Message From a Brother in Pakistan

Dear Brothers, Greetings, I studied your web site, and I am deeply inspired with all of the teachings. This is such a wonderful studies you have arranged for all the nations, in the long run of your service for the nations of the all the world. I am from Islamic Republic of Pakistan where it is difficult to have Radio and TV channel for preaching purposes. As the religious extremists and fanstics are very active they would not allow us to do that here; the Satan has real strong hold over everything. We humbly request you to expand your outreach your program in Urdu and Punjabi and other Pakisntai languages so that Udru and Punjabi and other pakistan languages speaking may listen your message particulalry in Pakistan and generally in the world. Urdu and Panjabi are the languages spoken and understood by more than one sixth of the total population of the world. Urdu is spoken in Pakistan, India, Nepal, Afghanistan and also in Indonesia, Malaysia, Iran and others. I would ask you to pray and share it among the people. I would offer my services for translator, recorder and distribution. I pray that God may bless you to take a good decision. May His perfect will be done! Grace and Peace be with you, all brethrens.

Nadeem, Pakistan

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Nadeem,

Greetings in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is a great blessing and honor to us to know that there are other Brethren in the world, especially in Islam-dominated countries, whom are standing up for
the Gospel of Jesus Christ. You are more than welcome to use any of our Articles, to translate them and use them to aid in preaching the Gospel or give to other Brethren. Most of our articles are written to the people whom call themselves Christians here in America, but if you find anything pertinent to youself or others, you are very welcome to use them. Information Gospel is not a nonprofit, nor a charity... we do not distribute money, as the website does not make money: we do not sell anything on the website, it is all free. All the Brethren that write for Information Gospel have jobs independant of ministry and
do not make money off The Church.

If you have any questions regarding the Bible or the Gospel we'd love to assist you and we will pray for you. You may be able to get free Gospel tracts sent to you, printed in many languages, perhaps even in Urdu, at this website: http://www.gtpress.org/

"Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend
earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints." Jude 1:3

Once again, if there is anything we can do to aid you in contending earnestly for the Faith, let us know. If you have a monthly newsletter on what is going
on in Pakistan, submit it on the blog page and we'll see if we can get it published on the site.

Blessings be to you Brother; may the Lord bless you and keep you, and may He cause His face to shine upon you.

Steven Styles Information Gospel - 10/29/2007

Relativistic Thermodynamics

Now, let the professor speak. *Ahem* Gentlepersons, we have just discovered that we have not discovered how temperature readings are affected by stuff like Einstein´s theory of relativity.  That is, Einstein himself couldn´t figure out if thermometer readings of say, stars, would differ in appearance to a `stationary´ person vs. a person whizzing by at a hundred thousand miles per second. 

What does this undiscovery mean?  If two persons are viewing a clock in the above scenario, we know from the theory of relativity that the clock would be very slow to the person whizzing by, because the light takes so dang long to get to her.  By the time one second has gone by for the person `standing still,´ it will take a lot longer for the information to reach the person who is now 100,000 miles away and the clock appears to have slowed down.  That´s how it works for light.  But does that work for temperature?  Would temperatures appear to be hotter or cooler because of relativity?  No one knows, yet.

Who in Christendom cares?  Well, just remember the next time someone is trying to explain to you how the universe must be very old (like 15 billion years), citing the Doppler effect, or red shift, or something like that, just spring on them, "Oh, haven´t you heard about Relativistic Thermodynamics?"  If they say no, then tell them to look it up on the Net and that should explain why the red shift is only an artifact of some undiscovered thermodynamic that explains everything (If they say yes, then leave while you have the chance.  They know more than top physicists).

If they want more information on the thermodynamic, explain to them how God is going to destroy this universe with some very high-temperature, loud, destroying forces.  Also say that man will never be able to figure this out in time to stop it, regardless of all the theories and discoveries he makes.  Man´s best hope is to prepare for it by getting right with the Creator, Jesus Christ the Lord.  God has given all things into his hand until all his enemies have been put under his feet.  Then he will return with flaming fire, taking vengeance on all the ungodly.  Then the makeup of this universe will be changed so that there will never be any death, sickness, sadness, evil, or anything unclean.  Eternity and all knowledge will be ours, if we endure to the end, with the hope of salvation stopping worthless speculations from spoiling our faith.

