John 9

 John 9

A Word on What Really Matters.

John chapter 9 is a great chapter of the Bible.

Jesus heals a blind man on the sabbath and the local church leaders get mad about it.

They don't care about the man. They don't care about the miracle. All they care about is that some rule was broken. or at least broken in their eyes.

So instead of loving the man and praising God. They start using fear and intimidation to control the man and his family. They treat him like he is a second class citizen. Threatening him and anyone else who doesn't do what they say to do.

But, the man knows the truth. He knows that God loves him, even though the church leaders try to make him think that he is a wicked sinner deceived by the devil. They even called him a liar.

The church leaders cannot handle the thought that someone might not be scared of them, or controlled by them, or deceived by them. They cannot just leave it alone, because they cannot stand the fact that this peasant is not submitting to their authority.

So, they drive him out of the church. And probably make up stories as to why he's gone.

But, Jesus came to see the man again. And asked him if he believed on the Son of God.

That's it. Jesus didn't tell the man that he needed to submit to the authority of the abusive church leaders. He didn't quote verses about "Not forsaking the gathering". There was no guilt trips or threats or fear or manipulation, or anything else.

Jesus just said to believe on Him. That's it.

Then, he tells the church leaders that if they would admit they didn't know it all they might learn something. But, since they think they have it all figured out. They will remain blind.

 

Oftentimes people are more worried about rules, and having control. They are so filled with pride, that they reject the truth and peace that is right in front of them.

That is a consistent theme in the Gospels. Time and again Jesus, the God of all, is sitting right in front of them, and they still cling to our fleshly fears and beliefs.

Pilate, when he interrogated Christ, asks 'What is Truth?'  Truth was sitting in front of him. The only truth that matters.

We cling to our fleshly beliefs and maintain worldly systems. Not knowing that God is right there.  When we die, we will just step through and He is there. He sees and knows all.

He waits for us to turn to Him and ask Him to save us and teach us and grow us.

He is right here with us.

Waiting.

 

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Bio:Chris Bunton is a writer, poet and blogger from Southern Illinois. He has published in several magazines, and has written a poetry eBook called “Against the Man” and an Addiction Recovery eBook called “Made Free: Overcoming Addiction“ His newest book is called “The Future is Coming” and is a collection of dystopian short stories.

Follow Him on Medium: https://chris-bunton.medium.com/

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The Relationship

 The Relationship

A Word on What Matters Most

The scriptures say that on Judgement Day, anyone who does not know Christ will be told,

"Depart from Me. I never knew you." (Matthew 7:23, Mathew 25:41 , Matthew 10:32, Romans 10:9-10, John 5:24)

Now, we know that God is all powerful, and therefore knows everyone. So, what He is saying here is that He never had a relationship with you.

That's the most important thing in life. To have a relationship with The Lord. To know your creator. And to be known by Him. To be friends with God. Like Adam, who walked with God in the Garden .( Romans 4:3, James 2:23)

Am I talking about Salvation?

Yes and no.

I am not talking about saying some magic words. Or even trying to be a better person because God wants you to.

You have to understand the reality of things. 

First, humans are utterly depraved. We have a corrupted nature and commit sins because of our fallen sinful nature.

Humans do not seek God. We do not realize how wicked we are. We do not understand our need for Him. This is why God gave us the law. So we can see we are sinners and need Him.

He calls us and we can choose to turn to Him or reject Him.

If you want to know God, then it's a sure sign that He is calling you.

If you turn to Him (repent) and ask Him to save you and help you, confessing that Jesus is The Lord. 

He saves you. He washes you. His Spirit comes to dwell in you. And He starts to grow you, sanctify you, and work in your life.

He removes sin from our lives. And starts making changes. But, He doesn't remove everything.

This is where the relationship comes into play. As you confess your sins to Him, He works over time to help you overcome and to grow. He does the work. You just move in an occupy what has been accomplished. (1 John 1:5-10)

It is not our work. All our works of righteousness are as filthy rags (Isa 64:6). Remember, we are sinners. We are saved. But. We do not know everything or understand everything. He has to do the work, while we confess, pray, thank him and grow. This is the relationship. We are trusting Him to save us and grow us. We hear His voice and we respond.

The scriptures indicate that there are people who think they are saved but never were. They find out on Judgement Day. (Matthew 25, Matthew 22:12-14, Luke 19:12-27)

How can this happen?

They were called, but instead of responding with faith and relationship. They responded with religion, Self-righteousness and works.  Like the pharisees. They never knew Him and refused to be broken and grown by Him. They preferred rules, and rituals. They prayed like the pharisee, instead of the sinner. (Luke 18:9-14)

There are people who heard the call and believed it. But, never really confessed Him as Lord or turned to Him. Yes, they believe, like the demons of hell believe but they never really knew him. Trouble, Life, Satan and the Love of Money, drew them away before they really accepted Him. (James 2:19, Matthew 13,)

The relationship matters. Some people hear the call and reject immediately. Whether they understand or not. They were called.

Understand that the relationship is simple. It's not a struggle it's about letting Him work.

Think about it. We are totally wicked. How can we know what needs fixed and how to do it?

He gave us His Word so we know what to confess to Him. Not for us to fix. We cannot. Only He can. The law shows us we need a savior. Then after salvation, it shows us what we need to confess and have Him work on so we can grow.

You are a sinner. You cannot fix yourself. Even after being saved. You must let the Spirit work. This is the relationship.

If you do it yourself, then you will never really know Him.

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Bio: Chris Bunton is a writer, poet and blogger from Southern Illinois. He has published in several magazines, and has written a poetry eBook called “Against the Man” and an Addiction Recovery eBook called “Made Free: Overcoming Addiction“ His newest book is called “The Future is Coming” and is a collection of dystopian short stories.

Follow Him on Medium: https://chris-bunton.medium.com/

Read His Spiritual Writings on Blogger: https://chrisbunton.blogspot.com/

Buy a cup of Coffee

Support the work on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=13514235&fan_landing=true&view_as=public

Photos by the author.

Global Unity

 Global Unity

A Word on Satan's Global Plan.

Global Unity is a goal of Satan. He needs everyone together so he can rule them, and they will worship him.

He mimics God's plans, because he wants to be as the most high God. (Isa. 14:12-15)

God wants to save people and unite them in Christ. Satan wants to get followers and unite them under his messiah the Anti-Christ.

We see before the Flood, Satan and the Fallen angels corrupted humanity. They twisted the bloodline of Cain. Then deceived the Sethites to fall as well, till only one man was found who followed God and resisted the corruption. (Gen. 6)  This is a picture of our current times. The world is twisted and enslaved by the enemy and even the Church is being pulled in, so the wheat can be revealed. All preparing for the fire to come. But, there are those who have been made righteous.

