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THE ANSWER WHEN WE SEE NO ANSWER!

noreply@blogger.com (Pastor Paul) — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 02:18:00 +0000

When there is NO answer. We pray. We beg. We importune. God hears obviously. But He does not answer the way we wish. Illnesses goes unhealed. Death is snatched from the living of those we love and who are much too young to die. Where is God in all of this misery and suffering??

Answer, He is in the middle of it all. No name escapes His eternal plan in Jesus, Orchestrated from before the foundation of the world. ( Eph.1:3-14).

All humans have lived out their lives in the fallenness of father Adam. Sin has wreaked untold misery and suffering on humanity. But thanks be to God, that through Jesus Christ , Jesus has 'trumpted' everything in Adam and healed it and made it whole and healthy and healed. We could stop right there, but we won't.

We see a child suffering from an incurable illeness. We see a child in the depths of drug addiction. We see a child in the throws of child prostitution with all the attendant suffering and misery and we ask, "God, where are you, don't you hear and dont you care.?"

Well, YES he does. He hears and He cares. He cares so much so that THE ONLY SON HE EVER HAD was allowed to live out His life and so perfectly that He paid the price for ALL human sin and suffering. So that we all could live eternally with the Father in His Glory and FUN forever.

Now we see through a glass darkly, fuzzy. But one day we shall see it all clearly and then we shall understand. God is Good . and He is always Good and will be forever.

What we see and suffering and misery one day will be forgotten and only the glory of the Triune God will display His eternal redemption and reconciliation and blessing in Jesus Christ. Holy Spirit, I will have more, please.

Paul

JESUS REVEALS THE FATHER

noreply@blogger.com (Pastor Paul) — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 22:57:00 +0000

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What are you thankful for this Thanksgiving Season? I am thankful that Jesus came to, among other things, reveal the Father to all of us. The Hebrew world had many false gods as well as the God of Israel. But the God of Israel was viewed as somewhat austere and stern demanding obedience from His followers. Curses would ensue if strict adherence were not followed. ( Lev.26 and Deut. 28). Jesus came to reveal the Father He had always known. Jesus said, if you have seen me, you have seen the father. OK, then what did or do we see in Jesus?

Jesus reveals the sweetness and tenderness of a loving, kind, gentle, and patient Father who loves all of us. The Father wants and desires very much to have a family. One made possible in Jesus. The Father wants everyone. Jesus describes the "least of these MY Brethren" when he gets down into the dirt with the blind man and makes clay from spit and heals his eyes. He describes the least of these when he goes into the Leper camp and gets down in the dirt and heals the lepers. He lifts children up into his arms whether they can WALK OR NOT. TALK OR NOT. Jesus goes into the rescue missions and tells the inhabitants that, " I love all of you and have since before the foundation of the world. I knew you and your NAME".

Jesus goes under countless bridges and tells those that the Father loves them and that they matter and have since before the foundation of the world and at the Cross.
Jesus tells all that what He does, the Father does. If you have seen me you have seen the Father, Jesus said.

Jesus reveals a Father who is Love. Love for all. Not a retributive god, but a Father. A loving Father , not a vengeful God. Jesus reveals a Father who cuddles his children, comforts them, walks with them, encourages them, lifts them up to His very throne in Heaven and wants to live with us all forever. Jesus reveals a Father who made it all happen in Jesus. No stone was left unturned. All nails were nailed into the coffin. It is Done. It is finished as Jesus said in, John 19:30.

Jesus goes to the crack addicts, the heroine addicts, the alcoholics, the unwed mothers, ( and fathers) , the homeless, the down and out, the ill, the diseased, the weak of the world, victims of our fallen nature. Everyone. And, Jesus says, "you, the least of my brethren, I love you. I died for you. I knew you before the foundation of the world and I want to live with you forever. Can you believe this?"

Yes , the least of these my brethren are all around. And Jesus AND the Father get down on their knees and love us all.

Thank you Jesus,

Paul

www.newlifewcg.org
www.pastorpaulsinteractiveblog.blogspot.com

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WHO IS THE LEAST OF THESE MY BRETHREN?

noreply@blogger.com (Pastor Paul) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 23:34:00 +0000

"As you have done it to these the least of these MY brethren, you have done unto me."
Do you realize the importance and implication of this statement of Jesus? All of us, all of humanity, are the brethren of Jesus. There are no throw backs. Now let's take stock.

Look at the down and out. The drug addicts. The alcoholics, the mentally ill, the chronic abusers of any and everything. The street people , the homeless, the rejected by society and all too often that means the ones who fought valiantly in Viet Nam, and other wars and conflicts.

What about fatherless mothers, innocent children of conceptions which should never have taken place? Where is Jesus in all of these peoples lives?

Well the GOOD NEWS IS, that ALL of these individuals were chosen and adopted into the very life of God before the foundation of the world. ( Eph. 1:3-14.) They are not cast offs as our world would look at them ..they are the children of God. And He loves all of them just as He loves you.

Now frankly some of them stink. Some of them are not fun to be around. Some of them I would not want to chill with. But.................They are God's children and HE loves them.

John 3:16-17, is ALL inclusive as are so many other verses. I John 2:2. And others.

So what do we all self righteous persons make of all of this. Well , for one, we need to drop our self-righteousness, accept all humans as brothers in the Lord, the children of God, never make comparisons, never denigrate or disparage those in all of these less fortunate situations as we and love everyone. Not discriminating.

We are ALL brothers and sisters in The Lord. No room for comparisons. No room for disrespect. Only room for acceptance and love. Can you deal with it? Then do.

EXPERIENCING HUMANITY FOREVER...LIKE JESUS

noreply@blogger.com (Pastor Paul) — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 03:41:00 +0000

The HUMANITY OF JESUS CHRIST. What a beautiful truth this is that Jesus is still a human with a body and humanness. But.................I think we need to be careful to clarify just what this means as to His being still fully human and yet fully God with all of the fullness of the Godhead dwelling bodily in Jesus presently.

While it is clear that Jesus is a man...still, and a man who still possesses His humanity we need to be careful to say what this is NOT saying. Jesus lived in the fallenness of Adam through Mary. He had human nature from her and the fall. He had and experienced all the darkened mind and fallenness in Adam that we all do but without sin.

