The Greatest Blood Donor of All Time

The mercy seat protected man from the judgment of God represented by the judgment angels, the Cherubim. Because of the blood that was sprinkled on the mercy seat, man's sin and guilt were washed away and the curse of the law has no effect. The mercy seat foreshadows the Lord Jesus Christ. He is our mercy seat. He forever stands between a holy God and sinful man. Just as the sins of the whole nation were atoned for by the sprinkling of the blood on the mercy seat, so also Christ, by the shedding of His own blood atoned for the sins of the entire world.

One of the most important subjects biblically is also, unfortunately, one of the least mentioned and that is the blood of Christ. There are so many scriptures that reference His blood as being the ONLY means for remission of sins yet most churches avoid talking about the blood. I can only guess it is because they are afraid they will offend their congregation or gross them out talking about blood. Here are some of the verses that mention Christ's blood.

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 makes an atonement for the soul."


Matthew 26:28 "For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins."

John 6:53-56 "Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except you eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whosoever eats my flesh, and drinks my blood, has eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He that eats my flesh, and drinks my blood, dwells in me, and I in him.

Romans 3:25 "Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God."

Romans 5:9 "Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him."

Ephesians 1:7 "In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace."

Ephesians 2:13 "But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ."

Hebrews 9:12 "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."

1 John 1:7 "But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanses us from all sin."

Revelation 12:11 "And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death."

I remember growing up and watching one of the original Dracula movies and it really scaring me. It seems that over the last several years the whole fascination with vampires has increased at an alarming rate. I can think of the "Blade" movies, the "Buffy The Vampire Slayer" TV show and finally the "Twilight" book series written by Stephanie Meyers, a Mormon (no surprise there). While some may argue that the Twilight books portray a "so-called good" vampire, it is still a disturbing trend that our culture is so fascinated by vampires.

The premise of vampires is in order for them to live eternally, they must drink the blood of their victims. In contrast, in order for us to live eternally, Christ has freely given us His blood as a means of immortality. It is an ironic twist that Satan has used to capture the world's attention.

So, while society has no problem with "grossing us out" with vampires and blood, the modern church is afraid to "gross us out" with the message of Christ shedding His blood. For one thing, there is nothing "gross" about Christ's pure blood. It is our only hope of salvation. It is why we drink the juice on Sunday morning.. it symbolizes Christ blood as the atonement for our sins. The hymn writer was dead on when he wrote this hymn:

1. What can wash away my sin?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
What can make me whole again?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
Refrain:
O precious is the flow
that makes me white as snow;
no other fount I know;
nothing but the blood of Jesus.

2. For my pardon this I see:
nothing but the blood of Jesus.
For my cleansing this my plea:
nothing but the blood of Jesus.
(Refrain)

3. Nothing can for sin atone:
nothing but the blood of Jesus.
Naught of good that I have done:
nothing but the blood of Jesus.
(Refrain)

4. This is all my hope and peace:
nothing but the blood of Jesus.
This is all my righteousness:
nothing but the blood of Jesus.
(Refrain)

I don't know if the "Twilight" movie had a theme song, but this one is so much better.

I'll leave you with some facts about the precious blood of Jesus

FACTS ABOUT THE PRECIOUS BLOOD OF CHRIST

1. The Blood of Christ provides a suitable covering for man's sin, guilt and shame. Genesis 3:21.

2. The Blood of Christ makes the one who offers it both acceptable to and accepted by God. Genesis 4:1-6.

3. Through the offering of the Blood of Christ, (we believers) have safety from the coming Judgment. Exodus 12:13.

4. The Blood of Christ was shed for the remission of our sins. Matthew 26:28; Ephesians 1:7.

5. Through the Blood of Christ, we have cleansing from sin. Revelation 1:5; 7:14.

6. Through the Blood of Christ we have redemption; this is, we are bought back out of the slave market. Ephesians 1:7; Colossians 1:14; I Peter 1:18-19.

7. Through the Blood of Christ we have peace with God. Colossians 1:20; Ephesians 2:14.

8. Through the Blood of Christ we who are "afar off" are "made near". Ephesians 2:13

9. Through the Blood of Christ, the guilt and condemnation we incurred, through the breaking of God's laws, is "blotted out". Colossians 2:13.

10. The Blood of Christ, called the Blood of God, bought us for God and Christ, and made us His own peculiar possession. Acts 20:28; I Corinthians 6:19; and I Peter 2:9-10.

