Happy Birthday Jesus !!!

Though we do not know the real date of the birth of Jesus, let us choose today and every day to recognize His birth and what that means for all of us as Christians. ETERNAL LIFE..... 

I bought a new Christmas Tree this year because I had given my tree to my son and his wife. My ornaments were still in my storage unit and I did not feel like going to get them this year. The lights on my new tree are so pretty,  I figured it looked pretty enough without them. Wouldn't you know that even though everyone was unaware of this in my circle of friends and family, that I would receive more ornaments this year than any other year to date. While each one is taking on it's own special story, I will speak of one specific ornament and the story behind it:

When my Grandma passed away on May 25 2012, a message was given to me that when you see a cardinal, it's a reminder to Keep the Faith. I received this picture frame in a white elephant gift exchange. Notice the cardinal on the top. I wanted to put a picture of Grandma in it. I looked in my photo box and there was this one that was taken in May 2012 at the nursing home. Even though the printer I have is low on ink, I was able to print this on regular paper and it could not have come out clearer. I could not get the frame to sit right on the branches, till I found this spot. I had wondered why there are more pinkish lights on this tree rather than red when I had first plugged it in. Even though I love them, I thought it was kind of odd. Now I know why. My Grandma loves the color pink. From the spot that the frame finally settled in, there is pink all around. Now I can see her at Christmas while knowing she is all around us now and always. 

or·na·ment

  [n. awr-nuh-muhnt; v. awr-nuh-ment, -muhnt]  Show IPA

noun

1.

an accessory, article, or detail used to beautify the appearance of something to which it is added orof which it is a part: architectural ornaments.

2.

a system, category, or style of such objects or features; ornamentation: a book on Gothic ornament.

3.

any adornment or means of adornment.

4.

a person or thing that adds to the credit or glory of a society, era, etc.

5.

the act of adorning.

Some interesting tidbits about the origin of the Christmas Tree.. 

http://www.allaboutjesuschrist.org/origin-of-the-christmas-tree-faq.htm

Choose Christ Rather Than Traditions And Doctrine

Mark 7

King James Version (KJV)

5 Then the Pharisees and scribes asked him, Why walk not thy disciples according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashen hands?

6 He answered and said unto them, Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.

7 Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.

8 For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups: and many other such like things ye do.

9 And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition.

10 For Moses said, Honour thy father and thy mother; and, Whoso curseth father or mother, let him die the death:

11 But ye say, If a man shall say to his father or mother, It is Corban, that is to say, a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; he shall be free.

12 And ye suffer him no more to do ought for his father or his mother;

13 Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye.

CORBAN:  a sacrifice or offering to God among the ancient Hebrews

DOCTRINE: a particular principle, position, or policy taught or advocated, as of a religion or government

TRADITION: the handing down from generation to generation of the same customs, beliefs, etc, esp by word of mouth: 

In modern day times, one may refer to the highlighted words above as, "lip service". 

We have all been there, someone says one thing but their actions prove otherwise. When we are sincere in the words that roll off our lips, our actions will prove those words to be true. It will show what we truly believe. How can we be sincere in our beliefs if they are merely a tradition that was passed down to us? Jesus said if you love God, you would obey God and follow Him. How can you follow Christ, if you don't know what He taught? 

The Pharisees and scribes were a religious, pious group of people that spent the majority of their time following handed down traditions that served man rather than God, in the hopes that the people would follow them rather than Christ/God. Several times in the New Testament Jesus addresses this group and rebukes them for their actions. I do not believe you will find a verse where Jesus is talking about them or to them and is not rebuking their behavior. In a few instances,  He warns us to not be like them. It is so important to know your Bible and God on a personal level. Why trust your salvation in the hands of man?  In the end, it will be you who is responsible for your choices and actions. If you love the Lord, follow the Lord. Not man. If you are a part of any type of religion, I challenge you to search your heart. If the religious sect that you are a part of has any celebrations or traditions, find out where they originated. If it is a sect that professes to be Christian, the Bible is the source that you would need to go to in order to learn the teachings of Christ. I prefer the King James Version (KJV). The American Standard Version (ASV) is also a good translation. 