After The Flood, Satan again brought humans together at the Tower of Babel and God came down to separate the people groups, by language. Then, caused the continents to separate, to divide the people even further. (Gen. 11:1-9, Gen. 10:25)

Why would God divide the nations?

Because a divided people is harder to rule. So, Satan cannot rule a divided world. This division has slowed the efforts of Satan to unite the world, under his messiah. He rules and enslaves humans in the spirit, but not openly in the flesh yet. But, that day is coming. Things start in the spirit, then in the fullness of time come into the world.

Ever since the Tower of Babel, Satan has worked to unite the people of the world under himself, to prepare for his messiah to come. He has led world conquests. We see in Daniel, the image of some of the world conquerors. Babylon, Persia, Greece, Rome, and the empire of these latter days.  Each seem separate. But, they are all one image. Ruled by the wicked one. (Daniel 2: 31-45)

Satan has used the religions, and false religions to conquer the world and unite them under his messiah.

In today's world, he is using democracy. Strong as iron but weak as clay. He twists minds to get them to vote as he wills. He is using technology and the internet, as today's Tower of Babel. Getting the world to believe and say the same things. 

All for his messiah, His Superman, to come and save the world from the destruction he has caused.

Which is the Anti-Christ, or the "instead of" Christ.

So when you see the effort to create unity and destroy divisions, know that the spirit of antichrist is working. Real unity only comes in Christ.

He seeks to destroy divisions in genders, races, countries, cultures, religions, history, heritage, and blood. he seeks to destroy God's creation and His image in everything.

He causes destruction so he can come and be the savior. He causes hatred and wars so he can claim to unite of the people. The Prince of Peace. 

 

God's division is not hatred, it's protection. It's to create more time for more people to come to know Him.

God sets us free and calls us to join Him in Christ. He does not force us. He does not steal, kill, destroy or cancel.

He just asks.

Read more posts on prophecy:

 
The Spirit of Anti-Christ

The New World Order Anti-Christ Kingdom

The Great Falling Away

The Holy Spirit vs. The Anti-Christ Spirit

The Princes of This World

 

False Teachers 

 

The Pre-Tribulation Rapture 

 

The Lord's Delay

 

 

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 Bio: Chris Bunton is a writer, poet and blogger from Southern Illinois. He has published in several magazines, and has written a poetry eBook called “Against the Man” and an Addiction Recovery eBook called “Made Free: Overcoming Addiction“ His newest book is called “The Future is Coming” and is a collection of dystopian short stories.

Follow Him on Medium: https://chris-bunton.medium.com/

Read His Spiritual Writings on Blogger: https://chrisbunton.blogspot.com/

Buy a cup of Coffee

Support the work on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=13514235&fan_landing=true&view_as=public

Photo by the author.

I Sin A Little

 I Sin A Little

A Word on not being a Pharisee.

Pharisees are one of the biggest problems in the church.

What is a pharisee? 

Well a pharisee is a person who practices religion and acts just like the pharisees in the Bible.

They think they are saved by Works. Even if they won't admit it. They think they are better than others. They believe they do not sin. And they try to force others to follow the same rules they obey. They usually try to control churches, families and people.

They crucified Jesus, because He didn't obey their rules, and they didn't want to lose control. They were envious of his growing ministry.

These same people would crucify Him again if He came into your church today.

I'm sure someone is coming to your mind as I describe a pharisee.

These people need saved. They are in a tough place. They practice self-righteousness but we are not saved by our own righteousness.

They are the Elder Brother. God wants them saved also. But, Jesus warned us to not be like them. Their works based doctrine will spread throughout, and ruin you. It's like leaven. It only takes a little to puff us up. That's pride. Pride comes because you think you are saving yourself. (Matt 23, Matt. 16:5-12)

So, I ask these people. "Do you sin?"

Which if they know the Bible, they have to admit they do. 1 John 1:8 says, ."If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth (Jesus) is not in us."

So, they say. "Yes, but I try to only sin a little"

To which I say, "James says, that if you try to keep the law and fail on one point you've broken the whole law." ( James 2:10)

Then, they usually try to say, that they love God.

But Jesus said, "If you love me keep my commandments."(John 14:15)

And this leads into a conversation on whether humans can truly love God. 

We can't we have a corrupted nature. it's only through the Holy Spirit that we can love God and others to the level god desires.

I don't say these things to be a jerk or make things hard. It's really quite simple. We can't do it, and need Jesus, even after we are saved.

This brings me to the point.

We are saved BY grace THROUGH faith, not by Works, lest any man should boast (pride)

The works we do are done by the Holy Spirit, in us and through us. Our own works are as filthy rags.(Isa 64:6)

Understand that we do nothing to save ourselves. Even thinking we do, is a sin.

The best we can do is turn to God (repent) and fall on our faces praying "have mercy on me a sinner" as Jesus said. (Luke 18:9-14)

We ask Him to save us and we confess Him as Lord, then through faith we trust Him and let Him build our faith, and grow our relationship with Him.

Our "works" change. We no longer worry about sin. Our sin was washed in His blood and cleansed when we confess. We confess our sins to Him and He washes our feet.

Our works become abiding in Him, letting Him grow us, serving and loving Him and others, building the Kingdom and getting people saved.

Again, all of this is done by HIM, through us.

We are vessels.  

Do not be a pharisee. You are no better than the worst sinner. You are just saved. Remember this. 

We are just like the Thief on the Cross. One step above death.

Beware the leaven of the Pharisees. A little leaven leavens the whole lump.

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Bio: Chris Bunton is a writer, poet and blogger from Southern Illinois. He has published in several magazines, and has written a poetry eBook called “Against the Man” and an Addiction Recovery eBook called “Made Free: Overcoming Addiction“ His newest book is called “The Future is Coming” and is a collection of dystopian short stories.

Follow Him on Medium: https://chris-bunton.medium.com/

Read His Spiritual Writings on Blogger: https://chrisbunton.blogspot.com/

Buy a cup of Coffee

Support the work on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=13514235&fan_landing=true&view_as=public

Photo by the author.

Spiritual Warfare

 Spiritual Warfare

A Word on Real Spiritual Warfare.

This is an overview of spiritual warfare. It is not all inclusive. It's just a bit of truth so you can fight the enemy.

Spiritual warfare is what we do as believers. There's no way around it. If you are saved, then the Holy Spirit is leading you to do things that will engage the forces of darkness.

Light drives out darkness. Salt purifies and prevents decay. Love drives out fear. 

If you serve Christ, then you are engaging in spiritual warfare. Satan seeks to kill, steal and destroy. If you feed the poor in Jesus name, you are opposing this, and bringing light.

It starts with prayer. Learn what God's will is, then pray for people according to His will.

God is not willing that any should perish. So, you can confidently pray for people to be saved. (2 Peter 3:9)

The Lord came to set people free, to heal them, to restore them, to reconcile them. This is God's will. (Isa 61:1-3, 2 Cor. 5:18)

We can see in Genesis, that God provided everything we need. That is His will. That we have what we need.

