The Great Expert Blog

The Cancer of Sin. (Why do Christian Suffer?) We all at one time or another have seen many types of cancer, the cancer of the flesh and the cancer of the spirit. Cancer is a silent killer, resting in the body until one day it shows itself and by that time the body is already consumed, with no hope and no cure, death is inevitabile. Even thou God allows cancer of the flesh to exist, cancer of the spirit can be destroyed. What is cancer of the spirit? Sin. Why do Christian Suffer? Because we have chosen a path that the world rejects. Many hikers will choose a path to walk, sometimes its the easy way and sometimes its the hard climb. Christians suffer because the path that we’ve chosen is hard and trecherious.1Co 4:11-15 Even unto this present hour we both hunger, and thirst, and are naked, and are buffeted, and have no certain dwellingplace;
And labor, working with our own hands: being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we suffer it: Being defamed, we intreat: we are made as the filth of the world, and are the offscouring of all things unto this day. I write not these things to shame you, but as my beloved sons I warn you. For though ye have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet have ye not many fathers: for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel. “Even unto this present hour we both hunger, and thirst, and are naked, and are buffeted, and have no certain dwellingplace” you say, “This isn’t me!” yes it is, if one Christian sufferers this day and age, we all suffer. “we are made as the filth of the world” strong language from the Apostle Paul, but true. Sin has overcome the world. And when the world looks for a person to blame for all its troubles they look at the Christian first. Government, Federal, State, Local, we have become a hated people because we stand up for the truth, we rock the boat and we call evil as it is. Many today that are caught up in their own little world are calling, Good - evil and evil - Good, because they are so miserable with their own lives they want everyone else to be just as miserable. “are buffeted”{Struck; beaten. l Cor.4.11. l Pet.2.20.}, “being persecuted{Harassed by troubles or punishments unjustly inflicted, particularly for religious opinions.}, we suffer it”- We sustain it; we do not revenge it; we abstain from resenting or resisting it. “Being defamed{ Slandered; dishonored or injured by evil reports.}, we intreat”,”being reviled{Reproached; treated with opprobrious or contemptuous language.}, we bless”,”We are the offscouring{That which is scoured off; hence, refuse; rejected matter; that which is vile or despised. Lam 3. 1 Cor 4.} of all things”.
Rom 8:17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together. As the cancer of sin grows, those that have been warned to be cured are rebuilding Babylon, the bars, nightclubs, homosexual parades, the total Eco-system of non conformity toward Gods word. Instead of looking for the cure, mankind is trying to spread it to all around. Corruption is cancer, homosexuality is cancer, theft, prostitution, false doctrine, robbery, rape, lies, drunkenness, drug abuse, pride, child abuse, in deference, unbelief, all of these and more are symptoms of a cancer, eating away at the very fabric of mankind. 1. Muslim Mob Attacks Christian Homes in Pakistan. 2. Messianic Jews Harassed in Israel. 3. Vietnamese Authorities Burn Down Christians’ Homes. 4. Thousands of Congo Christians Mourn Murdered Italian Missionary. 5. Palestinian Authority policemen deployed along the border between Egypt and the Gaza Strip fired warning shots into the air Saturday in an effort to stop hundreds of Palestinians from crossing the border. 6. The number of storms that reach Category Four and Fivethe most powerful, damaging hurricaneshas nearly doubled over the past 35 years, the study finds. What is causing all the hurricanes and floods? Mans rejection of Gods Word. Sin has caused man to overturn his basic love for God and has replaced it with, lies and deception. Asia, the United States, Africa, North, South, East and West are under the plagues of the Bible, the curse of disrespect and disobedience. Psa 46:2 Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea;
Psa 46:3 Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. Selah. Jer 25:31-38, A noise shall come even to the ends of the earth; for the LORD hath a controversy with the nations, he will plead with all flesh; he will give them that are wicked to the sword, saith the LORD. Thus saith the LORD of hosts, Behold, evil shall go forth from nation to nation, and a great whirlwind shall be raised up from the coasts of the earth. And the slain of the LORD shall be at that day from one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth: they shall not be lamented, neither gathered, nor buried; they shall be dung upon the ground. Howl, ye shepherds, and cry; and wallow yourselves in the ashes, ye principal of the flock: for the days of your slaughter and of your dispersions are accomplished; and ye shall fall like a pleasant vessel. And the shepherds shall have no way to flee, nor the principal of the flock to escape. A voice of the cry of the shepherds, and an howling of the principal of the flock, shall be heard: for the LORD hath spoiled their pasture. And the peaceable habitations are cut down because of the fierce anger of the LORD. He hath forsaken his covert, as the lion: for their land is desolate because of the fierceness of the oppressor, and because of his fierce anger. Who among you can stand against the Lord or His word and say that The Seas are calm, the Mountains Rest and the People are safe? Who will stand and say this? Who will stand against the Lord and say that His word is corrupt and disallowed of knowledge, who can stand and say we prophecy in someone else’s name? How many today are full of cancer and are yet aware of the fullness of the wrath coming upon them. Do we believe Gods word? Do we really? We ether believe or we don’t. I heard a story yesterday about a man who climbed a mountain by himself. He only took a rope and a few provisions. Almost at the top he stopped and looked back at what he had accomplished, having pride in himself. All at once he slipped and started to fall, being at night he could not see where he was and thought he was going to die. He screamed out for the Lord to save Him. All at once he reached the end of the rope, it tightened and stopped his fall. He cried again to God for help. The Lord then spoke and asked him,”Do you Trust in Me?” Yes the man replied. “Then cut the Rope.” But Lord I cant see where I am, its so dark and cold! “If you believe in Me, Cut the Rope!” I cant the man replied. The next morning a search party found the man, frozen to death, only 10 feet from the ground. Sin has overcome the world and man no longer believes God.
Sin has overcome the world and there is a noise of war in the air. Sin will no longer be tolerated, sin will no longer be a cancer to Gods creation. The end times that everyone is waiting for are here. Look at the signs of the times, look at the prophecy’s of God. Mat 16:3 And in the morning, It will be foul weather to day: for the sky is red and lowring. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times? Luk 21:25-26 And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.
Act 2:19 And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke.