Now with Him being resurrected and ascended to the Father's right hand His humanness is a bit different than what he experienced here on this earth. He is a man to be sure. Paul calls him , " ...the man Jesus Christ". Jesus is fully human even now. However, He does not experience the same human passions He experienced here on this earth under the sway of the devil and the nature derived from the first Adam. He is Human. He is not anything which would have been operative here on this earth under the nature of the fall. Therefore, he does not , nor would he lust, desire to sin, nor does he have any inherent desire to sin in any way we humans do here on this earth in this earthly "tent". Jesus is not going to get drunk, curse, sware, lust, overeat, or anything else we humans are known to do in "OUR" HUMANITY and fallenness.

Jesus UNDERSTANDS our frailty and weaknesses as humans. He has been here. As God in the humanness of Jesus in the heavenlies Jesus has already experienced and tasted all of the evil things human nature had to throw at Him, tempted in all areas, yet without sin. He still is without sin, but He is still Human. And always will be. forever pure and Holy and God. And Saviour.

Jesus example is that as He is we shall be. We shall be human forever. Able to experience the things in God's love that humans experience. We will keep our individual identity forever. We will be able to do things that humans do. Eat, drink, play, walk, have fun and experience pleasure. ( Ps. 16:11). But we will not be some "Casper the friencly Ghost" in some invisible spirit body, but we will be us. Real. Human. And Glorified. What God has in mind for us to do as we continue living in our humanity, will be revealed in due time by our loving Father.

waiting to have real fun,

blessings,

Pastor Paul.

www.newlifewcg.org

TELL THEM YOU 'LOVE' THEM !!!

noreply@blogger.com (Pastor Paul) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 11:35:00 +0000

Dreams, as you know, can be seem quite real as one sleeps. A dream I recently had caused me to write this blog as I hope it inspires all of us to do what we should. In the dream one of my very dear acquaintances unexpectedly died at the age of 50. Having shown NO signs of illness prior his wife came to me to tell me he had had a seisure the day before. I asked her how he was. To my disbelief and shock, she said he was DEAD. I could not believe it at first. He seemed so vibrant and full of life. He loved fishing, making lures, baseball, college football, writing, and loving his family. I loved him as a dear friend and mentor.

Now I am not writing here to describe how he was now immediately in heaven with the Lord (which he would have been !), I am writing to all of us to simply say that we never know from one day to the next if we will see another person alive. That includes friends, husbands, wives, children, relatives, or anyone else in our bank of acquaintances we love. NOW, my point here is this. "When did you last, or if ever, tell these persons in your life that you LOVED them. Really LOVED them?" Maybe you never have or at least it has been a long time since you did.

Some men think it too 'mushy' or unmanly to tell another man , friend, or relative that he LOVES the person. Jesus shows us that it is HIGHLY appropriate for a man to express his love for his friends who are men. Jesus even asks Peter, " Do you LOVE me?". Are we any less or more that what Jesus exemplifies?

I tell you today, tell those you love that, " You love them!" Learn how to say, "I love you!" And mean it!!! Verbalize it. Say it. Tell them. TODAY !!!

Tomorrow may be too late.

blessings,

I love you ,

Paul

WHY MANY CHRISTIANS 'HATE' GRACE

noreply@blogger.com (Pastor Paul) — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 00:45:00 +0000

Why some Christians 'Hate' Grace. If that doesn't sound like a contradiction of mammoth proportions then I don't know what it is! Why would I or anyone say that? Grace is what we are saved by. Grace is an extension of God's Love. Grace is God's Gift to humanity which allows salvation in Jesus and life with God forever. How could anyone 'hate' Grace?

A brief review is in order here. Jn.3:16-17, "God loved the world of humanity so much that He gave His only begotten son for the salvation of the human race." ( My personal loose translation.) All of humanity was adopted into the life of God through Jesus before the foundation or creation of the world. (Eph.1:3-14). In Adam all humanity Died, but in Jesus the same all humanity are made alive with Jesus. I Corinthians 15:22. AND, are made alive in Jesus through His resurrection and seated at the right hand of the Father WITH Jesus. Eph.2:6.

Now. With that little review there do you begin to see why some, if not many Christians, 'hate' Grace? Well, let me tell you. This Grace which saves all of us is a gift from God not based on anything we humans can do to warrant or earn it. It is a gift. Eph.2:8. And, it is a gift for ALL. The price was RIGHT. The payment has been made for the whole world. I Jn.2:2. Sin is FORGIVEN. So, Grace applies to all people of all time of all places in all circumstances...simply, ALL. IF Grace applies to all, then it applies to ALL sinners, ALL sin, ALL evil done by humans, ALL disobedience, ALL broken laws of God, ALL anything that opposes God due to our hostile hearts against the God of Love. ALL !!!!!!!!!

The Christians of whom I wrote above in their smug self-righteousness of spiritual satisfaction within themselves due to their EFFORTS to be 'good' Christians simply can not believe that all those other lawbreakers, evil people, non church going heathen could possibly be covered by God's Grace and if one were to tell them that all these perverts were just as covered as they are then their immediate response would be," If that is Grace and it covers THEM, then I 'hate' Grace. Their response would likely be, " Then how in the "hell" would evil men ever be put into our favorite place of damnation and torture, HELL FIRE ? Something has to be done with all those 'bad' people!" Oh, I can hear them now.

Above, I did not finish the quote of John 3:17. "For God did not send His Son into the world to CONDEMN the world, but to save it."
Those who want Grace for themselves and not for the Most Sinful of the world miss completely the whole purpose of Grace in the first place. For in reality, We ALL are the MOST SINFUL PEOPLE IN THE WORLD. If you haven't lately, go into your house and take a long look at the person in the mirror and realize that the love of God and His Grace covers all the people in the world who look like your kind...the human kind. Humanity. God's children. The ones Jesus died for and has made all the provisions for them to live with the Father forever. I ask you the same question Jesus asked Martha in John 11, " Do you believe?" She did !!! Do you?

Paul Kurts
www.newlifewcg.org
www.pastorpaulsinteractiveblog.blogspot.com
Madison, Alabama
256-468-8081

God Bless,

Pastor Paul

WALKING IN THE FLESH AND IN THE SPIRIT

noreply@blogger.com (Pastor Paul) — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 02:53:00 +0000

I am doing something a little different this time for my blog. Rather than write a more lengthy blog on this subject, I am offering to send to any of you who request by E:mail these two articles on WALKING IN THE FLESH AND WALKING IN THE SPIRIT. An explanation of Romans 7 and 8 in part.