Stand on the Word. 

 

You must know the Word to stand on it. You must be saved and have the Holy Spirit to have authority in Jesus name. Know the promises. Ask God to teach you and help you.

Speak God's promises into the world. Remind yourself, remind the demons, and remind the entire creation of what God has promised. These are facts. They will happen, and are so determined that they actually have already happened. Who can stop it? Who can stop God?

This builds faith, as we see Him working and fulfilling His promises in our lives, the lives of others and the world. This drives out darkness. Trust God.

 

So, when you feel or think that you can't do something you say out loud. "No Satan! Begone in Jesus name. The Word says I can do ALL things through Christ who strengthens me." or whatever verses come to mind. There are tons of them. "The Word says, Whatsoever you ask in my name I will do. and I trust Him in Jesus name!"  Stand on the Word. Build faith.

Cast out demons.

If you are saved, then you have authority over the enemy. Do not play games with this. Stand on God's promises, and tell the spiritual enemies to be gone in Jesus name. Not by your power, but by His. You are like a police officer. Your power and authority comes from the King.

Learn what you are doing. All humans, are tempted, harassed, and attacked by the enemy in various ways. Even saved humans. (I did not say possessed)

James says, that if we are tempted it's because the enemy is playing on something in our flesh. So, temptation is an attack of the enemy and something we can wage spiritual warfare against. Cast out the demon when temptation comes. 

Listen to what I'm going to say because some preachers will have you spending your life trying to stop sinning. Demons will have you spending your time and mind trying to stop sinning, instead of serving the Lord. 

 

You learn to overcome by serving. The devil loves for Christians to keep struggling with sin. Because it keeps them from waging real war. YOU ARE FORGIVEN AND WASHED. If you are saved. Confess your sins to the Lord, believe he has saved you and get busy doing what He called us to do.

In the world, we wait till we are trained and ready to go out and work. But, in spiritual terms we learn by stepping out. Because it's not us doing it, it;s Him doing it through us. Then we grow and learn and see God working as we step out and serve. When we see God working it grows our faith and our relationship with Him and this helps drive out the flesh. This is the battle between the flesh and spirit. We are over comers through Him. And that happens as we go and serve, in HIS name.

Satan doesn't really care if you sin. He tempts you to sin, in order to keep you from serving God. If he can get you to focus on not sinning, then you are not out there getting people saved. Understand? The battle is to grow in Christ, be in relationship with him, driving back darkness and getting people saved. It's not in quitting sinning. Jesus already overcame sin on the cross. Get it?

 

Take fear as an example. Paul says that God has not given us a spirit of fear.  So, fear is an attack of the enemy. It's a demon. Fear is doubting God's power and love. Anxiety is a spiritual attack. Cast it out. Fear keeps us from doing God's will and serving Him. We overcome fear through spiritual power of prayer and casting out demons, through loving God and others enough to push through and do the work we are called to do, and through our sound mind in what God's Word says, and what is right and good and wise. (2 Tim 1:7)

There are tons of demonic entities who tempt and torment us. When the Holy Spirit reveals it to you, Cast it out in Jesus name.

We don't war against flesh and blood. Our true enemies are spiritual demons who attack us and other humans. They use us to serve their goal of building the Kingdom of the Anti-Christ, and keeping us in bandage. The enemy seeks to hurt God, by hurting the humans God loves, and getting us to reject God.

Overcome evil with good. (Romans 12:21)

We often think that spiritual warfare is all spooky casting out demons, and weird stuff.

But it's not. It's spreading the Gospel. It's using the fruit of the Spirit in the world. love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance. The fruit is the Spirit's. not ours. Understand this. He does this through us. Yes, we grow in these things. But, the actual fruit is of the Spirit. Not our works. We develop fruit by serving, and the Spirit grows these things in us and puts them out to the world. We are saved sinners, we cannot develop fruit. The Spirit does it. But, none of it happens if we won't even cross the road to help someone in Jesus name. (Gal 5:22-23, Mark 16:15-20)

It's visiting the sick and imprisoned, it's clothing the naked. It's feeding the hungry and helping the poor, in Jesus name. (Matthew 25:31-46)

It's giving a cool drink of water, it's helping the broken and encouraging the fallen. It's working to change lives and save souls, in Jesus name.

And that's the foundation of spiritual warfare. Building the kingdom in Jesus name. Not our own. Not someone else's. But His. His name. His Kingdom.

Find your gifts, find your ministry, find your place and serve. Do battle, in Jesus name. You do this by going forth and doing. Then, he moves and reveals. Faith grows and more is revealed. Our battle between flesh and spirit, is helped by going forth and serving.

No more games. No more wasting time. The King is coming.

 

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Bio: Chris Bunton is a writer, poet and blogger from Southern Illinois. He has published in several magazines, and has written a poetry eBook called “Against the Man” and an Addiction Recovery eBook called “Made Free: Overcoming Addiction“ His newest book is called “The Future is Coming” and is a collection of dystopian short stories.

Follow Him on Medium: https://chris-bunton.medium.com/

Read His Spiritual Writings on Blogger: https://chrisbunton.blogspot.com/

Buy a cup of Coffee

Support the work on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=13514235&fan_landing=true&view_as=public

Photo by the author.

Faith And Works

 Faith And Works

A Word on Real Faith and Real Works.

James 2:14-26

In this passage. The apostle James, speaks of works being an aspect of our faith. It ends with the famous phrase "For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also."

In the verses James shows that God commanded Abraham to sacrifice Isaac and he went to obey.(James 2:21)

We also see that Abraham was made righteous when he first believed. And in another verse we see that he had faith that God could raise Isaac from the dead.(Rom. 4:3, Gal 3:6, James 2:23, Hebrews 11:17-19)

The point is to show that we are not saved by Works. Our works are a reflection of our faith. That is what James is saying. Faith must come first. That is when we are saved. Works come after, because we cannot do righteous works without the Holy Spirit. We receive the Holy Spirit at salvation.

Understand that lots of preachers will use these verses as a means to create guilt, shame and fear in people's hearts.

But, that is not the real purpose. It's not for me to use it to condemn you. But, for me to use it to look at myself.

Am I saved? Do I have the Holy Spirit? How do I know?

I know because of the things the Spirit leads me to do. I confess that Jesus is the Lord. I confess that He came in the flesh. I let the Fruit of the Spirit flow in me and through me, so I can love God and my neighbor as myself. These are works.

