Has God Called You?

April 10, 2013 by bonlou

Ephesians 1_18a

Ephesians 1:18a “I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling,…”

The Apostle Paul prays in this section of scripture for believers.  If you are a believer then you can insert your name.  “I pray that the eyes of your heart, (insert name) may be enlightened…”  He is praying to God that the eyes of our understanding will be open.

Paul has a reason that he wants our understanding to be open, and as we read on we will find out why.  He says, “so that you (insert name) will know  what is the hope of His calling.”  Now let’s look at these three words.

KNOW:  This word as used in the Greek means something we know instinctively. In other words, we know that we know.

HOPE: As Pastor Ron Lewis has said, “This is a confident expectation of a future unseen reality.” This is the blessed hope we have that someday Christ will come back for His church, and that we will live with Him in heaven forever.  Isn’t that wonderful?

HIS CALLING:  God’s call on our lives took place before the creation of the world according to Ephesians 1:4. (NIV)  “For He chose us in Him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight…”  This is almost too wonderful for me to think upon.  But, God actually chose you and me to be his adopted children before he even created the world.  This boggles my mind.  I can only say, “Why me Lord?”

Paul wants you and me to know all of this because it gives us the assurance of our salvation.  We know that we know that we are saved and are on our way to heaven. Satan will come after us and tell us all sorts of lies.  He is the father of lies.   But, knowing where we stand now and what awaits us in our future gives us the courage to resist the devil.  When we know the truth then we can be overcomers of whatever comes our way.

I’m glad Paul prayed for us.  Aren’t you?  We should pray this prayer for other believers also.

I’ve taken these thoughts from a sermon my pastor preached last Sunday.  If you’d like to hear this very encouraging message you can click on the link below.

The Hope of His Calling

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Heaven: Who’s In and Who’s Out?

March 20, 2013 by bonlou

First, I want to say that I am writing this because I’m finding that many people, even church-going people, don’t know what the Bible says about heaven.  The Bible is very clear on who will be allowed and who will not be allowed to enter.  We can speculate all we want but the final say comes down to what God says. Many people think that everyone will go to heaven, but this couldn’t be further from the truth.

Do you know for sure that when you die you will got to heaven?  How about your friends and relatives?  To tell you the truth I cannot know for sureSatan011 if a person is saved and on their way to heaven or if they are on their way to hell.  Only God knows the heart.  The Bible tells us who will and who will not be allowed in heaven.  This is not me saying this, it is God speaking and warning us.

Who’s Out?

1Co 6:9-10 (NASB) Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals,  10  nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God.

Rev 21:8 (NASB) “But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”

Eph 5:5 (NASB) For this you know with certainty, that no immoral or impure person or covetous man, who is an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.

Gal 5:19-21 (NASB)  Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality,  (20)  idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions,  (21)  envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.  (Emphasis mine)

Rev 21:27a (NASB) and nothing unclean, and no one who practices abomination and lying, shall ever come into it, (referring to heaven)

You will notice that in the last two scripture references it says that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.  You see these verses are talking about people who live a lifestyle that is mentioned in these verses.  We all know that no one is perfect and that even those who are truly born-again Christians can and do sin at times.  But, this is the difference.  They do not live in those sins as a life style.  They don’t practice them.

Who’s In? KingJesus

Rev 21:27b (NASB)  but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.

This is a very short list isn’t it?  So, we want our names written in the Lamb’s book of life, but how do we accomplish this?

As you can see from the first verses showing who is not going to heaven there are many horrible sins that stand in the way.  If we take a good look at these lists we are sure to find ourselves.

