Take Control Of Your Health Before You Lose It

Daniel 1:11-16, “Then said Daniel to Melzar, whom the prince of the eunuchs had set over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, Prove thy servants, I beseech thee, ten days; and let them give us pulse to eat, and water to drink. Then let our countenances be looked upon before thee, and the countenance of the children that eat of the portion of the king's meat: and as thou seest, deal with thy servants. So he consented to them in this matter, and proved them ten days. And at the end of ten days their countenances appeared fairer and fatter in flesh than all the children which did eat the portion of the king's meat. Thus Melzar took away the portion of their meat, and the wine that they should drink; and gave them pulse.”

This is a famous passage of Scripture with health enthusiast. Unfortunately, most people who are familiar with this passage don't eat this way. Pastor Rick Warren made a big deal of this passage a few years ago. He was selling his “The Daniel Plan.” Have you seen Rick Warren lately in 2021? He looks like Jabba The Hutt from Star Wars, weighing about 700 pounds!

I don't throw rocks at anyone, I am struggling myself with my weight. I lost 20 pounds earlier this year on Guam. But when I moved to Pensacola Florida I broke my stride. Now I am surrounded by fast food restaurants while living out of a suitcase in a hotel. So I have gained 10 pounds in two months! I decided today not to let this continue, so I went to Wal-Mart and bought a big sealable container and several bags of dry beans. I bought a pot with a strainer in it to soak the beans in. I also bought a small Crock Pot and several spices. ...

The Beans, Spices And Sealable Container I Bought At Wal-Mart Today

I am going to eat one cup of dry beans cooked per day. That will give me a diet high in protein and fiber. I have learned much about gaining and losing weight over the past few years. One thing I have learned is that you cannot starve yourself to lose weight. You can try, but you will very likely fail after 12 hours, because you will be too hungry. The key to lose weight is TO EAT, but you need to eat Low Calorie Density foods, like beans, yogurt, sweet potatoes, fish and vegetables. 

I will soak one cup of dry beans each day, drain the water, and at night put that cup of beans in the Crock Pot overnight on low so it will be ready to eat in the morning. Beans are a GREAT way to lose weight, and they make you feel full. I was going to also buy a Nutra Ninja, but Wal-Mart ran out of the 1,000 watt units. I bought a couple cases of mineral water. It is important to drink a lot of water to lose weight, because it speeds up your metabolism. Lord willing, I cannot wait to rent an apartment, so I can bake fish in the oven and barbeque chicken.

Anyway, I don't want to gain all my weight back, so I am fighting my bad eating habits. Eating junk food is why so many people are fat slobs! What you eat today you will crave tomorrow! Yogurt cannot compare to Little Caesars. One Little Caesar's pizza is 3,000 calories! I can eat the whole pizza in one day! Add a coke and some brownies and you've got 4,000 calories for the day. You will gain 1 pound every 4 days eating like that! It's fun at the start for a few months, until you cannot bend over anymore and your guy makes you look pregnant! No thanks!

The only way to avoid becoming an obese fat American is YOU MUST GET AWAY from the way American's abuse their health. You must prepare your own meals and eat at your own pace. Just one double-cheese WHATABURGER is 950 calories! Add a milkshake and that's another 560 calories! Add some fries and you've got another 300 calories. That's 1,810 calories so far for the day! It is SO EASY to eat 5,000 calories a day! Just 3,500 calories is one pound of weight! Your body burns about 2,000 calories a day on average! You get the picture!!!

For the next few months I am going to be watching my diet. I usually don't have a problem with my diet, but right now I don't have a refrigerator or a stove, so I am limited. This is a bad time for me and I need to be careful, or I'll look like Fat Albert! I have learned that there are no gimmicks to lose weight. There are no magic pills, or clever methods or special secret to losing weight. It all comes down to calories in versus calories out. You need to reduce your calorie intake below your maintenance calories (i.e., the number of calories your body needs each day to maintain the same weight). If you eat 1,200 calories you will lose weight! You can lose 2 pounds per week by just eating 1,000 calories per day total. It's not easy to do if you snack a lot! Just one original glazed Krispy Kreme doughnut is 190 calories!!! I can eat 2 boxes (12 doughnuts) per day just for desert!

The only way to lose weight is you have to want it bad enough to pay the price of changing your eating habits. You can still eat, and you should eat, but you need to eat nutritious foods and abandon the burgers, pizza, pasta, deep fried foods, milkshakes, rice and deserts. Our mind is our own worst enemy. I kept justifying eating junk food by telling myself that I'm living out of a suitcase. I realized today that my body is lying to me! So I decided that I CAN eat healthy right now. Being in constant neck pain doesn't help. I get depressed often. But I don't want my diabetes back, which WILL return if I gain any more weight. So I am going to fight this. I see obese people everywhere I go, even doctors! It all comes down to personal choices.

The hardest part about losing weight is that it takes time, and most of us lack the discipline and patience to consistently eat healthy long enough to see big results. I just set a short term goal of losing 10 pounds. The first 5-8 pounds is water and the undigested food in your stomach, so to lose a solid 10 pounds you need to drop at least 15-18 pounds on the scale. The best place to start is right now, today. Eat a healthy meal today, and go from there. When you feel hungry, eat, but eat low calories density foods.

Today I ate a package of oatmeal for breakfast, which was about 150 calories. I had a chicken breast sandwich on one piece of Dave's Bread with some spicy sweet mustard. It was great! That was only 150 calories too! I ate a couple olives and two pickles. I took w multivitamins. I drank a protein shake, which was 180 calories. And I did sneak one glazed Krispy Kreme doughnut, which was 190 calories. So for the day I had about 800 calories total. I'll repeat that tomorrow and add a handful of mixed nuts too, which is about 100 calories. I'll eat 1 cup of dry beans cooked tomorrow, which is about 337 calories. I'll remove something else, so I can try to limit my total calories to 1,000 for the day. That is my goal each day.

So here are some helpful take away points that I have learned to lose weight quickly:

1. Eat oatmeal every morning (it will make you feel full)
2. Eat beans each day (they're high in protein and fiber and will make you feel full
3. You don't need to exercise or go walking. Walking will just make you more hungry. Your diet is the key to losing weight.
4. Drink lots of mineral water (I buy cases of Dasani water if available. Water increases your metabolism and flushes out your system, keeping you hydrated)
5. Avoid all sugars (specially liquid sugary drinks like Coke and fruit juices)
6. You can eat about 100 calories of dark chocolate each day (dark chocolate helps curb your appetite, provides fat and gives energy. I love dark chocolate covered raisins. Don't eat too much or you won't lose weight!)
7. Eat a high protein diet (poached and hardboiled eggs, baked fish, grilled chicken, protein shakes, beef jerky, yogurt, soy, et cetera. Protein makes you feel full).
8. Avoid all junk food (Little Caesar's and MacDonald's is bad! Junk food is high calorie density and will make you crave more junk food. All that dough is fattening.)
9. You need to aim to consume 1,200 calories total per day, or less. You can do this comfortably if you eat sweet potatoes, baked fish, spinach, vegetables, yogurt, cottage cheese, oatmeal, berries, nuts, beans and other low calorie density foods.
10. The best way to lose weight guaranteed is slow (not for health reasons, but simply because it works! Starving yourself to lose weight is non-sustainable. I cannot even go 12 hours without eating! But if your tummy is full of all the good foods I just mentioned, your body is content, and you can live with that. I mean, that is sustainable).
11. Don't watch the scale each day, it will fluctuate all over the place, watch your daily total calories. Guaranteed, it is a scientific certainty, you WILL lose weight if your total daily calories are reduced below your maintenance calories (the number of calories you need to eat to maintain your present weight, which is usually your present weight times ten). Let's say you weigh 180 pounds. 180 times 10 = 1,800 calories. So you need to eat less than 1,800 calories to lose weight. That is why I recommend eating a total of 1,200 calories each day. You can lose one pound per week this way. If you eat even less calories you can lose two pounds per week, but don't push yourself too much or you'll binge eat. Eat a lot of protein and fiber to feel full. Beans are the best!
12. Rinse your mouth with Listerine a few times each day. A clean mouth is a deterrent to eat.
13. Plans your meals a day ahead, so you won't eat randomly. Plan your work and then work your plan. I like to bake a bag of Barramundi fish and a bag of chicken thighs on Sunday and then refrigerator it to eat all week. Those are my favorite meats. Pick your favorite fish and cuts of chicken. You can barbeque or bake them, but don't fry anything because all that cooking oil is VERY fattening. One Tablespoon of any kind of oil is 120 calories!!!
14. When you are snack hungry, eat healthy foods (I make a big pot of beans and when I feel cravings throughout the day I will eat a few spoonful's of seasoned beans. Don't eat chips because they are processed and fattening! Don't drink sodas because they won't make you feel full and contain lots of calories.
15. Losing weight is a yoke of wood, but becoming a fat slob is a yoke of iron! I know this sounds terrible but it helps me lose weight. Think of some horribly fat person that you know, or have seen recently, and let that disgust motivate you not to become like them. My former landlord looked like he was pregnant at age 75. When I thought of how disgusting he looked, it motivated me to lose weight. I am not talking about looking down on people or judging anyone, I am simply saying to look at what their abuse has done to ruin their health and let that perceived knowledge cause you to eat right! I cannot believe how fat some people are! We have done this to ourselves. People are depressed. Gaining weight makes them more depressed. Then they blame everyone else.
16. Count your daily calories. I said that before but it is important. I don't care how healthy you eat, you won't lose any weight if you're eating too many calories. Counting calories is the most important thing to lose weight! You'd be shocked how many calories are in your favorite junk foods! You can have a few hundred calories a day of junk food. Your body needs a reward, but eat them sparingly. I love baked fish! It will fill you up and help you lose weight. I put lemon on top.