Chris Simonson - 10/26/2007

Peace in Our Time

Many well-meaning but wrong persons, including Christians, have sought for peace on this earth. It is not their knowledge of the Bible, or the Holy Spirit, that tells them to do this. It is a selfish desire to have things nice during their stay down here. They really don´t want to send their children off to war either, but it is for the same selfish reasons. 

During the 60´s, a large contingent of hippies and other`peace-niks´ held demonstrations, while colleges like Berkeley in California pumped out neo-socialists doctrine. John Lennon sang his songs about imagining there is no heaven or hell so let´s seek for a nice time on earth, but someone put that notion to the test and put Lennon to rest. It´s been turmoil ever since.

Jesus said He did not come to bring peace, but a sword, to this world. He said there would be wars and rumors of wars until His coming. He said, however, that He would bring peace to His own, but not as the world gives. The peace of this world is unstable and untrustworthy. It consists of platitudes and pills, all of which give only temporary results. Then comes more fighting and wars.

The peace we should seek is peace with God. God has found fault with us, a fault so severe that he will destroy us for it unless we repent. Sin is what he calls it. If we deal with God on our sin, He will forgive us and give us a new life that has no sin. It is the life that is in Jesus Christ. This new life can only be had by doing what God says, not dreaming up our own methods. It is a very narrow path, and few find it. But, to those who find it, He gives the power to become the sons of God. Thus we find peace through the blood of the cross, the blood which Jesus shed to make payment for our sins and to present us holy before His Father. 

Having this peace does not mean everything becomes O.K. in the world. Jesus did not come to save everybody in the world, even though salvation is available to all of them because He paid the full debt by His death. Only those who come to Him will be saved. The others, as religious as they may be, will fight to the death against the Lord and against His people, and wars will continue, Christian against Christian, killing one another in order to seal their fate. Jesus also told us to pray like this: "Our Father in heaven... forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors"..."for if you do not forgive those who sin against you, neither will your Father forgive you."

Chris Simonson - 10/25/2007

Cares and Shares

"Cares and Shares is a coordinated giving campaign to encourage voluntary contributions from employees to support the work of community, nonprofit organizations," starts the pamphlet. What the lady doesn´t tell you is, every organization they support is based on humanistic, antichrist ideals; even the law enforcement chaplaincy and the senior day care center. I could spend the next three days going over each and every doctrine and program given by these nonprofit agencies, but that is done so well by others I leave it to the reader to prove or disprove what I just said about them being antichrist. Let´s just say that Oprah would approve heartily of them and she will encourage you to throw away your money to these nonprofits.

We´re talking United Way here, which includes Big Brothers and Sisters, CASA, Women´s Center, Family Connections, Youth and Family Services, Hospice, etc. Each of these organizations supposedly stands for helping others in tough situations, but this is precisely the way the devil works. Many Christians will cave in to the begging and give money, where they would not give money to those who preach the Gospel.  Eventually, they find themselves attached to these enemies of Christ, because Jesus said, "Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." You cannot love two opposite things at the same time. If you continue putting money into organizations that promote humanism, you will eventually reject Christ, whether you thought (or think) you were saved once.   

So watch it. Use your time and money on the gospel of Jesus Christ. If you want to help those in need, look around and see the starving and sick throughout the world that are willing to hear the Gospel, if only they could live long enough to hear it. If you think we are all striving for the same thing, that is, world peace, then you have already bought into the lie and you must ask God to show you how to repent.

Chris Simonson - 10/24/2007

The Well-Lived Life

An article in a magazine for the well-heeled touted the niceties attendant upon having lots of stuff.  The subjects of the article were decorators and had moved from a 43-room castle into a smaller hovel in Provence, where the real estate is exorbitant. Their main problem with the move was that they had to find a place for the wealth of paintings, furniture, carpets, books, textiles, and all the other possessions they had collected over their 50 year marriage. "It was a nightmare," they said of having to find a place small enough they could afford, but large enough to store their treasures.

