Why Do We Love God?

1st John 4:19, “We love him, because he first loved us.”

Why do we love God? The inspired Holy Bible plainly gives us the answer. We love God because He first loved us. I cherish the following passage of Scripture:

Romans 5:6-9, “For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.”

How many people do you know that would sacrifice their life for someone? How about for a righteous man? How about even for a good man? Or how about for a convicted criminal? Jesus did dear friend. Jesus died for murderers! Jesus gladly sacrificed His life for pedophiles! Jesus laid down His life for thieves, adulterers and false prophets! Would you be willing to make such a sacrifice? I know that I wouldn't. I wouldn't give my life to die for a criminal. Oh, but the dear Savior did. Jesus paid a debt He did not owe, because we owed a debt we could not pay. JESUS PAID IT ALL!!!

I have to admit that I am a bit baffled as to why God would love somebody like me. 1st John 4:19, “We love him, because he first loved us.” I am awkward around people, a bit of a social misfit. I am shy and even have some social anxiety around people at times. I once heard Pastor Jack Hyles (1926-2001) say that he felt like nobody wanted to be around him because of his personality as a preacher. People saw a bombastic aggressive preacher in the pulpit. Dr. Hyles was known for taking an uncompromising stand and promoting biblical separation. He oftentimes had to use tough love in his daily ministry work. Yet, most people loved Brother Hyles, including myself.

In hindsight, I am glad that I didn't have the opportunity to get to know Pastor Hyles any closer than I did. We are all human and have our faults. Everyone has an ugly side that we don't want others to see. I want people to see my good side, my loving side, not my cranky side because of my chronic neck pain that afflicts me. I also feel like nobody wants to be around me. However, they are just feelings, not necessarily reality. So often what we think about ourselves is not based upon what we think, or even upon what other people think, but upon what we think other people are thinking about us. That is very true and interesting.

1st John 4:19, “We love him, because he first loved us.” Dear reader, God loves you and me regardless of how we may feel. There is not even one human being whom God created that He doesn't love. We know this truth because Jesus died for all mankind. John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” 1st John 2:2, “And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.” Please don't ever believe any liar who says that Jesus didn't die for all humanity.

In the two Scripture passages that I just shared with you, we clearly see that Christ died for all mankind. That was the entire point of Romans 5:6-9 that we read earlier—Jesus was willing to sacrifice His life on the cross for even the vilest of wicked sinners! Ungodly people who you might cringe at their very presence, Jesus was willing to be crucified to give them a chance to be redeemed if they so choose to be by faith in Him.

Telling The Truth Makes Enemies

We love God because He first loved us. What a precious truth! I can name a handful of preachers, churches and ministry websites who despise me. They have banned me from attending their neo-evangelicals churches. When I lived on Guam for 17 years, I was cruelly banned from attending the Harvest Baptist Church by senior pastor, Marty Herron (a wicked Lordship Salvation infidel). When I moved to Pensacola in 2021, I was banned from attending Campus Church at Pensacola Christian College (PCC) by their ungodly senior pastor, Jeff Redlin (who promotes a counterfeit gospel). What wicked wolves in sheep's clothing!

PCC's students are hurting, but their carnally-minded arrogant leadership is so apostate that you cannot reason with fools. God's curse is upon PCC for preaching another gospel. You do not have to be willing to forsake sinful bad habits to get to Heaven. Self reformation is not a prerequisite to saving faith.

Pensacola Christian Christian Cult Exposed

If it wasn't for the hatred, bigotry and shameful unchristian behavior of their Campus Church pastors at PCC, I wouldn't be preaching against them. All I humbly wanted was to come back to church, but their ungodly pastors refused. Only a religious CULT selectively cares about people. The sad truth is that PCC doesn't care about anybody.

Here are umpteen negative reviews of PCC, revealing the dark underbelly of the filthy religious beast. Bigotry done under the pretense of prayer is still bigotry. PCC are full of religious bigots! Divorced people are shunned, as I was at PCC. Single divorced people are condemned to forever remain unmarried, even after 15 years of being divorced. You need to beware of PCC's hateful culture of authoritarian abuse. You won't find any genuine love or compassion at PCC. They are college yuppie types, woefully lacking in understanding and love.

“The pastors have destroyed the churches, and they've been trained by people that have never built churches, and they have no compassion.” —Pastor Jack Hyles, “Many Pastors Have Destroyed My Vineyard”

I wouldn't give you a dime for the pseudo-Christian culture of bullying and abuse at PCC! To survive at PCC you must dot your i's, cross your t's, and walk a very fine line. If you veer even a little bit to the left or right, you'll be on the outside looking in before you realize what happened. It doesn't matter if you're a senior student, who has invested years of hard work to earn your degree, PCC leaders will throw you under the bus and axe your head off like a turkey on Thanksgiving Day! Just ask senior PCC student Allen Armentrout! I commend and stand with Allen Armentrout. PCC only cares about protecting their cult institution's name at all cost, even if it means crucifying and sacrificing their own students as pawns.

Unlike God who loved us FIRST so that we would love Him, PCC mistreats people and holds grudges first, and then wonder why they have so many enemies. It is a biblical principle that Christians are supposed to love people FIRST, to show them God's unconditional love:

Matthew 5:44-46, “But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?”

Although some people might consider this truth an advanced teaching only for mature believers, it is actually kindergarten for saints. Every Christian, even new babes in Christ who just got saved, should be taught to love everyone unconditionally with Christ's compassionate love. PCC is a cesspool of rules, strictness, policies, security, scrutiny and coldness. I do not recommend that anyone attend PCC, unless you want to waste 4 years of your life, tens of thousands of dollars, and be corrupted by their Laodicean phony type of Christianity which in Revelation 3:17 Jesus Himself called: wretched, miserable, poor, blind and naked.

1st John 4:19, “We love him, because he first loved us.” May we all do the same, to be like our heavenly Father.

The Way To God Is Through The Blood Of Christ

Hebrews 9:11-12, “But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.”

1st Peter 1:18-21, “Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you, Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God.”

I purchased 'The Strand Study Bible' last year, which I cherish. Pastor Strand was one of my Bible professors at Hyles-Anderson College (1985-1993). I was delighted to learn about his study Bible, which took him over 30,000 hour to complete, in 33 years. It is well worth the money. I was reading Psalm 77:13 yesterday, “Thy way, O God, is in the sanctuary: who is so great a God as our God?” Here is Brother Strand's helpful Bible commentary:

The “WAY” to God has always been through the shed blood of an innocent sacrifice (Lev. 17:11, 12). The LORD planned it that way before the world began (Rev. 13:8 and Titus 1:2). CHRIST, the innocent One (II Cor. 5:21), fulfilled what all the animal sacrifices pictured (Heb. 9:1-14) and became the LAMB OF GOD (Jn. 1:29), our SANCTUARY (Rev. 21:3), and the only WAY to God (Jn. 14:6). Once the blood of CHRIST was applied to the Mercy Seat within the sanctuary in Heaven, the WAY to God was established.

SOURCE: Pastor Brad Strand, The Strand Study Bible, p. 905

I was delighted to learn that Pastor Strand correctly teaches that it was absolutely necessary for Jesus' literal liquid blood to be applied to the heavenly Mercy Seat. Many theologians and preachers deny this critically important truth (e.g., Merrill F. Unger, Robert B. Thieme Jr., John MacArthur, et cetera). The inspired King James Bible plainly states:

Hebrews 9:22-26, “And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission. It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us: Nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holy place every year with blood of others; For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.”

