Rebuttal: Tough questions for Christians, questions 11-20

Continuing on:

Question 11:

A couple things before the question:

He quotes Luke 19:27, completely out of context I might add, and claims that this is saying anyone who does not want Jesus as Lord should be killed. This verse was taken from the parable of ten minas. This parable was of things that are still yet to come. You see, the disciples thought that Jesus would reign on earth, at that time. This is apparent in Luke 19:11, at the very start of the parable. "As they heard these things, he proceeded to tell a parable, because he was near to Jerusalem, and because they supposed the kingdom of God was to appear immediately." (ESV) This parable was to make known that the kingdom was still to come. In it, the noble goes away to receive his kingdom, leaving stewards behind each with a mina. That was Jesus ascending into heaven, and leaving us behind to spread His word. In the parable, when the noble goes away to receive his kingdom, some say that they do no wish to be ruled over. That is the world rejecting the work Jesus has done. Jesus has not returned yet, but that is what the rest of the parable tells of. So, Luke 19:27 is talking of what is to come when Jesus returns to rule. When He returns, He will not be meek and mild Jesus. Read Revelations 19:11 and following for Jesus returning in full glory. 

Notice that someone who knows the scriptures well enough can make them say anything if they're taken out of context. No matter who is preaching, always alway always read the context! Ask Jesus if it's true! We are human, we make mistakes, some even intentionally twist the scriptures. Watch for the wolves!

Now the question:

"What did Jesus mean when he commanded his followers to bring unbelievers hither and, 'slay them before me?'"

He meant exactly that, but it has a condition. He was referring to what was to come. It was not a command for the now, but a foretelling of what will happen on the last day. Until then, we act as Jesus acted while on earth: Peacefully, yet ready to defend the truth and speak the truth boldly. When Jesus returns, He will be in His full glory, the reigning king, and no one will be able to stand against.

Question 12:

A few things before the question:

"This good God has personally drowned millions of people. He's killed people for infractions as minor as looking the wrong direction." God laid down the ground rules of what to do and not to do, He is very patient, but not unjust. He is a just judge and will deal justice eventually. His wrath does exist, but does His enacting justice make Him not good, or evil? No. Everything good comes from Him, He cannot be untrue to Himself.

"And if God created everything, then He is personally responsible for the Ebola virus, the Bubonic plague, flesh eating bacteria, and bad breath." The world we look at is a fallen world. Things are not as they should be. Who knows what purpose bacteria served before the fall? Everything has been affected by sin. Nothing is left untouched. Praise the Lord that He will one day make everything right, and there will be a new heaven, and a new earth, perfect in every way.

"If that's good, then what's evil." Let's define evil. Evil is the absence of God. Everything good comes from God, and everything evil is where God is not. take for example cold. Cold is the absence of heat. You can make something hotter and hotter, but total absence of heat is -273.15 Degrees Celsius, -459.67 Degrees Fahrenheit, and 0 Degrees Kalvin. We have not seen a total absence of God yet, take the most evil man that ever lived and you wont have been anywhere near what it would be like to be fully evil.

Now the question: "What actions would be 'evil' or 'immoral' if committed by God?" 

Anything that would go against God's nature would be considered evil. However, God cannot go against His own nature.

Question 13:

One thing before the question:

He continually mangles the trinity. The Father, Son and Spirit working as one make up God. When Jesus was praying, He was praying to the Father. God is three distinct persons, but still one God.

Now the question:

"Why was God so reluctant to sacrifice himself for you[r] sins?"

He was not reluctant. He is the one with the plan, and His goal is to bring glory to Himself. He was under no obligation to save us of our sins, but He made a plan and then followed through. His plan is complex, yet perfect. Everything worked together to glorify Him, and continues to do so.

Question 14:

One thing before the question:

He is talking of the age of accountability, and he rightly says it is not in the bible. There is no biblical ground for it. If there is an age of accountability, then abortion would be the greatest, man made heaven filling device. We know in our hearts this is not right. I believe that God is sovereign. He chooses to save who he chooses, and doesn't save who he doesn't choose. He knows all, and is good. Who are we to question Him? He will do what is right, whatever that is, I don't know.

Now the question: "Would you risk eternity in hell if it meant your children could spend eternity in heaven?"

Now that is a tough one, only because it shows how loyal you are to your children. My answer would have to be probably not. Fortunately, there is nothing I can do to separate myself from Christ. I didn't deserve to be saved originally, don't deserve to be saved now, nothing I can do in the future to make myself more undeserving either. Jesus paid it all, nothing I did saved me, nothing I can do to give up what He's given me. I'm not holding Him, He's holding me, and He doesn't let go of His own. 

Question 15:

"Why aren't you reattaching limbs for the glory of God?"

First, I would like to point out that what he says is true, Jesus did reattach limbs, and our God is all powerful. Why hasn't He done that recently, I'm not sure. He certainly is capable of it. It is up to Him to decide weather to do so or not, He is under no obligation to heal us. Now, to answer the question, it is not our own power that we do anything. Everything good comes from God. We are powerless on our own, none of our gifts come from ourselves. If Jesus sees fit to use one of us to heal, then praise the Lord, if not, praise the Lord. It is His own glory at stake, He will defend Himself as He sees fit.

Question 16:

Before we get to the question, a few things:

In the video, he gives mention to Jim Jones and his cult called The People temple. He states that the peoples temple members were "devout believers in Christ, who's lives involved bible study and prayer on a daily basis." Further examination of the cults teaching, however, reveals they were not. Jim Jones, the cult leader, identified the God of the Bible as a "trickster" or false deity. His teaching were Marxist, and his cult held a very communistic ideology. He preached, "God is principle, principle is love, and love is socialism." The cult believed that the concept of socialism was God. Further, Jones deified himself, "Jim Jones is God because he is the embodiment of Divine Socialism." For more information, please see here: http://www.suite101.com/content/the-theology-of-jim-jones-a49331 and here: http://www.caic.org.au/biblebase/apocolyptic/jones.htm

Also, in the video, he gives mention to the Branch Davidians. After studying their website (yes, they're still around) for most of the day, I must say, they are definitely a cult, and not Christian as they claim. First and foremost, it appears that they reject Jesus as God, and instead see him as a prophet. Secondly, they believe in  reincarnation. Thirdly, they twist scripture to suite their views, or just flat out change it. Fourthly the claim that someone still to come, one of the Davidians who survived the raid at Waco, TX, is the lamb refered to in Revelation. Not Jesus. Fifthly, they claim there is a Father God, and Mother God. There's quite a bit more, and I may take an entire post or two to show the differences if God calls me too, but I believe this is sufficient evidence to disprove the claim that they were indeed Christians. For more information, here is their official site: http://www.sevenseals.com/

As for the bit about the civil war, many on both sides were Christians, and it was fought over a lot more than just slavery. Pointing out that Christians were on the union side as a way to say slavery is wrong in God's eyes is not a valid argument. Look at Galatians 3:28, speaking of the way Christ sees us, "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus."

