THE BAD WIRE IN THE WALL SOCKET

When I was a kid, I found an electrical wire at my dad’s house that was cut off from some electronic item. The ends of the two wires had been stripped about an inch or so, evidently to reuse later.

As I looked at the two naked wires, the wheels and cogs in my inquisitive brain started turning. For some reason, I started to wonder what would happen if I tied those two naked ends together, and then plugged the wire into a wall socket. As I thought about it, I concluded that the only way to answer that question was to go ahead and conduct the experiment. So that’s what I did.

This was an experiment I did not want my parents to be part of or to even know what I was doing, so I went into the living room by myself and proceeded to plug the wire into the outlet.

When I plugged it in, fire shot from the end of the wire, and the electricity went off. I knew what had happened, so I jerked the wire out of the socket immediately and threw it behind the couch.

I heard my mom and dad talking in the kitchen. They were wondering what had happened, and why the power went off. Back then we didn’t have breakers. They were fuses. That’s where the term fuse box comes from. I still hear people today calling a breaker box a fuse box. Well, my little experiment had blown at least one of the fuses, maybe more for all the electricity to go off. Daddy did whatever he did with the fuses and soon had the electricity working again.

I did not dare tell them what I had done. In fact, I never told my dad but a few years before my mother died I told her and she just chuckled and said, “Well son! What did you do that for?”

I needed to know what would happen. I was always curious. I always wanted to know how things worked. Growing up I would take things apart to see how they worked, and many times I couldn’t get them back together correctly. Several things I took apart never worked again including an expensive base Walkie-talkie my dad bought me for my birthday. But when I could get things back together and working right, and understand how they worked, that was an amazing feeling.

That reminds me of studying the Bible. When I study a certain topic, I look up everything the Bible says about it and compare scriptures with scriptures to get a picture of what God’s word says about that subject.

It’s an amazing feeling when you understand what God has revealed to us about a certain thing. Reading and studying God’s word is the best way to understand what God wants us to know. It’s amazing when you can explain what the Bible says to others, and no matter what someone else says, they can’t take that understanding away from you.

2nd Timothy 2:15 says, “Study to show yourself acceptable to God; a worker that is not ashamed, correctly dissecting the word of truth,” which, according to Jesus, is the word of God, the Bible (John 17:17).

In 1st Peter 3:15, Peter says, “Always be ready to answer anyone who asks you about the hope that is in you.” That involves Bible study, and prayer. That’s also what it takes to have a close personal relationship with God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. That’s the most important relationship we can have, and we have to develop it and maintain it every day. Spending time reading and studying the Bible must be an important part of our daily routine. It has to be.

We have to put on the whole armor of God to grow as a Christian and to be protected from the devil, and his evil angels as explained in Ephesians chapter 6. So pray, read, and study God’s word, the Holy Bible, every day of your life here on Earth so you can live with God for the rest of eternity. God bless you and protect you. Amen.

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THE NIGHT THE BEAR CAME AROUND

Ellen was a young girl and her brother Tom was even younger. Their mother had died and left their father to care for them alone. He did the best he could, but he had to leave them at home many times to work. They lived in the 1800s, and there were not many people in the area where they lived so there was no one to babysit. Tom and Ellen were even left alone at night sometimes.

One of those nights, they were sitting around the lamp reading when they heard an awful noise. They knew at once what it was because they had heard it before. It was a bear. It was just outside their little cabin in the woods. They were very afraid because they knew how dangerous bears could be, especially when they were hungry, and he bears around where they lived were very big.

Tom began to cry. Ellen tried her best to calm him. She told him everything would be okay. She told him that Jesus would send angels to protect them as he had so many times before. They prayed and asked him to make the bear go away.

Then they heard an even louder noise. It sounded like something very big hit the back of their house. It hit so hard that it shook the whole place. They didn’t know what it was but they were even more afraid now. Maybe it was an even bigger bear trying to get in. Now they were in danger from the front and the back. They continued to pray and listen to see what would happen next. Soon, they didn’t hear the bear out front anymore and nothing from the back. Eventually, they realized they were safe. They thanked God for sending the bears away and asked him to continue to protect them and soon they were asleep.

When they woke the next morning they could see the bright light of the sun shining through the cracks in their little house. God had brought them through a frightening experience to a brand new day. As they went about their day, they happened to notice the back of the house. They were surprised to see a large rock lying against the wood plank wall. “That’s the noise we heard,” Ellen said. “It wasn’t another bear at all. Maybe God made the rock roll down the hill and hit the house to scare the bear away. I’ll bet he did. I’m sure he did.” They thanked God again and again as they continued their day with a stronger faith in Jesus.

