December 2017

There is no greater gift in this world that I can give you than in sharing with you the good news of the life-transforming gospel, the good news of Christ Jesus and what He accomplished for you on Calvary’s cross. By His sacrificial death on the cross, He forgave you of all your sins – past, present and future and is now reconciling you to God; opening the way into the presence of your Creator by demonstrating to the world the indispensable and glorious fact that God loves man and wants to have that relationship with man. This is why God created us in the first place before sin and spiritual death entered into the picture when Adam and Eve were deceived by God’s adversary, Satan; into disobeying God.

Does religion matter? Well, it really doesn’t. It’s not about buildings, denominations, rules, traditions or ceremonies – it’s all about a true relationship with the God of the universe through His Son, Christ Jesus. There’s really no “religion” to it! Just true faith from the heart in Christ Jesus and what He accomplished for you on Calvary’s cross. It’s all of what He did for you and not anything you will do; you can just cling to His rightousness. (Please read Rom. 8:8-11; 2 Cor. 5:21)

Let me ask you: Have you ever thought about the eternal destiny of your soul? You haven’t! Then, let me give you some biblical facts. Jesus said, “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul (Mark 8:36-37)?
Jesus was conveying to us the great importance of the value of the individual soul which is beyond the worth of money or possessions.

What good are the influential friends, all the popularity, fame and riches when your body is 6 feet under the sod and your soul is burning and being tormented night and day for all eternity in a place reserved for Satan and his demons called Hell or Lake of Fire. ( Rev. 20: 10)

Your soul/spirit is eternal and long after your body is dead, your soul/spirit will live on eternally in either Heaven or Hell. (See Ecclesiastics 12:7) Every human being is on a journey to eternity. There can be no turning back and no way to miss this appointment.

The Bible says, “And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment (Heb. 9:27).” The sad thing is to face death alone without God, and then to be judged and doomed to eternal torment forever because of rejecting the Savior, Christ Jesus. We know that physical death is a certainty and so is God’s judgment that follows. Your eternal salvation is the most important thing in this life. It doesn’t matter what you‘ve accomplished if you lose your soul in Hell; you lose it all. There is nothing in this world that is worth losing your soul for. Your soul is worth more than the whole world and everything in it. Your soul is the part of you that is going to live on forever and ever throughout all eternity. Jesus says concerning eternity, “And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life (Matt.25:46).”

Both Heaven and Hell will last forever and ever (Matthew 25:46). Both are eternal and everlasting. The vast majority of people are living their lives as though they don’t believe there is going to be an eternity. Satan has deceived and lulled these people into a state of complacency. Scripture clearly states, “For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ (Rom. 14:10).” Every one of us have two appointments that have already been made for us and that we will definitely keep. These two appointments: physical death and God’s judgment cannot be canceled – we will keep them. The Bible says, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end is the way of death (Proverbs 14:12).” Our feelings are not a safe guide, but only the Bible is. We must not make an error concerning our eternal salvation and following what “seems right” to us, or that we “feel in our hearts we are saved.”

We will not have a second chance on the Day of Judgment to make things right. You have to get it right in this life. We are told in Amos 4:12, “Prepare to meet your God.” On Judgment Day we will be either prepared or unprepared. Heaven is a prepared place for a prepared people. We cannot hope or wish our way into Heaven. Life is all about choices! Choose wisely as your eternal destination will be determined by the decisions you make. Love Oscar

The Kingdom of God is seen in Scripture in several different aspects. When Christ came to the earth the first time, He offered a literal kingdom to the nation of Israel. The Jews wanted deliverance from the Roman oppressors, but they did not want to repent of their sins. Christ could only reign over a people who were in proper spiritual relationship to Him. When that was made clear to them, they rejected their King and crucified Him. Since then, the Lord Jesus has gone back to heaven and we now have the Kingdom in mystery form (Matt.13) – it’s a spiritual kingdom where Christ Jesus (God) living in us when we as believers except the Lord Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour. This means that the kingdom does not appear in visible form. The King is absent. But all who accept the Lord Jesus Christ during this present age and acknowledge Him as their rightful ruler, and thus are subjects of His kingdom. In a coming day, the Lord Jesus will come back to earth, set up His kingdom with Jerusalem as capital, and reign for a 1000 years. At the end of that time, Christ will put down all enemies under His feet and then deliver up the kingdom to God, the Father. That will inaugurate the eternal kingdom, which will continue throughout eternity.