"What system did God establish, which you follow but 'mislead' Christians ignore, that ensures you are following the real God, while others believers are so easily mislead?" 

A very good point. The answer is the Bible. The people temple was a cult. Cults are funny things, they are wolves in sheep's clothing, claiming to study the bible, but teaching something different. However, close examination of these cults proves that they did not know our Lord, or they would not have done such things. There are false teachers, and that is why we must pay such close attention to what is being preached. If there are false teachers, who are unrepentant, they should be sent out of the church and no longer allowed to teach.

Question 17:

"If people can only be damned if they consciously reject Jesus, why tell anyone about him?" 

The Bible does not teach that it is only if they reject Jesus consciously. It does teach that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. God is all knowing, and all powerful; He is just, and everything He does is right and good. He is also sovereign. I trust that God will do what is right, whatever that is. That is all that matters. Jesus instructed us to go out and preach the gospel, so we do so. 

Question 18:

Before we get to the question:

"Apparently he needs some sort of external marker so he knows who he's supposed to slaughter." No, the Israelites putting blood on their doors was showing that they had faith in God. It was a statement of faith. Also, when the Egyptians woke up the next morning to see that God had slaughtered them, but that the Israelites were all well, God's glory was displayed.

The analogy about the promise land has a major difference from history. Azsuperman01 did not own the car, or the Jones family. God owns everything on earth. It is His to destroy or to prosper. Every day, waking up is because of Him.

Now the question: "Why did God make the Israelites murder so many people in order to take possession of the land he promised them?"

Could God have killed everyone in the land before hand? Sure. He uses His people to let us help. Think of a father taking his son to work. Now, the father could do a lot more, with a lot less stress and worry if his son wasn't there, but he bring his son along to let his son help. If your dad ever brought you along to work along side him, then you know the feeling, it's a feeling of pride and joy to get to help dad out. 

I think the other reason was for the Israelites to see the glory and power of God, for example with Jericho. March around the city 7 times, blow the trumpets, and the walls come tumbling down. How else can that be explained besides God's almighty power? The people of the land then knew that God was real, and powerful, and that He was coming after them.

A third reason could be that, again, it was a statement of faith. That they had faith that if God was for them, no one could stand against. That God could do anything, and would bring them victory. 

Question 19:

"Did God create hell with the foreknowledge and intent of torturing humanity? Or is he a bumbling idiot who could not foresee the consequences of his own actions?"

God is all knowing, and all powerful, so yes, God created hell knowing who would end up there. Hells hot, eternity's a long time, stop running towards destruction and surrender to the one who died for you. Think of it this way, Jesus jumped on a grenade for you. But, it's not like you were battle buddies and a grenade came in so He jumped on it. No, you were the enemy, shooting at Him, and He ran across the field of fire to jump on His own grenade and save you. That's a poor analogy of what Jesus did for us on the cross, but I think it helps to explain it.

Question 20:

"How many souls does a Chimera have, and what happens to the other soul?"

That is an interesting point. Truth is, I don't know. God does, He is just, all knowing, all powerful. In heaven, everything will be made clear.

On Abortion

Abortion is murder, plain and simple. I know that is not a popular view, nor a politically correct one, but the truth is rarely popular, nor politically correct. The arguments I have heard is "My body, my life" and "This is about women's rights." These arguments are not valid, because they ignore the right of the defenseless baby. Though the baby has had no chance to harm anyone, he or she is not allowed to live for the sake of what? Comfort? The other argument I have heard is, "The baby is not a person yet." Therefore, they claim it does not deserve the same rights, and is somehow less human. There is a double standard however, if someone were to murder a pregnant woman, he would be charged with two counts: The killing of the mother, and of the child. So, our government does recognize the baby still has a right to life, however, they turn a blind eye, or in some cases, outright support the killing of innocent life if it is convenient for the mother. This brings us to the next point: Governments roll.

The roll of Government is to represent Jesus' authority on earth. Our government obviously has not done this, and refuses to do so. I understand that is not a valid argument in most groups, so I shall use one that is, not because I am ashamed of my savior, but because the goal of this is to bring about change in peoples thinking. The roll of the government should be to not let the rights of the citizens be encroached upon. This means, they are not to encroach on the rights of the citizens, and are to keep order in such a way as to protect and defend the citizens. At this too, they have failed. It is a slippery slope we find ourselves on, and our government isn't even trying to run back up, but instead, has turned and is leading the charge down. It is the duty of the government to intervene when the rights of the people are being infringed upon, and this means babies also. It boggles the mind that we have such a high value of children, but only the children that are convenient apparently.

Men, we have great responsibilities to bear, responsibilities that should have us on our knees every morning praying that Jesus would not allow us to fail, because the consequences are so great. One of those responsibilities is to "Speak up for those who cannot speak up for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly, defend the rights of the poor and the needy." (Proverbs 31:8-9) Society, and even many churches sadly, has turned men into cowards. Putting great emphasis on peace, and tolerance, so much so that we forget there are things worth fighting for. More and more, I see young Christian men, who grew up in the church, thinking just because they didn't do anything wrong, that they are in the right. You see, there are sins of omission, and commission. Take for example, original sin. Where was Adam when Eve first ate of the fruit? Genesis 3:6 "So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate." So, he was there, with her, and did nothing to defend her and her conscience, nor did he defend God and His commands. This is a sin of omission, not living up to his duty as a man to protect and defend. 

You are no longer an innocent sheep, you have now been given knowledge about the subject. You have three options, be a wolf and fight for abortion, be a guilty sheep and ignore what you have learned today, or be a sheepdog and take a stand. 

It's not like EMTs are people or anything..

