Christian Encouragement, Creative Christian Women, & a Personal Update

Christian Encouragement
Is there someone that you can think of to encourage today?
Andrew Rappaport did some 2-minute podcasts  highlighting encouragement.

We All Need Encouragement

Encourage Someone Today



Creative Christians Ladies
There are a lot of creative Christian ladies who make things to sell from home.

The following are just a few of their that you can check out:

Helper's Hands Soaps 

Yaya's Joyful Creations

Teenzy Treasures

Personal Update: 
A family member has a torn carotid and had a stroke this month on top of all of the other things going on.   There are other things also going on that need to be dealt with.
It seems that we are being overwhelmed, and we need to depend solely on God.
I'm still having high & low pulses amongst other things and not feeling well myself which discourages me.
I know others are suffering out there, and I'm thankful that people are praying for each other.
It is good to try to not always focus just on our own suffering (though it can be hard not to)!

Christians Who Deny Inerrancy Plus a Recap of My Emergency & Heart Surgery

How should we respond to those who deny inerrancy?
I've run across a lot of "Christians" who deny the parts of Scripture they don't like.
Here is John MacArthur's response:
John MacArthur's response to Christians who deny Biblical Inerrancy

Personal update:

 I called  911 with my pulse dropping a second time & feeling faint on May 25.
I was alone due to  my Dad being in a nursing home with pneumonia & family visiting him and going for groceries before coming home.
I was able to scoot down the stairs & called my Dad & have him tell me how to breath to calm myself & pray for me as I waited for the ambulance. 
Also, before I went to the door I messaged my sister in CA on FB that I had called 911.
Anyway, the EKG was different, so my new electrophysiologist in another city wanted me moved there. 
Meanwhile my family had gotten home to find me not there, but they saw the phone & oximeter near the front door and found out from the family member at the nursing home where I had gone locally, so that they were with me before being transported to the other city.  One of them went with me in the ambulance.

There is a lot more to share, but in the end they did a pericardial window surgery to drain fluid and biopsy on the outside of my heart. 
I am glad that I had listened to a message Darren Wiebe gave on Psalm 23 about the Shepherd going before....how a shepherd leads with his voice and sheep can follow in the dark.  I was humming & singing a couple of songs...especially the one Darren sang that I knew James Phillipps was supposed to sing on Sunday (my sister actually tried to have me hear it over the phone in the hospital...didn't hear much).  I don't know all of the lyrics, but it was still a comfort.
 O Thou in Whose Presence

It was so hard to endure, and I didn't feel safe about coming home though I wanted to.
It's like being without a safety net except the Lord (I know it all depends on Him).
I am so very easily stressed & weak.  I don't know if the surgery has done any good, but I've been having plenty of tachycardia.  The doctors wanted to test for Brugada syndrome, but insurance doesn't cover it.  $25,000 is too much.  I'm disabled.  So, the test was cancelled. 
I have an infection and had other issues come up. 
My Dad & I came home the same day (June 3rd).

Thank you to the Christians praying.  Please continue to pray. 
Many of my online friends mean a lot to me...some of you especially are dear to me even if conversation online has been limited.

Sorry, I don't feel like fully proofreading today, so if there are mistakes, please forgive me.

Las Buenas Noticias

Amigo, Dios es santo. Hay un Dios en el cielo que te ha creado a ti y a mí; Él es la autoridad sobre nosotros. Él es perfectamente santo. En Él está la Luz y no hay tiniebla alguna (1 Juan 1:5). Y el problema con eso es que, si queremos tener comunión con Dios, tenemos que ser luz y no tiniebla alguna. Somos pecadores. Todos hemos roto su ley. Todos hemos mentido, robado, todos hemos mirado con lujuria, todos hemos estado enojados con nuestros hermanos en nuestro corazón. Ninguno de nosotros alcanza el glorioso estándar de perfección que Dios requiere (Rom. 3:23). Y no hay nada que podamos hacer sobre esto. Ni la cantidad de obras, ni la magnitud de nuestra contrición, ni cuán mal nos sintamos, ni cuántas veces hayamos asistido a la iglesia, ni cuántas veces leamos la Biblia, ni cuánto evangelismo hayamos hecho nos podrá ganar el perdón de nuestros pecados y la justicia que Dios requiere (Tito 3:5; cf. Isa. 64:6).

