WHY ARE WE HERE?

Why are we here?

One—To get born again*

Two—To get someone else born again*

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*born again means come to Jesus, admit your sins, accept forgiveness, give Him everything in your life, go to heaven when you die

THEOLOGY – – – WE’VE ALWAYS DONE IT . . . ?

This article is about the “?” in the title.

+”We’ve”—Indeed, most theological wording says what ‘we’ have come up with and believe about God and spiritual matters, more than just what the Bible says.

Go back to the beginning of most distinctive church doctrines, and check the date.

If it is so important, why didn’t the ‘theologians’ in the Bible say it?

‘We’ may not necessarily have more enlightenment than they had.

+”We’ve always done it . . .”—Indeed, theologians do ‘always’ write more theology, and then write more theology to explain their theology.

Theologians get accustomed to doing theology, as a profession, and it builds on itself, becomes an end in itself—just like the experts of Jesus’ day created and imposed a massive superstructure of doctrine and rules to follow—‘they knew more than the people.’

Catholicism carried this to new levels, with unprecedented monopoly on theology for more than a millennium.

Throughout history there is a never-ending tendency to add doctrine to the Bible—to ‘explain’ it, to ‘explain’ God, to offer a ‘better’ understanding of spiritual matters than we had before.

Our guiding rule should not be the pattern of precedent in church history and what church leaders have come up with—clouding the distinction between the Word of God and the words of the church.

Today, we are more conditioned than ever to think our experts in theology and psychology know more—with an unprecedented proliferation of new ideas to improve on the Bible.

We don’t want to say it that way, but now the reality is, we spend more time listening and reading everything else that’s new, more than the Bible.

“Did God really say?” and “Did God really say enough for us to live by?”

CHRISTIAN TEST – – – NOV. 3

In January on this site, I wrote “2020—A CLEAR SPIRITUAL VISION.”

Now is a good time to re-read that article.

And now is the time when “It will become harder to be a Christian, but it will become easier to tell who is a Christian.”

Your vote in November will not make you a Christian, or make you not a Christian, but it will certainly reflect whether you are a Christian.

Some things are black and white now.

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The democrat candidates vehemently advocate abortion more than ever—killing innocent human babies.

The current republican administration has spoken and acted for the life of unborn babies more than any previous administration.

A Christian cannot vote for anyone who promotes killing babies.

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The democrats loudly boo-ed God in their last convention, and they purposely left God out of the pledge to the flag (and not just once) in this convention.

The republicans welcomed God in speech after speech in their convention.

A Christian cannot vote for anyone who trashes our country’s Christian heritage.

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The democrats are currently restricting our first amendment right to religious freedom.

The current president is the first to address the entire United Nations on religious persecution around the world.

A Christian cannot vote for anyone who does not clearly defend our freedom of religion.

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The democrats make many ominous threats to limit or eliminate our second amendment right to keep and bear (use) arms—designed to change America without resistance .

The republicans make many commitments to protect and defend our second amendment right to keep and bear (use) arms.

A Christian cannot vote for any platform to take away our right to defend ourselves.

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Christians, vote in November, in line with Christianity—not in line with tradition, family, pressure, or propaganda.

IS OPPRESSED A PERMANENT CONDITION?

IS OPPRESSED A PERMANENT CONDITION FOR YOU, IF . . .

. . . if your skin is a certain color?

. . . if your ancestors were oppressed?

. . . if you were oppressed?

IS OPPRESSED A PERMANENT CONDITION FOR YOU, IF . . .

. . . if someone says you are oppressed?

. . . if you think you are oppressed?

. . . if you say you are oppressed?

IS OPPRESSED A PERMANENT CONDITION FOR YOU, IF . . .

. . . if you hear that someone else is a racist?

. . . if you hear that someone else is an oppressor?

. . . if you hear that someone else was an oppressor?

IS OPPRESSED A PERMANENT CONDITION FOR YOU, IF . . .

. . . if someone is better off than you?

. . . if you say, “It’s not fair . . .”?

. . . if life is not fair?

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

IS OPPRESSOR A PERMANENT CONDITION FOR YOU, IF . . .

. . . if your skin is a certain color?

. . . if someone says you are an oppressor?

. . . if someone says your ancestors were oppressors?

IS OPPRESSOR A PERMANENT CONDITION FOR YOU, IF . . .

. . . if someone says their ancestors were oppressed?

. . . if someone says they are oppressed?

. . . if you are better off than someone else?

