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Christian Depression
One of our readers wrote in reply to the article on depression:
“I really appreciate what you had to say about that chat room
you came across. Although I agree with you that all depression
can be
 cured
by God, so can blindness. I love God with all my heart and most
mornings He is the only reason I choose to roll out of my bed...
I would like to know more of what you think on the subject of
depression; also if you have ever struggled with it or if you
have studied more than just by the Internet.”
My reply: I have tried to avoid getting too much into the
literature about depression. Most of it is, as I alluded to, a
trap for getting us to try to overcome it by some other method
than by faith. But in reading all literature, including the
Bible, I see depressed people. Others see “melancholics,” but
then everyone loves to make their own psychology. I have always
struggled with depression. Ever since I figured out the world
was not a nice place, in fact. I tried many methods to deal with
it, the first being to become hardened by sin. This happened at
an early age. I didn’t do anything real bad, but my heart did.
It hated God and anything that brought him near. I fled. Of
course, I became suicidal. But God intervened in a wonderful
way, showing me the hell that awaited if I died without
repentance. I repented and knew the love of Jesus Christ. I have
known Christ for 34 years now. About the only thing that really
cheers me up nowadays is preaching the gospel and praying to our
wonderful God and Father. I was about four years ago on
anti-depressants for a short while during a horrible period of
time. It worked, but made me un-emotional and uninvolved in the
gospel. I shook it all off, have deep emotions and now I’m ten
times the threat to the kingdom of darkness than I was before.
Praise be to the Name of Jesus Christ!
If you want a real charge, read some good biography on Martin
Luther (the German reformer, not the American social reformer
who has a similar name for some odd reason). There is also a
recent movie on his life. Also, read Hebrews 12 keeping in mind
much of what the author is talking about are things that cause
depression. Let us be free of those things that encumber us.
Jesus said to the rich man sell everything you have and give the
money to the poor, and come follow him. He was encumbered.
Therein lies our true riches: to be able to think of the things
of Christ first and always before ourselves. This will assure
our hearts before God (1 John 3:19, in context).
God bless you and keep up the good fight of faith.
Chris Simsonson 6/30/2005 |
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Common errors concerning faith #1:
1. “Faith is believing in things even when common sense tells
you not to” - from ‘Miracle on37th Street,’ old movie about Kris
Kringle/ Santa Claus. This is silly talk. If common sense tells
us
 that
gravity causes us to sink in water, and yet we believe that we
can walk on water, something is seriously wrong, unless we walk
on the water. If we believe there is a pot of gold at the end of
a rainbow, then let us prove there is. Santa Claus is fiction.
If we teach our children enough fiction, then we can change the
world, right? Wrong. Truth is, Jesus walked on water. Why?
Because he created water. His creation is real. He is real. We
may not like it, but that’s the way it is. Real faith believes
there is a God and that he rewards those that diligently seek
after him. We better make sure it’s the right God we believe in.
Most ‘paths to God’ lead to death. Faith is believing in things
even when we feel they are not right, because they are real
nonetheless. There is a judgment day, and there is a reward for
the righteous and punishment for the wicked. Common sense or no.
(To be revisited)
Chris Simonson 6/29/2005 |
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The poor need food and clothes,
or Christian Garage Sale II
When Jesus said to the rich young man, “Go, and sell everything
you have and give the money to the poor,” He meant, “Go, and
sell everything you have and give the money to the poor.” In a
country with a superabundance of everything, we have modified
the gospel
 to
say something it does not say. Accordingly, we have altered this
portion of the gospel to mean something else. We give our
clothes, furniture, T.V. sets, computers, appliances, cars, and
more, once we have failed to sell them for hard cash, to the
Salvation Army or the hospice so they can sell it. God knows
what they do with the money. God knows what we do with the
money. Which brings us to the subject of love of God vs. love of
money. What do we do with the money we make from garage sales?
This is the test of faith, not saying with the lips, “I love
God, and I love my neighbor.” Period. If we have failed to
understand the simple gospel, then we are bound to fail at love
or anything else demanded by God, including holiness.
