Thursday, September 18, 2014

False Teachers Online

I recently came across a few blogs that argue that the Great White Throne Judgment is a chance for those who didn't trust Christ as Lord and Savior while they were alive to hear the Good News, repent and THEN trust Jesus as Lord and Savior. These bloggers seem to believe that we all are going to go to heaven. BUZZ. WRONG, THANK YOU FOR PLAYING!

If I understand Revelation 20:11-14 correctly, those whose name is not in the Lambs book of Life will be sent to the 2nd death, which is the Lake of Fire, prepared for Satan, his demons and all those who did not believe in God's only Son while they were alive. Why is the Lambs book of life mentioned in this scripture? Because if the Rapture occurs and all believers have been taken into heaven with Jesus, there will still be some on the earth who will find Jesus and commit their lives to Him during the seven year tribulation. This means they will be judged "according to their deeds" at the Great White Throne judgment. They will have been resurrected with all the dead including those who were in the sea, death and hades, etc. If indeed their name is found in the Lambs book of Life, then they will be rewarded with eternal life. Those whose names are not found will be sent to the lake of fire to be separated from God for all eternity. 

Paul speaks about the retribution that will come upon unbelievers in that day. "For after all it is only just for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you, and to give relief to you who are afflicted and to us as well when the Lord Jesus will be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire, dealing out retribution to those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. These will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power when He comes to be glorified in His saints on that day and to be marveled at among all who have believed, for our testimony to you was believed." (2 Thessalonians 6-10)

There was a comment section on one of the blogs and someone asked how "the earth and the heavens fled from His presence and there was no place for them," (Revelation 20:1). There were some pretty interesting,albeit wrong answers to their question. There will be no place for anyone to hide, much less the earth and the heavens so I think the better question would be "why" would they want to hide? The answers they got from others were absolutely mind boggling! One of the scriptures used to prove the point that God will not allow anyone to go to the lake of fire without giving them a second chance to think about it and repent before God at the Great White Throne judgment was 2 Peter 3:9. "The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness, but is long suffering toward us, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." The answers to their question were blatantly false and the bible warns that this could be deadly! "For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. Therefore it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness, whose end will be according to their deeds." (2 Corinthians 11:13-15)..

There are so many scriptures that state that redemption of sin is only found in trusting in Christ and by repentance, meaning that we stop doing the things that are offensive to God and which keep us separated from Him. It happens to me every day! I always BLOW IT! I end up separated the minute I commit a sin and I have to ask His forgiveness immediately because there is nothing I hate more than being separated from Him! 

I let my dissent be known in that comment section big time! This person was just going to be more confused than they already were. The scriptures are pretty clear about heaven and hell aren't they?  "But the cowardly, the UNBELIEVING, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars, they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death." (Revelation 21:8). This refers to the fact that those who died without asking Christ to forgive them for their sins and living for Him or at least trying to, will be raised, given up by the sea, death/hades, etc., and they will be judged according to their deeds! If they didn't trust Jesus, it's off to the lake of sulfur with Satan, PERIOD! 

It seems that these bloggers do not believe that God will send anyone to the lake of fire, except for Satan and his demons. How can the truth be met with such perverse apostasy? Well, Jesus warned that in the last days, there would be "false teachers," and that we should be careful not to listen to them. Peter also warned, "But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them, bringing swift destruction on themselves." (2 Peter 2:1). Basically, we all must be careful to not let our ears be tickled by these false teachers, some of whom are preaching lies directly from the pulpit! I know it sounds unbelievable but it's happening! Jesus warned us in Matthew 24 about this, saying that there would be those that would come and not just preach lies, but say that they were Him and that we should be careful to not be deceived! (Matthew 24:4). 

I assume this is because things are going to be so bad, that we will be grasping for hope, in any form it comes to us. What I read on these blogs is what people want to hear! As Paul warned us, "For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear." (2 Timothy 4:3). 

