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What if you died today? What would happen? If you're not sure, find out. Feel like your missing something, like there is this void in your life? Find out.
The Bible tells it all. Before you start bashing it, have you ever read it? Or are you going off those three times that you went to church after you left your Mom and Dad? I know it is hard to get started and to get through all the "thee's" and "thou's." The book is written by the Holy Spirit. You'll have a hard time understanding it unless you're led by the spirit. That is why it is hard to read. Get a new translation: the NIV, NLT or New King James(NKJV), which will help. Ok, let's start at the beginning. The world, Earth and the universe: was it created or did it happen by chance, by the big bang? You: were you designed or just a lucky roll of the dice? This guy, Dr. Hovind, gives a great series on this: www.drdino.com I'll give you a copy of disk #1 if you ask. In Genesis 1:2, the Word says "The Earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters." NKJ version This whole thing bothered me for a while, until Pastor Benny Hinn said that the word 'was'. 'Was' translates from a word in Hebrew that could also mean 'became'. I'm no expert of Hebrew, but I do know that everything God does is perfect. Think about it...God created the Heavens and the Earth, perfect. Then it became without form, and void. This explains the time and age thing. So what happens to make the Earth become without form and void? This is where our problems began. Lucifer was an angel under God. He had power, full of wisdom and was beautiful. Pride rose up in him and he led a rebellion in Heaven. One third of the angels, including Lucifer, lost this rebellion and were thrown out of Heaven. Lucifer, now called many things, is commonly known as Satan. Sin is an archery term that means to "fall short of the target". Shoot an arrow, and a guy down range calls back "sin" if you fell short of your target, letting you know to adjust your aim. To sin is to fall short of the Glory of God. Now God has a plan for you to get right with him if you did sin. You must atone for your sin! It is not about "Well, I am good person, I guess I'm going to Heaven." Nor is it a scale weighing out the good and bad at the end. In the Old Testament you placed your hands on an animal that was appropriate for your sin and transferred your sin onto that animal. The animal was killed in a certain way, and the blood was sprinkled on the alter to atone for your sin. You were now clean. What standards do you hold yourself to and why? Your conscience was placed there by God for a reason. If we happened by chance, there would be no need for a conscience. However, God gave us the Bible as a tool to help us out. I love the way the guys at the 'Way of the Master', www.wayofthemaster.com, put it: Have you ever lied? Have you ever stolen anything? Have you ever looked at something that somebody else owned and really, really wanted it? Have you ever looked another person with lust? Then you're right here with the rest of us. We are all guilty of sinning against God. So God in his ultimate mercy gave his only son, Jesus, as one 'once and for all' sacrifice for our sins. We are in the middle of a battle; the battle for our souls. Everything is spiritual, and all good things come from God. We are not here by chance but by design. You are not reading this by chance, but by design. 1. Acknowledge God and repent of your shortcomings. Repent means to "turn away from". Confess your sins. God is faithful to forgive you and will remember your sins no more, and you have to let them go as well. 2. Accept Jesus Christ into your heart and ask Him to begin a work in you. 3. Do the things that the Holy Spirit is now guiding you to do. Forgive others! This is a tough one. But God holds us to the same standards that we hold: how can he forgive us for our mountain of sin if we won't forgive others? 4. Read the Bible. Again, get one that is easy to understand: NIV, NLT or the New King James (NKJV). Start in Luke or John and then Genesis. One way is to read a chapter a day as well as a chapter of Proverbs (there are 31 of them, one for every day). Then get a King James (KJV), as this is the most accurate translation, but not for the timid or sleepy. 5. Don't look solely to man or you will be disappointed. Look to God and keep your eyes on Him. Today, we live in a great and awesome time. There are so many resources out there: www.voiceofevangelism.org This guy is deep. Who am I? Nobody. Who is God? Everything. Yeah, I'm taking a risk in ticking someone off, but you've read down this far. Do you feel God tugging at your heart? I once heard, "What God says either means everything or nothing. If we were created, God's word means everything. If we happened by chance, we're all worm food". Are you willing to take the risk? By today's standard, Charles Darwin was a loser; only 6 people attended his funeral. Carl Marks, also a loser, wrote in his thesis: 'to control a country, get them to believe in evolution', thus taking away the eternal consequences of their actions and making them easier to control. It also makes people look to the State for guidance instead of God. This is what Hitler did in the 1930's. Believing in evolution doesn't make you smarter, just easier to control. I believe that time is short and we've got to stop playing around. What are you doing? Remember: a bird on a fence gets shot. May God revive this country. May He bless and guide us and our troops. May He bless you. SiFu Jeff started 3/14/09 |
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Please Contact (352) 638-2770 for more information or E-mail SifuJeff@clermontkungfu.com
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