Be Careful About Your Zeal

Psalms 119:139-140, “My zeal hath consumed me, because mine enemies have forgotten thy words. Thy word is very pure: therefore thy servant loveth it.” Galatians 4:16-17, “Am I therefore become your enemy, because I tell you the truth? They zealously affect you, but not well; yea, they would exclude you, that ye might affect them.”

We see examples in the Holy Bible of good and bad zeal. An example of good zeal is David in Psalms 119:139-140, "My zeal hath consumed me, because mine enemies have forgotten thy words. Thy word is very pure: therefore thy servant loveth it." David was upset in his zeal about others who had forgotten (intentionally departed away from) God's commandments. I love Psalms 119:140, in which king David says that he loves God's Word because it is "VERY PURE." David would have hated all these hundreds of modern English revisions, as I do too, one new version for each day of the year! It is insane today! The Devil is the author of confusion, not God (according to 1st Corinthians 14:33). God does things decently and in order (1st Corinthians 14:40).

Our great and omnipotent God would not give one inspired Holy Book to mankind, and then sanction it being tampered with by wicked men, so that there are now literally 900 ENGLISH BIBLE VERSIONS!!! That is Satan's work, not God's work. God only authored ONE HOLY BOOK, and I believe we have that precious inspired book today in the King James Bible in the English language. I'm not sorry to inform you dear reader that God doesn't give you a choice to pick which “version” of what He said best fits your preferences, beliefs and lifestyle. God said what He meant in the Holy Bible, and He meant what He said!!!

An example of bad zeal is found in Galatians 4:16-17, "Am I therefore become your enemy, because I tell you the truth? They zealously affect you, but not well; yea, they would exclude you, that ye might affect them." The churches of Galatia were zealous about the new corrupt religious group who had infiltrated their churches and found acceptance with them. The Apostle Paul was flabbergasted (Galatians 1:6-9). Paul said he acknowledged their strong zeal, but informed them that it was a bad zeal over a false doctrine that is very dangerous and heretical.

Romans 10:1-3, “Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved. For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.” As we see here and in Galatians 4:16-17, ignorance was common in New Testament times, just as it still is today in 2021. The Devil's deadly lies of Calvinism (aka, Lordship Salvation) and Wrong Repentance have sadly crept into most Baptist churches today. These corrupt pastors and churches (like the shameful Harvest Baptist Church on Guam and the cult at Bob Jones University today), have a zeal in their religious work, but it is not according to sound Bible doctrine.

How did these once good churches become so corrupted? What was the process? Here it is:

1. The first big mistake they made was losing their love for Christ and subsequent zeal for the truth (Psalms 97:10). Psalms 119:104, “Through thy precepts I get understanding: therefore I hate every false way.”
2. The second mistake they made was to stop contending for the faith (Jude 1:3). Revelation 3:2, “Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die: for I have not found thy works perfect before God.” You've got to stand for (and against) something, or you'll fall for anything!
3. The third big mistake they made was accepting more than one Bible, or accepting a corrupt modern Bible (Proverbs 14:12; Proverbs 30:5-6). Psalms 11:3, “If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?”
4. Their fourth big mistake was loving the praise of men more than the praise of God. John 12:43, “For they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.”
5. Their fifth big mistake was allowing making money to becoming a higher priority than their love for God and truth. Luke 16:13, “No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon”
6. Their sixth mistake was allowing themselves to become hardhearted and stubborn, inoculated from receiving godly rebuke and correction. Proverbs 29:1, “He, that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy.”

Those six reasons are why thousands of Baptist churches today are cesspools of iniquity, a den of thieves, a house of fools, accursed places by God (Galatians 1:6-9). So please be careful in your zeal dear friend, to make sure that you have not been deceived by the Devil. The religious people in Matthew 7:21-23 served Christ here on earth. They boasted of doing many wonderful works. They even followed Jesus, calling Him their “Lord.” Yet, Christ denied knowing them and had the angels cast them into Hell forever. Proverbs 16:25, “There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.”

There is something VERY wrong with any preacher's mindset doctrinally, who teaches that to get to Heaven it is not enough to admit to God that you are a needy sinner; but also, that false preacher says you must turn away from a lifestyle of sin to be saved. I heard Pastor Marty Herron say such damnable heresy at the Harvest Baptist Church on Guam. Mr. Herron is a wicked unsaved false teacher, who has the blood of thousands of islanders on his hands, for lying to them for decades that you cannot live in sin and still go to Heaven.

That is a 100% works-based counterfeit plan of salvation, which really leads to damnation! Herron is zealous in his Satanic theology. I kindly gave him THE TRUTH, but he rejected it in his arrogance and delusion. For the six aforementioned reasons, the Bob Jones University (BJU) crowd are headed for the Lake of Fire for eternity. The BJU camp have a distorted false understanding of what “faith” means. BJU president Dr. Steve Pettit, and other heretics like Pastor Chuck Phelps, Ray Comfort, Marty Herron, Gary Walton and other infidels, have redefined “faith” to mean living the Christian life. See for yourself how Steve Pettit's preaching perfectly aligns with Seventh-Day Adventist false prophetess Miss Ellen G. White.

Please be careful in your zeal dear reader, to make sure that you're not rooting and scoring touchdowns for the wrong team! The Devil is so crafty and evil, able to deceive humans very easily. The Devil was so brazen that he even attempted to tempt and destroy the blessed Savior (Matthew 4:1-10). If the Devil thinks that he can deceive the precious Savior, the only true begotten (biological) Son of God, then you can be assured that old smut face (Satan) will come after you and me too! May we all be wise in our zeal.

I Just Want To Say “Thank You!” To All My Blog Readers

2nd Samuel 22:50, “Therefore I will give thanks unto thee, O LORD, among the heathen, and I will sing praises unto thy name.” 1st Chronicles 16:8, “Give thanks unto the LORD, call upon his name, make known his deeds among the people.” 1st Chronicles 16:34, “O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever.” Psalms140:13. “Surely the righteous shall give thanks unto thy name: the upright shall dwell in thy presence.”

I just want to express my sincere gratitude for all my blog visitors. THANK YOU!!! Thank you to all my dear friends (and if you regularly visit my ministry websites you are dear to this humble Bible preacher), whether it be on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Pinterest, YouTube, my seven ministry websites, my RSS feed or other social media.

I am so thankful for all my social media friends that I have around the world. THANK YOU!!! The internet is such an amazing technological miracle and gift from God. As human beings we are all creatures of emotion. Pastor Jack Hyles (1926-2001) preached a beautiful sermon titled: "I Am A Moody Person And So Are You." At times throughout the year we've all been "in our mood" so to speak, which sometimes is evident in heated and potentially heated Facebook posts. Yet we all love each other in Christ, and moreover, we share a strong common bond for a "LOVE OF THE TRUTH" (2nd Thessalonians 2:10).

I wrote this blog to sincerely say: "THANK YOU" to all my social media visitors. Here is a beautiful MP3 sermon by Pastor Jack Hyles titled: "Thanksgiving For Those Things I Am Not Thankful For." (What an awesome and needful sermon!) Today is Thursday (November 25, 2021), Thanksgiving Day. I went to McDonald's earlier today and ordered just one McRib Sandwich! I LOVED IT SO MUCH!!! I was so thankful for it. Lord willing, I think I'm going back again tomorrow for another one too...lol. McDonald's McRib sandwiches are manna from Heaven, let me tell you! That's the food of angels.

I had been infected with the COVID-19 virus in early September. It hit me hard all at once. I couldn't taste or smell food anymore. If I smelled Vicks chest rub, I might as well have been smelling water! All sense of taste and smell were completely gone for one month! Even worse, I suffered from what doctor's call "ice pick headaches." You can read about all this online.  But you only lose your smell and teste in mild cases of COVID-19, not acute cases. I am very THANKFUL to God that I only caught a mild form of the potentially deadly virus. The virus is long gone and I am now naturally immune for the next year.