Stay completely surrendered to Christ! Store up treasure where moth and rust cannot destroy! Spread the Good News, no matter how uncomfortable it is to do so and don't let people intimidate you! Trust Christ and He will give you the words! Run to the Cross and be in His word on a daily basis and He will grow you as He is growing me! I'm a nobody, honestly, but God gave me the gift of speech and writing! I'm too ill to leave my home, but I reach out to all of you anyway! It's the only medium I have! I'm completely committed, totally surrendered and I will NEVER QUIT til the whole world hears the truth! That it's by grace that we are saved through Jesus Christ our Lord! (Ephesians 2:8-9).

It won't be hard for people to be deceived. It's already happening. Satan must be laughing, because, seriously? I have met people who don't believe in hell or the Devil! It's a growing movement! Just look around. It's easy to see that people are arrogant, selfish, everything that love isn't! They don't believe in anything anymore, much less the devil! So it's time to get right, read the TRUE Word of God, (John 1:1), and get it together, or you'll find yourself so confused that you'll believe anything!

Wednesday, September 17, 2014

Religious Persecution in the NFL

It all started with Tim Tebow, but let's start with last Sunday.

In week two of the NFL season, Redskins Quarterback Robert Griffin, III was injured. As he ran towards the sideline trying to pass the ball to a player down field, he took a bad hop and dislocated his ankle. Head Coach Jay Gruden is optimistic about his return, but it's a matter of "wait and see" at this point. Thankfully, their backup quarterback, Kirk Cousins, came in and played very well, taking the Jags to a 41-10 defeat and a 0-2 record. 

Kirk Cousins, out of Michigan State (GO SPARTANS!) is the son of a preacher. His dad is the Sr. Pastor at Discovery Church in Orlando, Florida. RGIII, out of Baylor University, and a Heisman winner, is the son of two US Army Sergeants and is a military brat. Not only are they both quarterbacks, they are both Christians, just like Tebow. 

This past Sunday, however, I think RGIII understood how Tebow must've felt while he was playing in the NFL. Just before giving an interview, he was forced to turn his shirt inside out because it said "Know Jesus, Know Peace" across the front of it. They said he had to be wearing a Nike t-shirt, however fellow Redskin Ryan Kerrigan was wearing a t-shirt that said "Five Four Clothing" on it and they didn't make him flip his shirt inside out, so what's the deal? That's a really stupid lie when you think about it. Peyton, Eli, Tom Brady, Drew Breeze, they all wear suits. No where on their suits does the word NIKE or the Nike "swoosh" appear. I'm sure RGIII didn't like the idea, but they told him to do so, and I'm sure he feels horrible about it, but he had to give the interview, so what was he supposed to do? He's under contract!  

Tebow, who led Florida State to a Championship and then played for Denver, was quickly traded to the Jets after Peyton Manning was released by the Colts and signed by the Bronco's. Tebow is out of the NFL but is now a part of the Good Morning America team and is a co-host for SEC Nation. I saw a greatness in him, that got snuffed out by circumstances that he could not control. In spite of all that, he's making a very good life for himself. His co-hosts say it's like "traveling with a rock star," when they make the rounds covering college football together.

Personally, I believe that Tebow was persecuted, not just because he would take a knee and pray, he was persecuted because he was never supposed to be here in the first place. Tim's mom was pregnant with him when she was diagnosed with cancer, and rather than go through the life saving chemotherapy treatments and having an abortion, which is what her doctors recommended, she decided to have Tim first and then go through chemotherapy. She lived to tell, which says a great deal about her faith. Now this persecution and radical "network Jihad" against Jesus has happened to Robert Griffin, III. I remember watching Ray Lewis after a game on ESPN coming out in a shirt that read "Psalm 91" on it, and he was allowed to sit in with Young, Dilfer and the rest of the guys after the game. No Nike requirement there? So what's the deal? I've watched players from both teams at the end of a game go to the center of the field, take a knee and begin to pray. When that happened on NBC just last season after a Sunday night game, they quickly cut back to an announcer who was upset about a call the refs had made on the field. No, no no, you can't show players actually kneeling and praying! NOT ON NBC! OH NO! LIONS AND TIGERS AND BEARS, OH MY! 