As it turns out, even though their house is smaller, they now have tens of thousands of square feet to store their "archives" in several barns.  All the hundreds and hundreds of boxes of fabric, magazines, and only the wife-knows-what have been carefully stored and inventoried, safe and sound. The library alone in the domicile is bigger than my own house.

The author of the article calls this the "well-lived life."  He says, speaking of the mountains of collected items, "The superabundance reflects a generosity of spirit..." referring to the owner´s opinion that the ultimate luxury is being able to entertain as many guests as monetarily possible.

It seems to me that Christians in this country (USA) would do likewise if God would only give them more stuff.  They certainly spend all their time pursuing the same things.  They think God is the ultimate moneyman:  All they have to do is figure out how to get Him to relinquish some of those riches in glory so they can own a large house on a big piece of property (so they can entertain other Christians, of course).

We all know what Jesus had to say about lusting after the riches of this world.  In the parable of the rich man who stores his stuff in a barn, God says, "Thou fool! Why didn´t you become rich in the things of God?  Jesus said, "A man´s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions."  But we want them anyway, because didn´t some verse say, "He gave us richly all things to enjoy"?  Know this: the covetous will not inherit the kingdom of heaven, whether or not they had a "well-lived life."

Paul said, "Be content with the things you have."

Chris Simonson - 10/23/2007

1 Corinthians 2:1-5

Paul, chief of apostles, wrote to the Corinthians: "And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God."

Paul, whom could be an eloquent speaker at times, acknowledges that when speaking to the Corinthians he did not speak with great, swellingw ords ro human wisdom. He wanted to win the Corinthians to Christ, not himself. When he spoke to them, he declared to them the tesimony of God. Many modern day pastors have reversed this role, refusing to speak the Gospel of Jesus Christ and instead producing entertaining speeches of great, swelling words, thinking they know better than the Apostle Paul. But, Paul did not.

"For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified."

Paul determined that he was not going to get to know these people after the flesh , but after the Spirit. Today's modern Christianity, however, strives to know people after the flesh, and neglects the Spirit. Paul determined he should only know among them Christ and him crucified.

"And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching [was] not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power:"

Paul indcates here that when it came to the Church, there was fear... fear of God knowing that God Himself gave him charge to oversee the Church. As a result, Paul spoke from the Spirit, which did not appeal to the flesh; it held no enticing words or anecdotical stories that false prophets often like to use. A modern equivalent of enticing words or man's widsom could be psychology or counseling or simply modern church-speak, traditional phrases which have nothing to do with the Scriptures. Paul did not entice his listeners or trick them into following Christ, he did not put on plays or drama shows, rock concerts, titliating stories, comedy shows, marriage counseling... Paul's methods were simple, straight-forward and inspired by the Spirit, spoken in trembling but with the demonstration of the Spirit and of power. Today's modern church would throw Paul out of the pulpit for being 'unloving' and 'narrow-minded', being unable to entice the crowds or lacking the 'pastoral gift'.

Today's modern Christendom has often based their 'faith' upon church attendance, church tithing, etc, but not upon God and obedience to His Word. Many of these congregations have arrogantly determined that Paul's preaching is outdated, but that their evil and corrupt style is 'In'. The fruit of such modern, churchianity loose-cannons is they have not the power of God, nor are they inspired by His Spirit; this is demonstrated by their lack of faith and their failure to grasp the simple concepts of God's Word.

"That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God." 1 Corinthians 2:5

Steven Styles - 10/22/2007

Hebrews 10: 23-25

If you claim to be in the Faith, one of the first evidences of said claim is: 1. you're going to obey the commandments of Jesus. "If you love me, you will obey what I command." John 14:15

Secondary to this, you will love the Brethren and The Church, the Body of Christ. "If anyone says, "I love God," yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen." 1 John 4:20

There are many whom claim to have faith in God, but they have no fruit to back up that statement. They say they love God but they hate their Brother. They say they obey Jesus yet they throw out His Word. However, the true Church has been commanded by God to come together on a regular basis and fellowship, regardless of what the false church does, or does not.

