Creation or Evolution?

I grew up going to public schools. In which we were taught that we all evolved from slime (no joke). I never really thought about it though, I mean how it all began. I guess I would have said the big bang started it all if I was asked, but I did believe in God (the god of my own imagination), but I never equated the two.

When I became a Christian, I can remember the day (it was night actually) when I was trucking home and I was listening to a Christian station and I heard this guy mention something about dinosaurs.

I don't know who it was or what else he said as I soon lost the reception, but it hit me like a bag of bones (dinosaur bones maybe, WHAM-O), "How do dinosaurs fit into the Bible? I don't think I've read anything about dinosaurs in there. And if the Bible is true and it tells of how God created the universe, but I was taught that we evolved from the goo to the zoo to you, then someone has to be wrong."

Now if I was into the whole unreasonable logic of post-modernism, I wouldn't have thought much of it, but I had to know if the faith I have given my life to was real, if the God I bowed to was a truly living God. If evolution was true than how could I believe any of the Bible if it claims a completely different world history than that of reality? It would all be false, and my faith would be false and pointless, if the Bible was wrong in history, then it would surely be wrong about God. I had to know. I was though, afraid. I feared what I might learn. However, I could not remain ignorant.

Where would I start? I'm a truck driver, how am I going to learn this great truth? So I prayed.

It wasn't long after that that heard another preacher begin talking about this. John MacAurthur was the man I was listening to and the series that he began was called "The Battle for the Beginning; Creation, Evolution, and the Bible" This is what I wanted to hear.
It was this that confirmed my faith and demolished all the lies told to me as a youth about really being a monkeys uncle.

I do not believe that evolution is true and it is not even real science (I know your may be thinking that I'm some sort of wack-a-doo) but I have now a great interest in science (no I'm not a scientist, nor do I plan to be one). With a little common sense and desire to learn the truth, I have, and this is what I wish to share with all y'all in future post.

Psalms 95:1-11
O come, let us sing for joy to the LORD, Let us shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation. Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving, Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms. For the LORD is a great God And a great King above all gods,
In whose hand are the depths of the earth, The peaks of the mountains are His also.
The sea is His, for it was He who made it, And His hands formed the dry land.
Come, let us worship and bow down, Let us kneel before the LORD our Maker.
For He is our God, And we are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand.
Today, if you would hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts...

Prayer Post - A Prayer for Haiti

Dear Lord God, You are almighty and sovereign over all of Your creation. My Lord, the island of Haiti is before You, may You hear their cries and mourning and anguish. May Your mercies and grace be found among them.

The nations gather together O Lord to bring aid and relief from their sufferings. Bless them in their aid for this little island. May all the operations of the United Nations, Canada, U.S., and all the other countries operate smoothly and efficiently in the best manor for those in the greatest need.

Amidst all this O God, may your chosen ones, those who call themselves by the name of Jesus Christ, be blessed and go forth to Haiti bearing witness of your grace among such tragedy.

You are in control, and Your purposes for causing this calamity are You own, whether it was judgment upon a nation, or some other reason, Your counsel is Your own. However, Your judgments are just, but Your mercies are greater, O Most High God, only may Your will be done.

May the gospel of Jesus Christ go forth into the island of Haiti, may the suffering find the greatest comfort of all in the saving faith of Your Son who has purchased for them salvation. I pray Lord Yahweh that You would open the eyes of the peoples to see your great love for them and how much more our Saviour has suffered to purchase their salvation, even with His own blood.

I pray that the peoples of Haiti would turn to you and that you would heal their families and their lives and that the nations of earth may see your kindness and glorify your holy name O great King of all the earth.

Psalms 63:1-11
A Psalm of David, when he was in the wilderness of Judah.
O God, You are my God; I shall seek You earnestly; My soul thirsts for You, my flesh yearns for You, In a dry and weary land where there is no water. Thus I have seen You in the sanctuary, To see Your power and Your glory. Because Your lovingkindness is better than life, My lips will praise You. So I will bless You as long as I live; I will lift up my hands in Your name. My soul is satisfied as with marrow and fatness, And my mouth offers praises with joyful lips. When I remember You on my bed, I meditate on You in the night watches, For You have been my help, And in the shadow of Your wings I sing for joy. My soul clings to You; Your right hand upholds me. But those who seek my life to destroy it, Will go into the depths of the earth. They will be delivered over to the power of the sword; They will be a prey for foxes. But the king will rejoice in God; Everyone who swears by Him will glory, For the mouths of those who speak lies will be stopped.

Non Essential Doctrines pt2 Calvinism vs Arminianism

When it comes to Biblical theological understandings, perhaps the greatest rivals (and the most contentious) are team Calvin vs team Armenian.

I honestly don't know a whole lot about either doctrine, but for as long these teachings have been around (as set out specifically by John Calvin or Jacobus Arminius), the believers of these two views have been in conflict.

I personally don't have any solid stance on either side. I believe a little Calvinism and a little from Arminianism, so I guess you could call me a "Cal-minian".

This could be a really long post if I were to get into this more, but as I've stated, I really don't know great details of either and I personally am not so interested in getting into the debate between the two sides.