The only way to come out of
Babylon, is to come out of her now. If we do not understand that
the riches of this world are not to be lusted after, then we are
bound for hell. If we understand that the longing for riches is
a temptation and a snare, then we can at least beg for mercy and
repent as needed. If we have a garage sale, let us put the money
toward feeding the poor. We do not have poor here where I live,
except the drunks and the welfare frauds. This does not stop me
from seeing to it that the real poor are fed and clothed. A
corollary: Quit buying useless junk in the first place. It
weighs heavily against faith. Where your put your treasure, your
heart follows. No exceptions to that. “Make to yourselves
friends of the unrighteous mammon, so when this fails, they may
receive you into everlasting habitations. If you have not been
faithful in the unrighteous mammon, Who will commit to your
trust the true riches? And if you have not been faithful in
another man’s things, Who will give you the things that are your
own?” Check it out, Luke 16. Jesus is here talking about eternal
life, not a sweeter deal in this present life.
Chris Simsonson 6/28/2005 |
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Calvin’s Reply
"However, even though I had done all the things prescribed by
the Christian leaders, and admittedly had short periods of calm,
I was still far away from having a good conscience before God or
man. For, whether I descended into myself or lifted my mind to
thee, O God, extreme terror seized me: terror that no sacrifices
or satisfactions could cure.
The more closely I examined myself,
the sharper the stings of conscience; to delude myself with
oblivion the only solace remaining. But, still, with nothing
better being offered, I continued on my first course, when,
suddenly, I discovered a different doctrine that had started up;
not one that led us away from the Christian profession, but one
that brought us back to its fountainhead, and, as it were,
clearing away the dross, restoring it to its original purity.
Offended by this novelty, I listened only unwillingly and at
first, I confess, vigorously and vehemently resisted. This
because, such is the stubbornness and audacity of men to persist
in a course once undertaken, it was almost impossible for me to
admit I had spent my whole life in ignorance and error.
One subject in particular made the
new teachers disgusting to me: the loss of reverence for the
Church. But, when I opened my eyes and allowed myself to be
taught, I found that my fears were unfounded: that there was no
disparagement of the Church’s majesty at all. For the new
teachers reminded me that there is a great difference between
dividing from the Church and attempting to correct the faults by
which the Church herself has been contaminated. They spoke
highly of the Church and desired to pursue unity. And to make
sure they were not playing games with the term “Church,” they
showed it was nothing new for antichrists to rule the Church in
place of pastors.
To prove it, they presented not a
few historical examples, and for all appearances their efforts
were the edification of the Church. In this respect they could
be categorized with many of Christ’s servants whom we (the Roman
Church) ourselves included in the catalog of saints. And what
about their increasing verbal attacks against the Roman Pontiff,
who was reverenced as the ViceRegent of Christ, the successor of
Peter, and the head of the Church? They justified themselves
thus: Such titles are empty threats and, like bogeymen, should
not terrify truly pious men, who should not be afraid to look at
and sift out the reality from the nightmare.
It was when the world was plunged
in ignorance and laziness, as in a deep sleep, that the Pope had
risen to such preeminence; certainly not because he was
appointed by the Word of God nor ordained by a legitimate act of
the Church, but of his own accord: self-elected. Accordingly,
the tyranny he imposes upon the people of God is not to be
accepted, if we desire to have the kingdom of Christ safely in
our midst." –from John Calvin’s reply to Sadoleto, 1539.
Chris Simonson 6/27/2005 |
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Lie not one to another, seeing that
ye have put off the old man with his deeds; Colossians 3:9
Pretend Christians will practice such wonderful piety before the
camera, but let them come under temptation! If we have malice or
envy or wrath etc. against a brother, we should confront him as
instructed by our Lord (Leviticus 19:17-18, Matt. 18:15-17).
When we tell the truth in love, we love. When we lie, we lie.
The old man loves the lie that he is O.K. Other old men pat him
on the back and tell him he’s doing well for himself (Psalm
49:18). All the while they are sinking down to hell (Psalm
49:17). Those in fellowship should not have to resort to such
duplicity. However, I am not talking about manipulated
confessions or snooping into other people’s privacy. This is
condemned all ’round (Leviticus 19:16, 1 Thess. 4:11, 2 Thess.
