GOD EXISTS – SO WHAT?

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The People who best articulate the answer to the “so what” question of God are the atheistic existentialist philosophers. Nietzsche had the courage to admit that the rejection of God ends in nihilism (existence is senseless and useless). Another, Jean-Paul Sartre, well describes existence without God with the chosen title of his book Nausea and the portrayal of life as “an empty bubble floating on a sea of nothingness”.

Sartre’s study partner, Albert Camus, tells us in “An Absurd Reasoning” (contained in The Myth of Sisyphus: And Other Essays) that a God-less life leads to there being “only one really serious philosophical question, and this is suicide. Judging whether life is or is not worth living amounts to answering the fundamental question of philosophy.” It’s what Daryl on The Walking Dead calls “opting out”.

Fred Hoyle, famous British mathematician and astronomer said “the probability of the formation of just one of the many proteins on which life depends is comparable to that of a solar system packed full of blind people randomly shuffling Rubik’s cubes all arriving at the solution at the same time” which of course is absurd. In fact, life without God is absurd.

Despite all of the above most people live their lives as if God does not exist. They do their best to live life on God’s planet, enjoying all that He has provided but not wanting to even know their Creator, in fear that they will not be able to “call the shots”, i.e., be God of their own little world. You only realise how sad this is when you know that our Creator loves us so much that He sent His Son, Jesus, to die in our place that we might be restored into a right relationship with our Heavenly Father.

“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 6:23

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.” John 3:16-18

“In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” 2 Corinthians 4:4-6

Jesus said, “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him.” John 6:44.

Our first job: We need to pray that the unsaved we are connected to will be drawn by the Father.

Our second job: We need to pray that those that hear the Gospel will understand it. “When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart.” Matthew 13:19

Our third job: We need to pray that the eyes of unbelievers will be opened so they can see the light. Opening spiritual eyes is, of course, God’s business. But releasing God’s power to open blinded eyes is prayer business, to which God calls us.

GIVE GLORY TO GOD

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The first purpose for which we were created was to give God glory and make His glory known to others. For example, if we get into trouble, we are told to “call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me” (Psalm 50:15). The psalmist knew that it was “Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory, for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness” (Psalm 115:1). 

“The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork”. (Psalm 19:1), so rightfully we should say, “O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens” (Psalm 8:1).

Answered prayer gives God glory, so the Lord our God is to be praised and we should seek to glorify His name.

Jesus is returning to this earth to complete unfinished business with Israel and all of the nations. Jesus will rule the nations from a completely restructured Jerusalem. Israel will be the lead nation exactly as Jesus promised the O.T. prophets.

“Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Philippians 2:9-11

“All the nations you have made shall come and worship before you, O Lord, and shall glorify your name.” Psalms 86:9.

In the Millennial Kingdom, “they [will] sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb” (Rev. 15:3a), asking, “Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship you, for your righteous acts have been revealed” (Rev. 15:4).

Give glory to God now, you will have no choice if you survive to live on in the Millennial Kingdom.

“Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years.” Revelation 20:6

DO YOU LOVE TO PRAY?

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If you do not, it really is an insult to your Creator. You have failed to recognise your true dependence upon Him. You do not take your next breath without His provision. He sustains His universe. Moreover, you do not know the extent of His love for mankind as revealed by the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus, and in His Word, the Bible.

Dwell on these scriptures:

“What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all, how will He not also with Him graciously give us all things?” Romans 8:31-32

“Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” Hebrews 4:16 (Also read the preceding two verses)

Our heavenly Father is delighted when his children acknowledge their dependence as His children.

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!” Matthew 7:7-11

Jesus makes it clear here that our heavenly Father, who is perfect in His love and unlimited in power wants good things for us , his children.

“And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.” 1 John 5:14-15

God does not promise to give us anything and everything we ask for . But He does make an astonishing promise to us that is even better. He promises to give us whatever we ask for that is according to His will. He knows what we need, the things that are truly good for us, the riches of His grace that He wants us to have.

To find out what is according to God’s will, just read God’s Word, there He tells us what He wants most for us. Go to Romans 8:29 – “to be conformed to the likeness of His Son“.

“For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.” Romans 8:29-30

This then should be our starting prayer: “Please heavenly Father conform me into the image of your Son.” You can be sure this prayer is according to His will and it will be answered. The Holy Spirit will produce the fruit of the Spirit in your life, love, joy, peace, patience, faithfulness, gentleness, goodness, kindness and self control.

