudulent conflicts. Our hearts get broken, money taken, job jeopardized and so on. “How can this be happening to me?” we wail.

As Christians, however, we must remember what God says about the source of our struggles:

Ephesians 6:10-12 ~”Last of all I want to remind you that your strength must come from the Lord’s mighty power within you. Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand safe against all strategies and tricks of Satan. For we are not fighting against people made of flesh and blood, but against persons without bodies—the evil rulers of the unseen world, those mighty satanic beings and great evil princes of darkness who rule this world; and against huge numbers of wicked spirits in the spirit world.”

The unseen world rules the seen and temporary world. The unseen enemy who wars against our soul doesn’t want us to use our eternal weapons of warfare provided by God that reach into his realm. He wants us to blame each other and flail around with awkward, earthbound weaponry. He wants us to fight what we can see and touch instead of calling upon God. Above all, satan wants us to act as though we are still citizens of this earth and forget that our citizenship is in heaven.

2 Corinthians 10:3-4 ~”We are human, but we don’t wage war as humans do. We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments.”

There is a true King (God) and a false one; a magnificent heaven and a terrifying hell. We presently wander a battlefield called earth, which is caught between night and day, life and death. Everything we now see, including the earth, will one day pass away.

We are agents of truth who cannot afford to distrust the Holy Spirit within. Doubt is one of the mightiest weapons satan raises against us. Doubt gives birth to hesitation, unbelief and fear. Stand against the attacks, press in and get the counsel of heaven.

James 1:5-6 ~”If you want to know what God wants you to do, ask him, and he will gladly tell you, for he is always ready to give a bountiful supply of wisdom to all who ask him; he will not resent it. But when you ask him, be sure that you really expect him to tell you, for a doubtful mind will be as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.”

1 Corinthians 2:11-13 ~”No one can really know what anyone else is thinking or what he is really like except that person himself. And no one can know God’s thoughts except God’s own Spirit. And God has actually given us his Spirit (not the world’s spirit) to tell us about the wonderful free gifts of grace and blessing that God has given us. In telling you about these gifts we have even used the very words given to us by the Holy Spirit, not words that we as men might choose. So we use the Holy Spirit’s words to explain the Holy Spirit’s facts.”

Psalm 86:11-13 ~”Teach me your ways, O Lord, that I may live according to your truth! Grant me purity of heart, so that I may honor you. With all my heart I will praise you, O Lord my God. I will give glory to your name forever, for your love for me is very great. You have rescued me from the depths of death.”

And how do you handle your problems? Are your knuckles bruised from fighting the world as though God were some distant deity, smiling down from heaven, wishing you luck? Take stock of who you are according to the Bible and call upon Mighty God to direct your path and destroy the wiles of the enemy. God never sleeps or slumbers and is always with you…every second of every day! He’s done everything possible to prepare us for battle with unseen spiritual forces. Tap into His unlimited power and, by faith, take up the armor of God! The shield of faith does wonders.

Insecurity

“Jesus Christ. . .is the atoning sacrifice for our sins” ~1 John 1:2

The evangelist preached a powerful message on God’s forgiveness of sins; explaining how Christ’s death on the cross, followed by His resurrection provided a cleansing stream of absolute forgiveness of sins; past, present, and future. Anyone who calls upon the name of Jesus will walk in that forgiveness for eternity. Dozens of people flocked to the altar to drink in His forgiveness, desperate for a cleansing experience. And they were not disappointed. Washed in the blood, they became whiter than snow in God’s sight.

A few months later, Frank, one of those who experienced God’s total forgiveness that night, met with Carl who had been a Christian for more than twenty years. He needed assurance. “So, Carl, how does this forgiveness actually work. I mean what about now that I’ve made some bad choices, lied a time or two, still wrestling with past sins? Some of the things I’ve done might curl your hair and I’m beginning to feel like I’m not really forgiven. I’m getting a little depressed if I’m honest. And it worries me.”

“I understand, Frank. And you’re not alone. Every person who has given their life to Christ has those feelings from time to time. And we all sin as well. The blood of Jesus washes all our sins away, Frank. Don’t forget that Jesus is at the right hand of God, interceding for our sins 24/7. God sees us through the blood of Christ. He sees us as pure and holy because of our faith in Christ, not our performance. Look at Romans 8:34, “Who then will condemn us? No one–for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand, pleading for us.”