I do know that there are concerns of either idea being extended too far, such as hyper-Calvinism, and Arminianism leading into Palagiamism, many times though these are simply misrepresentations made by the critics of either side. They can however lead into false teaching just like many ideas can.

I just want to encourage those on either side that if you both believe that Jesus Christ is the sole Saviour of mankind by grace alone through repentance and faith alone than you should be able to call each other brother. We should also be able to talk to each other about these differences and do so in peace without arguing. We can disagree without being disagreeable.

Let us exemplify our unity in Christ, not by having to believe exactly the same thing about being a Christian, but rather by the shed blood of Jesus Christ all of our sins are forgiven and we are brought into a common grace.

Essential Christian Doctrines pt 3 - There is one God

Why must I believe that there is only one God? Because that's what God says and because all other gods are but idols and come from the imaginations of men and they do not exist therefore they cannot save anyone.

This is one of those doctrines that must even be believed before anyone can even receive salvation. The first commandment of God is "you shall have no other gods before me".

God also says by the prophet Isaiah "You are My witnesses," declares the LORD, "And My servant whom I have chosen, So that you may know and believe Me And understand that I am He. Before Me there was no God formed, And there will be none after Me. "I, even I, am the LORD, And there is no savior besides Me. "It is I who have declared and saved and proclaimed, And there was no strange god among you; So you are My witnesses," declares the LORD, "And I am God. "Even from eternity I am He, And there is none who can deliver out of My hand; I act and who can reverse it?" (Isaiah 43:10-13)

Not only must we believe that there is one God, but we must worship God in truth as He is not as we imagine Him to be. The truth of which is magnified by God's very name, YAHWEH, which means I AM WHO I AM (Exodus 3:14). God's name denotes His self-existance and His eternality, all else has come into being by Him and for Him. God is who He is, not who we think He is, and He must be sought for as He is in truth because He is the embodiment of all absolute truth.


It is futile and even sin against God to seek after other gods. "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them.

For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.

For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures... For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. (Romans 1:18-23,25)

Another reason why we must believe that God is one is because the very fact that Jesus also testifies to God being one. In the account as recorded by Mark in chapter 12:28-30 "One of the scribes came and heard them arguing, and recognizing that He had answered them well, asked Him, "What commandment is the foremost of all?"
Jesus answered, "The foremost is, 'HEAR, O ISRAEL! THE LORD OUR GOD IS ONE LORD; AND YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND, AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH."

So unless you seek after the Lord as He is in truth and worship Him as He is in truth, you are committing idolatry and the truth is not in you. "For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus who gave Himself as a ransom for all, the testimony given at the proper time." Titus 2:5-6

"And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved." Acts 4:12

"For this reason He is the mediator of a new covenant, so that, since a death has taken place for the redemption of the transgressions that were committed under the first covenant, those who have been called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance." Hebrews 9:15

Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life." Romans 5:9-10

Essential Christian Doctrines pt2 - Pre-amble

Good day everyone and welcome.

Before I begin commenting on why this essential truth is so essential, I just want to make a comment that I briefly stated but should have made more clear in Essential Christian Doctrines pt 1.

I had said that "I believe 8 essential Christian doctrines that should be held by all believers and that for anyone who does not hold these doctrines to be true, they may be outside the faith and therefore do not share in the unity of Christ at all, or they are young immature believers and need yet to be taught from the word of God."

Now does this mean that in order for a man or women to be saved that they must believe that the Holy Spirit is God or that Jesus Christ is God incarnate? I don't think so. Not at the moment of salvation. There are a couple of things that a person should believe and do in order to be saved and that is;

1. Seek the Lord with all you heart, (seek the true God, for it profits you not to seek a god of your imagination, you must seek God in truth)
2. Repent of all sin, and deny yourself as worthy before a holy God.
3. Believe in Jesus Christ as come from God and taking our punishment for our sins by dying on a cross and three days later that He physically rose from the dead.
4. Die to yourself and submit your life to Christ by putting all your faith and trust in Him as your Lord and King.
5. Be baptized in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. (It is important to note that being baptized will not save you, nor does being baptized insure your salvation (baby baptism), but rather it is an outward showing of your obedience and submission to Jesus Christ, as Jesus says to repent and be baptized. To refuse shows a lack of sincerity in heart about your repentance and faith.)

These are the requirements for salvation, and they can be summed up as "repentance and faith", and from that comes obedience.

With that said, yes, someone may come to faith without believing in the triune nature of God, or that Jesus Christ is God in the flesh, but I think a more accurate word for this would be someone may come to faith without knowing these important truths. Also, I do believe that someone can be a Christian and for a time, however long God knows, be unaware of these truths, or confused by them, or perhaps even doubtful. I don't think this would be for long though, because all believers are given the Holy Spirit of God, sent from Jesus, who is the Spirit of truth who guides us into all the truth (John 16:13)

I think where the essential nature of these doctrines come in play is that, as God grows you in faith and by the sanctification of the Holy Spirit, you will not deny that these doctrines are true. If you claim to be a follower of Jesus Christ and deny Him as He is in truth, then beware, and hear the warning of Jesus, "Not everyone who says to Me, `Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, `Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?' And then I will declare to them, ` I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS." Matthew 7:21-23

And of Paul, "For if one comes and preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted, you bear this beautifully." 2 Corinthians 11:4

And of John, "Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father; the one who confesses the Son has the Father also." (1 John 2:23) ... "And we know that the Son of God has come, and has given us understanding so that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life. Little children, guard yourselves from idols. 1 John 5:20-21

Non- essential Christian Doctrines pt1

This morning I put up a post about how Christians should be united in the truth, and should stop bickering and shunning those who do not believe in some of the minor doctrines they believe in.