Here is one person's comments about what is wrong with Little Caesar's pizza:

Let me explain why. The flour that makes the pizza dough is highly refined and therefore it's easily digested into your system causing a rush of sugars into your blood stream. Along with the sugars entering your blood stream are the fats from the cheese. These fats are converted to fatty acids in the intestine where they also get absorbed. Now, you have a cascade of events which lead to fat gain. Your body releases insulin to get rid of all of the sugar in the blood. This allows the cells of your body to take in those sugars. This also unlocks the fat cells to accept all of those fatty acids and any additional sugars that can't be utilized by the liver or muscles. This is an extremely fattening meal. SOURCE

I LOVE Little Caesar's pizza, but you WILL gain weight eating it! Can you just eat one or two slices? Not a chance! I must eat at least half the pizza! That is my total calories for the day, which is not enough food for my nutritional demands, and I will crave it again tomorrow. I usually eat the whole pizza by the end of the day. Your body needs nutrition. Pizza lacks good nutrition and is full of fats, carbs and is highly processed (manhandled). Don't eat pizza if you want to lose weight! Once in a great while is okay.

I use pizza as a reward for eating healthy. If I can lose 10 pounds, then I can eat once at Little Caesars. But friend, literally, you can undo a whole week's worth of fasting in just one day if you abuse it. You must still count calories, even if you have a treat day. The problem is that one treat day may retrigger your cravings and you have a bunch of treat days! Eat beans, which will help get your body used to healthy food. Losing weight is much more difficult doing it alone. If you are married and your spouse wants to lose weight with you, then you are very blessed. 

It is very important to count every calorie you put into your mouth while losing weight, to ensure that you remain within your calorie limit for the day. Just one Tablespoon of butter is 120 calories. A little butter is good, because the fat will make you feel full, but make sure to count those calories, because they add up quickly. Weight is lost about 1/4 pound per day, if you limit your daily calorie intake to 1,000 calories. Chicken sandwiches are great on a slice or two of Dave's whole grain Bread! Oatmeal for breakfast is great! Wish me good luck! I hope you will join me if you are also struggling with your weight. 

I have gained and lost weight like a yoyo over the years. It's all because of my poor dietary habits and I admit it, which is half the battle. The good thing with me is that when I see my weight going up, I take control and fight it before it becomes a problem. It would be best if I would get to my ideal weight at 150 to 160 pounds and stay there, but I choose too often to indulge in our excess American culture. But I'd rather keep fighting weight gain than not try at all, which I can see many people have given up! I just wanted to share some of the things I have learned.

The key is to find a balance between healthy eating and the junk foods that we enjoy. The majority of our food intake ought to be beans, oatmeal, nuts, yogurt, fish and other healthy choices. I love Chinese food, and the vegetables are great, but the eggrolls, Sweet and Sour Chicken and dumplings are all unhealthy deep-fried foods. Americans are the fattest people on the planet, because of our excessive society today. As I type I am eating a big bowl of fresh cooked beans. They taste great and provide lots of protein and fiber. I used chicken seasoning for the base. I cut a piece of Polish sausage and put it in the beans last night to flavor it. I cooked the beans for 12 hours on low.

I have been losing the battle lately with my weight because I don't have a stove or refrigerator, but I am fighting weight gain. Beans don't require either a stove or a refrigerator, so they are the perfect food for me now to lose weight. I learned from my former doctor that eating a vegetarian diet will automatically return the body to its proper weight.

Ultimate Weight Loss Secrets With Chef AJ

Homosexuality Should Never Be Accepted As “A Right”

Proverbs 14:9, “Fools make a mock at sin: but among the righteous there is favour.” Jeremiah 7:9-10, “Will ye steal, murder, and commit adultery, and swear falsely, and burn incense unto Baal, and walk after other gods whom ye know not; And come and stand before me in this house, which is called by my name, and say, We are delivered to do all these abominations?”

Jeremiah asked the Israelites what was wrong with them? Will you commit homosexuality and say that you were “born that way,” blaming God? There is nothing new under the sun. Wicked people today are twisting the truth around, changing the truth of God into a lie (Romans 1:25). No one has a “right” to break God's Commandments. No one has a “right” to commit the sin of stealing, coveting or bearing false witness against thy neighbour. No one has a “right” to commit the sin of homosexuality. God hates sin and so should we! We must never accept the sin with the sinner, nor reject the sinner with the sin. God loves sinners (Romans 5:8).

No one has a “right” to commit the sin of adultery. Leviticus 20:10, “And the man that committeth adultery with another man's wife, even he that committeth adultery with his neighbour's wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death.” In America today adultery is openly permitted by the courts. There is no severe penalty, if any. In the state of Maryland adultery is a crime punishable by paying a $10 fine. That is disgusting! What does that say about the government's view of the sacredness of marriage? Whereas God says that adultery is a crime that deserves the death penalty, the state of Maryland only slaps the adulterer with a $10 fine. Proverbs 14:9, “Fools make a mock at sin: but among the righteous there is favour.”

Man always leans on his carnal vain understanding instead of the truth of God's Living Word unto Life Eternally. Proverbs 14:12, “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.” The argument that if a trait is "naturally" occurring it should be acceptable to society, is hypocritically only used by the media in regards to homosexuality. The fact is most people do not follow that "logic" in regards to other traits (e.g., alcoholism, drug abuse, stealing, obesity, et cetera). No one advocates that we should celebrate and encourage those traits. So why only sodomy? The truth is homosexuality is "natural" because sinning is "natural" to fallen man. Our culture continues to choose to live in the "gray" when everything is spelled out for us in black and white. A person's God-given free will to choose what to believe, doesn't change THE TRUTH.

Disagreement and discrimination are not the same thing. Unfortunately in the culture in which we live, voicing a difference of opinion is now equated with hate speech. Way too many people today equate disagreement with somebody as being hatred toward them. I can disagree with you and still love you. Flesh says I was born this way; Jesus says you must be born again. Not only are we in control of our actions, but we will also be judged for the choices that we make in life. Ecclesiastes 12:13-14, “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.”

I Never Knew What To Give My Dad On Father's Day

Psalms 147:10-11, “He delighteth not in the strength of the horse: he taketh not pleasure in the legs of a man. The LORD taketh pleasure in them that fear him, in those that hope in his mercy.” Hebrews 11:6, “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” Proverbs 23:26, “My son, give me thine heart, and let thine eyes observe my ways.”

As an adult I often had difficulty deciding what to get my earthly father on Father's Day. My father had enough money to buy whatever he wanted. So what do you get the guy who has everything? So I would get out my crayons and colored felt-tip pens (yes, even as an adult) and I would take the time to make a handmade card for my Dad. I wanted to give him something that money couldn't buy.

Now I find myself as a child of God asking the same question—What can I give my heavenly Father? God can do anything (omnipotent), go everywhere (omnipresent) and He knows everything (Omniscient). What can a clump of clay from the earth give to His Maker to please him? We have many indications in the Word of God what makes God happy. Hebrews 11:6, “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” We know without any question that FAITH pleases God!

