Antipodean59's Blog

Restored New Testament Christianity

Archive for the tag “religion”

23 Aug 2012

Thought for the week

God of Convenience

“Convenience” means suitability to one’s needs (Oxford Dict.). Many see and use God as a convenient tool to blame for their misery. Take the homosexual community for example. They count those that appeal to God’s word such as Romans 1:18-32 which condemns homosexuality as bigoted hate mongers and by implication blame God for the difficulties of being ostracized in this life. Still others see God as a convenient altar to hide behind in order to excuse or perhaps escape the consequence of their wrong doing. Perhaps the most memorable person who did this was Adonijah, King David’s favourite and oldest son, after Absalom, whom he mistakenly promised would inherit the regency. However the prophet Nathan reminded David that Solomon was to be the rightful heir according to a promise he had made to the Lord and Bathsheba much to the dismay of Adonijah and friends who were busy prematurely celebrating. When word reached the pretender that Solomon now sits on the throne, “all the guests of Adonijah trembled and rose, and each went his own way.” Adonijah “went and took hold of the horns of the altar” as if appealing for clemency from God of which, it turns out, was successful (I Kings 1:1-50). On the other hand there are those, when life is good and no afflictions trouble, have no use for God. He is absent from their lives because they cannot see or understand He is necessary beyond this life for eternal happiness. Prosperous souls when on the day that is appointed for them to die will try to behave like the aforementioned examples of blame and appeal at their judgement (Hebrews 9:27-28) but, sadly, the reply will come as no comfort, for Jesus will say, “Depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness” (Matthew 7:23).

Don’t treat God as a means of convenience; rather, “this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armour of light. Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarrelling and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires” (Romans 13:11-14).

Graham

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16 Aug 2012

Thought for the week

Standing For Truth

Sir Winston Churchill once said, “You have enemies? Good. That means you’ve stood up for something in your life” (Winston Churchill – 1874-1965). Now, don’t you find it astounding that perfectly contented souls will all of a sudden erupt in fits of vitriol when you point out a Bible truth? One need only visit a debate forum on Face Book, Google or such like to see them go hammer and tong all because someone had the audacity to quote the Bible. The quote invariably goes against their perception of truth or perhaps the lifestyle they or someone they know has indulged in. The apostle Paul would, however, counter with this: “Have I then become your enemy by telling you the truth?” (Galatians 4:16). Yes, it is almost like one becomes their “enemy” all because God’s word which is the “truth” (John 17:17) was cited. The Bible believer must “not yield in submission even for a moment” (Galatians 2:5); rather, must continue to speak that “truth in love” (Ephesians 4:15).
It should come as no surprise that these things take place for even Jesus, the Master teacher and counsellor said, “But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me. Which one of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me?” (John 8:45). My friends, if Jesus couldn’t persuade because of hardness of heart then we who stake our lives upon His truth ought to take comfort, for to repeat Churchill, “That means you’ve stood up for something in your life.”

Graham

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09 Aug 2012

Thought For The Week

Hearts and Actions

You know the feeling; that is, you know what is right and what to do about it but you never quite get around to doing it. For example: you have read the need to share your faith, “in your hearts regard Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defence to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you” (I Peter 3:15). However, you don’t get out there and follow through with the necessary action. James says it is not good enough just to hear the word but to be “doers of the word” (James 1:22).

Again, Jesus issues a parable about the heart and corresponding action: “No one after lighting a lamp covers it with a jar or puts it under a bed, but puts it on a stand, so that those who enter may see the light. For nothing is hidden that will not be made manifest, nor is anything secret that will not be known and come to light. Take care then how you hear, for to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he thinks that he has will be taken away” (Luke 8:16-18). You have lit the lamp of the word in your heart, now put it on the stand and share its message. God’s word lights the path He wants you to tread (Psalm 119:105) but not just you but all mankind (John 3:16) and “with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you” (Luke 6:38).

Have a great week following the lamp.

Graham

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26 Jul 2012
3 Comments

Thought of the week

Preparation

As I sat in my favourite coffee shop drinking a cup of vanilla chai latte this afternoon, I watched many people going about their daily business and I got to thinking that many, of whom I feel certain, would be blissfully unaware that this life is a preparation for that which is to come. They were laughing and frowning; playing and toiling and just living life as though this is all life has to offer. But what if there is something more to this life as we know it?

The Bible tells man there is definitely more to life than that which he experiences in the here and now. The wise man said, “All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes” (Proverbs 16:2) but the God of the Bible thinks and says differently, for just as He warned the Israelites to “Prepare to meet thy God” (Amos 4:12) so, too, the warning is just as relevant for man today to be prepared! John the Baptist said, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” (Matthew 3:2). He was of course speaking of the realization of the “Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29) as foretold by Isaiah 750 years beforehand. This same Lamb of God says to “Repent or perish” (Luke 13:3). That word “repent” is given meaning by the Apostle Paul’s preaching as he recalls to King Agrippa in Acts 26:20 that men “should repent, turn to God and do works fitting to repentance.” That is to say, do due preparation to turn and meet God or you will, as Jesus says, “perish”.

