God as Teacher & Guide

“This is what the Lord says – your Redeemer, the Holy One of Isreal: ‘I AM the Lord your God, who teaches you what is good for you and leads you along the paths you should follow.’” – Isaiah 48:17 NLT

            What can we learn from this statement? God is like a Father to us. He wishes to teach and guide us each day. When we listen to Him and obey His words, peace & hope will come to us. It’s God’s wish to bless His children and not hurt us.  If we refuse to listen to the instruction(s) of Almighty God, we invite disruption, and chaos into our lives. It may not be immediate, but it will come because we have decided that we know better than God how to run our own lives. In all honesty, we are incapable of doing ANYTHING of any eternal value without Him.

            What do you think you could learn from someone who knows all that can be known? I’d say a bunch, but you have to pay close attention in order to correctly decipher the information that is being disseminated.

            We all should know that there are any number of tools we can use to find out how to get from one place to another; MapQuest & Google Maps are just two. But those tools will never clue you in regarding where God wishes you to go. Using spiritual discernment will. 

To achieve that level of understanding it helps to remain quiet before the Lord; having your mind focused on Him. The definition of discernment is “to have keen perception & judgment”. ^[1] While it is possible for a person to have discerning abilities, to grasp the deeper meaning of God’s Word we definitely need the assistance of the Holy Spirit. Spiritual discernment needs spiritual representation; namely God’s involvement.

Always remember Jeremiah 29:11; "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." If God didn’t love and care for you, then why would He say that His plans for us are “to prosper us and not harm us”. This isn’t a promise to prosper us in a monetary way, but rather to have us prosper in a spiritual way. Money tends to disappear faster than an ice cube in the hot sun, but prospering spiritually will be with you for all eternity. Weigh your options carefully so you make wise choices.

Until next time, walk with the King & be a blessing.

In His Name & for His Glory,

RL Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

^[1] The Common English Dictionary.

Trusting God

When you don’t understand something, you don’t suddenly stop believing in it, or at least you shouldn’t. Just because you don’t understand something doesn’t automatically make it untrue. People are lazy when it comes to researching something. I know because I can at times be a little lazy in that regard as well. Just because something doesn’t seem correct or fair doesn’t mean it’s not so. It would seem to me that we all have underestimated just who God is and what He is able to do. Just because He heals some and not all doesn’t discount His existence, and it doesn’t make Him mean. Like the owner of a company can run it the way He’d like, so God, the creator of the universe and man’s first breath, can do as He so pleases as well and that is simply the way it is. If you think that’s unfair, then you don’t understand the basic concept of ownership.

If I own something, anything really, I can do with it whatever I want. God is essentially the same way though that is admittedly a gross oversimplification. Something we need to understand about God is that He is more powerful than anything in His created world. He also is able to be everywhere at the same time by His spirit. And finally, there is absolutely NOTHING that can be known that He does not know. On top of all that He loves His creation, flaws and all. He will never stop loving any of us. Some folks blow that off as a myth or fairytale. They refuse to exercise their mind and think thru the immense spiritual and as a result, eternal ramifications. It’s as if they don’t want to think about anything regarding God, Jesus, the devil, heaven, hell, sin, eternity ... none of it. It’s as if they can make it all become surreal in their own mind, so they don’t feel bad or wrong casting it aside. 

Face it. Some folks simply do not want to know Jesus. You can’t force it down their throats. And you don’t want to have them agree with you just to make you go away. If they are hell bent on side stepping the whole issue, then we must let them, for Christ seeks willing followers, not those who feel pressured into converting to something they have no desire for. 

In closing, if you are seeking to find the truth, then ask God to reveal both Himself and the truth from His Word to you. Then have your eyes and ears open, for we will never learn anything new if we are doing the talking. Pray in Jesus name for clarity and understanding. God wants you to know the truth more than you do. 

Until next time, walk with the King & be a blessing.

In His Name & for His Glory,

RL Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

Christianity & the Remedy for Sin

         Christianity is often described as the only religion that teaches salvation solely by grace, which is seen as the remedy for sin. According to some Christian perspectives, this unique teaching sets Christianity apart from other religions, which are generally said to teach salvation by works. The Bible emphasizes that the only remedy for sin is the atonement of Jesus Christ, who is viewed as the only way to God and eternal life. This is supported by passages such as Acts 4, which states, "Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved." Additionally, the concept of original sin, which is central to Christian theology, suggests that humans are inherently separated from God due to the sin of Adam and Eve, and that only through the grace of God, made possible by Jesus Christ, can this separation be overcome.

