Everyone Knows The Lord, From The Least To The Greatest

Wouldn't that be a great testimony? Well, everyone will know Him. The sad thing is many will know Him too late. Everyone will bow their knee to Him. So bend your knee to Him now, because if you do it first in eternity it will be too late. Click on the link below to read today's post.

https://ramckinley.com/everyone-from-the-least-to-the-greatest-will-know-the-lord/

What kind of a God would send good people to Hell?

     Because there are no ‘good’ people, according to the Bible (Romans 3:10-12). This may sound harsh but do you know of anyone that’s perfect? If you let imperfect people into heaven, wouldn’t heaven eventually become just like Earth is now? And Earth now is definitely not a perfect place.

     If you compare our ‘righteousness’ to God’s, it’s like comparing the height of a postage stamp to the height of the Empire State building.  We don’t even come close (Isaiah 64:6). We’re great at comparing ourselves to other people, usually the ones not as good as we are. But Paul says not to compare ourselves to ourselves because this isn’t wise (2^nd Corinthians 10:12). But if we compare ourselves to perfection (which is what heaven is), we’ll see that we fall short. If we want to get into heaven, we’ll have to be perfect (Matthew 5:20).

     Jesus lived a perfect life. He NEVER sinned. When we invite Him into our life, He forgives our imperfections and wipes them away. He then applies His righteousness to us. Because He has removed our sin nature, and replaced it with His, we can now enter heaven, the perfect place (John 3:16).

     But, you protest, what about people who are genuinely good? Everyone would agree that we cannot look into each others soul. We can only see the outward actions of a person. God can see into their soul, their real self (1^st Samuel 16:7).  Yes, there are some people who are more righteous than others. But what good does being twice as ‘good’ as the next person, if we are still not equal to God’s righteousness? We may be twice as good as another person, but the height of two postage stamps is still a long way from the height of the Empire State building. The only thing that can wipe away our imperfections is the blood of Jesus Christ. Jesus’ blood really does cleanse us (1^st John 1:7).

Finally, one last point. This may shock you. People in hell don’t want to get out of hell because the only other place to be is in heaven. And heaven is the one place they don’t want to be because heaven is where God is. For them being in God’s presence would be much worse. C.S. Lewis has said“There are only two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God, “Thy will be done,” and those to whom God says, in the end, “Thy will be done.” All that are in Hell, choose it. Without that self-choice there could be no Hell. No soul that seriously and constantly desires joy will ever miss it. Those who seek, find. To those who knock, it is opened.” He also said that, “The Gates of Hell are locked from the inside.”

     So, in a sense, hell is God’s merciful provision to those who don’t want to be in His presence forever. But don’t read into this too much. Hell is NOT a nice place for sinners (Matthew 13:42, Luke 13:28 . Jesus compared it to the worst, most repugnant place ever. The Valley of ben-Hinnon (or what we call Gehenna or hell) was Jerusalem’s garbage dump. It smelled terrible, had rats, mice and maggots in it, and fires that were continually burning the garbage (Matthew 9:42-48). Hell was made for the devil, his demons and for all who follow him. Jesus made it clear. If you’re not following Him, you’re following the devil (Matthew 12:30).

     So, will there be good people in hell? By some people’s definition, YES. But by God’s definition (the only one that counts), NO!

 References:
Websites;
https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/7-truths-about-hell/
https://www.gotquestions.org/who-will-go-to-hell.html

Books;
“The Problem of God” by Mark Clark, pages 125-150, an excellent book for skeptics
“The Case for Faith” by Lee Strobel, pages 169-194, an excellent book
“How to Talk to a Skeptic” by Donald J. Johnson, pages 105-121, great answer on hell

For His Kingdom,
Dave Maynard

7 Reasons to Celebrate our Life in Christ

I like the all-inclusive wording that Paul uses to tell us how our union with Christ brings us great joy. ALL praise to God who has blessed us with EVERY spiritual blessing. The 7 reasons to celebrate our life in Christ is a study of the first 14 verses of Ephesians.