11. The Blood of Christ purges our conscience so that our service to the Living God might be acceptable. Hebrews 9:14.

12. The Blood of Christ gives us an exalted standing, and makes us "kings and priests unto God". Rev. 1:5-6; 5:9-10.

13. Through the Blood of Christ we are justified before God. Romans 5:9.

14. Through the Blood of Christ we are sanctified. I Corinthians 6:11; Hebrews 10:14; 13:12.

15. Through the Blood of Christ we have eternal security and the assurance of salvation. Hebrews 10:10-14; 13:20; 9:12.

16. Through the Blood of Christ we are made "one" with all others believers-both Jews and Gentiles-in the new body of Christ. Ephesians 2:13-14.

17. Through the Blood of Christ we are reconciled-made right or righteous with God. II Corinthians 17-21.

18. Through the Blood of Christ we can enter into "the Holy of Holies", that is, into God's presence in heaven. Hebrews 10:19-22.

19. Through the Blood of Christ we have fellowship with God, and with His Son Jesus Christ, and with other believers. I John 1:7; 1:1-3.

20. Through the Blood of Christ He purchased for us "an eternal inheritance". Hebrews 9:14-15.

21. Through the Blood of Christ we have overcome the Devil. Revelation 12:11.

The word "blood" occurs 447 times in 357 verses in the Bible. The "Blood" (when it refers either directly or symbolically to the blood of Christ) is the very heart and core of the Bible, the true foundation of the Christian faith. Any departure from the Biblical message on the "Blood of Christ" is heresy or apostasy. It is plain that the message of the "Blood of Christ" is of basic importance in the Bible. If you would take the blood out of a human body, you would have nothing left but a lump of clay. If you take the blood out of the Bible, you have Bible that has no life-giving properties. It is a dead book rather than the "living book" that it claims to be. See Hebrews 4:12.

We All Need To Lighten Up A Little

In the previous post I mentioned how we are the salt of the earth, the attributes of salt and an encouragement to spread our salt to someone else. In this post I would like to piggy back off that with part 2 of the Sermon on the Mount passage in Matthew 5 and it is found in verses 14-16: "You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven."

Dictionary.com has several definitions of light

- something that makes things visible or affords illumination
- a device for or means of igniting, as a spark, flame, or match

I'd like to talk about 5 primary properties of Light and how they can apply to us spiritually.

I) Light overtakes darkness Suppose you walk into your bedroom with all the lights out. You flip the light switch and what happens... the room instantly becomes light with no sign of any darkness. Remember back at creation when The earth was completely darkened and God said "Let there be light" and there was light and no more darkness. The light completely engulfed the previous darkness. In 1 Corinthians 4:5 the Bible says "Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness and reveal the counsels of the hearts. Then each one’s praise will come from God." When God brings the hidden things to light, there is no more darkness to cover them up. If we as Christians all let our light shine as we ought, the powers of Hell could not stop our light from overtaking the world's darkness.

II) Light provides comfort
I found this article that talked about the relationship between shortened day light hours and depression.

'Tis the season to be depressed. That seems to be true for a segment of the population who become depressed as the days get shorter.

A lot has been written about "holiday blues," and certainly the holidays bring back negative memories for many. More than any other time of year there is an emphasis on families. If you grew up in an alcoholic family, an abusive family, or a neglectful family the trappings of the season may remind you of what it was like growing-up. Seasonal depression is sometimes hard to diagnose because it kicks-in at the same time of year.

Symptoms of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) include:

Depressed mood
Fatigue and lack of energy
Sleeping much more than usual, increased need for sleep, or difficulty awakening in the morning
Increased appetite, often including carbohydrate craving
Weight gain
Reduced work productivity
These symptoms are not present in the late spring and summer months. SAD seems to be more common in northern latitudes (and in southern latitudes in the southern hemisphere) because the winter day gets shorter the closer you travel toward the polar regions. Estimates are that SAD affects less than 1% of the population in Florida, while in Alaska as many as 10% of people may suffer.

Many experts believe that many more people suffer from "subclinical SAD" - that they get more sad and lethargic in the winter, but not actually depressed. The treatments used for SAD may be helpful for these people too. The most important factor in seasonal depression seems to be day length. Some research suggests that the brain may produce less serotonin in some people during short days.

