Tag: Faith

The Bible

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The Bible is the word of God. It is just as relevant today as the day it was written. It has the power to change lives. It can equip you to live in a fallen world and prepare you for the future. By following its teaching you can find peace and joy while on earth, and secure your place in heaven so that you can spend eternity with the Lord.
Read it to be wise, believe it to be safe, and practice it to be holy, for it is the living word of God.

There is no book like the Bible. It is totally unique, it is one of a kind for it was God ordained. It contains the mind of God, the state of man, the way of salvation, the doom of sinners, and the happiness of believers. 

It begins with paradise (Eden) lost in Genesis and ends with paradise regained in Revelation. It starts in Genesis with sin entering the world and ends in Revelation with the world being cleansed of sin. The Old Testament tells us of man’s downfall and the coming Messiah. The New Testament tells of the Messiah, Jesus Christ, His life on earth, and the coming redemption of man.
The Bible contains information that could not have been written without divine inspiration. Its main theme is the salvation of man. However, the scriptures also include wisdom and advanced knowledge about nature, prophecy, medicine, sanitation, and science. Knowledge that was thousands of years ahead of its time, proving that the scriptures were God inspired. 

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God – Creator of the Universe

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The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. (Isaiah 40: 26)

It is impossible for us with our feeble minds to truly understand and comprehend the greatness of God. But, if we look around us at His creation, we can see some of God’s greatness, such as the natural wonders, lakes, streams, and mountains. God created this earth and everything in it, not only the natural wonders but all the complex living creatures He created. As if this world isn’t marvelous enough, God didn’t stop there. Genesis tells us thousands of years ago that God hung the sun, moon, and stars in place. God created the universe. How big is the universe? Well, how big is our God?

The sun is 865,000 miles in diameter. That’s 109 times bigger than the earth’s diameter. The Earth seems big to us, but 1321.3 of our planet would fit inside Jupiter. Jupiter is huge, but God made even larger planets. The planet dubbed HAT-P-1, is 450 light-years from Earth. It’s twice the size of Jupiter. Our earth would fit into HAT-P-1 over 2500 times. How awesome is God, that he could create all this and still care about you and me? Care enough to send his son to die for us. 

The universe is so large that it can not be measured in miles so we measure it in light years. A light year is how far the light will travel in a year. Light travels at 186,000 miles a second. That’s over 670 million miles per hour. Multiply 186,000 miles a second, times 60 seconds a minute, times 60 minutes an hour, times 24 hours a day, times 7 days a week, and times 52 weeks in a year and you get 5,878,499,817,000 miles. A light year is nearly 6 trillion miles. 

The sun is 93,000,000 miles from Earth but it only takes sunshine eight minutes to travel to Earth. The Milky Way is 25,000 light-years away. But yet it is so large that we can see it from the earth. The God that made the Milky Way cares about you and me. He cares about even the little daily things in our lives.

The observable universe is estimated to be 93 billion light-years across. How much further than that does it go? Astronomers may guess, but only God knows! God created the universe, therefore it cannot contain Him. He is larger than it.

Some time back, I was looking at pictures from the Hubble telescope. They had trained the telescope on one of the blankest, barest, emptiest, spots in the universe and let it draw in the images for ten days. The photos that resulted were full of planets and universes. It was at this point, that it dawned on me that at least in my little human mind the universe is limitless. That’s how big God is! He is limitless. His power, mercy, goodness, grace, and love are unlimited. Think about that. There is no limit to His love for us! 

The Goodness of God

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There is no limit to God and there is no limit to His goodness.

There is no limit to God’s love. He loves each of us the same, without limit. There is no limit to His mercy. God is as merciful to one person as He is to another. Likewise, there is no limit to His grace. It is just as available to one person as another. Each of us can experience God in His fullness, if we are not experiencing God’s love, grace, and mercy, it is not God’s fault. God has made Himself available to each and every one of us.

There is no limit to the goodness of God. God is as good to one person as He is to another. Experiencing that goodness on a human level is our challenge. We can experience as much of God’s goodness as we are willing to experience. God does not set a limit on how much of His goodness or His grace or His mercy or His love we can experience.

God wants us to experience His love, mercy, grace, and goodness to the fullest. Our problem is not that God is withholding anything from us, it’s that we limit ourselves by how much we seek and trust Him. It is simple, the more we seek Him and strive to be in His presence; the more we will experience His goodness, and the more our capacity to experience Him grows.

