Madeline

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This is concerning a sermon from a speaker (Scott A. Johnson) who is an Independent Fundamental Baptist and a KJVO advocate. His sermon is on exposing C.S. Lewis' true colors. Some of the things the speaker said about C.S. Lewis were that C.S. Lewis believed that there were "good" pagans, had admitted to being a Catholic, believed in purgatory, that parts of the bible were myths and contained errors, believed that salvation can be achieved by works, in prayers for the dead, that Christ had fulfilled both paganism and Judaism, got drunk with his students, that we are to become gods on this earth in this lifetime, the book of JOB is unhistorical, did not believe in a literal hell, etc. The speaker had also stated that C.S. Lewis' teachings were from the pit of hell, and that he was a devil from the pit of hell, was a tool of the devil, demon possessed, a heretic, a wolf in sheep clothing, and there was no way in the world that he was saved and is in hell. He also stated that C.S. Lewis has inspired J.K Rowling of the Harry Potter series. His sermon on C.S Lewis can be found here. C.S. Lewis - Heretic

I was wondering if these are facts about C.S Lewis, or slander.

Love,
Madeline

Unfortunately enough...the noise has returned, and I believe that it has something to do with Satan. I reluctantly entered a halloween store with a friend of mine to check out the halloween items (latex zombies, gOBlin costumes, etc.), and after I returned home the noise had returned and with more frequency. I believe it had to do with me touching the OBjects in the halloween store and the spirits that dwelled there, and this noise in the walls has rOBbed me of my peace. I know this may sound odd, but I would like for those here to pray that this noise would go away soon...whatever the cause is. Jesus said where two or three are gathered together in His name, there He is in the midst. Thanks in advance!

Love,
Madeline

John 14:21 - He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.

John 14:23 - Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.

OBedience and faith is the best way to show your love to God. God has revealed Himself to me in such ways that my relationship with Him is more intimate than any human relationship that I have ever had, and I have attained such a relationship through OBedience to His words and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Love,
Madeline

Want me to send my buddy to help?

I don't have the heater on when I hear the noises, and the pattern of the noises are consistent with a critter scurrying around in the walls. If I put my ear against a certain area of the wall...the sound becomes more distinct. I wish I could drill a hole right though that area and drill that annoying critter. There's an electrical outlet near the area where I hear the noise. I wonder if I can unscrew it and put some rat poison in there to kill it off.

Love,
Madeline

256 MB??? My computer has over 30 GB (Gigabytes) and it's somewhat of an old computer. If your computer has only 256MB then that would prOBably explain why your computer is sluggish. You should get a laptop. There are laptops you can purchase for about $400 and they have over 100GB of memory. Not only that...you don't need an ISP to get access to the internet if you're in a wi-fi hotspot.

Love,
Madeline

I haven't gotten much rest last night because of the constant noise coming from inside the walls of my apartment. It sounds like something is clawing inside the walls and it's quite loud at times. It happens all throughout the day and the Landlord isn't doing anything about it because he says that he doesn't know for certain what it is. But what else could it be but some sort of critter or animal living within the interior of the walls? Does anyone know what this could be? It began just yesterday and today is the first day the rain started to pour. If it is a rodent of some sort, will it eventually go away? Very unnerving!!!

Love,
Madeline

A Super Happy Birthday to you, John! I hope you have a good one.

Love,
Madeline

There is no place in the New Testament where believers on earth perform imprecatory prayer, or where it is even discussed, let alone approved. The closest thing that comes to mind is the prayer of the believers in Acts chapter four:

Acts 4:29-31 - And now, Lord, behold their threatenings: and grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak thy word, By stretching forth thine hand to heal; and that signs and wonders may be done by the name of thy holy child Jesus. And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness.

Even here, God is only asked to "behold their threatenings", but to compensate the believers with empowerment - nOT harm those who oppose them. In contrast, we have Jesus' words in the gospels which would seem to exclude all such prayer:

Matthew 5:43-48 - Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do nOT even the publicans the same? And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than OThers? do nOT even the publicans so?

Luke 6:27-36 - But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you, Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you. And unto him that smiteth thee on the one cheek offer also the OTher; and him that taketh away thy cloak forbid nOT to take thy coat also. Give to every man that asketh of thee; and of him that taketh away thy goods ask them nOT again. And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise. For if ye love them which love you, what thank have ye? for sinners also love those that love them. And if ye do good to them which do good to you, what thank have ye? for sinners also do even the same. And if ye lend to them of whom ye hope to receive, what thank have ye? for sinners also lend to sinners, to receive as much again. But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nOThing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil. Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.

