Jesus – Media 4 Life Ministries

What is Life?

What is Life? That is a question, I have asked myself many times over the last few years. Now that I’m a bit more advanced in age, this question becomes more frequent. What is Life? Why am I here? What is the purpose of Life?

I have seen some of my friends pass on in the last few years and one begins to wonder, why and what happened to them? I remember those who have passed, when they were younger, full of life and energy, vibrant and driven. Some of my friends were taken by cancer or some other illness. Death is something most people don’t think about in the younger years.

In our youth some of us thought we are invincible and the thought of maybe one day ending up with something like cancer really never entered the mind. Who wants to think about death, or which way we may die? Death is so final. Everyone of us will have to face death one day, sooner or later. The statistics on death are pretty overwhelming, one out of one will die. No exceptions made.

There are those, who believe, that when a person dies, they cease to exist. Those who believe that, are those who also believe, that mankind came to be by chance, by accident. Humans came to be as part of a long process, known as evolution. Some 4.6 billion years ago, some cosmic event, aka the big bang, caused the universe and the earth to be formed. Every plant life and every living creature slowly started to evolve, into what we see today. All this happened through the process of natural selection, according to the theory of Darwin.

Personally, I can not buy into the theory of evolution.

To evolutionist, life came about by chance. They do not believe in creation, or that there is something after death. They believe, once a person dies, there is nothingness and nothing more. We simply cease to exist.

I believe that life is precious and that we were wonderfully made by a loving Creator. I believe in a God that created the universe and everything in it. We are no accident or just here by chance. We are here for a purpose and we were created for Him and by Him.

Atheist, state that there is no God. Atheist believe in themselves and mankind. They believe that all the problems in the world can be be fixed by man. They don’t need or want God. For them there is no higher authority, no deity, no one that will hold them accountable on the day they die. They don’t believe that there is a thing like heaven or hell, judgment or eternal life.

A life without God, makes no sense to me. A life without a future or hope.

I believe that somehow, we all have eternity written on our hearts. No one, wants to grow old and eventually die, if given the choice. We long for life.

Am I to believe, that I am here for 70 to 80+ years and then nothing?

Was I just born, to live a life that is filled with trials and tribulations, a life of laughter and tears, a life of happiness and sadness, to one day just die?

I am no accident and you are no accident. You and I were created by a loving God. When God first created Adam and Eve, he created them as eternal beings. Death came about when Adam and Eve disobeyed God in the garden. This one-act of disobedience resulted in death, a spiritual death, a disconnect from God. It also brought forth physical death, and from that day on, all of creation was and is subject to death and decay.

I believe in the afterlife. I know that when this physical body, that is the flesh, of mine dies, my spirit will live on. The Bible teaches, “to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.”

That is the glorious hope that every believer in Jesus Christ has. Jesus defeated death on the cross and he has promised eternal life to all who believe in him by faith.

By believing in Jesus as Lord and Savior he has reconciled us to God the father through his death and resurrection. He closed the spiritual gap that existed between mankind and God.

Because of what Jesus did for us, we once again can have fellowship with God, as it was in the beginning before the fall.

Unfortunately, there are many who do not believe in Jesus and His finished work on the cross. They refuse to believe and to receive the free gift of life, that Jesus promised to all those who believe.

They rather buy into the theory of evolution, discarding creation and God. They are what the Bible calls, “the natural man” who live after the desires of the flesh, having no understanding of spiritual things.

“But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” 1Corinthians 2:14.

Of course I cannot prove that there is life after death and neither can they disprove it. I believe by faith, just as atheist or evolutionist believe by faith that there is no God.

Frankly, I do not have enough faith to be an Atheist or to believe in evolution.

What is life? That is the question that Atheist and those who do not believe in the promises of God should ask themselves. What happens after they die, will there be darkness or is it not possible that there is more?

What if all we believers in Jesus are right, when we talk about eternal life? What if we are right, about Jesus and what His death on the cross has accomplished for those who believe by faith?