Each of us has as much of God in our lives as we want. Sadly, for many Christians that is not very much. They have no idea of the joy and peace that they are missing out on. We are so concerned about satisfying our own wants and desires we are afraid to fully trust God with our lives. We somehow have the opinion that we know what’s best for our lives, rather than putting our lives into the hands of the Almighty God who knows the future and wants what is best for us. How foolish we are to think we know what is better for us than the omnipotent God who created us.

The more we trust God and seek to do His will, the more His goodness is displayed in our lives. The more we partake of His goodness, mercy, and love. On the other hand, the less we seek Him the less He is a part of our lives.

Our Perception of God

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How we live our lives as Christians is usually on the same level as our perception of God. The greater our perception of God, the greater our trust in Him. Therefore, the closer and more intimate our relationship with Him is.

Theology is the human attempt to understand God. It is absolutely impossible for us as humans to understand God. God is far greater than we can ever comprehend in our wildest dreams. 

God tells us in Isaiah 55: 8-9: “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

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Do you Have Peace in your life?

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We live in a world that knows no peace. It is a complex world, that can be very stressful at times. It is a far cry from the world God had created for us. We can only dream of the peaceful life that Adam and Eve knew in the Garden of Eden. 

Philippians 4:7 tells us when you belong to Christ Jesus, God will bless you with peace that no one can completely understand. And it will keep guard over our hearts and minds.

“And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled; do not be afraid.” (John 14:27)

Jesus knew that if there was one thing we needed here on earth it was to have peace in our lives. He knows the trials, heartache, troubles, and uncertainty each of us faces. The peace He gives us allows us to face each day no matter what it brings.

In 2022 I suffered a very severe heart attack. My wife rushed me twenty miles to a small local hospital, where I was given clot blockers and blood thinners to stop the effects of the attack. From there I was rushed by ambulance to a larger regional hospital, where I was stabilized until surgery. The emergency nurse at the local hospital told me later that people normally don’t survive a heart attack like mine. The heart surgeon at the regional hospital told me at least three times that I was lucky to be alive. He said I would never have made it to Marquette, that I owed my life to the staff at the Munising Hospital. I thought at the time that luck had little to do with it. It was God.

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Jesus – God or Man

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As Christians, the foundation of our faith is Jesus Christ. Paul said that we should always be prepared to explain to others why our hope and faith are in Jesus. So, who is Jesus? What do we tell the unbeliever or those who may have doubts? We can say with confidence that Jesus is Alive! His resurrection was real. The textual, documentary, and archaeological proof of Jesus’s life abounds!

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Will we know people in heaven? What will Heaven be Like?

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Will we know people in heaven?

Many people wonder if we will recognize our friends and family when we get to heaven.  We will not only recognize our loved ones and friends, but it appears that we will know everyone in heaven. We will enjoy fellowship with people from all walks of life and from the time of Adam to the present time. Can you imagine meeting the saints of the Old and New Testaments or of the generations before us? 

   At the mount of transfiguration, Peter, James, and John recognized Elijah and Moses even though they had never seen them before and they were separated by hundreds of years (Luke 9:30-32). This is how it will be in heaven. We will recognize everyone else and will feel like one with them.

For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known (1 Corinthians 13:12).

  We will leave our sinful nature behind, and we will instead be filled with the spirit of God. Therefore we will love each other as God intended us to. We will be like one big family in heaven. Parents, Grandparents, children, and babies will be reunited and will all recognize each other. It will be a family reunion like no other!

What will it be like When we get to Heaven?

The most glorious thing is that God will be there, and Christ will be there. Tens of thousands of angels will be there praising God and serving Him. The experience will be beyond our present understanding.

“But you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly” (Hebrews 12:22).

   While this scripture was not meant to describe heaven, the writer of Hebrews does give us a glimpse into heaven. The singing and music will be far beyond anything we have experienced before. Can you imagine singing with the angels? Our joy in the Lord will be complete.

“They will come and shout for joy on the heights of Zion…They will be like a well-watered garden, and they will sorrow no more…I will turn their mourning into gladness; I will give them comfort and joy instead of sorrow” (Jeremiah 31:12-13).

Those that suffered bad things on earth will be comforted (Luke 16:25). The tired and weary will find rest. To the thief on the cross Jesus called Heaven Paradise (Luke 23:43).

“He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away”  (Revelation 21:4).

   Discouragement, despair, and heartache will be a thing of the past. No more sickness or pain. No more sadness, no more sorrow. We will be filled with the peace and joy of being in the presence of God.