"Let us hold fast the profession of [our] faith without wavering; (for he [is] faithful that promised;):" Hebrews 10:23

As believers we must hold fast to the Faith; in other words, it is not what what your eyes see which indicates success in ministry, but it is the jubilation of not seeing the promise, but still believing the Word of God is effective and at work. Most modern congregations today have left this principle, going instead to faith-by-sight and having itching ears for wicked doctrines, evidenced by their wicked deeds and their hatred for God and the true Brethren.

But, the author of Hebrews, inspired by the Spirit of God, commands that the Brethren meet on a regular basis, and this command is not dependant on the false church nor subject to it's corruption. We, as belivers in Christ, are absolutely required to continue meeting together:

"And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some [is]; but exhorting [one another]: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching. Hebrews 10:24-25

In this verse, there is an emphasis on doing so more, as we see the Day approaching; the day of the Lord's return is near. Many of the modern congregations do not fellowship specifically with the Brethren on a regular basis; they may have Sunday meetings, but the command here is for the men of God to meet on a regualr basis, and to take note of those whom no longer meet together.

How do we apply this verse in this wicked age, with such a corrupt, modern church?

1. Stay in fellowship with the Brethren around you whom are like-minded in the Scriptures.
2. Make it a point to check in with Brethren you have not heard from in awhile and find out their Spiritual condition.
3. Be open for correction, rebukes, encourgagement and instruction in righteousness, for we are dependant upon God for His mercy and are strengthened by our Brethren, as iron sharpens iron.
4. Strive to walk together as Brethren, in Faith, provoking one another unto good works, and love for His Word and His Church, for which He laid down His life.

"Behold, how good and how pleasant [it is] for brethren to dwell together in unity! [It is] like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, [even] Aaron's beard: that went down to the skirts of his garments; As the dew of Hermon, [and as the dew] that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there the LORD commanded the blessing, [even] life for evermore." Psalms 133

Steven Styles - 10/19/2003

The Bible Answer Man

We have a link to Walter Martin´s (the original Bible Answer Man at CRI) website. Walt´s been dead now these many years and we miss him. His replacement at CRI is Hank Hanegraaff. He memorizes scripture and teaches how to do it. This way, we can have a Biblical answer on tap when someone asks us our reason for hope.

However, memorizing scripture will in no wise make us acceptable to God. Hank felt no twinge of conscience when he sued a brother for criticizing him. The brother he sued tried to defend himself and it cost him $250,000.  Hank justified himself by saying "At some point, you have to say, `Enough is enough.´  Truth and justice do matter."

So, memorizing all those scriptures about truth and justice didn´t help Hank to remember the scriptures that tell us not to sue one another. But let us just examine for a moment why he was suing the other brother: 1) Defamation. The brother accused him of using underhanded methods for soliciting money and specifically mentioned an instance where Hank was stretching the truth about some lost mail. The mail was not really lost as it turns out, and it had nothing to do with him losing "hundreds of thousands of dollars."

The Postal Service was forgiven by Hank, but they knew nothing of his forgiveness nor their trespass, much less their supposed acceptance of responsibility. 2) Truth and Justice. Hank figured that taking the brother to court would bring out the truth and justice would be served. Hank apparently lost sight of the fact that even though he may be accused falsely, and even if this leads to decreased sales, he should trust in God. But, love of money has the effect of diminishing one´s capacity to see the truth or justice in any situation, so one winds up using the courts of this world for recompense.

However, justice does prevail many times, even in this world. It would appear that Hank has to pay for Bill Alnor´s (the brother) legal expenses, according to a court ruling last June. It also appears that his listeners aren´t buying into his fund-raising techniques and he is really "hundreds of thousands of dollars" behind expected revenues. How´s that for a Biblical answer?

Chris Simonson - 10/16/2007

What Would Jonathan Edwards Say About Harry Potter?

This is the title of an article written by an expert on Jonathan Edwards, posted on Christianity Today website July 2007.  Josh Moody is a PhD, the senior pastor at Trinity Baptist Church in Newhaven, CT, is associate fellow of Jonathan Edwards College of Yale University, and author of The God-Centered Life: Insights from Jonathan Edwards for Today.  Wow!  He must be right.

Wrong.