I was born and raised Catholic. I am no longer a Catholic however since I have been trained up in His Word, I consider myself to be follower of Christ and a part of no religious sect. Because I have experienced Catholicism first hand.  I am able to offer an example of a tradition that they hold to that is not Biblical and that is to BELIEVE in the Catholic Church. It is a part of their doctrine that in full is known as the Cathecism: http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P26.HTM

750 To believe that the Church is "holy" and "catholic," and that she is "one" and "apostolic" (as the Nicene Creed adds), is inseparable from belief in God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. In the Apostles' Creed we profess "one Holy Church" (Credo . . . Ecclesiam), and not to believe in the Church, so as not to confuse God with his works and to attribute clearly to God's goodness all the gifts he has bestowed on his Church.¹³⁸

The Catholic church is not mentioned in Scripture, though their doctrine teaches that to believe in their man made institution, is the same as believing in Christ. There are very many instances of this in their doctrine, that glorifies their church and Mary (also not Biblical) rather than keeping the sole focus on Christ. There are very many teachings that are solely tradition and in some cases, against what Christ taught.  I respect all paths and religions,  for I know there are many roads to Christ; however I feel that it is up to us to search Scripture and to be sure of what we believe. Jesus stated in our verse above: 

13 Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye.

Be weary of anyone or anything that urges you to believe man made traditions and doctrines for in doing so, you could be believing in something that was never a part of God's plan and it could make His Word of no effect in your life. You will not know if it is man made, until you read the Bible for yourself. I am sure that some of the people that were participating in what was known as Corban in the Bible verse above, were doing so of pure intentions; however they made a mistake and followed man rather than God and this led to going directly against God's law to Honor their Father and Mother. They were giving to the church of the Pharisees what belonged to their Father and Mother and doing so in the name of God because the Pharisees led them to believe it was His Word through their doctrine. They however were the ones that chose to believe it. 

What happened to the Pharisees? I would say they are still here today. They are any religious sect that teaches man made rules and traditions rather than teaching you to have a personal relationship with the Lord and to only receive your revelation from His Holy Spirit who is the ONLY person that revelation belongs to. 

Heavenly Host / God of Hosts Hosts = Armies

The word angelic host kept coming up for me, so I looked in the dictionary to see what the word means. One of the definitions in the dictionary is army. I never realized this. Through the Old Testament, it titles our God as the Lord of Hosts. Some have depicted this to means the stars and planets, however after reading a few passages, I would have to say the depiction is clearly of an army:

1. 1 Kings 2:5
   Moreover thou knowest also what Joab the son of Zeruiah did to me, and what he did to the two captains of the hosts of Israel, unto Abner the son of Ner, and unto Amasa the son of Jether, whom he slew, and shed the blood of war in peace, and put the blood of war upon his girdle that was about his loins, and in his shoes that were on his feet.
   1 Kings 2:4-6 (in Context) 1 Kings 2 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
2. 1 Kings 15:20
   So Ben-hadad hearkened unto king Asa, and sent the captains of the hosts which he had against the cities of Israel, and smote Ijon, and Dan, and Abel-beth-maachah, and all Cinneroth, with all the land of Naphtali.
   1 Kings 15:19-21 (in Context) 1 Kings 15 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations

more occurrences of the word hosts in KJV: 

http://www.biblegateway.com/keyword/?search=hosts&version=AKJV&searchtype=all&startnumber=1

There is a post in here from 5-5-13 Army of the Lord / a story and a prophetic message for you

It makes even more sense now the word that I was given and the messages about our being in The Army of the Lord.

After I came to this conclusion, I saw this site. It is pretty good http://www.alienresistance.org/ufos-the-bible/the-heavenly-host/

God speaks in pictures

Jeremiah 18

King James Version (KJV)

18 The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying,

2 Arise, and go down to the potter's house, and there I will cause thee to hear my words.
3 Then I went down to the potter's house, and, behold, he wrought a work on the wheels.
4 And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it.
5 Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
6 O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? saith the Lord. Behold, as the clay is in the potter's hand, so are ye in mine hand, O house of Israel.

I love this verse because it reminds me of the ways that God has spoken to me. Notice how He led Jeremiah to a potter's house so that he could watch the potter and get a better idea of what God was explaining to him. 

If you feel that God is calling you someplace that has nothing to do with your ministry, remember that He may be trying to get a point across to you and the only way for you to understand and see the picture in your head, is to see it with your own eyes first. 

