Speaking your beliefs as a Christian now can result in a mixed bag of anger, frustration, hostility, and many people who decide they can “no longer associate” with someone like you.
Some of the beliefs that will trigger these sentiments are as follows:
1. Life begins at conception. Abortion is murder.
2. There are only two genders, and we don’t get to pick between the two.
3. Marriage is designed to be between one man and one woman and sex is confined to husband and wife. Homosexuality is an abomination to God.
4. Children deserve two parents — a mum and a dad — who are there for them.
5. There’s only one true God. There’s only one way to God, and it’s through Jesus Christ.
6. Jesus made it possible for our Heavenly Father to send theHoly Spirit to be our counsellor, teacher, helper, and comforter.
7. With the Holy Spirit and the word of God, we have all we need to live a Christian life. The word of God, being inerrant and infallible, is the source of all that is good, true, and beautiful.
Redemption, for the Christian, is the freedom we have in Christ. But it was not free, for it cost Christ His life.
Isaiah revealed to the Pharisees and the Sadducees, the religious leaders of the day 700 years before Jesus Christ, their Messiah was born that he would die so that their sins could be forgiven and this is not the end of the story read what else God revealed to Isaiah.
“But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed... he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people… Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him; he has put him to grief… For a brief moment I deserted you, but with great compassion I will gather you. In overflowing anger for a moment I hid my face from you, but with everlasting love I will have ompassion on you,” says the Lord, your Redeemer.” Isaiah 53:5-6, 8, 54:7-8
My concern is that just as the religious leaders of Jesus Day did not heed the prophecies of Jesus’ first coming, the religious leaders of our day are not heeding the many prophecies of Jesus’ second coming.
The Fall: Adam and Eve were banished from the Garden of Eden for disobeying God and eating from the tree of Good and Evil.
The Bible is full of these beautiful depictions of the reality of our redemption. We are free because Christ restored what was lost in “The Fall” through His death, burial, and resurrection! And so, with all this in mind, we understand what redemption is and can now rightly live out our faith.
Christians must understand how crucial it is to speak the truth in love. We’re called to extend a loving hand to our enemies. We must bring back healthy dialogue with our neighbours, and Christians should lead the charge! We were never meant to be silent or sit back in the face of adversity. Under a hostile government, we can understand the need to stand firm.
According to Paul Bryan, the author of Who is this God?, “A genuine Christian cannot become apostate. Those who apostatize demonstrate that they were never genuine Christians.” As Scripture says,
“They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us” 1 John 2:19
George Barna in his 2020 survey on America’s Dominant Worldview observed that only 6% of adult Americans hold a biblical worldview and believe the Bible is the inerrant Word of God from Genesis to Revelation. A saved person holds a Biblical worldview and trusts God no matter the circumstances.
I strongly believe that the proponents of “once saved always saved” are right but we need to distinguish between those who are genuinely saved and those who claim Christianity simply because they have confessed Christ.
Not everyone who thinks they are a Christian is truly a born-again follower of Christ. I don’t believe in “once saved, always saved” as a guarantee for those who only confess Christ for “fire insurance.” I don’t think they had a change of heart (repentance) and are born-again. They will face the coming wrath of God that will be poured out with the Trumpet and Bowl judgements (Revelation 8 & 16). We are fast approaching the last seven years before years returns to Earth. Many Biblical prophecies warn us about what will happen during these last seven years (70th week of Daniel) so we will not be surprised. The good news is that Satan and his followers will be defeated at the battle of Armageddon and Jesus will usher in His Millennial Kingdom. Satan has had his 6000 years to rule over planet Earth now he will be bound in the Abyss and Jesus will rule for 1000 years to fulfill the promises made to Abraham, David, and Jesus that the nation God established for His purposes will finally be the lead nation of the world with Jesus as its ruler only then when Jesus has put all his enemies under his feet will the end come.
“Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. For He must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.” 1 Corinthians 15:24-25
After ridding his country of violent gangs, one world leader is crediting God with his administration’s success. In an interview with Tucker Carlson on Wednesday, El Salvador’s president Nayib Bukele discussed the satanic practices of the MS-13 gang, the “spiritual war” facing the Western world, and how his administration took El Salvador from being the murder capital of the world to the second-safest nation in the Western hemisphere.
