WHY PEOPLE REJECT GOD

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The reason a young former pastor renounced his Christian faith and rejected God was because: “How could a loving God reject people who were sincere in whatever faith they held? Would He truly condemn them because they understood Him differently than those professing faith in Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord?”

This young man’s issue was not the historical credibility of the resurrection of Jesus or the reliability of the Genesis narrative regarding the Fall of Man. Instead, he was offended by the idea that a God of mercy would not welcome into eternal life everyone who seemed to be earnest in whatever faith they have. Put simply, this former pastor decided to create a new god, one in his own image.

Former evangelical pastor Rob Bell turned from biblical faith several years ago by denying the reality of Hell. He like so many leaders of denominational churches believe the Bible teaches non-believers will be tormented for all eternity in the Lake of Fire and yet the Bible clearly teaches that after the White Throne judgement, there is a second death in the Lake of Fire.

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

Bell was right in believing eternity in Hell is hardly just, and is inconsistent with the nature of the God – Who is love. This belief cost him eternal life with his Creator.

My book on the Lake of Fire is available as an ebook on Amazon.

“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 (also see Revelation 2:11, 20:6, and 20:14)

In reading various “de-conversion” stories, accounts by and about people who have left their Christian faith, there is a persistent theme. It’s not about the reasonableness of Christianity, its intellectual coherence, or the credibility of its propositional claims. Rather, they come to a point where their dislike of certain doctrines or practices leads them to abandon their walk with Christ. They jettison their faith because it does not comport with their preferences. Or, put another way, the God of Scripture is not Who they want Him to be.

I often wonder if these people were been born again by the Holy Spirit. Jesus made it possible for God the Father to send the Holy Spirit to indwell our Spirit to be our Counsellor, our Teacher, and our Comforter. Jesus said He will bring us into all truth if we let Him.

We need to know God is not like us. He cannot denigrate the purity of His character by acting as though our transgressions really aren’t a big deal. And that’s the sticking point: the eternal Triune God is not concerned with conforming to our expectations. His character is not malleable, and He is not accountable to us for what He does.

Consider the story of Job. God allows Job’s entire family to be murdered, his vast wealth stolen, and his health broken. Job calls out to God, demanding to know why He has permitted these things given that he, Job, has been so faithful to Him. God is uncompelled to justify Himself to Job. Instead, He says, “Will the faultfinder (Job) contend with the Almighty? Let him who reproves God answer it” (Job 40:1).

Similarly, when Paul debates with an imaginary rhetorical opponent about God’s sovereignty and human free will, the apostle does not try to dissect something beyond man’s grasp. Instead, he affirms that “there is no injustice with God” and asks, “Who are you, o man, to answer back to God?” (Romans 9:14, 20).

But this same God is infinitely loving and desires no one to perish but all to come to repentance and faith in His Son (2 Peter 3:9). This is why He invites us into a relationship with Himself. In His great, undeserved kindness, God has revealed Himself to us. “His invisible attributes, namely, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made,” Paul asserts (Romans 1:20). His power, intelligence, and love are displayed in a world that is complex, ordered, and abundant. The heavens, “the work of His fingers,” declare His glory (Psalms 8:4, 19:1).

He has revealed Himself in our very natures, with the weight of moral duty “written on our hearts” (Romans 2:15) and eternity placed within them (Ecclesiastes 3:11). He has revealed His character and desires, His demands, and His offer of everlasting life, in the pages of text composed by numerous men over the course of many centuries. The Bible is His written revelation.

Most profoundly, He has revealed Himself in the person of Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of Man and Son of God, sinless and righteous, Who took the penalty for sin we deserve as He died on the cross, and whose resurrection heralded His victory over sin, death, and the devil. Trusting in Him and Him alone for forgiveness, we receive life, eternal life, that He alone can give. Moreover, Jesus made it possible for us to receive the third person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit into our Spirit to enable us to live the Christian life.