Psalms 147:10-11, “He delighteth not in the strength of the horse: he taketh not pleasure in the legs of a man. The LORD taketh pleasure in them that fear him, in those that hope in his mercy.” God loves to forgive people! That's the whole reason why God sent His only begotten Son into the world to die on the cross for our sins. 2nd Peter 3:9, “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” Proverbs 19:11, “The discretion of a man deferreth his anger; and it is his glory to pass over a transgression.” The Lord loves to forgive! God created man in His own image, not just His physical appearance but also in our soul and spirit.

The dearest thing to the heart of God is soulwinning! From the blood sacrifice of Abel in Genesis to the saints of Revelation whose robes are washed in the blood of the Lamb, the great theme of the Holy Bible is the salvation of humanity. God desires for “ALL” to come to repentance, that is to be saved (2nd Peter 3:9).

Obedience pleases God! The first thing that every person must do to please God is to get saved by trusting in His Son Jesus. You can spend your life doing many wonderful works in Jesus' name, and preach in Jesus' name, and follow Jesus calling Him “Lord, Lord,” but none of that will please God if you are not resting 100% in Jesus because of what He did to pay for your sins. John 6:40, “And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.” Faith alone in Jesus Christ pleases God.

Soulwinning Makes God Our Heavenly Father Happy

Now what about God's children? That is the $64,000 question. What does a redeemed child of God give to our heavenly Father to make Him happy. Dear friend, nothing makes God any happier than preaching the Gospel. Luke 15:10, “Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.” Every time someone receives Jesus Christ as their personal Savior, Heaven throws a party! God rejoices with the saints in the presence of the angels. I think the reason why the Bible says there is rejoicing “in the presence of the angels” is because redemption is a human experience. The angels were not redeemed by the blood of the Lamb.

Dear friend, do you have any idea how fortunate we are to be humans? Christ didn't die for the angels. God created the angels to serve Him and us. That is why we read the precious words in Matthew 18:6 and 10, “But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea. ...Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven.” Psalms 34:7, “The angel of the LORD encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them.”

This passage speaks of Christian believers. We are the little ones (God's children) who BELIEVE in Christ. The Bible warns everyone not to do evil against any child of God, because THEIR ANGELS (at least two guardian angels) DO ALWAYS BEHOLD THE FACE OF THE FATHER. The angels know their place. 24-hours a day our guardian angels stand alert waiting for God's next order concerning us. I do not find any teachings in the Bible about angels needing sleep or rest. I think that are awake all the time. I am greatly comforted knowing that God has stationed angels to care for me. Since the word “angels” is plural, we know that there are at least TWO of them. When Lazarus died, the “angels” (Luke 16:22) came to escort him home. Again we see that the word angels is plural, meaning there were two or more.

The Angels Were Created To Serve

The angels don't care for us, our heavenly Father cares for us. Matthew 6:7-8, “But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.” The angels were created to serve. I love the angels! I cannot wait to meet them and spent time getting to know them. 1st Peter 1:12, “Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into.” The angels have a keen interest in spiritual things! God created them to serve and a big part of their duties is caring for believers as the Father gives them commandment. Our assigned angels DO ALWAYS BEHOLD THE FACE OF THE FATHER, waiting for His next command concerning His dear saints on earth.

There is much rejoicing in the presence of the angels. Jesus and the saints rejoice continually as lost people get saved, and backslidden saints repent and get right with their heavenly Father. This is hard for some of us to understand, because we are so preoccupied with our favorite professional sports team, television Hollywood, an upcoming church barbeque, life's heavy burdens, our health afflictions and other things that choke and hinder us from bearing fruit to Christ with the Gospel. Luke 8:14, “And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection.” This world will choke us if we do not prioritize serving God, so that Satan will render us useless and ineffective for God.

The emphasis of The Parable Of The Sower And The Seeds is not about salvation, which is a common error people make; the emphasis is about maturing in the Lord to bear fruit (souls saved). God's ultimate goal for every new convert is to grow so that person reproducers into more believers. This is The Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20). God didn't save you and me just to have fire insurance. God didn't save us merely to sit on our blessed assurance! God is not pleased with a believer to merely occupies 18 inches of pew three times a week, but never shares the Gospel with lose sinners. If you want to make God happy dear friend, then you need to share the Gospel with lost sinners, so they can escape the damnation of Hell too.

We've all heard every type of Bible teaching and preaching imaginable on television, radio and the internet. But dear reader, any Bible preaching or teaching that does not compel the listener to get busy serving God, witnessing to lost people with the Gospel, is not sound Bible doctrine. Revelation 19:10b says “the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” Good Bible teaching is centered around Jesus Christ and getting people saved through faith in Him!

There is a hierarchy of authority in Heaven and earth. This is also true of the Satanic kingdom. Ephesians 6:12, “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” Acts 26:18, “To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.”

Revelation 4:11 teaches that ALL THINGS were created to please God. “Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.” By the way, here is a fantastic THRU THE BIBLE study series by Pastor J. Vernon McGee (1904-1988) on “REVELATION.”

Your Heavenly Father Wants To Spend Time Fellowshipping With You

God created ALL THING and for His pleasure they were created. I was born early in the morning on March 5, 1967. God made me for the sole purpose of pleasing Him! In hindsight I am humbled and amazed beyond words that God wanted to create something and somebody like me. Why did God make me? It blows my mind to realize that the wondrous God Who spoke the unsearchable universe into existence, pays attention to my thoughts and cares about me.

I don't know if you have ever done this, but when I buy something from the store, I am humbled that it was made just for me! When I eat a delicious pizza from the store, I stop to appreciate that someone took the time and effort to obtain and mix all the ingredients just right, and then package the item and deliver it to the store, and this particular pizza is mine, ALL MINE! I don't feel worthy. When I eat a delicious Big Mac from MacDonald's (I love those things, especially the dehydrated onions and pickle in the middle), I enjoy realizing as I savor every wonderful bite that this Big Mac was MADE JUST FOR ME!!!

I enjoy, appreciate and am thankful for every thing in my life!!! I am often reminded that God made me in His image. I don't think any of us can truly understand the depth of what that means. Just like I enjoy savoring every bite of my Big Mac, and thinking about all that went into making this heavenly moment on earth possible, I also think God savors our fellowship with Him. How often have I prayed quickly just to know that I prayed to ease my conscience? Do you think God enjoys drive-by-praying? I am as guilty as anyone of only praying in my spare time, or at a traffic light while waiting, or at my convenience. Aren't we terrible the way we mistreat God? We sure are! Yet our precious Savior fully understands our weaknesses and flaws. Psalms 103:14, “For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust.”

I enjoy knowing that God enjoys my presence. God enjoys when I pay attention to Him. James 4:8-10, “Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.” I love that promise from God. If we make an effort to draw closer to God, HE WILL draw closer to us as well.

Be A DOER Of God's Word, Not Just A HEARER

Dear friend, God has been in the religious business for a long time! The Lord knows our human nature far better than we do! Proverbs 20:24, “Man's goings are of the LORD; how can a man then understand his own way?” The Bible is our instruction manual as human beings. When all else fails, read the instruction manual! ...

James 1:22-25, “But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.”

I very much love this passage of Scripture! When I went to San Diego in 2010 to get my second neck surgery, I had stopped in a Mexican restaurant to eat. As I exited I saw a man searching in garbage pails for food. I went over and handed him a Gospel tract with $20 inside. I'll never forget what he said to me: “Thank you for being a doer and not just a hearer of the Word.” I cherish what he said to me. Since that day I have strived by God's grace to BE A DOER OF GOD'S WORD, and not just another idle hearer. Our churches across the world are filled with HEARERS only, sitting on the premises instead of standing on the promises!

Proverbs 14:14, “The backslider in heart shall be filled with his own ways: and a good man shall be satisfied from himself.” We've all been backslidden for most of our life! We Americans are the worst!!! The television is the center of most homes, where the family gathers around it as an altar to worship Hollywood's celebrities and gods among the people. 

Dear friend, taking 15-minutes out for God each day is not the best thing to do. The answer is to meditate day and night in the Bible, letting it be a part of our life 24/7. You would be better off reading just one Bible verse and thinking all day about what it means, than to read 20 chapters and don't think about it anymore. Notice what James said:

James 1:22-25, “But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.”

Reading the Holy Bible helps them most who CONTINUE THEREIN. ...

Psalms 1:1-3, “Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.”

Again, just as we saw in James 1:22-25, the key is to CONTINUE THEREIN, MEDITATING DAY AND NIGHT in the Word of God. Tens of millions of people go to church, but forget what they heard afterwards. If you want to be close to God and see fruit in your life, then you need to saturate your mind, heart and will with the inspired King James Bible. The Word of God doesn't just have the answer, THE HOLY BIBLE IS THE ANSWER!!!