Pero Dios es misericordioso y Él nos ama y, como a sus criaturas, Él quiere demostrar su gloria en nosotros rescatándonos. Así que Él envió a su Hijo —Dios en la carne, el Señor Jesucristo— a nacer como un pequeño bebé indefenso (Juan 1:14; 3:16; Col. 2:9). El Dios del universo, Sustentador del universo, Él mismo fue sustentado en el vientre de una joven hebrea, ¡y sostenía al mundo por la palabra de su poder (Heb. 1:3) mientras era sostenido por los nutrientes del cuerpo de su madre! ¡Inefable! Y con gran humildad, Él creció con los crecientes dolores de la vida en un mundo caído a pesar de que Él mismo nunca tuvo pecado —enteramente sin pecado (2 Cor. 5:21; Heb. 4:15; 7:26). Y Él vivió una vida perfectamente justa. Cuando tú y yo hemos fallado en vivir ante Dios —cuando hemos fallado en nuestro pensar, hablar y actuar, y hemos sido destituidos de la gloria de Dios— Cristo nunca falló. Ni siquiera en su pensamiento. Él amó a Dios, su Padre, perfectamente. Él siempre caminó en perfecta justicia. Él vivió la vida que hemos sido ordenados a vivir, que yo fui ordenado a vivir, que nosotros fallamos en vivir. Él vivió la vida perfecta de la cual Dios es digno.

Y no sólo vivió Él por nosotros; Él murió por nosotros. Él fue a la cruz. Nuestro pecado demandaba la muerte. Nuestro pecado demandaba el castigo eterno. Nuestro pecado demandaba la ira —la justa ira ejercida sobre nosotros por la eternidad (Rom. 6:23). Pero por el valor infinito de la persona de Cristo, Él estuvo en la cruz. Y en esa cruz, Dios ejerció sobre Él toda la furia de su propio enojo (Rom. 3:24–26; 2 Cor. 5:21; Gál. 3:10–14) que yo merecía justamente y que tú merecías justamente y que tú vas a experimentar si no te apartas del pecado y no confías en este Mesías. Cristo nació, vivió, murió y resucitó (1 Cor. 15:3–4). Y Él se levantó de la tumba luego de haber muerto demostrando su victoria sobre el pecado y la muerte.

Ahora Dios promete que, si te apartas del pecado, si repudias todo lo que eres y todo lo que fuiste y todo lo que amas, si te apartas de una vida de seguir el pecado —y si repudias no sólo tus malas obras sino también tus buenas obras, si te apartas de tratar de ganar tu salvación por todas las buenas obras que quizás quisieras hacer como persona moral— si te apartas de todo esto (Hch. 17:30–31) y confías solamente en Cristo para justicia (Fil. 3:7–8; cf. Rom. 3:28; 10:4), Dios promete que te va a perdonar. Él habría de tratar a Cristo en la cruz como si Cristo hubiera vivido tu vida. Y Él habría de tratarte, legal y justamente, como si tú hubieras vivido la vida perfecta y justa de Cristo (2 Cor 5:21). Y tú puedes ser salvo para conocer al Dios que te creó para que lo amaras y gozaras de Él. Puedes tener plenitud de gozo, los deleites eternos que están a la diestra del Padre en el cielo (Sal. 16:11), y comenzar aun ahora porque la vida eterna es conocer a Dios (Juan 17:3).

Amigo, ¿te arrepentirás? ¿Te apartarás de tu pecado y confiarás en este Salvador perfecto para que sea tu beneficio ante Dios, pague por tus pecados y te provea justicia?


English Text Used by the Permission of Mike Riccardi & Translated by Kevin.  
The original video and text are HERE.

Conferencia de español, Struggling with Doubt, & Choosing Companions

Conferencia de español

There is a conference coming up later this year that is for Spanish speakers.

EXPOSITORES 2019 PROCLAMANDO EL EVANGELIO VERDADERO

Los Angeles - 27 y 28 de septiembre

Struggling with Doubt
True believers can go through times where they doubt their salvation.
The following blog article is helpful on this issue.
Doubt and Assurance

Run with the Righteous!
 Who your friends are has a great influence on who you are.

Marriage, Morality, & Singleness for the Christian

God created the first marriage (Adam & Eve).

God defines marriage (Genesis 2:23-24; Matthew 19:4-6; Mark 10:6-7).