This is news so grand that it invites adoration of the One offering it. It should create in us a longing to know and follow Him, not turn our backs on Him because He does not seek to appease our finite indignation about things we can’t grasp. Would you really want to serve a God so eager to be liked He debases His Majesty to plead for our approval?

“A man can no more diminish God’s glory by refusing to worship Him,” wrote C.S. Lewis, “than a lunatic can put out the sun by scribbling the word ‘darkness’ on the walls of his cell.” He is Who He is and invites us to know Him — and that’s the best news of all.

GOD IS THREE PERSONS: GOD THE FATHER, GOD THE SON, AND GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT

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The Rise of Christological Heresy by Simon Turpin on September 9, 2023

The most important question ever is who is Jesus Christ? Is he the eternal Son of God or just a created being like us? Well, a 2022 survey showed that professing Christians’ understanding of the Lord Jesus is slipping, as more than half held heretical views about him. According to the survey, only 54 percent agreed that “There is one true God in three persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.” An astonishing 73 percent agreed with the statement that “Jesus is the first and greatest being created by God.” Given this belief, it is not surprising that 43 percent affirmed that “Jesus was a great teacher, but he was not God.” False beliefs regarding the identity of Jesus are not new but have been condemned throughout church history as heresies, such as Sabellianism, Subordinationism, and Socinianism. Each of these heretical positions continues to this day but just under different names.

To understand the deity of Jesus, it is important to define what Christians believe about the doctrine of God, as many objectors to the deity of Jesus misunderstand what Christians believe about the triune nature of God. The biblical teaching on the nature of God (YHWH, יהוה) is that there is one true being of God (Deuteronomy 6:4; Isaiah 45:5) who exists eternally as three coequal and coeternal distinct persons: the Father (Isaiah 63:8; Philippians 1:2), the Son (Isaiah 63:9; John 1:1, 18), and the Holy Spirit (Isaiah 65:10, 14; Acts 5:3–4).3 This biblical truth is what Christians call the doctrine of the Trinity. All Christological heresies deny the doctrine of the Trinity.

The Apostle John opens his Gospel with the words, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1).

John 1:1 teaches three things: (1) the Word is eternal; (2) the Word has had an eternal relationship with the Father; and (3) the Word, as to his nature, is deity. First, the Word has eternally existed (cf. John 1:15, 8:58, 17:5). The Word (logos) was (ēn) already there in the beginning, but not as something that came into being. This not only indicates the eternality of the Word but there is a pointed contrast between the Word (that precedes everything) and everything else that comes into existence. The Word was (John 1:1), but everything else became (ginomai) (John 1:3; cf. 1:6). In John 1:1–3, the Word’s preexistence and continuous being is contrasted against the “becoming” of all created things. Second, the Word has an eternal relationship with God (the Father, John 1:18). John describes the Word as being with (pros) God, which is a relational term showing that the person of the Word was with the person of God the Father (cf. John 6:46; 1 John 1:2). Third, the Word, as his nature, is deity. The Word is not only distinct from God (the Word was with God), but the Word is God (theos). John 1:1 clearly shows that the Word (Jesus) is personally distinct from another who is called God; he is not a different God but possesses the same nature as the one whom he is with—the Father (cf. John 5:18).

By describing Jesus as the “firstborn over all creation” (Colossians 1:15), Paul is saying that he is the absolute ruler over all creation. In fact, in Colossians 1:16, Paul absolutely rules out the idea that Jesus is a created being because he presents Jesus as the Creator of the entire universe which exists by his creative power: “For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.” The reason Jesus can create all things is because “in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily” (Colossians 2:9). The Greek word for “deity,” theotēs, refers to “the state of being God.”12 The verb “dwells” (katoikeō) is in the present tense and suggests that the indwelling of the Son in bodily form is permanent (cf. John 1:14).