Be sure you’re  saved. It’s that simple.  Confess that you are a sinner and in need of a Savior. Repent, (turn from) your sin and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior.  God is holy  and He cannot look upon our sin and therefore we cannot be allowed in heaven.  We need to be cleaned up.  There is a great gulf between us and God and the only way to bridge that gulf is through the shed blood of Jesus Christ.  He willingly went to the cross to take our place.  You see the penalty for sin is death.  He took on the wrath of God as He bore our sins on the cross and then died in our stead.  They buried Christ and on the third day He rose from the grave.  His resurrection is our proof that He was who He said He was and that we have the promise of rising from the dead and being with Him in heaven for eternity.  Oh, what a Savior!
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Let’s Talk Sin!

March 1, 2013 by bonlou

Michelangelo's painting of the sin of Adam and...

Michelangelo’s painting of the sin of Adam and Eve (the Fall of Man) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Whatever happened to sin?  It seems today that word has been dropped from our vocabulary.  Most of the modern mega church leaders, such as Joel Osteen, don’t want to mention sin because it is not what they would call “positive.”  They don’t want to proclaim anything negative to their people as it just might offend them, and for goodness sakes we mustn’t offend anyone.  They might not come back and put money in our coffers.

So let’s be adults and for a moment think and talk about sin.  First off, what exactly is sin?  According to the Bible in 1 John 3:4  Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness.(emphasis mine)  Sin is the breaking of God’s law.  That is the most simple answer I can give.

John MacArthur has said this regarding sin: “Sin is any personal lack of conformity to the moral character of God, or law of God.  Then sin is a disposition of the heart.”

Today sin has been watered down to the extent that anything goes.  Here are a few of the sins of the Bible and how they have been diluted to make them more acceptable to society.

  • Adultery –  has been changed to “having an affair.”
  • Steal– is now “commit fraud.”
  • Fornication – we don’t hear that word anymore, but we do hear “live together,” “significant other” or “partner.”  But, fornication is having sex with someone outside of marriage.
  • Drunkenness  – this is now a disease called  alcoholism, or perhaps they are a “social drinker.”
  • Lie – oh, they just tell a little “fib,” or a “white lie.”
  • Gossip –  “I want to share something with you about (insert name).”
  • Murder/abortion – this is now “birth control,”  or seen as “a woman’s right.”
  • Homosexuality – today this is called “an alternative lifestyle.”

These are only a few things that I could think of.  I’m sure there are many more.  But, to be sure sin is alive and well today just as it has been since the fall in the Garden of Eden.  Adam and Eve disobeyed God and sin entered society.  But, today, it is mostly in disguise.  Sin is serious business and we will talk more about this in future posts.

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Are You Rapture Ready?

February 14, 2013 by bonlou

We gaze around at the world today and see many horrible things happening that make many say we surely must be in the last days, or end times.  According to the Bible the “last days” started when Jesus was born.  So, we definitely are in the last days.   Do you know the next prophetic event on God’s calendar is the rapture of the church?  It is, and no one knows the date or time.  But, as we see events waxing worse and worse we can be certain that we are headed in that direction, and it seems to be at a very fast pace.

WHAT IN THE WORLD IS GOING ON?

Wars wage every where in the world.  Abject poverty plagues millions of people.  The weather seems to give us a new twist daily.  It wasn’t that long ago that super storm Hurricane Sandy plowed into the New York, New Jersey area and left hundreds homeless, and terrible destruction that will take months if not years to repair.  We’ve seen several winter tornadoes in our country lately also. Blizzard conditions buried the East Coast last weekend, cancelling hundreds of air flights and stranding many people on roads that were impassable.  The Sandy Hook shooting took the lives of so many innocent children.  Several earthquakes have shaken different parts of the world.  The economy is terrible and millions of people are not able to find jobs in this country.  Some have even given up looking.

