The Encounter--A Movie Review

Cast: Bruce Marchiano, Jaci Valesquez, Steve “Sting” Borden, Danah Davis, Madison Gibney, and Jamie Nieto.

Directed by: David A. R. White (who makes a cameo at the end of the movie)

Plot: Five people meet at a mysterious diner in the middle of nowhere. While there, they meet someone who could change their lives forever.

Review: The Encounter is reminiscent of the Christian film, Late One Night. In that movie, three friends meet at a diner where they meet a Christian of whom they make fun. In this move, five people, some who have no previous relationship, are traveling down a dark road on a stormy night when they encounter a sinister State Trooper who informs them that the road is closed. Having passed a diner, they turn around and go back to the diner to wait out the storm. From here, the drama begins to play out.

            They encounter a person who claims to be Jesus, who somehow knows everything there is about each person. This is lucky for them because each one has a problem that only Jesus could help them with—if only they let him. Each person has some hard decisions to make and some make the wrong one.

            The plot is probably not original. After all, before it was the movie, “The Perfect Stranger,” which was based on the book, Dinner with a Perfect Stranger. Yet, I thought Bruce Marchiano was a convincing ‘Jesus’ and Kass Connors was eerie as the devil (Officer Deville). Steve Borden represents those people who don’t think they need Jesus.

            I recommend this movie to anyone who is Christian or curious about what Christianity is all about. It is available for instant streaming on Netflix and for free viewing on YouTube. Four out of five stars.

Jesus and the Rapture

A Radical Idea

Most people believe that John 14:1-3 was when Jesus prophesied His return. This is believed to be the earliest prophecy of the Rapture of the Church. What if John 14 was not the first time Jesus prophesied the Rapture? Here is a radical idea, what if He alluded to it in John 11?

            In John 11, Jesus was ministering about a day’s journey from Bethany when He and His disciples heard that Lazarus was sick. According to the Scriptures, Jesus loved Lazarus. This may mean that He was fond of Lazarus rather than He loved Lazarus seeing that Jesus loved everyone. Yet, instead of going immediately to him, Jesus tarried where He was for two more days. After those days, He told His disciples that Lazarus was asleep and that He is going to wake him. Thinking that He meant that Lazarus was physically sleeping, they said, “It’s good that he sleeps for if he sleeps he will get well.” Then He told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead.”

            Upon arriving in Bethany, He was met by Martha, Lazarus’ sister. She told him, “Lord, had you been here, my brother would not have died.”

Jesus answered her and said, “Your brother will rise again.”

She responded, “Yes, Lord, in the resurrection at the last day.”

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. ²⁶ And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?”

I believe in this exchange Jesus was hinting about the Rapture of the Church and He was using Lazarus as a living illustration. To prove my point, let’s compare what Jesus said with what Paul said in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18.

In this portion of Paul’s letter to the Church in Thessalonica, he was refuting some in the church who had said that the Rapture had taken place and those who are dead had missed it. Paul inquired of the Lord what to write then he responded to their lies with “the word of the Lord.” He said that Christians are not to sorrow over those who have fallen asleep as those who have no hope.  For the Lord Himself will descend from Heaven with the trump of God and the voice of the Archangel and the dead in Christ will rise. And we who are alive and remain at the coming of the Lord will be caught up together with them to meet the Lord in the air. We shall forever be with the Lord.

Not only is there the same wording Jesus used but there is also a parallel of the event. Jesus called those who have passed on, asleep. Paul also calls them asleep. Jesus first points out that the dead will live again. Paul starts talking about how the dead will rise first. Jesus then says that those who live will never die. Paul says that those who are alive and remain will be caught up. In other words, they will not die.

In addition to this parallelism, there is one more illustration of the Rapture. When Jesus raises Lazarus, He says, “Lazarus, come forth!” This is similar to His calling of John the Revelator in another picture of the Rapture in Revelation 3, “Come up here.” Jesus didn’t tell Lazarus to “come up here” because He was on earth. But when He returns He will say, “Come up here” because He will be in the air above the clouds.

I know this idea sounds radical, that Jesus spoke of the Rapture during the raising Lazarus, but I thought it was worth sharing.

What About the Heathen?

