Bible – Page 3 – Recovery In Christ Ministries

July 18, 2015

Hating Gays

There has been a lot of talk lately about Christians hating, and persecuting homosexuals. Well, let me say right off the bat, that I do not hate gays. Whatever another person does in the privacy of their own home is no business of mine, unless what they do directly impacts my life, or the lives of my children and grandchildren.

We live in a sin cursed world, where things are not perfect. Everyone sins in this imperfect world. Homosexuality is a sin. Heterosexual sex outside of marriage is a sin. Heterosexual lust is a sin. Overeating is a sin. Hating is a sin. Gossiping is a sin. There are many ways to sin. Anything that is not done in faith is sin. You sin, I sin, everybody sins.

What is sin? Sin is disobeying God’s instructions. What are the consequences of sin? Sin leads to death, and death manifests in many forms. Relationships die. Businesses die. Finances die. Personal freedoms die. Health dies, and bad health can lead to physical death. And physical death can lead to eternal death.

Sin is a very bad thing, and it should be taken seriously.

People say that judgement is coming to America. They say that God is going to judge, and punish America for embracing homosexual marriage. I don’t see it that way, however.

According to Romans 1, normalizing homosexuality is God’s judgment on a nation, who has turned away from Him, and His standards. Since, we have allowed a small minority to make laws that turn our kids away from God, and His standards, His Spirit has backed off, and let the wickedness, which is in the human heart vomit out on our society, which is why wickedness is increasing.

We have thrown the gates open, so that our spiritual, and physical enemies can destroy our country. Just look at what is happening, it doesn’t make sense, we are self-destructing. And we think that we are actually doing something about it when we share a Facebook post, or write a blog post. Brothers, and sisters we have stood by and allowed a small group of people to turn our children away from God, and what we are seeing today is the fruit of our complacency.

Homosexuality is not the root of our problem, it is the fruit of it.

In Leviticus 18:22, and Romans 1:26-27, God says homosexuality is a sin. The radical Homosexual movement says that there is no God, and the Bible is a book of fairytales. The moderate homosexual movement says that the Bible really doesn’t say that homosexuality is a sin, or that God made them homosexuals, or that Jesus is ok with them being a homosexual. and that they are Christians.

Most people acknowledge God, and ignore the fools, who deny Him, so the atheistic wing of the homosexual movement doesn’t have much of an impact on our society. What does have a big impact, however, is the moderate wing of the homosexual movement.

The moderate wing of the homosexual movement denies that God said that homosexuality is a sin, and that it is perfectly normal. And the worst thing is that they say that they are Christian homosexuals.

It is very clear. God did say that homosexuality is a sin. And there is no scientific evidence that God made anybody a homosexual. And to say that a Christian homosexual exists, is a contradiction in terms.

Christians sin. When a real Christian sins, the Spirit goes to war with his flesh, in order to get him to stop. (Galatians 5:17) A real Christian can not embrace sin, and live comfortably in it. And a real Christian will not teach kids that sin is normal, and ensnare them in it.

What a homosexual does in the privacy of his or her home is no business of mine, but, it becomes my business when they want to teach my kids, and grandkids that it is not sin, and Jesus is ok with it.

Jesus is not ok with sin, and unless we repent (turn away from sin), we will not enter into His Kingdom. The unrepentant homosexual will not enter God’s kingdom. (1 Cor 6:9-10) And if our kids, and grandkids accept homosexuality, and become one, neither will they.

I am not perfect, by any stretch of the imagination. I am the chief of all sinners. The Holy Spirit wars with my flesh, in order to help me get it under control. It is a full time job for Him. I do not condemn anyone for their sins. I will standup and call my sin, sin. And I will standup and call your sin, sin. We must standup for the truth.

I don’t hate gays. What I hate is the normalization of sin.

I will not waver on my position. And the choice is yours, you can say that I am standing on God’s truth, or that I am hating gays.

April 18, 2014June 18, 2014

Doctrine Divides

There is a great gulf between ontology and epistemology, that is, there is a great gulf between what is, and our knowledge of what is. Our senses are not acute enough to examine reality on a subatomic level, nor are they expansive enough to examine reality on a universal level. We have instruments that allow us to peer into these domains, but these instruments are very limited.