I was looking for Christian EMT courses and found this:

http://atheism.about.com/b/2008/06/28/christian-emt-workers-allowed-to-let-pregnant-women-die.htm

So basically, the author takes a story of an EMT who refused to take a pregnant woman to get an abortion, and through a very round about way, comes to the conclusion that Christians are a threat to the public health. Considering the late date of this post, I can only find articles about the lawsuit that followed (BTW, if you have articles stating otherwise, please send them to me as I would like the truth behind anything), but the story that I've gathered is that this was a woman who wanted the ambulance to take her to have an abortion, and an EMT said no on the grounds that it went against her moral beliefs. She was fired on the spot and another EMT took her place.

The author makes a case concerning a law that should have protected her from being fired which says something along the lines of, if you have a moral or religious objection concerning aiding a person, you do not have to aid them. He then has this to say:

According to Manion's reading of Illinois' "conscience clause," it really wouldn’t matter if the abortion were an emergency, would it? If Stephanie Adamson had a moral objection to transporting someone for an abortion, it wouldn't matter if the abortion were purely elective or absolutely necessary to save the woman's life — a moral objection is sufficient to allow her to refuse to lift a finger to save the woman's life. Questioning whether the abortion was an "emergency" strikes me as little more than an attempt to cast aspersions on the motives of the woman who was, he acknowledges, in pain and thus in need of medical treatment.

Even if we ignore this, though, the question is pretty easy to answer: not all hospitals offer abortion services and, even if they do, there might be someone else better qualified to either perform an abortion or to perform an abortion on women in particular medical circumstances. There are plenty of good medical reasons for why it might be necessary to transport a woman in pain from a hospital to a clinic where she can get an abortion. There are few, if any, good medical reasons for an EMT to refuse to transport a woman in such a situation. There are no good reasons — medical or moral — to give EMTs the right to let a woman die rather than drive her to where her life can be saved.

What I am gathering from this, is that he would like EMTs to be good little sheep following the herd, and doing whatever, without question. While 99% of the time, this is ok, you still have to watch out for that 1% of the time when there's something wrong and stopping it means going against the grain. Never mind my views on abortion, never mind my morals, making EMTs prosecutable by law for not giving a treatment ties their hands, makes them second guess themselves, and in general, turns people away from getting into this field to help others.

The EMT did not wish to assist in the murder of an innocent child. The author takes this, and turns it into, "Christian EMT workers allowed to let pregnant women die?" as he titled his post.

As for the abortion, is it denial of a womans right over her body to not let her abort? Well, if you are with the world, then yes. A world without God sees this and says, it is the woman's body, and it is the woman's life. She should be allowed to make the decisions about them both. From a biblical stand point, abortion is evil, no matter the circumstances. God doesn't make mistakes. Since before time, He planned what we would do, from birth to the grave. That means, even in cases of incest or rape, though they are pure evil, it is not right to abort. God can take an evil situation, like rape, and turn it into something beautiful, like a child. If someone decides to take the life of their unborn child, they are, without a doubt, committing murder.

Even our own society realizes that unborn children have value! If a person punches a pregnant woman in the stomach, and she miscarries, the person will (and should) be convicted of murder. However, there is a double standard. If a woman decides that she is not ready to have a child, she can go to a clinic, and have the baby burned alive with acid, and essentially suffocate to kill it. No matter what grounds they say, it is still evil. "It was the humane thing to do, I couldn't support it." "The baby was going to be missing a limb, I couldn't give it a life like that." God still created that child, why is it up to you, to decide whether or not the baby should live? The Lord has a plan for everyone, even those that society views as worthless. It is not up to us to make the decision of who lives, and who dies; especially when they cannot defend themselves.

Life's tough, being a parent's tougher, but with the Lord's help, you can do it. God will not give you a challenge you cannot face. Now, He will almost certainly give you challenges that you cannot face alone. That's what is so great about our God, He is always good, but He is not safe. He wants what is best for us, and He is willing to give us difficult, painful times to make us love Him more, and to make us grow. Nothing worth while will ever be easy. Following God is a constant battle. Battles are not easy, but I can tell you this, the battle is worth it. Looking back on my short life so far, I have seen times where I wanted something, and God didn't let me have it. Looking back, His plan was perfect. He brought me through, and was with me every step the way, with my best interest at heart.

With a God that good, how can we try and say that it would be better to not bring a child into the world who God has a plan for? No matter what the circumstances, God still has a plan, and though you may not see it (and normally you wont), it is heading towards something beautiful and great.

Lessons from my father

A friend of mine posted this to facebook:


The series is called Lessons From My Father, and from what I have seen, it is very good.

I'd like to talk specifically about the scenario in the video where a town lost electricity. The majority of society collapsed. From just losing electricity! You see, this sort of shocked me, I'm ashamed to say. I grew up thinking what most people consider "tough," was normal. My friends and I always had the same mindset growing up. If we wanted something we got it, by building, earning, whatever. We never thought it would be given to us, and most of the time we'd get it after a great deal of working for it. Unfortunately, the rest of society is not that way.

During the aftermath of Katrina, something that's always stuck with me in my mind was a video clip of a single mom getting interviewed. She had lost her home, and belongings, and was sitting on a curb. The interviewer asked what she was going to do next, and what she said shocked me. "I'm just going to sit here till someone comes to take care of me." All I could think was what a horrible mindset.

Thinking about myself, I have a very "If it's to be, it's up to me." mindset. That's one of my sins sometimes, because I find it hard to trust that God will take care of me, and instead turn inward. However, it is most certainly a gift from God as well, because it instills a Get-R-Done, and I will survive attitude in me. That attitude has most certainly helped get me through some difficult times in life, and as long as I realize, that it comes from God, and not from me, I am blessed with success.

My dad always told me, "Don't sweat the small stuff." Funny how dad's have those words of wisdom that stick with ya for years after. I believe I've learned a lot from my dad. As a kid he did a lot of hiking, growing up as a missionary kid in the Philippines and Napal. By the time he had me and my siblings as kids, he had developed a dislike for camping. Sleeping on the ground, hiking through the woods, just wasn't his thing. He did, however, let us go camping with our friends, and my sister and I readily did that. Most wouldn't call my dad "tough." He's a computer programmer, wears glasses, etc. However, he was the one that instilled the mindset of a sheepdog within me, we trained side by side in martial arts, he taught me from a young age about God, he taught me to shoot, all that good stuff. His mindset is one of a survivor and a sheepdog.