AFFIRMING GOD’S IMAGE

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Addressing the Transgender Question with Science and Scripture

This book will equip you to be able to give a wise, biblical, scientific, and practically loving response to transgenderism.

book image
Available as an eBook on Amazon or paperback. Also available from CMI

In it you’ll learn:

  • Scientific research around the transgender experience
  • An overview of the history of transgenderism
  • Important terminology surrounding gender issues
  • Why people pursue gender reassignment surgery, and what happens after
  • How to navigate conversations around this topic

The first step to responding well to any situation is to understand it.

“Affirming God’s Image is the book I will recommend first to anyone with concerns about transgenderism. Professor Branch … urges us to show the love of Christ to people afflicted by gender dysphoria (especially including our own children and youth). But he sees great dangers in gender reassignment surgery and urges a vigorous “no” when that is suggested. He calls us to affirm the sex God has given to us at birth as a precious gift. And he presents these messages to us clearly and with grace.”—John M. Frame, retired J.D. Trimble Chair of Systematic Theology and Philosophy, Reformed Theological Seminary (Orlando)

“Careful, compassionate, and faithful, this new volume from Alan Branch is required reading for pastors, counselors, families, and individuals who are struggling with gender dysphoria. Dr. Branch has waded through a sea of literature to distill an approach that calls on Christians to love those who are suffering and to serve them by sharing biblical truth about sexuality.”—C. Ben Mitchell, Graves Professor of Moral Philosophy, Union University

The author J. ALAN BRANCH is professor of Christian ethics at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Kansas City, MO. He has previously served as a pastor and a chaplain in the U.S. Army Reserve. He is also the author of Born This Way? Homosexuality, Science, and the Scriptures.

ABSOLUTE TRUTH

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True Christianity is based on the belief that there is absolute truth based on the word of our Creator. The opening words of the Bible are: “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth” Genesis 1:1. When we look at the Bible, we discover a number of principles about truth:

1. Truth is absolute by the will of God. God not only reveals Himself as the Trinitarian God, but also as the God who determines what is true and false. Jesus says in John 4:23, “But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him.” If we really want to discover truth, we must be willing to believe that it is the Creator who determines truth from falsehood—not our own emotions or intellectual theories.

2. Evil, or sin, is the enemy of truth. The biblical definition of sin outlines what is false and hurtful to human beings. Truth is an understanding of reality that ultimately determines thoughts, morality and actions.

3. Truth is revealed by God in the life of Christ and in the word of Scripture. In John 17:17 Christ prayed, “Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.”

Moral truth is contained, then, in moral teachings, or law, given by God. Since these laws define the reality of life as ordained by the Creator, they exist whether we acknowledge them or not. The consequences of sin are just as inescapable whether committed knowingly or in ignorance.

The foundation of the law is God Himself. By trusting in Him and acting according to what He has commanded, we don’t have to experience the painful effects of sin. Moreover, for Christians who have been born again and have received the Holy Spirit indwelling their own spirit, we have received the power necessary to obey His instructions. “The spirit of man is the lamp of the Lord, searching all his innermost parts.” Proverbs 20:27 The Holy Spirit is the oil required for our lamp, our spirit to function as God intended.

Jesus said, “The first of all the commandments is: ‘Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD is one. And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment. And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these” Mark 12:29-31

This simple teaching by Jesus Christ forms the basis of all truth. There is a choice between simply going on the way you have been and turning towards God. It’s up to you.

“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:16

RELIGIOUS PERSECUTION OF WOMEN

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Persecution of Christian women worldwide has risen dramatically in the last year as a new study released by Open Doors International (ODI) found that forced marriages have increased by 16%, and physical violence against women has increased 31%.

Gender Specific Religious Persecution (GSRP) has risen to the highest level recorded in the three years since the report was first issued in 2018, as women face a higher potential risk of religious persecution than men. The report’s data comes from the top 50 countries on the group’s annual World Watch List between Oct. 1, 2019, and Sep. 30, 2020.