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

OPPRESSED / OPPRESSOR – – – CAN YOU SHAKE IT?

No one can take the blame for holding you back, when you are free on the inside.

And you cannot take the blame for holding someone else back, when you are free on the inside.

The only permanent oppression is the oppression in your heart, which every person lives under and cannot shake alone.

We all need Jesus, and “if He sets you free, you are free indeed.”

Our greatest need is not social or economic equality, which doesn’t exist, but to be free from the one thing that makes us all equal—sin.

Sin oppresses everyone, because it makes us all guilty, and we don’t deserve anything good here, or after here.

Jesus paid, with His life, for our guilt and the sin that caused it—because He knew we couldn’t pay.

Will you accept His offer, and live free and clear of the oppression in your heart?

And you can spend the rest of your life sharing with others your freedom, rather than endlessly fighting the oppression you claimed to hold you back.

COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS – – – EVEN ‘SLOW’

I have learned to be genuinely thankful for slow.

My body is getting ‘older’, but my spirit does not have to get ‘old.’

When the ups and downs are battling over me, and the downs seem to have the upper hand at times, ‘my spirit is renewed day by day,’ even when I don’t feel it—because God is still in charge of my life to the end.

Any reader out there, feel free to remind me of that when I need to hear it again.

NEW TWIST ON TURNING 70 TODAY

On my 69th birthday I said,

“I almost made it to the Biblical allotment of 70 years.”

If someone else made the exact same statement about me, it had an entirely different meaning,

“Larry almost made it to the Biblical allotment of 70 years.”

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Now I can say,

“I made it to the Biblical allotment of 70 years.”

And, now anyone can say the same about me, with the same meaning,

“Larry made it to the Biblical allotment of 70 years.”

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But we must add,

“. . . totally by the grace of God.”

– – –

No promise ‘of the days,’

but promise ‘for the days.’

URGENT ! – – – REALLY ?

Everything is urgent—so it seems today.

How to respond . . .

How to deal with it . . .

– – –

+Fear

+Anger

+Compliance

– – –

+Rebel

+Ignore

+Wait

– – –

Pray for ‘rapture’

– – –

++PRAY indeed—for wisdom, not just escape

++Take a break from TV news

++Take a break from facebook

++Take a break from virus updates (propaganda)

++Take a break from masks

++GET IT RIGHT NOW on afr.net—onenewsnow.com—truth on what’s going on—Biblical perspective

THE DEMOCRATS DID WHAT ?

At the last democrat convention the crowd loudly boo-ed God publicly.

At this convention they purposely recited the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag without “under God,”—repeatedly, by various leaders in the different groups, with significant leaders present.

ENOUGH ALREADY !

CONCERNING GENDER AND EVOLUTION

They keep adding genders to accommodate more new ideas of sex as means to deny God and develop deeper depravity, with absolutely no basis in reality.

They keep adding millions of years (and then billions) to accommodate more new ideas of evolution as means to deny God and avoid accountability, with absolutely no basis in reality.

HAPPINESS – – – WHAT’S MISSING ?

Consider all of our criteria for happiness (missing from Jesus’ list of blessed people):

+success

+money

+entertainment

+commendation

+no pain

+health

+retirement

+self esteem

+fitness

+reputation

+included

+tolerant

+respected

+connected

+stuff

+insured

+’guaranteed’ income

+’permanent” income

+leisure

+ease

– – –

Question:

Does our list deliver?

Does the list deliver happiness, for real, for good, lasting?

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– – –

Now, Jesus’ list:

1-“poor in spirit—happy-blessed”

2-“mourners—happy-blessed”

3-“meek—happy-blessed”

4-“hungry, thirsty for righteousness—happy-blessed”

5-“merciful—happy-blessed”

6-“pure in heart—happy-blessed”

7-“peacemakers—happy-blessed”

8-“persecuted for righteousness—happy-blessed”

9-“reviled, persecuted, falsely accused of evil for following Me—happy-blessed”

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Question:

Does Jesus’ list deliver?

Does the list deliver happiness, for real, for good, lasting?

1-“theirs is the kingdom of heaven”

2-“they will be comforted”

3-“they will inherit the earth”

4-“they will be filled”

5-“they will obtain mercy”

6-“they will see God”

7-“they will be called the children of God”

8-“theirs is the kingdom of heaven”

9-“rejoice, be exceedingly glad, your reward is great in heaven, that is how the prophets before you were persecuted”

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So, choose your list—

to achieve short-term ‘happiness’

or

to receive permanent blessedness.