Temple of Spirit & Truth Ministries
A.R.Smith Sermons International
www.ourchurch.com/member/a/arsmithsermons/

My thoughts can get a little edgy at night. Possibly even deep.
Reflecting on almost a half century of life. Some of it better
than I would have imagined in my youth. Some not.

All in all I am glad that this present life is not all I have
been given from the hand of God. At night I tend to wonder what
it will be like to be on the other side of death’s door.

According to the Reverend Gary Davis “Death don’t have no mercy
in this land.” Thank God, Jesus does. Two or three mild strokes
and a minor heart attack over the last 6 years could well have
something to do with the way the stream of my consciousness
flows.

Not melancholy thoughts. Thoughts of a hope and future God has
prepared for me beyond the valley of the shadow of death. Makes
me want to do right and be appreciative of what He has given me
on this side of the valley and yet not to pin all my hopes and
dreams on family and friends and the things that make life
enjoyable in the present.

There is a day of reckoning and a day of rewards coming which
will fit all of us out for eternal life. James, the brother of
Jesus says it much better than I could hope to.

James 4:13-15 Weymouth NT

Jam 4:13 Come, you who say, “To-day or to-morrow we will go to
this or that city, and spend a year there and carry on a
successful business,”

Jam 4:14 when, all the while, you do not even know what will
happen to-morrow. For what is the nature of your life? Why, it
is but a mist, which appears for a short time and then is seen
no more.

Jam 4:15 Instead of that you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s
will, we shall live and do this or that.”