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MR. JOBE AND THE TENNIS RACKET

When I was in elementary school, one of my teachers was Mr. Jobe. He was a very nice, friendly man, and a great teacher. He was also the school Principle.

One day in his math class, we were taking a test. Everyone was quietly working, and as each student finished, they took their paper to the teacher’s desk and returned to their seat. I think Mr. Jobe may have been grading the papers as they were turned in. At least, he was sitting at his desk looking down at whatever he was doing.

When I completed my test, I folded it and put my name on it. Then, I walked to his desk and laid it with the other student’s papers. As I turned to head back to my desk, I noticed a set of tennis rackets laying on the shelf which was on the wall to the right of the teacher. His desk was several feet from the wall behind him to allow room to access the blackboard, so the shelf was behind him.

Of course, me being the clown that I was, I picked up one of those rackets and got my friend Randy’s attention. I pretended the tennis ball was coming at me as I swung the racket to right. Then, I stepped to the side and swung to the left. Then, I raised the racket over my right shoulder and swung it straight up over my head. When I did, the round, three-ringed, metal light fixture came crashing to the floor. That got everybody’s attention, including Mr. Jobe.

I looked at the mess on the floor, then I look at him. He was looking at me and getting up out of his chair. I knew I was in trouble. He grabbed the paddle, then he grabbed me by the arm and said, “Out in the hall. The very idea; Playing in the room.” I had always been angry with the teachers after they paddled me before, but not this time. Of all the paddlings I had gotten in school over the years, I knew I deserved that one, so I braced myself for it and took it like a man. Soon, it was over and I went back in and reassembled the light fixture, and took the walk of shame back to my desk. I always liked, and respected Mr. Jobe and the paddling didn’t change that.

After we graduated, I didn’t see him again for more than fifteen years. Then, one day my wife asked me if I knew a Charles Jobe. I said I did and asked her why. She said he was a patient at the assisted living facility where she worked. My children would go over and sing to the people there sometimes to cheer them up. Mr. Jobe saw my youngest son and thought he looked like me. He asked him his name and found out I was his dad so he told my wife to ask me to come and see him.

When I walked into his room, his eyes lit up, and even though he was not feeling well, that encouraging smile he always had for his students covered his whole face. We talked for quite a while about the old days, about my sisters, and about some of the other students and teachers at our old school.

Then he told me something very interesting. He said he had a dream. I think he said he had it more than once. In the dream, God’s angels were singing a song. He said when he woke up from the dream, he wrote the song down, words and music, and had it published. He even received some royalty money from it. I thought that was amazing.

Before we left that day, my kids sang for him and we prayed with him. That’s the last time I saw him. He was soon moved to a nursing home in another state, and later we heard that he had passed away. I’m glad I got to see him that one last time. I’m glad God put him in my life for those few years in elementary school. He made a difference in my life and the lives of so many others. I hope someone can say that about me after I’m gone.

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DO RULES AND WARNINGS REALLY PROTECT US?

It was a beautiful day. Vivian and her two children were getting ready to go joyriding on their four-wheeler. Her niece Sally wanted to ride with them. There were four of them, but only one four-wheeler. How many people are supposed to ride on a four-wheeler at the same time? There are warnings on A.T.V.s that say “ONLY ONE RIDER AT A TIME.” But in spite of that warning, Vivian put all four kids on the four-wheeler with her.

I don’t know how long they rode, or how much fun they had, but somehow the four-wheeler flipped over on top of them. Vivian hit her head and was knocked out. When she regained consciousness, she could hear her son moaning and her daughter crying. Both her children were hurt and had cuts and broken bones, but Sally wasn’t so lucky. Vivian saw her lying there, her body all broken and twisted, and her face a dull blue color. One of the handlebars of the big four-wheeler had fallen on her neck and she died.

What a sad story. I feel so bad for Vivian and her family. Accidents happen, but many of them could be avoided by simply following rules and warnings. If Vivian had only heeded the warning, she and her children would not have suffered all the pain of that accident. They would not have had to spend all the time and money on physical therapy. If she had only obeyed the warning placed there by someone who knew more than she did about ATVs, her niece would not have had to suffer such a horrible death.

