Posts Tagged ‘Salvation’

In that place between wakefulness and dreams, I found myself in the room. There were no distinguishing features except for the one wall covered with small index card files. They were like the ones in libraries that list titles by author or subject in alphabetical order. But these files, which stretched from floor to ceiling and seemingly endless in either direction, had very different headings.

As I drew near the wall of files, the first to catch my attention was one that read “Brian Moore.” I opened it and began flipping through the cards. I quickly shut it, shocked to realize that I recognized the names written on each one.

And then without being told, I knew exactly where I was. This lifeless room with its small files was a crude catalog system for my life. Here were written the actions of my every moment, big and small, in a detail my memory couldn’t match. A sense of wonder and curiosity, coupled with horror, stirred within me as I began randomly opening files and exploring their content. Some brought joy and sweet memories; others a sense of shame and regret so intense that I would look over my shoulder to see if anyone was watching.

A file named “Friends” was next to one marked “Friends I have betrayed.” The titles ranged from the mundane to the outright weird. “Books I Have Read,” “Lies I Have Told,” “Comfort I have Given,” “Jokes I Have Laughed at.” Some were almost hilarious in their exactness: “Things I’ve yelled at my brothers.” Others I couldn’t laugh at: “Things I Have Done in My Anger,” “Things I Have Muttered Under My Breath at My Parents.”

I never ceased to be surprised by the contents. Often there were many more cards than I expected. Sometimes fewer than I hoped. I was overwhelmed by the sheer volume of the life I had lived. Could it be possible that I had the time in my years to write each of these thousands or even millions of cards? But each card confirmed this truth. Each was written in my own handwriting. Each signed with my signature.

When I pulled out the file marked “Songs I have listened to,” I realized the files grew to contain their contents. The cards were packed tightly, and yet after two or three yards, I hadn’t found the end of the file. I shut it, shamed, not so much by the quality of music but more by the vast time I knew that file represented.

When I came to a file marked “Lustful Thoughts,” I felt a chill run through my body. I pulled the file out only an inch, not willing to test its size, and drew out a card. I shuddered at its detailed content. I felt sick to think that such a moment had been recorded. An almost animal rage broke on me. One thought dominated my mind: “No one must ever see these cards! No one must ever see this room! I have to destroy them!”

In insane frenzy I yanked the file out. Its size didn’t matter now. I had to empty it and burn the cards. But as I took it at one end and began pounding it on the floor, I could not dislodge a single card. I became desperate and pulled out a card, only to find it as strong as steel when I tried to tear it. Defeated and utterly helpless, I returned the file to its slot. Leaning my forehead against the wall, I let out a long, self-pitying sigh.

And then I saw it. The title bore “People I Have Shared the Gospel With.” The handle was brighter than those around it, newer, almost unused. I pulled on its handle and a small box not more than three inches long fell into my hands. I could count the cards it contained on one hand. And then the tears came. I began to weep.

Sobs so deep that they hurt. They started in my stomach and shook through me. I fell on my knees and cried. I cried out of shame, from the overwhelming shame of it all. The rows of file shelves swirled in my tear-filled eyes. No one must ever, ever know of this room. I must lock it up and hide the key. But then as I pushed away the tears, I saw Him. No, please not Him. Not here. Oh, anyone but Jesus. I watched helplessly as He began to open the files and read the cards. I couldn’t bear to watch His response. And in the moments I could bring myself to look at His face, I saw a sorrow deeper than my own. He seemed to intuitively go to the worst boxes. Why did He have to read every one? Finally He turned and looked at me from across the room. He looked at me with pity in His eyes. But this was a pity that didn’t anger me. I dropped my head, covered my face with my hands and began to cry again.

He walked over and put His arm around me. He could have said so many things. But He didn’t say a word. He just cried with me. Then He got up and walked back to the wall of files. Starting at one end of the room, He took out a file and, one by one, began to sign His name over mine on each card. “No!” I shouted rushing to Him. All I could find to say was “No, no, ” as I pulled the card from Him. His name shouldn’t be on these cards. But there it was, written in red so rich, so dark, so alive. The name of Jesus covered mine. It was written with His blood.

He gently took the card back. He smiled a sad smile and began to sign the cards.

I don’t think I’ll ever understand how He did it so quickly, but the next instant it seemed I heard Him close the last file and walk back to my side. He placed His hand on my shoulder and said, “It is finished.” I stood up, and He led me out of the room. There was no lock on its door. There were still cards to be written.

