We live in a world where if we are not the best, then generally we stop doing. If we aren't completely sure that we'll be able to do something, then we generally don’t try. We live in a world where if we don’t get everything, then we generally don’t take anything, which in turn leaves us with nothing. We refuse to share our possessions, and we refuse to share our glory. It might not be a conscious decision, but unfortunately this seems to be the reality for our society in general today. The problem with this perspective on life, is that it all too often hinders us from doing anything, so we end up doing nothing. We forget the simple fact that without trying, there will never even be the possibility of success. We end up sitting and waiting for the day that we think we will be ready even though we might be hearing God loud and clear. We think according to what we can do as humans and according to the ideas we have in our heads. All while God affirms throughout the whole Bible, that we just need to do what we can, then He will complete our efforts perfectly. Throughout this struggle of trying to do only the bare minimum, too many of us forget our real purpose, and thus focus our lives solely trying to provide for our own selfish securities and desires. We focus our lives on earning enough for that new TV, holiday or retirement package. Then maybe if we have time, we spend it with our friends and family. Then only, if by some chance there is still time left unfilled, we might try to reach someone not too far from us. My actual question for today is: Do we live our lives any differently from the unsaved around us? Do we do anything that even closely resembles our true calling? Anything that might save someone from an eternity in hell? Please know I am in not saying that we should drop everything to devote our entire lives to God and start saving the people around us... Jesus said it Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. Matthew 6:31-34 KJV - Emphasis mine This being said, He also said that we are all part of one body and that not every part has the same purpose. This is why we should always be listening to God in regards to where and how He wants to use us.
Let's stop thinking about what we can maybe do in the future, and actually start trusting God when He says we should give all we have. There will always be those that say it is too extreme, a waste of time or even that it might be too hard, but if God called you to do it, then give all you can. Whether giving your all means going to church or starting a church, do it. Whether it means writing a book, reading your Bible or simply getting a Bible, do it. Whether it means talking to people about God, or simply just listening to someone who needs to talk to someone. do it. God will perfect your effort if you rely on Him for what we simply cannot do. We, and this includes myself, are letting miracles and people slip away because we are too self-oriented. We need to realize and remind ourselves constantly that even though it might seem difficult, if God called you to do something, it has a purpose. For each person it will be different, but I thoroughly believe that the moment we actually start living these types of lives, the Kingdom of God will be on Earth as it is in Heaven. May God bless and lead us all Recently my beliefs were challenged in a way that I believe all Christians should be challenged every now and again. For it is only when we are challenged that we can truly grow, and only through challenges do we find out what we truly believe, and why we believe it. Now for some of you, the answer to: "Who is Jesus?" has already been answered a long time ago, and nothing will ever change that. But what about when we are asked to start thinking about the minor details that many feel are irrelevant? For some, it may be irrelevant, but for others, it might be the difference between believing or not. So the basic faith related question that was brought to me, and had me seeking more of God was: Was Jesus, God in human form that sent us His Holy Spirit after He went back to Heaven? or Was Jesus, a perfect man (made by God) who received the Christ- or God Spirit at His baptism, and now believers receive that same Christ Spirit? At first glance this seemed to be a strange, but intriguing question. It seemed simple enough to answer, but to find the complete truth should always be our first priority. This made me want to examine what I believe to be true, so that I could either correct what I believed, or help others see what they might be missing or misunderstanding. Needless to say I spent many following days going through the scriptures and listening to the Spirit to find the what I believe is the confirmed truth. This is the same truth I would like to share with you today. To do this, I would like to look at a few scriptures that illustrate how our God truly is the Tri-une/Three-in-one God: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. - John 1:1 KJV (Emphases mine) And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. - John 1:14 KJV (Emphases mine) For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. - 1 John 5:7 KJV (Emphases mine) These text tell us directly and explicitly the Word was with God and that the Word was God. It doesn't say that the Word entered into flesh, it says that the word was made flesh. Jesus is the physical form of God. Our God is the 3-in-1 God as it says in 1 John 5:7: "...these three are one". For arguments sake, I would like to look at one more illustration. In Isaiah we see that God is also called: "The first and the last": Who hath wrought and done it, calling the generations from the beginning? I the Lord, the first, and with the last; I am he. - Isaiah 41.4 KJV (Emphases mine) In Revelation we see the same thing: Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea. - Revelation 1:11 KJV (Emphases mine) And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last: I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death. - Revelation 1:17-18 KJV (Emphases mine) As we know and as we see here, God calls Himself the Alpha and Omega, the first and the last. So my question in relation to the last scripture is: If Jesus was not fully God in human form, how can God say that He, Himself was dead at some point?