We’re given warnings for a reason, and most of the time they come from people who know more than we do. But, too often, these warnings go unheeded. God, who knows the end from the beginning, gives us warning after warning in His Word. He warned Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.

Genesis 2 16-17
16. Then the Lord God commanded the man, saying, You may freely eat from every tree in the garden:
17. But do not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil because, in the day that you eat from it, you will surely die.

God warned them, but they disobeyed and brought the curse of sin upon all the inhabitants of the Earth. God tells us what will happen if we don’t turn from our sinful ways and follow his laws, but many are ignoring his warnings even today. He also tells us that he’s coming back to rescue those who have been born again and to destroy sin once and for all.

John 14:1-3
1. Don’t let your heart be troubled: you believe in God, believe also in me. 
2. In my Father’s house are many mansions: if not, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 
3. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you to myself so that where I am, you may be also.

Unfortunately, all those who cling to sin will be destroyed in the lake of fire along with sin, Satan, and his angels.

2 Thessalonians 1:7-9
7. To you who are troubled, rest with us, when the Lord Jesus will be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, 
8. In flaming fire taking vengeance on those who don’t know God, and don’t obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: 
9. Who will be punished with eternal destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power;

A marvelous promise to those who obey God, and a terrible warning to those who refuse to obey. God loves us like a parent loves a child, and much more, no matter what we do or say, no matter how we act, and even if we never follow him. But like a parent, he can not excuse the wrong that we do.

He has a plan. We can be part of it if we want to, or we can choose to ignore his warnings and go our own way and do our own thing, but someday, God will put an end to sin once and for all. Please, don’t allow yourself to be destroyed with sin. Jesus wants to save you, but he won’t force you. He needs your permission.

Hebrews 5:9 says, 
9. And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation to all those who OBEY him;

John 3:36 says, 
36. He that believes in the Son has eternal life, and he that does not believe the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God rests on him.

2 Timothy 3:15 says, 
15. And since you were a child you have known the holy scriptures, which are able to make you wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.

Romans 10:17 says,
17. So then faith comes through hearing and hearing through the word of God.

According to these verses, we gain faith in Jesus from reading and hearing the Bible. When we get to know him and believe in him, we can receive eternal life, and we will want to obey him. But, if we refuse to obey, God’s wrath rests on us.

One more warning;

Matthew 24:44
44. So you be ready also because the Son of man will come in an hour you do not expect.

Jesus says we need to be ready for his second coming. How can we be ready? Only by accepting his free gift of salvation. There’s nothing we can do to earn salvation, but we do have to accept it. God WILL NOT take anyone to heaven who does not want to go. Contrary to popular belief, we can’t live any way we want to and stay saved.

Hebrews 13:5 says,
5. Let your conversation be without covetousness, and be content with such things as you have because he has said, I will never leave you, nor forsake you.

That’s a quote from the old testament book of Deuteronomy, chapter 31 and verse 6.

Deuteronomy 31:6
6. Be strong and of good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them because it is the LORD your God, that goes with you. He will not fail you, nor forsake you.

Like most promises in God’s word, this Promise is conditional.

2 Chronicles 15:2 says, 
2. The LORD is with you, while you are with him, and if you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will forsake you.

The word of God is consistent throughout, from Genesis to Revelation. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that the God of the Old Testament is a different God from the New Testament. Times have changed and people have changed, but God never changes. He’s a God of love, but he’s also a God of justice. He loves us all, and he has prepared the plan of salvation so everyone has a chance to be saved, but the Bible is clear that not everyone will be saved. Just believing is not enough. God requires obedience.

James 2:19
19. You believe that there is one God; you do well: the devils also believe, and tremble.

James 2:20
20. But will you know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?

The works that James is talking about are not works to earn salvation but works we do because we are saved. Sin doesn’t stop being sin, just because we’re saved. Whatever was sin for an unsaved person is still sin after that person is saved.

Hebrews 10:26-27
26. For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there is no more sacrifice for sins, 
27. But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which will devour the adversaries.

We must OBEY God to remain saved. Heed his warnings. This is serious. Jesus is our only hope. Cling to him for dear life, and obey his rules. If we truly love him, we’ll WANT to obey. It’s hard sometimes even then, but Jude 1:24 says that he is able to keep us from falling if we just trust him and obey. That’s a beautiful promise, and something we should all hold on to.