I need to learn humility. I wrote “we need” first but decided
that was a cop out. This isn’t a lecture, it’s me sitting here
in a nice warm quiet room, comfortably reflecting on the nature
of human life.

What is the nature of human life? Nothing substantial, whether
it’s you, me or Michael Jackson. We live our lives from day to
day and at any moment our breath could be terminated and our
next conscious thought would occur before the presence of
almighty God.

This life which seems so concrete to us is no more solid than a
mist or vapor, a fog we walk through while heading towards God’s
light. That doesn’t mean it is unimportant but it is impermanent
and insubstantial compared to the life awaiting beyond the
confines of incorporation.

Instead of steadfastly setting our faces towards our own plans
and purposes, there I go with that “we” business again. You have
to figure this out for yourself, you can’t ride on my revelation
of impermance.

Anyhow, here’s my thought:

I have some things I want to do and accomplish while still in
the body, but I need to learn to temper my desires with the the
fact that, “If it is the Lord’s will, I shall live and do this
or that.” If it is not His will then I will be moving on to
bigger and better things in the presence of the Lord.

Peace.

A Christian relationship with God is an elegant thing. It is a relationship that is not easily explained. There are many who believe that one chooses to accept Jesus as his
savior. Although this sounds like a reasonable thing to do, it misses one of the critical points of our salvation by grace. That is, our salvation is by the grace of God given
as a gift. It is not earned by our works.

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s
workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do”. - Ephesians 2: 8 - 10

On the surface, there is nothing about this passage that would indicate that our “acceptance” of God’s salvation is incorrect. You might think that the “gift” of grace can
be accepted or rejected. This is true. However, the critical element is not the gift but the nature of our relationship with God. As this passage states, and is stated
throughout the Bible, we are God’s workmanship. In other words, He created us. We are His. So, He created us. What does that have to do with our “acceptance” of His
grace?

There is a parallel that helps explain this relationship. It is our relationship with our human parents. When we are born, we are born into a family. We have a father and a
mother that we did not choose. We inherit our name, our house, our inheritance, if there is one. We do nothing to earn it. It is a gift. We do not claim our parents or
“accept” them as our parents. They simply are. Our inheritance is given to us on our birth.

From that day, only one thing can happen to our inheritance. We can lose it. We can lose it through our rejection of our parents. If we choose to deny our birthright and
leave our family’s house, we will be cut off from our family. We may even choose to change our name. Of course, if we do this, we are no longer associated with our
family. We are on our own. And when it is time for us to receive our full inheritance, we will not.

So it is the same with God. He made us. From the time we are conceived, we are His. There is nothing we can do to “accept” Him as our father and more than we can
“accept” our own human father.

Chuck Hill is a Christian layperson from Plano, TX.
http://www.yeshuaisrisen.com

According to many today, the doctrine of creation is one of
those critical doctrines that one must believe in. In many
churches, it is required belief before a person becomes a member
of the church. However, it has not always been that way. As you
will see, this is a relatively new doctrine, invented by
twentieth-century young-earth believers and their ministries.
Let’s take a look at this doctrine…it’s history, it’s
relevance for today, and it’s necessity for belief. What is a
Doctrine? First, let’s look at the definition of a doctrine.
According to Webster’s, a doctrine is “teaching, instruction.”
However, doctrine as it relates to the church is much more
restrictive than this phrase. Doctrine in the church indicates a
fundamental truth that must be believed in. A few examples for
definitions are: - philosophy, philosophical system, school of
thought, ism — (a belief (or system of beliefs) accepted as
authoritative by some group or school) (Footnote 1)

- is the body of beliefs about God, humankind, Christ, the
church, and other related concepts considered authoritative by
the community of faith, becoming the standard of interpretation
and application of the Bible and the Christian faith.(Footnote
2)

- A set of accepted beliefs held by a group. In religion, it is
the set of true beliefs that define the parameters of that
belief system.(Footnote 3)

- Positions or principles held to be sacred, or inspired, truths
in a system of beliefs. In Christianity, these beliefs are an
instruction to be taught to the faithful by means of the
catechism, sermons, and through the religious dogma of the
church. The Anglican Church’s Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion
is an example of religious doctrine.(Footnote 4) As you can see,
it is clear that doctrines of the church are key teachings that
members should believe in to associate with that particular
denomination. The final definition gives us our starting point.
An example of doctrine from the Anglican Church is the
Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion, which defines the Anglican
system of belief.

