This was sent by our member Richard Parker. Please let us know what you think below. Pastor Bob

Have you ever asked yourself the question , “Is God real?” I know there is not a single person living that has not asked themselves at some juncture in life , why they are here and what is the meaning of life. Deep down inside, every human knows that something or someone greater than themselves has brought about creation. The world wasn’t created by the “Big Bang Theory”, there is to much fallacy in this reasoning. Two rocks colliding in space and presto- we have primordial ooze. It is out of this that you and I are said to have “evolved,” Even Darwin recanted or repented, whichever the case may be , before he died. The word tells us in Romans 12:3 God has dealt to every man the measure of faith.

God did not say “A” measure, but rather “THE” measure of faith. So you ask what am I talking about. God himself has provided faith to you and me, not just any faith ; but His faith!! I think sometimes we as people get lost in religion or social gatherings as unfortunately seems to be the case in many instances. Even those who claim that God is not real will tell you they believe in higher spiritual authority–Generally themselves!

As I examine the world today and the social engines that drive our youth and steal spiritual gifts from them in incredible numbers, I see greater and greater need to get the message out to people that Jesus Christ (Yeshua) is real. There have been countless libraries written on dogma’s and doctrine, yet most lack the Holy Spirit. The “Bible” itself is just a very accurate history book until the Holy Spirit gets involved in your life; then it becomes the “living–breathing–word of God”. There are so many who claim Christianity and yet are appathetic. They embrace humanism and worldly wisdom and they do not have love or compassion. There is an old hymn that says “they will know we are Christians by our love. We live in a society that has embraced sin as commonplace and condemns anyone who would oppose them. When churches decide that the Bible is not the final authority but would rather vote on biblical issues to decide if they want to accept or acknowledge those truths, then they have successfully removed God from the equation. This nullifies any claim to Christ.

Jesus said I have not come to abolish the law but rather to fufill it. Heaven and earth shall pass away before one jot or tittle shall be removed. Matt. 5:18, Luke 16:17 If Christ himself found it unnecessary to pick and choose which laws to obey and which ones to ignore; then who are we to undertake such tom foolery! Our national view on “Tolerance” is beyond any shadow of a doubt ungodly. The children of Israel were guilty of integrating the religions and pagan practices into their daily lives. They married with the tribes of people from countries they conquered. God had strictly forbidden this and they did it anyway. You might say that as a Christian I’m not under law but rather grace. Let me state this plainly: The law was given to show men that they were incapable of abiding by it; we were to fall upon our face and declare unto God that we’re not able to perform the task. Thereby allowing God in His grace and mercy to step in and abide with us. (Emanuel)–Means God with us, His plan from the beginning. We as a nation and as a people need to understand the grip that the “Shining Cherub” (Satan) has on our people. When we realize that the enemy comes as an ” Angel of Light” we will begin to understand that we desperately need Jesus and the Holy spirit!! It is from this well we are able to draw strength, to abide under the law.

If we were to examine the dispensations of “time” then it can be understood that we truly are living in the “end times”. With this being the situation that we find ourselves, then we must seek out our Creator, to find the solutions to the problems we have created. In Proverbs 3:5 “trust in the Lord with all thy heart: and lean not to thy own understanding.” Proverbs 1:7 ” The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.” The world around us needs to hear the gospel, so they might stand a chance of obtaining salvation. The word teaches us that we will be held accountable for those we did not proclaim truth unto. I don’t know about you, but as for me and my house; we have enough in our own lives to contend with, without having to take responsibility for someone else’s lack of salvation. So we had better be sure and point those around us toward Jesus!! This world is headed toward Gods plans of and end and a cleansing. You can call it “destiny” or “carma” or any other name you so choose: however, it doesn’t change the outcome of truth. God’s will, will be performed. So shall be the word that goeth forth out of My mouth; it shall not return void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper unto the thing whereto I sent it. Isaiah 55:11. Therefore I can rest assured that it shall come to pass.

