It IS Terrifying!

Well, it's been a while, I hope to post more coming up, but at least here's a post for now!


"For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a terrifying expectation of judgment and 'the fury of a fire which will consume the adversaries.' Anyone who has set aside the Law of Moses dies without mercy on two or three witnesses. How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know Him who said, 'Vengeance is Mine, I will repay.' And again, 'the Lord will judge His people.' It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God."
Hebrews 10:26-31 (emphasizes added) 

Yup.

The verses above explains themselves very well, and yet so many people reject what the Bible teaches and live in their sin instead. I'd like you to realize that I'm not talking about those you do not know Christ, I'm talking about those you claim to know God. I don't want to point fingers this post either, but I do want us to think about the above verses. Our modern church is so wrapped into 'getting people in' and 'excepting everybody' they seem to have forgotten what sin actually is, and that it is not supposed to even be in the church. Why do we go on 'sinning willfully' when God tells us to not to? Let's look at what 'sin' actually is in the famous Galatians chapter, but we will start back a little farther than most people do:
"Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God."
It goes on the name to 'fruits of the Spirit' but I just wanted to look at the first part because it seems like we hardly ever do. I'm not going to explain it in detail, because it explains itself. Those who get drunk, those who have outbursts of anger, those who envy, and 'the like' will not go to heaven, they will 'fall into the hands of the living God'. Remember, I wrote a post earlier about this, if you do sin (which I pray we do not), pick yourself up, and keep moving forward. The above Bible passages are for those who continually are impure, continually get drunk, continually have outbursts of anger and so on and so forth. Often things which are sins, a lot of people don't realize are and keeping living in them, such as coveting (Romans 7:7). Here is the definition for covet: "yearn to possess or have". Do you want that pair of boots 'really, really bad?' Do you wish you had that furniture set that your friend has? Then you are sinning, and those who sin yet call themselves saved 'trample underfoot the Son of God.' Those are powerful words, God is powerful and we don't seem to realize it. We say we fear God, but do we really? Are we truly living our lives as His servants? Dead to ourselves? We are horribly selfish, we think the world of ourselves, and aim to please us, me, I. We may not be actually thinking "I'm going to do this instead because I want to please myself", but we do live just for what we want and our comfort. I don't think we as the North American church realize what dieing to self really means. We have very cushy lives.
Well, I'm going off topic and rattling, I said I wasn't going to go on, but I did anyways, so I'd better put an end to it. This post was really just a reminder, and something to make you reconsider how we are living and the gravity of sinning. God is God, He has the power to destroy or build, He can do as He wishes, don't you think that we should try to please Him with all that is in us? Reconsider next time you go for your computer, rethink before you buy something, is this a good use of the money God has given me? Stop, before you covet, control your mind before you start to get angry (remember, anger is not a sin, it is uncontrolled anger which is a sin).
And remember 'It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God', fear it, dread it, and love Him who created you and live not in sin, remember what is sin, and... read your Bible, it will help you understand what God wants the most :)

God, three in One, is alive today, and He is watching how we are living our lives, so live them for HIM, so that we He comes, (or when we die) we will hear 'Well done, good and faithful servant'.

Considering the Heavens--Our Moon

"The moon and stars to rule by night, for His loving kindness is everlasting." Psalm 136:9

The moon takes my breath away when I look at it on beautiful dark nights. Sometimes only a sliver is lit, but I can see the round shadow of the full moon. When the moon is totally lit up and lights up the land around me, it truly gives me a feeling of awe and insignificance. From the 'tiny' craters to the massive 'seas' our moon is breathtaking.

It is also a marvelous testimony to a young earth. From and evolutionist point of view, here are a few questions which may cause a problem:
1. How did the moon get there?
2. Is there proof of how old the moon is?
3. Is the moon actually 'dead'?

These are only just a few of the questions a evolution believer may wonder inwardly but on the outside tell people the 'proofs' and the 'facts'. Looking into their answers, however, reveals that there is really no proof for any of their answers. There is a whole lot of theories of how the moon 'got there' all without proof and made completely by their imagination. Theories such as the earth 'throwing off' the moon, being 'caught' by the earths orbit, or both being 'formed' at the same time, have no evidence what-so-ever. According to the Bible, the earth was specially created to rule the night on day four. Also, these theories are unrealistic, not just unprovable. First off, the earth spinning so fast that it throws off the moon doesn't make sense scientifically, second, according to how real orbits work, the earth would have actually 'whipped' the moon sending it soaring into space. Thirdly, them being formed at the same time may seem a bit more logical, but we know that something cannot come from nothing. Basic law of science there...

An evolutionist idea of how the moon began.

