Derek and The Dominos: "I Am Yours"

 What a sweet love song this is. People in love feel like an integral part of each other.

Listen to this song by Eric Clapton here:

I'm glad it's Jesus who remains forever a part of us through the Holy Spirit. Christ promised his disciples in John 14:16 and 17 (Bible in Basic English), "And I will make prayer to the Father and he will give you another Helper to be with you for ever, Even the Spirit of true knowledge. That Spirit the world is not able to take to its heart because it sees him not and has no knowledge of him: but you have knowledge of him, because he is ever with you and will be in you."

The Holy Spirit is God's down payment to us until that day when we meet Christ. As Ephesians 1:13 and 14 (BBE) reminds us, :In whom you, having been given the true word, the good news of your salvation, and through your faith in him, were given the sign of the Holy Spirit of hope, Which is the first-fruit of our heritage, till God gets back that which is his, to the praise of his glory."

We also have Christ's promise that we are his. He gave this assurance in John 10:27 and 28 (BBE). "My sheep give ear to my voice, and I have knowledge of them, and they come after me: And I give them eternal life; they will never come to destruction, and no one will ever take them out of my hand."

God likewise gave his people this assurance of security for those who trust in him. Deuteronomy 32:39 (BBE) reads, "See now, I myself am he; there is no other god but me: giver of death and life, wounding and making well: and no one has power to make you free from my hand."

And lest any one be confused about who owns us, Jesus prayed this in John 17:9 and 10 (BBE). "My prayer is for them: my prayer is not for the world, but for those whom you have given to me, because they are yours All mine are yours, and yours are mine) and I have glory in them."

If Christ hasn't come to gather us to himself by Monday, I hope to post about how Christians are on the front line of a spiritual battle.

The Danger of Claiming Scriptures

Can we really claim scriptures for ourselves, especially those which promise wealth and health? Many charismatics believe they can. But they don't realize that they're practicing witchcraft.

How is this so? Magic is the human attempt to control the supernatural.  We see this in Exodus 7:9-12 (BBE) when the Egyptian magicians tried to imitate God's miracle. "'If Pharaoh says to you, Let me see a wonder: then say to Aaron, Take your rod and put it down on the earth before Pharaoh so that it may become a snake.' Then Moses and Aaron went in to Pharaoh and they did as the Lord had said: and Aaron put his rod down on the earth before Pharaoh and his servants, and it became a snake. Then Pharaoh sent for the wise men and the wonder-workers, and they, the wonder-workers of Egypt, did the same with their secret arts. For every one of them put down his rod on the earth, and they became snakes: but Aaron's rod made a meal of their rods."

But we read in Exodus 8:16-18 (BBE) that the magicians couldn't reproduce the signs God showed after a time. "And the Lord said to Moses, 'Say to Aaron, Let your rod be stretched out over the dust of the earth so that it may become insects through all the land of Egypt.' And they did so; and Aaron, stretching out the rod in his hand, gave a touch to the dust of the earth, and insects came on man and on beast; all the dust of the earth was changed into insects through all the land of Egypt. And the wonder-workers with their secret arts, attempting to make insects, were unable to do so: and there were insects on man and on beast."

And though the magicians of Egypt tried, they couldn't interpret Pharaoh's two dreams. Only Joseph could do so because of God. Genesis 41:15 and 16 (BBE) says, "And Pharaoh said to Joseph, 'I have had a dream, and no one is able to give me the sense of it; now it has come to my ears that you are able to give the sense of a dream when it is put before you.' Then Joseph said, 'Without God there will be no answer of peace for Pharaoh.'"

Claiming scripture passages in order to make God do something is blasphemy because it robs him of his glory. As Deuteronomy 32:39 (BBE) points out, "See now, I myself am he; there is no other god but me: giver of death and life, wounding and making well: and no one has power to make you free from my hand."

We also read in 1 Corinthians 10:6 (BBE) that the holy scriptures were written to warn us away from sin, not to give us what we want. "Now these things were for an example to us, so that our hearts might not go after evil things, as they did."

Paul said the same thing in Romans 15:4 (BBE). "Now those things which were put down in writing before our time were for our learning, so that through quiet waiting and through the comfort of the holy Writings we might have hope."