Thanksgiving Psalm 33

I happened by David Letterman the other day when I was looking for the weather channel. He made mention of the fact that Thanksgiving was coming up. He went on to say that Thanksgiving is a time to get together and thank each other for all of the things that we have done for each other throughout the year. It am not quoting verbatim but it was close to that. I could not help but see that his statement is a half truth but more importantly is what a lot of people have come to truly believe about Thanksgiving but this was not the original intent of our forefathers. http://history1800s.about.com/od/abrahamlincoln/a/Lincoln-Thanksgiving-proclam.htm

Happy Thanksgiving and God bless you all.   It is so awesome to be able to get together with family and friends that we love and thank God for everything that He has blessed our country with. I cannot help but to say my heart is hurting for those that are unable now to have this time that was set aside for this purpose so many years ago. Greed has driven the majority of stores now to open on Thanksgiving rather than waiting until Black Friday to commence the holiday shopping season. Do they feel by calling it, "early black Friday hours", that it takes away from the fact that they are pulling families a part in order that American's can run out and buy more stuff that can never buy happiness? Should only a people that work during business hours rather than retail, be able to take part in a National holiday that was proclaimed so long ago? In 20 years from now, will this day exist at all for any of us? What is so important material wise that it cannot wait for one more day? I urge you all to think about the consequences that will come of what they have started the ball rolling on this year. Please don't patronize these stores on Thanksgiving. Let's all stick together for the good of all. If they do not make the money they thought they would, maybe they will reconsider the changes they are making. It is the things like this that are eroding our family values and tearing our Nation to pieces. Stand now against this or eventually it could be you that is not able to spend time with your family and it will have gone so far by then, it will be harder to change.

Psalm 33

King James Version (KJV)

33 Rejoice in the Lord, O ye righteous: for praise is comely for the upright.

2 Praise the Lord with harp: sing unto him with the psaltery and an instrument of ten strings.
3 Sing unto him a new song; play skilfully with a loud noise.
4 For the word of the Lord is right; and all his works are done in truth.
5 He loveth righteousness and judgment: the earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.
6 By the word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth.
7 He gathereth the waters of the sea together as an heap: he layeth up the depth in storehouses.
8 Let all the earth fear the Lord: let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him.
9 For he spake, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast.
10 The Lord bringeth the counsel of the heathen to nought: he maketh the devices of the people of none effect.
11 The counsel of the Lord standeth for ever, the thoughts of his heart to all generations.
12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance.
13 The Lord looketh from heaven; he beholdeth all the sons of men.
14 From the place of his habitation he looketh upon all the inhabitants of the earth.
15 He fashioneth their hearts alike; he considereth all their works.
16 There is no king saved by the multitude of an host: a mighty man is not delivered by much strength.
17 An horse is a vain thing for safety: neither shall he deliver any by his great strength.
18 Behold, the eye of the Lord is upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy;
19 To deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine.
20 Our soul waiteth for the Lord: he is our help and our shield.
21 For our heart shall rejoice in him, because we have trusted in his holy name.
22 Let thy mercy, O Lord, be upon us, according as we hope in thee.

Holiday Stamps at the USPS or UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE

I want to start this post by saying that I respect all people of every race and culture and where everyone is spiritually. This post is not about the beliefs of others but 100% focused on my belief and the beliefs of others that have committed themselves to Christ and live in the United States of America, that was founded on Christian morals and principals and is ONE NATION UNDER GOD. Christians are in no way better than other people, but they are in fact equal.  

I received the flyer above from THE UNITED STATES postal service last week. It stood out to me immediately that while they chose to show the images of other holiday named stamps, they also chose not to use a picture of a CHRISTmas stamp among them.  I logged onto their site to view the selection of holiday stamps that are presently available: 
https://store.usps.com/store/browse/subcategory.jsp?categoryId=subcatS_S_HolidayStamps&categoryNavIds=catBuyStamps%3AsubcatS_S_HolidayStamps#%23q_docSort%3D%26q_pageNum%3D2%26viewAll%3Dfalse%26q_facetTrail%3D%26categoryId%3DsubcatS_S_HolidayStamps%26nsraction%3DcategoryProducts

There are 2 stamps that say KWANZA on them and two that say HANUKKAH. There is only one that says Christmas on it. There are two more that have a woman and her baby as you may know to be Mary and Jesus but they chose to leave the word CHRISTMAS off these stamps.

