-

And ONLY the supernatural Love and Grace of God, CAN GET THEM to LEAVE SLAVERY BEHIND and ACCEPT HIS UNCONDITIONAL LOVE and Grace:

The houses they DIDN’T BUILD, the vineyards they DIDN’T plant, and THE SALVATION THEY DIDN’T WORK FOR.

The Salvation THEY CAN NEVER “earn” and for which they CANNOT work.

NOT ONE person from that FAITHLESS generation of Israelites made it into the Promised Land. (Numbers 14:30-35)

And NOT ONE of those FAITHLESS “Christians” will make it into heaven. (Mark 16:16; Ephesians 5:6; Hebrews 3:15-19)

Slaves CAN CALL THEMSELVES “Christian” until their lying faces turn yellow.

REAL Christians AREN’T slaves.

REAL Christians ARE SONS.

And, as sons, we DON’T HAVE TO WORK FOR ANYTHING.

All we do IS TRUST and RECEIVE our INHERITANCE from Daddy. (Galatians 4:24-30)

I DARE YOU, Jehovah’s Witness; I DARE YOU, Church of God, Church of Christ, Mormon, Disciple of Christ, Christian Scientist, Adventist…

In the Name of Jesus, LEAVE SLAVERY BEHIND!!!

Receive Christ INTO YOUR HEART: trust Him COMPLETELY for the ETERNAL Salvation… THAT NO ONE DESERVES.

And START BEING A SON of God.

FRIDAY, MAY 13, 2016

GIVEN UP ON JESUS?

Many people have just given up on Jesus.

Some have given up on Him because the Rapture hasn't happened at the time THEY THOUGHT it should.

That's just spiritual immaturity.

However, my main concern is those who grew up in Christian homes, and were brought up in some form of "Christian" religion.

A perfect example of this is TV host Bill Maher, a self-professed atheist who grew up Roman Catholic.

Another example is Ted Turner, founder and former head of CNN, who grew up in the Bible Belt, was exposed to the inner workings of evangelical Christianism, had firsthand exposure to its greed and lack of power, inability to provide answers to his father's suicide, or to his sister's untimely death, and became agnostic.

What happens to Ted, Bill and many others is that they are taught man invented religion instead of PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP WITH THE LIVING Jesus.

They either perceive the Christian faith as a bunch of "DON'T DO THAT'S" that are impossible for any sinful mortal to live up to.

Hence they throw in the towel, thinking to themselves "I'll NEVER measure up".

Well, duh.

Of course you won't!

None of us do!

That's WHY we need Jesus!

Because HE'S THE ONLY ONE that measures up!

We need to stop trying to produce OUR OWN goodness or OUR OWN righteousness (which is what religion teaches) and GET HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS, by inviting Him (Jesus) TO LIVE IN US.

Because we have NO RIGHTEOUSNESS of our own: none, ZERO.

The ONLY RIGHTEOUSNESS IN THE ENTIRE UNIVERSE is that of Jesus.

That's what Christians need to be teaching, instead of "don't do" this or "don't do" that.

Well hold on, Martel: Ted's a well known womanizer...

And don't forget that he was married to Jane Fonda (which in Christianism is as close to the "unpardonable sin" as it gets).

So what?

Didn't Jesus come TO SAVE SINNERS?

Didn't Jesus ALREADY PAY FOR every single one of Ted's, Jane's (and Judy's, Ashley's, Bill's, Mike's, or Martel's) sins?

Either we REALLY BELIEVE THAT HE DID, or WE'RE NOT Christians!

Make up your minds, self-righteous religion mongers!

But there's yet another reason:

There are many who grew up Christian, then went to college and encountered arguments made against God and against the Christian faith there which they were not equipped to handle or answer, let alone refute.

They were NOT TAUGHT at their worship center, in Sunday School, Christian youth group, Christian Middle School, or High School, about the "outside world" or about how to stand up for the faith, and were caught TOTALLY UNPREPARED.

Instead, they were taught 300 boring hymns. Or 50 "contemporary Kristian" songs filled with mindless, meaningless, religious fluff.

When he founded CNN, Ted Turner sarcastically said he would be broadcasting "until the end of the world" and that he would sign off with the hymn "Nearer, My God, to Thee".