All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ.  Ephesians 1:3

https://kingdomwinds.com/7-reasons-to-celebrate-our-life-in-christ/

Open The Way, Let The King Of Glory Enter!

Psalm 24 is a song about the Majesty of the Lord. The theme of what David wrote about in this Psalm was to open the way. To let the King of Glory enter. This is a post worth reading. Click below to read today's post.

https://www.ramckinley.com/open-the-way-and-let-the-king-of-glory-enter/

There are a few Old Testament passages where God tells the Jews to “completely and utterly destroy” a nation (Deuteronomy 7:2 20:17 & Joshua 10:40). Some people have accused God of committing genocide. The word ‘genocide’ is a combined Greek and Latin word meaning ‘race killing’.

     Consider the following points:
1^st…Please use the word correctly. The improper use of words, like genocide, can give an incorrect word picture of someone/something. God’s commands were motivated by moral concerns, not racial ones. Note, for example, that God judges nations for outrageous moral acts (Amos, chapters 1&2, Leviticus 18:20-30), not for what race they belong to. In fact, Israel was to love & treat other nationalities just like their own people (Leviticus 19:33,34). This was unheard of in other ancient Near Eastern nations. God was concerned with sin, not ethnicity. God treated the Jews the same way as these other nations when they did these moral atrocities (Deuteronomy 13).

2^nd…Who gets to determine if a nation or culture is irredeemable, beyond the point of no moral or scriptural return? Aren’t these considerations too weighty for any human being to judge? Yes, they are. Only God should be the judge, thru special revelation thru His prophets. Without such clear divine guidance, Israel wouldn’t have been justified in attacking these nations. When Israel did attack nations without this divine approval (Numbers 14:41-45, Joshua 7), they lost. Such a divine call is NOT a universally binding standard for all time and for all cultures. It was given to Israel only for a specific time and nation.

3^rd…All languages have figures of speech. When you say you have a million to one chance of winning the lottery, no one literally means it. It’s hyperbole, overstating something to prove a point. Joshua used this language when he said to “completely and utterly destroy all who breathed” (Joshua 10:40-42  11: 16-23). In reality, Joshua did no such thing, he was just saying he had trounced the enemy. Compare Deuteronomy 7:2 with 7:3-5. If they were all destroyed in verse 2, why would He say not to intermarry with them in verses 3-5? Even later (Joshua 23:7, 12, 13  15:63  16:10  17:13 & Judges 2:10-13) Joshua warned the Jews not to mention, swear by, serve or bow down to their gods. The knowing Near Eastern reader recognized these types of words as hyperbole.  This language wasn’t meant to be taken literally.
Also,  remember that God’s mercy was always available to any Canaanite who responded positively to God’s message (Joshua 2:1-14 & Hebrews 11:31). It’s important to remember that Israel NEVER used these commands to justify attacking non-Canaanite peoples. These commands were given as one time orders only.

4^th…We are far removed from the moral depravity of that time. It’s really hard for us to imagine what was going on back then. Even the women, the elderly and the children were involved in this depravity. Incest, adultery, beastiality, homosexuality, temple prostitution, child molestation, child sacrifice, the Canaanite treatment of their enemies….and the list goes on and on (Leviticus 18 & 20:1-5). The Canaanites were a depraved people. And yet, God gave then over 400 years to change their ways (Genesis 15:16) but they didn’t. The USA hasn’t even been a nation that long.
Lest we think we wouldn’t do such things, consider what we’ve done in the last 50 years;
…killing babies in the womb
…legitimating homosexuality
…changing the biblical definition of marriage
…legally discriminating against Christians for holding to biblical morals
…giving rights to rather than medically treating gender confused persons

     Things that may fall in the next few years;
…polygyny (one man marrying several women)
…polyandry (one woman marrying several men)
…beastiality (having sex with an animal)
…the lowering of the age of consent to have sexual intercourse with a minor

5^th…When you make judgements about what is right or wrong, what system of morals are you using? Your own ideas? Where do they come from? How do you decide what is right or wrong? Is it your own preference or do you compare an action to an unchangeable moral standard?