My new doctor reduced my pain medications by 50%, leaving me in a world of hurt. I have compensated by taking a lot more Tylenol from CVS and Walgreens, but it doesn't compare to opiate prescription drugs. I'm just taking life one day at a time. Due to my neck pain and radiating sharp pain in both legs and arms, I've had increased difficulty walking lately. The pain in my legs is so bad sometimes, which all extends from my neck. I have no complaints to God. It is not His fault. Accidents happen! God is more than amazing and good, and I love Him dearly. If my constant chronic neck pain and afflictions can make a difference for eternity, so that God will make me a helpful vessel for His purpose and glory through my labors for Christ, then I welcome it. Here is one of my favorite blogs that I have written, which features some beautiful words by Pastor M.R. DeHaan about suffering saints.

I Love Jesus Better Every D-A-Y!

I am so thankful this Thanksgiving Day in 2021. I am thankful for my constant throbbing neck pain, which I have suffered with since 2004 (17 long and miserable years of affliction), which keeps me humble and reminds me of God's promise in Philippians 3:21 of the immortal body waiting for me in eternity, fashioned like unto the Lord's resurrected body Amen and amen!

I am thankful to finally be out of a hotel, after five months (since I arrived in Pensacola on July 2nd from Guam). I am no longer living out of a suitcase. Amen and amen! I now have my own place to rent. It is rundown, but I love it! I have plenty of space, freedom to barbeque, freedom to listen to preaching all hours of the day, and no one comes into my residence when I am not home (like they continually did at the hotel). I praise the Savior with gratitude for His blessings on me!!!

I was praising God while sleeping in my car in Wal-Mart's parking lot when I got to Pensacola, because the rotten Woodspring Suites Hotel were dishonest and maliciously cancelled my one-month reservation without warning. Then I was praising God at the cheaper shady hotel I had found, where the owners and staff were abusive toward their guests. And now I am praising God while living in my own private residence, for which I am very thankful. The Bible says to rejoice that our names are written in Heaven (Luke 10:20). This fact never changes. So no matter what our circumstances may be, we always have a very good reason to rejoice in the Lord. I am not thankful FOR my neck pain, but I am thankful IN EVERY THING. 1st Thessalonians 5:18, “In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”

God bless all of you, sincerely, and THANK YOU for blessing me with the privilege to share my soul's thoughts and ministry with you. I fully understand that everybody who reads my posts does so as an INDIVIDUAL. So to each of you individually I humble say: "I love you with God's conditional love, and am VERY THANKFUL for you."

It is hard to believe that I will legally be a "senior citizen" in March of 2022. It seems like just yesterday that I was a naïve pimple-faced kid in my first year of Bible college in 1985. Wow! Where did the time go? God bless you all and thank you for your patience with me. My neck hurts inexplicably 24/7 (every moment of the past 17 years) since 2004. The agonizing pain throbs in the bony area of back of my neck, radiating into my face, sinuses and head. These afflictions cause me annoying discomfort, which drains my physical energy continually. I often miss messages on Facebook, forget to upload articles on time, make a gazillion typos and other innocent mistakes due to my constant neck pain, arms feeling inflated with air, radiating pain down my arms and legs, the entire right side of my body feeling half asleep all the time, et cetera, et cetera. God is good. I am not in a wheelchair, so I have much to praise God for.

Dear friend, you and I have so much to be thankful for. Even the poor homeless man on the street is so blessed by God. If you have eyes to see, money cannot purchase eyesight. As I ate my McDonald's McRib sandwich, I thanked God for the healthy taste buds I have (and that my taste and smell returned after being infected with COVID-19). I just read a few days ago in the news that one million Americans may lose permanent use of their taste and smell because of the COVID-19 infection. I was fortunate that my taste and smell returned. The most delicious food in the world is useless if you cannot taste or smell food anymore!!! Think about that friend.

What good is a printed book if you are blind? What good is a pull-type lid on a can if you don't have any fingers or arms? What good are shoes without legs or feet? As sure as I say that, I met a homeless man in Honolulu, Hawaii who had feet but no legs! I handed him a $20 bill to be nice and he had a wonderful smile on his face (even before I handed him the money). Yet the world is filled with millionaires and billionaires who walk around looking miserable (and most of them truly are miserable). Having wealth never made anyone happy! True happiness only comes from fearing God and keeping His commandments (Ecclesiastes 12:13).

Happiness comes from knowing that you are right with God [having both God's imputed righteousness (salvation), and personal righteousness (living uprightly)]. Personal righteousness is obeying God as His child because we love Jesus (John 14:15; 15:14). Imputed righteousness is the righteousness of God, which He counts (imputes) to us through faith alone in the death of His only begotten Son on the cross. God is more than good!!! God's imputed righteousness is the ungodly sinner's JUSTIFICATION (Romans 4:4-7). Personal righteousness is the believer's SANCTIFICATION (John 17:17; James 2:18-21).

As you can imagine, having horrible pain in my neck, being so close to my head, affects me (e.g., impatience, irritability, frustration). Yet God has used my afflictions to keep me humble and dependent upon Him in prayer (James 5:14). Pain is a very effective teacher, if not the best! I am thankful to God that He has used my horrible "thorn in the flesh" to keep me humble all these many years, so that He can bless my ministry (as God did the Apostle Paul). I know I am not an apostle, but my labors for Christ are just as important to me and God, just as effective through the power of the Holy Spirit, and just as rewardable by God. ...

2nd Corinthians 12:7, "And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure."

No Christian Woman Has Any Excuse Not To Excel Today

Proverbs 31:10-15, “Who can find a virtuous woman?  for her price is far above rubies. The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil. She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life. She seeketh wool, and flax, and worketh willingly with her hands. She is like the merchants' ships; she bringeth her food from afar. She riseth also while it is yet night, and giveth meat to her household, and a portion to her maidens.”

I was thinking today of a Christian woman I knew many years ago, whose frustrated husband often scolded her for handing him food our of a can. The man worked fulltime as the sole financial provider of the family. The couple had a few children. The woman stayed and labored at home raising the children as a homemaker. This was before the internet came along, back in the 1970's and 1980's. I remember how frustrated that man was, because his wife refused to cook him homemade meals. She had numerous cookbooks, but for whatever reason she didn't want to make homemade meals for her family. I recall myself as a small child hearing the married couple argue quiet frequently, as the man expressed his grief that his wife kept preparing meals out of a can, instead of making him something homemade.

Dear reader, I am not judging that married couple, God forbid. We all have skeleton closets! We all have areas of weakness in our personal character in our life. It is not my place nor right to judge. Yet, we are now living in very different times today. With the reality of the internet becoming public since the mid 1990s, we all have a massive incredible helpful resource at our fingertips. Although the internet was first invented for the military in the 1960's, it has become a wonderful blessing nowadays. Of course, like all technology, the internet is a double-edged sword, serving both good and bad purposes, depending on the individual using it.

Ladies, NO ONE has any excuse in this modern technological world not to excel as a Proverbs 31 woman! Granted, being a godly feminine woman with a caring and responsible heart requires much more than a mere internet connection and a computer. However, as far as preparing homemade delicious meals goes, no wife or mother has any good excuses not to become an excellent chef for her beloved family who depend upon her. I feel sorry for the husband and children who regularly eat TV dinners out of a microwave and delivery pizza. I am all for eating these foods, and I think families should. One of the very fondest memories I have as a child and teenager growing up is when my parents regularly ordered pizzas. They'd usually order breaded mushrooms, lasagna, a large cheese and sausage pizza, baked clams, French fries and other delicacies. I LOVED IT!!!

