Tuesday, November 30, 2021

The Donkey's Cross


by Chuck Ness

The painting above is a powerful image when you consider who the boy is. The famous painter Jacques Tissot made this masterpiece. It invokes the purpose of the boy's existence in this World. It reminds me of the cross on the back of the donkey his mother rode to Bethlehem, and the one He rode into Jerusalem. His destination was the same from the beginning, and I am sure there are many moments He was reminded that He was to be about His Fathers business.

Sunday, November 28, 2021

“Eternity In Their Hearts” Book Review



He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has
put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can
find out the work that God does from beginning to end.
Ecclesiastes 3:11

by Chuck Ness

Don Richardson spent many years in Papua New Guinea. In his research, he investigated many cultures and their religious ceremonies. This book is a result of that investigative work. The first time I read this book was back in 2004, and I still find myself picking it up from time to time. The information inside is well worth the few dollars you may spend.

Besides being an avid reader of Christian literature, I am also a history buff, so I love learning about different cultures and how they came about. Yet, regardless of how cultures around the World and throughout history are different, I am always amazed at how similar the people truly are. My faith in God has always allowed me to see those similarities, and this book helps reiterate my belief that God created us all to be one people under The One true GOD.

Set Apart “Elect”


by Jose Barajas

One year, when I was working for the City of Long Beach at Houghton Park, we got the opportunity to go to Disneyland and take the kids from the daycare to enjoy the day. It was Mickey Mouse’s Sixteenth Birthday celebration and many cities were invited to celebrate and be part of a parade in a big pomp and circumstance celebration. We got to go around and enjoy the day on all the rides, but the best part came when they kicked the general public out and only those who were invited, got to stay and enjoy the park, rides, food and drinks for free, because we were “set apart” from everyone else.

Jesus in John Seventeen, which is His real prayer and not what many call the Lord’s Prayer, in Matthew Six, in verse Seventeen says, 

““Set them apart in the truth; your word is truth.” ‭(NET‬‬) 

Friday, November 26, 2021

Wikipedia May Remove Information About Communist Attrocities




by Chuck Ness

This is just a continuation of leftists trying their best the remove the evidence of what their policies lead to. Along with educating children of the future to believe that Communism is the best solution to all of makind's problems. Something the elitist mindset has been trying to accomplish for hundreds of years. They dream of the time when mankind will again need them to rule so they can be the leaders of a new type of feudalism. Ever since the black death freed people from being owned by the land, elitists have been doing all they can to regain control of us, and for them Communism is the perfect tool. 

Make no mistake, the fall of feudalism led to 700 years of freedom for billions of people the World over. This led to the growth of the great middle class, which in reality gives us control. Yet, they have been trying to wrest back control from us since the 15th century.  Communism is the best tool they have found to keep us under control. Now they are on the verge of destroying the middle class, and thus our power,  with a fake pandemic. Just as the left wants to squash the truth about history by deleting their p[age on the horrors of Communism, the left also wants to squash the truth about China and creating the virus.

Wednesday, November 24, 2021

Blessed Are Those Who Hunger & Thirst


by Chuck Ness

In my ministries, I never emphasize food nor clothing. While it is true that these are essential for a physical existence, they are not as essential as the Word.

Dear brothers and sisters, the primary purpose of the Church isn’t to take care of the symptoms of a fallen World, such as starvation and crime, but rather to bring the Gospel to men so that they will be brought into a position of hungering and thirsting for righteousness.

In the Beatitudes, Jesus tells us, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.”

A strong desire for anything is often represented in the Scriptures by hunger and thirst for the blessings of a pardon and peace because of our sin.

Those who are lost thirst for the Living water Christ offers (John 4:14) (John 7:37) (Isaiah 55:1-2) To hunger and thirst after righteousness is to hunger and thirst after Christ

Listening To GOD

by Chuck Ness

"Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I entrust my life.” Psalm 143:8

God still speaks through the Holy Spirit. The question is, are we listening? Do we desire to hear His voice over our own voice? Most of us are moving 100 miles per hour throughout the day, but are we willing to stop everything to get alone with Him to listen to Him?

Allow God to speak life into your soul and always remember that His voice will never contradict His Word. God speaks in multiple ways. He can speak in prayer. He can speak through others. Also, let’s remember to stay in the Word because He has spoken.

Remember that we must listen to what He has said in the Bible. He has revealed everything to us that we need to live a life of godliness. There is nothing in the world that compares to GOD's Word, because the Bible is completely sufficient for all our needs.