Click on the link to the Thirty-Nine articles, and scan for
references to the creation. There are none. Thus, the doctrines
which are key to the Anglican system of belief, dating from
1801, do not include any key beliefs about the creation.

Now, let’s expand our search to other key systems of belief.
When it comes to the history of the church, one of the most
telling items about doctrines are the three creeds. Creeds were,
from the earliest days of the church, used for the purpose of
baptismal professions, in order to teach the new converts the
proper path right at the beginning of their Christian
walk.(Footnote 5) First, the Nicene Creed comes from the fourth
century. The traditional wording ((Footnote 6) is…

I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and
earth, and of all things visible and invisible; And in one Lord
Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, begotten of his
Father before all worlds, God of God, Light of Light, very God
of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the
Father; by whom all things were made; who for us men and for our
salvation came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy
Ghost of the Virgin Mary, and was made man; and was crucified
also for us under Pontius Pilate; he suffered and was buried;
and the third day he rose again according to the Scriptures, and
ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of the
Father; and he shall come again, with glory, to judge both the
quick and the dead; whose kingdom shall have no end. And I
believe in the Holy Ghost the Lord, and Giver of Live, who
proceedeth from the Father [and the Son]; who with the Father
and the Son together is worshipped and glorified; who spake by
the Prophets. And I believe one holy Catholic and Apostolic
Church; I acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins; and
I look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the
world to come. AMEN.

In the third and fourth lines, the new believer is affirming
that God is the creator of all things. Note that there is no
reference to a length of creation…it merely states that God is
the creator. Thus, to become a believer in the fourth century,
there was no requirement for belief in a young earth. In fact,
many of the church fathers took II Peter 3:8 to mean the days of
creation were 1,000 years long.

Next, consider the Apostles Creed. It appears in it’s full form
in the 5th century, but it has roots all the way back to the 1st
and 2nd century.(Footnote 7) It states… I believe in God, the
Father Almighty, the Creator of heaven and earth, and in Jesus
Christ, His only Son, our Lord: who was conceived of the Holy
Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into hell. The
third day He arose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven
and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty, whence He
shall come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the
Holy Spirit, the holy catholic church, the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life
everlasting. Amen.

Once again, we have a general statement that God is the creator,
but no specific mention of the length of time that it took.
Thus, it would be no problem for an old-earth believer to be
accepted in the 2nd century church.

Third, let’s consider the Creed of Athanasius. It dates to the
fourth century.(Footnote Although it is the longest creed, it
does not even mention creation.

Therefore, it is clear from early church doctrines that the
length of creation was not a requirement for faith. Church
Denominations Now, let’s consider church denominations, which
set standards of belief for their members. As you may be aware,
Answers In Creation has a listing of denominations which are
open to an old earth. A review of the 50 major denominations
that have been reviewed shows that only two are hostile to
old-earth believers (independent, fundamental Baptist churches,
and the Assemblies of God). Two others have statements
denouncing evolution, but do not have a position on the length
of the creation days. One of the two largest denominations, the
Southern Baptists and Seventh Day Adventists, do not rule out
old earth belief, but individual churches vary in their beliefs.

Forty-four of fifty denominations present no problems with
old-earth believers.

