Why We Believe Mary Had a Virgin Birth

All girls who have babies have had sex with a boy or man.  That's the only way the human race can increase.  No girls or woman can, within herself, produce a baby girl or boy.

Except!  Mary the mother of Jesus!  God the Father, and the Holy Spirit caused Mary to have God's Son be placed inside Mary's womb!  Miracle of miracles!  There is no way man can explain that.  Jesus was full sized man sitting on a throne in eternity past with a full size Heavenly Father.  The Holy Spirit is also full sized.

Yet, how Christ could be a sperm inserted into Mary's womb is a miracle of miracles!  There is no way man can explain that miracle.  And a miracle it was!

He grew as a fetus!  He was physically born!  He grew into manhood!  He died on a cross!  He arose!  He sits with God the Father as a full size man!  But He sits there as our Saviour!  He's coming back to get you and me!  Praise His name!

Why Are We Tempted?

I Corinthians 10:13 says to us, "There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it."

It seems that all of us are tempted, one way or another, at some time or other.  Temptation is, according to the above Scripture, common to mankind.  You are tempted.  So are all of us.

But God is faithful.  He knows our weaknesses.  He knows how strong we are.  He knows what weakens us the most.  And in this we are all different.  What weakens you may not weaken me.  What weakens me may not cause you to yield.  Male and female, we are each different from one another in temptation.

Yes, God lets us be tempted, according to this verse.  But God also said he will see that we are able to resist the temptation that come to us.

You see, temptation can be in many forms.  It can be in bodies.  It can be in dress, or in what we wear.  It can be in love and sex.  It can be in association with our friends.  It can be in our influence with certain other people.  It can be in knowledge, and displaying what we have learned, and know!

But some things would lead us astray.  So, God, with the temptation, also puts in our minds a way to escape the temptation which would lead us into sin.  God says we may be able to bear or endure the temptation without sinning.  That is our helpful God!

Jesus Christ, the God-Man

There have been many who were human beings but claimed to be the Son of God.  They were simply human males.  They were not the Son of God or one of God's Sons.  They thought that idea by themselves.  They said it to themselves first and liked the sound of it.  Then they announced it before others and met on opposition.  They announced it again and met no opposition.  Then they claimed to be God's Son every time they appeared in public.

They knew they were not God's Son.  They knew they were lying unless they were mentally off balance.  If they were mentally sane they knew they were trying to deceive others who would acept their statements.

There were lots of people who, in their minds, disbelieved these men and discussed it at home with their wives or with other men.  But, it seemed that no one seemed to challenge them,, expecially if these men were powerful leaders of groups of people.  Thus the men and women who did not think that way kept their mouths shut for fear of being beheaded.  Thus the leader kept saying he was God's Son.  Soon others repeated what he said.  History books wrote about it.  It became known that "so and so" said he was God.

But he could not stop a storm like Jesus did.  He could not heal diseases as Jesus did.  He could not rise from the dead as Jesus did.  He could not reappear to people as Jesus did.  He could not ascend into heaven as Jesus did.  So they lied.  They were not Gods.  Only Jesus was truly God because he did prove it.

By-Product of Faith

1.  "Whom having not seen, ye love...." (I Ptr. 1:8).  Love seems to be our first by-product of faith.  We love him because he first loved us.  We can continue our love for him.  Yet, our love can grow cold, but love never leaves us completely.  We love Christ.

2.  "...though now ye see him not, yet believing..." (I Ptr. 1:8).  We continue believing.  That's what caused us to be saved.  But we continued to believe, and our faith in him became one of our early by-products of faith.  We never lose that, even though we may backslide.

3.  "...ye rejoice with joy unspeakable..." (I Ptr. 1:8).  I've never met a new believer that was not happy since he or she was saved.  God gives us that.  We enjoy it.  It's just one of those automatic by-products of our salvation.  Even today aren't you happy you are saved?  This is our by-product.

4.  "...what things ye desire, when ye pray..." (Mark 11:24).  Prayer is one of the earliest by-products of being saved.  And we pray the rest of our lives.  We pray when we are happy.  We pray when we are sad.  We pray between these.  We just pray.  And prayer is one of our by-products of being saved.  Be glad we pray.