How is seasonal depression treated? One of the most effective treatments is bright light therapy. Sitting under a high intensity bright light for 30 minutes every morning can help people who get depressed in the winter. These lights are available from a number of sources, and research suggests that they do not have to be "full spectrum" lights in order to improve mood. The most important ingredient seems to be the intensity of the light. The light should mimic the brightness of being outdoors on a sunny day.

I know many people who say they get depressed that it gets dark by 5:00 or even if we get extended periods of rain and no sunshine. The sunshine can be a great comfort to us even when we are having a bad day. The same is true of candle light or camp fire light. So it is with us. We ought to be a comfort to those in darkness by sharing our light with them. As the scripture mentioned in Matthew 5:16 we ought to let out light shine before men so that they will come to praise God because of us.

III) Light exposes the hidden things
I remember back when I was in the military and lived in barracks that we would have problems time to time with roaches. They would hide inside and under desks, beds, etc. When I would come in the room and turn on the light and there was a roach or two on the floor where I could see it, they would scatter as fast as they could to get out of the light and back into the darkness because the light made them uncomfortable. I think that is symbolic of what the world does. In John 3:19 Jesus said "And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil." When we let our light shine on the world we expose the darkness that controls this world. When we stand up for what is right and just we make the world uncomfortable... kind of like that salt in the wound I mentioned in the last post.

IV) Light, when concentrated, can produce great heat
I was watching this guy on TV the other week who goes out and survives in some remote location and films the entire experience. He takes no provisions with him. He was trying to start a fire so he could set up camp and he used a magnifying glass to capture and funnel all the light energy from the sun to spark a flame in some brush. It took some time and patience but he persevered and soon had his fire. We can be like this also. We must not get discouraged if we can't light some one's fire for Christ the first time we try or even the second time. However, if we are steadfast and allow the power of the light to work on them, we allow the opportunity for the spark that we planted to be ignited and catch aflame.

V) Light, in high intensity, can be blinding
I like to drive but I don't really enjoy driving at night. One of the reasons is some people have their high beams on and if I am not careful they can temporarily blind me. The same is true of the sun. I have played baseball and football in the past and just as I thought I was in good position to catch the ball I looked up and saw the sun and then I couldn't see anything. Yet another similar example is when I was in the movie theater one afternoon this past summer and when I left the theater I had to shield my eyes because of the contrast in light going from a completely dark theater to afternoon sunshine.

While it is true that we need to let people see our light, we need to be careful we don't overdo it and blind them. What I mean by overdoing it is not to "preach" at them or try to beat them over the head with a bible. We need to lovingly present Christ so that they will want what we already have. We need to have a balance. Paul said in Romans 1:16 "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek". We need to not be ashamed or feel like we need to apologize for our message of the Gospel. However, we need to present it in a loving way and one that will attract the one we share it with to God.

Searchin' For Our Lost Shaker of Salt

Before anyone gets curious and wonders if this post is in reference to that famous Jimmy Buffet song, it is not. However, as followers of Christ sometimes we do lose our saltiness. Hopefully this post will encourage those who have lost their saltiness (current typist included) to find that shaker of salt and get back to being the "salt of the earth" as Jesus mentioned on the Sermon on The Mount in Matthew 5:13 "You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men."

I'd like to take a practical, physical look at salt and tie it into how it is a great metaphor for our spiritual walk. I'd like to take a look at 4 qualities of salt and how we can relate it to our walk.

I) Salt seasons
There is a reason a salt shaker is on most kitchen tables and most restaurant tables. It is to add flavor and quality to the food it comes into contact with. This is how we should be as followers of Christ. We should have a quality about us and a "flavor" about us that enhances the lives of all we come in contact with. So much so that those people come back to us for another "sprinkle" of our lives to touch them. As followers of Christ we should not keep all the salt for ourselves. Salt does no one any good if it stays in the shaker and is not dispersed. Colossians 4:6 "Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer every man."

II) Salt preserves
In the days before refrigeration, salt was used to keep food from spoiling. Salting was an effective method of food preservation historically; as it draws water out of bacteria through osmotic pressure preventing them from reproducing and causing food to spoil. Much like salt in those days, we need to help preserve the Word of God in the world by keeping it in our hearts and on the tips of our tongues. We need to preserve this country as a Christian nation and not allow the name of Christ to be taken away from our schools and our daily life. We need to be able to give a scripture to someone as encouragement or to help them with a problem. We also need to be able to help preserve the christian walk of other followers of Christ who may have temporarily, through trials, lost their saltiness.