3:11, 1 Tim. 5:13, 1 Peter 4:15, etc.). But if we have ‘put off
the old man,’ we should not have to resort to false piety.
Chris Simsonson 6/24/2005 |
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For which things’ sake the wrath of
God cometh on the children of disobedience. Colossians 3:6
The wrath of God is as real as the love of God. They are not
opposing sides of God. God is pure and holy. His wrath and his
love are One. He is against all ungodliness of ungodly men that
they have committed in their ungodly ways (Jude 15). God’s wrath
isn’t coming because he just needs to vent. He hates
fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil
concupiscence, and covetousness. He doesn’t merely get steamed
up about it. He plans his vengeance against such whom refuse to
submit to his holiness (Psalm 7:11). “The children of
disobedience” must therefore be very evil; not good persons who
just don’t happen to believe in Jesus.
No, God brings his wrath to bear
upon those who practice wickedness and we don’t have to pretend
there are many so-called Christians who practice things worthy
of death. These terrible words are written so that we might flee
from the wrath to come and find shelter in the Rock of Ages. We
find shelter at the crucifix where man judged God to be evil,
and where God submitted to this insanity on behalf of those who
thus crucified his Son. God does not punish the wicked because
of nothing. Popular, but erroneous, theology teaches that God
punishes the wicked solely because he does not “believe in
Jesus.” He can be a good man and do good, but God sends him to
hell because he rejected Jesus.
This just does not line up with
scripture. Check out Romans 2. The corollary to this false
teaching is that the “believer” can do any amount of evil and
yet he is justified because he “believes in Jesus.” We who are
saved are always thankful that Christ delivered us from sin
itself, and the effect of sin, death. The mystery of iniquity
doth work, but so does the mystery of godliness. We who are
delivered always rejoice that God has not appointed us to wrath
but to obtain salvation through Jesus Christ our Lord (1 Thes.
5:9)
We should always keep in mind that
the wrath of God is perfect, consuming the wicked. We should
always keep in mind that we need to seek the ways of the Lord
through the mystery of godliness, that is, God in Christ, Christ
in us. We should rejoice that God has saved us apart from any
good works on our part, and yet, we should fear lest we take
this lightly and depart from faith. Praise be to our God for his
vengeance which he takes on the ungodly! Praise be to our God
for his mercy which he bestows upon the vessels of his mercy!
May we partake of this inestimable gift. (To be continued)
Chris Simonson 6/23/2005 |
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Colossians 3:5
(continued)...fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection,
evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry:
Do we need to explain these? Fornication is a nasty word. We
have other, shorter, words to replace it. Yet, this is the way
of the flesh. Uncleanness is much tied to fornication. The
marriage bed is undefiled and holy before God; all other sexual
pleasures are unclean. The unclean mind cannot find pureness;
but, all things are defiled. Evil concupiscence means the lust
that burns in men’s minds due to their love of the things of
this world. Covetousness drives it all, for the love of money is
the root of all evil. It is no wonder therefore that it is seen
as worship of a false god. This is a very short list. However,
it shows us the nature of the things of the flesh.
The flesh that surrenders to
fleshly lusts is driven by the fleshly mind. Notice that these
“members which are upon the earth” are all tied to desirable
fulfillment of the bodily functions. Christians who are covetous
are on the same list as perverts who lust after strange flesh?
This cannot be. As many of us who are in Christ should therefore
kill these things as noxious and predatory things. We should
ignore the world that says to be tolerant of these things.
Better for us to have never been born. But we have a new life in
Christ that says, “I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I
live, yet not I, but Christ who lives in me” (Galatians 2:20).
(To be continued).