Helene Fisher, a global gender persecution specialist for Open Doors International and one of the authors of the report, told The Christian Post that the increased threat to women is often because women have fewer rights in most of the top 50 countries for religious persecution. “Because [women] have fewer rights and fewer protections, they’re just an easier target,” Fisher said. “They can also be targeted with impunity, which means that if there is a population that doesn’t want the Christians to thrive, they can go after the women and girls and there aren’t consequences for those aggressors. So, it is a question of the women and girls having fewer rights for legal protections. [Women] are more vulnerable in the society, and they are just the easiest way to disable the Christian population.”

People pray as they gather for a ceremony on Christmas eve at Central Brooks Memorial Church in Karachi, Pakistan, December 24, 2016.

The five most common “pressure points” among women in the top 50 countries on the World Watch List for religious persecution are forced marriage, sexual violence, physical violence, psychological violence and forced divorce. Each category increased since last year’s study.

Ninety percent of the top 50 countries where Christians are most persecuted report forced marriage as a pressure point, and 86% of countries report sexual violence.

Targeting women, the child bearers, and forcing them to convert is a tactic used to destabilize the future generation of the Church, the development of families and the raising of Christian children.

Trafficking women as a form of religious persecution is on the rise, particularly in Asia and Africa, the report finds. Christian refugees or internally displaced peoples are especially vulnerable to this.

“Trafficking as a form of religious persecution continues to pose a threat in all regions on the World Watch List and it is rising, particularly in Africa and Asia. Globally, 17 countries (up from 10 the previous year) reported incidents of trafficked women and girls,” the report adds. “Countries engaged in conflict were most likely to report instances of sexual violence and trafficking.”

Research from the World Watch List shows more than 340 million Christians globally endure high levels of persecution and discrimination for their faith, which amounts to one in eight Christians around the world.

Jesus told us that persecution of Christians will increase in the last days before His return. It is just one of the end times signs He has given us. Israel, apostasy in the church, Covid and increased lawlessness are other very significant signs.

TIMING OF THE RAPTURE

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This important new documentary, Seven Pretribulation Problems and the Prewrath Rapture, identifies seven flaws in pretribulation rapture theology. Identifying the problems, however, does not stop there as this documentary responds compellingly to these pretribulation problems with seven prewrath answers. This documentary marshals leading biblical prophecy teachers who walk through each of the seven problems, answering them with sound biblical investigation!

TEACHERS INCLUDE
Alan Kurschner
Alan Hultberg
Charles Cooper
David Rosenthal
Ryan Habbena

7 PRETRIB PROBLEMS
The Basics
#1 The Precursor Problem
#2 The Olivet Discourse Problem
#3 The 2nd Thessalonians Problem
#4 The Book of Revelation Problem
#5 The Imminence Problem
#6 The Church and Israel Problem
#7 The Early Church Problem

There is a lot of information in this presentation. You will need to make notes and may need to pause the video on many occasions so you can at least note the scriptures. I suggest that you will need to watch this video several times to enable you to make the case yourself for the PreWrath position.

THE BLACK LIVES MATTER STORY

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This is a must see video to really understand what is happening in the USA. Juan Riesco grew Nini’s Deli from its humble origins to #1 in Chicago on Yelp before the Black Lives Matter movement cancelled it in early June 2020. His parents, immigrants from Cuba and Mexico, started the small business. Juan took the reigns during a transitional period in his life, in which he converted to Christianity, after living as a homosexual in San Francisco. After the death of George Floyd, the Black Lives Matter movement promoted posting a black square on social media to show solidarity with the cause. When Juan failed to take this step, hundreds of people went online to accuse him of racism. Juan gently responded to each individual by explaining that he was a Christian and could not endorse the anti-Christian beliefs of the Black Lives Matter organization, but that he did believe black people, as well as all people, mattered to God. The next day hundreds of protestors showed up to protest Nini’s Deli. Juan preached the gospel to them. The next day thousands of people showed up. Juan received thousands of death threats and had to flee the city in the middle of the night to escape. Juan lost his corporate contracts and Nini’s Deli closed. Even as he lost his business and experienced betrayal by friends, Juan’s faith in Christ and resolve grew. Juan considers the story of Nini’s to be a victory story as many have come to Christ and been inspired by his courage.

BIBLE TRANSLATION WORK

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Current projections estimate that in the next 15 years, all people groups will have at least some portion of Scripture available in their own language, while 95% will have a complete Bible, and 99.95% will have a New Testament. Poole continued: “Each new translation is exciting because it means more people are able to access the Scriptures in their own language. That accessibility is key to helping people truly comprehend the gospel message, and to seeing lives transformed by Jesus. “We are fast approaching a key milestone in world history. 