   The Old Testament saints will be there. Saints such as Moses, Samuel, Daniel, Noah, and all the others. There will be people from every denomination, ethnic group, and continent in heaven, anyone who was a true believer and trusted Christ as Lord and Savior of their life. Children who died before the “age of accountability” will be there, as will those with mental limitations that made them unable to understand the gospel. Also, the millions of aborted babies will be in heaven. Our family and friends who accepted Christ as their Saviour and went before us will be there to welcome us home. It will be the greatest homecoming we have ever experienced. Wow!

This post was taken from my book “Things You Probably Didn’t Learn in Church.” To learn more about Heaven and many other subjects check out this book at https://www.amazon.com/stores/Jerry-Blount/author/B06XK4GJT1

Books by Jerry, most you can read for free:

  1. Things you Probably Didn’t Learn in Chruch
  2. Basic Christianity: Living a Joy-Filled Life and Making a Difference
  3. Noah and the Great Flood: Proof and Effects
  4. The End Times: Signs and Prophecy
  5. Following Jesus and Fishing Along the Way: Stories From God’s Great Outdoors
  6. The Rapture: Coming Soon

Will our Sins be Remembered at the Judgment?

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If one should enter a jewelry store and ask to see a diamond or any other precious stone, the jeweler would first spread upon his showcase a black cloth and then place the diamonds upon it, not only for protection but also in order that the black background might bring out distinctly the brilliancy and worth of the gems. So God gives this best of all promises with the dark picture of sin clearly and thoughtfully portrayed.

But first, think about the fact that for each of us, there will come a time of judgment. We will be judged and then receive eternal punishment for our sins.

Every sin we have ever committed is written down. Every unkind word, every impure thought, and every godless act will be written down. When we stand at the judgment there shall appear before us all our sins of commission and all our sins of omission, the sins we have long forgotten, and more recent sins we have committed against our fellow man and against God. There is not a sin of your youth, or passion of our mature years that is not recorded. Every act, feeling, or imagination has been indelibly recorded. All the efforts of man cannot erase this record, nor will time dim it.

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Praying in Faith

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“Prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven.” (James 5:15 NIV)

Without getting into the full meaning of this passage, we note that faith is one of the main ingredients of effective praying. There are others, of course (praying in God’s will, no unconfessed sin, unselfish motives, etc.), but all these must be “mixed with faith” to be effective (Hebrews 4:2).

There are many such exhortations to pray in faith. Jesus said, “And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.” (Matthew 21:22 ESV). 

Another example: “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.” (James 1:5-6).

And another: “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” (Mark 11:24).

Every Scripture passage must be viewed in context, including the context of the entire Bible. The “faith” we must exercise is not only confidence that God will answer, but also faith in God who created all things and can do all things, and in Jesus Christ who hears our every prayer. James warns any man without genuine faith, “That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.” (James 1:7-8).

True Biblical faith is faith in God as the omnipotent Creator (Hebrews 11:3), faith in Christ as our redeeming Savior (John 3:16-18), and complete faith in the revealed Word of God (Romans 10:17). Then we can believe in confidence that God will indeed answer our prayer of faith. 

“Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith.” (Hebrews 12:2)

“The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.” (James 5:16)

ICR/HMM

Fighting Despair

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We’ve all felt discouraged, and alone at some point in our lives. We feel drained, exhausted, and lethargic, and find difficulty getting out of bed.

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John Bunyan called it Giant Despair in his timeless classic The Pilgrim’s Progress, and it imprisoned Christian until he found the Key of Promise in his clothing. 

It’s natural to become discouraged, but it’s unhealthy to stay that way. Satan loves to utilize the giant of discouragement to cast down our faith and progress. Satan knows exactly what will discourage us and will use it to get us down. We are no match for him, he has had thousands of years to practice his craft. Our only hope is in Christ and the promises of God.

Discouragement is the temptation to evaluate your momentary circumstances apart from the overarching plan of God for your life. God is a God of encouragement, not discouragement. As soon as you become discouraged, cry out to Him in prayer and ask for His help. God wants to hear your prayers, even when discouraged. He will answer and bring encouragement to your heart.

If Giant Despair has you in his dungeon today, remember you have the key to escape. It’s inside your Bible, found in one of the hundreds of promises God has given you. For example, Joshua 1:9, says, “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go” (NIV).

“When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all.” (Psalms 34:17-19)  God is near to the “broken-hearted”. He wants us to reach out to Him for help.

“Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved.” (Psalms 55:22) We don’t need to struggle alone. The Lord will shoulder our burdens for us.

“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28

“The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.” (Deuteronomy 31:8)

“What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?” (Romans 8:31)

“Discouragement can be defeated only when the full truth of everything that is for us confronts and conquers the half-truth of fear and despair.” Jason Meyer