The Bible could not be any more clear that Jesus absolutely needed to sprinkle His OWN blood upon the Mercy Seat in Heaven (Hebrews 12:24). I am shocked that any preacher could actually deny this great truth. As you will see for yourself in the following disturbing quotes from Pastor John MacArthur, he adamantly denies the efficacy (power) of Jesus' liquid blood.

John MacArthur's Deception On The Blood Of Jesus

“Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, AN UNHOLY THING, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?” ” —Hebrews 10:29

The April 1986 edition of Faith For The Family quotes Pastor MacArthur as saying in a 1976 article entitled, “Not His Bleeding But His Dying”:

“It was His death that was efficacious . . . not His blood . . . Christ did not bleed to death. The shedding of blood had nothing to do with bleeding . . . it simply means death . . . Nothing in His human blood saves . . . It is not His blood that I love . . . it is Him. It is not His bleeding that saved me, but His dying.” [emphasis added]

Mr. MacArthur is a hellbound heretic infidel who states:

"It is not the actual liquid that cleanses us from our sins, but the work of redemption Christ accomplished in pouring it out." —Dr. John MacArthur

SOURCE: http://www.spurgeon.org/~phil/articles/blood.htm

In MacArthur's more recent Revised and Updated Study Bible, he avoids Exodus 12:13 like the Bubonic Plague:

Exodus 12:13, “And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt.”

Dr. MacArthur doesn't comment directly concerning this verse. It baffles me as to why any professed Gospel preacher would make light of the literal blood of Jesus Christ.

Pastor R.B. Thieme Jr. in Texas popularized the false teaching denying the literal blood of Christ. Perhaps MacArthur learned this heresy from R.B. Thieme Jr., but I do not know. One thing is certain, they BOTH teach the same damnable heresy denying the efficacy (redeeming power) of Jesus' physical blood. Hebrews 9:12 tells us that Jesus entered into the heavenly Holy Place “BY HIS OWN BLOOD.” Yet, MacArthur claims that the Bible does not really mean what it says. Says who? That is just more MacArthurology!

Dr. MacArthur has nothing good to say about Jesus' physical blood, because he doesn't think it has any value in and of itself. What good is a “Study Bible” that ignores the most important doctrine in the entire Bible?

MacArthur's Deceitful, Confusing and Misleading Philosophies On the Blood of Christ

Deceitfully, in MacArthur's Revised and Updated Study Bible, he comments concerning 1st Peter 1:18,19 on page 1941:

“The price paid to a holy God was the shed blood of His own Son.”

SOURCE: The Revised and Updated edition of 'The MacArthur Study Bible,' Thomas Nelson publishers, p. 1941

Yet, to show you how deceitful MacArthur is, take a look at his comments concerning Hebrews 9:22 (i.e., “without shedding of blood there is no remission”) on page 1912 of his Revised and Updated Study Bible:

“'Shedding of blood' refers to death.”

SOURCE: The Revised and Updated edition of 'The MacArthur Study Bible,' Thomas Nelson publishers, p. 1912

Wow! What a deceiver! If God meant “death,” then He would have said “death”; BUT He didn't, He said “shedding of blood.”

Christ's virgin birth, sinless life, death, burial and bodily resurrection all led up to the application of His precious blood to the mercy seat in Heaven. MacArthur denies this vehemently. Take at look at what MacArthur comments on page 1910 of his Revised and Updated Study Bible concerning Hebrews 9:12 (i.e., “Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us”):

“A better translation would be 'through His own blood.' ... Nothing is said which would indicate that Christ carried His actual physical blood with Him into the heavenly sanctuary.” [emphasis added]

SOURCE: The Revised and Updated edition of 'The MacArthur Study Bible,' Thomas Nelson publishers, p. 1910

On the contrary, the King James Bible states, “Moreover he [Moses] sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle, and all the vessels of the ministry ... For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us” (Hebrews 9:21, 24; also, see Hebrews 9:12). If you'll take the time to carefully read the entire chapter of Hebrews 9, you'll find the word “blood” mentioned 12 times. It is gross theological incompetence for Dr. MacArthur to teach that Jesus' blood merely refers to His death. The Bible doesn't agree with that. God said what He meant, and He meant what He said. If God intended to say “death,” then He wouldn't have used that word instead, but God chose to use the word “blood.” Clearly, Mr. MacArthur has an agenda.

You'll also learn that the Old Testament tabernacle was a “figure” of the true Tabernacle in Heaven. Just as the Old Testament high priest was required to bring the lamb's literal physical shed BLOOD into the holy place and sprinkle it upon the mercy seat, so did Jesus Christ enter into the heavenly Holy Place with His own literal blood and sprinkle it upon the mercy seat (Hebrews 12:24). MacArthur is very wrong!

Hebrews 9:12 in the King James Bible states, “Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but BY HIS OWN BLOOD he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.” MacArthur claims that the phrase “by his own blood” should have been translated “through his own blood”; however, then this means that we would also need to change the phrase “by the blood of goats and calves” to “through the blood of goats and calves.”

So then why did God require the blood of animals UPON THE MERCY SEAT in the Old Testament? Leviticus 17:11, “For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.” Perhaps Mr. MacArthur needs some better reading glasses.

Here are MacArthur's comments for Leviticus 17:11, i.e., the phrase “the life of the flesh is in the blood”:

“...the shedding of blood represents the shedding of life, i.e., death ... NT references to the shedding of the blood of Jesus Christ are references to His death.”

SOURCE: The Revised and Updated edition of 'The MacArthur Study Bible,' Thomas Nelson publishers, p. 178

There is NO such teaching in the Scripture! John MacArthur has fabricated his own corrupt way of thinking. Hebrews 9:6-7, “Now when these things were thus ordained, the priests went always into the first tabernacle, accomplishing the service of God. But into the second [i.e., the holy of holies] went the high priest alone once every year, NOT WITHOUT BLOOD, which he offered for himself, and for the errors of the people.” How can Mr. MacArthur be so naïve and unbiblical as to claim that Jesus' literal physical blood didn't need to be applied to the Mercy Seat in Heaven, in consideration of such overwhelming Scriptural evidence? What part of “NOT WITHOUT BLOOD” doesn't Mr. MacArthur understand?

The inspired Word of God clearly teaches that the Old Testament ceremonial laws were SHADOWS of future things to come. All of the Old Testament high priests, sacrificial lambs, tabernacle, holy of holies and mercy seat were symbolic of the true one's in Heaven. Hebrews 10:1, “For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect.” A shadow is cast when the sun is at a distance, but when the sun rises directly overhead the shadow is gone. Likewise, when Christ fulfilled the law (Romans 10:3-4) by becoming the sacrificial Lamb to pay for the sins of mankind through Calvary's cross, and He sprinkled His shed blood upon the Mercy Seat in Heaven, the shadow was gone. The realities of the shadows were fulfilled. Romans 10:4, “For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.”

MacArthur really gets confusing in his commentary of Hebrews 9:7 on page 1910, the phrase “not without blood”:

“...the shedding of blood in and of itself is an insufficient sacrifice. Christ had not only to shed His blood, but to die ... Without His death, his blood had no saving value.”

