A Defense of G.A. Riplinger

I am writing this post in defense of a wonderful Christian lady. This humble servant of God is Mrs. G.A. Riplinger. Mrs. Riplinger has been unjustly criticized, lied about, and slandered and all for no reason. She has done nothing but present clear facts with about our beloved KJV and for that she has been called such detestable things such as “liar”, “fraud”, “adulteress” and “Jezebel”. There are some men in this country who call themselves Christians, and stand behind a pulpit and criticize a lady who’s only crime has been to present her studies in books which those men can choose to read or choose not to read. She is in no way being “un-Biblical” in her writings and I challenge ANYONE to show different. However, because there are men who have spread lies about Mrs. Riplinger, we will examine how she is in no way trespassing the Scriptures, and therefore is due somewhere around 1,257,893 apologies from Pharisees* all across this country. (*Some reading this may say, “Zack, aren’t you being disrespectful?” To this I respond by saying, I do not have much respect for men, “falsely so-called”, who have nothing better to do than attempt to tear down Riplinger. No respect is due a man who needs to criticize a woman in order to feel BIG.)


Many men have accused her of “usurping authority.” They will use the following verses to “prove” their point:

1 Timothy 2:11-12 Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection. But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence.

Let me once again say plainly that anyone who wants to read Mrs. Riplinger’s writing can do so. Furthermore, anyone who wishes not to read her works can choose not to do so. You may try your best to call writing a book “usurping authority”, but that is simply not the case. Riplinger is not teaching doctrine, but rather putting forth FACTS about the Bible. I have read 2400 pages of her work and not once does she try to teach me how to live, how to raise a family, or how to preach. She simply presents, among other things of the like, historical and insightful facts about the KJV and shows flaws in the NIV, TNIV, NASB, et al. Excuse me for asking, but how in the world is that un-Biblical? I’m sorry to tread on a conscience, but how in the world does that make her a “Jezebel”? She is by no stretch of the imagination “usurping authority” over anyone. Mrs. Riplinger has not jumped up on a platform and pushed a pastor from his pulpit and shoved some “doctrine” down anyone’s esophagus. She has presented documented facts that you can read or not read.

Also, if you want to use this verse as a proof text for your criticism, then you’ll also have to dismiss your ladies Sunday school teacher from her duty. “WHAT!?!” Well, look at the verse again, “…I suffer not a woman to teach, nor usurp authority over the man…” The key word here is “nor”. If you are going to stretch this verse so far as to accuse Mrs. Riplinger of usurping authority, you’ll also have to admit that no woman should teach in any setting. After all, Paul did say, “I suffer not a woman to teach, nor…”. He did not say ‘I suffer not a woman to teach if it means she usurps authority over a man’. No, he said, “I suffer not a woman to teach…”, AT ALL! Right? Is that what he is saying??? Well, putting aside the satire for a second, not many men hold that position, nor do I. It is perfectly fine for a woman to teach other woman or young girls and boys, and not many people would argue about that. However, the same pastor of an IFB church who has a dozen or so woman teachers in his church, will turn around and use II Tim. 2:11-12 to “prove” that Mrs. Riplinger is out of line Scripturally. This is a deceitful sophism presented by selfish men who need to criticize of woman to feel BIG.

There have been other pitiful attempts to disgrace Riplinger by digging into her past and manipulating facts. I will not even stoop down to touch this horrible attempt to ignore the truth and lie about a person’s past in order to discredit their writings. Anyone who is familiar with these baseless accusations can refer to hacalumni.com for details and the facts.

It is easy to criticize someone, but it is another thing altogether to prove them wrong. These men, and you need not look far to find them, quickly and eagerly spill all kinds of lies, but they all of a sudden disappear when you ask them to show where she is wrong. You won’t see many columns on the internet refuting the facts, but you’ll find plenty of blogs pointing fingers and calling names. This is sad and un-Christlike. If you have a “beef” with someone, prove them wrong. Don’t go around yelling and screaming just because you are jealous of their intellect.

Mrs. Riplinger is the sweetest, most humble woman you will ever talk to. The men who criticize her are simply reading the blog of some liberal who conveniently ignores the facts. I call for a little bit of Christ-likeness here and ask for the out cry to stop. Your bark is a whole lot bigger than your bite (as James White displayed for us). It’s time to PUT UP OR SHUT UP!  You may be a so-called “defender of the KJB” but you are in no way an example of the God who wrote it. You are of the same lot of Pharisee who had his robe all in wad because God appointed a woman to be a prophetess in Israel!

And Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, she judged Israel at that time. – Judges 4:4

And Deborah said unto Barak, Up; for this is the day in which the LORD hath delivered Sisera into thine hand: is not the LORD gone out before thee? So Barak went down from mount Tabor, and ten thousand men after him. – Judges 4:14

God used a woman to do his work, and he has had to do the same thing today. Why you ask?

Ezekiel 22:30 And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none.

There isn’t one man in the country capable of writing and compiling what Mrs. Riplinger has. God has used her because pastors who could have filled that role were too busy studying murky Greek and Hebrew lexicons, and learning how to orate. A man could have filled her role, but there was none. So, God in his infinite wisdom groomed a modern day Deborah for our benefit. Instead of kicking and screaming about gender, why don’t we take a Christ-like stance and be a tad more gracious. Would it hurt to be kind?

In closing, if you are still determined to spread hate and lies about a wonderful lady such as Mrs. Riplinger, allow me to earnestly urge you to do as one of your own said in the book of Acts:

Acts 5:38-39 “…if this counsel or this work be of men, it will come to nought: But if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it; lest haply ye be found even to fight against God.”

We love you Mrs. Riplinger!

God Is Not Near-Sighted

All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: II Timothy 3:16

The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever. Psalm 12:6-7

Let me begin my first post in what has been...FOREVER...by making a very frank statement: "God is not stupid." I say this in response to the current debate about the inspiration of the KJB. Allow me to explain...

Once upon a time, thousands of years ago, God gave man His words. First He gave man his Old Testament in the language of Hebrew, along with a little Aramaic and Chaldean. Later, He gave man his New Testament. He put this portion of Scripture in Koine Greek. (Are you with me so far??? I know this is deep. Sarcasm)

Why did He choose these two languages? Is it true, as some seem to believe, that there is something mystical about these ancient languages? Did God sanctify Greek and Hebrew making them "better" than any other languages in some spooky way? Why did God choose Greek and Hebrew? Here is the answer:...Are you ready? Hang on to your kiddie chair...He gave the original MS in Greek and Hebrew because...THEY WERE THE COMMON LANGUAGES OF THE PEOPLE! There is nothing spooky or special about the Greek or Hebrew language. These languages were simply chosen to record Scripture because they were the common languages in their respective era. God gave the Hebrew people an OT they could understand. God gave the NT in Greek, the common language of the entire world at that time, so that people could understand. If at that time the common tongues were English and French, I dare say that God would not have given them a Greek and Hebrew Bible and said, "Here, you figure it out." "God is not the author of confusion" and would have simply inspired the original MS in the common language of the people as He did.

However, in the day we live not one single person on the face of this earth speaks Koine Greek. Furthermore, Hebrew is spoken by very few and those who do speak it usually have English as their first language. Do you honestly think that God didn't realize that Koine Greek would die? Did God inspire the originals and then 2,000 years later say, "Oops! What do I do now?" NO! God would have to make a provision so as to not allow His word to die along with the language. If the original NT was lost for a thousand years after it was written, and along the way Koine Greek died, what good would those copies do if they were found today when no one speaks Greek? NONE!!! The Word of God would be dead! It would be unprofitable! It would be of no use! God knew after He inspired the Word of God in Greek or Hebrew that one day those languages would die out. Something would have to be done so that God's Word would live on.

As a language dies, another takes its place. As Koine Greek died, other languages took its place. In order to keep God's Word alive and available to people God would have to do something so His Word could avoid death. This is where preservation comes in. God has promised to preserve His Word. God did NOT promise to preserve Koine Greek or OT Hebrew. As Koine Greek died, God was obligated to preserve His Word to "all generations." How did He do this? God used a simple method called Translation. What is translation? It is when something changes from one form to another to avoid death. We see this definition in the story of Enoch:

By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God. Hebrews 11:5

Enoch was TRANSLATED, so that he wouldn't die. The Bible was translated so that it wouldn't die!!! If the Bible was exclusively in Greek and Hebrew and those languages were dead, as they basically are now, nobody would be able to read the Word of God! It would be DEAD! So in order to avoid death, God translated His Word into other languages. Here we see the very same definition of translation as I mentioned. Translation is when something is moved from one form to another to avoid DEATH. Koine Greek died. The Word of God did not. God simply TRANSLATED His Word from Koine Greek and Hebrew to other living languages to ensure that His Word would not see death! How did God preserve His word alive for you and me today? Through TRANSLATION!!! God is not near-sighted. He was not surprised when Koine Greek passed off the seen. Because God promised us His Word, He could not allow the Bible to be pulled down to the grave along with Greek and Hebrew. So...He preserved His Word in living languages like English! Isn't God awesome!!! God is never surprised! No matter how the critics assail or the foes of God cry out, His Word still stands! If the English language were to die in 1,000 years, God will simply preserve His Word in other languages for future generations. God is not bi-lingual! God is the inventor of ALL languages (Babel) and He is powerful enough to preserve His Word however He may choose. He has chosen to keep His word from ever seeing death by the simple method of translation. God's Word is ALIVE and well today thanks to translation! Thank God for an inspired Bible!

God is not stupid!

~ Zack Evans

Heaven?

There are many important questions in the world. Where am I going to work? Who am I going to marry? Where am I going to go to church? Where am I going to live? Where will I go to college? etc... However, there is one question that surpasses them all. And that is the question I pose to you today. The question is...

Do you know for sure that one day you will be in Heaven?

One day, howbeit hopefully far away, I will no longer trod this earth. I am here for a very short time, and then my life is gone almost as quick as it came. Some dread the thought of death, but I do not and neither should you, IF you are prepared for that day.


After I'm gone, what will it matter where I've been? Or how big of a number I had in my bank account? Or how nice of a car I had? Or how big of a house I owned? Or where I went on vacation? What will all of that amount to after I'm gone? Not much really. All that will matter is where I will spend the rest of my life eternally.


I believe that most everyone wants to go to Heaven. But how do we get there? If I am going to spend forever somewhere, I had better know for sure where I'm going! :) Which brings me to ask you this:

If you were to stand in front of God, and He were to look at you and ask, "Why should I let you into Heaven?"...what would you say?

It's a tough question, but think about it for a second. I have had the wonderful opportunity to talk with literally hundreds of people on this subject. I would say, MOST of the time the response to the previous question is this:

"Well, I guess I would say, 'God, I haven't really done anything that bad. I think I'm a pretty good person.'"

Will that answer "fly" when we stand before God? Many people believe that if a person lives a good life and doesn't commit any horrible sins, then God will let them into Heaven. In the religion of Islam it is taught that there is a good angel on one shoulder and a bad angel on the other who record everyone one of your deeds, good and bad respectively. If you have done more good than bad, they say you go to "Paradise". If more bad than good, you get "Hellfire." Most religions are typical of this scenario. We call this a "works based religion." Is this true? Can we work our way to Heaven? If that is true, then the best we can do is "hope" that we've done enough to go to Heaven. I do not believe that the God of Heaven would take much joy in His children fretting every day of their lives as to whether or not they have 1 or 2 more bad deeds than good. God is not a God of fear, but a God of hope and love. It doesn't seem very loving to only let people "hope" or think that they could go to Heaven, and yet this is what many people are willing to settle for.


Honestly, I would hate to live my life "hoping" that I've done enough good things to get into Heaven! I want to KNOW!!! I know for sure, and I believe that YOU can know for sure as well! In fact God has given you a promise from His Word that you can know without a single doubt!

     I John 5:13 - "These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life,"

I would like to share with you how I know for sure, 100%, without a doubt that when it's my time to go, I'm going to Heaven! How selfish would I have to be to conceal this! If a man had the cure for cancer and refused to release it, we would all be angry with him! How much more selfish would it be of me not to tell someone about the greatest thing that has ever happened to me, and that is knowing for a fact that my life after death is taken care of!


First, let me ask a couple simple questions for you to consider:


1. Who is in charge of Heaven?


You need not be a rocket scientist to figure this one out. GOD is in charge of Heaven! So, if God is in charge of Heaven....


2. ...Then who decides how we get in?


GOD DOES! I cannot waltz up to God and say, "Now listen, I'm going to give you 5 bucks and you're guna let me in!" No!!! God would have to say, "You don't understand, this is MY house. I lay down the terms as to how you get in." That is just common sense. However, the next question is the one of which this post will now address.


3. So...if God is in charge of Heaven, and if He alone decides how we get in, how am I supposed to know the terms?


Wouldn't it have been nice of God to write it all down for us??? Well...HE DID! He wrote it down in a wonderful Book called The Bible! The Bible is God's Book to man and in it lie the terms for Heaven! The Bible says, "God is not the author of confusion," - I Cor. 14:33 Any confusion about how to get to Heaven is not God's fault. He has laid it down for us in black and white, once and for all, if we will just, "Seek ye out the book of the Lord, and read" - Isa. 34:16 Let us now look to the Bible and see what God has said about this subject of Heaven and how we get there.