“That Scripture is powerful, Carl but sometimes I feel like a jerk. Like a loser. And then I wonder if I am really saved or if I am worth anything. I guess I get scared of my feelings. I get confused.”

“Many years ago I was at a conference and one of the speakers told us this very important fact, “Feelings are neither right nor wrong, they just are!” At first I thought he was wrong but the more I asked God about it I realized he was correct. We all have feelings and they may be absolutely wrong but that doesn’t make them true. What matters is what we do after we have the feelings. If they are not good do we go to God in prayer or do we wallow in them. Do we ask the Lord to forgive us, believe that He has and move on, walking in the light of His forgiveness? Or do we act condemned, weak and hopeless? Keep in mind the very important verses in Romans 8:1-2 “There is no condemnation now for those who live in union with Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit, which brings us life in union with Christ Jesus, has set me free from the law of sin and death.”

“I can feel (no pun intended) the heaviness lifting from my heart, Carl because I do believe that God never lies and always wants the best for me. You made me think of the verses later in that chapter, Romans 8:37-39, “No, in all these things we have complete victory through him who loved us! For I am certain that nothing can separate us from his love: neither death nor life, neither angels nor other heavenly rulers or powers, neither the present nor the future, neither the world above nor the world below—there is nothing in all creation that will ever be able to separate us from the love of God which is ours through Christ Jesus our Lord.”

“And there it is, Frank, nothing can ever separate us from His love! One of the keys to the Christian life is to believe absolutely in God and His Word, the Bible. He has done everything necessary for our salvation and eternal life but we must believe what it says! If we doubt the Bible and choose to sulk in our pathetic, negative feelings, what hope is there? We are saved eternally, forgiven eternally and never condemned, according to God Himself. If I remember those facts and call out to Him when I “feel” defeated or worthless, those feelings will go away.”

“Here is another promise found in 1 John 1:7, “But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin.”  When we accepted Christ as Savior God did not give us a wink and wish us well. Instead, He gave us this assurance as written in Hebrews 13:5, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you’.”

Unification of the Church

 

“A house divided against itself will fall.” Luke 11:17

            When the Lord Jesus taught all who listened for his three year ministry on earth, he never once said, “And after lots of people accept the truth of the gospel, it is important that you build many church buildings and split up into thousands of denominations. Don’t worry about unity, I’ll fix that later!”

            The followers of Jesus were known as “The Church.” Not the churches! From the beginning, those who believed in the message of salvation taught by Jesus and then the apostles were changed into unified believers who met in different places. They were also referred to as followers of The Way—Acts 22:4 and the Body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:27).

            Today there are thousands of Christian denominations in America and all over the world. Men of God who guide these church organizations are content to be separate from their fellow believers, to maintain multimillion-dollar budgets as they “build bigger barns.”

   John 17:20-23  I’m praying not only for them But also for those who will believe in me
Because of them and their witness about me. The goal is for all of them to become one heart and mind—just as you, Father, are in me and I in you, so they might be one heart and mind with us. Then the world might believe that you, in fact, sent me. The same glory you gave me, I gave them,
So they’ll be as unified and together as we are—I in them and you in me.  Then they’ll be mature in this oneness, and give the godless world evidence that you’ve sent me and loved them in the same way you’ve loved me. The Message

  Romans 12:3-5  Because of the grace that God gave me, I can say to each one of you: don’t think of yourself more highly than you ought to think. Instead be reasonable since God has measured out a portion of faith to each one of you. We have many parts in one body, but the parts don’t all have the same function. In the same way, though there are many of us, we are one body in Christ, and individually we belong to each other.

   Ephesians 1:22-23  God has put all things under the authority of Christ and has made him head over all things for the benefit of the church. And the church is his body; it is made full and complete by Christ, who fills all things everywhere with himself.  

   Ephesians 4:1-6  Therefore, as a prisoner for the Lord, I encourage you to live as people worthy of the call you received from God. Conduct yourselves with all humility, gentleness, and patience. Accept each other with love, and make an effort to preserve the unity of the Spirit with the peace that ties you together. You are one body and one spirit just as God also called you in one hope. There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God and Father of all who is over all, through all, and in all.

   Ephesians 4:11-16  Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers.  Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ. Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth. Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.

   Colossians 1:18  And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy.

