My Thoughts

My Thoughts on Christianity and Other Things

25 Aug 2016

Hearing Loss to Dementia

Leviticus 19:14 Do not insult the deaf or cause the blind to stumble. You must fear your God; I am the Lord.

What a scary title. A year ago or more I heard that hearing loss could lead to dementia. Is this true? Or is it a scare tactic to sell hearing aids? It first I didn’t know, but now after what I have read, I do believe it’s true.

Google

Google

However to make things complicated, it’s not always true. It just looks like it. A quote from Hearing Loss Association of America says:
In older people, a hearing loss is often confused with, or complicates, such conditions as dementia.

Often times people with a sharp mind will still be called half-wit, dim-wit, not-bright, and stupid. All because they don’t hear well. And if they on the older side, maybe even be thought of as having some sort of dementia.

So, how do you know if it’s really dementia? My thinking (remember I am no expert) is get your hearing tested. Then if you need a hearing aid or a cochlear implant, get one. If things aren’t any better, see your doctor.

Recently I have read a few articles about the subject. To me this all makes sense about how untreated hearing loss could lead to dementia. Especially if you’ve been hearing all of your life, and then you loose some or all of it, it could be very discouraging. Without hearing your loved ones, your music, and other things, you could become depressed. And if you become depressed, you could eat more, (and more junk food) and increase your chances of getting diabetes. However according to Living With Hearing Loss, those with higher than normal glucose level are more likely to have a hearing loss. It seems like diabetes and hearing loss feed off each other.

Also if you’re depressed, you’re more likely to stay home and isolate yourself. This is bad for two reasons. One you’re less likely to exercise yourself, which means your muscles will soften and shrink. It’s bad for your heart too. But another reason is your brain will also weaken and shrink! If you don’t try to hear and understand people and not the TV, that part of your brain will weaken and shrink.

Years ago I read that rabbits in the wild, often have a larger brain than those that are kept in a cage. Don’t cage yourself at home.

There is a book out there called Keep Your Brain Alive. You can buy it at Amazon. I read it years ago and I reading it again.

On the subject of keeping your brain alive; I have noticed two things that I have found interesting. One, people seem to stop learning after high school or college. There are exceptions of course. But most likely after they graduate, that’s it. They stop learning.

Another thing I have noticed is many people don’t seem to think. They don’t seem to think about what they think they know and they don’t seem to think about what they don’t know. They don’t wonder about things. For an example: You look at a clock and it says it’s 6:00 in the morning. But is it true? 6:00AM may be the official time, but is it the correct time? New Orleans and Dallas are both in the same time zone. Yet people in New Orleans will see the sunrise before the people in Dallas. The sun will also be over head or at the noon position in New Orleans before it will be in Dallas. This means the clocks in New Orleans and/or in Dallas are wrong. Maybe by as much as 25 minutes or more. Then add Daylights Savings… and well I’ll let you figure it out.

So will you get dementia with you hearing loss? I don’t believe you have to. But I believe you should work towards not getting it.

– First get your hearing loss treated.
– Take care of yourself. Loose weight if you need to. (If you can) Eat healthier foods. (Even though nuts, like pecans maybe healthy, pecan pies are not. Peanuts on your ice cream doesn’t help much either) Exercise. (I know some people may think that’s a dirty word. But it’s not) About exercising, I was told that in the 1960s the United States was pushing physical education on grade school students. The reason was, exercise helped kids study better. Not just because they were tired, but because of the oxygen rich blood going to their brain.
– Socialize. It may be difficult, but I believe it will exercise your brain. Including the audio parts of it. Don’t stop being yourself. If you’re normally out going, keep it up. Don’t avoid your friends.
– Learn something. Take a class. Read a how-to book.

And now I am so tempted to add a link to a sweet sweet song. OK, maybe it’s not so sweet. Well for those who are old enough to remember this, and those who aren’t, here’s “They’re Coming To Take Me Away”

By the way, this song is one of the very few that I can honestly hear the beat.

