What is the Christian answer to domestic violence?

Domestic violence and the Christian answer to it begins with the Word of God. Marriage is the first institution that God established between people. Both men and women were created in His image; equal partners with distinctively different roles (Genesis 1:27). A man is to be the head, or authority, of his household (Ephesians 5:23; 1 Peter 3:1). With this comes the responsibility of earning the respect of his family and community. Colossians 3:19 commands husbands to love their wives and never treat them harshly.

"In the same way, you husbands must give honor to your wives. Treat her with understanding as you live together. She may be weaker than you are, but she is your equal partner in God's gift of new life. If you don't treat her as you should, your prayers will not be heard" (1 Peter 3:7).

Husbands are to love their wives as they do their own bodies. "No one hates his own body but lovingly cares for it, just as Christ cares for his body, which is the church" (Ephesians 5:29). Men are to be servant leaders, not demanding authority or submission, but treating their wives in a way that submission becomes her natural response. "For even I, the Son of Man, came here not to be served but to serve others, and to give my life as a ransom for many" (Matthew 20:28).

Child abuse is also strongly condemned by God. Although discipline is important, its purpose should be to correct and direct the child to righteousness, not as a way of taking out anger unjustly. "And now a word to you fathers. Don't make your children angry by the way you treat them. Rather, bring them up with the discipline and instruction approved by the Lord" (Ephesians 6:4).

Colossians 3:21 says, "Fathers, don't aggravate your children. If you do, they will become discouraged and quit trying." We should do nothing to destroy the spirit of our children, or destroy their innocence. Jesus strongly warns those who might cause children to stumble, or lose faith in Him (Matthew 18:6).

Victims of domestic violence need to be protected, even moved temporarily to a safe place if necessary. If a wife is being abused by her husband, she needs to separate herself from him while he receives treatment for his violence. Once a Bible-believing Christian counselor has deemed it appropriate for the couple to reunite, they should make every effort to reconcile and live in peace, while continuing marriage and/or family counseling.

This is only possible if both parties are willing to commit their lives to Christ and make God the head of their household. They should find a local Bible-teaching Christian church, and commit themselves to membership. They should also find spiritually mature Christians who are willing to disciple them either individually or in a small group. The benefits to this are many, including accountability for their actions. "The Lord is a shelter for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble. Those who know your name trust in you, for you, O Lord, have never abandoned anyone who searches for you" (Psalm 9:9-10).

Our Statement!!!

Someone new to Christianity or churches will naturally wonder what a "statement of faith" is. It is a way of telling other people what you believe about God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, the Bible, and so forth. This is important, because there are a lot of cults that pretend to be Christian organizations, which are not Christian at all. A statement of faith can be used as an indicator toward learning whether an organization represents true Christianity.

Clarifying Christianity is based on the Bible alone. We believe that the Bible is God’s "word" (communication to us) written by men, but directed and inspired by God through the Holy Spirit (also called the Holy Ghost). It contains no errors, and is the complete, final, and only authority in all matters of faith and conduct. (See 2 Timothy 3:16,17; 1 Thessalonians 2:13; and 2 Peter 1:20,21.)

We believe that God the Father is perfect in holiness, infinite in wisdom, and measureless in power. God showed His love for all people by sending His Son to die for our sins so that we might have eternal life with God in heaven. (Luke 18:27; John 3:16,17; Romans 11:33; 1 Peter 1:16; 1 John 4:7-10; Revelation 4:8.)

We believe that Jesus is the Son of God, God Himself, and that He became completely man. Conceived through the power of the Holy Spirit, He was born of the virgin Mary. Jesus lived a sinless life, and chose to die as the perfect sacrifice for the sins of all people. He was bodily resurrected from the dead and appeared to many people. He now sits at the "right hand of God" (the highest place of honor and power), interceding (standing in to provide protection) for the sins of His people (those who accepted him as Savior and Lord). He will come in glory to righteously judge all people based on their acceptance or rejection of Him. Jesus is the only way to bridge the gap of sin between God and people, thus He is the only way to have a relationship with God now, and eternal life with God in heaven. (Matthew 16:16,17 and 25:31-46; Mark 14:61,62; Luke 1:34,35 and 2:7; John 1:1 and 1:14 and 5:22-30 and 10:30 and 14:6; Acts 4:12; 1 Corinthians 15:3-8; Hebrews 4:15; 1 Peter 2:22-24.)

We believe that the Holy Spirit convicts the world concerning sin, righteousness, and judgment. He is received in full when someone gets right with God through Jesus, so all true Christians "have the Holy Spirit." He is the power that Christians have that enables them to live a Christ-like life (as God leads them). The Holy Spirit is our pledge (or "down-payment") of eternal life. (John 16:8-11; Acts 2:38; Romans 8:9; Galatians 5:16-26; 1 John 3:24.)

We believe that mankind was created in the image of God and given rule over all the earth. Man forfeited everything when he chose to disobey God (in the Garden of Eden) in spite of warnings regarding the consequences for doing so. As a result sorrow, tears, pain, sickness, death, and all that is "not good" came into existence. This was never God’s intention (and therefore not His fault). All of the people who lived since that time have also sinned, for which the penalty is death. Only through accepting Jesus as Savior and by making Him Lord of your life can you spend eternity with God in heaven. Those who reject or ignore Jesus Christ will suffer God’s wrath for their sins and will suffer eternally in Hell. (Genesis 1:26,27; Matthew 25:31-46; Romans 3:23 and 6:23; 2 Thessalonians 1:5-10; Revelation 20:11-15 and 22:3-5.)

We believe that Salvation depends on accepting Christ as both Savior and Lord of your life. (John 1:12; Acts 2:38,39 and 8:26-40 and 16:25-34; 1 Peter 3:21,22.)

Why does God protect the Jews even through they haven't all accepted Christ?

As you read through the Old Testament you always see God taking Israel back even after they run after idols and reject their true God. The book of Hosea even gives the example of a prostitute being bought back again after she ran away as a sign of God’s love for His people.

This last 2,000 years has been a dispensation of grace and it has mainly been toward the Gentile nations. It is rare you see a Messianic Jew (although my ministry partner is one) because the Jewish people did reject Christ. However, the great tribulation and end times will be when God again reveals Himself to the Jewish people and it is a time when they will become aware of things like never before and we will see thousands of Jews coming to know Christ (although it will cost them their very lives to do so).

So, to answer your question - during this time of God dealing with the nation of Israel if He did not protect the 144,000 the Bible says every single Jew would be wiped out. God divinely protects these sealed ones (12,000 from every tribe), but millions will probably be martyred by antichrist and his armies.

Revelation 7:1-10

And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree. And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea, Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads. And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel. Of the tribe of Juda were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Reuben were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Gad were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Aser were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Nepthalim were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Manasses were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Simeon were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Levi were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Issachar were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Zabulon were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Joseph were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Benjamin were sealed twelve thousand. After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb.

