My Thoughts

My Thoughts on Christianity and Other Things

Archive for the tag “Jesus”

02 Aug 2016
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The Political Party Of Jesus

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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 , , ,
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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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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20 Jan 2016

Persecuted

Good news! On January 16, 2016 Pastor Saeed Abedini was finally released from an Iranian prison. Here are two links. Link 1 Link 2 While this is very good news, him as well as the others who were released, still needs prayers as they recover from physical and mental abuse.

The sad news is that there are so many more people who are or have been persecuted. And there will be more persecution, even here in North America. Even in the United States. There are also more people being lead astray. Why?

I read that there Christians who believes that Jesus was not Jewish. Why? Either people don’t read their Bible, or someone sucked their brains out. Jesus was born from a very long line of Jewish people. Every year Jesus and his family would go to Jerusalem for the Passover festival which is a very Jewish thing to do. When Jesus healed the man with leprosy, He told him to go to the priest and take along an offering as required by the law of Moses. Clearly Jesus is a Jew. Even Pilate acknowledged Him as King of the Jews. Why would a Christian who reads their Bible say that Jesus is not Jewish, is beyond understanding. Unless they don’t read.

Another time, many years ago someone told me they were a Christian. I was a little suspicious so I asked if he believes in Jesus. That He died on the cross and rose again physically three days later. He said “No, I don’t believe you have to believe in Jesus to be a Christian.”

How does that work? How can you be a Christ-ian and not follow Christ? When the time comes, these people will escape most if not all persecution that may be coming. Me, my wife, many of my friends and family as well as many of you, will be persecuted. Some of us may be murdered. If you believe and admit that Jesus is Lord, Son of God, and that He has risen physically from the dead, if you say Jesus is the only way to have eternal life; you’re in trouble.

Things are going to get worse. I believe, in the United States there will be more persecution towards Christians. More mocking, getting fired, more bigotry. Families will be divided and friendships broken. Our rights of free speech will be taken away while those who oppose us will keep theirs. For an example: it’s getting where if you speak bad about Jesus people will believe it’s OK. But if you say the same thing about Mohammad, then people will get upset and call you a hateful bigot. A few may try to kill you or at least punish you somehow.

In the past I have been lied about and mocked and other things, only because I’m a Christian.

As bad as things may get, please keep this in mind. Matthew 5:10-12
God blesses those who are persecuted for doing right, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs. God blesses you when people mock you and persecute you and lie about you and say all sorts of evil things against you because you are my followers. Be happy about it! Be very glad! For a great reward awaits you in heaven. And remember, the ancient prophets were persecuted in the same way.

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20 Dec 2015
1 Comment

Christmas

There’s a song out there called Holly Jolly Christmas that says Christmas is the best time of year. Well for some it is. But for others, it’s a very stressful time of year.

I’ve heard some say Christmas is only for children. I’ve also heard that it’s only for the rich. Or for the stores so they could make more money. And now comes the stress. What do you buy for Aunt Sally? Uncle Fred? Cousin It? And your kids may want 1,346 things for Christmas and you can’t even afford one. And the stress builds. You have 4,025 dozen cookies to bake, and 1,236,489 bulbs of colored lights to put up. And the stress builds more. What will the electric bill be like? Here is an Norwegian-American song with lyrics, I Yust Go Nuts At Christmas that seems fitting for all this.

So what is Christmas all about? Well it’s not about Christmas trees, Santa Claus, reindeer, presents, or even snowmen and sledding. Even as a kid I wondered about snowmen and sledding. Growing up my friends and I may have built a snowman, but more often we would go sledding down the street we lived on. Christmas had nothing to do with it. It was just fun.

I remember the street we lived on, was on a big hill making it perfect for sledding. The only problem was my dog. My friends would hop on their sleds on would go all the way down the hilly street. But not me. When I went down, my dog would run up and jump on my back, knocking me off course. We would both, go off the road and head first into the ditch. Very rarely did we ever make it all the way down the hill. I’m sure my dog must have thought I was a lousy sled driver. But when you’re a 10 or 11 year old boy and a 40 pound (18 kilogram) dog jumps on your back, it’s really difficult to stay on course.

As much fun as playing and sledding in the snow was, it had nothing to do with Christmas. After all we did this all winter long.

