About (Part 2)

Born to Lutheran parents in 1955. Baptized while an infant in Cincinnati Ohio. The method which the Lutherans use to baptize is called the "sprinkle" method. Our family were members of the LCMS which stands for Lutheran Church Missouri Synod. A Synod is a group of Lutherans that hold differing views on a few things about the Lutheran denomination. To their credit, the LCMS has always been very steadfast in the belief of the inerrant nature of the Bible. The founder of the denomination, Martin Luther was a Roman Catholic monk and never intended to start a "new Protestant faith". Martin Luther even as he was nailing his 99 theses to the catholic Wittenburg church, had intended to reform the church from within. Before the Reformation, people of faith has to trust the RCC(Roman Catholic Church) or their priest to interpret or understand the scriptures. The Vulgate edition of the Bible which was a Latin rendition was all that the masses had. Many RCC masses even today are spoken in Latin. It mattered what the RCC said or the priest or the pope, not what people could read and understand of the Bible itself. The age before the Reformation was rightly called the Dark Ages. My intent is not to go into a detailed discussion of church history, but just to let you know that I really believe God used Luther and other men before him and after him to bring the Bible back to the hands of people that wanted to read it.

I went to a Lutheran private school in Cincinnati Ohio from Kindergarten to 4th grade. Praying the Lord's Prayer, attending church services and much scripture memorization was included among the standard school lessons in my school. I can remember when I read my first real book in first or second grade (Not including Dr Seuss): Damn Yankees. I can remember reading the Bible as well. It seemed like such a huge book in the hands of a 7 year old, but I remember wanting to know how it ended. The Book of Revelation. Reading that last book through. It was fantastic, horrible, beautiful and mysterious, all at the same time. What a read! Angels and Demons and Monsters and Wars and Mayhem. Today, I truly believe that what the 3rd verse of this book says happened to me: I was blessed by reading Revelation, ("Blessed [is] he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time [is] at hand" ~Rev 1:3).

We moved out further in the suburbs when I was 9 and so I started to attend public schools at this time. I remember around this time a schoolmate named Roger that invited me to his church. Roger was a Baptist. I do not even think that it was a Sunday morning service which was strange. What I will never forget about that day was this: There was an altar call near the end. While all of our heads were bowed, we were asked to raise our hands if we wanted Jesus in our hearts. What? Why? What was this pull I felt to raise my hand? Why was I so compelled? I did not raise my hand and I did not leave my seat although I felt this "pull" to do so. I tell you this because it stands out as a memory. I now know looking back that this was the Holy Spirit convicting me to come to the Lord. At this time, however, all I could think of to get out of it was that I was a Lutheran. I am a member of a Lutheran church and in a couple of years I will be "Confirmed". Confirmation in the Lutheran church means that at about the age of 13 after having studied the Lutheran Catechism which are the teachings that a member of a Lutheran denomination must "confirm" to the church in order to participate in Holy Communion. So that is what glued me to my seat that day in spite of the"pull" I felt. I was a baptized Lutheran, soon to be a full fledged Communion taking Lutheran. I had a name. (to be continued...)

A Little About Me (Part 1)

       I feel the need to let my readers know about my past. Specifically I wanted to include my testimony in these blogs. A testimony to a Christian is an honest account of how the person came to know the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior. It is common practice to tell one's testimony before becoming a member of many non-denominational churches. The candidate will often meet with the elders and pastor of the church and discuss how they became a Christian and then on a Sunday morning or evening service repeat vocalizing their testimony in front of the church congregation. In some cases, the "testimony" will turn out to be a telling of one's "experience" they had before they really felt close to God. These experiences may include but not be limited to: waves of emotion, speaking in tongues, "holy laughter", crying, dancing, seizure like activity, intense feelings of joy or remorse. Now this is by no means a complete list. Others may include stories of how a certain pastor introduced someone to the health and wealth gospel and someone got healed or got rich by following certain protocol set by the pastor or the doctrines of the church. I will have more to say about these so called testimonies in later blogs.
         Here is what a testimony has to include in order to be deemed true: The fact that once they were lost but now they are saved. Saved by nothing other than believing that Jesus died on the cross taking that person's sin upon Himself and that being done solely by the grace of God and not by anything that the person has done or accomplished. The gospel of grace also includes the realization that Jesus was raised from the dead and is now seated on the right hand of God the Father and has left the Holy Spirit as a seal on the hearts of all those that believe this incredible truth which is a free gift to all those that choose to accept it.
       The new Christian will not have to be explained what being "saved" means, they just know they are. The new Christian will not have to be told their sins are forgiven, they just know they are. The new Christian will not have to be told that they are a new creation in Christ and all things are new to them, they just know that they are. How is this possible? How do they just know these things? How do they know now that the Bible is true and inerrant? How do they know when they are hearing false teachings from false teachers? The answer is in the above paragraph: The Holy Spirit that the Lord Jesus had promised His followers before He went to His death. The Holy Spirit is given to every Christian the moment that they believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. This is how God's Spirit witnesses with the Christian's spirit concerning all the true things of God.
       But are there not many truths? Are there not many ways to God? This is the message of the deceiver. It started in the Garden of Eden with the serpent tempting Eve. Did God really say? Did God really mean? So those that follow the Lie follow the religions of the world trying to find the truth. They follow gurus or religions or men with new ideas. They have to get experiences. They have to read up on secret knowledge. They have to perform certain rites. They have to make certain sacrifices or deny themselves of certain things to draw closer to their concept of truth or "God". A person may deny they are involved in a religion. Many of these people are into worshiping themselves. Look at commercials and ads on TV. "You deserve..." "Treat yourself...", "You earned it". It's all about ME. These people tend to trust that people, governments, new technology, a new world order, new discoveries, new toys, new what-evers....will somehow save man eventually. "Whoever dies with the most toys wins!". There is only one truth that is different than all of the other truths that are deceiving man: The Gospel of Jesus Christ.  No other religion or "truth" claims what true Christianity claims. No other messiah anywhere was a sinless person as was Jesus that would qualify as an innocent Lamb to be the Perfect Sacrifice. Yes there are martyrs that claimed to be holy and gurus that want followings and false teachers that want honor and wealth- but only Christianity has the way to salvation by simply believing in a perfect act of God that opened up a way for anyone that believes to have eternal life. All these other ways require you to DO something. DO something more after you find the religion. DO something more after you find this teacher. DO something more to find out MORE. Find out MORE so you will eventually come to the "truth: DO this to reach Nirvana. DO this to get rid of sin. Read this so will realize you have no sin. All of these DOs are what is known as RELIGION. Some RELIGIONS teach that you are OK because of what was DONE at an early age. Rites of passage. Certain cuttings of the flesh. Certain ceremonies. Certain offerings given. Certain baptisms at an early age. All of these DOs are things that supposedly "Save" that person from destruction. Again: Only true Christianity offers a unique thing to a person looking for truth. The belief in what someone else has done for them already...no strings attached. Now the "saved" part is only the first step in the Christian's life. It is a necessary first step toward a rewarding life in Jesus Christ. Many stop there. Some go on and find all they can about their amazing God that is found in the Word of God. God wants us to take those next steps because this pleases Him. Getting to know our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ is the most rewarding thing a Christian can strive to do. Once we become a Christian, we are to grow in the power of the Holy Spirit so that we can teach others the truth and "make disciples of all nations".
      This Part 1 turned out to much longer than I intended. Subsequent parts will start out with my personal testimony.