When we look at the world stage we see  North Korea testing nuclear bombs.  They are actually thumbing their noses at the USA.  They are warworking toward a small nuclear bomb that they can attach to an ICBM and send it to the USA.  Wouldn’t that be a horrific thing?  Iran wants to develop  a nuclear bomb also, and they have stated that they want to wipe Israel off the face of the earth.  They hate Israel, God’s, chosen people. Iran tests long range missles also, and if they get a bomb, it could be launched by a ship toward the USA.  It seems there is danger every where we look.  The terrorists still try to disrupt things in many areas of the world.  Assad of Syria is killing his own people.  Egypt overthrew Mubarak in the Arab Spring and now are presently ruled by the Muslim Brotherhood.  Israel has enemies on all sides.  Are we near the end of the end times?  It certainly looks and feels like it.  All this makes us stop and think, “What in the world is going on?”

It seems to me that things are working up to a crescendo where something major is going to happen that will shake the world.  Does it seem that way to you?

POPE BENEDICT XVI SHOCKS THE WORLD AND RESIGNS

pope-benedict-stockJust this week Pope Benedict XVI  resigned effective February 28, 2013.  Have you heard of that so-called prophesy by the Irish bishop St. Malachy who lived in the 12th century?    He has supposedly predicted the line of popes to come and the next one according to him will be the last pope and will be called Petrus Romanus, (Peter the Roman.) He will supposedly lead the Church through many tribulations, concluding with the last judgment.

“Is “Malachy’s” prophecy legitimate? Probably not. The consensus among modern scholars is that it is a 16th-century forgery created for partisan political reasons.”  (quote from Catholic Answers)

Do I think this is something  we should take seriously.  No, not at all.  This was a mystic who made these predictions and they have not all come to pass as he said.  This is not anything Biblical.  So, don’t be concerned about this, but it is interesting.  In reality God is in control and is sovereign over everything, even the popes.  It is possible that the next pope could be the last one, but that is entirely up to God, not this mystic who wrote the prophesy.  In fact, even some Catholics don’t take this seriously.  Click on this link to read more.  Catholic Answers

NOW FOR THE GOOD NEWS!

Well, the bad news is really, really bad, but do you know what?  The good news is really, really good!    Now, I want to ask you a question.  Are the-raptureyou ready?  I mean, are you ready if these are the last of the last days?  Have you made your peace with God?  Are you rapture ready?  Do you know what the rapture is?  Well, according to the Bible it is a time when Jesus Christ will snatch the true church away to meet Him in the air.

1 Thess. 4:17  Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord.

Only true born-again believers will go on this journey.  Our bodies will be changed and we will receive glorified bodies.  After the rapture great tribulation will prevail on earth such as never been before.  After a time (7 years) Jesus Christ will return to earth again to set up His Kingdom.  And we will come with Him.

You see if you are a true believer in Jesus Christ, then you don’t have to worry.  No matter what happens God will take care of you, and you will still have your home reserved for you in heaven.  But, on the other hand, if you are NOT a true believer, then you should be shaking in your boots.  We never know when our life on earth will come to an end.  When that does happen there are only two possibilities:  you will go to heaven and be with Jesus Christ, or you will go to hell where you will be in agony forever.  There is not any other option.  Some people say when they die they will just die and be put in the ground and that’s the end of it.  Not true!  Don’t believe that lie.

Another thing I want to point out.  “Getting saved,” or being “born-again” is not like a lot of people think.  I’ve been in churches where the pastor gives an alter call and says something like this,  “If there is anyone here who does not know Jesus Christ as their personal savior, then come forward and receive Him now.”  He wants you to get up out of your seat and walk down the aisle then they might have someone pray over you for your salvation.  That’s not it folks.  Other times, they ask if you have some physical or emotional need, if so, then come forward and receive Christ.  Sometimes they will ask the audience to raise their hands if they want to accept Jesus into their hearts.  Then they lead them in the “sinner’s prayer.”  Do you know that the “sinner’s prayer,” is not to be found in the Bible?  It’s just not there!  Don’t let someone, pastor or otherwise, manipulate you into “receiving Christ as Savior.”  That’s not how it works!

So, you may ask, “How does it work?”  “What do I have to do to be saved and be rapture ready?”  I believe the very first thing you must do is realize that you truly are a horrible sinner.  Does that shock you?