Using scriptures to claim supposed promises is what Satan tried when he tempted Jesus. He told him to jump off the temple and quoted scripture. Luke 4:12 (BBE) reads, "And Jesus made answer and said to him, 'It is said in the Writings, You may not put the Lord your God to the test.'"

This wickedness is one sin I'll discuss in my next book called You Think You're Going to Heaven? Even I was led astray with that magical thinking while attending a cultic house church. I know better now and I accept God's sovereignty over my life.

On Saturday, I'll post about why it isn't a sin to feel chronically depressed.

Why is Human Life Sacred?

Those who teach evolution would have us believe that we're no better than other creatures eking out a living on this planet. If that's the case, why do we have morals? And shouldn't only the fittest of us be allowed to live?

Starting at the beginning, our creator had in mind a special place for us. Genesis 1:26 (BBE) records, "And God said, 'Let us make man in our image, like us: and let him have rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over the cattle and over all the earth and over every living thing which goes flat on the earth."

Since we're made in God's image, destroying it through murder is a crime against the Lord. Genesis 9:6 (BBE) states, "Whoever takes a man's life, by man will his life be taken; because God made man in his image."

But how far does this extend? Some folks quote Exodus 20:13 (BBE) out of context. They think nobody should kill anybody for any reason. The verse actually says, " "Do not put anyone to death without cause."

Those two words, "without cause," are important to note. The government of any land has the God-given duty to execute any murderer. As the Apostle Paul wrote in Romans 13:3 and 4 (BBE), "For rulers are not a cause of fear to the good work but to the evil. If you would have no fear of the authority, do good and you will have praise; For he is the servant of God to you for good. But if you do evil, have fear; for the sword is not in his hand for nothing:" he is God's servant, making God's punishment come on the evil-doer.

As for war, God used it to cleanse the land he promised to Abraham of the wicked people who dwelled there. Exodus 23:31 (BBE) tells how. "I will let the limits of your land be from the Red Sea to the sea of the Philistines, and from the waste land to the river Euphrates: for I will give the people of those lands into your power; and you will send them out before you."

In a case where one's land is being invaded by soldiers bent on slaughtering its citizens, then people are permitted to slay the land's enemies. We see this often in Israel's history.

We also see in Deuteronomy 32:39 (BBE) that God is the one who gives and takes life. "See now, I myself am he; there is no other god but me: giver of death and life, wounding and making well: and no one has power to make you free from my hand."

This is a big topic, too large for this post, so I'll deal with it in my next book. Because God gives and takes life, he has the right to execute judgement on those who refuse his son's generous sacrifice. After all, we have the choice of paying for our rejection of him in hell forever or letting him take our punishment and becoming his adopted children.

On Saturday, I'll post about a song which extols one of humanity's greatest inventions. It's also a powerful tool for spreading the gospel around the world.

Jehovah's Witnesses Refused Vaccinations and Organ Transplants

Though the leaders of the Jehovah's Witnesses cult now accept vaccinations and extol their virtues, this wasn't always the case. According to a Christian Research Institute article, written by Dr. Jerry Bergman, the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society once claimed that vaccinations were ineffective and that they contravened God's law.

The Watchtower also flip-flopped on Organ transplants. In 1961, they were acceptable but in 1967 the sect's leadership  said it was cannibalism. In 1980,, the leaders erased this regulation.

The Bible has nothing to say about organ transplants and inoculations since they weren't invented until recently. Even so, we can imagine that the preservation of human life is something God cares about.

For instance, Joseph was sold into slavery in Egypt but he became part of God's process of preserving even pagan lives. He explained to his brothers in Genesis 45:5 (KJV), "Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with  yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you  to preserve life."

But some might argue that extending life is equivalent to thwarting God's will. They might quote Deuteronomy 32:39 (KJV) which says, "See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god with me: I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal: neither is there any that can deliver out of my hand."

Jesus certainly never gave us any prohibition about seeing medical doctors. Mark 2:17 (KJV) reads, "When Jesus heard it, he saith unto them,' They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.'"

Jesus also healed ten lepers and told them to go see the priests so they could be declared clean. He wouldn't have done that had he forbidden us to see doctors. In  those days, the priests doubled as health practitioners.

I'll be writing much more in my next book called You Think You're Going to Heaven? People need to know that our Lord is kind and wants to bless us in all ways.