Even as a Christian, I have to appreciate the humor.  I also TOTALLY understand where he's coming from.

They were taught crap, like memorizing the names of the 7 deacons in the Book of Acts (oh yeah... that'll come in handy when someone questions whether Jesus really rose from the dead, or whether He even EXISTED).

They were NEVER TAUGHT WHY WE BELIEVE in Christ.

They were taught that He rose from the dead, which is true, but never HOW DO WE KNOW that He rose? WHAT EVIDENCE IS THERE?

NEVER!!!

Since all religion is designed to make its subjects co-dependent, they were never encouraged or taught how to THINK INDEPENDENT of religion, or how study the Bible and historic sources for themselves, and seek Truth on their own.

Consequently, when they go to college and get clobbered and even ridiculed by their peers and professors for their faith, AND THEIR LACK OF SPIRITUAL FOUNDATION IS EXPOSED, THEY JUST GIVE UP.

They reason that, if all these smart people, all these college professors are nonbelievers, they MUST BE right. There must NOT be a God.

'Cause if there WERE a God, then surely my Christian religion or my Christian worship center, --which taught me COUNTLESS TIMES to pay 10% of my salary or God would put a curse on me,-- WOULD HAVE GIVEN ME SOMETHING WITH WHICH TO COUNTER these objections.

Since they DIDN'T, then these objections to God, Jesus -- and to His very existence -- MUST BE TRUE.

THAT IS WHY this ministry often deals with such matters. We answer both unbelievers' arguments and, at the same time, give believers spiritual ammunition and a SOLID foundation on which to build their faith.

Religion gets a freakin' "F" on preparing its mindless clones to face and answer objections.

And ANOTHER freakin’ “F" for building their flimsy faith on quicksand, NOT on the rock.

All it takes is a gust of wind that's contrary and their entire house crumbles.

It's both tragic and heart-breaking.

Think of what Ted Turner has done for secular humanism.

Think of what HE COULD HAVE DONE for the true Christian faith.

THURSDAY, MAY 12, 2016

"WORTHY" TO ESCAPE

Luke 21:36 offers ONE OF THE MOST UNFORTUNATE and MISLEADING translations of Jesus' words found in the New Testament.

This is how it reads in the KJV and several other English translations:

"Watch therefore, and pray always, THAT YOU MAY BE ACCOUNTED WORTHY TO ESCAPE all these things that shall come to pass and to stand before the Son of man".

See that? It says that, in order to go in the Rapture, and escape the tribulation, we must be found "worthy".

NO, IT DOESN'T.

This is the ONE verse to which legalists FRANTICALLY CLING in order to "prove" that going in the Rapture DEPENDS ON our conduct and our own merit.

WHAT, you may be wondering, is wrong with this passage?

The words "ACCOUNTED WORTHY" are NOWHERE FOUND IN the original Greek text.

Once more: The words "ACCOUNTED WORTHY" are NOWHERE FOUND IN the original Greek text.

NOWHERE!!!

Wait a second, Martel, are you telling me that someone ADDED to Jesus' words?

YES!!!

I'm also telling you that THEY FLAT-OUT CHANGED what Jesus SAID to accommodate their religious bias.

The Greek word ERRONEOUSLY translated as "accounted worthy" is katischuo. It means "TO HAVE STRENGTH", or to "HAVE POWER" WITHIN.

It has NOTHING to do with "worthiness": ZERO. 

It comes from two Greek words, kata, meaning "down" or "under" and ischuo which means "TO HAVE STRENGTH or POWER".

So, what this passage ACTUALLY AND LITERALLY SAYS is:

"Watch therefore, and pray always, THAT YOU MAY HAVE THE STRENGTH OR POWER DOWN UNDER TO ESCAPE all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man".

And Jesus WASN’T talking about Australia, but that we may have POWER “DOWN UNDER” in our spirit, which is presently in our stomach, John 7:38. 

Jesus IS the POWER OF God (1 Corinthians 1:24).

This verse is telling us, IN ESSENCE, THE SAME AS Matthew 25:1-12,that ONLY THOSE WHO HAVE Jesus in their hearts, His POWER and His ANOINTING (oil) or Spirit are going into the marriage feast.

It’s telling us, as Johnny Cash would have said, “to KEEP A CLOSE WATCH on this HEART of mine”.