What Does the Bible Say?

1. The Bible says that we are unfit for Heaven.

Romans 3:10 - "As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:"

This verse states simply states that no one is perfect! That word "righteous" means, "perfect, holy." I think that we would all agree that there isn't anybody on the earth right now who has never done anything wrong. The fact is that we have all done things that we shouldn't. Agreed? No matter how big or small, we have all messed up.


But, why does that make us unfit for Heaven? This next verse will explain:

Romans 3:23 - "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;"

The word "For" in this verse means, "because". So..."For (because) all (does that word "all" leave anybody out? No!) have sinned (messed up/done wrong/not done good/etc.) and come short of the glory of God. The last phrase "and come short of the glory of God" gives the reason why we are unfit for Heaven as we are. Because of our sin, we "come short". Come short of what? - Heaven! The Bible teaches from cover to cover that no one, no matter how "good" or how "bad" deserves Heaven. None of us deserve the glory of God, in fact, we ALL fall short. Why is that? "For (because) all have sinned," Our sin makes us unfit for Heaven!

But, why does our SIN make us unfit for Heaven? Sin seperates us from God. Why? The Bible says, "the LORD our God is holy." - Psalm 99:9 The world holy means, "seperate from sin,". If God is totally seperate from sin, how can I enter into Heaven with a heart full of sinful thoughts and deeds? God is so far away from sin that He cannot even look at it, much less allow sin into Heaven! Because of the sin I have in my heart, God cannot allow me into Heaven because of His holiness. (I know this concept may be new to some of you, but please hear me out. Most importantly, notice that all the conclusions I have drawn and will draw are from the Bible, which is the "Final Authority." It matters not what I think to be true. It matters what God has said!)

We are unfit for Heaven because of our sin, and are in fact seperated from God because of it. But unfortunately, the Bible teaches that not only are we seperated from God, but we are also in debt to Him because of our sin. Allow me to explain.

2. The Bible says there is a penalty for sin.

The Biblication definition for sin is, "breaking God's law." When we sin, we are not just doing something wrong. But rather, we are sinning AGAINST Someone. God wrote down a list of Do's and Dont's in the Bible. These are known as commandments. When we (and we all do) refuse to obey these commandments, that is sin. Just like if I was to break a law of the United States of America, there is a penalty that I must pay. The same goes for God's law. I have broken God's law because of my sin, and am therefore under a certain penalty. The Bible describes this penalty in the verses below:

Romans 6:23 - "For the wages of sin is death;"

Ezekiel 18:4 - ":the soul that sinneth, it shall die."

Romans 5:12 - "Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:"

The Bible states that the penalty for violating God's law is "death." In the first verse above the Bible uses the word "wages". The word wages means "payment". The only payment that God will accept for my sin is death. God did not say, "For the wages of sin is doing a bunch of good deeds to make up for your sin." Good deeds can never make bad ones go away. If I were to break the glass door at the hotel where I work, that would be bad. (My managers would not be happy! lol) But let's say I broke the glass. To make up for it, I went and fed the poor and gave money to a charity. Does that repair the door? No! I must pay the price for breaking that door! The price is $$$$!!! That is the only thing that will pay for the door! Likewise the only thing that will pay for my sin is death. Not good works, baptism, sacraments, or some freaky experience.

Many have said that there are mortal sins, but the Bible teaches that all sin is "mortal". The 2nd verse uses the word "shall". There is no other choice but death...someone must die. I know that this sounds gloomy, and it may be bad news, but fear not because there is good news just around the corner. But first, we must realize our condition. We were born with a sin nature. No one had to teach me how to disobey or do wrong. It was natural. Because of my sin, I must die.

When the Bible speaks of "death" in the context of our subject it is not speaking of the physical death of our bodies but rather the spiritual death of our souls. This is seen in the book of Revelation:

Revelation 20:14-15 - "And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire."

