savior

You Need a Savior Because You Can Not SaveYour Self

March 26, 2010 By sonserver Leave a Comment

I recall a time over 10 years ago while I was a single man living in Santa Monica, California. I'd been ignoring God for a time, just living my unfulfilling life for myself, each day inching closer to death. Although my back may have been turned, He was always there, waiting patiently, speaking softly.

Some months earlier I had signed-up for a Christian CD-of-the-month club. When the CDs arrived in the mail I didn't excitedly open the box and listen to the latest music, but simply tossed the unopened box onto the floor into the pile of other unopend CD boxes. One day I needed to get out for a walk. Wanting to listen to something new, I randomly chose one of the unopened CDs and ripped open the box. The band was called Plumb, the album was 'Candy Coated Waterdrops', hmmm, this sounded interesting 'so I popped it into my portable CD player, put on my headphones and headed out the door towards the ocean to watch the sunset.

The very first song on the album is called 'Late Great Planet Earth' … once outside I started my walk to the deliberate, driving beat of the song, when something supernatural happened. The lyrics being sung were, "The sky is falling, voices crying out in desperation, hear the calling, everybody SAVE YOURSELF…" then something caught my eye that wasn't there the last time I walked down Broadway. It was a sticker spirally wrapped around the hand rail of some stairs to an office building. It was smaller than a bumper sticker, I could only read 3 letters on it that looked like "SAV" so I just knew that the rest of the word had to be "SAVE" so I stepped up to the rail and peeled the sticker off and read it in shocking belief, tears instantly welled up in my eyes, it said, "SAVIOR SELF" at the very exact moment that the lyrics to a song I'vd never listened to before were being sung, "YOU CAN NEVER SAVE YOURSELF". Only a fool says in his heart that there is no God.

I recognized the sticker as a mockery and insult to what God has done for us by sending His only son to earth to live a perfect life, and to pay the price for our sins by dying on the cross in our place, so that those who believe in Him and accept His love can be with him in paradise forever. But I also recognized this as a very special moment when God was speaking to me, showing me something. His death and resurrection made a new everlasting covenant between God and mankind. Christ promises those who turn to him: "Whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed from death to life" (John 5:24).

There were a half dozen or so little blue advertising postcards strewn about on the ground and I felt compelled to pick one up and put it in my pocket. I felt that there was a connection to the sticker on the handrail. Although I don't remember exactly what was on the postcard I still have it stashed away somewhere. There was a website address on it. When I got back home I got on the Internet and did a WhoIs on the domain name… the owner's name, Morgan Bennett, was very familiar but I couldn't immediately figure out why. Then a lightbulb turned on, there was always mail being delivered at my apartment building to people who used to live there but moved years ago…at one time this guy lived in the very same 8-unit apartment building that I did on the corner of Lincoln and Broadway because I'd seen mail addressed to him… what are the odds of that?

So tonight, I watched a 5-minute video clip interview with Anne Rice, author of 'Interview with a Vampire' At one point in her narrative she says, "you can't save yourself" which sparked the memory of what I've just written above. I recommend watching it.

Interesting that the owner of www.SaveYourself.com is Suze Orman, the self-professed financial guru. Somebody ought to tell her that you CAN'T save yourself. The Way to true, everlasting security is Jesus Christ, who said, "I AM the Way and the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father (God) except through me." : John 14:6

Today you can come to God by surrendering your life and heart to Jesus Christ. The Bible says: "To all who received him (Jesus Christ), to those who believed in his name he gave the right to become children of God" (John 1:12).

Right where you are you, right at this moment you can pray something like this: "Lord, I know that I have sinned and need your forgiveness. I believe that Jesus Christ died for me and rose from the dead. I invite you into my life to be my Lord and Savior."

If you sincerely put your faith in Christ, God promises not only to forgive you, but also to receive you into his family. "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you". If you haven't already made a decision for Christ, become a child of God today, while you still can.

Exchanging the truth for a lie

November 28, 2008 By sonserver Leave a Comment

The results of our country's recent elections clearly show that many people have exchanged the truth for a lie.

In California Proposition 8 narrowly passed, adding an amendment to the state constitution which defines marriage as being between a man and a woman. Yet nearly 47% of the state voiced their opinion that homosexuality should be accepted by all as normal and acceptable. This contradicts our nation's historical, conservative, traditional beliefs that what the Holy Bible clearly says on the issue is true and right. (Romans 1:26-28, 1 Cor. 6:9-10, Lev. 20:13, Lev. 18-22, 1 Timothy 1:8-10, ) The people have spoken.