Moreover, no one witnessed the creation of the universe, and lived to our day. Consequently, no one can really speak authoritatively about the forces that created the universe, and the complex processes that shaped the reality that we see today.

This situation is further complicated by the fact that our mind works as a context machine. Our mind takes all the inputs that come into it, and attempts to arrange these inputs within a global context, in order to extract meaning from the universe. This is problematic, because a global context has to have fixed datum points it can reference all these inputs to, in order to find a place for those inputs. In other words, our reasoning depends on presuppositions, assumptions, and beliefs to function properly.

No two people have the same presuppositions, assumptions, and beliefs, which is why no two people see reality in the exact same way. This is also why two people can look at the same evidence, and come up with different deductions and inferences, which lead to different conclusions about reality. When two people reach different conclusions about the nature of reality, it does not necessarily mean that one person is logical, and one is illogical, or one is scientific, and one is religious. Usually, the logic that takes people from their deductions and inferences to their conclusions is not the problem. More often, the problem is the presuppositions, assumptions, and beliefs that a person starts with.

Is there anything that can bridge the great gulf that separates what is, and our knowledge of what is? Yes. Divine revelation. Yahweh knows how energy pools and combines to become the subatomic particles that make up matter. Yahweh also knows how the universe operates as a whole. Moreover, Yahweh created the universe, and lives until this very day. This means that Yahweh has no need of presuppositions, assumptions or beliefs, which means that His thoughts are higher than ours. And fortunately, Yahweh’s Spirit implanted His thoughts in the minds of the Apostles and Prophets and they wrote them on scrolls.

The Scriptures are Yahweh’s thoughts. Yah’s thoughts reveal the true nature of reality, and its origin. As we study the Scriptures, we discover veins of truth. We call these veins of truth, doctrines. The Greek word that we translate into doctrine is “didache”. This word means, teachings, or what is taught (by Yahweh through His Apostles and Prophets). Yahweh’s doctrines are very important to Him, and they should be very important to us.

Think about it. Biblical Doctrines are the thoughts of Yahweh, and He is our Creator. It should go with out saying, that we should respect, revere, love, share, teach and defend Biblical doctrines. Biblical doctrines form a bridge that spans the dark pit between what is, and our knowledge of what is. The only way we can safely traverse across the dark pit that separates reality, from our knowledge of it, is by traveling across the bridge of Biblical doctrine. If we deviate from Biblical doctrine, we will be in danger of falling off the bridge, into the bottomless pit.

When we learn, and stand upon Biblical doctrines, we can rest assured that we are rightly relating to Yahweh, through His Son, Yeshua, so that the Holy Spirit can bring His will to pass in our lives. However, when we reject, ridicule, or ignore Biblical doctrine, and stand on the doctrines of men, we cannot be sure what entity is working on our behalf in order to bring its will to pass in our lives, because we have fallen into the dark pit, and are rejecting, ridiculing, or ignoring the light.

It is dangerous to name the name of Yeshua, and not live by Biblical doctrine. Why? Well, because you may be putting your trust in a Yeshua, who is really a demon pretending to be the Son of Yahweh. Paul warned us about this in 2 Corinthians 11:4. So how do we know if we are following Yeshua, the Son of Yahweh, and not a demon, who pretends to be Yeshua, the Son of Yahweh?

The answer to this question should be obvious at this point. We must put our trust in, and live according to sound Biblical doctrine. Specifically, the doctrine of the Messiah. What is the doctrine of the Messiah? It is the teaching that Yeshua from Nazareth was crucified for our sins, and raised from the dead 3 days later. If you believe this, and call upon (put your absolute trust in Him and His finished work), and confess Him as Lord (repent and surrender to His will), you will be saved.

