Difficult Times

First I must apologise for my inconsistency in writing my blogs – the spirit was willing but the flesh has been weak ! My only excuse has been a difficult two years that brought physical and mental inabilities to do what I would have liked to do and the loss of my son, which I must say was softened by the fact that I know he is now with the Lord.

Nothing happens to the Christian by chance – it all has a purpose, even if we can’t see it at the time. The Lord is faithful and will not suffer us to be buffeted and tried more than we can bear : 1 Corinthians 10:13. One thing I do know is that I’ve had to learn to have patience [ a fruit of the Spirit] and instead of trying to work out the how? myself – the answer has been , as always, to trust the Lord for it! To see that I seriously need patience is only the beginning and to realise the answer is in trusting the Lord for it instead of failing and feeling sorry for myself, is the way of the Spirit. ” He who has begun a good work in you will perform it until the Day of Christ.” Phil 1:6 You’d have thought I would have learnt that after all these years mm? But it ‘s the age old battle of the flesh and spirit isn’t it?

I used to have the notion that once learnt never forgotten – silly me ; I keep getting reminded that life’s current challenges can still stir up my old ways and I must still learn how to walk in the Spirit and let the Lord produce the fruit of patience in me. And that’s just as it should be – therein lies the joy in believing. Romans 15:3 When it is a deliberate and conscious choice on our part to trust Him , He does indeed make a way of escape for us. He answers us in gentle, simple and heart-warming ways – at least, that has been my experience, and you just know He cares for you and will get you through no matter what. We are more than conquerors! Romans chapter 8 is just glorious to read.

See you next time dv, Eileen

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Berean Beacon

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Answering the Premier Christianity article by Michael Roberts – 10 questions to ask a young earth creationist – Part 1 – creation.com

Source: Answering the Premier Christianity article by Michael Roberts – 10 questions to ask a young earth creationist – Part 1 – creation.com

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Creation evangelism at Mars Hill – creation.com

Source: Creation evangelism at Mars Hill – creation.com

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The Truth of the Matter

I’m sure, in these troubling end-times we find ourselves in , that the Lord is graciously working in those who have a love for His truth,  to bring us into true scriptural unity . I believe this because we are living in a time like no other, with the world, not to mention the ‘church’ at large, in the grip of widespread lies, confusion and deceit via the Media.  The Lord knows we have great need of Him.

Therefore, as true Christians, I think we are duty-bound to find out the truth of any matter when we read or hear preaching on something that seems not quite right or is a new ‘interpretation’ of scripture. They may be right – BUT – they may be wrong! Our love for truth must be strong so that we can obey God’s word and be set free from our doubts, uncertainty and downright deception.

Many give up on it because they think it’s an impossible task to all agree on Bible doctrine or may even, like Pilate, say  ‘what is truth?’ But, if, as I believe, it is God working in us to open our eyes, then we simply have to desire and love the truth for Him to answer our prayers on this. In fact – this is precisely what has happened to me recently.

The Apostles were the custodians of the truth of the Gospel and Church life and we must follow their teachings 1 Thess 2:13.  And I am becoming more and more aware that for any scripture verses we may find difficult, it is even more important to read the context they are set in and to also understand why the writers wrote what they did. Much was written to correct errors and as follow-up to other epistles, so we do need to let scripture interpret scripture. And also – is this teaching bringing us into bondage or setting us free?

Two passages I had long puzzled over are Hebrews 10:24,25  and  1Cor 14:26-36  verses that I’d always thought weren’t being interpreted correctly because the spirit of those interpretations seemed t0 me to contradict the Gospel of grace.  So I recently supplicated the Lord to lead me into the truth on these matters, and left it at that.

Then, purely by chance I came across an insightful comment left on Facebook by a Christian believer, Alan Heron, on the Hebrew verses in question. It was by far the most logical scriptural reasoning I’ve heard and makes a lot of sense to me.

