Keep The Faith

Just yesterday as I was e-mailing my cousins, I came to realize that June 6, 2014 will be exactly three years that I have written to this blog. So many things with this blog have been associated with the number three. I sense my work here may be drawing to an end and certainly the last post "God is Love!!!!!" would be very appropriate. I always remember some words of my dad from oh so long ago just before he punished me; "This is going to hurt me more than it does you." Isn't this Father God?

As I was sitting in my quit family room this morning drinking my coffee, I was thinking about “God is Love” and how His great love fits what we read in the Bible and with what is going on in our world today. It is difficult to piece this together but I believe I understand how it does fit. I thought about Adam and Eve. I don’t know if there was actually a fruit they ate that opened there eyes to know what is good and evil or if it is just a way to show our downfall. What happened was that man began to judge. This judgment was putting self at the top. It didn’t care about others; it only cared about self and what was good for self and believing that what is good for self is good for others. I guess this wanting to judge, or wanting to be god or be like God started with Satan or Lucifer as he was once called. Isaiah 14:12-14 New International Version (NIV) 12 How you have fallen from heaven, morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you wh...

We have had this idea of hell being a place of unending torment for so long it has become ingrained in us; it will be difficult to think of it in any other way. I know I have struggled with this for several years now and even today I ask myself sometimes, “Am I wrong? Am I not seeing this correctly?” I know that in my heart I believe that this hell talked about in the Bible is SHAME; shame that will come to most all of us when God judges justly. Because Father God knows me perfectly, whatever shame I must endure will be my just reward. I trust Him to judge me fairly. I know that there are many Christians who will disagree with me venomously and adhere to traditional teaching. I have a great burden in this and wish we could all see this in the same way but in my small faith, I don’t see that happening. God is bigger than my small faith and I know that whatever I do or say does not change His truths. I know He WILL accomplish His wonderful plan. When you study the scriptures,...

Great Joy for All People: Why Eternal Hell Cannot Be True The angel announced “good news that will cause great joy for all the people.” If hell is everlasting torment for multitudes, then this promise cannot truly be good news for all. In this post, we look at Scripture and the character of our loving Father God to ask a hard but necessary question: Can eternal torment really be His final plan? The angel’s promise of great joy Luke 2:10 (NIV) “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.” If the traditional view of hell is correct—that countless souls suffer forever—then this announcement is not “great joy for all the people,” but joy for a few and horror for the rest. The gospel, by definition, must be truly good news for all, or we have misunderstood it. God’s revealed heart 1 Timothy 2:4 (KJV) “Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.” Jeremia...

As I’ve been studying God’s Word, I have found that our English translation seems inadequate to me to get what the writers of the original text meant to say; especially the words used where we are to ascertain God’s character and how we are to meet with Him. The words like wrath, vengeance, hate, anger, fear, etc used to give us a picture of God; I believe they are sending us the wrong impression of Him. Why do you think that when Yeshua (Jesus), God’s Son, was here on earth with us that He referred to God as Father; Matthew 23:9 “Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven.” In the Gentile “Old Testament” (Jewish or Hebrew Bible “Torah”), God is also referred to as “Father” Malachi 2:10 Yeshayahu- Isaiah 64:7 . There is great confusion also as to who are God’s children and again, there is reason for us to be confused because of the wording used in our English translations. Personally, I believe we all are His children because of scri...

Who Do You Pray To? A short reflection on prayer, clarity, and the relationship between Yeshua and the Father. Christians often pray without ever stopping to consider who they are addressing. It may seem like a strange question, but for many believers, this is a very real point of confusion. I know it was for me. For years, I struggled with whether I was praying to Yeshua (Jesus) or to Father God. Sometimes my prayers felt directed toward Jesus; other times toward the Father. It wasn’t until a profound vision—an experience I’ve shared before—that I finally understood with clarity: I pray to Father God, YAHUAH, YAHWEH, HaAv. Scripture gives us a complex but beautiful picture of the relationship between Yeshua and the Father. Many passages teach their oneness— John 14:9–11 , John 10:38 , John 8:58 , John 5:17–18 , John 10:30–33 . Yet Yeshua Himself says the Father is greater than He ( John 14:28 ). In John 14:6–7 , we see both truths held together: unity and distinction...

Father God has been teaching me about giving; His giving to us and our giving to others. A few days ago, my wife talked with our young grandson, we’ll just call him Tim. After their conversation, my wife tells me that Tim heard from his mom that PopPop (me) could use some help cleaning out my garden beds and he was willing to help. My wife told Tim that it was very nice of him to offer his help and maybe PopPop would reward you. Tim perked up and asked, “Do you really think he would reward me, grandma?” Well, Tim had told me several days before that there was a new toy he wanted to buy and he was saving up his money, so I though he wanted to earn money to buy it. I asked my wife what she thought I should give him and she told me that it doesn’t matter that he was just wanting to help his PopPop; just give what I thought would be appropriate; he would accept any reward I give him. Now I’m starting to wander, was Tim’s original thought, help his PopPop and not expect anythin...