     We can complain about the indecency of God’s wrath but would we want to live in a society where there was little punishment for violating moral standards? God’s wrath is because of His love and protection of us.
How many of us, as children, thought our parents actions towards us were unfair only to find out we agreed with them when we became parents? Could it be the same here with God’s wrath? It’s possible we may have to defer to God’s judgement now and only get full answers when we’re in heaven and can see things from His perspective.

Book reference:
“77 FAQ’s about God and the Bible” by Josh McDowell & Sean McDowell, page 81
“That’s Just Your Interpretation” by Dr. Paul Copan, page 161

For His Kingdom,
Dave Maynard

Homefigures of speech

 Sure you can! We do it all the time. Laws are either moral or immoral but they’re not amoral (without any morality). For example, speeding laws are moral because we want people to drive & arrive safely. Murder is against the law because we want to protect people so they can live in safety. If you don’t legislate morality, what are you legislating? Warm fuzzy feelings? Traditions? Platitudes? The question shouldn’t be can you legislate morality. It should be whose  morality are we going to legislate? Historically, America has replied on Christian morality. This has helped to produce the freest nation on Earth. We started getting away from this morality in the early n20th century. Now in the 21^st century, we’ve made things legal that we wouldn’t have made just a few years ago. We’ll cover whose morality we should legislate in another FAQ.

     The people who say you can’t legislate morality just don’t want you legislating your morality. They’re fine with legislating their own morality. The person who says you shouldn’t force your morals on a woman who wants to get an abortion, will force their morals on the unborn baby. They will also force you to pay increased taxes to support their ‘pet’ projects, whether it be welfare spending, global warming or supporting Planned Parenthood.  They’re being selective in their outrage and in the application of the law.  Once again, they’re telling you not to force your morals on someone else, but they’re more than willing to force their morals on you.

     Slavery is a good example of something that’s been socially acceptable for thousands of years. No religion before Christianity had EVER proposed that all people are equal. Even many religions started after Christianity, like Islam, supported slavery. In fact, Mohammed gave his wife 40 slaves. The American & British idea that slavery was wrong was a moral & religious value right from the start. Whose law was slavery against? Not man’s laws as it was legal. It was against God’s law. So to those people who say the Church should stay out of politics, they’re saying the Church shouldn’t have spoken out against slavery. Are you really willing to say that? If the Church isn’t qualified to address these issues, who is? Someone else who will be forcing their morality on you, that’s who.

     No one is saying that the Church has to weigh in on everything. But they should weigh in on matters that directly affect our beliefs.

     Some people say that if a law doesn’t directly affect you, you shouldn’t speak out against it. This is particularly true in the abortion debate. If you don’t like abortion, don’t have one but don’t stop another person from getting one just because you’re against it. What a weak argument this is. I’ll switch the participants to show you the fallacy of this line of reasoning. In pre-WW II Germany when the Nazi’s were rounding up and killing the Jews, you shouldn’t complain because, hey, you’re not Jewish. While you may think the Nazi’s are wrong and you would NEVER kill a Jew, you don’t want to force your morality on the Nazi’s. Doesn’t make a lot of sense, does it? Edmund Burke’s comment comes to mind about “All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing”. Martin Niemoller, a Lutheran pastor in WW II who survived a concentration camp, said First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Socialist.

Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Trade Unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.

     Here’s a very partial list of practices that Christians helped to make illegal thru the political, governing system:
– infanticide (the killing of infants)
– child marriage
– child prostitution
– purchasing of wives
– killing special needs children
– killing of widows
– the superstitious killing of twins
– slavery
– polygamy (one man marrying multiple wives)
– the gladiatorial games
– child labor
– etc., etc.

     Up until 374 A.D., it was still legal in Roman society to kill any baby you didn’t want. Then a Christian pastor named Bishop Basil of Caesarea convinced Roman Emperor Valentinian to outlaw infanticide. Do you still want to Church to stay out of politics now?