I also said that I do believe that some minor doctrines, if taken to far can lead into major consequences, sometimes eternal consequences. I want to try and explain this a little further.

I want to start with a doctrine that I believe is a very great truth that I do wish all Christians believed, but one that I am well aware of the grave consequences that can come of it. That is of a believers eternal security, or commonly known as "once saved, always saved".

I believe that once God saves an individual that person is born again as a new creature in Christ and is sealed for all eternity, never to lose their salvation.

A common misunderstanding is that this then gives the Christian freedom to sin as they please because it doesn't matter, they can't lose their salvation right? Wrong!! Unfortunately, some people think this way. This usually happens because they have not been told or do not hold high esteem for God's command for repentance.

God commands us to repent, and if an individual is truly grieved at how sinful they are from within their heart, not just about the mistakes they've made or consequences of such, then God will give them a new heart with new attitudes and desires for righteousness, and they will sin less but they won't be sinless.

If someone continues in sin then as John says, "If we say we have fellowship with Him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth" (1Jn 1:6). And I say that person was never saved in the first place. Paul says it well in Romans 6;

What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.

For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.

What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? Butthanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness. I am speaking in human terms, because of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification.

For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Another concern for those who do not believe they can lose their salvation is that I believe although they strive for holiness, they may become a little indifferent to minor sins. That is why I pray for God's heart concerning all sin, and that God would continuously reveal my sin to me and that it may grieve my heart.

<--------------------------------\/--------------------------------->

One more doctrine that I will touch on for now is that of being able to lose ones salvation.

This teaching I believe has at least two consequencial implications. One being that I believe it puts a great burden upon those who believe that they can lose their salvation.

If you believe this, then the Christian will spend so much of their time worrying that anything that they do wrong may have caused them to fall from God's graces. Face it, while we are here in these mortal bodies we will sin until the day we die and you will probably live in guilt and worry most of that time.

Another great concern is that these people become very legalistic and can get to the point where they believe that you must never sin again or you are not saved. John responds to this thinkning in 1 John 1:8 and 10 "If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us"..."If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us."

Something I would say to that also is, that there is and never was or will be anything that we can do to earn our salvation, therefore there is nothing that we can do to keep our salvation either. Our salvation has been bought and paid for by the blood of Jesus Christ, and we are now seen as righteous before God because of Jesus' life not our own.

I believe the writer to the Hebrews addresses this as well in Hebrews 6:4-6;
"For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt".

I think what he's saying is that if you thought you were saved and then lost it, then that's it, because you'd essentially have to crucify Jesus again to regain your salvation, and I don't think that is going to happen.


As I'm sure you noticed in the title that this is only part 1 for this topic and there will obviously be other posts for this in the future. For now, ponder these things and remember to always cross check everything I say with the Scriptures for they alone are the sole authority.

Essential Christian Doctrines pt 1

So recently I put a post up about Christians being united in Christ in this new year and to stop bickering back and forth about minor doctrines. There is no Biblical grounds for any servant of God to shun another for not believing in a non-essential doctrine that they do.

I did not say either that we should never shun someone though. I did mention that there are I believe 8 essential Christian doctrines that should be held by all believers and that for anyone who does not hold these doctrines to be true, they are probably outside the faith and therefore do not share in the unity of Christ at all, or they are young immature believers and need yet to be taught from the word of God.

I want to now expound on these 8 essentials and explain why I believe, and probably greater men than I (I presume) would agree (I hope), that these are essential tenants of the Christian faith. Just now as I write this,I figured that I want to do this justice and I don't want to skimp on my details and reasoning so I will make this my first series of messages.

The 8 essentials of the Christian faith are these;
1. There is one God.
2. God exists eternally in three equal persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
3. Jesus Christ is God in the flesh.
4. Jesus was crucified for our sins against a holy God, taking the punishment we deserved upon Himself, thus redeeming and reconciling us to God.
5. Three days after His crucifixion, He rose from the dead in a physical body.
6. Salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Jesus Christ alone.
7. True faith must always be preceded and followed by repentance.
8. Sola Scriptura, the Scriptures alone are fully authoritative, infallible and inerrant.

Stay tuned as I will comment on these soon.

Unity in Christ this New Year

Happy New Year everybody. I just wanted to reiterate a message on unity in Christ that was given by my good friend and mentor Kelly Powers at
www.rootedinchrist.org/1/Christian_Essentials/Entries/2009/12/25_Doctrine_Wars.html

I want to say that in this new year let us as the body of Jesus Christ live as one in love and respect. There are many things in the Scriptures that many of us disagree about such as between calvinists and arminianists, pentacostals and non-pentacostals, creationists and theistic evolutionists. Let us though treat each other with respect and so long as we have untiy in the essential doctrines than we shall call each other brother and sister.

