Do Right!

⁸But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s meat, nor with the winewhich he drank: therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself. ⁹Now God had broughtDaniel into favour and tender love with the prince of the eunuchs. (Daniel 1.8-9)

     Here we see the beginning of Daniel's live in Captivity. It was during the third reign of Jehoiakim, king of Judah that the King of Babylon came and captured Jerusalem. It was during  this attack that Daniel and many others were taken prisoners. 

      Nebuchadnezzar had chosen Daniel and others to study in their schools and to become servants in his courts. As we see in verse 8, Daniel was in the habit of deciding to do right even before the temptation to do wrong happened. In this chapter Daniel was being offered the best meats and drinks for his diet. You may ask what is wrong with eating those things offered to him. Well, these were items that Jewish people would normally not eat because of the Jewish Laws. God had stated that there were certain things He did not want them to eat.

      Daniel had one of two choices, give in and eat what the king had offered them or obey God and risk being killed. It was possible that refusing the food would offend the King. What would you do? Well, Daniel very kindly refused but made a deal with his master. He and the master agreed that for a time Daniel and his friends would eat "pulse" and drink water. At the end of that time if they did not look healthier than the others, they would eat the meat and drink the wine. The amazing part was that God had Daniel and his friends be healthier than all the others and God was glorified. Daniel was permitted not to eat the meat or drink the wine.  And he was able to keep his testimony in front of his masters. 

     What about you today? When do you decide to do right? Before the temptations come? Or while they are happening? If you wait until the temptations happen chances are that you will give into them. Today we need to decide to do right no matter what is happening around us.  As Dr. Bob Jones, Sr. used to say "Do right until the Stars fall."

God Eternal?

In June of 1840, Snow declared, "As man is, God once was; as God is, man may become." Besides correctly illustrating the Latter-day Saint teaching that God was once a mere mortal man, this couplet also declares that man has the potential to become God! According to LDS theology, eternal life is synonymous with godhood. In the words of LDS Apostle Bruce McConkie, "Thus those who gain eternal life receive exaltation ... They are gods." (Mormon Doctrine, pg. 237).

     Recently, there has been an open discussion about the topic questioning if Mormonism is what we would consider Biblical Christianity. Biblical Christianity teaches that God is eternal, yet Mormonism teaches that god was once a man like us. I would like to list a few verses and see what you think according to the Bible.

Deut 33:26-27 (KJV)

26 There is none like unto the God of Jeshurun, who rideth upon the heaven in thy help, and in his excellency on the sky. 27 The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms: and he shall thrust out the enemy from before thee; and shall say, Destroy them.

 Psalms 41:13 (KJV) 

13 Blessed be the Lord God of Israel from everlasting, and to everlasting. Amen, and Amen.

Psalms 90:1-2 (KJV)

1 Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations. 2 Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.

Psalms 93:2 (KJV)

2 Thy throne is established of old: thou art from everlasting. 

Isaiah 63:16 (KJV)

16 Doubtless thou art our father, though Abraham be ignorant of us, and Israel acknowledge us not: thou, O Lord, art our father, our redeemer; thy name is from everlasting. 

These are just a few verses that teaches that our God was never a man and has always existed as God. There is only ONE God. The Mormons' teachings allow for as many gods as there are people.

Joseph Fielding Smith

“The Father has promised us that through our faithfulness we shall be blessed with the fullness of his kingdom. In other words, we will have the privilege of becoming like him. To become like him we must have all the powers of godhood; thus a man and his wife when glorified will have spirit children who eventually will go on an earth like this one we are on and pass through the same kind of experiences, being subject to mortal conditions, and if faithful, then they also will receive the fullness of exaltation and partake of the same blessings. There is no end to this development; it will go on forever. We will become gods and have jurisdiction over worlds, and these worlds will be peopled by our own offspring.” (Joseph Fielding Smith, Doctrines of Salvation2:48, quoted in Achieving a Celestial Marriage Student Manual, 1976, p.132)

There can only be one Gospel.

