Should Christians Get Loans?

In this post I will be going over why I believe Christian's shouldn't get loans. This article is not designed to shame anyone who has gotten loans in the past but it is created as food for thought if you plan on getting a loan.

A Bible Study on Music and Dancing

This article is about Music and Dancing in regards to the Christian faith. I will be addressing such issues as should musical instruments be used in church services, should Christians listen to secular music, and is dancing a sin? Let's get started.

Excuses in Scripture

In today's article we will be covering instances in the bible where people used excuses. We will also see if the bible has any relevant passages about making excuses.

People Who Made Excuses

It's interesting to note that people have been making excuses way back near the beginning of the bible. In Gen 3:12-13 we see Adam blaming Eve and Eve blaming the serpent. These excuses didn't get them off the hook however as they were punished nonetheless. 

We see in Exo 4:10 that Moses gave the excuse that he wasn't eloquent and slow of speech when God told him to go to Pharaoh in order to bring the children of Israel out of Egypt. In regards to the golden calf of Exodus 32, it seems to me that Aaron blamed the Israelite's for it's creation (Exo 32:22-24).

Do you remember what Gideon said when the Lord said that he would save Israel from the Midianites? He said his family was poor and that he was least in his father's house (Judg 6:14-15). Jeremiah said he was a child (Jer 1:6), Israel said that it wasn't time for the house of the Lord to be built (Hag 1:2), and the disciple who asked to bury his father first also seems to be kinda an excuse to me as well (Mat 8:21). 

See also Luk 9:61-62 

What The Bible has to say about Excuses

This last segment is about relevant passages of scripture concerning excuses. In Prov 20:4 and Prov 22:13 we see that the slothful/sluggard makes excuses so that they don't have to go and work outside. In Luk 14:18-20 we see several excuses people made as to why they didn't show up to the supper.

When we take a look at Rom 1:20 we can see that an Atheist will not have an excuse on judgment day for they can tell just by looking at creation that there is a God. 

See also: Rom 2:1

To conclude this short post on excuses and the bible let us remember 1Joh 3:18 which tells us to love in deed and truth. I bring this verse up because alot of times people can have good intentions to help someone but then not follow through. As Christians we should never make an excuse not to do good when we see the opportunity because that would be sin (Jam 4:17). 

The Importance of Balance

In today's article we will be going over the differences between the soft and hard virtues. I believe this to be an important topic to study because the Lord tells us the path to life is narrow (Mat 7:14), therefore we must be careful not to go too far to the left or too far to the right.

So first we must distinguish what are the hard and soft virtues. The soft Virtues consist of Love, mercy, forgiveness, Grace, and Kindness. The hard virtues are Truth, Righteousness, Holiness, and Justice. What is essential to understand is that all these virtues are Good.

What is the Will of God?

For today's article I thought that I would go over what the bible teaches us concerning the will of God. This subject should be quite important for Christians as we should be asking for His will to be done in our lives on a continual bases (ex. Luk 11:1-2).
Furthermore the bible even tells us to understand what the will of the Lord is (Eph 5:17).

The first thing about God's will that I would like to address is the fact that he doesn't want anyone to go to hell but would rather have them repent and live (1Tim 2:4, 1Pet 3:9). After all the lake of fire was made for Satan and his angels (Mat 25:41). This is why Christians are commanded to preach the gospel to every creature (Mat 28:19, Mar 16:15), so they may believe and be saved (1Cor 1:21).

So what other things does the bible tell us concerning God's will for our lives? Well it should be obvious to any Christian that God certainly doesn't want us to sin (Rom 6:15), fornication is listed by name in the holy scriptures as something that it's God's will for us to avoid (1Th 4:3).

Another thing that we Christians should be doing often is giving thanks for everything (1Th 5:18), this to is God's will for us. A reason that I give for this is because all things work together for a Christian's good (Rom 8:28).

It is also God's will for us to obey the ordinances of man (aka the king, governor, etc), the bible teaches us that these powers are ordained of God (1Pet 2:13-15, Rom 13:1).

The next part that I want to mention concerning the will of God is that we are to suffer for Christ sake (Phili 1:19). What do I mean by that? Christian's crucify their lust of the flesh (Luk 9:23-25, Gal 5:24, 1Pet 4:1-3), although Christians are to love people we are not friends of the world as this is enmity against God (Jam 4:4). As believers we shall be persecuted (Joh 15:20), this is because out of love for peoples souls we warn them to turn from their wickedness (Jam 5:20) but men love darkness instead of light (Joh 3:19). Moses is seen as a good example of these two points in Heb 11:24-26. See also 1Pet 4:12-19.

In conclusion we see that it is God's will that everyone would be saved and although God's will is not always done here on earth it is something that we as Christians should be seeking to accomplish. After all this world and it's lust are only temporary but those that do the will of God shall abide forever (1Joh 2:17).

