Worshiping the Creature - Romans 1:25

" . . .who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever." Romans 1:25
For many, animal and plant life seem to supercede human life. The notion that an animal or a tree deserves more life respect than a human is not merely erroneous; it is satanic by its very nature. The concept routinely leads to ‘earth worship’, ‘wicca,’ ‘gaia’ and a host of other ridiculous earth religions often culminating in what is perhaps the most egregious lack of respect for humanity - abortion. Of course the progressives don’t see abortion as murder; they simply see it as a means to prevent over-population, thus taking better care of the planet. The idea that preserving a certain rare butterfly or orchid is somehow more noble than preserving a human life is simply, in no uncertain terms, the work of the devil.
Early on, in scripture, we are instructed by God, Himself to - "Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on earth." - Genesis 1:28
The above reference speaks to us of our direct order to subdue (conquer) and have dominion (rule) over all of God’s earthly creation. But Genesis 1:26 explains to us why
we must subdue and dominate God’s creation - "Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, according to Our likeness; let then have dominion . . .over all the earth . . . .’ In other words, we - humanity, not the animals or the plants - were created in God’s image and likeness. Not only are we to maintain dominion over God’s creation, we are to use it according to God’s word - "Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. I have given you all things, even as the green herbs." - Genesis 9:3 When people say they "love" their pets I tend to think that the term "love" is a bit extreme. Love is an emotion reserved for God and . . . humans! We love our spouses, our children, our parents, our friends. We may ‘care deeply’ for our pets, the environment, or an endangered species . . . but we cannot ‘love’ beyond God and our human brothers and sisters. In fact, in the New Testament, ‘love of God and one another’ is second only to Christ’s saving act of redemption, and that atonement is superceded by God’s love for us. "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." - John 3:16
Yes, we want to take good care of and properly provide for our pets, and all animals in general, but never at the expense of a single human life! The only exception being granted is to service animals such as police and military K-9 units, as these animals are used to protect and prevent the loss of human life.
Many feel mankind has abused its power in subjugating the planet. In many instances we have, as a species, failed in our God-given responsibility to be good stewards. But we must never fail to draw the distinction between mankind and God’s creations. Neither plant nor animal proves worth more than a human being and no amount of post-modernist thinking must ever obscure that fact! Proper scriptural understanding always keeps this distinction in its proper perspective.
May God always shower you with His blessings.

Your Salvation Now - John 6:47

Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me has everlasting life. - John 6:47
I often ask people where their concepts and ideas of who Christ is come from. The reason I ask is because of the myriad of fallacious ideas they describe. From prophet to sage to philosopher to just an all around good man, they seem to cover every base except for the truth - Jesus Christ is God incarnate.
When I ask where they get these inaccurate descriptions of Christ , in nearly every instance they say, "The bible." Strange; as much as I have read and continue to read the bible I have simply failed to locate those descriptions of Christ. I may have possibly failed to get that e-mail.
In addition to these misleading notions about who Jesus is these same folks, oddly enough, are also sadly mistaken about the workings of salvation. I know I have treated this subject before in previous posts but it is of such utter importance that I don’t think anyone could ever cover the subject enough.
These folks all suffer from the faulty idea that by merely being ‘good people’ their salvation is assured without giving themselves over to belief in the absolute Lordship of Jesus Christ.
Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me."
- John 14:6 The Apostle John cannot seem to declare this definitive truth about Christ enough -
"And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life
; and I will raise him up on the last day." - John 6:40 Once more - "He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God
."- John 3:18 This is the true concept of Jesus Christ: He is the Son of God and God in His own right as member of the Holy Trinity. He’s not a philosopher and He certainly wasn’t just
a good man. He is God! And as He stated in John 14:6 - no one can come to the Father except through Him. In other words, your salvation right now and tomorrow and forever is through belief in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. No other way is available and it doesn’t matter a lick how good a person you are. If your belief is not in Christ as God you are already condemned . . . period! Your belief is required; your continued good works are merely evidence of your belief. You good works without faith mean absolutely nothing. They are worthless.
Belief in Christ is the only way; it is the only road. May the grace of God be always with you.