Now that begs the question; what are the essential doctrines? I believe there are several truths that if you call yourself a Christian you will not deny;
->There is one God (Duet 6:4, Jam 2:19),
->God exist eternally and equally as three persons, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit (Is 48:12-16, Matt 3:16-17),
->Jesus Christ is God in the flesh (Jn 1:1, 14, Col2:9, Heb 1:8),
->Jesus was crucified for our sins against a holy God, thereby taking our punishment upon Himself (Rom 3:21-26, 4:25, 1 Cor15:3-4)
->and three days later He rose from the dead in a physical body (Lk 24:36-43, 1 Cor 15:14,17)
->Salvation is by grace alone through faith alone in Jesus Christ alone (Acts4:12, Eph 2:8-9)
->Faith must be preceded and followed by repentance (Lk 24:47, Acts 2:38)
-> and Sola Scriptura, the Scriptures alone are fully authoritative, infallible and inerrant (Acts 17:11, Gal 3:22, 2 Tim 3:16, 2 Pet 1:20)

I believe we should and must stand firm on these. Sure we can have disagreements about minor issues, but let's try to talk about them with grace for one another. If it's not an issue of eternal implications then let's not bash each other about it.

I know some minor issues can and do lead into big implications (I'll talk of those soon), but there are now so many people out there who call themselves Christians and use words that sound right but are not quite, and they are slowly and discreetly changing definitions of such essentials as Jesus' deity, or our justification by grace alone through faith alone, before God and they also challenge the authority and infallibility of the Scriptures such as Jehova's Witnesses and Mormons the Emergent Church and the Word Faith Movement
(see www.carm.org and www.rootedinchrist.org and www.justinpeters.org for great info on this)

We can discuss our differences, and even try to correct those who believe wrongly about a minor doctrine such as theistic evolution, but let us do so in love for one another. I think a great passage for us to consider when it comes to a brother or sister in Christ and a minor issue is in Romans chapter 14;
Now accept the one who is weak in faith, but not for the purpose of passing judgment on his opinions. 14:1

Who are you to judge the servant of another? To his own master he stands or falls; and he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand. 14:4

But you, why do you judge your brother? Or you again, why do you regard your brother with contempt? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God. 14:10

So then each one of us will give an account of himself to God. Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather determine this--not to put an obstacle or a stumbling block in a brother's way. 14:12-13

Now I know the context of these verses is in regards to obeying the Jewish laws, but I think the principle can be used in regards to minor doctrines. There must be unity within the body, although, even as I say we must have unity, there can be no unity with those who stand opposed to the truth of essential doctrines.

So for the sake of the truth and for the sake of the souls of those who are perishing for the made up beliefs in idols let us stand united for the true gospel for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to you all. I pray that the birth of our Lord and Saviour is the forefront of your celebration this Friday for this is what Christmas is supposed to be all about.

AS prophesied of hundreds of years before the Christ was born.
Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel. (Is 7:14)

For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, On the throne of David and over his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness From then on and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will accomplish this. (Is 9:6,7)

"But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Too little to be among the clans of Judah, From you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago, From the days of eternity." (Mic 5:2)


Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows:
when His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit. And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man and not wanting to disgrace her, planned to send her away secretly. But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. "She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins." Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet: "BEHOLD, THE VIRGIN SHALL BE WITH CHILD AND SHALL BEAR A SON, AND THEY SHALL CALL HIS NAME IMMANUEL," which translated means, "GOD WITH US." (Matt 1:18-23)


Now in those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus, that a census be taken of all the inhabited earth. This was the first census taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. And everyone was on his way to register for the census, each to his own city.
Luk 2:4 Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David, in order to register along with Mary, who was engaged to him, and was with child. While they were there, the days were completed for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. "This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger." And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased." When the angels had gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds began saying to one another, "Let us go straight to Bethlehem then, and see this thing that has happened which the Lord has made known to us." So they came in a hurry and found their way to Mary and Joseph, and the baby as He lay in the manger. When they had seen this, they made known the statement which had been told them about this Child. And all who heard it wondered at the things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart. The shepherds went back, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, just as had been told them. And when eight days had passed, before His circumcision, His name was then called Jesus, the name given by the angel before He was conceived in the womb. (Luk 2:1-21)





Merry Christmas to you and yours. May you see the need for the salvation that the Saviour came to provide, and receive for yourself. God offers His gift to you. The greatest gift of all, salvation bought and payed for by the blood of His son. Repent and trust in Him today.

P.S. no I didn't put this video together. I just downloaded it from youtube.

Theistic Evolution

Theistic Evolution is the idea that tries to counter atheistic evolution with the notion that yes evolution is true but there is a God and He used evolution to create the world.

So where does theistic evolution stand when it comes to Scriptures?

Well theistic evolution (TE) would read the scriptures as such; "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth"... and then they would take whatever theory that the most recent science textbook has come up with and replace the words of the God that they say they worship with the words that they really trust in. Everything written in the Bible after Genesis 1:1 is a moral fairy tale according to the teaching of TE.