6 I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: 7 Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. 8 But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. 9 As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed. Gal 1:6-9 (KJV)

     I have recently had the discussion on the question "Is the Mormon Jesus the same as the Biblical Jesus?" It is amazing how many folks believe that the Jesus of the LDS Church is the same Jesus as historical Christianity. Historical Christianity beleives that Jesus Christ is not only the Son of God but is God Himself. They believe that He was virgin born. Let's just focus on these points.

    The LDS Church does teach that Jesus is a son of God, alongside Satan, his brother. They also teach that Jesus the son and God the Father are two totally separate persons. To them God the father was once a man like us, who became a god. The LDS Church also teaches that God the father had physical relations with Mary to conceive Jesus, thus not a virgin birth as we define it. 

     This is just a short explanation of what they beleive. If you are interested in learning more about them and how they teach a different gospel go to: www.mrm.org. After studying what the Word of God says and what you read of what the LDS church teaches, you decide if it is the same "Gospel" that we preach or not. 

Did God really say that?

¹Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman,Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? (Gen. 3.1)

From the beginning of creation the first approach of Satan towards us is to get us to doubt what God says. Without the Word of God, what is there to measure truth. God says "Thou shalt not kill", if that is not true, what keeps me from killing someone and seeing nothing wrong with it? 

We need to decide if we are going to trust God's Word as the absolute truth or to totally discard it, there is no middle ground. If God's Word is true, then we are answerable to HIm, the Creator of the universe. If we have have been randomly developed from a rock, then whatever we decide is truth and thus resulting in "Every man doing what is right in their eyes (understanding)."

I wold like to recommend that God's way is better than our ways. Adam and Eve trusted Satan and see where that has lead us?

Are you willing to serve God?

15And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.16And the people answered and said, God forbid that we should forsake the LORD, to serve other gods; Joshua 24.15-16

In the world today we are seeing many serious problems. People are looking for the answers in many areas. Yet to be honest it boils down to what Joshua talks about in the above verse. Joshua stands before the people and demands they make a choice (and to be ready to live with the results.) 

To be honest, there are only two decisions to chose from, to serve God or not to serve God.There is no middle ground, we can’t do both.  We have many who try to serve both God and the World.

Why was Joshua such a great success? He kept his promise he made in verse 15. He decide that he and his house would serve the Lord. As we read through the account of Joshua’s life, we see that he did live for the Lord until he died.

The question today is “Who will you serve? God or the World?”

Comfort in Death And Everyday Life

⁴ Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Psalm 23.4 

     How many times have we heard the phrase, "A fate worse than death"? In the human mind death is perhaps the worst thing that can happen to us. yet it is comforting to know that even in death, Christ is with us. The biggest help when we are going through something is to have someone with us who has already experienced the same event and lived to tell about it. Christ is the only man that has overcome death anad is able to help us through it.

    Also keep this in mind, if Christ is with us in death, wouldn't he be with us in the everyday problems? How comforting it should be to know that NO MATTER what I have going on in my life Christ is with me. We also have the comfort of his rod and staff.

Where are you looking for help?

¹ I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.

² My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth.

³  He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth theewill not slumber.

⁴ Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.

⁵ The LORD is thy keeper: the LORD is thy shade upon thy right hand.

⁶ The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night.

⁷ The LORD shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul.

⁸ The LORD shall preserve thy going out and thy coming infrom this time forth, and even for         evermore. Psalm 121.1-8

      The last few weeks I have seen some of my friends start going through some rough times. Yet through what seems like impossible events happening in their lives they have stood firm in their faith in our Lord. The question is how are they able to live through such incredible sorrows? Simply, it all goes back to what they based their faith in for their help.

     There will be a limit to what we can do for each other but when we seek the Lord for the answers, there is no limit.  David wrote the above psalm in the times of trouble. I love verse 2, David assures us that our help comes from the Lord, the one who made the heavens and earth. Think about that fact alone. The One who created and controls everything will give us the help we need. There is no problem to big for Him to handle. Unlike many other false gods, our Lord never sleeps or lacks anything, He is always fully aware of our problems.

     So, my dear friend, if you are struggling today with any problem, go to the only one who can truly help you, the Lord Jesus Christ. If you are His, he promises to help you thorough anything that comes into your life. If you are not his, where will you get help that WILL ANSWER your needs?