            In the secular world, people greet new acquaintances with a question formed something like this, “And what do you do?” or “What line of work are you in?” We do this to determine something about the person. Are they clever? Are they talented? Are they wealthy? Should I feel intimidated?

            But in the church world, we ask, “What church do you attend?” This is the fatal division question. Are you charismatic? Pentecostal? Formal? Conservative? Do you believe in the gifts of the Spirit? Are you baptized in the Holy Spirit? Once saved, always saved? Does your church use musical instruments during worship? What day of the week do you meet? DIVISION!

           

  

 

 

Weekly Bible Study-Determination

Weekly Bible Study

Determination

August 19, 2017

“So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable.” 1 Cor. 15:58

How do we remain steadfast in our faith when our lives seem to fall apart? Sitting in church, surrounded by people of like faith, singing songs of worship to God, our Savior and listening to the encouraging words of men of God, our faith seems reasonable and steadfast. Yes, we proclaim, we will overcome and be victorious. Glory to God!

But then, later in the day or perhaps the following day, our problems begin to creep back in and slowly take away that previous victory we proclaimed. Mountains of debt, illness, death, failure in life, business collapse and more tear at our faith, shredding the very foundation on which it is built. What will I do? Where is God in the midst of all this?

Deeper and deeper we fall, grasping for a handhold that speaks of God and His promises to provide and care for us in every situation. Where is the light at the end of this very dark, dark tunnel? There must be an answer.

There is. The answers are all waiting for us in His words to all mankind, the Bible. Unfortunately, when we focus on the problems mounting all around, our feelings take over and guide us down a path of discontent, fear, insecurity, doubt and frustration. We want God to give us a break and solve the problems…even though we may be the cause.

Perhaps living in a time when everything seems possible, every want seems likely to be fulfilled and every person seems promised to have it all, confuses and derails our faith in Christ. However, He has warned us in the Bible that our lives may have suffering, trials, enemies, and even imprisonment, for the sake of our faith in Christ Jesus.

1 Corinthians 15:58 So, my dear brothers, since future victory is sure, be strong and steady, always abounding in the Lord’s work, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever wasted as it would be if there were no resurrection.

2 Peter 3:13 But we are looking forward to the new heavens and new earth he has promised, a world filled with God’s righteousness.

Ephesians 6:10 Finally, be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God, that you may be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.

If we had joined a group of people dedicated to protecting our city against enemy foes who promised to destroy all of us, we would prepare for the impending battle. There would be classes teaching everyone how to stand firm against the foes. We would be prepared to possibly give our lives for the cause. We would take it seriously, keeping an eye to the horizon, ever-watchful, ready to fight at a moment’s notice.

The fact is, we are in spiritual warfare, facing the enemy of our soul, Satan, who desires to destroy everything good. Without our faith intact, we are defenseless to defeat our greatest arch-enemy. Since he cannot take away our promise of eternal life, he can make us useless with fear, discouragement and despair. This is war and we are in the fight of our lives. Even so, God is now and will always be, victorious over Satan.

Isaiah 41:10 Fear not, for I am with you. Do not be dismayed. I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will help you; I will uphold you with my victorious right hand.

Romans 8:31 What is there left to say? If God is for us, who can be against us? He that did not hesitate to spare his own Son but gave him up for us all—can we not trust such a God to give us, with him, everything else that we can need?

A squad of Navy Seals were gearing up to rescue two journalists from certain death, even though their top secret orders seemed to have been leaked to the enemy. If true, this meant these men would be facing certain death. When asked why, then, would they go ahead with the mission, the leader said, “We’re Navy Seals, that’s what we do.” No backing down, even in the face of death, the mission must be carried out.

As followers of Christ, that should be our attitude no matter the circumstance. With Jesus as our leader and Savior, we should not back down, allow fear to rule, feel inferior or hopeless. “He did not give us a spirit of fear, but of power and love and a sound mind”-1 Timothy 1:7.

Romans 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good for those who love God, for those who are called according to his purpose.

How Do I Know I’m Saved

 

Perhaps you have already trusted Jesus Christ as your own Savior, yet . . . you’re not sure if what you did took hold in your life. God loves you and wants you to fully experience the peace and life that only He can give, including knowing without a doubt that you belong to Him. So, let’s start from the very beginning and review the steps you took when you turned your life over to God.