The doctrine of the Messiah is not hard to understand, it is simple. And according to 2 John 1:9, whoever tries to know Yahweh without living out the doctrine of the Messiah, does not know Him. And if a person does not know Yahweh, or His Messiah, this person does not have eternal life. (John 17:3) This is exactly why Paul told Timothy that the doctrine (of the Messiah) saves him and all those who hear (act upon) his preaching of the doctrine (of the Messiah). (1 Timothy 4:16)

Sound Biblical doctrine is very important. What qualifies as sound Biblical doctrine? Sound Biblical doctrines are clearly outlined in the Scriptures. A person does not need a doctors degree in theology to understand sound Biblical doctrine. A person does have to labor in the Word and doctrine, however. (1 Timothy 5:17) Moreover, Yahweh expects us to study the Word and handle it properly (2 Timothy 2:15), and avoid the people who do not handle it properly. (Romans 16:17)

Yahweh expects us to learn Biblical doctrine, and live by it. Yahweh does not want us to be tricked and manipulated by people who twist the Scriptures in order to fulfill their own lusts for fame and fortune.Yahweh loves us and does not want us to live unstable lives putting our hopes in every unbiblical doctrine that deceitful men craft. (2 Timothy 4:3; Ephesians 4:14; 2 Corinthians 2:17, 4:2; 2 Peter 2:3 )

The next qualification for sound Biblical doctrine is obvious, or at least, it should be. Sound Biblical doctrine must be the clear teachings of the Bible. The leaders of the early Church, as they were led by the Holy Spirit, decided on which writings to include in the cannon of Scripture, and which writings to exclude from it. By 100 A.D., the Church had already decided on the cannon, so any writings that originated after that time do not qualify as Scripture, or Biblical doctrine. And if any doctrine is not biblical, we are not to put our trust in it and live by it.

This is why Jude, the half brother of Yeshua, said that we should earnestly contend for the faith, which was once delivered unto the saints. (Jude 1:3) In this verse, the Greek word for “contend” means to fight for or struggle for. In this verse, the Greek word “hapax” is translated into English as “once”, which means once and for all time. In this verse, the phrase “the faith” means the doctrine of the Messiah. So, in essence, Jude tells us to fight for the doctrine of the Messiah, which was handed down to us from the Apostles and Prophets prior to 100 A.D. via Scripture.

The doctrine of the Messiah is the most important doctrine in the Bible. The doctrine of the Messiah is not hard to understand. Believing this doctrine, and putting your trust in Yeshua, and His finished work, will cause you to know Yahweh. Rejecting this doctrine, and refusing to put your trust in Yeshua, and His finished work, will keep you separated from Yahweh. It’s scary, but your stance on this doctrine will either save you, or damn you!

Any doctrine that requires anything above and beyond the finished work of the Messiah to save you, is a perverted doctrine of man and devils. Salvation is Yahweh’s gift, so no man can brag about earning it. (Ephesians 2:8; Romans 4:16)

The Catholic Church teaches that no one is saved outside of it’s doors.

The Mormon Church teaches that an angel named Moroni appeared to Joseph Smith, and gave him gold tablets, which became an auxiliary to the Bible (Scripture). Later, Peter, James and John appeared, and conveyed the Melchizedek Priesthood on him. Smith passed this priesthood to the leaders of the Mormon Church, and they outlined the works that people must do in order to partake of their messiah’s sacrifice. The Mormons (named after the angel of light, Moroni) put their trust in the teachings of Joseph Smith, Brigham Young and the other elders, which were written in the 19th Century.

Clearly, these are doctrines of men and devils.

The Jehovah Witnesses teach that their Watchtower Elders are they only ones who can interpret Scripture. The Watchtower Elders translated the Scriptures into their own version that supports their theology. The Watchtower Elders outline the works that a person must do in order to be saved.

Alcoholics Anonymous says you can know Yahweh without believing the Doctrine of the Messiah, and trusting in His finished work. They say you can know God (Yahweh) by working the 12 Steps, which Bill Wilson wrote in the 20th Century.

Clearly, these are also doctrines of devils.

The Yeshua that the Catholics, Mormons, and Jehovah Witnesses teach about is not the Yeshua of the Scriptures. This means that these people think that they are serving Yeshua, but, in reality, they are serving a demon. This demon is working in their lives to bring about it’s will for their lives, which is to keep them in the dark separated from the light of the doctrine of the Messiah.