James said, "The demons also believe and tremble" (James 2:19)

This explains it. The Demons will not confess that Jesus is Lord, because they are in rebellion. Paul says no one can confess Jesus is Lord but by the Spirit of God. John says they cannot confess that Jesus came in the Flesh. (1 Cor. 12:3, 1 John 4:1-3)

These are the works, Confessing, Communion, Baptism, Abiding and being Spirit led, letting the Spirit work through us and grow us, Helping and serving others, Building the kingdom, Leading people to Christ. Ok? Satan is not going to preach the Gospel.

Demons can create religions and get humans to avoid sin and do great things to help people and claim to know God. They can lead humans into being a good person, avoiding sin, and being religious. Demons are able to get people to come to church, sitting in pews and singing songs.

But, it's all fake.

So James is not talking about this stuff.

He is talking about turning to God in faith. Confessing Jesus is the Lord, then serving God in love by following the Spirit.

It's simple. James says these things for YOU to look at YOURSELF. Be honest between you and God.

But some preachers want to make it about your sins. They keep people beat down, trying to stop sinning, instead of lifting them up and leading them to know Christ and serve.

James said ,"For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.." John said "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us." (James 2:10, 1 John 1:8-10)

So understand that you sin. Confess it to God and move forward. Love God and others.

We are saved. If you gave yourself to Christ. But, we still have a corrupted nature. The Holy Spirit works on that as long as we are trapped in this body. We will sin. God does not see our sin or hold it against us because we are IN Christ. But, we still commit sins. Its a fact.

Realize that James is not talking about sin when he speaks of works. We are dead to sin. He is talking about love and service. Faith brings love and service.

Notice in Matthew 25, When Jesus returns and separates the sheep and the goats.(Matthew 25:31-46)

He does not mention obeying the law. He speaks of how we treat others.

Jesus in Matthew 25 talks about loving others, even the least of these. Even the poor and lowly. 

That's what James is saying. That's the sort of works James is speaking of.

If you know Jesus. Then you do what Jesus would do.

And if we fail, we confess it. If we fail on one point, we are guilty of all. You do not sin a little. Your sins are equal to murder.

That's why we need Jesus.

 

Understand that we are dead to Sin. If you are saved. You are washed. You are clean. Confess your sins and move on. We are not called by God to focus on our sins and spend our life trying to overcome them.. He already did it. But we were saved and made right, so we can serve without fear.

 

When James says Faith without works is dead, he is saying that when we get saved we listen to the Holy Spirit and follow Him in our works and service to God and others.  He is not beating us down with our sins and fears, like some preachers do.

 

You are saved. Now go help and save others.

 

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Bio: Chris Bunton is a writer, poet and blogger from Southern Illinois. He has published in several magazines, and has written a poetry eBook called “Against the Man” and an Addiction Recovery eBook called “Made Free: Overcoming Addiction“ His newest book is called “The Future is Coming” and is a collection of dystopian short stories.

Follow Him on Medium: https://chris-bunton.medium.com/

Read His Spiritual Writings on Blogger: https://chrisbunton.blogspot.com/

Buy a cup of Coffee

Support the work on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=13514235&fan_landing=true&view_as=public

Photo by the author.

False Teachers

 False Teachers

A Lesson on False Teachers in the Last Days

"But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not" ---2 Peter 2

Paul also tells us that there will be false teachers in these last days. (1 Tim. 1: 1-15, 2 Tim 4:2-4, 2 Timothy 3:1-9)

Jesus says the deception will be so bad that even the elect would be deceived if it was possible. (Matt. 24:24)

So, it's important for us to have tools in our pocket to help us.

1. The Holy Spirit will teach us and lead us into all truth. If you are saved and listen to the Holy Spirit. He will impress upon you that something isn't right. (John 16:13)

This doesn't mean the teacher who speaks false things is not saved. A person can be saved and be in error on a subject. Just because we are saved doesn't mean we have it all straight in our minds. 

Pray and ask the Lord to show us what's up. (1 John 2:27, James 1:5) We want to judge rightly and respond rightly. We want to be Spirit led, but we need to learn what that means. It takes time and a relationship with God to hear His voice. "My sheep know my voice" Do you know Him? (John 10:1-19)

2. What does the teacher do with Jesus? We are talking about spiritual teachers here. Not the guy teaching you math.

The scriptures give us an easy way to determine false teachers.

They will not say that Jesus is THE Lord. They might admit he is God, but not confess Him as Lord.

It says that "No one  can say Jesus is the Lord without the Holy Spirit and no believer will say anything bad about Jesus. (1 Cor 12:3)

If they do not have the Holy Spirit, then they are not saved.

It also says to test the spirits to see if they are of God. The test is whether they claim that Jesus came in the flesh. Basically, do they teach that Jesus is God, became human and died to save us rising from the dead.

This is a major clue. If they can't say that Jesus is the Lord, they probably aren't saved. So, you should pray to the Lord to lead you to a teacher He wants you to hear from. (1 John 4:1-6)

Realize that the demons of hell know who Jesus is. But, they will not confess Him as Lord. They are in rebellion.

Realize that there are false teachers who aren't saved, and false teachings or doctrines that can come from saved people.

They might teach 90% truth. But in this one area. They are a little off. Is it a salvation issue?

Rejecting Jesus as Lord is major. Believing in infant baptism, or a pre-trib rapture or some other doctrines is not. Understand the difference between salvation issues, and doctrinal differences. Rejecting Christ, is a salvation issue. Going trick or treating is not.

3. A works based doctrine.

Every religion on earth teaches some kind of works based doctrine. That humans need to do this or that in order to reach God and be saved.

But, in Christianity God Himself came down and did it all for us. It is finished  all we have to do is accept it, then have a relationship with the Lord, which He also does through sanctification and His Spirit.

Paul fought the works based doctrine his whole ministry. People want to add some work to salvation. To either obtain it or maintain it.

The demons of hell will gladly keep us struggling with worrying about our sin. Trying to do better while attacking others who disobey. They love nothing more than a bunch of pharisees who burn people at the stake of judgment.

You are saved by grace through faith. Let the Holy Spirit guide and work on you. Give others love, grace and mercy as well. 

We are not saved by Works. (Eph. 2:8-10)

4.  No tough times.

This one is difficult. Jesus said that in this world we will have tribulation. We will have times of trouble. 

He promises to be with us through it. And there are things we can do to make those times better like prayer, faith, spiritual warfare, praise, thanks, abiding, dying to self, giving and serving.

There are things we can do to make it worse, like running from God, turning to fleshly remedies like booze, drugs and sex, turning to false beliefs, bitterness and anger, among other things.

In Jeremiah, God told Jeremiah that He was going to judge Israel His people.

Now let's not focus on what they did. Let's focus on the fact that God let tribulation fall on His people, and that it worked to cleanse the body and drive out those who did not know God.

Jeremiah taught that God was going to let the King of Babylon take over Israel. And if the people trusted Him, God would be with them.

