The root of all evil..

A big story in the news today is about a Corbin, KY woman (I dated a woman from Corbin once. Just an aside. :) who was found dead in home, had been dead for days. She and her husband had won $65 million in a powerball lottery a few years ago. When they got the big bucks, they decided to separate. She wanted to buy a home, and he wanted to go to Austrailia. He never went, got into some trouble with the law. She bought her big house, but had a guy to die there of a drug overdose, and a renter was suing her or vice versa, lots of troubles. Her husband was only 43 when he died. She was 45. The police are awaiting a toxocology report.

There is so much here to write sermons about. The love of money being the root of all evil is one. The power of wealth and what it would do helped end their marriage. Money bought drugs. Money certainly didn't buy happiness for either of them.

How many times have we thought we'd like to win the lottery? Maybe we should be careful what we wish for, as the old saying goes.

Matthew 6:21 "For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."

Grrr...

Once again, the blogger gremlin has destroyed my template, eaten my sidebar, etc. I shall figure it all out and return. In the meantime, I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving day. We did. Lots of good food, good company, good music and much to be thankful for. Have a great weekend!

Who? Me?

I recently called an elderly lady who belongs to our church because she had not attended for a while. She said 'oh, I'm nobody. I doubt anyone noticed.' I said 'I noticed.'

Looking through the Bible, I've noticed that it is rare that a great thing was done by a crowd or a megachurch or even a famous preacher. Most significant events were put into action by one person. Some of the most 'famous' names in biblical history were those who probably considered themselves insignificant.

In Matthew 27:32, we read of Simon of Cyrene who helped carry Jesus' cross. One event, his '15 minutes of fame' and he will be remembered forever.

We, too, have a place in God's heart and His plans. No one who is a child of God is insignificant. As one beautiful song goes 'who am I that the son bled and died for?' You should not put down one that Christ died for, not even yourself.

Surely not in Des Moines...

"If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land." 2 Ch 7:1

What have you done in your home town lately to spread the gospel?

Well done, thou good and faithful servant...

Adrian Rogers (1931-2005)
'Well Done, Good and Faithful Servant'

Dr. Adrian Rogers, a three-time president of the Southern Baptist Convention and the pastor emeritus of the 28,000-member Bellevue Baptist Church near Memphis, TN, went home to his eternal reward on Tuesday.

This man could preach, could he ever.

The firey coals...

1 Peter 1:6-7 "You have been distressed by various trials, so that the proof of your faith... may be found to result in praise and glory."

Remember this..

When you have been mistreated, it hurts. Especially if you've done nothing to deserve it. You feel it. You've been treated wrongly, and it stings.

But remember in the middle of all of it.. God hasn't left you. He hasn't forgotten you either. He understands the heartache brought on by the evil work of others. If you will allow it, if you will take your hurt to the Lord, you will find that a tender walk with Him will heal your pain, soothe your soul, and you will grow from the experience. Jesus is real, and you can know, present circumstances notwithstanding.

Cry out to God, as David once did, in Psalms 22:19 "But be not thou far from me, O LORD: O my strength, haste thee to help me."

And He will.

A new revelation..

Matthew 10:26 "Fear them not therefore: for there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; and hid, that shall not be known."

Here is a fascinating article about an ancient Christian church found in Israel. Our world has so much yet to reveal, truths to discover, prophecies to fulfill, proof not only that Jesus existed but that he was considered (and is) divine. In time, we shall have answers for all our questions.

Ancient Church Found on the Grounds of an Israeli Prison
By ARON HELLER, AP

JERUSALEM (Nov. 6) - Israeli archaeologists said Saturday they have discovered what may be the oldest Christian church in the Holy Land on the grounds of a prison near the biblical site of Armageddon.

"This is a once in a lifetime find and the inscriptions are very rare," Antiquities Authority excavation supervisor, Jotham Tefer, told Israel's Channel Two.

The Israeli Antiquities Authority said the ruins are believed to date back to the third or fourth centuries and include references to Jesus and images of fish, an ancient Christian symbol.

"This is a very ancient structure, maybe the oldest in our area," said Yotam Tepper, the head archaeologist on the dig.