These precious people swear up and down that they are serving Yeshua, and think that you have lost your mind when you tell them they are really serving a demon. They will not understand that demons and fallen angels can work lying signs and wonders and can bring what we believe to be blessings into our lives. They will not grasp the fact that these supernatural entities do these things in order to deceive you into believing that you are serving Yeshua, when you are not.

Why are these people in the dark? They are in the dark because they have gotten off the bridge of Biblical doctrine and fallen into the dark bottomless pit of reality, where supernatural entities, natural laws, psychological principles, and societal forces are at work to change their lives. Tragically, they attribute the changes in their lives to Yeshua, and interpret “His activity” in their lives as an indication of His approval. Consequently, these people do not fear damnation and eternal death.

The same thing goes for the people in Alcoholics Anonymous. Most of these people, take great pride in rejecting sound Biblical doctrine because it is intolerant. Most of these people say that Biblical doctrines divide people, and exclude people. And since our Creator loves everybody, everybody should be included in the fellowship so that they can come to know Him. How will they come to know Yahweh without believing the doctrine of the Messiah, and submitting to Him? Well, by working the 12 Steps of course. No, this is a doctrine of devils!

The people in A.A. talk about Yahweh working in their lives to keep them sober. But since they have rejected the doctrine of the Messiah, they are in the dark pit of reality. In this dark pit supernatural entities, natural laws, psychological principles, and societal forces are at work to keep them sober.

Tragically, these people assume that Yahweh is keeping them sober, when He is not. These precious people interpet “God’s activity” in their lives as a sign that He approves of their lives, and the doctrines of Alcoholics Anonymous. Consequently, these people do not fear damnation and eternal death.

The people in A.A. do not understand that what you choose to believe will inspire you to label the reality that is at work in your life. The people in A.A. are right about one thing, however. They are right about doctrine dividing people.

Doctrine divides those who know Yahweh from those who do not. Doctrine divides those who serve Yahweh from those who think they serve Him. Doctrine divides those who will spend eternity with Yahweh from those who will spend eternity with Satan. Doctrine divides because that is what Yahweh designed it to do.

If you think that this is harsh, then what about this? Yeshua said that He did come so that we could all get along, He came with a sword to divide us. (Matthew 10:34)

And what about 2 John 1:10? This Scripture says if a person does not teach the doctrine of the Messiah (and teaches doctrines of men and devils), we should not let him in our home. Moreover, this Scripture says that we are not even to wish him well, unless we want to partake of his sin!

Why would Yahweh want to divide us?

Yahweh is separating His sheep from the rebellious goats.

What brings about this division?

Well, Doctrine Divides.

August 18, 2013June 18, 2014

Where there is smoke…….there is fire

Lately, I have seen a lot of smoke. This smoke tells me that there is a fire. And, from experience, I know that when a fire gets out of control, it consumes everything and everyone in its path. This tells me that we are in danger, and we need to prepare.

The fire I am talking about, is the fire of Christian persecution.

The fire of Christian persecution rages in Muslim nations, where Christians are, at best, second class citizens, and, at worse, beheaded in public. The fire of Christian persecution rages in China and North Korea, where Christians risk imprisonment in a labor camp for worshiping in underground churches, because they refuse to go to a state sanctioned “church” that only teaches state-approved doctrines. The fire of Christian persecution rages in Europe and Canada, where Christians are labeled as ignorant and intolerant bigots, and arrested for hate speech for preaching the Word.

Christians in these countries know full-well that the very same message that made them friends of Yahweh, made them enemies of the world system. This is why the worldly prosperity gospel is not preached in these countries. When these people bow their knee to Yeshua, they become enemies of the state or second class citizens. These people expect persecution and loss, and accept the possibility that they and their families could be killed for their faith. These people do not accept the Gospel with the expectation of obtaining wealth in this world, they accept the Gospel with a willingness to lose everything in this world, including their own life.