Why do we try to complicate what the Bible teaches so clearly? Why do we look for hidden messages and complicate what is actually so simple? I have heard it said that: The problem with the Bible is that when it is taken out of context, it can be used to say almost anything imaginable. I would like to correct that statement: The problem is not the Bible, the problem is people. We do not know God, and we do not know what the Bible teaches. We read the Bible in small drips and drabs and then expect to understand it as a whole. And even when we do start reading it as a whole, our humanity kicks in and we get stuck on verses that could be understood in 10 different ways, and then for some reason stick to the one that confuses us most. May prayer and innermost desire today is that we all, including myself, stop trying to complicate God and what He is trying to tell us. Trusting God means that we stop trying to find human mistakes in the Bible or in what He does. The moment we start doing this, is the moment we know we are truly starting to trust God with all we are. We live in a world where everything has to be politically correct, and everything is acceptable. Everything is relative to your own situation, and to what you believe. Gone are the days where someone could correct you, or tell you that something about you needs improvement. Each person decides what is right or wrong depending on their own lives.
This new mindset has made us more open to discuss various topics and talk about things that were once hidden. We can talk about politics, drugs, sex and even sexual preference. Yes, we can talk about all these things, but only in a way that doesn't offend anyone. I think the reason for this is because we have been forced to accept everything as it is, and everyone for who they claim to be. Even when something clearly isn't right. And don't get me wrong, I believe acceptance is brilliant, but I don't think we've quite found the balance yet, and as a result we are accepting the the wrong with the right. A perfect example of this is that I live in a country (South Africa) where someone is not allowed to smoke until they are 18 years old, because this is a major health decision... and yet children can legally have sex, and bring another life into the world by the age of 12. Surely we can agree that something here is amiss. Certain things simply need to be addressed, even if it means stepping on a few toes. The focus of this article is not to talk about smoking laws, or even the age of consent, but to discuss a topic that has life or death implications, and yet it is still the forbidden topic. Simply because it makes some people uncomfortable. The world is subconsciously begging for answers. They want to know the reason to life and what happens after death. The seemingly simple phrase: "O my God" fills the media as a cry for help to the unknown God, personally I believe it's because there are simply no stronger words to utter. Every second TV show is about vampires, zombies or other forms of death. While the rest of TV is covered with magic. We have this built in desire to believe in more than what we see around us. Every culture around the world including primitive ones, have some sort of belief in a god, whether it be singular or plural. Why is it that we can talk about any and everything, but runaway when it comes to the most important questions to life? People hate talking about religion. Well, unbelievers do anyway. Yes, there are crazy people, and people that push the subject too hard. Yes, there are even wars over religion. But... There are also bad mechanics, and even wars about oil. Does this mean that we should stop driving cars? No, it just means we should look for the truth at the right places. But people don't want to talk about religion. They don't like the idea that they have a responsibility or that they will be judged for what they do. The questions I have to ask is this: What if there really is a reason to life? And What if there really is a hell? Is this something we can just leave to chance? Does us liking an answer make it true? I know me liking the idea of my bank account to overflowing doesn't make it true. So why do we think that not liking the idea of God will make us the rulers of all creation and accountable to no one? Everything on earth has a purpose and when that purpose isn't fulfilled it is discarded. When a pen doesn't write, we don't keep it. It is thrown away. It is time that we start discussing things that truly matter. Death is the destination we all share, and yet it is a topic most people don't want to elaborate on. I personally urge you to take a deep look inside and ask yourself if you are ready to take that chance when death arrives. Use the time you have to ask questions. Seek the truth. Not what you like. Seek the truth and it will set you free to live a life of meaning. Everything that is, was created. It didn't just poof into existence. A computer didn't make itself, so why do some believe that everything just appeared out of nowhere? God exists, and because we have messed up and live in a broken world, God wants to save us. But, He won't force you. He's saving those that believe, not people who think they are good enough. We can't save ourselves. I urge you to pray to God, even if you are not sure how. Pray for God to forgive you for being sinful and that you would like to know the truth. Then get a Bible and start to read it. I recommend start in the new testament (check the index) as it explains what being a saved really means and how this will change your life. May God show you the truth and give you the hope only He is able to give. While writing my previous article about The Age of the Earth, a close friend made me realize something quite shocking. I realized that I didn't really have a clear answer as to why a person should become a Christian. I'm a Christian and I'm passionate about my faith, but at that stage I couldn't answer this basic question in a way a non-believer would understand. The thing is, this was one of the main reason I started writing in the first place, so I had to find the answer.