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12 Aug 2016
1 Comment

Rare Hearing

Leviticus 19:14 Do not insult the deaf or cause the blind to stumble. You must fear your God; I am the Lord.

I have been asked to write about my hearing for Hearing Loss Association of Washington State because, well, I hear differently than most. But where do I start? Also how technical should I get?

Google

Google

My hearing loss is called Audio Processing Disorder. And for many years my hearing has been a bit of a mystery. It’s like having hearing ears but a deaf brain. Yet I have never thought of myself as disabled by it.

When I was beginning to talk, my parents noticed I was talking as if I was hard of hearing. However I was found to have perfect hearing. So I was given an IQ test and that too was very good. So I was given lots of speech therapy.

Grade school was difficult. Sometimes I did the wrong homework. Or no homework. Spelling was very difficult. How can I sound out the words if so many letters sound the same. “You mean b d e p really do have different sounds? And if all the letters have different sounds then why is ‘laugh’ spelled l-a-u-g-h and ‘calf’ is c-a-l-f? Let’s not forget ‘elephant’! Why does ‘spelled’ sound like ‘spelt’?” I do hear, but what am I hearing?

When the music teacher brought in the record player and played some music, she would ask, “Hear the ‘something’ instrument?” I never could. “Is it ‘this’ instrument, or ‘that’ instrument?” they both sounded the same for me. My wife says I often can’t hear harmony.

Here is another problem I had, but with arithmetic. On paper it was easy. I had little to no problems. But on the blackboard I had problems. (Yes kids, once a long, long time ago the white board was black and we wrote on it with white chalk.)

I would hear the teacher say “Add 50” so I would write 50. “4 plus…” What?? Now I have to erase the zero and replace it with a four? I would look at the other kids, but they would always write the correct number the first time. How?

After a while I decided that she would always pause in the middle of the number. So when I went to the blackboard next time with 5 other kids, I heard something like “40” OK I write down four waiting for the next digit. “Plus 27” What?? Again?? How would the other kids know she would only say 40? For many years I couldn’t understand how. But I believe I have an understanding now.

A few years ago I had a bad reaction to some medicine. I wrote a little about this in my post Bad Medicine. Anyway when I was recovering from the effects of the drug, my doctor sent me to a specialist to test my cognitive thinking. Even though I was still recovering, I was already testing just in the high average. The specialist also told me that I definitely had characteristics of someone with an audio processing disorder.

I was told that when my brain senses a gap in communication, it takes it as a lack of information. My brain would then try to fill in that gap with something that would make sense whether it was said or not.

This may explain why I had difficultly doing math problems on the blackboard with the teacher saying the numbers. It also explains why I had trouble learning Morse Code. If someone sent ..-. would that really be an ‘F’ or did I hear a slight pause making it .. ‘I’ -. ‘N’ for ‘IN’. What if someone sends the word ‘FOX’ which is ..-. — .–. I may hear ..-..—-.–.. In other words I would just hear noise.

Music is another problem. I don’t hear the beat. I can’t clap to the beat. Yet I wonder if I hear things others don’t. For an example, there is an old TV show called Airwolf. When the helicopter on television went into ‘high-performance-mode’ I would hear this horrible sound. I know it’s supposed to sound ‘cool’ to most people, but I hated it. To me it was a loud screeching noise and it sounded like all the bearings were locking up.

By the way, I never liked loud. I was the weird kid in high school who never played the music loud. And even though my hearing loss was only about 3-5 db, it’s now about 30-35 db loss and I still don’t like loud noise. I wear hearing protectors a lot when I work.

And this brings us to the use of assisted listening devices. I do use them. A lot. Without captioning on TV, I miss a lot. Same with movies. In church I use the FM system not for amplification (although I may a little) but to block unwanted sound. If I use a single ear-bud, my understanding is poor. However if I use a headphone or dual ear-buds, they help to block out unwanted sounds then I can adjust the volume to the ‘center of my head’. As far worship music goes, I avoid it. It’s loud. That’s when I have coffee.