See also: Joh 6:39-40, Eph 6:6, 1 Pet 3:14-17,

Debunking 10 "Logical" Reasons That Prove God Doesn't Exist

                                                                       
   While searching for something to watch on Youtube, I came across the video titled Top 10 Logical Reasons That Prove God doesn't Exist. When I first clicked on it, I expected that the person presenting the video would have some good arguments for his case. While the man is certainly entitled to his opinion, these 10 arguments are far from logical as we will see by the rebuttals. The points start at #10 and go down from there.

 #10 Poorly Designed Universe. 
 First off, the atheist in the video asked why a perfect God would design the universe and His babies in such a poor fashion? The person also inquires why we should worship a God who created us with diseases and malfunctions? This is a straw man argument, since the Bible states that God originally created Adam and Eve without sin. He gave us free will so that we could originally have an intimate relationship with our Creator. The tree was simply an object lesson.

The Bible does not say that God created a poorly designed universe. Rather, God calls his creation very good (Genesis 1). Science also demonstrates that the universe had a creator as it is not poorly designed as the video states but actually finely tuned for life. Consider, for example, that the planet Earth is the only known system in our universe with appropriate conditions to sustain life. Consider also how the planets orbit in an orderly fashion around the sun. It is the Fall which accounts for the presence of sin, and hence disease and suffering in the world, see #6. God has chosen to restore creation by the means that He has ordained. By what standard does this atheist declare the universe to be poorly designed, anyway?

#9 God of the gaps?

The next argument presented in the video is that we point to God in areas where science cannot explain, thereby labeling Him the God of the gaps. I find it ironic that the person who made this video actually used this point, especially when science cannot even authenticate the existence of the foundational laws upon which it operates. Look at the Darwinian postulate of macroevolution, which has never been observed. Talk about a science of the gaps argument. Why do I say that? Evolutionists make countless ridiculous stories such as whales used to be land animals that migrated back to sea without giving a shred of evidence. There are countless of gaps in the fossil record where missing links should be, it's nothing but gaps. Regardless of whether atheists like it or not, the conclusions of the premises which constitute proofs for the existence of God flow naturally.

Evolution as a worldview is nothing but gaps of knowledge. How can a universe spring into existence from nothing, or from non-living matter? How do birds know were to migrate for the first time? What about dino-sightings/artifacts? Irreducible complexity? What about the existence of both genders? C-14 in dino bones and diamonds, man-made artifacts in rock layers dating tens to hundreds of millions of years old? The superiority of ancient technology? I could go on and on but you get the point.

It's funny how some can blindly place faith in the concept of an eternal universe, but not investigate the evidences supporting the existence of God. The concept of an eternal universe is irrational at face value, for that would mean that we never could have reached a point in time when this essay could be completed. A beginningless sequence of events is logically impossible; an effect cannot take place without a cause. If the universe is eternal, then biology itself would not make any sense.

#8 Inconsistency of Religions
The video points out that many religions view God differently, and asks if there is any unified view of God concerning His form, his expectations from us, etc. But He has given sufficient data to mankind through His Word. Our free will has enabled us to make up stories, believe lies, and rebel against God.

The deities existing in polytheistic worldviews are obviously man-made, subject to defeat and virtually powerless by themselves. In contrast, the triune God of Judeo-Christian tradition is all-knowing, all-powerful, all-loving, and self-sufficient. Religious fables that get passed down through generations simply do not discount the reality of God, but rather validates the Bible's warnings concerning the arrival of false teaching (Mat 7:13-15, 2 Pet 2:1-3). It is from Scripture that we derive the objective nature of truth, logic, and reality.

In a certain sense, all religions are consistent with each other. Even though we may find the customs, traditions, and practices of all the ancient civilizations to be bizarre or abhorrent in our sight, the heart of all the ancient civilizations had a sense of good. These objective moral laws point to the existence of God and are a reflection His moral character. Every religion has an element of truth--it is logically impossible for a falsehood to contain no truth. A lie is a perversion of the truth. All world religions are simply a mockery of the Judeo-Christian worldview, just as all copies of an antique coin are duplicates of the original. Christianity is the fullness of truth.

#7 Creation of The World

The speaker in the video asks if God created the world, then why do we have fossils that date back to millions of years ago? The fact is, fossils do not date back to millions of years ago, that is they do not have a stamp on them saying made by a dinosaur 64 millions years ago. Scientist get those ages by running test based on their (say it with me) BIASED ASSUMPTIONS. For more articles on creation science, visit my main blog forjesustheamen.blogspot.com and click on my creation science sidebar.

#6. Existence of Evil

So, if there is such a good God, then why does He allow evil, wars, etc? Why doesn't He stop it? If people would just read their Bible, they would have their answer. God did not want to make robots, but children. He gave us the gift of freewill. This way, mankind could demonstrate true love by not being forced to love. How could us acting morally upright stem forth from love, if we were already programmed by God to act in a fashion similar to that of robots? How would that even be love (1 Corinthians 13:4-8)? Man used his freewill to sin, and thus caused a way for disease and death to enter the world. God is just so He must punish sin. He also provided a way of eternal salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ. He can use evil situations to accomplish a greater good. He can use whatever means that He desires to restore creation to its fullness, and is doing so (2 Pet 3:13). God can do all things, insofar that His actions are consistent with His will. This does not express limitation in ability, but a degree of perfection. Objective evil cannot exist without objective good. These can only exist if God exists. He is the uncreated first cause.