Josh thinks that Edwards would read all of the Harry Potter books, find cultural enlightenment in them and use the light to further the gospel.  Because Edwards knew about the Enlightenment and its errors, then he must have read all the stuff on the secular shelves and used the good he found in them to make cool sermons.  "No doubt Edwards would have mined the Harry Potter series for insights into the predominant spiritual atmosphere in which we live," says Josh the Expert. 

After saying something about "intellectual bridges to cultural attitudes" he speaks of "Trojan horses full of gospel truths."   He is pretty much saying that Edwards used contemporary material to sneak the gospel into the minds of the otherwise uninterested hoardes of his time. Is Josh the Senior Pastor hinting that we should do the same?  Oh yes, that is the way of modern preaching. 

He ends his article with, "I believe Edwards would also look from Potter to us and say, "Who's going to tell a more compelling story that sheds true gospel light on the transcendent?"

Now, I ask the reader to read "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God," Jonathan Edwards' most popular sermon, a famous piece of American literature, a catalyst of the Great Awakening going against the culture of the time, and ask himself, "Is Josh Moody telling the truth?"

Chris Simonson - 10/15/2007

16,000 for Gehenna

A study done by a team of researchers led by assistant professor Matthias R. Mehl of the University of Arizona shows that men talk as much as women. This contradicts the old knowledge that women talk three times more than men. During a period between 1998 and 2004, the team monitored college students by taping conversations via attached microphones. Even though they published their findings in a recent issue of Science magazine, a journal used to establish who gets the credit for a discovery or a finding, it is not clear to me that there was any science involved. A relatively select portion of society was used (talkative young men and women in college), the students and the researchers knew they were wired, the men who agreed to be monitored were different from men who would not want to be monitored, etc., etc., so the outcome of the study was affected from the very beginning. 

Having said that, the data still records that, on the average, the men and women both spoke around 16,000 words a day. That's a lot of words! Term papers don't run that long. If anything they said was worth hearing, they could get rich publishing volumes of how-to books or advice or science journals. Some people spoke over 45,000 words a day; at least, that's what the newspaper seemed to indicate because they reported that was the difference between the least talkative person and the motor mouth. 

A lot of people are going to be destroyed in the final judgment, Jesus said.  He referred to the place of destruction as Gehenna, a place of eternal fire and torment, a place to get rid of horrible things that can only be destroyed, not redeemed. He also said that people will be judged by their words. The Bible is very rich with history, proverbs and prophecies that deal with the words that come out of men's mouths.  Most of it is negative, so the wicked do not read those words, only those they want to hear. If a man listens to the negative words and repents, he will be saved. That is very positve! I leave with a couple of scriptures:

"Their throat is an open grave, with their tongues they continually deceive, the poison of snakes is under their lips." Rom. 3:13.

"With many words come certainty of sin, but he who restrains his lips is wise."  Prov. 10:19.

Jesus said, "You brood of snakes, how can you, being evil, speak good things? For the mouth speaks from what is in the heart.  The good man out of his good treasure brings out the good; the evil man brings out of his evil treasue what is evil. And I say to you that every casual word that people will say, they will give an account for it on the day of judgment.  For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned." Matt. 12:34-37.

Chris Simonson - 10/12/2007

The Coming Holocaust

Steven Spielberg started a foundation some years ago and calls it "Shoah Foundation." He named it `Shoah´ because that is the Hebrew word for `holocaust.´ As he explains, both words mean the end of the world by fire. 

The Shoah Foundation promotes homosexuality among other things, comparing the persecution that homosexuals receive to the genocide of the Jews in WWII Germany. Spielberg champions Jews, Jehovah´s Witnesses, homosexuals and Muslims who died under Hitler´s regime, but omits Christians from his list.

He took the money he made from `Schindler´s List´ and poured it into trying to keep another holocaust from happening by teaching today´s youth about the horror of intolerance. This is all in keeping with the Hollywood gospel as promoted in today´s churches, who are afraid they will be labeled intolerant, judgmental and non-loving. Jesus Christ himself would be showed the back door in most churches, much less Paul who made the mind of God known to the Gentiles.

Steven Spielberg may be trying to stop the coming holocaust, but he is only hastening it. The Bible teaches us, "Be sure of this: No sexually immoral or unclean person or one who is covetous (an idolater) has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no one deceive you with empty words.  It is because of these very things that the wrath of God is coming upon upon the sons of disobedience." (Ephesians 5:5-6).