There is a right time for everything. What was appropriate during king David's day is nOT necessarily appropriate now. Much has changed from the Old Covenant. Instead of having to approach God through a specialized priesthood of Levites, all believers are now priests, sharing the High Priesthood of our Lord Jesus (1Pet.2:5; 2:9; Rev.1:6; 5:10; cf. Heb.7). As such, we have direct access to God through Jesus' work in cleansing the real altar in heaven (Eph.2:18; 3:12; Heb.4:16). This is the dispensation of grace and mercy, and since we have been chosen by God to be a blessing to the world and nOT a cursing, it stands to reason that we should behave accordingly:

1 Peter 3:9 - NOT rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing.

The believers mentioned who want their blood avenged are in heaven, nOT on earth, and their prayers are thus guaranteed to be right and righteous and entirely appropriate to the circumstances. Here on earth, we cannOT know that. We cannOT know whether it is God's will to blast OThers, even if they seem to deserve it. Jesus rebuked James and John when they suggested such a thing even though one would think that punishing an unbelieving town which had rejected the Messiah might be appropriate (Lk.9:51-56). When Jesus returns, He will "render his anger with fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire." (Is.66:15), and the slain of the LORD shall be many (Is.66:16). But until He does, we ought to "walk even as He walked" (1Jn.2:6). Until the time of vengeance arrives (the time, by the way, that the believers in Revelation 6 are praying for, namely, the Second Advent), the best way to ensure judgment upon our enemies is in fact to do them good:

Romans 12:17-21 - Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men. If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men. Dearly beloved, avenge nOT yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. Be nOT overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good..

Love,
Madeline

This obsession almost seems like an attack from the devil or an evil spirit. I would pray to the Lord and ask Him to rebuke these thoughts from inside your mind. Try this:

Philippians 4:7 - And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

Love,
Madeline

- Double post -

My apologies if this has been asked before. Why was the book of Enoch omitted from the list of biblical canon if Jude quOTes from it?

Jude 14,15 - And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.

Love,
Madeline

Do you think Pacifism is being taught in this verse?

I have never heard anyone present such valid arguments for the Existence of God better than William Lane Craig. Paul writes in Romans 1:20, "For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:" Well, William Lane Craig validates and expounds on this with arguments that are irrefutable such as morality and the creation of the universe.

The Existence of God

Love,
Madeline

We were in Psalm 137, in last Sunday school class, and I did some study on it when I got home. Many unbelievers use this psalm as an occasion to vilify the Bible. How do you interpret this chapter?
I believe God has opened my eyes to a little of it and I will tell that later but, I would like to see what y'all think first.

Even so' date=' the most important thing for us is to be pursuing personal holiness, being about the Lord's work, because as Scripture makes it clear, we don't know and can't know when Christ will return or when any of us will be called home.[/quote']

:amen:

I never heard of a "partial" truth or a "white lie" that isn't a lie. That is a manmade philosophy which the bible NEVER teaches. A lie is a lie... and it bothers me how professing Christians desensitize sin to the point where a certain sin doesn't bother Christians as much as it should. If a professing Christian has a problem with lying then they need to repent of that sin and realise that God is Holy and doesn't brush off sin as they think He might. We as Christians need to stop making excuses for sin in our lives and live for the Lord.

Love,
Madeline

I'm not sure if Google is trying to be humorous, but I wouldn't be too surprised if this place actually existed.

The term "Tartarus" is found only once in the Bible, at 2 Peter 2:4: "God did not hold back from punishing the angels that sinned, but, by throwing them into Tartarus, delivered them into pits of dense darkness to be reserved for judgment." It would seem to be a synonym of the "Abyss". In Luke 8:31, the Legion of demons begs Jesus not to send them to the Abyss. "The Beast" of Revelation, will come up out of the Abyss (Revelation 11:7; 17:8). Satan will be thrown into the Abyss for 1000 years (Revelation 20:3).

The term "Hades" appears in the religious texts of New Testament times as a translation of the Old Testament Sheol.