#5. Morality Needs No Religion

The atheist speaker goes on to say that if we looked at an atheist and a Christian side by side, then we would see little to no difference in their morality. While this may or may not be true depending on the comparison being made, God has written His moral law into the hearts of all people. God gives everyone a conscience to know right from wrong. See these articles for more information:

https://rationalchristiandiscernment.blogspot.com/2017/03/three-logical-proofs-for-existence-of.html

https://rationalchristiandiscernment.blogspot.com/2019/08/the-golden-rule-is-found-in-all-ancient.html

The atheists, however, have no justification for their morality. We see them borrowing from the Christian worldview when they treat people well. My question to the atheist would be this: Why should't men go around raping women or stealing the possessions of other people, if they knew that truth was relative to the individual, there is no consequences for sin in the afterlife, and that life is meaningless as evolution espouses? Who gets to determine what is right or wrong? What happens when people contradict each other or themselves?

The video also mentions that there are more than a few incidents of "religious people" who commit immoral acts in the name of God. This in no way disproves the existence of God, but rather demonstrates that those people who do those sins are acting contrary to the biblical Christian worldview. God has given man the free will to pretend that they serve him--but inwardly they do not (Isa 29:13, Mar 7:6).

#4. Religion Runs in Family

The person goes on to claim that you have a 99% chance of following the religion of your family. I do not see how this in anyway proves or disproves the existence of God as people's beliefs do not determine reality. If a person was raised an atheist, then he or she will most probably be an atheist. What is this point supposed to prove?

#3 No Evidence of Existence

It's not that there is no evidence for his existence. I could list dozens of examples that disprove evolution or that show beyond reasonable doubt that God exists. The problem is whether or not one will accept the evidence that is given to them or just interpret it according to their preconceived biases. Here are a few examples. We see that God did prove that he existed through the evidence of his creation (Rom 1:18-22). He also came down to earth as a man to save us from our sins, and validated His ministry through countless miracles (John 20:30-31). The New Testament which documents this is the most historically reliable book ever written. No other ancient literature even comes close to the number of copies of manuscripts that we posses. Some of which were are dated within a small time frame of the original, unlike other ancient literature. See also the standard proofs for the existence of God provided above. When is enough evidence enough?

#2 Common Consent

I actually agree in that it points out that just because the majority of people believe in God, it does not automatically make it true. This is the logical fallacy of appealing to popularity. I find it ironic that he uses slavery as an example in this video, since there would be no objective basis for opposing it in atheism? According to the Theory of Evolution, people with a different skin color are more or less evolved than people of another color, thus supporting racism.

I see the same logical fallacy being committed by those who support Darwinian evolution by saying the the majority of scientists believe it. Let us follow logic to show that this does not make evolution true. Nevertheless, it is interesting to note how the vast majority of people are not atheists.

#1 No Growth in Religion

The author of the video somehow comes to the conclusion that because our beliefs about God have not changed over the course of time, this proves that God does not exist. The reason our beliefs about God have not changed is that His character does not change (Mal 3:6; Heb 13:8). Truth is unchangeable. Two plus two will always equal four, in the same way God's word is true and will never pass away (Luk 21:33, Joh 17:17).

Further, the claim that religion has not grown is refuted by the simple fact that cults have developed.

One of the last questions raised is if God exists, then why is it that we are still vague about what He is like? Again, the reason for this is that people do not read their Bibles. If people did, then they would understand better His character. The bible tells us that God is all-powerful, knowing, omnipresent, eternal, loving, just, merciful, and long-suffering--to name just a few things. It also needs to be recognized that our finite minds are not capable of fully understanding the depths of God's character.

In conclusion, we see that these 10 supposedly logical reasons that prove God doesn't exist are actually quite illogical themselves. They can be answered quite easily by anyone who is rational minded. Anybody who has an open heart and an open mind can understand and believe on the gospel.

Who are the Sons of Freedom?

In today's article I will be using the religious group known as the sons of freedom as a spring board to discuss two other relevant topics. Which are do Christians have to obey they government no matter what and is it OK to walk around nude in the public.

So first of all who are the sons of freedom? The sons of freedom "also called freedomites" first arrived in Saskatchewan, Canada around 1902 in order to escape religious persecution that they were facing in Russia.

These freedomites as they are called were infamous for there Arson of personal and public property (including School buildings) as well as their nude protest. The SOF  didn't want their kids in public school and I could understand why as I wouldn't send my kids to public school either if I had any. However we cannot excuse the fact that they intentionally broke the law repeatedly. Now I want to discuss the two topics relevant to this group.

Are We Supposed to Obey the Government No Matter What?