Here we see the phrase "the second death." This obviously refers to the spiritual death. These two verses are not pleasant to hear, but they are truth. Jesus said, "thy word is truth." - John 17:17 I do not like to talk about "hell" but the Bible talks 2x as much about Hell as it does Heaven, and I must mention it here. The Bible teaches, as we have already established, that the payment for sin is death. This is the second death, which is death in Hell. That is the price that you and I have to pay because of our sin. Death in Hell is the only price that God will accept. Some interject here and say, "God wouldn't send anybody to Hell!!!" If that is your mindset, I TOTALLY agree with you! God doesn't send anybody to Hell...instead, He has given us a choice. It is our decision whether we go to Heaven or to Hell. God has given us a free will to decide. He has made a way for you and I to escape this "death penalty". I would like to present that opportunity to you right now!

3. God already paid your penalty for you!

Romans 5:8 - "But God commendeth (shewed) his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."

Friend, God looked down from Heaven a long time ago and said, "I know that ________ (fill in your name) has sinned against me. They have broken my law. The punishment is death, and that is the only price I'll accept. BUT...I don't want them to have to die! So, I am going to make a way for them to live in Heaven forever with me! Jesus, I want you to go down to Earth, live a perfect life, and die in their place. This will satisfy their penalty, and give them the opportunity to live with me forever! It will be my gift to them!"

That is why Jesus came! Jesus came to die! He came to die in your place! The most famous verse in the Bible says,

John 3:16 - "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

God loved you so much that He allowed His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ to die for you on the cross! Think about this: If you could live a really good life and quit some of your sins, and if that would get you to Heaven, why would God send Jesus to die in our place? If we could just be really good and go to Heaven, then there would have been no need for Jesus to die! God obviously saw that we needed something to save us from our spiritual death, and Jesus, who was God in the flesh, died so that we might live!!!

So...if the penalty was death, and Jesus died, did He or did He not pay for all your sin? YES! Jesus paid for all your sin, past, present, and future! When Jesus died all your sins were in the future! But not only did He die, but he rose again on the third day from the grave:

Mark 6:16 - "And he saith unto them, Be not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here: behold the place where they laid him."

When Jesus died, was buried, and rose again, not only did He pay for our sin but He also bought us a gift!

Romans 6:23b..."the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."

Jesus Christ offers all men ETERNAL LIFE as a free gift! A gift is something that you don't have to earn or deserve. As already proven, we do not deserve Heaven. Jesus, knowing that we are unfit for Heaven presents us with eternal life in Heaven with Him as a free gift! "Do I have to do anything to get it?" No, Jesus did it all! "Do I have to work for it and build up some merit to pay for it?" No, Christ did al the work for you on the cross! The only work that was needed to be done was death, and Christ died for you! No other work is needed! Christ said right before He died, "It is finished.", meaning, 'The price has been fully paid!'

Isn't that exciting! Now, Jesus died for all men, but obviously not all men will go to Heaven. What seperates the people who go to Heaven and the people who go to Hell? Simply this: The people who go to Heaven have accepted Jesus Christ's death as satisfactory for their sin, and accept His free gift of etenal life BY FAITH. Those who go to Hell have rejected Christ's offer and have decided to try and pay for their sins another way such as with good deeds, sacraments, offerings, etc. However none of those things pay for the penalty of sin which is death. If you want to go to Heaven, you must accept what Jesus did for you on the cross as your payment for sin and accept His gift of salvation.

"How Can I Do That?"

4. All You Must Do Is Believe!

The Bible says that we accept eternal life from Jesus Christ by faith:

Romans 10:9-10 - "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation."

God is offering you a wonderful gift. A gift of faith in Jesus Christ that will take you to Heaven when you die. Would you like to accept that gift now? If so, God says "confess with thy mouth". We talk to God through prayer, so we must tell God that we want the free gift of eternal salvation!

Pray something like this:

"Dear Jesus, I know that I am a sinner. I have broken your law and for that I deserve to die. I realize that the only payment you'll accept for my sin is death. But I know that you also sent Jesus your Son to die for me so that I wouldn't have to go to Hell. I accept what Jesus did on the cross as the payment for my sins, and ask for the gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ and Him alone. I know that there is no good thing I can do to take me to Heaven, and no bad thing that I can quit that will help me get there. I put my heart's trust in You and You alone. Please come into my life and save me right now! In Jesus Name, Amen."

If you just prayed that prayer to God, and accepted the gift of eternal life in Heaven by faith, then you have done EXACTLY what the Bible says one must do to go to Heaven!!! All I have to say now is CONGRATULATIONS! I hope you feel a peace in your heart and assurance that you now possess the eternal gift of Heaven as your home!!!