Matthew 23:37-39

O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.

Pastor Brad

What Is Baptism?(2)

#2 - When in the process of accepting Christ does baptism come in?
A second question would be, "When should I get baptized: immediately, as a part of accepting Christ; or later as a follower of Christ?"

If you’ve been around churches at all, you will run into the following philosophies:
"Baptism is just an outward sign of an inward grace, so it can be done later.""You need to ‘grow in Christ’ (become good enough) before you are ready to be baptized.""To join our church, you have to be baptized into our church."

The problem with these ideas (and any similar ones) is that they are in conflict with the Bible. One thing is clear, the Bible always places believing in Christ for salvation and baptism together. They are not separated.

Consider these references:
Acts chapter 2, verse 41 (Acts 2:41) - 3,000 people were baptized after believing on the first day of the Christian church. Verses 38 and 39 make it clear that this is the way that it will always be done. That is, all people who accept Christ as their savior will come to Him in this way.

Acts 8:26-39 - We know where this road from Jerusalem to Gaza is. Verse 26 terms it a "desert." The only water there was oasis water. This means that the eunuch and Philip climbed down into the people's drinking water to do this. Apparently, Philip and the eunuch did not think it could wait until later! (You will also notice they did not take a handful of water and "sprinkle" the eunuch to keep things sanitary, either.) The Bible states that all Philip did was "preach Jesus to him" (verse 35) and then the eunuch said that he wanted to be baptized (verse 36). This means that the preaching of Jesus includes preaching the need to be baptized.

Acts 9:18 - after this encounter with Jesus on the Damascus road, Saul (later renamed Paul) decided to accept Jesus—and was baptized.

Acts 10:47,48 - Cornelius and those with him were commanded to be baptized, becoming the first non-Jewish converts to Christianity.

Acts 16:13-15 - Lydia and her household "believed" and were baptized.

Acts 16:16-34 - The Philippian jailer "believed" with his household and they were baptized—and this was in the middle of the night!

Also consider the following passages:
Galatians 3:26,27 - "For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ."

Ephesians 4:4-6 - "There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all."

On top of all these references, when Jesus left the earth (see the end of the book of Matthew) He told his followers to make disciples (followers), baptize them, and teach them. Jesus apparently felt it was pretty important to make this a priority for His followers.

The Bible is clear—belief and baptism were always together. Thus, "when we believe" is the right time to be baptized. If you "believed" some time back and were not baptized, then this should become a priority for you to fulfill what God asks you do in the Bible.

Why should someone be baptized?

The Bible gives a number of reasons to be baptized:

Acts 2:38 - Tying repentance and baptism together provides forgiveness of your sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Romans 6:1-7 - This shows us that the mode of baptism (immersion) pictures the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. In the same way that He went through these things, our old nature is to "die" and we are to be "buried with Him through baptism into death" and raised to "walk in newness of life" (live like Jesus). So we do not just try to be a better person, we bury the "old person" in the water and become a "new person" through our acceptance of Christ. It is like a new birth and a new beginning for us.

Galatians 3:27 - We "put on Christ" when we are baptized.

1 Peter 3:21 - Baptism is not an outward cleaning, but saves us through an inward cleaning. It is an appeal to God for a good conscience and asks God to take away the guilt of our past sin (that Christ paid for, wiping our "inner slate" clean).

Well, now you have it—the what, when and why. The only question left to ask is, "what will I do now?" That is between you and God.

What Is Baptism?(1)

When someone decides to get right with God, part of the outward sign of accepting Jesus as their savior is being baptized. It is an exciting time, but there are many questions regarding baptism that should be clarified, since so many conflicting ideas regarding this topic developed over the centuries. The questions often come from four basic areas:

Can you go to heaven by being baptized?

What is baptism?

When should someone be baptized?

Why should someone be baptized?

Let's take a look at each of these questions.

Can you go to heaven by being baptized?
People are saved (and get to go to heaven) by believing that Jesus is the Christ and putting their faith in Him. Baptism alone does not save. However, salvation (being saved) and baptism are always tied together.

What is baptism?
The process of baptism is very simple. You begin by standing, sitting, or kneeling in some water. Another Christian then lowers you under the water and then brings you back up out of the water. You could also literally call this "immersion."

Because some faiths sprinkle water on people instead of immersing them, the obvious question is whether this is OK. Since the only consistent answer around the world comes from the Bible, we recommend using it to find your answers. It is interesting that nowhere in the Bible does anything but "immersion" take place. That is, baptism is always by immersion

This makes sense if you realize that "baptize" is a transliteration of the original Greek word baptizw (baptizo). In turn, baptizo comes from the root word baptw (bapto), a term used in the first century for immersing a garment first into bleach and then into dye, both cleansing and changing the color of the cloth.[1] (Note its similarity to baptism's cleansing of sin and becoming a new person through Christ.) Stated another way, when you process cloth to change its color, you are said to "baptize" it. If sprinkling of any kind was to be practiced, a different Greek word would have been used, but it was not.

When should someone be baptized?

Let's look at this question from two directions.

#1 - Does a person's age make a difference?
A natural question would be, "does your age make a difference?" More specifically, you may ask whether infants or young children should be baptized. It may help if you understand where the idea and practice of baptizing infants came from. Around 400 AD, a man named Augustine came up with the idea of "original sin." This basically said that everyone inherits the sin of Adam at birth and is therefore separated from God from the beginning of their life. Of course, this caused parents to become concerned over the fate of their children, should they die before "getting right with God."

Since only one of the steps required to get right with God

could be done by (or to) an infant, they decided to baptize them to "take care of the original sin." Since it is risky to immerse an infant, these people decided to sprinkle them with water instead. Thus, both baptizing infants and baptizing by sprinkling came from human ideas. They did not come from the Bible.

If we look in the Bible we see that children are never seen to "accept Christ" (and therefore get right with God). It is also interesting that God never tells us what to do to keep a child safe. Did He just forget this important point, letting many children go to Hell and suffer eternally? No. A child is safe in the arms of God until they can understand how to be saved by accepting Jesus as their savior. (See 2 Samuel chapter 12, verses 22 and 23 along with Matthew chapter 18, verse 10.) Thus, only adults and older children (who can understand separation from God because of sin and so forth) are at the age when acceptance of Christ is possible.

[1] Swindoll, Charles R., Signposts Along Life's Journey (1997), Insight for Living, CA, p. 10.

to be continue....

Can My infant Child be saved?

Some friends of mine have a tiny baby in critical condition. The thoughts of loved ones around them have gone to the eternal status of the child.

It’s interesting to me that many people wonder about the state of the child, but often overlook their own state!