So what is Christmas about? It’s about a birthday. The day we celebrate the birth of our Lord Jesus. John 3:16 says, For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

In this culture the person who has the birthday gets the gifts. Yet Jesus came to give us the greatest gift of all; eternal life. It’s for anyone who believes in Jesus as Lord and accepts this gift. After all he came to die for you on the cross and then rise again physically, in His own body so you live. (I know, this sounds Easter.)

This eternal life is a gift you can not match. No matter how many credit cards you max out.

Something to think about as you “Yust Go Nuts At Christmas”.

Here is Mary Did You Know with lyrics.

Merry Christmas - colored

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07 Dec 2015

Guns

Ruger AR-556

Ruger AR-556

First let me say that this article is neither pro-gun nor is it anti-gun. Anyone who has been reading my blog for awhile knows I think a little differently than most people.

A few months ago when the gunner shot and killed 9 people in Oregon and wounded many more, everyone said this was very terrible thing to have happen. And this is very true. But I saw two things very interesting. First the gunman asked people if they were Christian. Those who said “yes” were shot in the head. Those who said “no” were shot to wound and not to kill.

Soon afterwards my wife was watching a TV show and they were talking about the shooting and about shooting the Christians was because of mental illness. I found this to be very interesting. If shooting a Muslim is a hate crime, and shooting a minority is a hate crime, as well as shooting a homosexual a hate crime, why is shooting and killing Christians not a hate crime? Why would shooting someone like me, only be a sign of mental illness? Why?

When it comes to guns as well as other things, some people seems to stop thinking.

However this last shooting at San Bernardino, California were rightfully called a terrorist attack.

One day while looking through Facebook I saw an interesting post. Some guy replied, “Thankfully Peter was not armed with a gun in John 18:10.”

When I answered, “Even if he was, I know Jesus could heal the guy who was shot. Luke 22:51”

The same guy answered back, “Really? This is a fun story to do the ‘what if’ game we can do with history, mythology and scripture. If Peter had had a gun, the centurions would have as well. We’ve seen enough shootouts to know the typical outcomes. People killed; bystanders shot….; the author would have had a much more complex story to tell. Heck, maybe even JC could have been shot and died. No crucifixion, no resurrection. Thankfully, sword isn’t as deadly as gun play…even in the same hands.”

I really wanted to reply to that, but I resisted. Please hear me out on this. Most likely I will not say what you think I’ll say.

Even though he may be a Christian, I know he’s wrong. I know there would not have been a shoot out even if the Roman solders as well as Peter had guns. It would have been impossible for Jesus to have been shot.

Why would I say that? One reason is when people tried to push Jesus off a cliff, they couldn’t. He just simply left.

Once in John 7:44-46 they wanted to arrest Him, but didn’t. And in John 10:39 they tried again to arrest Him but couldn’t. They couldn’t do it, no matter what. It wasn’t time.

And this brings us to when Jesus was arrested. According to John 18:1-11, He was met in the garden by Roman soldiers, Temple guards, and others. Then Peter chopped off someone’s ear. At that time Peter would have been considered as a threat. So, why didn’t the trained armed Roman soldiers, kill the fisherman who may not really know how to handle a sword? And while they were at it, kill Jesus right then and there? Because they couldn’t. Even if they had guns. They were not allowed because Jesus is LORD!

When Peter had the sword, Jesus told him to put it away. He also said that if He wanted, He could ask God for a thousand angels for protection and it would have be done. But He didn’t because then prophecy would not be fulfilled as it was told in the Scriptures. Matthew 26:50-56

Think about this. Soon we will be celebrating Christmas. Remember that this is not just about some kid born in a barn. I’m sure that’s happened many times over the years. No, this was not just some ordinary little baby. This is the LORD, and he is in control.

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15 Nov 2015

Anti-Christmas?

Starbucks Red Cups photo from buzzfeed.com

Starbucks Red Cups photo from buzzfeed.com

Lately some people got all upset because Starbucks Coffee had red cups instead of cups with Christmas trees, Santa Claus, reindeer, snow flakes, or some other stuff on them. Because of the plain red coffee cups (they did have the Starbucks logo on them) people were saying that the coffee shops were anti-Christmas. Remember, the cups are normally white.

What about the people that decorate their homes with only red lights? Or all green lights? Or white or blue? Are they anti-Christmas? I seriously doubt it.

How about having a Christmas party without Christmas music? Yes I’ve been to a few of them. And even though it wasn’t a Christ centered Christmas party, there were other Christians there besides me. The room was decorated with all the usual Christmas decorations and there were lots of food. But no music. We were a local chapter of Hearing Loss Association of America. Having a lot of music would make it difficult for some of us to communicate.