This is a very freeing and encouraging two papers as you will see. All I ask is that you request them from my E:mail address at:

Paul.Kurts@wcg.org

I look forward to hearing from all of you and I shall reply with the papers attached as soon as I receive your request.

blessings,

Paul
www.newlifewcg.org
Madison, ALabama

MORE ON 'HELL'---TILL YOU GET IT !!!

noreply@blogger.com (Pastor Paul) — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 22:29:00 +0000

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Hell is a subject I write on often. Why? Because it seems that this one stumbling block is the biggest "love affair" most Christians have going concerning the afterlife of Damned souls. Well, Damn it, I am going to continue to write until we get the point that the "hell" most have been 'conditioned' to believe in simply DOES NOT EXIST. Woah, don't quit reading just yet. Let me explain.

Any student of Greek Mythology, a study of where all things came from and from what god they descended, will readily recognize the similarities of Ancient Greek fables and modern Western Theological Christian thinking. Remember, there is a Devil who wants all of us to believe a lie. The lie. Any lie. A lie. Lie.

So, let me just ask you a question? Have you EVER looked into the subject of Hell on your own? Where did you come to believe in a punishing and torturing hell? Mommy or Daddy or old country preacher? Just where?

Well, let'S look at a few things for you to look into. What about the NAME, Hell? Where did it originate? OK, let's answer.

The ancient Greeks had a belief in an underworld of the individuals who lived evil lives here on earth and 'inherited' upon death called the Netherworld. The world of the dead. From which there was NO escape. It was ruled over by --get this--by a WOMAN GOD-- and her name was hel. Not hell. Just hel.

Well, enter Plato the Great Greek thinker and philosopher. Brilliant man. He takes the concept in 400 years B.C. and embellishes it and calls the afterlife here in this torture and suffering, HELL. He gives it departments, purgatory, etc. Cool, huh?

So far so good. Well, in the 5th Century A.D., St. Augustine a devout student of Plato reasoned that if we insert this teaching of an ever burning hell into the churches afterlife doctrine then it would keep the good saints of the church in even better line and so he did. ( This had never been taught in the church for the first four hundred years of the church not by ANY of the early church leaders including JESUS, John, Polycarp, Irenaeus, Athenasius, and others.)

Now, parables such as Lazarus and the Rich Man had to be reinterpreted in light of this new spurious teaching to make hell fit with the new interpretation of suffering and torture.

Get the picture? It Ain't so.

That is why we write these blogs. You can know the truth. I DON'T WANT ANY MONEY.

But you need the truth to set you free and appreciate what Jesus has done to you and for you and through you.

Lots more to say.

Paul

www.newelifewcg.org
www.pastorpaulsinteractiveblog.blog.blogspot.com

Happy studying.

Paul

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TERMS UNFAMILIAR BEGOMING FAMILIAR

noreply@blogger.com (Pastor Paul) — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 10:23:00 +0000

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Since Religion, Theology, Philosophy and Cosmology can not be totally disconnected here are some helpful descriptions of various words one will encounter in the overall study of Philosophy.

Philosophy throws around such big sounding words that many, if not most, people become disinterested immediately when hearing these. However, when we look at the basic words and concepts of philosophy in their simplicity they are disarmed as to their ostentation. Here is a brief summary of words one will often hear when philosophy is discussed. Knowing these will allow us to better understand what is being studied.

THEOGONY-- The study of the origin of the ancient Greek Gods ( Roman Gods, etc.

THEOLOGY--The study of God as to beginnings, nature, existence of, etc.

PHILOSOPHY--"Gk" Lover of wisdom". Study of how one should live; Ethics.

ONTOLOGY-- The study of reality and nature of being or existence.

METAPHYSICS--"Gk" After or above physical reality." Study above physical reality; Study of the essential nature.

EPISTEMOLOGY-Genuine knowledge relating to truth and belief.

LOGIC--Correct principles of reasoning.

TRUTH--A combination of belief and proof.

COSMOS--The Universe

COSMOLOGY--The study of the existence of the universe and all in it in relationship.

While there are other terms that relate to the study of these disciplines mentioned here these are a basic starting point for any to begin a study of Who, What, When, Why, and How!

All of these areas can be accessed on the Internet for further explanations. So, happy searching friends and have fun. I did.

Paul

www.newlifewcg.org
Madison, ALabama
256-468-8081

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WHAT "HELL" DO YOU BELIEVE IN ???

noreply@blogger.com (Pastor Paul) — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 12:55:00 +0000

I believe in hell. The question is what hell am I speaking of? What hell, if any, do you believe in? You might be interested to know where the Western Christian religion got its concept of a 'torturing, fiery, burning, suffering, anguishing, punishing' hell from. You see, I believe in hell--but NOT the one you probably are thinking of.

The world's first recognized religion, Zoroastrianism, 6000 years ago had the concept of do good and go to a good place after death, and if your evil deeds outweighed your good ones then you would go to a suffering place upon death. Sound familiar?

The ancient Greeks had the concept of a place called 'the Netherworld' which would be the place one would go to upon death if one's evil outweighed their good in life. In the 4th Century B.C. the ancient philosopher, Plato, put a name on the place one would go to to suffer because of an evil life--Plato called this place "HELL", a name he took from the Greek Goddess, 'Hel', the ruler of the underworld in Greek Philosophy. He gave it department level names, purgatory, etc. Plato invented this concept of hell.

The Jewish religion of the Old Covenant had NO concept of a place bad or disobedient people went to upon death, and only good people would rise in a future resurrection.

For almost five (5) hundred years the early Christian Church never preached a concept of Plato's hell. Then in the 5th Century A.D. Augustine of Hippo who was a great fan of Plato introduced Plato's hell into the Catholic Church thinking that the added fear factor would keep followers in line for fear of going to "hell". The concept stuck and stayed in the Church in the West up until today.

Scripture had to be reinterpreted to be consistent with this philosophy of Plato. Lazarus and the Rich Man now had to fit a fiery hell and torture. Lakes of fire had to fit as well as other verses.

But, as I said at first, I do BELIEVE in Hell. The Bible's hell. Simply one who lives in his or her own way of thinking and doing and bringing misery and suffering on oneself apart from knowing WHO they are in Jesus and living accordingly IS IN HELL. One who refuses to accept and believe who they are in Jesus and experience the abundant life Jesus brought STAYS in hell--the misery, suffering, perishing, weeping and gnashing of teeth, outer darkness, and angst that choice brings. And this can last forever if one so chooses. HEll !

DON'T BELIEVE ME, PLEASE. Do your own study. Look up and study Hell and its origins in Western Christian thinking. Then study God's Unconditional Love for all of His children and learn how Jesus made the Adoption of all of humanity a reality for all through His life, death, resurrection and ascension to the Father. DON'T BELIEVE ME. Do your own study. I did.

