Faith comes in many forms 543 - 4 - 3

CM lists Three kinds of faith:

1. Dead faith

James 2:17-18, “17 Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. 18 Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.” James is describing the man who has nothing but a profession of faith. He says he has faith, but there is nothing about his life that demonstrates it, no resulting fruits.

2. Demonic faith

James 2:19, “Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.” Demons believe in the existence of God, have a sense of time, and fear their eventual punishment/ destination as evidenced in Matthew 8:29.

3. Dynamic faith

According to CM, Dynamic faith involves the whole person: the intellect, the emotions, and the will.

On the road to Damascus, Saul had a vision of Jesus and shortly thereafter became an apostle. Not only had he seen the risen Christ, but it has been suggested that he spent three years in the Arabian Desert being tutored by Jesus. Whether a brief vision or a three-year discipleship, Paul became a tenacious warrior and witness for the risen Jesus.

Paul often spoke about justification (salvation) as a gift through faith, nothing that we do adds to it. Next comes sanctification (inheritance). I’m a pro-active work in progress relying on the guidance of the Holy Spirit working to overcome sin on the road to sanctification.”

4. A lapse of faith

Abraham had a lapse in faith that God would provide a son of promise through Sarah. Abraham had a son born of Hager, Sarah’s handmaid. Ishmael was born while Hager sat on Sarah’s lap, as was the custom with a barren woman. Ishmael would be Abraham’s son but not the son of promise, rather the son of the flesh. The result of the birth of the son of flesh is seen on the nightly news.

5. Hebrews 11:1, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”

Abraham was willing to obey God and offer his son Isaac, James 2:21-22, “21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? 22, Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect?”

6. Falling away faith

Luke 18:7-8, “7 And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them? 8 I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?” Good question in these the days of the Church of the Laodiceans. Unless there is a great revival I fear that there will be very little faith on earth when the Son of Man comes.

6. Faith through trials

Perhaps the time between suffering persecution and God avenging his own elect is a trial of one’s faith.

Contending for the Faith 546 - 1 - 2

CM poses the question asked by Jesus; Luke 18:8, “I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?” This is a very good question and rather complements another asked of a person claiming to be a Christian, “If you were on trial for being a Christian would there be enough evidence to convict you?”

In June we held an open house for my mother’s 102nd birthday. For two days I visited with family and friends and left feeling very uneasy about the ultimate destination of most who were visiting my mom. The majority of family members at the open house were from my father’s side, several being from the state of California. It was a mixture of indifference to the church combined with a few New Agers and Christian scientists.

Of mom's friends there was one couple who radiate Christian virtue and adherence to the Word. Many other friends were either indifferent or atheist, agnostic or Catholics. One cousin who has yet to unfriend me on Facebook took a rather aggressive approach with me and my Catholic sister-in-law. The cousin proudly stated that she was a Christian Scientist and therefore didn't believe in hell. Then looking directly at my sister-in-law she said and there’s no such thing as purgatory. Other than nodding my agreement about there not being a purgatory I pretty much kept to myself since this was mom’s party. It is now four months later and I still regret that I felt that I was not in a position to contend for the faith.

I primarily contend for the faith via the Internet. I blog and use Facebook as a witnessing tool. I suspect that most of my friends and family members on Facebook skip over my postings. Mostly I interface with like-minded people on Facebook so it’s mostly a case of “Singing to the choir.” Usually we reinforce our Christian faith, however, we sometimes get into very interesting discussions. A current example is the video, “The Blood Moon Theory DEBUNKED (2014-2015).”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=--kA2-5z2zI&feature=youtu.be

While there has been no definite date setting concerning the timing of the rapture a rather lively discussion of pre-, mid and post tribulation ensued.

Blogging can lead to speculation as I have no idea who is reading my posts, only the areas on planet Earth where my readership is. The top ten readership for the past month include those from the countries of United States, France, Ukraine, Brazil, Turkey, Romania, Canada, Germany, United Kingdom and Russia.

I've been encouraged of late by questions that have been asked by friends who seem to be more receptive to the gospel. Whenever the opportunity presents itself such as when I’m discussing the state of the economy, terrorism or Ebola I always make the comment that it is time to be right with God. As with my blog I don’t know if I’m actually reaching anyone, however, if I can just reach a few people with the Good News I will have contended for the faith.