Considering the Ray Rice, Greg Hardy, Ray McDonald and Adrian Peterson incidents, is it so awful to allow a player to sit in an interview wearing a shirt that says "Jesus" across the front of it? If you ask me the NFL could use a little more "Jesus" in it! As role models these guys need to play clean, and live cleaner than other folks. The money they make and the clauses in their contracts about personal behavior say so! Rice, Hardy, McDonald and Peterson should be deactivated until further notice. If they get their acts together, maybe they can come back next year. Michael Vick went to jail for 21 months and he was given a second chance, but he had to do his time first! What's happening in this sport right now is really annoying the crud out of me. We allow wife/fiance/girlfriend beaters and child abusers to do their thing, but oh no, you can't wear a "Jesus" shirt! That's not allowed!

What a joke. Why are they so afraid of Jesus? Are they more afraid of offending people than they are of disciplining their own players?

If you ask me, these guys all deserve a switch to their backsides, along with huge NFL fines, and a year on the bench at home, watching the games with the rest of us. Maybe that will teach them a lesson that they won't forget and instead of acting out badly as they have, perhaps they will find redemption and forgiveness through Christ and then begin to act more like Tebow, RGIII and Kirk Cousins and other players who are faithful to Christ, even if the NFL isn't.

As a side note, there is one player, Devon Still who is a defensive back for the Cincinnati Bengals who's entire family needs our prayers. Devon's little girl Leah just completed 4 rounds of chemotherapy to try to shrink the tumor in her stomach known as "neuroblastoma." The Bengals signed Still to their practice squad so he wouldn't lose his benefits, and Leah's treatment will end up costing them over 1 million most likely. Last week, he got to play and the Bengals scored a victory against the Falcons, 24-10! That must've felt wonderful for Devon because it's been a tough road for him and his family. I should know. Our 26 year old daughter, who is one full year and one month older than Devon, went through stage 4 cancer like Devon's daughter Leah is going through now. She is only 4 years old. Our daughter was 18 months old when she was diagnosed. She relapsed, and became a stage 4 like Leah, Devon's daughter and she's now a college grad, 26 years old and lives on a street called "Devon Way." Weird coincidence huh? I've been praying for his little girl and I hope you will all join me in praying for her too. They were supposed to find out today if the tumor had shrank enough for them to remove it via surgery. Please remember Leah and her family in your prayers? Devon is a great role model for kids, not like these other jerks, and I hope that his daughter comes through with flying colors. God Bless the Bengals for keeping him on and taking care of him through this trying time.  

I've got to say it. I love football, baseball, NASCAR and hockey. However, this horrible persecution of Christian players in the NFL is starting to really tick me off. It should tick off every Christian all across the country. Maybe we need to get loud and proud and let the NFL know exactly how we feel about it! Maybe it will effect change, because in my humble opinion, Jesus should NEVER be sidelined!

Chris Norman, who played with Kirk Cousins at Michigan State is a guy who instead of getting drafted into the NFL, decided to put God first and go to seminary instead. There are a few guys in the NFL who could learn a thing or two from Chris Norman, his journey and his decision to serve God! Heck, we could all learn from his story, so here it is!

Tuesday, September 16, 2014

Be Born Again!

If you don't know Jesus, or you've read the bible but don't know what to believe, may I suggest that you just trust Him? He died for your sins so that you wouldn't have to suffer an eternity in the Lake of Fire, meant for all unbelievers and those who did not accept the gift of God's grace, shown through Christ's death burial and resurrection from the dead when they had the chance, so please, reach out to Jesus? He wants to save you! 

No matter what your current situation, no matter how awful, desperate or cruel, Jesus can come into your heart, if you'll ask Him to, and He will give you new life. He can heal the sick, make the blind see and raise the dead. Even if you are ill, and are dying, He will give you eternal life if you'll simply trust Him and believe that He lived, was crucified, taking all of your sins upon Himself, died, was buried and then rose from the dead three days later. The Good News is this: All you have to do is believe!

Jesus told us to "take up your cross and follow Me." This means He wants us to take all of our circumstances, everything that has ever happened, good and bad, and read His word, learn how to be like Him and to teach others what we know! He also wants us to go and confess Him to our friends and loved ones, especially if they don't know Him because He wants our lives to reflect change and when people see the joy we have because of His grace, and His gift of salvation, they will want to know what is different and they'll want what we have!

