Having followed closely the nine month birth process of our grandson Ethan, Paul who was born December 23, 2010, impressed upon me again the incredible miracle it is to bring new life into the world.
However, the process of new life did not just begin nine month ago, rather than it began three years ago, when my son David attended the annual Feast of Tabernacles in Schluchsee Germany. There he met a young lady - Sabrina, and there the Miracle of New Life had its actual beginning. This encounter of two people, male and female, let to an engagement one year later, and to marriage the following year in November of 2009. What was the driving force that made it happen? It was love! Love was the driving force that overcame a multitude of obstacles and brought two people together who then had the capacity to bring new life into existence.
Yes, bringing new life into existence is a miracle, a gift from God, in whose image man was made. God created only one human being – Adam. From Adam God made Eve. Adam and Eve were given the capacity to reproduce themselves through procreation resulting in their children Cain and Abel, and their progeny, down to you and me, and to our grandson Ethan.
This process of procreation, which results in new physical life, is the corner stone of the human family, driven by love, resulting in an ever expanding humanity (now appr. 6.9 billion). Where will it end and what is the purpose of it all? From the biblical record we learn that the physical is but the beginning, the example and precursor of that which is to come – the spiritual.
The physical is temporary, the spiritual is eternal. The physical is sinful, the spiritual is sinless. The purpose of human life is to progress from the physical to the spiritual. Male and female, human love, the process of physical procreation, the ever expanding human family, where all created to teach us godly love, the process of spiritual procreation for the ever expanding Family of God.
And so we learn that God who is our perfect example, chose for Himself a wife, the slave nation Israel, and entered into a marriage covenant with her. 1500 years later God chose the Israelite woman Mary to carry and give birth to His first born son whom He named Jesus. It is a spiritual love story, beyond our full comprehension. The excitement and joy our son and his wife experienced, having produced new life – their firstborn son Ethan, is something all parents share when bringing new life into existence. God Almighty is no exception. Proudly He proclaimed: “This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased.” Yes, Jesus was born as the son of man for a specific purpose, to atone for the sins of the world, but He was also born as our example to show us the way of how to become a child of God, of how to become a spirit God being after the image of our Father via a resurrection from the dead.
Let us not diminish the miracle of NEW life, whether the first born of man or the first born of God with the mythological Roman Catholic, Trinitarian teaching of existence before birth. Let us live and experience the gift of love not only physically, but in its full spiritual dimension when the marriage of the lamb to His bride, the Church of God, will find its climax in perfect godly love for all eternity.
Friday, December 31, 2010
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Who is my brother – my sister, in Christ?
In order to answer the question: Who are my brothers and sisters in Christ? We need to define who a Christian is. As a beginning point, the most fundamental answer is that a Christian is a believer and follower in Jesus Christ. To be more specific and especially to be biblical, a Christian is one who has received the gift of the Holy Spirit from God. “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.”
When we consider the world as a whole, we find that there are an estimated 2.1 billion people in the world who profess to be Christians. That represents approximately 1/3 of the total world population. That means upfront that about 2/3 of the world population are my fellow human beings, but are not my brothers and sisters in Christ. Unfortunately, from this point forward it gets more complicated for among the other 1/3 “Christians” of the world population there is little to no agreement as to who is a TRUE Christian and who is a FALSE Christian.
It was the disciples of Jesus Christ who were first called “Christians” in Antioch. So, a true disciple is a follower and imitator of Jesus Christ, such as were the apostles. What makes a Christian a false Christian is to accept and believe in a false Christ.
The Bible is replete with warnings about the coming of false apostles and false brethren who are followers of false Christ’s. “For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many.”
In the gospel of Matthew is the Parable of the Wheat (true Christians) and the Tares (false Christians). Where do tares come from? Jesus said: “An enemy (Satan) has done this.” When His servants asked if they should gather the weed (false Christians), Jesus said: “No; lest in gathering the weeds (false Christians) you root up the wheat (true Christians) along with them. Let both grow together until the harvest; and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Gather the weeds (false Christians) first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the weed (true Christians) into my barn.”
From this parable we can see that in the world are true Christians, and false Christians and Jesus said to let them grow up together for at harvest time (at the resurrection) He will separate them according to His perfect judgment. In the mean time does this mean that I should have spiritual fellowship with both, true and false Christians? Yes and no. I believe that it is our responsibility to judge and identify obvious false Christian beliefs, but it is not our responsibility to forcedly separate professed Christians who have different beliefs.