Chris Simonson 6/22/2005 |
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Mortify therefore your members
which are upon the earth; Colossians 3:5 (continued)
What a weird word: “Mortify.” And yet, we have no modern
equivalent. It means, “put to death.” Because we are dead in
Christ, it makes sense to put to death everything that argues
against the principle that we are already dead. The main
obstacle to faith is our own fleshly desires. Our fleshly mind,
our fleshly pursuits, all cry against faith that says, “Ye are
dead.” The only solution: Kill them all. When Jesus said, “If
your hand offends you, cut it off and throw it from you,” he was
referring to this very thing.
This is harsh, so we have to be
reminded over and over again that we are already dead in Christ
and have great hope that we shall appear with him in glory.
Otherwise, we should fail from the pursuit of holiness. How apt
to pursue the things of the fleshly mind is the body of flesh!
“Your members which are upon the earth” refers to our fleshly
body. We were once held by these things because we had no faith
that we could be holy through Jesus Christ; but because we have
found a new life, we have power to become the sons of God. This
involves a lot of mortification. (To be continued)
Chris Simonson 6/21/2005 |
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Christ Will Appear.
His appearance has nothing to do
with a secret rapture. It will be as though the heavens split
open and roll back as an ancient scroll, and thus the earth will
no longer be under the curse of
 corruption.
The present earth will simply flee away from the face of the
Almighty. The appearance of Christ is thus. Many downplay the
magnitude of his second coming. They confuse by saying there is
a secret second coming part A, then a different second coming
part B and maybe a final wrap after the millennium part C. The
Bible teaches that the revelation or appearance of Christ is the
final and huge and only coming of Jesus Christ. The wicked will
cry for the mountains to fall upon them to hide them from the
face of Jesus Christ. The living righteous will be changed, in a
twinkling, to be like him. Those who are asleep will come with
him. So shall we be always with him, in his glory, revealed with
him as his brethren and the children of his Father, our God.
Such things are beyond description, but let us nonetheless hope
in them, for they are promised to those of us who have faith.
(To be continued)
Chris Simonson 6/20/2005 |
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Preaching pro-life does not lead to
eternal life - Part 2
What is the Gospel we should preach?
The bible says to preach about Jesus and Him crucified. Warn the
lost of eternal damnation for all those who reject Christ. Speak
of eternal life to those who will listen. Tell them of the law
of Moses if they claim to have no sin. The Lord has always
blessed and strengthened those who preach His gospel. What other
message is there for the lost than how to be found in Christ?
In Paul’s day there were Christians being slaughtered in
Jerusalem; the Church was being persecuted. Paul, did not
protest against the Roman government, or organize a ‘‘save the
persecuted Church’’ march, or encourage the gentiles to publicly
preach against such atrocities; instead he preached the Gospel
of Jesus Christ, and among the brethren he took up offerings for
the persecuted and poor saints in Jerusalem. Likewise, in Jesus’
time there was the issue of Roman occupation and brutality
towards the Jewish people; Jesus did not start a movement
against Roman brutality; instead he chose the road of obedience
to God, which led to the cross.
Strong delusions have come upon the modern church to keep them
from preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ; God promised in the
Scriptures that this would occur. The love has grown cold as a
result, not only for Jesus but for our own brethren which are
being systematically led astray. I am not advocating the
horrible sin of abortion in any way, but you cannot humanly
reason morality with the lost. They must first come to Christ by
the means of the gospel and only through the direct conviction
of the Spirit can they turn from their sin. The pro-life gospel
is just one in a list of delusions that ultimately sound right
and good, and may have moral principles behind them but they do
not save one from eternal death.
Steven 6/17/2005 |
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Preaching pro-life does not lead to
eternal life - Part 1
The pro-life movement has united many denominations together
along with some of the cults and Catholicism; many of these
groups flat-out reject Jesus Christ as Lord and they add works
to salvation. Those in the movement who peach a pro-life-gospel
mix take it upon themselves to go beyond what is written in the
Gospel, as if God somehow forgot to include anti-abortion
sentiments in it for these modern times.