Christ: Our Only Advocate - 1 Timothy 2:5

"For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus," - 1 Timothy 2:5
"When we pray . . . ."
Those opening words should make many of us pale for lack of correct Christology. So many individuals, even entire churches, have a clearly anti-scriptural idea about Christ’s role as our advocate.
I know many who are quick to say a prayer and carelessly throw the name of Jesus into it for good measure despite their lack of true saving faith. They use the holy name of Jesus as though it were some magical incantation. Their highest intellectual understanding of Jesus is that "he was a really good man." Still, others petition the blessings of God through a third agent such as a ‘saint.’ In both cases the prayerful individual is wrong.
You see, proper prayer doesn’t involve a third party. It is between you and the savior Jesus Christ. A proper and reverent prayer goes directly through Christ to the Father. How do I know? 1 Timothy 2:5 tells me so. Were Paul’s admonition not enough, Christ Himself tells us - " . . . Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you." - John 16:23. Of course, the corollary here is that you pray for God’s will to be done. If God’s will is not the focus of the prayer there is little doubt; the prayer will not be answered.
Many often say prayers to a saint of their liking - the Virgin Mary, St. Jude. St. John, St. Francis of Assisi, et al., despite the fact that this clearly anti-scriptural method of praying is forbidden. Believe in the veracity of the bible - there is no such thing as ‘trickle-down providence.’ The bible clearly states that these prayers will go unheard. It all goes back to 1 Tim. 2:5.
If Christ is our "one mediator" to God then what possible excuse could anyone have for praying to St. (fill in the blank)? It all comes down to Christ’s role for us. He is described in different verses as being our mediator, our advocate, and ultimately our intercessor.(1 John 2:1, Romans 8:34, Hebrews 7:25, Hebrews 12:24, among many others).
Prayer to or through anyone else will not be heard by God. Prayers to or through anyone else are blasphemous as per Exodus 20:3-5. And if Christ is our mediator-advocate, then why would we pray ‘through’ anyone else in the first place. It would be like running around to the back of the house to climb in through the window when the front door is already open.
Our supplications are to be brought directly to God through Christ. And even if we don’t add, "through Jesus’s holy name,"at the end of our prayers it is imperative that we understand it is He who we pray through for our thanks and blessings. May God’s blessing be always upon you.

A 'Like' Is Not A Prayer - James 5:16

Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. - James 5:16

I’m addressing this issue since it has become a virus on the social networking sites. All too often our pages are inundated with hideously shocking photos of human beings and animals who have been brutally treated or have fallen victim to some exotic or deforming diseases. The photos are always accompanied by this erroneous line - "A ‘Like’ = a prayer." In simple terms: NO . . . IT DOES NOT!
To actually pray, one would need to know the components of what a prayer is and what a prayer requires to actually be a ‘prayer!’ Obviously, the people who post these disgusting photos have no clue as to either of these components. So allow me first to define what a prayer actually is -
"A prayer is a humble acknowledgment of thanks or a reverent supplication to God."
Now, I’m sure there are people who pray to Shiva, Allah, Buddha, and Satan. But for the sake of our exposition we are referring to the one true Christian God. I know that it sounds a bit arrogant to declare that the Christian God is the only true God, but if you’re a Christian you should have learned that in Christianity 101. Enough bantering now.
As to the components of a prayer there are basically two: faith in God and sincerity. If you have no faith in God then exactly who do you hope will answer your prayer? If I have to explain sincerity to you, being ignorant of the components of prayer isn’t your biggest problem.
So let us examine James 5:16. James describes a "fervent prayer." The Greek for ‘fervent’ is ‘zelos,’ or zealous, i.e., enthusiastic or passionate. Zealous is also defined as industrious. There is a constancy implied in the word; a continuousness of motivation. That is what fervent means, not the flippancy of a cavalier tap of the ‘Like’ button.
James also describes the prayer as being that of "a righteous man." Yes! I’m aware that in Romans 3:10 Paul says- " . . . There is none righteous, no, not one
: . . ." But the righteousness James is referring to is that of a man’s heart, and we know from Proverbs 21:2 that, "Every way of man is right in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the heart." Seriously, do you believe that by simply clicking on a ‘Like’ button you have sent a sincere, faithful and fervent supplication to God Almighty? As unbelievers, most people on the social network sites won’t give a hoot as to the legitimacy of fervent prayer or its make-up. But as Christians you have a duty to watch that you are not snared by contemporary culture’s allure. And that allure includes the minimalization of reverence toward God.
May Christ always guide you and keep you.