The Bible says,  in Romans 2:23, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

Every single person on this planet has sinned. No matter how good you think you are, and no matter how many good things you have done in your life for others, you are still a sinner in need of a Savior.  In fact, because of Adam’s sin we are all born into sin.  We inherited a nature that sins.  So, the first thing would be to take a good look at yourself.

2 Corinthians 13:5, “Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith: examine yourselves!…

If we seriously and honestly examine ourselves we will see just how unholy and wicked we really are.

God is holy, holy, holy, and he cannot look upon sin.  So, in order to approach God you must be washed clean.  If it weren’t for the cross none of us would ever make it to heaven.  What Jesus did was all important.

Rom 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. 

You see because we all have sinned we all deserve death and hell. Because God is just we would have to be punished for our sin. But, God was paidinfullgracious and merciful to us and found a way that we could approach Him.  He sent His only begotton Son to die on the cross, and take the wrath of God on Himself that we deserved.  This last sentence isn’t heard much today.  Yes, He took on the wrath of God that we deserved.  It was horrible!  He suffered terribly, and then He died.  He did that out of love for us.  Would you do that for someone else? After that He actually rose from the grave and received a glorified body.  That is what we also have to look forward to.  What He did for us is beyond words.  He took on what we deserved and gave us the peace and eternal life that we didn’t deserve.  What a Savior!

We are to examine ourselves to make sure we are in the faith.  Are you?  You need to take time right now and examine yourself.  Do you know for sure that you will go to heaven when you die?  Are you rapture ready? You’ve got to be sure.  If you have believed some “easy believeism,” that’s popular today, then you need to confess that you made a mistake.  You want to be sure!   The Bible says, that God doesn’t wish for anyone to perish and go to hell, but for all to come to the place of repentance.

2Peter 3:9  The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.

Here is Jesus’s own words:

Luke  5:32 “I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.”

Repentance means to turn from something and go another way.  Turn from your sin!  Go God’s way!  Examine yourself.  Repent of your sins.  Confess to God that you are a hell-bound sinner and need to be saved.  Fall on your face before a holy God and cry out, “Have mercy on me a sinner!”  Plead with God to accept you into His family.  Then turn the reigns of your life over to God.  Let Him be the Lord of your life.

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The Harbinger, Fact or Fiction? by David James

February 13, 2013 by bonlou

Harbinger fact or fictionI feel very strongly that we are so vulnerable to being deceived these days, and The Harbinger, is one book that many Christians are buying into today and getting really excited about these so-called mystery revelations that the author Jonathan Cahn has been given from God. Below is a quote from The Berean Call’s website.

“In  The Harbinger: Fact or Fiction?  author David James exhaustively documents and responds to the serious flaws found throughout the New York Times  best-seller from Charisma Media,  The Harbinger . Messianic rabbi Jonathan Cahn believes he has discovered an “ancient mystery” in Isaiah:9:10. (the bricks are fallen down, but we will build with hewn stones: the sycomores are cut down, but we will change them into cedars.) that “explains everything from 9/11 to the collapse of the global economy.” As Cahn states at the beginning of his book “What you are about to read is presented in the form of a story, but what is contained within the story is real.” Many have accepted Cahn’s message as being genuinely from God. However, David James has clearly demonstrated that  The Harbinger  falls far short of meeting the biblical requirements for such a message from God, being based on the mishandling of Scripture, faulty theology, misleading statements, the selective use of historical facts, and unsupported speculation.”

Click on the source link below to find out more about this book and how you can get it.