Just recently we met some members of local fellowships while we
were out preaching; they had signs typifying mutilation and
others were passing out flyers about abortion. No one has ever
been saved by preaching pro-life. It is only through the Gospel
of Jesus Christ that one may come to salvation; there is no
other name by which men can be saved. No one has ever been saved
by the name of ‘‘morality’’. In fact, I don't see any of the
pro-life doctrines spoken of in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. For
years I have carefully watched men come out and represent the
pro-life gospel platform, and my observation is that this leads
to sectarian, dogmatic distortion of the Gospel, in which they
self- righteously justify their iniquities. They think that if
they stand out there holding up a grotesquely hideous picture of
someone else’s sin, it somehow overlooks their own.
Now I am not saying that the genocide of the 45 million
innocent, defenseless, unborn children is not grievous beyond
reason and does not attract the Lord’s wrath, but is this issue
pre-eminent over the Gospel? Certainly not.
Steven 6/16/2005 |
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Reply to a Seminarian Part 2
Someone else replied: Why would
there be something wrong with it? How could you possibly cut out
that part of the gospel message? People must be confronted with
that. Paul certainly minced no words about the truth of God's
curse with the false teachers. (Gal 1:6-10) - Joe
-------------------------------------------------------------
To Joe,
I agree. If one does not preach about sin and the consequences
thereof, then one turns the grace of our Lord Jesus into
lasciviousness and blasphemes the work of the cross. The law
itself shows us our wretched and defiled hearts before Christ
and thus is a schoolmaster to drive us towards the grace of
Christ, repentance and forgiveness of sins.
" But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up
unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed. 24.
Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ,
that we might be justified by faith." Gal 3:23-24
It is God's very kindness that leads us to repentance. Through
the greatest demonstration of love, the cross, the forgiveness
of sins came to all those who would confess and repent and turn
from their vile conditions.
To answer your question from my perspective of who teaches
otherwise, it generally is the seeker-sensitive churches in
which have brought the lost in among the flock in an attempt to
evangelize them and lead them to Christ; whom have had to change
the gospel as not to offend those who signed the card saying
that they are now a believer, or made some sort of verbal
confession, but lack the substance of repentance and obedience
which is the result of the conviction of the Holy Spirit. Thus,
this nullifies their so-called confession of faith.
This actually seems to be pretty commonplace in today's
Christianity. The New Testament church never made a practice to
bring the lost in, but went out to the lost, warning of coming
judgment, hell and eternal damnation through the power of law of
God.
Lord willing, the next time we see Joe Preacher out on the
street we should shake his hand and thank him for being obedient
to Christ, by the preaching the true Gospel, and then commit
ourselves to pray for him.
Steven 6/15/2005 |
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Reply to a Seminarian Part 1
Well, Sir, let me spell out my
point to the best of my feeble abilities: Let's say I am Joe
Preacher, you know that guy out there with a lazy eye and a
fifty-yard stare, standing on some chair in a metropolitan area,
preaching the Gospel of Christ. I talk about hell, and the
reality of such a place for those who would reject Christ. I
even throw in a little of Moses' law, you know, thou shalt not
have any gods before me, thou shalt not covet, lie, commit
adultery.... etc. Would you, from the perspective of one who can
read Greek and Hebrew, ( which I respect... probably would come
in handy next time I run into the watchtower minions and they
insist that they have Greek scholars )... would you consider
this effective?
Steven 6/14/2005 |
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Church Buildings
Recently I came across an email
that Gospel for Asia sent out to update its subscribers. In the
email K.P. Yohannan states, "Without
 a
building, congregations are often attacked in their makeshift
meeting places. At the same time, opponents of the Gospel
ridicule the believers by saying, 'Our gods have a building; the
Christian god doesn't."
We, by faith, hope for an everlasting building that God has
constructed and in which Jesus is preparing each of us believers
a room. (John 14:2) Jesus said, "My kingdom is not of this
world. If My kingdom were of this world, then My servants would
be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews; but
as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm." (John 18:36) God is
spirit, those who worship him, worship in spirit. So whether
this is done outdoors, under a canopy, or within a building; our
God does not have a building. (John 4:21-24)
We who believe are the temples of the Holy Spirit, God has many
buildings. (1 Corinthians 6:19) The God of the Heavens is not
identified by any structure, He is identified by His Saints; and
where they are, He is also. (Matthew 18:20)
After putting our trust in God, are we now to put our trust in
buildings?