However, it is important to note that not all Christian denominations hold to the doctrine of original sin, and the idea of original sin is not unique to Christianity. Some sources indicate that the concept originates with Augustine of Hippo, and that not all Christian traditions accept this doctrine. Furthermore, while some Christian teachings emphasize the uniqueness of Christianity in offering a remedy for sin, other religious traditions also offer their own solutions to the problem of sin, though they may differ in their understanding of the nature of sin and the means of redemption. 

Christianity stands out among the rest for it deals with a heaven and a hell. It deals with judgment. That is what makes it controversial and more than likely why it is despised. A heaven-like existence can take place in the here and now in your own mind, soul, and spirit, by submitting to God’s will for you. You can experience peace now, by adhering to what scripture teaches. You don’t have to, but you can. That, in and of itself, is a wonderful blessing, because YOU make that choice. Nothing is forced on the Christian. Nothing. Choose to follow God and experience all that He affords a child of His or go your own way. That is any individual’s choice. Understand the choices you have and the ramifications of said choice ... choose wisely. Until next time, walk with the King & be a blessing.

In His Name & for His Glory,

RL Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

Modern Jesus vs Biblical Jesus 3

            Teachings regarding the Modern Jesus tell us that Jesus serves our will, not God’s will; plus, He hates to offend anyone. Frankly, that sounds preposterous. Jesus Himself sought His father’s will in the Garden of Gethsemane, after first asking the cup that He was about to drink be taken away. He knew what must be one; however, He was able to know what was about to take place and in His humanity, wished to avoid it. What a horrible vision to have; to see in your mind’s eye that which was going to be happening to you in graphic detail. To me, it is perfectly understandable to be hesitant, though only for a moment.

            There’s nowhere in the New Testament that even insinuates that Jesus was concerned about offending anyone. While He never went out of His way to be critical, if the situation warranted it, as with the religious leaders, He was bound to tell the truth in spite of anyone’s feelings. Anyone who was offended was more than likely guilty of doing the very thing Jesus was speaking about.

            In reality, the Biblical Jesus regularly exalted His Father’s will. He does not live to serve us. To believe that Jesus serves us is to believe a false teaching. He also doesn’t go out with the purpose of being offensive, but by its very nature, the truth ends up being highly offensive to those who are resistant to it.

            This whole Modern Jesus kick is, as I see it, an effort to marginalize and humanize Jesus at the expense of His deity and God’s perfect and perpetual will. To not accept the Bible for what it proclaims itself to be, along with not portraying Jesus as He is in scripture, smacks of deconstruction, which is a “thing” that is happening among Christians. That “movement”, though not officially declared as such, leads me to believe that while any Christian is susceptible to it, those who have more questions than answers, and more doubts than acceptance, have gotten sucked into this delusion. Rather than taking the time to seek out proper answers, they use their doubts to catapult themselves into a realm of confusion and continued misunderstanding. I know and understand all too well that some things in God’s economy simply aren’t understandable and answers, at times, simply aren’t there. To take that as a sign that either God isn’t real, or His Word is compromised is weak. Some folks are not willing to put their belief in something they cannot prove out. Was their conversion real? That is not for me to say. God is the judge; we are His conduits ... ambassadors of the gospel message. Modern Jesus isn’t real. It is a perversion of the truth.

            There is no such thing as “old-fashioned” within the realm of Christianity. And there’s nothing wrong with being traditional, as long as the traditions are biblical in nature. There is no need to modernize the beliefs of Christianity because some folks say they seem antiquated. The truth is the truth and there is only one truth. The truth of God. You can choose not to believe that, not realizing that God Himself gives you the free will right now to not believe. Whenever you choose to either believe or not believe, know why you’re making that decision. Until next time, walk with the King & be a blessing.

In His Name & for His Glory,

RL Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

Modern Jesus vs. Biblical Jesus 2

            Two other teachings regarding the Modern Jesus are, 1) that Jesus never said anything negative, and 2) He was loved and accepted by the world, both back then and now. 

            While it’s true that Jesus wasn’t a negative person, He did speak of negative consequences for rejecting Him and God the Father. Saying Jesus was never what would be classified as negative is actually not true. He referred to the religious leaders of His day as “hypocrites” and “blind guides”. Not very positive. “Jesus expressed anger and frustration in specific instances, such as cursing a fig tree for not bearing fruit, even though it was not the season for figs, which led to the tree withering immediately.” Jesus told a man to “let the dead bury the dead” * when the man said he had to bury his father before he could follow Him. Jesus spent much time warning His listeners regarding sin, judgment and hell. While Jesus wasn’t a “negative” person, per se, He did make negative statements to make His point as evidenced in the examples above. 