God Bless you friend,

Paul

P.S. Email me for a free booklet on Trinitarian Theology --How God loved you and adopted you into His life BEFORE the foundation of the world. ( Ephesians 1:3-14)

Paul.Kurts@wcg.org

WHY NO DO'S AND DON'TS IN THE NEW COVENANT?

noreply@blogger.com (Pastor Paul) — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 00:13:00 +0000

DON'T THINK !!! Most people don't when it comes to looking at the New Covenant and the Old Covenant. The Old Covenant was an aggregation of 613 specific laws to govern and rule a nation== the children of Israel. It Worked!! Somewhat. Israel never could have been accused of keeping the law in its purpose and entirety. But , God is merciful and He loved Israel and delivered them anyway. So the Old Covenant of dos and dont's, obey and keep and observe was really a "religion " of control. A religion of performance. Keep and do this and I will bless you, God said. Don't keep and don't do these things and curses will befall you.( Deut.28 and Lev.26). All religions of the world since Adam have had this formulae. But.........With Jesus came a new and different covenant . Not like the first one AT ALL.!!!!!!

The New Covenant is based on the Spirit. There are NO laws to be expressly kept. None that are articulated as to "You must do this or that". No 'thou shalt do this or thou shalt not do that. No keep this or keep that. There are no proscriptions or requirements under the New Covenant. NONE. Check out your New Testament. NONE.

The motivating factor under the New Covenant is our being led and guided by the Holy Spirit. It leads, Guides, inspires, and directs toward the truth that is in Jesus.
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There simply are NO rules, regulations, statutes, laws, requirements, dictates, or any thing else required of Christians in this New Covenant period of time to be done by anyone. We simply worship in Spirit and in Truth believing WHO we are in Jesus.

Why are there no great lengths of verbiage of Jesus or Paul in their writings to point out to all of us 'REQUIREMENTS' for all of us to measure up to in order to receive the blessings of the New Covenant? Reason: THERE ARE NONE. The New Covenant is NOT LIKE the OLD. Different entirely. Simply No Laws. Can you see that?

The New Covenant is a Gift of God to Humanity in Jesus. It declares that Jesus loved us before we were ever born. Before the foundation or creation of the world. Eph. 1:3-14. We are God's Children and Adopted from before creation. Included in the very Life of God. Made so by Jesus' life, death, resurrection, and Ascension carrying all of us to the Father's right hand. Eph. 2:6. Wow.

Now. One MUST believe this in order for him or her to 'experience' all of these wonderful blessings Jesus has to offer in His Life forever.

Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief. Please.

Paul Kurts
www.newlifewcg.org
www.pastopaulsinteractiveblog.blogspot.com

Madison, AL
256-468-8081

"GOD DAMN THEM TO 'HELL'..." or DOES HE???

noreply@blogger.com (Pastor Paul) — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 22:02:00 +0000

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Sad. Sad. Sad. That is the only word I can use to describe what some people think of a loving Heavenly Father. Our Daddy in Heaven. What imbecilic theological thinking some have. Do you really think God chose some originally to be God Damned to Hell forever and others to be saved in His Son, Jesus Christ???? Well, some churches' theology teaches that very thing. That thinking comes from our dear friend of philosophy, Plato, from the 4th Century B.C. Why haven't we been told these things before? I can not answer that. But, now is the time to "tell the truth".

Number ONE. There is NO such thing as as ever burning, torturing and punishing "hell fire" for anyone. God NEVER intended that to be the case. He did intend to have a human family live with Him forever in His Triune existence. Jesus came for that very purpose to connect humanity to the Triune God to make this eternal life for everyone a reality.

In Ephesians 1:3-14, we see God's ORIGINAL purpose in creating man in the first place. He WANTS, He loves us , He likes us, and He wants to live forever with us in our HUMANITY.

Plato's "hell" was never preached in the early Christian church for the first 500 years of the church! St. Augustine put that philosophy into to Christian Church in the 5th Century A.D. to help "keep people " on the straight and narrow. To keep them obedient. No sex. No adultery. No drinking too much. No nothing when it came to sin. Did it work? Of course not. And Christians have lived under guilt, shame and the lack of assurance of salvation in Jesus ever since.

God chose ALL of us humans in Jesus Christ before the foundation of the world to live with Him forever and to be Holy In Jesus by His declaration. ( Eph. 1:3-14).

All humans are the "ELECT" of God. We were chosen and elected to be His children before the cosmos was ever created. (Eph.1:3-14---again.)

Some , however, may simply choose NOT to believe this truth. And, they will continue in suffering and perishing until they come around and accept and believe what Jesus did to them, for them , in them and through them. When they do, they will begin to experience the Abundant life Jesus brought now and forever. Jn.10:10.

God never did nor ever will "damn" anyone to eternal suffering. Lakes of fire, wandering in darkness , weeping and gnashing of teeth are METAPHORS describing those who refuse to believe WHO they are in the life of God made possible by the Son of God, Jesus Christ. Self condemnation. Self damnation. Self responsibility is and will be the order of the day for them unless and until they change their minds in repentance. ( Gk.'Metanoia'---'change one's mind'). Hopefully they will.

The Good News is STILL the Good News. For ALL.

blessings,

Paul
www.newlifewcg.org
Madison, Alabama
256-468-8081

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"YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH" ...or CAN YOU ?

noreply@blogger.com (Pastor Paul) — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 15:44:00 +0000

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In the 1992 movie, A FEW GOOD MEN, Col.Nathan Jessup makes the statement to the young lieutenant , Tom Cruze's character, "YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH"! This statement is so true for so many who profess Christianity believing the false Dualism, Deism, and separation philosophy Western Christian Theology teaches.
Furthermore, Plato's invention of an ever burning, torturing, punishing, "hell fire" also permeates the GOOD NEWS taught from most pulpits in Christendom today. I could write this blog and NOT tell you about the truth of Plato's Hell Fire, Dante's Inferno, and St. Augustine's adoption of these falsities into the Catholic Church in the 5th century. I could just point you to the historical writings of church historians and the Internet and you could find out for yourself. But, maybe then again, " YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH" , as Col Jessup said.

Well, shoot, I'll just tell you a few truths and you can see if you can handle them or not and be advised there are many others as well.

God LOVES you !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
There is no ever burning and torturing "hell fire" of torment !!!
Lazarus and the rich man is NOT about Gehenna fire at all.
The Book of Revalation is about Jesus Christ and is totally symbolic.
Linear time line prophetic dispensationalism is totally FALSE.
God chose you and adopted you in Christ before the foundation of the world. (Eph.1).
Man is not and can NOT be separated from God....Ever !!!
All humanity live and move and have their being (life/existence) in Christ.(Acts 17).
Jesus UNDID what Adam did to humanity.
The entire Cosmos is reconciled and saved in Jesus Christ. ( Col 1)
You will live with God forever. Catch...You must believe it to experience it.