The answer is no. As followers of Christ, we should be subject to the higher powers because they are ordained of God. We are told to be in subject to every ordinance of man within reasonable bounds (Rom 13:1-7, Tit 3:1, 1 Pet 2:13-17). However this does not mean that we should blindly follow everything thing they say. We should obey them except if they tell us to do something God has forbidden such as killing babies (Exo 1:17), worshipping idols (Dan 3:16-18), forbidding us to pray (Dan 6:7-10), or preaching the gospel (Act 5:29). 

We are also told not to curse the ruler of our people (Exo 22:28, Act 23:5), or the king (Ecc 10:20), so no talking bad about the president. 

Is Nudism Sinful?

The other thing that I wish to discuss about the freedomites is their nude protest. So what is so bad about walking around in the nude? After all, Adam and eve were naked but not ashamed (Gen 2:25). Well first off ,they were the only 2 people on earth at the time. Second we see that Adam wasn't ashamed of being naked until after he ate of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Gen 3:10). If God desired for them to remain naked why did he clothed them (Gen 3:21)?

Let's take a look at some more verses to show why we shouldn't be naked in public. We see that Aaron made the Israelites naked unto their shame in Exo 32:25. When we take a look at Isa 20:1-4 we see that Isaiah walked around naked as a sign unto the Egyptians and Ethiopians, for they were to be led captive naked to the shame of Egypt.

We see in Mat 25:43 and James 2:14-16 that clothing the naked is a good work, and in Luk 8:27 that a man that had devils for a long time didn't wear clothes. When we look at the contexts of  2 Cor 5:1-4, Rev 3:17, Rev 16:15 we see clothing is a good thing, whereas being naked isn't.

So why is being naked around people a bad thing? Well it's because we live in a fallen world, Jesus tells us that If you look with lust at someone you have already committed adultery with them in your heart (Mat 5:28). This is why it's so important to dress modestly (1 Tim 2:9). We are commanded to love our neighbor as our self (Mar 12:31), therefore we shouldn't cast a stumbling-block or an occasion to fall before our brethren by tempting them to lust with our body (Rom 14:13). This is further supported by the examples in 1Cor 8, and 1Cor 10:27-29 that shows that we are to care for other people's consciences and not just our own.

See also: 2 Chr 28:15, Job 24:7, Amos 2:16, 1 Cor 4:9-11

References and Relevant Links :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedomites
http://www.canadashistory.ca/explore/religion-spirituality/sons-of-freedom
https://www.thefreedictionary.com/Sons+of+Freedom
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Dukhobor#ref114376
http://www3.telus.net/000/SOF/index.htm

To Judge or Not to Judge?

In today's article, we will be looking at a few bible verses concerning the topic of judging. I believe this to be an important study because there is a lot of misinformation that is spreading concerning this. What do I mean you ask? Well, namely that false converts, unbelievers, or babes in Christ will always bring up the "thou shalt not judge lest ye be judged" passage and use it on Christians.

So, I guess we Christians can't judge anybody or any action as wrong because the bible tells us not to judge right? Wrong. This is a problem because people do not read the context of the passage and compare spiritual things with spiritual (1 Cor 2:13). In other words, compare scripture with scripture.

In the context of Matt. 7:1-5, we see that we are to judge ourselves first before judging others. It is the hypocritical judgment that God condemns (Rom 2:1-3, Rom 2:19-23). Therefore, as Christians we need to examine ourselves to see if we are in the faith (2 Cor 13:5, 1 Cor 11:31) before we go around trying to teach or correct others .

We see in the Gospel of John that Jesus did not condemn the act of judging, but rather He instructed those that were with Him to not judge according to appearance and to judge righteous judgment (Joh 7:24). Furthermore, we as Christians should not have a self-righteous attitude either. Remember the example Jesus gave of the Pharisee and the Publican (Luk 18:11-14, Gal 6:1).

If we go to the book of 1st Corinthians, we see that the saints shall judge the world as well as angels. Those that were least esteemed in the church were told to judge (1 Cor 6:2-5). However, there are some things that we as Christians shouldn't judge other believers, namely in meat, drink, holiday, new moon, and regarding the sabbath (Col 2:16, Rom 14:3-4). However, Christians must be able to judge; how else are we to rebuke people (1 Tim 5:20, 2 Tim 4:2, Tit 1:13)?

Also, how are we to obey Paul's command to separate from brethren who commit things such as fornication if we do not judge them first (1 Cor 5:11-13). There are other passages of Scripture that tell us to judge such as 1 Cor 10:15, 1 Cor 11:13, and 1 Cor 14:29. Remember, though we do not judge our brother to tear them down (Rom 14:10, Jam 4:10-12), that is to hurt them. Instead, we warn them out of love for concern over their soul (Jam 5:20).

In conclusion, we see that Christian's are in fact to judge. However, we are not supposed to merely judge others without judging ourselves as well because this will make us no better than the Pharisees of Jesus' day. It is good for us to head Jesus' warning to beware of their leaven; which is hypocrisy (Luk 12:1).

