Breaking the Cross

 My Belief

I feel that God and the truth of the Bible are 100% certain, but I will tell you how to disprove them both. When we look at different faiths in this world (Islam, Mormons, Catholics etc) I feel that all of them can be disproved simply by punching holes in their evidence. In Islam they say that no land that is ever owned by Islam will ever be owned by another – oops Israel. Mormons have a very big problem explaining how man becomes god. Catholics have no proof to support baptism for salvation or why they pray to Mary. Jehovah's Witnesses have predicted the end of the world incorrectly about 5 or 6 times. The list goes on and on and on except for with true Biblical Christianity. I have never heard anyone give a credible way to punch holes in the Bible and the critics have been trying forever. In this post I am going to give you 3 ways to “theoretically” punch holes in the Bible.

1. If the Jewish people and Israel are ever completely obliterated and wiped off the face of the earth, then it can be said the Bible is false. God has said in his word He is not done with Israel. In the Bible it says He has completed “69 weeks” of history with the Jewish people and there is one week remaining.

2. If aliens from outside of earth are ever discovered and begin to interact with us here on earth. The Bible gives specific information about how the world began and how it is going to end. E.T. is never mentioned once.

3. If one single thing in the Bible can be proven wrong! It does not matter if it is history or prophecy. If anything in the Bible can be proven wrong then you may as well trash the entire thing. God says His word is WHOLE, PERFECT, AND SUFFICENT. That is a tall order and if you discredit a piece then you can discredit the rest.

I am confident that none of these thing will EVER happen. God is sovereign and in control. He has given us all we need and told us how events will take place. I however, am a logical person. I love to learn and hear information, and I never want to be accused of being a closed minded person that won’t listen to opposing thought. I love to hear all sides of an argument and can specifically point at what is required to “Break the Bible”. I would encourage  EVERYONE to attempt this task. GO and try to disprove the Bible. My greatest HOPE is that millions will in fact, try. I know God and I have heard countless stories of those that have tried this task only to be become avid followers of Jesus Christ. In there attempt to destroy the faith, they end up finding God themselves.

Scripture

Matt 5:18 I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.

Application for Life

Don’t pretend to know God or Allah or Buddha or anything else because you grew up that way, your parents do, or it seams like a good idea. Go out there and LOOK for yourself. Compare the evidence to what we know. Use the scientific method to sort out the known from the unknown. Where are the holes, where are the facts, and what can we prove? Ask as many questions as possible. If this process is applied, then I am confident only the one true God will remain in the end. I promise.

Tinted Truth

My Belief

Navigation is specific and when navigating from one place to another even a few degrees off course can result in missing the end destination. For example: If you were Navigating from Philadelphia, PA to Columbus, OH you would need almost a due West heading. This is 270 degrees on a compass. If you were to stray just a little from this heading in either direction you may end up in Cincinnati or Cleveland. Both of these courses are still considered Westerly Heading, but they have very different results for very similar headings. It all looks like “West” but only one course leads to the correct destination.  

Have you ever wondered about all of the different “beliefs” and religions in this world? Why are there so many of them? I believe it is because they are all tools used to dissuade people from the real truth. If you take something that is true and you change it ever so slightly, it is no longer truth. It only has to be bent a few degrees or tinted just a little and it becomes “Almost True”. This is enough for Satan to get people off the true course to salvation and eternal life in Heaven. Satan only has to fool you for the duration of your life. If he can give you just a little different heading for long enough, then he can keep you from God and force you to join him in eternal damnation. While many faiths are similar all differ in two areas. The plan of salvation and the person of Jesus Christ. Many say that for salvation you must be baptized, be a good person, do good works, pray to different deities etc… The worst of them is when they include these things in addition to Jesus Christ. Faith in Jesus is true salvation and when anything is added to HIM then it takes away from HIS perfect work on the cross. No one will stand before God and say that they helped get themselves get into heaven.  No one can tell God that it is 99% Jesus and 1% other. 1% other, 1 degree off, or 1 thing in addition to Jesus makes it 100% false. Don’t let Satan fool you with anything other than what is in God’s perfect word.