The dig took place over the past 18 months at the Megiddo prison in Israel's northern Galilee region, with the most significant discoveries taking place in the past two weeks, Tepper said. Scholars believe Megiddo to be the New Testament's Armageddon, the site of a final war between good and evil.

Tepper said the discovery could reveal more about an important period of Christianity, which was banned until the fourth century.

"Normally, we have from this period in our region historical evidence from literature, not archaeological evidence," he said. "There is no structure you can compare it to. It is a very unique find."

Everything about US shall be revealed someday too. Be aware.

1Cor 3:13 "Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is."

Tags: Armageddon, antiquities, Christian, fish symbol, Jesus

Will everyone be saved in the end?

Will Everyone Eventually Be Saved?

II Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance."

The question of whether all will be saved could be answered as follows:

1) Everyone will eventually be saved.
2) No one will eventually be saved.
3) Some will be saved and some will be lost.
4) There is no way to know.

No. 1 is a very popular answer these days. God is gracious and merciful, and He can find a way to save everyone he created, they say. It is true that God is merciful and gracious. His grace goes far beyond our sin.

Some would say that no one will be saved, that no god would create hell to begin with, that the biblical description of hell is just symbolic, etc. Fifty years ago, preachers spoke often on hell, but you rarely hear it in most Christian churches these days. It's not a popular subject.

The third answer is a tough one for some people who have lost loved ones who were not Christian. The thought of never seeing a loved one again is difficult to handle, especially if you believe No. 3 is the correct answer.

No. 4, there is no way to know, is believed by those who think the scriptures are not decipherable. What about those who never heard the gospel, they say? (how do we know they didn't hear.. just thinking aloud).

If we believe that those who do not hear the Word could still be saved, would we have world missions? No. Most churches spend a good portion of the budget on missions. Missionaries risk life and limb to go to far away places to spread the gospel. Why would anyone do that if the lost are not really lost?

Even at home, why would we spend time in prayer, day in and day out, for our loved ones and friends if they are going to be saved in the end anyway?

Let's look in the Bible. These are the words of Jesus:

Luke 13:22 "And he went through the cities and villages, teaching, and journeying toward Jerusalem."

Luke 13:23 "Then said one unto him, Lord, are there few that be saved? And he said unto them,"

Luke 13:24 "Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able." (they wish and seek but do not 'strive')

Luke 13:25 "When once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not whence ye are:"

Luke 13:26 "Then shall ye begin to say, We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets."

Luke 13:27 "But he shall say, I tell you, I know you not whence ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity."

It seems the person asking Jesus the question wanted a 'percentage,' how many will be saved? Jesus doesn't directly answer him, but he does remind us that there is a "door" that leads to heaven, and like any door on earth, it swings both ways. You can be one side or the other. One door and only one, And yet it's sides are two.
Inside and outside. On which side are you? Yet, Jesus didn't directly answer the question, leaving some to believe the 'rejected' now might yet go through the door and be saved, sometime, somehow, somewhere.

Pretty much what Jesus did say was "Don't worry about anyone else. Make sure you are on the right side of the door."

You might be thinking, what do you (me, John) believe? I believe from my reading of the scriptures that that anyone could be saved but not everyone will be saved, at least on this side of eternity. I believe that everyone who calls on the Lord will be saved." I simply do not know if God will extend his grace beyond this life. As Jesus said in the scriptures above, I need to be sure I am on the right side of the door and try to see that everyone I care about, far and wide, are on the right side too, for I cannot tell them God will save them in the end, no matter what, for I have absolutely no evidence of that being possible. I find no scripture for that at all, despite all the clever verbage of the universalists.

I like the old-fashioned sermon: Hell is Hot and Time is Short. And I shall continue to preach it, just in case... just in case those I love might not make it after all. I might soften the message up a bit, since this is 2005, and I am not Billy Sunday. :)

This would be the end of my sermon the subject, the end of a sermon by a favored pastor friend: "God has done everything necessary for you to be saved. If you are lost in the end, you cannot blame God. After giving his Son to die on the cross, you have no excuse for not being saved. If there is a hell and you end up there, you will have only yourself to blame. That you are alive today is a miracle and mercy of God. Do not mock his kindness by rejecting his Son. Come to Jesus and you will never regret it, not now and not in the life to come."

So be it.