See also: Joh 7:51, Rom 14:13, 1 Cor 2:15, 1Cor 4:5

The Holy Bible: The Greatest Book Ever Written

Today I thought I would mention some of the reasons why the bible is the most trustworthy historical document that has ever existed.

• Biblical Prophecy - We see that throughout history many of the Prophecies of scriptures have come true. In fact there are many concerning the Lord Jesus in the Old Testament which he fulfilled such as where he was born, that he would bear the punishment for our sins, how much money he would be betrayed for, casting lots for his clothes, ans so much more.

• Archeology supports scripture- There have been many discoveries made throughout this field of science that show that the events in the bible are indeed true. Some of these evidences include The Lachish Letters, The Cyrus Cylinder, Caiaphas and James Ossuaries, and the Moabite stone to name a few. 

• Manuscript Evidence-There is more manuscript evidence for the bible than any other book in antiquity! We have today thousands of manuscripts, some of which are dated very close to the time of the apostles. These manuscriptes also agree in there texts the vast majority of the time!

• Bible Forknowledge- There are many passages of scripture that deal with certain scientific principles, some of which we have only discovered in the very recent past. Examples include that the life of the flesh is in the blood, that the earth hangs on nothing, that there are springs in the ocean floor, having a merry heart is good for your health, quarantine of the sick, allowing the land to rest for one year in seven (this helps crops), The second law of thermodynamics, and many more. 

• Bible Contradictions?- Throughout the Internet you will find Skeptics mentioning certain supposed contradictions within the bible. However will a little bit of searching you can also find several websites that take the time to address and explain many of these so-called contradictions. My website forjesustheamen.blogspot.com answers over five hundred of these supposed contradictions. Some of these contradictions are difficult to explain and do take some thought and prayer to answer. However there are also quite a few that are relatively easy to explain. I have seen contradictions that are so easy to explain that it is absurd! Here are just three of them 1. Did the Angel appear to Mary before she conceived Jesus or to Joseph after she conceived Jesus. Why can't there be two separate occurrences? 2. Is Jesus a Lion or a Lamb. Why can't these be two separate titles that describe different aspects of him? 3. Man may eat no/some/any animals. It depends on what time you lived on earth and if you were an Israelite or not. 

So in conclusion there is no reason to not believe the bible. Perhaps the only reasons why supposed Atheist refuse to believe scripture is that they are either ignorant of these facts and/or because they don't want to give up their sin for God. In either case they are without excuse, the very fact that their is a creation testifies that their is a Creator!  

https://forjesustheamen.blogspot.com/2018/03/20-historical-finds-that-support-bibles.html#more

http://www.eternal-productions.org/101science.html

http://www.bibleprobe.com/365messianicprophecies.htm

The Christian Work Ethic

In today's post, we will be going over a few pointers from scripture aimed at people who work under a boss.

The first point I want to make is that we should work as unto the Lord. This means we should always do our very best as if we were working directly under Jesus. Needless to say this means we shouldn't be slothful at work.

The second point that I am going to address is that we shouldn't work with just eye-service but we should work hard even when the boss is not looking.

The third point is we should not purloin obviously. This means that we are not to rob our boss or company we work for.

The next point that I am going over is that we should not talk back to our boss, but we should follow his decisions even if we do not agree with them, unless whatever command in question contradicts the laws of God.

The last point that I want to mention is that we should take any discipline or hardship patiently, even if it was not our fault, and to be subject to our boss even if they are impolite. This way we will be more like Jesus in this regard.

So in conclusion we should do our best even if the boss or co-workers are not present, and we are not to steal, or retaliate against those who have authority over us.

Scripture references: Rom 12:11, Eph 6:5-8 Col 3:22-24,Tit 2:9-10, 1 Pet 2:18-23

False Teacher Alert

In today's post I've decided to do a short expose on the Charasmatic evangelist Todd Bentely who leads Fresh Fire Ministries. It's important when listening to people who claim to be Christians to try the spirits to see whether they be of God (1 Joh 4:1) because the scripture warns us about false prophets.

While there are several things I could go over about Bentely and/or his services that are un-biblical or at least should raise concern; I have decided to just discuss one of the worst things that he has done.

The thing that most upsets me about his behavior is that when people come to him to get healing he does things like choke them, or kick them in the face, he even knocked a guys tooth out doing this. The worst part is that he claims God / The Holy Spirit told him to do it.

Now let's look at the Scriptures to see if this is the case. The bible teaches us that the fruit of the spirit is GENTLENESS (Gal 5:22), how gentle is it to strike a man so hard that it knocks his tooth out? The bible also says that a bishop isn't to be a striker or brawler (1 Tim 3:2-3, Tit 1:7). The fact of the matter is that the Holy Spirit would not tell someone to do something that he forbid's in his word. It's a very grave matter when someone claims the Holy Spirit told them to do something that He hasn't, for blasphemy of the Holy Ghost cannot be forgiven (Mat 12:31, Mar 3:29, Luk 12:10).