SOURCE: The Revised and Updated edition of 'The MacArthur Study Bible,' Thomas Nelson publishers, p. 1910

While it is true that Jesus' death was absolutely essential to His work of redemption, MacArthur attempts to use this Scriptural fact as a means of completely disregarding the efficacy (power) of the literal physical blood of Jesus. Hebrews 9:7 isn't talking about the “death” of the sacrificed animal, it is talking about the “blood” of the sacrificed animal. The truth is that Jesus' virgin birth, sinless life, vicarious death, burial and bodily resurrection were all EQUALLY as important as the blood sacrifice itself; but all those things led up to the blood being applied to the Mercy Seat in the heavenly Holy Place (Hebrews 9:12, 22-24, 12:24).

To deny this is to deny the entire Old Testament, all the types, all the blood sacrifices, and the FACT that God would have killed any high priest who dared enter into the holy of holies WITHOUT BLOOD.

John MacArthur's entire “Study Bible” maliciously, but subtly, attacks the precious blood of Jesus Christ. Again 1st Peter 1:18,19 states: “Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ...” Now how can Jesus' blood be PRECIOUS if it is only representative of His death?

MacArthur continually badmouths the literal blood of Jesus Christ, while simultaneously claiming that he views it as precious of something else it represents. That makes no sense at all. The blood of Jesus is “precious” to the genuine born-again believer because it is LITERAL, having obtained literal redemption for us, washing our sins away just as 1st John 1:7 promised!

To no surprise, on page 1964 of MacArthur's Revised and Updated “Study Bible,” in his comments concerning 1st John 1:7, he doesn't even address the blood of Jesus. How could any preacher completely avoid such a precious Scripture which teaches that Jesus' blood washes our sins away?

God says that Jesus' blood cleanses and washes our sins away (1st John 1:7). We read in Revelation 7:14, “And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” How does someone like MacArthur just keep explaining all these Scriptures away? What a false prophet! MacArthur is of the Devil. How does a saint wash his robe with death? It makes no sense. Ah, but if you believe the Word of God, i.e., that Jesus' literal blood washes our sins away, then Revelation 7:14 makes perfect sense.

John MacArthur Trots Under Foot the Son of God

Anyone who denies that Jesus Christ is almighty God (i.e., deity) is NOT saved. Anyone who denies Jesus' virgin birth is NOT saved. Anyone who denies Jesus' bodily resurrection is NOT saved. Anyone who denies the sinlessness of Jesus is NOT saved. Anyone who denies that Jesus is the Son of God is NOT saved! MacArthur correctly believes all of these doctrines; but when it comes to the literal blood of Jesus, he falls short utterly. Anyone who denies the redemptive power of Jesus' literal physical blood is NOT saved! These are absolute fundamental doctrines of the Christian faith! These are all part of what the Bible calls, the “DOCTRINE OF CHRIST” (2nd John 1:9)!

Many ministers have been deceived by John MacArthur, because he is doctrinally correct in most areas. Unfortunately, MacArthur is WRONG on salvation and the blood of Christ. If a man is wrong on salvation, then he is wrong on everything. MacArthur is a 5 point Calvinist, teaching predestination and limited atonement. This explains his Calvinistic views on Lordship Salvation and the perseverance of the saints in order to be saved. The Bible condemns Calvinism in all its tenets.

Certainly no two preachers agree on everything; but when a preacher is wrong on salvation and the blood of Christ, and teaches other ministers those heresies, a faithful man of God needs to cry aloud and expose that false prophet by proclaiming the Word of God. The Bible proclaims the blood of the Lamb from Genesis to Revelation; whereas MacArthur tramples Christ's holy blood underfoot as if it were something unholy:

Hebrews 10:29, “Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?”

The Greek word for “unholy” here is koinos and means “common, that is, shared by all.” It means regarding the blood of Jesus as nothing special, common. Although MacArthur states in one breath that Jesus' blood is precious, he deceitfully then states that Jesus' blood soaked into the ground at Calvary. MacArthur teaches that it was the “pouring out” of Christ's blood that was precious, and not the physical blood itself. MacArthur teaches that the blood of Jesus is only precious in that it represents the death of Christ on the cross for our sins. That is unbiblical.

The Bible calls John MacArthur a liar and false prophet, because the blood had to be applied in Heaven, just as the Old Testament high priest had to apply the lamb's blood once a year to the mercy seat in the earthly tabernacle.

Jesus' Precious Blood Is On The Mercy Seat In Heaven

Here is Brother Strand's helpful Bible commentary:

The “WAY” to God has always been through the shed blood of an innocent sacrifice (Lev. 17:11, 12). The LORD planned it that way before the world began (Rev. 13:8 and Titus 1:2). CHRIST, the innocent One (II Cor. 5:21), fulfilled what all the animal sacrifices pictured (Heb. 9:1-14) and became the LAMB OF GOD (Jn. 1:29), our SANCTUARY (Rev. 21:3), and the only WAY to God (Jn. 14:6). Once the blood of CHRIST was applied to the Mercy Seat within the sanctuary in Heaven, the WAY to God was established.

SOURCE: Pastor Brad Strand, The Strand Study Bible, p. 905

Amen and amen! I thank God for doctrinally sound preachers! Beware of anyone who falsely teaches that Jesus' literal liquid blood doesn't matter. Beware of any theologian or preacher who says that Jesus' pouring out of blood on the cross saved us, but not His blood applied to the Mercy Seat in Heaven. That is exactly what MacArthur teaches! MacArthur foolishly teaches that Jesus' blood is only important in that it represents His death. In sharp contrast, the Bible says that Jesus' literal liquid blood needed to be applied to the Mercy Seat in Heaven.

Redemption Was Not Finished On The Cross

Having said that, I am so sick and tired of hearing ignorant preachers falsely claim that redemption was FINISHED on the cross. They misinterpret Jesus' words on the cross, “It is finished” (John 19:30b). If they would simply read the verses before verse 30, then they would see that Jesus was speaking about all Old Testament prophesy concerning Him had been completed, not redemption. ...

John 19:27-29, “Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother! And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home. After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, saith, I thirst. Now there was set a vessel full of vinegar: and they filled a spunge with vinegar, and put it upon hyssop, and put it to his mouth.”

When Jesus uttered the memorable words, “It is finished,” He hadn't died yet. He hadn't been buried yet. He hadn't physically resurrected from the dead yet. These three things comprise “the gospel” by which we are saved (Romans 1:16; 1st Corinthians 15:1-4). So there is no way that redemption could have been finished when Christ uttered those classic words.

The Death of the Passover Lamb Was NOT Enough

When the Lord was going to pass over Egypt and destroy the firstborn, he said to Moses and Aaron in Exodus 12:13:

Exodus 12:13, “And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and WHEN I SEE THE BLOOD, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt.”

The death of the lamb wasn't enough, the blood had to be applied Mr. MacArthur. God wasn't looking for a dead lamb in the backyard; No, rather, God was looking for the APPLIED BLOOD on the doorposts and lintel (doorplate) above the door. The blood had to be applied. John MacArthur's entire ministry is flawed, and he is a false prophet, simply because he is WRONG on the most important Christian doctrine of all—Jesus precious, literal, liquid, blood! No genuinely saved person would ever deny the redemptive power of Jesus' physical blood!

“Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but BY HIS OWN BLOOD he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.” —Hebrews 9:12

It's The Blood Of Jesus!