But in particular ladies, your hubby needs and deserves to eat a good homecooked meal a couple times each week, something special. When a man works all day or night at the job, and then comes home tired, just to have food from a can dumped on a plate and handed to him, SHAME on that wife!!! It doesn't take an unreasonable amount of time to prepare savory roasted lamb chops with baked seasoned red potatoes. Even better, YouTube contains millions of homemade delicious recipes and tips. As a child, every Thanksgiving Day turkey that any woman I ever knew baked was DRY as the Sahara Desert!!! If you didn't have some kind of gravy to moisten the turkey, you risked choking to death! I learned many years ago a beautiful little trick, which is to BAKE THE TURKEY UPSIDE DOWN!!! If you bake it upside down, and then when finished serve it ringside up, it will be the juiciest and most delicious turkey you've ever eaten! Your family and guests will be so impressed! I guarantee it!

How did I learn that nifty little trick? I simply went on the internet looking for “grandma's favorite recipes.” I searched for “secret family recipes.” You'll be amazed at what you find and your family will enjoy the best cooking on earth!!! I challenge you dear reader, especially you ladies, to make use of the internet to become the best you can be by God's grace! You'll find everything on YouTube from how to repair your own car, setting your clock in your vehicle, recipes step-by-step, how to use household gadgets that you buy, to just about anything you can imagine. A Proverbs 31 Woman is a hard-working Christian woman, who desires to make the best of her life for the benefit of her loved ones and community.

The main thing that hinders people from becoming better versions of themselves is a woeful lack of desire and ambition to excel. I admire families who grow and pickle their own garden's cucumbers, make their own homemade sausage, make your own homemade ice-cream, et cetera. You can learn it all online! I am not saying that you have to spend zillions of dollars and pressure yourself to do things you don't want to do. But IU am saying that every normal person ought to have personal interests, hobbies and a desire to enjoy life.

Use those things to include your children and make it a family event. You'll be creating memories. Children desperately need and want to make good memories, which they will carry with them a lifetime. I am so very thankful to God for all the precious childhood memories that I have of going each summer to the Wisconsin State Fair. I cherish the 4th of July each summer (my favorite holiday as a child) and all the cool BOXES of fireworks that I raked leaves, shoveled snow, walked a dog and had dozens of lemonade stands each summer, to pay for fireworks and video games throughout the year. I had a great childhood!!! My father bought me my first Atari video game in 1977 for my birthday, and then I worked hard all year to purchase several dozen video games for it. I had the popular games: Canyon Bomber, Indy 500, Combat, Command Control, Breakout, Space Invaders, you name it! It was a joyous experience to have my Atari system that I cannot convey in mortal words. God is so good!

If you are a parent with children, savor and enjoy every precious moment, because they'll grow up virtually overnight. I cannot believe that my son is now 32 years old. It seems like just yesterday that he was collecting catchup packets as a kid. It seems like just yesterday that we were messing around in the garage with C++ computer language while he was in high school. That's the computer language that nearly all the video games were made of, so if you wanted to learn how to make your own video games, you needed to learn C++. Spend time with your kids folks! They'll grow up too fast, I assure you.

Also, God forbid, they might be killed in an accident if they get hit by a car, or you might be killed prematurely, et cetera, so love your family each day while you still can. That holds true for all the people in your life!!! Life comes with no guarantees, except that we all have to pay taxes, we all get sick sometimes and we'll all eventually die someday. I don't know who you are or what your life is like dear friend, but I encourage you to use the internet and make the best of the time that you have left here on earth.

Every moment is a second chance from God! Today is literally the first day of the rest of your life. 1st Timothy 6:12, “Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.” If you are a redeemed child of God (as I thankfully am by God's wondrous saving grace), then lay hold on your eternal life and LIVE LIKE THERE IS A TOMORROW!!!

Don't Put Too Much Weight On Signs From God

Acts 17:22, “Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars' hill, and said, Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious.”

One thing that I have seen in my 41 years of being a born-again Christian since age 13 in 1980, is that way too many believers are superstitious. I am guilty a bit myself. In 2013 when I attempted to move from Guam back to the United States, I had simply looked for a regular taxi at the Honolulu airport. Instead a looong stretched limo picked me up and drove me to the Queen Kapiolani Hotel where I had made my reservation. I had only reserved a small room, but the hotel for some reason put me up in their Penthouse Apartment on the top floor, with a beautiful view of all of Oahu. I read those things as signs from God that He was welcoming my home to the United States. I thought everything was going to be okay.

Boy was I in for a rude surprise over the next few months. Things quickly deteriorated when I arrived in Hilo, on the Big Island, where I had intended to move at first. My medical situation with the insurance company became a nightmare, and I couldn't find a doctor that would accept me. For one reason or another I had to keep changing hotels, and they were very expensive. I stayed at hotels in both Hilo and the city of Kona on the other side of the Big Island. It wasn't a vacation, even though I was spell-bounded by the incredibly beauty of the island.

I cannot even put into words the beautiful scene I saw from my hotel room in Kona at the Hilton Hotel. I saw the wonderful volcanoes in the background, standing 12,000 feet high. I saw thousands of gorgeous coconut palm trees, and the most lovely ocean you could imagine, all highlighted by the setting tropical sun. Yet, this incredible beauty was only equaled by the inexplicable pain in my soul, knowing that I needed to leave because things weren't working out. In hindsight, I didn't really have a plan to move, and didn't know what I was doing. I made so many mistakes in my utter ignorance. 

So I moved on to Tennessee, visiting dozens of cities in Tennessee and North Carolina, trying to decide where to settle down. My heart wasn't in any of those places. My life was broken and my soul was in prison. I desperately needed God's help. After another month moving from hotel to hotel in these states, I gave in to pressure and decided to just move back to Guam. I had paid $10,000 for a 20 foot storage container from Guam to Tennessee. Several months later I hired a mover, which charged me $12,000 to bring my stuff from Tennessee back to Guam! All toll, the damages from my failed move cost me $50,000. What a big waste! Yet, I foolishly thought that God was sending me signs in Honolulu at the beginning of my nightmare ordeal, which lasted for four months. It was all a bitter/sweet experience. and an expensive bad decision. 

Having said all that, I am very reluctant now to read into anything anymore as being “a sign” from God. I think it is foolish and a dangerous thing for us as believers to read into situations and circumstances as being “signs” from God. I often hear professed believers talking about “signs” from God. I don't berate nor discourage them, but I personally do not place any weight about such superstitious things anymore. Some Christians think every time they sneeze that God is judging them. I think not! I have heard saints of God hundreds of times in my life attribute happenings as being a “sign” from God.

What saith the Scripture? Hebrews 1:1-2, “God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;” John 5:39, “Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.” Revelation 19:13b teaches that Jesus' precious name is called: “THE WORD OF GOD.” John 1:1-3 and 14, teaches that Jesus is the incarnate Word of God, Who became flesh and walked among mankind. Jesus is the Living Word; the Holy Bible is the Written Word. Evangelist John R. Rice (1895-1980) rightly used to call Jesus and the Bible “twins.”

Please don't allow superstition to creep its way into your thinking dear friend. A sincere lady recently emailed me, saying that she felt some wind blow over her body while laying down. She asked me if that was the Holy Spirit. I replied to her, “Absolutely not!” Hebrews 1:1-2 teaches that God speaks to us through His Son, that is, the Word of God. That is why Jesus told us to SEARCH THE SCRIPTURES in John 5:39. When the Holy Spirit speaks to us in our soul, He ALWAYS does so through the Written Word. Anytime that you hear someone speaking of spiritual matters (as does Oprah Winfrey oftentimes), but they do not base what they are saying upon the revealed Word of God, run away as fast as you can!!!