Matt Simonson 6/13/2005 |
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The Evolving jesus
Today’s Jesus is not yesterday’s Jesus. Nor is it the Jesus of
the Bible. It is a conglomerate of historical and imaginative
images which men instill into their brains, hoping for heavenly
blessings (or at least money). This effort of evolving jesuses
seems to please God - at least according to the clergy. The
modern church has been overrun with Darwinian doctrines as men
naturally selected the specious Jesus of their choice. And this
all seems to be O.K. with the pastors and priests, as long as
the present-day adaptation of specie (mammon) survives in the
marketplace. Unlike the real Jesus, these Petri-dish jesuses
change with the culture.
The anthropological/psychological
Jesus is but one such clone. This religious icon resembles a
Hindu pluralistic god more than an historical Jesus who said,
“Narrow is the gate and strict is the way that leads to
salvation.” When the disciples were given the charge to go and
preach Jesus to make more disciples, they weren’t told to adapt
Jesus so he would fit right in. Jesus didn’t fit in with the
Jews; why should he fit in with the Gentiles? And yet, the
present-day Jesus is a pluralistic, universal, ecumenical
binding agent more suitable for laboratory experiments than a
deliverer from this present evil world. Jesus told us to beware
of false Christs.
If one thinks he can spot mutations
of Jesus easily just because he ‘has Jesus in his heart,’ he is
probably already in the La Brea tar pits of deception. We are
told by the real Jesus to be on the alert and pray always,
because we do not know our hour of visitation. Peter says our
adversary goes about like a devouring lion. I’ll take the
unchanging Jesus, the Ancient of Days, who does not need to
adapt himself to this world. He made the world in six days - I
don’t think I need to figure out how he needs to evolve to suit
its whims and vanities!
Chris Simonson 6/10/2005 |
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This sounds like new age holistic
Christianity
“It is no longer considered correct to view addiction as a moral
problem; now it is viewed as an illness. I believe this shift in
attitude came about through a growing sense of human compassion
and the understanding that judgment and blame have no place at
all in an enlightened societal response to problems of
addiction. This understanding is clearly true, and a sign of
progress in societal altitudes....Through the body we are
connected to the earth, and through our spirit we are connected
to God. Our soul is capable, if healthy, of having a harmonious
connection to both God and the earth. Modern psychology
recognizes that the human mind or soul has a conscious part and
an unconscious part and that the unconscious part is strongly
influenced by the needs and passions of our earthy bodily nature
and is therefore not free...”
(From ‘The Doctor Speaks’, by Phip Incao, LILIPOH Autumn 2004,
pg 29, A magazine devoted to earth worship and other
witchcraft.)
Chris Simonson 6/09/2005 |
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I am not a Baptist II
I read about religion in order to know my enemy;
I read the Bible in order to know my God.
I read that Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus,
Spending lives in search of knowledge
Knew not God, nor knew His Son.
Latter Day, Seventh Day, many more that way
Read the stuff their leaders give them
But always pass by simple Scripture
Always learning but never coming
To the knowledge of the truth.
Luckily for me I’m not running
For office therefore not needing
Letters of recommendation nor letters Recommending,
but honest letters Helping others
to look around them
Perhaps by feeling for God will find Him
Not in logic, one, two, three we have it
But in true repentance leading
To the knowledge of the truth.
Chris Simonson 6/08/2005 |
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I am not a Baptist
When President Nixon was defending himself, he was quoted as
saying, “I am not a crook.” Actually, he was a Quaker. President
Bush is a United Methodist. However, I heard George defend
Muslims saying in so many words that Allah is the same as the
Father of Jesus Christ. Christians aren’t supposed to say that
unless they are Mother Teresa. And if they did, their pastor
should take them aside and explain the simple gospel to them,
for the millionth time. I am not here to explain the gospel to
George or to the rest of his ken. I am here to exalt in the
freedom I have in Jesus Christ. When I am asked, “What church do
you belong to?” I can honestly say, “The church of Jesus
Christ.” That’s not what people are asking, of course, but then
again, their religion consists of a long list of do’s and don’ts
ascribed to by their denomination.