I hope my readers will check out the other videos in the series, and teach others how to be sheepdogs.

Till next time, God bless!

Godly dating

Lately the Lord has guided me to Mars Hill Church's website, and I have been watching their sermons. Below is an excellent one on Godly dating.



Here is the post I wrote on dating before.

In everything, always consult the Lord first. If it is the Lord's will for you to be married and to find a Godly spouse, it will be so, but it will be on God's terms. His ways are perfect and pure. Who is man to question them? Who is man that he thinks he knows better than God?

It is hard to be single, our hearts long to be with someone. Be careful and discerning in who you choose. It should be someone you are ready to live with the rest of your life. One man, one woman, one flesh, one lifetime. That is how God intended it, and that is the way I intend to live.

Appearances

The city of Charleston, Illinois; has decided to ban the discharge of toy guns.

WEAPONS: A. Discharge of Weapons: It shall be unlawful to discharge any firearm, air gun, BB gun, pistol, cannon,toy gun, bow, mechanically drawn bow, or any type of mechanical device projecting pellets, arrows, missiles or projectiles, leaden or otherwise or any other type of missile excepting in a regularly established shooting gallery or unless fired or discharged for ceremonial purposes with a weapon that may cause a report but does not deliver a projectile capable of causing serious injury and with the approval of the Chief of Police; 

So nerf guns are illegal to discharge. This is the way the world deals with things. They deal with appearance, not with the  problem. So they teach safe sex instead of abstinence, and when this fails, they have abortions, killing taking another life to solve what they view as a mistake. They ban the tools instead of the crime. The make the appearance of security. They make the appearance of a lack of evil. The problem comes that evil still exists. That we cannot destroy evil by ignoring it.

In order to destroy evil, it must be fought at every advance. So who do we turn to for protection? The police? They are spread thin, and for the most part, can only arrest the person after the damage is done. The people at ground zero must be the first line of defense. They must protect themselves, and those that are in need. Therefore, they must have the best means of defense available: firearms.

But it is not only with firearms that appearances are placed ahead of the problem. Abortions are a way to keep up appearances. Instead of going through a long pregnancy, and then parenthood, why not just have it finished before it begins? Because, an abortion is murder of innocents, and no matter what you tell yourself, you will have to live with what you do. I know of some that have aborted, and then were haunted every day from that day to this about how it could have been had they not taken the life of their baby.

Fortunately, even with murder, there is forgiveness by the Lord Jesus. It is still hard to forgive yourself, but through Jesus, there is forgiveness, and not only that, but redemption and justification. It would still have been better had they not done it in the first place, but there is nothing to great that it was not covered by Jesus love.

Quote of the day

The Anti-Gunners (let's call them anti-self defensers shall we?) freak out when they see large amounts of firearms in the hands of civilians. Why would we ever need them? Are we planning on fighting a war? We must be terrorists!

Well, the fact that it is an inalienable right should be enough, let's give a few more reasons. The 2nd Amendment was set up to guarantee that we are governed, not ruled. Like wise, it was set up to guarantee the right of the people to defend themselves against all enemies, both foreign and domestic.

With that, I give you the quote of the day:

"You cannot invade mainland America. There would be a rifle behind every blade of grass." -Isoroku Yamamoto, Japanese Admiral

The Japaneses came close to finding out that that was true, but fortunately, they didn't. The question is, does that still hold true today? If an enemy force invaded, would there be a rifle behind every blade of grass, or just another sheep cowering, waiting for the slaughter? Something to ponder.

Dark Matter

The universe by all statistics, shouldnt exist. The ammount of matter that we can detect is not enough to hold it all together. The universe should be chaos and destruction, but obviously it is not. We live, we breath, we see, there is order. Scientists have seen this, and say there must be something more. There must be something we cannot see. They call this "Dark matter," and "Dark energy." This substance is apparently not made of atoms, cannot be seen by anything we've created, cannot be felt, etc.

I submit that they have rejected God, therefore, they look for other explenations. Those explenations seem to get wilder and wilder. Is it not clear that God is holding the entire universe together? That all of this order couldn't be random chance? That we have a maker?

I look around at the world, and I see a world held together by a perfect, and loving God who has created it all. A God that cares, and loves, so deeply for His creation, that He would not give up on it even when the creation destroyed itself. I also see a creation that has rejected its creator, and wishes to go its own way. To create its own reality.

So the unbeliever looks around the world, and sees a world that shouldn't be in existence. That has no explenation using modern science methods. Yet, they have rejected God, and, in fact, have created the lie that there is no God. No creator. No savior. So they explain the creation of the universe by the big bang theory. They explain the order by dark matter. They explain our existence through the random chance and adaption of evolution.

The problem is, God still exists, and no matter how many answers you come up with in modern science to explain where we came from, and why we exist, another problem comes up. The thirst for a solution will never be explained fully by science. It cannot. You can prove something that isn't true, at least for a while. Sooner or later, the false theories get shot full of holes, and the quest for knowledge begins again. The quest only ends when you put God into the equation. He is the only answer to all of this.

Remember.

Last Easter Sunday, 3 US Navy SEAL snipers simultaneously shot 3 Somalian pirates holding Capt Richard Phillips hostage. Let's do the math shall we? One pirate + one million dollar ransom = one million pirates. On the other hand, one pirate + one .50 BMG  = one less pirate in the world. Million dollar ransom costs a million dollars, .50 BMG costs about two dollars. Just something to think about.

Oh yeah, happy Easter! He is risen! Praise God! We are free! Free of sin, free of death. We live because of Christ! Amen!



Hope you all have a blessed time with close friends and family! Live for Christ!

The difference between Terrorism and Militia

Saw this on MSNBC today:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

The video states that a "Christian Militia" plotted attacks on the US government in order to bring about the ruin of the government. One such attack involved killing a police officer, then bombing the funeral. This, my friends, is terrorism. A militia provides for the common defense, this seems to be an offense against fellow citizens. The group hides behind a religious front claiming they are preparing for the anti-Christ. This may, or may not be true, but judging by their plan of action against US citizens, I would have to say this is an extremist anarchy group.

The press eats this up, because it is everything they claim we are. A bunch of knuckle dragging, anti-government, gun clinging, bible thumping, flag waving, extremists. Only they seem to have their own flag that they fight under, and the only mention of Christianity is preparing to defend against the anti-Christ. I do not know their heart, so I cannot judge, but this seems extremely cultish.