The false teachers taught that God would not let them suffer tribulation. They taught that they were not going to face wrath. That God would deliver them, OUT OF TROUBLE. They stood in the pulpit and taught that God would deliver them from Great Tribulation.

 

Now, understand that this is a picture of the Last days. The king of Babylon is the Anti-Christ and Satan who will make war with the saints and overcome them. (Rev. 13:7, Daniel 7:25)

This is done to weed out the saved and unsaved. To cleanse the temple or body. He allows tribulation to come on His people. Even if it's great tribulation, to weed out the tares.

Realize, that yes God delivers us from trouble. But, sometimes He allows trouble for a higher purpose.

Our response to both, is the same. Realize He is with us, trust Him, and draw closer to Him.

Realize that Tribulation, even great tribulation is not God's Wrath.  God's wrath is Hell and the Lake of Fire. God's wrath is poured out in one day.

Understand that I am not saying that God kills babies or gives us cancer to teach us a lesson. Those things exist because of death, the fall, a corrupted world, and Satan. The enemy wants us to blame God for these things. That gets us to be angry at God and turn away from Him. It keeps us from praying and drawing close to God if we think he did it to us. That is Satan's plan. To keep us away from God.

The solution is always the same, turn to God and draw closer to Him. We will learn from the trouble, and we can use it to help others.

5. Not building the kingdom.

 

Satan won't build God's Kingdom. A teacher of the Lord, should be teaching, preparing and sending the saints out to preach the Gospel, serve others and God, building the Kingdom. That's our purpose as believers. To build the kingdom.

False teachers, will keep you in your pew singing pretty songs and scratching your itching ears with some new teaching.  For what? 

A true teacher teaches what the Holy Spirit leads them to teach. He readies the saints for the battle and growing the kingdom. We all have our part, in different ways, but we will be led to go and build the kingdom.

A church sitting in pews doing nothing is not a threat to the enemy.

Pray the Lord will help you to escape this deadness. And show you what to do and where to go.

Always, turn to the Lord and He will direct you. When you notice a problem ask Him and be willing to step out in faith, to make changes or do things He calls us to do.

With technology we are surrounded by false teachings and teachers. It can travel the world. Fake pictures and videos edited. Media services telling us propaganda. Governments lying, corporations lying, preachers lying, and its everywhere.

Turn to God, and listen to Him. He is Truth. He is the way.

 

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Bio: Chris Bunton is a writer, poet and blogger from Southern Illinois. He has published in several magazines, and has written a poetry eBook called “Against the Man” and an Addiction Recovery eBook called “Made Free: Overcoming Addiction“ His newest book is called “The Future is Coming” and is a collection of dystopian short stories.

Follow Him on Medium: https://chris-bunton.medium.com/

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Created Good

 Created Good

A Word on Fallen Man and God's Creation

The Bible plainly states that God created everything Good. (Genesis Chapter 1)

This is a foundational statement that sets the rules for our universe. I'm not talking morals only. I'm talking everything. It's purpose is for Good.

The Bible speaks of Reaping and Sowing. It's a natural law that applies to everything. We reap what we sow. (Gal 6:7-9, Gen 8:22)

Now, remember. God created everything Good. So, in a good world with good people, the rule of reaping and sowing would bring more good things to the people, because good people sow good seed. That's a lot of good. God is good and He loves us. That was His original intent. There was no disease or poverty in the Garden.You wanna know what God's will is? Look at the Garden.

BUT!

We are fallen. Because of the fall of man, we have a corrupted nature. So, we no longer do good. As a matter of fact. We do evil continuously. We reap what we sow. (Genesis 6:5, Romans chapter 1)

God did not design His Good creation for evil people. This is why humans do not seem to fit into creation. We are corrupted. We were created to live in relationship with God and the creation. We were created to protect and keep it. But we are corrupted.

After the Fall, Death came into the world with all the things that go with it. The Plague of Sin, came and corrupted Man. 

Then, in order to help Mankind. God laid the Curse, to get humans to turn back to Him and be saved.

So, when we wonder what's going on in the world, we can come to some conclusions. Are we reaping what we sow, as individuals and nations?

Is it our corrupted nature and fear of death? Is it our twisted DNA, and the Sin that infects us?

Remember, we also have an enemy who stole dominion of this world from humans when we fell. Satan is the god of this world (2 Cor. 4:3-4)

He literally has massive influence on human actions and the things that go on with our planet.

Everything he does seeks to steal, kill, and destroy. It seeks to enslave us and force us to worship him as God.

The temptations that cause us to sow evil when we fail, comes back to destroy us and enslave us.

The temptations that cause us to hurt people or the creation when we fail, comes back to more hurt and more laws. 

These temptations from the enemy when we fail, gets us to destroy ourselves and others. We plant seeds for harvests of evil to come. 

God seeks to save us. He wants to free us, and give us a good life. He desires to break the chains that bind us and drive out the strongman and strongholds of evil in our lives.

But we gotta turn to Him. He have to surrender ourselves to Him. We must confess that Jesus is the Lord, and ask Him to save us. (Romans 10:9-10)

He is our only Hope.

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Bio: Chris Bunton is a writer, poet and blogger from Southern Illinois. He has published in several magazines, and has written a poetry eBook called “Against the Man” and an Addiction Recovery eBook called “Made Free: Overcoming Addiction“ His newest book is called “The Future is Coming” and is a collection of dystopian short stories.

Follow Him on Medium: https://chris-bunton.medium.com/

Buy a cup of Coffee

Support the work on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=13514235&fan_landing=true&view_as=public

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The Lamb Slain

 The Lamb Slain

A Word on God's Eternal Plan

I do not believe in Dispensationalism. I believe that God is all knowing and does not change. I believe that we should look at history according to what we can understand about God's power, goodness and character.

Dispensationalism is the basic belief that God has treated mankind differently, at different times in history. It also puts forth the idea that God's treatment of mankind was different before Christ died, and before the Holy Spirit came. 

I disagree.

My view of these things comes from the Bible, and biblical concepts. The foundational view is the all powerfulness of God, and the fact that He changes not.(Mal. 3:6)

He does not change, therefore His treatment of man has not changed, despite what we see or believe. In Malachi chapter 3 referenced above He plainly states that His promises and His workings do not change. We change. We suffer consequences or blessings but His plan does not change.

The scriptures imply that God is a master builder. That means that He has a blue print of what He is building. But, unlike a human builder, the structure is already completed in heaven. It is already done in God's eyes.

Things have occurred "in the fullness of time" on this Earth. You cannot have a roof until the foundation is built. That is a process. This is what dispensationalists see. The process. But, by faith and the power of God, it is already "finished". (Eph. 1:10) Nothing can stop it. Ephesians chapter 1 explains this.

It's like your salvation. When you got saved, you are so saved that according to God, you are already seated in the heavenly places with Christ Jesus. (Eph. 2:6)

History is like that. It's already done. The kingdom is already built. But, it is coming to pass in the flesh, which shall pass away.