P.S.- If you read this post and accepted Christ please leave a comment in the "Comments" box and let me know so I may rejoice with you! Please email me with any questions you might have. My email address is: thezman22@gmail.com

Quote of the Day 6/11

“When I give you my time, I am giving you my life, for time is life.” ~ Dr. Jack Hyles

Dr. Hyles is 2nd only to my father in the “Zack’s Hero’s” Department. I never met Dr. Hyles, although I will someday soon when I see him in Heaven. If you are not familiar with Dr. Jack Hyles, I encourage you to acquaint yourself with him through his writings, and sermons, some of which are provided for you on this site. (Please see the “Sermons” page for preaching from Dr. Hyles) I received a wonderful blessing this week when I look on the “Resource Table” at our church, and noticed a book by Dr. Hyles entitled, “Blue Denim and Lace.” I had heard so much about this book and about all of the lives it had touched. It is a compilation of Dr. Hyles' deepest thoughts and feelings. It is a book filled with wisdom, which was all gained during Dr. Hyles’ designated times of “thinking” or “meditating” on God’s Word. Today’s quote is from that book.

The first chapter is entitled, “When time is no longer…” I want to share some of his thoughts with you today. Let’s look at some thoughts about the concept of time:

1. “The greatest gift that I could give you is my time.”

As our quote today states, when I give you my time, I am giving you a part of my life. If I give you money, I am giving you, in turn, the time it took to make that money. If I give you a coat, I am giving you the time it took to earn the money to buy that coat. Really, time is the only give that I can give you. Howbeit a wonderful gift, it is a costly gift. Time is only lost, and never gained. You can only lose time when you do something. Therefore, when I do something for you that requires time, or when I give you something that required time to get, I am giving you part of my life here on earth, and that part of my life I gave you, is lost forever. I can never get it back! It is a great honor for you to give me your time, because when you spend time with me or for me, you are giving me your life. Dr. Hyles said, “My time with you is an investment. Your time with me is an investment. Let us care for each other’s investment wisely.” When I give you my time, I am giving you part of my life. What a special gift!!!

2. “When I give you my time, I am giving a gift that can only be given to you!”

Once I have given YOU my time, I cannot give it to another. It was used up for you and you alone! This should make us appreciate the time given us by others, and cherish the time we spend with them. “For a moment given to me by a friend is not only his giving to me of his life, but also something which he can give to no other person and which can never be given again.”

3. “For you to give me a moment, or for me to give you a moment, is to exchange the only moment that we actually know we have.”

Dr. Hyles said, “We are promised only the present. When we share the present with each other, we are giving to each other the only moment that we know we have for sure. There may never be another.” This should cause us to love our family and friendships more than ever before! Do you realize that when you left for work this morning sir, that could have been the last time you saw your wife!!! Did you realize teenager, that when you got mad at your mom and stormed to your room, that could have been the last time you saw your mother? We should make sure that we always let those who we know that we love them, for we could very well never have another “moment” with them.

4. “Time is a gift God cannot give.”

Dr. Hyles makes a very interesting point. “God gives us wonderful gifts. This is one thing that God cannot give you. God has no time. He does not give up any of His life to fellowship with you. To be sure, He gave His life on the cross to save you; but since God will never die, the time He gives to you and the moments you share with Him do not subtract anything from His life. In other words, He loses no life to fellowship with you. However, when I fellowship with you, I lose my life. Here is a gift we can share that God cannot give.” Wow! God created time, and therefore must be outside of it. The man who built my laptop I am typing on, is not trapped inside of it!!! He is outside of it will complete control over it. God can be with you and me at the same instance and not lose any time, because He is outside of time. God lives in the past present and future all at once!!! “Before Abraham was, I am.” ~ John 8:58 So, when I spend time with you, I am giving you one gift (and probably the only one) that God cannot give you!

What an honor it is for someone to want to spend time with me!!! We should cherish the time we have together. We would do well to make sure our loved ones know they are “loved” ones for we may not have much time with them. Time is a precious gift that we can share with each other. Let us spend it wisely. I hope this has been a blessing to you. This provoked my mind and has made me rethink how I spend my time.

James 4:14 - “Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.”

We only have “a little time”, let’s do something GREAT with it!!!

(Note: All of Dr. Hyles’ books are not copyrighted and are free to be copied and used respectively by the reader.)