Referring to the successful anti-gang crackdown as a “miracle,” Bukele attributed the endeavor’s success to prayer. “I can tell you the official formula and the real formula,” Bukele said. “So the official formula is that we did a plan … that was comprised of phases. So we rolled out the first phase and then the next one, then the next one. And then gangs started attacking back, so we had to roll out everything at once.” This official formula necessitated increasing the size of El Salvador’s military and ensuring soldiers were armed and trained properly to fight the gangs. Bukele also told his cabinet and government officials, “We are looking into an impossible mission here, so we pray.” He recalled that he would pray daily for wisdom, victory, and the protection of his people. “It’s a miracle,” Bukele said. “Because [we] didn’t have competition. I mean, they were satanic. I think that made it easier.
Bukele has had a rocky road to leadership. In 2017, he was forced out of the left-wing establishment party Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN) after criticizing the party’s corrupt leadership. He founded his own party, Nuevas Ideas, but the Supreme Electoral Court refused to register the party before the presidential elections in 2019. Bukele instead joined the conservative-leaning Grand Alliance for National Unity party, winning the presidential election with 53% of the vote.
“In 2019 — the system was totally rigged, I mean they canceled our party,” Bukele related. “We were running with a party and they canceled it, they annulled our party. So I stayed party-less, so we went to a small party and said, ‘You don’t have any candidates, you are very small, do you want to win the election?’”
“Even when I was president, even being already in the presidency, they tried to impeach me,” Bukele said of the opposition-controlled legislature during his first term. “They said — there’s an article in the constitution that says Congress can fire the president if he is not fit to lead — so they said I wasn’t fit to lead and they tried to impeach me because of that.”
On Saturday, Bukele was inaugurated for his second term as president after having won reelection with a staggering 85% of the vote. The Salvadoran constitution does not allow a sitting president to run for reelection, but the nation’s highest court approved Bukele’s reelection bid provided that he resigned from office six months prior to the election, which he did.
Modern, mainstream Christianity teaches that our bodies die, but we live on as souls. So why does the Bible teach something else entirely? Knowing what your soul is—and what happens to it after you die—is a core concept of Christianity. Join Gary Black as he explains both the biblical teaching of the soul and how that teaching became corrupted over the centuries.
“Then when death comes to a man, the mortal part, it seems dies, but the immortal part goes away unharmed and undestroyed withdrawing from death.” Plato, Phaedo 106e
Understanding the soul is not immortal is critical to understanding that eternal conscious torment is not the fate of the unrepentant.
“Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the Book of Life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.” Revelation 20:14-15
“But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”Revelation 21:8-9
“And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” Matthew 10:28
Taken from an article in The Washington Stand by Ben Johnson February 14, 2024
Hundreds of millions of Christians suffered religious persecution in 2023, according to a religious liberty watchdog organization, but one European nation is going out of its way to assist “the most persecuted religion in the world.”
One out of every seven Christians worldwide experienced some form of persecution last year, according to the 2024 World Watch List produced by Open Doors — an increase from one in eight in 2021. A whopping 365 million Christians underwent “high levels of persecution and discrimination,” up from 340 million just two years ago. The worst anti-Christian sentiment exploded into violence: 14,766 Christian churches or properties were destroyed, and 4,988 Christians were killed in 2023, the report found.
“We have to just say the facts: Christianity is the most persecuted religion in the world,” said Tristan Azbej, Hungary’s secretary of state for programs to help persecuted Christians at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. “In the world, there are more than 360 million people who suffer discrimination, oppression, threats by terrorist organizations or genocidal attacks because of their faith in Jesus Christ.”
That spurred the government of Hungary to form a government agency to assist the persecuted globally. “There are many charities who are working for them. However, the Hungarian government realized that this should not be left only to charities. The international community has to step up, governments have to step up,” Azbej recently told “Washington Watch with Tony Perkins.” “And us, being a thousand-year-old, proud Christian nation who is still courageous enough to say that.”
Over the last year, levels of anti-Christian persecution spiked in Africa, where 20% of Christians experienced some form of hostility or oppression based on their faith. The number rises to 40% of Christians in Asia. The world’s most anti-Christian government is North Korea, according to the Open Doors report.
Nearly 90% of all Christians killed worldwide lived in Nigeria. Azbej has noted that “jihadist, Islamist tribes” attacked 20 Christian settlements, killing 200 Christians last Christmas. Despite continued violence and murder in the nation of 230 million people, the Biden administration removed Nigeria from its list of the worst offenders of religious liberty — a policy Rep. Glenn Grothman (R-Wis.) has called “anti-Christian.”