When it comes to the authority of Scripture, TE would side with the world. Instead of a great miraculous show of such awesome divine power some 6000 years ago as the Bible says, TE believes that God started the world however many billions of years ago (which is nothing more than a uneducated guess which changes as much as I change my socks) and then used evolution to advance the beginnings of His creation into the pinnacle of evolution - man. TE advocates that during this process God comes along and guides the process with injections of DNA (the embarrassment of evolution, as well as the fossil record, all the rest of modern scientific knowledge) because how else will one animal turn into another when it does not have then DNA to do so.

Right now I'm not going to argue this from a scientific point of view (I will have many posts for that later on. If you want some great scientific resources for that right now check out www.icr.org and www.answersingenesis.org) but I am going to challenge this from a theological side.

The biggest theological road block that TE is faced with is if they can't trust the first 11 chapters of the Bible to be true then how can anyone trust the rest of it? Every Old Testament author talked of the creation account as true as did Jesus and the Apostles.

Besides that little chestnut, I want to bring up another point which isn't talked about enough. If God used evolution, than how could we ever call God a kind and loving God? Think about it, if God used evolution as His process for creating man, than when the Bible says that man is the one responsible for introducing death, disease and suffering to creation when he chose to disobey God and thereby bringing upon all of creation a curse of death, well that's wrong. That's because God would be the one who is responsible for death, disease and suffering because that is the process of evolution.

According to evolutionary science, evolution is advanced by the survival of the fittest, and the survival of the fittest advances by means of the disease, suffering and death of the weaker species. Evolution needs these horrific factors in order for it to work. As far as evolution is concerned, these are helpful, beneficial, good things.

I don't think that those who are so quick and ready to compromise the Scriptures have really thought this through.

If TE is true, than God and God alone is the creator and sustainer of all the disease, suffering and death we see in the world today. He has to be, it can't be denied. Therefore anyone who holds this view can say that such circumstances are bad and are not the will of God, because these situations are directly from God for the purpose of His plan of evolution.

The Bible however, says that disease, suffering, and death entered this world as the direct result of Adam's disobedience to God and subsequently thereafter because all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
Romans 5:12 - "Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned"...
Romans 5:14-19 - "Nevertheless death reigned from Adam until Moses, even over those who had not sinned in the likeness of the offense of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come. But the free gift is not like the transgression. For if by the transgression of the one the many died, much more did the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abound to the many.
The gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned; for on the one hand the judgment arose from one transgression resulting in condemnation, but on the other hand the free gift arose from many transgressions resulting in justification.
For if by the transgression of the one, death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.
So then as through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men.
For as through the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous.

So we see that as the Scriptures say, man is the author of sin, the consequence of which is a cursed creation. All of which is sovereignly ordained, allowed and even controlled by the all-powerful, all-knowing God. Yes God is in control even of such evil, and thanks be to God for that, because could you imagine how things would be if He wasn't in control?

So if the TE is going to be consistent in their denial of the truth of Scripture, the next time someone asks them why would God allow such tragedies and why is there such a thing as all this evil in the world, they have to say that it is from God. In this case all of this is really not contrary to God's nature.

Be not troubled though, for the Bible is true, and God is loving and kind, and He has overcome the world. And God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. Romans 5:8-10

Go now, and be Like a Thessalonian.

Like a Thessalonian

Like a Thessalonian? What does that mean?

I believe that I have been given the gift of evangelism by our Lord. Of course every man and woman who call themselves by the name of Jesus Christ for salvation are commanded to share the gospel, ...and He said to them, "Thus it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise again from from the dead the third day, and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem." Luke 24:46,47, but there are a few who have been given a special gift of the Holy Spirit for evangelism, "And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers..." Eph4:11 . These are the servants of God who are ones who devote more of their time to go into streets and the market places to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ to the lost, and I am one of these.

The inspiration I find for my ministry comes from 1 Thessalonians 1:6-8; "You also became imitators of us and the Lord, having received the word in much tribulation with the joy of the Holy Spirit, so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonian and Achaia. For the word of the Lord has sounded forth from you, not only in Macedonian and Achaia, but also in every place your faith toward God has gone forth, so that we have no need to say anything."

That is an amazing commendation from the apostle Paul. The believers of the Church of Thessalonika are told that they are doing such a good job with what they have been entrusted with, the gospel, that Paul says that he doesn't even have to be there to preach it, and they are an example to all believers in Greece.

Nowadays it is common for many evangelical churches to try and entice the lost to come into our church where they might here about Jesus. This is usually done by striving to become "relevant" or "cool like them" so that they might think that we are cool and not like Ned Flanders and then maybe they might think Jesus is cool and want to maybe add Him to there lives.

Churches are constantly putting so much effort into trying to figure out what would be the next cool or entertaining event to lure the world into the church. They spend days doing natural church growth reports, and surveying the community asking those outside the church what the church could be doing, or how the church should be acting.

Have we forgotten that they are the unsaved haters of God? Rom 1:28-32; "And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper, being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful; and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them."
Did not Jesus say that we would be hated because of Him? John 15:18-20; "If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you, 'A slave is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you; if they kept My word, they will keep yours also."