California is a liberal state, where Democrats are in the majority and often get their way. But even with a majority there were enough Democrats whose conscience would not allow them to redefine that which God says is 'wrong' as 'right'. It's a matter of morality, not of hate or prejudice as many claim. How do you define morality? By whose authority? The accusations that it is hateful or prejudicial to not allow men to marry men or women to marry women are lies from the Devil who has come to steal, kill and destroy all that is good that God has in mind for you. You may or may not believe that there is a real Devil, but if you doubt his existence, your doubt does not make him any less real (The same can be said of those who do not believe that there is one God, the creator of all). I assure you that there is a real Devil who is known by various names; Satan, Lucifer, the Dragon, the Beast. His fate is sealed. He has been condemned by God Himself, the ultimate righteous judge, to spend all eternity in a place that was created just for him called Hell. There is nothing good in Hell, not one thing. Contrary to what many believe, Hell was not created for people, it was created for the Devil and the fallen angels who chose to worship him instead of the one true, living God. God does not want anyone to perish… This means that God does not want anyone to be separated from him for all eternity in Hell. More than anything God desires for each person to choose life, to receive the free gift He offers them and to spend eternity with Him in a place called Heaven where there are no tears, no pain, no death. There is a way to get to heaven. Jesus Christ says "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life." Anyone who ultimately finds them self in Hell will have chosen their own destiny by rejecting God's call to turn away from sin and to believe in Him.

The Bible does not describe homosexuality as a "greater" sin than any other. All sin is offensive to God. Homosexuality is just one of the many sins which separate people from their Creator. All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, you, me, everyone.

Sadly, a few laws have passed which mark the decline of morality in our society. In Washington state a proposition passed which allows for the administration of lethal drugs to anyone who is deemed to be terminally ill with less than 6 months to live. In other words, it's ok to kill someone if they're suffering. Another law which has passed says that parents are not required to be notified prior to their children getting an abortion.

What has happened to the sanctity of life?

What is written in the Bible about what is 'right' and what is 'wrong' is not a matter of interpretation, it has been made clear to all.

Satan's first deception was "Did God really say, "…." ?

Morality must be defined by an absolute authority and there is no more absolute authority than God. Otherwise, if morality is left to mankind to define by referendum then it will change with the times until that which is evil is deemed to be good. Those times have arrived.

We've been warned again and again in recent years, Judgment is at the door.

Pray for our country, for the souls who have not yet turned to Christ as the author and perfecter of Life and Savior of their souls, if they would only believe it and turn from their sin.

Free will, or the 'right to choose' does not negate our responsibility to value and protect life above all else.

If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.
2 Chronicles 7:14

The Pope, the Antichrist, and the King of Kings

April 18, 2005 By sonserver Leave a Comment

As I write this the ‘Princes of the Church’ are sequestering themselves in the Sistine Chapel to choose a new Pope. I’ve been reading a collection of sermons by Charles Spurgeon called ‘Spiritual Warfare in a Believer’s Life’, and something I read this morning has prompted me to quote Spurgeon,

“Satan…has made men accept a stone for bread. Many have held, and still hold, that it is possible to find an infallible foundation in the Pope or other spiritual leaders…how any mind can by any possible contortion twist itself into a posture in which it will be capable of accepting such a belief is one of the mysteries of humanity. The notion of infallibility residing in mortal man is worthy of a madhouse and scarcely deserves to be seriously discussed.”

In Latin, one of the titles for the Pope is ‘Vicarius Filii Dei’ which translates into ‘Ruler In Place of the Son of God’… In Greek the same can be said of the title ‘Antichrist’, where the prefix anti- means both ‘instead of’ and ‘against’. Personally I do not believe that a Pope will be the Antichrist spoken of in the Book of Revelation, however, I have no doubt that the notion of an ‘infallible’ man ruling in place of Christ is truly blasphemous and fallacious. In the not too distant future, the Son of Perdition (aka Antichrist in Revelation) will demand that the entire world worship him as their savior from within the soon to be rebuilt Temple in Jerusalem. This is the moment at which all Jews are warned to flee from the city.

Matthew 24:15-18
“So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination that causes desolation,’ spoken of through the prophet Daniel–let the reader understand– then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let no one on the roof of his house go down to take anything out of the house. Let no one in the field go back to get his cloak.