In most English Bibles, the word Tartarus is simply translated as Hell, even though early Christian writers usually used the term Gehenna, the Hinnom Valley, to mean hell. In some sense, this dark place matches the term's traditional meaning, a dark pit in which the Supreme God has cast his spirit enemies. However, it is separate from the Lake of Fire, which is the place of eternal fiery punishment that most people think of when they think of "Hell". This is evidenced in Revelation 20, where Satan is released from the Abyss (v. 3) and later thrown in the "Lake of Burning Sulfur" (v. 10), where he will be "tormented day and night forever and ever".

I think that since God knew that some angels would rebel and look for dwelling places on other planets...God purposely made many, many, many planets that may look inhabitable, but aren't... due to the climate being too cold or too hot, poisonous gases and such. Some of the planets out there do look beautiful, but are deadly and poisonous like a Jerusalem cherry. I don't know...

Love,
Madeline

I have Google Earth and my OS Firewall keeps on telling me that "gusvc was trying to modify an existing driver." My OS Firewall even tells me that gusv (GoogleUpdaterService) is doing this when I am completely signed out of the internet. What's going on? Methinks that Google Earth are tapping into those who do worldwide searches using their program as to hone in on whom they think are suspicious candidates for terrorist threats! Yeah....I'd like to send a smiley emotibomb at em!

Love,
Madeline

Let me start by emphasizing that God's wants everyone to be saved (Ezek.18:23; Matt.18:14; Jn.12:47; 1Tim.2:4; 2Tim.2:24-26; 2Pet.3:9). Not only that, but He made has provided salvation for every single human being by sacrificing His one and only dear Son our Lord Jesus for all of our sins.

John 3:16 - "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

Since God has done everything, salvation is effortless -- for all who desire it. In fact, all a person needs to be saved is to "not say 'no'" to the precious gift of Jesus Christ.

I would like to say a couple of things right from the outset. First, because God wants us to be saved and because Jesus has already done "all" the work of salvation, the truth is that everyone who has ever truly wanted to be saved has been / will be. No one is going to hell because of an accident, a mistake, or a small piece of misinformation. The only people going to hell (and unfortunately that will be the vast majority of the human race) are those who in truth did not wish to have a relationship with God through Jesus Christ. It wasn't that "they didn't understand the gospel message properly", but rather that didn't want to accept the free gift of Jesus Christ. Whether they wanted to work and not receive salvation freely, or whether they wanted God the Father without the Son, or whether they wanted nothing to do with God whatsoever in truth (even if for whatever reason they chose to play the "religion game"), God knows every heart perfectly, and He will demonstrate at the last judgment the truth of every heart's motivations, no matter what the person has said and no matter how things may have appeared to us. All who seek, find. All who knock, are opened unto. All who ask, receive. God has done everything and continues to do everything for all to be saved. Those who reject Him and His Son, actively or passively, do so with their own hard hearts and stiff necks (even if they seem like "nice people" to us here in the world).

Acts 16:30 - "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved."

As the verse above makes clear, salvation is assured on the basis of belief-in-Christ. I have hyphenated this phrase because it seems to me that people have a tendency to fixate on "believe" and forget "Christ". "Jesus" is the object of our faith, His Person and His work. We have to believe "in" and accept "Him" as He is and what He has done for us as the means of our salvation in order to be saved. So when people say "believe" or "just believe", that is fine, I suppose, but it does depend what is meant. As I say, this is a theological problem but not really much of an evangelistic one, because as soon as a person who really understands that they need a way out of death and damnation hears the good news about Jesus they are going to be saved before you can even get around to explaining to them the mechanics as you understand them (whether or not you understand them entirely correctly):

Acts 10:39-44 "And we are witnesses of all things which he did both in the land of the Jews, and in Jerusalem; whom they slew and hanged on a tree: Him God raised up the third day, and shewed him openly; Not to all the people, but unto witnesses chosen before God, even to us, who did eat and drink with him after he rose from the dead. And he commanded us to preach unto the people, and to testify that it is he which was ordained of God to be the Judge of quick and dead. To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins. While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word."

Indeed, the very fact that so many genuine Christians seem confused about the precise mechanics of salvation "is proof positive" that God's message and our reception of it is more powerful than any set of "rules" we might want to posit in our attempts to understand these things -- because the very people who are offering you differing opinions are most likely saved!