. Besides the messianic, what other prophetic themes are in the Bible?

I had decided to write once more on the Book of Ruth which is a favorite. However I was moved to write on the Ecumenical religion movement and the occult, more of the ways that Satan has tried/ is trying to thwart the plan of God.
“For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north,” Isaiah 14:12-14

Satan’s goal to rise above God and his attempts to destroy God’s Chosen people have failed, however, Satan keeps trying. Satan has whispered in many ears, “Did God really say that?” Many have inching ears and listen to and/or create many false faiths by falling into Satan’s trap. Satan excels at corrupting the gentiles who “do it their way.” Today even several Evangelical pastors are falling into the “All roads lead to God” trap and questioning God’s covenant with Israel. The devil has many helpers as the world rushes down the road to an Ecumenical religion and to the occult.

Jesus' salvation message is so simple, "For by grace are ye saved through faith." However, He warned us a number of times that we be not decived.

“And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. 5For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.” Matthew 24:4-5.

“Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous.” 1 John 3:6-8

“Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;” 2 Thessalonians 2:2-4

In my opinion, Rick Warren, founder and pastor of Saddleback Community Church in Orange County California and several other pastors are promoting an apostate Christianity called Chrislam. Allah is not another name for the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; rather Allah is the pagan moon god. Interestingly enough Robert Schuller and his ostentatious glass cathedral have fallen on hard times.

The Christ at the Checkpoint group has a Manifesto that includes:

Point 1, “The Kingdom of God has come. Evangelicals must reclaim the prophetic role in bringing peace, justice and reconciliation in Palestine and Israel.” Point 3, might surprise God, “3.Racial ethnicity alone does not guarantee the benefits of the Abrahamic Covenant.”

Point 10 is interesting: “10.Any challenge of the injustices taking place in the Holy Land must be done in Christian love. Criticism of Israel and the occupation cannot be confused with anti-Semitism and the delegitimization of the State of Israel.” So it’s an occupation of the land by the chosen people?

As for the occult, vampires and werewolves are in. Vampires drink blood and werewolves eat flesh. Sounds familiar. I have hardy gotten stated and already I’m nearing the 500 word limit so….to be continued.

Satan is the father of lies and intentionally causes confusion. I suspect that Mohammad really did have an angel reveal to him what was later written down as the Quran, however, that angel was one of the fallen angels. I have a number of Mormon friends who are good caring people who believe the Book of Mormon was from the angel Moroni. Moroni isn’t as hard on non-Mormons as the angel of Allah is on non-Muslims, however and in my opinion, both cut from the same cloth.

To quote Jesus, “For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.” Revelation 22:18-19.
As the time before Jesus coming for his Church grows shorter, I pray that those of the Islamic and Mormon faith will come to know the real Jesus.    To be continued.

As a child I was brought up in a Protestant church and wondered why Catholics still have the risen Jesus hanging from a cross. If those of the Roman Catholic faith still have icons of Jesus hanging on the cross and really believe that bread and wine become His body and blood how does that fit with Jesus’ words, “It is finished?” Add to that a good friend told me she had returned to the Catholic Church. In my surprise I said something to the effect that at least the church no longer sold Indulgences or believed in purgatory. I was told that purgatory is still there to purge all sin from the recently deceased.

So off to Google purgatory and yes it’s still part of the Catholic theology and lining the churches’ coffers. If I understand it correctly, between Jesus and the church saints there is a repository of good credits that one can draw from to limit the length of time spent in purgatory. These credits can be applied to the dead. Also, your own good deeds such as number of masses attended can go into your purgatory avoidance account.

The Catholic Church hasn’t burnt anyone at the stake for a long time for the simple crime of reading the Bible. However, when I last attended the local Catholic Church with Catholic family members, I was again reminded of Psychology 101 and the Skinner Box we used for experiments. The caged rat would respond to a stimulus, run to its water dish and be rewarded with a drink. The priest would say something and the people would add their canned response.

We are all free to pursue any religion, however, I am very concerned about the millions of Catholics following a theology that rejects Jesus’ words on the cross. We are saved by grace through faith, so are Catholics saved? God will have the final say, however, I pray they are saved. After the Church is removed will the Roman Catholic Church emerge as “The Woman Who Rides the Beast” of Revelation?