The problem is that true Christians, who have repented of sin, who have been baptized, laid hands on, and have received God’s Holy Spirit, do not come with a sign that lets everybody know that they are true Christians. So, how can I know who my true, spiritual brothers and sisters are? Somehow I must make a judgment about 2.1 billion people who claim to be Christians, but who are not all true Christians. Personally, as a minimum, I look for three fundamental beliefs of a Christian for the purpose of spiritual fellowship:
• A belief that there is a God. Not any God; but the God of the Bible; the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the Creator and Sustainer of heaven and earth.
• A belief that Jesus is the only (so) begotten and first born Son of God who lived, suffered and died for us 2000 years ago. Who, after three days and three nights in the grave was resurrected by His Father from the dead, and ascended into heaven from where He will return as King of kings and Lord of lords.
• A true Christian must be a law abiding Christian. Jesus said: “If you love me, keep my commandments.” It is the fourth commandment, the test commandment that tells me if you love Jesus. Remembering and keeping the Sabbath, the seventh day holy, is a visible sign that separates true from false Christians. With the weekly Sabbath also come the annual Sabbaths of Lev. 23. God’s plan of salvation cannot be known and understood apart from an acknowledgement and keeping of the annual holy days.
It is my estimate that these three points will reduce the 2.1 billion people who claim to be Christians by at least 90%. The balance I consider to be true spiritual brothers and sisters, even though many differences of fully understanding God and Jesus Christ continue to exist. It is my belief that no human being has a complete understanding of the Spirit Beings, God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ – the Word of God – the Bible. Therefore, we must always keep the door open to grow in grace and knowledge. Yes, a basic line of separation must be drawn, but beyond that we must apply the benefit of doubt in our dealings with our brothers and sisters in Christ.
What is the cause of division? In most cases it is not that someone denounces Jesus Christ and would therefore no longer be a Christian. No, Satan’s attacks are primarily on professed Christians, and his greatest weapons are tradition, pride and organizational considerations that are the cause of unnecessary and unjustified division.
Ironically, in the final analysis, we all fall short of perfect righteous conduct and complete understanding, making us totally dependent on the perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ, to pay the penalty of our shortcomings that the law and God demand. Thank you Father; thank you Lord Jesus; thank you God; for your love that surpasses all human understanding.
When we consider the world as a whole, we find that there are an estimated 2.1 billion people in the world who profess to be Christians. That represents approximately 1/3 of the total world population. That means upfront that about 2/3 of the world population are my fellow human beings, but are not my brothers and sisters in Christ. Unfortunately, from this point forward it gets more complicated for among the other 1/3 “Christians” of the world population there is little to no agreement as to who is a TRUE Christian and who is a FALSE Christian.
It was the disciples of Jesus Christ who were first called “Christians” in Antioch. So, a true disciple is a follower and imitator of Jesus Christ, such as were the apostles. What makes a Christian a false Christian is to accept and believe in a false Christ.
The Bible is replete with warnings about the coming of false apostles and false brethren who are followers of false Christ’s. “For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many.”
In the gospel of Matthew is the Parable of the Wheat (true Christians) and the Tares (false Christians). Where do tares come from? Jesus said: “An enemy (Satan) has done this.” When His servants asked if they should gather the weed (false Christians), Jesus said: “No; lest in gathering the weeds (false Christians) you root up the wheat (true Christians) along with them. Let both grow together until the harvest; and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Gather the weeds (false Christians) first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the weed (true Christians) into my barn.”
From this parable we can see that in the world are true Christians, and false Christians and Jesus said to let them grow up together for at harvest time (at the resurrection) He will separate them according to His perfect judgment. In the mean time does this mean that I should have spiritual fellowship with both, true and false Christians? Yes and no. I believe that it is our responsibility to judge and identify obvious false Christian beliefs, but it is not our responsibility to forcedly separate professed Christians who have different beliefs.
The problem is that true Christians, who have repented of sin, who have been baptized, laid hands on, and have received God’s Holy Spirit, do not come with a sign that lets everybody know that they are true Christians. So, how can I know who my true, spiritual brothers and sisters are? Somehow I must make a judgment about 2.1 billion people who claim to be Christians, but who are not all true Christians. Personally, as a minimum, I look for three fundamental beliefs of a Christian for the purpose of spiritual fellowship:
• A belief that there is a God. Not any God; but the God of the Bible; the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the Creator and Sustainer of heaven and earth.
