Aches and Praise Three Hundred & Ninety Three

March 21, 2019
 
Dear friends, 
 

Have you ever found a book that you wished you had read years earlier? That’s how I felt this week as I borrowed “The Battle for the Beginning” by Dr. John MacArthur from the lending library in our office. I could have used the information in this book when I served on the Board of Directors of a Christian school years ago. At that time, a vigorous debate developed between Board members regarding Creation. Having Dr. Frank Humphrey as my pastor then, I was well-informed about the six days of Creation being 24-hour days. I found it strange that some Board members argued for “progressive creationism” (or theistic evolution) despite the school’s statement of faith that included Romans 5:12, indicating that death came into the world after Adam and Eve sinned.     

As Dr. MacArthur writes: “To put it simply, evolution was invented in order to eliminate the God of Genesis and thereby to oust the Lawgiver and obliterate the inviolability of His law. Evolution is simply the latest means our fallen race has devised in order to suppress our innate knowledge and the biblical testimony that there is a God and that we are accountable to Him (Romans 1:28). By embracing evolution, modern society aims to do away with morality, responsibility, and guilt. Society has embraced evolution with such enthusiasm because people imagine that it eliminates the Judge and leaves them free to do whatever they want without guilt and without consequences.” The enemy of our souls is busy blinding the minds of unbelievers, convincing them that there is no absolute truth, despite Christ’s claims to be the Son of God (John 10:30) and the truth (John 14:6). Next month, Easter will be regarded by many people as just another holiday, while Christians celebrate Christ’s triumph over sin and death.

Last week, Pastor Michel Martel came to the studio of “La Voix de l’Évangile” to record messages about the end times. It is important to understand the truths found in the first and last book of the Bible, as well as in between. This evening, Karen and I went to a funeral where the preacher said that he asked his friend if she was ready to die. She said that she was. That question is one that each of us must answer. None of us knows how close we may be to death. We can answer in the affirmative if we have received the Lord Jesus Christ as our personal Saviour. If you have never asked God’s forgiveness for your sins, I urge you to not delay. You will begin a spiritual journey that will take you to heaven!

Scripture for the weekend: “And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book, but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name” John 20:30-31 (NKJV)

Thought for the weekend: “Conflicts often have roots that go deep into history. If you read the headlines about wars, battles, and conflicts taking place on any given day, you’ll find that those events rarely materialize out of nothing. Sometimes the origins of conflicts go back centuries or even longer. So it was with Jesus and Satan. When Jesus met and defeated the great Accuser in the wilderness, it was a culminating moment in a millennia-long conflict, one involving all of humanity. Actually, it was the beginning of the end of that conflict.” – Greg Gilbert (from his book “Who Is Jesus?”)

 

By His grace,
 
Steve                               

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