God knows who belongs to Him. And He also knows very well who wants to and who will as soon as they hear the gospel of truth. Coming to Jesus is like having the lights switched on in a pitch black room. All of sudden, we see things clearly. And in this we are different from the rest of the world who prefer darkness to light. But all those who love the light, come to the light. If we tell people who are truly interested the "truth" about Jesus Christ, that He is true God and true Man, having taken on humanity to come into the world to die in our place, that He bore all of our sins and washed them away with the blood of His sacrifice, and that eternal life instead of damnation is freely offered by accepting Him, believing in Him, seeking shelter in Him, loving Him, following Him, then however we say it (if what we saw is true and complete) will be more than enough for the Holy Spirit to use. The person listening who "wants" to be saved "will" be saved. What happens will happen marvelously and miraculously beyond our sight. And the light will switch on. It will only be later on that the person if harangued by someone who is hung up on mechanics may start to wonder about how (or if) they were saved. But in a good place where the truth is being taught we may expect that the new Christian will be nurtured in the Word from day one and will quickly build up the spiritual muscle necessary to endure this and all the other sort of Satanic attacks of which the world and life are full. The sad thing of course is that there are very few such safe places today.

Those who answer the question on how one must be saved by "1.Just believe; 2.It's easy as the Gospel; 4.Trust in Christ's finished work", depending upon what they mean by these things, fall into the category of what I said above. I prefer quoting the Bible about salvation through Jesus, and then actually explaining the Person and work of Christ. Focusing upon what WE "must do" rather than what "Christ did" is the big problem here and the source of all confusion.

Finally, while being "fuzzy" about the mechanics of salvation when giving the gospel can be problematic (especially if the emphasis is placed on the listener instead of on Jesus Christ), ADDING to the gospel is a horrendous sin:

1) There is no such thing as a "sinner's prayer", at least in the Bible, and there is nothing like this related to the process of salvation. Everyone knows he/she is going to die and everyone knows he/she is a sinner worthy of condemnation. Those who will not face the one and/or have hardened their hearts against the other are not going to accept Jesus no matter how many prayers of whatever sort you get them to pray. But to "add' this sort of nonsense to a gospel appeal not only won't help the person in question be saved, but I also have to question the salvation of the people who do such things. For it seems that their own personal sense of self-righteousness is really more important to them than the salvation of other people, and that is hardly an indication that they are truly following Jesus Christ.

2) Water-baptism should */NEVER EVEN BE MENTIONED/* in the same breath with salvation. If a person even so much as assumes that water-baptism has ANYTHING to do with salvation then they may indeed be resting on THEIR works instead of on the work of Christ: such people are NOT saved. Anyone who tells you that water-baptism is necessary for salvation or even suggests it to a minimal degree is at best a spiritual infant; at worst the person may be unsaved and a pawn of the devil. He told the apostles to spread the gospel and the baptism of the Holy Spirit thereby. That is the biblical meaning of the so-called "Great Commission".

Love,
Madeline

The Lord Jesus is our Sabbath Rest (Heb. "passim" Eph.2:14; cf. Phil.4:9; 1 Thess.5:23; 2 Thess.3:16), and His death on the Cross has freed us from it's curse ( (Gal. 3:13). Being in Christ, we are under Grace (Rom. 6:14) because we have died to the law and no longer under it (Rom. 7:4). Jesus' disciples did not abide by the "ritualistic" Sabbath in the way the Pharisees did, rather they kept a "day by day" Sabbath which we as followers of Christ ought to do. If we revert to the old Pharisaical way of observing the Sabbath, ignoring the reality of the truth in Jesus Christ who superceded this ritual...we would be doing ourselves spiritual harm. Jesus is our Sabbath, and it should be observed day by day.

Love,
Madeline

Any Eligible Future Husbands?
I have a very serious question. It seems that a lot of young people yoke up together for marriage in Christian colleges, but unfortunately, there are many young men and ladies who are not ready for a lifetime commitment at that stage of their life. Does the window of opportunity close for them? I realize that God should be trusted in this situation, but it can be very frustrating for those who are waiting for ?Mr. or Miss Right? when you are in a small town and trying to be faithful to the Lord, your Church, and not yoke up with unbelievers in the world.
This letter is not about me. I am a saved, happily married man of 32 years, and I thank God for the wonderful godly wife that He gave to me. She has proofread this letter.
However, I know of two attractive Independent Baptist ladies (ages 27 and 25) each of who would love to be married to a mature Independent Baptist husband. These ladies were saved at a young age, raised in Christian homes, have godly standards, and would make wonderful wives and mothers, but there doesn?t seem to be any godly Christian men between the ages of 27 and 33 who are available. They are praying and trying to be patient.
Anyone have any suggestions?
ELI