Oh yes, I also speech read a lot which is different from lip reading. Lip reading is difficult. Speech reading is much easier as it involves the whole face as well as body language. I wrote a little about this in my post named, Lip Reading?.

So this is a little insight of my rare hearing. I realize many ‘hearing people’ will still have no understanding of this. I’m different, I know. I’m even different from most hard of hearing people.

Since rare often equals exotic, I like to look at it as having exotic hearing. And since hearing aids are worthless for me, and cochlear implants would have devastating effects on me, think of all the money I save!

Posted in Hearing Loss and tagged , , , ,
02 Aug 2016
1 Comment

The Political Party Of Jesus

Google

Google

If Jesus were to come back right now, what political party would He belong to? I have been told at times that if Jesus came back now, He would be Democrat. Well the people who say that are wrong.

Right about now some of you maybe happily thinking ‘Of course not. He would be a Republican.’ And you too would be wrong.

I’m wondering if there are some who believes Jesus wouldn’t get involved in any form of political affairs since He is a religious figure. Believing that one must not mix religion with government affairs. If so, they too would be wrong.

Jesus is not a Republican, or Democrat, or Socialist, or Communist. Oh, and the early Christians in the book of Acts were not Socialist either. Socialism is where the government takes (often by force) and gives some of it to others. The early Christians in Acts gave out of their hearts with love to help others.

Let’s say there is someone in need. Maybe because of earthquake, flood, health problems, homelessness, you name it. And let’s say you personally care and want to help, so you give your time, or money, or both. That is what the Christians in Acts were doing.

Acts 2:44-46
And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had. They sold their property and possessions and shared the money with those in need. They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity

So what political party would Jesus be part of? His own! Jesus is KING. He is LORD. Besides, what makes you think He would be that impressed with anything we have?

There are two places in Revelation that you may find interesting. The first one is when the Anti-Christ’s armies will go to war against the Lamb (Jesus), but the Lamb will defeat them because he is Lord of all lords and King of all kings. And his called and chosen and faithful ones will be with him. Revelation 17:14

The second is Revelation 21:22-26 which will happen after the Anti-Christ is gone, after the thousand years of Christ’s reign, after Satan is released again, and after the whole world is destroyed, then recreated. Revelation 21:22-26 says:
I saw no temple in the city, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. And the city has no need of sun or moon, for the glory of God illuminates the city, and the Lamb is its light. The nations will walk in its light, and the kings of the world will enter the city in all their glory. Its gates will never be closed at the end of day because there is no night there. And all the nations will bring their glory and honor into the city.

So the LORD will rule the world and yet there will be different nations. How this will work, I’m not sure. The only thing I can think of is the United States of America. Here we have one president, one federal government with federal laws. However we are made up of 50 different states with different laws and customs. For an example: the state of Oregon has an income tax, but no sales tax. Where Washington State has no income tax, but it does have sales tax. In Louisiana they celebrate Mardi Gras. Not so much in the other states. Also what’s legal in one state may be illegal in the next. Yet we are all united states, or United States of America. However when Jesus reigns, it will be perfect.

So what political party will Jesus belong to? His own. He’s KING and LORD. And that’s my thoughts.

Posted in Christianity, Uncategorized and tagged , , ,
04 Jul 2016

Who Should Be President?

Cat photo downloaded from Google

Cat photo downloaded from Google

I don’t know. Like many people, I haven’t found anyone who is worthy. I almost feel like the best candidate should be Hank The Cat. For the fun of it, I made a small poster saying Hank The Cat For President For 2016. I downloaded the cat photo form the Internet. I then brought it to a locale Hearing Loss Association chapter meeting. People loved it.

But seriously, as Christians who do we vote for? I don’t know. But I do know what God’s word says in Genesis 12:1-3 NLT:
The Lord had said to Abram, “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you. I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others. I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you.”