Kindly said, I know of a very well-known preacher, whom if I mentioned his name everyone would recognize him. That preacher foolishly said in a sermon, that he was driving down the highway one day and read a sign which mentioned the name of a city which he was considering moving to as their new pastor. He said that God put the sign there as “a sign” (no pun intended), which confirmed that he was supposed to resign his church in Texas and go pastor a church elsewhere. Folks, I totally disagree with using that type of foolishness to make our decisions. Proverbs 2:7, “He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous: he is a buckler to them that walk uprightly.” God gives us sound wisdom, to the righteous. A “buckler” is a large shield that protects the whole body. God is our shield, to them who walk uprightly in righteousness. Our decisions ought never be based on a whim or superstitious sign that we think we saw.

I used to work for the U.S. Postal Service as a Technician on their automated mail-processing equipment. While on break one night, I shared a Bible truth I had learned with a co-worker. I said that: “If we want to be a good Christian, we ought to live in John 19 and 20.” These are beautiful chapters about Jesus' death on the cross, burial and bodily resurrected three days later. The next night when I came into work, I found the pages of a torn up New Testament scattered throughout my Advanced Facer Canceller Machine (AFCS).

Lo and behold, I literally found the pages of John chapters 19 in the feeder belts of my assigned machine. At first I thought my Christian co-worker was messing with my mind, but as I inspected the entire machine, and found pages of the Bible throughout the machine, and saw that my co-worker started at the same time I did, I reasonably concluded that it would have been impossible for him to have staged this. Plus the way that the page of John 19 was caught and torn in the feeder, would have been impossible for him to fake. My mind was blown away! What are the chances! Was this a sign from God. Although it sure seemed like it, I simply cannot reasonable attribute it to God. One reason is because I don't believe God would allow His Word to be shredded by a machine to communicate with me as His child. As much as I am still intrigued by this strange incident decades ago, I think it was just a random coincidence.

So when you think God is sending you a sign, be careful not to place any weight upon it, lest you be led astray with superstition. One of the great dangers of placing weight upon “signs” is that when things are going bad in your life, you may wrongly interpret that to mean God is angry with you or punishing you for something you did wrong. Although the Lord does sometimes chastise us (Hebrews 12:6-8), we need to be very careful in this matter. I don't care how long you've been saved or how good of a Christian you may think you are, you and I still sin every day.

The truth is that we sin every moment of every day in one way or another (Romans 7:14-25). It is a sin not to thank and praise God at all times. It is a sin not to pray for others, for the people in our life. I admit that I don't pray as I ought, and neither do you. Nor do I always do the right thing, and neither do you. I don't have a single fault, I HAVE MANY FAULTS!!! I am a sinner by nature and by choice, and so are you (Romans 3:23; 1st John 1:8-10). So if we think every time that something bad happens, it is because of our sins, then we could easily conclude that God is ALWAYS upset and punishing us. That is simply not true.

I firmly believe that when God scourges and chastises us (Hebrews 12:6-8), that He always lets us know one way or another. I think one of the ways that God chastises us, is by giving us over to our sins, giving us enough rope to “hang ourselves,” so to speak. Just like a small child who needs to touch the hot stove for the first time, to learn not to touch; so also do we as Christians often need to go astray from the dear Savior, before we learn to trust and obey. It is unpleasantly true that pain is the greatest teacher, which men who have spent years in prison can painfully testify. Would to God that we would all learn in our youth the importance of fearing and obeying God, rather than learning bitter lessons the hard way as adults. I am 100% all for Christian education for every child.

It was the mighty soulwinning preacher, Pastor J. Frank Norris (1877-1952) who wisely said:

“What we need is a school that teaches the whole English Bible. What is needed is a school that will take men from the engine cab, from between the plowshares and teach them the Bible. What is needed is a school that is free from modernism. What is needed is a school that will teach a man how to go out with the Bible under his arms, faith in his heart, and in the power of the Holy Spirit begin in a vacant lot and build a church to the glory of God.”

SOURCE: J. Frank Norris, a quote from the excellent book, “The J. FRANK NORRIS I Have Known" (for 34 Years), by Dr. Louis Entzminger.

Amen and amen! What we need is a whole new generation of preachers in America!!! Today's preachers are pathetic! The average pastor is not a preacher at all, but a mere highly-paid employee of a dead religious organization. God deliver us from career pastors who merely manipulate the clergy as a profession; rather than approach such a privileged position as a divine obligation and solemn duty from almighty God.

Avoid superstition dear friends. Base your decisions upon the sound principles of God's Word. Beware of anyone who claims to have had dreams or seen visions from God. They are liars! They may have dreamed dreams and seen visions, but we KNOW that they didn't come from God, based upon the plain Scriptural teaching of Hebrews 1:1-2. God speaks to us today through His Son. Jesus commands us to SEARCH THE SCRIPTURES to learn of Him (John 5:39). Revelation 19:10b teaches that “THE TESTIMONY OF JESUS IS THE SPIRIT OF PROPHECY.” The Bible contains 31% prophecy. The intent (spirit) of ALL prophecy is to testify about Jesus. So when you study Bible prophecy (whether it be past, present or future) always look for how it pertains to the blessed Savior, and you'll never go astray doctrinally.

So I am not supposed to rejoice as a child of God when a stretched limousine picks me up at the airport, or the hotel I am staying at decides to put me up in their grandest penthouse suit on the top floor. Jesus told us in Luke 10:20 to REJOICE that our name is gloriously written in Heaven! Amen, that fact never changes. If we rejoice in temporal things and events, that can and will often change, for the worse sometimes. But if we rejoice that we have an eternal home in Heaven (John 14:1-3), and an immortal body coming someday which will be fashioned like unto the Lord's resurrected body (Philippians 3:21), and that our name is forever written in the Lamb's Book of Life in Heaven, those FACTS will never change!

I hope this blog has been a blessing to you. We all tend to look for “signs” from God in our life. But this can be greatly misleading, and even cause us to adopt wrong superstitious thinking that hinders our joy and walk with God. Granted, all of nature and the amazing universe shows forth evidence of our great omnipotent God (Psalms 19:1; Romans 1:20). But we ought not make any of life's decisions based upon anything other than the tried, tested and true Holy Bible.

What You Say, When You Say It, How You Say It, And To Whom You Say It Matters

John 8:8-11, “And again he stooped down, and wrote on the ground. And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee? She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.”

It really matters what we say to people. It matters how we say it. It matters when we say it. And it matters to whom we say it. Jesus spoke with heart language. Jesus spoke with helpful language. Jesus spoke with healing language. And Jesus spoke with heavenly language. Jesus cared and it made all the difference in the world. 

John 4:1-4, “When therefore the Lord knew how the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John, (Though Jesus himself baptized not, but his disciples,) He left Judaea, and departed again into Galilee. And he must needs go through Samaria.” The Samaritans were looked down upon by the Jews and the Gentiles. The Samaritans were a half-breeds, half Jew and half Assyrian. The Samaritans originated when northern Israel was conquered in 722 BC by the Assyrians and taken into captivity to the country of Assyria. The heathen king of Assyria later sent Assyrian implants back to Israel as priests, which resulted in a mixture of pagan religion with Jewish Christianity. The Jews had intermarried with the Assyrians, hence the Samaritan people.