Monday, November 22, 2021

To Gain The World




For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?
Mark 8:36

by Chuck Ness

I brought my tomato plants inside the house about a Month ago to allow the tomatoes that were still on the plants to mature instead of letting the plants die in the cold. A Month later one plant has mostly died, but there is still one the last tomato that is almost ready to harvest. As you can see, the other plant is still hanging in there and even has some new tomatoes growing.

Now while the plants themselves are wilting away with every day that passes by, you will notice how the plants send all there energy to the tomatoes so their seeds could survive, even though that ensures the plant itself would die sooner. 

Sadly, humans are not so wise. Unlike plants and animals, we humans destroy our seeds so that we, not our children, will survive. Instead of ensuring the propagation of our kind, humans will often times sacrifice our future generations so that we can have more for ourselves.

After all it costs money and time to raise a child, and in doing so we must sacrifice things we would otherwise enjoy. This is why we humans will often times sacrifice our children to the god of self, so that we can enjoy the benefits a care free life might offer us. Benefits we would otherwise not enjoy if we are encumbered with the responsibility of a child.

The Last Sacrificial Lamb Is Born In Bethlehem



by Chuck Ness

When you think of the first story of Christmas, it's usually about Mary and Joseph looking down at their new born son in a manger, surrounded by barn animals and maybe a shepherd or two looking on. Angels singing praises of joy to the Lord Most High, and maybe even the star that is guiding the wise men from Babylon to the destination of the Jews Messiah.

We live at a time when children are born in sanitized hospital rooms with the best of care, before and after the mother gives birth. When we hear of stories of women giving birth at home, or alongside the road where the car had to pull over because the child would not wait, we are captivated and amazed of such a thing happening in today's world.

Yet, for the vast majority of man's history, women have given birth in conditions we would not expect our pet animals give birth in. So when you consider what Mary had to endure in her last week leading up the birth of her first child, I want you to consider the following. Then maybe, just maybe, you will look at the story of Christmas a bit differently than you have in the past.

When you consider that Luke was a Doctor, it kind of makes sense that his version of the Gospel is the only one that tells the story of the birth of Christ. It makes even more sense when you consider that Luke was not just a good friend and traveling companion, but he was also the Apostle Paul's Doctor. Another point of consideration is that, in Paul's letter to the Galatians he wrote that he did not receive the Gospel from man, but from Christ Himself. So who better to know the events leading up to the birth of Jesus, than the man He shared it with.
“But I make known to you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man. For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came through the revelation of Jesus Christ." Galatians 1:11-12

Tuesday, November 16, 2021

What Are You Willing To Sacrifice?


Chuck Ness

Tertullian said that The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church. Yet today I see the church in America dying a slow death due to the fact that the Saints in America like their blood too much to offer it as a sacrifice for Christ and His church today.

That's because too many Christians in America are so connected to the world that they refuse to face the danger Christ told us we must face for Him. Jesus said to the disciples, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. (Matthew 16:24-25) At the time the disciples did not understand that Jesus was going to die on the cross.

Imagine if Paul was more worried about his flesh than his soul? Paul, and the rest of the Apostles picked up their cross and followed Christ to their death. Like Paul, they faced many dangers and I am convinced they all came close to death many times before they paid the ultimate price of following Christ.

Remember, if your doing the Lords work, He does not promise that you will succeed at your task unmarked or even alive. What he promises, is eternal existence in a place He has prepared for you in one of the Fathers mansions. If you die in the process of carrying that cross, then the Lord is saying your work in the world is complete and it's time to take up residence in your new home in Heaven.

I do know one thing. Christ is watching Christians in America who are so comfortable in their life that they will never even consider risking it all for Him. Is that you?

I pray that those who have ears to hear will hear His voice and call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Jesus Our Logos; the First and Last Word


Joel Rice

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” John 1:1 (NASB 1515). The prologue of the Gospel of John, starting with verse 1 and ending with verse 18 of chapter 1, are some of the strongest verses supporting not only the Deity of Jesus, but also of Jesus being the Unique God the Father. At first glance we notice right away that John uses some unique choices of words in describing Jesus. The “Word” is translated from the dominate singular Greek word “Logos”, which can also be translated as: measure, computation, reason, account, expression or even wisdom. A good basic definition of logos is “the expression of thought – not the mere name of an object.” (Vine’s 1252) Why would John have used this word to describe Jesus? What meaning would it have to the Jewish readers of his time? What would it bring to mind of 1st century Gentiles? Most importantly, what does it mean to you and me today?