Life is nothing but a fleeting moment and there will come a day when we will face death. As a believer, I do not fear death, because I have already received eternal life, because of my faith in Jesus.

What about you? Do you believe that when you die, that you cease to exist? If so, you better be right. Believing that there is no afterlife, means to deny what Jesus said before He went to the cross. Those who do not believe His words, make Him a liar. Something to at least think about. Here is what Jesus said:

“And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God

And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.

But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.” John 3:14-21

Climate Change – Evolution and Abortions

There has been a lot of talk lately on the subject of climate change in the news media, newspapers and magazines. People are divided on the issue to say the least. Some are strong opponents on the claims of climate change ( formerly know as Global warming) made by those who support the claim. Many European nations and the US are pushing for changes to avoid, what they call a catastrophic future if nothing gets done. Opponents say that these claims are not factual and will cost billions without knowing if anything will change.

I’m not an expert on Climate change and I’m not writing on Evolution here in scientific details, but just a few thoughts that went through my mind about this hot button issue.

What if this supposedly, change in climate is nothing more than the next evolutionary step in the history of the earth? The secular world believes and promotes Charles Darwin’s view of evolution and it is being taught in schools around the world as factual. In the view of the evolutionist, the earth came into being by the big bang, some 4.3 billion years ago, by some particles colliding in space, giving birth to the universe and the earth that we now inhabit. If people believe the evolutionary teachings by Darwin, would it not be possible, that evolution is continuing today, and we are first hand eyewitnesses to it?

Are we in the unique position to see the earth going through another evolutionary step? Charles Darwin called it natural selection, the survival of the fittest. If this climate change is so horrific for the future of mankind, maybe mankind is moving towards extinction, giving way for a more superior species? The Dinosaurs and many other creatures have been extinct for millions of years, according to evolutionist. Other creatures have gone through dramatic changes, to become what they are today. Before we were humans, we were nothing more than apes and we evolved to humans as we are now, over the long process of evolution, if we believe certain scientist.

Thus man is nothing more than an animal, who was not created by an almighty Creator, but rather came into existence by accident . Yet, there seems to be a strong will to survive for mankind, to go on living into infinity. Why is that? If we are nothing more than creatures, why not just let the evolutionary process take place and man will be replaced by who knows?

If the earth is heating up as they claim, even though, earth has been through climate change in history before, we may see some drastic changes in the near future. The food supply, coastal flooding and drastic changes in the weather patterns will be some of the consequences caused by climate change accordion to a new report by the UN, if we ignore it.

“There is still time to adapt to some of the coming changes and reduce heat-trapping emissions, so it’s not all bad, said study co-author Patricia Romero-Lankao of the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Colorado. “We have a closing window of opportunity,” she said. “We do have choices. We need to act now.”

The outcry to do something is great among the scientist and politicians to spring into action now before it is too late. Of course, this will come with a heavy price tag, for the tax payers, many changes will have to be made, if they want to combat this supposedly existing and threatening climate change.

I’m not sure if this “climate change” is man-made or just another cycle that the earth is going through. As I said in the beginning, I am not an expert on these things, but I do have a feeling that there is an agenda behind all of this. The Green movement has been around for a while now and Al Gore’s claims of Global warming, now called climate change, has survived. If people believe in the theory of evolution, than people should not be surprised to see changes in the climate.

This is the Holy Grail for many liberals, environmentalist and others, who want to see drastic changes in Europe and the US, while other countries like China, India and keep polluting.

The liberals here in the US, are already calling out to punish polluters and those who deny climate change. Here is a quote from an article that I will link to at the end of this post:

“Man-made climate change happens. Man-made climate change kills a lot of people. It’s going to kill a lot more. We have laws on the books to punish anyone whose lies contribute to people’s deaths. It’s time to punish the climate-change liars.”