     Another example is when people try to use the idea of human rights to justify same-sex marriage. A good response would be to ask them, “Why do you think all humans have equal rights?” This idea of all people having the same rights comes from the Bible (Galatians 3:8). Some might say that equal rights are a modern concept. Aside from being wrong, isn’t it nice that we’ve just discovered this modern concept now (said very sarcastically)?So now our own moral standards are just our own preferences? But our preferences change over time. What was illegal 40 years ago is now legal. What is illegal now may be legal 40 years from now….like polygamy or lowering the age of sexual consent (don’t laugh, both of these are making their way into the court system and they’re being argued on the same basis that same-sex marriage was). So our moral standards become like shifting sands. Without an external, transcendent moral standard, our national morality becomes whatever we decide at the moment. It didn’t work for Israel (Judges 17:6 & 21:25) and it won’t work for us. Why aren’t we learning from biblical history (1^st Corinthians 10:6, 11,12)? What a recipe for disaster!

     So how far should we go in legislating morals? Should we make kissing on a date illegal? This is where wisdom comes in. We don’t want to be legalistic (2^nd Corinthians 3:6). Many rules make for many transgressions (Galatians 5:19-23). We don’t want a Christian Taliban. But our moral system needs a foundation. This moral foundation in America has, in the past, been Christian. While we can’t dot every ‘i’ and cross every ‘t’, we can provide a framework from which to work. Wayne Grudem’s book, listed below, provides an excellent overview of what standards to apply and how to apply them.

Book references:
“Politics according to the Bible” by Wayne Grudem
“Jesus is involved in politics” by Neil Mammen
“True for you but not for me” by Paul Copan

There Is One God, A Fact That Will Never Change

One of the things I like about the Bible is it distinctively says, there is one God. It doesn’t start by saying, “In the beginning, there was a God, and he created everything.” It doesn’t try to prove that He exists. No, it starts with, “In the beginning, God…” Click below to read today's post.

https://ramckinley.com/there-is-one-god-always-has-been-always-will-be/

Are You One Who Has Aroused God’s Anger Lately?

One of the commandments given in the Old Testament is that we should have no other gods before us. Back then gods were carved or formed and placed in prominent places and worshiped. Things are a little more subtle today because  gods today are anything that we put before God in our lives. Click below to check out today's post.

https://ramckinley.com/how-have-people-aroused-gods-anger/\

Most of us are brought up to prepare for our life. We go to school, college or trade school to prepare for getting a job that provides us with a living. When we’re married, we prepare to have a family. We raise our kids to prepare them to make a living. We prepare for vacations. We spend a great deal of time, energy, effort and money preparing for things in our lifetime of, maybe 80 years. We hope to leave a legacy for our children and grandchildren.

     We prepare for so many things throughout our lives. But the one thing we don’t prepare for is our death. Oh sure, we may prepare for our funeral or memorial. And we may prepare for giving our assets away. But many of us don’t prepare for life after death. It’s the one thing that every human being will experience but it’s the most ill-prepared for.

     Atheists believe that death is the cessation of our physical life. When your body dies, you cease to exist. Atheists should be very at ease with death and dying. Why then do some prominent atheists struggle with death and dying. Some even fear it.
One of the more famous atheists was a 3^rd century B.C. philosopher named Epicurus. Publicly, he didn’t believe in an afterlife at all. But privately, he struggled with the possibility that he might be wrong.  He wrote that he couldn’t be sure that there wasn’t life after death.
–Sigmund Freud, the father of psychoanalysis, was an atheist who didn’t publicly believe in an afterlife. But privately, he struggled with it all of his life. He feared dying because he was afraid that there was an afterlife. He once said he thought about this everyday of his life.
-The French atheist philosopher, Voltaire, publicly did not believe in an afterlife. But on his deathbed, he was terrified as he called out, “I must die, abandoned by God and man. I shall go to hell. O Christ, O Jesus Christ”
-The famous atheist philosopher, Bertrand Russell, on his deathbed, asked his friend, a Christian layman, to pray with him.
-The famous atheist philosopher, Jean-Paul Sartre, died in 1980. His good friend, Pierre Victor, said that in the last month of his life, Sartre said that “I do not feel that I am a product of chance, a speck of dust in the universe, but someone who was expected, prepared, prefigured. In short, a being whom only a Creator could put here.”