To very loosely quote him : ” many Jewish believers were avoiding contact and keeping their  distance from other believers to try to avoid persecution from the Jewish Sanhedrin”. See Galations 2:11-13  ” Paul was speaking against such a practise NOT commanding them to to meet every Sabbath or every sunday at a certain location. To use this scripture [Heb] for the idea that you cannot be a follower of Christ without having other believers with you is not backed up by Paul’s experience”

I would also say that it was assumed – in the churches that I was ever involved with at least – that if you didn’t go to church you were in danger of ‘back-sliding’ big time ! This is like saying the ‘church’ keeps you , not Christ.  Indeed , at the last AoG church I went to [ which I wrote a Post on here at the time], to my dismay, suddenly the heavy hand of Church Membership came down,  bringing condemnation to those, like myself, who through life’s circumstances [and creeping old age!] didn’t attend regularly. Your spirituality and walk with the Lord was a matter of outward appearance ….   Of course they used the Hebrew verses as the final word – which I had no answer to – it was there in scripture;  I knew it was being misapplied but had no insights into ‘how?’

The extremes of this is demonstrated in the kingdom – type  churches, community churches and purpose-driven etc, where you are required to sign Covenants and the like !  See Galations 2:4

Regarding the role of women in the church , this has been a subject that I’ve found particularly taxing over the years.  Let me say, here and now, I do not have nor have I ever had a desire to teach, preach or otherwise be up-front in Church or any other situations. I say this because some may think I write what I do because I have a secret or ulterior motive to be a somebody ….   the Lord knows my heart is for His truth alone.

No  – because the Lord so graciously answered my prayer about Heb.10 , I felt encouraged to ask Him for the truth of this matter also  [ 1 Cor 14:26-36] and again I left it at that.

So – the first thing that crossed my path was a video by Jacob Prasch on this very subject. Much as I like his preaching in general, whenever I’ve heard him preach on women he [like many others ] seems to have to  juggle the scriptures somewhat to arrive at conclusions that match reality. The reality is that women are used in the mission fields to ‘teach’ men , and also in various ‘ministries’ within their churches. But that’s ok if they have what Jacob Prasch calls male covering – that is male ‘permission’ to do it.

I know that these male Leaders want to obey what they believe the Bible teaches, but to put these strict restrictions on women seems more akin to the Jewish faith they have left behind and its huge reliance on oral tradition. There is an awful contradiction here and conflicting levels of what one church leader  will allow compared to another. But Christianity has always treated its women with more dignity and very  differently to all other religions.

There are fall-outs too for some of the men who strictly adhere to their interpretation of these verses, and they are not good ones!  For instance,  there have been times when I’ve been in on-line or face to face discussions with male leaders who clearly resent the fact I have vocalised [ in a humble spirit I hope] some disagreement I had with their teaching. They do not take it well and the mere fact that I’m female negates anything I may say because of their belief that I’m trying to ‘teach’ a man!!

Sometimes I think the extreme teachings about women  end up placing an unecessary  burden on some men in their practical every day lives and situations.  eg – I was in a fellowship once that had a lovely young married couple attending. The husband was really upset because he obviously loved his wife but had tried to make her ‘submit’ to him in some matter and she wouldn’t !  He’d had teaching on the subject in some exclusive ‘mens’ group no doubt,  which turned out to be a disaster for him. Surely this wasn’t what the Lord required of him?

Well  – the great thing about the Internet is that one link can, and often does, lead to another that we otherwise would not know about – and so it was I came across http://realchurchlife.wordpress.com   Specifically a Post titled “Let Your women keep silence in the Churches” Really?   filed under Women in Ministry.  As it’s a far better coverage of this than I could give,  I hope you will be inclined to read it.  The Post also gives links to Oxford Bible Church and Christian Egalitarian Marriage , which are equally enlightening.  So again, my thanks  to the Lord for His gracious answers to my prayers.

Please remember these are my musings and opinions – but I hope and pray scripturally aware ones.

I hope to post here again sooner than later …. I’ve been very lax I know!   blessings,   Eileen

 

 

 

 

 

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Grace and Law

Yes – I know – it’s that old chestnut, but I’ve been reading Ezekiel, initially to take a look at ‘end times’ prophecies concerning the nations and Israel.