5.  "For the Scripture saith, whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed" (Rom. 10:11).  We may think or say or do some things about which we are ashamed.  But we can ask forgiveness from God and he will forgive us.  For this and many other things we are not ashamed.  For everything in life God gives us.  For these we are not ashamed.  Praise the Lord!

How To Determine God's Will

Paul wrote that we should understand what the will of God is for each of us (Eph. 5:17). 

First, God's will is found in his Word.  It begins with our being saved (Eph. 2:8).  Then we are to join a New Testament church (Acts 2:47) that is to be followed by biblical baptism (Matt. 28:19).  We are to have Godly homes (Titus 2:3-5; Eph. 5:22-26; Eph. 6:1-3).

Obey our Government (Rom. 13:1-7).  Enjoy fellowship in the church.  Keep the world's evils out of our lives (I John 2:15-17).  Witness to the lost.  Tithe our income (II Cor. 9:6-8); I Cor. 9:4-14).

Learn our gifts and obey them (I Ptr. 4:10).  Love our neighbors.  Look for Christ's coming.  Put God's will first above all things (Rom. 12:1, 2).  Love God above all human regulations.

You Have the Mind of Christ

Paul wrote the Corintian church, "But we have the mind of Christ."

Before we were saved we had the carnal mind.  Romans 8:6, 7 tells us, "For to be carnally minded is death; but to spiritually minded is life and peace.

"Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be."  That's why we were unsaved.  It put all kinds of sin thought into our brains.  It gave suggestions to our tongues.  It led us to do what we shouldn't have done.  Thus we face eternal hell.

But we accepted Christ, and every born again Christian received the mind of Christ. As a result, I Corinthians 2:12 tells us, "Now we have received, not the spirit of the world; but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God."

Our God gave us his Holy Spirit to teach us (I Cor. 2:11, 12).  We can know what God knows.  We can understand because God gave understanding of these truths.  II Timothy 1:7 tells us, "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind."

It is our sound mind that understands what the Spirit causes us to read and hear the Word of God.  We understand because the Holy Spirit enables our sound mind to comprehend what we read and hear.  Thus we grow in knowledge of God's Word.  That's you and me!

Why Do We Have troubles?

It seems that every child of God has trouble in his or her life.  When in our teens or young adult years we may live without troubles and problems.  That's good.  Then some, in their senior years, also have few, if any physical trials.

But, most people have some aches, pains, and even surgeries.

One reason we suffer is that we reap what we sow (Gal. 6:7).  We can do some things in our young years that produce illness in later years.  We can't stop it.

Another reason is that some people inherit diseases from their parents.  They didn't do something to cause the illness.  They just inherited it.  They can't stop it.

Another reason is deseases travels from person to person, from country to country.  Many of us have a weakness for that disease and we are inflicted with it.

Sometimes we don't eat right.  Or we are careless in our hygience.  As a result we get colds, or some other diseases over which we can conquer.

We need to do our best to conquer illnesses that we can get a victory over them.  But, some illnesses stay with us for the rest of our lives.

If we have highly infectious diseases that others can catch we need to be careful in our association with people.  But some diseases are not given to others.  So we can associate with other people and do not infect them.

We have diseases and sickness because we are sinners.  That weakens our bodies so we become sick.  After the rapture of us believers we will have no more sin in us to influence us.

But for now?  Let God comfort us.  II Corinthians 1:4 says, "Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God."

Comfort means to accept God's will.  It means to accept what we are experiencing with a peace of mind that God has a purpose in what we are going through.  Comfort is an encouragement.  Yes, we may hurt of suffer at times.  But God is working on our attitude to draw us closer to him.  We learn to lean on him more.  He may later remove the suffering.

Why Persuade People?

We need to seek people to save them because Romans 3:11 says, "There is none that seeketh after God."  They don't seek after God because they are "...dead in trespasses and sins" (Eph. 2:1).  That is, they are separated from God.  But even more, they are lost, according to Luke 19:10.  According to that Scripture Jesus said, these person's cannot find God and eternal life.