Being at peace with God is not automatic because human beings by nature are separated from God. The Bible says, “everyone has sinned and is far away from God’s saving presence” (Romans 3:23). Romans 6:23 adds: “sin pays its wage — death; but God’s free gift is eternal life in union with Christ Jesus our Lord.” Humanity has tried to bridge this separation in many ways — through good deeds or religious acts, for example — but none of these things are enough to close the gap between God and humans.

God’s love is the only way to bridge the gap of separation between God and humanity. When Jesus Christ died on the cross and rose from the grave, He paid the penalty for our sins. In the Bible, Jesus Christ says, “I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one goes to the Father except by me” (John 14:6). It also says, “God loved the world so much that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him may not die but have eternal life” (John 3:16).

If we have surrendered our lives to Jesus Christ and accepted His death on the cross as payment for our personal sins, we now belong to Him. The Bible says this about those who received Jesus and believed in Him: “He gave them the right to become God’s children” (John 1:12).

Sinning doesn’t mean we lose our relationship wit God. If it did, then every little slip-up would put us in jeopardy and Christ’s death, which covers all our sins, would be useless. Nor does waking up one morning “not feeling saved” mean that we’re in spiritual danger. While feelings are a part of life, they are not an indicator of truth. Compare our relationship with God to a marriage. Any married couple will have to admit that sometimes they just don’t feel in love. Their feelings, however, don’t mean that they are no longer married.

Again, good deeds and religious acts don’t give you salvation. However, wanting to serve God and to change your actions are indicators that you belong to Him (see Galatians 5:22-24). The Bible strongly states that true believers have a clear desire to live in a way that honors the Lord: “If, then, we say that we have fellowship with Him, yet at the same time live in the darkness, we are lying both in our words and in our actions” (1 John 1:6). Jesus Christ gives us this promise, “ I give them eternal life, and they shall never die. No one can snatch them away from me” (John 10:28). If you know in your heart that you have committed your life to Christ but you doubt your salvation, look to God’s Word for assurance:

God accepts everyone who calls on His name (Acts 2:21; Rom. 10:13).

God will never push us away (John 6:37).

God’s love endures forever (Psalm 136).

We cannot be separated from God’s love (Romans 8:38-39).

© Starting Point Study Bible

Do All Roads Lead to God?

“You must be born again”  John 3:7

Years ago, down in the South, two children were going at it on the grassy front yard; yelling, scratching and pulling hair. After several minutes of this mayhem, the front door opened and their mother called to them in a melodious, magnolia-infused voice, “Y’all play sweet now.”

Many people seem to think that this scenario represents God’s attitude toward us. After all, He wouldn’t want to offend or insult any of His creations would He? Or would He?

“God helps those who help themselves” is one quote attributed to God which, if followed, makes us equal partners with God. We work hard at helping ourselves and God comes along to give us a reward and a pat on the back. God becomes our buddy, our helper, who is anxious that we should have whatever we want. This idea of God is non-threatening and easy to get along with. After all, God is love! Right?

John 3:16  For God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not die but have eternal life.

“Familiarity breeds contempt” is an old quote not heard much anymore. However, it speaks truth to most relationship situations. For example, when we read the Bible verse, John 3:16 over and over, year in and year out the words lose their power. We become contemptuous of what God is saying through this easily spoken series of words: “God loved the world so much he gave his only Son, so if we believe in him we won’t die!” Cool.

If all roads lead to God then why in the world would God have given His only Son to die for all people everywhere? What would be the point of such a drastic measure if every religious belief system leads people to God?

Consider the harsh reality of the words in John 3:16—He gave his only Son. Gave his only son? Did God give Jesus something? How serious is this? If you know history at all then you probably know that Jesus was falsely accused, arrested, beaten nearly to death and then forced to drag his own cross through the streets—to the place of his death—where nails were driven through his hands and feet, attaching him to the cross. Yes, large spikes driven through his already torn, bloody and ripped flesh. A sledge hammer was used to pound the spikes through his hands and feet. This represents God’s love!

Because the world is so familiar with those words, “God loved the world so much…” we have come to a place of treating them with no respect or understanding. God loves you and I so very, very much that He put the sins of all the world on His only Son, Jesus. Jesus became sin for you and me. My sins are forgiven when I understand that Jesus died for them which defies human logic.  However, I have faith that it happened. And my faith has transformed my life…both now and forever.