The Hollywood directors and producers may hate the message of the gospel as given for the last two thousand years, but they will perish apart from Christ  What are we to do? The Jehovah Witnesses do not believe in hell, nor do they believe that God is going to destroy this earth and heaven by fire. However, my Bible says, "Since these things are to be disintegrated, what kind of persons should you be, living lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, in which the heavens will be on fire and disintegrated, and the elements will dissolve with fire!" (2 Peter 3:11-12).

We should forsake our unclean sexual lives and turn to Christ, who will forgive us. We should be zealous to be found in that day without spot or blemish and at peace with God, always accepting that it is the forbearance of our Lord Jesus Christ that is our salvation, not our own acceptance of the world and it´s rotten ways. Knowing this before that day, we should beware lest we are carried away by the error of lawless men, thereby losing our standing before God. This all comes straight out of the Bible.  If only we´ll read it and take heed! Who will be our teachers, Jews making movies or those who proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ?

Chris Simonson - 10/11/2007

Religion of Vulnerability

“We must lose our armor, let’s become vulnerable,” they say. 

This is new psychology; old trap. We must keep our hearts guarded. We can have soft hearts towards the needy and the poor, but we must harden ourselves against the wiles of the devil. What happens when people give in to this “vulnerability” silly women’s talk? They leave the way open for every wind of doctrine and they are tossed to and fro on the sea of false love. They remain fearful of the wicked and harden themselves against the needy. In order to pull this whole thing off, they must enlist the help of false pastors.  Do not be vulnerable, or you may end up in the belly of a wolf.

Chris Simonson - 10/10/2007

The Stench of Unregenerate Man

In order to discuss pleasant subjects, like the removal of sin from our lives, we must also discuss unpleasant subjects such as what is being removed and why.

Other gospels, which are not good news at all but the devil's own work, try to convince us that God loves us just the way we are, which leads to stench-permeated 'service' to God. The Bible is clear that such worship is condemned by God and that he hates it. (Isaiah 61:8, Amos 6:8, Zechariah 8:17, etc.) Those who practice evil will get their just reward whether or not they claim to love God; whether or not they appear to be Christians. (Romans 2:11-16, 2 Corinthians 5:10, Colossians 3:25, 1 Peter 1:17, etc.)

Until a person is convinced of their own stench, they are without hope. Many who suspect they stink put on religious perfumes, combined with scrubbing, sanitizers and stain removers. The Bible says their efforts are futile and incur the wrath of God. (Exodus 30:38, Jeremiah 2:22, Amos 5:21, etc.). They do not understand (nor care) that the stench comes from their unregenerate nature. Paul the apostle simply calls this condition 'the flesh'. This is no quibbling of words. It is a simple explanation of why the stench cannot be removed. It is a simple observation that the human race is indeed flesh, not spirit. The flesh lusts against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh, says Paul. The two are opposed to one another. (Romans 8:1-13, Galatians 5:16-24, etc.)

The false gospels make much of the flesh, even if they are supposedly against the flesh. The law-keepers are entirely under the flesh. These are those who are the scrubbers and the perfumers, who hope to purify themselves by outward means. But they do not understand that the flesh goes all the way to the bone, right into the marrow, and it is impossible to rid oneself of bondage to the flesh by one's own effort (even if they say they are obeying God's rules to do so).

Another false gospel, closely related to the legalism bunch, consists of platitudes and slogans that if slung around with appropriate smiley faces, allows the slinger to indulge in his stinky flesh. The Bible calls this wickedness "turning the grace of God into lasciviousness" Jude 1:4. Most of the modern church falls into this category. This explains why homosexuality is flooding into the church. These defilers of the flesh have been given over to unnatural acts because they did not worship God, but liked the creation better. All the religions centering around nature, goddess worship ('the Da Vinci code'), mother earth, holistic health, etc., etc., etc., all come from
following after the flesh.

But the smell of the unregenerate flesh goes up into the nostrils of God and he hates it. How did the flesh get into such a state? Genesis tells us how Adam and Eve disobeyed and that's what did it. The unregenerate man twists this simple doctrine to mean something else, because he loves his flesh.

