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I wanted to take a moment to encourage you to read your Bible. Even if it’s just
a page or two a day! I can send you my letters every single day of the week…
you can go to church seven days a week, or listen to sermons on the radio, read
all the latest books…but the truth is, we’re all still human beings. We are all still
flawed creatures.

Do you really want to base your entire eternal future on an email you recieve
every few days? Or on a radio broadcast from someone you’ve never even met?
Or on a preacher that, despite his intentions, still has as many weaknesses as
you do? Or would you rather base it on the truth from the Source, itself?

I would never intentionally mislead you. Nor, I’m sure, would your pastor. But
we are still imperfect creatures. Please…read your Bible, will ya? Listen to what
we have to say, but then compare it to what God says…after all, it IS his Word!

With that said, let’s move along…. 

The sad fact is, if you are reading this, someday, in some way, you will leave
this earth. When you do, you will arrive in one of two destinations. There are
countless ways to get to hell, but only two ways to get to heaven. Let’s look at
the first way…your own righteousness.

The bad news is, that if you’re counting on your own righteousness, well…no
offense, but it ain’t gonna happen!

“All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are
like filthy rags…” (Isaiah 64:6)

All of your righteous acts put together…piled up on top of each other and
squished together…amount to one thing. Filthy rags. Trash. Nothing. No
matter what you do or how hard you try. Filthy rags…

You will never be righteous enough to enter heaven. Don’t get mad at me
for saying it, cuz I didn’t make the rules. I’m just sharing them with you!
You will never, no matter how long you may live, be able to live up to the
standards God requires in order for you to walk through those pearly gates.
You would have to PERFECTLY keep the ENTIRE Law of Moses every
single day of your life…without even ONE mistake.

“For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty
of breaking all of it.” (James 2:10)

Have you ever stopped to think about what this verse is saying? Let me
help you out a little. If you’ve ever stumbled at just one point…ANY one
point…then you are a liar, whether you’ve ever lied or not. You’re a murderer,
whether you’ve ever murdered or not…an adulterer…a homosexual…a gossip,
a cheat, a slanderer, a drunkard…you name it, you’re guilty. That’s why:

“As it is written: “There is no one righteous, not even one…” (Rom. 3:10)

You see, guilty person, we’re ALL guilty…and in the next letter, we’ll look
at why!

If you’d like to be sure not to miss any of the study on the Book of
Genesis (coming soon!), please sign up below for the free newsletter!

Thought I might share some thoughts with you on the whole Adam and Eve thing.
There are those who believe that God was taken by surprise when Adam ate the
fruit in the garden…that he had to come up with a plan of redemption to restore
his fallen creation. What those folks fail to realize is this:

“He (Jesus) was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these
last times for your sake.” (1 Peter 1:20)

You see, just as YOU were chosen before the creation of the world, so was Jesus
and the plan of redemption. God wasn’t surprised in the least! He was prepared for
it before the world was created!

The question then arises, if God knew Adam was going to eat the fruit, why did
he allow it to happen? Why not just scrap the whole plan of humanity altogether?

Glad you asked! 

God created Adam for companionship. I believe God and Adam used to hang
out quite a bit before “the fall”. After Adam ate the fruit, he and Eve heard God
as he was walking through the garden in the cool of the day…and they hid from
him because they were ashamed (Gen. 3:8).

Seems to me that it was probably a pretty customary thing for God to be there
spending time with his creation. It didn’t seem to shock or surprise Adam (or
Eve) that God was walking around looking for them. That brings up another point.
Why was God in walking around in the garden? He was LOOKING FOR ADAM.
Why? So they could hang out together for awhile!

Now, the first thing we should understand is this…God knew where Adam was.
He wasn’t calling Adam’s name because he couldn’t find Adam’s hiding place. God
was calling Adam because he knew what had happened and wanted Adam to
reveal himself…to take responsibility for his actions.

Anyway, back to the question…why did God allow Adam to eat the fruit?

Because God loved his creation so much, he wasn’t content to be WITH Adam.
He wanted to live IN Adam. The thing is, God is a gentleman. Unless he is invited,
he will not take up residence or force his way in….

In the garden…in the perfect world God had created for him…Adam didn’t need
anything. There was nothing he wanted…it was all already his. He had no wants
that hadn’t been met…no needs that hadn’t been met. On top of that, in his limited
human capacity, the idea of an eternal, all-powerful, all-knowing, creator-of-the-
universe kind of God that he was aquainted with could NEVER fit inside the confines
of human flesh! The very idea of it was so ludicrous, it likely never would have
occurred to him! God living inside a man? Be real!

Ah…but after the fall…after the fall, it was different! After the fall, Adam had
needs…the main one being a Savior. And he had wants…to hang out with God the
way they used to…before the fall. Now, Adam didn’t know how God could pull
it off…but NOW he knew he had needs and wants. NOW he was ready to invite
God in…and God provided the way, through Jesus!

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Genesis (coming soon!), please sign up below for the free newsletter!