The text to the right of my home screen says that we should always be ready to give an answer for the hope that is in us. Even the name of my website site comes from this verse. My website is about my inner hope. I want to express my hope as well as maybe encourage those without. To be clear: I know that we are all sinners that fall short of the glory of God the Father and should be saved through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ the Son of God, by the power of the Holy Spirit. But for a non-believer, this can mean nothing. I also know that if the Spirit of God does not draw a person to Christ, then no one will be able to find Him (John 6:44). But we need to remember that it is through preaching of the good news that people are led to the truth and salvation (Romans 10: 14-15). Because of this, I now realize that this could be one of the most important articles I ever write. In this article, I would like to address certain points in general as a way of expressing a few of the many reasons I believe. I believe every single person in the world has a built in sense/need for a Creator. We see this with every nation in the world having a religion of some sort, and I even want to go as far as to say that every person in the world has prayed at one stage in their life. Whether they know it or not, I believe it to be true...This could have been in the form of - A direct prayer to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob as in the Christian faith - To another idea of a god in other religions or - Simply speaking to yourself in a time of need when you just go: "O' please let this work out". Whether they like it or not, and whether they believe it or not, I firmly believe that all people believe in a creator. The reason I say this is because every person on earth holds to the belief that things are supposed to be a certain way. Even people who say they believe in evolution and claim that all things happen by chance. This simply can't be true, because even unbelievers believe things operate in a certain way. We see this when a person is sick or injured; Any person who is sick or injured knows they are because the way we assess if you are sick or injured is by realizing that: "something is not working the way it's supposed to". Everyone person on earth has this preconceived idea of right or wrong, and this can only be true if all things were created. This is true in regards to nature itself or in the morality of everyday life. The culture we are living in today has this belief that everything (including right or wrong) is relative to each person's situation. How can this be? If each person decides for themselves, then I can decide to take their car or punch them in the face, and I can guarantee you that they won't stand by their belief that: "Each person decides what is right or wrong depending on their reality". Some people like to believe that a god made everything and is currently standing back, just watching us go. According to this, they believe that there is no real right or wrong and that there is no real purpose to life. I disagree with this. Everything in nature has a purpose, even if it is only to help sustain something else, but purpose and reason are found in every single thing on earth. Saying life has no purpose is just depressing at its core, and simply a way to avoid responsibility. I personally believe the Christian faith to be the truth and the only truth. I don’t believe that all roads lead to heaven and even though some other religions have some great points, and some of them do, it doesn't determine truth. Truth is the one constant we can always rely on, but only after it is found. Whether you like something or not, the truth does not change, and liking something does not determine truth. When I started writing this article, my aim was to give a logical explanation as to why I am a Christian. I didn't want to prove God, just explain why I believe. I wanted to give a clear answer as to why I am a Christian, but through this journey I realized that there is no clear reason. I can say what I believe, but not prove without a shadow of a doubt why:
I have thoroughly researched the accuracy and historical aspects of the Bible, and any objections to the Bible’s accuracy don’t hold water. Even though there are the aspects I can prove, the rest I have on faith and revelation from the Holy Spirit. The God I serve does not want us to be able to find Him with earthly logic, He wants us to get a glimpse and then trust Him (1 Corinthians 1:21). My guess is that the reason behind us is to get rid of our pride. As humans we have this perverted tendency to always want to be the best and know the most. Doing things this way puts the focus back on the One who deserves it. It stops us from defining God and trying to control what He does. In my opinion: Fully comprehending something shows that it's not greater than yourself. So I am happy with not being able to comprehend my Maker. The thing is, just as I am convinced that my God is the one true God, so many other people are convinced about their religious views. People have been trying to solve this for centuries and I presume that it will only stop at the very end when the truth is revealed. Unfortunately I don't have the clear and concrete answer as to why the Christian faith is the answer. Yes I can go in to many historical details and facts from the Bible but this is not how God wants us to go to Him. All I can do is share the hope inside me. My life is my message. So to reach my conclusion without actually reaching one. As with all things, I urge you to find the truth, don't follow a person. This is the most important decision you will ever make. So many people seek what they like or what they hope to be right, and I guess in a sense I am doing the same. But one day, when we have just had our last day, it will be too late to try and find the truth, and what if there are consequences? As I truly believe Christianity is the answer I would like to share this thought: What if you had the answer right in front of you, and you decided not to take it for whatever reason? I pray that God draws you to Him so that you may experience true life in the way He intended it for us. In love, I end this article by quoting Jesus: “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” – John 