I Published My Book

I recently self published my first book, and I posted this to FreeRepublic out of respect for
the many FReepers who have been part of my growth, which has led to my ability to write.

I've been a Freeper for 25 years come February 20, 2023, and I must admit my knowledge and understanding of things has been immensely effected by the many great minds who are part of that great forum. Whether it's about politics, science, history, or religion, FreeRepublic has been to me, what many Colleges used to be. I have witnessed many a great mind debate other great minds, and I have also witnessed my share of knock down, drag out, leave no prisoner, fights between Freepers who would die on their cross of beliefs. Probably the biggest was the battle of the long-knives. This is not an insult, but rather a compliment to the way that forum has truly effected me, and many like me, in our understanding of the world throughout the last 25 years.

Handling Adversity Well

Take heed, do not turn to iniquity, for you have chosen this rather than affliction. Job 36:21 

We all face adversity and affliction in our lives, the difference is how we handle that adversity and affliction. Are you responding to it in a negative fallen human way? Or are you taking it to Jesus?

How many times have you heard a person say, I was afflicted, and the stress became to much, so I turned to drugs or excessive drinking to forget my problems. My parents raised me terribly, so I turned to a life of crime and sin. After all, it’s not my fault it’s someone else’s fault. If they had not sinned against me, or if a calamity had not happened upon my life, I would not be the loser in life I am.

In the discourse of Job and his friends, the fourth man, Elihu, is the youngest. Yet he is the one who’s wisdom is the most profound. Follow what he tells Job and his friends about handling affliction.

Who Created Evil?

by Chuck Ness

The debate about who created evil is an important one since atheists and skeptics use the existence of evil in their arguments against theism. It is incumbent upon all Christians to understand what the Scriptures say about the God they worship and the existancxe of evil in the world. If God created everything, and if evil is in the world, does it follow that God created evil? We are told as Christians to believe what the Bible says. Even the popular children's song, “Jesus Loves Me”, has in its lyrics,

 

“Jesus loves me, this I know for the Bible tells me so”.

So, let us read what the Bible says.

In (Genesis 1:1) we read,

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”

The New Testament says in (John 1:3),

“All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.”

So, we now know that God made everything through Christ, but are there any Scriptures that specifically say God is the author of evil? The closest we can get is (Isaiah 45:7),

“I make peace and create calamity”,

and (Amos 3:6), 

A Singular Purpose

by Chuck Ness

Man goes through life living for what they can achieve before they die. Along the way we sink into quicksand. As we slowly sink, we are visited by many prophets who have much wisdom for us.

Confucius tells us, “It is evident man should avoid such situations.” And continues on his way leaving the us in the fix we got ourselves in.

Mohammed comes by and says, “Alas, it is the will of Allah.” And he goes on his way leaving us to our misery.

It's Ok To Lose Your Head For Christ

by Chuick Ness

Many Christians today are unwilling to face persecution for the truth. They want a simple easy life with no confrontations, and thus no condemnation. This is why so many Christians avoid situations that could cause strife. Well, we can be thankful that Jesus never avoided confrontations. In fact he took the problem of sin straight to the cross.  It's easy to ignore confrontation by not doing what we are called to do. Paul spent the last 20 years of his life confronting the problem of sin in the World by sharing how Christ died for our sins. In the end, he lost his head because he refused to back down.

Consider the many Israelites captured by the enemy who never returned home, but instead reached their captors with the truth of the true God. We have all had our moments of fear that we may be persecuted. However, it is a weakness to worry about troubles that could forever disrupt our lives. I see many Christians worry and complain about the persecution we see going on around us in these trying times we live in. Yet how often have you truly considered the blessings God dispersed to us through our tragedies?

A Father Pays The Price For His Children's Crimes

As a gift of his love for his eight-year old son, a father gives him a baseball and a bat. The father tells the boy to be carefull as to not break any windows, nor harm anyone with the toys.

So the boy takes his gift and goes outside to play with the new toy. He grabs the bat with his hand, rests it upon his shoulder and tosses the ball into the air with his other hand. As the ball descends he swings the bat at the ball. To his complete enjoyment, the boy hits the ball squarely and it goes sailing into the air. As the baseball flies across the yard, it enters the neighbors yard and smashes into their living room window.

That's when the neighbor comes outside to confront the boy about his window. The neighbor realizes that an eight-year old boy cannot fix, nor pay for the broken window. Yet he demands justice. So he confronts the boys father, who gave him the destructive instruments that shattered his living room window.

I Will Continue To Fight

by Chuck Ness 

I wrote this psalm back in 2008 , when I was in a spiritual struggle with Satan. I won that battle, but only because I had the full armor of God on. So I wrote this as a thank you and a praise to my Lord and Savior who gave me the tools I needed to win the battle.

False Grace Teaching

Here is some background on, "False Grace Teaching",
also called, "Hyper Grace", which my guest is writing about today.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the great German pastor, theologian, and martyr was asked in 1943 how it was possible for the Church to sit back and let Hitler seize absolute power. In his book, The Cost of Discipleship, he stated hyper grace: “Was the teaching of cheap grace.”

What follows is an excellent commentary on this false doctrine by my new guest writer;

Chima Anaele Sylvanus

Lifted Up, Like A Snake The Desert

by Chuck Ness

Give me a moment of your time and allow me to introduce you to something very few Christians ever considered when hearing the phrase, Lift Christ up with Praise. Quite often you will hear a Pastor use this phrase as he instructs you to give glory to God, through His Son. Have you ever really considered the significance of the phrase?

Many people know the verse, (John 3:16).I would bet that the vast majority of Christians have it locked into their memory bank. For me, that was the first verse I ever memorized in Sunday school as a child. God's gift to mankind was His only Son, Jesus. With the death of His Son on the Cross, all we need to do is confess Him as our Lord and Savior and our sins have been paid for in full. It’s Salvation in a nut shell. Praise God for simplicity! If there is any verse that says it all about God's love for us, it's this one. 

Scotty Beam Me Up!

It seems like some men around the world think that getting a sexually transmitted disease is a badge of honor not shame. It truly is sad that we do not shame those who participate in activities that can lead to a lifetime of pain and suffering for some. But like the days of Sodom and Gomorrah, evil is considered good, and good is considered evil. Just as Paul warned Timothy about when he wrote,

But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God. 2Timothy 2:1-4

So here we are in 2009 where homosexuality is not just accepted as normal sexual behavior, but it is touted by many as a healthy lifestyle. If they get married at all, men and women treat marriage like high school dating by getting married then divorced then married again without even considering the consequences. 

Homosexuality : Defiance of God and the Truth

by Chuck Ness

With the recent success of proposition 8 in California, and the polls showing a majority of Americans across the country opposed to giving marital status to homosexual couples, one would think that the same sex-marriage debate would have faded away. Unfortunately, that has not been the case. Every week we hear of another state either passing laws that allow gay marriages, or judges of those states ruling by fiat to force it upon society.