Christian theology states that Jesus is the only way of salvation from Hell. When detractors hear this, the question ultimately comes up, “What about the heathen in Africa or South America who have never heard about Jesus? Will God send them to hell because they have never heard of Jesus?” First of all, that question is loaded. God doesn’t send people to hell because they’ve never heard of Jesus. There are people in hell who have heard of Jesus. But what about the heathen in the hidden villages of Africa or South America who have never heard of Jesus? I believe the answer to that question is a complex one.          First of all, we can thank Paul for addressing that very question in Romans 2. He says that those who sin without the law will perish without the law. He then speaks of those who have not heard the law. When they “by nature do the things in the law, these, although not having the law, are a law to themselves, ¹⁵ who show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness…” When pagan or heathen or unreached societies pass laws and obey laws that are in accordance with the Law of God, they witness against themselves that they know the difference between good and evil. Their conscience even testifies against them.
          When Cain killed Abel, the first thing he did was hide the body. When God came to him and asked where his brother, Abel, was, Cain replied, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” Not only did he seek to distance himself from the crime, but he even sought to put God on the defensive. Yet, God would have none of it. He told him that He knew what he had done and He punished Him for it. Cain did not have the Law. The Law was not given until Moses. Yet, societies had rules of law that were in accordance with God’s Law because God’s law is written in their hearts. They were then judged by God based on the amount of knowledge they had. The amount of knowledge they had is based on how well they followed the commands of God  They will not be judged by the Law of Moses but by their own law, with their conscience and their thoughts bearing witness either for them or against them.

Ok, so what about those who have not heard of Jesus? The same principle is true. God will judge people based on the amount of knowledge they have. Even though they have never heard of Jesus, God will not send them to hell based on that but based on how well they sought to know Him and to follow His law. As Paul goes on to say, it is not those who hear the Law that are righteous in God’s eyes but those who do the things that are in the Law.

Theology teaches that God reveals Himself in two ways: general revelation and specific revelation. General revelation means that God reveals Himself to everyone usually through nature. As a painting declares there’s a painter and a sculpture declares there’s a sculptor, creation declares that there is a Creator. When a person realizes this and seeks to know the Creator, He reveals more of Himself to them (Jeremiah 33:3). This is specific revelation. Specific revelation is when God reveal Himself to a person in a personal way. How does He do this? He may send a missionary. He may send an angel. Christ may come Himself to preach to them. God will find a way. It is not His desire that any should perish but for all to come to repentance.

When a person tries to explain away creation through Big Bang Theories and evolution, they reject the revelation that God has given and, therefore, don’t receive any further revelation.

There is no Bible verse on this, but knowing the nature of God and from some testimonies I have heard, it is possible that God gives the person who has never heard a chance to hear and receive the Gospel, even after death. This only pertains to those who have NEVER heard of Jesus nor had the chance to hear of Jesus. I believe God give everyone a chance to accept or reject. This is why Jesus said that the Gospel must be preached in all the world as a witness before the end of the age comes. Again, there is no Bible verse to confirm this. This is just my opinion.

In short, those who have never heard of Jesus will not be without excuse. God will judge them based on the knowledge that they have. That does not mean that we are not to get the Gospel out there. We are. It is how a person can come to have a personal relationship with God and have life abundant. Yet, the Bible teaches us that God is not unjust. He is not going to hold people accountable to a law or a Gospel of which they have never heard.

