DEFINED AND CHISELED CREATIONISM

May 9, 2013May 9, 2013 / thesouldoctor / Leave a comment

“The Creator of heaven and earth”

This short article may give some offense, but I stopped attempting to ‘relate’ to unbelievers and started just giving them the Word. I recommend you do the same. Why? I like what Matt Slick says, “No matter how convincing the evidence or good the logic, an unbeliever cannot come to the faith because his fallen nature will distort how he perceives the truth. The only thing that can ultimately change him is regeneration.

People cannot believe the truth because they are dead spiritually. The Creator must give them new life before they can. That explains a lot.

God is our awesome Creator (Isa 40:28). The Bible insists in calling the world and the universe “creation” (Mk. 10:6; Rom. 1:20; Heb. 4:13). The things in the world were “created” (Ps. 148:5; Rom. 8:39). The Bible admonishes us to “remember our Creator” (Eccl. 12:1). We need our memories refreshed as we read the Bible and it shows God power to heal, restore, give life by referencing Creation. Isaiah says, “God, the LORD, created the heavens and stretched them out. He created the earth and everything in it. He gives breath to everyone, life to everyone who walks the earth…” (Isa. 42:6). And again, “For the LORD is God, and he created the heavens and earth and put everything in place. He made the world to be lived in, not to be a place of empty chaos. “I am the LORD,” he says, “and there is no other. (Isa. 45:18).

The young earth/Creationism doctrine is the result of the plain reading of the Bible. There is no room for any other interpretation and you cannot use the Bible to prove any form of evolution. There are so many idiotic moderates even in the church and they water down the gospel with the spittle of human philosophy. Evolution, plain and simple, is a great anti-Christ heresy, yet it stirred up lazy theologians and believing scientists to go back to scripture. Most apologetics come about that way.

So let me begin with this. For starters, you can only call yourself a Creationist if you believe:

In the existence of the Trinity-the God of the Christian Bible.
The Earth is only thousands not millions of years old.
God Created the Heavens and Earth in a literal six 24 hour days by his spoken word.
Adam and Eve were a literal couple, male and female and that is God’s model for spirituality and sexuality.

By the way, it seems that the things that get attacked most are the existence and nature of God, the age of the earth, the days of creation and the heterosexual model of marriage.

The World was created by God speaking it into existence. He exists and he creates. “For when he spoke, the world began! It appeared at his command.” (Psalm 33:9NLT). The entire universe owes its existence to God, “By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.” (Heb. 11:3). We have already discussed the Bible’s and the creedal view of who God is and the great reward of believing in him and seeking him out in prayer (Heb. 11:6).

The Bible was created in six literal days. (Ex 20:11; 31:17). “If you think about it, an infinite Creator God could have created everything in no time. Why, then, did He take as long as six days? The answer is given in Exodus 20:11 Here we find that God tells us that He deliberately took six days and rested for one as a pattern for man—this is where the seven-day week comes from. The seven-day week has no basis for existing except from Scripture. If one believes that the days of creation are long periods of time, then the week becomes meaningless.”

God created Adam and Eve and “God made them male and female from the beginning of creation.” (Gen 1:27; 5:2; Mt. 19:4; Mk. 10:6). Marriage and sex was a gift from God to be shared among a man and woman in lifelong relationship of marriage. The account of Adam and Eve is not an allegory. It is not a fairytale. That was the way God made them. It is a defiance and rebellion against God to believe anything other because he made them in his image (Gen 1:26-27; Rom 1:21-25). It is idolatry of the worst kind for someone who claims to be a Christian to promote any other lifestyle. If you claim to be homosexual, you cannot use the Christian Bible to endorse your lifestyle. So stop doing it. Use some other book if you like. All that is being promoted today, let’s be honest, is all about politics and people who have perverted genuine sexuality and spirituality who want to build their own tower of Babel and be the pathetic gods of their own lives.

But that is yet another Bible account which explains much of what is happening today.

GRACE AND PEACE

April 30, 2013April 30, 2013 / thesouldoctor / Leave a comment

“The Maker of Heaven and Earth”

God is the Creator of the universe and he demonstrates two specific things: His Grace and Peace.

The book of Genesis is one of the most important books in the Bible because it introduces us to God as the Creator and well, like any book, many people go for the beginning chapters.