Marriage reflects Christ's relationship and union with believers / the church (1 Corinthians 6:15-17 & Ephesians 5:22-32).

Adultery is to be taken seriously (Deuteronomy 22:22)

Believers are to abstain from and flee from immorality 

(1 Thessalonians 4:3-8; 1 Corinthians 6:18-19; Ephesians 5:3; Colossians 3:5; Genesis 39:12).

The desire for an immoral relationship is covetous and idolatrous (Exodus 20:17; Matthew 5:28; Job 31:1; Genesis 19:5-7; Colossians 3:5).

Renewing the mind is what Christians should be doing which means we should be careful about what enters our minds (Romans 12:2; Psalm 119:11; Proverbs 4:23).

Immorality is fleshly and to be repented of  (Galatians 5:19; 2 Corinthians 12:21).

Putting to death the deeds of the flesh is part of living by the Spirit (Romans 8:13). 

A married man & woman shouldn't deprive the other of intimacy (1 Corinthians 7:1-6).

Christians are not to have lust or intimacy with the same gender regardless of the world's equating it with marriage.  It is not marriage as defined by God, but it is actually a judgment & a sin to be repented of and fled from (Romans 1:25-27; Leviticus 18:22 & 20:13; 1 Timothy 1:9-11; 1 Corinthians 6:9-11).

Incest & Bestiality are also outside of  God's design, and are condemned in Scripture (Deuteronomy 27:21-22; Exodus 22:19; Leviticus 2:15; Leviticus 18:23).

Singleness is nothing to be ashamed of, but if a desire for intimacy is there, then it is not wrong for a never married person or widowed individual to marry (1 Corinthians 7).

This does NOT allow for lust for intimacy not defined in Scripture as marriage (same-sex desires & lust should be repented of and fled from - not contemplated and accepted as okay).

So, I see from Scripture that marriage was meant to be between one man and one woman, that marriage reflects the union of Christ with believers (in a spiritual sense), that immorality is to be fled from and repented of, that married couples should be intimate with each other (exclusively), that homosexuality (and the desire for it) is sinful (not to be practiced by believers), and that all other forms of physically intimate relationships are not a part of God's plan for believers.

Cessationism, the NAR, Bethel Church, & IHOP

Cessationism
John MacArthur has been blogging on the Master's University site lately, and the recent article on cessationism gives a history of how the charismatics / Pentecostals have redefined the gifts to support their position.
Strange Fire Redux - Part 2 by John MacArthur 


New Apostolic Reformation Adherents Reject the Sufficiency of Scripture
47 minutes into a program I watched recently, the topic of the NAR (which includes Bethel Church in Redding, CA and IHOP) came up. 
The topic concludes around 1 hour and 19 minutes in.
It explains how the NAR has a form of ecumenism and a wrong view of Jesus which leads to accepting other things that don't line up with Scripture.
Watch out for those who hold experience over Scriptural truth.
The NAR & Bethel Church (Podcast Version)


The IHOP You Should Avoid

Thoughts on Reading

In doing a book cover challenge on social media (sharing covers of books a person loves), I've looked at our library 2 or 3 times and brought more piles of books from it to be read again in the future.
That's the hazard of trying to choose books to share!
I haven't even finished my previous stack!
There are a lot of books I have read over and over during my lifetime, and then there are some I've read only once (or am still in the middle of reading or have quit reading in some cases).

I grew up reading fiction mostly for my entertainment, but I've increased my nonfiction repertoire in recent times (which usually takes me more thinking and time) .
Some of that reading was so I could share books with others (it's good that way too), but some I've actually (gasp!) chosen to read for my own edification.

Reading the Bible is something every Christian should be doing unless they want to starve spiritually.

Other books don't have that kind of value.
Reading other books doesn't make a person a spiritual or literary giant, although some kinds of reading can be of some benefit.

Some of my online friends read things that make my reading selections look pathetic, but that's okay.

Reading shouldn't be a matter of pride.

I did consider in the challenge whether the books might either be helpful or at least worth recommending without clarifications.

Sadly, even most "Christian" fiction books are not great in their Theology - even if they are entertaining.

I'm going to share a couple of other books I took pictures of ... one nonfiction that I'm pretty sure I read once many years ago when I was young (more unusual) and a fiction book that I only read once a few years ago.
It was a less stressful type...more of a human interest type.