Before Israel even became a nation on the map, Egypt made slaves of them and treated them harshly. God then in return, treated the Egyptians even more harshly. This has been repeated several times throughout history with different countries and people who abused Israel. So many countries who went against Israel and then fell.

During World War II, before there was modern day Israel, the Nazis tried to wipe out all the Jews. They failed. There are still Jews, and now there is even Israel. But, where is that Nazi army? They’re just gone. They fell.

Now it is true that Israel did fall from time to time. But only because of the sin they did. Also God aways brought Israel back to life. Where are the other armies? They’re still gone.

With all this in mind, why would any Christian who believes in God’s word, want to vote for anyone who would wants to hurt Israel. I know they will say they support Israel. But they also they want a two state solution for Israel. What they are saying is, “Why yes I support Israel. I support Israel so much, I would like to rip that little country in two and give half to their enemies.” Wow, I hope I don’t have friends like that.

I believe anyone who votes for someone who wants to harm Israel is like saying: “Lord please destroy us! We’re morons!” To be honest, I’m surprised we’ve haven’t fallen yet.

I know of many countries all around the world are against Israel. And I know some may argue, “Is God going to make all those other countries fall?” My answer is “Why not?” I wonder if enough countries fall, if that would bring in the Anti-Christ. If enough countries fail and if people get desperate enough; they may become willing to follow someone who will lead them. That person will deceive many. That person will be the Anti-Christ. Then later a very large army will come up against Israel. And that’s when Jesus Himself will come and defeat that army. Revelation 19:19-21 That army will be defeated. They will fail and they will die.

I’ve talked with people who have said that this Israel shouldn’t be here. And yet there it is, and there is nothing anyone can do to change this fact. I do not believe the LORD will not allow this Israel to be conquered, period.

So who will I vote for? I honestly don’t know. But, I will not knowing vote for somebody who will harm God’s country. In my mind, that’s just stupid. And that is my thoughts.

By the way Hank The Cat For President wasn’t all my idea. I got the idea from an Alaskan cat that was mayor. Here’s the link.

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10 Jun 2016

Ha Fra Bun

Hearing Loss Symbol

Hearing Loss Symbol

Leviticus 19:14 Do not insult the deaf or cause the blind to stumble. You must fear your God; I am the Lord.

I was in the store when my wife called me on my cell phone. I was told to pick up some “ha fra buns”.

There was a memorial I went to not long ago. I was excepting one or two deaf people to be there. But they weren’t. I don’t know why. Maybe because of lack of transportation, or illness. (she is old) Maybe she was out a town. Or maybe because of the way many hearing people treat the deaf and the hard of hearing. Or maybe just the way some really good hearted people unknowingly treat people with disabilities.

I know of another woman who has her cochlear implant for about a year now. She is frustrated. Frustrated about how she hears and how people seem to treat her. I told her that hearing people are clueless.

For an example, a medical center will have a recording that’s difficult to hear and understand. And this may be the number you need to call to reach an audiologist! Why? Or how about the telephone company? Here is a company in the business of communication. You would think they would sound better than some one talking through a toilet paper tube.

Another thing that puzzles me are court rooms. I was called to jury duty once. Before I went in, I told them that I have trouble hearing and I need an assisted listening device. When I went in for jury duty I found that they didn’t have one ready. Interesting. Don’t these lawyers know that the Americans with Disabilities Act is a Federal law? The equipment they finally gave me, was a joke. I told them I still couldn’t hear well. At that point the lawyers thought I was too much trouble to keep around and they let me go home. I was relieved of jury duty. This was good!

A month ago at a meeting with a local chapter of Hearing Association of America, a woman was talking about how we should press for more assisted listening devices for court houses. I then told them I didn’t want them for use on jury duty. Because if they were available for those on jury duty, then how could I get out of jury duty? She wasn’t too happy with me, but understood completely.

On the good side of things are movies. The theaters I’ve gone to have wonderful captioning devices.