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THE RESURRECTION OF THE DEAD

The resurrection of the dead is a key doctrine of Christianity, and the blessed hope for all Christians the world over (Titus 2:13, 1 Peter 1:3, Acts 24:15, Romans 8:22, 1 Thessalonians 4:13, 1 John 3:2), but this is another one of those controversial doctrines of the Bible. Even though there are many, many passages of scripture dedicated to it, there are many different teachings on the subject, but there can only be one truth. The only way to know that truth is to study God’s word with a prayerful heart and an open mind, and by putting aside ALL preconceived ideas. With that in mind let’s see what the Bible really says about this very important subject.

1 Thessalonians 4:15-17 
15. For this, we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will not prevent (precede/go before) those who are asleep. 
16. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God, and THE DEAD IN CHRIST WILL RISE first. 
17. Then, we who are alive and remain will be taken up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will be with the Lord for ever.

These verses tell us a few things that will happen at the second coming of Jesus. Notice carefully verse 15. Paul plainly says that what he is telling us comes from the Lord. He says the Christians who are alive at the coming of the Lord WILL NOT go up before the dead Christians. The LIVING and the DEAD Christians will all be TAKEN UP together to meet the Lord in the air, at the RESURRECTION.

2 Peter 3:10-12 
10 But THE DAY OF THE LORD will come like a THIEF IN THE NIGHT, in which the HEAVENS WILL PASS AWAY with a LOUD NOISE, and THE ELEMENTS WILL MELT with EXTREME HEAT. The EARTH ALSO and the works that are in it WILL BURN UP. 
11 Seeing then that ALL THESE THINGS WILL BE DISSOLVED, what manner of persons should you be in all holy conversation and godliness,
12 Looking for and hasting to the coming of the day of God, when THE HEAVENS BEING ON FIRE WILL BE DISSOLVED, and the elements will melt with extreme heat?

So, at the second coming, the heavens and the elements will be destroyed by fire. This means there will be no atmosphere, which means there will be no air to breathe. So no life can exist on earth after the second coming of Jesus.

Job 14:10-12
10 But man dies and wastes away. Yes, man gives up the ghost, and where is he? 
11 As the waters fail from the sea, and the flood decays and dries up, 
12 So man lies down and rises not. UNTIL THE HEAVENS ARE NO MORE, THEY WILL NOT AWAKE NOR BE RAISED out of their sleep.

Job tells us the resurrection will not happen until the heavens “PASS AWAY.” So the resurrection happens at the END OF THE WORLD when the earth and the atmosphere are burned up.

Let’s look at the parable of the wheat and the weeds, then Jesus himself will tell us the meaning.

Matthew 13:24-30
24 Another parable he put forth to them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. 
25 But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went his way. 
26 But when the blade was sprung up and brought forth fruit, then the weeds appeared also. 
27 So the servants of the householder came and said to him, Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where then did these weeds come from? 
28 He said to them, An enemy has done this. The servants said to him, Then do you want us to go and gather them up? 
29 But he said, No, lest while you gather up the weeds, you also root up the wheat with them. 
30 Let both grow together until the harvest, and in the time of harvest, I will say to the reapers, Gather together first the weeds, and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.

Now, look what Jesus said the parable means.

Matthew 13:36-43

36 Then Jesus sent the multitude away and went into the house, and his disciples came to him and said, DECLARE TO US THE PARABLE OF THE WEEDS IN THE FIELD. 
37 He answered and said to them, HE THAT SOWS the good seed is THE SON OF MAN; (Jesus) 
38 THE FIELD is THE WORLD; THE GOOD SEED are the CHILDREN OF THE KINGDOM, but THE WEEDS are THE CHILDREN OF THE WICKED ONE; 
39 THE ENEMY that sowed them is THE DEVIL; THE HARVEST is THE END OF THE WORLD, and the REAPERS are THE ANGELS.

Jesus said the harvest is the end of the world. Look what he said will happen at the end of the world.

40 Therefore, as the weeds are gathered and burned in the fire; so will it be at the END OF THE WORLD.
41 The Son of man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and those who do iniquity; (Sin) 
42 And will throw them into a furnace of fire: there will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. 
43 Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.

Notice the SAVED and the WICKED both are still here together at the END OF THE WORLD. They are separated AT the END OF THE WORLD. Not Pre-Trib, not Mid-Trib. Not before the end, but AT THE END OF THE WORLD. The Second Coming and the Rapture is the same event; the end of the world.