My Trust is In the Lord

One thing the devil likes to do is destroy our joy. Jesus said the devil seeks to steal, kill, and destroy. He seeks to steal our peace, kill our joy, and destroy our faith. One way he does this is try to convince us that we have lost our salvation (or he tries to convince us that we were not saved to begin with).  However, the Bible tells us differently.             When the devil tried to test my faith, the Lord comforted me. He reminded me about Ephesians 2:8-10. We are saved by grace through faith and not of works nor of ourselves. It is the gift of God. What that means to me is that since I didn’t do anything to save myself; I can’t do anything to lose my salvation.
            When Jesus died, He indeed paid it all. He lived for me the life I could not live and died for me the death I could not die. When I put my trust in Him, God accredited to me the life that Christ live and placed upon Him my sins. When God sees me, He doesn’t see me but Christ. He sees the life Christ lived not the life I live. That doesn’t mean that God is ignorant of what I do. It means that He doesn’t hold what I do against me because Jesus already paid the penalty. Yet, fellowship with God is broken because of our sin; however, when we repent and ask God for forgiveness, fellowship can be restored.
            God then reminded me of Romans 8:1-2 which tells us that there is now no condemnation (judgment) to those who are in Christ Jesus, who live not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. The law of the Spirit of life has set us free from the spirit of the law. We are not under the law; we are under grace. Therefore, the law no longer applies to us. Jesus fulfilled the law on our behalf. Jesus did not come to do away with the Law but to fulfill the Law, which He did for us.
            The Bible says all we need to do is call upon the Lord and He will save us. That means all we have to do is ask Him to help us, to save us, to forgive us, and He will do so. Peter said that it is not God’s desire that any should perish (die eternally) but all to come to repentance. Jesus said that God gave His Son because He loved us and that if we believe in (have faith in) His Son we will not perish but have everlasting life. Jesus did not come into the world to judge the world but to save the world. He will save anyone who believes in Him. “To all that received Him, He gave the power to be called the children of God, even to those who just believed on His name.”
            Romans goes on to say in chapter 10, that if we confess with our mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in our hearts that God has raised Him from the dead, we will be saved. We believe with the heart and our confession leads to salvation. When we confess that Jesus is the Christ, we are agreeing with God that Jesus is His Son and that Jesus is the Savior. It is like when a criminal confesses to a crime. When he confesses, he is merely getting in agreement with what the police already know. When our hearts are in agreement with our mouths, something powerful happens. It’s not just a mouth thing. People can say anything but when they say it because they believe it, a change takes place.
            So, my trust is in the Lord. I know that I cannot save myself. It is He who loved me. It is He who set out to restore the breach in our relationship. It is He who made a way for me to be saved.  It is He who pursued me. It is He called me. It is He who saved me. It is He who will keep me saved. Paul said it like this, “I know in Whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed to Him until that Day.” Therefore, if I was counting on myself to keep myself saved then my faith would be in me and not in Him. Instead, my faith is in Christ and what He did on my behalf.
          Sola gratia…grace alone. Solus Christus...Christ alone.

What’s Wrong with Harry Potter?

Unlike most people, I am not a part of the Harry Potter or Twilight craze. I didn’t see the appeal. I don’t know if you’ve noticed but there has been a sudden increase in movies and television shows that promote the supernatural. Movies like Zombieland, Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark, Freak Night, Twilight Saga, and of course, Harry Potter and television shows like True Blood, Vampire Diaries, Ghost Hunters, and Paranormal Files literally litter the box office and airwaves. They promote demonic and ungodly ideals. Why has there been a sudden influx of movies like this?

            First, I want to add that I know that shows like this have always been around. There was Bewitched. There was Sabrina, the Teen-aged Witch, Charmed, Witches of Eastwick, and Lost Boys. There were even the Friday the 13^th and Nightmare on Elm Street movies, but those movies came once a year, maybe. Supernatural movies come yearly or more often. The television shows are on weekly, on more than one network. Their popularity is growing.

            Some may argue that the reason why there are a plethora of shows is because studios know what is popular and they make clones of them. This is the reason there were a bunch of Apprentice clones (like Richard Branson’s Quest for the Best and The Cut with Tommy Hilfiger) that came out during the show’s heyday. I believe there is another reason.

            The Bible says that the antichrist will come with signs and lying wonders (2 Thess. 2:9). His powers will be supernatural except they will be from the devil rather than from God. I believe that the reason there is a number of supernatural movies is to prepare and even instill this philosophy to ready a generation to receive the antichrist. That is the reason why we have seen so many of these types of movies like never before.

            As I wrote in my hub, The Bible—Book of Truth, things are coming together, setting up the stage for the end time. The Bible describes what the days will be like in the end times. The news speaks about how nations in the Middle East are coming together with Russia in alignment against Israel. These are the same nations named in Ezekiel 38 and 39. As stated earlier, there will be supernatural events during those days. In addition to the 2 Thessalonians passage, Revelation 13 says that the False Prophet will cause a statue to speak, among other lying wonders.

            Through the entertainment industry and the education system, people are being introduced to witchcraft and being turned away from God. They are being introduced to this false power, which can be enticing to young minds. These shows and movies teach that by tapping into this power or by chanting magic words, they can do what Harry Potter or the women of Charmed can do. I know that in these movies, there is still evil. Sometimes that evil is the devil. The devil doesn’t care if you don’t worship him. He just doesn’t want you to seek and worship God. So, to ensure this, he is willing to play the villain.