8:32 KJV We are living in the information age and we just can't seem to escape being filled with information almost every moment of every day. Quite frankly, I see it as a great achievement that you are able to take the time to read this article. I hope and trust that it will be worth your time. My articles are usually more faith and Bible based, but for the sake of this topic I will be using a different approach. I would like to discuss the age of the earth primarily from a scientific point of view. This article is not written with the purpose of convincing someone to be a Christian. It is written to broaden our thinking and realize what is happening to the world around us. A lot of the information we are seeing today is based on the theory of evolution. We see it in our education system (primary school all the way to University), we see it in advertisements, in TV sitcoms (Big Bang Theory - Listen to the theme song) and the list truly goes on. So much of what is going on around us is based on evolution theory and how we are developing in to better beings. This in itself has some great points, but is everything evolution claims true and does it maybe take more faith to believe in evolution than in creation? I would like to take this opportunity to look more deeply in to this topic and investigate it a little further. Is everything we are taking in really as scientifically sound as so many of us seem to believe? Please feel free to check anything stated in the article via the links provided. Evolution for a lot of people is simply put: How apes evolved in to humans after a big bang. Even though this is not far off, please allow me to be a bit more clear about what evolution theory is all about with this brief summary. About 14 Billion years ago NOTHING exploded and formed everything (Read more about this in this article by New Scientist Magazine or watch the short video). Some other sources say that everything was concentrated into a tiny point and then exploded (Big bang). After everything settled and the earth formed about 4 billion years ago, it started raining on the earth for millions of years. As it rained on the rocks, it formed a primordial soup. From this primordial soup, the first single celled organism spawned and over time all living creatures we see today evolved from this cell. This is not my opinion, This is what they teach. Please feel free to check each link. But like I said at the beginning, let's stick to the science. When examining the age of the earth, there are many different ways to approach it, but for the purpose of this article, I will be starting the discussion with a few limiting factors. If something is limited, then obviously it can not exceed the limit, except if a way/reason is found to change the limit. We can either try to see how old things are and try to find the oldest thing, but this would not say when everything started, or we can simply see what limits the earth to a certain age. A simple example is: If you were born 20 years ago, then obviously you can't say you have been alive for 30 years. In this case there is no possible way to change the limit. In 2011 the world population hit the 7 Billion mark and it sent shock waves around the world. Newspapers and scientific magazines alike were discussing the impact this would have on the economy and on nature itself, all while trying to figure out how fast it would continue growing in the years to come. All fair enough, but my question is simple: If the earth is billions of years old why is our population so low? If the earth is billions of years old, then surely the population should be much higher. Now I know this does not determine the age of the earth, but one can't overlook it when covering this topic. When and why did all the semi human apes die off so that we could just be normal humans? When looking at the graph from the United Nations we see that we have only been in existence for thousands of years at the most, and why did it stay so low for the millions of years we have been fully human? Some might argue that we are just fairly new in the evolutionary chain, but then the question still remains: Where are all the intermediary species between us and the apes? They claim to have found a few single beings, but we will be discussing that a bit later in the article. Let's continue by having a quick look at the Moon. According to scientific observation, the Moon is moving away from the earth. Very slowly, but we are steadily losing the moon, this is an observable fact. So this means that it was... closer. If evolution is true then the earth is billions of years old. Then surely at some stage the Moon would have been so close we could touch it? Or at least way too close for comfort anyway. This is purely a speculative statement , but the questions still remains: How can we be loosing the moon for billions of years and it still be close enough to see? And where did it start in the first place? Scientist do think they found an answer to this problem: Scientists believe that the Moon was formed when a planet about the size of Mars collided with the Earth around 4.5billion years ago. The debris left over from impact came together to form the Moon... How does another planet hit earth and not leave observable evidence? And then make a perfectly round moon from the debris? What about the other planets in our solar system that also have moons: Mars has 2 moons and Saturn has 53, just to name two. If we are looking at the Moon, then let's also look at the sun.When anything burns, it eventually burns up, except if fuel of some kind is added. Nothing is excluded from this law of nature, and we can scientifically observe the sun burning and will eventually burn up completely in the distant future. The question that this poses is: How big was the sun when it started burning about 4 billion years ago (according to evolution)? Not even to mention that it would most probably have consumed the earth in fire at that stage from the intense heat. How can something burn for billions of years without changing radically over that amount of time? I firmly believe everyone would agree that textbooks should be error free. I also believe that if it is discovered that there is an error in a textbook, it should be corrected and/or completely