My religion consists of finding out
what God wants me to do and then either doing it, or asking for
his mercy. I consider myself no Baptist, whether First,
Southern, American, or Free. I compare not against Pentecostal,
Evangelical, Conservative, or Liberal. Orthodox or Catholic I’m
not. As Calvinist or Arminian I refused to be classified. If I
am judged by others for not talking and acting like a
cookie-cutter Christian, that’s because I am not a piece out of
an assembly line. That is not to say I think each Christian
should be independently-minded and alienated from other
Christians. Quite the contrary, we should all be of one mind in
Christ. Being a Baptist never helped, that I can tell anyway.
I read about religion in order to know my enemy; I read the
Bible in order to know my God.
Chris Simonson 6/07/2005 |
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Can you identify with this?
Kathi listened to the sermon on “our present suffering” and
could identify completely. It was like the sermon was meant for
her. She is in the middle of her trials. The sewer backed up
last week, and the plumber charged double for after-hour rates.
Then the water company said her neighborhood had to drink
bottled water for the next week or so until they had repaired a
leak in the main. Her clothes washer has broke down and she has
to go to the laundromat until she can buy a new machine. The
water heater isn’t working properly. Even the towel she dried
off with this morning after her daily shower was harsh and rough
because the laundry softener is some cheap watered-down brand.
She grabbed a double-double mocha
lite on the way into church and it spilled out just before she
got in her vehicle. At least it didn’t spill in the car.
Yesterday, the mechanic told her that the water pump in her
brand new SUV will have to be replaced. She has to juggle the
appointment for this with her daughter’s swimming lessons. Her
divorce hasn’t helped. Even though she got the house (and the
in-ground pool), she has to keep up the maintenance on it. The
swimming pool man is upping his rates. The gardener is upping
his rate, plus she just had an automatic irrigation system
installed for her new landscaping (her ex-husband never was any
good with property upkeep). She is taking her daughter to
WaterWorld next Saturday to see her namesake, Shamu, which puts
off that trip to Hawaii. Also, her ex lost his job recently and
this could be cold water on the alimony she has been using to
fund all this. And to top it off, Kathi just signed up with
GospelFund and has pledged support to the tune of $30/mo. The
brochure said this will help the village to get clean drinking
water which will stop most of the disease there.
This is almost as much as her life
insurance policy. O, the suffering! What can Kathi do? WWJD?
Jesus said, “When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and
all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne
of his glory: and before him shall be gathered all nations: and
he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides
his sheep from the goats: and he shall set the sheep on his
right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the King say
unto them on his right hand, ‘Come, ye blessed of my Father,
inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the
world: for I was hungry, and you gave me food: I was thirsty,
and you gave me drink: I was a stranger, and you took me in:
Naked, and you clothed me: I was sick, and you visited me: I was
in prison, and you came to me.’
Then shall the righteous answer him
saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and fed you? or
thirsty, and gave you drink? When did we see you a stranger, and
took you in? or naked, and clothed you? Or when saw we you sick,
or in prison, and came to you?’ And the King shall answer and
say to them, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you: in that you have
done it to one of the least of these my brethren, you have done
it to me.’ Then shall he say also to those on the left hand,
‘Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for
the devil and his angels: For I was hungry, and you gave me no
food: I was thirsty, and you gave me no drink: I was a stranger,
and you did not take me in: naked, and you clothed me not: sick,
and in prison, and you did not visit me.’ Then shall they also
answer him saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry, or
thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did
not minister to you?’ Then shall he answer them, saying, ‘Most
assuredly I say to you, in that you did it not to one of the
least of these, you did it not to me.’ And these shall go away
into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life
eternal.”
Chris Simonson 6/06/2005 |
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Biometrics and 666
It’s funny, how things work out. Let him who has wisdom count
the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man: 666.