A passage Unitarians always quote to try to prove their point is John 17:3, “And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.” Unitarians believe this shows that only the Father is God. However, Jesus does not say that only the Father is the true God, as he has already identified himself as divine (John 5:18, 8:58). Moreover, according to Jesus, to have eternal life is to know two persons: both the Father and Jesus (see John 14:6–7, 16:3). Knowledge of God cannot be separated from knowledge of Jesus, as knowing Jesus is the only way to know God (John 14:7). Jewish monotheism (unlike Unitarianism) could contain the idea that the Messiah was divine (Psalm 45:6, 110:1, 5; Isaiah 9:6; Jeremiah 23:6) and that together with the Creator, he could give life (see John 5:25–26). But when Unitarians bring up John 17:3, they often neglect to mention that two verses later Jesus says, “And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed” (John 17:5). Jesus is speaking of the glory he shared with the Father before the world existed. The words “before the world existed” show that Jesus’ sonship did not begin at his baptism or resurrection (as many Unitarians believe) but is an eternal sonship (John 1:1, 8:58). John 17:3–5 is an example of a divine (John 1:1), yet incarnate (John 1:14) person—the Son—communicating with a divine, but non-incarnate person—the Father in heaven.

The name Jesus (YHWH is salvation) is theophoric (a name that bears God’s name). Unitarians often point out that there are many people in Scripture who have theophoric names, such as Isaiah (YHWH will save), Daniel (God is my judge), Joel (YHWH is God), and Nathanael (gift of God), but it doesn’t mean these individuals are God. This is true, but it is evident that Jesus’ name (YHWH is salvation) identifies him as God, “for he will save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21). Matthew is telling us that Jesus is YHWH who saves. No one else in Scripture who has a theophoric name can save people from their sins—only Jesus can (cf. Matthew 8:25). Jesus is the only one who can save his people because as God-incarnate, he gave his perfect life as a ransom for sinners on the cross (Matthew 20:28). Matthew also identifies Jesus as “God with us” (Matthew 1:23; cf. Isaiah 7:14). New Testament scholar Craig Keener notes, “In view of Matthew 18:20 and 28:20, Matthew clearly understands ‘God with us’ in Isaiah 7:14 to mean that Jesus is truly God.”

The only way for churches to avoid these heresies is by emphasizing sound doctrine (such as the deity of Christ) in their teaching and preaching.

“For an overseer, as God’s steward, must be above reproach. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or a drunkard or violent or greedy for gain, but hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined. He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it.” Titus 1:7-9

“But as for you, teach what accords with sound doctrine.” Titus 2:1

“For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.” Titus 2:11-13

THE REAL ORIGIN AND HISTORY OF THE WORLD AND MANKIND

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Part of this real history is the bad news that the rebellion of the first man, Adam, against God’s command, brought death, suffering, and separation from God into this world. We see the results all around us. All of Adam’s descendants are sinful from conception (Psalm 51:5) and have themselves entered into this rebellion (sin). They, therefore, cannot live with a holy God but are condemned to separation from God. The Bible says that “all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23) and that all are therefore subject to “everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power” (2 Thessalonians 1:9).

 The good news is that God has done something about it. “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). Jesus Christ the Creator, God the Son, though totally sinless, took on human nature, so He could become our Redeemer. Then He suffered, on behalf of mankind, the penalty of mankind’s sin, which is death and separation from God. He did this to satisfy the righteous demands of the holiness and justice of God, His Father. Jesus was the perfect sacrifice; He died on a cross, but on the third day, He rose again, conquering death, so that all who truly believe in Him, repent (repentance = a change of mind) of their sin and trust in Him (rather than their own merit), are able to come back to God and live for eternity with their Creator.

Sadly, the world no longer takes the Bible as God’s Word divinely inspired by its Creator. Despite the overwhelming evidence of a worldwide flood: billions of dead things were buried quickly all over the world including abundant fossil fuels formed from buried vegetation, we do not want to believe there is a God to whom we are responsible for our actions. A god who judged the world just 4,000 years ago with the worldwide flood of Noah’s day. Look at the following two prophetic Scriptures written over two thousand years ago telling us that what we see happening in the world today will happen.