Let us examine the question–Why God? Inside each and every one of us is a place of emptiness. A place that causes us to seek fulfillment in our lives. There is nothing wrong about having a need to quench this yearning inside of us. However that “Noisy Lion,” the one who seeks to kill and destroy us has found a playground in our lives. It it through this longing to have meaning and purpose that we are quickly led astray; by our own desires. Truth is that we don’t understand the feelings inside of us or how to fulfill this desire in us. So we try everything under the sun to find meaning and purpose to our wretched lives. We seek out pleasure in all it’s deluded forms. We’ve even given it such names as vice or fun. These area’s in our lives are consumed by anything other than the fulfillment of our Creator. We try alcohol or drugs, pornography or gambling, fishing and hunting: all forms of recreation and exictement. Anything that possibly could make us feel better about ourselves. Truth is Satan lures us by showing us fulfillment in things of this world. If sin weren’t fun we would not participate! However the word tells us the pleasure of sin is fun for a season. Hebrews 11:25 Meaning it will cease to be fun and become a burden weighing heavy upon us. Reality is we need God to fill the void that is missing in our lives. Adam was a complete person, a “living soul.” Genesis 2:7, until he sinned. When that event occurred, a tear appeared inside of us. The consciousness of God’s presence in our lives, was removed from us. We need God to restore us to fellowship with Him in order to be complete again. This is the only way to find peace and fulfillment in our lives. Any other means only leaves us empty. Have you ever been really thirsty on a hot day and drank a cold soda? Man that thing is good to you in the beginning, however; as you soon find your more thirsty afterwards than when you started. Why is that? It is because what you thought was quenching your thirst was actually de-hydrating your body. The latter result is that no fulfillment was found, only a greater thirst. This is typical human behavior; we choose all the wrong things first. When we seek out the pleasures of this world, we find momentary fulfillment. Problem is like the cold soda on a hot day ; our spirit is dehydrated, drained of vitality. We become weak and vunerable, succeptible to more attacks in our mind. If these attacks were frontal assaults then we probably would not surrender so easily. However, they are crafty and present themselves as our own ideas. The Holy Spirit is the true ally whom can guide us through the gauntlet of desires, we call sin. Strait is the gate and narrow is the way, which leadeth us unto life, and few be there that find it. Matt.7:14

Why now? The organized church (Christianity) has existed since the early days following the Crucifixion. There have been devout people of God throughout the ages, yet in contrast we have had many atrocities committed in the name of Christ or the “Church”. People have heard the Gospel message yet they have also witnessed men operating in the flesh. These conflicting issues have created more confusion about the “truth” over the centuries. For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints. I Cor.14:33 I have heard in my lifetime, more than once:” If that is what Christianity is about, then I want no part of it! “ We have never, throughout history been so close to the completion of revelation. People in this age need to have God revealed to them in a positive light. I believe that “hell-fire and damnation” preaching has a place among Christians to help with the maturing process; however I don’t believe you can take someone who is already overwhelmed by the despairs of this world and beat them over the head with the Gospel. Too many times I have witnessed people being battered with scriptural truths, that are dished out by an unloving, unfeeling, person with a legalistic spirit. I once was sharing with a lady this truth: Nobody comes to the Lord until they are desperate; each person having a different place or level of desperation. If we think we have a leg to stand on then we stand on it, all by ourselves. Her response to me was that she had never smoked, drank, or cussed; therefore she was alright with God!! I still pray for her whenever I’m reminded of that day. So many people sitting on pews have had the teachings and traditions of men for so long that they don’t know who God truly is. We need to show that God’s love is unconditional in the respect that no action on our part brought about this love. Yet it is conditional in that Jesus said” if you love Me keep My commandments” John14:15 We face rising conflicts within the world; false religions growing in leaps and bounds, why? Because people are seeking a means to quench the deep yearning inside them. Now they desperately need to see Jesus. They need to see Him in us. The world doesn’t need religion, it has plenty of that. As a kid we used to joke about being like Yule Gibbons—Eat tree ,I.E.. (tree-hugger). Basically you can create a religion out of anything. We wont talk about the football-gods and their faithful following. Point I’m trying to make is this: Jesus said “ they that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick”.Matt.9:12 Those that are feeling trapped by society and it’s promulgations, must be shown love and compassion. Sometimes compassion can seem a cruel partner. It generally requires some form of sacrifice on our part. True compassion loves the unlovable!! We don’t always want to show compassion because it requires action. My wife use to give a relative, our copy of Voice of the Martyrs magazine , after we had read it. One day this relative asks me to “refrain from gifting her with this publication,” as she put it . She wanted to go to church on Sunday and feel good about herself, however; this magazine showed her that people really endured suffering for Christ. This was not a reality she had chosen for herself and she would have no more of it. While I found her response to be in direct conflict to what she professed to believe, I found it to be refreshing honesty!! God can work with that kind of truthfulness. Without going into the different Greek words for love, lets mention “agape.” It is this unconditional love for people and their souls that sets true Christians apart. I’m not interested in being everyone’s friend, I am however committed to showing the people that Jesus can deliver you from yourself. Man left alone to himself, will destroy himself. Therefore the urgency to introduce Christ to as many as will receive Him!!!

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