Quote of the Day 6/10

 

A man says to me, "Can you explain the seven trumpets of the Revelation?" No, but I can blow one in your ear, and warn you to escape from the wrath to come.” ~ Charles Haddon Spurgeon

Sorry about missing yesterday’s post!!! :( It was a crazy day at the Evans’ home! We had some plumbing issues and…well…that took a bit of time off the night! But, let’s turn our focus to our quote today…

Spurgeon used a little sarcasm here, but behind the subtle humor is a thought that has been on my mind for the past 24 hours. And that thought is…Jesus is coming back. Those trumpets up in Heaven are going to blow soon. Jesus is going to descend from the cloud and call His children home…the dead in Christ shall rise…and “we that are alive and remain” will be caught up in the air to  meet out Savior!

This thought has been engrained in my mind for different reasons. With the recent trip taken by President Obama to Cairo, and the speech also given to Israelis by VP Joe Biden, many “cogs” are being put into place. Obama is looking to appease all 57 Islamic states and Israel and Palestine etc. There is talk that Obama plans to have a peace treaty in effect by the end of his first term. Howbeit, many Presidents have tried and failed in an attempt to gain peace in the Middle East, it is certain that Obama has taken unprecedented steps toward TRYING to accomplishing that task. What if…What if…Obama does get a treaty in place to be signed? What if it is a…7 year treaty…which is depicted in the book of Revelation? What if? If that is so…if that is what is in place to be done, as some suspect, we are very close to going home. (BTW: I am not saying that Obama is the Anti-Christ!!! But, I am saying that we are very close to “his” arrival.)

I have a question for you that I have asked myself repeatedly over the past 24 hours…are you ready to meet your God? Are you prepared? I’m not just asking if you are saved, I’m asking if you’re ready. You do realize don’t you, that in as little as…the next second…you could be up in the air headed for Heaven? “Woohoo!!! Glory!!! EVEN SO Lord Jesus come quickly!!!” Well, before you get to excited, you do know what happens after that right? You, and you alone, are going to stand in front of the Creator God of the Universe and give an account of your life!

 

Revelation 20:12 - “And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.”

The Almighty God of Heaven is going to look you straight in the eyeball and ask you, “What did you do for ME???” Your whole entire life will be put in review…how is that going to go for you and me? Are you ready to look God in the face, confident in the way you have lived your life? Will you be able to look at the “austere man” and say, “I have given you my all Lord Jesus!” Are you ready? Think about that for a second…you are going to see the God that you have put your trust in! You are going to stand before the God who breathed the world into existence and explain to him why you or I wasted our lives! Can you imagine looking at GOD??? I can’t even fathom the fear!!! I can’t imagine the GLORY!!! I can’t contemplate the CONVICTION that I will feel standing before Him knowing that I could have done more!!!! Are you prepared? We had better prepare to meet our God!

How do we do that? How can we be ready for the Judgment Seat of Christ? Paul felt the same way you and I do about one day standing before God, and he gave his way of preparing to meet his God:

 

2 Corinthians 5:11 - “Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men;”

Paul was saying, “I’m afraid! I’m a little…no very much frightened by the thought of giving an account of my life! In fact, I’m terrified!!!” So, what was his way of getting ready? Did Paul say, “Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we read our Bibles”? Did Paul saying, “Knowing…the terror…we pray”? Did he state, “Knowing…the terror…we attend church once a week”? How about, “Knowing…the terror…we don’t kill or gamble or cheat, etc.”? NO!!! Paul declared, “Knowing therefore the TERROR of the Lord, WE PERSUADE MEN;”!!!!!! Paul is giving us a glimpse of what the Judgment Seat of Christ is going to be all about! The MAIN thing that God is going to judge us on (not for Heaven, but for our reward in Heaven), will NOT be church attendance! It will NOT that you didn’t kill anybody! It will NOT be that you were sober! It will not be that you were faithful to your wife and your kids! It will not be your prayer habits! It will not be your Bible reading! ‘WHAT????’ Yes, I’m saying that #1 thing that God will judge you about, Christian, is HOW MANY PEOPLE DID YOU KEEP OUTTA HELL!!! If you don’t believe me, ask Paul? He said that he was spending his life preparing to meet his Lord by SOUL-WINNING!!!