-Written by Joshua Harris, 1995

I was reading an article by an atheist a very long time ago, and He used this image to argue that God was evil.

Before I discuss whether it is evil for God to kill people, I want to point something out about this image. It’s very inaccurate. God has killed many more people than 2,038,344.  He cursed all of humanity, dealing us the inevitable blow of death.

Let us begin with the 9/11/01 attacks on America.

So many people ask the question “how can a good God allow this?” I have heard many answers. Some very good. But I wish to offer my own to you.  It begins with an assumption. Let’s assume that 50% of the people in the twin towers were sinless, Godly people who deserved to go to heaven. And the remaining 50% were sinful wretches who deserved to go to Hell.
Please note that this is pure speculation and I am in no way trying to judge or belittle any of the victims of 9/11.

When the airplanes struck the towers, and when they eventually collapsed,  all the people who deserved Heaven went to Heaven, and all the people who deserved Hell went to Hell. Why is this evil?

For those who deserve Heaven, Earth is the closest thing to Hell they will ever experience and thus desire to leave.
For those who deserve Hell, Earth is the closest thing to Heaven they will ever experience and their judgment will be good.

Who deserves Hell and who deserves Heaven?

During our assumption the people who deserved Heaven or Hell were split into a clean 50 – 50. Do you know the actual percentage of people who deserve Hell?

100%

We have all committed sins against a righteous God and deserve His wrath.

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

Few seem to grasp this. And is it no wonder, when we are bombarded by “you deserve this” and “you deserve that” in our commercials, radio and newspapers?

When God kills somebody He has the full authority to do so. Does this anger you?

Consider this:
What if you turned on the television and saw on the news that a judge allowed a serial killer go, simply because he was sorry? Would that anger you? Of course it would, because the judge was not good in his decision.

Would you be angry if the judge sentenced the man to death? Probably not, for that is a righteous and just decision.

Conclusion:
When God sentences a man to death, it is because that man deserves it. And any anger you feel is due to your own pride and inflated image of self-worth.

See yourself as God sees you, and then you will know the balance between love, wrath and mercy.

-Cullen Webb

You need to watch this. It’s short, but sharp. With a little bit of humor thrown in.

-Cullen Webb

I mean no disrespect to the Catholics who may end up reading this. But I simply cannot take your tradition seriously. I have examined scripture, and have found them to be both pointless and contradictory to the teachings of Jesus Christ.

For example, your near divination of Mary

Take a look at this verse in which Jesus rebukes a woman who praised Mary:

Luke 11:27-28
“And it came to pass, as he spake these things, a certain woman of the company lifted up her voice, and said unto him, Blessed [is] the womb that bare thee, and the paps which thou hast sucked. But he said, Yea rather, blessed [are] they that hear the word of God, and keep it.“

Obviously Christ did not see any need to praise his Mother more than any other.

Sainthood

From what I understand, you must perform various miracles and be dead, among other things, to be considered a Saint among the Catholics.

Let us look at another scripture verse regarding Sainthood:

1 Corinthians 1:2
“Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called [to be] saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours:”

They’re not dead and there are no miracles to speak of. Why are they regarded as Saints? Because they are sanctified in Jesus Christ.

If that’s not enough for you, here’s another one.

Ephesians 2:19
“Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God;”

Ephesians has another troubling opposition to Catholics.

Jesus Christ is the mediator

I quoted Ephesians 2:19, but lets step back a little bit and read what else it has to offer:

Ephesians 2:18
“For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.”

Stop praying to the Saints! Jesus Christ is the only mediator between us and God. Don’t you remember when Saul tried to speak to the prophet Samuel after he had passed away? Was he not rebuked and met with a demon?

Confession

Ephesians 2:8
“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: [it is] the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.“

Catholics have tried to earn their salvation in a number of ways, including “hail Marys.” Salvation is not for your to earn, but for God to give. Only through his Son Jesus Christ can you be saved.

And no, you are not supposed to confess to a Priest. Look throughout scripture, you will find that the man of God convicts the sinner, and the sinner repents to God.

David for example. He did no apologize to the Prophet who revealed the sin in his life, but rather he fell before God almighty and begged forgiveness.

Here is an account of a dedicated Catholic during confession:

“He told me I was absolved of my sins, and to go in peace.

I stared at him for a moment. “That’s it? Don’t I have to say Hail Marys? Our Fathers? The Creed? The Rosary? Anything?”