            God led me to write this hub to hopefully open the eyes of the people to see that these movies have an ulterior purpose. That purpose is to lead people away from God. Seeking these ungodly powers, this black magic, comes with a heavy price. Demons and demonic possession are nothing to play with. Plus, people who play with this are putting their immortal souls in jeopardy. Jesus said that hell was made for the devil and his angels. People who follow the devil will also end up in hell with the devil. That is God’s Word.

            What is the answer? Turn from these movies and ask Jesus to come into your heart and to deliver you from the power of Satan. Though he has no real power, the devil’s influence on the unsaved is powerful. Christians should not follow Harry Potter or Twilight because they should recognize that these are ungodly movies cloaked in action and romance. But look behind the plotlines and see the story. Harry Potter is about a boy who is a wizard (a person who practices witchcraft). The Bible says that Christians are to avoid witchcraft and those who practice it. Twilight and its clones are about vampires and the undead and the underworld. There is no such thing as the undead. The underworld is the abode of demons.

            I cannot encourage you enough to turn away from movies and shows like this. Instead, get into the Word of God. His Spirit will give you enlightenment, if you ask God for it. Tell others about the dangers of these movies. Though they seem innocent, they are not. Yet, their apparent innocence will ensnare you and before you know it, you’ll be submerged in a world of evil. The devil is seeking to draw the minds of people from God and he is using the entertainment industry to do it.

Make Your Boast in the Lord

²³Thus says the LORD:

“ Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom,
Let not the mighty man glory in his might,
Nor let the rich man glory in his riches;
²⁴ But let him who glories glory in this,
That he understands and knows Me,
That I am the LORD, exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth.
For in these I delight,” says the LORD.

We live in a world where people brag about nearly everything. They brag about what they've accomplished. They brag about what they own. They brag about what they're going to do. Sometimes, they even brag about what they haven't done. God gives us the truth about what we are to brag about. We are to brag that we understand and know Him. I don't know about you but bragging about knowing God is the best thing I could ever hope to brag about.

Perhaps, you ask 'why?' I will not give you just one reason but I will give you three reasons why you should brag about understanding and knowing God.

First, knowing God is important because He is the only One who can affect change in our circumstances. It doesn't matter what we’re going through, there is one Person who can change it. That Person is God. He can change situations. He can change hearts. He can change lives. All we have to do is go to Him and let Him know our request. If we want to know how to express ourselves to God, read the prayers of King David in the Psalms. In them, he expressed his despair at the triumph of the wicked. He pled with the Lord for relief, for deliverance. He asked, “Lord, where are you?” “How long, O Lord, will you let the wicked go unpunished?” “Please don’t let my enemies triumph over me.” God heard and God answered.

Second, knowing God is important because He is the only One who can affect purpose in our lives. God is our Creator. As Creator, He designed us for a purpose. Much like a potter creates pottery for a purpose or an inventor invents a device for a purpose. God knows what our purpose is and if we are to learn it, we need to ask Him. He will reveal it to us. God has no reason to keep it secret. Look at Samson, God told Samson's parents what Samson's purpose was before he was born. Samson was to deliver Israel from the hand of the Philistines. God also told Jeremiah the Prophet, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; Before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations.” In short, knowing God can help us find out why we're here--what were we created for.

Third, knowing God is important because He is the only One who can affect salvation for us. God created us to have a relationship with Him. Unfortunately, sin destroyed that relationship. God took the initiative to restore that relationship when He sent His Son Jesus to live for us and to die for us on the Cross of Calvary. He then raised Jesus from the dead to show that Jesus' death was sufficient payment for our sins. Through Jesus Christ, we can be restored—reconciled —to God (2 Corinthians 5: 19). Jesus said that the very definition of eternal life is to know God and Jesus Christ who He had sent (John 17:3).

Here is the wonderful thing: we can know God for ourselves. We don't have to go through an intermediary. Jesus' blood has made it possible for us to go boldly to the throne of Grace (Hebrews 4:16). We cannot even hope to know Oprah or have access to her. Even if we could get some access to her, even with her vast resources there is only so much she can do for you. This is true of any human. President Obama, Queen Elizabeth, Warren Buffett, Rupert Murdoch, all of them are limited in what they can do, even with their vast resources combined, provided you could even contact them. All the money in the world can't heal an incurable disease. All the money in the world can't save your soul. All the money or good words/wishes in the world can't give you true peace.