The God of the universe has everything except our heart. Proverbs 23:26, “My son, give me thine heart, and let thine eyes observe my ways.” If you will give God your heart dear saint of God, He will make you all that He desires for you to be! Matthew 11:29, “Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.” The way to learn about Christ is to get into the yoke with Him, pulling the work load of soulwinning. Nothing is dearer to the heart of God than our obedience and trust.

When we walk with the Lord in the light of His Word,
What a glory He sheds on our way!
While we do His good will, He abides with us still,
And with all who will trust and obey.
Trust and obey, for there's no other way
To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.

Dr. Bob Jones Sr. Chapel Sayings

Proverbs 13:20, “He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed.”

I love that Bible verse from Proverbs 13:20. There's an old adage attributed to Benjamin Franklin that goes: “He that lieth down with dogs shall rise up with fleas.” In other words, if one spends time with bad people, one will suffer in some way (often by becoming like said associates). Be careful who you choose as friends!

The great (or bad) thing is that you don't have to personally meet and hang around somebody to become like them. Case in point is Jesus Christ. As God's children we trust, love, know and follow Jesus, but we have never actually met Him. ...

1st Peter 1:7-9, “That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ: Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory: Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.”

That is so awesome! The Bible acknowledges that we are trusting in a Savior we have never met. Did you know that we get a special blessing for that? John 20:29, “Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.” Wow! I am glad that I can prove my love for the Father and His only begotten Son by believing (having faith) even when I cannot see Him. 

Repeatedly in the Holy Bible we read about the person with a wise tongue, or the lips of the wise. Proverbs 15:2, “The tongue of the wise useth knowledge aright: but the mouth of fools poureth out foolishness.” Proverbs 15:7, “The lips of the wise disperse knowledge: but the heart of the foolish doeth not so.” Proverbs 16:23, “The heart of the wise teacheth his mouth, and addeth learning to his lips.” Proverbs 18:15, “The heart of the prudent getteth knowledge; and the ear of the wise seeketh knowledge.”

Having said all that, Dr. Bob Jones Sr. (1883-1968) was a godly and wise man. Here are a bunch of his wise, Chapel Sayings:

• It is a sin to do less than your best.
• The door to the room of success swings on the hinges of opposition.
• The acid test of our love for God is obedience to His Word.
• Trust God as if it all depends upon Him, and work as if it all depends upon you.
• The test of your character is what it takes to stop you.
• The greatest ability is dependability.
• The two biggest little words in the English language are the two little words "do right."
• It is one thing to know there is a God; it's another thing to know the God that is.
• A man is a fool who leans on the arm of flesh when he can be supported by the arm of Omnipotence.
• What you love and what you hate reveal what you are.
• Jesus never taught men how to make a living; He taught men how to live.
• Do not ask God to give you a light burden; ask Him to give you strong shoulders to carry a heavy burden.
• It is better to die for something than to live for nothing.
• A Christian does good deeds, but just doing good deeds does not make a man a Christian.
• Your character is what God knows you to be; your reputation is what men think you are.
• You and God make a majority in your community.
• True success is finding God's will for your life and doing it. Being faithful is being successful.
• It is never right to do wrong in order to get a chance to do right.
• Jesus said that He would be in the midst of two or three gathered in His name, but this does not mean that our Lord does not like to have a larger crowd.
• It is no disgrace to fail; it is a disgrace to do less than your best to keep from failing.
• The religions of the world say, "do and live." The religion of the Bible says, "live and do."
• God will not do for you what He has given you strength to do for yourself.
• Dying men have said, "I am sorry I have been an atheist, an infidel, an agnostic, a skeptic, or a sinner"; but no man ever said with his last breath, "I am sorry I have lived a Christian life."
• The drunkard in the ditch has gone to the dogs. According to the Bible, the self-righteous man who thinks he doesn't need God has gone to the Devil.
• When I was fourteen years old, I knelt by my dying mother's bed. She smiled at me through the death shadow on her face and said she was going Home. She asked me to meet her in Heaven, and I gave her my promise. Her body sleeps in a lonely cemetery in the state of Alabama. As I have sat by her grave and listened to a funeral dirge played by the wind in the pine trees nearby, I have said, "Mother, I will see you again someday."
• Some people say I am dreaming. If I am, don't wake me. If this world were all, I would want my Christian faith. My faith hangs a rainbow of hope over the dust of my beloved ones and kindles a smile on the brow of my bereavement. This world is not all. There is a God. There is a Heaven. There is a Hell. I am playing a safe game. If there were only one world, I have already won. Since there is an afterlife, I win for two worlds. You don't have to take any chances with your soul. Don' take any.

Evangelist Bob Jones Sr. (1883-1968)

It is a shame and tragic that Bob Jones University (BJU) today has 100% departed from the godly beliefs and convictions of its founder in 1927. Dr. Bob Jones Sr. would have took a stick of dynamite and blown Bob Jones College to smithereens today, and he said so himself in 1945! Today's preachers don't stand anymore. The love of money has caused them to dip their sails, refrain from offending peers in the clergy, and letting the world go to Hell. Praise God for fiery preachers like Bob Jones Sr. who exposed infidels like Dr. John MacArthur, Pastor Marty Herron and Evangelist Ray Comfort! Right doctrine matters!

A Problem I See With Fundamentalists Today

Matthew 13:13-15, “Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive: For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.”

Sometimes people only hear what they want to hear. I remember a humorous incident many years ago at a former job. I was walking with a co-worker toward the lunch room and a pretty woman passed by walking the other direction. My co-worker said to her, “Hi.” She totally ignored him. So as he walked away he blurted out the “B word” for a female dog. She immediately replied with anger: “What did you say to me?” He responded, “I said 'Hi'.” He was telling the truth, he had said “Hi” to her but she ignored him. She just chose to hear only what she wanted to hear.

Now, although I don't think he should have called her a female dog, it does well illustrate a big problem in churches that I see today. People only hear what they want to hear. Or better said, people only respond to what they choose to act upon. It has been rightly said that the smallest Bible in the world is the one that we live. If you think about that statement it is sadly true! Our biggest problem as fundamentalist Baptist Christians is that we often fail to live what we know. We are often guilty of selective hearing.

I just got a tornado warning on my mobile phone for the Pensacola area. That means a tornado has been spotted in the area. It is 8:45 am. The warning told me to go into a basement, but the hotel doesn't have a basement! What do I do? What do I do? It is amazing how many decisions we make each day without even realizing it. I think I'll just keep writing my blog and take my chances. 

Let me make a practical application of the truth I am wanting to convey to you today. I recently met Pastor Jeff Redlin. He is the senior pastor of Campus Church in Pensacola. For those who know me, you know that I don't bite my tongue, I speak my mind. I do mention the names of people. Most preachers avoid naming names so as to not offend people. My humble opinion is that mentioning names gets my point across much more effectively. People tend to sit up and pay attention much more when you use names!

I told pastor Redlin that I had moved 9,000 miles from Guam to Pensacola and am having a hard time. I told him that my neck hurts badly all the time. I told him that my doctor reduced my pain medications by more than half, causing more neck pain. I told him that I was living out of a suitcase in cheap hotel. I also told him that I was divorced and hoping to find a wife at Campus Church. Who could blame a guy for that? Pastor Redlin ignored me for 10 days when I emailed him.

I didn't want to jump to any conclusions so I went to speak with him after the Sunday morning service. When he brushed me off I then knew that he had ignored my email, and it hurt my feelings. So I wrote to him the next day and told him that he “made me feel like garbage.” I was disappointed in him further when he had only heard what he wanted to hear. He never once expressed any sympathy or empathy for my suffering and loss. Pastor Redlin never once offered to pray with me. He never once said a word of encouragement. In a very immature and shallow manner, he berated me for seeking a wife at his church. He was offended that I had said he “made me feel like garbage.”

In hindsight, I am not impressed with Jeff Redlin at all. I do think highly of pastors in general, but I know when someday doesn't care, and Pastor Redlin doesn't care. He is guilty of selectively caring about people. This doesn't surprise me because it has been the greatest sin of the Pensacola Christian College (PCC) camp for generations, staying neutral in the things of God. Pastor Jack Hyles said it best:

“God has a special rebuke, again and again and again in the Bible, toward those people who keep their neutrality in the work of God!” —SOURCE: Dr. Jack Hyles, a quote from the great MP3 sermon, “Where Were You In The Battle?”