Biblical Evidence Of Eternal Punishment

“Religion will always substitute something besides the blood!” —Pastor Max D. Younce, “WHEN I SEE THE BLOOD - PASSOVER A TYPE OF CHRIST (365)”

The Old World Order Must Be Destroyed

Revelation 17:10-12, “And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space. And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition. And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast.”

The New World Order is now forming dear reader. This is the Beast system of the coming Antichrist, the Man of Sin. 2nd Thessalonians 2:3-4, “Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.”

For their Luciferian New World Order to succeed, they must first destroy the old world order. Tucker Carlson in February of 2024 took a trip to Moscow to interview Russian president Vladimir Putin. While visiting Moscow tucker said that when he saw how clean, homeless free, drug free and nice the city of Moscow is, he realized that the problems in the United States are deliberate. All of the homelessness, open drug abuse, illegal immigration, filthy neighborhoods, skyrocketing crime and Black Lives Matter riots are on purpose. I fully agree with Tucker Carlson.

NYC Is Finished

Multi-billionaire Warren Buffet has been funding much of the civil unrest and insanity in the United States. These are hellbound wicked people with an agenda to build a New World Order. Warren Buffet gave $50 billion to the Bill Gates Foundation. Beware of false information from the mainstream media. For example: You cannot trust anything that fake websites like Popular Mechanics tell you! They blatantly lied about 911. Crime is exploding across the country. On average, there are about 600 mass-shootings each year now in the United States. Smash and Grab theft is out of control.

Entire NYC Mall Closes Because Of Crime

Businesses across the country in major cities are closing down due to crime. Walmart, Target, In and Out burger and Taco Bell are just a few companies who are closing sites. In many cities the police have actually been defunded. You couldn't make this stuff up!

Our federal government is now $33,000,000,000,000 in massive debt! Personal credit card debt for Americans is now at a staggering $1,300,000,000,000. And 6% of Americans have defaulted on making their monthly required minimum payment. People are financially hurting. Inflation is out of control. Food prices have soared in recent years. Due to COVID-19 and the lack of new car manufacturing for a couple years, automobile prices have soared. Used car prices have soared. Homelessness is now at unprecedented levels since The Great Depression of the 1930's. Bad economic and moral times are ahead for America!

We've gone insane in the United States! I believe this is all be design, intended to destroy society as we have known it. Senator Ted Cruz' father (Rafael) grew up in communist Cuba. Rafael warns Americans about the socialist agenda at work now in the United States. He warns that the homosexual agenda has nothing to do with “rights,” it is really about CONTROL over people; it is about destroying the family. So far their Luciferian socialist agenda is working!

This month the governor of New York has called out the National Guard, armed with machine guns to patrol NYC subways due to out of control violent crimes in recent years. Video after video online show criminals pushing people onto the train tracks.

In this horrific scene, a woman dropped her cellphone onto the train tracks. She jumped down to get her phone, and then tried to get to a ladder to climb back up to the platform, but a speeding train killed her before she could get to the ladder. Some evil people standing on the platform actually took photos of her severed body parts all over the train tracks and uploaded them to the internet. What monsters! Those people didn't offer to help her. Someone could have gave her a hand and pulled her up, but they did nothing. What evil.

The world has always been a wicked place (1st John 5:19), but today we are seeing evil times not existent since before the flood of Noah's day (Matthew 24:37-39). Jesus foretold in Matthew 24:12 that because of unpunished evil (iniquity, lawlessness) the love of MANY would wax cold, and it sure has. Lawlessness in American society, and the transgendered insanity being forced upon our children, rampant legalized theft by the Federal Reserve Ponzi Scheme, and every form of debauchery and sinister corruption imaginable today is undermining our nation. A nation cannot survive treason from within!

I have never seen things so bad as they are today. It is becoming very hard to find a good church to attend. Most Baptist churches today are preaching another gospel (2nd Corinthians 11:3-4) that requires you to surrender all, turn from your sinful bad habits, and trade your selfish desires in exchange to get to Heaven. That is not the Gospel of free grace! The churches today are full of Satan's corruptible seed (a great sermon by Dr. Jack Hyles). Beware of neo-evangelical churches!!! Also, beware of pseudo (fake) churches, like Campus Church at Pensacola Christian College (PCC). They also preach a counterfeit gospel. You'd be shocked to find out how many pastors today are preaching a partial faith in Christ PLUS being willing to forsake your sinful bad habits to be saved, crap. PCC is guilty! Bob Jones University is guilty!

These are the “perilous times” as foretold in 2nd Timothy 3:1-7. But dear saint of God (I hope you are saved, if not, please do it now), Jesus comforted us with these precious inspired words from John 16:33, “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” Because Jesus triumphed over sin and death, and is physically risen from the dead, we have the glorious hope of eternal life. As Pastor Jack Hyles rightly said: “We don't hope we have eternal life; We have the hope of eternal life.” Titus 1:2, “In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;” And what a precious hope it is!!!

We Are All Sick With Sin

Romans 3:10-18, “As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips: Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness: Their feet are swift to shed blood: Destruction and misery are in their ways: And the way of peace have they not known: There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

We are all sick sinners. I don't care how long you may have been a born-again Christian, you are still sick with sin, and so am I. Understanding this truth is very important to maintaining a proper Christian perspective, so we can live for God. If we always keep in mind that we are sinful, then that will compel us to stay closer to God by abiding in His Word and prayer. There is nothing worse than a saint who has forgotten that they're still a sinner by nature and choice. To be the best Christian you can possibly be, then you must live with the constant awareness that “when I would do good, evil is present with me” (Romans 7:21).

I've been saved since age 12 or 13, I cannot remember the year. I am the biggest sinner that I know. That is simply because I live with myself, and know myself better than anyone else. And if you are honest with yourself and God, then you also feel like you're the biggest sinner you know. If I foolishly looked at the sins of others to measure how good I am doing as a believer, then I would feel like a pretty good Christian. That is what many saints do, they look at tarnished professed Christians like Jim Bakker (from the infamous PTL Club), and Jimmy Swaggart (who couldn't keep his zipper closed), and Lot (who offered his two virgin daughters to be raped by sodomites).

But dear friend, you are just as sick with sin as those sinful men (and so am I). The only thing that makes me or you (if you are saved) any more righteous than infidels John Wayne Gacy, Ted Bundy or Judas Iscariot is the precious sin-cleansing blood of the Lamb of God, Jesus. My sin belongs to me, but my righteousness is Jesus Christ's (Romans 4:1-7, 10:3-4; Philippians 3:9). Faith is the only righteous thing that I can do. Salvation is not doing your best, it is having Christ's best put to your account through receiving Him by faith. The true Gospel always points you to CHRIST; a false gospel always points to YOU. To be saved, you just need to believe that Jesus did it all for you through Calvary's cross. Christ died for the ungodly (Romans 5:6-9).

People Equal Pain

One thing that we have all learned as Christians (and people in general) is that dealing with people will eventually cause us some grief and emotional pain. I've had people ask to borrow money and never pay me back. I let it go and never asked them for the money, because I didn't want to risk our friendship over a few hundred dollars.

In a sermon, I heard Pastor Jack Hyles (1926-2001) say that he co-signed on numerous loans for church members, who never paid back what they owed and had promised to pay, and Brother Hyles legally had to pay $50,000 to cover those loans. Dr. Hyles said he never once mentioned the money to those people, because he valued them more as church members (so that he could continue helping them in Christ), than he did getting his money back. That is a true friend and a genuine man of God! I love and miss Dr. Hyles and look forward to seeing him again in Heaven someday. What a great guy!

