Beautiful are the Fingers that Type the Good News

God asked Job, “Canst thou send forth lightnings, so that they go and say to you, Here We Are?"

It only took three thousand years, but we can momentarily take our hand from our mouth and say, “Yes, God, we can.” Don’t forget to firmly clamp your hand back over your mouth after saying as much.

Jesus Christ said that when he returns, some would be out working in the fields, and others would be home sleeping, but he said that everyone would see the Second Coming. Isaiah makes it clear that the world is round, Jesus knew this, after all, he created it. How then do we expect everyone to witness the return real time? If he manifests himself over Jerusalem, then California will be in the eclipse, if he begins his reign over England, then Australia will wonder what’s going on. How will everyone see this happening real time?

Television and the Internet, that’s how. You are currently reading this on a tool for the prophecy completion of the Second Coming.

I have a ministry to Muslims. If I stood in front of the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem or on the Moon Rock in Mecca and preached my message, I would be sans head pretty quickly. But using the relative safety of the internet, I have been able to preach at hundreds of Muslims with a very offensive message, and in this respect the internet has been a wonderful tool. Click Here

All things are good if used lawfully. This is true even for the Bible. The Bible can be used maliciously and for bad just as easily as the internet, consider the ministries of Benny Hinn, Joel Osteen, and Jim Jones. Each is deadly in its own rite, some only to spiritual death, others to the death of both body and soul, truly these men are murderers of souls.

Paul tells Timothy, “Now we know that the law is good, if one uses it lawfully, understanding this, that the law is not laid down for the just but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who strike their fathers and mothers, for murderers, the sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine, in accordance with the gospel of the glory of the blessed God with which I have been entrusted though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent.”

Paul laid out six of the 10 Commandments explicitly, the other four are in there, although not quite so explicitly. I won’t judge you, but I do ask you to judge yourself. Have you ever told a lie? Does that make you a liar? Do you believe the Bible when it says that all liars will have their place in the Lake of Fire? Have you ever used God’s name in vain? This is called blasphemy, and God will not hold him guiltless that takes his name in vain. Have you ever killed anyone? Did you know that Jesus said that if you just hate someone, you will be judged as a murderer at heart?

The internet is lawful, if used for good. It is good for expanding your knowledge, for keeping in touch with long lost friends, for a lot of good things. But it can also be used very unlawfully. Children are propositioned for and exposed to all sorts of evilness every day, and you’ve heard it said of old, thou shalt not commit adultery, but Jesus said at the Sermon on the Mount, “Whosoever looks upon a woman to lust after her has committed adultery already with her in their heart.” Have you ever done that? If so, you will be judged as an adulterer at heart. I won’t even ask if you’ve taken it farther, to rape or fornication at heart.

I can’t judge you, I don’t have that authority, but you have an appointment once to die, and then THE judgment, by Jesus Christ as your judge. How will you look? God knows the thoughts and intents of your heart, deeds done in darkness will be brought to the light, and you will give an account for every idle word.

We have all gone aside, turned to our own lusts, and all of us have transgressed an infinitely holy God, and thus will face the infinite punishment of Hell. But it is not God’s will that you should perish, but that you should turn from your sin and turn towards him. He has made a way for you to be forgiven; 2000 years before the Internet and invitro fertilization were invented, Jesus Christ was born of a virgin, God manifested himself in the flesh to be subjected to this world which we have broken, he was tempted just as we are tempted, but he didn’t succumb, and he gave himself up to be hung on the cross in your stead, charged and scourged on the claim of being God. What he did not steal, he came to repay, and he paid your fine in his own life’s blood. But because he is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living, on the third day he defeated death and rose from the grave to live forevermore.

Once you have repented (turned from iniquity to God) and placed your trust in Jesus Christ to save you, you will be forgiven, born into the family of God, where you will inherit eternal life, and though your body will pass away, your spirit will never perish.

Today is the day of salvation, the Bible says faith comes by hearing, and hearing the word of Christ. Today you have heard him call, don’t put this off, be reconciled to God, and then thank God that we can send forth lightnings, so that they go and say to you, “Repent and believe, for the kingdom of God is at hand.”

God will not hold him guiltless that takes His name in vain

Have you ever noticed that people who claim to have no animosity towards the Living God use His name in a flippant manner.

Blasphemy has been long overlooked as an excellent proof for the truth of Christianity.