We read in John 4:4, “And he must needs go through Samaria.” Jesus needed to go preach the Gospel to the Samaritan people, and He did in Verse 5. Jesus witnessed the Gospel to the Samaritan woman at the well. She was shocked that Jesus, a Jew, would even take the time to talk to her. But Jesus in His heart of hearts loved people. Jesus took the time to say what need to be said (the Gospel), in the way it needed to be said (with love), to whom it needed to be said (to a lost Samaritan woman). As a result, the whole Samaritan village came out to hear Jesus preach and do miracles and many were saved.

What we say matters. How we say it matters. When we say it matters. And to whom we say it matters. As Christians we've got our doctrine down pat. We've published libraries of theology. But we woefully lack in the area of loving sinners. I am so tired of visiting churches, like Campus Church at Pensacola Christian College, where Pastor Jeff Redlin in July of 2021 ignored my humble pleas for his help with my broken life at the time. He didn't care. He said the wrong words, in the wrong way, at the wrong time and to the wrong person. Whereas I needed his love, and to be openly welcomed and encouraged by the pastor of Campus Church; instead I was horribly ignored, mistreated and abused verbally by Redlin. I speak to his utter SHAME. Sadly, he couldn't care less because he's just in it for the money.

Sadly, Pastor Jeff Redlin woefully lacks God's compassion for people. It matters folks, it really does. What we say matters. How we say it matters. When we say it matters. And to whom we say it matters. Oh, when will cold-hearted pastors ever learn that without love their words are meaningless? Colossians 4:6, “Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.”

A Little Class Goes A Long Way

Luke 24:27-30, “And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself. And they drew nigh unto the village, whither they went: and he made as though he would have gone further. But they constrained him, saying, Abide with us: for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent. And he went in to tarry with them. And it came to pass, as he sat at meat with them, he took bread, and blessed it, and brake, and gave to them.”

I love this beautiful text passage from Luke. Jesus and the disciples had drawn nigh to their destination. Jesus made (pretended) that He need to keep going. The disciples asked Him to please stay. The Lord wanted to make sure that they really wanted Him to stay, and that they weren't just being polite. That was so classy what Jesus did, thinking about the feelings of others instead of selfishly only thinking about Himself. I love our ethical Savior!

Here's a personal story that I remember about me. When I lived in the uphill village of Sinajana on the quaint Pacific island of Guam, I rented an apartment from a man and his wife for 5 years. They were good to me all during that time. One day my bathroom sink clogged up and the water wouldn't go down anymore. So I called my landlord and kindly asked him if he could take a look at it. He came with a plumber to fix the sink. I spoke with my landlord for a few minutes as the plumber worked aside us. I then stepped a few feet away to take care of some things. As I was away, I softly heard my landlord whisper to the plumber, “Just set it there on the sink.” The two men said their greeting to me and then left, letting me know that the sink worked fine now. After they left my home, I noticed a big clump of my hair sitting on the sink. I immediately understood that my hair had accumulated and clogged the drain. I was grateful to how classy my landlord was. To prevent embarrassing me, my landlord just gently whispered for the plumber to quietly leave the hair on the sink. That is how you should treat people!

When I first began visiting Campus Church at Pensacola Christian College (PCC) in July of 2021. Their senior pastor is Jeff Redlin. I was brokenhearted, after being divorced for 15 years. I was sincerely hoping that Pastor Redlin would help me get my broken life back together. So I entrusted him with the pain of my loss and sorrow for being divorced. I expressed my concerns if I were welcome or not at Campus Church, after hearing a longtime PCC staff member inform me that many people either leave or avoid PCC who are divorced, knowing that the PCC camp has disdain for divorce and refuses to sanction remarriage.

It would have been a classy thing if after hearing my hurting soul, Jeff Redlin has told me that God still loves me, and I am very welcome at Campus Church, even though the church does not believe in remarriage after divorce. It would have been classy if Pastor Redlin has prayed with me, and expressed sympathy for my loss and pain all these many 15 years of loneliness. But he did none of that. Instead, Redlin coldly told me in front of his pretty wife that he doesn't marry divorced people. I was cut to the heart, as that foolish little man cast my feelings to the dirt and stepped on my heart. I lost respect for Pastor Jeff Redlin from that time moving forward. The guy has no class!!!

Our dear Savior had much class. Jesus cared about not hurting the feelings of others. Jesus didn't just decide to stay for the night at the disciple's home. In truth, He wanted to stay to eat and stay for the night, but He was too classy to ask. So He pretended (made) as though He was leaving, and when they invited Him to stay, He joyously accepted. That is class.

My father was a Skid Row minister. He attended an ordination meeting one time for a new young preacher. A dozen or so different ministers attended and friends. The man who headed the ordination meeting asked all the men around the table to stand and give a brief description of their ministry. My father knew one of the men at the table, who had no ministry, he just attended different churches. So my father did something very classy. When it was my father's turn to stand up and testify, which was before the other man (who had no ministry), my Dad said that the other man was his assistant at the Mission and helped him regularly (and that was the truth). My father saved his friend from any potential embarrassment. That is classy! That is what a true friend does, thinking about others.

Here's another story. My father had invited me and some friends from Bible college to go fishing at Deep Lake in Lake Villa , Illinois. The lake was over 60 feet deep in the middle, hence the name “Deep Lake.” My father was driving in front. I was driving in my own car behind him with my family. And then my friends from Bible college were driving behind me. My father pulled over eventually alongside the road. I asked, “Why did you pull over?” My Dad said, “Your buddy broke down back there!” I felt convicted. My father not only watched my car, but watched for my friends behind me. I hadn't been paying attention, but my Dad was. I have always been so impressed by the classy thing my father did that summer day. Watching out for others is a classy thing to do. I blew it that day, but my Dad cared and paid attention.

I could give you hundreds of examples of classy things that people have done, and likewise hundreds of not so classy things. I don't know about you dear reader, but I want to be more like Jesus, Who paid attention to the little details that we so often miss. It all boils down to THINKING. I heard Pastor Jack Hyles say that, “Love is thinking!” Dr. Hyles is so right. In other words, when you love others you think about their needs, their feelings and their soul's condition. When you love somebody you look beyond their faults and see their need.

Let Him That Stole Steal No More

Psalms 11:7, “For the righteous LORD loveth righteousness; his countenance doth behold the upright.” Psalms 33:5, “He loveth righteousness and judgment: the earth is full of the goodness of the LORD.” Ephesians 4:28, “Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth.”

I pondered our text passage today, thinking about how good our forgiving God is. Psalms 11:7 proclaims that the one true and living God is a RIGHTEOUS GOD, and He LOVETH RIGHTEOUSNESS. That is a common fruit of the Spirit in every child of God, loving righteousness. That is why sinful Lot, who deliberately moved his family to the wicked city of Sodom, cringed in his soul when he saw the sins of the heathen around him. 

2nd Peter 2:6-8, “And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making them an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly; And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked: (For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds;).” 

The Apostle Peter tells us, writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit of God, that Lot was a just man. That means Lot was a saved person, a redeemed child of God. Lot was the nephew of Abraham. Peter also tells us that Lord, as a just man, was vexed in his soul by the unlawful deeds of the ungodly which he saw committed around him. By “unlawful” I believe the Bible means unlawful by God's standards. This is interesting, because the law of Moses hadn't been given to mankind yet, not for another 500 years! Historians estimate that Sodom was destroyed about 1,900 BC.

As I was researching today, I was saddened to read on the Britannica Encyclopedia website that Sodom was likely destroyed by an earthquake. No, the Bible says that God destroyed Sodom by raining down literal fire and brimstone (molten lava). It is tragic that the unbelieving world has no faith in the inspired Word of God. But one day they will, ONE DAY THEY WILL!!!

Psalms 11:7 proclaims that the one true and living God is a RIGHTEOUS GOD, and He LOVETH RIGHTEOUSNESS. In another of our text passages from Ephesians 4:28, the Bible says: “Let him that stole steal no more.” I love that! God is giving sinners a second chance to do the right thing. We cannot undo the wrongs that we have already done. We can (and should) attempt to make restoration and restitution with any victims there may be.