Biometrics does this very thing. It numbers a man. It measures
him, quantifying him for identification and verification. The
word ‘biometric’ is coined from the Greek meaning ‘life’ and
‘measure.’ Biometrics reduces a man to a number. The machine
identifies him and the machine verifies him: Thus the machine
validates him: Thus men bless the beast whose name and number is
the number of a man: 666. Biometrics works off two principles:
1. Identification. This determines
who a person is, according to the new science. One has to
establish a person's identity doesn’t he? (Who am I?). 2.
Verification involves confirming or denying a person's claimed
identity. (Are you who you claim to be?). Biometrics are limited
only by time and money. A person’s fingerprints and DNA are
obvious measures for the database. But with the computer, the
database can include a person’s spending habits, his viewing
habits and other personal preferences known only to him and his
hairdresser-host. Biometrics has become a part of our modern
life.
Our lives our identified and
verified by usernames and passwords galore. The mark (brand) has
been used for many years. But biometrics uses the persons’ own
characteristics to identify and verify (and validate) him. Thus,
he is recognized for ‘who he is’. God recognizes us as sinners,
and until we have been branded with Jesus Christ we remain under
his wrath. Once reconciled to God and having become his
property, we can have the same mortal fingerprints and DNA as
before, but we have the promise of eternal life, neither
recorded, or recordable by, modern biometrics.
Chris Simonson 6/03/2005 |
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Only bad witches are ugly
“Only bad witches are ugly.” This in response to Dorothy’s, “I
thought all witches were ugly!” Dorothy had it wrong. She
thought that witches were all bad (this part is right), but that
they were therefore all ugly. The good witch in the Wizard of Oz
doesn’t look bad to us or Dorothy. She is so sweet and lovely.
She is ten times better than Billy Graham even. She never stops
smiling or sounding or looking like a beautiful, sweet, young
grandma. So, there must be good witches and good-looking ones.
Proof of this is that since the Wizard of Oz came out, there has
been a proliferation of good witches, starting with the hippie
movement and its free love message. Now, the churches have to
look better and love more than these good-looking witches. The
church’s message has to be suped-up and tuned in to the demonic
harmony so espoused by the new and loving citizens of the world.
Actually, this is not the true church, just a continuation of
the false church. “Only false churches are ugly,” I heard a
Casual Chapelite say...
Chris Simonson 6/02/2005 |
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Band-Aids for Counselors
We hear all the time the wounded healed thus: “We must learn to
forgive ourselves and think good of ourselves so we can help the
other wounded.” Pastors become counselors to assure us of
salvation and forgiveness, no matter that we fester. Therapists
become counselors and make us comfortable, coming as Valium
angels. Counselors abound who tell us we are loved by God and
never mind the true nature of the wound. The O.T. says the
pastors have led the sheep astray by giving them false
assurance: “They have healed also the hurt of the daughter of my
people slightly, saying, ‘Peace, peace’; when there is no
peace.” Jeremiah 6:14. There is a ‘slight’ healing. A ‘somewhat’
cure. To the soul that is desperate, every bitter thing is
sweet, so a Band-Aid over a festering sore and a Vicodin chaser
feels pretty good. For a time. The deep healing only comes when
a soul is ready to recognize the wound: Sin. In the O.T. passage
above, the problem sin is covetousness. Greed has taken a
nation, all of them, from the paperboy to the pope. This is the
condition we face today. Many come in the name of the Lord, but
they are only pill-prescribers.
These make you feel good, or feel
tall so you can fit in. But the problem remains: It is greed.
The sin is not dealt with because it seems that our counselors
have better medicine than repentance. This way the greed can be
covered up with a festive, cartoon-variety Band Aid. If we as a
church or as individuals wish to be healed, we must repent of
our sin of covetousness. Plain and simple. All other attempts to
please God are vain. “But woe unto you that are rich! for ye
have received your consolation. Woe unto you that are full! for
ye shall hunger. Woe unto you that laugh now! for ye shall mourn
and weep. Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you!
for so did their fathers to the false prophets.” Luke 6:24-26
Chris Simonson 6/01/2005 |
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