Why then are we trying to gain the approval of the world and try so hard to get them to like us?

If we desire the church to grow, and not for pragmatic reasons, but sincerely desire the salvation of those of the world who are lost then we would forget all this foolishness and encourage and train evangelists to go into the streets and preach the gospel of Jesus Christ for that is how the gospel is spread through preaching. "How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher? How will they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, "HOW BEAUTIFUL ARE THE FEET OF THOSE WHO BRING GOOD NEWS OF GOOD THINGS!" ...So faith comes from hearing and hearing by the word of Christ."
Romans 10:14-15,17.

When I was saved, it was my desire to share the gospel with friends and family. My problem was that I didn't really know how, I did but I didn't. Sure I could share my testimony, but how do I put the gospel into more understandable words than "you have sinned against God, and you need to ask for His forgiveness and trust in Jesus Christ." I know most would say that that is not a terribly bad message, it is the truth, but I always thought that it needed a little more explanation. What exactly is "sin?" How do I explain it so that it would cut to their hearts and they would say 'yes I have done that?'

I was driving through Wisconsin one day listening to my Sirius satellite radio and I came across this program named "The Way of the Master Radio" with Todd Friel hosting and aslo with Ray Comfort and Kirk Cameron (yes the little 'Growing Pain'). What I heard has since opened my eyes to a full understandable reasonable presentation of the gospel. It is so simple I can't believe I didn't get it earlier, especially since it is repeated throughout the scriptures. For example; "Now we know that whatever the Law says, it speaks to those who are under the Law, so that every mouth may be closed and all the world may become accountable to God; because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin...for the Law brings about wrath..." Romans 3:19-20,4:14

Of course. The 10 Commandments. Have you ever told a lie? Have you ever stolen anything? Jesus said that lust is the same as adultury, and of course everyone has worshipped other things rather than the true and living God.

Another thing that The Way of the Master emphazised that most churches do not is the supreme holiness of Almighty God. That is why even hell is reasonable for the crimes we have committed against Him. It's not exactly that all the crimes we have committed against Him are sooo spectacular but it's the One whom we have committed them against. God is so holy that lying lips are an abomination to Him, and a crime against an infinite God deserve an infinite punishment.

Thanks be to God that Jesus Christ came to our defense in this supreme court of God. He stepped in and took the punishment that we deserved in His own life's blood. The just for the unjust, and then three days later Jesus Christ rose again from the dead, proving His sacrifice as satisfactory to appease the wrath of God. Jesus Christ lived a perfect sinless life which is accredited to our account and our sins, past, present, and future, were put on Jesus Christ and payed for on the cross. We are fully justified in the eyes of a holy God, seen as righteous although not yet righteous.

And all we have to do is repent of our sins (not that that is such an easy thing to do, since you must die to yourself), and put our faith in Jesus Christ.

That is what we are to preach in the highways and byways. That is what will lead the lost sinners to God. "Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent, because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead." Acts 17:30-31

We do not need to conjure up some exciting new ways to try and sway people into making a feelings based desicion for Christ, but rather with the conviction of the law, the Holy Spirit is the One who convicts the world of sin, righteousness, and judgement and it the Holy Spirit who brings about repentance and conversion so that the sinner will cry out "God have mercy on me a sinner."

Let us go now and sound forth the word of the Lord like a Thessalonian.

Responding to the Gospel of Jesus Christ

If you have read the previous post, which is the first part of understanding the gospel of Jesus Christ, and it convicts your heart, perhaps makes you feel guilt, or shame, or like you've got to get right with God, then to that I say AMEN.

Do not let another day go by without making things right between you and the Lord. You don't know when will be your last breath, nor do you know if in that moment you will have the chance to repent of your sins.

You don't need me to tell you how to pray to God, and you don't need to repeat anything after me. Consider your sins, all of them if you can. Think of how you have sinned against the One who made you, the One who everyday despite your rebellion still provides for you. Think of not only His provision for you but also how He died to save you.

Fall on your knees and apologize to Him. Trust no longer in your own goodness, but surrender you life to Jesus Christ, putting all your faith and trust into Him and Him alone.

Here is a wonderful prayer of contrition; a Psalm of repentance by King David; (Psalm 51)

For the choir director. A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet came to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba. Be gracious to me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness; According to the greatness of Your compassion blot out my transgressions.
Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity And cleanse me from my sin.
For I know my transgressions, And my sin is ever before me.
Against You, You only, I have sinned And done what is evil in Your sight, So that You are justified when You speak And blameless when You judge.
Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother conceived me.
Behold, You desire truth in the innermost being, And in the hidden part You will make me know wisdom.
Purify me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
Make me to hear joy and gladness, Let the bones which You have broken rejoice.
Hide Your face from my sins And blot out all my iniquities.
Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me away from Your presence And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of Your salvation And sustain me with a willing spirit.
Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, And sinners will be converted to You.
Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, the God of my salvation; Then my tongue will joyfully sing of Your righteousness.
O Lord, open my lips, That my mouth may declare Your praise.
For You do not delight in sacrifice, otherwise I would give it; You are not pleased with burnt offering.
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.