So, my question to the United States Postal Service is why if you had room to advertise 3 holiday stamps on this flyer, did you choose to only use two holidays of the only three that you are recognizing in your entire collection of holiday stamps?  Why did you leave CHRISTmas out when the majority of the people that live in the United States are Christians and celebrate CHRISTmas? Why is this stamp not on your flyer rather than a gingerbread house that in itself is not an actual holiday?
https://store.usps.com/store/browse/productDetailSingleSku.jsp?categoryNav=false&navAction=push&navCount=0&productId=S_679904&categoryId=subcatS_S_HolidayStamps

I have called the postal service to ask this question  and have opened a case on Thursday, however they have not called me back and were supposed to on Friday. I called them today but they are closed until Monday. If you would like to state your opinion on what they have done, call the number below and ask for Consumer Relations to file a complaint on their choice of advertising.
Domestic General Information
Call 1-800-ASK-USPS® (1-800-275-8777)
For Federal Relay (TDD/TTY), please call: 1-800-877-8339
Monday - Friday 8 AM - 8:30 PM ET
Saturday 8 AM - 6 PM ET
There is also a petition that I found http://www.thepetitionsite.com/923/648/496/recognize-christ-on-christmas-stamps/#sign, however remember to focus that they DO offer 1 stamp that says Christmas, they just didn't include on the advertisement for their stamps that went out.

You may ask why I am making such a big deal of this small thing? Every Big Thing Starts Small..

Solomon of the Bible said, "It is the little foxes that ruin the vineyard". More often times than not, it is the smaller things that go unaware and turn into the BIG things. What they have done here is discriminatory against Christians even though on a small level. Here are more cases of discrimination and violation of our first amendment in some cases:  http://downloads.frc.org/EF/EF12H29.pdf.

One of the greatest things about our country is that we are permitted to practice our spiritual beliefs without being persecuted. This is awesome because it allows more people to come to Christ the way it should be, of free will. With this freedom however will be other religions that are are practiced in our country and we should have tolerance and respect of the opinions of those people practicing these religions and allow them do to so unharmed. I am 100% in agreement with this but I cannot help to see that something bigger is going on here in the last 20 years or so, maybe longer. In order to understand what I am about to say, we need to go back to our roots as a country and where it all started. There are many different places that you can study American History but one has to be very careful where and what they are studying. There have been so many revisions made to everything, that you need to make sure that what you are looking at is an actual historical document. Here are the rules that I try to follow when I am studying for knowledge on any particular subject. I look in more than one place and if there is another side that is saying something complete opposite in some type of defense, I look at theirs too. If their are quotes used or statements made against something that someone said, I go away from the site I am reading it on and look for these in the news and other places that I trust to try to find what they are speaking of. This is to make sure that words are not taken out of context and that videos are not clipped so that it appears something else was said.

Having said all of this, I have found a site that references plenty of information about our country. I found out about this site because I watch Andrew Wommack and his shows this week that you are able to access on his site had David Barton on them explaining the history of our Country. What I really liked about what he was saying, is that he backs it up with historical information that you can investigate for Truth on your own. If you would like to see his site it is:
http://www.wallbuilders.com/

If you would like to see the show that aired regarding this which I truly recommend, you can see it right now
http://www.awmi.net/tv/this_week God And Country. If you visit the link after tomorrow, you will most likely find it in the archive section of the link to the left in 2013 archives. You can also listen via MP3 and save to your computer or even burn to CD for free http://www.awmi.net/extra/audio/1082.
I encourage you to scrutinize and challenge anything that they say to find the truth.

Once you have a grasp on how our nation was formed and on what beliefs our fore-fathers stood for, I feel you will find it was founded by individuals that believed in God and had Christian values and morals. They were obedient to God and read their Bibles for wise council on how to form our Union.

Isaiah 1:19

King James Version (KJV)19 If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land: 

It was because of their diligent obedience to His Word, that we were all set free by the principals that came to be known as the Constitution of the United States. You can study these principals here: http://www.usconstitution.net/const.html.