Fiona Bruce, a Conservative Party member of the U.K.’s Parliament, introduced the International Freedom of Religion or Belief Bill 2022-23 (Bill 373) last October. The bill would require British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to appoint a Special Envoy for International Freedom of Religion or Belief. That government office would document religious persecution of all faiths globally, work with U.K. civil society groups, and prod British and foreign government officials to promote freedom of religion and conscience rights worldwide. As of this writing, the Private Members bill had its first reading but is now stalled in Parliament.
Four of the worst nations persecuting Christians are in Latin America: Mexico (37), Cuba (22), Nicaragua (30), and Colombia (34). Yet the issue receives little attention from U.S. lawmakers.
Tristan Azbej said that due to the dearth of global leadership, “We decided that we will lead by example. Therefore, the Hungarian government established my department, which was the first ever dedicated governmental department for the aid of persecuted Christians in 2016. Right away, we started the Hungary Program, which delivers humanitarian aid to those Christians who have been just attacked by terrorist organizations, which delivers aid and financial assistance to rebuild places like the Nineveh Plains in Iraq, where Daesh/ISIS has committed atrocities against Christians,” Azbej told Perkins. His agency also “offers Hungarian scholarships at Hungarian universities for those Christians in Africa and Asia, who are unable or have no chance to go into the higher education system.”
The Hungary Helps humanitarian aid program expanded, thanks to an amendment that took effect at the first of the year.
In the last six years, “I can report to you that we have reached about two million persecuted Christians by extending the solidarity of the Hungarian people towards them,” Azbej told Perkins. “We have run 330 projects for persecuted Christians in more than 50 countries.”
Yet far from receiving the West’s gratitude for filling the need, “When we rebuild the church in the Middle East or in Africa, then I go to a professional diplomatic event in the West, they ask me the cynical question, ‘Why don’t we support something more useful, like hospitals and schools?’” Azbej revealed. “Now, we also support Christian hospitals and schools all around the world. But I can see the ignorance or the cynicism of the question” from Western diplomats, Azbej told Perkins. “The answer to that is that we always ask what is needed. In many cases, our Christian brothers and sisters would choose their church to be rebuilt first before their homes are rebuilt. This is how important their churches are for them,” he said, “and their faith.”
We should not be surprised at the increasing persecution of Christians. Jesus told us this would happen before His return to restore righteousness and set up His Millennial Kingdom.
“As he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?… Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.” Matthew 24:3, 9-13
Great message from Rev Calvin Robinson at the Oxford Union in the UK. He shocked this group with God’s truth. Make sure you share this message widely.
Calvin Robinson: I feel LIBERATED after being CANCELLED by the Church of England for having the wrong opinion on the Bible. Believing it is all God’s Word, the truth by which we should live.
I have just added another video of Calvin being interviewed and it is good to learn that Calvin will be preaching in another church. Both of these videos need to be viewed and shared.
For Christians, all of life is the enterprise through which we glorify God and enjoy Him forever. The means by which we do that is simple: we must know who this God is and how we can enjoy Him forever. This is only derived from a robust understanding and application of Scripture and understanding the role of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Thus, when we are faced with whatever progressive ideals might creep in, the principle is one whereby we test all things according to Scripture empowered by the Holy Spirit.
I am convinced many within the broader church have been pressed into the mold of a system of thought the broader culture adopts (i.e. progressivism), and the foremost institution this has been accomplished through is education. Generations of children have come and gone through this institution, which with the adoption of evolution has rejected any involvement of God in science and now education, as a result, society is largely secular. God’s values have been jettisoned and the progressives now dominate our educational establishments and parliament.
How do we solve this dilemma? The answer is surprisingly simple but unflatteringly naïve to the world, and even many professing Christians. The Word of God must be re-established as the foundation for all of life. Everything else is subservient to it and must align with it. In other words, we live consistently to the message we proclaim, from the seemingly mundane choices we make in entertainment, to how we spend our money, raise and teach our children, and how we do church, which means getting back to church as outlined in the Book of Acts, house churches that make disciples, and more. Only then will we be salt and light in the world. Only then will the Holy Spirit truly lead believers and the fruit of the spirit will be evident in their lives: love, joy, peace patience, faith, gentleness, goodness, kindness, and self-control. The ministry gifts, all nine will be evident including miracles, words of knowledge, and discerning of spirits.