This reminds me of this Scripture: “Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” Matthew 16:24-26

Historically, the situation has been very different in the United States. Christians founded the United States. Christians wrote the documents that have guided our development as a nation. Christians drove public policy and accumulated wealth. These Christians built universities and hospitals for the betterment of our nation, and sent missionaries to the ends of the earth in order to expand Yahweh’s Kingdom.

The Untied States once looked to Yahweh and trusted Him, but now that He has blessed us, we have become “too big to fail” and we trust in our dollar and our military might. Our Leader announced to the world that we were not a Christian nation. Our elementary schools have banned Yahweh and His commands, and our universities teach that He does not exist. Many of our preachers preach a worldly, self-centered prosperity message and claim that they are establishing Yeshua’s Kingdom on the earth, so that they can line their own pockets. Many of our churches care more about expanding their membership (and their revenue base), than they do in expanding the membership of Heaven. As a nation, we have abandoned Yah.

This reminds me of this Scripture. “I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wast cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew thee out of my mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eye salve, that thou mayest see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.” Revelation 3:15-19

In the United States, it was once normal for people to believe the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, but today smoke from a smoldering fire is distorting this normalcy. If you look, you can see clouds of smoke that indicate that the fire of Christian persecution could erupt at any moment and sweep through our land.

Where is the smoke?

Well, here is a puff. On 4/9/13, The Blaze reported that a Colorado Sheriff reported that the Colorado State Police were training officers to view people who believed the Bible literally and took it too seriously with suspicion…. the same way that they would view dangerous motorcycle gangs with suspicion!

Here is a puff. On 4/5/13, WND reported that Soldiers in the U.S. military have been told in a training briefing that evangelical Christians are the No. 1 extremist threat to America – ahead of groups like the Muslim Brotherhood, KKK, Nation of Islam, AL-Qaida, Hamas and others!

Here is a puff. On 3/23/13, Captain Terry M. Hestilow, United States Army, Retired, wrote a letter to his Senator. In this letter, the Captain demanded that his Senator see that Homeland Security surrender the billion rounds of ammo and light armored tanks that they recently acquired because they could only be used on American soil, against Americans, who the government classified as domestic terrorists. (This would include fundamentalists, who took the Bible literally, and clung to the right to bear arms!).

Here is a puff. On 4/13/13, Conservative Byte.com, posted an article that discussed the possibility of the government placing fundamentalist Christians on a watch list so that they could not buy firearms. This sounds crazy, but it is possible.

Our leaders are pushing for stricter gun laws and they know that their demands must seem reasonable in order for the people to accept them. In the new background checks, anyone who has been declared mentally unstable will not be able to buy firearms. This seems reasonable, because no one wants a crazy person to own a gun. But what happens when the psychologists classify religious extremism as a mental disorder, and say that anyone who believes the Bible literally is mentally unstable?
There are other puffs too. Racial tensions are becoming greater. Class warfare is becoming greater. The U.S. is spending itself into collapse. A few weeks ago, a European country took its citizen’s bank accounts to pay down their national debt.

The Beast kingdom (Yes, I take the Bible literally!) is taking control of the whole earth by modulating the money supply. Here in the U.S., we have unknowingly elected representatives of the Beast kingdom and given them the power that they need to destroy our Constitution and force us into submission.

Once the modulation of the money supply brings every nation under the power of the Beast kingdom, the Beast government will come out into the open. After that, a smooth talking man will come to power and demand to be worshiped by the whole world. He will control the money supply so that no one may buy or sell unless they bow their knee to him and worship him. He will behead those who rebel against him.

The smoke is all around us!

Yahweh grafted us into the commonwealth of Israel. Soon, the fire of Christian persecution will erupt and engulf the United States. For it is written, “Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake. And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.” Matthew 24:9-13

Since the U.S. has turned her back on Yahweh and put her trust in money, He will allow money to bring her into bondage and destroy her as a nation. Since much of the Church in the U.S. has put their trust in worldly prosperity and fed their own lusts, Yeshua will allow the fire of persecution to purify Her. It has happened all throughout history, and it’s happening today in almost every other nation on the earth. We think that it cannot happen in the U.S., but it can, and it will.

Make no mistake, the fire is coming, because where there is smoke…..there is fire.