Pray on this verse.

" ...book of life of the lamb slain at the foundation of the Earth" (Rev. 13:8)

In the last days the Anti-Christ will make war against the Saints. The saints are the true believers in The Book of Life. 

The next section says "the Lamb SLAIN FROM THE FOUNDATION OF THE EARTH."

That means Jesus was killed as our sacrifice in the eyes and plans of God, before He created the Earth. (Gen.1:1) as Ephesians chapter one explains, in regards to our salvation.

So, what does that mean?

It means that God has been working the same plan from the beginning. This can be seen in Cain slaying Able. That is a picture of the Jews slaying Christ. Brother killing brother. When we see Cain slaying Able, Cain is then sent to wander. Just like Israel was sent to wander in the Diaspora which began in 70 AD. after Christ was slain.

So, from the point that Death and Sin entered the world, God already had the problem solved.

It means that every person who has turned to God by faith, since time began are saved the same way we are today.

As Paul and James said, "it was imputed righteousness unto Abraham  that He believed God."( Romans chapter 4, James 2:23) (James does not preach works, despite what some would have you believe. The works he speaks of are belief, confession, baptism, communion, and service, among other things. Confessing Jesus is the Lord, is a work.)

When Abraham believed the word given to him, God put him in Christ, the lamb slain from the foundation of the Earth. He was written in the Lambs Book of Life.

How does the book work?

When we are born, we are in the book. Babies do not go to hell. This is explained in Romans chapter 5. When Paul says " For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law." (Romans 5:13) Babies have no understanding of right and wrong. Therefore, the guilt of sin is not imputed upon them till they have an understanding.

There comes a point in our lives when God has determined that we understand enough. Then, we are tempted and if we choose to sin, then guilt is imputed upon us. We are covered in Sin and facing the consequences. We know in our heart that whatever it is is wrong. Our conscience warns us. Something tells us. Do not steal that thing. Do not have that sexual action. Do not hurt that person.  Whatever it is. We know it's wrong, and we do it anyway.  Boom. We die spiritually.

When we sin the first time, knowing it's a sin, we are blotted out of the Book of Life.. We then abide in Eternal Death, which is separation. We are headed to hell when we die because we are not washed in the Blood of Jesus to be cleaned. We cannot enter Paradise, or else heaven would be tainted with Sin forever.  Think of a quarantine, and a virus.

When we hear God's call and turn to Him, with faith, believing in Him and confessing Jesus as our Lord, we are saved.

We receive a new name and are written in the Book of Life, never to be removed again.

Just like Abraham. All the saints from Adam till the last one are saved the same way. Because it was already finished at the Foundation.

The Holy Spirit, comes to live in a clean vessel, washed in the Blood. There is nothing that says this changed from days of old.

Jesus tells us that when He leaves, the Comforter comes to be with us and in us. He doesn't say that this is different from the past. The Holy Spirit has worked with and dwelt in people from the beginning, when they are saved.

That's why the scriptures are "God Breathed". By inspiration. The scriptures tell the life of Saints. If they didn't have the Spirit then how could their lives be special enough to put in the Word? It's not just the words, it is the person's life and events described in the Word.

The Holy Spirit has always dwelt with the Saints. Sometimes there's a greater infilling, but He is there, from the Foundation of the Earth.

Paradise is heaven. That is where saved people go when they die to be with Christ. Paradise will come down to Earth. The City of God which is in Paradise will come to Earth when God creates a New Sky (heaven) and New Earth, after it is cleansed. (Luke 23:43, 2 Cor. 12:4, Rev. 2:7, Revelation Chapter 21)

The Saints of Old are in Paradise, and have been since they died. 

God defeated Death, Sin and Satan, before anything was created. We are just watching the building being built.

But it was already finished. Long before.

 

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Bio: Chris Bunton is a writer, poet and blogger from Southern Illinois. He has published in several magazines, and has written a poetry eBook called “Against the Man” and an Addiction Recovery eBook called “Made Free: Overcoming Addiction“ His newest book is called “The Future is Coming” and is a collection of dystopian short stories.

Follow Him on Medium: https://chris-bunton.medium.com/

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Sin Vs. Love

 Sin vs. Love

A Word on our relationship with God.

The Bible plainly shows in Matthew 25, what Christ will ask when He returns.

He doesn't ask, "Did you watch porn?"

He doesn't ask "Did you have sex before marriage, or did you have an abortion"

He doesn't ask "Did you vote right, or did you go to church or did you obey leaders and pay what you owe?"

Nope.

He asks if you visited prisoners? Did help you the poor? Did you clothe the naked? Did you give a cool drink to the thirsty? Did you love your neighbor? Did you love? Show kindness and compassion? Did you reconcile people to God?

I can hear you squirming in your seat dying to say..."yeah...but"

No.

Jesus died for our sins and rose for our justification. If you are saved then you are in Him and are dead to sins.  It is not held against you. Do the dead sin? No. Paul explains this in Romans.

That means that you have power over it. But, it also means that it is irrelevant to your eternity. You are washed. You are hid in Christ.  (Col. 3:1-3)

You confess your sins and God forgives you, and works to help you overcome. But, it's dead. (1 John 1:1-10)

Those sins can open doors to the enemy to destroy us and ruin our lives. 

Yes!

But, all things work together for our good. God will use that destruction to help us. God will use it to grow us. He is not trying to hurt us but gives a hope and a future. (Romans 8: 28)

And we still are saved forever.

BUT...

Our willingness to have a relationship with Christ and let the Holy Spirit, love through us is what we are called to do. (Eph 2:8-10)

Our service and our love is a reflection of our relationship with God.

When you read Matthew 25. It's obvious that the people thought they were saved. But, they never knew the King, so they never did the compassionate loving things God desired.

They never knew Him.

It's not about works. It's about who you know and who you have a relationship with.

Let God take care of your sins. Focus on serving and loving others. Focus on the relationship with God.

And you will find that those sins you worry about, get less and less. We grow. We build faith. We build our relationship with God. We overcome the sin that so easily besets us. By following the Holy Spirit and doing the service God calls us to do. Not by works, but by His power.

Love covers a multitude of sins. God is love, and He works to drive those things out of us through Love. (1 Peter 4:7-8)

 

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Bio: Chris Bunton is a writer, poet and blogger from Southern Illinois. He has published in several magazines, and has written a poetry eBook called “Against the Man” and an Addiction Recovery eBook called “Made Free: Overcoming Addiction“ His newest book is called “The Future is Coming” and is a collection of dystopian short stories.

Follow Him on Medium: https://chris-bunton.medium.com/

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Support the work on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=13514235&fan_landing=true&view_as=public

Photos by the author. Cool door in New Harmony, Indiana.

Read more from Chris. HERE.