Your lack of bad habits doesn’t keep anybody outta Hell!!! Our church attendance doesn’t keep anybody outta Hell!!! Our lack of “horrible” sins doesn’t keep anybody outta Hell!!! When God looks a you or me and says, “What have you done for me???”, what are you going to say? Will you say, “I went to church God!” “You went to church? That wasn’t for me!!! THAT WAS FOR YOU!!! What did you do for ME???” “Well, God, I…uh…read my Bible!” “You did what? Barely!!! Even so, that didn’t do anything for me!!!! What have you done for me????” “Um…I prayed!?!” “You prayed? Do you think you were doing me a favor by asking me for things? No, child, WHAT HAVE YOU DONE FOR ME??” What will you say? I want to be able to say, “God, I am the rottenest sinner in the whole world, but I brought a bunch of other sinners with me!!!” Don’t you? God is not so impressed with my Bible reading, if I am not a soul-winner. Why? Because Jesus didn’t did so you could have a Bible, He died to keep people outta Hell. Don’t you think that ought to be our main objective? Many churches have gotten away from old-fashioned soul-winning. I don’t want to be a pastor of one of those flocks at the judgment seat. Paul persuaded men in preparation to meet the Master. Are you preparing? We don’t have much time Christians! Tomorrow never comes, and today will be gone in a moment…what are you going to do with it? Let’s prepare to meet our God!

More from Mr. Moody 6/8

“Character is what a man is in the dark.” ~ D.L. Moody

The Bible commands us in Matthew 5:16, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” Many great sermons have been preached on “Let your light so shine.” However, what we are on the outside is not nearly important as what we are on the inside. Remember what Jesus said to the Pharisees?

Matthew 23:25-28 - “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess. Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness. Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.”

The Pharisees were the Independent Fundamental Baptist of their day. Yes, they had many flaws, the main one being pride, but as far as their religion of Judaism, they were the ultra-conservative crowd. The Sadducees were the liberal, scholarly types, on the other hand. The Pharisees were clean and pure on the outside. They dressed nice, walked with dignity, had Bible verses written all over their clothes, they were well respected men, etc., But, Jesus wasn’t that impressed. Jesus looked at those “whited sepulchres” and said that they were full of a bunch of dead men’s bones!!! (By the way: who ever said that Jesus wasn’t a fiery preacher? He preached with passion and fervor against sin!!!) The Pharisees were the most spiritual religious guys in town, and yet Jesus looked at them and told them that they were wicked! Was that harsh? No, it was truth. Don’t get me wrong, God cares about the outside…”that the outside of them may be clean also.” But, God knows that the outside is not necessarily indicative of what is on the inside.

Jesus said, “cleanse first that which is within”. The main occupation of a Christian should not be, “What do people think about me?” But rather, “What am I in the sight of God?” We all need to re-evaluate ourselves today with this question…Does your outside match up with your inside? They are both important, but as a Christian, do they match? Are you “spick and span”, “spit and polished” on the outside, but dirty and carnal on the inside? Do you walk into church on Sunday with your KJB under your arm, decked out in your 3-piece suit, looking like the next Jack Hyles, but failed to even crack open your “beloved” KJB during the week? Are you that type of person? It’s not hard to be. In fact, I believe we all are this person at times, however, we should be striving to make our inside match our outside. If your spick and span on the outside, be spick and span on the inside!!!

The question is…who are you really? Are you really the person that people see on Sunday? Or, when you get in the car, do you turn back into your “real” self? You see, character is not what people think we are. It is who we are when no one else is watching! Sure, we’re good Christians when the cameras are on! But, what kind of Christian are you when no one’s looking? Of course, we dress modest! But, what do we wear when no one’s around? We keep our tongues under control! Unless we’re alone…We read our Bibles…when we’re at a prayer meeting. We love the preacher when we’re at church…but scowl about him in the car. Who are you? Are you really you? Or are you someone else??? “HUH?” Are you the “you” that we all know? Or is there an alter-ego that we don’t know about? God will not judge us on people’s perceptions!!! He will judge us with truth. The Pharisees looked spiritual, talked spiritual, walked spiritual, but were just walking dead men. What about you? What about us? Are we content to lead this double life? I don’t know if this applies to you today…and I don’t because there are only 2 people who do…you and God. Who are you…in the dark. That is where men are made…in the dark. You are who you are when no one’s around. Are you a good Christian when no one’s looking? This is something we all need to work on.

Sermon of the Week

To go along with today’s post about the love of God, I have decided to post Dr. Jack Hyles’ famous sermon “He is Altogether Lovely” or “The Altogether Lovely One.” Let us place our minds on how great and loving and beautiful God is and realize how small and puny man is. God truly is the Altogether Lovely One!

Dr. Jack Hyles - He is Altogether Lovely One.mp3