Had enough????? Just remember, ostriches bury their heads in the sand !!!

More is on my web site at: www.newlifewcg.org

God bless all of you as you see the Truth you CAN Handle.

Love in Christ Jesus,

Pastor Paul
www.newlifewcg.org

Madison, Alabama
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YOU BELONG TO GOD....NOW AND FOREVER.!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Pastor Paul) — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 22:11:00 +0000

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The devil's lie from the very beginning is that you are not worthy, not good enough, can't become good enough, aren't ever going to make the grade, you are separated from God and you have to do everything in your power to get to God and make Him like you and save you. "You are NOT", is his battle cry.

Satan's very religions from the very beginning have said if you are bad, evil, don't measure up, sinful, or otherwise unfit,then you will not gain the afterlife of happiness and joy. All based on YOU and what YOU do or don't do. Basically every religion the world has ever known has had this basic foundational premise from Zoroastrianism forward.

This Dualism points directly to man and HIS efforts to gain the "happy hunting ground' or afterlife of bliss. But these lies will not get man there from here.
Man is temporal and physical. Man dies and that is it. Unless there is a great purpose and plan of God in place from before the foundation of the world. ( Eph.1:3-14). And that plan involving the very Son of God, Jesus Christ, IS in place.

The Great Triune God NEVER intended for the salvation process and involvement of His creation into His life to be a challenge. Not a possibility. Not a contest. Not a game. He intended it to be a FACT. A Declaration of fact of what it is that He has done from the very beginning. Like the old WWII poster, "He Wants You !" And He does and has from before the foundation of the world. We are His baby. We are His children. We are His project. We are his pottery. We are His workmanship. We are HIS.

God loves us and wants with ALL HIS HEART to live with all of us FOREVER. And in Jesus has made this not only a possibility but a reality. Jesus did it all. Jesus paid it all. This good news is really , "GOOD NEWS" , for everyone.
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Greek philosophy says if you don't measure up, you go to "hell". Damnable. Damnable. Damnable philosophy. Fear Religion. Raise your ugly head , AGAIN. AGAIN. AGAIN.

The truth is REFRESHING. It is pure. It is Assuring. And Alluring. It is God's love expressed in His plan and our involvement IN His life forever. Can you see that?

Take your pick. Greek philosophy which says you may just burn forever, or God's simple truth that He loves you and has saved you and Adopded you and Included you into His life forever. ( Eph. 1:3-14). Believe it !!!

Not Rocket Science my friend,

Pastor Paul Kurts,
www.newlifewcg.org
256-468-8081
Madison, Alabama

ARE ALL SAVED....NOW ?

noreply@blogger.com (Pastor Paul) — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 11:18:00 +0000

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In Luke 19:10, Jesus came to seek and to save what was lost! I submit He did. ALL humans were lost in the first Adam's sin. Death passed on to all humanity through Adam. ( I Cor.15:22 ). Was Jesus somehow selective in His saving mission? OR, was Jesus the payment or propitiation for the sins not only of Christians, but of the WHOLE world? Everyone? (See: I John 2:2; John 3:16-17; John 19:30).

So, we might ask, "If someone is not saved now, when does he/she become or get saved?" Would one in this position be "potentially" saved in Jesus depending on what decisions THEY make? Do they negate Jesus' salvation for them by their lack of acceptance of Christ and their unbelief? Do we humans determine how Jesus' salvation for us works? And, if this is the case, would this not be an example of the "tail wagging the dog"?

I think scripture is abundantly clear that ALL are and have been saved in Jesus Christ and not only saved but ADOPTED and INCLUDED in the Triune God's life forever.(Ephesians 1:3-14). This all having been done for and to man before man was ever born. Therefore, the salvation of all humanity is in place and is a fact for all. Man can not make it happen or make it UN-happen. Man can not make it not so for it IS so for all.

Man can hiss, spit, spew, cuss, argue, resist, deny, reject, not accept and not believe it is so for himself, but it will not go away. It is here to stay. It is the Great Triune God's declaration that He loves man and desires to live forever with man in His life.

Man does not determine the spiritual dynamics of how the Triune God exercises His loving divine Grace. However, man in his distinction and free choice does determine IF he will believe WHO he is in Jesus. Man can choose 'abundant life' in Jesus or 'continued suffering and misery' in his non belief. One we call "Heaven", the other we call "Hell".

The only thing for man to do when presented with this Truth of all Truths is to
decide whether or not to believe it subjectively.

"Lord, I believe, help my unbelief."

Pastor Paul Kurts

www.newlifewcg.org

Madison, ALabama
256-468-8081

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HOW ABOUT THIS BIG ......BANG???

noreply@blogger.com (Pastor Paul) — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 00:03:00 +0000

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FORGET whatever you have ever heard or thought of as the BIG BANG.!!! I want to share with you a bang which was ever so much bigger than whatever the original was as to make it almost unnoticed.

When the Son of Man, the incarnate Son of God, came to this earth to unite and Adopt and include mankind into the very life of Almighty God--The Great Triune God--cosmic shaking events occurred in His Mission.

When HE, Jesus, was born in Bethlehem the whole chorus of Angels of the universe sang for Joy at the birth of the Son of God being born of Mary. I suspect that when this same Jesus was crucified and resurrected on that early Sunday morning that there were fireworks we can't even imagine going off in the universe at the completion of what He said he came to do. (Luke 19:10; John 19:30---It is finished , He said.)

I submit that when this Jesus walked the "red carpet" to His Father in Heaven to be received and become glorified at His Father's right hand that there were explosions going off in the Cosmos that pale into insignificance the original sound of Creation.

At this event, the plan of God is secured in Jesus. It is assured for every human who ever lived or will ever live on this earth. How big is that??? How big of an explosion of angelic song and praise is that.???

You get the picture. What ever the original sound of the creation was, the celebration of the Son of God, the Son of Man accomplishing His mission to Adopt and connect mankind to the Great Triune God was truly a celebration of such great magnitude that it overshadowed the original sounds by its great magnitude.

Let's cease arguing about the original creation of How God did it and focus on the MOST important fact for all of us and that is Jesus Christ loves all of us and has Adopted and Included all of us into the life of the Great Triune God --- forever.

Cool? Huh? For more information on this very subject, go to www.wcg.org and ask for the free booklet, " Trinitarian Theology". You will see how you have been loved and included all along in God's life now and forever.