Is there a pattern here? The roots of the young earth movement
are with a man named George McCready Price, a Seventh Day
Adventist from the 1900s. He was a loud voice in the move to
promote six 24-hour day creationism, starting around
1902.(Footnotes 9,10) Although the Seventh-Day Adventists are
now not as restrictive, their statements on creation have deep
roots. In fact, the modern movements, led by Answers in Genesis,
the Institute for Creation Research, and Kent Hovind, have their
roots in Mr. Price.(Footnote 11)

In fact, the Baptist denominations have historically, over the
last thirty years, provided the main base for promoting young
earth creationism through the parachurch organizations of AiG
and ICR. But what about the Assemblies of God? Their statements
of faith come from 1916, a time at which Price was preaching his
young-earth creationism. Although there is no clear ties between
the two, both the Assemblies and Adventists beliefs arose about
the same time (the Assemblies had been loosely forming since the
1890s).

The pattern is that young earth creationism did not start until
the 1900’s, and then only in a few select denominations, in
which it continues to this day, with the help of a few outspoken
individuals and third-party organizations. Interestingly, during
the fundamentalist movement of the 1920s, early fundamentalists
railed against evolution, but did not make any clear
prohibitions against an old earth. Evolution was the enemy, not
an old earth.(Footnote 10)

Why did the father of young-earth creationism, Price, preach so
adamantly about creation? Seventh Day Adventists claimed that
they had a vision, in which they saw the creation of the world
in six 24-hour days. Thus, you could easily say that today’s
young earth movement is based on a vision (someone’s
dream?)…not a solid base upon which to make a real
doctrine!(Footnote 12) Creation Becomes a Doctrine! We have just
looked at the churches that made creationism a fundamental
belief. It appears that this doctrine did not exist prior to
1900. It is a 20th century creation, and is only adhered to by a
few churches (even the Southern Baptists do not claim it is a
doctrine, although many of their churches will argue for it).

Starting in the 1920s, Fundamentalism grew, and eventually
several individuals saw the need to defend the young-earth
position of creation. There were many, but most significant of
these is the ministry of Henry Morris, who founded the Institute
for Creation Research in 1970. Through this ministry (which took
off in 1961 with his book The Genesis Flood) he and his
disciples proclaim creation as a doctrine. This can be seen in
Chapter 17 of his book, Biblical Creationism, first published in
1993, and in Impact Article Number 132, from 1984. Conclusion In
summary, young-earth ministries of the 20th century have added
the doctrine of creation to the church. For nearly 1,900 years,
this doctrine was not needed. However, because of a vision
(dream) from some Seventh Day Adventists, we are now stuck in
this creation battle, as young-earth/old-earth proponents argue
their position against each other.

A young-earth doctrine is not a part of most church
denominations, nor was it ever a part of any pre
twentieth-century church organizations which were responsible
for setting doctrinal beliefs. As such, this doctrine should
pass into history.

Millions of people, when given the choice of believing in a
young earth, when all the evidence from God’s creation says it
is old, were turned away from the gospel. Fundamentalists of the
1920s and later made a fundamental mistake by insisting on a
young earth. From that time, the word “Fundamentalism” has been
used by the secular world to stereotype Christians, and it has
done much harm. It is clear from scripture that you can believe
in an old earth, and still believe in an inerrant Bible. You can
be a fundamentalist and believe in an old earth.

We must stop turning people off to the Bible by insisting on
young earth belief. Yes, many thousands have been saved by
young-earth ministries…but compared with the millions that
have been lost, the choice is clear.