The world around, you can find people who find weird and imaginative ways to curse God. My friend Taketo is Japanese and speaks very little English. He was speaking to a friend in fluent Japanese and I was simply listening with interest, when I heard a derivative of, "Christ" in the middle of his conversation. Taketo, a Buddhist, chose to blaspheme the God of the Universe instead of the god of his culture.

If you ask a secular person for an example of Blasphemy, you'll usually hear "Goddammit", and this is certainly one of the worst. But it is not the only. "Jesus Christ" used without reverence is another example, but so are the ones most people don't think of. "Geez" is blasphemy, without any effort whatsoever you can see that its etymology derives from "Jeezus". Other examples are simply the acronym OMG or the phrase, "Oh my Word" (John 1:1), and especially "Oh my Gosh". If Gosh is not a derivative of God, then I ask you what Heck is a derivative of?

"Man" can be blasphemous of "Son of Man" and similarly "Man Alive" is blaspheming the same name of God. "Word up" was popular a few years ago, and you should now see the blasphemous reason it caught on. Similarly, “Good Lord”, “Oh my Goodness”, and “Goodness Gracious” are all blasphemous.

Perhaps the worst one is "Son of a B..." and other “Son of a” phrases. These are certainly not accidents in language, but cursing Christ through His mother and Father. You are also implying a less than ideal name for Jesus Christ through lineage.

I'm certain I haven't given you even a taste of the curse words that have been invented to curse the Living God, but you see the point.

But why does it matter? The Bible says that God's name is the only name blessed forever. When you curse it, you are declaring your hatred for God by trying to drag His name into the mud. Notice that no-one ever yells out, "Siddhartha Buddha" when they hit their thumb with a hammer, or says, "Allah dammit." The reason is because these names are already cursed. But not the names’ of God, of these Jesus Christ is the name above every name.

Be assured that you don’t need to speak in order to blaspheme God’s name. You are created in the image of Him and of His name. In this you reflect Him and the world can see Him in you. In a perfect world, this would be a wonderful honor, but unfortunately it is also an opportunity for blasphemy.

When you tell a lie, then you tell the world that God is a liar. When you steal, the world doesn't just see you, but an image of God, and determines that He must be a thief. When you speak idle words, you tell the world that God's Word is not eternally important and omniscient. Out of the mouth the heart professes, when you speak curse words you tell the world that God's heart is not infinitely pure. When you look at someone that is not your spouse with lust, you commit adultery in your heart, and you tell the world that the covenant God has made with His bride, the church, is not binding and is not trustworthy.

Another form of blasphemy is when you raise other religions to the level of God, by doing this, you insult His sovereignty, justice, and mercy. Holy Cow is derived from Hinduism and the debacle of the Israelites at the base of Mount Sinai. When you say that the God of Christianity is the same god as Islam, you insinuate that the Living God is unjust, bribable, inhuman, and unloving. When you fixate on one attribute of God, you present an imperfect view of Him. God is Love, but He is also the Righteous Judge, who is Angry with the wicked everyday, a Consuming Fire, a Strong Refuge, an Everlasting Rock, Holy, Mighty, Merciful, Gracious, and the God of Salvation who by no means will clear the guilty.

God will not hold him guiltless that takes His name in vain.

Even in the hundreds, if not thousands, of times you have blasphemed God's name, He still loved you and gave Himself for you. Jesus Christ, God the Son, came to this earth, born of a virgin, lived a perfect sinless life, offered Himself up to be crucified on the charge of claiming to be God, died in your place, and on the third day defeated death and rose from the grave. If you'll repent of all your wicked ways, especially your habit of substituting His precious name in place of your filth words, and place your trust in Him, He will save you based on His atoning payment on the cross and forgive you in spite of your hatred of Him. Once you have done this, He will replace your heart with a heart that thirsts for righteousness and loves Him.

Finally, if you hear this message and decide that this offer is not reasonable, that you’d rather hang onto your blasphemy and sundry sins than submit to God, whose name is Righteous, then you commit the sin of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit and this sin will not be forgiven. Today is the day of salvation, call out to God in repentance and faith, and all of your sins will be forgiven of you.

My God, My God, Why Hast Thou Not Forsaken me?

In remembrance of the events on 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina, the following was in responce to Dr. Susan Brooks Thistelwaite, an unsaved UCC minister:
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Where was God on 9/11? Saving the lives of over 48,000 people, using the devastation that we bring to this world to turn it for good, that many are saved, as they are today. On a normal Tuesday morning the Twin Towers contained roughly 50,000 people, not counting surrounding buildings and people on the street. That day 48,000 of them were running late. 96% of people that were supposed to be at work were not.