There are two different types of captioning devices. One is the goggles and the other is the mirror type. I’ve never used the mirror type, but some really like it.

The goggles are based on military technology. The fighter jets have the instrument gages shown on the windshield so the pilot see what’s going on without taking his eyes off the horizon. The caption goggles work much the same way. You can read the caption without taking your eyes off the movie.

Another good I’ve seen was when I rented a car recently. First I must say I do not like renting cars. Period. There was no technology used at this one place, but the man behind the counter was respectful and professional, and he wrote things down for me.

Fish Kisser

But this is rare. Most hearing people are clueless. Many seems to believe that if they shout, it will help. They’re wrong. It also doesn’t help to exaggerate your word so you look like you’re kissing a fish. Please don’t be a ‘Fish Kisser’. Look at us, let us see your face and speak clearly. And if we don’t understand, reword what you said.

For those of you who haven’t figured out what ‘ha fra bun’ is, it’s ‘hot cross bun’.

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15 May 2016

First Love Cooled?

Revelation 2:4-5
“But I have this complaint against you. You don’t love me or each other as you did at first! Look how far you have fallen! Turn back to me and do the works you did at first. If you don’t repent, I will come and remove your lampstand from its place among the churches.”

Did you read that? Does this apply to you? I hope not. But think about this. Are you still on fire for God? Or has your love gone a bit cool. I’m not asking if you still love the Lord. I’m guessing you still do. Are you still willing to live for Jesus? Do you still have love for others? Or is it more self-centered?

I know that this is for the church in Ephesus. However I also believe that it could apply to us individually.

About removing your lampstand from among the churches? You can say it applies only to churches, or not. But, do you really want to take a chance? Do you want to disappoint our Lord? I don’t.

There is more written to the church in Ephesus. Most of it is good, but I suggest reading Revelation 2:1-7.

That’s my thoughts.

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20 Apr 2016

Scams

There seems to be more and more scams than ever before. We get them on our telephones, emails and random pop-ups and links online. Just the other day my wife got a pop-up scam on her computer. She clicked on what she thought was a news link, and up popped a notice saying she had a virus.

I myself have received phone calls from someone claiming to be from Microsoft and that I had a virus on my computer. And of course there’s the email scam.

Scam Pop-Up chopped

First I want to tell you about the pop-up that my wife got. It popped up without warning. The fake news link was a link to the scam, and it came with a voice. (I don’t know what it said. I couldn’t understand the voice.) It had a phone number and a code to tell the operator. A little closer look and you’ll see it’s clearly a web page.

Near the first of the year she got another pop-up saying she had a virus on her Windows computer. One problem. She wasn’t using a Windows computer. This pop-up was also a website. Looking at the web address, I went to their home web page. I decided to call the phone number. The woman who answered was very nice and polite and professional. She also wanted access to the computer. For fun, I played dumb and pretended to not know anything about my wife’s laptop. The woman was clearly getting frustrated, but was determined to get into a Windows computer. No way I was going to tell her that it wasn’t Windows. She finally wanted me to tell her what operating system I had. That’s when I hung up.

One day I answered the phone and the man on the other end said he was from Microsoft and he’s calling to inform me that I have a virus on my Windows computer. I answered back, “Really? What if I told you I work for Microsoft? And what if I said I work in the Anti-Virus Division?” He then hung up.

One more example. Another day someone called claiming to be from Microsoft. Unfortunately I answered the wrong phone and had trouble understanding him. For those who don’t know, I do have a hearing problem. If I was on the other phone maybe I could have fun with him. But as it was I couldn’t understand him, so he hung up. I guess it’s too difficult to scam someone who can’t hear.

Years ago I was talking to a policeman and he said to never agree to anything, and never give out any information over the telephone to anyone you don’t know. He said even if they said that they, themselves were from the police department, give them no information.