Monday, November 15, 2021

366 Prophecies Jesus Fulfilled


by Chuck Ness

Peter Stoner wrote in his book, "Science Speaks", that mere coincidence cannot explain the prophecies Jesus fulfilled. He applied the science of probability to show the chance of only eight prophecies being fulfilled in one man. That probability was calculated to be 1 in 100,000,000,000,000,000! That's 1 in quintillion. When Stoner's calculations were submitted to the American Scientific Affiliation for verification, both a committee of review and the Executive Council found them "dependable and accurate in regards to the scientific material presented" (see foreword by H. Harold Hartzler in Science Speaks). 

It doesn't take a mathematical genius to understand that a 1 in a quintillion shot of winning something is astronomically impossible. Believe me when I tell you, if casino owners used those odds in a promotion to lure customers to Vegas, they would never attract a single gambler. Those kinds of odds are proof that any prophecies being fulfilled are a result of shear chance. So what can we campare a number with 17 zeros with? Is there any comparison we can make to help understand that huge number?

Where is our Hope?

by Jose Barajas

I love the movie, “The Shawshank Redemption. It is based on a short story from one of my favorite writers when I was growing up, Stephen King. Andy Dufresne is imprisoned for killing his wife, even though he didn’t do it. After having spent two weeks in solitaire confinement for playing opera music over the prison loudspeakers, Andy is telling his fellow inmates how it was the two easiest weeks because of the music he had in his heart and mind. Him and Red, his best friend in prison, go back and forth saying, 

“Andy Dufresne That's the beauty of music. They can't get that from you... Haven't you ever felt that way about music? 

Red I played a mean harmonica as a younger man. Lost interest in it though. Didn't make much sense in here. 

Andy Dufresne Here's where it makes the most sense. You need it so you don't forget. 

Red Forget? 

Andy Dufresne Forget that... there are places in this world that aren't made out of stone. That there's something inside... that they can't get to, that they can't touch. That's yours. 

Red What're you talking about? 

Friday, November 12, 2021

Four Views Of Eschatology


by Chuck Ness

To fully appreciate “The Revelation of Jesus Christ”, one must read it in conjunction with passages from other books of the Bible. Specifically, but not exclusively, Scriptures found in Daniel, Zechariah, Ezekiel, and various verses found in the New Testament. I also believe having an understanding of world history, economics, and politics is a must to get a proper perspective of the end times. However, even with all these tools at ones disposal we find no shortage of opinions as to what these visions of John represents.

A quick search on Google shows that there are almost 100 million sites claiming to have insight that can help the reader understand this book, and that is just the English web sites. What and who to believe can be greatly influenced by each individual’s understanding of a select number of Scriptures and ones understanding of when this letter was written. Even among those who agree on the major points find that they disagree on many minor issues. To make it a bit simpler, there are four four distinct interpretations when it comes to eschatology, Preterist, Historicist, Spiritualist, and Futurist.

Tuesday, November 9, 2021

Silver Coins? Why Not Gold?


Mark A. Atterson

“SILVER COINS”? WHY NOT GOLD? These TEN coins correlate to PEOPLE WHO ARE SINNERS, therefore THEY ARE EXTREMELY VALUABLE IN THE EYES OF GOD. But isn't** GOLD** more valuable than SILVER? This all depends upon your PHYSICAL and SPIRITUAL perspectives. As the late Dr. Chuck Missler pointed out time and again, “Silver is Levitically symbolic of BLOOD. We will find that the Tabernacle rested on silver, with every detail being symbolic of Christ... wood once alive depicted (Christ's Humanity), the gold His Diety, The planks rested on SILVER SOCKETS; silver is the Levitical symbol for BLOOD...” Even Judas, as he threw the 30 pieces of SILVER on the temple floor, exclaimed, “Behold I have betrayed innocent BLOOD!” Matthew 27:4. SILVER CONNOTATES SACRIFICE, THE LETTING OF BLOOD. Everything OUTSIDE the Tabernacle was SILVER, but INSIDE WAS GOLD.

"The law says that almost everything must be made clean by blood. Sins cannot be forgiven without a blood sacrifice"
Hebrews 9:22.