Only those WHO HAVE THE POWER OF GOD (JESUS) INSIDE will be raptured.

It has NOTHING, ZERO, to do with "being worthy" of ANYTHING.

In fact the Greek word for "worthy" aksios is NOT MENTIONED AT ALL in this passage.

But don't you teach that the Bible is the INERRANT Word of God?

YES.

The Bible, AS IT WAS ORIGINALLY WRITTEN by Jesus' apostles and prophets, IS ERROR FREE.

TRANSLATIONS into modern languages, like English, of what they wrote ARE NOT ALWAYS error free, as I've pointed out on many occasions.

As I've told you repeatedly, the earliest translations of the New Testament into English took place in the 14th century, some 1,200 years AFTER it was originally written.

By then, A LOT HAD HAPPENED in Christendom.

The Early Church was gone.

Strange, unbiblical doctrines had crept into ORGANIZED RELIGION.

Soteriology and Eschatology HAD BEEN CHANGED BY FALLIBLE, MORTAL HUMANS.

The translators - even if we give them the benefit of the doubt - that they all MEANT WELL and tried to do the best and most accurate rendering of each passage, WERE HUMAN.

As humans, they COULD NOT HELP being influenced - consciously or subconsciously - by some of the garbage being taught such as "salvation through works" or, worse, that you could BUY your salvation by purchasing hierarchical "indulgences".

Not to mention being influenced by EARLIER translations of the Bible into Latin especially commissioned to accommodate INVENTED religious dogma.

Salvation through works OR THROUGH PURCHASE would, indeed, be based ON MERIT.

Only ONE TINY PROBLEM: NO SUCH THING IS TAUGHT IN THE BIBLE, Old or New Testaments.

That is why if you ever read something in whatever translation of the Bible you use that doesn't seem kosher, and DOESN'T LINE UP WITH true, orthodox Christian doctrine, CHECK IT OUT IN THE ORIGINAL Hebrew or Greek.

We can ALWAYS TRUST God to tell the Truth.

We CANNOT trust MORTALS to do so.

WEDNESDAY, MAY 11, 2016

NO PLACE IN THE KINGDOM

“Let NOTHING BE DONE through strife or vain glory; but IN HUMILITY of mind LET EACH ESTEEM OTHERS BETTER THAN THEMSELVES:

Not looking TO YOUR OWN INTERESTS but each of you TO THE INTERESTS OF OTHERS:

Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:

Who, being in very Nature God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:

But MADE HIMSELF OF NO REPUTATION, and took upon him THE FORM OF A SERVANT, and was made in the likeness of men:

And being found in fashion as a man, HE HUMBLED HIMSELF, AND BECAME OBEDIENT UNTO DEATH, EVEN THE DEATH OF THE CROSS.

THEREFORE God also HAS HIGHLY EXALTED HIM, AND GIVEN HIM A NAME WHICH IS ABOVE EVERY NAME:

That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;

And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, TO THE GLORY OF God the Father.” (Philippians 2:3-11)

There’s NO PLACE for SELF-exaltation in the Kingdom of God.

Again: there’s NO PLACE for SELF-exaltation in the Kingdom of God.

God’s Kingdom is NOT about you, me, him, her, them or it.

It’s ABOUT JESUS.

It’s ALL about Jesus:

JESUS, JESUS, JESUS, JESUS, JESUS, JESUS, and JESUS!

To Him be ALL THE GLORY for all the eons of eternity, WORLDS WITHOUT END.

I sometimes receive the most immature correspondence from PRETENTIOUS individuals with a penchant for drama, and an EXAGGERATED SENSE OF SELF-importance.

They think it’s ALL about THEM:

“Me, me, me, me, me, me and ME”…

They want us to believe WHAT THEY SAY BECAUSE “THEY said it”.

They want us to believe WHAT THEY SAY over and above WHAT GOD SAYS.

Their EGOS are as gigantic as THEIR LIES.

They’re NOT fooling Jesus, and they’re not fooling me.

I’ve been in ministry too long and interacted with too many people to know who seeks Jesus’ glory, and who seeks his or her OWN glory.