Scripture

 1 John 4:1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.

John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Application for Life

There are many religions out there and we have a test to determine if they are TRUTH! Who is Jesus, and how can you be saved? Compare all information to this Truth. If it is even a little bit off then you can be 100% sure it is Satan twisting the Truth to make it “almost truth.” Don’t be fooled and don’t be apathetic toward this most important aspect of our earthly life. There is only so much time in life to commit to this one Truth. Satan is trying hard to hide it amongst things that look and seam very similar. A few degrees of deviation expanded over the course of a lifetime may look like a “True heading”, but the end destination will be drastically different.

The Economy is Perfect!

My Belief

This economy is perfect! Unemployment is high, consumer confidence is low, and no one has any security in the future. Many don’t believe there jobs are secure or trust that there companies will weather this economic downfall. A majority of people also feel like there elected leaders are out of touch with reality. What it all adds up to is zero security in anything this world has to offer, so in actuality the economy is perfect!

It is perfect because people are now more willing to put there security in something other than what this world has to offer. They are more apt to listen to the security that Jesus Christ offers to all who will believe in Him. Some will realize that their misguided trust in the things of this world will always lead to ruin. Some will realize that whether or not the economic prosperity of this world returns, there is a Hope that is constant. There is a Hope that gives joy to your life no matter what the circumstances. The time is now to give an account of the Hope that you have to everyone who will listen. We could not ask for better conditions. When people are stripped of there security in this world, it is the best time to give them a new security. A real security that only God can provide. This economy is a blessing from God. This economy is here to draw God’s people close to him. For us that believe, this economy is perfect!

Scripture

John 4:35 Do you not say, 'Four months more and then the harvest'? I tell you , open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest.

2 Tim 3:13-14 While evil men and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. 14. But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it.

Application for Life

If you truly have the Hope of Eternal Life in Jesus Christ, then this bad economy does not bring you fear. Our security is not founded in this world. Our calling is to share this Joy with all that will listen. Our duty is to do what Christ did. To spread real hope and real securit y to all that will accept. What better conditions could we ask for then these?

So What is so Great about Heaven…

My Belief

I had a flight attendant ask me once “what is so great about heaven”. “Are we going to float around and sing songs? That just sounds silly.” At the moment I did not have a good answer for him. I was taken back for a second and did not know what to tell him. It was obvious that being close to God had no significance for him. He doesn't believe in God so why would it. What could I tell him that would matter? I have since come up with an answer.

Besides being close to the Creator God, I have come up with a great and exciting answer for what is so Great about Heaven. It is a place full of “NO MORES”. This planet is full of pain and suffering. I know at times it seams like we live very comfortable in America, but think about it for a second. Think of all the political corruption, think of all of the broken families, think of all the violence everywhere you turn, and think of all of the unfair death that so many experience. This will be “NO MORE” in Heaven. We will have no more pain, no more suffering, and no more injustice. There will be no more corruption or flawed relationships. We will be perfectly provided for and taken care of in a way that is impossible here on earth.

There are political parties in our current society that are trying to create a “utopia”. A place where all is fair and equal. Where all are provided for and everyone has everything they need. They attempt to do this through entitlement spending, redistribution of wealth, and social programs. While at times there intentions may be good, they will never achieve this goal. We are sinful people that can never get past our evil nature. No matter how hard we try we can not create “Heaven”. With this realization, I look forward to the day that I WILL leave this broken world for the ultimate paradise. There I will be close to my Creator and truly have no more pain.

Scripture

Revelation 21:4

⁴He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."

Application for Life

I love the Jeremy Camp song “There will be a day”. It gives me hope for my daily life. It tells me that eventually my loved ones will not die. That my Job will not be political. That my society will not always be driven by greed. This gives me HOPE for an awesome future that I will soon have!

God Picks a Loser!

My Belief

I think one of the most amazing things about God is that He always WINS with the “Worst”. God uses the weakest worst people around to show his Power and Glory. He does more with people this world considers “Losers” than Satan ever does with the “A” team he puts together. Let me tell you about just a few of the people God uses to do his work.

1. Lon Solomon (my pastor) back in the 60’s was a drug dealing, dope smoking, LSD dropping, Jewish guy. God grabbed hold of his life and now he is pastor of one of the biggest Churches in this Country. He has led thousands of people to Christ and changed my life as well.

2. Saul was an evil man who hunted and destroyed Christians with a vicious passion. God grabbed a hold of him on the road to Damascus, changed his name to Paul, and he is considered one of the most influential Christians in all of the Bible.

3. David was the last and smallest of his brothers. He was a nobody, and yet God gave him victory over Goliath with a rock and a sling shot. He became King of Israel and God called him “a man after His own heart”.