So, is God our buddy who is not really too worried about what road we take to heaven? Not really. Why would God bring Christ to the world to die as a sacrifice for sins and then casually say, “Hey, don’t worry about your faith or belief. It’s all good.” All roads do not lead to the same destination. Neither in this world or the next.

Matthew 7:13-14  Heaven can be entered only through the narrow gate! The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide enough for all the multitudes who choose its easy way. But the Gateway to Life is small, and the road is narrow, and only a few ever find it.

Acts 4:10-12  But there is something we must tell you and everyone else in Israel. This man is standing here completely well because of the power of Jesus Christ from Nazareth. You put Jesus to death on a cross, but God raised him to life. He is the stone that you builders thought was worthless, and now he is the most important stone of all. Only Jesus has the power to save! His name is the only one in all the world that can save anyone.

John 14:6  Jesus answered, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

Ephesians 2:8-10  Because of [God’s] kindness, you have been saved through trusting Christ. And even trusting is not of yourselves; it too is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good we have done, so none of us can take any credit for it. It is God himself who has made us what we are and given us new lives from Christ Jesus; and long ages ago he planned that we should spend these lives in helping others.

Romans 10:9-10, 13  For if you tell others with your own mouth that Jesus Christ is your Lord and believe in your own heart that God has raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in his heart that a man becomes right with God; and with his mouth he tells others of his faith, confirming his salvation. Anyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved.

Acts 2:36  “Therefore I clearly state to everyone in Israel that God has made this Jesus you crucified to be the Lord, the Messiah!”

So then, do all roads lead to God? No! However, God has done everything possible, including the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus, to provide a way for us to spend eternity with Him. Faith in Christ brings forgiveness and eternal life.

Is God’s Will A Mystery?

 

 “Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.” ~Mark 3:35

 

Many Christians spend countless hours on their knees, begging God for an idea as to His will for their lives. Thousands of sermons have been preached, books written and website columns produced, advising believers of the 10 best steps to finding His will (often there is a fee for the book or website subscription).

Considering the extreme measure God has taken for our forgiveness and eternal salvation, is it reasonable to think He would hide His will for our lives? Would God take a perverse pleasure in watching us grovel around begging Him to reveal His purpose and direction instead of happily and joyfully directing our lives to follow a path He alone has created just for us? No secret password needed fellow Christians, God reveals aspects of His will sprinkled throughout the Bible—His love letter to us.

Just as a building needs a foundation for support, God has provided the necessary spiritual support to guide us into all knowledge and understanding of His will. He gave us the Holy Spirit.

John 14:16-17, 26  ~And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognize him. But you know him, because he lives with you now and later will be in you.

John 14:26  ~But when the Father sends the Advocate as my representative—that is, the Holy Spirit—he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you.

1 John 2:27  ~You have received the Holy Spirit, and he lives within you, so you don’t need anyone to teach you what is true. For the Spirit teaches you everything you need to know, and what he teaches is true—it is not a lie. So just as he has taught you, remain in fellowship with Christ.

Romans 12:1-2  ~And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18  ~Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.

Colossians 1:9-10  ~So we have not stopped praying for you since we first heard about you. We ask God to give you complete knowledge of his will and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding. Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit. All the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better.

So you see, God has provided everything we need to hear His voice, and live according to His will. Romans establishes steps that open the door for the realization of His will in our lives: 1. Give our bodies to God as a living and holy sacrifice which is true worship. 2. Don’t copy the world (be separate). 3. Let God transform our thoughts which gives birth to the understanding of His good and pleasing and perfect will for our lives.

I call out to God, “Oh God, show me your perfect will for my life.”

God replies, “Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances!”

Deep Under Cover: Review

Well-written, well-told true story of an enthusiastic young East German Communist willing to risk his life for the propagation of what he thought was the ultimate socialist life for the world.

Jack Barsky, with the assistance of writer Cindy Coloma, recounts with vivid detail, his double life in America living out the assignment of gathering useable information to exploit the weakness of capitalism and democracy as played out in America. Much to his eventual surprise, American life was far from despicable but enviable. And, as he was forced to see with clarity, Communism fell far short of the model government and guide for the world. It was clearly the opposite, favoring those in the upper levels and ignoring the masses.

Tyndale House Publishers has provided me with a complimentary copy of this book.

David Nelson