It's very simple. We are all sinners. The bible says, "All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God." We can't help it. We were born into it, it's not our fault, but we are still sinners none the less. Even Billy Graham says that he is a wretched sinner who needs God's forgiveness every day! (I know the feeling. Sometimes I feel like I'm living on my knees!). 

Listen to the song I've posted. Say a simple prayer, asking God for forgiveness for your sins and ask Jesus to come into your life and to help you live for Him and I promise you, He will!

The days are growing very short. All one must do to understand that is to turn on the news. I don't want anyone left behind when Jesus comes to take us home. He's coming very soon, so please don't wait? Commit your life today, please? You've got nothing to lose and everything to gain! Jesus loves you and so do I and I will pray for you and help you in anyway I can as you begin your new life in Christ.

Please join the family of God? After you do, please email me at beabarnabus@gmail.com to tell me about your decision. I will pray for you as you begin to read His word and find a bible believing church to attend. They will receive you with open arms and if they don't, find a different church! Just be careful, because there is a lot of false teaching going on out there these days? Jesus warned us about it, so let me know so I can pray that God will protect you as you search for a church family!

When you trust in Christ, and ask Him to come into your heart, you will feel joy beyond belief when you let go of your sin and lay it at His feet! 

Please trust in Him. He is calling to you to come Home! He is the "way the truth and the life!" And He wants you to have it to the full so don't wait! Take the leap of faith. I promise, you will never regret doing so! 

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16).

Saturday, September 13, 2014

TIME TO WAKE UP!

The Times of Israel's headline this morning was "Syrian Rebels said to Control Most of the Border with Israel." That's not good news. The moderate Syrian Rebels were fighting Assad, so why would they turn around and go after Israel? I believe that ISIS may have wiped out the Free Syrian Army and is pretending to be the same so that they can move into Israel and start committing their atrocities there. President Obama wants to send troops, weaponry and arms to train the "Free Syrian Army," or what's left of them, if they haven't all assimilated into ISIS already, in Saudi Arabia which will take too long to do any good. The only winners would be ISIS and Assad. I read another headline today that stated that the CIA has now estimated that ISIS has grown to 31,500 members. Could it be that the Free Syrian Army has joined with ISIS? Could that explain the jump from 10,000 to 31,500?

In addition, it is folly to believe that we could work with deeply Muslim Countries like Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar and Turkey and not get stabbed in the back. The usual allies of the United States are Britain, France, Australia, Canada, and others. I could see it with Egypt, but they don't trust the United States right now, mostly because Obama put two Muslim Brotherhood members in his cabinet and one came out recently saying that the United States is an "Islamic Country." Obama also welcomed Morsi before he was overthrown in Egypt, which is part of the reason John Kerry got wanded by ElSissi's security team when he was there trying to work a truce between Israel and Hamas. However, instead of working with Egypt, Kerry went behind their backs and worked with Qatar and Turkey! That really ticked off the Egyptians! As for this current idea to train the FSA in Saudi Arabia? Oh well we'll see if it blows up in our faces, which I will predict right now, it will, just as these supposed moderate Syrians who have taken a great deal of control of the border between Syria and Israel on the Golan Heights will meet stiff resistance from the IDF forces there and as we have already seen, these guys don't mess around. Perhaps this breach of the border could lead to a prophecy in Isaiah being fulfilled. "Damascus shall be as a ruinous heap." (Isaiah 17:1).

While this border region on the Golan Heights has been breached by supposedly the Free Syrian Army, they say their plans are not to attack Israel, at least not at the moment, but there have been skirmishes as of Wednesday between the IDF and these unknown forces that would seem to suggest otherwise. If the true rebels have either been assimilated into ISIS or have been wiped out by ISIS, what would that mean for Israel? Lebanon's border was breached by ISIS a few weeks ago, and the Lebanese Army pushed them back out, at least for now. 

ISIS is dead set on a few things: Destroying Israel, killing every Jew they can find and then killing Americans right here on our home soil and raising their big ugly black flag above our White House. They are better funded than Bin Laden, and they won't use planes. They will most likely use chemical weapons of some sort, anthrax, etc. We need to pray for our own safety in this country as well as for the safety of Christians and others being sought out and killed by ISIS or the "Islamic State," as they are now calling themselves. I thought our President looked like a total dunce saying that ISIS is not a "Muslim" group. What? They have "Islamic" as the first word in their acronym! I honestly think Joe Biden would do a better job with this situation, but alas, he is only our Vice President, but I would take him over this idiot any day!