I am so sick and tired of fundamentalist Baptists who refuse to fight in the battle today! PCC refuses to fight! Please take a look at the Satanic Calvinist doctrine being preached at Bob Jones University today by their damnable president, Dr. Steve Pettit! That is the Devil's lie of “Lordship” salvation! According to Steve Pettit you cannot just say that you've accepted Christ and “know” that you are eternally secure in God's promise of salvation. Dr. Pettit errantly preaches that you won't know for certain that you have made it to Heaven until you finally get there! That is the lie of Calvinism, aka, the heresy called: The Perseverance Of The Saints.

I believe what Pastor Harry Ironside (1876-1951) believed—in the perseverance of the indwelling Holy Spirit, not the perseverance of the saints. I believe in the PRESERVATION OF THE SAINTS. Amen! Steve Pettit is an unsaved damnable false teacher! Anybody who denies the immediate new birth is a liar! You CAN in fact get saved and write your name, date and place you were born-again in your Bible, and you CAN live like the Devil for the rest of your life and still KNOW that you are going to Heaven as God's redeemed child. That is why eternal life is a free gift (Romans 6:23; Ephesians 2:8-9). God doesn't want us to continue in sin (Romans 3:31), but when we do sin God's saving grace will abound (Romans 5:20).

Having said that, Pensacola Christian College (PCC) is eerily silent about the wickedness at Bob Jones University that I just shared with you. Unlike Jeff Redlin and the rest of the PCC camp, I am not a coward! It disturbs me that fundamentalist Christians today only see what they want to see. I have been attending the Campus Church. They have about 10,000 members. They have a gigantic magnificent building. They have first-class music. The pulpit sermons are dry at best and lack fiery preaching! Sadly, Campus Church does not stand! They refuse to cry aloud against the false teachers in the Bob Jones University camp!

What saith the Scripture? Jude 1:3, “Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.” Titus 1:13-14, “This witness is true. Wherefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith; Not giving heed to Jewish fables, and commandments of men, that turn from the truth.” How many Christians contend for the faith today? I have rebuked numerous pastors sharply in private, but they were arrogant and some forced me out of their church, as did the ungodly corrupt Harvest Baptist Church on Guam for seven years (2014-2021). It is wickedness!!!

All across the world today, especially the source in the United States, “Lordship” salvation is being taught and preached in churches, Bible colleges and religious organizations. And sadly, among the Bible colleges and churches which don't teach it, they refuse to expose the bad ones that do. Consequently, the heresy of Lordship Salvation has spread like a California wildfire, burning down people's lives and sending them to an eternal doom in the Lake of Fire.

It is a big deal folks! We have no right to only hear what we want to hear. I have been attending the Campus Church for a couple months and haven't heard one word spoken against anything! They don't preach, they give speeches. They don't stand, they go along with the trend. I dare them to prove me wrong!

Pastor Redlin only heard what he wanted to hear when I emailed him. All he focused on was that I told him that he'd “made me feel like garbage,” and he sure did. You'd think he would have apologized and left it at that, but he didn't. He made excuses and rebuked me for seeking a wife at church. Kindly said, Jeff Redlin has a problem and needs to learn how to treat people better.

He didn't want to hear that I was sleeping in my car at Wal-Mart's parking lot when I told him at the 4th of July picnic in 2021. That was my first day at Campus Church. I'll never forget the startled look on his face when I told him I was sleeping in Wal-Mart's parking lot, and how he got away from me as fast as he could, lest he need to help a hurting homeless brother. 1st John 3:17, “But whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?” How sad. God knows that I wasn't asked for Pastor Redlin's help. At the time I didn't even know who he was. I was simply sharing with him my burden. But Pastor Redlin's response was pathetic. He didn't want to help. First impressions are lasting impressions. That “Oh no, he might want my help, so I better walk away quickly” attitude is exactly what is wrong with the entire PCC camp today!!!

I recently noticed that student's from BJU and PCC compete in intercollege sports. That bothers me folks! BJU's female basketball team “The Bruins” compete against PCC's female team “The Eagles.” These Bible colleges play sports together, hobnob and rub shoulders together in fellowship, while PCC never speaks a word of rebuke against the Lordship Salvation and corrupt Devil's Bible revisions at BJU. I am sick and tired of bad pastors criticizing and dismissing the life's work of Pastor Peter S. Ruckman (1921-2016) because of his two divorces and problematic life.

Having said that, I don't agree one bit with Dr. Ruckman's heresy that Old Testament saints were saved by works. Salvation has always been by faith alone in Christ (Acts 10:43). But Dr. Ruckman has done the Christian world a great service by providing us with a defense of the King James Bible. Pastor Ruckman correctly identified Bob Jones University as the Alexandrian cult. In fact, he called them cult headquarters! Nothing is destroying churches today like the Devil's perverse Bible revisions. Words matter to architects, bankers, lawyers, businessmen, politicians, scientists and in every contract that we sign; yet today's lame brain pastors and Bible college professors would have us to believe that words don't really matter to God. Wake up folks! Wake the hell up! It's time to smell the coffee and get out of your slumber.

We've got a big problem in our churches and religious institutions today. People just don't care anymore about the things they ought to care about. We're all guilty at times of only hearing what we want to hear, instead of paying attention to the little details. Right doctrine matters! People matter! Pastor Jeff Redlin horribly made me feel like garbage as a divorced person. Sadly, he is okay with that and doesn't care. There is something wrong with a pastor who doesn't even bother to comfort a hurting man. Even after I poured out my heart in a lengthy email, telling him kindly about my long battle with neck pain, he didn't care. I even sent him photos of my x-ray, MRI and a thermal scan of my neck, so he could see my suffering.

Do you know that Pastor Jeff Redlin didn't even bother to respond? It is sad but true! He is the senior pastor at Campus Church! The guy could of at least wrote back and said, “We love you at Campus Church David. I'm sorry for your pain and loss. I just prayed for you. God still has a purpose for your life and we hope you will serve the Lord with us here at Campus Church. Lord willing, we look forward to seeing you Sunday.” I would have been happy with that. He just blew me off. I spent two hours composing my e-mail to him. He's probably make some excuse that he is busy. Remember, I already told him a few days earlier that he made me feel like garbage! If somebody told you that you made them feel like garbage, would you ignore them? Yes, you would if you don't care. Today's pastors are pathetic!!!

I see a big problem in our fundamentalist institutions today, which is that professed Christians don't care. Pastors have become mere employees. Bible colleges are merely about academics. All across America we've got Bible college graduates, academic types, who woefully lack compassion for hurting people. I even told Pastor Redlin that sometimes hurting people just want to know that somebody cares, yet he didn't care. I told him that people just want to be loved, but there was no love from him. Perhaps he has no love to give, because he has no true walk with God. The Lord will be his judge, not me.

I've heard Redlin speak of God's love from the pulpit, and emphasize the importance that all of God's children love others, even those people who dress talk and think differently than we do. I couldn't agree more! Yet, why didn't he apply his preaching to himself when it came to me? Why wouldn't he show me God's love? Why didn't he care about me as a hurting human being? Pastor Redlin said that someone sent him my ministry websites. He had nothing good to say about my life's work, not one kind or encouraging word! That speaks volumes about his phoniness as a pastor. All he had to say was a word of criticism. He said that him and his clergy associates noticed that I find “weaknesses in pastors.” I replied that what he calls “weakness” is actually hardcore damnable heresy and wickedness. Pastor John MacArthur does not have a “weakness” in teaching “Lordship” Salvation, he is a damnable false teacher who needs to be exposed. The PCC camp refuses to stand. That is not a “weakness,” it is WICKEDNESS!!!

PCC is like a man who knows that his neighbour is committing a crime, but looks the other way. They don't want to get involved. They don't want to make enemies or become controversial. That is why PCC is growing massively today in popularity, because it is all good and no bad. They want to serve God and mind their own business. The problem is that no man is an island to himself. Everything that we say and do in some manner affects other people. PCC allows their students to compete in sports with apostate institutions like Bob Jones University (BLU), but they refuse to expose their false teaching. In so doing they are guilty of being partakers of their evil deeds at Bob Jones. 2nd John 1:11, “For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds.”