The God who hates the tainted flesh also loved the world and provides a way to remove the stench. He destroyed the works of the devil, and put the flesh to death when he brought his dearly beloved Son, Jesus Christ, into the world. His death provides the only way for us to become clean before God. This is all covered in the New Testament. The Old Testament sacrifices and ordinances were never able to make anyone clean, but were instituted to show that the flesh cannot do the will of God.

But our flesh is not just put to death and that's it. We have a new man, regenerated by the Holy Spirit, that is able to please God. Only those who have believed in Jesus Christ as the only way of coming to God can partake of the new nature that is "Christ in us". The unregenerate try to fake this because they are jealous of the inheritance that the children of God obtain through faith. So they fake faith, love, hope, etc. This accounts for all the smiley faces. They persecute the children of God, because they know that only one of us is correct. If they can get rid of their enemy, then they must be right. This has been the story of the Church since it began.

So the righteous ones, those that have been regenerated by faith in Christ, are looking and smelling good before God. This may not appear to the wicked, who have clothed themselves with the goods of this earth to fight against faith, but the Father who sees in secret knows his own..

The smelly unregenerate man continues in his perversity and disbelief, putting on perfume and scrubbing himself with lies, heaping up to himself wrath against the day of wrath, in which he does not believe.

As for those of us who have the fragrance of Christ, let us put aside the sin that so easily besets us and run the race to win. Let us stop trusting in the flesh. Let us trust in the word of God, which is the sword of the Spirit, the sword that divides between the joints and the marrow.

There remains therefore a rest to the people of God. For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his. Let us labor therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief. For the word of God is living, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do. Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. (Hebrews 4:9-16)

Chris Simonson - 10/09/2007

Update From India

The following email is an update from the Brother in India whom passes out tracts and preaches the Gospel; he and wife run a small orphanage and he travels great distances to preach the Gospel from village to village. Please keep this Brother in prayer and if you can financially help him out, please contact him at the email below. Your money would be a lot better spent helping a Brother like this out than getting a new carpet in your church building, or helping your pastor buy a new tie. Give to the members of the The Church whom are truly in need. - Steven

Dear beloved brother Steven,

Greetings to you in the holy name of Jesus Chrsit.Thank you very much for your kind prayers anbd eamil.We are praying regullary your fmaily and your ministry work. I am doing the Lords work honestly and sincerely.I have surrounding villages and twons.Please pray.I have surrounding visiting diffrent areas preachign adn Lords word with much interset.I have conduct cottage prayers and prayer meetings distributing tractsa dn praying sick.Please kindly pray for us. We need your prayers and encouragement towards our faith ministry.Please kindly extend your love our orphan children.Present needs: food and clothesa and school fees.Please kindly pray for us. My fmaily and church members adn orphan children and co-pastors are greet for all

Yours in Christ,
Katta.Edukondalu
  Guntur Dist
  A.P.India
katta_inf@yahoo.com

Women´s 'Liberation' & Apostasy

In today´s parlance, women´s rebellion and women´s freedom are one. One can prove this by merely searching the Net under "women rebellion." You will get mostly women´s liberation sites. Even in the library, history has been rewritten and the books that soundly reproved women´s uprising against their God-appointed roles (such as housewives) have been removed from the shelves. Now everything you read not only makes fun of the old ways but outright condemns them as evil. 

I think that women should be free. Free from sin, as Jesus said. Yet, men and women both want to be free to commit sin and get away with it. Lukewarm Christians figure out how to do both.  The Catholic Church had been doing this for years, selling indulgences and eating wafers. Now the Protestant churches, which used to preach repentance, are offering free salvation in exchange for "decisions for Christ." These decisions are usually the result of an expensive campaign to whip up the crowd into an emotional frenzy.  If the right decision was made, the new convert will pay good money to listen to watered-down sermons about motherly love. This allows him or her to continue in sin without a conscience.