 
The fearful thing about death is that we just don’t know what, if anything, exists beyond death. Even people who has experienced near-death-experiences have a 25% fearful, negative experience. This makes sense because we humans seem to have a built-in fearful sense of death.  

–Albert Camus, the famous atheist French philosopher, author and journalist publicly did not believe in an afterlife. He considered life to be absurd because it was void of meaning because there was no God to give it meaning. But he could never shake the fact that life had no meaning. One day he went to a church and struck up a friendship with a guest pastor. Camus now seemed to realize that meaning and purpose in life had to be bestowed by God.Thru this minister, Camus accepted Christ as his Savior. Four months later, he would die in a car crash. He was one of the most famous Frenchman alive but most of his followers would never know that he turned from the meaningless of atheism to a life of purpose found in Jesus Christ. Camus could not live with his belief that life was empty, meaningless and absurd. He recognized that he had a deep longing for meaning and that led him to Christ.

     According to atheism, life has no ultimate meaning. You live, you die and that’s it. You’re usually not remembered for more than a couple of generations. All your hard work seems for naught. If you’re famous, you might get a paragraph in a history book. Camus called this the “absurdity of life”. You’re just an insignificant person on one of a trillion planets circling trillions of stars in one of a trillion galaxies. You may add meaning to your life but in the end, you’ll die and be forgotten. Such is the atheistic view of life.     

     But this doesn’t match up with reality. People have an innate desire to make life better. We want to make a difference in this world. We want our life to account for something. We want to be significant. We want to love and to be loved. This is where Christianity matches up with reality. We do all of these good, godly things because it is in our nature. It’s in our nature because we’re made in God’s image and God is all of these good things.
– our life does have meaning and purpose (1^st Corinthians 10:31 & 2^nd Thessalonians 1:12)
– we are to testify to others about God (2^nd Corinthians 9:9 & Hebrews 6:10)
– eternity in heaven is promised to the faithful ( 1^st John 5:11-13 & 2^nd Timothy 4:8)

     Christians don’t need to fear death because we know that there’s a new perfect life after death. Hebrews 2:15 says that Jesus will “…free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.”
Dr. David Nelson, a 19^th century physician, sat at the bedside of many of his patients as they lay dying. Those without Christian faith would try to keep a brave face but he could see the terror in their eyes. And it was quite chilling. He saw many people die cowardly deaths.
Dr. Nelson, who was not a Christian at this time, saw the tranquility in the faces of Christians as they lay dying.  He wrote, ”I beheld more celestial triumph than I had ever witnessed anywhere else. In their voice, there was a sweetness, and in their eye was a glory that I never would have believed if I had not been there to see it.” Dr. Nelson eventually came to believe in Jesus Christ because he saw the reality of Jesus in the lives of these dying Christians.

     This is why Jesus gave us these words, ”I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in Me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in Me will never die…” (John 11:25-26). The Christian doesn’t have to fear death. It’s just a passageway to a wonderful life that will never end. Do you fear death? If you do, why not let Jesus take that fear away? Invite Him into your heart. Let heaven, not the fear of death, become your new focus of life.

Looking forward to eternity,
Dave Maynard
https://bsssb-llc.com

What Will You See After Your Death?

When Jesus went to the cross, He died and came back to life. Thus, He conquered death and the grave. Because of this accomplishment, even though our physical bodies die, we don’t. Did you ever wonder what entering into eternity will be like? To read today's post, click on the link below and then let me hear your comments.

https://ramckinley.com/death-is-not-fatal/

What should you do now that you’re saved?

     Congratulations! You just invited Jesus into your heart. You’ve become “saved”, “born again”. You have come thru the door into the room of God’s Kingdom and are standing just inside it. But how do you fully walk into the room? How do you get to know Jesus better? How do you let God, the Holy Spirit transform your life? Fortunately, the answers are very simple. When you fall in love with someone, you want to spend time with them. It’s the same with Jesus. The following steps, in no particular order, will help you get to know Jesus better.