Pour Out Your Blessings To The Lord


Peter C. Steinhagen

He would not drink it, but poured it out to the Lord.
2 Samuel 23:16

What has been like “water from the well of Bethlehem” to you recently— love, friendship, or maybe some spiritual blessing (2 Samuel 23:16)? Have you taken whatever it may be, even at the risk of damaging your own soul, simply to satisfy yourself? If you have, then you cannot pour it out “to the Lord.” You can never set apart for God something that you desire for yourself to achieve your own satisfaction. If you try to satisfy yourself with a blessing from God, it will corrupt you. You must sacrifice it, pouring it out to God— something that your common sense says is an absurd waste.

Giving Comes With A Price


by Chima Anaele Sylvanus

Sometimes the beauty of our faith is not seen in our preaching, anointing, noise making, programs, nor in our zealousness but rather in our simple act of kindness. Just as David's heart was revealed in the kindness he showed Johnathan's  grandson, Mephibosheth. (2Samuel Ch 9)

For many, ministry is just tool they use to acquire earthly treasures, yet for the Apostle it was the other way round. Their labor was more intense and harder than other men so as to be a blessing to the weak and the poor saints. They did not mind doing anything for the glory of The Gospel Of Jesus Christ.

Sunday, November 7, 2021

God's Handywork Psalm 19:1



”To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. The heavens are telling of the glory
of God; And the expanse [of heaven] is declaring the work of his hands.

Psalm 19:1 (Amplified Bible)

by Adam Lustig

One thing is for sure, whether we are believers in Yahshua or not, the busyness of this life can attribute to us forgetting the essentials of life. Folks that are far away from God get caught up in the trappings of this world and the business of it eventually brings them to a place where they say “where has my life gone.”

I love this time of the year, Nov 01 - 12/31, is my favorite because, thankfulness is on my thoughts. From God’s daily blessings to the birth of the savior of the world, my heart is glad.

Saturday, November 6, 2021

What About The Sabbath?



To be used with Matthew 11:1-19 Study
To understand the division of Bible into chapters and verses

by Chuck Ness

Throughout His ministry, Jesus never once broke the fourth commandment which required that all Jews observe the Sabbath. He was after all Jew. However, He did give us a clue that a change to the Sabbath was coming. To make my point, you must first understand that the original manuscripts of the Scriptures were not divided into verses and chapters.

The Old Testament manuscripts were written by scribes for the religious leaders to study. The New Testament manuscripts were letters originally written to be dispersed amongst the believers to read. They were like the letters you receive today. Just a document written in sentences and paragraphs with no verse or chapter numbers.

Christianity



The Ancient Church of Antioch is in Damascus Syria. It was on the
road to Antioch where Saul of Tarsus met Christ and was converted.
It's also where the followers of Christ were first called Christians.

by Adam Lustig

”Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, and when he found him, he brought
him to Antioch. So for a whole year Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught
great numbers of people. The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch."

Acts 11:25-26

Have you ever thought what the world would be like without Christianity impacting it? Ask a secular person who has heard propaganda and misinformation about Christianity and they will tell you everything they have heard minus the the truth of scripture. Many of us get upset the way Christianity has been attacked by the/a lie, forgetting that many of us were there at one time.

Friday, November 5, 2021

A Soldier In Training

by David M Heishman

I’m A Soldier In Training; In God’s Army Enlisted;
I Will March For My Master; And My Father’s Insisted.
He Has Called Me To Share; As I Go On This Mission;
I Will Minister Hope To The Hurting; As They’re Placed In Condition.

Tuesday, November 2, 2021

When Was Jesus Really Born?



Christ's Birthday


I found this in a file on my hard drive. I did not create the whole article, but through the years I have opened it and added some thoughts here and there. To be honest, it has been in my file so long I cannot remember what I added, or what was originally in it when I found it. The original file date says 2004, and the last time I edited it was 2018, so it's been on my hard drive for almost 18 years. My how time can go by. I tried to find out who put the original article together, but all the links are dead. So I'm clueless as to who the original author is. I offer it as food for thought. The more we know, the more we know we don't know. However, with help from God, we can continue to grow in HIS knowledge.


Today, Christians around the world celebrate December 25 as the birth date of Christ. But this is incorrect. The date was chosen to attract the people of the pagan religion, who celebrated the birth date of the sun on that day.

The story of the birth of Christ and John, pinpoints the exact date of his birth. According to Luke, the Angel Gabriel visited Zacharias while he was performing his priestly duties. He announced the birth of his child, John.