So back to this so call ‘war on Christmas’ by Starbucks. How many of us will really be celebrating Christmas? I’ve read through the Bible several times and so far I never read anything about flying reindeer, and some guy in a red suit sliding down chimneys. Also Christmas really isn’t about buying a bunch of stuff either.

I’m not saying there is anything wrong with having fun and giving gifts. I’m just saying, remember that Christmas is about the birth of our Lord Jesus. And lighten up on the lack of Christmas decorations some may have.

Here’s the real Christmas story without the man in red and his flying reindeer. And a song: Mary Did You Know with lyrics.

And for those who may need something silly (sometimes we all do) here’s Grandma Got Ran Over By A Reindeer, with lyrics of course.

Merry Christmas - colored

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11 Sep 2015

Are We Getting Into Trouble?

If we’re getting into trouble, who are we getting into trouble with?

This post is written mainly to those who are followers of our Lord Jesus. Though of course everyone is welcome to read this. But first I must lay out some ground work.

Exodus 20:13 says You must not murder. Since most people have not murdered, we’re OK with that. Yet in Matthew 5:21-22 Jesus said “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.” Now we have trouble. I believe everyone is guilty of this.

Exodus 20:14 says You must not commit adultery. A lot of people have done this. Yet in Matthew 5:27-28 Jesus 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.” Wow every man I know of, has committed this sin. And to make things worst, Matthew 5:32 says if he divorces his wife, he often causes her to sin. Jesus is not being kind or relaxed on sin. Not at all. But he does forgives and often. If you ask.

Kim Davis – Wikipedia/Carter County Detention Center

Kim Davis – Wikipedia/Carter County Detention Center

Kim Davis was thrown in jail for awhile for not granting homosexual marriage licenses. She says it was against her Christian beliefs. Many people agree with her and many do not. But who is agreeing and who is not agreeing? I must say I was a little surprised by the answer. I was surprised that there were Christians who were against her.

One of the most common reasons I’ve heard was: Jesus never said anything about homosexuals or same sex marriage. Therefore it must be OK. Really? Are you really sticking with that reasoning? Then your point is nulled and void.

It is true that Jesus never said the word homosexual in either Mathew, Mark, Luke or John. But guess what. He never said rape either. Are you going to tell your wife and daughters that it’s OK to be raped? I hope not. That would be stupid and evil.

Genesis 19:4-7
But before they retired for the night, all the men of Sodom, young and old, came from all over the city and surrounded the house. They shouted to Lot, “Where are the men who came to spend the night with you? Bring them out to us so we can have sex with them!”
So Lot stepped outside to talk to them, shutting the door behind him. “Please, my brothers,” he begged, “don’t do such a wicked thing.”

In Luke 10:12 even Jesus said the town Sodom was evil.
“I assure you, even wicked Sodom will be better off than such a town on judgment day.”

But like I said earlier, this post is mainly for those who follow Jesus. So here are two more passages:

This from Paul, who said: Romans 1:26-27
That is why God abandoned them to their shameful desires. Even the women turned against the natural way to have sex and instead indulged in sex with each other. And the men, instead of having normal sexual relations with women, burned with lust for each other. Men did shameful things with other men, and as a result of this sin, they suffered within themselves the penalty they deserved.

This is what Jesus said about sexual sin to the Pergamum church in Revelation 2:14-16. Read it carefully.
“But I have a few complaints against you. You tolerate some among you whose teaching is like that of Balaam, who showed Balak how to trip up the people of Israel. He taught them to sin by eating food offered to idols and by committing sexual sin. In a similar way, you have some Nicolaitans among you who follow the same teaching. Repent of your sin, or I will come to you suddenly and fight against them with the sword of my mouth.”

No matter what we do, we’re going to be in trouble with someone. We have to follow someone. Now here is a question that we all know the answer to. Do we follow the world, or do we follow our Lord? We follow our Lord of course.

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12 May 2015

Lesson Of The Fir Tree

Woodpecker on Fir Tree

Woodpecker on Fir Tree

Fir trees are tall and very durable trees. Birds of course live in them, as well as bats. The bats in the Northwest are very tiny and they sometimes live under the coarse bark of the fir tree. Let’s not forget the squirrels they also run up and down these trees.