removed. The unfortunate truth is that science textbooks are not always written and published in this manner. Things that have been proven wrong many years ago are still found in textbooks all over the world. Here are a few examples of how evolution is crammed into the education system even though it has been proven as false many years ago: In 1866 a man named Ernst Haeckel first published drawings that illustrate how the human embryo goes through various evolutionary stages, such as having gills like a fish, a tail like a monkey, etc., during the first few months that it develops in the womb (Picture left). This has been and still is in most biology textbooks as one of the proofs for evolution. Then in 1984 Haeckel’s peers, one being Wilhelm his Sr, professor of anatomy at the University of Leipzig uncovered his fraudulent claims and extracted a confession out of him, in which he blamed the draughtsman for the mistake - without acknowledging that he himself was the draughtsman! An article titled: "An Embryonic Liar" in The London Times - August 11, 1997 p.14 stated the following: "This is one of the worst cases of scientific fraud. It's shocking to find that somebody one thought was a great scientist was deliberately misleading. It makes me angry. What Haeckel did was to take a human embryo and copy it, pretending that the salamander and the pig and all the others looked the same at the same stage of development. They don't. These are fakes." Now my question is: Why do they still keep this in so many textbooks? Some have changed the pictures, but kept the theory in as proof. Scientist keep saying that they have proof in the fossil record of human evolution. This means that they have found fossils that show the transition from ape to man. Fossils that aim to prove that at one stage humans looked like the picture to the left. The missing link pictured to the left was named Nebraska man, because of where the fossil was found (In the Nebraskan valley). The thing is, the fossil that was found to construct this whole scene to the left, was just a singe tooth. They added this whole new species to the textbooks and museums alike. They designed a whole new species from a single tooth, not any other piece of evidence or fossil, and then discovered that it was actually a pig's tooth. We just assume they found everything they needed. Now I know people make mistakes, but how can you allow this to stay in textbooks, and to be constructed in the first place? Another example of faked evidence is Piltdown man, feel free to read more about how Charles Dawson faked the evidence on purpose with the link provided.
So many people believe in evolution because some species of monkeys are as close as 96% genetically the same as humans. Ok fair enough, but if we are going to use that argument, then I propose the following: Watermelons are 92% water, according to genetic similarity, I presume that watermelons are evolving into clouds that are 100% water. Let's continue to something a bit more interesting, dinosaurs. Fossils of dinosaurs are found all over the world. Evidence of these great creatures are found everyday. No one can deny the fact that these great beasts lived. The question just remains: When did they live? According to scientists dinosaurs lived millions of years ago. They believe this because of dating methods like carbon dating (Read more about what carbon dating is here). The thing is, the idea of carbon dating is great, but it doesn't work. Here are just a few examples of why:
Another method of dating is the use of the geologic column (Picture to the right). It was created by a man named James Hutton in 1795. He arranged the animal the way in which he thought they would be if evolution was true. Here is how it works: They use this column to do the following: - They date the rocks by the fossils they find in the rock. and - They date the fossils by the rock they find them in If you don't believe me, look at the following article excerpt from the American Journal of Science: "The rocks do date the fossils, but the fossils date the rocks more accurately." - *J.E. O'Rourke, "Pragmatism vs. Materialism in Stratigraphy," American Journal of Science, January 1976. This shows their preconceived ideas, not observable science. It's purely what they want to believe. As much as 85% of earth's surface doesn't even have 3 of these layers in the correct order. Have a look at the picture to the right. This was drawn by the Inca people about 3000 years ago, and many more like it are found all around the world. In 1271, Marco Polo reported that on special occasions the royal chariot was pulled by dragons and in 1611 the Emperor appointed the post of a “Royal Dragon Feeder”. - “The Travels Of Marco Polo, The Venetian”, translated by W. Marsden in 1818 and re-edited by Thomas Wright in 1854 How were these people able to draw dinosaurs? This without having seen them first? Why would one of the greatest explorers in the world say that he actually saw dragons? Marco Polo said near the end of his life that he only told half of what he saw because no one would believe him. It seems he was right. Personally I believe dinosaurs lived with man and were called dragons back then. The word "Dinosaur" was only created in 1841, before that, they were called dragons. This is why there are so many stories about dragons from the past. The reason we find them buried so deep under the ground is because of the world wide flood from about 4400 years ago in the days of Noah. This truly wrecked everything and explains so much of what we see in regards to fossils and geological changes. Then did Noah take them all on the ark? Yes, he did, he was smart enough to realize it would be better to take babies. Babies are smaller, they sleep more and they live longer to reproduce later. Then they were hunted to extinction over the next few thousand years, as we see with so many animals today. But let's leave it at that for now. The reason for this article is not to convince people to become Christians, even though I believe they should. The reason is to help us realize we are bombarded with so much useless information, that we sometimes don't really investigate whether it is true or not. So never feel inferior when people say science disproves God. It never has and never will.