Abraham pleaded with God, if you find 50 righteous people, please do not destroy Sodom.

God agreed, if I find 50 righteous people, Sodom will be spared.

God lowered the number so that if He could find only 10 righteous people in Sodom, the city would be spared.

We know today from archaeological evidence that Sodom was destroyed by a simultaneous meteor shower, earthquake, and volcano. Where was God on that day? He was raining shrapnel down on Sodom.

"God, if you find 10 righteous people in New Orleans and the Gulf Coast, please do not destroy it."

The question here is whether or not you think you are righteous.

Have you ever told a lie? God says that lying lips are an ABOMINATION, that all liars will have their place in the lake of fire.

Have you ever killed anyone? Jesus said that if you hate someone or call them an idiot, you are in danger of judgment as a murderer.

Have you kept the name of God holy? Calling out, "Oh My God!" in a callous and flippant way is called blasphemy and the Bible says that God will not hold him blameless that takes His name in vain.

The one that got me, Have you ever committed adultery? Jesus said, "Whosoever looks at a woman to lust after her has committed adultery already with her in his heart." God is concerned with the intentions of the heart and not just when you act on them.

There was not a righteous man found in New Orleans, not on the Gulf Coast, not in the Twin Towers, so we should not be surprised at all that God did not divinely stop those catastrophes. We should rather wonder why we don't see more, why we have been thus far successful in thwarting the major terrorist plots of the world, why natural disasters don't occur every where, every day.

I am comforted that not a single person died in these events that would not die eventually. It is appointed once for a man to die, and then the judgment.

If you face God today, would He be justified in sentencing you to Hell? The Book of your Conscience has recorded every thought, word, and deed and it will be opened as you are prosecuted. What will you offer as defense?

God knew that there was no loophole or attorney you could find to save you, but because He loved you, not that you loved Him, He became manifest in the flesh as the man Jesus Christ, where He lived a perfect, sinless, blemish-free life and offered Himself up as the payment for your sins on the cross at Calvary. You broke the law and He paid your fine.

When you stand before the Judge of the Universe, you can be absolved of your transgressions because your fine has been paid. The only requirement is that you repent of your sins, in other words turn from sin and thirst after righteousness. Once you have done this you will know that you are forgiven, you will be born-again into the family of God, an event as substantial as the first time you were born into the world.

As death and destruction come your way, you will not wonder why God allows it to happen, but rather why He has postponed the inevitable and most importantly, why He would see fit to save a wretch like you, that while many were dying you were given the opportunity to repent or perish.

The Gospel According to Mohammed

Islam means “Submission to God”, as God has told us, “The Lord lifts up the humble; he casts the wicked to the ground. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.”

So the submissive will indeed go to Heaven, as long as they submit to God’s will.

One verse that jumps instantly to mind is, “This is the will of God: Your sanctification,” God’s will includes demonstrating His righteousness, having upright followers, and that justice be done; but the most important from our earthly standpoint is that wrongdoers are rectified to Him, “he commands all men everywhere to repent."

Islam is in majority alignment with the Biblical understanding of Heaven and Hell; I think this is illustrated nicely in Surah 43 (Adornments), verses 70-77. Heaven is nice, and Hell is hot and eternal.

Where Christianity and Islam divide is how to get to Heaven; but how to get to Hell is the same in both religions.

Surah 43:74 tells us that “Sinners will be in the punishment of Hell, to dwell there forever.”

Surah 83 speaks of our conscience, the Sijjin, a register fully inscribed that will be open on the Day of Judgment; woe to the sinner, his conscience records his wrongdoings.

God knows the secret thought life, and has appointed a Judgment Day for all mankind. The Koran accepts Moses as a prophet and the Law of the 10 Commandments which were given to him. “God gave Moses the Scripture and the Criteria between right and wrong.” – Al-Baqara 2:53

If all sinners will have their punishment in Hell, it’s in our best interest to find out if we’re sinners.

Answer these questions truthfully and you’ll know:

Have you ever told a lie? What does that make you?
If I rape one girl, I’m a rapist, if I murder one person, I’m a murderer. A single lie makes me a liar. The Koran says to, “Invoke the curse of God on those who lie!” – Al-Imran 3:61
The Bible promises that all liars will have their place in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone.

Have you ever stolen anything? What does that make you?
Both the Koran and Bible have very strict punishments for thieves. Maida 5:38 tells us, “As to the thief, cut off his or her hand(s).”