But I though perhaps the consideration arises in the minds of many Christians, Can this child be saved?In order to answer that question Biblically, we first must consider what saved means. The word always means delivered from some peril, whether large or small. In other words, saved must always have an object, and so there must be a salvation FROM something.

Therefore, before answering the question, we must know what the child needs to be saved from. Biblically, we immediately think of sin and sins.If we are not saved from the penalty of sin, we know the consequences are eternal separation from God, and the appropriate punishment for our misdeeds.

Some might say that children are not sinners. This is not true, according to the Bible. Children ARE sinners, even in their mother womb. Psalm 51:5 reads, Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.So this is clear that the nature of sinner is the only nature known to us in the womb, except, of course in the miraculous circumstance of the Lord birth.

We also know that, although sinners by nature in the womb, babies do not sin in the womb. Romans 9:11 reads For the children (Jacob & Esau) being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth; Once babies emerge from the womb, they can start sinning, one surmises, at least in thought. Therefore, it is possible to find sins even in very, very young babies.

But an important factor, often overlooked is found in Deut 1: 39: “Moreover your little ones, which ye said should be a prey, and your children, which in that day had no knowledge between good and evil, they shall go in thither, and unto them will I give it, and they shall possess it.Apart from the context, we can see the assertion by the Lord that the children of the Israelite exiles from Egypt had not reached a certain state of knowledge concerning good and evil. This condition has come down to us as the age of accountability.It not a precise age, and has to do with knowledge, but it is certain that a vast number in the wilderness had not reached it.

Religious people have tried to name this age. Jewish religionists (who today are among those who have stumbled by failing to receive the Lord Jesus Christ) attempt to place circumcision as necessary in securing eternal life to children who have not reached this age of accountability.

They have their counterparts in those Christians who would require an infant sprinkling, pouring, or immersion for the same purpose.

But what do such rites teach? They teach that without these rites, a child is condemned or consigned to hell when God does not. I remember when I was young, and in a Roman Catholic school, they told us that unbaptized infants went to limbo which was just like heaven, but without God. Well, I dont know what I thought then, but today I think anywhere without God is a nasty place indeed! I also know they just made that stuff up.

So, back to the original question: can an infant be saved? Actually the question SHOULD be Does an infant need to be saved from his sins?The answer is no.He may have them, but God has not imputed those sins to him, until he reaches an age where he knows good and evil: an age of accountability.

I personally agree with Dr. J. Vernon McGee on this point, who said he thought that time was much later than most people have speculated.

In my own case, I received Christ as my Savior by faith when I was 24 years old. I dont think I had been accountable for my sins very long before that. When I realized my sins were my own responsibility, it scared me seriously, and I was sure glad to discover God's plan of salvation in the meritorious work of Another.

144,000 is the total number that will be saved??

You are going to be happy then when I tell you that there will be many more saved.

The 144,000 talked about in Revelation 7 are Jews who will come to believe sometime during the tribulation. These 12,000 from each of the 12 tribes are so marked lest the antichrist might have his desired wish of annihilating all the remaining Jews before Christ's triumphant return.

These 144,000 will have a supernatural Divine protection during the worst of the things to come such as the locust of Revelation 9. Revelation 9:3-4 And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power. And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads.

Since we know these 144,000 are still alive in Chapter 9, then these verses in Chapter 7 of Revelation prove there are many other saved during this dreadful time...

Revelation 7:13-17 And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they? And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.

So we have proof of many being saved during this time, but for those not sealed in the 144,000 it will most likely cost them their lives to accept Christ and be saved. A small price to pay for an eternity of glory with our Lord.

Pastor Brad

Holy Spirit is a Person or a Force?

The Holy Spirit is a part of the Holy Trinity with the Father and Son. In the Old Testament the Hebrew word (ruwach, pronounced roo'-akh) was used when talking about the Spirit. This word literally means WIND, even the wind associated with a BREATHE! In the New Testament the Greek word (pneuma, pronounced pnyoo'-mah) was used which means the BREATHE or a BREEZE! We can literally think of the Holy Spirit as the "Breathe of God!"

Most Christians today understand Jesus the Son, and God the Father as two very distinct Persons within the Godhead; however, there has been much confusion over the identity of the Holy Spirit. Perhaps some of this dates back to the King James translation of the Bible where the word "Spirit" or "Ghost" was used instead of "Breathe" or "Wind" of God. In any case, many people throughout the ages have thought of the Holy Spirit more as a thing than a Person. Nothing could be further from the truth, and in fact as we begin to know the Person of the Holy Spirit we will want to have a closer relationship with Him just as we would the Father or Son.Although the word Trinity is not mentioned in the Bible, we know God is three in one. There are three very distinct Person’s that make up the Godhead. They are all equal in every way.

They (The Father, Son and Holy Spirit) are all:

Omnipotent – All powerful.

Luke 1:35 And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Spirit shall come upon you, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow you: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of you shall be called the Son of God.

Omnipresent – At all places at once.

Psalms 139:7 Where shall I go from your Spirit? or where shall I flee from your presence?

Omniscient – All knowing.
1 Corinthians 2:10 But God has revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searches all things, yea, the deep things of God.

Eternal - Hebrews 9:14
How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

Equal - Acts 5:3-4

But Peter said, Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit, and to keep back part of the price of the land? While it remained, was it not your own? and after it was sold, was it not in your own power? why have you conceived this thing in your heart? you have not lied unto men, but unto God.

The Holy Spirit was part of all things, from the very beginning of scripture to the very end of scripture
Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God (elohiym (pronounced el-o-heem') created the heaven and the earth.
Elohiym is the plural form of God. Therefore, as scripture was inspired and man began to write the Word, it was evident to the writers that God was made of more than 1 Person but at the same time there was one Godhead.

There are many scriptural references that show the coexistence of the the entities within the Trinity
Luke 3:22 And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased.
Here we see the evidence of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit all mentioned within one verse. We also see the same reference elsewhere in the Gospels.

Matthew 3:16-17 And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

Mark 1:10-13 And straightway coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens opened, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon him: And there came a voice from heaven, saying, Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. And immediately the Spirit driveth him into the wilderness. And he was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted of Satan; and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered unto him.
Deuteronomy demonstrates the God Israel served was one Godhead made of a plurity of entities within that Godhead.

Deuteronomy 6:4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD (Y@hovah (pronounced yeh-ho-vaw') our God (elohiym) is one LORD (Y@h0vah)

It is important to understand the Holy Spirit is truly God because of the fact that if we are born again He lives in us.
What we allow ourselves to be part of we are inviting God to be part of..

1 Corinthians 6:19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?

Four important principles to remember
1) The Holy Spirit is God, but He is a Person, not a force

2) We cannot focus on the Holy Spirit too much. Why? What is the Holy Spirit’s mission? To reveal Jesus. What is Jesus mission…to reveal the Father. What about the Father…to send Jesus and the Holy Spirit so we can come to Him. Perfect Harmony. They never had a crisis management meeting in Heaven. They never tried to sit down and work things out. They never had a power struggle amongst themselves.