It amazes me somehow that so many scientist, politicians, environmentalist and liberals place so much value on a human life. Yet, they see nothing wrong with aborting the innocence daily in great numbers around the world. Just today, as I’m writing this, 2048 abortions took place just in the US alone. Since Roe vs Wade in 1973, over 56 million abortions took place in the US. Planned Parenthood aborted over 6.7 million unborn since 1970. This year, over 82.000 abortions were performed by Planned Parenthood. Worldwide, there have been over 1,3 billion abortions since 1980. Over 75.000 just today. Where is the outcry and the voice for these innocent unborn? Where are the politicians and liberals when it comes to the murder of billions because of mostly unwanted pregnancies?

Climate change, if it is a fact, may kill many people in the future, but Abortion is a fact and has and is killing human life each and every day. Who will speak up on this Holocaust?

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/climate-change-already-impacting-food-supplies-says-un-report/

http://gawker.com/arrest-climate-change-deniers-1553719888

http://www.numberofabortions.com/

The Son Of God Movie – Another Jesus, Another Gospel?

Are you excited about what many call the “Epic Christian Movie” Son of God?

A lot of professing Christians are flocking to the theaters to watch this movie, produced by Mark Burnett and his wife Roma Downey. Social Media, Magazines and the Web are filled with either articles or reviews about the film. Many Christian leaders hail this movie and many churches have jumped onto the bandwagon. If you are planning on watching this movie, or already have, I would urge you to view the movie with great discernment.

I’m not writing this to judge or condemn anybody who watches this movie. I just have some concerns about the movie and the producers Mark Burnett and Roma Downey. I have done some research after reading several articles about this couple, who claim to be Christians, but are in reality, full fletched “New Agers”

Roma Downey, a devout Roman Catholic, along with her husband, were heavily influenced in new age spirituality. Downey graduated from the University of Santa Monica, a private graduate school founded by New Age spiritual and self-help guru John-Roger.

Roma went even further into her new age Catholic spirituality by teaming up with acclaimed psychic John Edwards and co-produced a CD for children to be used for meditation and enlightenment, while Edwards introduced the teachings of contacting the dead (necromancy).

Even further in regards to Ms. Downey’s position regarding spiritualism and her Catholic religion, Roma advocates the eastern mysticism teachings of Eckhart Tolle, another spiritual giant in the field of new age teachings, not to mention the connections Tolle has with Oprah Winfrey.

It’s fascinating to see such a connection that someone has to the world of the occult and then try to present a so-called gospel message. Yet that’s exactly what Roma Downey and her husband are indeed doing, presenting another gospel, another Jesus. Roma has consistently stated in past and current interviews that she is on a spiritual journey, not that she’s been “born again”, but that she regularly seeks a greater understanding of the world and the universe thru different means, namely spiritualism through higher intellectualism called spiritual psychology, where the mind connects to the energies surrounding the individual to gain a higher understanding of themselves and the world they live in. This is occultism 101.
The above statements are just some excerpts, from articles found on the web. You can Google it for yourself. As I stated before, I’m just posting this so people use their God-given discernment, before watching the movie.
As in so many movies about the Bible or Jesus, produced by Hollywood, I came away disappointed because much of the biblical truth was twisted.

The Son Of God is no difference. Burnett and Downey already compromised by cutting out the scene with the Devil as seen in the production, “The Bible” on History Channel, because they didn’t want to offend anybody. People thought that the actor who portrayed Satan, looked too much like President Obama. In an interview, I heard Roma Downey say, “we don’t need Satan anyway, he spoils the story. She rather focuses on Jesus.” You can’t have the true gospel without the adversary against Christ and His church.

One other thing that stood out about the Jesus of this movie is that he tells His disciple “To change the World.” That is not found in the Bible. Jesus did not come to change the world, He came to save the world. I talked to quite a few people after the History Channel aired the mini series, The Bible. Everybody said, that some things were twisted and not biblical, but hey, other than that, a great movie. Another thing that stood out was, that some magazines call the Jesus of this movie, “sexy Jesus.” I think that is mockery and typical for Hollywood.