The stories are countless and littered all through out history. The people that have done the most for God are the “Losers” of our world. God uses the “nothings” so that he can show his Mega Power. In the spiritual battle field of earth Satan comes with the A-Team! He comes with the best, the brightest and gears up for a serious fight. God however, laughs at Satan and “Thumps” him with the equivalent of a “wet towel”. If God used the best and the brightest of this world, we would tend to give some credit to that person. God does not share His glory at all. If Brad Pitt, gave all his money and spread the Gospel to the world, we would tend to think he did it, at least in part. God won’t have this, so he picks the worst of us. God does not need the A-Team of this world. He can have victory just fine with the Lon’s, Paul’s, David’, Joseph’s, Moody’s, and mother Teresa's of this world. Our very Little becomes MUCH in the Masters Hands!

Scripture

1Cor 1:26-31 26Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. 27But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 28He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, 29so that no one may boast before him. 30It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. 31Therefore, as it is written: "Let him who boasts boast in the Lord."[d]

Application for Life

Are you a “Loser”? God I pray that I am. What is the point to be “Stud” in this world. That puts you on the wrong team. Embrace your weakness, your frailness and your unrighteous self. In doing this God can show his power through you. There is nothing I can do that God did not give me, so I will do everything I can for the Lord. Everything else is not power it is just pathetic compared to Almighty God.

What are you looking at?

My belief

I have a unique vantage point with my Job. I “cruise” for hours at a time at more than 5 miles off the surface of the planet with speeds over 600 miles an hour. Doing this, I get to see A WHOLE LOT of planet earth very often. It is amazing to me to see the beautiful changes in the scenery. Vast oceans, colorful mountains, green expanses of land, and the most amazing shades of light in the sky. Then I look at all the different people and animals and think to myself, this planet is incredibly complex. I wonder how anyone thinks all of this happened by chance or accident.

God’s handiwork is all around us. It is displayed in everything we see and experience. The vastness of beauty on this planet is more than anyone can see in a life time and yet, it is only a sliver of the majesty of God. I don’t know why our world puts blinders on to this? They want God to show up and stand in front of them before they will believe. Even then, I don’t think people will really believe. To know God is to have accountability and to realize that people are not the end all be all. You are not the zenith of life. To look at this world is to see evidence of God. If you can’t see God then it still should motivate you to look until you find the HOW and the WHY. If you are honest, both of these questions will only lead to one place!

Scripture

Romans 1:20 ²⁰For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.

Psalm 19:1 The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.

Application to Life

Our origin is critically important to what we do in life. Find information about the complexity of DNA or the human cell. Find information about the mathematical probability of all things happening without intelligent design. Ask yourself why science ends up proving the Bible to be accurate. Look at how all the history we know matches the Bible perfectly. If you can’t see God, then I wonder what you are looking at?

Smooth Air, Turbulent Trip

My Belief

I can’t think of a more “Rocky” industry than the airline industry. This industry is plagued by insecurity. Airlines are forever merging, failing, or locked in continual battle between the work groups and management. The statistics of the business are that a person is likely to be “laid-off” 3 times in the span of their career. The giants of the business like PANAM, Eastern, and TWA have all seen the sun set on their corporations. Many of today’s giants are former versions of their selves that are sickly and struggling not to go out of business themselves.

When I was new to this job I always wondered why those senior captains making great money with lots of time off where always so unhappy. This career is all about “Seniority”! The more you have the more money you make and better quality of life you have. The problem is, by the time you have Seniority you have been in this rocky business for a long time. The duration takes its toll on the employee and leaves a lot of battle scars from the stress of instability.

In my mind there is no business that needs the Security that Jesus offers more than this one. Jesus offers security that He will always provide and He will never forsake. No matter how bad it get Jesus does not forget to give us what we need for this life and gives us a Great Hope for what is to come in the next life. When you give Jesus control, you realize that all these things that seam so critical now will all pass away. They don’t matter as much as they once did.

Scripture

Matthew 6:26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?

1 Peter 5:7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

Application for Life

No matter what business you are in and no matter how bad it seams, it is not that big a deal. If you really have Jesus in your life than you can rest because you have real security in your life. Pray and cast all your cares on him. He will give you solutions and at the end of this stressful life, He will take you home to a place with no more stress and no more pain.