In conclusion we can see that Todd is just another false teacher who professes to know God but denies him through his works (Tit 1:16), he is a blind leader of the blind (Mat 15:14) and should be avoided.

To learn more about Todd Bentely and his antics including the hypnotic music of his services, his claims of Astral projection, and supposed visions of angels see the link below:
http://christinprophecy.org/articles/todd-bentley/

What is Biblical Repentance?

In this post we are going to go over what the bible says about repentance, and cover why it's so important to repent of our sins.

It seems that there is much confusion in the church today as to what repentance means. Some Christians will argue that repentance cannot mean to turn from sin because in many cases in the bible God repents. Some examples of this are, God repenting that he made man on the earth ( Gen 6:6), repenting of destroying the children of Israel (Exo 32:10-14), that he had made Saul king (1 Sam 15:35), of the pestilence  (2 Sam 24:16), of good or evil depending on the actions of a nation (Jer 18:7-10), and of destroying Nineveh (Jon 3:10). So we can see by these passages that repentance does not always mean to turn from sin, since God never sins (view article).

However on the other hand we see many scriptures that indicate the need to repent or turn from sin; such as in 1 Kin 8:47-50, 2 Chro 7:14, and Pro 28:13 where it shows God's forgiveness is conditional on whether the people would repent, we learn in Psa 55:19 that God will afflict those that won't change because they do not fear him, Pro 16:6 further indicates what kind of changes take place in those that fear him, which is the departing of evil.

The prophet Isaiah writes and instructs to "cease to do evil" and "Let the wicked forsake his way" (Isa 1:16, 55:7). The prophet Jeremiah tells Jerusalem to wash her heart from wickedness, so the Lord could repent of the evil that he thought to do unto them, but they refused to hearken (Jer 4:14, Jer 26:3, Jer 8:6). Ezekiel was instructed to warn the wicked of their way, he also instructed them to turn from their idols, we also learn in Ezekiel that God doesn't take pleasure in the wicked's death but he would rather see them turn and live (Eze 3:18-21, Eze 14;6, Eze 33:11, 2Pe 3:9). The last verse from the Old Testament that we will cover on this topic today informs us that those who do wickedly will be burnt up when the day of the Lord arrives (Mal 4:1).

Okay, so it is pretty clear in the OT that God expected people to turn from their sin, but has this changed at all in the New Testament? Let's look at some more verses and find out. Matthew instructs us to be perfect (Mat 5:38), that many false converts will be told to depart because they work iniquity (Mat 7:22-23), Jesus came to call sinners to repentance (Mat 9:13, Mar 2:17), and there is no middle ground when it comes to following Jesus (Mat 12:30).

Matthew further shows us in Mat 21:28-31 that sinners such as harlots that turn from their sin go into God's kingdom before those that say they follow God but their actions show otherwise, and that unprofitable servants are cast into outer darkness as well (Mat 25:30).

In the Gospel of Luke we have John the baptist preaching that men should amend their ways and bring forth good fruit or be cast into the fire (Luk 3:3-13), Jesus likewise preached that men ought to repent or they would perish (Luk 13:3). We learn also in the Gospel of Luke that Jesus' brethren are those that hear and do God's word (luk 8:21), and Christians are taught to deny themselves and take up their cross (Luk 9:23-24). God also wants us to forgive those that sin against us even if it's seven times in a day, that is if they are repentant (Luk 17:3-4). Repentance is not just for Old Testament Israelites, but is also for everybody in New Testament times (Luk 24:47, Act 11:18, Act 17:30).

In the Gospel of John we have Jesus telling the man he healed to sin no more (Joh 5:14); He said likewise to the woman caught in adultery (Joh 8:11). If we love Jesus we should do what he says (Joh 14:15, 1 Joh 5:3). Those that choose to not continually abide in him will be cast into the fire (Joh 15:6, 2 Joh 1:9), in verses (Joh 15:10 and Joh 15:12) we learn that we abide in his love if we keep his commands, namely that we should love others as he loved us.

Further more we learn it's a blessing to be turned from our iniquity (Act 3:26), and that the Holy Ghost is given to those that obey and if you don't have the Holy Ghost you are not his (Act 5:32, Rom 8:9). Scripture also teaches us that it is a gift from God (Act 5:31, 2 Tim 2:25), and that it leads to salvation (2 Cor 7:8-10). Peter tells Simon the sorcerer to repent of his wickedness (Act 8:20-23).

Romans 2:4-10 teaches us that God will reward every man according to his deeds, whether they be good or evil. The bible is crystal clear that just because we are under grace that doesn't give us a license to sin (Rom 6:15-16). We are to Abhor the evil and cleave to the good (Rom 12:9). 1 Corinthians teaches us that those who commit such things as fornication, reviling, idolatry, etc will not inherit God's kingdom ( 1 Cor 6:9-11), and that we cannot partake of God's table and also the table of devils (1 Cor 10:21).

2 Corinthians teaches us that those in Christ are new creatures, as well as exhorts us to examine ourselves to see whether we are indeed in the faith (2 Cor 5:7, 2 Cor 13:5).