The God Who Answers

 The God Who Answers

A Word on God's Movement in our Life.

We live our lives in this world, where we seem to have no control. Where we look every where for answers.

We seek answers from gods, idols and wisemen. We seek answers from deep within ourselves. We seek solutions from sorcerors and alchemists. We seek to join pop culture and the knowledge of our world. But we continue to flounder in the dark.

In the Bible, there's a story of Elijah and the prophets of Baal. (1 Kings Chapter 18)

Evil had taken over the land. The government was corrupt. The religion had become corrupt and wicked. There was drought and famine in the land and all the people were corrupted as well.

But God called Elijah to challenge the enemy. And Elijah went. He told the prophets of Baal.

"Let us pray over the alter of sacrifice and the God who sends fire is the real true God."

The prophets of Baal cried out to their god. They tried everything they could but nothing happened.

Then Elijah told them to pour water on the altar. Then more water. Then Elijah prayed, and fire fell from heaven consuming the sacrifice, altar and even the water.

The Lord, is the one true God, and he is the one who answers.

Our lives are broken and we've tried everything. And nothing has helped. Everything has failed.

God is calling you to turn to Him and ask Him. You've tried everything else.

It doesn't matter how evil, how corrupt, or how much water you have poured on it. God will come as a consuming fire and save you. Then, He will change your life, if you give yourself to Him. (Acts 2:21 KJV)

Just call on Him. He is waiting. He is seeking you. Just ask Him to save you and confess that Jesus is the Lord, and you want Him to be your Lord. (Romans 10:9-10 KJV)

Believe in Him. Learn of Him, and trust Him and His promises.

 

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Bio: Chris Bunton is a writer, poet and blogger from Southern Illinois. He has published in several magazines, and has written a poetry eBook called “Against the Man” and an Addiction Recovery eBook called “Made Free: Overcoming Addiction“ His newest book is called “The Future is Coming” and is a collection of dystopian short stories.

Follow Him on Medium: https://chris-bunton.medium.com/

Buy a cup of Coffee

Support the work on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=13514235&fan_landing=true&view_as=public

Read more from Chris here on Blogger. 

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Be Ye Holy

 Be Ye Holy

A Word on True Holiness.

 

God tells us in His Word "Be Ye Holy for I am Holy" (1 Peter 1:16, Lev. 11:45)

So, let's rightly divide this verse so that we are interpreting it correctly, Because often times we get told that this verse is about our behavior or not sinning. So, we fight and struggle to try to please God. We fail and fail, then finally give up. Because let's be real. What human can be as Holy as God is?

What human, born with a corrupted nature, surrounded by sin and full of sinfulness can even understand what holiness is let alone do it?

We can't. And that's why God commands us to be Holy. To get us to turn to Him.

Holiness means to be set apart. In the Temple there were tools made of gold. They were set apart for the Temple use. That's all they were for. But, they were just tools. Their holiness came from God and the dedication for their use.

So, how does that apply to us?

To be holy we must first be saved, by turning to God (repent) and asking Him to save us and Confessing Jesus as our Lord. (Romans 10:9-10, Acts 2:38, Mark 16:16)

Holiness means to maintain the relationship with the Lord and abide in Him. It means that when the devil attacks us or life gets hard, we don't just throw God away and go our own way. This implies that we never knew Him. Build that relationship. People sin. But when we sin we run back to God. Not run away from Him.

We wash our feet  by confessing our sins to Him. ( 1 John 1:8-10) This is part of Walking in the Spirit. (Gal. 5:22-25)

We grow in Him. We listen to Him as He grows us.

We are totally devoted to His work. This doesn't mean all of us are in the ministry professionally. But, in our lives we respond when God leads us to do something. In our jobs, in our families we always seek to do what God wants and acknowledge Him  in all our ways.

Holiness does not mean being a perfect goody two shoes. We are perfect in Him. We are holy in Him. We are set apart for Him. We are golden, because He is refining us. Holiness like God is peace. Not worry about whether you are obeying the rules. 

Be ye Holy as I am Holy means that we turn to Him. Because he is the only one who can clean us and teach us.

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Bio: Chris Bunton is a writer, poet and blogger from Southern Illinois. He has published in several magazines, and has written a poetry eBook called “Against the Man” and an Addiction Recovery eBook called “Made Free: Overcoming Addiction“ His newest book is called “The Future is Coming” and is a collection of dystopian short stories.

Follow Him on Medium: https://chris-bunton.medium.com/

Read His Spiritual Writings on Blogger: https://chrisbunton.blogspot.com/

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Support the work on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=13514235&fan_landing=true&view_as=public

Photo by the writer.

The Pre-Tribulation Rapture

 The Pre-Tribulation Rapture

A Word on what the future might hold.

I’m not going to argue scripture over the timing of the rapture. Because, the scriptures do not tell us when the rapture will occur, nor when Jesus will return. It’s not there. I have heard many views on the timing of the rapture. Pre-trib, mid-trib, pre-wrath, post trib. I have heard that there will be two raptures. I have heard scripture twisted and turned in every way possible to make their own view fit.
     

I have seen prophecy guru’s claim that the Soviet Union was part of the last day’s scenario and built whole story lines about it. They called anyone who didn’t agree with them a heretic, who didn’t know scripture or didn’t know the original language. Then, the Soviet Union fell.
      

I’ve seen these people swear up and down that the European Union is the 10 nation confederacy. If you don’t believe it then you don’t know the Word! They’d claim. But, then the European Union went past 10 nations. Then, Britain left the Union. So, what now?  Well, now the experts scramble to come up with explanations that fit their ideology.
       

I love prophecy, and I believe Jesus is coming soon. I believe we are in the last days, and there might be a pre-tribulation rapture at any moment…But…Hold on…There might not be.
       

Now before you burn me at the stake as a prophecy heretic, please realize that my desire is to follow Jesus Christ. I want the truth. I want to follow the Holy Spirit who leads me into all truth. I don’t want to join a camp or group of Christians who believe a certain way, and refuse to listen to anyone else.
       

I want to believe what the apostles believed. They believed that Jesus Christ was coming soon; in their lifetimes. They seemed to believe they would face tribulation, because they were already facing it. Like Jesus said, “In the world you will have tribulation.” (John 16:33)
       

I lean in the direction of pre-wrath. The Bible says that believers are not afforded to wrath. I think that this is referring to God’s final wrath. It doesn’t mean we won’t face tribulation. There are some guru’s who call the entire 7 year tribulation God’s wrath. I’m talking about the final destruction. Jesus said, “As in the days” of Lot and Noah, so shall the coming of the Son of Man be. (Luke 17:37) In both instances the righteous or the believer, was left living beside the unbeliever until just before the flood came or the fire fell. Noah did not sit in the ark for 7 years having a feast. Lot did not sit in the mountains for seven years as things got worse, in Sodom. In both cases, the door was shut, and the person was removed or made safe, just before the final doom fell. The door being shut, I believe is the end of the Gospel; the end of grace. (Genesis chapters 5-9 and chapter 19)
       

We see in the Exodus story that God sent plague after plague upon Egypt. But, His people were protected from the plagues. There was a distinction made between the Egyptians and God’s People. In the Bible Egypt is often viewed as a picture of the world. God can protect His people through trouble. It will be said that this is referring to the Jews and the Jews will be here but Christians will be gone. My argument is that we as Christians are grafted in. The Bible says it. (Romans chapter 11) God can protect us through tribulation.
       