“Don’t you know, that a little leaven, leavens the whole lump?”
Well, enough said. Please judge for yourself, if watching the movie is edifying, or brings you closer to the Lord. I believe that this movie presents a different Jesus and a different gospel. Compromised and watered down, not to offend anybody. Even-though the word of God is offensive, to those who refuse to believe and perish. The truth will set one free, not a watered down gospel, i.e. a compromised truth.

Here is a link that I have used to bring up some points. I didn’t plan on writing a long article, just to make people aware at least, in the hopes that people would check for themselves before seeing the movie and promote it in the church. Personally, I don’t like biblical stories produced in Hollywood. I don’t like to have an image of Jesus in my mind. Especially, not the “Surfer Dude” Jesus portrait in the Son of God movie.

Here is a recent movie review by Answers in Genesis: http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/2014/03/10/review-son-of-god?utm_source=aigsocial03102014sonofgod&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=facebooktwittergooglelinkedin
http://davemosher.wordpress.com/2012/02/14/touched-by-an-angel-roma-downeys-new-age-ish-little-angels-series-for-preschoolers-claims-to-be-christian/

Destination Unknown?

I received the sad news, that a friend of mine past away in Germany. From what I know, it was a heart related issue. I have lost several family members and friends in the past couple of years, and whenever I hear of someones death, several thought go through my mind about death, eternity and the destination of people.
The first thought that went through my mind, when I learned of his death was, did he believe in Jesus as his Lord and Savior? From what I know, he was not a believer the last time I saw him. Neither was I until 2006. Growing up in Germany is pretty much being secular. People in Germany have lost touch with God. That saddens me quite a bit, knowing what I know now. There is however a remnant and many think that Germany will see a revival.
The second thought that went through my mind, was, what happened to him, after his death? What happened to his spirit after it left his physical body? Where did he go? The word of God is pretty clear about what happens to people who are not saved by the blood of the lamb. They will be eternally separated from God. Something the Bible calls Hell. An eternity without the presence of God. That is not an easy thought, even as a believer in Jesus Christ.
Nobody wants to think that a friend or family member is in Hell, because they didn’t believe in Christ. But, that is what the word of God teaches, and I believe it. They have either rejected Christ or didn’t give any thought towards God. They lived a life without thanking God for all the blessings they received, even as unbelievers. The air that we breathe, the food and water and so many other things that sustain us throughout our lives. God created every one of us and we are wonderfully made.
As a believer, I believe in creation, in a God, Who created all things. I can’t adhere to the theory of evolution or people who believe that we are here by accident or natural selection. Darwin was wrong and people who follow his theory are misguided and deceived by his teachings. Darwin led many people astray from the belief in a Creator.
But, back to my friend. What happened to him, now that his spirit passed on into the spiritual realm? What if he did not believe in God and the finished work of Jesus on the cross? If he was not a believer, will he spent eternity in Hell? As I stated before, that is not an easy thought. I don’t want to think of my friends or family member, who did not believe, being in Hell.
I think that’s where many people who are not believers i.e Christians, take issue with. The say, how can a loving God, send people to Hell. What kind of cruel God is that? Are you telling me that everybody that does not believe in Jesus goes to Hell? What about the Muslims, Hindus and people of other faith, they all go to Hell. That’s crazy.
To be honest, I don’t know how Hell feels or looks like, but I know that I don’t want to end up there. Neither do I want anyone else to end up there. God Himself does not want people to go to Hell. That gives me comfort and hope, to know that God will do anything, for people to come to know Him.
I believe that God will reveal Himself to people facing death. They may not have worshiped Him all their lives, but I truly believe that God will somehow show His love, maybe even in a split second before death arrives. I can’t prove it, but somehow it makes sense to me, knowing that God does not want anybody to perish, but have everlasting life. I believe that God reveled Himself to my friend and to my father, who died in 2005 and was not a believer.
God is a loving God and He has sent His Son to reconcile us to Him. God does not want people to end up in Hell. God does not send people to Hell, they send themselves to Hell, because of their unbelief. They either rejected God, or they just did not want to believe in Him. That is a choice that everyone has to make. He does not force Himself on anyone, but He is long-suffering and patient. He wants all to come to the knowledge of truth and in to His marvelous light.
That is what sets Christianity apart from many other religions. We as Christians believe in the true and living God, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, Who send His only begotten Son, to die and shed His blood for us on the cross. Jesus is our propitiation, the passover lamb. He did for us what we could not do for ourselves. He laid down His life for us, forgiving us of our sins and giving those who believe by faith, eternal life.
The message of the cross is foolishness to many. They believe that all roads lead to God and that they can work out their own salvation, either by good works or religious practices. That is what I like to call, a fig leaf religion. Just as Adam and Eve covered themselves with fig leafs to cover their nakedness, to hide their sins. God, however did not approve of that man-made idea and covered them in animal skins, signifying the first sacrifice and that blood was needed to cover their disobedience in the Garden.
God made only one way to be reconciled with Him, and that is through His Son, Jesus the Messiah, Who is a stumbling block to many. Jesus is the only way to the Father and eternal life. Something that many reject and do not believe. They believe that there are many ways besides Jesus. It is not me saying this, it was Jesus Who said it. People can either believe what Jesus said, or reject it and call Him a liar. That is a choice. I would highly recommend to learn about Jesus and seek Him. Eternity apart from God, is a very long time.
“Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” John 14:6.
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.” John 3:16-20.
I hope and pray, that if you are not a believer to at least read about Jesus and what He has done for you. Start with the Gospel of John and read about Him, the only One that can truly save you and give you eternal life. Maranatha Lord Jesus.
https://media4lifeministries.com/2011/11/18/eternal-life/
https://media4lifeministries.com/2013/01/04/jesus-christ-our-propitiation/
https://media4lifeministries.com/2014/01/06/the-exclusive-club/
https://media4lifeministries.com/2013/07/29/i-am-the-way-the-truth-and-the-life/