But in Chapter 18  God sets out the principle that everyone is responsible for their own sins and we have a choice to follow His Laws or not. Further v.24 : But when the righteous turns away from his righteousness and commits iniquity and does according to all that the wicked man does, shall he live? All his righteousness shall not be mentioned, in his trespasses and in his sin he shall die. v.25: Yet you say the way of the Lord is not equal: hear now O Israel; is not my way equal? are not your ways unequal?

Reading this set me to thinking and one thought led to another and I began reflecting on a curious mind set that I find among pre-tribulation Rapture advocates – namely that God has a different gospel for Israel than He does for the Church.

I was taught early in my Christian life that the Church is under Grace but Israel is under the Law; the teaching went something like this : while we are living in the Church age, under grace, Jews may be converted and become Christians, making them part of the Church; but after the Rapture, God begins dealing with Israel under the Law again via the Great Tribulation, so that he who endures to the end of this terrible time will be saved and enter the Millennial Kingdom.

It’s the ‘enduring to the end’ part that seemed to lead to the ‘keeping the Law’ conclusion, so therefore it couldn’t be referring to the Church. The conclusion must be [in their minds] that God has two gospels going on – one for the Church and another  for Israel. One by Grace and the other by Works! But I think it most certainly is speaking of the Church – especially in the light of James’ explanation of faith and works. James 2:20-24. verse 22 is particularly relevant in the context of ‘enduring to the end’ because our faith is made perfect by our works.

A further complication arises , because if we think we don’t have to keep the Law [ the ten Commandments etc] to endure to the end, then it becomes a matter of ‘once saved, always saved’ so that it doesn’t matter how we live our lives – we will be saved in the end….. otherwise it isn’t grace .

I think this belief leads to the farcical acceptance of scandalous sin among ‘evangelical’ Leaders : because we are all under grace and musn’t judge another Christian – especially not a Leader or God’s ‘annointed’ ! But Jesus said “He that has My commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me” john 14:21  and “If you keep My commandments , you will abide in My love; even as I have kept My father’s commandments and abide in His love” John 15:10

You only have to study Jesus’ parable of the sower to see what happens in real life when the gospel is preached. I do not see a ‘once saved, always saved’ scenario there! From personal experience I know that Christians can and do fall away – I had friends who were definitely saved but who turned away from it all. One even regarded it as her ‘period of madness’ !!

It is dangerous to assume that a Christian living in obvious sin, without repentance, is still saved. Yes – we all fail and are weak in certain areas – but this is the age-old battle of the flesh with the spirit that Paul talks about in Romans: chapters 7 and 8   and we must walk in the spirit, and trust in Christ’s righteousness to keep us from falling. But that is different to deliberately sinning without repentance.

To return to the question of two gospels – or one gospel split into two as some say [ likewise splitting the Rapture of the Church away from the Day of the Lord] – there is a danger of thinking too highly of ourselves, ie the Church, than we ought. A read of Paul’s coverage in Romans chapters 9 ,10,11 of how we should view ourselves and Israel – especially 11:17-27, should be enlightening.

The New Testament is consistent with the Old and if we read Hebrews 11, we see that the faithful saints of old were indeed saved by faith; however – linking with the truth of Ezekiel 18, Hebrews also emphasises works. Jesus didn’t abolish the law – He fulfilled it !  He took the just penalty for sin that we deserve, but we are still expected to live according to His righteous Laws. The Apostle Paul set out the Jewish ritual Laws that we are set free from eg eating meats etc, but the Ten commandments – which Jesus summed up in the first two – loving God and loving one’s neighbour – are still in force for us.

God doesn’t expect us to do the impossible –  He has given the Holy Spirit to indwell, help and guide us. Indeed , if we truly love God, then we are truly willing to follow His ways and love His truth. We are also encouraged to defend the faith , which means speaking out when necessary.

I hope this hasn’t come across as ‘holier than thou’ because  I am only too aware of my own shortcomings and struggles – but we press toward the mark do we not?

As always – these are just my thoughts and I welcome any comments , especially if I’ve made any gaffs – highly likely considering my age ! Fings ain’t wot they used to be ….