1) The bible tells us of God, who He is and what’s He like. To get to know God, we need to get to know the bible. Reading the bible everyday is very important. Pick the best time for you to read it. It may be in the morning or the evening. Whatever works better for you and your schedule. Taking the classes “How to Read the Bible”, How to Read the Bible – Part 2” and “How We Got the Bible” are very helpful in getting to know God better. The following scripture verses tell us to do this:
2^nd Timothy 3:16-17…All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.
Psalm 119:105…Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.
John 8:32…And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.
Matthew 7:24…Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.

Where should I start reading the bible at? See our suggestions at https://bsssb-llc.com/bible-reading-order-suggested/

2) Prayer! What is prayer? Read our link at https://bsssb-llc.com/prayer/. Prayer is just talking and listening to God. You can do it anywhere and anytime. You can pray a one sentence prayer or a longer one. You can pray sitting down, standing up, walking or lying down. You can pray at work, at home or on a vacation. You can pray in the morning, daytime or evening.
Prayer can consist of up to 5 things: praise to God, worshipping Him, being thankful to Him, confessing sin in our life and asking things of Him. These bible verses talk about prayer:
Matthew 6:9-13…Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
Philippians 4:6-7…Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Proverbs 15:29…The Lord is far from the wicked, but he hears the prayer of the righteous.

3) Get to be around and know other believers.This is called fellowship. Just like a plant must be surrounded by good soil to grow, you need to be around other believers to encourage your growth in Jesus. Proverbs 13:20 says to become wise, you need to walk with the wise. Ephesians 2:19-22 says the same thing. There are some old friends that you’ll want to keep. But if an old friend is not a good influence on you, you’ll want to keep your distance from them.
1^st Corinthians 15:33 says that “bad company corrupts good morals”.
Matthew 5:30 says “And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.”
Proverbs 12:26 says “The righteous choose their friends carefully, but the way of the wicked leads them astray.”

4) The Church…The church is all of the believers in Jesus Christ. The word “church” is the Greek word ‘ecclesia’, which means “the called out ones”. We are called out from an unbelieving worldly system to one which serves Jesus whole-heartily. Going into a church building doesn’t make you a Christian anymore than going into a bagel shop makes you a bagel. The church is a living organism, not necessarily an organization, though it may be. The church is not the building. The church goes to a building.
Acts 2:42 says “They (the new believers) devoted themselves to the teachings of the apostles ( in our time, this is to the teachings of the bible), to intimate fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” A good bible believing church should be a place to spiritually grow & fellowship. By getting in a bible study or a small group, you can get to intimately know other believers, grow, pray and share life with them. Church is so vital that Hebrews 10:25 warns against not being part of one.
Each church has a different “style”. Find one that fits your style and regularly attend it. Remember a few important things about church:
– a church is the people, not the building.
– a church is not a place for perfect people. It’s a hospital for sinners.
– no church is perfect as it’s made up of imperfect people serving a perfect God.

5) Witnessing…Having the Holy Spirit in your heart will naturally make you want to share Jesus with other people as you will want them to share in this happiness also. While not every believer has the gift of evangelism (like the late Billy Graham), we are all called to evangelize, to tell people how they can have this new life in Christ also. We have a plaque in our house that says, “Live in such a way that those who don’t know God will come to know Him because they know you.” Read 1^st Peter 2:12.

6) Spiritual Gift(s)…Determine what your spiritual gift(s) are. There are many online spiritual gift tests that can point you in the right direction in determining what your gift(s) are.
For a good description of what spiritual gifts are, go to https://bsssb-llc.com/blog2-spiritual-gifts/ or ldolphin.org/rrrgifts.html.
For one spiritual gifts test, go to spiritualgiftstest.com.