Be wary of these sorts of things. Though we may not agree with our leaders, God has still placed them over us. There may be a time when we have to fight with arms, to defend our rights, to be free to worship, etc; but as of now, we can fight it in the courts and congress. God is still in control, He has placed people in authority over us, and therefore, we should obey them, until their orders contradict the orders of God. We should pay taxes, give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's. Though it may seem bad and chaotic, in time, it will all make sense. During WWII, I doubt that it seemed to be making sense what was happening, and why things were going the way they were going; however, looking back, it all comes together. Everything happened in just the right way for evil to be stopped, at least for a while. Israel was created once again, and a nation of Israel was set up, so that the prophecies in Revelation could be fulfilled.

Should we fear the anti-Christ? No, we have salvation in Jesus. Who can stand against the awesome power of Christ? Our sins are forgiven, they are washed away, we have been made clean. We are children of God now, not the devil; sin and death have lost their power. Nothing of this world can have affect. Our God is an awesome God, He rescues His people out of darkness. We yearn for the day we can be united with Him in heaven, but until that day, we carry out His work.

Should we prepare? Yes. Hard times are ahead, I believe. Real persecution, like that which is in other countries. Our freedom has granted us an easy life thus far, we are free to worship, we are free to pray, we are not killed by the government for our faith. But that may change. I believe it will, personally. Prepare for that. Memorize scripture, know what you know is true. You must be sure of your faith, you must be sure of who Christ is, you must be sure of your forgiveness from sin. At one time, you might be faced with a choice, deny Christ or die. Remember, to live is Christ, to die is gain. Let the world despise and leave us, they have left our savior too. Let them destroy the body, let them take away the very air we breath, our God is mighty to save, and they cannot harm the soul. I do not believe we can fully prepare for that time of suffering, but I pray that I will have the courage to say "Yes, I do believe in Christ."

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Human Nature

Anonymous said...

Such is life. I accept your condemnation. And for the last time, there is no god. So stop with all this child talk. Grow up, you damn sheep.

No! There is a God! Of this I have no doubt! His love is displayed all around. In creation, in the complexity of life, in the beautiful poem that is His will. The way all these great acts of evil work into good. The way that all the prophecies of the Old Testament concerning Jesus were fulfilled, and the way that the prophecies in Revelation are being fulfilled. The way that each person is created different, but equal. The way that all the different parts of the world work, and fit perfectly with one another. 


Could this be chance? Could this really have happened by coincidence? No, I don't see how it could. There is evidence of a creator in the world. I see it all around. There is evidence of a savior, I feel it every day. Our God is an awesome God. He reveals Himself to us through His word. Who can stand against the Lord? He is almighty, all powerful. Who is greater than our Lord? There is no one. May the name of the Lord be praised. Might are His works! His love for His people is seen throughout history, and even today. The Lord our God is mighty to save, and mighty to forgive. I beg of you, reconsider your position. Do not harden your heart. 

Re: Re: Re: Re: Human Nature

Anonymous said...

Indeed, you are right. Indeed, you are wrong. I always loved the little proverbs people spit out, they never realize how easily they can be turned around.

I will admit it has been fun entertaining this kinship with you.

For your amusement: I am a devote atheist. I attend a catholic college. Oh, the irony. It makes sense, though. It was being surrounded by fanatics like you that turned me to this path.

My friend, you have no truth. We are all flying around this random star on this weird rock. We dont know where we came from, we dont know where we are going. And we always have to go to the bathroom. Theres no meaning to any of it. Think, if the purpose of life is just for the individual to save himself, even if its through helping others we will still have an eternity of humans accomplishing nothing. No, your way is far too simple, and therefore not truth. I too search for absolute truth, and it is not so easy to find that it is there before we are born.

P.S This will be my last response.
By the way, im only 18.

Mai dimenticata.
Nulla è reale, tutto è lecito.
Arrivederci, mi amico.

 I must say, I am truly saddened by such a world view.I don't see how someone with it could have any hope in life. Could even get up in the morning. Can you honestly believe that this world is all chance? That we are but chance? That nothing happens for a reason? That no one is in control?

"Think, if the purpose of life is just for the individual to save himself, even if its through helping others we will still have an eternity of humans accomplishing nothing." The purpose of life is not to save oneself. That is impossible. The purpose of life is bring glory to God. That is what creation was created for. 


"No, your way is far too simple, and therefore not truth." Yes, it is simple, isn't it? But there is no other way. Nothing can take away our sin, except the blood of Jesus. Why can't simple be truth? Wouldn't a God who loves us, and wants to be with us, make it as easy as possible to be with Him? Wouldn't He do as much work as he could to make His love available to us? I submit that He has gone as far as possible while still giving us the choice between accepting His love, and denying it. 


It is horrible for anyone to go to hell because they did not accept the great love offered them. How much more horrible the one that heard of it repeatedly, who saw it throughout their life, who saw people changed by it, and yet did not accept it! Cursed is that man! I submit it would be better had he never been born, for then he would not have to live with eternal regret for not accepting such a love!

A world without God

At the very core, humans are evil. We are not basically good. Take, for example, a young child. The child sees the pretty flame and wants to touch it. Being good and kind, and knowing they will get burned, you keep them from it. They do not think you know what is best for them, and continue to try over and over. When you stop them, if they had the power, they would tear you limb from limb to get what they want. Your life means nothing to them, their mind is one track, they do not have the values we as a society have. All that they see is oooo pretty, I want, I don't care who gets in my way.

So, obviously, most people don't kill whoever gets in the way of what they want, so what changed? Well, an atheist would say society. Society shaped them, but then, how was society itself shaped? I submit to you that there is a creator who loves his creation, and who has a plan that in the end works all evil together for good.

Well, why is there evil to begin with? Good question. I like this example: Light and darkness. In reality there is no such thing as darkness. We do not create darkness, we can not make darkness darker, it is merely a word we have created to identify a void. That void is the absence of light. Now, with light, we can always add more to make it lighter. It will ever get brighter and brighter, and there is no limit. God and evil are the same way. Evil is the absence of God. Take God out of the equation and evil flourishes. The world would be full of 1 year olds, but with the power to destroy anything that got in their path. There would be no reason to do right or good. No justice. No peace. Even the most evil men still had some light shown on them. God did not abandon them, no matter how hard they tried to push him away. This is apparent because they were not as bad as they could have been.