He is Greater Than I

Today I’m posting a video by my good friends Christafari and their newly released song, He is Greater Than I. Christafari has reached many souls with their music all around the world.

God has done many great things in my life. He freed me from Alcohol, Drugs and a lifestyle of destruction. He is Greater than all of those things that kept me in bondage. There is nothing to great for Him, because our God is Greater. What has God done and is doing in your life? Greater things are to come if we put out trust and faith in Him.

“For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:38, 39.

If you like to know more about the band, please visit: http://christafari.com or http://gospelreggae.com Visit iTunes to see all their albums and music that is available for downloads: https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/christafari/id28546692

Christafari Live in San Diego (Slideshow) (media4lifephotography.com)

Pastor Chuck Smith

Many of you have heard by now that my beloved Pastor Chuck Smith, the founder and father of Calvary Chapel went to be with the Lord this morning. He will be greatly missed. He was instrumental to so many people over the past 40+ years.

A true man of God and teacher of the word. “Simply teach the Bible simply” was his way to teach the word to many all over the world. He had a great influence in my life, my faith and walk with the Lord.

I feel honored and blessed, that I have met him a couple of times. I can truly say that he was a gentle man who loved the Lord with all of his heart.

He has fought the good fight, ran the race and he heard the words, well done my good and faithful servant when he arrived and saw Jesus’ face to face for the first time. I’m sure, that Jesus had a big smile on his face when He saw Pastor Chuck and welcomed him in His loving arms.

There aren’t enough words to describe what this man has meant to me and many others. Please pray for his family and remember him with joy and gladness in your hearts.

We love you Pastor Chuck and we will see you soon.“We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.” 2 Cr 5:8.

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” 1 Peter 1-5.