They read, “In the beginning God.”

Here they learn about God right out of the starting gate. Here God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are seen at work planning, speaking and active. God cares and is involved because he made everything. That says it all.

He is “the God of all grace.” (1 Pet 5:10). He is “the God of Peace” (1 Thess. 5:23). Grace and Peace kick off in the Bible and we should see that and talk about that to others. Believe in this God of grace and peace. When there was nothing and no one and what is now our planet was unformed and unfilled, the all-powerful Yahweh made all things. God brings his light and life. He monopolizes all goodness grace and peace.

God was not only involved but he was copious and meticulous in his actions. Creation seems so mysterious, people read about earth’s birthday more as a play by-play of the Creator’s actions all the time overlooking God’s creativity (Prov. 8). We see more of his muscle than his genius. His motive for creating all things was Jesus. “For through him God created everything and without him nothing was made that has been made (Col 1:16; John 1:3). He extends the gift of his Son by his grace. Grace is God’s detailed initiative to act in generosity and love. We are still discovering the wonders of creation that show us how caring and doting our Heavenly Father really is. We see he brings life where there is no life and when he does it is a spectrum of light. He fills all emptiness with his gifts and His presence. When he acts in grace, he is eager to show his goodness. His grace causes everything to multiply, it has endless variety and it is done with eagerness. When God made a paradise for men and women in which to live, He did so out of His lavish kindness, His grace. In fact, the book of Genesis gives the most used illustrations for grace by the prophets and apostles. Grace is all about God: His initiative, intervention and involvement. It shows the wisdom and understanding of his grace and how he enjoyed to plan ahead to save us, to shower down the wealth of His forgiveness and grace upon us bring us into his own family through Jesus.

With the close of the six days of the spectacular show of his power, he stopped creating. He made a day of rest. “His works have been finished since the creation of the world.” (Heb. 4:3). It was not just for ritual observance, for cessation of work does not mean one is at rest. A vacation can be more stressful than restful. Holy activity springs from being at rest in one’s relationship with God. Rest is seen right away as God takes one day and makes it holy. He sanctified it. “For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, but on the seventh day he stopped working and was refreshed.'” (Ex 31:17NLT). God has given us a new creation and that is the rule we walk by, not being propped up by religious do’s and don’ts. Paul says, “God’s peace and mercy be upon all who live by this principle; they are the new people of God.” (Gal 6:16). Rest and refreshment are the inheritance of the child of God because of Jesus (Heb. 4). How does he do this? As the God of peace he sanctified us (1 Thess. 5:23) so we need not struggle for what we already are and have been given. The God of peace puts an end to confusion (1 Cor. 14:33) and through his peace he produces everything in us that is pleasing to him (Heb. 13:20-21). There are so many preachers teaching how people can attain rest, by doing this or that. However, the Bible says it is simply accomplished by believing what Jesus has said.

Let me finish up with a quote by Martin Luther, “Grace remits sin, and peace quiets the conscience. Sin and conscience torment us, but Christ has overcome these fiends now and forever. Only Christians possess this victorious knowledge given from above. These two terms, grace and peace, constitute Christianity. Grace involves the remission of sins, peace, and a happy conscience. Sin is not canceled by lawful living, for no person is able to live up to the Law. The Law reveals guilt, fills the conscience with terror, and drives men to despair. Much less is sin taken away by man-invented endeavors. The fact is, the more a person seeks credit for himself by his own efforts, the deeper he goes into debt. Nothing can take away sin except the grace of God. In actual living, however, it is not so easy to persuade oneself that by grace alone, in opposition to every other means, we obtain the forgiveness of our sins and peace with God.”

ALL POWERFUL

April 26, 2013April 30, 2013 / thesouldoctor / Leave a comment

“Almighty”

When we come such words we can only worship God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. John says, “Then I heard again what sounded like the shout of a vast crowd or the roar of mighty ocean waves or the crash of loud thunder: “Praise the LORD! For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns.” (Rev. 19:6).

God, Father, Son and Holy Ghost is ultimate uniqueness and there is none like Him. He is the A to Z, the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the Ending of totality. He is the Trinity three in One. One God, not three. He has control of everything natural and supernatural. He is absolutely invincible. He cannot be cannot be stopped or reversed.