3) The Holy Spirit gives gifts for use in ministry and empowers effective ministry

4) The Holy Spirit is a distinct Person within the Godhead, not a force, a thing, or an "it"

Qualities that a person has…(a force or thing does not)
1) The Holy Spirit has intellect. 1 Corinthians 2:10 But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.

2) The Holy Spirit has knowledge. 1 Corinthians 2:11 even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.

3) The Holy Spirit has emotions. Ephesians 4:30 And grieve (lupeo (pronounced loo-peh'-o)); to make sad or sorrowful, heavy of heart) not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.

4) The Holy Spirit has his own will and he makes decisions. Acts 16:6 Now when they had gone throughout Phrygia (pronounced froog-ee'-ah) and the region of Galatia, and were forbidden of the Holy Ghost to preach the word in Asia,

5) The Holy Spirit Loves. Romans 15:30 Now I beseech you, brethren, for the Lord Jesus Christ's sake, and for the love of the Spirit, that ye strive together with me in your prayers to God for me;

Things only a person would do (a force or thing does not)
1) He teaches you things about God and yourself. John 14:26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

2) He tells the truth. John 15:26 But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:

3) He guides. John 16:13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.

4) He convinces. John 16:8 And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment.

5) He prays for you. Romans 8:26-27 Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit Himself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.

6) He commands. Acts 13:2 As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them.

The Holy Spirit was on the scene long before the day of Pentecost
He moved upon the face of the waters and was the active agent in creation. Jesus was the Word, the Holy Spirit moved.
Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God (elohiym el-o-heem') created the heaven and the earth.
Genesis 1:2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
Genesis 1:27 So God (elohiym again) created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

The Holy Spirit gave us the Word of God. 2 Peter 1:20-21 Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.

The Holy Spirit regenerates our spirit when we accept Jesus Christ into our life. John 3:6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

In fact, the Holy Spirit has always worked hand-in-hand with Jesus Christ

His Birth - Matthew 1:20 But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.

The life and ministry of Jesus - Luke 4:1 And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness AND… Luke 4:18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,
His death and offering Himself as the perfect sacrifice- Hebrews 9:14 How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

The resurrection of Jesus – Actually all 3 members of the Godhead had a part in the resurrection!
Father - Ephesians 1:19-20 And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places,
Son (He had the power to take His own life up again) - John 10:18 No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.

Holy Ghost - Romans 1:4 And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.

In fact, the main purpose of the Holy Spirit is to tell us about Jesus and Glorify Him. John 16:13-14 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you.

9 Gifts and 9 fruits of the Spirit

So many today seek the Gifts without first acquiring the Fruit in their life. We must have the Fruit of the Spirit at work if we want God to entrust us with the Gifts of the Spirit.

Gifts of the Spirit

1 Corinthians 12

1. Word of Wisdom

2. Word of Knowledge

3. Faith

4. Healings

5. Working of Miracles

6. Prophesy

7. Discerning of Spirits

8. Different Kinds of Tongues

9. Interpretation of Tongues

Fruits of the Spirit

Galatians 5:22-23

1. Love

2. Joy

3. Peace

4. Longsuffering

5. Kindness

6. Goodness

7. Faithfulness

8. Gentleness

9. Self Control

The Word of Wisdom supernaturally discloses the mind, purpose, and the way of God as applied to a specific situation. If we have the Wisdom of God, then we must have Love, for God is Love. If you search for the first gift of the Spirit, you must possess the first fruit of the Spirit.

The Word of Knowledge is a supernatural revelation of information about a specific thing and has to do with an immediate need. Jesus gave instruction to His disciples so His Joy would remain in them and be full. A Word of Knowledge will always be received with Joy from His disciples, so we must first strive to have the fruit of Joy in our lives.

Faith is a special outpouring of supernatural Faith for release of a miracle. Even a small amount of Faith in our Father will bring Peace into our lives. If we have the Peace that passes all understanding then we will be ready for the Gift of Faith when the need arises. So seek first to have the fruit of the Spirit: Peace.

Healings are those Healings that God performs supernaturally. If we are Longsuffering, then we have learned to be content in any situation as Paul was. He learned that in his weakness, Jesus strength was made perfect. So if we can learn to be Longsuffering in all, then we will be able to accept the supernatural Healing God has for us. Faith produces miracles, but miracles do not necessarily produce faith, unless we know how to rejoice in any situation. That we do not look for the Healing, but for the relationship with God that will bring about the Healing.

Working of Miracles is a manifestation of Divine power to perform something that could not be done naturally. Jesus performed many Miracles because He had compassion on the crowds and acted with Kindness. Without the Fruit of Kindness, we would not be able to use the Gift how God would want us to.

Prophesy is a supernatural disclosure, a sudden Spirit inspired insight that brings exhortation to the body of Christ. Goodness means to have decency, generosity, righteousness. To exhort and edify the body of Christ we must first possess the virtues and values which are synonymous with Goodness.

Discerning of Spirits is to detect the true spirit behind the acts and manifestations taking place around us. It is used to further build Faithfulness on our Lord and Savior. The fruit of Faithfulness is the foundation for being true only to our Lord, and the acts of the Holy Spirit. We may then seek the gift of Discerning of Spirits to further our perception of the workings of the true Spirit of God.

Different kinds of Tongues is praying or singing in a supernatural or heavenly language which has a specific message associated with it. James tells us about the things from above, that they are pure, peaceful, and Gentle. How can we seek the Gift which will deliver a message to God’s people if we first do not seek fruit of His likeness.

Interpretation of tongues is translating the message of tongues so that the heavenly message may be given. Would you trust someone translating for you that put their own thoughts and words into your message. You would want someone of great Self Control to be true and accurate. How much more would our Father want someone of Self Control to translate His holy message to His people.

Revelation is the future story

The theories about the meaning of the prophecies Jesus revealed to John on the Isle of Patmos are too numerous to calculate. There are several aspects that dominate the various scenarios presented, which scripture does not support, and it is those we will address. It is of the utmost importance that the readers not make the mistake many have made before, which has allowed so many myths to be accepted. The problem is that so many simply accept the word of those theorists without studying the foundations of their concepts.

The most popular belief is that the Revelation is the future story of the rise of the Antichrist to world power, his actions to demand loyalty, the creation of a world government and world religion, the rebuilding of the temple at Jerusalem, the rapture, a great battle at Armageddon, the final battle that defeats Satan, Jesus taking the throne, and a new earth being created. Here are the major points most often presented concerning the prophecies of the Revelation to John:

· The Antichrist is the central figure of the end times.

· The Antichrist will establish a world government.