He laughed at me and told me to go do a good deed or something.”

The Priest told Her to “do a good deed or something.” How can I take that seriously? How can they argue that as scriptural? The rest of the story can be read here: http://caity.nu/musings/he-laughed-at-my-sins

There are too many holes and contradiction in Catholicism for me to offer any respect.

Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, [even] unto the end of the world. Amen.
Matthew 28:19-20

And he said unto them, Go ye unto all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.
Mark 16:15

Is this a suggestion, or a commission? I understand the fact that not all of us have been called to share the gospel full time. However, we are not excused from sharing it in day-to-day encounters.

I am ashamed of myself for my cowardice concerning this matter. I am without exscuse for not taking advantage of the oportunities given to me by God.

My conviction is deepened after going to this website:
http://www.youmustbebornagain.org/

A young man who has devoted his life to sharing the gospel. He obeys the great commission, and has reaped the harvest of it.

Check out the videos he has of open air preaching. They are both convicting and powerful.

-Cullen

The only thing between us and eternity is life. And that is the most fragile thing on Earth.

I cannot imagine going through life with a fear of death. What constant paranoia must plague the minds of the un-saved…
It would be unbarable. Not knowing of the afterlife, or of your destination.

Here is a list of interesting final words:

Ludwig Van Beethoven: Too bad, too bad! It’s too late!

Anne Boleyn: O God, have pity on my soul. O God, have pity on my soul.

(more…)

Here it is. The new video.

Dispite its name, there are no prophets speaking in it like ”The Passion Promise.” The prophecy is that of Jesus Christ, fullfilled 2,000 years ago.

He is more than the reason of the season. He is the reason for everything and for always.

Comment here:
http://www.tangle.com/view_video.php?viewkey=88124e8b1356cbdf71f2

Download Here:
http://drop.io/hidden/zdwsx6xsvywawi/asset/dGhlLXByb3BoZWN5LXByb21pc2Utd212

View Here:

Thank you for your support everybody.

Prayers,
                 Cullen Webb

What. The. Heck.
I read the following on a church website:

——————————————————-

Jesus saved us, not through his death, but through his life. He overcame evil and restored a sense of balance in the world, leaving us in freedom to choose good or evil. He taught us how we should live our lives; in fact he showed us how to do it. It is only by so doing that we can be truly happy. When we die, we continue to make these choices, which determines whether we live in heaven loving God and doing his will, or turn away from him to hell. Jesus set the stage so that we are free to choose. We must do our part to choose good, which will draw us closer to the Divine. This is how Jesus saves.

————————————–

I highlighted the special parts.

Not a word of repentance. Not a word of Righteousness. Not a single word from scripture. How dare they.

To say that we are saved by Christ’s life, not his death, is pure ignorance. Pure Blasphemy.
To say God does not send sinners to Hell, is equally so.

Christ was the Lamb SENT to be slain. He came die, not live.

There seams to be a huge misconception about Hell. Let me tell you something:
Heaven is heaven because God is there.
Hell is hell because God is there.

People think Hell is total absence of God, when in reality, it is a place for him to literaly torment for all eternity. Satan is not in control, and the fire comes straight from God almighty.

I may sound like a religious fruit cake. but I wouldn’t have it any other way. Show me a single scripture verse about Gods love, and I will show you ten about his wrath. Jesus Christ spoke more about hell than he did about heaven.

He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.
(John 3:36)

See it for yourself:
http://www.newchurch.org/beliefs/articles/how-does-jesus-really-save.html?gclid=CJiBzIOAmJwCFQMNDQoduzy2fA

Contact the church, let them know what you think. But please be respectful.
This website is the perfect picture of the apostasy.

-Cullen

“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.”
-John 3:16 

Upon reading this verse, are we tempted to assume that this salvation only applies to our next life? That we are here to pay a fee, in future hopes of freedom, joy, and holiness?

Why do we think that Christ’s main purpose was simply to provide safety from hell, rather than the sinfulness he was truly concerned about?

We as a people perish every day. We don’t need damnation in hell for that. Are you saved from your Lust, Pride, Anger, Greed, Doubt, Rebellion, Hatred, or in a word, Sin?  Are you truly more than a conqueror through Christ? 

We claim to desire holy ghost fire, yet we forget a very important property of fire. It consumes. First small, flammable objects. But it will grow. And to keep it growing, you need to feed the fire. Eventually all is engulfed, and not even stone can escape it.

What have you fed your fire?

-Cullen Webb