Yahweh, God is invincible, in every sense and aspect such as strength, speed and intellect. He is beyond cause and effect, logic and reason, and can make anything happen without limits and imagination.

El Shaddai, rules all things. He handles any situation. He has all-incredible skill and wisdom. He creates anything and everything from nothing. He is self existent and self sufficient.

The one God the Bible declares, exists outside of everything and yet is concerned with even the smallest thing. He knows no bounds. He is immutable and immune to change. He is everywhere, at once, at all times. He knows everything and anything and has full comprehension of the the smallest quark to the immense universe and eternity.

He manipulates and creates concepts, shapes and destroy all forces. He can create or erase life all at once. He is beyond life and death. He is immortal. He brings everything back to its original state. He renews all things. He controls the extent of existence itself. He is totally unstoppable. It is amazing how there is a certain sense in the Apostles Creed of not only defense of the faith but holy defiance in these words against those who would attempt to make the Christian God less than He is or compare him to false gods of pagan religions.

Arthur Pink says, It is very beautiful to link together the following passages: “He walketh upon the waves of the sea” (Job 9:8), which expresses God’s uncontrollable power. “He walketh in the circuit of Heaven” (Job 22:14), which tells of the immensity of His presence. “He walketh upon the wings of the wind” (Ps. 104:3), which signifies the amazing swiftness of His operations. This last expression is very remarkable. It is not that “He flieth,” or “runneth,” but that He “walketh” and that, on the very “wings of the wind”—on the most impetuous of the elements, tossed into utmost rage, and sweeping along with almost inconceivable rapidity, yet they are under His feet, beneath His perfect control!”

GOD, THE ULTIMATE MALE

April 25, 2013April 25, 2013 / thesouldoctor / Leave a comment

“God the Father”

GOD is the ultimate male the Bible uses the terms “he” or “him” to refer to God. God is NOT seen in terms of female at any time and there is no generic Deity as well. This idea was not the invention of man, nor a preferred translation, it is a revelation of God.

I read that the word Father is from the Greek root Pater (where we get the word patriarchal) which means one who supports, nourishes and protects. In God’s created order, the father is the head of the household and demonstrates a likeness to that of God the Father over his creation and love for his family. When it comes to salvation everyone is equal male and female but this structure has not changed and the patriarchal template cannot be distorted by liberal theology. It is a great infidelity and heresy to call God “mother” or “goddess.”

God the first person of the Trinity was always the Father. In the accounts of Jesus Christ in the gospels God is seen as the Eternal Father, first person of the Trinity. James Orr says,

“To reach the heart of the truth of the Divine Fatherhood it is necessary to begin, not with man, but with the Godhead itself, in whose eternal depths is found the spring of that Fatherly love that reveals itself in time. It is first of all in relation to the eternal Son-before all time-that the meaning of Fatherhood in God is made clear (John 1:18).”

He is Father to the world like an inventor only in a way where he made all things out of nothing. But think of this: it was through the eternal Son of God, that God secured our souls salvation and changed our status from illegal aliens to dearly loved family.

We should ask, “Did God have to have us as children to be called “Father”? Is it because he is the Creator and cares for all his creation?”

The answer is a definite, “No.”

It is because He has always had a Son, Jesus, the eternal Son of God. This is the beauty of the Trinity. He is the Eternal, Heavenly Father. Christ offers us through his blood, the status and relationship he enjoyed with God before the universe began.

I must say that although is through Christ as a mediator we have been brought into relationship with God, the Father has always loved us with the love he has for his Son in his sovereignty and good pleasure (Eph. 1:4). Jesus says now, “The Father himself loves you dearly because you love me and believe that I came from God.” (John 16:27).

WE HAVE THE REAL GOD-YOU DO NOT!

April 25, 2013April 25, 2013 / thesouldoctor / Leave a comment

“I believe in God”

CHRISTIANITY has a specific unique faith.

In light of what I have previously posted now I need to be more poignant. I also want to be careful because many people in their attempts to talk about God make it sound anywhere from a fifth grade science fair project to the forensics you see on one of the CSI shows or Bones. Theology is not supposed to dissect Deity into little pieces but reveal the majesty and splendor of the one true God.