· The Antichrist will bring peace to the world.

· The Antichrist will stand in the Holy of Holies in the rebuilt Temple at Jerusalem.

· The Antichrist will either declare himself as the Messiah or be declared the Messiah by a new World Church.

· The Antichrist is the author of the "Great Deception".

· The Mark of the Beast will be an identifying sign of loyalty to the Antichrist.

· The Mark of the Beast is 666.· A new World Church will be established.

· The Temple at Jerusalem will be rebuilt.

· The False Prophet plays a major role in the end times events.

· The Jews will accept Jesus as the Messiah before he returns.

· There are two specific groups of 144,000 people each "raptured".

· The Beast is a human.· The Beast is the Antichrist.

· There will be a "Great Battle" at Armageddon.

· Satan will be defeated in a "Great Battle" in heaven just before he is imprisoned in chains.

The Beast

One of the first problems in the orthodox view of the "beast" is that it is a person. Many believe this, but scripture and theological study reveal that this is more likely, an organization, or group of nations. The word from which the word beast is taken means "dangerous animal". In our modern society an animal is considered "dangerous" for several reasons, not the least of which is posing a threat to human life or physical harm to humans or their property. Since the beast is mentioned in a social, rather than a natural context, we can assume that whatever the beast is, it is probably not an actual animal, but more likely some other entity that exhibits the traits of a dangerous animal. The connection of the Mark to global commerce, the institution of that Mark by the image the Beast creates, and the identification of the global corporations as the deceiver of the world place those corporations in the direct spotlight as a prime suspect.

In a recent book, and movie, titled "The Corporation", the concept of corporate personhood, and its ramifications socially, were closely examined. A person who is considered dangerous to the society as a whole very often exhibit traits that are defined as psychopathic, and would make that person a threat to society. In the book, "The Corporation", a leading expert in forensic psychology was asked to determine how the corporate personality, with its questionable humanlike power under the status of corporate personhood, would be rated psychologically. His conclusion is that the corporation, as legally structured, by the actions it is mandated to take, and considering its well-publicized performance socially, would qualify it as a severe psychopath.

Psychologist Dr. Robert Hare, a leading expert in the study of psychopathic behavior, has developed a checklist of psychopathic traits and these are but a few that represent the aberrant behavior of corporations.

· The corporation is irresponsible because in an attempt to satisfy the corporate goal, everybody else is put at risk.

· Corporations try to manipulate everything, including public opinion.

· Corporations are grandiose, always insisting that "we're number one, we're the best."

· Corporations refuse to accept responsibility for their own actions and are unable to feel remorse.

The following is his well-known and implemented psychopathy checklist in its entirety. The reader can easily see that considering what we know about the global behavior of corporations, there are very few aspects of psychopathic behavior corporations do not match.

1. Glibness / superficial charm

2. Grandiose sense of self-worth

3. Need for stimulation/proneness to boredom

4. Pathological lying

5. Conning/manipulative

6. Lack of remorse or guilt

7. Shallow affect

8. Callous/lack of empathy

9. Parasitic lifestyle

10. Poor behavioral controls

11. Promiscuous sexual behavior

12. Early behavior problems

13. Lack of realistic, long-term plans

14. Impulsivity

15. Irresponsibility

16. Failure to accept responsibility for own actions

17. Many short-term relationships

18. Juvenile delinquency

19. Revocation of conditional release

20. Criminal versatility

N-Viro International Corporation

N-Viro International Corporation (Symbol: NVIC) utilizes patented technologies to stabilize and disinfect municipal bio solids and other organic waste products. These technologies safely and efficiently transform waste streams into beneficial reuse products.

One of the N-VIRO technologies is the BioDry

Biosolids are the residual solids left over after the treatment of municipal wastewater. These include organic matter and inorganic compounds, as well as those produced in the treatment process. Biosolids can be in either liquid or solid form, depending on the treatment process, and they contain valuable organic matter, plant nutrients and biological activity.

N-Viro International has developed and patented a processing tool designed to decrease the time needed to dry the product as well as decreasing the footprint of the drying facility called Biodry.

Advantages of BioDry

Reduced site layout

Reduced drying time

Advanced process automation

Reduced alkaline admixture input

Biosolids volume reduction

BioDry accomplishes these goals by reducing drying time to 30 minutes and eliminating the need for windrows. The footprint of a facility can be cut by more than 50 percent in some cases by installing a BioDry rotary drum dryer. The biosolids are mixed with the alkaline admixtures (AA) and then fed directly into the dryer. Varying amounts of product can be handled by different size dryers based on feed speed and percent solids coming out of the mixer.

Sarnia, Ontario

An application of this process was at a municipal biosolids management facility in Sarnia, Ontario, that treats 120 wet tons per day. In March of 2001, the town of Sarnia began operation of the N-Viro Soil processing facility that incorporates the patented BioDry™ biosolids treatment process. Webster Environmental designed the processing facility to use a Duske rotary drum dryer, similar to one used by Leamington, Ontario. This equipment is part of the N-Viro Process used to dry alkaline treated biosolids for disinfection and stabilization.

The town of Sarnia has signed into an agreement with Lakeshore Soils to purchase all the N-Viro Soil made at the Sarnia facility for $7.50 CDN ($5 USD) per ton FOB the processing plant. Lakeshore Soils has acknowledged the value of the N-Viro Soil to the farmers near Sarnia. One benefit is that NVS has been proven to reduce the populations of the parasitic soybean cyst nematode (SCN), increasing its value to the end user. For More Info, You can check http://www.nviro.com

what Bible said about dinosaurus?

Most of us loved reading about dinosaurs at some time in our lives. In 1993, the movie "Jurassic Park" stimulated the public interest in dinosaurs far beyond its previous level. As a result, increasing numbers of people have thought, "Since we have found all these fossils and dinosaur bones, we know dinosaurs existed.

How come they are not mentioned in the Bible?"

Actually, dinosaurs are mentioned in the Bible, and we will prove it by doing the following three things:
Explaining the accuracy of the Bible.Behemoth has the following attributes according to Job 40:15-24
It "eats grass like an ox."

It "moves his tail like a cedar." (In Hebrew, this literally reads, "he lets hang his tail like a cedar.")
Its "bones are like beams of bronze,His ribs like bars of iron."
"He is the first of the ways of God."

"He lies under the lotus trees,In a covert of reeds and marsh."

Some bibles and study bibles will translate the word "behemoth" as "elephant" or "hippopotamus." Others will put a note at the edge or bottom of the page, stating that behemoth was probably an elephant or a hippopotamus. Although an elephant or hippopotamus can eat grass (or lie in a covert of reeds and marsh), neither an elephant or a hippopotamus has a "tail like a cedar" (that is, a tail like a large, tapered tree trunk). In your kid’s dinosaur book you will find lots of animals that have "tails like a cedar."