What do you need to do in this preparation? Well, here is a web site that will be a good start: www.churchesofchrist.net/authors/David_B_Brown then click on “How to become a Bible Christian”.

God bless you as you travel and study through His word.

Graham

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18 Jul 2012

Godhead United In Word and Deed

In this week’s thought for the week let’s consider the unity of The Father, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit who make the Divine Godhead of the Bible.

The idea that each of the Godhead is divorced of the thought and actions of the other is strange to say the least. For instance, some say that Jesus is love but God the Father is wrath. So, they suggest through implication that God the Father is not love, hmm!
This nonsense has grown, in my opinion, from the thought that people only want love and not the consequence of sin which is wrath.

To show that all three of the Godhead are united in all they think and do, let us consider three separate verses dealing with the topic of sanctification.

• Jude 1 “Sanctified by God the Father.” The Father sets the Christian apart.
• I Corinthians 1:2 “Sanctified in Christ.” Jesus sets the Christian apart.
• I Peter 1:2 “Through sanctification of the Spirit.” The Holy Spirit sets the Christian apart.

Each of the Godhead is in total harmony regarding the sanctification of Christians which is just as true with all the other workings of the Godhead, for Jesus acts just as wrathfully (Revelation 6:16) as God the Father (John 3:36) as much as the Holy Spirit is just as grieved at sin ( Ephesians 4:30) as Jesus is grieved (Mark 3:5).

Jesus said in His prayer to God the Father “that they (the holy apostles GJW) all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me” (John 17:21). The purpose of Jesus’ words is to show He is united in thought and deed in order to create faith in unbelievers, for the opposite creates disorder and confusion which leads to faulty ideas such as this thought opened with.

God bless as you travel and study through His word.
Graham.

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12 Jul 2012

Thought For The Week

I thought I would add a new segment for to end the week with, called “Thought For The Week.”

LAW OF MOSES NOT IN EFFECT TODAY.

“For the promise that he would be the heir of the world was not to Abraham or to his seed through the law, but through the righteousness of faith. For if those who are of the law are heirs, faith is made void and the promise made of no effect, because other law brings about wrath; for where there is no law there is no transgression” Rom.4:11-15.

People need to understand that the Law, as handed to Moses in Exodus, cannot logically be in effect today, for if it were it would contradict the passage above. Paul said it was “nailed to the cross” Col.2:14 meaning it is dead and no longer in effect.

May God bless you as you travel and study through His word.
Graham

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27 Mar 2012

Was Sargent Bales operating alone?

In my opinion there is something mighty suspicious about the recent tragic murder of the innocent Afghans allegedly committed by a lone US Army Staff Sargent. As Trevor Loudon’s website article shows maybe there is more to it than meets the eye.

Here is an excerpt:

In an interview with Press TV’s U.S. Desk on Tuesday, Duff argued that the number of soldiers who committed the crime was more than one—despite earlier claims by the U.S. military that “only one U.S. soldier” was involved in the killings…

Duff insists that new evidence shows those involved “were not drunk.” He said they had “the permission” to leave their base and used a vehicle to drive “two miles” away to get the village where the fatal shooting took place. “They could not have left the base without the permission of the commanding officer revenge raid.”

Duff added that “No vehicle could possibly leave the gate of an American facility without the permission of an officer after midnight unless it were on an authorized military action.”

He also said that the soldiers even carried enough “gasoline cans” which they used to set the bodies on fire.

I realise we should not jump to conclusions or indulge in conspirsy theorys but I cannot help but smell a rat. As the old adage says: there is no smoke without fire.

Graham

Posted in Current Events, Islam, Muslim, News, Opinion, Politics, Religion, Truth, USA, War and tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment
20 Dec 2011

Sir David Attenborough’s Contradiction

In Time magazine (18th December 2011) Belinda Luscombe asks the naturalist filmmaker Sir David Attenborough a series of 10 questions relating to the future of television and his pessimism regarding the future of the natural world. The question and the resultant answer that piqued my interest was “Why are you campaigning against creationism being taught in British schools?” His reply is typical from a man who is happily deluded into believing that evolution is the answer to the origins of life. He said, “I feel that children should be taught science and science doesn’t accept a literal interpretation of the Bible, as far as Genesis is concerned. If you wish to teach that as part of a religious story, that’s fine but don’t teach it as though it’s science, because it’s not.”

Fascinating that a man with such a wonderful grasp of the English language and a fine inquiring mind that seeks out through television documentaries and books the intricacies of nature right down to the most intimate detail would by implication attribute life as having originating from dead matter, for evolution has no ultimate genesis but to go back to, at the very least, matter that contains no life.