• A belief that Jesus is the only (so) begotten and first born Son of God who lived, suffered and died for us 2000 years ago. Who, after three days and three nights in the grave was resurrected by His Father from the dead, and ascended into heaven from where He will return as King of kings and Lord of lords.
• A true Christian must be a law abiding Christian. Jesus said: “If you love me, keep my commandments.” It is the fourth commandment, the test commandment that tells me if you love Jesus. Remembering and keeping the Sabbath, the seventh day holy, is a visible sign that separates true from false Christians. With the weekly Sabbath also come the annual Sabbaths of Lev. 23. God’s plan of salvation cannot be known and understood apart from an acknowledgement and keeping of the annual holy days.
It is my estimate that these three points will reduce the 2.1 billion people who claim to be Christians by at least 90%. The balance I consider to be true spiritual brothers and sisters, even though many differences of fully understanding God and Jesus Christ continue to exist. It is my belief that no human being has a complete understanding of the Spirit Beings, God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ – the Word of God – the Bible. Therefore, we must always keep the door open to grow in grace and knowledge. Yes, a basic line of separation must be drawn, but beyond that we must apply the benefit of doubt in our dealings with our brothers and sisters in Christ.
What is the cause of division? In most cases it is not that someone denounces Jesus Christ and would therefore no longer be a Christian. No, Satan’s attacks are primarily on professed Christians, and his greatest weapons are tradition, pride and organizational considerations that are the cause of unnecessary and unjustified division.
Ironically, in the final analysis, we all fall short of perfect righteous conduct and complete understanding, making us totally dependent on the perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ, to pay the penalty of our shortcomings that the law and God demand. Thank you Father; thank you Lord Jesus; thank you God; for your love that surpasses all human understanding.
Friday, August 13, 2010
The Purpose of Human Life
There are only five kinds of living organisms in the universe. They are:
The God kind
• God Almighty, YHWH, and His WORD have existed ETERNALLY.
• God’s purpose is to REPRODUCE Him-self through the human kind.
The Angelic kind, CREATED individually by God
• The good angels are helpers and messengers of the true God.
• The bad angels (demons) are helpers and messengers of Satan the false god.
The Human kind
• Adam and Eve were CREATED by God in the image of God.
• Adam and Eve disobeyed the true God, and obeyed the false god Satan, and thereby became the spiritually BEGOTTEN children of Satan.
• All offspring of Adam and Eve came into existence through PROCREATION. Physically BORN of their human parents, and spiritually BEGOTTEN of their father, the false god Satan.
• “And the WORD became flesh.” Jesus was physically BORN of His human mother Mary and spiritually BEGOTTEN of His Father, the true God—YHWH, making Him human kind.
• Jesus lived, suffered, died, and was resurrected--BORN AGAIN, spiritually, of His Father the true God, making Him God kind.
• The purpose of human life is to change from the human kind to the God kind. This is why BORN human beings MUST be BORN AGAIN to change from their spiritual father Satan, to their spiritual father God. After conversion, man will live, suffer, die and be resurrected—BORN AGAIN of their Father, the true God, making them God kind.
The Animal kind
• REPRODUCE after their own kind
The Plant kind
• REPRODUCE after their own kind
The God kind
• God Almighty, YHWH, and His WORD have existed ETERNALLY.
• God’s purpose is to REPRODUCE Him-self through the human kind.
The Angelic kind, CREATED individually by God
• The good angels are helpers and messengers of the true God.
• The bad angels (demons) are helpers and messengers of Satan the false god.
The Human kind
• Adam and Eve were CREATED by God in the image of God.
• Adam and Eve disobeyed the true God, and obeyed the false god Satan, and thereby became the spiritually BEGOTTEN children of Satan.
• All offspring of Adam and Eve came into existence through PROCREATION. Physically BORN of their human parents, and spiritually BEGOTTEN of their father, the false god Satan.
• “And the WORD became flesh.” Jesus was physically BORN of His human mother Mary and spiritually BEGOTTEN of His Father, the true God—YHWH, making Him human kind.