What is a constitution?

con·sti·tu·tion
noun1.the way in which a thing is composed or made up; makeup; composition: the chemical constitution ofthe cleanser.2.the physical character of the body as to strength, health, etc.: He has a strong constitution.3.Medicine/Medical, Psychology . the aggregate of a person's physical and psychological characteristics.4.the act or process of constituting; establishment.5.the state of being constituted; formation.  [kon-sti-too-shuhn, -tyoo-]  Show IPA

So, if the people that formed our nation stood for the things of God and the nation flourished the way that it has under these principles that came of Godly counsel. Why is America now turning away from these principals and values, in order to appease the people that come to our country to share in the liberties that came from a people that followed God through Christ, but want nothing to do with Christ? Our founders believed in what the Bible says and the Bible says the only way to God is through Christ and that when you believe in Christ, He will give you Godly wisdom through His Holy Spirit to guide you and you will know the Truth and the Truth will set you FREE.. They believed in and were obedient to His Word, therefore they had His guidance as they were writing the principles that are in our Constitution. It was penned of men that followed the Spirit of Christ and these principals have in fact made us FREE. They allowed non-Christians to live in our country at peace because we are supposed to be kind to aliens (which at that time would have included non Christians as most were and are Christian in the US) and they most likely understood that there are many ways to Christ, if one is given the grace needed in order to make the free will choice to follow Christ. They also probably felt in their hearts that once the non-Christians experienced the true loving nature of Christ, they would want to be a part of that like all good things.

In today's society, many have turned their back on Christ. I feel this started to happen long ago when certain leaders abused their authority and did so in the name of Christ, though Christ had nothing to do with and warned against the very behavior that they were involved in. The reason they got away with it is because they were not allowing us to read our Bibles and once we were allowed to read it, we were so used to following what others said, and  feared into not reading it,or maybe too lazy to do so that still today, it is left unread in many homes. Why did they want to keep the Bible away from us? It is because they knew the power that was available to us in knowing His Truth, and how it would set us free from their tyranny. They wanted to control the people with fear, rather than give the people their inalienable right to freedom. All of this saved for another post but back to the point at hand, why are we changing the core values that made our great Nation what it is, in order to appease the feelings of people that are unaware that the freedom we have experienced were born of the Spirit of Christ, which is how we worship and praise the creator of all, the one and only God that has blessed our nation for it? Being tolerant is different from changing your values and morals. If I were to go into a club that was founded on and practiced witchcraft, I would not expect them to change what they are doing to appease me. I simply would choose not go.  If you come to America, you have a choice of what religion you will follow however; you should understand that were founded on Christianity and worship God our Father and our original foundation will not change for you less we begin to experience the loss of the Grace of God that has made our country the way that it is, and the reason that you came to live here in the first place in most cases. Why is this not the way that our leaders of our country are responding regarding this topic?

Is it possible that the people that are in charge or would like to be in charge are so corrupt, they are welcoming these changes so that little by little, they can control you and eventually enslave you as most corrupt leaders want to do? Would that still be America, "the land of the free",  to you or would it be the same type of country that  you have heard about and maybe have experienced that is that is fearful rather than peaceful, hateful rather than loving and in poverty rather than wealth? If you want to know the difference of America and why we have flourished, the answer is GOD and only GOD. The government has violated our first amendment in many ways as Christians, as far as religious freedoms and it has not stopped and will continue to not stop there. They are starting there because they know it is was makes us the strong WE THE PEOPLE that we are.   If we do not stand up and start speaking out, we will become enslaved by this government and we will have no one to blame but ourselves. What can we do? Start with the little things. Take a couple of minutes and call the postal service and tell that that you do not like the fact that they left the Christmas stamp off their advertisement. Let your Christian voice be heard so loud that they have no choice but to put it on their advertisement next year. After that, each little fox that you see speak out!  Just speak your TRUTH in love. Let everyone know that we as Christians have rights that are equal to the rights of every other person in this nation. Each voice together will become one loud voice, that will stop them from taking away our rights and enslaving us to dictatorship. Most importantly study the Bible with a heart set on knowing your creator so that you can be who you were created to be spiritually and that is fearful of no man nor enslaved by him. Study the Constitution so that you  are better able to see with open eyes if someone is violating your rights as a citizen in free country.  Let us not be the people that perish for lack of knowledge.

Remember that all big things start small and that means good things too. Where two or more come together in His Name, there He will be:
http://www.modernghana.com/news/326278/1/every-big-thing-starts-small-lessons-from-the-data.html

Amendment Text | 

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

- See more at: http://constitution.findlaw.com/amendment1/amendment.html#sthash.fEBtWu4b.dpuf

DEC 9TH 2014 .. I am a little late on this update but guess what?!! They listened!! Way to go America! 