We would expect behemoth to be a large land animal whose bones are like beams of bronze and so forth, so whatever a behemoth is, it is large. A key phrase is "He is the first of the ways of God." This phrase in the original Hebrew implied that behemoth was the biggest animal created. Although an elephant or a hippopotamus are big, they are less than one-tenth the size of a Brachiosaurus, the largest (complete) dinosaur ever discovered.

A Brachiosaurus could therefore easily be described as "the first of the ways of God."
Comparing all this information to the description in your kid’s dinosaur book, you may come to the conclusion that "behemoth" is not a normal animal, it is a dinosaur—the brachiosaurus. We agree with that conclusion!

Note: Some paleontologists have found fragmentary leg bones, ribs, or vertebrae which they propose belong to "new" sauropods larger than Brachiosaurus. Examples of these include Amphicoelias, Argentinasaurus, Sauroposeidon, Seismosaurus, Supersaurus and Ultrasaurus. There currently is not enough evidence to really determine the size of any of these, and some paleontologists believe that they are merely large examples of known dinosaurs like Brachiosaurus or Diplodocus. In any case, only the "modern scientific name" of behemoth would change. The point would still remain that behemoth refers to a dinosaur, not a "modern animal" like an elephant or hippopotamus.

Creation Vs Evolution (2)

Scientists discovered "living fossils" like the coelacanth that have not changed in form for "millions of years."

This is a genuine embarrassment for scientists who believe in evolution, who had to scramble for ideas that explained why these animals did not evolve while others did. (They had to find some explanation, or admit that the theory of evolution was wrong.) A popular example of such an explanation uses the concept of "stabilizing selection," which would be worded like this: "Natural selection prevented change by eliminating all the innovations, sometimes for periods of millions of years." Notice that this statement is the exact opposite of normal evolutionary thought. If that is really the case, we wonder why some "renegade" species chose to follow stabilizing selection while others chose to evolve. The reality is that the theory of evolution has no valid explanation for living fossils.

This is an example of the concept of stasis—standing in one spot. It may help you to know that stasis is not limited to "living fossils." Stephen Jay Gould (an evolutionist) stated, "Most species exhibit no directional change during their tenure on earth. They appear in the fossil record looking pretty much the same as when they disappear; morphological change is usually limited and directionless." Therefore, both living fossils and the fossil record itself are in conflict with the theory of evolution, which normally teaches that we should see constant change in species—not stasis. Actually, the concept of stasis fits the Bible’s creation model perfectly. We would expect created plants and animals to remain in stasis—the way God created them.

Scientists discovered "modern men" in Pliocene deposits.

Modern human skulls and bones have been discovered in Pliocene layers. These findings include those at Calaveras (1866), Castenedolo (1860, 1880), and Ipswich (1912). Finding modern human remains in layers that are believed to be 7-12 million years old casts serious doubt on the theory of evolution regarding humans (or scientific dating methods), since that is the time Ramapithecus (a supposed ape-man) was proposed to exist. If both Ramapithecus and modern man lived at the same time, we would know that people did not evolve from this "ancestor" (or any of the "later" ones). That is, for modern man to evolve from Ramapithecus, Ramapithecus would have had to exist before modern man. The evidence does not support this idea.

To explain these "threatening" discoveries, scientists offered many explanations regarding how all these fossils ended up in a Pliocene layer. The most popular explanation is that these remains were the result of burials, which just happened to end up in a Pliocene layer. There is, however, a real problem with this claim: no scientist wishes to announce a "discovery" and later have someone make them into a fool by revealing that they only dug up a grave (or was the naive dupe of a hoaxer). As a result, these men documented the geologic terrain to make sure that the remains they found were not the result of an "intrusive burial" before reporting the findings.

A Final Comment

Since this writer spent many years in scientific research, I know how painful it is to propose a theory and then discover evidence disproving the theory. Still, the professional thing to do is admit that the proposed theory was wrong and look for a new hypothesis. In this way, you eventually discover the truth. Open-minded scientists will always follow such a procedure. The reader may find it interesting to learn that it was our original intention to explain how God "used" evolutionary processes to accomplish the creation described in the Bible. We later learned that the evidence does not support the theory of evolution, but supports a literal creation by God in six days.

This required a change in our "theory," but we were more interested in presenting the truth than in promoting a favorite theory. Unfortunately, it seems that many people are so committed to the theory of evolution that they can not admit that their theory is failing on every front. Therefore, they "explain away" or ignore the evidence that they do not like and highlight evidence that supports their viewpoint. Selectively choosing the evidence you like and disregarding the evidence you dislike is not the way to discover the truth. For anyone who read this entire page (and who does not have a "chip" on their shoulder), one conclusion should be clear: the evidence strongly favors the Bible's creation account, and does not support the theory of evolution.

Creation Vs Evolution (1)

What the theory of evolution says

We are told that old fossils are found in old rock layers and recent fossils are found in recent rock layers. Yet, some fossils (like clams) are found in all strata, including rock layers at mountain tops. So, learning which clam was millions of years old and which one is only a few thousand years old becomes a little tricky.

Most people do not know that most rock layers are "dated" by the fossils they contain. Scientists will choose a special reference fossil called an "index fossil." Then they assume (based on the phylogenetic tree) that the "simple" index fossils were the oldest. Finding one of these "oldest" index fossils in a layer identifies that layer as the "oldest." They then assign a date to that rock layer (based on the theory of evolution) and record that date on their geologic time scale. They continue this process with the "more complex" index fossils—assigning each increase in "complexity" to a younger rock layer until they complete filling out the geologic time scale. (A complete geologic time scale is also referred to as a "geologic column.")

One special note: Although Darwin popularized "evolution," he was not the first person to suggest it. Others before him proposed that layers of the earth were laid down in a sequence—suggesting geologic dates based on their "evolutionary model." Remember, the mere fact that someone preceded Darwin does not prove Darwin’s theories, validate these dating methods, or prove the theory of evolution.

Notice that although the layers of the earth were dated using index fossils, the index fossils were dated by guessing their age based on the theory of evolution. This is not science nor a valid application of the scientific method. Suggesting a hypothetical age for a fossil (based on a theory) and then telling everyone it is an established fact is not the way to apply the scientific method. If you quiz paleontologists about this, many will assure you that their techniques are indeed scientific. They will tell you they accurately date the fossil using the date of the rock layer in which they found it.

Did you notice what just happened? They assigned a date to the fossil, then dated the layer of earth which contained that fossil. Then they turned around and told you they knew the age of the fossil, because they knew the date of that layer of earth. This is called "circular reasoning."

You may be wondering about radiometric (radioactive) dating. However, you should know that scientists established the geologic time scale and assigned the ages of the fossils in those rock layers before radioactive dating was invented. In essence, the discussion of radioactive dating is a sophisticated way to divert people’s attention from the fact that there is no evidence to support the theory of evolution.