• Jesus lived, suffered, died, and was resurrected--BORN AGAIN, spiritually, of His Father the true God, making Him God kind.
• The purpose of human life is to change from the human kind to the God kind. This is why BORN human beings MUST be BORN AGAIN to change from their spiritual father Satan, to their spiritual father God. After conversion, man will live, suffer, die and be resurrected—BORN AGAIN of their Father, the true God, making them God kind.
The Animal kind
• REPRODUCE after their own kind
The Plant kind
• REPRODUCE after their own kind
Friday, July 16, 2010
Herbert W. Armstrong ads in the Wall Street Journal
In 1980/81 Herbert W. Armstrong, then, Pastor General of the Worldwide Church of God, ran a series of ads in the Wall Street Journal pointing out that there are only two ways of life. One way he called the way of "GET," the way of vanity, coveting, lust and greed--envy and jealousy, hostile competition, strife, violence, war, destruction. And above all, resentment of authority. The other way of life he called the way of "GIVE," the way of outflowing LOVE toward others, concern for their welfare, serving, cooperating, sharing.
Today, almost 30 years later, his comments are even more pertinent considering that the "GET" way of life has taken over more and more individuals and almost every aspect of society. Here are 12 of his ads as they appeared in the Wall Street Journal:
November 03, 1980 What's Wrong with Science and Technology!
November 10, 1980 What's Wrong with Business and Industry?
November 24, 1980 Why The American Living Standard Is Going Down!
December 01, 1980 What's Wrong with Organized Labor?
January 05, 1981 Why?
January 12, 1981 What's Wrong with Religion?
January 19, 1981 What's Right about the World Tomorrow?
February 09, 1981 Problem of Survival--Will It Work Out?
February 23, 1981 The Executive with Rose-Colored Glasses
March 23, 1981 Money Is Not the Root of All Evil!!
March 30, 1981 On Forecasting the Economy
April 06, 1981 Good News and Bad News
Today, almost 30 years later, his comments are even more pertinent considering that the "GET" way of life has taken over more and more individuals and almost every aspect of society. Here are 12 of his ads as they appeared in the Wall Street Journal:
November 03, 1980 What's Wrong with Science and Technology!
November 10, 1980 What's Wrong with Business and Industry?
November 24, 1980 Why The American Living Standard Is Going Down!
December 01, 1980 What's Wrong with Organized Labor?
January 05, 1981 Why?
January 12, 1981 What's Wrong with Religion?
January 19, 1981 What's Right about the World Tomorrow?
February 09, 1981 Problem of Survival--Will It Work Out?
February 23, 1981 The Executive with Rose-Colored Glasses
March 23, 1981 Money Is Not the Root of All Evil!!
March 30, 1981 On Forecasting the Economy
April 06, 1981 Good News and Bad News
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Confession of a Longtime Cultist
Ever since Jonestown the word Cult or Cultist has become a household word around the world. I too could not escape the impact and it caused me to look at myself and determine what I have or had in common with 900 Jonestown Cultists.
To begin with, I was indoctrinated and brainwashed from early childhood. It was never my choice, for during my childhood I followed and accepted that which my parents taught me by word and deed. Even during my teenage years and early adulthood, I never became suspicious because the people we associated with had all the same beliefs, and did, more or less, the same things.
Asking the question WHY, was paramount to challenging the authority and wisdom of parents and leaders. My wife was the product of the same environment and so we were married and raised our children perpetuating the same beliefs and traditions we inherited from our parents and society.
It was not until my middle thirties, after I satisfied the basic human requirements of a family, a home, a steady job and a little financial security, that I began seriously to ask: WHY? I soon found myself with more questions than answers and the search for truth was on.
Why did I believe what I believed? Why did I go to church on Sunday mornings? Why did I go to a particular church and not to another? (I found there were some 250 denominations to choose from). Why did I believe what one preacher said and disbelieved another? What is truth anyhow? Who determines what truth is?
Then one day I received the answer. God in His own way and time opened my mind giving me the answer to all my questions. GOD’S WORD IS TRUTH!