We should not want to over-simplify biblical definitions of God for the curious spectators of this age. I do not want to talk about eggs and various forms of water to illustrate God. God is mysterious and he is above us in every aspect, his thoughts and ways can never be measured or understood. People say Christianity is simple, or it its all about love, or all about helping the poor, or this aspect or that-they are sadly ignorant. Christianity is all about God, specifically his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Christian faith or belief system is monotheistic. Monotheism is the belief that there is only God. The apostle Paul says that all other gods are anywhere from lifeless idols to demons (1 Cor 10:18-22) and we have no agreement, concord or unity with false religion. Among the three major religions that proclaim they believe in one God we are the closest to Judaism and Judaism and Christianity are furthest from Islam. All people must confess that Jesus is Lord and God or they cannot go to heaven.

Our faith distinguishes itself. Jesus Christ is God’s Son and we worship God as the Trinity. The Trinity is one God in three persons. There are many books dealing with this subject. That is called apologetics or the defense of the faith. We must be clear that The Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God. The Father is not the Son, the Son is not the Father, the Father is not the Spirit. We can study the Trinity at another time. There are many anti-Trinitarian cults and sects out there-it is sad, but at one time being part of one of those groups, I have realized my errors. I stand with my fathers and heroes of the faith and now I shall not be ashamed.

Finally, let me say we owe a great debt to those who were heretics. I know I do. A heretic is a person who is against biblical teaching. Sometimes when we are challenged about what we believe it motivates us to study and make what we believe clear. Most of the teachings or doctrines we believe about God were developed in creeds due to the fact there were those who perverted or rejected biblical definitions of God, Christ, the Holy Spirit and salvation. People did not like that the Church used words outside of the Bible to defend scripture. I know that is a silly concept and all pastors and preachers would be out of a job for sure. The use of Trinitarian terms has been vociferously attacked for many years.

BB Warfield said it like this, “The doctrine of the Trinity lies in Scripture in solution; when it is crystallized from its solvent it does not cease to be Scriptural, but only comes into clearer view…the doctrine of the Trinity is given to us in Scripture, not in formulated definition, but in fragmentary allusions… we are not passing from Scripture, but entering more thoroughly into the meaning of Scripture.”

© 2013 Soul Health Care Ministries. If you use this article tell people about us and where you found it. Don’t plagiarize.

I BELIEVE

April 24, 2013April 25, 2013 / thesouldoctor / Leave a comment

“I BELIEVE” is more like a stated opinion than an admission of what a person considers to be truth these days.

Pluralism teaches that there can be more than two kinds of ultimate realities. Christianity takes an exclusive position on truth not such a silly outlook on life.

There is only one God and one truth.

We live in a day where it seems everyone is entitled to their opinion but where no one knows what is right from wrong.

On the other hand we have entire groups who base their fellowship on what that group believes-but they are usually side issues-they are marginal not cardinal. Groups for years have taken sections of the Bible where they attempt to make a distinctive of one doctrine: prophecy, worship styles, dress codes, baptism in water or the baptism in the Spirit and even diet. I do not mean to be uncharitable, but in most of those instances they make other Christians either sub-Christian or refuse to call them Christians at all.

That is why I espouse to the apostles creed. It helps me avoidsconfusion and produces a unity based on scripture rather than just warm, cuddly feelings.

“The oldest usage of the term “Rule of Faith” (regula fidei), now commonly given to the Scriptures, has reference to this creed.” (James Orr).

I base my fellowship with other Christians on the Apostles Creed. The Apostles Creed teaches what Christians everywhere no matter their denomination should believe or accept as true. These are truths at the heart of the Christian faith. This way I do not compromise the scriptures and do not fellowship at the lowest common denominator. Dodd comments,

“The Apostles’ Creed is a declaration of things which are most surely believed among us, and its several parts or articles are founded upon the contents of Scripture, which is our one rule of faith. It does not begin with the words I think or I know, but with the statement “I believe.” “Belief” is used in various senses, but here it means the assent of the mind and heart to the doctrines expressed in the Creed. When we repeat the form we declare that we accept and adopt all the statements which it covers.”

What do you believe?

You say, I believe in God.”

I believe in “The Bible.

Or you say, ” In Jesus.”

But which God are you referring to? What is the Bible and what does it teach and what does it say about Jesus?

The Apostles Creed has the basic summary for all Christians to accept as truth.

© 2013 Soul Health Care Ministries. If you use this article tell people about us and where you found it. Don’t plagiarize.