I would like to mention that I don't know where God comes from, and that is fine. I admit that I believe by faith and it is a religion. I don't have a problem with that. What I don't agree with is that the theory of evolution is taught as science. Evolution is not proven, this is why it is still called a theory. There are some things that could point to evolution being true, but it is not provable evidence. If you want to believe it, that is fine, but stop calling it science. Evolution is a religion just like Christianity. Everything in life just fits too perfectly to have happened by chance. I believe the Bible when it explains that everything was created by God, and is still kept in place by Him. I understand this has not been proven right scientifically, but it also has not been proven wrong. Let's start examining information that we receive to see whether it is true or not. I leave you with this final thought: May you all grow in your realization that life does have a purpose and nothing just happens by chance, not even you reading this article. People have been debating which Bible translation is the most accurate for hundreds of years and probably will continue to do so for many years to come. This topic is important because many people want to make sure that they read God's Word, and not a human interpretation of His Word. They want to go as close to the original as possible. With this investigation I would like to focus on two major questions: The first question I would like to ask is: How many ways are there to say the same thing? Think about it, how many times can you change a single sentence before changing what it means? How many times can you change something, before it becomes something different? The reason I ask this is because there are over a hundred different English translations of the Bible alone, not to mention other languages. To get copyright on a book it needs to be at least 10% different from the original. This then entitles you to make money from your product. So once again I ask: How many times can you change something, before it becomes wrong? The second and most important question I want to ask is: Are we sure that all the Bibles are being translated from the right manuscripts? Let's look at excerpts from the Bible that shows that something isn't quite right: Who killed Goliath? David right? Not according to the English standard version (Focus on the bold print)
What about the Tribe of Judah, in the book of Hosea, did he say the tribe of Judah is with or against God? According to the New International Version they were against God:
And at the end everything, before we eat of the tree of life and enter into the city, does God want us to do His commandments or does He want us to have clean clothes?
Whether you like it or not, you can't even try to say that the examples above teach the same thing. Now I know that when we look at the central truths, most Bible versions have the same message, but if I am going to live my life according to a manual, then I want to make sure I use the right one. If this is something you see as important as I do, you have to start asking what happened to the Bibles and how do we know which Bible version is correct? Well let's look at the facts and the origin of the Bible itself. For the sake of this article, I will not be giving all the minor details and only give the broad outline. Should you feel you would like to delve deeper into the history feel free to do so, The video below also gives a lot of interesting information on the topic. Basically and very simply put: Bibles are translated from ancient manuscripts that were written and copied over thousands of years. This is not a problem because the copying process was done very meticulously and precise. Now, there are basically two major sets of manuscripts that Bibles are translated from:
Older does not mean better. There is a reason the older texts were not copied. They are inferior to the Majority Texts and are riddled with corrections that had to be made. This is why Codex Sinaiticus was found in a rubbish bin about to be burned, and why Codex Vaticanus was found in the Vatican library. It needs to be said that I do not have a problem with the Bible being translated into a more understandable English or any other language for that matter, but then one needs to be translating the correct manuscripts. So the question is not which one is translated the most accurately. The question we should be asking is: Which Bible version is translating the correct manuscripts? I would like to end this article by saying the following: Read the Bible translation you can understand! If you can understand the KJV, then read it. If not, then read the one you can understand, there is no use in reading the Bible if you do not understand it. But, when it comes to creating doctrines or analyzing the Bible word for word, then we have to have an absolute Bible we can trust. We can't do what so many people do and just look for the translation that says what they want it to say. If we choose to live our lives a certain way, then surely we have to make sure we are using the right manual. Here is a short video for those of you who would like to know a bit more detail on the subject:
Is there a preferred race by God, a chosen people that should rule over the other nations? Surely there must be, just look at how God favoured the Israelites and killed off all opposing nations. The Bible does have an answer for every question, and I feel this to be an important one around the world. What does the Bible teach about the topic? In the beginning God created the first man and woman (Adam & Eve), most people would agree that they were of the same race/colour because Eve was made from Adam’s rib (Genesis 2:21). Then together they had Caine and Abel (Genesis 4:1-2), and as we all know, they had sibling rivalry where Cain killed Abel out of jealousy (Genesis 4:8). The Bible tells us that God cursed Cain because of this and with that curse came a mark. So that all who should find him, should know not to kill him out of vengeance (Genesis 4:15). So was Cain the first person of a different colour? The Bible doesn’t say this, but it does say that God marked Cain. The Bible never says that his children or anybody else would be influenced by the mark. The Bible also clearly uses the singular form when talking about Cain being cursed and why do we completely miss the fact that God marked him [Cain] out of love. Cain expressed to God that everyone would kill him out of vengeance, and God being the loving God that He is: Still showed love towards him and warned all others that Cain should not be murdered (Genesis 4:15) so that he could live out his years. Maybe the different races/colours/nations we have today come from Noah’s sons, each heading off in to their own direction and adapting to the environment, maybe from the tower of Babel? The Bible simply doesn’t say directly. There are a lot of different places where we can make assumptions, but assumptions put words in God’s mouth and I do not want to be the one putting words in to God’s mouth. So I stick to what it tells me directly. So why is this such an important issue in the world? People don’t always like change and they usually don’t like it when things are different than what they are used to. We can’t deny the fact that people are different, they look different, they talk different, they act different and so the list goes on. Some groups of people just have a tendency to make a success and others seem to break everything down. Is this because some are white and some are black? No, it has to do with culture, religion, education, nutrition and this list goes on even longer. There is no doubt that there are different nations around the world, and just to be more specific: According to Dictionary.com a nation is: Noun: A large aggregate of people united by common descent, history, culture, or language, inhabiting a particular country or territory. Synonyms: people - folk - country - nationality - land – race In short it is any group of people with some common history, culture, habitation or even race (Current or past). So what does the Bible say about different cultures: After Abraham was willing to sacrifice his son, which was the test God gave Abraham (Genesis 22:1). God told Abraham that all the nations of the world will be blessed through his seed (Genesis 22:18) because he did what God expected of him. Now let’s stop there for just one moment. God said that, all the nations shall be blessed through Abraham’s seed, not just his family or the Israelites. All the nations and the seed is Jesus, the one descendant that will make it possible for us to gain salvation. So no more just one nation [The Israelites]. Now all who should call on the name of the Lord are the true nation of God (Romans 2:29). How much clearer can it be than in Acts 17:26: 26 And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation; The Bible clearly shows that all nations can receive the Holy Spirit in the book of Acts. Here is the text of that event in Acts 2: Acts 2:5 And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven… From these nations about 3000 people were saved (Acts 2:41). Jesus really did send us to every nation (Acts 1:8), thus meaning people from all places and cultures. No exceptions. Whether you like them or not, whether they are evil or not, Jesus came for us when we were at our worst and He said go to all the nations in love.
God wants us to welcome all people in to His family while keeping a firm foundation in Christ. Don't let the ungodly influence us. We should be influencing them to see that the only way to have life, is to accept the sacrifice of Jesus. God truly does love all of us and He wants us to love each other. If you want to read the Bible with preconceived ideas that’s your choice, but I urge you in love, to take a honest look at the love God is showing all of us. Let's always do our best to work with God and not treat others with hate because they are different. The question has been asked more times than not: Can I lose my salvation? As with all things, I believe the answer to be in the Bible. I will be using a large amount of scriptures to support what I believe the Bible teachings. The reason I do this, is because I believe scripture should interpret/explain the true meaning of scripture. I would like to make sure that I do not bend scripture to my perception, but instead change my perception to fit scriptures. I am not writing this article to find out who is right or to be right, I am writing this article because I would like to find the answer, to a question I have been asking for some time. Jesus said: "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life." - (John 6:47 KJV) Texts like these make life so easy, but then we find texts that make us wonder. Texts that seem to contradict the previous texts. This is why it is so important to read the Bible as a whole and never create doctrines from single verses or segments. Let’s have a look at another text that talks about the same subject, but from another angle: Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. - (Matthew 7:19-23 KJV) There are many times that Jesus talks about people thinking they are saved and then they are cast in to hell on the Day of Judgment:
So does this mean that we are saved through our works? No, because true faith leads to works. Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only. – (James 2:24 KJV) I believe this to be best explained by the parable Jesus gave about the two sons: But what think ye? A certain man had two sons; and he came to the first, and said, Son, go work to day in my vineyard. He answered and said, I will not: but afterward he repented, and went. And he came to the second, and said likewise. And he answered and said, I go, sir: and went not. Whether of them twain did the will of his father? They say unto him, The first. Jesus saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you.- (Matthew 21:28-31 KJV) Saying you believe doesn’t mean anything. Show me that you believe, because truly believing leads to doing what you say. The same as when someone says they will do something, but then never does it. When we accept Jesus as our Lord and Saviour, we give up our selfish lives and start living for Him. So if we just say we will but never do it is without profit. Another way to explain it I believe is through the parable of the wedding guests in Matthew 22:2-14. Long story short – At the end of the day everyone was invited to attend the wedding, but then the King sent some people away for not dressing for the occasion. This isn’t about what you do, it is about doing what you can. Realizing the importance of the matter. Again it isn’t about works. We are saved through the grace of God and through the faith which He allows us to have, but only true faith, only saving faith results in actions. True faith produces fruits. One of the reasons for the sacrifice of Jesus is because we were unable to live the way God intended, but now that we have access to the Spirit we can. But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you. - (Romans 8:11 KJV) Only if we have truly given our lives to Christ can we begin to live our lives the correct way. If we give everything we have then He will complete our effort. We see this in John 6:1-14 when the boy gave his 5 small loafs of bread and 2 fish for Jesus to use. He did not give enough to feed everyone, but he gave all that he had and God used what was given to Him and perfected it. So then what works should I be doing? You already know. Everyone knows in our hearts, but we try to justify everything we do. It doesn’t matter in what situation you are in, it doesn’t matter what someone else did. There is an expectation on us to do what is right and live the Christian way. To seek what else God wants us to do every day. So to conclude and to make sense of all of this. I think so many people are asking the wrong question. The question is not: "Can I lose my salvation?" The correct question is: "Am I saved?" The reason being, real faith produces fruit. Paul, when writing to the Corinthians told them to examine themselves, to test whether they truly accepted Christ in to their lives (2 Corinthians 13:5). Jesus said we will know by our fruits. He said we should bear fruit. Afterward Jesus findeth him in the temple, and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee. - (John 5:14 KJV) So does this mean it is too late… No, no, no! Why do you put up a warning sign? Or put up a stop sign? To warn people before it is too late. God is warning us so that we can be saved. If you are alive, you still have a chance. God wants to save us all (1 Timothy 2:4). He wants to perfect your your life, give what you have and stop trying to do it on your own. Make the right choice... Choose life !
And Jesus said unto him, Go thy way; thy faith hath made thee whole. And immediately he received his sight, and followed Jesus in the way. – Mark 10:52 KJV This is just one excerpt from one of the accounts of where Jesus heals a blind man. There are many such accounts as we can see in: Matthew 9:27-31; 12:22; 20:30-34; Mark 10:46-52; John 9:1-7.
For this article I would like to take a different approach when looking at these miracles. I would like to look at the “what’s next” side of things. We never think about what happened after He opened their eyes. Yes, it says they followed Jesus in the way [The Christian way of life], but let’s look a little deeper into this. Before they had sight some of them were beggars as the Bible explains. Some do not mention what they did to survive, but I believe it fair to assume they were limited with how they could function in the world. After gaining sight for the first time ever, they had the real challenge of starting a new life. We have this perception that after receiving sight everything went on happily ever… I think, things were never harder for these guys. Let’s face it, they had the life of a beggar, Which I know is tough, but they were not doing much and basically just waited around for hand outs. Then suddenly everything changes. Suddenly they are no longer helpless in this world. Think about it… Grown men suddenly able help themselves, and not dependent on the world. Their lives up and till now was “easy” and now they have to learn how to work and fully function in the world for the first time. With all they great things that come with having sight, came a lot of responsibility and hardship. We are in the same situation today. Once we were blind and now for the first time we start seeing the word for what it is. We have to figure out what Jesus meant when He said that we should not be like the world around us (John 15:19). So we need to figure out how to live the new life in Christ, but then we have this extreme pull to go back to the blind life, the worldly life. We do this the moment things get a little bit hard, we try to find reasons why the world is not so bad. We need to realize that no matter how hard we try, the old ways will never fulfill us the way it used to, because now we know better. We now have the responsibility and opportunity to live life the Jesus way. Things will be hard at times and this is perfectly fine, but we need to push through and realize what we have now is better and will last forever. What we have now is the true life, not blinded by the world. Living our lives eternally focused. |
But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear: 1 Peter 3:15 KJV Article Archive
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