So, let’s take a look at how all this got started! I’m assuming that you’ve probably
heard the story of Adam and Eve. Just in case you’ve missed it somewhere along
the way, I’ll give you a brief recap. God created Adam and put him in the garden.
Then God created Eve as Adam’s companion. He told Adam not to eat the fruit
from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, and Adam took a bite anyway.

With that, here we are! That was a simplified version, but we’ll go back and take
a more in depth look at it a little later. When Adam ate the fruit, sin entered the
perfect world that God had created. It was passed on from Adam to his kids…
and from them to their kids…and to their kids…all the way down to you and me.

(Again, I realize this may be pretty basic stuff to you, …but
I ask you to hang in there for those who have never heard it before. I promise
we’re gonna cover some fascinating stuff!)

God is perfect. Perfect in every way. While his love for you is perfect, at the same
time, to allow sin into his presence would tarnish his perfection. While he is perfect
in love, he is also perfect in justice, which means that your transgressions must be
punished accordingly. He can’t allow my sins to go unpunished and punish you for
yours, because, along with his perfect justice, he is perfectly fair. All must be
punished equally.

To preserve his perfection and his sense of justice and fairness, he created a place
apart from himself to send those who could not live up to his standards of perfection.
Not only does it seperate us and our sins from his holiness, but it punishes us for our
disobedience. It has to be this way to preserve his perfect justice, as well as his
holiness, right? We call this place “hell”. Eternal torment. Weeping and gnashing of
teeth. Exactly what we deserve.

The thing is, because he loves us he figured out a way to punish us…preserving his
perfect justice…and forgive us, at the same time…because of his perfect love. That
way is Jesus…God in the flesh!

Jesus came to earth…God wrapped in the flesh of a man, with himself as his
“biological” Father (Matt. 1:18). Since God was the Father of the child, the “sin”
gene of Adam wasn’t present in the baby Mary gave birth to. Jesus was fully God,
yet fully human at the same time. As Jesus grew, he lived a perfect life in obedience
to his Father. A life without sin…

And he became our punishment for us…

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Genesis (coming soon!), please sign up below for the free newsletter!

“For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and
blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship
through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will…”
(Eph. 1:4,5)

Wow, did you know that you were chosen before the creation of the world?
To be called his child? That in love, he predestined you to be his adopted child?
Did you notice WHY, he did that? Because it was HIS will and HIS pleasure
to do so! Because he loves you!

There’s a lot more to this, really. We’ll try to touch on some of it, but let
that sink in for a few minutes first. God chose YOU before the creation of the
world! WOW! He knew you before your ancestors were ever born…before
Adam and Eve were created…before the WORLD was created!
And he loved you. Enough to chose YOU to be his child!

There’s one condition, though. Now there are folks that will try to have you
believe there are many conditions, but there is only one.

“That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart
that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart
that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and
are saved.” (Rom. 10:9,10)

That’s it. Nothing more.

“Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (Rom. 10:13)

As time goes by, we’ll learn why this is so important. Why it’s the one and only
“condition” of salvation. But for now, if you’ve never done so before, please…
please, call on the name of the Lord. Confess with your mouth and believe in
your heart, because that’s the only way to salvation! You may not be here to
do it tomorrow.

He chose you before the creation of the world. Take a moment to choose him
back, will ya? It doesn’t cost you anything. The price has already been paid, as
we shall see! If you like, you may pray the sinner’s prayer. All you have to do is
“google” it. Your prayer can be as simple as, “Save me, Lord”. It’s your prayer…
use your words, if you like. Just ask him to be your redeemer…

And don’t forget, my friend…you are chosen…

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Genesis (coming soon!), please sign up below for the free newsletter!

Again, I realize some of this might be a little “basic” for you, but there is something
very important I’d like to show you, if you’ll just bear with me…

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” (Gen. 1:1)

Before there was anything at all, other than God, Himself…He created
the heavens and the earth. Why? Well, it should be pretty obvious!
He created the earth for us to live on, and the heavens to hold the stars,
the sun, moon and other heavenly bodies that He created. Among other
things, the heavens (and the things contained within them) serve these
purposes:

“…serve as signs to mark seasons and days and years…”  (vs. 14) and
“…to give light on the earth” (vs 15).

We also use “the heavens” for navigation. The heavens “govern the day
and the night” and “separate light from darkness” (vs 18).

They tell us when to plant our crops, give us something to walk under
when we’re feeling romantic, give us something to marvel over when we
realize just how insignificant we really are…

Have you ever really stopped to consider this? We live on a rock that
floats in space! Literally! We live in those heavens…on our own little rock
that is held up by…absolutely nothing. No legs. No base. No strings.

“…he suspends the earth over nothing.” (Job 26:7).

And our rock just happens to be the right distance from the sun to keep us
alive. Any closer, and our rock would be too hot to live on. Any farther away,
and it would be too cold. According to science, our rock revolves at about
1000 miles per hour. As it is revolving, it’s flying through space at about
41,000 miles per hour on it’s course around the sun. With all that, unless
the wind is blowing, we don’t even feel a breeze! And we never get too
close or too far away from that sun…

Now, why do you suppose God created those things? Surely, He didn’t
need them. He’s been around for all eternity, and did just fine without
them before. It’s simple. He created these things for you! Because He
loves you…

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Genesis (coming soon!), please sign up below for the free newsletter!