Another reason to believe that the Bible is the truth, you only have to look at its historical and geological accuracy that have come to light in recent years. With virtually every turn of the archaeologists spade, we have evidence for the trustworthiness of Scripture. Down through the ages, many have doubted the historical accuracy of the Bible. Yet modern archaeologists have repeatedly unearthed evidence of the people, places, and cultures described in the Scriptures.

100 years ago, many Bible critics were trying to dismiss much of its history as a work of creative storytellers. But in the 20th century, archaeological finds have overwhelmingly supported and verified biblical data. For instance, two of the cities mentioned in the book of Genesis, Sodom and Gomorrah (c.1500B.C.) have been for many years considered mythological. However, recent excavations at Tell Mardikh, now known to be the site of Ebla, uncovered about 15,000 tablets. Some of these have been translated and mention is made of Sodom and Gomorrah.
Skeptics doubted the Bible’s description of King Solomon’s wealth. The archaeologist Henry Breasted, between 1925 and 1934, unearthed the remains of one of Solomon’s “chariot cities” at Megiddo in northern Palestine.

Critics of Scripture also doubted the existence of the Hittites, a people the Bible refers to some 40 times in the Old Testament. For centuries, those who studied the ancient world questioned the Bible because they had discovered no evidence of such a people. But in 1906 archaeologist Hugh Winckler excavated the Hittite capital of Boghaz-koi and recovered thousands of Hittite texts along with the famous Hittite code.

Scientists found evidence of a Biblical flood in the Black Sea. The archaeological evidence discovered by the National Geographic Society provides new evidence that humans faced a new flood, perhaps that of the biblical Noah, thousands of years ago. Man-made dwellings and tools at the bottom of the inland Black Sea prove a massive flood hit the area 7,600
years ago. ( Vancouver Sun, September 14, 2000 ). (True Biblical timingapproximately 5,500 years ago)
A 3000 year old temple used throughout the reign of the legendary Queen of Sheba has been uncovered in Yemen by an international team of scientists. (Toronto Globe and Mail, September 15, 2000 )
For years, critics dismiss the book of Daniel, partially because there was no evidence that a king named Belshazzar ruled in Babylon during that period. Later archaeological research, however, confirmed that the reigning monarch, Nabonidus, appointed Belshazzar as his coregent while he was waging war away from Babylon.
One of the most well known New Testament examples concerns the books of Luke and Acts. A Biblical skeptic, Sir William Ramsay, was trained as an archaeologist and then set out to disprove the historical reliability of this portion of the New Testament. But through his painstaking Mediterranean archaeological trips, he became converted as, one after another, the historical allusions of Luke were proved accurate. Truly, as you can see from just a small sampling of examples above, that with every turn of the archaeologists spade we continue to see evidence for the trustworthiness of Scripture.

Time after time, the descriptions in the biblical record have been shown to be more reliable than the speculations of scholars. You see, the Bible has and will stand the test of time. But the Bible is not primarily a book of history. It is His story, the story of Jesus, God in the flesh, who left behind His Royal robes of heaven to come down to earth to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins and to offer us hope, salvation, reconciliation and life eternal.
Love Oscar

You can ask yourself – “Why did Jesus throw off his Royal robes of heaven? Why did He lay aside royalty in heaven and come to this earth and be rejected by men? Why did He come to be spit upon, be discriminated against, cursed and misunderstood, and losing his life at the age of 33 on the wrong end of a Roman cross.” Why? I’ll tell you why – because He loved you and He love me. With a love I’m not sure any of us will ever understand, until eternity!