As we grow older we'll all either become more bitter or better. I want to become better, not bitter. Life is not fair. People will hurt and disappoint you. People will gossip and tell you things you don't want to hear, and then one day blame you for those words. People will ask to borrow money, and then never pay you back. I'm including churchgoers. Christians are still people, and all people are sick with sin. I have been hurt by more people than I can possible remember.

Forgiveness After Divorce

If I allowed my feelings to go unchecked by God's Word, I could easily become a bitter man. If I wanted, I could hate my former wife for breaking her vows to God. She cruelly abandoned and divorced me in 2006, yet I still love and care about her. She still refuses to accept responsibility for the damage she has caused. Yet, I show Christ's love for her, voluntarily over the years giving her tens of thousands of dollars in financial help. I suffer in constant agonizing neck pain, suffering all alone.

Trying to find a woman to get remarried is next to impossible when you're suffering in horrible neck pain all the time. I don't feel like going anywhere or doing anything. So how can I have a social life? I've tried eHarmony, Christian Mingle and Match.com, which are all horrible websites with mostly fake profiles. I didn't have any luck on those websites finding someone. My former wife likes her newfound independence (an act of rebellion if you ask me), and she doesn't want to be by my side in my physical pain and suffering.

Pastor Jack Hyles said it best: “Divorce is a sin that perpetuates for a lifetime.” Yes, that is so true! My former wife doesn't want or need a husband, but I want and need a wife. I am reminded of our wonderful Savior who bled and died on a cross for my sins. Jesus didn't deserve that! The soldiers spit upon Him. They beat Jesus beyond recognition and ripped the flesh off His back with whips. Yet, our dear Savior didn't complain, He forgave them and died for their sins on the cross of Calvary. So, when I am tempted to become bitter, and sulk in my loneliness and bodily pain, I throw the cross into it.

Nothing Is “Fair” In Life

Dear reader, life is not fair! People are not fair! The U.S. government has poisoned marriage, by allowing divorce. They have poisoned marriage by making it so risky for men to get married nowadays, that fewer and fewer men each year are willing to ever get married. You cannot reasonably blame the MGTOW (men going their own way) movement in lieu of the feminist controlled court system today in America! Why would a young man get married, knowing that his wife can divorce him (for no reason at all), and the court take half of everything he has brought into the marriage, and force him into becoming a weekend father? This is all Satan!

Albeit, God is always fair and just. God makes no mistakes! No matter what happens in life, I refuse to put God on trial. I admit that I have sometimes become angry at God, voicing my frustrations; but the Lord knows that I always apologize later and thank Him for His patience and understanding. The Lord sees how hard I work on my website ministry, and I know that He appreciates my effort (1st Corinthians 15:58).

We Get On Each Other's Nerves

I just go to church and try to mind my own business, but it's impossible. We are sick with sin folks. I admit that people sometimes get on my nerves. People at church get on my nerves. I have to constantly be on guard against people wanting to gossip under the pretense of, “We need to pray for our friends.” And then it is gossip, gossip, gossip about some couple's marriage problems and consequent divorce and everything else. I just don't want to hear it.

I came to church a few months ago when it got cold outside. The church was having a special function with food and drinks. So I walked over to get some lemonade (I love lemonade). All I said to a woman standing next to me was, “It's getting nippy out there.” She replied, “Yep, we're always complaining, never happy about anything.” The Lord knows I wasn't complaining at all. I actually love the cold weather, the colder the better. She assumed that I was complaining, which hurt my feelings. This is just the way people are. My response for all these many years has just been to love the hell out of people. We're all sick with sin, so we have to learn to have a Christlike spirit to look beyond someone's faults to see their needs. That's not always easy to do, but something that we should ask God to help us with.

People are going to do what sinners do, sin. They are behaving the way that they are supposed to. I admit that I am not much of a people person. That is why after spending eight years at Hyles-Anderson College to get my degree in Pastoral Theology, I chose not to become a pastor. My internet ministry allows me to labor for Christ behind the scenes, which is important missionary work. For several million Americans, their sole source of religious guidance is the internet. God knows that the Devil has enough websites promoting lies and a false gospel. By God's grace, I do what I can for Christ in His strength to help others. I give God all the praise and credit for anything good accomplished through my ministry labors. Jesus is precious!!!

It is our differences as human beings that cause conflict. We look at things differently. To make matters worse and complicated, I suffer in constant chronic neck pain (since 2004). I got rear-ended by a church bus (of all things...lol) in 1992, and then fell down a large package slide at work in 2005. I suffer in perpetual misery. I can tell people a hundred times that my pain adversely affects me, but they don't allow me any consideration or slack if I offend them. When you are suffering in pain (which is right next to my head) 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, a person gets irritated easily. It is easy to lack patience. You get frustrated more easily. Sadly, less than 5% of people are understanding, and they can be cruel.

What usually happens once someone is offended is that they won't say anything, but they'll hold a permanent grudge. It ought not be that way but it sadly is—once people become offended and feelings are hurt, it's over. I have experienced that dilemma too many times not to know that it is horribly true. Those are carnal people! What saith the Scripture? Ephesians 4:31-32, “Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.” Less than 5% of Christians today obey this commandment from God to love one another. They won't even allow me to attend Campus Church at Pensacola Christian College, because PCC's leaders are sinfully holding a grudge. That is what wicked heathens do, not God's children who walk in sweet fellowship with the Lord (1st John 1:6).

We are sick with sin. Get that into your thinking dear friend. Psalms 106:6, “We have sinned with our fathers, we have committed iniquity, we have done wickedly.” David had a proper attitude toward himself as a sinner. The psalmist said, “We have sinned.” A shallow Christian says, “He has sinned” or “She has sinned,” but the mature believer says, “We have sinned!” Galatians 6:1-2, Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.” The Bible teaches that I am not supposed to look down my look Pharisaical nose upon you when you sin. No, I am supposed to push you up from the bottom. That is, I am supposed to view myself as being a bigger sinner than you! Philippians 2:3, “Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.” If I look down on others when they sin or annoy me, I am not esteeming them as being better than myself. Boy, this is good stuff!

We live in a selfish world. It is so easy to only think about our self. I heard a great needful sermon today by Pastor Jack Hyles titled: "What You See Is What You Get." Everyone should hear this sermon. It will change your life.

And Others

“AND OTHERS had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment: They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented; (Of whom the world was not worthy:)” —Hebrews 11:36-38

We often hear preachers and Bible teachers make reference to Hebrews 11, which is sometimes referred to as “The Hall of Faith.” We read in verse 7 about Noah, who moved with fear at the command of God, and built an ark for 120 years BY FAITH. We read in verse 17 about Abraham who, offered up his only begotten son Isaac BY FAITH. We read about the faith of Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Rahab, Samson, Samuel, David, and other great heroes of the faith. But little do we hear about verses 36-38 tucked away in Hebrews chapter 11. “...AND OTHERS.”

The truth I am about to teach you will transform your thinking forever if you'll let it. We read in the Bible about great men and women of God, who did great things for God BY FAITH. But sometimes it is God's will for us to suffer. Noah built an ark BY FAITH, but the apostle James was beheaded by Herod BY FAITH! David fought Goliath BY FAITH, but Stephen was stoned to death for preaching the Gospel BY FAITH. Rahab hid the Hebrew spies BY FAITH, but Jeremiah was thrown into a miry pit of clay and left for dead BY FAITH. You see my friend, it may actually be God's will for you to be tormented, sawn asunder, fed to the lions or burned alive. “...AND OTHERS.”