“Contemprovant”

I have been thinking about the “church” a lot in the last couple of month. Especially the “American Church.” Many of the main denominations have been lukewarm for quite some time it seems that some have completely departed from the faith.

They are far from what the early church was, who relied on the Holy Spirit. Nothing was done without the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

A friend of mine, posted a message just today having similar concerns about the church. Are we doing what we were asked to do? Are we helping those in need? Feed the poor and take care of orphans and widows as Jesus commanded us?

Don’t misunderstand me, there are those who have a genuine heart to do the great commission and are doing a great job helping those in need.

I am speaking in general, the overall picture that I am getting is that some churches as I said before are lukewarm, watering down the gospel, trying not to offend anybody. They do not want to mention the word sin, let alone the blood of Christ.

They just want people to feel comfortable and cozy and enjoy little “sermonette’s.”

Others are trying to be more contemporary, putting on concerts with so-called Christian Bands that don’t look all that much different from Nirvana or the Foo Fighters.

There are so many activities going on around church, that one can loose track of which one to attend. It is sad to see the increase of activities and the rapid decline of teaching the word of truth.

I’m not singling out one particular church or churches, I see a movement within the American Churches that worries me a bit. There is for one a movement called “Religious Pluralism” or “Interfaith movement” which I wrote a few weeks ago about that is sweeping the churches, especially those who were already pretty much in agreement with the world and have compromised the true gospel.

I see this movement to be more “Contemprovant” in many churches and it does worry me to a degree. We now need light shows and PA systems that Metallica would be happy to have when they go on tour. Whatever happened to the more simple things? A time of worship and praise, followed by a study from the word of God? Why does everything has to look like modern and up to date?

The early church didn’t have any of that and there was no need to have any of those modern things like light shows, gigantic speakers and worship bands that look just like secular bands with their designer clothing and tattoos (Christian tattoos of course).

There is an old saying that goes something like that: If the Holy Spirit would have been removed from the early church, the church would have ceased to exist. If the Holy Spirit would be removed from today’s churches, 90% of the activities would continue.

Those are just one of my personal thoughts and I’m not saying that I’m right and everybody else is wrong. I’m just voicing some concerns and I would truly appreciate your feedback from either side of this issue.

May the Lord richly bless you and may we not lose our focus on Jesus, as Peter did when he stepped out of the boat to walk on the water as Jesus did. He lost focus and he started to drown. May the church not drown because it has lost it’s focus on Jesus and the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

Here is a link to a Christian Parody video called “Contemprovant”. I think you get the idea.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=giM04ESUiGw

“I am the way, the truth and the life…

Here is something that amazes me every time. I posted a statement that Jesus made in the Gospel of John on my Twitter.

I quoted John 14:6 which is in case you may not know right off-hand is, “I am the way, the truth and the life, no one shall come to the Father but by me.”

As soon as I posted it, it was not Christians that responded, but Atheist. They were all over me, calling me a liar and other things.

When I posted it, I didn’t even have atheism on my mind. I posted it as an encouragement and as biblical truth.

The Atheist came out of the wood works ready to attack.

I engaged with them for a little while and was amazed as always with their talking points.

Makes one wonder what it is about Jesus and Christianity that sets them off. Another funny thing is that Atheist spend a whole lot of time arguing with people about something they believe does not exist. Books have been written, seminars and debates are held worldwide for something they do not believe in.

I believe that deep in their hearts, there is a stirring going on. A spiritual warfare. They already belong to the evil one without even realizing it.

It’s sad really, to deny God’s existence which they have no proof of. This denial of God and His existence is by faith and I don’t have enough faith to be an Atheist.

Please pray for them, they are too blind to see or refuse to see. They refuse to come to the light which is Jesus. Jesus Himself said so: “And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.” John 3 :19.

Jesus is the only way, not a way as many want to believe and teach. Even among Christians and some denominations, this statement of Jesus is being disputed. It’s a movement called “Religious Pluralism” Our God is not a Burger King, we can’t have it our way. God has provided us with only one way to be reconciled with Him and that is through Christ Jesus and His precious blood.