When a storm comes, I have seen these trees sway back and forth like windshield wipers on a car. And even though they may loose a few branches, after the storm you’ll still find them standing tall.

There are two things that will weaken a fir tree. One is if the other trees around it have been removed. The other is if the tree starts to rot from the inside.

One day a bug embedded itself beneath the bark and started eating away at the tree from the inside. Soon there were more bugs and the interior of the mighty fir tree starts to rot. On the outside the tree still looks strong. And when the breeze blows, it still gently sways back and forth as before. But the tree gets weaker and weaker as worms and the termites eat away and rots the tree from the inside out.

One day in a mild storm, the once mighty fir tree sways as before but then, it stops. The rot has weaken the tree to the point where it could no longer righten itself up any more. It starts to fall. It’s slow at first. But as it leans over it picks up speed. Finally it hits the ground with full force. When a fir tree hits the ground, it often breaks into two or three pieces. It also crushes anything in its way. Cars, houses, even people.

People I fear that the United States is like the fir tree that is rotting from the inside. We still look strong, but sin has been eating away for years now. Will America fall? I don’t know. Maybe. Maybe not. But either way I do believe we will suffer greatly. If we don’t fall completely, I’m sure we will fall from being a superpower.

Genesis 12:2-3
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.

This great nation is Israel. (God said He would make Abraham is great nation. Not a big nation.) The US has not been very kind to Israel lately. Neither have many other countries. And we will pay the price for it.

This seems to go along with what a lot of experts on prophesy have been saying. They say there is no hint of America in End Time prophesy. They do say the Bible talks about Russia and China though.

So what can we do about this? Pray. And get ready. Now when I say get ready, I do not mean sell everything, move into the mountains, clear the land, and live completely off the grid. For most of us that would be stupid. Most likely you’d go into debt. And when worst comes to worst, you’ll still have that debt to pay off.

So what should you do? I don’t know. If you can, get out of debt. And pray.

You should also be sure you are right with God. 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. Believe that Jesus died for you sins. And after he was dead and buried for three days he rose again physically from the dead. Not as a ghost, but as a man who was seen and talked with and ate with. Later He was lifted up into heaven. He will return.

I believe that when America falls, either completely or partly; this world will be one step closer to the anti-Christ.

Also keep in mind that our Lord Jesus could come for us any time from the next few years, to the next few seconds. Be ready.

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05 Apr 2015

NEWS FLASH!

Monday, April 6, 33

The tomb was found empty yesterday morning. Roman Officials baffled.

On the beginning of Passover a man named Jesus, who calls himself “Son of Man” and some called “King of the Jews” was executed by being nailed to a cross until dead.

After Jesus died he was placed in a new tomb donated by Joseph, a rich man from Arimathea who had become a follower of Jesus. The stone was rolled to cover the entrance of the tomb. The next day Pilate himself ordered that it would be sealed, and had his soldiers to guard it from tempering.

On Sunday morning there was an earthquake. Roman guards claim to have seen an angel roll away the stone, breaking the seal. These ‘very brave, strong, and armed, Roman soldiers’ fainted with fear.

The angel told two women who happen to be there, that Jesus has risen from the dead. The angel then showed the women the empty tomb. Later that day there were reports of people seeing this risen Jesus walking around as a man, not as a ghost.

Word has leaked out that the leading Hebrew priests bribed the soldiers into saying the body was stolen when they were asleep. The Roman Officials are baffled on the conflicting reports but are investigating. If the soldiers were sleeping, they would be most severely disciplined. If the stories about Jesus being alive and well after being tortured and nailed on a cross, then stabbed by a soldier to ensure that he’s dead, is true; the Roman Officials admit they are clueless as what to do.

Man called 'KING of the JEWS' hangs on cross as witnesses watch

Man called ‘KING of the JEWS’ hangs on cross as witnesses watch

September 23, 34

Roman Officials are baffled on how to handle Christians.

A year and a half after Jesus rose from the dead, there are some uncomfortable facts for some. Over 500 people have seen Jesus since resurrection. And some of them even ate with him.

The disciples who ran as cowards when Jesus was arrested, are now willingly risking their lives talking about him. In fact many who are now called Christians are risking their lives, spreading the good news of salvation. (see the book of Acts) The good news is that God loved the world so much, He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. I believe this good news, as well as my editor who happens to be my wife. We have salvation not because of any good works, but because of grace through Jesus.

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