I’ll go one step farther. Even though I am an American, I once dealt briefly with the Canadian Army. Their policy was zero information. You could ask them what color is their army truck, and they wouldn’t tell you. Their thinking seems to be any collection of information could be built up to real intel, and therefor may become a national security risk.

For any pop-up on your computer claiming you have a virus, check to be sure whether or not it’s really your anti-virus or a website trying to scam you.

Years ago I had a laptop with Windows 7 with Microsoft’s own anti-virus, Security Essentials on it. A notice popped up claiming to be Security Essentials and that I had a virus. I clicked on it to remove the virus when the real Microsoft Security Essentials popped up said this is an unknown program. Then it’s asked if I really wanted to install it. I took a closer look at fake Security Essentials and noticed that it had a grainy look to it. While the real one had a very clear and crisp look to it. I then realized I was about down load a virus. I then used the real Security Essentials to scan the laptop and to remove any viruses that may be there.

So, pay attention. Is the virus notice real, or is it a website? Does it have a grainy low quality look? Are there misspelled words? Is your computer up to date? Is the operating system up to date? How about all the software you have, like Office? Is your anti-virus up to date?

Be careful and please give out zero information. And pray for protection.

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28 Mar 2016

Earning Your Way To Heaven?

Are you earning your way to Heaven? And if so, how are you doing it? What if you’re wrong?

What if a man murdered someone else, and then is caught, arrested, and put on trial? His defense attorney says, “This is basically a good man. His good deeds out weight his bad.”

The prosecuting attorney says, “He is a murderer and here is the proof. He should go to prison.”

Defense attorney says, “But this man who did murder is a nice guy. He gives to charity, sings in the church choir, he is a pillar in our society. He’s a great husband and father.”

But because the man is a murderer, he went to prison. All the good he did in his life didn’t matter.

Right now many of you are saying, “I didn’t murder anyone, so I’m OK. I’ll still get into Heaven.” But there is one problem with this thinking. This is what Jesus said in Matthew 5:21-22, “You have heard that our ancestors were told, ‘You must not murder. If you commit murder, you are subject to judgment.’ But I say, if you are even angry with someone, you are subject to judgment! If you call someone an idiot, you are in danger of being brought before the court. And if you curse someone, you are in danger of the fires of hell.”

So now, how many of you believe you’re good enough? Remember in this society, once a murderer, always a murderer. Just like once a sex offender, always a sex offender.

By the way Jesus also said, “You have heard the commandment that says, ‘You must not commit adultery.’ But I say, anyone who even looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” Mathew 5:27-28

Face it, there is no way you can earn your way into Heaven. But what if it was given to you as a gift? Would you accept it? Your sins must be paid for somehow. After all, if you don’t go to Heaven, you will go to Hell.

For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him. John 3:16-17

Cross

Jesus came to pay our way into Heaven. It is a gift. We can not earn it. John 1:1-5 and John 1:14 explains that Jesus is God. He loves us enough to go through, being mocked, punched in the face, spit upon, whipped. Imagine having the whip digging into your back and ripping away bits of your flesh. Imagine having a crown made of thorns shoved down on your head. Now there is blood and sweat running down stinging your eyes. Then in front of everyone you cry out in pain, and yet no one helps you. You’re in pain because nails are being pounded through your hands and feet. And then more pain as the weight of your body tears at holes in your hands as the cross they just nailed you to is being righten up in the ground. And as your family and friends watch… you die.

Also keep in mind that Jesus could have stopped this anytime He wanted. Matthew 26:53-54 says:
“Don’t you realize that I could ask my Father for thousands of angels to protect us, and he would send them instantly? But if I did, how would the Scriptures be fulfilled that describe what must happen now?”

He Is Risen - The Graffiti Bridge, on Facebook

He Is Risen – The Graffiti Bridge, on Facebook

This is how much God loves us. Then three days later He rose from the dead, physically with His own body.

So you have a choice. You can try to earn your way to Heaven, and you will fail. Or you can believe in the Lord Jesus. Ask Him into your heart and to forgive your sins.