Bless you for your indulgent time,   Eileen

 

 

 

 

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Apology

 

I feel I must apologise for the delay in writing a follow-up post as promised [God’s reconciliation]. My only excuse is that age-related ailments again are unpredictable and sap one’s energy – so things tend to take a bit more effort ….. plus, I’m not as efficient as I used to be!

I find that the false teachings in the Church do not affect me in such a ‘personal experience’ way since not being involved in a local Church – that lack of involvement not being out of design or desire on my part I assure you. So I do not have specific things to write about.

My connection therefore with all things spiritual comes through Christian friends,  on line Ministries and of course, my own personal walk with the Lord, prayer and Bible study.

I have found many really good ministries, sermons, articles and videos that are faithful in preaching the Gospel and nurturing believers in the Faith ‘once delivered’ and they are also not afraid to speak out against all the ghastly practises and teachings that are rampant in these Last Days.

I’m convinced though, that the Gospel and the true remnant of believers will, by God’s grace and certainly by His will, grow stronger as tougher  times go on. God is faithful to His word and as we rely on Him more and more- so accordingly He will never leave nor forsake us. Indeed – His strength is made perfect in our weakness. 2 Cor 12:9

Since my husband died suddenly nine years ago, I have lived alone and been fairly restricted by my circumstances. It’s been lonely and difficult at times and if the Lord had ever failed me, I would be in dire straits I can tell you!  ‘My flesh and my heart fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever’ Psalm 73:26

So – to return to the purpose of this Blog – my writing has been very intermittent for some time now and I had thought with what few posts I write, maybe I should focus on the unsaved – however – my audience likely are people who already know the Lord. So I’ve decided [I’m loathe to claim guidance from the Lord!] that I’ll take a slightly different tack.

When I read my Bible, I tend to write notes about things that occur to me and I try not to bring any of my own pre-conceived ideas to a passage. What I read can often make me question things I’ve been taught in the past and  it sets me off on a little scripture reccy. So my idea is that I will sometimes pass these thoughts on here. Whether this would be of help or of interest to anyone else remains to be seen!

My other bright idea is that I will now be  re-blogging  other peoples’ posts – having only just realised I can do this on WordPress at the touch of a button …  neat eh?  This will I hope introduce fellow believers to Ministries of mutual interest. These Ministries tend to have their finger on the pulse of what is currently happening in the Church/false church scene, as well as Bible prophecy fulfillment and Israel. I’m doing this because they write things so much better than I can and are much more qualified to do so. They seem to say exactly what’s on my heart too ….

May the Lord bless and keep you,   Eileen

PS: No promises from now on about the frequency of my Posts !!

 

 

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God’s Reconciliation

 

In spite of the fact that so many people in our Post Modern age have rejected belief in the Creator God of the Bible and so many others [increasingly so] are turning to false gods – the One true God has not given up on mankind yet – His offer of eternal life hasn’t been withdrawn. It remains valid and in operation while this life remains.

No matter who you are, what your life has been, how old you are, what you have done, whether you follow another religion, are an occultist, are a complete atheist, humanist, or simply consider yourself an ‘ordinary’ person doing the best you can –  and that pretty much covers everyone I think –   God’s offer in Christ the Saviour is open to you.

‘Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; all things are become new. And all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself by Jesus Christ and given to us the ministry of reconciliation, to wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them; and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.

Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you, in Christ’s stead, be reconciled to God. For He has made Him to be sin for us, Who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.’

So – the big question is – will you believe it?  Ultimately there’s that little matter of ‘Faith’.  Your choice – believe it and be reconciled or carry on ignoring it?

If you’ve read this far , you could well be thinking it simply boils down to personal preference eg ‘I’m not a religious person so I don’t need to bother myself with all this – God isn’t relevant in my life so this message is meaningless for me personally. What’s right for you isn’t necessarily right for me thank you very much. But I’m happy for you.’

Well – the reason it is urgent and applicable to every single person on the planet is because the Gospel addresses your eternal destiny when your life is over – what then?