Beware of Anyone Who Associates Prosperity With Righteousness

We've got a bunch of health, wealth and prosperity garbage being taught in our churches today in the United States. It's usually the Satanic Charismatic movement (i.e., T.D. Jakes, Benny Hinn, Pat Robertson, The 700 Club, Peter Popoff, Bill Hamon, Don Stewart, Mike Murdock, Oral Roberts, et cetera). The speaking-in-Tongues heresy has crept into many religious camps. Beware of the Devil's Charismatic and Pentecostal groups who practice healing meetings, speaking-in-tongues and teach that salvation can be lost. I wouldn't give you a dime for the whole caboodle of Charismatic churches!

These shady groups teach the heresy that it is always God's will for Christians to be healthy, wealthy and prosperous, and if you're not, it's only because they say you haven't been giving enough money to support their so-called “ministries”!!! The truth is that Christians who are 100% right with God suffer with most of the very same health problems, afflictions and burdens that unsaved people do. Being a Christian doesn't make life any easier, but it makes life better, because you have the promises of God in the Bible to comfort your soul. James 5:10, “Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience.” Suffering is a part of our human existence.

Suffering is part of being a faithful Christian. 2nd Timothy 3:12, “Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.” Don't ever let anyone tell you that you're not right with God because you're broke, sick and suffering. Lazarus had all of these, and he was right with God (Luke 16:19-31). And please don't gauge God's goodness or blessings upon your circumstances, because that's not how the Lord works. The greatest things in life are not things. God is good is you've got money in the bank, and God is good if you're in debt and broke.

It may be God's will for you or me to suffer in a wheelchair the rest of our life. Who are we to question our Creator... why made me thus? That's not to say that God causes accidents that cause you to lose your legs, but everything that happens, good and bad alike, happens within the permissive will of God. Most people refer to people with bodily impairments as “crippled” or “disabled,” but the Bible teaches that God sometimes makes men disabled. Exodus 4:11, “And the LORD said unto him, Who hath made man's mouth? or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? have not I the LORD?” I love that Bible verse! John 9:1-3, “And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth. And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind? Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.” “...AND OTHERS.”

John the Baptist is one of the “OTHERS,” who was martyred for his uncompromising stand against Herod's adultery. The newly elected church Deacon, Stephen, is one of the “OTHERS,” who was literally gnashed upon by the teeth of an angry mob, and then they slew him with stones. The Apostle James was one of the “OTHERS,” who was beheaded in Acts 12:2 by Herod for his Gospel preaching... AND OTHERS. Revelation 20:4, “And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus...” “...AND OTHERS.”

According to the writings of secular history by Josephus, Philip, the first ever to be called a disciple, was scourged with a whip (likely a cat-o-nine tails type of whip). Matthew, the tax-collector, was slain with a halberd (a two-sided ax made for military purposes). Matthew's head was split open with a razor-sharp sledgehammer. James, who wrote the book of James, at the age of 94 was beaten, stoned, and his brains beaten out with a fuller's club (a blacksmith's tool used to smash iron). Matthias was stoned at Jerusalem and then beheaded. Andrew, the brother of Peter, was crucified on a cross. They laid his cross on its side, face down, after he was crucified. Mark, a convert of Peter, was dragged to pieces by an angry mob in the city of Alexandria. “...AND OTHERS.”

Peter was crucified upside down because he said, “I am not worthy to die the same way my Savior died.” 16 times in the Book of 1st Peter, he mentions suffering. Nero took Christians, tarred them, and then hung them above his flower garden, setting them on fire as human torches to light his garden (while his drunken whoremongers had their parties and wanted to examine the beautiful flowers). Paul had his throat cut with a sword. Jude was crucified. Bartholomew was cruelly beaten and crucified. Thomas was thrust through with a spear by pagan priests. Luke was hanged on an olive tree. Simon was crucified. “...AND OTHERS.”

John, the beloved disciple, was exiled to the island of Patmos, and left for dead, where he wrote the Book of Revelation under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Timothy rebuked some people for celebrating a pagan feast and they beat him with clubs, he died two days later from internal hemorrhaging. Ignatius, a bishop at Antioch who followed Paul, was thrown to wild beasts. “...AND OTHERS.”

Jonah didn't want to go to Nineveh for good reason, the Assyrians were known for their cruel torturing methods. They commonly would drive a spear into the ground, then impale their victim upon the spear. Next, they would take glass or metal and make incisions, each a few inches long, throughout the body. Then they'd take pliers are mercilessly peel off all the flesh from head to toe. I don't blame Jonah for fleeing Nineveh! It is believed that Isaiah was SAWN ASUNDER (Hebrews 11:37) by wicked king Manasseh.

Sawing limbs off of victims, or completely in half, was an effective form of psychological warfare in the Old Testament, and still is today. The U.S. led coalition killed Saddam Hussein's two sons, gut them like pigs from head to toe, and then stapled them back together with hundreds of staples. They took photos and released them for the world to see. Wonderful people, huh? War is a result of man's wickedness and greed, and all rules are broken on the battle field. The saying “All is fair in love and war” is a malicious lie, because there's nothing fair in life.

Alexander was beaten with staves, torn with hooks, and burned with fire. Romanius, a deacon at the church of Caesarea, was scourged and put on a rack. His body was pulled with hooks. They cut him with knives and took tools to scrape all the skin, a little at a time, from his face. They decided to torment him as much as they could, and they beat his teeth from their sockets, one at a time. After pulling out all his hair by the roots, they strangled him to death. “...AND OTHERS.”

1st Timothy 6:3-5, “If any man teach otherwise, and consent not to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to godliness; He is proud, knowing nothing, but doting about questions and strifes of words, whereof cometh envy, strife, railings, evil surmisings, Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself.”

God's Perfect Will For Us May Be Cancer, Blindness Or A Wheelchair

The health, wealth and prosperity crowd have it all wrong. In John 9:1-3 Jesus and His disciples saw a blind man. The disciples asked, “Who sinned, this man or his parents?” Jesus replied that neither had sinned to cause the man's disability—the man had been born blind so that the works of God could be made manifest in him. Ecclesiastes 3:11 teaches that God has made everything beautiful in HIS TIME. Ecclesiastes 3:11, “He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end.” That word “world” is the fascinating Hebrew word olam olam and means “concealed, that is, the vanishing point.” Literally, God has hidden His divine times from mankind so it will always remain a mystery in this earthly life. God wants us to trust Him.

Hebrews 11:36-38 plainly teaches that it is God's will sometimes for His children to suffer. In John 16:33 Jesus said that we shall suffer tribulations in this world. Yet the Lord said in John 17:15, “I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.” So the Lord knows that we're suffering, and that's the way He wants it for now. God has a purpose. Amongst many reasons, suffering teaches us to trust upon the Lord.