I have been watching “Court TV.” It is an interesting show that follows present court trials in real time. I heard any interesting phrase today. Someone said that when a person commits a crime, they “owe a debt to society.” In other words, when one person is hurt, the whole community rallies together in defense of that one victim to defend them. That is why when you are indicted for a crime, the legal complaint against you will read: “THE STATE OF ______ vs. YOUR NAME.” If it is a Federal Crime it will read: “THE UNITED STATES OF AMEFICA vs. YOUR NAME.” And so forth.

Any time that we harm or hurt someone, causing them monetary loss or bodily or emotional harm, there is an imbalance of justice. Pastor Jack Hyles used to say in his sermons: “Everybody deserves justice, whether they be 3 years old or 90!” Amen and amen! That is 100% biblical. Everybody deserves justice! Throughout the Bible God showed mercy toward sinners. 

Consider John 5:14, “Afterward Jesus findeth him in the temple, and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee.” This dear man had been sick and crippled for 38 years. There was a local pool of water, which some of the people believed had magic healing power. That is superstition. We see this kind of superstition on The 700 Club, believing that people can be healed through the television by the words of the con artists and Pat Robertson. They are criminals and should be prosecuted by the government for fraud. The 700 Club bilk viewers out of $670,000,000 per year!

My personal opinion is that Pat Robertson is a deep occult operative of the New World Order, and most of that money goes to help further the NWO. That is why the government allows these dishonest criminals to continue taking advantage of naïve and simple Americans. I wish the government would medically verify all claims of healing, and then arrest and convict Pat Robertson for blatant fraud. People are amazingly foolish and gullible. There are scams galore online today, which make empty promises of healing, losing weight, making your bald hair regrow, financial success, et cetera, and they are ALL SCAMS!!! Why doesn't our government investigate and stop this type of gimmicks and dishonestly. These scams easily generate HUNDREDS OF BILLIONS of dollars each year!

There are no magical healing pools, although there may be some health benefits to mineral springs and heated vents of water from inside the earth, which heat surface springs of water. This suffering man in John 5:1-14 tried to crawl to the water for years, likely hundreds of times, but someone else got there first. That reminds me of nearly everything in society today. If you want to buy an affordable home, someone will get there before you. If you want to marry a good person, someone beat you to the wedding altar. I have found that so often in life I ended up a dollar short and a day late. That is life. 

I think that is why the Bible tells us in 1st Timothy 6:6-8 to be “content” with what we already have. There are two ways to become rich. One way is to try to get all you want, which likely will never happen. The other way, and anybody can do this, is to be content with what you presently have. If you have all you want already, then you are rich! Being rich is a mindset. The poorest man in the world, or the criminal serving a life sentence in prison, is richer than the wealthiest man on earth if they are a redeemed child of God. When life is over and those poor and imprisoned people die, they will be in Heaven with Jesus forever, enjoying eternal life. But the rich people (like Steve Jobs, founder of Apple computer, who died with a net worth of $10,200,000) will all burn in Hell forever and ever without hope or rest (Revelation 14:11).

I am also reminded of the beautiful true story of Jesus and the woman caught in the very act of adultery. John 8:11, “She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.” Just like the Apostle Paul said in Ephesians 4:28, Jesus told her to “GO, AND SIN NO MORE.” Paul said, “Let him that stole steal no more.” A lady recently asked me how she can know the difference between guilty verses Holy Spirit conviction. The answer is easy. The Holy Spirit always convicts us about present sin, or past sins that we haven't made right yet. But if you have confessed past sins to God (1st John 1:9), and made every attempt to make restitution (apologizing) and restoration (pay back any damages) to any victims, then it is forgiven and forgotten by God. Psalms 103:12, “As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.”

Now, we must make an important distinction between one's POSITION in Christ versus one's CONDITION in Christ. The psalmist David is speaking about God's imputed righteousness, which comes by faith alone (Romans 4:4-7). When a person accepts Jesus as their personal Savior (receiving Christ's sacrifice on the cross as payment for their sins, believing that He resurrected from the dead after three days), that person is JUSTIFIED in God's sight, JUST-IF-I'D never sinned at all. But not only that, God attributes Christ's total righteous to our record, so that God sees us as perfect and sinless as Jesus (2nd Corinthians 5:21; Romans 4:5-6; Philippians 3:9; Romans 10:3-4). Whew that's beautiful!!!

Dear reader, our wonderful God is a  a RIGHTEOUS GOD, and He absolutely LOVETH RIGHTEOUSNESS. As a child of God I also love righteousness. Since I am still in the flesh, I could never love righteousness like God does. Nor could I even grasp God's mindset toward sin. That is why so many unsaved people, and even some saved people, have a hard time accepting the Bible truth that all mankind deserves to suffer and burn in an eternal Hell (Revelation 20:11-15). Such doubting people are errant in their thinking, judging God by human standards and thinking.

We all deserve to burn in the fires and brimstone of Hell for ever because of our own sins. Even one sin makes us guilty of ALL the Bible says (James 2:10). That is because committing even one sin makes a person filthy, guilty and unfit to enter into the Kingdom of God (1st Corinthians 6:9-10). But thank God for the precious blood of Jesus that “WASHED US” FROM ALL SINS (1st Corinthians 6:11; 1st Peter 1:18-19; Revelation 1:5). The Christian believer is JUSTIFIED FROM ALL THINGS (Acts 13:39). When a believer sins, we fall IN GRACE, never FROM GRACE. The more that we continue to live in sin, the MORE GRACE DOTH ABOUND (Romans 5:20). That is because eternal life and forgiveness of sin is a FREE GIFT from God (Romans 5:15-18; 6:23), not based upon our turning away from sin or human reformation.

I don't know about you dear friend, but as a child of God I don't want to sin anymore! I know that I will, because we are ALL sinners by nature and by choice (Romans 5:12; Romans 7:14-25; 1st John 1:8-10). These false teachers today who say that the Christian only has the new nature, and that the old nature is gone, are WRONG! As long as we are in the sinful flesh, we will STRUGGLE between the leading of the indwelling Holy Spirit and the sinful flesh. The Bible teaches that there is NO GOOD THING in the flesh. Romans 7:18, “For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.” The flesh is one of our three lifelong enemies! Our three arch enemies are: the Devil, the world and the flesh! Of those three, the flesh is the worst to cope with, because we aren't always around the world, and we'll likely never meet the Devil personally, but we live with the flesh 100% of the time.

I love our forgiving God. The Bible says we love God because He first loved us (1st John 3:16). The Bible says that Jesus died on the cross for murderers, rapists, pedophiles and the worst of humanity, even those who behave worse than animals toward others! Romans 5:6-9 teaches that CHRIST DIED FOR THE UNGODLY. That is why I am so sick and tired of this “Lordship” salvation heresy that is sop popular in churches today. You CANNOT buy your way into Heaven! You don't have to pray, confess Christ publicly, turn away from your sinful ways, join a church, get dunked in a baptistry, nor anything else to get to Heaven, you simply need to BELIEVE ON THE LORD JESUS CHRIST. Acts 16:30b-31, “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.” The phrase “and thy house” is simply an extended invitation of salvation to the man's entire family, if they also will simply BELIEVE ON THE LORD JESUS CHRIST!!!