Every Blessing,

Pastor Paul
www.newlifewcg.org

www.pastorpaulsinteractiveblog.blogspot.com

256-468-8081
Madison, Alabama

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HEBREWS 9:27.... WHAT IS JUDGEMENT HERE?

noreply@blogger.com (Pastor Paul) — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 23:29:00 +0000

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Hebrews 9:27 is a very misunderstood verse in scripture. Most read it as saying that when man dies he will go to the court hearing in Heaven and be judged and sentenced as if this were some kind of legal system of divine justice. But the verse says after death that the JUDGEMENT will occur for many, if not most. Note, not JUDGING. So what does this word judgement mean?

Judgement here is translated from the Greek word, 'krisis', which means 'opportunity for decision'or, decision time, among other meanings. Most who have ever lived will find out at this opportune time just WHO they are in Jesus. And, that Jesus had saved them through his life, death, resurrection and ascension. They will find out then that they were chosen by the Triune God to be Adopted and included in the life of God IN Jesus from the foundation of the world and before. ( Ephesians 1:3-14). They will find out that God always wanted them, liked them and loved them and wanted to live forever with them.

As they face this 'Krisis' , they will realise that they have one of two choices to make. 1. They can refuse to believe what Jesus did to and for them and continue on in a state of 'perishing' and suffering through unbelief, OR, 2. They can accept and believe what Jesus did for them and to them and live with and in Triune God with pleasures forever more at His right hand.( Ps.16:11). The first choice, we call 'hell'. And, the second choice is choosing to live in the Abundant Life Jesus brought. We call this Heaven. God wants everyone to choose LIFE and REPENTANCE or this change of mind. ( II Peter 3:9). That is WHY He made us in the first place.

God's eternal purpose all along has been for mankind to live and be with and in Him forever. He wants all people to come to see this truth and see Jesus as to how Jesus made it happen for everyone. This repentance ( Gr. Metanoia) is a change of mind and how we view ourselves IN Jesus and acceptance and belief of this truth.

There is MUCH more we could say here. If you want to know more on this truth of your adoption and inclusion in the life of God just go to:

www.graceci.org and request the free booklet, "An Introduction to Trinitarian Theology" or, just download it free off of the literature page.( www.graceci.org )

Remember, YOU ARE THE CHILD GOD ALWAYS WANTED.

Paul Kurts
www.newlifewcg.org

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JESUS' SACRIFICE REACHES BACK TO CREATION

noreply@blogger.com (Pastor Paul) — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 03:04:00 +0000

. There is a MOST profound statement made in Revelation 13:8, and that statement is that Jesus was slain from before the foundation of the world. Before the creation of the world, this earth, Adam, you and me. But why would God consider Jesus slain before the foundation of the world or the creation of the physical earth and humanity? Well...
We must consider what the Triune God's purpose was to create man in the first place. God simply wanted to live with humanity in His life forever forward. When Jesus was considered slain from before the foundation or creation of the world, this simply meant that the sacrifice for sin, evil, and all of humanity's short comings which would unfold in the history of man would be taken care of , forgiven, cleansed, and removed in Jesus Christ. Jesus' sacrifice in 31/33 AD, or so, reached back to all beginnings , including Adams, and Adams sins, and ours, and in the shed blood of Christ removed, cleansed, healed and forgave all sins man ever would commit.

What happened in Adam and his and Eve's sins passed on to all of their descendants. We have all occurred the death penalty in our father Adam. ( I Cor.15:22). But in Jesus by being slain EVEN BEFORE ADAM SINNED, Adam and all of his children /descendants are and have been made ALIVE (Eternally) in Jesus.(I Cor.15:22) Jesus just simply TRUMPS all and everything Adam did. Adam--bad. Jesus--Good.

The Triune God's plan is to have all humans live in His life forever. Jesus simply makes it happen for everyone. YOU included.

May the Pagan Philosophy of the Greeks, and especially that of Plato, Platinus, and others from the 400 BC be damned. God's love is bigger than "burning someone in a fire forever" because they won't believe in him. He believes in us. And that is what counts. Jesus makes up for all of our sins and shortcomings. He forgives. Yes, you and me.

That forgiveness reaches all the way back to the foundation of the world. You have always been the child God always loved and wanted to live forever WITH. ( Ephesians 1:3-14)

How good is that?

Paul Kurts

www.newlivewcg.org

www.pastorpaulsinteractiveblog.blogspot.com

blessings,

Paul

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CAVE DWELLING DARKNESS

noreply@blogger.com (Pastor Paul) — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 01:21:00 +0000

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Hard as it is to believe there are people in the world, known as 'Cave dwellers' who live in the depths and darkness of caves, some who never see the light of day...living in total darkness. Some, if not most, don't even realize that there is a real world of light and beauty outside of the cave that is their life. And, oddly enough, they would not even believe that that world exists outside of the cave. They live in total DARKNESS.

Religious darkness is just as abysmal. Those living in the false understandings of bad theology suffer from not knowing the freeing truth of Jesus Christ and His love for them and all others. They feel, often, separated from God, cut off, not loved, not liked, unsaved, lost, ever seeking to 'find' God in order to accept Him into their life and connect with Him. They are ever seeking to find a way to appease and or please God enough to make Him love and like them so that they can somehow get into His good graces and attain eternal life and miss the eternal torments of hell fire. " And this is the GOOD NEWS??????" I don't think so.

Jesus is the light of the world. All of it. John 8:12. He brings light to those living in the darkened caves of their religious minds. He is the light that shines in the darkness of bad religion. Bad theology. Bad church. He is the way the truth and the life. John 14:6.

Jesus says that God is love. That the great Triune God loves all of us and wants to live with all of us forever. That He has forgiven us all of our sins. That He has adopted us all into His life in Jesus. Eph.1:3-14. That He has included us into His very life. John 14:20. That He has always loved and wanted us individually and personally as His sons and daughters in His life forever. AND, has made it happen in Jesus. How good is that???????

Cave dwelling religionists can't see this life and light. It makes no sense to them. They are forever trying to get to a place that has no road to take them there. There is only one road. One way. One street. One highway. One door. Jesus.

Let's cut to the chase. God says I love you. I have made arrangements to have you live with Me forever. It is a done deal. Now deal with it.

Can you believe God loves you this much? Can you believe God is this big?

May God allow all of us to come out of the caves we are bound up in and see the light.