Only God can do these things. He offers us a relationship with Him. We don't have to go through a personal assistant. We don't have to have an appointment. We don't have to have a big name or know someone who knows someone. Instead, we can just go to God and ask Him to save us.

First, acknowledge you're a sinner. Second, repent of your sin (wrongdoing). Next, acknowledge that you need a Savior--someone to save you from the penalty of your sin (death). Then go to God and ask Him to save you, to forgive you. He will do so and you can begin a new, wonderful relationship with Him.

You then can make your boast that YOU understand and know the Lord.

Where Your Heart Is...

Luke 9:62; 17:31-32

But Jesus said to him, “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”

“In that day, he who is on the housetop, and his goods are in the house, let him not come down to take them away. And likewise the one who is in the field, let him not turn back. ³² Remember Lot’s wife.

Our past is important to us. It informs us who we are and from where we came. It is from the past that we learn how to behave in the future. There’s a lot of useful information in the past. We are to cherish our past whether it be personal or cultural, but we are not to cleave to it. In these passages, Jesus discusses the importance of letting go of your past in order to embrace your future.

            In the Luke 9 passage, two men profess that they want to follow Jesus; however, they had to fulfill certain obligations first. One had to go bury his father and another had to go say good-bye to his family. Jesus told them that anyone having once put his hand to the plow and looks back is not fit for the Kingdom of God.

            Why does Jesus say this? Does He not want us to grieve and bury our dead? Does He not want us to say good-bye to our families but just disappear? No, that is not what He was saying. Jesus was addressing the heart of the issue. He wasn’t so much as addressing the men as He was addressing the excuses. If their intentions to serve were real, they would not have put stipulations on them. Jesus is to be first; all else is to be last. What was Jesus really saying? I believe we will find our answer in the next passage.

            The Pharisees asked Jesus about when the Kingdom of God would come (vs. 20). Jesus explained to them that they would not “see” the Kingdom for it is within; rather, it would start out an internal (spiritual) Kingdom not an external Kingdom. He goes on to talk about the arrival of the external Kingdom—when He would return to rule and reign in Person. He describes    athe panic and chaos of that day as people flee their home and work (possibly from His presence). He says that they are not to turn back for their things. He then tells them to “Remember Lot’s wife.”

            Lot’s wife died because she disobeyed and looked back at the destruction of Sodom. When the angels prophesied the demise of Sodom, they told Lot and his family to leave and to not look back. However, on her way out of the city, Lot’s wife looked back and she became a pillar of salt. Why did she look back? She looked back because her heart was in that city. Sodom was her home. It was where she grew up. Her friends and family were there. She looked back with longing like any of us would if our home was being destroyed. Whether it was because of curiosity or remorse is unknown. The fact that she looked back and the consequences of looking back are known.

            I believe this is what Jesus was saying to the two men. They wanted to return home because that is where their hearts were. They wanted to follow Jesus but, like the rich young ruler, they couldn’t separate themselves from what meant more to them, in this case, their past.  Jesus knew that they might have went home to do the things they intended but then never left because something else would have come up—another emergency, parents begged them to stay, etc.

            Ask any farmer and he will tell you that you cannot plow a straight line looking backwards. Instead, you have to fix your focus on a mark in front and aim for that mark while plowing. Likewise, if we are going to follow Christ and stay on the straight and narrow row, then we cannot spend our time looking back. We can’t focus on past mistakes. We can’t focus on missed opportunities. We can’t focus on family. We can’t focus on friends. We can’t focus on careers. We can’t focus on hobbies. We can’t focus on anything that takes our minds off Jesus and His purpose for our lives. We must focus our attention on the mark and keep moving forward. These are the words of Paul in Philippians 3:13-14: “…forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead I press towards the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”

            Where is your heart? It is with that that you treasure most. What do you treasure most?  Jesus said where your treasure is is where your heart will be. Lot’s wife’s heart was in Sodom. Those men’s hearts were at home. Today, many people’s hearts are with their families, their careers, their sports teams, but not with Christ. They may be religious but religion saves no one. Jesus wants a relationship. Jesus wants our hearts.

            I don’t know about you but my heart is in Heaven.

Is Jesus the Only Way to Heaven?

Why can’t people, especially “good” people go to Heaven without accepting Jesus? The best answer to this question is found in the bible.  We need to first debunk the myth that there is such a thing as a “good” person.  Jesus said, “No one is good but One, that is, God (Matthew 19:17).”