This means that you deny yourself and daily pick up your cross and follow Him, for "he who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of Me." (Matt 10:38) Jesus also said that "if you keep my commandments, you will abide in My love..." and "My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit (doing good works and spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ), and so prove to be my disciples."

When you give your life to Jesus Christ, you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit as a promise of your salvation. You will be born again and made new. You will be given a new attitude and instead of wanting to sin, you will instead strive to obey the commands of Jesus Christ and live a life of repentance and faith.

You are a disciple of Jesus Christ a "Christian", a Greek term meaning, "Christ follower".

Find a good Bible teaching assembly of saints (a church), and be baptized. Read your Bible and pray every day and grow in the Lord. **

I rejoice for you and so do all the angels of heaven. May the peace of God be upon you and may God bless you and keep you.



** It is important for you to understand though, and really unfortunate, but many church's nowadays are straying from sound Biblical truth. It is important for all new believers and old believers to be grounded in sound Biblical truth. If you would like to find a good solid church to attend please let me know and I will do all that I can to point you in the right direction**

The Gospel of Jesus Christ

The Gospel of our blessed Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is the most important information that has ever been given to mankind and requires... no, demands that you respond. Much more then, the importance of your response will determine where you will spend eternity.

It's a common response to hear that life is too short to be thinking about what happens when you die, but if you think about it, your going to be dead a lot longer than your alive, so maybe you should think about what happens on the other side of the veil. If you are reading this and you have not received the Gospel of Christ, please don't just read through this and go on with your life, receive for yourself the word of truth and be saved.

The Good News of Christ is most clearly spoken in Paul's letter to the Romans in chapter 5:8-10;
"But God demonstrates His own love towards us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. For while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life."

Now before anyone can fully understand this we must recognize the bad news first. That is that we have all sinned and committed crimes against an infinitely holy God. Again, I ask that you please read this honestly and sincerely.

Do you consider yourself to be a good person? Most people do, and they usually cite the fact that they haven't killed anyone. Which is good, but the Bible says something a little different. The Bible says that "there is none who does good, there is not even one" (Rom 3:12) You see, murder is not the standard by which we judge a person good or not, the Law of God is, the 10 Commandments.

We don't decide what is right and wrong, the One who created us does, and it is He that establishes the Law, and He has written it upon each of our hearts. We know this because it does not matter where you go on Earth or what culture or society, we all have the same inherent moral standards. Also because God is our creator, He demands and deserves all glory and worship. Therefore, His Law also demands His worship.

The 10 Commandments
1 You shall have no other gods before me
2 You shall not make for yourself any graven image to worship
3 You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain
4 You shall remember the Sabbath to keep it holy
5 Honour your father and mother
6 you shall not murder
7 You shall not commit adultury
8 You shall not steal
9 You shall not lie
10 You shall not covet

Examine the Law truthfully. Have you ever lied, or stolen anything? Do you keep one day a week to worship God? Have you ever used God's name as a swear, or in a way other than reverent honour? Jesus said, "You have heard it said, 'You shall not commit adultery'; but I say to you that everyone who looks at a women with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart." (Matt 5:27-28, this applies for women too, not just men). So now when you stand before God on the day of judgment He will find you guilty, "because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin... For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Rom 3:20,23).

*Please keep reading, I know this isn't pleasant talk, but remember that their is good news after this.*

The foundations of God's throne are justice and righteousness (Psalm 97:2) He will not overlook any sin and He will hold all accountable. Not only that, but our sin, which is primarily against Him first and foremost, angers Him. "For it is because of these things that the wrath of God will come upon the sons of disobedience." (Col 3:6)

Now do you remember that I said that there is good news after all this? There is very good news. I hope you have seriously considered what was previously said and I even hope that I have caused a little bit of fear and remorse in your hearts. Fear can be a good thing, for the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. And remorse, a godly sorrow is which leads to repentance.

The good news in all this is this. Jesus Christ has come from heaven to earth and has Himself paid the penalty for your sins with His own blood being nailed to a Roman cross. It works like this. You have offended a holy eternal God and justice demanded an eternal righteous judgment and eternity in hell is not enough to satisfy our debt against God's Law.

However, Jesus Christ, God Himself,was made in the likeness of a man, being born of a virgin. He lived a sinless perfect life, keeping God's Law in it's entirety. And while we were yet sinners, without hope in this world, Jesus Himself came to give His life as a ransom for all who believe. He was beaten, whipped, punched in the face, His beard ripped out of His face, spat upon, mocked, and nailed naked to a cross for all to see, all by those He created. Thereby satisfying the wrath of God, and three days later Jesus Christ rose from the dead, defeating death.

You see, He did this for you, so that you might be set free, completely forgiven of every sin, past, present and future. Our sins were placed on Jesus and His perfect life is accredited to our account. It is a free gift if you shall receive it. You must respond to this by repenting of your sin, which means to turn from all your sins; all lying, stealing, immoralities and idolatry. You must deny yourself, and apologize to God and call upon the name of the Lord. That is if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation (Rom 10:9-10).