“You should remember the predictions of the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior through your apostles, knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires. They will say, “Where is the promise of his coming?… For they deliberately overlook this fact, that the heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God, and that by means of these, the world that then existed was deluged with water and perished.” 2 Peter 3:2-3,5-6

“But you must remember, beloved, the predictions of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. They said to you, “In the last time there will be scoffers, following their own ungodly passions.” It is these who cause divisions, worldly people, devoid of the Spirit.” Jude 1:17-19

Jesus came to earth, two thousand years ago, to redeem us and there were 300-plus prophecies to warn the religious leaders of the day but they missed it. Likewise, there are almost 2000 Biblical prophecies about Jesus’ soon second coming to earth and many of the religious leaders of our day are missing it. Jesus is coming to take believers to heaven for a period whilst God pours out His wrath a second time on an unrepentant world. The end times Biblical prophecies are already playing out in our day and we are not too far off the prophesied last seven years of this age. The Bible gives us a lot of information about the events that will occur during those last seven years. Make sure you take advantage of God’s offer of redemption in Jesus Christ and avoid the coming wrath of God.

“When the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.” 2 Thessalonians 1:6b-8

“When he opened the sixth seal, I looked, and behold, there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black as sackcloth, the full moon became like blood, and the stars of the sky fell to the earth as the fig tree sheds its winter fruit when shaken by a gale. The sky vanished like a scroll that is being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place. Then the kings of the earth and the great ones and the generals and the rich and the powerful, and everyone, slave and free, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, calling to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?” Revelation 6:12-17

‘MEN HAVE FORGOTTEN GOD; THAT’S WHY ALL THIS HAS HAPPENED’

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In 1983 Solzhenitsyn said, “If I were asked today to formulate as concisely as possible the main cause of the ruinous revolution that swallowed up some 60 million of our people, I could not put it more accurately than to repeat: ‘Men have forgotten God; that’s why all this has happened.’

Marxist ideology places no moral constraints on those in power. All those regarded by the ideology as ‘reactionary’ could be arrested, sent to labour camps and worked to death. Families were separated.

There was no recourse to ‘justice’. Anyone judged to be an ‘enemy of the revolution’ was, effectively, dehumanised, but that category was infinitely expandable. One suspect conversation or joke might condemn you. Children were encouraged to inform on their parents. One of the ‘heroes’ of the Soviet Union was Pavlik Morozov, who allegedly informed on his father to the Party in 1932. His father was sent to a work camp and then executed. Pavlik was, in turn, murdered (under disputed circumstances). Four members of the family were accused of his death, rounded up, and shot. A statue was erected in Pavlik’s honour. Children were taken to the statue and shown Pavlik as a hero of the Revolution because he had informed on his father and they must do likewise if necessary for the sake of the Party.

We are in the same situation today but for different reasons. During the twentieth century, first universities, then all the institutions of Western society, were invaded by the ‘virus’ of radical doubt built upon the theory of evolution that argues the Cosmos derived from the Big Bang. Critical theory hijacked certainty about everything. This theory was built on a lie. It began with the false premise that there is no transcendent reality – no Creator God. From that, they concluded that the world of perception is a product of human activity. We make our own reality. According to critical theory, all hierarchies are oppressive. The world is descending into chaos as a result and Christians will experience tribulation even great tribulation just as Biblical prophecy said they would prior to Jesus’ return to first rapture the Saints, pour out His wrath upon unrepentant earth, and then return to earth with glorified Saints to defeat the Antichrist’s army and begin His 1000-year reign on this earth.