Paul
www.newlifewcg.org

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COME TO 'PAPA'

noreply@blogger.com (Pastor Paul) — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 01:58:00 +0000

But he did not go to church!!! Those words described by grandfather who died when I was only four years old. My grandmother was a dear Christian woman who was in attendance every time the Methodist church doors were open. Papa, my grandfather, owned a country wholesale grocery store in a small town in Mississippi. Before the depression of '29 and the stock market crash he would regularly give groceries to needy families on "credit" never asking or receiving payment for the goods. I remember in the evenings when he came home from the store we would ride on the running boards of his old Olds up the steep drive to the carport, then we would go in and play with what seemed to be to be thousands of silver dollars as we built 'castles' on the living room floor and he would roll around with us and play. Then often when it was dark we would go out back and shoot fire crackers under tin cans and blow them up sky high and laugh and have such a wonderful time with my non church going Papa. He smoked good cigars, drank good liqueur and was known to be the best husband and grandfather anyone could ask for. He was a delightful man, humble, faithful, and fun. He and my grandmother raised a wonderful daughter--my mom. As I look back on his life, he died when I was only four years old, I see the light of Jesus and the love of Jesus written all over the life of that man. I know now that he was adopted from before the foundation of the world in Jesus ( Eph.1:3-14) and included into the life of the great Triune God, as we all are, and that is the reason for the joy, love, patience, and goodness he exemplified in his short life of 54 years. I so much look forward to reconnecting with him one day in the heavenly realm. I know no church could have done for him what Jesus did. I thank God for the truth that is in Jesus and that he is not lost or being tortured some place, but he is with his loving Father in Heaven now and for eternity. Praise God. Hang on Papa, I will see you soon. I love you.

Paul Kurts
www.newlifewcg.org

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"NEW AGE" IS OLD AGE BULL CACA

noreply@blogger.com (Pastor Paul) — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 01:38:00 +0000

.WHAT'S NEW ABOUT NEW AGE PHILOSOPHY??? Modern pundits would have you to believe that believing in new age thought is something 'new' when in fact it is not new at all, it only now is being called by new and different names.

Mankind has ALWAYS sought to explain life, creation and existence in terms of relativity and conceptions devoid of any respect to and for a Creator God. Existential metaphysical evolutionary concepts of explanation leaving a Creator God out of the picture have been around for thousands of years. Different names have defined these ideas forever. Atheism, gnosticism, pantheism, and the like are not new.

There is nothing new about reincarnation, past lives, contact with past life individuals, astrological predictions for ones present life based on the movement of the planets and stars and whether Saturn's Moons are sitting on the axis of Paraguay!

There is no end to the speculations conjured up by seers, soothsayers, and Gypsies in plying their trade. The amazing thing is that many educated people actually buy into this Bull Shi_t ( Shirt) as if it were the Truth to end all Truths.

When one understands the real Gospel of Jesus Christ one realizes that he or she was chosen before the foundation of the COSMOS to be adopted and included into the very life of the Triune God to live forever with Him--all made possible by the life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ. ( Ephesians 1:3-14). There simply is NO room for any falderall of reincarnaton and new age Bull Shi_t ( Shirt) to be considered.

You and all other humans are and have been the childeren God always loved and wanted to be with Him in His life forever. That is the Gospel. Jesus Christ made it happen for evryone. You are included in that wonderful truth and fact. How good is that?

New Age 'stuff' will come and go, but none of it will ever take the place of the Truth of all Truths who is Jesus Christ.

Paul

www.newlifewcg.org
www.pastorpaulsinteractiveblog.blogspot.com

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BLUE CHEESE AND HELL FIRE

noreply@blogger.com (Pastor Paul) — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 12:09:00 +0000

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The moon is NOT made out of 'blue cheese'! But, if one were told this long enough from an early age, they would believe it. So it is with the concept of an ever burning, fiery, torturing, suffering, damnable 'hell fire' for recalcitrant "unsaved" and "lost" sinners. Does that sound bad, or what?

Did you know that for the first nearly 500 years of the early New Testament Christian Church that concept was NOT preached? Why not? Well, because the early church leaders knew better. They knew the truth of the Good News. The truth of Jesus' Adopting of all humanity into His life and the Father's and the Holy Spirit's life.( See, Irenaus, Athanasius, and others) They knew that the concept of a "punishing" hell was an invention of the Greek mind, especially that of Plato. They knew that the kind of love the Father had for his children would not allow that kind of retribution against His children who simply did not know or did not believe their position in Jesus.

In the 5th century A.D. along comes a tremendously influential individual by the name of Augustine of Hippo in the Catholic Church who was the "BLUE CHEESE" man of all time. He especially liked Plato and other Greek philosophers. He liked the concept of "hell" so much that he introduced it into the church as a true doctrine in order, (in his own words) " to keep church goers in line in the straight and narrow."

Fear. Fear worked so well that it remained in the church until this day in the promotion of a torturing hell as doctrine. The problem came in when certain scriptures had to now be interpreted to be consistent with that 'hot' topic. Lazarus and the Rich Man, Worms that die not, smoke ascending up forever, lakes of fire, and other verses now had to be reinterpreted in order to support Plato's Hell.
And they were. Blue Cheese reigned supreme now. Truth had been overcome by a fable.
But the truth shall set one free. And that Truth of all Truths is that God is love,
Jesus lived and died to connect us all to the Triune God and He has redeemed, reconciled, saved, and seated all of humanity with the Father--Eph.2:6.

Even blue cheese will stink if it is left out in the open long enough to spoil.

There is a fresh wind blowing in the world right now and you are reading about it here.

Love,

Pastor Paul
www.newlifewcg.org
Madison, Alabama

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QUESTIONS-WITH NO ANSWERS- FOR BIG BANGERS

noreply@blogger.com (Pastor Paul) — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 13:12:00 +0000

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BANG! BANG! BANG! My last blog addressed the topic of the "Big Bang" theory of the origin of the cosmos. In this one I just want to ask a few questions which need answers that are generated from fair questions. The scientists who accept the Big Bang theory ( and of course not all do) are stumped when these and other questions arise over the dynamics of the Big Bang theory. So let's ask a few. Here goes.

1. Where did the SPACE come from in which the Big Bang occurred?

2. Why didn't the explosion of the tiny "mass" which caused the Big Bang happen before it did?

3. After the "bang", where did all the LAWS come from in which the cosmos operates?
( Fission, Fusion, Gravity, Centrifugal force, Centripetal force, Inertia, Thermodynamics, nuclear reactions, etc. )

4. What caused the vast differences in the cosmos of Black holes, white holes, Galaxy webs, gravity, bright stars, dim stars , etc. ?