A farewell to my Friend

I lost a good friend just yesterday, Saturday July the 6th. Vaughn Butterbrodt went to be with the Lord after a long battle with cancer.

Please pray for his wife Mary and his son Beau, pray that the Lord may comfort them both for their loss of a wonderful husband and father.

Personally, I will miss Vaughn a lot. We were both in a small group together that met every Saturday morning to study God’s word. I have come to love and respect Vaughn over the years and I can say the same with absolute certainty for all the other men in the group.

Vaughn attended Maranatha Chapel, which is my home church, before attending Olive Branch Christian Fellowship, led by my friend and Pastor Scott Gehrman, who just lost his wife due to pancreatic cancer.

I’m sure that many of my Maranatha friends remember Vaughn very well. Vaughn has touched many lives, not only people at church, but lives all over the country because of his bout with cancer. It was because of his cancer that Vaughn became involved with a network of people who have the same disease. People that did not know each other, but were brought together to love and support each other because they had one common denominator. They would be praying for one another and share their testimonies and daily struggles with this terrible disease.

I remember Vaughn telling me about some of the guys that he met through this network. How he became friends with many, exchanging e-mails, lifting people up in prayer and encourage each other. A circle of people who became friends, just ordinary people who would not have met, if it were not for the same disease they shared. Vaughn also lost some of his friends during that time. Some of them were believers in Jesus and some were not. Those who were not, never said no when asked by those who were believers if they could pray for them.

I am truly convinced, that the Lord used Vaughn’s affliction to minister to those who needed a word of encouragement and a word of comfort. Vaughn, despite of his illness, thought of others rather than himself. He helped those that needed someone to lift up their spirits; Vaughn was that man. God used Vaughn’s character and strong faith to minister to others who needed a word of hope and comfort in a time of grief and suffering.

We may not always understand why people have to suffer from various diseases and illnesses and why some people get healed and some people not. We may ask ourselves, why does God allow all this suffering? My answer to that, I don’t know. I don’t know why God allowed Vaughn and others to suffer from cancer or why He allows so many other terrible things happening to people all over the world. One thing I know for sure though, all things have a purpose. Nothing is by accidents or coincidences. There are reasons beyond our comprehension. God is in control and He knows why. God’s ways are not our ways and there are things that our finite minds cannot comprehend or understand.

“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,” says the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.” Isaiah 55: 8, 9.

The Lord took Vaughn home, to a place of peace and joy. One day we will understand why things were the way they were. God, Who sees the end from the beginning, had His purposes and who knows, what God worked for good through Vaughn’s afflictions. Whatever Vaughn had to go through, it had a purpose and was not in vain. Whatever we may face in the future, will be for a purpose and to glorify God.

I will miss you buddy, but one day Vaughn, I will see you again. One day, when the Lord will bring us all back together into a new world without pain and suffering.

Vaughn, we who remain will keep on fighting the good fight and run the race as you have my friend. I can’t wait to see you again. Until then, farewell my friend.

“We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.” 2 Cr 5:8.

“I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” John 8:12

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” John 3:16

This is the day the LORD has made.

“Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, Lowly and riding on a donkey, A colt, the foal of a donkey. Zech 9:9.

Today we celebrated the triumphant entry of Jesus into the City of David, Jerusalem. His arrival was not any arrival, He had gone to feast of Passover before, but this was the day the Lord had made.

It was God’s divinely appointed day. Jesus would be crucified a few days later on Passover, the sacrificial lamb of God, the One that Abraham spoke of when he was asked to sacrifice Issac. “The Lord will provide a sacrifice.” Gen 22:8.

Jesus was that lamb on Mount Moriah 2000 years later. Our propitiation. By His stripes we are healed. By His blood we are cleansed and forgiven and have eternal life. Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good.

“This is the day the LORD has made; We will rejoice and be glad in it.” Ps 118:24