What really irritates me is that the pastors of Campus Church look down their Pharisaical noses on my website ministry. Pastor Redlin had nothing good to say about my 19 years of hard work. That tells me that the ungodly PCC attitude of isolationism causes them to resent and even condemn faithful preachers like me who STAND. Shame on the pastors of Campus Church and the entire PCC camp! Truth matters! Right doctrine matters! Ironically they would be the first people to agree with those exclamatory statements. Yet, their actions deny their words, because if truth really mattered then today's pastors would cry aloud against the false teachings which are prevalent in churches and Bible colleges today.

Please understand that I am not saying the PCC camp hasn't been a blessing, it has. Millions of people have been saved, lives changed and churches built by their faithful work. But they need to do much better! What about the millions of people who are dying in their sins and going to Hell, because Pastor John MacArthur and the Harvest Baptist Church on Guam lied to them? Ladies and gentlemen, we've got multiple plans of salvation circulating in our churches and Bible colleges today. I am rebuking them sharply that they may be sound in the faith, just as Titus 1:13 commands me to do! Sadly, my preaching has fallen on deaf ears! The Bob Jones University crowd are full of hubris and arrogance, subverted of themselves.

I once watched a very interesting 12-hour documentary by historian film producer, Ken Burns, on 'The American Civil War.' It is heartbreaking history! I just heard a quote in the film by President Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) that caught my attention:

“In great contests [battles], each party claims to act in accordance with the will of God—both may be, but one must be, wrong—God cannot be for and against the same thing at the same time!” —President Abraham Lincoln

Why did Mr. Lincoln say that? It is because both the Northern Union and the Southern Confederacy claimed to be doing “God's will” in fighting The Civil War (1860-1965). Both President Jefferson Davis in the south, and President Abraham Lincoln in the north, said they were doing “God's will.” As Mr. Lincoln wisely points out, that is IMPOSSIBLE! When two opposing parties, who are warring against each other, claiming to be doing God's will, obviously someone is WRONG! That is why Abraham Lincoln made that powerful statement!

The Free Grace crowd (Harry Ironside, Jack Hyles, Curtis Hutson, Max Younce, Ralph Yankee Arnold, Steven Anderson, myself, et cetera) believe that you can be eternally saved without giving up any sins; but the Lordship Salvation crowd (John MacArthur, Bob Jones University, Steve Pettit, Marty Herron, Billy Graham, Harvest Baptist Church on Guam, John Piper, Adrian Rogers, Ray Comfort, Paul Washer, et cetera) teach that you cannot be saved unless you repent by turn away from your sinning. For example: here is what Ray Comfort preaches...

“So if the plane goes down, you'd end up in Hell! There are two things you have to do to be saved. Do you remember what they are? I told you what they are—You've got to repent and trust the Savior! ... God's offering you everlasting life upon your repentance and faith in Christ. Who in his right mind wouldn't say, 'Whoa! That's a good offer!' (The curious woman asks what it means to “repent”?)... Have you ever said you're sorry to someone you did something wrong to? That's all repentance is—You've sinned against God; it's a matter of saying, 'God, I'm sorry,' and then LIVING A LIFESTYLE that proves the reality of your repentance. That's what repentance is, it's a continual thing! God, 'I'm sorry, but I'm not going going to lie or steal or blaspheme Your name ever again. It has that attitude! And the second thing—trust in Jesus!” [emphasis added] SOURCE

That is also what Dr. Steve Pettit (president of Bob Jones University since 2014) perversely teaches to their 2,600 students at BJU. It is wickedness!!! Why doesn't the PCC camp expose them? Why don't they care? Why do they allow their students to play sports together? Do you see friend how messed up our churches and Bible colleges are today? We say that truth matters, but our behavior says they we really don't believe that! If truth mattered, then PCC would rebuke the Bob Jones crowd and have nothing to do with them. It is apostasy!

A Closer Look At The Pre-Wrath Rapture

1st Thessalonians 4:13-18, “But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.”

This helpful writing in defense of a PreTribulation Rapture is authored by by Joshua Toupos:

PRE-WRATH RAPTURE PRINCIPALITY DECALOG

10 Reasons Pre-Wrath Rapture doesn’t Work:

1. The Rapture is no longer a surprise event. It sets up a false construct that certain signs and events must precede the Rapture which collides with Jesus saying the timing of this nanosecond event, is known only by the Father.

2. We become the thief stealing Immanency from the Lord. Just like if the law, then no longer grace, rendering it null and void, then if Antichrist must come first, then no longer Immanence and no need to be watchful, rendering immanence null and void.

3. It’s no longer as in the days of Noah (was Noah rescued mid-40 days? Did even one drop of rainfall on him?). We tend to emphasize that wicked state of mankind on the earth in this Scripture. But there is something else that is very profound going on. Noah built the Ark, but he did not determine the timing, nor was it even him who shut the door and sealed it (Genesis 7:16). It was God alone. But it is a perfect Scripture to use it to defend the Immanent Pre-tribulation Rapture as in the days of Noah when God decides the timing and he shuts the door of the Rapture Ark to keep he and his family safe from judgment on all the earth for 40 days and nights that it rained and 150 days that the Flood remained on the earth! But Noah and his family were also safe from all of the wicked mankind on the earth while it was raining up to the point the Flood waters drown them all. Remember, the Ark sat there for 7 days before even one drop of rain began to fall! And note further that the Lord gives precise days and time frames, just like he tells us he will do in the Tribulation. He is consistent.

4. They redefine Tribulation and/or its duration “Day of the Lord” and “wrath of God” and “one week” of years. Prewrath divides the Tribulation into 3 parts vs. only two reminds me of false teachers like Carl Jung who turn the Trinity into Quaternity, and Roman Catholicism doing the same by adding Mary as a Co-Redemptrix. Two halves is what Scripture describes. Three-thirds is found nowhere in Daniel or Revelation…a pure invention and vain imagination private interpretation on the part of Marvin Rosenthal and Robert Van Kampen. Isn’t that vain strongholds of imagination, myth, so-called science, and numerology condemned in Scripture?

Pre-Wrath disciples hang their hat on 2 Thess 2:3 that the Rapture can’t happen until first the man of lawlessness is revealed. But what struck me like lightning was Daniel’s 9:27: “And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week…” This is SEISMIC because a week is the entire 7 years. So this means that the Antichrist is already revealed by the very first day at the very beginning of the 7 Years of Tribulation. The Antichrist signs the peace treaty at the very beginning of the Tribulation (the very beginning of the 70th week) according to Daniel 9:27. A week is the entire 7 years. The Antichrist was already revealed before the beginning of the 70th week. It’s like Biden was known (revealed) long before he even ran for President. It’s just that the beginning of the 70th week is when he signs the peace treaty with Israel. And peace treaties don’t just pop instantly out of thin air, they require weeks if not years to negotiate and plan. The signing is to just confirm it and launch it. But even if the Rapture can’t happen until after the beginning of the 70th week, it would logically follow that the Rapture could happen right after the signing and not have to wait for 3/4 of the Tribulation! Prewrath followers have redefined the Day of the Lord confined to a period supported nowhere in Scripture. Peter described that Day of the Lord as a day and time when a new heavens and earth are created in 2 Peter 3:10. But that does not occur until the end of the Millennium, a thousand years after the entire 7 years of Tribulation. So are we then going to say there was never any Day of the Lord prior to that? On top of that if you follow Rosenthal’s reasoning the Day of the Lord is confined only to a brief period after the Great Tribulation (in his mind) of the first half of the second half the entire Tribulation 70th Week of Daniel. And if this is what Peter means, Pretribulationalist couldn’t be right either, because using that logic (like there was no other “first resurrection,” because the day of the Lord could not cover any of the seven years of Tribulation because the Day of the Lord couldn’t have happened until the New Heavens and earth are created. But of course, we know that the Day of the Lord covers both the entire Tribulation period as well as the Lord creating a New Heavens and Earth!

5. Apostasia means departure and Paul defines it as an event, not a process. Yes, it can mean both a physical and spiritual departure. But the Day of the Lord is distinct from Last Days which is plural for the meaning of spiritual apostasy. But the context in 2 Thess. 2:3 is a singular day that launches the Day of the Lord which is 7 years of days or approximately 7 times 360 days. So Prewrath Rapture dictates and confines Christ the Groom to 630 days out of two thousand years without authority to do so! Instant means it begins as a physical departure and is instantaneous (twinkling of an eye). When was Paul was abandoned there was both physical departure and spiritual departure. Falling away is a process not just during the Tribulation, but the entire two thousand years of the church. There is no surprise in that.