According to the Bible, the earth was formed on day four and is approximately six thousand years old, we know this by adding up the 'sons of' and other time-linking parts in God's Word. Another interesting point is that by scientific observation, at present, the moon is moving away from earth about 4 cm per year. Taking this amount, doing some math, and going back about 1 billion years ago, the moon is pretty close to the earth-- rephrase that--the moon is WAY too close to the earth. As in, it is now in or gone through the Roche Limit, and is rather destroyed...
Lastly, and my personal favorite, is whether or not the moon is what evolutionist call 'dead'. And I say, "Most certainly not!"  In medieval times (AD 1178) it is recorded that moon watchers observed something hitting the moon on the upper side of it and causing a large explosion, the crater (called Bruno), that this comet made, is seen today. Also, the moon still 'rings' by the hit it received.
The below sites can explain it far better than me and I also got a lot of my information from the company.

http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/am/v3/n1/heavens-declare-young-solar-system

http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/2006/08/11/feedback-lunar-recession

http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/tj/v7/n1/moondust


Also, some incredible movies on the subject:

http://www.answersingenesis.org/store/product/our-created-moon/

http://www.answersingenesis.org/store/product/creation-cosmology/


http://www.answersingenesis.org/store/product/creation-astronomy/

http://www.answersingenesis.org/store/product/distant-starlight/ 

http://www.answersingenesis.org/store/product/astronomy-and-bible-riddle/ 

Plenty of the above isn't about the moon, most of it is just about our amazing created universe and the proof that God made it all! And truly these web pages and movies are worth your time, they are far above anything I could ever write.
Please feel free to comment your own ideas or additional information to me, I'm always in to hearing what readers have to say!

Considering the Heavens- Part 1

"When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him?" Psalm 8:3

"Who makes the Bear, Orion, and the Pleiades, and the chambers of the south;" Job 9:9

"Can you bind the chains of the Pleiades, or loose the cords of Orion?" Job 38:31

"He who made the Pleiades and Orion..." Amos 5:8

"...; He made the stars also." Genesis 1:16







I'm fascinated with the universe, God has many mysteries, but the universe is the largest one for me. So much is out in space, the earth is merely a tiny, itty bitty dot in the whole thing--no, change that, our whole universe is merely a tiny, itty bitty dot in the whole thing. Yet, this massive and beautiful universe is summed up in 'He made the stars also." Incredible.

"He made the stars also..." 

Even before pictures (above) could be taken or seen, David wrote: "When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him the son of man that you care for him?"
God created so much, yet He made man on His earth and gave His only Son for us. May we never forget how good God is and how merciful He is, AND what He placed above our heads and around the universe. God has even created whole other galaxies, but He made earth special and put life of IT.

I also put three verses about Pleiades and Orion, common constellations even thousands of years later. Nearly everyone knows and can find Orion, or at least Orion's belt. Looking a little more upward and to the right, one can see a cluster of stars called Pleiades, or also known as the Seven Sisters.

 From: http://www.starseeds.net/forum/topics/are-there-any-starseeds-from

I placed a close up picture of the Pleiades above to the right. This cluster is nicknamed 'The Seven Sisters' because of a Greek legend. Obviously, when David and Amos wrote about it, they were called Pleiades. I find it fascinating that even back then they had constellations named. Most names have stayed the same over time, but a few changed or the translators didn't know which formation the writer was speaking about.

Secular scientists are spending  millions, even billions, on trying to find life on other planets, any little rock or dust ball they try and make into some kind of 'there used to be life here!' What should we, as Christians, believe? From what the Bible says, God did not send His Son to save aliens on another planet, Christ did not die for little green men. Neither does the Bible even remotely mention life of any kind--human or not--on any other planet but earth. 'He made the stars also' not, 'He created the stars, and another planet where He made life and saw it was very good', just stars, the universe, and the desolate, extremely cold or extremely hot, waist-land (but VERY beautiful) planets.

As odd as it may seem, God may have created the rest of the massive universe for our benefit and enjoyment, for us to discover how great a God we serve, and how mighty and powerful He is.

Hopefully, I will be able to post a few series on space. Lord willing, I'll write about our moon next.

Faith and Deeds

"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is a gift of God--not by works, so that no one can boast." Ephesians 2:8-9

"What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily good. If one of you says to him, 'Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,' but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. But someone will say, 'You have faith; I have deeds.' Show me your faith without deed, and I will show you my faith by what I do. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that--and shudder. You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is dead?"