MERCY THAT NEVER ENDS

March 7, 2013April 25, 2013 / thesouldoctor / Leave a comment

“The mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting” (Ps. 103:17).

I want you to think about the mercy of God. Mercy is described as not getting what you deserve or as the Psalms put it, “He does not punish us for all our sins; he does not deal harshly with us, as we deserve.” Psa. 103:10).

God extends mercy to you today for all your failure. The mercy of God meets us right at the point of our failure. Where your sin seems so great, his grace and mercy are much greater.

The mercy of God is described as everlasting to everlasting.

I know we don’t usually use the word everlasting in our vocabulary we and at first blush this phrase just seems to be a very emphatic way to describe something that lasts forever but we think about this idea of mercy without end.

We could go in all these theological ramifications of eternity but I want to go at this another way.

This term describes God’s mercy as stretching backward without limit and stretching forward without limit. It has no origin or end. It is unrestricted and boundless. God’s mercy is so overwhelming it is there all the time. God is present everywhere, he knows everything and he is all-powerful. That is pretty deep.

So often we think in terms of God’s mercy by our actions good or bad, especially when we do something especially bad or especially good in our own estimation.

Sometimes we feel God owes us mercy for the good things we do like prayer, or church or helping our neighbor. We love feeling we made something up to God in some way, by some action, so we earned or merited his mercy. As much as we preach to people you cannot make any deals with God, we try, don’t we?

At other times, we feel we will never receive his mercy because we have done something in the past that was so wrong, or we continue to do things we should not do. We feel like we don’t deserve his mercy or forgiveness until we permanently change or repent.

We are strange like that.

But that is not the way mercy works at all. Our works good or bad do not qualify us for God’s mercy. It is not based on human action, it is all about God. God is not limited by what we do, he shows mercy because HE is merciful. He delights in showing mercy (Micah 7:18). The God of the Bible is completely different than the false god of manipulative religion marketed today.

I read one commentator who described mercy as God’s “exuberant goodness” (Clarke). I just think that is awesome. God acts in mercy toward us in a lavish, joyful, unrestrained manner. He is generous with his mercy. God has mercy upon you…he has mercy upon me. He loves to show us mercy, freely, unconditionally.

I want to close with the commentary of Mr. Barnes who said that mercy, “had no beginning; it will have no end. There never was a period in the past when it was not the purpose of God to save his people; there never will be a period in the future when it will be said that his saving mercy has ceased.” (Barnes).

I know some are going through painful situations and it is hard to see God’s mercy. We judge his mercy based on our pain. Our own shortsightedness does not allow us to see his mercy at work. But many people later have their eyes opened that it was God’s mercy and goodness that was right on the heels of the difficulty they were going through (Psalm 23:6).

May you understand and see his mercy that never ends in your life today.

You are Being Sentenced to Church!

February 21, 2013February 22, 2018 / thesouldoctor / Leave a comment

A Judge in Oklahoma is facing some criticism after passing a sentence on a convicted killer to 10 years of church. The seventeen year old Tyler Alred pleaded guilty to manslaughter for a car accident that killed his friend last December. Alred had a blood alcohol level of .07 when he drove his car into a tree.

The Muskogee County district court judge ordered Alred to spend the next decade going to church. The judge has handed out similar sentences in the past – but mostly to parents who fail to pay child support or felons who don’t pay their court costs.

This is not the first time for something like this. In Bay Minette, Alabama it lets convicted offenders to choose either jail time or church. The program will allow a city judge to sentence misdemeanor offenders to work off their sentences in jail and pay a fine, or go to church every Sunday for a year.

Oh yeah the ACLU doesn’t like this idea of church. Let me show you my surprised face!

Now the whole philosophy, “You show me somebody who falls in love with Jesus, and I’ll show you a person who won’t be a problem to society.”

So, I do not want to be over critical of this idea, it has some merit and I am sure some good results, I hope. Yet, we can only hope that Jesus, not religious morality will be preached in that church or churches in such way to help those people to grow in grace and in the knowledge of Christ. But imagine being sent to church as part of a sentence for a crime! I do not know whether to laugh or cry at the idea.