When did the sister of Lazarus think the resurrection would be?

John 11:23-24
23 Jesus saith to her, Your brother will rise again.
24 Martha saith to him, I know that he will rise again in THE resurrection at the last day.

Martha believed this because it’s what Jesus taught. (John 6:39, 40; John 6:44, 54; John 12:48)

1 Corinthians 15:51-55
51 Behold, I show you a mystery; We will not all sleep (die), but we will all be changed, 
52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, AT THE LAST TRUMPET: for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we will be changed. 
53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. 
54 So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, THEN will be brought to pass the saying that is written, DEATH IS SWALLOWED UP IN VICTORY.
55 O death, where is your sting? O grave, where is your victory?

1 Corinthians 15:26
26 The last enemy that will be destroyed is death.

Compare 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17 with the last two passages we just read, 1 Corinthians 15:51-55 and 1 Corinthians 15:26, and you will see something interesting. DEATH is destroyed at the second coming. Add Rev. 20:12-15 and we get a pretty clear picture. This means no one can die seven years later, and no one can die a thousand years later. This is the end. There’s no more death after the second coming, which is the end of the world.

Look at these next few passages carefully.

Luke 14:13-14
13 But when you make a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind:
14 And you will be blessed; for they cannot repay you: for you will be repaid at THE resurrection of the just.

Acts 24:15
15 And I have hope toward God, which they themselves also allow, that there will be A resurrection of the dead, BOTH of the JUST and UNJUST.

Daniel 12:2
2 And many of them that SLEEP IN THE DUST of the earth will wake up, SOME TO EVERLASTING LIFE, and SOME TO SHAME AND EVERLASTING CONTEMPT.

These few verses have been used by some as proof texts to say there will be two resurrections from the dead. One where the Children of God rise and another where the wicked dead will rise a thousand years later. The Bible does mention the First and Second Resurrection in Revelation chapter 20. In the article called “First and Second Death, First and Second Resurrection” we saw from the Bible that we are all dead in sin, and the First Resurrection is when we are BURIED with Christ in baptism and RAISED as a new creature from the First Death, which Adam brought upon the world by disobeying God. Please read that short study at the link below, to understand this study more clearly.

First and Second Death, First, and Second Resurrection

Seeing that the First Resurrection is Spiritual, then there can only be One Physical Resurrection. As we look at the following verses carefully, we’ll see the last three verses we looked at do not show two separate resurrections, but one resurrection with two different classes of people: the Saved and the Lost.

John 5:28-29
28 Marvel not at this: for THE hour is coming, in which ALL that are in the graves will hear his voice, 
29 And ALL will come forth. They that have done good, unto the resurrection of life, and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.

Notice carefully that Jesus said THE hour is coming when ALL will come up out of their graves. Again, this is not two resurrections. It is one resurrection with two different classes of people being raised at the same time; The Saved and the Lost. Read Luke 14:13-14, Acts 24:15, Dan. 12:2 again. Then look at the next verse.

Revelation 1:7
7 Behold, he will come with clouds, and EVERY EYE will see him: even those who pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth will wail before him, Even so, Amen.

Every Eye means every eye. Everyone on earth. Even the dead. This is not a special resurrection for those who killed Jesus, this is the Second Coming when both the Saved and Lost will be resurrected to join the Saved and the Lost who are still alive, and we ALL will witness the return of Jesus in the clouds with power and great glory. (Luke 21:27; Matthew 24:30; Mark 13:26)

Look what else Jesus said about THE Resurrection.

Matthew 12:41
41 The men of Nineveh WILL RISE in judgment WITH this generation and WILL CONDEMN IT because they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and, behold, One greater than Jonah is here.

Nineveh repented and was Saved. Jesus said they would be resurrected WITH that generation, and condemn it because they had not repented. More proof that the Saved and the Lost rise at the same time. ONE RESURRECTION, TWO CLASSES OF PEOPLE.

Let's look at one more verse to tie it all together.

2 Timothy 4:1
1 So I urge you in the sight of God, and the Lord Jesus, Christ, who will judge the LIVING and the DEAD at his appearing and his kingdom;

It will all take place at the same time: the Second Coming/Rapture. The atmosphere will be destroyed, and both the Saved and the Lost will be resurrected. The Saved will get new bodies. The earth will be destroyed, and the Lost will burn up with the earth. This is Hell Fire. It all happens at The End Of The World.

First and Second Death, First, and Second Resurrection

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