They ACT AND SPEAK JUST LIKE their father the devil (John 8:44, 48).

satan was THE FIRST who TRIED TO EXALT HIMSELF INSTEAD OF giving ALL THE GLORY where it belongs:

To the Most High God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit! (Isaiah 14:12-15)

Satan’s LUST FOR GLORY will send him TO THE LAKE OF FIRE FOR ALL ETERNITY. (Revelation 20:10)

Same goes for his son, the Antichrist. (Revelation 19:20)

And the same goes for any other “children” of his.

Jesus won’t share His glory WITH ANYONE.

Exalt yourself and the Lord will ABASE YOU. (Proverbs 16:18; 29:23; Isaiah 2:11; James 4:6; 1 Peter 5:5)

He’ll put you “in your place” IN NO TIME. (Luke 14:11)

The Father exalted the human Jesus TO THE HIGHEST place because of His eternal Sacrifice.

In order to achieve that EXALTATION, as a human, Jesus (BEING GOD) HAD TO HUMBLE Himself, as we read above, TAKE OFF HIS OWN GLORY (the very glory after which some of YOU LUST), become A LOVE SLAVE, and SUBMIT TO THE MOST PAINFUL, HUMILIATING AND AGONIZING torture and death.

Then, for good measure, He spent THREE DAYS AND NIGHTS IN THE HORRORS OF HELL.

You want exaltation, you want praise, you want to be recognized and crowned?

Then YOU BETTER BE READY TO PAY THE PRICE.

You better fall on your knees, humble yourself before Jesus, and cry out: “Lord, have mercy on me, A SINNER!”

Instead of BRAGGING about “how right” you think you are…

You better TAKE UP YOUR CROSS daily and CRUCIFY YOUR FLESH daily.

You better HUMBLE yourself before God and OFFER YOURSELF in living SACRIFICE.

HUMBLE YOURSELF before the Lord and He will exalt you. (James 4:10; 1 Peter 5:6)

God never changes. This wisdom has been in the Bible for 3,500 years.

Therefore, BEFORE anyone sends SOME CARNAL, PRETENTIOUS, RIDICULOUS,  SELF-EXALTING message, they better HUMBLE THEMSELVES, PICK UP THEIR CROSS and follow Jesus ALL THE WAY TO CALVARY:

…Because NO FLESH will glory in His Presence.

TUESDAY, MAY 10, 2016

THE RAPTURE PROCESS – PART 2

When we consider Revelation 6:12 – 7:10 together with OTHER passages of Scripture that speak of the same blessed event, we get AN EVEN CLEARER and more detailed picture of the Rapture Process:

“Immediately with the tribulation of those days SHALL THE SUN BE DARKENED, AND THE MOON SHALL NOT GIVE ITS LIGHT, and THE STARS SHALL FALL FROM HEAVEN, and THE POWERS OF THE HEAVENS SHALL BE SHAKEN:

30And then SHALL APPEAR THE SIGN OF the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and THEY SHALL SEE the Son of man (Jesus) COMING IN THE CLOUDS OF HEAVEN with power and great glory.

31And He shall send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, AND THEY SHALL GATHER TOGETHER HIS ELECT FROM THE FOUR WINDS, FROM ONE END OF HEAVEN TO THE OTHER.

32Now learn a parable of the fig tree: When its branch is yet tender, and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near:

33So LIKEWISE YOU, WHEN YOU SHALL SEE ALL THESE THINGS, KNOW THAT IT IS NEAR, EVEN AT THE DOORS.” (Matthew 24:29-33)

WHY would Jesus tell believers “WHEN YOU SEE all these things” if, as the prophecy establishment HAS SOLD US FOR YEARS, there are “no signs” that precede the Rapture?

Ooops!

WHY would Jesus say ““WHEN YOU SEE all these things KNOW that it is NEAR” if, as the prophecy establishment HAS SOLD US FOR YEARS, we are raptured IN AN INSTANT, WITHOUT SIGNS OR WARNING: one split second we’re here, and the next we’re there?

DOUBLE Ooops!

The same Rapture Process is repeated, almost verbatim, in Mark 13:24-29. (Actually, Mark wrote his Gospel before Matthew wrote his). And they would have both heard these things DIRECTLY FROM JESUS’ LIPS. (Matthew 24:3; Mark 13:3-4)

We see the Rapture process again in Luke 21:25-28:

“And THERE SHALL BE SIGNS IN THE SUN, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring;

26Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking toward those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.