But most think they have a choice (my free will friends should like that) and thinking hmm, well, church or jail. At this point, to the writer, jail sounds more like a ministry than church. In fact, for me, going to many churches has been like going to jail on Sunday. It has been brutal. What is worse is that you do not have to deal with convicts but Christians and they are a rough crowd.

A felon going to church? Wow what an experiment for those pesky church people. Imagine people knowing that you are coming to church because of a crime you committed. It is almost like, well…penance. And since much of what is preached today as repentance is actually protestant penance, I think many pastors would like the idea of being someones priest and able to mete out a few acts of contrition.

Church should be all about the gospel of Jesus Christ (1 Cor 2:1-2). I have heard and believed that the pulse, the very life blood of the church hinges on two main understandings: regeneration (how we are spiritually brought back from death to new life) and justification (how we become spiritually righteous before God). When I talk of the concept of church I do not want to hear about churches without walls, lectures on the pagan idea of the word “church.” I do not want to listen to somebody sell me on small groups, cell groups or home groups. Hey there is nothing wrong with these things but they are NOT the answer CHRIST IS. Look, anything that sounds like an experiment is probably heresy. I don’t want to hear, “Oh if we gather over coffee that is the church.” I do not want to hear about apostolic models, episcopal organizations, ecumenical unity or evangelical marketing to solve the church growth problem. It all gives me motion sickness because it is like an out of control car. I decided to get out of the car and see who was driving. I dared to examine church and preaching from a distance. How dare I? It always seems like we are trying to correct or remake “church” and now someone finally compares it in the same breath with jail. That hurts.

For a while, church seemed like jail to me. After pastoring for years and then to sit in church for a while, I realized my own errors and the misguided foolishness of those I listened to. It was hard to sit there. Preachers seemed to include Christ as a footnote or endnote in their messages instead of Jesus being their message. Our first love is Christ. Our second love is his people. Being near him as we gather in whatever form, liturgical, formal or spontaneous is freedom for our hearts. Being near others that love him is fellowship.

I am sure of two things, Jesus said he will build his church and it was to be a house of prayer. Church is a place and a people. It is a place where the gifts of the spirit are seen to build up not tear down people. It is a place where we treat all people with honor, empathy and humility. We make no distinctions and resist division. It is one body, and where the true gospel is proclaimed the very body of Christ, many parts, not one part where we need everyone (see 1 Cor 12). The church is made up of God’s sons and daughters (2 Cor. 6:18) not inmates, paying off their spiritual debt to a God who is their warden. Christ took our judgement, he went to prison (Isa 53:8) for us. It is a place where we are family, a place where Jesus is preached (Acts 8:35), not a punishment where you serve out a sentence. Jesus paid for all of our crimes against him. He says to us, “You are forgiven and all your rebellion, lawless deeds and sins are gone.” (Heb. 8:12). That is the gospel.

HE WAS THE BLESSING

February 20, 2013April 25, 2013 / thesouldoctor / Leave a comment

Jesus said, “How blessed are those who are hungry and thirsty for righteousness, because it is they who will be satisfied!”

Christ is the end of the law. He satisfied all its demands. HE IS ALL YOU NEED.

By his Sermon on the Mount he exposes our need for him and futility in earning or deserving God’s blessings for all obedience is based on perfection.

Jesus Christ is the One who has satsified God and provided righteousness for those who believe in him.

This passage is not speaking of those who suffer from spiritual starvation and dehyrdration and because of that- they will be seen as righteous.

Being poor in spirit does not mean spiritual poverty merits heaven, the same as meekly going through abuse does not mean you merit earth’s blessings.

Showing mercy and creating a peaceful environment will not earn us mercy and brand us with the title “sons of God.”

The same with hunger and thirst. The source of life, which is the opposite of lifeless toil is Christ and he as the Bread of Life tells us we will never need to be hungry and as the Water of Life we will never need to be thirsty.

Anytime we hunger or thirst we are directed to Him as our Source of blessings and satisfaction.

No one but Jesus who ended the demands and curses of the law upon us can merit heaven, earth, mercy, sonship and righteousness.

HE WAS THE BLESSING.

THE BLESSED became poor so we could INHERIT THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN.

THE BLESSED mourned with strong crying and tears bringing us COMFORT FROM GOD.

THE BLESSED was meek and lowly in heart so we could find REST FOR OUR SOULS WHILE HERE ON EARTH.