The second question that arises is whether or not one can enter into heaven without accepting Jesus.  Jesus, Himself, proclaimed in John 14 that He was the Way, the Truth, and the Life and that no one can come to the Father but by Him. Why is He the only Way? What about Confucius? What about Buddha? What about Muhammad? What about myself? Can’t I be my own way?

     God cannot allow sin to be in His presence. Therefore, in order for us to be able to enter into Heaven, the presence and the penalty of sin must be dealt with. The presence of sin in our lives is dealt with by the Holy Spirit when He enters into us and begins the work of transformation. He convicts us of sin and deters us from sinning. The penalty for sinning is handled by Jesus.

If unrepentant people were allowed into Heaven, it would cease to be Heaven; it would be a revamp of earth—polluted both with sinful people and by people. Jeremiah said that the heart is desperately wicked…who can know it? In other words, the heart knows no bounds when it comes to dreaming up evil things. Unrepentant people would bring these evil machinations into heaven—stealing, robbing, being disrespectful, and being disobedient to God. There would be none of the peace and tranquility and righteousness that God promised. There would be no respecting and worshiping of the Father that He expects. (After all, if people don’t want to go to church now, image how they’d feel in heaven.)

To be comfortable in heaven, one needs to be transformed. They need have a heart change—a change of nature. With a transformed nature, we would not do the things that God finds offensive.  Now, I pose the question: Is Jesus the only Way to heaven and if so, why?

God told man that the soul that sinned would surely die. He allowed men to substitute animals and to temporarily offer up their blood as a sacrifice for sin. But the blood of animals really didn’t do anything. It was merely a picture of the sacrifice that was to be offered—God’s Son, Jesus.

            Jesus came to earth by the process of natural birth through the Virgin Mary. He lived a life without sin. He was crucified on a Roman cross for crimes he did not commit to atone for sins He did not commit. He became our sin bearer and our substitute. He died the death we could not die. He paid the price we could not pay. As the old saying goes, “We owed a debt [to God] we could not pay and He [Jesus] paid a debt He did not owe.” Paul said it like this: “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

            Jesus said that He was the only way because He provided the only sacrifice that was acceptable to God. God made His Son to be our sin bearer so that we, in turn, may bear His righteousness. God proved that He accepted the death of Christ by tearing the veil of the temple from the top to the bottom and by raising Jesus from the dead three days later.

            Why is Jesus the only Way? He is the only way because God said He was the only Way. If God is the offended or aggrieved party, He is the only One who can say what it takes to atone for the offense. The problem with people nowadays is that they tell God what He has to accept in order to affect reconciliation. This is, in effect, what we are saying when we say to Him that Jesus is not the only way, just one way; but there are other ways—good works, baptism, sacraments, self-sacrifice, etc.

            So the answers to the questions are simple. Is Jesus the only Way? Yes. Why? It is because God said so.

Why Must We Be "Born Again"?

“My mother is Buddhist, I’m not a Christian, so does that mean I’m going to hell?”  This question was asked of a preacher during a television interview that I saw recently.  The preacher quickly answered, “Yes, if you are not saved.”  The preacher, unfortunately, did not get into the specifics of salvation.  As I thought about this, God helped me to understand why a person must be saved to enter Heaven and what it means to be saved. Saved from what?

            Many probably have asked at least one of these questions: What is salvation? What does it mean to be born again and why must we be? The answers to these questions are simple, yet complex. In short, if we are not saved or born again, then heaven would become polluted with a bunch of unrepentant people, in effect, turning it into the same sin-filled world earth is. The reason why answers the question what must I do to be saved.

            The first step in salvation is recognizing that we are sinners and that we are living in contradiction to the commands and the will of God. Once we recognize that, we need to ask God to give us a clean heart and renew a right spirit within us. In other words, we need to be changed. He will send His Holy Spirit to convict us and urge us to repent. Unless we repent, we will not change, no matter how hard we try. Repentance involves having a change of heart, an inward desire to stop living contrary to God’s desire. It means having a desire to live as God would have us to live. Repentance leads to the acceptance of God’s grace, which in turn, leads to transformation. This process is called salvation. This is what it means to be born again, or born from above (original Greek).

            What are we transformed into? We are being transformed into the image of God’s Son. What is that image? It is one of submission, obedience and righteousness. This is what God wants for us. Let’s look at a prime example of this—Saul of Tarsus.