Pretty strong words there.
In our modern culture and most modern churches they are always claiming that 'say you believe in Jesus, and voila! You are saved!'
Well...it's a little more complicated than just that. 'Even the demons believe that--and shudder'.
Yes, we do believe and are saved by God's grace and our faith in Him, but 'faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.'. Which means not saved. The modern church invites all kinds of heathen into their body and around their vulnerable children, and tell them its okay to sin. Or, this 'saved' person goes to church and acts all proper on Sundays but lives a life of sin through the week. According to scripture, this is wrong, and a person is not saved if they live this way. They would be just like some of the pharisees, calling themselves holly and saved, yet living such a black ugly life without true faith. If you are truly saved, you will have works. Other people should see your deed that you do. Because we have faith, we do deeds.
Of course, there is the issue of a person looking and acting like they are saved but their heart is actually evil, I'm not going to talk about them, but I did want to mention them, just in case you were thinking 'what about...'.
We are not saved by works, but without works and deeds, our faith is dead, the Bible says so, not me. This modern attitude of, 'I can sin all I like and not act remotely like a Christian but I'm still saved,' is wrong and unbiblical. Like I mentioned in an earlier post, we are Christ's servants, and we have to act like one or He will cast us out where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth. If you claim to be a Christian, there is no excuse for acting like a sinner. We are a new creation in Christ, so we need to act like it not only in our hearts, but outwardly as well.

The First and the Last, the Living One

"Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the lampstands one like a Son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around His chest. The hairs of His head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire, His feet were like a burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and His voice was like the roar of many waters. In His right hand he held seven starts, from His mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and His face was like the sun shining in full strength. When I saw Him, I fell at His feet as though dead. But He laid His right hand on me, saying, 'Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades. Write therefore the things that you have seen, those that are and those that are to take place after this. As for the mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand, and the seven golden lampstands, the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.'" Revelation 1:12-20

I have a rather vivid, wild imagination, and I really must to read verses like that. We can't read it just as a story, we read some pretty bizarre tales sometimes that we imagine what would be like, then move on to real life. John's experience is not just story though, this was real this actually happened. It's so incredible, so unbelievable, can we even truly imagine what it would really be like to see such a sight? This amazing, awesome, God, the vivid picture which John portrayed Him as, became a simple man, a man's body and in our cursed world. He died, but 'behold I am alive forevermore,' Breathtaking, that's what, and humbling. I really want us to get a true picture of this, our hearts should nearly leap when we read it, white hair, a face shining like the sun, a voice like the roar of many waters, his feet like burnished bronze, and my personal favorite, which really adds so much to what our Saviour looks like: "His eyes were like a flame of fire." Think of fire, not a little candle burning in your living room, but an actually fire a big glowing flame, His eyes were like this, it almost makes me shake because it's not just a random description, this is REAL. Real: alive, not fake, not just imagination. No wonder John dropped down 'as though dead', you would too. Yet, Jesus said, 'Fear not'. Fear not, when you've just seen what John saw? Wowee. But we need a good imagination to picture it properly. I wish I could post a picture of what I see it as, but I doubt I could find it on the internet, and I know I can't draw it, so I leave it up to your imagination.
Now, "from His mouth came a sharp two-edged sword." This, I personally believe, is not a sword sticking out of His mouth, but I believe it is an analogy for words, sort of the the 'sword of the spirit', except He is speaking them. Which I think, is the most powerful of all.
So, use that imagination God has given you, to picture this real, and to USE it. 'Use it?' you ask? Yup, use it. Figure that one out :)

Here's a hint

Horrid Tongue

"Look at the ships also: though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell. For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so. Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water? Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water. Who is wise and understanding among you? by his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom." James 3:4-13

Oh, that horrid, horrid tongue. Very few of us have learned to control it completely. Words come out and hurt people when we did not mean to hurt. Sentences slide off our tongue like ice melting down a the side of glass. They come out so quickly and sharply, over and over and over we say words and more words. Yet, how many of these words actually glorify God fully? How many of those long sentences have offended or hurt people because of our carelessness? I hate my tongue, I wish I could stop it sometimes--or at least control it a little. Sometimes we say too little, sometimes we talk till our throats are sore, but either way, are we trying to keep every word pure and from God? I'm sure I'm not the only one who wishes their brain had a processing machine. I think a thought, it goes through the processor which decides if it's fit to say or not. But, lo! Not many of us have been gifted with such a thing. Words poor from out mouth without us thinking of them first, I believe I talk before I think even, I say things that my brain had not yet even thought the slightest bit about. Usually we know when we've said something we should not of. A sudden pang darts into our hearts the moments we say it. But my pride stops me from apologizing. Yes, my pride. When I should be saying "I'm so sorry," I sit there growing ever more guilty inside, but not being able to say it out loud.
Horrid, horrid, awful, tongue. How shall I ever tame it just a little? When will I know to shut my lips and keep silent or just listen to others? I never will be able to: "no human being can tame the tongue." No human, that means me, that means my Dad, my Mom, nobody can tame my tongue. Wait...lets look at the verse again: "no HUMAN BEING can tame the tongue." Human being, God is not a human being. He is perfect, and He is loving and helps us to grow and to change. HE can help me tame the retched tongue. If I give all my thoughts and words up to Him, He can help me. May we all surrender our tongues to Him, and only let that which edifies and builds up others come out of it.
...and lets work on that pride too...