THE BLESSED was hungry during temptation, thirsty on the cross so WE COULD BECOME HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS.

THE BLESSED was pure in heart so he purifies us so that we CAN CLEARLY SEE THAT AS HE IS AND BE LIKE HIM.

THE BLESSED was the prince of peace SO HE BROUGHT PEACE BETWEEN US AND GOD SO THAT WE ARE HIS SONS.

THE BLESSED was insulted, mocked and persecuted SO HE COULD EMPATHIZE WITH OUR WEAKNESS AND BRING JOY TO US IN THE MIDST OF DIFFICULTY.

THE BLESSED WAS THE BLESSING.

God Made the Call Right The First Time

November 24, 2012 / thesouldoctor / Leave a comment

Both baseball and football have more rules in regard to reviewing plays to make sure the right call on a play is being made. There has already been many controversies to the chagrin of fans and players. Football has the red flag and baseball has instant replay.

This past summer (2012), Washington Nationals baseball team’s Michael Morse was asked to mime a grand slam in the first inning of the Nationals-Cardinals game after a call was overturned, leading to an odd, albeit hilarious, situation at Busch Stadium in St. Louis.

Morse hit a fly ball to right field with the bases loaded in the first inning off Cardinals starter Kyle Lohse. The ball bounced off the second wall in right field and back onto the field, so right fielder Carlos Beltran played it like a live ball. Beltran threw the ball into the infield, and second baseman Skip Schumaker chased down Morse and tagged him out. At that point, Morse would have been credited with an RBI single to put the Nationals up 1-0.

The umpires decided to review the call and, after looking at replays, they determined that the ball bounced into play after hitting the second wall, which is considered a home run. They reset the runners on the bases, and they asked Morse to return to home plate (after touching first base on his way back) to mime a grand slam.

Morse happily obliged, and he was credited with his fourth career grand slam to give the Nationals a 4-0 lead. Even though it was odd seeing the umpires recreate the situation, the important thing is that they got the call right.

Truth is stranger than fiction.

God does not need to review the call he has made, he made the call right the first time. For context sake, we need to remember the way God does things. The scriptures says that God “left not himself without witness…for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints.” (Acts 14:17; Jude 1:3). What the Bible teaches, the truth that he has made known in his Word does not need a do- over. It was then complete, and that nothing was to be added to it. It was done once and completed once and is not subject to review. Anything that is new as far as adding to what God has already revealed is a review. It is not of God. It is unnecessary and unacceptable. God made the call right the first time.

God has also called you to come to Jesus and be saved! What a play God made! It was awesome as he caught your falling soul. Watch it in slow motion sometime! The crowd of witnesses went wild! What an awesome hit Jesus made when he knocked sin, death and hell out of the park!!! But some always question and think it was an incomplete catch or it was not a real home run and claim it was only a ground rule double or had fan interference. they cannot possibly be children of God now they question and want them to review in in the booth. But God made the call right the first time.

When you heard the gospel by preaching, the Holy Spirit joined himself in power to those words and created the miracle of salvation in your heart. You were an unworthy, undeserving law breaker both unwilling and unable to love and serve God. All of that is true! Some would question and throw out the red flag questioning why God would save ungodly people like you and I. They look at our lives even now and we are far from perfect, and we still do do dumb things. People look on it cynically, like some look on people who convert to Christ in prison and call for an instant replay of your sins and actions with a smirk. But God refuses to be questioned about this decision. God made the call right the first time. There is no need for review.

Paul says, “He called you to this through our gospel, that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (2 Thess. 2:14). The gospel of grace is a divine power that brings salvation (Rom 1:16). We are not to be ashamed of it, it needs no review. God has called you by His grace through the precious blood of Jesus poured out on the Cross and that will never be rethought, amended or rescinded. “The God of all grace, who called you” is never going to change his mind about saving you (1 Peter 5:10; Rom 11:29).

It was his call.

It was his decision.

Our conscience may fight against this because it has an instant replay and reviews our bad decisions-our sins. The rules and laws of Moses sometimes are seen more clearly in their review of our lives rather than the solution that God gave for the sin problem, Jesus.

It is Christ alone who saves and delights to save. Your call to salvation and salvation itself will it never be subject to review. The Bible says, “Those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.” (Rom 8:30).

God made the call right the first time. Be at peace.