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life (John 3:16).”

If we learn anything from this one statement it’s this – that God initiated your salvation; you didn’t. God made the first move – He created man and the purpose God had for created man was to have fellowship (relationship) with Him. But, man made the second move – he sinned and blew it, was thrown out of the garden of Eden and lost his relationship with God, his Creator. God made the third move – He sent His Son, Christ Jesus to be the remedy for man’s sin and to reconcile man back to God. Now it’s your move ……….

Love Oscar

Would it surprise you if I told you God hates religion? Someone reading this may be thinking “I thought God invented religion.” Sorry, but God created man and man (with the help from Satan) invented religion. Religion is actually a system made by man that is orchestrated to make him right with God by jumping through the hoops of various sets of rules, regulations and obligations – man trying to reach God by his own deeds and works. No religion or organization has eternal life to give to anyone and there is not one word in the Bible which even implies that we must go through a religion to get to God.

During this era of faith and grace (God’s new will for us), salvation is contingent on our relationship with God, the Father and Jesus Christ the Son, and nothing else. Before the cross, God dealt with man on the basis of obedience to the law. Today, God deals with man on the bases of His love and grace. The reason for the change is that Christ’s death ushered in a brand-new and better covenant for man. Jesus’ death completed the Old Covenant and ratified the New Covenant and freed us from the Law of Moses.

There are basically two choices for believers and nonbelievers alike: Did the universe begin by chance or by purpose and design? Let’s spell out the practical implications: The whole tenor of human life is affected by whether people regard themselves as supreme beings in the universe or acknowledge a super human being whom they conceive of as an object of fear or love, a force to be defied or a Lord to be obeyed. Your belief or disbelief in the existence of God has enormous implications on your view of life, humanity, morality, and destiny.

God spoke and the universe sprang into existence. It is unthinkable that the Creator, having such incredible power, should subsequently be unavailable to move miraculously upon His own creation. Is the clock stronger than the clockmaker? Absolutely not! Are miracles possible today? We must say a resounding yes to that. Let me explain! This is what the Gospel of John is all about. When John wrote his Gospel, the beloved apostle selected seven miracles that bring as much encouragement to us today as they did to those who experienced them in the first century. They are life-changing. The miracles in the Bible literally, physically happened. Jesus performed these miracles, and they are history. But beyond them, there is a greater spiritual significance.

At the end of John’s gospel we learn that there was a selection process going on as far as his recordings of Christ’s miracles were concerned. By the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, John chose those seven of the Lord’s miracles and put them together in a special sequence for our understanding. The Bible says, “And truly Jesus did many other signs (miracles) in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life through His name (John 20:30-31).”

John selected these seven miracles to teach us a tremendous truth. There is meaning in the miracles John records. Each shows not only Christ’s power over nature but His redeeming power over sin, death, hell, and the grave. They point clearly to the wonderful truth that Jesus Christ is God’s answer to your deepest needs – your disappointments, doubts, desires, despair, darkness, and death. There are many who will say, “Well, I don’t believe in God; therefore, I don’t believe in miracles.” But, whoever says that must believe that nothing times nobody equals everything (evolution). The doubter must believe that in the beginning the heavens and the earth created themselves, then generated life spontaneously. Such a person believes in a colossal miracle without anyone to perform it. He should not pride himself on his intelligence. The greatest minds of all time have believed in a Creator. Socrates, Lord Bacon, Galileo, John Newton, Louis Pasteur, Albert Einstein, rocket scientist Dr.Wernher von Braun – all believed in a higher intelligence. In closing let us go beyond miracles and go on to Jesus. The apostle John shows us that miracles of grace are greater than miracles of glory. The greatest miracle is the transformation of the human heart. Let me explain! When we receive Him and know His transforming power, we experience the ultimate miracle; new birth, and eternal life through Jesus Christ, our Lord.