I accepted, and God began to remove the scales from my eyes and mind, showing me that:
God is not a “Trinity” but a loving and expanding “Family;”
That man does not have an “immortal soul,” but that man’s only hope is a “resurrection from the dead;”
That the purpose of man is not to “go to heaven,” but to become a “son of God;”
That the “SUN-DAY,” is not the “SON-DAY;”
That “Easter” is not the “Passover,”
That “death” does not mean “life” in heaven, hell or purgatory,
That “three days and three nights” in the grave can not be from Friday afternoon to Sunday morning,
That the Good News Jesus Christ came to proclaim is not only the “Gospel of Grace,” but was and is also the "Gospel of the Kingdom of God."
Yes, I was brainwashed, along with millions of others, into believing and following blindly, beliefs not to be found in the Word of God – the Bible.
But praise be to God, my cult-days are over. Today I live in freedom knowing and understanding why I believe what I believe. True to scripture, Satan has deceived the whole world, raising up his most successful cult under the label of “Christianity.”
www.logoslogic.info/illogical.html
To begin with, I was indoctrinated and brainwashed from early childhood. It was never my choice, for during my childhood I followed and accepted that which my parents taught me by word and deed. Even during my teenage years and early adulthood, I never became suspicious because the people we associated with had all the same beliefs, and did, more or less, the same things.
Asking the question WHY, was paramount to challenging the authority and wisdom of parents and leaders. My wife was the product of the same environment and so we were married and raised our children perpetuating the same beliefs and traditions we inherited from our parents and society.
It was not until my middle thirties, after I satisfied the basic human requirements of a family, a home, a steady job and a little financial security, that I began seriously to ask: WHY? I soon found myself with more questions than answers and the search for truth was on.
Why did I believe what I believed? Why did I go to church on Sunday mornings? Why did I go to a particular church and not to another? (I found there were some 250 denominations to choose from). Why did I believe what one preacher said and disbelieved another? What is truth anyhow? Who determines what truth is?
Then one day I received the answer. God in His own way and time opened my mind giving me the answer to all my questions. GOD’S WORD IS TRUTH!
I accepted, and God began to remove the scales from my eyes and mind, showing me that:
God is not a “Trinity” but a loving and expanding “Family;”
That man does not have an “immortal soul,” but that man’s only hope is a “resurrection from the dead;”
That the purpose of man is not to “go to heaven,” but to become a “son of God;”
That the “SUN-DAY,” is not the “SON-DAY;”
That “Easter” is not the “Passover,”
That “death” does not mean “life” in heaven, hell or purgatory,
That “three days and three nights” in the grave can not be from Friday afternoon to Sunday morning,
That the Good News Jesus Christ came to proclaim is not only the “Gospel of Grace,” but was and is also the "Gospel of the Kingdom of God."
Yes, I was brainwashed, along with millions of others, into believing and following blindly, beliefs not to be found in the Word of God – the Bible.
But praise be to God, my cult-days are over. Today I live in freedom knowing and understanding why I believe what I believe. True to scripture, Satan has deceived the whole world, raising up his most successful cult under the label of “Christianity.”
www.logoslogic.info/illogical.html
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Marriage – the Union of one Man and one Woman!
On November 4, 2008 the people of California voted to amend the State Constitution to include this statement: "Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California." Why was this vote and amendment necessary? No doubt there are many diverse reasons why 52.1% of the people voted in favor of this amendment, but the single and primary issue involved is the use of the word MARRIAGE when applied to a union of same sex couples. It is the word MARRIAGE that proponents of this amendment want to retain as applicable only to a union of one man and one woman. Opponents of this amendment, in contrast, are not satisfied with just living together or partaking of all legal rights through available DOMESTIC PARTNERSHIP arrangements, but insist on using the term MARRIAGE for their same sex partnerships.
For the rest of the story go to: www.logoslogic.info/Prop8.html
For the rest of the story go to: www.logoslogic.info/Prop8.html
God’s Grace and my Personal History
I have always believed in a god. I grew up in Germany in a basic Lutheran environment that was teaching about The God. I have not been totally ignorant about God's Son Jesus Christ. I have attended church on many a Sunday morning and have attended church three times a day while living for 1 1/2 years in a strict Catholic environment. I have heard about the devil, heaven and hell, confession, Martin Luther, the Pope, and oh-yes the Bible. The Bible was that black book the minister read from Sunday mornings.
A typical Christian? Perhaps!
For the rest of the story go to: www.logoslogic.info/GodsGrace.html
A typical Christian? Perhaps!
For the rest of the story go to: www.logoslogic.info/GodsGrace.html
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