“For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are but the beginning of the birth pains.
“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. 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 24:7-14

“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

GOD’S LOVE FOR HIS PEOPLE IS INFINITE AND UNCONDITIONAL

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“But [King David] covered his face, and the king cried out with a loud voice, ‘O my son Absalom! O Absalom, my son, my son!’ 2 Samuel 19:4

Absalom, like King Saul, had a kingly and charismatic appearance but a self-serving bent. He gradually began to see himself as a potential successor to his father’s throne and began gathering supporters among the northern tribes of Israel. It was his intention to raise an army, mount a rebellion against his father, and take over the throne. But in a battle with David’s armies, Absalom was killed, throwing David into an extended season of grief. Even though Absalom was his enemy, David loved him unconditionally, even at the time of his death. 

Loving an enemy unconditionally is the New Testament’s picture of our salvation. Even while we were God’s enemies, He sent Christ to die for us. Thank God today for His unconditional love.

“God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.” Romans 5:8

“No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.“ Romans 8:35

“God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” Romans 5:5

GOD IS A RIGHTEOUS GOD AND HIS WRATH WILL BE POURED OUT ON AN UNREPENTANT WORLD

God poured out His wrath once before on an unrepentant world at the time of Noah’s Day and we know from Biblical prophecy that He will pour it out again in the not-too-distant future with the Trumpet (Revelation 8) and the Bowl (Revelation 16) judgements.

“But because of your hard and impenitent heart, you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.” Romans 2:5

MIRACLES AND SCIENCE

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Origins science uses the principles of causality (everything that has a beginning has a cause) and analogy (e.g. we observe that intelligence is needed to generate complex coded information in the present, so we can reasonably assume the same for the past). And because there was no material intelligent designer for life, it is legitimate to invoke a non-material designer for life. Creationists invoke the miraculous only for origins science, and as shown, this does not mean they will invoke it for operational science.

Miracles are an addition to natural laws rather than a loophole within them. This is because natural laws are formulated in isolated systems. For example, Newton’s 1st Law of Motion states that objects will continue in a straight line at a constant speed — if no unbalanced force is acting. But there is nothing in the law to prohibit unbalanced forces acting—otherwise, nothing could ever change direction!

If God exists, there is no truly isolated system. Thus there is no basis for disallowing miracles unless you could prove that God doesn’t exist, but you can’t prove a universal negative. And if Jesus really were God Incarnate as I believe (see documentation), He could certainly bring other forces into play without violating science.

C.S. Lewis applied these concepts to the virginal conception of Christ: that is the zygote was made by the Holy Spirit’s action on Mary’s ovum, i.e. an addition to the system. But after that, the embryo developed in a normal manner.

Second, this comment treats natural laws as real entities. In reality, scientific laws are descriptive of what we observe happening regularly, just as the outline of a map describes the shape of a coastline. Treating scientific laws as prescriptive, i.e. the cause of the observed regularities, is like claiming that the drawing of the map is the cause of the shape of the coastline.

The Bible explains that: we are made in the image of a rational God (Genesis 1:26–27), God is a God of order not of confusion (1 Corinthians 14:33), God gave man dominion over creation (Genesis 1:28), and He commanded honesty (Exodus 20:16). Applying this, as well as a correct understanding of the nature of scientific laws as description, leads to a worldview that historically led to science without jettisoning miracles, as previously stated:

These [founders of modern science], like modern creationists, regarded ‘natural laws’ as descriptions of the way God upholds His creation in a regular and repeatable way (Col. 1:15–17), while miracles are God’s way of upholding His creation in a special way for special reasons. Because creation finished at the end of day 6 (Gen. 2:1–3), creationists following the Bible would expect that God has since mostly worked through ‘natural laws’ except where He has revealed in the Bible that He used a miracle. And since ‘natural laws’ are descriptive, they cannot prescribe what cannot happen, so they cannot rule out miracles. Scientific laws do not cause or forbid anything, any more than the outline of a map causes the shape of the coastline.

C.S. Lewis pointed out that arguing against miracles based on the alleged total uniformity of nature is actually circular reasoning (from Miracles):

No, of course we must agree with the empiricist, David Hume that if there is absolutely ‘uniform experience’ against miracles, in other words, they have never happened, why then they never have. Unfortunately, we know the experience against them to be uniform only if we know that all the reports of them are false. And we know all the reports are false only if we know already that miracles have never occurred. In fact, we are arguing in a circle.