What the Bible says

The worldwide flood described in the Bible would also place different fossils in the layers of the Earth’s surface. A worldwide flood would kill all the animals (except for some that normally live in water) and most of the vegetation. Without land to break up the tides, all water movement would become very turbulent, mixing the different sizes and species together with trees and other vegetation. Whatever happened to sink to the bottom first would be covered first with the earth and silt stirred up during the flood. Those plants and animals that sank later would be buried in the higher layers.

To be fair, finding fossils in different layers of earth does not prove the Bible’s creation model either. For that reason, we give both models a "tie" on this issue.

Many fossils have been discovered that span many geologic layers.

In 1976, the complete fossil skeleton of a baleen whale was uncovered in Lompoc, California, crossing many geological layers (apparently "millions of years" of strata). This is an isolated incident, but the fossil discoveries in the next paragraph are very common.

Many animals appeared suddenly at the start of the "Cambrian Period," even though only a few multicellular fossils appear in "earlier" rock layers.

At a certain level (rocks corresponding to the "Pre Cambrian Era") the geologic layers contain almost no fossils. The few that exist are those from cellular and multicellular creatures such as algae or bacteria. Suddenly, in the next higher layer (corresponding to the "Cambrian Period") many sophisticated, fully formed fossils appear. These varied creatures include Trilobites, brachiopods, gastropods, bivalves, crinoids, graptolites, sponges, and segmented worms. This sudden appearance of so many fully developed life forms can not be explained using the theory of evolution and the slow-working microevolution model. Too many different creatures appear fully developed, too suddenly.
In contrast with the theory of evolution, the Bible’s creation account can explain why so many fully developed creatures came into existence so suddenly—God created them. Further, a world wide flood can easily explain a geologic layer filled with complex fossil remains resting on top of a relatively "empty" geologic layer—these creatures were killed during the flood. If you do not understand how something that lives under water can be killed by a flood, remember "the springs of the great deep" that opened up at the beginning of the flood. If these "springs" resembled today’s hydrothermal vents, they could easily "cook" all the marine life in the vicinity, which would then become the first casualties, being buried in the ocean floor sediment before the other plants and animals. This would also explain why the fossils of these life forms are typically found in the lowest strata.

to be continue....

Why do I believe the Bible?

Why do I believe the Bible? Why do I believe in a book that was written by 40 independent authors, living in ten countries during a period covering in excess of 1500 years? Why do I believe in a book that has a cast of over three thousand characters living in over 1500 places?Why do I believe in an ancient book that some say is a book of legends, myths, fables, and ancient history? Of what benefit or gain is it to me to say that I believe the Bible?

This same book has shaped the destiny of many people to a large degree, over many centuries of time, and it continues to do so today. And yet to many, it remains a book on the shelf, gathering dust. A book that is seldom opened, and a book without any relevance to today's living.But to me, that same book is vital, completely relevant to today: exposing the weaknesses of our present times, setting out the remedies for the world's many ailments, and accurately forecasting the path of the future world to be established in the foreseeable future.

For several reasons.

Because I believe that it is a book uniquely written by the inspiration of God. I have many reasons for believing this to be so, and I shall elaborate a little later on this aspect.

Because the Bible has a message that is an important one to us today, in establishing an honest, decent, caring, and pleasing lifestyle from which each one of us can benefit in real terms. A life style unaffected by the concerns around us of environmental catastrophe, global mismanagement, or threat of nuclear warfare.

Because the Bible has a message of the future: an assurance of a far, far better environment of the future, when all aspects of war, of violence, of fear, of moral decline will cease, and the world will be a perfect place to spend what would be an eternity of time.

On the first aspect, what is it that makes me believe that the Bible is a book with a true and vital message? Perhaps in common with many other people, I find that there is not just a single reason, but a number of reasons. Each reason in itself is able to provide sufficient evidence in itself in order to support the proposition that the Bible is truly believable, but the ability to gain these evidences from completely different starting points, considering completely different aspects, fuse together to re-inforce one's confidence in the Bible. We need this confidence, for when we possess it, then the key to the Bible's message is available to us, and we can benefit directly now, and infinitely more so in the future age to come.

You see, if the Bible is just another book written by a variety of people, then it is limited by the knowledge and skills of those who wrote it. But if it can be demonstrated that the writers of the Bible had a higher source of information, then the relevance of their message becomes altogether vastly more important.The Word of God.It is true that the Bible claims to be the Word of God. It makes this claim in several ways:"All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness." 2 Timothy 3:16 [All quotations are from NIV unless otherwise stated.]"For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit." 2 Peter 1:21

But neither of these quotations prove that the Bible is the Word of God, as they are merely claims made in the Bible that the Bible is the Word of God.Similarly, the Old Testament writers made the claim that God spoke to them, and they wrote what was demanded of them. On hundreds, perhaps thousands of occasions, the writers made exactly this claim.Take, for instance, the prophet Ezekiel at the beginning of chapter 29:"In the tenth year, in the tenth month on the twelfth day, the word of the Lord came to me: 'Son of man, set your face against Pharaoh king of Egypt and prophecy against him and against all Egypt. Speak to him and say: "This is what the Sovereign Lord says: " ' " Ezekiel 29:1-3aThis again does not, in itself, contribute towards making the Bible believable: anyone would have been free to make a similar claim, and who would be able to refute it, especially a long time later?

So how can I demonstrate to you why I believe the Bible? One way would be to examine some of the portions of the Bible, with a particular question in mind. Did the writers have a source of information that was above their normal human ability and knowledge? If we can show that they did, then what was the source of that information?

Let's look firstly at the one of the aspects of the Bible that stands out as quite extraordinary: the uniformity of theme. It is very generally accepted by a weight of evidence that Moses was the author of the first five books of the Bible, and there is little dissent that the apostle John wrote the Book of Revelation, which is the last book of the Bible. So between these authors lies about 1500 years. Thirty-nine books written before the time of Jesus Christ, and twenty seven after the time of Jesus Christ. They were sixty-six books written by men of very diverse backgrounds and experiences. Few had any contact with each other. And yet what they wrote showed a remarkable degree of unity.

The choice is yours. I believe the Bible - do you?

The Authors of Bible

There are some books of the Bible whose authors cannot be known completely.

The first five books of the Bible, - Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy, are referred to in other parts of the Bible and by Jesus himself, as the books of Moses. It is accepted that Joshua (or a scribe on his behalf) wrote the book of Joshua. Then various people wrote Judges,1 Samuel-2 Chronicles which appears to have been maintained as an official record. The authors of Ruth, Esther and Job are unknown. The Psalms were mostly written by king David, Solomon wrote Proverbs Ecclesiastes and Song of Solomon. The rest of the prophetical books were written by the people who gave their names to the books e.g Daniel, Ezekiel.