We’re gonna start with just plain ol’ basic Christianity, today. I know
that, for you, that may be something that’s common knowledge…but I
also know that for others, it may be the first time they’ve heard it! I
would encourage you, either way, to stick around…there’s gonna be
some totally awesome stuff coming your way, and whether you have
been a Christian for years, or whether you’re still searching for answers,
you’ll find some things here that have never occurred to you before!

Before we do that, though, I’d like to go back to the very beginning.
The VERY beginning…because there’s something very important I
want you to see.

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” (Gen. 1:1)

Did you know that angels were among God’s very first creations?
Somewhere between the creation of the heavens, and the creation of
the earth, God created angels! How can we know? Because they were
here to watch the creation of the earth…and they rejoiced over it!

“Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation? Tell me, if you
understand. Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know! Who
stretched a measuring line across it? On what were its footings set, or
who laid its cornerstone—while the morning stars sang together and all
the angels shouted for joy? ” (Job 38:4-7)

The angels were there to see the earth being created…they watched
in awe and shouted for joy!

That statement may produce a lot of questions that, hopefully, will be
answered in time, but for now, I would like to focus on WHY angels
were created in the first place. He created them as ministering spirits
sent to serve those who will inherit salvation (Heb. 1:14). In other words,
they were created to minister to and serve YOU.

There are numerous accounts in the Bible, of angels serving mankind.
Some angels serve at God’s altar in heaven (Rev. 8:2), while some
scurry to and fro, delivering messages from the Pearly Gates to earth,
as in Joseph’s case (Matt. 1:20). Others run around shutting the mouths
of lions (Dan. 6:22) when guys like Daniel get tossed into the den to
be eaten. Still others are out fighting the bad guys (Dan. 10:13).

Regardless of their specific tasks, they were created to serve God by
being “ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation”!
Now, don’t misunderstand…they are not your servants. They are servants
of God. But they serve Him by serving you according to His will and
purpose.

So why did God see fit to create such beings for you and me? Well,
it’s because He loves you…

“Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull
(which in Aramaic is called Golgotha). There they crucified him,
and with him two others—one on each side and Jesus in the
middle.” (John 19:17,18)

I’m not really sure what caused me to start thinking about it, but
have you ever wondered if there was a reason that Jesus was
crucified on the cross between two criminals?

What if, maybe, there were several reasons?    

How about this? Keep in mind that one of the criminals continued
to mock Jesus, while the other said to Jesus, “Jesus, remember me
when you come into your kingdom.” (Luke 23:39-42)

So, perhaps the middle cross was separating the sheep and the goats!

Or how about this? Perhaps it’s because the middle cross is the bridge
a goat must cross in order to become a sheep…

Or, maybe…maybe Jesus was crucified on the middle cross to show
us that there’s nothing between us and him…whether we are a goat in
need of redemption, or a sheep in need of our Shepherd. We don’t have
to climb over anything, crawl through anything, break down anything, go
around anything…we can approach him directly without hindrance.

Then again, maybe he was crucified on the middle cross to remind us
that the only difference “between” the sheep and the goats….

is Jesus….

My apologies for not posting anything in awhile, but I’ve been working
on a new study on the book of Genesis. Most people think of the Old
Testament as the less important section of the Bible…and I suppose, in
some ways, that may be true to some degree. After all, salvation is found
in the section with the red letters!

At the same time, there is some TOTALLY AWESOME stuff in the Old
Testament! The entire Bible, from the first page to the last, is about one
person…Jesus! God’s plan is evident from the very beginning, and every
thing from the Old Testament (even as far back as Genesis) points to
Jesus!

How about this?

“In the beginning….”  (Gen. 1:1)

“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and
the End.” (Rev. 22:13)

Jesus in the very first verse of the Bible! Jesus is like a pair of bookends
with the rest of the Bible in the middle! The Beginning and the End…

Or how bout this?

“In the beginning God…” (Gen. 1:1)

There he is…mentioned again, already! Back to back Jesus stuff!

“Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.” (John 14:9 NIV)

“I and my Father are one.” (John 10:30 KJV)

“For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word,
and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.” (1 John 5:7 KJV)

“…God was manifest in the flesh…” (1 Tim. 3:16 KJV)

As a historical record alone, the Old Testament can be really dry and
boring at times…full of excitement and all kinds of other stuff at other
times. But it always points to Jesus….

Now, I don’t want to promise that I’m going to try to do a study on the
entire Old Testament, but I will promise a neat little study on the book of
Genesis…and we’ll see where it leads! And while Genesis is the very first
book of the Bible, hence the first book of the Old Testament, don’t be
surprised when you find yourself taking a New Testament point of view
of the Old Testament!

I’ve been setting up a series of letters that you can receive directly to your
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If you would, ask your friends to join us…I PROMISE it’s gonna be a most
fascinating journey…..