There's an amazing truth to be gleaned from Deuteronomy 8:3, which I've written an article on titled, MAN SHALL NOT LIVE BY BREAD ALONE. God deliberately led the Israelites into a desert Wilderness of hunger, thirst, stinging scorpions, biting serpents, peril and danger so that He could test them, to see whether or not the Jews would obey His Commandments. They failed the test. They complained every step of the way, even contemplating returning to slavery in Egypt where they least had fish, garlic and lemons (Numbers 11:5). Can you imagine? After 430 years of slavery and hard bondage, God finally heard their cries and freed them; but now they're upset because God gave them new burdens to carry and it wasn't Walt Disney World as they had expected. Every Christian must carry a cross, because the servant is not greater than his Lord.

Malachi 3:6 says that God never changes. The Lord Who wanted to test His people 3,500 years ago still desires to test His children today. A faith must be tested. It was God who planted the tree of knowledge, which provided the only opportunity for Adam and Eve to sin. Within God's perfect will, God tested them and gave them a way to commit sin. So the next time that you think the Devil is out to get you, remember that God allows and plans the trial of our faith. Nothing occurs to God. The Lord doesn't need to recount the number of hairs on our head. He is omniscient and knows all. God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth He any man; but God can allow us the freewill and opportunity to decide to do right or wrong.

Apostasy Today—Living for Self

In sharp contrast to today's contemporary believer, Christians throughout history often suffered, even to the point of death for their faith. And might I add, some of them were forced to watch their loved one's be raped, tortured, and killed for their faith. Truly, this was a fate worse than death for many. Today, professed Christians are following religious IMPOSTERS like The Pope, Peter Popoff, Don Stewart, Mike Murdock, Melissa Scott, Joel Osteen, Pat Robertson, Rick Warren, John MacArthur, Creflo Dollar, Paul and Jan Crouch, Benny Hinn, Joyce Meyer, T.D. Jakes, Ravi Zacharias, James Robertson, and hundreds more. All of these questionable men and women are personally raking in TENS-OF-MILLIONS OF DOLLARS! Pat Robertson is worth an estimated $200,000,000!

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, March 5, 2000 says this about shady Pastor Creflo DOLLAR...

The Rev. Creflo Dollar Jr. has unabashedly embraced his name by building a religious empire on the message that his brand of piety leads to prosperity. He drives a black Rolls-Royce, flies to speaking engagements across the nation and Europe in a $5 million private jet and lives in a $1 million home behind iron gates in an upscale Atlanta neighborhood... The World Changers campus sits on a slight hill... Inside the church is a lobby befitting a five-star hotel. Chairs are scattered about on baby blue carpet thick enough to muffle the sound of the stadium-size crowd arriving for a Sunday service... There are no visible traditional Christian symbols - no cross, no image of Jesus, no stained-glass windows...Dollar lives in a $1 million home owned by the church in the Guilford Forest subdivision in southwest Atlanta. World Changers purchased another $1 million home on 27 acres in Fayette County in December. The church has amassed a fortune in real estate, mostly in College Park... As World Changers grew, so did Dollar's emphasis on prosperity. Dollar has no degree in theology. Much of his prosperity message, according to church and his family members, is based on the teachings of friend and spiritual mentor Kenneth Copeland... And a frequent criticism - that the church refuses to help non-tithers - isn't true either, Lett said. Tithers simply "have priority," she said. People are not allowed to touch Dollar during services, she said, simply because "the anointing is flowing at that point." She said the church purchased a Rolls-Royce for Dollar's use because "he deserves the best."

2nd Timothy 3:12 teaches that Christians who live godly in Christ Jesus WILL suffer persecution. Do you know why? It's because preaching THE TRUTH always causes either revival or riot. People will either love you or hate you for speaking THE TRUTH (John 15:19). The Christian life is not a playground, it is a battleground. We are at war with the Devil, the world, and the flesh (1st John 2:15-17; Ephesians 6:12).

Don't Underestimate All the Hardships and Failures in Your Life

It may be God's will for you to be killed by an angry mob. In fact, Jesus said exactly that in John 16:2, “They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.” Killing Christians who proclaim the truth for God is nothing knew, it's been happening since Cain killed his brother Abel in Genesis. Don't underestimate the hardships, failures, and sorrows throughout your life, for God has PROMISED to make “all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28).

It was David's very sins of adultery and murder that enabled God to use him to pen the 51st Psalm and others. Before God ever spoke the universe into existence, the Word of God was already settled in Heaven (Psalm 119:89). David's sins were already recorded in Heaven before the world began, and his repentance, and entire life. God knew what horrible sins David would commit as king of Israel, even before God told Samuel the prophet to anoint David, a man after God's own heart. What, an adulterer and murderer, a man after God's own heart? You see, God doesn't judge as men do, by a few events in a person's life; but rather, God looks at the whole picture, from one's birth until death (2nd Corinthians 5:10). I speak to Christians. If you are unsaved, then you are without hope if you die in your sins, and nothing good you have ever done will be rewarded in Hell. This is what Ezekiel 18:24 means.

It was the very act of betrayal by Joseph's 10 half-brothers, selling him into slavery, that would one day enable God to raise up Joseph as governor over all of Egypt. There is no doubt that Joseph was very sad while in prison for many years, having been falsely accused and wrongly judged. Joseph couldn't see God's hand of divine providence. Joseph no doubt thought God had abandoned him and didn't understand why so much evil had come upon him. But Joseph kept his faith, praising His God anyhow, and decades later was able to look back in hindsight and see how God was working behind the scenes in his life the entire time.

God hasn't changed my friend. He is still the same wonderful God today, Who reigns supreme over the lives of men. Our part is not to figure God out, nor even to attempt to understand life; but rather, to obey the precious words of Proverb 3:5-7, “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil.” Jesus is precious!

So wherever you're at in life, whatever your burdens and hardships may be, whatever heartaches you may have, whatever failures you have made, whatever your financial situation may be, whatever health problems you may suffer and endure... God has PROMISED to make it all work out for good if you are His child. Every Christian is called according to God's purpose. If you have a pulse you have a purpose. Everything happens for a reason.

It was Saul's very hatred and zeal for murdering Christians that one day would enable God to raise him up as Paul, becoming an aggressive soul-winner and missionary. Paul never thought for a moment that his strict upbringing as an unsaved religious Pharisee would one day enable God to use him to pen 14 books of the New Testament. God can truly take the lemons in your life and use them to make lemonade.

Tortured and Killed for Their Faith

It was by faith that Noah built an ark. It was by faith that Rahab the harlot hid the Jewish spies. It was by faith that Abraham left his home and journey afar into another country. It was by faith that David went out to fight Goliath. It was by faith that Isaiah said to God, “Here am I; send me” (Isaiah 6:8). It was by faith that Abraham offered up Isaac as a sacrifice. It was by faith that Daniel prayed, thus breaking the law made by tyrants. It was by faith that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego resisted the tyranny of king Nebuchadnezzar, refusing to bow and worship His golden image. These were all done by faith.

But James was beheaded by faith. It was by faith that John the Baptist was slain by the sword. It was by faith that Moses led millions of Jews into the desert with few provisions. It was by faith that Stephen was martyred. It was by faith that Paul was imprisoned, stoned and left for dead, shipwrecked, and despaired even of life (2nd Corinthians 1:8). It was by faith that John was exiled to the island of Patmos. It was by faith that Jeremiah was cast into a miry pit of clay and left for dead. It was by faith that Daniel was cast into a den of hungry lions. “...AND OTHERS.”

It was by faith that Esther risked her life to stand before her king and beg the lives of her people. Esther said, “If I perish I perish” (Esther 4:16). Brother, we need some of that kind of faith again in our churches! Esther was willing to die for a cause. “...AND OTHERS.”