Notice when Paul writes to the Ephesians and says that "in time past ye walked according to the course of this world," (Eph 2:2-3) this indicates that they don't anymore. Neither should things such as covetousness, foolish talk, jesting, etc be named among us even once (Eph 5:3-6). Further more we are told to Mortify our members and to depart from iniquity (Col 3:5-6, 2 Tim 2:19).

Titus reminds us that there would be those that profess to know God but deny him by their works, and that we should deny ungodliness and live righteously in the present (Tit 1:16, 2:12).

James tell's us that the man is blessed who endures temptation (1:12), that faith without works is dead (2:17), To submit and draw nigh to God and resist the devil, to cleanse our hands and to purify our hearts (Jam 4:7-8). We learn in 1 Peter 1:14-16 that we are to be holy, and not to be like the way we were before we got saved.

We learn from the epistles of John that those who profess to know God and yet don't keep his commandments are liars (1 Joh 2:4), and those that commit sin are of the devil (1 Joh 3:8), but those that do good are of God (3 Joh 1:11). Then we have Jesus warning those that commit adultery with Jezebel that they will go through great tribulation unless they repent of their deeds ( Rev 2:20-22)

The Noah's 1828 Dictionary defines Repentance as REPENT'ANCE, noun

"1. Sorrow for any thing done or said; the pain or grief which a person experiences in consequence of the injury or inconvenience produced by his own conduct."

In Conclusion, in order for us to get the right definition of repentance you have to go by the context of the passage. In some cases it means a change of mind like when God repents and in others the bible makes it clear that we are to repent or in other words to turn from sin.

      More verses where Repent, Repentance,etc is Mentioned

Exo 13:17, Num 23:19, Jdg 21:15, Job 42:6, Psa 106:45, Psa 110:4, Joe 2:14, Mat 3:8, Mat 4:17, Mat 11:20, Mat 27:3, Mar 1:4, Mar 6:12, Luk 3:3, Luk 10:13, Luk 15:7, Luk 16:30-31, Act 2:38, Act 3:19, Act 19:4, Act 20:21, Act 26:20, Rom 11:29, 2 Cor 12:21, Heb 6:6 -8, Rev 2:5, Rev 3:3, Rev 3:19, Rev 9:20 -21, Rev 16:11

More Relevant Verses: Luk 6:46, Luk 12:45-46, Joh 8:31, Act 10:35, Gal 6:15, Heb 5:9, Jam 5:20, Rev 22:14

25 Evidences that Jesus is God

Have you ever heard someone such as an Jehovah's witness, 7 Day Adventist or Muslim claim Jesus wasn't God. Well I have compiled a few verses to refute that idea, I hope you enjoy my points.

Proving God Exist by 3 Superdogs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1J5kX4Cubc

my notes:
time itself cannot be eternal, if it were there would be an infinite of past time before right now. that's impossible for infinite is endless. if there were an endless amount of time before right now we would never reach this moment in time. just as u can't reach the end of the line 0____oo you cant reach
oo_____0.  0=right now and oo=eternity.

why is there something instead of nothing either 1. something from nothing 2. infinite amount of previous causes 3. An un-caused cause (God) exist. the first two notions are impossible. un-caused cause isn't bound by time. because of this it's also space-less and immaterial.

Einsteins theory of relativity confirms matter, space, time are co-dependent. Since it's timeless it's also changeless. if it were changeless how could it bring forth anything into existence. example... if a non personal object like a book were in a changeless eternal state how could it bring forth anything? the only way something in  that state could give rise to anything is if it were a choice maker. has to personal, how else could a timeless cause give rise to a temporal effect.

If the cause  were a mechanically operating set of necessary and sufficient conditions then the cause could never exist without the effect. example if cause was below 32  degrees f from eternity past then it would be impossible for water to begin to freeze a finite time ago. so if the cause was timelessly present the effect would be to. only way the cause is timeless and the effect would begin in time is if the cause is a personal agent who freely chooses to create an effect in time. it is non-contingent because if it was contingent then it's non-existence is possible. there must be at least one non-contingent being that exists for anything to at all to exist.

Religion: Cao Dai

This religion was created in 1926 by Ngo Van Chieu. It supposedly has a few million adherants.

Adultery

It is a crime condemned throughout scripture (Exo 20:14, Deut 5:18, Matt 19:18, Mark 10:19, Rom 13:9). Even before the law was given to Israel it has been recognized as a sin (Gen 20:9, 39:9).
So much misery and woe is caused by this one sin alone. It causes divorce, spreads disease, and creates illegitimate children just to name a few problems.

As Christians we must be on guard against adultery for even the great king David who was a man after God's own heart (Act 13:22) fell into this sin (2 Sam 11:2-4). This crime is so serious that it warranted the death penalty in the old testament (Lev 20:10). The perfect man Job understood the consequences of committing this heinous crime (Job 31:1-12). Proverbs warns that those that do such things shall receive a wound, dishonour, also their reproach will not be wiped away. Adulterers lack understanding (Prov 6:24-35).