III) Salt cleanses
Salt is used in producing soaps, detergents, and other bath products. As followers of Christ we are called to help cleanse people of their mortal sins by introducing them to Christ. Ephesians 5:25-26 "Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word." By using the Word of God we can help to cleanse the lost people in the world and reconcile them to God through Christ. Mark 9:50 "Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with each other."

IV) Salt stings
If you have ever had so much as a paper cut and then had salt get into the wound, you know how badly it stings. When we proclaim Christ we are going to offend many non believers and be a painful irritation to them much like salt does to a wound. The "world" is wounded with sin and when we allow our salt to penetrate into that wound, it is going to sting and the world will resist us. We need to stand firm and not be afraid to salt the wounds of the world. This is not to be mean. On the contrary, it is to allow the world to feel the pain of their sins thus hopefully causing the world to do something about it by turning from their ways and turning to Christ. Our salt in their wound is to be used for their healing much like salt can heal a physical wound.

So the next time you sit down to eat and get ready to sprinkle some salt on your food, why not instead sprinkle your salt on someone else that needs it. Not only will it lower your blood pressure, it will lower theirs.

Field Day or "Pearl" Jam

Since we are closing in on the annual remembrance of Pearl Harbor Day, I thought I would share my thoughts on a different kind of pearl.. the pearl of great price as found in Matthew 13:44-46

44 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man has found, he hides, and for joy thereof goes and sells all that he has, and buys that field.

45 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls: 46 Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it.

There are several interpretations of this parable. One is that Jesus is the "Pearl of Great Price" and we as His followers should give up everything we have so we can have Jesus. This is the way I was always taught in the past to interpret this parable. Like many other things I was taught when I was young, this is incorrect for several reasons.

First, Jesus is not for sale. Salvation in Jesus is a free gift. Our money is no good in Heaven. The only medium of exchange we can use to "buy" Jesus is to trust in His death, burial, and resurrection as sufficient payment for our sins and to make us righteous in God's sight. For a scripture reference look at Revelation 22:17 "And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that hears say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life "freely".

Second, if Jesus was for sale, we have nothing to buy Him with. We are just lost sinners. Even the good works we think we do are worthless. See Isaiah 64:6 "But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousness's are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away." How could we possibly "buy" Christ with filthy rags?

I strongly believe that this parable should be interpreted that we are the Pearl Of Great Price and Jesus Christ gave all that He had (insert the cross here) and with His precious blood purchased us from the hands of Satan and took us for His own.

In fact, if you go to verse 38 of the same chapter 13 of Matthew, Jesus is explaining the parable of the sower sowing seeds and mentions that the "field" is the world. Well, we are in the world so we being pearls in the field of the world makes complete sense.
38 "The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom."

So the next time you feel discouraged or out of sorts spiritually, remember that Jesus thought enough of you to give everything He had for you. In His eyes you are a precious jewel beyond value. Since we are valuable pearls to Christ we should not "clam" up when it comes to sharing our faith with others. For all that Christ gave for us, the least we could do is share what He did with the world.

However you personally wish to interpret this parable, please keep in mind that it is a parable and as such is not always definitive in it's meaning. We never want to use a parable as proof of scripture if it contradicts a much clearer verse somewhere else in scripture.

How To Spot A Counterfeit and Smell A Rat

When we think of counterfeiting we usually think of money. While it would be bad to have counterfeit money in your pocket it would be infinitely worse to have a counterfeit faith in your heart. When most church going people hear of The great commission they tend to think of a missionary somewhere in a third world country trying to tell people who have never heard of Jesus about the plan of salvation. While that is all fine and well, it is much more important to know the Man of salvation than the plan of salvation. Satan knows the plan of salvation and that is how he is able to twist it to be something it is not. If Satan can not beat the church, he will join it. Satan will infiltrate the church with people who seem to preach a good gospel but it is not a true gospel. Oh it sounds good initially and even sounds legitimate but these people try to pervert the gospel to fit their desires and to deceive the people.

There are going to be several scripture references but I would like to start with 2 Peter 2:1-3
"But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.
And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of.
And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingers not, and their damnation slumbers not."