According to II Corinthians 4:3, 4 Satan has blinded the unsaved person's eyes in unbelief.  He can't see the light of salvation in Jesus.  Jesus said this unsaved person is in bondage, and only through Christ can he be set free (John 8:32, 36).  As a result this slave of Satan has no hope (Eph. 2:12).  He is a stranger to God's promises to Israel (Eph. 2:12).  He can't, within himself, find his way to Christ.  Thus he is in bondage.

This individual is without excuse, because he judges someone else, and thus condemns himself (Rom. 2:11).  As a result, he is facing eternal death (Rom. 6:23).  All of his life's labors will be lost (Matt. 16:26).

Why should we reach out to the lost with the light of the gospel (II Cor. 4:3, 4)?  Because we know the terror of hell from God (II Cor. 5:11).  Because we also know God's love and tender grace (John 3:16; Eph. 2:8).

Three Things Must Occur

There are some things that if we neglect them it will not hurt.  There are some things that if we neglect them we will pay for it.  If we don't eat we will die.  If we don't drink water we will die.  We must protect ourselves as we drive or walk because we could be killed.  We must protect ourselves from storms and tornadoes or we could be destroyed.

There are three things that must be done to protect us in eternity.  John 3:14 say, "...even so much the Son of man be lifted up."  Jesus was nailed to a cross which was lifted up on a hill near Jerusalem.  He did this for all of humanity.  Without his suffering for our sins, his death and his resurrection all of humanity would perish in hell.  But Jesus must be lifted upon a cruel cross.  And because of that we can escape hell.

The second must is found in John 4:4 which says, "And he must needs go through Samaria."  Samaria was a city of people who were not Jews.  It was near a main highway.  Jesus led a woman to be saved at a well on the highway.  She took Jesus and his group into Samaria where Jesus preached to the city.  Many of the people were saved.  Jesus must be preached to all of the world (John 3:16).  He alone is the way of Salvation from sin and hell, to heaven.  Who do you know that you could witness to?

The third must is in John 3:7 when Jesus said to Nicodemus, "Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again."  The new birth is an actual change in our spirits when we repent of our sins and believe in Jesus to save us.  It is a new birth.  It literally must occur in us or we are forever lost.  But since we have believed in Jesus we miss hell and all of us are on our way to heaven.  Praise the Lord!

Who Needs To Be Saved?

There are people who don't need to be saved.  Who are they?  While they were married to other people David and Bathsheba had sex.  Bathsheba's husband later died in battle.  Bathsheba had a baby who became sick.  David prayed the baby would live.  It died.

The servants asked David why he ate after the baby died.  David replied, "But now he is dead, wherefore should I fast?  Can I bring him back again?  I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me."

Babies and young children have not reached the age of accountability.  God does not hold them accountable for their wrongs.  When they die the are not held responsible.  They are taken to heaven.  They will be young adults in the rapture with new, adult bodies.

There is an age of accountability for every person who lives beyond that age.  He or she is then held responsible for his or her sins.

Isaiah 53:6 says, "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way...."

Romans 7:9 says, "For I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died."  No, he or she did not die physically.  We all died in that we were held accountalbe for our sins from that day forward.

Romans 5:12 adds, "...and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned."  Death comes because we all sin.

Because of sin and death is why Jesus suffered, died and rose again to save us from hell.  Revelation 22:17 says, "And the Spirit and the bride say, Come.  And let him that heareth say, Come.  And let him that is athirst come.  And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely."

Our Country Is In Deep Trouble

I think our nation is in a very dangerous period of time under the Obama administration! Several leaders in our country have said there will be blood on our streets if things are not turned around. I'm glad for nationwide town hall meetings that at least one million people of our country attended last week. It must grow.

Don't be surprised if the Democrats pass these bills at midnight some night soon without any change. That will produce a nationwide rebellion like we have never seen before. Don't be surprised if certain people get shot to death. Don't be surprised if our government attempts, unsuccessfully, to produce martial law. Many, many law and military people believe as we do and will join in a massive rebellion against such a law.

You and I need to be in sincere prayer for freedom in our nation. Our leaders are wanting to put us under dictatorship. This we cannot afford. Millions will oppose this. Let's pray that Obama and his Democrats will not attempt to pass their dictatorial regulations.