Consider how kind God is. How great a love He has for us. Jesus said, "What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and yet loses his soul?" You can have everything in the world, yet it is appointed unto man once to die and then judgment. Or you may have nothing at all, and you will still stand before the judgment seat of God and give an account. All you can do is cry for mercy, and because of the shed blood of Jesus Christ you shall receive forgiveness and everlasting life only if you have repented and trusted in Jesus Christ before that day.

Today if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts, for today is the day of salvation.

Repent and believe.

My Stripe

What stripe am I? Where do I stand in the mass of confusion which we call Christianity? What do I believe when it comes to the Bible? When it comes right down to it, this is what matters, because where you stand on the Bible will most likely determine your world view, and also where you stand on various issues that concern the Church.

I believe the Bible to be without error and wholly and truly inspired by the Holy Spirit, given to mankind straight from God Himself. The Bible stands above all authority on earth, and by it and it alone we know the will of God. All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man (and women) of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.

The Bible is all we need and is alone all that is trustworthy. So much so that the Bible says that we can't even trust our own hearts (Jer 17:9) and to examine all things by the Scripture (1Thes 5:21).

I believe the Bible to be literal and historically accurate. So when the Bible says that God created the whole universe in 6 days it means God created the world in 6 days. When the Bible says that there are no other gods other than Him, it means that there are no other gods other than Him. It does not mean that the other gods that people worship are the same god by another name, it means that Allah, Vishnu, Jesus of the mormons and JW's, etc. are idols and do not exist.

The Bible does not mean what we think it means, we should not read it and say "what does that verse say to you," rather a verse should be read and we should say " what does this verse say." Scripture is interpreted by Scripture, and in a historical and grammatical way, meaning for example what was Paul saying to those people at that time, and how does it apply to us now, and grammatically by knowing the original language in which it was written.

And so I'm sure anyone can conclude that I am a very conservative (even fundamentalist if you want) Christian. I am not ashamed of the gospel for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes.

"Jesus Christ is the way the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father but through Him,"(Jn 14:6) "and there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved."(acts 4:12) For the wages of sin is death. (rom 6:23) "Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which you also received, in which you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures and that He was buried and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures." (1 Cor 15:1-4)

My Testimony

I would like to give the short storey of my testimony. I grew up going to church. My parents (mostly my mother) would wake my 3 brothers and I and take us to Sunday school. I went and I listened. I was sincerely drawn to Jesus Christ. I was one of those annoying kids who was always nagging at my friends to don't swear because God doesn't like it. When I was about 8 or so I went with my parents to meet the pastor to ask how to become a Christian. He led me in a prayer to ask Jesus into my heart. I asked him if I could be baptized, but he told me to wait until I was about 18 or when I could understand what baptism is about.

This was sound advise, because when I turned 13 I didn't want to go to church anymore because I wanted instead to be able to sleep in or sleep over at my friends on Saturday night. This lead to the inevitable. As I got older I was introduced to alcohol and marijuana at 15. The drugs only got harder from there. From then on, almost every weekend from when I was 16 to 22 was a party.

I am not going to go into details, but I will say that during the summer of 2003 I started to wonder why I was doing this to myself. Always waking up feeling terrible, I wondered if this was all there was to life. What is the point? This sucks, it's boring and pathetic.

Then I remembered about Jesus Christ. One Sunday morning, I woke up and when my mother asked why I was up so early, I told her I was going to go to church with her. She just about fell over.

This time I was not only sincere in wanting to follow Jesus, but I was totally and completely repentant for all the offence and sin I had committed against my Creator. This is what I lacked in my youth. I had now surrendered my life over to the Lord of glory, the one who came and died for my sin.

Now I am 27 years old, I have the most beautiful wife and the two sweetest daughters in the world.

At the moment I drive semi trucks for my fathers company. This has been the greatest contributor to the growth of my faith. I have had so much time to listen to great Bible preachers, and so much time to spend in the word of God and in prayer. I liken myself to a self taught theologian, with the help of course to great sermons from the radio, and most importantly by the help and guidance of the Holy Spirit.

This is me in short story. Thanks be to God the Father and Jesus Christ His Son for my salvation, sanctification, and justification. Glory to God.

Intro

Hello,
I would like to extend my greetings to you in Christ.
This is my very first blog post ever. I figured, as I've stated in my greeting at the side, since I do a lot of thinking maybe I should do some writing too. Just to get my thoughts down in ink so to speak. I would greatly appreciate any feed back from everyone, for by this we learn and grow from one another. My disclaimer is though that I will not stray from any teaching from the Bible. The Bible is inerrant and infallible, the direct communication from God Himself to mankind. Every word is true, and should be read as such, and is thus the authority by which man is to live.
With that said, I try to filter all my assumptions and opinions through the Bible. I also examine all aspects of life on earth through the Bible as well.
For example, it is popular to believe that all religions are valid and true. If I examine this through the lens of Scripture I would find this supposed truth to actually be false. This is because God says that you shall have no other gods before Him.(Deu 5:7)Therefore proclaiming that the worship of any god but Him is God alone is evil, also that there are no other gods but Him who created the universe. (Is 44:24)
This is how our views of reality should be shaped.
Thank you for reading and your replies. May true and living God be with you and draw you near to Himself.