6. Marvin Rosenthal calls Michael the Archangel the Restrainer. This too is highly improbable if not impossible because Jude tells us that he would not even contest with Satan over the body of Moses. Note in the passage in the passage in Jude, that it was not just over the body of Moses that Michael would not get entangled with Satan, where it states: “he did not presume to pronounce a blasphemous judgment against Satan.” But this a more generalized statement proving where not even angels dare to tread! What to do with the body of Moses pales in comparison to an all-out war with Satan. So don’t you think if Michael is named in such relatively insignificant matter as what to do with Moses’s body that something as cataclysmic and apocalyptic as the Global final world war that Michael’s name would be named? And wouldn’t go to war with him and his Antichrist on earth be engaging in a judgment in which most of the entire Book of Revelation is pronouncing judgments? And Yes God does send other angels to exercise judgment, but if this were Michael, wouldn’t he be named (and not presumed that it is him)? And note it is not war against Satan or judgment on Satan, but only judgments on men that angels conduct. And note who it is that ultimately does judge the Antichrist and Satan? The Lord himself! Yes Michael fought Satan in Heaven where Satan lost, and he will again defend Israel in the Tribulation, but there is no Scripture to support his fighting for the Church on earth, or for that matter even fighting to defend Gentiles who become saints. Michael’s defined actions are only defensive (not offensive) and protecting, similar to the cherubim guarding the Garden of Eden from the entrance with a sword! Plus Jesus said in Mark 13:32 and Matthew 24:36, that this time not known by ANYONE, not even the Angels even in Heaven. But if even Michael is clueless, and is the restrainer, how will he even know when to initiate his restraint on the earth? And don’t forget that this restraint has been going on since Creation. So we are left with whom do I believe Rosenthal or Jesus? I think I will take Jesus!

7. Renders Satan’s wrath greater than the wrath of God. Impossible because Satan is not omniscient or omnipotent which God alone is. No contest. The notion that Satan’s wrath could trump God’s wrath is farcical and mocks God, who will not be mocked as well as a reproach on Christ’s own words!

8. The Rapture is when Christ the Groom will snatch up his Bride to be (now his fiancé who is the Church to whom he is betrothed). I wrestled and agonized the last few days because I love my brothers in Christ who subscribe to Prewrath Rapture, and the pain is spiritually excruciating that we are not in unity on this. Part of me even doubted I was right. Then a Providential event happened that sealed the deal for me, which became a living parable. A real-life recent parable: A daughter’s boyfriend of five years came to the father and asked him if he, as the father would give permission to him to ask her for her hand in marriage and become engaged whom he said he loved. They are both Christians and the father considered him a potential son-in-law of the ages and already like a member of the family. So of course the father said yes! But it was ultimately his decision as the groom when to ask her and when they mutually set the date of their marriage. We don’t know the day or the hour when he will literally ask her. The father would never dream of tampering with or forcing the marriage or the time of the marriage. But then it struck me, that this is precisely what Rosenthal and Pre-Wrath Rapture disciples are doing with the timing of when Christ the Groom can take up his Bride, virtually handcuffing the time frame when Christ is allowing to take up his Bride in the two thousand year history of the church. We champion Immanency for Christ’s Return. It is also Immanency for the Day of the Lord and simultaneous! But it is immanency in one more colossal way, and that it is the Immanency of Christ the Groom taking up his Purchased Bride (who purchased the Bride, alone decides when to obtain her)!!! Is this timing today the Lord’s or what? I know that Paul’s command to not let the marriage be defiled is talking about a literal husband and wife marriage. But I think one could argue that we can’t defile the Marriage Supper of the Lamb either by dictating to Christ the Groom when he must get married and barring it anytime before the Tribulation.

I was also just struck like lightning with one more thing regarding the Bridegroom Christ and Bride of Christ (the Church) and that is the Bridegroom Parable as the irrefutable proof that Pre-Wrath = The Foolish Virgins! If Mid-Trib or PreWrath Rapture has any logic or credibility, they would have to think there is no reason to be watchful for Pre-Trib because they think Immanence is impossible. If they are not watchful at all they could simply wait it out until all of the signs and at least half of the 7 year Tribulation has already taken place. If they are here during the first half of the Tribulation they think they can fill their lamps anytime up to ¾ of the Tribulation, thinking they have plenty of time to fill their lamps because Rosenthal says Christ the Groom can’t come any day or hour. Therefore, if I had any doubts that Prewrath Rapture is fraudulent, they are now vaporized! “The Bridegroom does not consummate the Marriage until the Bridegroom decides!” 

Here is the Bridegroom Parable in Scripture:◄ Matthew 25 ► The Parable of the Ten Virgins

1“Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. 2Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. 3For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, 4 but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. 5 As the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and slept. 6 But at midnight there was a cry, ‘Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’7 Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. 8 And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ 9 But the wise answered, saying, ‘Since there will not be enough for us and for you, go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves.’ 10 And while they were going to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was shut. 11 Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’ 12 But he answered, ‘Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.’13 Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.” Matthew 25:1-13 ESV

9. Peace and Safety precedes the entire Tribulation, not the first 3/4 of the Tribulation. Surely the biblical detailed description of the first half or first 3/4 of the 7 years of the Tribulation can’t be the whole earth is living in peace and safety.

10. Equating Revelation 20 First Resurrection with Rapture would then have to mean Christ was not the First Resurrection. Also, the true Rapture requires the inclusion of we who are alive. Prewrath Rapture could not include the martyrs in the Tribulation because none of them were resurrected until the END of the entire 7 years (week of Daniel). But if that’s true then Post Tribulation Rapture would have to be the correct view and sequence, not Prewrath Rapture. The First Resurrection in Rev. 20 therefore cannot be the very first resurrection in history. John is using “first” to contrast it with the last (or second) resurrection of the wicked, otherwise, it makes no sense! It is first (collectively of all the righteous) in a sequence of two in that grand scale of history. It is first and last in sequence, the second resurrection being collectively all of the wicked. We are part of the first resurrection by because the second death has no power over us.

Dr. Andy Woods captures it well with this statement:

“I will just add three little things.

First, the first resurrection concerns only the dead. Look at the language carefully in Revelation 20:4–5 and Daniel 12:2. The rapture, by contrast, doesn’t just concern the dead in Christ but also those that are alive on the earth at the time (1 Thess. 4:17).

Second, if the first resurrection is the first resurrection ever not only could there have not been a pre-trib. rapture but neither could there be a pre-wrath, mid trib., or post trib. rapture either. Beyond that, there couldn’t even have been a resurrection of Jesus from the dead, which is obviously problematic in light of 1 Cor. 15: 14.

Third, the number “first” in first resurrection (Rev. 20:4-5) is simply distinguishing that resurrection from the resurrection of the unsaved at the end of the thousand years. It’s not talking about the first one ever in human history. If so, then Christ has not been raised!”

I would just add that the Tribulation Martyrs and the OT Saints were not part of the Church and therefore not part of the Rapture. However, they became included (fellow participants) in the totality of the First Resurrection when God raised them up to reign with us for the entire Millennium.

Here are two of the best refutations I have ever heard and seen in 50 years on Pre-Wrath Rapture by Pastor Andy Woods. The first video is:

Rapture or Apostasy in II Thessalonians 2

The second video is:

Explaining & Refuting Pre-Wrath, Daniel 9:2

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Since The Bible Doesn't Explain What Repentance Means, Neither Should We

Acts 16:30-31, “And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.”

We've got a BIG problem in many of our churches today with what pastors are teaching about Bible repentance to be saved. I was pondering this important matter today and something dawned on me. Folks, why do so many preachers try to explain what repentance means, when even the Bible doesn't tell us? Think about that. I am guilty of doing it too, so I am preaching to the choir here.

In Acts 16:30 the question was asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” The simple answer to this naïve Roman soldier was, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved...” Paul didn't mention repentance! No mention was made of turning away from anything. Oh, why do preachers make getting saved so complicated? Now, we know from the Bible that a person MUST realize that they are a sinner. That is the whole purpose of God's law according to Romans 3:19-20, “Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.”

I think one of the greatest injustices that pastors do to people is to make a big issue of repentance, which confuses them. I totally disagree with the theological statement: “Repentance is a change of mind that leads to a change of behavior.” Folks, that simply is NOT true! Repentance is “a change of mind,” period, end of story! It is true that once saved, the indwelling Holy Spirit will begin to produce “fruit” in the life of a believer (Galatians 5:22-25), but this fruit MUST NOT be connected with the plan of salvation itself, lest we corrupt the Gospel and cast stumbling blocks before the people.