My next post will cover the answer to this important question –  I do hope you will join me,

blessings,   Eileen

                                                                                                                                                                  

 

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Looking Out

Ifield Pond

Before the madness of Political Correctness and Gender dismantling gripped the world, the word ‘Man’ could be freely used and understood as a convenient generic term for Mankind or people in general – just as it is in the Bible. So that is how it is used  in my posts.

I always hoped that my Blog, even though the focus has been primarily on the false teachings and apostasy invading the Church, might also be found by non-believers, and so to that end I occasionally posted a Gospel message. I do know that among those who ‘follow’ this Blog are a few New Agers, occultists and even Antitheists [atheists]. Plus I know that some simply follow  to get their own Logos on more sites – not because they are interested in what is said – and I’m not just being cynical here – it happens!

That said, as our world sinks lower into the mire of its own making, I feel the urgency of writing the Gospel message even more and so I hope to purposefully engage with that in future.

Of course, if things concerning the apostasy of the Last Days cross my path, I hopefully won’t neglect to comment.  But, as I’ve often reminded everyone, I’m no expert and in the world/Churches eyes I have no standing or ‘qualifications’  {But – I know whom I have believed [2 Tim 1:12]}  I simply offer my warnings and cautions to anyone who may be puzzled, afraid, confused or even dis-interested in spiritual matters or the state of the world we live in.  And I do this as someone who loves the only true God of the Bible, because in His mercy He found me and gave me a new life and fresh start. My testimony to His amazing goodness and grace is my only qualification and reason to write this Blog. I hope to be writing a Gospel offering this week DV, in the hope that a ‘lost soul’ may come across it …

May the Lord bless and keep you in His care,    Eileen

“Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”  2 Cor 5:7

 

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Looking Back and Forward

A very Happy New Year to everyone !

Sad to say – it won’t be for this world, but for we who believe, the Lord tells us to ‘fear not’ as we look to Him. Psalm 27 is good to read when going through trials and tribulations. v14: Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and He shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord.

The ending of an old year and the leading into a new inevitably brings a mood of looking back and looking forward and WordPress is no exception. They kindly supply me with my statistics for the past year, and I must admit I was somewhat surprised, not to say disappointed with myself to see I’ve only managed to post three times !

However – because my advancing age seems to be bringing a change in my ability to write as often as I would like, plus the lack of stamina to do the necessary research, I feel maybe it’s time to hang up my pen and call it a day …..

I have been toying with the idea of changing direction and maybe just writing comments on current events in the world’s politics/news, but I would have been without proper direction. After all – I started writing this blog because I was so concerned about false teaching within the Church and the tolerance of it by those who should know better. But now I believe many more Christians are concerning themselves with these matters and are studying the Word of God for themselves instead of simply relying on their favourite preachers, not because of my own writing of course, but because  many Ministries and individuals are doing an excellent job in pointing Christians to the Word of God and away from false prophets and their deceit, and are not afraid to name names and call things what they truly are.

I think more Christians too, because of their study of the Bible, are seeing the falseness of the Pre-trib Rapture doctrine, with its emphasis of escaping what is to come upon this earth. We need to be prepared for persecution and we can only do that by knowing the Truth and being filled with the Spirit of God and Comfort.

When Jesus walked upon the Earth, the limitations of His physical body meant He couldn’t be with all of His followers all of the time and in all places. He told them that He had to return  to Heaven so that the Holy Spirit could come and do that very thing – for them and all those believers who come after, throughout history ! He said the Holy Spirit would be with them and in them. see John 14:16-18 and  John 16:7   These two chapters give us a lovely picture of how the Godhead [Trinity] works in co-operation and purpose. It is our privilege and joy that God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit make themselves known to us through the Ministry of the indwelling Spirit, revealed to us by His Word.  Jesus is the Living Word, the Logos. The Names of the Holy Spirit are so appropriate to our needs as weak and fallible human beings.

Oh how we are going to need the strength, guidance and  comfort of the Holy Spirit in these times, whether it be within the bigger picture, or in our own personal struggles in life. Our Father in Heaven knows our needs and sees every sparrow that falls. Jesus is faithful and true and will never leave us nor forsake us.  Maranatha !!

 

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