            To say Jesus was “loved and accepted by the world” is a misnomer. While Jesus' love for the world was and is profound and sacrificial, the world's love for Him was not universal, and His earthly ministry was met with significant opposition. It is no different today. If it were not so then why are Christians slaughtered for their beliefs around the world?  He loves His children, but has distain for the world and all its ungodly practices. So NO, Jesus was loved by His followers both then and now, but to the world He is a person who is either hated, misrepresented, or treated with ambivalence.

            Modern Jesus is an inaccurate portrayal of who He really is. To pick out scripture to support your particular ideology is the wrong approach to researching the Bible. Taking scripture as it is written IN ITS FULL CONTEXT should give you a true picture of our Lord and Savior. Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing.

In His Name & for His Glory,

RL Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

*A dead person cannot bury another person who has died, so what is Jesus talking about? It’s quite simple really. He is speaking of those who are spiritually dead. Those people are alive, but only in a physical sense. Spiritually they are dead. So that is what that statement means. Let the spiritually dead bury the physically dead.

Modern Jesus vs. Biblical Jesus

            I found this information online and thought it was definitely worth sharing. The Jesus that many churches are embracing is very much different than the Jesus scripture reveals to us. With Modern Jesus only love is preaches from the pulpit, while the Biblical Jesus preaches God’s righteousness. 

            Love is the backbone of Christianity. God loves all of His creation. Out of that type of love Jesus willingly went to the cross to die in our place, but our beliefs are more than just love. Once saved we are declared righteous in God’s sight because of the blood Christ shed on the cross. This means that we are seen by God as morally upright & without any guilt or sin. Being righteous means we stand before God as people without guilt, because we have no sin recorded against us any longer.

            Modern Jesus tells that you will be given both health and wealth*, while the Biblical Jesus gives salvation, hope, peace, and joy. The problem with the Modern version of Jesus is that what we’re given (health & wealth) are temporal in nature. Why do I say that? Regarding health, all of us will die someday, so though we may be healthy now, we will eventually die. Temporal.  Wealth is a transient thing; here today, gone tomorrow. Not to mention the fact that you cannot take it with you when you die. 

            Biblical Jesus presents us with salvation, hope, peace, and joy, if we ask for them. These are not tangible things, but rather emotions that we can receive from God, and they are eternal in nature. Salvation is forgiveness from all sins for all who seek it. Hope, peace and joy can be realized from reading God’s Word, hearing it preached, and so on. We can ask for these things and receive them in various ways and they do not disappear; as in that they are not temporary.

            Next time, we will continue our comparison of Modern Jesus v Biblical Jesus. Until then, walk with the King & be a blessing.

In His Name & for His Glory,

RL Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

*This is a main teaching in the Prosperity Gospel, which is unbiblical at its core.

Christian Atheism

An ‘atheist’ is someone who does not believe in the existence of a god or any gods. This definition is consistent across various sources, which describes atheism as the lack of belief in deities. Some atheists may also assert that gods do not exist, while others simply lack belief without making a definitive claim about the non-existence of gods. It is important to note that atheism is not defined by what an atheist believes, but rather by what they do not believe.

A ‘theist’ is someone who believes in a conscious (usually unseen) force or something that guides the universe. They call this “force” Almighty God. (This is not to be confused with a ‘deist’, which is similar but believes God does not interfere with the world.)

A ‘Christian atheist’ is an individual who embraces the teachings, narratives, symbols, practices, or communities associated with Christianity without accepting the literal existence of God. Christian atheists may reject the traditional concept of God as a supernatural being, while still valuing the moral and ethical teachings of Jesus Christ. Who do they say Jesus is? Not the Son of God as scripture states, but rather an influential rabbi; not a deity.

In reality, there is really no such thing as a Christian Atheist. The mere title is a massive contradiction. You are either a Christian or an Atheist. You cannot pick and choose what to believe. On second thought, you CAN do that, but according to the Bible itself, you would be wrong.

The reality of it is that there is no tangible proof that God exists; however, there is no tangible evidence that He does NOT exist. Faith requires no proof, and no proof is forthcoming. We don’t need to understand God or His scriptures, per se, though we do tend to understand a good deal of things regarding the Lord. It’s when we are confronted with a situation that you feel requires an explanation and one doesn’t come. That is when we need a strong dose of trust.  Until next time, walk with the King & be a blessing.

In His Name & for His Glory,

RL Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

Source: www.britannica.com