Pilgrim's Progress author, John Bunyan (1628-1688), wonderfully made this statement:

“If you do not put a difference between justification wrought by the man Christ without and sanctification wrought by the Spirit of Christ within, you are not able to divide the Word aright; but contrariwise, you corrupt the Word of God, and cast stumbling blocks before the people.” —John Bunyan (1628-1688)

I LOVE that statement! I am amazed that John Bunyan had such a keen grasp of the Gospel. But after all, why shouldn't he, the Word of God was the same then as it is today. Moreover, this statement PROVES that many preachers back then were getting the Gospel wrong, just as they are today, which is why John Bunyan was refuting them. I have heard Paul Washer, Ray Comfort and John MacArthur all make lying allegations that the old time preachers all preached repentance from sins to be saved. Well, many did, and they were false teachers! But as the preceding wonderful quote from John Bunyan proves, there were also many preachers back then who taught a free grace Gospel, rejecting the heresy that to be saved you must first be willing to forsake a lifestyle of sinning.

In reality what these false teachers of “repent of your sins to be saved” are saying is that YOU must commit to changing your life, or else you don't meet God's qualifications to be saved. Dear friend, the Bible teaches in 2nd Corinthians 5:17 that if any man “BE IN CHRIST” (i.e., he is already saved), he becomes a new creature. Kindly said, Pacific Garden Mission's UNSHACKLED radio program really gets the Gospel wrong oftentimes. Heresy has invaded most churches today! Nowhere in the inspired King James Bible are we taught to forsake our sinning to be saved. 

I am tired of hearing pastors teach that repentance is a change of mind that leads to a change of behavior. What they are indirectly implying is that if your life hasn't changed you're not saved! Being indwelt with God's Holy Spirit and the manifestation of an outward change of behavior are two different things! Case in point, I know of several believers who are serving time behind bars in prison. They're behavior didn't change! Well you say, if you are saved, there should at least be some evidence of the Holy Spirit. Okay, how much? How much does a person's life need to change before they are considered saved? Do you see how foolish this heresy of having a change of behavior is folks concerning salvation?

The truth is this—if you are saved you SHOULD live for Christ; not WILL because that is Calvinism; not MUST because that is works. What saith the Scripture? Titus 2:11-12, “For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;” If you are saved, YOU SHOULD live for God. When you hear a preacher insisting that true repentance means that your behavior WILL CHANGE, he is preaching another Gospel. 

Listen, anything that an unsaved person can imitate cannot be used as “proof” that someone is saved. Can an unsaved person change? Yes. Can an unsaved person love, do good works and live the Christian life? Yes. So those things cannot be used to “prove” that anyone is saved. The only “proof” that you are saved is the blessed presence of the indwelling Holy Spirit. 1st John 3:24, “And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.” That is something that only YOU can determine, which is what the epistle of 1st John is about (1st John 5:13).

The simple answer given in Acts 16:31 to the question in Acts 16:30 about how to be saved, is simply to BELIEVE ON THE LORD JESUS CHRIST!!! No mention is made about forsaking a sinful life. No requirement is given about the necessity of a change of behavior down the road. It is so easy for preachers to get caught between grace and works. The churches today are full of false teachings on what a person must do to get to Heaven. I adamantly reject any teaching that even mentions a change of behavior with God's simple plan of salvation!!!

Again, the Word of God doesn't make an issue of repentance to be saved, so why should we? Whatever change of mind (repentance) is necessary to be saved is automatically included in believing for the sinner that comes to Christ. The ONLY requirement to receive God's free gift of eternal life is that you admit you are a sinner. No intent to reform is necessary, which would be equivalent to paying a toll to enter into God's Kingdom. Sorrow for sin is penitence, not repentance. To make a mend is penance, not repentance. To turn from sin is reformation, not repentance. All that God requires to be saved is repentance (a change of mind), which compels a man to believe the Good News of Jesus Christ crucified, buried and risen (1st Corinthians 15:1-4). Repentance facilitates believing. Repentance and faith are inseparable, two parts of one action of believing the Gospel to be saved. The man who believes has repented, and the man who repents has believed.

I reject the idea that it is even possible to believe without repenting. Some preachers claim that if a person professes faith in Christ, but are still living in immorality, that they never repented of their sins and are not saved. That is another gospel. The truth is that it is possible to follow Christ, live the Christian life, join a Christian organization, or adopt a Christian culture, and still be lost. We see this evidenced in Matthew 7:21-23. They did many wonderful works in Jesus' name. They preached in Jesus' name. They even called Jesus “Lord,” but Christ denied knowing them, calling them workers of iniquity. The Lord tells us the reason why in Matthew 7:21, because they failed to do the Father's will. John 6:40 teaches that the Father's will is to BELIEVE ON CHRIST!!!

Dear friend, you can follow Jesus, serve Jesus, love Jesus and talk about Jesus all you want, but you will never be born-again until you cease from your own works and wholly TRUST JESUS. John 6:47, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.” So when we witness to people, we should simply make sure that they understand they are a guilty sinner in God's sight, under the condemnation of God's law. We should explain that there is a penalty for sin, which is eternity in the fires of Hell. Never withhold the reality of Hell from people when you witness to them. But we must be VERY careful to never give the wrong impression that their behavior must change to be saved. 

I love what Pastor Harry Ironside (1876-1951) said:

“In all that I have written I have failed completely to express what was surging up in my soul if I have given anyone the impression that I think of repentance as something meritorious which must be produced in man by self-effort ere he is fit to come to God for salvation.” —Dr. Harry Ironside, a quote from chapter 16, THE PREACHING THAT PRODUCES REPENTANCE, from his timeless classic book, EXCEPT YE REPENT.

I agree 100%! The entire concept of Lordship Salvation is based in self-righteousness. The concept of wrong repentance is rooted in self-righteousness. Never, ever, accept the teaching that repentance means anything more than a simple change of mind. That may not settle right with you dear friend, but it is God's Word. The Lord in His infinite wisdom intentionally chose metanoia (a Greek noun that means “a change of mind”). If God wanted to use a different word that included a change of behavior, then He would have chose a different word. Think about that! Why do so many preachers ADD meaning to the word metanoia?

I did an internet search to see if I could find out why preachers add extra meaning to repentance as “a change of mind.” The hardcore Lordship salvation website GotQuestions.org came up first. This is the heresy that they teach:

When a repentant person changes his mind about sin, that change of mind naturally leads to a turning from sin. Sin is no longer desirable or fun, because sin brings condemnation. The repentant sinner begins to abhor his past misdeeds. And he begins to seek ways to amend his behavior (see Luke 19:8). So, ultimately, the result of the change of mind about sin is good deeds. The sinner turns away from sin toward faith in the Savior, and that faith is shown in action (see James 2:17).

SOURCE: https://www.gotquestions.org/repentance-change-mind-turn-sin.html

That is an ASSUMPTION! They are perverting the Bible meaning of repentance based upon their own flawed human understanding and not Scripture. Nowhere in the Bible are we taught that repentance (a change of mind) naturally leads to a turning from sin!!! This is human reformation and not the work of the Holy Spirit. In true salvation the sinner has zero power to turn away from their sins. It is the power of Christ in the life of a born-again believer that enables us to turn away from sin (Galatians 2:20). In other words, God saves us and the Holy Spirit changes us. This is the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-25). 

The horrible preceding quote from GotQuestions.org attributes all of the changes in a believer's life to SELF, and not the Holy Spirit. According to their flawed reasoning, all of the changes in a believer's life has its origin in repentance; but the Bible teaches that a believer is transformed by the renewing of our mind (Romans 12:1-2). John 17:17 teaches that the believer is sanctified by the Word of God, the truth. I completely reject the heretical idea that the change of mind which is necessary to believe the Gospel, somehow perpetuates into a change of behavior, so that if someone's behavior hasn't change they aren't really saved. 

Friend, if you don't have the Holy Spirit you're not saved. That is the truth! Romans 8:9, “But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.” I hope you see the big difference between the manmade changes that false teachers require, versus the changes which the Holy Spirit produces in the believer. No pastor should ever teach people that repentance is anything more than a simple change of mind. For to do so is to corrupt the Word of God. No mention of changing one's behavior ought ever be mentioned with repentance. God doesn't, so why should we? Where the Bible is silent we should be silent.

I love what Mario Cuomo, the governor of New York said: “Everyone has a right to their own opinion, but nobody has a right to their own facts.” Yes Sir! The FACT of the matter is that repentance in the Bible concerning salvation is simply “a change of mind.”