Without a belief that the universe was made by a God of order and that we are made in the image of this God, the Logos, we have no basis for either an orderly universe or that our thoughts can be trusted. Atheists can treat these premises as axioms, i.e. accepted as true without proof, but they are theorems for Christians since they follow from the propositions of Scripture. Indeed, atheists can’t prove that the universe is orderly, because the proofs would have to suppose the order they are trying to prove. Similarly, they can’t prove that their thoughts are rational because the proofs would have to assume this very rationality. Yet evolution would select only for survival advantage, not rationality.

You cannot derive an orderly universe from the proposition ‘God does not exist’. Indeed, you need to accept an orderly universe as a ‘brute fact’, which ironically was actually plagiarized from the Christian world view.

This article has been adapted from an article by Jonathan Sarfati Miracles and Science on the website http://www.creation.com. First published 2/09/2006

DO ALL TO THE GLORY OF GOD

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Where do I come from? Where am I going? What is the meaning of life?

Science takes things apart to see how they work. Religion puts them together to see what they mean.

I love listening to John Lennox. He is an evangelist extraordinaire. He makes it so simple and at the same time exciting as he reveals God’s truth about the universe He created. Christians will enjoy this video immensely and want to share it with others. Non-Christians will hate it as it challenges their faith to the core.

GOD’S WORK DONE IN GOD’S WAY WILL NEVER LACK GOD’S SUPPLY

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We often hear people say, ‘The end justifies the means.’ In other words, it’s okay to do something dishonourable, if necessary, in order to achieve something honourable. But that is not a biblical perspective. God is as concerned about the process as much as the product.

“So they brought the ark of the Lord, and set it in its place in the midst of the tabernacle that David had erected for it. Then David offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the Lord.“
2 Samuel 6:17

Early in King David’s career, he learned this lesson the hard way. He was moving the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem. But he failed to follow God’s instructions on how to transport the Ark. A man died as a result, and the Ark’s movement was delayed for three months. There is a lesson there: God cares about how we serve Him as much as He cares about what we accomplish. For example, not only are we to speak the truth, but we are also to speak the truth ‘in love’ (Ephesians 4:15). We are to defend the faith but with ‘gentleness and respect’ (1 Peter 3:15).

Do God’s work today—yes! But do it God’s way so He is free to bless and honour it.
God’s work done in God’s way will never lack God’s supply. Hudson Taylor

“In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths.” Proverbs 3:6

“Turn away from evil and do good; so shall you dwell forever. For the LORD loves justice; he will not forsake his saints. They are preserved forever, but the children of the wicked shall be cut off. The righteous shall inherit the land and dwell upon it forever.” Psalms 37:27-29

God tells us what is next on His agenda for this world. The rule of Satan and man on planet Earth is coming to an end. We are fast approaching the last seven years prior to Jesus’ return to this earth to establish His Millennial Kingdom about which we are given a lot of detail in God’s Word.

Check out http://www.millennialkingdom.net and Matthew Bryce Ervin’s book, One Thousand Years with Jesus – The Coming Messianic Kingdom.

“Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain. And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, and threw him into the pit, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he might not deceive the nations any longer until the thousand years were ended. After that, he must be released for a little while. Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed. Also, I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. 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 20:1-6

GOD IS YOUR SOURCE OF EVERY GOOD THING

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Unless you truly get this basic truth you are missing out on all but what you can generate on your own for the short time God allows you to live on the planet He created. Above all, you are missing out on eternal life.

Happiness can’t be bigger than its source. God is primary; all other forms of happiness—relationships, created things, and material pleasures—are secondary. If we don’t consciously see God as our source, these secondary things intended for enjoyment can master us.