Things are getting worse, and no matter what President Obama does, he is basically screwed. If he had acted sooner to arm the Free Syrian Army, which he refused to do, then perhaps this wouldn't be happening, but God's timing is always perfect and the one thing I can rest in is this: God is In Control!

Please pray for the Christians and for all those who are caught up in this mess. ISIS is beheading children. CHILDREN! This is absolute evil and ungodly and I have been praying for the missionaries who have asked for prayer. Please join me in thinking of them every day, even if just for a moment and pray for their safety? Pray for miraculous forms of cover, so that the enemy is unable to see or find them? These are our brother's and sisters in Christ! WE HAVE A DUTY TO PRAY FOR THEM! THE BIBLE CALLS ON US TO DO SO! 

I sent out an email to my bible study prayer group about this urgent prayer request which came via email from a friend in Texas whose friend is a Missionary in Iraq. She said that the Peshmerga was falling back and losing ground and she was truly frightened about what may happen to them there. After two full days now, not one person in my bible study group has responded and that makes me so angry, I just want to scream! I am outraged! I cannot believe that Christians here in the United States are so far away that if it doesn't affect them, they could care less. That is not "Christian," nor is it "Christ Like," and it thoroughly disgusts me that nobody even replied that they would pray. Is it really that hard? They're coming here next if they're not already here! The borders basically don't exist anymore, so while all those children were coming in, who else was jumping the fences when our Border Patrol members were too busy changing diapers to notice?

I will shout it to the roof tops until everyone in the world knows and is praying for these people! Then we need to pray for each other, that our lives would begin to reflect Christ rather than who we have become. Fat, lazy and selfish Christians who could care less about what is going on half way around the world. How can someone call themselves a Christian and be so DAMNED ASLEEP! GET YOUR ALARM CLOCK RUNNING AND LEAVE IT RINGING! WE ARE IN THE LAST DAYS BEFORE THE RETURN OF JESUS CHRIST FOR HIS CHURCH AND I DON'T WANT ONE SIN ON MY LIPS, IN MY HEAD OR IN MY HEART BECAUSE I DON'T WANT TO MISS THE RAPTURE!

I refuse to go down without a fight. And my weaponry shall be the "Full armor of God," (Ephesians 6:10-11). For without it, you might as well be naked in the snow. The Word of God+Faith=A Prepared Warrior. We all need to be prepared to cast out demons in the name of Jesus, because those days are upon us! How do you do that? You simply look evil directly in the eye and you say, "Get thee behind me Satan! I cast the demons out of this persons body mind and soul in the name of Jesus Christ." If it doesn't leave, use the Word of God against it, so you must know your bible! "No weapon formed against me shall prosper." (Isaiah 54:17). They can throw fire balls at you, but if you stand perfectly still, strong in your faith, nothing they do can hurt you and if you use the name of Jesus, the demons have to flee! "You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe and shudder, but are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless." (James 2:19).

Dear Lord, I pray that you will draw Your servants back to your heart? Gently wake them? If they are wondering about what is going on in the world right now, help them understand? I owe You my life Lord, so give me the words to speak, here on this blog, and don't let any of our fellow servants continue to slumber? These are the most desperate times on earth that we have ever seen, and even if we don't understand, help us to let go and just trust You and only You! You died so we wouldn't need to understand Lord! Thank you for Jesus, Your one and only Precious Son who bled and died so that we wouldn't need to know, but just trust. Please wake all believers and unbelievers alike to the truth. That You are REAL, that You died for our sins, the spotless lamb of God and that you are coming again VERY SOON to take us home!

May all who read this be awakened and alive again with a revived faith in God and may you receive a blessing directly from the Father as you study His word. "Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of Truth." (2 Timothy 2:15).

The time is so short Lord! Please, bless all of your faithful believers with the knowledge we need to see what's coming, and to see your prophecies coming to fruition? Thank you Lord Jesus. You are my life. Thank you for your love and your countless blessings upon all who read this. In Jesus Name, Amen.