In the New Testament, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John were written by the men of those names; there are some variations on who people think wrote the Acts, but the most probably author seems to be Luke.


Paul wrote the following letters/epistles:Romans, 1 & 2 Corinthians, Galatians, right through to include Philemon.


The author of the Letter to the Hebrews is not identified, but thought to also be from Paul. James, 1 & 2 Peter, 1,2,& 3 John and Jude were written by people of those names. The Revelation was written by John.

Should a Christian gamble?

Gambling takes different forms:

• horse racing
• punchboards and pulltabs
• fund raising events such as casino nights, bingo, raffles, amusement games
• contests of chance operated by charitable and nonprofit organizations
• card rooms
• the lottery
• casinos and bingo halls operated by Native American tribes.

I. GAMBLING VIOLATES LEGITIMATE ECONOMY.

A. Three Legitimate Means Of Transferring Property:
1. Law of labor: Money is earned by effort expended.
2. Law of love: Where money is given w/o expectation or desire for return. -Gambling does not qualify in any of these.

B. God Recognizes These Principles Of Economy And Authorizes Them.
1. Labor - Eph. 4:28; 2 Thess. 3:l2; Luke 10:7.
2. Buying & selling - Matt. 13:44; Matt. 25:27 - Investment.

II. GAMBLING VIOLATES DIVINE LAW.

A. It Violates Private Industry Which God Ordained For Man & Makes Him Unfit For This Mission In Life - Gen. 3:19.
1. One’s income is to come from his own hard work:
a. 1 Ths. 4:11-12 - Work...Have need of nothing.
b. 2 Ths. 3:10 - If one won’t work, not a charity case!

B. The Essential Motive For Gambling Is Covetousness (Greed).
1. It seeks the rewards of another man’s efforts. (Get rich quick!)
2. "To fix passion upon," "To long inordinately for."

C. Gambling Is Accompanied By Other Evils.
1. Matt. 7:16 - Know by its fruits. (Jas. 3:11-12)
2. Fruits of gambling: Greed, broken homes, theft, organized crime, murder, drinking, suicide.

D. Gambling Is Opposed To The Good Of Society.
-Economic liability; Attracts the criminal element. (Creates a lawless environment); gov’t creates bureaucracy to oversee it. (Prov. 14:34)

E. Gambling Does Not Promote Godliness.
1. Phil. 4:8 - Can these things be said of gambling?
2. l Thess. 5:22 - Abstain from appearance of evil.

F. Neither The Amount Of The Wager Nor The Benefactor Of Your Losses Changes Gambling Into An Innocent Activity.
1. The amount of the wager does’t change its nature...gambling -- sin. (cf. Lottery)
2. "It’s for a good cause" (cf. bingo for a church, a school, Whatcom County Crisis Council) does not change that it violates God’s will!

Conclusion

Gambling is evil for secular & spiritual reasons. The child of God must not practice gambling in any way, shape or form!!

(Adapted from article by Gene Frost, GOSPEL ANCHOR, Vol. 7, No. 8, pages 25-27)

where is antichrist right now?

I'm quite certain the antichrist is on the earth right now. One piece of evidence of the Bible is found in 1 John 2:18, in which the apostle writes, "Little children, it is the last time. And as you have heard that antichrist shall come, even now there are many antichrists whereby we know it's the last time."

And so, even if 2,000 years ago, he says there are many antichrists, and there certainly are still many today. But you are probably wondering more, though, about the "main antichrist" that many people see in Revelation. And my answer to that would also be yes. He is in the world today.

Revelation 17 speaks about this beast power, and you can also read about him in Daniel 7:25 and Daniel 8. In fact, this beast power raises his head several times. In essence, he's been fighting God's people--but it is not just one man. Antichrist means "opposed to Christ," and there is an entire organization that will be behind this individual.

Antichrist can also mean "in the place of Christ," so this person will declare himself as Christ on earth. I also want to add that in the same way God took on the form of a man on earth to teach us the truth, Satan argues that he should be, in the same way, able to manifest himself to propogate his government. So I think at the very end, somehow, he's going to impersonate Christ or manifest himself or possess a person. But in some way he's going to have a visible spokesman here on the earth that will be a great deceiver.

Heaven...Yes, I'll be there.

What Do You Mean I Can’t Get To Heaven My Way?

Yes, a few people out there still think they are OK just as they are. We will humor you and tell you why the other "methods" of getting to heaven will not work.

Whoever goes to church will go to heaven.
This opinion is wrong for at least three reasons.
The Bible never states that attending church will get you into heaven.
Since churches disagree with one another, how do you know you are in the correct one to get you into heaven?

If going to a restaurant does not turn you into a hamburger, why do you think going to a church will turn you into a saint? (Yes, that was supposed to be humorous, but the concept is completely valid.)
Clarifying Note: We have seen people who go to church each week and promptly fall asleep. If they are openly bored with God, will He still invite them into heaven anyway? We do not think so. What if the church they are attending is actually a cult or a false religion? If that is the case, they are in trouble.
Don’t get us wrong—an important part of this site is dedicated to helping people find a good church. Still, going to church will not get you into heaven.

Whoever does more good things than bad things will go to heaven.
This is also called "balance scale" judgment, and is one of the most common wrong beliefs. This opinion is wrong for at least three reasons:

The Bible never states that doing more good things than bad things will get you into heaven.
God is so holy (perfect and sinless) that "all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags" to Him (see Isaiah chapter 64, verse 6). Do you think giving God a pile of filthy rags will cause Him to bring you into heaven? We don’t.
Going to heaven (or "being saved") is a free gift of God. He made it that way so nobody could boast that they made it to heaven by their own good deeds. (See Ephesians chapter 2, verses 8 and 9.)

Whoever has not killed anyone or done anything "really bad" will go to heaven.
This opinion is wrong for at least three reasons:
Although murdering someone is one of the best ways to help you go to hell, the Bible never states that not murdering anyone will get you into heaven. The same is true of not doing "lesser" crimes.
In the Bible, there are at least two murderers that went to heaven: Moses and David.
There are some people who never killed anyone (or did anything else "really bad") who still went to hell (hades). Read an example in Luke chapter 16, verses 19 to 31.

Everyone in a Christian household will go to heaven.
This opinion is wrong for at least three reasons:
The Bible never states that being part of a specific family will allow you to go to heaven.
You are not physically born a Christian like you are born a citizen of a country. To become a Christian and go to heaven (enter the kingdom of God) you have to be "born of water and the Spirit." This is different. See John chapter 3, verses 1-8.

The Bible states that some members of a family will go to heaven while others sleeping or working next to them will not (Matthew chapter 24, verses 40,41 and Luke chapter 17, verses 34,35).

Being the member of a family is not the way to get into heaven!!