Thankfully, God does exist, and is good. Like the example of light, good can be added without limit. It can grow and grow, and God is abundant with it. He has no limit on His grace and love which He pours out to us. The darkness can not take away from the light, but light casts out the darkness. God, in the same way, can not be defeated by evil, but when evil attacks, it is driven away by His glorious might.

In the last days, after Jesus returns, and after the Holy Spirit has left the earth. Those that are left behind will experience true evil. Read the end of Revelations, it is not pretty. God is full of mercy, but is also just. In the end, He will not tolerate those who reject Him, and in those days, the people left on earth will cry out to the rocks to fall on, and bury them.

The God of the Bible is love, but He is not a helpless, defenseless God. Never forget that. He tells us what to do because it is best for us, but He is all powerful, and one to be feared. Without Christs blood covering our sin, we cannot even dare to stand before Him who created us. How foolish for us to believe that we are anything important.In Christ alone can we stand. In Christ alone is hope.

There is no hope for those that are of this world. The world only holds death and suffering. There is no hope in death. How sad that people should believe such things! I submit to you that a world without God would mean a world without order. A world without God would mean lawlessness, and without judgement for ones actions. If God didn't exist, what reason would there be to do right? Why wouldn't everyone try and be happy because this is all there is? There has been great evil in this world: murder, abuse, rape; but I submit that we have not even begun to see what evil would come from a world without God.

Praise Jesus for saving us. Praise Him who reigns over us. All praise and glory be to the God of the universe who holds all things together by His word, and cares enough about us to rescue us. Who cares about the world so much that He has held off on destroying it until all His elect are saved. That He shows his goodness by letting people on earth enjoy things. By letting his creation enjoy life and each other. Foolish is the one that rejects God's love! Foolish is he that says, "There is no God!" In the end, every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. Those who accepted His love will do so out of thankfulness and awe at His mercy. Those that rejected Him till the end will do so out of fear and awe at His power.

I pray that every reader accepts this love, that none turns it down.

~Sheepdog

Recognizing and dealing with deception

Lies surround us. The very core of evil is lying. Every sin is a lie in some way. When you sin, you are lying to yourself that God doesn't care about you, or know what is best for you, and therefore, you must take care of yourself. Look out for number one. We are told that the world will bring us pleasure. That the world is all we need. That there is no God. That we are all that is. That the world is what it is all about.


For those of you who claim to be Christians, if someone came up to you and said, "There is no God," you would be in total opposition to them. So, the world comes at us in different wording. "Can't we all just agree? You believe what you believe, I'll believe what I'll believe. Don't ram Christianity down my throat. Get Christianity out of the schools. Get God off our money. Get God off our monuments. Don't post the ten commandments." In effect, they are making God irrelevant. Unfortunately we didn't fight it. We don't fight it. So they make God irrelevant in their lives, and ultimately in everyone else's lives. Basically they are saying "God does not exist."


One of our biggest mistakes, in my opinion is buying into the lie that America is a Christian nation. That Christianity is the majority in America. America is a country. America is run by humans. We are, or at least were started, as a republic. A republic is ruled by law, which is better than a democracy which is ruled by majority vote, but the best system is a theocracy which is ruled by God. Our country has since turned into, I believe, a democracy. Instead of being ruled by law, we are ruled by popular opinion. Instead of wishing justice we look for loopholes to get around the law. Our country is secular. The world hates Christians. Whether they admit it or not, Christianity is offensive. God is offensive to the evil. 


What is evil anyway? Evil is the absence of God. When the world buys into lies, they reject God. Everyone is born separate from God, and is therefore evil. Those that have been called out of darkness have begun a transformation. We are to be imitators of Christ, and therefore are offensive to the evil. Sure, they mask it as other things, but ultimately, the world hates Christians. Christianity is the hard way out. The world wants nothing better than to write God off as some irrelevant, not caring, being without power, or existence. Therefore, they will do everything they can to oppose Christians and draw them astray.

So, the American people truly are attempting to destroy God. There will come a time when we will be shown real persecution. On that day let us not fall away, but embrace it. Ready to suffer for Christ. To suffer for Christ is greater than anything we could ever do. Let the world despise and leave us. They have left our savior too.

The world is full of wolves, ready to devour the unwary sheep. They twist scripture and the definitions of words. They quote verses so close to the original, that it sparks just the smallest memory, and we begin to question if that was in fact what the verse said. They choose their words wisely, making their message sound friendly, when in reality, it is dripping with death. The new believer, or the one unsure in his belief, fall victim to this trap and start believing lies. Once a lie is believed, it is very difficult to change that belief to the truth. 


We must be grounded in the word. We must memorize and meditate on scripture. We must ask God to guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. When people come at us with false doctrines, we must recognize it for what it is, and not let our brothers or sisters be lead astray. This is a battle. The battle is spiritual. We must understand that it is a battle, that we are at war 24/7, know our enemy, and know how to fight it. We must know the truth. We must be sure of our faith. We must be sure we have forgiveness, that God exists, that we need him, etc. 


Our enemy is not the world, though we are theirs. Our enemy is evil. We should view the world as prisoners of war, for we were once dead in our sins, but God didn't give up on us. When He called, we ran and hid. Not only that, we actively opposed Him. We hated Him. We didn't want Him. We wanted to destroy Him. But He rescued us. He loved us enough to not give us what we wanted, death, but gave us eternal life. Therefore, when the world hates us, show them the love shown to us. Let our life song sing to Christ, so that when the world looks at us, they see Christ at work in us. If we believed the way we claim we believe, and the way we should believe, we should be on our knees begging unbelievers to come to know Christ.


We have many hard times ahead. The way of Christ is most certainly not the easy way out. The world will hate us and reject us. We will be persecuted. We may even be beaten, tortured, or killed. But this world is not our home. I consider myself a patriot, and am very proud of this country, but this nation is not ours. I love this country, I am willing to die for it, for freedom, and for my fellow Americans. But no matter how patriotic we are, understand that it is a nation of the world, and therefore we should not give our ultimate loyalty to it. Our loyalty lies with Christ and his kingdom. There will be a time when this great nation turns against us. It has already turned against God. We must figure out now, where our loyalties lie. Do we follow America when we know that it would be sin to do so? It was one of my hardest decisions to make, but in the end, God is the ultimate authority. We must follow his commands first. 