Here are some tests we can hold any pastor or bible teacher up to and see if they are a false prophet or a true believer.

I) By their message. I don't care what title a person holds, a title does not automatically legitimize a person's message.

a) The Source Test
Is their primary source the Bible or do they also reference other books as doctrine? On top of that, when they reference the Bible do they tell what the Bible means or do they mix in their own liberal slant and deny obvious truths and say it's all metaphorical? Yes, the Bible will use metaphors to teach us but the Bible at the very least means what it says and says what it means. For instance, I had someone try to tell me Job was not a real person, just a story in the Bible to teach us patience. How ludicrous. This passage in ch 22:18-19 of the Book of The Revelation deals with these type of people.
"For I testify unto every man that hears the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:
And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book."

b) The Saviour Test
Do they believe that Jesus is God in human flesh, co-equal and co-eternal with God the Father, the Messiah or do they believe Jesus is some prophet. Ask them if they worship Jesus. If they say no, ask them why not? The Bible is full of the worship of Jesus Christ. Now if Jesus is not God, He should not be worshipped because the Bible says to worship the Lord thy God only, but if Jesus is God, he is worthy of our worship. Jesus said in Mark 8:24 "Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I AM , you will die in your sins." Another verse declaring Jesus' diety is in John 8:58 "Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am."

I AM is the name God used for Himself when He appeared to Moses in the burning bush. So unless they believe in the Deity of Jesus Christ, they are a counterfeit teacher.

c) The Salvation Test
Do they teach salvation by grace alone or do they mix in works? If they do not teach repentance and faith in Jesus Christ alone as the means of salvation, they are a counterfeit teacher. In Galatians 1:8-9 "But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, if any man preach any other gospel unto you than that you have received, let him be accursed." To be accursed literally means to be condemned.

Now what Gospel is Paul referring to? It is clearly spoken about in 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 "For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures." That's it!!! If anyone teaches any other gospel, he is a counterfeit teacher. It's that plain; it's that simple.

Here is an example. Suppose some one preaches that baptism is required for salvation. Do you know how many people would be eliminated? Suppose a soldier in Iraq or Afghanistan was mortally shot or gassed and before he dies the chaplain were to come and ask the soldier if he would like to be saved. The chaplain would have to say "I'm sorry, there is no water here to baptize you, nothing here but sand." See how foolish that way of thinking is? I am not saying people should not be baptized, certainly they should. Baptism is an outward testimony of already being saved. A person can go in a dry sinner and come up a wet sinner if they have not made the good confession of faith in Christ alone first. The minute anyone tries to put a stipulation on salvation they take the "whosoever will" out of it. Do you know what whosoever will means in the Greek?... whosoever will. The Bible says whosoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

D) The Sanctity Test
Do these people live clean, moral lives or do they live like the world and say that Calvary covers everything? Remember what the Apostle Paul said in Romans 6:1-2 "What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?"

I am not saying these people will not slip up and fall from time to time, we all do. I am talking about people who have a sinful lifestyle yet still profess Christ.

E) The Subject Test
Do they as their primary message talk about Jesus Christ and salvation or do they focus on good works, charities etc in place of salvation of the lost? Paul said in 1 Corinthians 2:2 "For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified."
Now don't misunderstand me, I think charities, helping the poor, and doing good works are all important, just not more important that the true Gospel message. The Bible has 1 theme, it is salvation. It has 1 hero, Jesus. It has 1 villain, Satan. The Old Testament says someone is coming, The New Testament says someone has come, and the Book of the Revelation says someone is coming again and that someone is Jesus Christ.. I hope you believe that.

II) By their method
Look back at 2 Peter 2 where is says "there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies." Privily speaks of secretly. These people will try to sneak into a congregation and cause division and confusion with their false teachings. Jude verse 4 mentions this. "For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ."
Not only do they privily bringing heresies but 2 Peter 2 also says "And through covetousness shall they with feigned words..." Do you know what the word feigned means? The Greek word is plastos and and it is where we get the word plastic from. These are plastic Christians. What does plastic do? It molds to anything to suit a purpose.

III) Their motivation
Do they use as their primary motivation the praise of Jesus or do they seek glory for themselves? Matthew 5:16 "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven." There is the key. When people see our good works, it is not for them to glorify us or tell us how great we are. It is through our good works that people will come to glorify Christ.