5. Why do all of the elements in the Periodic chart relate to each other NUMERICALLY?

6. Why is the speed of light constant at 186,000 mps.?

7. Where did all of the known elements in the cosmos come from? Were they all inside the tiny atom like mass that exploded causing the "big bang"? If not, what caused them all to "form" after the explosion?

8. How did the big bang explosion fill the universe with such precision and order, even being a giant clock accurate to the nano second?

9. Why is there "dark matter" throughout the universe?

10. Is there another explanation for the existence of the universe?

11. Where did life on planet earth come from?

12. Why is the life/eco system so balanced?

13. Why is the micro and the macro universe so mathematically organized. And opposite of each other?

You get the point. When you study the Big Bang Theory in depth, you find that there are a lot of questions which simply go unaddressed. " We do not know." " We can not say." " No one knows." We ASSUME. These are the answers one gets.

One can argue, " In the beginning, God CREATED....IT ALL."

I'll go with that one.

Paul

www.newlifewcg.org
www.pastorpaulsinteractiveblog.blogspot.com

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THE BIG BANG...DOES IT MAKE SENSE?

noreply@blogger.com (Pastor Paul) — Fri, 22 May 2009 02:03:00 +0000

BANG! THE BIG BANG. The heavens declare the glory of God. Not some random disconnected explosion of a tiny particle 12.9 billion years ago somewhere out in space. ( The fartherst star has been measured at 12.9 billion LIGHT years from earth.)

The Milky Way Galaxy in which we live in our Solar System on Earth is some 100 Thousand light years across. ( Or, 6 trillion miles X 100,000 miles !!!). We think this amazing. Yet in space there are giant galaxies, Space Blobs, Galaxy webs--like three dimensional spider webs--which are truly amazing. Astrophysicists have accounted for over 100 Billion galaxies at present with more being discovered every few weeks. Some are over 40 million light years across compared to our 100,000 of the Milky Way. The Milky Way is one of the smallest known.

There are approximately 10 times as many stars in the known universe as there are grains of sand on the earth. Some Giant Red stars would contain millions of our solar System's Sun. Some stars are million/s of times brighter than our own sun.

Wind speeds on some planets in outer space reach upwards of 6000 miles per hour. The mass of some stars, black holes, planets is so great that a penny would weigh TONS on those planets. Black holes are so dense that their gravity pulls light within them not allowing it to escape the black hole.

Some Galaxies are cannibals in their nature and when approaching another galaxy due to Gravity they simply engulf the weaker galaxy and ingest it into itself becoming now much larger.

Now astrophysicists speak of "parallel" Universes like a loaf of bread, with this COSMOS being incredulously HUMONGOUS. Astrophysisists speak in terms of 12 to 14 dimensions and 'string' dimensions. Not just the 4 we live in. ( I think I just lost us)

This entire existing universe in is perfect harmony, balance and design with the proper amounts of gravity and expansion forces to keep it expanding, not collapsing due to the gravitational pull of all of the masses in it. And all the while it remains in the same configuration which is a GIANT CLOCK which is perfect in its time keeping. How cool is that??? And only earth has been recognized to have a balanced ecological system to support life.

The dynamic effects of the universe are amazing in themselves. Heat, cold, radiation, nuclear reactions, fission, fusion, mass, light, elements, speeds of movement, and other things we can come up with are off the charts when we look at them from 'cosmic proportions'.

When David wrote in Psalm 19:1, " The heavens declare the Glory of God", he only had reference to the heavens in our own Milky Way Galaxy. How much more do they declare the Glory of God when considered on the scale of the COSMOS.

To all BIG BANGERS, I propose to all of you that all of this CREATION did not come from a small mass the size of an atom. Besides, where did the 'empty universe' or space come from for it to explode into. Remember, Space and time are created elements also. DEAL WITH IT.

"Only a fool has said in his heart, there is no God."

I will write more on this subject at a later time.

God Bless,

Paul

GREEK MYTHOLOGY AND JESUS CHRIST

noreply@blogger.com (Pastor Paul) — Fri, 15 May 2009 12:07:00 +0000

Jesus Christ is no figment of Greek Mythology nor is He a creation from the mind of Plato. BUT, the way we often view Jesus and God the Father, we might as well have gotten our theology from Greek Philosophy!

Greek Mythology dates back to nearly the Bronze Age! Various kings, rulers and people of importance in the ancient Greek, Egyptian, Phoenician, and Asian world, over time, became deified as gods and goddesses and immortalized in epic poems such and the Illiad and the Odyssey by Homer. We are talking 1000 years before Jesus.

The Greek netherworld, or place of the dead, along with Plato's invention of the concept of "hell" in the 4th Century B.C. have become the mainstay of Christian thought in the West and prevail to this day teaching an ever burning, torturing fire for the unrepentant. God the Father is distant, disconnected, aloof, "holy" and "hell bent" on sending those who do not fall down and worship Him to these flames of torture. Where do you think this kind of thinking comes from? Answer: The Greeks, their mythology, Plato, Platonism, and other Greek philosophers who continued these teachings and myths in their day. Then when St. Augustine of Hippo came along in the 5th Century A.D., who was an avid student of Plato's philosophy--including "hell" and fire and torture forever--he injected this unloving fear tactic into the Christian Church to keep converts "in line" and walking the straight and narrow.

What we have today is a man made theology from scripture and Greek philosophy which is anything but Good News. God is not portrayed and giving Unconditional Love to all of His children, Adopting all children before the foundation of the world ( Eph.1), and fulfilling His one and only plan for humanity completed in Jesus Christ.

Religion is a contest. Christianity is a contest. If YOU win, you get saved. But it all boils down to you and your accepting Jesus into your life. But what Jesus did for all of us and TO all of us happened before we were ever born!

Jesus is not some capricious God like so many of the Greek gods of Greek mythology. He is not narcissistic needing the adulation of His subjects to sustain His worth.
Jesus is no figment of Greek Mythology.

He is God. He is man. He is the Word Who from 'the beginning' was with the Father and the Holy Spirit as very God. He is love. He is Savior. He is our elder Brother. He is GOOD. And, He is GOOD ALL the time.

He loves us all with a love that is beyond description. You have always been the child He always wanted in His family to be with Him FOREVER. There is NO contest. There is NO possibility for failure. We are saved and secure in Jesus--Forever!

Jesus lives IN us and we IN Him. ( John 14:20). We are connected and included INSIDE of the Triune Life of God NOW and FOREVER. This is what Trinitarian and Adoption Theology is all about. And, it has nothing to do with Greek Mythology and Greek Philosophy whatsoever.

Amen