~Ron

Thanksgiving

I am truly thankful for the cease-fire between Israel and the Gaza Strip. An invasion by Israeli forces would have been a lit match that would have lighted a fuse resulting in a powder keg blowing up and starting a horrendous chain reaction of events in the Middle East and beyond. Everyone could watch their football games and enjoy their family dinners today knowing that an unstoppable red horse of war was not going to be unleashed on the world. Again, God is trying to get our attention to the lateness of the hour. There will be no peace in the world until the Prince Of Peace, Yeshua, comes and brings about that true peace for His Millennial rule on earth. Wikipedia's definition of a cease-fire:

A ceasefire (or truce) is a temporary stoppage of a war in which each side agrees with the other to suspend aggressive actions. 

Note the words temporary and suspend. Hamas is most likely using this "peace time" to restock their rockets.

"And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it."  ~Zechariah 12:3

Sandy

Matthew 7:25-29 come to mind looking back at the Frankenstorm of the decade. Look up from your iPads and iPhones and laptops and see how God is trying to get our attention. The death toll was thankfully incredibly low for such a widespread disaster. People were doing crazy things like walking in streets of water that had live power lines dangling in them or trying to navigate raging water. Look for more "warning signs" coming up fast. Pay attention. The bible does indeed have all the answers your looking for. Sand is not a stable foundation for a house especially when built on a beach. Build your foundation on The Rock which is Jesus Christ and your future is insured!

Sand

Sand. Sand on the beach. Sands of the sea. Sand is mentioned in the bible often to illustrate the concept of things too numerous to count. As the "Frankenstorm" Sandy is causing destructive flooding, winds, property damage and even deaths across our nation's heavily populated northeast quadrant, it brought to mind the verses in Matthew 7:24-29. God's judgment? How about God's warning? I believe this may be a warning or wake up call to be alert for future judgment. Read those verses. Are we building on sand or rock? One is temporary and one is eternal. Are we trusting our investments here on earth or are we trusting what God has invested for our benefit? God the Father has invested His only begotten Son Jesus Christ in our behalf. Be alert. Keep looking up. Ever look around you in a public place and observe the people around you. Many, you will notice are looking down. Looking down at their iPads and iPhones and laptops. Perhaps some of these "natural" disasters are God wanting us to look up to Him. Think about it...

Signs

It seems that last week as Obama spoke his mind to the world and the Israeli government in particular, that the sun has started it's CMEs(Coronol Mass Ejections) and the wave of severe tornados across the nation (without the expected ratio of loss of life) has gone hand in hand. A book by William Koenig, a Washington correspondent goes into detail about this amazing effect in a book called Eye To Eye. What's causing the events? The "cursing" of the apple of God's eye: Israel. Giving up land for peace or dividing Israel. Recently it has been an abandoning of the USA's support for Israel by our heads of government and even "Christian" denominations. Iran is capable of a nuclear arsenal that threatens Israel and world peace.  Keep an eye on this as I have and you will appreciate the late state of the game we are involved in. Exciting times to be a Christian for sure. It's all spelled out in God's Word: The Bible. Read On...

BLB SCRIPT TAGGER

I have added new feature from Blue Letter Bible website. It's called "Script Tagger". In addition to having the best resources available for the bible student, the BLB has added this feature which I think you will like. When I list a verse from the bible from my Blog, when you hover over the  verse or chapter even, it will put up the entire verse or chapter in a window in the easy to read New King James Version for you to read! Try it out now on the verse above in my header (Deuteronomy 6:5-6,9) and notice it shows verse 5 and 6 in one box then verse 9 opens in second box. Psalm 119:105.