I heard a foolish preacher once debate with me on the intended meaning of Acts 16:30-31. He said that the Roman soldier was afraid of losing his life, because the prisoners were escaping. The preacher claimed that the Roman solider didn't want  get saved from the penalty of sin in Hell; but rather, he wanted to be saved from certain death from his superiors when they learned that the prisoners were all gone. I humbly disagree with with that preacher. That little phrase “and thy house” clearly proves him wrong. If the prisoners all escaped, the soldier's family wouldn't all be killed. The fact that an invitation is extended to the man's entire family evidences that these verses apply to salvation. That Roman soldier heard Paul and Silas singing hymns in the prison, joyful in the Lord. That soldier experienced the same earthquake that the prisoners did, seeing the power of God.

Our omnipotent (all-powerful) God is a very good God. He is a great and forgiving God. He LOVES RIGHTEOUSNESS!!! Psalms 33:5, “He loveth righteousness and judgment: the earth is full of the goodness of the LORD.” There has been massive INJUSTICE in the United States. The 911 attacks in New York on the World Trade Center (WTC) were a blatant INSIDE JOB, which was used as a pretext to invade Iraq and Afghanistan, and to raise up a POLICE STATE in the United States, which is continuing. I humbly believe Global Warming is a hoax! Over 99% of the earth is open ocean and land. I am convinced that Climate Control, just like the LGBTQ Rights Movement, is intended to control people. The coming sinister New World Order will be all about CONTROLLING everybody. How else could the Devil require everyone to receive a mark or else you cannot buy or sell? These restrictive devices and oppressive government policies are all happening before our very eyes.

I am firmly convinced that somehow the COVID-19 crisis will be used to further the same agendas that were created after the 911 attacks. Rudy Dent is a 32-year retired NYFD fire investigator, who said 911 was an INSIDE JOB. The Bush Administration didn't get away with it, they got caught red-handed. The corrupt and evil criminals working within the highest ranks of our U.S. government were just never brought to justice, because Freemasons control our country and the U.S. Justice Department refused to prosecute the true culprits behind 911.

Dear saints of God, our God is a RIGHTEOUS GOD who LOVETH RIGHTEOUSNESS. If you want to please God, you and I cannot do so in the flesh, we must walk in the indwelling Holy Spirit, in obedience to God's Word (2nd Corinthians 10:5-6). If you've ruined your life with sinning, then GO AND SIN NO MORE as the Savior told the adulterous woman. If you've been a thief who wrongly steals what you did not honestly labor for with your own mind and hands, then STEAL NO MORE as the Apostle Paul said in Ephesians 4:28. If you've fornicated and lived a shameful life of impurity and lust, then STOP IT. If you love Jesus more than your sins, YOU WILL KEEP HIS COMMANDMENTS (John 14:15; 15:14). It is a matter of your personal priorities! Do you love sin more than Jesus, Who died on the cross for pay for those horrible sins? Whom do you love? Psalms 11:7, “For the righteous LORD loveth righteousness; his countenance doth behold the upright.”

Catholics Remove The Second Commandment

Exodus 20:4-5, “Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me.” Acts 13:10, “And said, O full of all subtilty and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord?”

This is unbelievable! How low will the Catholics stoop in order to deceive their followers? No wonder the Bible warns us about false prophets who creep into the Church, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men (Mark 7:6-13), having their conscience seared with a hot iron (hard-hearted) and teaching doctrines of devils (1st Timothy 4:1-3).

Kindly said, the Roman Catholic Church is straight from the pits of Hell. I say this kindly as a friend who cares for your soul. Oh, how I wish the one billion members of Roman Catholicism cared MORE about truth and principle, than about family and relationships. That's what has cursed Catholics, that is, family tradition. Since grandma was a devout Roman Catholic, and since uncle Joe is a Catholic, and since cousin Janet is a Catholic—that makes it next to impossible for a son or daughter to go become a born-again Christian who doesn't need religion. From the cradle-to-the-casket—the Vatican has a religious package for you!

Here is the SECOND COMMANDMENT from the inspired King James Bible:

Exodus 20:4-5, “Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me.”

Now here are the Roman Catholic's TEN COMMANDMENTS (this image is from the "Catholic To The Max" website):

The Wicked Pagan Incomplete Catholic 'Ten Commandments'

Do you see how the Catholic cult completely REMOVED God's Second Commandment which forbids making graven images and bowing to them? This is the sin of idolatry!!! Catholics (both Orthodox and Roman) are IDOLATERS!!!

Wicked Idolaters!!!

As you can see, the Catholic church has some very good reasons for getting rid of these Scriptures, which forbid bowing to statues. Notice in the Holy Bible, that even bowing is a sin!!! Where did the Second Commandment go not to bow to idols? Do you see how evil and sneaky the Vatican is? They totally removed the 2nd Commandment from the Bible which forbids BOWING to statues and idols!!! Instead, they've buried it in their Catholic Catechism out of sight for worshippers to see. Hence, when the Catholic Church posts their Ten Commandments, the second is gone, gone, gone! No wonder they worship devils through idols! God's curse is upon the house of Roman Catholicism, just as God's curse is upon Bob Jones University for falsely worshipping the false idol of Calvinism (aka, Lordship Salvation).

Since the Catholics eliminated the 2nd Commandment, it threw the Catechism's list of commandments out of whack (in comparison to the biblical Ten Commandments). The fact that the Vatican had to fabricate something for the 9th Commandment, clearly evidences that something is very wrong. Woe unto the Catholic Church and their false plan of salvation! Sacramental salvation is a road to Hell forever.

The old sinful man cannot be changed, educated, rehabilitated or reformed. You need the new birth, that is, a spiritual birth—by receiving Christ's payment for your sins on the cross. The Gospel is defined in 1st Corinthians 15:1-4 as Christ's DEATH, BURIAL and RESURRECTION. If you receive the Gospel as payment for YOUR SINS, then you are saved. 

Please notice that they've removed the 2nd commandment which forbids anyone from “bowing” to graven images. It's clearly obvious that the Catholic Church is trying to hide their sin of idolatry. There is NO biblical teaching to honor Mary nor the dead saints by bowing to their idols. God strictly forbids bowing to the likeness of any person or any thing, whether in Heaven or in the earth. Exodus 20:4-5, “Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou SHALT NOT BOW DOWN thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God.”

In the Catholic Catechism (part 3) you'll read the following words of blasphemy...

2132 - The Christian veneration of images is not contrary to the first commandment which proscribes idols. Indeed, "the honor rendered to an image passes to its prototype," and "whoever venerates an image venerates the person portrayed in it."[70] The honor paid to sacred images is a "respectful veneration," not the adoration due to God alone:

That is what Catholic men teach; but it's not what God says, “THOU SHALT NOT BOW DOWN THYSELF TO THEM.”

First of all, not bowing to a graven image is the 2nd command, not the first. The evil men who wrote the preceding Catholic Catechism deceitfully split the 10th commandment into two, to make up for the missing 2nd commandment. Why are there now two commandments telling us not to covet? It seems mighty strange don't you think? It's obvious what the Devil has done here. You can't just eliminate the 2nd Commandment!

Second, the quoted passage I have given you from the Catholic Catechism is blasphemy. God clearly warns us in Exodus 20:4-5 NOT to make unto ourselves ANY graven images.

Catholics attempt to justify their idolatry by comparing what they do to the brazen serpent in the Wilderness in Moses' time. The children of Israel had murmured (complained) so much that God decided to judge them with fiery serpents. 16,000 Israelites had already died and Moses pleaded with the Lord to spare Israel. God told Moses to fabricate a serpent made of brass, to hold it up before the Jews, and tell them to look unto the serpent to live. That serpent symbolized Jesus Christ, Who became as sin to save us.

This is why we read in John 3:14-15, "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life." Carefully notice that the brazen serpent was God's idea, not Moses. God never told us ANYWHERE in the Word of God to make a statue of anyone nor anything. The Israelites were instructed to “look” to the serpent (which pictured Christ) so they could live. The people were NOT instructed to bow, honor, nor pray to the brazen serpent (statue).