April 13, 2005

Why does Hollywood do it?
Hopefully lack of viewership will drive a stake into the heart of a new TV mini series called ‘Revelations’ that will soon debut on NBC. The story line falls much more on the side of ‘just plain stupid’ than ‘offensive’ or ‘blasphemous’. Staying true to character, the powers that be in Hollywood single out one religious belief to mock, which is Christianity of course. It’s highly unlikely that we’ll ever see a tv mini series that is inspired by a mockery of the Koran or Torah. For the record, the Second Coming of Jesus will not be an infant that is saved from a shipwreck in Greece, but all the Earth will see Him as He comes to Judge the world.

Revelation 19:11
I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and makes war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. Out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. “He will rule them with an iron scepter.” He treads the winepress of
the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written:

KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.

If you personally know the Executive Producers of Revelations, Gavin Polone and David Seltzer, don’t stand too close to them because it’s just a matter of time until lightening strikes if they continue to play golf in the rain. There will be no escaping having to answer for adding and taking away from God’s Word.

Deuteronomy 12:31
You must not worship the LORD your God in their way, because in worshiping their gods, they do all kinds of detestable things the LORD hates. They even burn their sons and daughters in the fire as sacrifices to their gods. See that you do all I command you; do not add to it or take away from it.

April 5, 2005

Coincidence?
You decide…
I don’t know what to make of it, but I realized something unusual about the 2 huge earthquakes which have hit Sumatra in the last 3 months and I think it’s worth mentioning. The first quake generated the Tsunami which killed somewhere around 250,000 people… it struck on December 26th, 2004 which is the day after Christmas, registering a huge 9.0 on the Richter scale. The next big quake struck on March 28th, 2005 which was the day after Easter this year, it registered a huge 8.7 on the Richter scale. Christmas & Easter, the days that Christians celebrate the birth of Christ and the resurrection of Christ from the tomb. Hmmm, interesting, huh? According to the USGS website, these were 2 of of the 10 most powerful quakes in the world in the last 100 years! And the largest pair of quakes in 200 years. Like I said, I don’t know what to make of it, but it’s something to think of.

Matthew 24:7-8
For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there will be famines and earthquakes. But all these things are {merely} the beginning of birth pangs.

April 1, 2005

A particular sub-headline on the Drudge Report caught my eye this morning, it reads “Koran scholar: US will cease to exist in 2007”. No, this isn’t an April Fool’s joke. Palestinian scholar Ziad Silwadi (who is not a world-renowned scholar of the Koran ) claims through his study that the US will be inundated by tsunamis on both coasts in 2007 as punishment from Allah for the country’s history of heinous sins. There’s only 1 problem with Ziad’s prophecy… there is NO precedent of ANY prophecy unique to the Koran having ever come true. Only God knows the future, therefore, only God can reveal the future, and He has done so several hundred times in the Old Testament (aka Tanakh). While the US will certainly cease to exist someday, it certainly won’t happen the way Ziad imagines it. I just don’t understand how any rational, thinking person could ever choose the Koran as a holy book when compared to The Bible. I can only conclude that they haven’t made the comparison, but have chosen to believe the lie.

What’s really special about Ziad’s interpretation is that he draws a parallel between these upcoming tsunamis and the parted waters of the Red Sea crashing down upon Pharoh and his army that were in pursuit of WHO? The Jews! Also, check this out, I happened to underline this passage in my Bible a few days ago:

Isaiah 51:10
Was it not you who dried up the sea,
the waters of the great deep,
who made a road in the depths of the sea,
so that the redeemed might cross over?
The ransomed of the Lord will return.
They will enter Zion with singing;
everlasting joy will crown their heads.
Gladness and joy will overtake them,
and sorrow and sighing will flee away.

This is REAL prophecy. The passage not only speaks of God safely saving the Jews from Pharoh some 4000 years ago, but it also speaks of the future, when the “ransomed of the Lord” who are all those who were purchased by the blood of Jesus, those who accept Jesus the Jew as their Messiah, as God who came in the flesh and obediently died on the cross, as the sacrificial Lamb who takes away the sins of the world for those who believe, AND then rose from the dead 3 days later in victory over death. These are the ransomed of the Lord who will live forever in the real heaven, in the presence of God, in peace with joy, gladness, singing and no more pain or suffering at all.

This is the Good News. This is Salvation. And it can be yours too, all you have to do is ask for it.

God Reigns.

Amen