Ephesians 2:8-9
God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.

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16 Mar 2016

Are You Proud To Be A Christian?

One of the things I have seen on Facebook are “I’m proud to be a Christian. Share if you are too.”

I’m puzzled by this. Knowing that we are all sinners, and fall way short from God’s standards, how can we be rightfully proud?

Copper Ridge, North Cascade National Park -National Park Service

Copper Ridge, North Cascade National Park -National Park Service

Let’s say you are lost in the mountains with a broken leg. Or you’re sitting on the roof of your home because of a flood. You are cold, wet and hungry. You have no hope on saving yourself. Finally Search and Rescue finds you. Are you proud that they found and rescued you? There is nothing to boast about here, except for the adventure. The real question, or the correct question is, “Are you grateful?”.

“Proud To Be A Christian”, also makes me think of “The Proud Pharisee” who did everything right. However if you read Luke 18:9-14. you see being a “The Proud Pharisee” who self-righteously did everything right, didn’t make himself right with God. Yet Luke 18:14 says the tax collector who humbled himself before the Lord, was justified before God.

Ephesians 2:8-10 says:
God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.

So when people say they’re proud to be a Christian, I wonder; are they really proud that Jesus gave up His life so they might be saved from Hell?

I myself am humbly grateful that my Lord would save me. John 3:14-16 says:
And as Moses lifted up the bronze snake on a pole in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him will have eternal life.
“For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.

Soon we will celebrate the death and resurrection of Jesus. For those who believes in the Lord Jesus, Roman 6:5 says:
Since we have been united with him in his death, we will also be raised to life as he was.

Happy Easter

Happy Easter

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25 Feb 2016

Are You Sure?

Question_mark_(black_on_white)

When you die, will you go to Heaven? Are you sure? If you say you’re good enough, how do you know? What if you believe that homosexuality is good because Jesus never talked about it. Are you sure that what you believe is correct? I’ve heard Jesus was much like Buddha. The guy telling me this was very sure. But was he correct? If so and if you do believe you can be good enough, then how do you explain Ephesians 2:9 or even Matthew 7:21-23

Two men were arguing about which way was north. Only one was correct. Why? He looked at the compass.

I’ve noticed that many people don’t think about what they believe. They certainly don’t test it. Why?

When I was in maybe eighth grade in school, I had a teacher who told the class that there is no life above the Arctic Circle because it’s too cold. Even as a kid I wonder if she ever heard of Eskimos and polar bears. What about people living in Northern Norway? In my early twenties I was on an ice breaker, and we went north of Point Barrow, Alaska. There’s a lot of life up there.

Some people say that if Jesus was here right now He would be a Democrat. Are you sure? Really sure? Right now I’m guessing that there people that are grinning, thinking “Of course not. He’d be a republican.” Really? Are you sure about that?

Here’s a question for you. With everything that’s been happening, why would The Lord of the universe be impressed with either party?

If Jesus returns right now, what would He do about the Middle East? Would He split Jerusalem and give half to the Palestinians? Would He insist on a two state solution? Maybe even destroying Israel? And are you sure? If you say ‘Yes’, are you sure the person would even be Jesus?

Revelation 19:11-21 talks about Jesus returning and fighting for Israel. And He wins.

Also when He returns, He wouldn’t be interested in our petty little political system. He Himself, will be king. Mark 15:2 Revelation 1:4-6

So how can we be sure of things? More important, how can we be sure we’re going to Heaven? John 3:16 says For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.

So do you really believe in Him? Only you can answer that question.

Let me ask you this. Do you believe in Hillary, or Trump? If you’re an American, you’ll either say “yes” or “no”. If you say “yes”, that would mean you believe in everything that person stands for. You’ll stand by that person through thick and thin.

This is how you should believe in Jesus. Even more so. Please get to know Him if you don’t. Start in Matthew and read through Revelation. Then to know Him more, read the Old Testament. Be sure.

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