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego by faith refused to bow to king Nebuchadnezzar's image. They said, “our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. BUT IF NOT, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up” (Daniel 3:17-18). Those three lads were cast into a raging fiery furnace, and their God did deliver them. They said, we'd rather die than disobey our God. That my friend is the attitude and resolution that we all should have as born-again believers in Christ. Jesus was willing to die for us, and we should be willing to die for Him. “...AND OTHERS.”

Our faith in the Lord may lead us to a wheelchair, or martyrdom, or hiding in the catacombs... all in according with God's perfect will for our life. God wanted the man born blind in John 9:1-5, so that God might be glorified. It may be God's will for you to end up crippled in a wheelchair for His glory and purpose. Faith in God doesn't mean that health, wealth, and prosperity will come your way. That kind of thinking of heathendom, demonic in origin.

The Devil offered Jesus something for something in Matthew 4:9. That is the way of the world. Satan offered all the glory of this world in exchange for worship. Why do you think so many rich and elite men and women today are flashing Satanic hand signs all over the place? They have sold their souls to Satan for worldly fame, fortune and prosperity. But Judgment Day is coming (Hebrews 9:27). I'd rather be poor and on the Lord's side; than rich and serving the Devil.

The Blight Of Homelessness In America

I heard a local Baptist pastor recently say something foolish (surprised, huh?). Preachers say the darndest things...lol. He said that the homeless people on the street are there because they failed to obey God's Word. He cited Psalms 37:25, “I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.” But there was a man that David and that pastor never saw, whose name was Lazarus. Luke 16:20-21, “And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores, And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.” Lazarus was the saved man in the true story of The Rich Man And Lazarus in Luke 16:19-31.

So, we do see biblically that you can be saved and poor. We have no reason to believe from the Bible that Lazarus was poor because of his own sins or bad decisions. We simply do not know the circumstances and it would be wrong to speculate. I humbly disagree that all homeless people are there on the street because they didn't follow the Bible. No doubt some of them are guilty of disobeying the Bible. Many of them have broken minds. They are stuck in a self-destructive rut. Some of them are drug addicts, alcoholics and have ruined their lives with substance abuse. Some have criminal records. Some have schizophrenia, anger issues and other mental illnesses.

And to be clear, many people need help but some of them don't want help. When I lived on Guam, I felt compassion for a homeless man who lived in the park. He smelled so bad that I could hardly breathe. His clothes were tattered and he looked disheveled. So, with my own money I drove to K-mart and bought him a big bag of items to help himself. I bought him shaving crème, razors, shampoo, soap, new shoes, a nice shirt to wear and a bunch of other stuff to make his day. I really thought he would love me like a brother for showing Christ's love to him, a guy who owned nothing and lived in a beach park. The park had running free showers 24 hours a day. There was a public restroom with a mirror for him to shave.

I really expected when I returned a week later to see a whole new man. Sadly, he smelled just as bad. His hair was still in knots and matted up. He was wearing the same tattered clothes with holes in them. He had the same torn up shoes on. He smelled atrocious! But I quickly noticed that he had a few packs of cigarettes in his pockets. I was so naïve that I hadn't figured it out yet, what was going in.

In frustration, I later went and told my x-wife what had happened. She opened my eyes when she told me that he sold everything I gave him for money to go buy booze and cigarettes. She was absolute right! I felt like a fool for helping that fool. In hindsight, I now realize that I was blinded by my desire to be a Good Samaritan, to help someone in Jesus' name. I learned the hard way that some people just like being homeless, having nothing, being nothing and being a problem for society. They simply don't care! They have no dreams. They don't think ahead where they'd like to be in 5, 10 or 20 years. Like rats, they scurry from one garbage pail to the next, looking for something else to eat or sell. Since that unfortunate day I have a different attitude toward the homeless. I literally spent about $150 at Kmart for that one man! Never again! The old adage is very true: Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me!

I am glad that the state of Florida just outlawed squatting in tents in public places. The law goes into affect in October 2024. People will be arrested and put in jail for squatting, and I think it is a good thing. No one has a right to become a menace and a nuisance to the public. If homeless people refuse to accept the free help from rescue missions and social services that is offered to them, then they have no one to blame but themselves. People must be held responsible for their own behavior. No society can function otherwise! So, in the case of the man I just mentioned on Guam, he definitely is violating Scriptural principles, by being lazy and not working to sustain himself. He is a leech on society, a recluse and a problem.

Sadly, since I have moved from the island of Guam to Pensacola, Florida, in July of 2021, I have seen ten times more homeless people here in Pensacola. Panhandlers are everywhere! When I first moved here I felt compassion toward them. I used to give out $20 bills on Guam, but my x-wife suggested I only give $5, so I took her good advice. My big heart gets the best of me oftentimes, and I am too kind and generous toward people. But giving them money only enables them not to get a job and get their life together.

I learned last year online that it is actually illegal in Pensacola to give somebody money from a car window in traffic. So I don't give money away anymore while driving, which is where 99% of the panhandlers stand, by traffic lights. The penalty is a $500 fine in Pensacola if the police catch you. So I don't give money while driving anymore, even though it is hard not to because I love people. Sometimes problematic people need tough love, which is something that I need to work on. It's hard for me to not to give, but doing so only makes the overall problem worse for society.

There are literally THOUSANDS of businesses now hiring throughout Pensacola (but the jobs all pay minimum wage). The lack of affordable housing is the big problem. You cannot sanely expect people to work 16 hours a day! The average rent price in Pensacola is $1,300 a month. You won't be able to afford that (and other basic essentials needed to survive) if you are working full-time for $13 an hour at Burger King. No one can survive who is taking home $1,600 a month, when your rent is $1,300. Who can live on $300 a week? Your utility bills alone with take that away! Now you need a phone, transportation, food, personal grooming items, clothes, shoes, et cetera. So, not everyone who is homeless on the street is to blame for their situation, as that local Baptist pastor foolishly stated in his sermon.

The root of the problem is our crooked federal government. Three great evils are the root cause of homelessness in the United States:

1. Deindustrialization (sending tens of millions of American jobs to foreign soil)
2. Illegal immigration (60,000,000 people have illegally entered into the U.S.)
3. Federal Reserve Banks (a massive Ponzi Scheme since 1913 that has bankrupt the American people through fraud and theft of our honest labors)

Sometimes We Suffer In God's Perfect Will

May we all resolve in our heart to acknowledge God in all our ways, trusting upon the Lord; and let us not lean upon our own flawed and limited understanding of the things of God, for He has PROMISED to “never leave thee, nor forsake thee” (Hebrews 13:5). No matter what happens in this life, good or evil, we know that it will all work together for good for every born-again believer who loves God. 1st Peter 2:7 says that Jesus is precious to every believer.

So keep in mind and heart Hebrews 11:36-38, teaching us that not all believers build an ark, fight a Goliath, or journey into a far land by faith; sometimes you get sawn in half, afflicted, tormented, or burned at the stake for Christ. It may be God's perfect will for you to be blind (as was true of the blind man in John 9:1-5). It may be God's will for you to end up in a wheelchair to glorify the Lord. It may be God's will for you to suffer, bleed and die! The important thing is to never place God on trial. We must exclaim with faithful Job in the Old Testament, who said in Job 13:15, “Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine own ways before him.” Have faith in God (Mark 11:22b).