References: 1 WordNet 2.0 Search 2 Jude Ministries Definition
( HREF=http://www.judeministries.org/Contending/somedefinitions.htm
rel="nofollow">http://www.judeministries.org/Contending/somedefinitions.htm
) 3 www.inthelight.org
( HREF=http://www.inthelight.org/dictionary/dic_c-d.htm rel="nofollow">http://www.
inthelight.org/dictionary/dic_c-d.htm) 4 PBS.COM, Church Vs.
State Glossary ( HREF=http://www.pbs.org/williamsburg/church/glossary.html rel="nofollow">http://
www.pbs.org/williamsburg/church/glossary.html) 5 The Three
Creeds ( HREF=http://www.churchsociety.org/crossway/documents/Cway_093_Thr
eeCreeds.pdf rel="nofollow">http://www.churchsociety.org/crossway/documents/Cway
_093_ThreeCreeds.pdf) 6 The Nicene Creed ( HREF=http://www.iclnet.org/pub/resources/text/history/creed.nicen
e.txt rel="nofollow">http://www.iclnet.org/pub/resources/text/history/creed.nice
ne.txt) 7 The History of the Apostles Creed ( HREF=http://www.path-light.com/history.htm rel="nofollow">http://www.path-light.
com/history.htm) 8 The Athanasian Creed ( HREF=http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02033b.htm rel="nofollow">http://www.newadv
ent.org/cathen/02033b.htm) 9 George Price Biography ( HREF=http://www.geocities.com/lclane2/geoprice.html rel="nofollow">http://www.ge
ocities.com/lclane2/geoprice.html) 10 The Historical
Development of Creationism ( HREF=http://www.reasons.org/resources/apologetics/history2.shtml rel="nofollow">
http://www.reasons.org/resources/apologetics/history2.shtml)
11 The Historical Development of Creationism, Part 3 ( HREF=http://www.reasons.org/resources/apologetics/history3.shtml rel="nofollow">
http://www.reasons.org/resources/apologetics/history3.shtml)
12 Special Revelation, through dreams and direct contact with
God, is believed by all non-Pentecostal churches to have ended
after the Apostles departed the earth

I rarely read fiction. This has nothing to do with a dislike of the genre; I spent many days of my youth curled up with a wonderful story lost in other lives and other places. But as time marched on, and life became busy with work, graduate school, and now two children, non-fiction took over my reading lists as a practical necessity. Recently, however, I indulged in The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Album (Hyperion Press, 2003). It relates the story of Eddie, an amusement park maintenance man who dies while attempting to save a young girl on a broken ride. Eddie then goes on to meet five people on the other side. Some he knows and some he does not but all have either impacted his life or been impacted by his life. All serve to help explain and help Eddie come to terms with his life, a life he sees as an abysmal failure.

Whether we actually meet five people to explain our life after we die is immaterial, but the book raises some very interesting points to ponder. The first is the interconnectedness of life. Some of the people Eddie encounters he did not even know or knew as distant acquaintances, yet their lives were irrevocably interwoven. Every life impacts so many others in ways we could never even begin to imagine. How many lives do we touch in our daily lives? Whose day have we brightened by a smile, a kind word, or thoughtful deed? Whose path have we made more difficult, perhaps without even realizing it? Like the proverbial stone creating ripples in the pool of water, our actions have far-reaching effects.

A second point for reflection is the meaning of a life. Eddie saw his life as worthless ? he had lost those he had loved and worked at what he saw as a dead-end job, yet he comes to discover that everything had its purpose. How many times in our lives do we search for meaning? As women, caught up with the responsibilities of family and home, we can sometimes feel invisible. There are also times when paid employment can seem devoid of purpose, a means to a paycheck but little else. For us who believe in God, we trust that there is a plan for our lives. As Philip Yancey states in Searching for the Invisible God (Zondervan Publishing House, 2000) ?God promises to use any circumstance to serve his ultimate will.? The seemingly mundane, even painful, aspects of our lives are woven together with the extraordinary moments to create the unique tapestry that God has designed especially for us. As difficult as it can be at times, we should embrace our lives and realize that every breath we take is imbued with the mystery of God. We are all a part of a great plan that we haven?t even begun to understand. Hopefully, like Eddie in Album?s book, someday it will all be clear.

About the Author

Patrice Fagnant-MacArthur is editor of “The Spiritual Woman Newsletter” providing information and inspiration for women who seek to deepen their relationship with God - http://www.spiritualwoman.net and author of “Letters to Mary from a Young Mother” (iUniverse, 2004)