Take care my dear readers.


~Sheepdog

A government big enough to give you everything you want...

...Is big enough to take away everything you have.


The history of the world and its nations seems to repeat itself. Each great nation seemed to follow this cycle: 


From bondage to spiritual faith;
From spiritual faith to great courage;
From courage to liberty;
From liberty to abundance;
From abundance to complacency;
From complacency to apathy;
From apathy to dependence
From dependence back into bondage.

This cycle takes, on average, 200 years to complete. You can see most of it has been completed in America. The founding fathers had great spiritual faith, and that was why they came to America, to avoid persecution. They gained great courage in the belief that they should be free from england. That courage then lead to fighting a war, and ultimately, liberty. That liberty lead to an abundance, by God's good grace. But with abundance, came a lack of remembrance of where the country had come out of. That lead to complacency with certain freedoms being taken away to please a certain group of people. The allowance of this, lead to apathy towards encroachment on more rights. Finally we get to where we are.

I believe we are between apathy and dependence stages. This health care bill will make us totally dependent on the government, and it is just a short skip and a hop back into bondage. Currently, I see it taking no longer than 10 years.

It doesnt have to be that way though. We can have a spiritual awakening in this country. We can create great courage. We can make a move for liberty. Our for fathers fought with arms. I believe this situation calls for a fight with votes. All those who voted for the bill must go, that is certain, no grey area there. The tricky part will be voting people in that will completely repeal the bill. There is no half way here, it must be totally removed. We do not have much time, every year brings us closer to a dictatorship.

Every year, government grows bigger. At the end, there will be no options to vote for, and then the only thing left to do would be to fight with arms. On that day, however, I believe we will find no arms to fight with, and no where to stand. The 2nd Amendment was put into the constitution to keep the government in check. Therefore, if the government wants to totally put us into bondage, they will have to remove the arms. This will not come all at once, that, I hope, would be impossible. No, they will take it away, little by little, bill by bill, "common sense" law by "common sense" law; until there is nothing left.

Remember, ignore your rights, and they will go away. Fight every bill that will remove yours or someone else's right in even the smallest way possible. Even if you don't agree with the 2nd Amendment, it is there to protect the others. Remove it, and the others will disappear, guaranteed.

We live in dark times, my friends. Keep your ears up, and your eyes alert.

~Sheepdog

Ignorance

Some say ignorance is bliss. There is truth to that. You are happy when everything seems right in the world, even when its about to come crashing down. Some would say it is better to die happily in ignorance than to live, struggling every day with the knowledge that you know, and fighting to make things right instead of wrong.

I prefer struggling every day to make something right, over ignoring that there is a problem. Once you understand that there is something not right, how can you not fix it? How can you go about doing what you did before? How can you not change? The sheep can ignore the wolf, but in the end, the sheep dies, and while the wolf happily devours him. Ignorance is only temporary bliss. Weather you ignore it or not, the problem still exists.

If Christ has begun a work within you, can you really stay the way you were before? Can you really continue doing what you know is wrong? Can you stay ignorant of how what you do affects others? I'd say you cannot. If your life is changed by Christ, how can you go back? Yes, we fail. We are human, but because of Christ we are forgiven, and because of Christ we can stand. Because of Christ, we can help those around us, we can be a light to a world of darkness. Is it possible to be a child of God, and not do differently?

I would say no, there is no way. A person who has been changed by Christ, who has been saved from their sin and their mistakes, who has been shown forgiveness and grace, cannot continue in ignorance. It would be impossible. Not only would they change for the better, they would also wish that others would find the amazing love they have been shown. How could they hold such a great gift back? How could they stay quiet?

My friends, we live in dark times. We are heading for the end times, perhaps, we have already arrived. We must do as our Lord commanded. We must be lights to a world of darkness. We should not do it because we have to, but because it is impossible for us not to. Our lives should reflect Christ. Our very thoughts should be thought to the glory of Him who sent us.

Let the Lord use you in ways you cannot even imagine. Keep your mind open to how He is using you for His will. You may be surprised how He has used you to bless others, I was. It's amazing what He does. Our God is an awesome God.

Here am I, send me.

-Sheepdog

Human rights.

A friend posted this on facebook:

Couple of things. 

I am not Republican, I am not Democrat. I am a Juris Naturalist. I believe in higher law, set forth by Almighty God. There are two parts of Higher Law, Do what you say you will do and Do not encroach on other persons or their property. That is, do not rape, murder, steal, etc. If these laws are widely followed, there is prosperity. If not, there is misery. 

I believe that government should not be involved unless it is to stop one persons rights from being trampled on. That is, to protect the rights of its citizens in a way that does not destroy the rights of another. This is done by taking those who have committed an offense, and trying them in a court of justice. Notice that I did not say a court of law. Any jury, any court should be trying to find what justice is, and how to apply it to the situation. Justice, you see, is not created; justice is found.

Throughout history, man has shown their lust for control. The people with the biggest stick won, and trampled the rights of those weaker. That is why we have the 2nd Amendment. If the people have the biggest stick, the government must respect their rights. The people have a right to live peaceably. When someone decides to disrupt a persons peaceful life, that person has a right to defend themselves and property, to bring about justice. It is human instinct to stay alive and survive. 

Dealing with catastrophe.

Let's talk about survival situations in an urban area:

Say that we have a disaster with a magnitude like Katrina, where the entire infrastructure collapses. In the initial stages everyone will come together for the common good. We have a heard mentality, and will work for the good of the herd. But, as people begin realizing that there are not enough supplies to go around, it will become ugly. That is why it is important to make friends with those that can protect you later on. This means gangs in some cases. This may not seem morally acceptable, but understand that it is survival. Be ready to protect your supplies, that means, be ready to shoot anyone that tries to take them. Someone taking your supplies is a death warrant in this environment.

In disaster, creepers come out of the walls. Be ready for this, you will be the only thing standing between them and those you love. You will most likely not be able to hold them for authorities, as the authorities will be weeks away, and over swamped to boot. This means you will have to play judge, jury, and executioner, not a fun task. Be sure that you know what you are doing, do not strike in anger. Think things through, it will save you guilt later on.

The problem with urban is that it is not self sustaining. Everything comes from the countryside, and therefore, you eventually will have to move out. Have a plan to do so without using main highways or freeways. In some cases, they might not even be there. Know what environments you will have to to bug out in. If it's desert, know where the water is, and how to get it. Know the area, the plants, the animals, what can and can't kill you, and how to deal with it.