Saul of Tarsus was a man who hated Christ and hated the church. He saw them as heretical. Of himself, Saul said,

“[I] was circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews; concerning the law, a Pharisee; ⁶ concerning zeal, persecuting the church; concerning the righteousness which is in the law, blameless (Phil 3:5-6). “I am indeed a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, taught according to the strictness of our fathers’ law, and was zealous toward God as you all are today. ⁴ I persecuted this Way to the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women, ⁵ as also the high priest bears me witness, and all the council of the elders, from whom I also received letters to the brethren, and went to Damascus to bring in chains even those who were there to Jerusalem to be punished” (Acts 22:3-5).

Yet, on the road to Damascus, Jesus got a hold of Saul. That encounter led to Saul’s born again experience. The Bible illustrates his transformation by referring to him as Saul when he was persecuting the church and as Paul after his transformation.  He was no longer Saul the Persecutor but Paul the Apostle. What did Saul’s transformation mean? It meant that he no longer wanted to do the things that he thought were right but the things that God said were right.

          Being born again also means being regenerated. This happens when we are transformed by His Spirit. As Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 5:17, “If any man be in Christ, he [or she] is a new creation; the old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” Not only is our eternal destination new, but so is the way we thing about ourselves, the way we carry ourselves, the way we behave, the way we treat others, and the way we worship God.  We start our journey of change by studying God’s Word. It tells us what He expects of us. As we grow in His Word, His Spirit begins to change us from the inside out. This transformation is called sanctification. Paul said it like this, “Stop conforming to the world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may be able to prove that good, perfect, and acceptable will of God (Romans 12:2, emphasis added).”

This is why Jesus said to Nicodemus on that fateful night that in order to enter the Kingdom of Heaven, or to even see it, he must be born again. Jesus was telling him that he must be changed, transformed, renewed in his mind and spirit. Try reading John 3:3 like this: Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is [transformed, changed], he [or she] cannot see the kingdom of God.” John 3:6-7 would read like this: “That which is born of the flesh is flesh[ly, carnal], and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit[ual, holy]. ⁷ Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be [changed, transformed].’”

This is why one must be born again or saved to enter into Heaven. Without this transformation, God would have to deal with the same type of insurrection, rebellion, and insubordination that He dealt with eons past with Lucifer. Why? Because, even in Heaven, unchanged people would still be envying, backstabbing, cursing, stealing, and doing the same evil things they do now. But Heaven will be a place where there is no sin and a place where righteousness dwells because it will be filled with people who have been transformed by the grace of God.

            In this posting I discussed the ‘why’. In my next posting, I will discuss the ‘how’. How are we redeemed? Is Jesus the only Way to heaven and why?

These things must come to pass…

3 As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”


4 Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you. 5 For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many. 6 You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. 7 Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are the beginning of birth pains.

The earthquake in Japan pressed on me the earnest of Jesus’ words. That, in addition to other signs, like people dying from disease or disaster, brings the point home that time is winding up. People are dying either from disease or disaster. There are uprisings in the Middle East. Iran and Russia are coming together just as Ezekiel 38 prophesied. Jesus told us in Matthew 24 that there would be signs that would precede the end. Among them are false Messiahs. Many will claim that they are the Messiah and will lead many people astray.

David Koresh: An American Messiah?
Jim Jones, Joseph Smith and David Koresh: Comparative Essay

Here’s another interesting site I found: False Messiahs.com.



There will also be wars and rumors of wars. In other words, there will be wars and there will be rumblings or news of coming wars or battles. This likely goes hand in hand with ‘nation against nation’ and ‘kingdom against kingdom’. The term ‘nation’ is literally, ethnos, which means people group or ethnic group. Some have speculated that this could point to Muslim uprisings; as there has been on group of Muslims fighting another group or group of Muslims fighting non-Muslims. It could indicate the skirmishes between the Palestinians and the Israelites. It could also refer to the allegation of potential war between North Korea and South Korea or between North Korea and the West. ‘Kingdom’ literally means sovereign reign, which could point to any sovereign state, such as America against North Korea or India against Pakistan or Iran against Israel.


