Category: spiritual warfare

Not Looking Back But Reaching Forth

Sunday, March 13, 2016

“Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:13,14 KJV).

Do not look back—look forward!

Recently, I spoke with a discouraged Christian brother. Members of his Bible study group were downcast about a certain common problem. They had discovered the truth of God’s Word rightly divided in their “latter years.” Some of these saints are in their late 70s, with failing health and little drive. They expended decades upon decades of energy jumping from one religious group to another, becoming increasingly weighed down with additional confusion. Now, although they have found the truth, have exhausted themselves. I reminded him of some simple Bible truths that I will now share with you.

My grace brethren, we have two options. Firstly, we can sulk and lament how we lost/wasted many years in frantic religious confusion. Or, we can rejoice that we have all of eternity to learn the Word of God with such astounding clarity… Our few years of gross Bible ignorance will mean nothing by then! Keep your mind focused on this. As long as you concentrate on the past, Satan has you sidetracked from preparing for the future!

Today, take some time to read the third chapter of Paul’s epistle to the Philippians. He gives his testimony, how he wasted years in empty works-religion. But, then, in today’s Scripture, he reminds all Christians everywhere to do as he did—continue maturing in the Scriptures. The Apostle Paul he himself—35 years after his conversion—was still “reaching forth” to gain a better grasp of God’s purpose for him in Jesus Christ. We all still have a long way to go, but let us start on earth. Having had a daily intake of God’s Word rightly divided many days now, we are well on our way!

Lastly, you may have taken decades to learn the Word of God rightly divided, but please pass on your knowledge to younger Christians, that they spend more time enjoying God’s truth than searching for it! 🙂

Our latest Bible Q&A: “Did Adam die or did he not die in Genesis 3?”

They Have Seen Nothing!

Saturday, March 12, 2016

“Thus saith the Lord GOD; Woe unto the foolish prophets, that follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing!” (Ezekiel 13:3 KJV).

They have no spiritual eyes—they have seen nothing!

If you are familiar with “Christian” radio and television programming, you have probably heard something like, “The Lord has just given me a word of knowledge for our audience….” Or, “God is speaking to me and He wants five people to send our ministry $1,000 each!” Maybe, “There is someone watching or listening who needs to be healed of foot pain [headaches, arthritis, et cetera]. God is now touching that part of your body and the pain is just melting away.” These words sound so good, so intimate, so appealing. The average listener absorbs them like a sponge. Every last word is believed because “God” is allegedly involved.

I remember once, while talking to a very confused denominational lady, she objected, “But, I do not believe God would allow me to be deceived!” Oh, certainly, God does not want you to be deceived. He gave you His written Word, the 66 books of the Holy Bible. But, if you let “Christian” preachers and “Christian” literature interpret it for you, and you do not look into the Bible for yourself, you deserve to be misled and deceived in whatever cult you join! Friend, be warned—if you ignore His Word, the King James Bible, God will let you be deceived. Just look around at so-called “Christianity!”

Colossians 2:18,19: “Let no man beguile you of your reward in a voluntary humility and worshipping of angels, intruding into those things which he hath not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind, And not holding the Head,….” (Modern versions and their manuscripts omit “not” from “not seen,” thereby saying the false teachers have seen something!)

Many groups and people supposedly speak in the name of “Jesus Christ.” They claim to be preaching His words. But, we can look into the Bible for ourselves and see they are preaching lies. They have no revelation from God. As today’s Scripture says, they are “foolish prophets”—following their own imaginations and fabricating “divine testimony.” They claim to have been given spiritual enlightenment from the God of creation. Today’s Scripture says “they have seen nothing!”

The Living God #10

Thursday, March 10, 2016

“For who is there of all flesh, that hath heard the voice of the living God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as we have, and lived?” (Deuteronomy 5:26 KJV).

Exactly why is the God of the Bible called “the living God?”

The God of the Bible is living. He can actually do something for you. Idols can do nothing for you. The “living God” has a Son, Jesus Christ (Matthew 16:16). As He gave us physical life in creation (Genesis 2:7), He offers us spiritual life. There is no life apart from Him (John 1:1-4). If you want life, you must find it in the God of the Bible. You can only find God the Father through His Son, Jesus Christ (John 14:6). “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent” (John 17:3).

Life is not in Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, mysticism, or any other religion. We must go beyond dead gods, false prophets, fake gods, and false religions, to find “the living and true God.” It is not we striving to find life in and of ourselves (religion), but rather Christianity, the living God offering us His life a free gift because we are spiritually dead.

While there was a dead goddess in Ephesus, Diana (today’s “Queen of Heaven,” Blessed Mother, the Virgin Mary)—Acts chapter 19—there was also in Ephesus the Church the Body of Christ, “the church of the living God” (1 Timothy 3:15). We become a member of it by simply trusting exclusively Jesus Christ’s finished crosswork. He died for our sins, He was buried, and He rose again to give us His resurrection life (1 Corinthians 15:3,4).

In the future, Israel will learn that the living God must give her life. She will not find life in heathen religion. She will not find life in her works-religion (the Mosaic Law). She is spiritually dead, unable to do anything that God instructs. But, as she experienced the living God delivering her from Egyptian and bondage to idols, He can (and will) redeem her from Satanic captivity and hellfire as well. No idol can or will ever do it… for Israel… or for us! 🙂

The Living God #9

Wednesday, March 9, 2016

“For who is there of all flesh, that hath heard the voice of the living God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as we have, and lived?” (Deuteronomy 5:26 KJV).

Exactly why is the God of the Bible called “the living God?”

The term “the living God” elicits cross-references. Psalm 135:15-18, for example: “[15] The idols of the heathen are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands. [16] They have mouths, but they speak not; eyes have they, but they see not; [17] They have ears, but they hear not; neither is there any breath in their mouths. [18] They that make them are like unto them: so is every one that trusteth in them” (cf. Psalm 115:4-7).

Note, “neither is there any breath in their mouths” (verse 17)—opposite of “the living God.” In Scripture, we see JEHOVAH, Israel’s God, “the living God.” We also see Gentiles’ silver and gold idols—unable to speak, see, hear, and breathe. They are dead; they can do nothing for their worshippers. Those who worship them must carry them around, and yet, those who carry them around pray to these inanimate idols for help. (Ludicrous!)

Habakkuk chapter 2: “[18] What profiteth the graven image that the maker thereof hath graven it; the molten image, and a teacher of lies, that the maker of his work trusteth therein, to make dumb idols? [19] Woe unto him that saith to the wood, Awake; to the dumb stone, Arise, it shall teach! Behold, it is laid over with gold and silver, and there is no breath at all in the midst of it.” “The living God” versus heathenism’s dead gods.

When Scripture mentions “the church of the living God” (1 Timothy 3:15), or “turning to God from idols to serve the living and true God” (1 Thessalonians 1:9), this is monotheism. There is only one God, not hundreds, thousands, or millions. He, not dead idols, is the living God. He is powerful; idols are powerless. He can commune with us, and we with Him. Idols cannot. Remember, Genesis 2:7: “And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.”

Now, to conclude!

Free to Be Wrong

Wednesday, February 24, 2016

“Thy word is true from the beginning: and every one of thy righteous judgments endureth for ever” (Psalm 119:160 KJV).

The LORD’S righteous judgments are where sole authority does belong; we are free to disagree with them, and thus we are also free to be eternally wrong!

Dear saint, once you study your King James Bible dispensationally, you want to share those truths with others. However, you will not encounter masses of people saying, “Oh, thank you for sharing the truth with us.” Most will not listen for long. In my own ministry, people respond with, “I don’t agree with you” or “You are wrong.” Very rarely do they quote verses to show themselves true. They usually have no such verses to quote, or they do not know any verses to quote anyway. Usually, they just have personal opinions and denominational doctrines to promote.

Having just heard or read me quote verses, they skip over all the Bible verses I quoted, and say, “No, I disagree.” They offer nothing to support themselves. Frankly, that is lazy. They have no interest in searching the Scriptures to see if what I said was so. Why? They have no interest in hearing God’s words. They are ungrateful that God’s Word has been preserved for them in English. While millions go without Bibles worldwide, these fools see the Bible and avoid it. That is not being mean; that is being honest. Only fools argue with Scripture. And, sad to say, but this just does not refer to lost people. So-called “Christians” and alleged “grace people” will not always address the verses you cite. They simply parrot their earlier comments as if Scriptures were never posted. Their loyalty is thus manifested to be in the “traditions” and “scholarship” of men. There is no desire to be “approved of God” (2 Timothy 2:15).

Now, please understand, they are free to believe whatever they like. But, they had better not say that it is “Bible” when they have no Bible verses to support them!! They cannot say they are “Bible believers” when they argue with the Bible. Ultimately, they have no business saying they are preaching “Christianity” when they are preaching everything but!

Our latest Bible Q&A: “What does Romans 8:28 mean?”

“Hate Speech” #7

Tuesday, February 23, 2016

“Therefore the princes said unto the king, We beseech thee, let this man be put to death: for thus he weakeneth the hands of the men of war that remain in this city, and the hands of all the people, in speaking such words unto them: for this man seeketh not the welfare of this people, but the hurt” (Jeremiah 38:4 KJV).

Who is “this man?” And, what words is he speaking to make him worthy of being “put to death?”

About 600 years after the Prophet Jeremiah preached to Israel, the Apostle Paul preached to heathen. Note chapter 17 of Acts, when Paul and his ministry companions preached Jesus Christ: “[6] And when they [the unbelieving Jews] found them [Paul and Silas] not, they drew Jason and certain brethren unto the rulers of the city, crying, These that have turned the world upside down are come hither also; [7] Whom Jason hath received: and these all do contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, one Jesus.”

At this point, Paul has been preaching for over 20 years. The Jesus Christ who he had been proclaiming had angered many people all over the Roman Empire. Apostate Jews had heard of this renegade Pharisaical scholar preaching about an imposter he himself had once rejected and hated. Observe how those lost Jews accused Paul, Silas, and their ministry coworkers of “turn[ing] the world upside down” (Acts 17:6). As someone once commented, “Oh no, Jesus Christ through Paul was turning the world right-side up!” Indeed, lost man and God never see eye-to-eye. This world that God had originally created “good” is now evil. Mankind is evil, so he sees nothing wrong with the world; man views any improvement of it as bad. God, holy and just, recognizes the world as corrupt, and He will fully reclaim it from Satan one day!

Brethren, we know there is an everlasting devil’s hell waiting for all who die without Jesus Christ. May we, in love, reach them quickly with the message of Christ crucified for their sins, His burial, and His resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:3,4). Let them falsely accuse us. One way or another, in heaven or in hell, they will realize just how important that message is! 🙂

“Hate Speech” #6

Monday, February 22, 2016

“Therefore the princes said unto the king, We beseech thee, let this man be put to death: for thus he weakeneth the hands of the men of war that remain in this city, and the hands of all the people, in speaking such words unto them: for this man seeketh not the welfare of this people, but the hurt” (Jeremiah 38:4 KJV).

Who is “this man?” And, what words is he speaking to make him worthy of being “put to death?”

According to the verses previous to today’s Scripture, Jeremiah preached: “[2] Thus saith the LORD, He that remaineth in this city shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence: but he that goeth forth to the Chaldeans shall live; for he shall have his life for a prey, and shall live. [3] Thus saith the LORD, This city shall surely be given into the hand of the king of Babylon’s army, which shall take it.”

In today’s Scripture, Judah’s princes complained to King Zedekiah that Jeremiah was discouraging the Jewish people from fighting and resisting the Babylonians. Unbelief at its very best! Jeremiah was preaching in the name of JEHOVAH—“thus saith the LORD”—and JEHOVAH God had already determined that the Babylonians would come in and defeat the Jews. That is, Jeremiah was telling Israel it was no use fighting the Babylonians, for God had already determined that judgment on the Jews. Israel’s God had given them centuries of warnings to reform or be punished, but the Jews never turned back to Him.

Of course, Jeremiah was portrayed as the evil one. Judah’s princes accused him of not seeking Judah’s wellbeing. In fact, it was they who were not seeking Judah’s wellbeing. They were the evil ones. To fight against JEHOVAH, as they were doing, was sure to lead to physical harm and death. Contrariwise, to obey JEHOVAH’S words through Jeremiah, and submit to Babylon, “he that goeth forth to the Chaldeans shall live; for he shall have his life for a prey, and shall live.”

What another interesting parallel to today’s Scripture. Those who rebel against God, they are “innocent.” It is the Bible-believing Christian, speaking against injustice and unrighteousness, who is the evildoer!

“Hate Speech” #5

Sunday, February 21, 2016

“Therefore the princes said unto the king, We beseech thee, let this man be put to death: for thus he weakeneth the hands of the men of war that remain in this city, and the hands of all the people, in speaking such words unto them: for this man seeketh not the welfare of this people, but the hurt” (Jeremiah 38:4 KJV).

Who is “this man?” And, what words is he speaking to make him worthy of being “put to death?”

The Prophet Jeremiah preached with authority, “Thus saith the LORD” (verse 2). This greatly upset the Jewish people, for they knew quite well that they had disobeyed the LORD and His impending judgment on them was just.

While they did not take Jeremiah’s life, verse 6 says that they threw him into a dungeon. The language indicates that it was an empty in-ground cistern or well. Instead of water, it had mire (slushy mud). In less than five years, Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar came in and destroyed Jerusalem (chapters 39 and 52; cf. 2 Chronicles chapter 36)—JEHOVAH’S word (through Moses and Jeremiah) was fulfilled. The Babylonian captain freed Jeremiah, who remained in Judah before moving to Egypt with the remnant of Jews not taken to Babylon (chapters 40-45). Jerusalem, actually, 2,600 years later, is still awaiting God’s restoration.

Today, brethren, we speak with authority when we say, “Thus saith the LORD.” When the Bible delineates specific actions as sins, they are sins. End of story. People can argue all they want but there is no room for argument. They can throw their tantrums but they need to grow up and face reality. There is such a thing as right and wrong, and God’s judgment is sure to fall on those who are outside of His Son Jesus Christ. Let us warn them in love, but let us warn them while there is still time. We Bible believers do not preach “hate speech.” We preach “love speech.” We preach God’s love on Calvary commended to sinners (Romans 5:8). May we point them to Calvary, lest they go to hell forever, something infinitesimally worse than invading Babylonian armies and Gentile captivity!

Our latest Bible Q&A: “Is it ‘un-Christian’ for a country to have border walls?”

“Hate Speech” #4

Saturday, February 20, 2016

“Therefore the princes said unto the king, We beseech thee, let this man be put to death: for thus he weakeneth the hands of the men of war that remain in this city, and the hands of all the people, in speaking such words unto them: for this man seeketh not the welfare of this people, but the hurt” (Jeremiah 38:4 KJV).

Who is “this man?” And, what words is he speaking to make him worthy of being “put to death?”

It is not uncommon for people today to criticize the Bible in the following manner: “We have come so far from those primitive days of ignorance. What does that book of fairytales have to do with me? I stopped believing in make-believe when I grew up.” (Really?!) When you think about it, they still believe in make-believe. They assume that the problems that existed back then have since disappeared. As our news reports demonstrate, those problems are still here in society. Their ignorant words prove that we have not moved very far from those “primitive days of ignorance!”

We are certainly more technologically advanced than the society of Bible days. Better-fabricated houses, more sophisticated modes of transportation, innumerable more “gadgets,” and faster communication; yet, human nature is unchanged, as depraved as ever. The basic problem with mankind still exists—he refuses to interact with his Creator because his Creator is holy and he is sinful. Strangely, if you condemn sin by quoting the Bible, you are accused of “hate speech.” However, it actually is the other way around. The sinner hates to hear the Word of God, and will hatefully speak against it. (“Go away with your fairy-tales, you religious fanatic!”) Definitely, one of the effects of sin is lost mankind abounding with “haters of God” (Romans 1:30).

Furthermore, God’s Holy Book is a sword, and spiritually speaking, a very sharp sword. It cuts deep into the innermost being of whoever hears or reads it—“pricking in the heart” (Acts 2:37) and “cutting to the heart” (Acts 7:54). We can understand exactly why Jeremiah was condemned in today’s Scripture. Bible haters still want Bible believers harmed (or murdered) even in the “sophisticated” 21st century!

“Hate Speech” #3

Friday, February 19, 2016

“Therefore the princes said unto the king, We beseech thee, let this man be put to death: for thus he weakeneth the hands of the men of war that remain in this city, and the hands of all the people, in speaking such words unto them: for this man seeketh not the welfare of this people, but the hurt” (Jeremiah 38:4 KJV).

Who is “this man?” And, what words is he speaking to make him worthy of being “put to death?”

Moses had warned Israel, if she would persist in sin, the fifth course of judgment would come upon her. Through Moses, JEHOVAH said in Leviticus chapter 26: “[27] And if ye will not for all this hearken unto me, but walk contrary unto me; [28] Then I will walk contrary unto you also in fury; and I, even I, will chastise you seven times for your sins. [29] And ye shall eat the flesh of your sons, and the flesh of your daughters shall ye eat. [30] And I will destroy your high places, and cut down your images, and cast your carcases upon the carcases of your idols, and my soul shall abhor you. [31] And I will make your cities waste, and bring your sanctuaries unto desolation, and I will not smell the savour of your sweet odours. [32] And I will bring the land into desolation: and your enemies which dwell therein shall be astonished at it. [33] And I will scatter you among the heathen, and will draw out a sword after you: and your land shall be desolate, and your cities waste. [34] Then shall the land enjoy her sabbaths, as long as it lieth desolate, and ye be in your enemies’ land; even then shall the land rest, and enjoy her sabbaths.”

So, when Jeremiah preached what he did in the verses previous to today’s Scripture, he was merely echoing Moses’ words, which words Moses had received by direct revelation from JEHOVAH God. In reality, Jeremiah was not preaching “hate speech.” The Jews were convicted of their pagan idolatry, and they spoke against Jeremiah, proving they were hateful. Yes, they hated the very words of God to them. What an interesting parallel to today’s society!