God is making sure that people will be without excuse when they say they did not know that God has provided an answer to all of the problems evident in this world including death.

Our Creator has revealed the true history of His world and He reveals how He will end this world and create a new heaven and new earth. It is all revealed in the Bible

VICTIM OF IDENTITY THEFT

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Fighting the Wrong War

I think all parties agree that biological sex is determined by our chromosomally dictated external body morphology, so the real question confronting us is this – What is gender?

The UCSF Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Resource Center defines gender as:

“A social construct used to classify a person as a man, woman, or some other identity. Fundamentally different from the sex one is assigned at birth; a set of social, psychological and emotional traits, often influenced by societal expectations.” 

If this statement is true, then I feel the transgender community has been deceived by the culture. If gender is truly a social construct then the dissonance they experience between their inner gender and outer biology is not really an internal struggle at all, but rather a conflict between their biology and cultural gender stereotypes. They have been cruelly enlisted to fight a proxy war over social constructs within their own souls and the battlefield ends up being littered with emotional and physical casualties. 

I think the transgender community would be better served by fighting for a better cultural understanding of gender rather than battling for societal acceptance of physical transitioning. It seems to me that once you transition you have lost the war and surrendered to the societal dictates of what it means to be male or female. 

Authentic Self

What is the authentic self? Is it physical or spiritual? While those outside the Church define it by how culture sees them, Christians must ask: “How does God see me?” 

St. Paul made it clear that outward appearances such as ethnicity, sex and social standing are irrelevant to God, so maybe we need to stop defining our image bearing by physical differences and do some real soul searching. The problem is that our culture, rather than allowing us to be our authentic selves, steals our identity by forcing us to choose from a culturally approved list of sexual categories. 

You cannot lump transgender people together because they all have unique stories. I think this is a very important point because in this day and age of identity politics the individual is often drowned out by the shouts of the mob and their unique voices become auto-tuned to conform to the elevator music standards of political correctness. 

Sadly, our unique image bearing has been dumbed down to color, ethnicity, gender and sexual preference, none of which describes the genius of who we truly are. While these categories may be important components of our personal journeys, they do not define us. The reason this is important is because when our identities become slogans we no longer have conversations between unique individuals but rather shouting matches between ideologies. Name calling and yelling is the default mode of interaction between movements, but polite dialogue and civil debate should be the norm when two image bearers meet. 

Identity Theft

Ironically, our culture, which seems to value individuality, ends up homogenizing its citizens in identity group blenders. We are fooled into believing that identity politics will help us find out who we truly are, when in reality it only steals our identity. Instead of articulating those things that make us unique we are encouraged to chant slogans, instead of engaging in dialogue with other interesting human beings we are encouraged to lecture at them, and instead of ruminating on our own lives we are encouraged to spit at others. 

Identity politics co-opts our personal biographies and uses them as infomercials for somebody else’s political product, and the more we are forced to watch them the more we believe the lie. If you insist on draping yourself in somebody else’s flag no one will ever see your true colors. You may want the world to see you as a rebel with a cause, but Jesus sees you as a sheep without a shepherd. In the first instance, you will be a dime a dozen but in the second you will be that rare lost coin that keeps old ladies up at night.

Warning! If you seek family by becoming a poster child for an organization you will end up becoming the intellectual property of those who market the ideology, and if you ever decide to break ranks you will quickly be tossed aside as a cultural orphan, such as those who publicly regret their decision to transition. The beauty of the gospel is that Jesus has already visited the orphanage and adopted you as his child. You no longer need to try and find intimacy in a political commune where a village raises a child, but rather can be adopted as a child of God where you are personally loved by your Abba Father. 

Our individuality is found in Christ where there is no democrat or republican, black or white, male or female, conservative or liberal. God created you as a unique image bearer so don’t let culture make you a victim of identity theft.

Extract from the excellent article “Rapid Onset Gender Dysphoria only diagnoses the fearsome power of social media” by Dr. Erik Strandness. He is a physician and Christian apologist who has practiced neonatal medicine for more than 20 years.  Posted on patheos.com – Evangelical, February 22, 2021