In a disaster, money will most likely become worthless, therefore have supplies to barter with. Beer and cigs are always going to be in high demand, and they are not necessary for your survival. Ammo and firearms is another, but you will need them for yourself, however, if you have ammo that you do not have a firearm for, it may be wise of you to use this to barter with.

As I write this, a tsunami is heading towards hawaii, pray for those that are there. The thing that caused this disaster was an 8.8 magnitude earthquake in chilli, pray for those there. Also pray for those in California, normally if an earthquake strikes South America, one strikes southern California within between 2 hours and 2 days.

God bless.

~Sheepdog

The ten commandments.

I use Yahoo!Answers a lot. It's a great way to have questions answered, and to help others. A few minutes ago I answered this question:

Why are Christians routinely breaking some of the 10 Commandments?

There are 10 Commandments, which even organized religions routinely ignore and break. If these are the the rules directly from your god, how can christians, and even the "church" break them? You shall have no other gods before me. DOES PRAYING TO MARY, JESUS, OR ANY OF THE PATRON SAINTS NOT COUNT? You shall not make for yourself any carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments. MY GOD, HAS ANYONE BEEN IN A CHURCH, ESPECIALLY A CATHOLIC CHURCH? THEY HAVE CORNERED THE MARKET ON GRAVEN IMAGES, AND YET NO HAS A PROBLEM WITH THIS. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain. SORRY, I AM GUILTY OF THIS ONE MYSELF Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your manservant, nor your maidservant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it. TELL THAT TO YOUR BOSS Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you. I AM GOOD ON THIS ONE You shall not murder. GOOD HERE TOO, NO MURDERS IN MY BACKGROUND You shall not commit adultery. DAMMIT, I WAS DOING SO GOOD TOO You shall not steal. I THINK THIS IS RIGGED AGAINST ME You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. ANOTHER IN THE GOOD COLUMN You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s."  WHAT IS THE WIFE I COVET ISN'T MY NEIGHBOR'S, WHAT IF SHE LIVES FAR, FAR AWAY? IS THAT A LOOPHOLE? I WAS DOING SO WELL ON THE MANSERVANT, MAIDSERVAN, OX AND DONKEY, DID NOT COVET ANY OF THOSE. I am poking a little fun, but the question why some commandments are ignored is still a valid question.

 My answer:

First off, no one said Christians were perfect. We are as broken as anyone else. We fail every second of the day. We are sinners, plain and simple. The difference is, we have accepted the love of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He is why we can stand. In him alone can we live, in him alone can we have salvation. He took my sin, and washed it all away, everything I have done, everything I will do (And I know there will be much more, for I am broken). Every time I fall, he picks me up, and the slate is wiped clean. Blessed be the name of the Lord.

As for your arguments:

Jesus is God. Mary, and the saints are not. If you pray to Mary or the saints you are breaking the commandment.

Catholics, in my opinion, are not saved. They try to earn their way to heaven themselves when the only way we can be saved is through Jesus Christ coming and saving us. This argument seems to really apply to Catholics, not Protestants (Christians)

Again, we are not perfect, we fail. It is impossible to follow the ten commandments, because our sinful natures actively opposes God. Yet, as Christians, we realize that creations purpose is to glorify God and enjoy him forever, so we fight the good fight, and try to endure. When we fall, we humble ourselves and let God carry us.

The sabbath was created so that man could rest. It was made for man, not man for it. There are times when you may have to work, but make sure that you remember that God is good.

Honoring your father and mother is a good thing, but you can't go down the list going "Oh, I'm great at that, I'm doing ok, I'm a good person." We are all broken, the greatest amount of good you can do, will never be able to cover the price needed to purchase you out of slavery to the world. We need a savior, and as I stated before, that savior is Jesus Christ.

The bible says that committing murder in your heart is just as bad as murder itself. It says that hating a man is murder, and I think everyone is guilty of that at one point. Again, God's grace covers your sin. I will say it again, we can not earn our way to heaven, we need a savior.

Committing adultery is probably one of the worst sins you could commit, but God's grace covers all sin. It wipes the sin away, sets the captive free, and gives us a clean slate. It is shown time and time again that we can not save ourselves, but that Jesus saves us.

Everyone who has ever lived has stolen. Again, it is not our works that save us, but by grace. Ephesians 2:8-10 says, "8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."

You shall not bear false witness, meaning lie. Everyone has lied. As before, grace, not works.

You shall not covet is basically what this commandment is saying, we are all guilty of breaking it, but again, grace not works.

I'll say it again, we break probably every commandment every day. We don't just ignore SOME of them, we ignore ALL of them. It is our nature to fight against God, we are rebellious creatures. Fortunately, God didn't give up on us, he sent his son, Jesus (who is 100% God by the way) to come down to earth, to live among us, to be tempted in every way, yet to not sin, and to die on the cross, the only perfect sacrifice for us all. To be buried, to continue under the power of death for a time, and on the third day, rise from the dead. In rising, he saved us, he triumphed over evil, and he reigns eternal.

Jesus wants you to be with him, he loves you, but you, as a human being, are running away. We all are really, but we need to let him turn us around, pick us up, carry us to the cross, and undo what we are. Please accept him as your Lord and Savior. There is no hope without him.

 This is what I believe. If you have any questions about this, please ask in the comments. If you'd like, go to the question and help him out. Remember, we are in a spiritual battle every day. God has given us a suit of armor for it, and we must use it. If we are not feeling any opposition in this battle, it is most likely because we are not fighting it. And the end of your life, I pray that you can say "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith." God bless.

~Sheepdog

P.S.:

Reflexes

Amazing little things aren't they?

From Scientific America comes this:

A study in the Proceedings of the Royal Society finds that reacting to a movement, such as being drawn on in a gunfight, is faster than initiating the movement

I know this to be true from martial arts. Your defensive reflexes are far faster. It is much easier to defend than to score a hit, the only problem is that at some point you must go offensive because eventually the opponent will get past your guard. That is why it will never work to only train with blocks as some have told me. Some say that we should just block and not try and hurt the aggressor because we then become the same if not worse. Well, you can't block forever and you have to get away some how. Normally you must disable the aggressor first. Train like its the real thing, and make sure you can Get-R-Done quickly.