Go back to 2 Peter 2 where it says "And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you." See the word merchandise? How many TV evangelists have we seen who try to make a profit for themselves by using Christ. I call them not only false prophets but false "profits". I have seen some outlandish things. One preacher was saying if people sent him money he would send them this so called "Holy water" or one of those so called "holy cloths" and they are doing this for their own gain and sadly many people are deceived by them.

The Source Test, The Saviour Test, The Salvation Test, The Sanctity Test and The Subject Test. These 5 tests will help us be able to tell the real from the counterfeit.

Thorns, Snares, Traps, Pains, & Pricks

I was listening to the radio this morning and learned something new to think about as far as Paul's Thorn in the Flesh is concerned. I has always thought that this was a physcial illness given to Paul to keep him humble. I also believed his thorn in the flesh was an eye disease since the Bible documents Paul's bad eyesight not to mention the scales that were on his eyes for 3 days after encountering Jesus on the road to Demascus.

However, there is another way to look at this and that is as a figure of speech. Much like we say people that get on our nerves are a "pain in the neck" it doesn't mean we have an actual illness in our neck; it is strictly a figure of speech. To look at what happened to Paul I think it is wise to look at it in the symbolic, figure of speech kind of way. In Numbers 33:55 "But if you will not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you; then it shall come to pass, that those which you let remain of them shall be pricks in your eyes, and thorns in your sides, and shall vex you in the land wherein you dwell."

Joshua 23:13 "Know for a certainty that the LORD your God will no more drive out any of these nations from before you; but they shall be snares and traps unto you, and scourges in your sides, and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from off this good land which the LORD your God has given you."

Judges 2:3 "Wherefore I also said, I will not drive them out from before you; but they shall be as thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare unto you."

Acts 9:4-5 "And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks."

In the context of these passages it is easy to see that this is speaking figuratively as literal people were not sticking out of their eyes and sides.


The point of this entire post is to say that the more you read the Bible, no matter how many times you may read the same passage, God will reveal new things to you and allow you to see the passages in a whole new way. So dig into the Bible often and be amazed at what God will reveal to you.

The Great White Throne

In the previous post I talked about the Judgment seat of Christ or the Bema seat. This is for believers to be given a degree of reward based on how they lived their lives for Christ after they had been saved. The Great White Throne judgment is for all of the lost at the end of all time to be judged and sentenced to eternal Hell or "Lake of Fire". Just as there are degrees of reward in Heaven, there are degrees of punishment in Hell. For example, someone like Hitler will face a much stronger judgment than say a person in South America that never was told of Jesus. Luke 12:47-48 "And that servant, which knew his lord's will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more."

I believe every American citizen, with the access to literally a church on every street corner, will be whipped, beaten, pulverized, pureed, etc... If you thought the visual in the Passion Of The Christ was bad, wait until these people experience the Passion of the Stripes!!! Jesus Christ will be judge and jury and will say to each of them, "Depart from me you that work iniquity, I never knew you."

Now for the primary scripture:
Revelation 20:11-15 "And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire."

Notice it mentions at the end of this passage the "Book of Life". In the next post I will expound on what the Book of Life is, who is in it, who is not, and whether you are added to the Book of Life, if you are blotted out of the Book of Life, or if God has a cosmic eraser and keeps adding and later blotting you out. The short answer is everyone is in the book and it's the lost who get blotted out once they die.

The Bible reveals three different judgments to come. The first is the judgment of the sheep and the goats or a judgment of the nations (Matthew 25:31-36). This takes place after the tribulation period but prior to the millennium; its purpose is to determine who will enter the millennial kingdom. The second is a judgment of believers’ works, often referred to as the “judgment seat [bema] of Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:10). At this judgment, Christians will receive degrees of reward for their works or service to God. The third is the great white throne judgment at the end of the millennium (Revelation 20:11-15). This is the judgment of unbelievers in which they are judged according to their works and sentenced to everlasting punishment in the lake of fire.

If I made the Great White Throne judgment sound horrible, I have done my job; it is supposed to be horrible and something to be avoided. The good news is if you haven't trusted Christ as your savior yet there is still time. Once you come to a genuine trust in Christ as sufficient to pay your sin debt, you can do what I have done and what all the christian believers have done, and that is settle out of court through our great Advocate, Jesus Christ.
1 John 2:1 "My little children, these things write I unto you, that you sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous."