Forget the Past – The Future Matters

· Leave a comment ·

sunrise and man praising

Do you keep thinking about the mistakes and bad decisions you made in the past? Are there things that you keep thinking about, wishing you had done differently? Are there sins in your past that you remember with shame? We all remember the errors of our past occasionally and think about what we should have done differently, not realizing the negative impact it is having on our lives.

At Easter, we are reminded of the price Jesus paid for our sins on the cross. Before that, we lived by the law. Mankind was constantly coming before God with animal sacrifices, seeking His forgiveness. But at the cross, Jesus was the sacrifice for our sins. He shed His blood as the ultimate blood sacrifice for the forgiveness of sin once and for all.

Because of his blood, our sins are covered. “the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.” (1 John 1:7)

“In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace..” (Ephesians 1:7).

“For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace” (Romans 6:14).

When we ask His forgiveness, He will forgive us and never remember our past sins again. They are covered by His blood forever.

“For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.” (Jeremiah 31:34) (Hebrews 8:12)

Because we are human we cannot live without sin, but because of God’s amazing grace, we can remain pure in His sight. God’s grace is not a one-time whitewash of our sins. It is never-ending. We are going to make mistakes. We are going to fail. However, grace is an on-going cleansing process, as we daily surrender ourselves to Christ.  

We are washed as white as snow (Psalms 51:7)  (Isaiah 1:18).

If God has forgiven and forgotten our past, why can’t we? Satan will use our past against us. It is not just the past sin in our lives; Satan will use any mistakes, bad decisions, relations, and etc, that we have made. Anything in our past that we regret is fair game for him to use against us to drag us down with guilt, shame, or regret. If Satan can keep us dwelling on our past, then he is also keeping us from looking to our future and focusing on today and tomorrow. Dwelling on our past robs us of our joy for today and our vision for the future.

The past is over and done with. It is time to forgive ourselves and others. Ask for forgiveness if that is needed, then move on.

When we keep dwelling on our past, we are denying the power of the blood Christ shed on the cross at Calvary. In essence, we are saying His crucifixion was in vain. There is absolutely nothing we can do to change the past. It is over, done with, it is best by far to move on. 

With Jesus, our past is past, only our future matters. He loves us and wants us to be joy-filled and happy. He only wants what is best for us, and that is in our future, not our past.

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” (Jeremiah 29:11)

 

Jesus is Alive!

· Leave a comment ·

Jesus tomb

The tomb is empty

The life of Jesus is a part of documented history. No historian of any credibility would deny that Jesus lived. His life, crucifixion, and yes, His resurrection also, is recorded history, not just in the Bible and by religious writers, but by secular historians of His day.

Over 500 people saw Jesus alive after His crucifixion and burial. Before His resurrection, the disciples were afraid and hiding. After seeing and speaking with Him, they were no longer afraid. They boldly proclaimed the good news of Christ dying for our sins. Because of this they were tortured and suffered horrible deaths. Would they have done this if His resurrection was a lie? The disciples were closer to Jesus than anybody. They would have known whether it was real or not. Nobody will die for a lie, but they will die for the truth. Because they had seen Him, touched Him, spoke and ate with Him they knew He rose from the grave and was alive. They knew He was in heaven with God the Father, for they watched Him ascend to heaven from the Mount of Olives. Because of this, they each endured pain, hardship, and death in order to spread the good news of Christ. They knew beyond any doubt, that the grave couldn’t hold Him; that He was alive, and one day they would be reunited with Him in heaven.

Buddha, Confucius, Muhammad and other so-called gods are dead. You can visit their graves. They are still there, only the tomb of Jesus Christ is empty. Only Jesus shed His blood as a sacrifice for our sins, that we may have eternal life with Him in glory.

Who will you put your faith and hope in? Who do you trust your future too? A god that is dead or inanimate, or a God that is alive and loves you?

Jesus is Alive!

Noah and the Great Flood

· Leave a comment ·

Noah and the Great Flood: Proof and effects

Noah and The Great Flood Cover

I am not a scientist. However, I have brought together the findings of geologists, biologists, microbiologists, paleontologists, paleobotanists, astronomers, physicists, astrophysicists, biophysicists, geochronologists, biochemists and many other experts to prove that the Bible is 100% accurate.

This book includes:

Proof of a global flood.

Evidence of what the people and earth were like before the flood.

How the flood changed the geology of the earth.

Proof the Bible is the divine word of God.

Proof that evolution is impossible.

Proof the world is not billions of years old.

Evidence of the accuracy of the Bible.

Plus much, much more.

Jerry Blount: Books, Biography, blog, Audiobooks, Kindle  https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B06XK4GJT1

Evolution — an Unproven Theory

· 1 Comment ·

Taken from “Noah and the Great Flood: proof and effects”

decent of man

For over a century evolutionists have promoted their theory that organisms inherently improve themselves through progressive inherited change over time. They have done this by claiming it to be a scientific fact rather than just an unproven theory. They have managed to include it in college studies. They have done such a great job that sadly, even Christians have accepted their theories as truth. Even though there is no evidence within the fossil records to support evolution, there are a great many people who believe there is. This is mostly due to the fact that evolution has been propagandized as science, and has been taught in our universities as if it was fact rather than just a theory.

Even though evolution has not and cannot be proven, it has been advocated as scientific fact, to the point that even Christians are misled. A quote by professor and paleontologist David M. Raup, show how bad this problem is.

“One of the ironies of the evolution-creation debate is that the creationists have accepted the mistaken notion that the fossil record shows a detailed and orderly progression and they have gone to great lengths to accommodate this ‘fact’ in their Flood geology.”   (David M. Raup, Evolution and the Fossil Record, Science, Vol 213, July 17,1981)

The theory of evolution demands evidence of fossils of transitional specimens, the missing links. Yet, there are absolutely no transitional specimens to be found anywhere. There are claims, but none actually exist. Most amazing is the fact that Darwin, himself, wrote about this as did other evolutionists. (more…)

Jesus: Can We Believe What the Gospels Say About Him?

· 3 Comments ·

But perhaps God is strong enough to exult in monotony. It is possible that God says every morning, “Do it again” to the sun; and every evening, “Do it again” to the moon. It may not be automatic necessity that makes all daisies alike; it may be that God makes every daisy separately, but has never got tired of making them. It may be that He has the eternal appetite of infancy; for we have sinned and grown old, and our Father is younger than we.” G K Chesterton The more childlike we become —…

We know that the Old Testament contained 60 major messianic prophecies and 270 minor prophecies or conditions that were fulfilled by one person. That person was Jesus Christ.

Professor Peter Stoner and his mathematical class, overseen by the American Scientific Affrication, determined that the chance that any man might have lived to the present time and fulfilled eight of these prophecies is 1 in 10 to the seventeenth power. Or to put it in perspective that would be like covering the state of Texas 2 ft. deep in quarters, mark one quarter, bury it somewhere in Texas, blindfold a person and tell him to go find it on the 1st try. They determined that the odds for someone to fulfill these 8 of the prophecies were 1 to 13 trillion.

But what about the New Testament Gospels, can we believe the gospels about His life, crucifixion,  and resurrection? (more…)

Shroud of Turin

· 1 Comment ·

Shroud of Turin

The Shroud of Turin or Turin Shroud is a length of linen cloth bearing the image of a man who is alleged to be Jesus of Nazareth. The cloth itself is believed by some to be the burial shroud he was wrapped in when he was buried after the crucifixion. The shroud is kept in the royal chapel of the Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist in Turin, northern Italy.

The origins of the shroud and its images are the subject of intense debate among theologians, historians, and other researchers. Diverse arguments have been made in scientific and popular publications claiming to prove that the cloth is the authentic burial shroud of Jesus, based on disciplines ranging from chemistry to biology and medical forensics to optical image analysis. In 1988, radiocarbon dating tests dated a corner piece of the shroud from the Middle Ages. Certain shroud researchers have challenged the dating, arguing the results were skewed by the introduction of material from the Middle Ages to the portion of the shroud used for radiocarbon dating.


The image of the “Man of the Shroud” has a beard, mustache, and shoulder-length hair parted in the middle. He is muscular and tall (various experts have measured him as from 1.70 to 1.88 m or 5 ft 7 in. to 6 ft 2 in). Reddish-brown stains are found on the cloth, showing various wounds that, according to proponents, correlate with the yellowish image, the pathophysiology of crucifixion, and the Biblical description of the death of Jesus.

Forensic doctors have interpreted markings on the cloth as follows:

1. One wrist bears a large, round wound, apparently from piercing (the second wrist is hidden by the folding of the hands)
2. Upward gouge in the side penetrating into the thoracic cavity.
3. Small punctures around the forehead and scalp
4. Scores of linear wounds on the torso and legs.
5. Swelling of the face
6. Streams of blood down both arms (more…)

Man and Dinosaurs

· Leave a comment ·

The Bible says that man and all the creatures lived at the same time. Evolutionists claim that dinosaurs were extinct 60 million years before man walked the earth. Any proof that man lived along with dinosaurs, simply destroys the theory of evolution. This is something that evolutionist simply will not accept. Any evidence proving that man and dinosaurs lived concurrently is met with resistance and is quickly explained away, sometimes with rather bizarre explanations. However, the proof still exists that dinosaurs were here for some time after the flood.

delk-print-3

The Creation Evidence Museum of Texas has a set of Cretaceous footprints discovered by archaeologist Alvis Delk. This fossil of Glen Rose limestone consists of a dinosaur footprint (Acrocanthosaurus) on top of an eleven-inch human footprint. The human footprint matches several other fossil footprints in the area. Extensive laboratory testing verified the authenticity of both tracks.  (more…)

The Accuracy of the Bible

· Leave a comment ·

Bible image

Those that claim the Bible is just a book of man-made myths and stories have never put it to the test. 28% Over of the Bible is made up of prophecy. Over 2000 of these prophecies have been fulfilled, many down to very specific details. Who but God knows the future.

The Bible contains wisdom and advanced knowledge about nature, prophecy, medical, sanitation, and science. A knowledge that was literally thousands of years ahead of its time, proving that the scriptures were God inspired.

Archaeology has continued to prove the Bible true. Historical scholars claimed there was no proof that King Herod, Pontius Pilate, Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar,  Hezekiah, Darius, and King David ever existed. But archaeological discoveries in recent years have proved they and many more biblical characters did exist. Archaeology has never proved the Bible false, rather it has substantiated the scriptures.  Archaeologists continue to find cities and places mentioned in the Bible, such as in 2004 when they discovered the Siloam Pool where Jesus healed the blind man. And in September of 2015, the biblical city of Sodom was discovered. Excavations show that the city came to a sudden fiery end, just as portrayed in the Bible. In fact, all archaeology finds have agreed with the historical biblical accounts as recorded in the Bible. There has not been a single artifact or discovery made that would disprove what is written in The Word of God.
      Dr. Nelson Glueck, the great Palestinian archaeologist, and President of the Hebrew Union College stated:
     “As a matter of fact, it may be stated categorically that no archaeological discovery has ever controverted a Biblical reference. Scores of archaeological findings have been made which confirm in clear outline or exact detail historical statements in the Bible.”

I challenge those that don’t believe the Bible to read it and test the scriptures. Don’t just believe what others have told you. Don’t be afraid of finding out the truth. God is real. The Bible is His word. The day will come when everyone will be faced with the truth. Be Ready!

Knowing the truth is not a burden. It will set you free to live the joy-filled life, Christ wants for you.

Jesus: The Living God

· Leave a comment ·

Buddha, Confucius, Muhammad are dead. You can visit their graves. Most have monuments at their gravesites. They are still buried jesusin the ground. You can visit the grave of Jesus Christ, but there is no monument because he is not there. The grave is empty! Jesus is alive! He is with the Father in heaven, as our intercessor to the Father.

Only Jesus rose from the grave and is alive today. Over 500 people saw Jesus after his resurrection. They witnessed the fact that he was alive and well after his crucifixion, death, and burial.

Not only does the Bible attest to the fact that Jesus rose from the grave, but there were secular writers at the time that acknowledged his resurrection.

Only Jesus loved us enough to die for our sins. Only Jesus said, “I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.” (John 14:3)

Are you putting your faith and hope in a dead god?  Can they do any more for you than a god made from wood, metal, or stone?

Or are you trusting your eternal future to the living God? The one who hears and answers your prayers. The one who loves you and only wants the best for you. The one who chose to die for our sins. The one who wants us to spend eternity with him in heaven.

Jesus is alive! Ask him to show himself to you. Be sincere. Be open and God will make himself known to you.

Jesus said, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” (Matthew 7:7)

Jesus is waiting just for you.

The Battle Within

· Leave a comment ·

Wolves Wolf Winter Predators Zoo WildlifeA Native American elder told his grandson about two wolves who live in every heart. One is Evil — anger, jealousy, pride, and selfishness. The other is Good — joy, love, peace, and humility.

The grandson asked his grandfather, “Which wolf wins?” His grandfather replied, “The one you feed.”

While not exactly a biblical illustration, it makes an important point: There is a battle raging in the heart of the Christian. As the Apostle Paul said when writing to the Galatians:

“For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want.” (Galatians 5:17)

Becoming a Christian does not mean that our struggles are over. We are forgiven and we are a child of God, but we still retain our sinful nature. We will battle our sin nature as long as we live here on earth. We are given the Holy Spirit to give us the power to overcome the desires of the flesh.

The more we feed the Spirit by faith in Christ. The more we are obedience and in prayer, Bible study, worship, and holy living, the weaker the flesh becomes. The closer our walk with the Lord becomes and the easier it is to say yes to the Spirit and no to the flesh.

However, when we feed the sinful nature, our walk with the Lord becomes weaker. Every time we give into the lusts of the flesh, we are saying no to the Spirit. The more often we say yes to the flesh, the easier it becomes. If we say yes too often, some things can become an addiction with devastating consequences. Satan will not miss an opportunity to drag us down.

But, when we say no to the sin nature, we become stronger. Saying no to the flesh just one time makes us stronger. The more we say no to sin, the stronger we become and the desire of the flesh become weaker. If we keep saying yes to the spirit and no to the flesh, we will win the battle.

Don’t be discouraged if you cannot escape the struggle within. Instead, feed the Spirit through prayer and worship. Deny the lust of the flesh. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, you can win the battle within. The Heavenly reward will be beyond what we can comprehend. (1 Corinthians 2:9)

Feed the good wolf in you!