The Harbinger, Fact or Fiction? by David James

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A Warning About “The Harbinger” by Jonathan Cahn

February 11, 2013 by bonlou

It has come to my attention that the book, “The Harbinger,” by Jonathan Cahn has a lot of false teaching in it.  Today we have access to so much information in the form of books, television, news, internet, and many other sources.  We need to be careful what we read and listen too. We need discernment to know if the message is Biblical, or if it goes against the Bible.  These are the only two possibilities, and we have to be extra careful today. If you will click on the link below, it will take you to an article by Christine Pack called, “A Commentary on the Harbinger: A Warning About the Harbinger. This article explains what is wrong with this teaching.

http://www.solasisters.com/2012/06/commentary-on-harbinger.html

Perhaps you have read this book and got all excited thinking the author is really on to something.  What we find is that he has added extra-Biblical teaching to it.

Harbinger

Another good review is by Tim Challies.  He is a wonderful Christian and reviews many books to help us with our discernment.

You can read his article below called, “The Ancient Mystery that Holds the Secret of America’s Future.

http://www.challies.com/book-reviews/the-ancient-mystery-that-holds-the-secret-of-americas-future

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Immanuel “God With Us!”

December 15, 2012 by bonlou

matthew1_22-23

Matthew 1:22-23

All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”–which means, “God with us.”

Isn’t it awesome to  think about what this means?  God with us?  How can that be?
That beautiful little baby that was born of a virgin, and laid in a manger so many years ago in Bethlehem was actually God.  That just boggles my mind!   Yes, Jesus was fully man and fully God at the same time.  I can’t understand all that, and I’m sure you can’t either, but we can take it by faith and believe it.

Now, think back to that day in Bethlehem so many years ago, and picture Mary and Joseph.  She was pregnant and about to give birth and they couldn’t even find a room to stay in. Oh, how uncomfortable and stressed Mary must have been.  But, God provided a place in a stall with the farm animals.  Then, that little one was born.  He was “God with us.”  Wow!  That tiny baby was God!  How amazing!  How wonderful!

Do you think Mary knew the significance of it all?  I wonder what Mary and Joseph thought when shepherds came and worshipped their little baby?  Then, kings showed up and brought gifts.  How puzzling it must have been and how wonderful at the same time.

Jesus was sinless and therefore He could stand in our place of judgement for our sins.  Only a sinless one could do that.  He took our punishment for sin which is death.  The Bible says in Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

Oh, God must really love us more than we can ever appreciate.  He sent His Son to die for me!  And for you! Wow!  That’s truly amazing!  What love!  What mercy!  I truly deserved to die, but He stood up and went to the cross and took on the punishment for all humanity who would believe in Him.

That’s not all.  After Jesus suffered and died that horrible death on the cross, He was buried in a tomb, and after three days He miraculously came back to life.  That is almost unbelievable too.  But, it is true as the scriptures testify of it.

But, there is even more.  When we turn to Jesus Christ, confess our sins, repent,  and give our hearts and lives to Him then guess what?  He (God) actually comes and lives in us in the form of the Holy Spirit.  We are reborn.  We are “in Christ.”  We have been cleansed of our sins and can live to glorify God with the power of the Holy Spirit in us.  I’m so thankful that God sent Jesus so that God could be with us.

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Our Father Overcomes Our Anxiety, Part 2

November 27, 2012 by bonlou

When we look around us at the wonderful nature and beauty God has provided for us to enjoy, we know that He cares for us.

One of the best lessons I learned is that God is sovereign over me in every area of my life.  To know that and really get it down in my heart has meant a great deal of difference for me in the anxiety and worry department.  You see, now I realize that I am not my own. That Jesus bought me and paid a high price for me.  He gave His life.  Now that He owns me He is responsible for me.  Boy, that took a load off my shoulders.  God, the Almighty One, will take care of me.  I don’t have to fret and worry about things like I used too.  I can rest in the knowledge that He knows all of my needs and is pleased to fulfill them.

Read John MacArthur’s post below and you will see how God cares and provides for us.

God is sovereignly in control of all things. That fact alone ought to dispel much of our anxiety. And when we consider the Lord’s fatherly care for His people, we see just how foolish, unnecessary, and impotent our worry truly is.

Our Father Overcomes Our Anxiety, Part 2.

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