Israel, Hamas ignore U.N. , death toll rises
Egyptians protest against sectarianism
North Korea bombs South Korea's Yeonpyeong island; 2 dead, 13 wounded in attack: report
North Korea threatens America and Japan as Kim Jong Il 'wins' election
Water Dispute Increases India-Pakistan Tensions

Like most of the signs mentioned by Jesus, famines have been around forever. Who can’t remember seeing pictures of starving children in Africa and Latin America? What about the great San Francisco earthquake of 1906? Yes, these things have been going on for quite some time. But, also like the signs Jesus mentioned, as the end comes they will grow in frequency and intensity. Now, it is almost common to hear news of people in need of food or an earthquake hitting one part of the earth or another. Hollywood has made millions of dollars depicting the tragic plight of people who suffer from some natural disaster. Perhaps you remember movies like Volcano, The Perfect Storm, 10.5, or 2012. Trust me, there are tons more: Tsunami, Twister, Ice Quake, Tidal Wave, The Day After Tomorrow, and the list goes on. One thing is for sure: from what the Bible says, it is not going to get any better.

Famine in Haiti made in the U.S.
Famine in Africa

Widespread Destruction from Japan Earthquake, Tsunami
Magnitude 6.2 earthquake shakes northern Chile
7.0 quake hits Haiti; ‘Serious Loss of Life’ expected
Swarm of Unexplained Earthquakes Strikes Arkansas



All of these events are the beginning of birth pains. There is more to come. The Bible goes on to say that people will hate and betray one another. Because of false messiahs, many will depart or desert the faith. As a result of the increase in sin and the lack of salvation, the love of many will fade away.

The long and short of it is this: for the Christian, this world is not our home. As my book, For Such a Time as This says, “There are dark, perilous, and terrible times coming; trouble that the world has never known.” For the Christian, it is a great time to be alive because 1) we have a blessed opportunity to lead people to a saving knowledge of Jesus using these prophecies as a reference and 2) we know from these signs that our redemption draws near.



I provided the above sites for reference only. I did not investigate the sites or the webmasters, fully. Therefore, consider the sites for informational purposes only and not as an endorsement of them.

Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus

This is a classic hymn that is sung in many churches. The chorus simply goes:
Turn your eyes upon Jesus/ look full in His wonderful face;
And the things of earth will grown strangely dim/ in the light of His glory and grace.

What does this song tell us? It tells us that we should keep our eyes upon Jesus. You might think that that’s a no-brainer, but how many Christians know to do this but don’t. When we set our minds upon Jesus, then the problems of this world will seem trivial. This is because when we focus on Him, 1) we realize that there is nothing that He can’t handle and 2) we realize the futility of worrying about ‘stuff’.

Don’t get me wrong, I know that your ‘stuff’ is important to you as is my ‘stuff’’ to me. The thing that we must not forget is that the 'stuff' we worry about won’t likely be an issue 10 years from now. (I’m sure you don’t remember what you were worried about 10 years ago.) It certainly won’t be an issue a million years from now. So what is the benefit of worrying? If you can’t do anything about the problem or you’ve done all you can about the problem, then worrying about it won’t accomplish anything else. You are accomplishing as much worrying as you are taking a walk without getting out of your chair. Just put the problem in God’s hand and leave it there!

The Holy Spirit gave me the perfect definition for worry—meditating on the problem and not the solution. There is even scripture to support this. Philippians 4:8 says, “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.” In this passage Paul was telling us about how to get peace—the opposite of worry. Our minds are at peace when follow God’s plan. When we think on the other things, that’s when the stree set in.

Similarly, Jesus said in Matthew 6, when we focus on what we are going to eat and what we are going to wear and where are going to sleep, we are worrying. But when we set our eyes on Jesus, we don’t worry about these things. When we focus on Him, then we trust him even if it means going without or sleeping outdoors. It is better for us to eat bugs and sleep in the mud with God, than to eat lobster and sleep in a palace on a pillow-top mattress without Him.

You might say, ‘Easier said than done.” This is true. We are not patient people and many are not passive people. We have to be doing something. I think this is one reason why women outlive men. Men are Mr. Fix-its. When we can’t fix it, we worry because we need to be doing something but there is nothing to do. Women are wired differently so the desire to fix it isn’t as strong in them, which likely translates into less stress. In any regard, whether you are a male or female, you’ve got to give worry up. The return on your investment isn’t worth it.

When Peter stepped out of the boat, everything was fine as long as He kept his eyes on Jesus. He wasn’t worried about the waves or the laws of physics or anything else. It wasn’t until he took his eyes off Jesus that he began to fall, fret, and flail. Likewise, as long as we keep our eyes upon Jesus, we too will find life abundant and full of peace.