7) Spiritual Warfare…There are 3 entities that don’t want you to be successful in your Christian life:
– your flesh. These are your old desires. Anything that draws you away from or stunts your spiritual growth. It could be the desire for more money, or more success in your work, your sexual desires or your hobby addictions. Read Romans 7:15-25 & Galatians 5:19-21 & 1^st Peter 2:11 & James 1:14.
– the world, this can range from common routine things, like spending an inordinate amount of time on your house & yard work to becoming so involved with activities, (like your kids sports) that your spiritual life gets side-tracked, to people telling you to keep your religion to yourself or don’t force it on them by voting a certain way. Read James 4:4.
– the devil…Yes, there really is a devil. Satan doesn’t wear red tights and carry a pitchfork but he is real. Read https://bsssb-llc.com/is-there-really-a-devil/.
He can be very beautiful. He can even disguise himself as an angel. Read 1^st Corinthians 11:14. While he can only tempt you, he cannot make you do anything (1^st Peter 5:8-9). Satan is much more powerful than you & I but thru the Holy Spirit, you are more powerful than he is (1^st John 4:4).

Thru the Holy Spirit, you can overcome all of these things. Sometimes it will be very easy. Other times, it will be very hard. Sometimes you will fail and sin but God can and will forgive you. Ask for His forgiveness, get up and try again. Eventually you will be victorious. Read Galatians 6:1 & James 5:16 & Matthew 26:41 & Genesis 4:7.
When any of these things tempts you, do what Jesus did. He quoted the bible (Matthew 4:4, 7-8). In some cases, you should just flee from evil. Read 1^st Corinthians 6:18-20 & 10:13, 1^st Timothy 6:11-12 & 2^nd Timothy 2:22. In other cases, fill your mind with godly thoughts (Philippians 4:8). Ask Jesus to deliver you (Matthew 6:13 & Psalm 143:9). By making these steps part of your everyday life, you will grow closer to God (James 4:8 & Isaiah 55:1-3, 6-7 & Psalms 145:18-19).

     By following these 7 steps consistently, you will grow closer to the Lord. Over time, it will be amazing to see what God does with your life as you follow the path He has laid out before you. Have a wonderful journey!

Speaking as one who has been there…and is still keeping on going,
Dave Maynard
https://bsssb-llc.com

How To Enter Into The Presence Of The Almighty

Psalm 15 in only 5 verses he laid out for us how to enter into the presence of the Almighty. The outline of this chapter is very simple. Verse 1contains a couple of questions. And the last 4 verses offer us the answers. Click below to read today's post.

https://www.ramckinley.com/how-to-enter-into-the-presence-of-the-almighty/

How To Know God's Perfect Will For Your Life

Like most dedicated Christians, I’m sure you want to be used by God. How can we know God’s will for our lives? Taking that statement a bit further, how can we know God’s perfect will for our lives?

There are usually 2 major reasons people give for not being used by God. The first is their mindset is, why would God want to use me? The second reason is they feel they don't have any worthy skills or talents.

Let me just share some of my testimony. My wife and I were children's evangelists early in our marriage. We didn't know a thing about puppets, storytelling, scheduling, you get the idea. For 8 years full time on the road, we saw 100s of children, teens, and adults come to the Lord. For the past 28 years I have pastored the church where we are now.

I don't know how many times through the years I have asked the Lord, "Who am I that You would use me?" His answer has always come back something like this; "You are a child of God called to work for His kingdom." You also are a child of God called to work for His kingdom! I'm sure you will enjoy this post.

God Bless

https://www.ramckinley.com/staying-tuned-in-to-gods-perfect-will-for-your-life/

WE DID IT!!! BESTSELLING BOOK!!! ACHIEVEMENT RECEIVED!!! Oh I'm so grateful and it's wonderful to shout VICTORY! I wanted to take the time to thank all who assisted "Finding Joy In The Journey Vol 2" to BESTSELLER status. You are appreciated. 🤩 Should anyone want a signed copy. It's $20 plus $5 shipping. I love you all. Again, thanks for making me a Bestselling Author the gold star feels great. 🌟

https://QueenCleInspires.mystrikingly.com

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