It is sinful for Catholics to attempt to justify their idolatry by taking the incident of the brazen serpent out of context. The entire focus of the brazen serpent is to LOOK TO JESUS TO LIVE. Isaiah 45:22, " Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else." It is a sin to look to Mary.

The Catholics can devilishly call their idolatry "Respectful Veneration" if they want to, but it's a direct violation of the 2nd Commandment (which they don't have in Catholicism). Anything can be justified if one is willing to twist the truth far enough. The FACT of the matter is that neither Jesus, nor any of the Apostles, elevated Mary in any capacity. Yet Catholics have created a monstrosity of adoration toward Mary, refusing to obey the Scriptures. Jesus Christ is magnified in the Word of God, not Mary. A standard Rosary contains 53 Hail Mary's. It is sinful idolatry.

The next time you go to Mass, watch the priest when he prays and you will see that every single word he speaks is read from a piece of paper. There is no heartfelt sincerity or communication with God. It is all formalized religion, preplanned and prewritten, and God is not worshipped from men's hearts as He should be. Matthew 15:7,8, "Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying, This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me."

Prayer should NEVER be read from a piece of paper, which is really not prayer at all. Catholics recite the SAME dead words over and over and over. I believe most Catholic people are sincere—hearing the pretty music and bells, seeing the beauty of religion and a magnificent worship building, hearing about Jesus' death and resurrection—but what they fail to realize is that Catholicism officially teaches that a person MUST do good works, get water baptized, go to Mass, keep all the Seven Sacraments, and become a member of the Catholic Church in order to get to Heaven.

The Word of God teaches you just need to acknowledge your guilt of sin and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ to be forgiven. There is NO religion involved, which is very difficult for some people to grasp, because they were brought up in a religious family. The only work which we must do to be saved is to believe on Christ, John 6:29, “Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.” Salvation is not found in ANY religion; but in a Person—the Lord Jesus Christ!

Note: The teaching not to bow to statues is found BURIED in the Catholic Catechism, but it's avoided like the Black Plague, and is not mentioned when priests or Catholic speakers recite the Ten Commandments. It is avoided for good reason—because it is an indictment against their idolatry! Catholics DO bow to all manner of statues. If you ask any Catholic to quote the Ten Commandments to you, they'll never mention anything about not bowing to statues or idols (because that's the heart of their religious). They bow to Mary. They bow to Our Lady Of Fatima. They bow to idols of patron saints at home.

“Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God...” —Exodus 20:4-5

Out Of The Abundance Of The Heart The Mouth Speaketh

Proverbs 4:23, “Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.” Matthew 12:35, “A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.” Matthew 12:34, “O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.”

I've been watching 'Court TV,' an intriguing show dedicated to covering court trials. I've been watching the Kyle Rittenhouse trial, which has been fascinating. The judge has repeatedly rebuked the state prosecutor, even yelling at him for being brazen and doing things outside of agreed upon procedure. The judge may dismiss the case with prejudice, setting Rittenhouse free. Clearly, Kyle was defending himself all three times that he fired his gun in self-defense. I hope he gets acquitted. That prosecutor was very disrespectful to the judge, trying to connect dots that didn't exist, in my humble opinion. Kyle was running around with a fire-extinguisher to put out fires, and wearing a medical pack on his belt to administer first-aid to wounded protesters. Kyle is a good guy! Albeit, he had no business being out there during the riots. He had no business as a 17 year old boy possessing an AR-15 assault weapon.

I learned that one of the ways courts choose who will be accepted as jurors, is they allow potential jurors to freely talk. By doing so, if people are prejudiced or have preconceived biased ideas, it comes out of their heart and mouth, resulting in their dismissal. This is exactly what Jesus said in Matthew 12:34b, “for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.” We all talk about what we harbor in our soul. I always talk about the King James Bible, a free grace Gospel and the truth, because those things are dear to me.

I am also watching the trial of the three white men in Georgia who are being accused of First Degree Murder for shooting Ahmaud Arbery. One of the jurors who had been chosen (where the court didn't take the time to filter them properly) made a racist joke during a court break. The juror asked a deputy outside: “Why didn't the police shoot Jacob Blake more than seven times?” The punch line was: “Because the police ran out of bullets!” When the deputy reported to the judge what the juror had foolishly said, the judge immediately dismissed the juror. The judge said it was was important for the public to know that these three men and Arbery are getting a fair trial. The judge is absolutely right! Again, out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.

So we see how the Lord's word are very true, that out of a man's heart the mouth speaketh! This is why my favorite Bible verse is Proverbs 4:23, “Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.” In other words, we need to be very careful what we allow into our life, because it becomes a part of us! The things that we decide to think about, and stay in our heart (i.e., the things that we choose to believe and harbor deep inside our heart of hearts) DOES affect everything we say and do. That is why we need to be very careful to maintain a proper thought life, and choose to reject unwholesome, sinful and wrong ideas and thoughts.

Dr. Bob Jones Sr. (1883-1968) used to wisely say: “Back of every tragedy in human character is a low process of wicked thinking.” This is why we all need to attend church regularly. Good or bad character is developed over time. I've always read that 90% of a child's character is developed by the time of age five. That is frightening! That explains why the U.S. government is trying so hard to get preschool children into new public schools for preschoolers, so the government can indoctrinated children even earlier with the Devil's curriculum.

I follow some godly men on Twitter (e.g., Dr. Bob Gray Sr., Pastor Paul Chappell, Pastor Clarence Sexton, et cetera). A quote I found today by a Christian man is: “If you really believe Jesus is the head of your life you'll want the body that goes with it. Church is essential.” ...

Church Is Essential

What we think about will come out of our mouth. You cannot hide what is in your soul, because out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. That is what Jesus said. That is why the Bible warns to guard thy heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life.

My intent in writing is to ALWAYS be a help and a blessing TO YOU dear friend. I care about people. I am being your friend to share Bible truths and Christian advice to help you have a better life, to be a blessing to others, to get saved and become a soulwinner, and for you to enjoy the wonderful blessings coming to every child of God in eternity. YOU are on the winning side in Christ Jesus if you have been born-again by faith alone in the Good News of Jesus crucified, buried and risen from the dead (Romans 8:37; 1st Corinthians 15:1-4).

I receive many emails from miserable people! My heart breaks for them all, truly. I pray for all my web visitors. I have learned that no matter how bad my life gets, I always have joy in my soul knowing that my name is written in Heaven. It is not that difficult to figure out. It is amazing how so many believers have read the Bible, their entire life, yet fail to see the answers right in front of their face! What saith the Scripture? ...

Philippians 4:8, “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.”

People talk negative because they think negative. When I hear someone telling me that they wish they were dead, I know that they have been focusing on all of their problems, losses, burdens and negative news. The road out of the pit of despair is to just start praising God and focusing on what little good you have in life. Things will get better from there. Stay away from drugs! Alcohol is a drug! There is an epidemic of substance abuse in the churches and society today. That is the Devil!

The reason why some believers mope and complain, always negative and down, is because they think that way. That is what their heart is filled with. So how do you get out of such a rut? You start reading or listening (I like listening) to the King James Bible. You can hear the Bible on YouTube or numerous websites. You start listening to Bible preaching. Apply the truths that you hear to your daily life. Think about those truths and you will talk about them. Garbage in equals garbage out. Good thoughts in equals good words out. It is that simple. We are the sum total of all the influences in our life. THINK ON THESE THINGS Paul said in Philippians 4:8. What things? Things that are pure, lovely, of good report, virtuous things and things that are true. We can all do that! Living and being right begins with thinking right!!!