In the gospel of Matthew we learn that if we look on someone with lust we have already committed adultery in our heart (Matt 5:28).  My question to the reader is this; Is the unrepentant sin of Adultery the reason why God isn't listening to your prayers? (Psa 66:18, Mal 2:13-14). Scripture is clear that adulterers will not inherit the kingdom of God (1 Cor 6:9-10, Gal 5:19-21). While I do not support the idea of the death penalty for them (Joh 8:4-7), I do however think they should be rebuked (1 Tim 5:20) and if they are a brother avoided if they don't repent (1 Cor 5:11).

For more verses see on this topic see
https://forjesustheamen.blogspot.com/2016/06/adultry.html

Scientific Evidence that God created Life

www.creationism.org/heinze/SciEvidGodLife.htm

The link above shows an article by Thomas F. Heinze

what follows are my notes on the subject.

In nineteen fifty three miller's experiment showed that passing a spark of electricity 

through  a certain mixture of gases will create amino acids, the building blocks of proteins 

which are the ingredients of living cells. School textbooks teach us that lightning strikes

provided the sparks that formed amino acids which concentrated in an organic soup, 

and then linked together to form proteins, which then got together with DNA
to form the first living cell. The Problem is amino acids will not link together to
form proteins. That is because proteins are so hard to create that

in all of nature, they never form except in already living cells. It is only proteins containing 

all left handed amino acids  that will work in living things, because proteins with right handed 

right handed ones have the wrong shape won't snap into the proteins around them correctly.
In nature, all left handed amino acids are only formed by living cells.
The ones formed in experiments like millers are half left and half right so they wont work
in the proteins of living things. 

Religion: Universe People

A Czech and Slovak UFO religion founded in the 1990's. Founders name is IVO A. Benda. They believe in the existence of Alien Civilizations that communicate with Benda and others since the fall of 1997. The "aliens" contact them telepathically and directly. Benda believes there is a fleet of spaceships led by Ashtar galactic command which orbits earth.

Television and Video games

Today I want to discuss why I believe Christians should be careful of what kind of Television/Video games they watch/play, as well as how often they enjoy them.

Rock Toads

During the construction of the Erie Canal, New York in 1817-1825 encased in Rocks dated by Evolutionary Scientist as approx. "430 Million yrs old" were found Toads that were in a stupor. Some of the toads that came out of hibernation lived for days. This is a big problem for Evolutionary theory as the toads that were found in rocks cannot be that old simply because studies show that DNA breaks down in the thousands of years range not millions, even in the best conditions.

Another example is the soft tissues found in a Triceratops horn and rib (Armitage & Anderson, Acta Histochemica). Found in the Hell creek formation, Montana.
What kind of soft tissues you ask? Bone cells, Blood vessels that were still soft and pliable, and blood cells.

See Genesis Week Season 2 Episode 25

It turns out mosquito's don't have to eat blood to fertilize their eggs but can eat plant sap instead, however this will result in the fertilization of only one egg at a time instead of hundreds by drinking blood. The point i'm making is that this is strong evidence that supports the account in Genesis where God originally gave all of the animals herbs to eat. Of course, now in our fallen world where things are waxing worse and worse (2nd law of thermodynamics) mosquitoes need the nutrients found in animals blood in order to proliferate more effectively.

See Genesis Week Season 3 Episode 30

Religion: Bahai

This religion was started in the mid 1800's by The Bab and it was continued through Bahaullah and continued through his son Abdu'l Bah'a and then Shaghi Effendi ( Abdul's eldest grandson).

Love

Today I want to talk about Love, What is it? How do we as Christian's express love, etc. All throughout scripture we are told to Love. Whom are we to Love? Well, the first commandment is to love the Lord with all our heart,soul,mind,and strength (Mark 12:28-30). We are to Love our neighbors as ourselves.
(Lev 19:18, Gal 5:14,  James 2:8), the stranger (Lev 19:34),
Our enemies by blessing, doing good to and praying for them, we shouldn't recompense evil for evil nor should we avenge ourselves because vengeance belongs unto the Lord. That's why if our enemy is hungry/thirsty we should help them. (Matt 5:44, Luke 6:27-36, Rom 12:14,17-21).

Theistic Evolution

Theistic Evolution is the belief that God used the processes of Evolution to make the world. From a young age children are indoctrinated through public schools and media (aka kids dinosaur books, etc), that the earth is billions of years old, created by natural processes, and that dinosaurs lived and died off millions of years ago. While many children at the same time are brought to Sunday school and taught that God made the world in just six days. Some Christians wish to hold to both Darwinian Evolution and the Bible as truth. To do so two theories have been created to aid this endeavor.
The day-age theory - which states that the days of creation week were not literal 24 hr days but vast ages of time (millions/billions of years).
The Gap theory- Creation week was six literal days but there was a gap of time between 2 distinct creations between the first and second verse of the bible (Genesis 1:1,1:2), this is where the billions of years fits in.

There are several key problems with these theories that I would like to address