The Gospel will then be unstoppable. “And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” Matthew 24:14
The authentic Christian church is an agency of transformation. It is the embassy of the Kingdom of Heaven in the fallen world
“Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, to be reconciled to God. For our sake He made Him to be sin who knew no sin so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.” 2Corinthians 5:21-22
That Kingdom, said Jesus, is like leaven it permeates and transforms.
“The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, till it was all leavened.” Matthew 13:33
In contrast to mere revolution, transformation works from “inward to outward” – from the Holy Spirit’s interaction with the human spirit outward through soul and body. What is inside is ultimately “worked out” (Philippians 2:12).
“Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation.” 2 Corinthians 5:17-20
“Yet those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary.” Isaiah 40:31
“Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.” Philippians 2:12-13
“Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.” 2 Timothy 2:15
“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” Galatians 2:20
We need to living as ambassadors for Christ now in preparation for ruling and reigning with Jesus Christ in His coming Millennial Kingdom.
“They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. This is the first resurrection. 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 20:4-6
When God called Abraham, he didn’t say, “You need to ascribe to these commandments, right principles, and correct beliefs.” Instead, God told Abraham, “Go from your country, your people, and your father’s household to the land I will show you.” How did Abraham respond?
“So Abram went, as the Lord had told him.”Genesis 12.4
He didn’t say a word. He got his feet moving.
When it came time for Jesus to assemble the men who would become His apostles and disciples, he didn’t command them to discern and discover all of the scriptural rules and laws to govern their conduct and learn what they should believe. No, Jesus called them and what was their response?
“Immediately they left their boat and their father and followed him.” Matthew 4:22
They got their feet moving and so should we.
In the three short years that Jesus ministered on this earth, Jesus walked over 3000 miles. He was a man on the move. He was a man of imminency and intention.
Jesus took ordinary people, made by and in the image of, his Father, and by the power of the Holy Spirit, turned them into a community, a family, of fervent and dedicated apostles, disciples, and students, thereby launching the greatest social movement in human history.
By Jesus’ death and resurrection, He made it possible for our Heavenly Father to send the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity, to indwell the Spirit of every person who repents of their past rebellion against God and given their life to Jesus as their Lord and Saviour. Submitting to baptism in water they have shown they have died to their old life and been born again by the Holy Spirit into a new life in Christ.
It is possible to be born again by the Holy Spirit and yet we quench His work in our lives thereby grieving Him.
The detailed message we are given of how Elijah heard from God is tremendously important.
What did Elijah hear after the wind, earthquake, and fire?
“And, behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake: And after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.” 1 Kings 19:11-12
How did Elijah respond to the “still small voice“? He “went out..”. He got his feet moving.
“And it was so, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out…” 1 Kings 19:13
“And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.” Ephesians 4:30
It is obvious from this Scripture that it is possible to grieve the Holy Spirit and we are told that we quench His work in our lives when we ignore His “still small voice“. I know in my own life that I often am distracted by worldly attractions and miss God’s best for me which means I miss the joy that we get from serving Him.
Prayer is the way we stay in touch with God, Human beings were made to be in fellowship with God. Adam and Eve’s disobedience severed the link but thank God He asked His Son, Jesus, to restore the link. What does God do for those that relate to Him in love? The Psalmist puts it well when he said,
“You make known to me the path of life; in your presence, there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” Psalms 16:11
If we are obedient and get our feet moving when He asks us to go, He will guide our steps.
“Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; and whatever we ask we receive from Him because we keep his commandments and do what pleases Him.” 1 John 3:21-22
We need to read this section of Romans regularly to remind ourselves what are the true marks of a Christian
“Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” Romans 12:9-21
Walk in the Spirit
With His first coming to earth, Jesus made it possible for our Heavenly Father to send the Holy Spirit to empower those that have repented of their past deeds and put their trust in Jesus as their Lord and Saviour. Prophecy indicates His second coming to rule and reign with the glorified Saints is soon.
The primary new covenant command is ‘walk in the Spirit.’ To walk or be led by the Spirit, involves a transformation that includes a change of former behaviours so as to live in a way that pleases God and enables us to do the ministry He has planned for us.
“But now we are released from the law, having died to that which held us captive, so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old way of the written code.: Romans 7:6
“For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God” Romans 8:13-14
“Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.” Romans 8:26-27
“The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things, there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.”Galatians 5:22-24
“Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another, the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.” 1 Corinthians 12:4-11
“In the last days, there will be scoffers, following their own ungodly passions.” It is these who cause divisions, worldly people, devoid of the Spirit. But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life.” Jude 1:18-21
LIVING ETERNAL NOW 