27And THEN SHALL THEY SEE THE SON OF MAN COMING IN A CLOUD with power and great glory:

28And WHEN THESE THINGS BEGIN… then LOOK UP, AND LIFT UP YOUR HEADS; FOR YOUR REDEMPTION DRAWS NEAR.” (Luke 21:25-28)

Did I just read “THERE SHALL BE SIGNS”?

When the prophecy establishment has LIED TO US for years and years and told us “there are NO SIGNS” that the Rapture’s about to happen?

Isn’t THAT false teaching A DIRECT CONTRADICTION of Jesus, who said THERE WILL BE SIGNS?

And if the Rapture happens “IN THE TWINKLING OF AN EYE” before we even realize what’s happened, WHY ON EARTH WOULD JESUS TELL US “when these things BEGIN, then LOOK UP, for your redemption DRAWS NEAR”.

Do you suppose these guys are more preoccupied with SELLING WORTHLESS “prophecy” BOOKS than with Truth?

Finally, there’s 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17:

“For this we say unto you by the Word of the Lord, THAT WE WHO ARE ALIVE AND REMAIN UNTO THE COMING OF the Lord shall not precede them who are asleep.

16For the Lord Himself SHALL DESCEND FROM HEAVEN with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ SHALL RISE FIRST:

17THEN WE WHO ARE ALIVE AND REMAIN SHALL BE CAUGHT UP TOGETHER WITH THEM in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” (1 Thessalonians 4:15-17)

The very fact that ALL the “dead in Christ” MUST rise FIRST, and THEN we are all caught up TOGETHER, shows that it DOES NOT HAPPEN in an instant.

When we put all these Scriptures together, they show a pretty detailed sequence of events THAT LEAD TO the actual Rapture (catching up of believers into the heavenly realm):

1. THE TRIBULATION BEGINS with a large quake: the sun turns black and the moon blood-red. (Joel 2:31; Matthew 24:29; Revelation 6:12)

2. The heavens, and heavenly bodies, are also shaken. (Matthew 24:29; Mark 13:25)

3. Stars fall from sky. (Matthew 24:29; Mark 13:25; Revelation 6:13)

4. Sky rolls up like a scroll and vanishes with a loud, whistling sound (Revelation 6:14; 2 Peter 3:10, 12)

5. Jesus appears in the clouds. (Matthew 24:30; Luke 21:27; Revelation 6:16)

6. Unsaved people run and hide (Revelation 6:15-17)

7. Jews and other tribes of Israel mourn and lament when THEY SEE THE LIVING, risen Jesus COMING IN THE CLOUDS as He promised (Matthew 24:30; Zechariah 12:10-14).

All those who CALL ON JESUS – even IN THOSE FINAL MOMENTS of this Age – WILL BE SAVED. (Joel 2:32)

8. Jesus sends His angels to gather His elect. (Matthew 24:31; Mark 13:27)

9. The 144,000 Israelites from each of the 12 tribes (except Dan) are sealed. (Revelation 7:1-8)

10. There’s A RESURRECTION of all the dead in Christ. (1 Thessalonians 4:16)

11. LIVING BELIEVERS, which have been gathered by God’s angels, are TRANSFORMED from mortal to immortal in the twinkling of an eye. (1 Corinthians 15:51-52)

12. The resurrected saints and living believers – ALL NOW IN GLORIFIED, IMMORTAL BODIES – are CAUGHT UP TOGETHER to meet Jesus in the air (1 Thessalonians 4:17)

13. There’s a brief crossover period into the heavenly dimension. (1 Thessalonians 4:17; Revelation 7:1-8, 13-14)

14. Then the COLLECTIVE CHURCH appears SUDDENLY in heaven in glorified bodies. (Revelation 7:9)

To sum up: There is instant TRANSFORMATION.

There is even instant APPEARING of the Church in heaven.

But certain events MUST HAPPEN, AS DESCRIBED ABOVE, BEFORE both, our transformation into glorified, immortal humans, and BEFORE our collective appearance in front of God’s heavenly Throne.

The entire Rapture process – from the moment the tribulation begins to the moment we are caught up into the heavenly realm – lasts 10 DAYS. (Revelation 2:10)