Only God can satisfy the longing soul, and the hungry soul he fills with good things” (Psalm 107:9). We are finite and fallen, and we lack what’s required for true happiness. All those who look within themselves for pleasures and delight are doomed to misery. We just aren’t big enough and good enough to supply the happiness we crave!

When the first man and woman, Adam and Eve, disobeyed God, being deceived by the already fallen angelic being Satan, God withdrew the Holy Spirit from Adam and Eve’s spirit. They died spiritually then and physically some 900 years later.

“The spirit of man is the lamp of the Lord, searching all his innermost parts.” Proverbs 20:27

Our spirit, as the lamp of the Lord, was always meant to house the Holy Spirit. What an amazing truth, the third person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit, is the oil that allows us to function as God intended.

The wonderful news for all who accept God’s solution for our rebellion (JESUS paying the price, dying that we might live) is that Jesus made it possible for our Heavenly Father to send the Holy Spirit to once again indwell our spirit, enabling us to live as He intended.

Christ-followers enjoy what God provides first and foremost because they enjoy the God who made them and provides for them. Unlike us, God is infinite and without flaws. Secondary things bring some joy, but God alone is our “exceeding joy” (Psalm 43:4). Scottish theologian Samuel Rutherford (1600–1661) wrote, “It is the infinite Godhead that must allay the sharpness of your hunger after happiness, otherwise there shall still be a want of satisfaction to your desires.”

Secondary things are not incidental or unimportant— they’re God’s gifts to draw us to Him—so we should never disdain the created world. But by putting God first and His creation second, the world and its beauties become instruments of joy and worship. We love them better when we love God more than them.

In the mid-1600s, Puritan John Gibbon said, “God alone is enough, but without him, nothing [is enough] for thy happiness.” Whether or not we’re conscious of it, since God is the fountainhead of happiness, the search for happiness is always the search for God.

The only place you will find out the truth about this Cosmos and the meaning of life is in God’s Word, in which He gives us the entire story of the Cosmos we inhabit from its beginning to its fiery end. My recommendation would be either The Open Bible Expanded Edition (New King James Version), Thomas Nelson Publishers, or the ESV Study Bible (English Standard Version) published by Crossway.

GOD ANSWERS PRAYER

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Jesus makes it plain that forgiveness is an essential requirement of all prayers. He also makes it abundantly clear that He will respond to all prayers of believers that are operating in obedience to God’s will, which will be the Holy Spirit’s leading.

Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.” Mark 11:24-25

First, go and be reconciled to them” (Matthew 5:23-24). They may not forgive you, of course; they may reject your attempt or react with renewed anger over what you did, but then it becomes their problem, not yours. You will have done everything you could to let them know you regret what happened, and that you want their forgiveness.

Paul makes it clear that God answers humble prayers given with thanksgiving. We can also then be confident that the peace of God will “guard our hearts and minds“.

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-7

See what David has to say about prayer. He loves God because He knows God responds to his prayers. Note what David says about calling on God as long as he lives. Also, note David differentiates between his body and soul.

“I love the LORD because he has heard my voice and my pleas for mercy. Because he inclined his ear to me, therefore I will call on him as long as I live.” Psalms 116:1-2

“The LORD preserves the simple; when I was brought low, He saved me. Return, O my soul, to your rest;
for the LORD has dealt bountifully with you.” Psalms 116:6-7

“For you have delivered my soul from death, yes, my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light of life.” Psalms 56:13

“For you have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling; I will walk before the LORD in the land of the living.” Psalms 116:8-9

I love the following Scripture on prayer, it tells us so much 1. Rejoice always, 2. Pray without ceasing in all circumstances, 3. When we do, rejoice, be thankful, and pray we are in the will of God, 4. Do not quench the Holt Spirit within you, 5. Do not despise prophecies (there are about 2000 prophecies of Jesus’ second coming), 6. Test everything, be Bereans, 7. Hold fast to what is good and reject the rest.

“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is good.” 1 Thessalonians 5:16-21