I think there is plenty of reason and evidence to suggest that believers will be here for large parts of the tribulation period. One reason is that we will be here to try and get more folks saved, up until the time the door is shut. Another possibility is that the church will be weeded out. Just like Lot’s wife, and the great falling away. Which I believe will be one event, but it will also be over time. Time will work on folks to pull them away, and there will be a final event that will bring about the great falling away and create the apostate church. Tribulation could be the reason folks start falling away, and God leaves us here for that to happen. It could be much like the cleansing of the temple. He drove out the money changers. (2 Thess. 2:3)
       

The church could be here, as the Anti-Christ makes war with them. The times are bad, plagues are falling and the saints are telling people about Jesus, but other folks, who have practiced churchianity, instead of Christianity start to fall away, because they never knew Him. The believers are protected, for the most part, but we stay on the earth to save the lost and wake up the backslider, and for God to weed out the unbeliever. Then, Christ returns and we go to meet Him in the air, as God pours out is wrath upon the Earth. Then we return with Him for judgment, and the marriage supper.
       

I’m not saying I’m right. But, I believe that American Christians need to start exercising their faith and start expecting to see tribulation. To me, it’s far wiser for Christians to be ready to endure through hardship, than to expect to be removed. God will remove us when He sees fit. In my experience God almost never does things the way we want Him to. We don’t want to suffer. But, I think we might have some.
       

Anyway, I want to encourage every believer to read God’s Word, and study prophecy. Look at the different views. We do not know the hour. But, we can prepare for whatever might come.

Draw closer to the Lord. When the time comes and if the Church is going through the Tribulation period. It will be very hard to try to build more faith in the Lord at that time. Things will be happening and you will need to make decisions that will lead you down some dark paths. You need to know the Lord is there. That comes through experience and relationship.

Do you really know Him?

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Bio: Chris Bunton is a writer, poet and blogger from Southern Illinois. He has published in several magazines, and has written a poetry eBook called “Against the Man” and an Addiction Recovery eBook called “Made Free: Overcoming Addiction“ His newest book is called “The Future is Coming” and is a collection of dystopian short stories.

Follow Him on Medium: https://chris-bunton.medium.com/

Buy a cup of Coffee

Support the work on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=13514235&fan_landing=true&view_as=public

Photo by the author

    

Our First Love

 Our First Love

A Word on Prophecy, The Love of Money and Brokenness

    
I see folks on Facebook talking about praying to God to heal the land, and to stop the evil in the land, and to drive away pestilence and all of that. I've heard it for years.  But, do they consider how God will do this? Are you really ready for it? Maybe the problem isn't the things YOU think are the problem. Maybe those things are the symptoms. Maybe our love of money is the problem? We are like fish swimming in the love of money. It is everything we breathe, even if we don't want to believe it.

Remember, the love of money is the root of all evil. (1 Timothy 6:10)

When God brings a person to Himself, He often breaks the person. He has to get them to let go of everything and turn to God only. That is how it works in real life, that is how it works in God's Word. It works that way with individuals, and it works that way with nations. God does not see things the way we see them.

 So, are you willing to be broken? Are you willing to be poor? Are you willing to suffer, and trust God? What if God allows our economy to be destroyed? Would you help the poor? If he makes you one of them? When Christ returns He judges the nations. He says nothing about abortion, racism, homosexuality, pornography, drugs, or any of the other things preachers preach about. He says..."What you did unto the least of these you did unto me...."  (Matthew 25)  He judges based upon whether we loved. Whether we helped the poor, the sick, the naked, the prisoner.   THAT! is good stewardship. That! is what a good and faithful servant does. He acts as His master and let's the sun shine on the just and the unjust.

Yes, we are saved by Grace through faith, being born again and confessing Jesus as our Lord. But, people who are really saved hear His voice and love others. They do the things the Lord would do. That is Godliness.

Remember in God's Word, when God sent the people into Babylon, he does it because they were greedy and destroyed the land. They allowed no rest for the land or the people. Just money, money money. Greed. They did not trust God to take care of them while they let the land rest. They did not trust God. So, He put them in a situation where they had no choice but to trust Him. And the land rested. The debts were forgiven. All the wealth was taken away. (I'm not going to give you the verses. You need to learn God's Word, and learn how to use a concordance. There are great ones online. Read Jeremiah)

 Are we really ready for God to help us? Are we really ready to realize that maybe the abortion we cry about are caused by our love of money? Are we willing to see that our children are handing our land over to the enemy because of our love of money?  Are we willing to believe that our love of money, keeps us from being good stewards, and helping those around us?  Are we willing to see that every industry and institution is corrupted by the love of money? Even His houses of worship makes decisions because of  the love of money, instead of people?

The time is drawing short. Revelation speaks of the Black Horse, which is obviously an economic collapse with famine. (Rev. 6)

The Book of James has this to say about the same event.

"Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you.

² Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten.

³ Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days.

⁴ Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth.

⁵ Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter.

⁶ Ye have condemned and killed the just; and he doth not resist you."  ---James 5:1-6

Don't think that rapture will remove you. It's better to turn to God and let Him break you. That is real healing. It's coming.

So...

Don't be surprised when we are broken.
Don't be surprised when we need wheel barrows full of cash.
Don't be surprised when we run to Egypt to sell all we have for some corn meal.
Don't be surprised, when the cows of Bashan, walk around in filthy rags. (Look it up)
Don't be surprised when we are sold into Babylon
Don't be surprised when we must choose between Christ and a bite of food, or the Mark.

Do you really want God to heal us? Do you trust Him enough to let Him break us? Joy comes in the morning; when we remember our real first love.

Who is your first love? God or Mammon? Be honest? 

This is not condemnation, this a call to turn to God.

The love of money is very deceptive and hides well.

Who is your first love?

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Bio: Chris Bunton is a writer, poet and blogger from Southern Illinois. He has published in several magazines, and has written a poetry eBook called “Against the Man” and an Addiction Recovery eBook called “Made Free: Overcoming Addiction“ His newest book is called “The Future is Coming” and is a collection of dystopian short stories.

Follow Him on Medium: https://chris-bunton.medium.com/

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Photo by the Author, A sunrise over Alexandria, Virginia