This man with such a powerful influencing machine at his disposal i.e. world-wide television and publishing houses choses to believe what was supposedly scientifically accurate, until the 19th century Pasteur discredited it, that life arose from “spontaneous generation”. I would say to Mr Attenborough, that this belief is not science and in your heart you downright know it. On the other hand, the book of the Bible you chose to discredit follows the laws of science such as the Law of Bio-genesis i.e. life begets life, just as Pasteur unequivocally proved. Genesis 1:11, 24 the “fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind…the living creature according to its kind…creeping thing and beast of the earth, each according to its kind.” Now that is true science, Mr Attenborough; not the ideology you adhere to that ultimately preaches that life, somehow, arises from dead matter. To quote you (as if you would even dare have the gumption or temerity to come in contact with these thoughts of mine) “don’t teach it as though it’s science, because it’s not.”

I believe Sir David Attenborough like many other people who cling to evolution as being the key to life fit the description that Peter Hitchens gives: “[Darwinism] is so comically daft that only one thing explains its survival—that lonely, frightened people wanted to expel God from the Universe because they found the idea that He exists profoundly uncomfortable.”

Graham Walker

Posted in Bible, Christianity, Current Events, Environment, Evolution, Faith, God, News, Opinion, Religion, Science and tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment
16 Nov 2011

A logical look at what killed the dinosaurs

The atheist/evolutionist clambers around devising theory after theory to explain the extinction of the dinosaur rather than look at the obvious answer God supplies in Genesis.
The recent discovery in Mongolia of parrot beaked dinosaurs heaped together in a mass grave should stir the mind to look at the atheist/evolutionist argument and logically compare it with the creationists’ alternative.
Be honest with yourself for it doesn’t affect my standing with the Maker upon Judgement Day, just you according to Romans 2:6.

Graham

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11 Nov 2011
2 Comments

God Defines Who Is A Christian

There are various definitions given of a Christian. The only one that is worthwhile is God’s definition. The only kind of Christian worthwhile is the one as defined by God. The reason for saying this is God’s definition of a Christian is because of the meaning of chrematizo, translated “called.” It is not a nickname, claimed by some. “And it was in Antioch that the disciples first received the name Christian.” Weymouth).

The Greek word rendered called implies a divine source. It is “to be divinely instructed, to receive a warning or revelation from God” (Green’s Greek-English Lexicon). “To give a response to those consulting an oracle, to give divine command or admonition, to teach from heaven; to be divinely commanded, admonished, instructed; to be the mouth-piece of divine revelations, to promulgate the commands God” (Thayer).

The word is found nine times in the New Testament (Mat. 2:12; 2:22; Luke 2:26; Acts 10:22; Heb. 8:5; 11:7; 12:25; Rom. 7:3; Acts 11:26). In all of these instances it has reference to divine revelation, unless Acts 11:16 is an exception. The meaning of the word fits Isaiah 62:2: “Which the mouth of Jehovah shall name.” Compare Romans 7:3: “She shall be called an adulteress.” Who calls her an adulteress? Compare “defer not, for thine own sake, my God, because thy city and thy people are called by thy name” (Dan. 9:19). In Israel, we have the root of Elohim, the Hebrew name for God, which supplies an explanation for the statement, “Thy people are called by thy name.” Amos 9:12 and Acts 15:17 are equivalents. Thus the subject: “God’s Definition of a Christian.’

Why was not this name given at Pentecost? We may not know, but I can think of a reason. Christian is the sum of Christianity. Christianity is not Jewish, not peculiar to Jews. This is implied in the very fact that the term that most describes Christianity was not given until Gentiles were brought in. Thus, those who think of Christianity offering something yet for Jews in a special way have not properly understood Christianity.

A Christian is one who heard the Gospel and believed it (Acts 11:19-21). Why were there no Christians in Antioch prior to this time? There were not any that had heard the Gospel and believe A Christian is one that assembles (Acts 11:26; Heb. 10:25; Acts 2:42). The Christians at Antioch assembled. The Christians in every place assemble.

A Christian is one that accepts responsibility (Acts 11:29). Note the words – every man – determined – according to his ability. They did not seek to do as little as they could but as much as they could. Many seem to think today that a Christian is one who does as little as he can.

A Christian does not shirk responsibility. A Christian is one in the Lord’s church (Acts 11:26). There were no Christians in Antioch that were not members of the church. There were no Christians in Antioch that were members of any other church. “I give in mine house and within my walls…a name” (Isa. 56:5). The church is God’s house (1 Tim. 3:15; Acts 2:42; Gal. 3:26-27).
The question is: are you a Christian defined by God?

Franklin Camp
(1915-1991)

The Restoration Movement

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