None of this would be so bad if the problem was a corrupt secular society. But, the church has joined in with the rebellion and supports women´s liberation in its most secular definition. The church fought women´s liberation for centuries, until it threw in the towel in the 1960's. Since that time, the church has been apostatizing at an alarming rate, and it is difficult to stay within any of the organized churches and remain obedient to God. The God-appointed role of the husband has been laughed at and now he must be a yes-man to his wife or be ostracized by the other church members. All of this has been predicted by the Bible, and is another proof that the Bible is the inspired book we claim it to be. 

Biblically, the woman´s rebellion against her husband is a picture of the church´s rebellion against her Lord, Jesus Christ.  That´s not mentioned in any of the endless sermons on how a husband is to treat his wife.  For those who preach a lukewarm message, the man serving his wife is more important than the gospel.  And so the man gets his eyes off Christ and on to womanly things, the woman rebels against her husband, the children run rampant, and the apostate church is divorcing itself from the Lord.  We are near the end, so this is as it should be.

As the prophets of the newly-founded Christian church said two thousand years ago, "Promising them freedom they bring them into bondage of sin."

Chris Simonson - 10/04/2007

Holistic or holy?

Back in the old days, people like John Wesley stressed holiness. He even started what is called "The Holiness Movement." This mutated into Pentecostalism, which would have horrified Mr. Wesley, but that´s the nature of any extremism.

The "Holistic Movement," on the other hand, remains silent when it comes to personal holiness before a God who judges evil done in the body; instead it stresses a spirituality that comes through fleshly maintenance. It interweaves the whole aspect of being human, both body and spirit, to provide the way to fulfillment. Thus they use the term "holistic." The way to spirituality is, as usual with all the nature religions, making the flesh eat certain things, sit in certain positions, and chant certain prayers. The body becomes the center of the mind; thus the spirit is conformed to the fleshly desires and all sorts of evil proceed from there: like sexual lust, whether or not it is suppressed or indulged. Stripped of all its hype, it is essentially a naturalistic approach to spirituality, putting much weight on what the women´s lib movement calls "body wisdom."

Even a cursory review of popular religious thought reveals that the "woman knows best." A softer, gentler God replaces the old stern versions cooked up by the likes of Moses and Paul. Male tyranny must be overcome by a softer, gentler Jesus. This Jesus is into health foods, tai chi, and massages. Lots of carnal gratification ("nurturing") is involved. As a result, forgiveness is a key factor in maintaining the holistic approach, because so much spirituality leads to adultery and fornication. Problem is, it is neither the Jesus of the Bible nor his forgiveness that is meant. It´s more of an animal thing.

Animal behavior is often cited by holistic enthusiasts. Old nature religions are often quoted, if not credited. Goddess worship creeps in via men "getting in touch with their feminine side" and other pap preached across the pulpits.

Next thing you know, yoga lessons are being given in the sanctuary and the invited instructor is a lesbian. Welcome to the apostate church.

Chris Simonson - 10/03/2007

Remember the Lord in Thy Youth

There are many books, magazines and publications which attempt to expound upon the issue of serving the Lord. I think the formula is actually fairly simple: the most important time to serve the Lord is in the very midst of our youth. It is often in our youth that we either strengthen our spirit or strengthen our flesh, and this sets the tone of our future days. Many 'yutes' go out to establish themselves and their careers, or their fantasies, but it is always better to serve the Lord when you are young, that when you grow older He is not forgotten in you.

Being young, it is admittedly a difficult hurdle to serve the Lord, as the flesh is at its most alive and aggressive state. Left unchecked, the flesh will most certainly lead one's life into disaster. There are many so-called young Christians today whom say they 'serve God', but lack the substance of servitude; when they grow old, they may become outwardly religious but they have forgotten God. In their youth they pursued the things of this earth instead of the things of God.

All of us whom are in Christ have such struggles, knowing that there are things in the world we must partake in order to feed our families or pay our bills. However in these things our hearts must be checked, to see if our worldly pursuits have led us away from God. There will come a time for those whom do not serve God when they will find no pleasure anymore in their youthful sins; their hearts will be hardened as if seared with a hot iron, all the while appearing to attain worldly success. Such successes come at a great price, possibly even causing your soul to weigh in the balance.

"Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this [is] the whole [duty] of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether [it be] good, or whether [it be] evil." Eccl. 12: 13-14

Steven - 10/01/2007