Have you always kept the Sabbath?
The Koran demands that you remember God on Friday, leaving off business and travel. – Assembly 62:9
Whosoever does any work on the Sabbath, he will surely be put to death. This is in order to make sure you worship the Creator above creation.

Have you ever worshipped money, power, science, or possessions above God?
“Let not your riches or your children divert you from the remembrance of God. If any act thus, the loss is their own.” – Hypocrites 63:9
This you know, no idolater will see the kingdom of God.

Have you committed adultery?
The prophet Jesus said, “Whosoever looks upon a woman to lust after her has committed adultery already with her in his heart.”
The Koran is clear, “Do not come near to adultery: for it is a shameful deed and an evil, opening the road to other evils.” – Israelites 17:32
Clearly “coming near to adultery” is the same as Jesus taught, that a lust-filled glance is seen by God as shameful. Take note that the word for adultery in Arabic is sometimes translated as “Fornication”, sex outside of marriage.

Have you ever used the name of God in Vain?
“Those before them also devised many a blasphemy, but God took their structures from their foundations, and the wrath befell them without them perceiving from whence it came.” – Bee 16:26
God will not hold him guiltless that takes His name in vain.

If you’re like me, you’ve broken every one of these, and these are only six of the 10 Commandments. The Bible says that we have stored up wrath for ourselves on the Day of Judgment. The Koran is nearly identical, “On the day when heat will be produced out of the fire of Hell, and it will brand your forehead, your flanks, and your back, 'This is the treasure which you stored for yourselves: you then taste the treasure you amassed!'" – Immunity 9:35

There is a minor difference in the Hell of the Bible and the Hell of the Koran. In the Bible it says that we will beg for a drop of water, but none will come. The Koran says that we will have an overabundance of water, albeit it will be superheated past boiling and we will be forced to drink it, and it will wreak havoc on our insides. Either way, Hell is not somewhere I want to go, nor do I want you to go there.

There is a way to be saved from this punishment we have earned, it is the Injeel which according to the Koran was given to the prophet Jesus. Injeel means, “Good News”, and avoiding such a terrible place as Hell is definitely good news.

Some think that the good news is that we can work our way out of Hell. Both the Koran and the Bible refer to God as a just judge, so lets see how an earthly judge might relate. Imagine you stand before a judge, there are six clear evidences of your guilt, and the judge puts on you a fine that you cannot possibly pay. You offer the judge your good works, you’ve given to charity, you pray unceasingly, you are nice to people, you ask for forgiveness daily, you help little old ladies across the street, and to top it all off, you washed the judges car on the way in to court. The judge tells you, you should do good things, but you've broken the law; he cannot let you go, because despite all of the good you’ve done, justice is due. You cry out in repentance and sorrow, and the judge tells you it’s good that you’re sorry, but there is a fine to be paid, and if you cannot pay it, you will be thrown into prison.

This is the earthly judge, how much more Holy and Just is the Judge of the Universe? Payment is due for your transgression, and the Bible and the Koran clearly state that the fine is the eternal fire of Hell.

But here is the good news, God gave us the gift of a holy son (Maryam 19:19), born of the virgin Maryam, this son’s name was Jesus, and because he was holy, He lived a perfect unblemished life, he was tempted but didn’t sin; in the writing of Moses about the Passover Lamb, the lamb must be without blemish, a male, taken from amongst its brethren (Exodus 12:5). Another name for Jesus is the Lamb of God (Revelation 5:12). Jesus was offered as the sinless sacrifice to take away the sins of the world (Johannes 1:29). Jesus was hung on the cross outside of Jerusalem on Calvary hill, a hill not two miles from where Ibrahim offered his son as a sacrifice 1700 years prior. Jesus died in our stead, he paid our fine in his own life’s blood. The wrath of God was poured out upon him and it pleased God to crush him. Jesus faced the wrath of God so we wouldn’t have to; in an infinite showing of love God sacrificed Jesus so that we can be forgiven, he was the propitiation for our sins.

Jesus said that, "Blessed are the pure at heart, for they shall see God (Mathias 5:8)." The Koran says that our sins are a stain on the heart, (Al-Mutaffifin 83:14); Maryam 19:60 says that if you’ll repent and believe, then you will see Heaven. Mohammed was quoting the prophet Jesus who said, "Repent and believe the Gospel, for the Kingdom of God is at hand" (Mark 1:15), in other words, repent and believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Christ, the atonement for your sins. Once you have done this, your sins will be forgiven, your stained heart will be replaced with a new heart (Ezekiel 11:19), and you will be born again into the family of God.

If any man is in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. – 2 Corinthians 5:17