The Work of God

John 6:29 King James Version (KJV)

²⁹ Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.

I was speaking with someone the other day that told me that their priest was giving a sermon regarding the fact that there are works that lead to a capital S in sainthood and some that lead to a small S. If  works are classified as big or small, I imagine a lot of the works that this world deems as small (usually the every day good old fashioned  works), will possibly lead to discontentment in the body and the comparing of ourselves to on another, rather than simply walking in our individual gifts and allowing them to edify the church as Christ will have it. Jesus has made it clear in the verse above that the work of God is to BELIEVE in the one He sent (Jesus). We need to receive this Truth and the fruit that will come of this belief, will become the  natural works of His Spirit rather than trying to be someone or something that we are not. Be happy with who God made you to be and realize that aside from Him, you can do nothing. Every gift is important to the body of Christ. Even what may appear to be the small and mundane. 

The Polar Express is an awesome movie. Yes, they stage this movie around the false belief in santa but I know the Truth of the matter and so that is where my focus goes. The way that the children use their individual gifts to help each other on their journey and the love that show each other, that is the Spirit of Christ. In the movie, the unnamed main character does not believe in santa because because he has seen what he perceives as substantial evidence to prove otherwise. He finds a train outside of his house late Christmas Eve night at 11:00PM that is headed to the North Pole. The conductor gives him the CHOICE to get on the train or not. He is skeptic but decides to hop on the train and take the journey. There are other children on the train. When the conductor punches their tickets, he use a hole punch and punches a couple of letters on them. They are told that someone will receive the first gift of Christmas at the North Pole. As they take the journey, there is a hobo type man that the main character interacts with. At one point he asks the child was his take on santa was and if he believed in him. He seemed unsure whether to voice his full opinion that santa is not real. He said, "I want to believe butttt"  Then the character asked if he believed in ghosts (Holy Spirit). The kid says no, ( he is most sure of this). Then the character disappears in front of him as a ghost would. When santa enters onto the scene, he has a very bright glow to him that reminds me of the light of the Holy Spirit of Christ and the reindeer have bells all over them that are jingling as the leaping around waiting for santa. In the Old Testament, when the High Priest is in the presence of the Lord, the bells that are on his garment ring. The boy is unable to hear the bells even though the other children can hear them and then they see santa. He cannot see him because there are too many children in the way.  One of the bells breaks loose from the reindeer and though he cannot hear it, the bell rolls over to his feet. He shook the bell and you can hear a voice that says the word doubt as he shakes it. After a couple of times of this, he shook it again three times and exclaimed I believe each time. He hears the bell the third time.  Then you see santa's reflection in the bell right behind him and he says, "what did you say'? The boy yells out, I believe..this is yours".  Santa ends up picking him after going down the line of kids that believed in him to receive the first gift of Christmas (FAVOR). He asks santa for the bell.  He tells him to remember that the bell is only a symbol of Christmas as he is and that the true Spirit of CHRISTmas is in his heart. As they load up to go home,  The conductor punches the rest of the letter's on his ticket. The word is BELIEVE. Once he is on the train, he realizes that he has lost his gift. Imagine his surprise when it was laying beneath his tree the next morning in a small box, as if it were kept for him despite his poor handling of it, placing it in a pocket that had a hole in it, after the conductor (also symbolic of Holy Spirit to me) had warned him to put in a safe place (GRACE). The narrator of the movie who is the little boy as a grown man, makes a point of saying that his parents could not hear the bell at all and his sister and most of his friends heard the bell when he first brought it home but as time went on, none of his friends could hear it and even Sara his sister eventually could not hear it. As for him, it still rang for him as well as the all of those that truly believed.  

I don't know that Tom Hanks planned to have a spiritual meaning behind any of this but I know that God always finds way to get His message through to an open heart. Like the boy in the movie, sometimes it starts by simply hopping on the ride even if we are unsure of the place that it is taking us and even when we do not believe. Christ is our Gift from our Heavenly Father. Once we truly believe, the Gift of His Spirit cannot be taken from us against our will or through our mistakes. You see He already chose us for the gift. This is not because of anything that we have done besides BELIEVE in the work of His Son on the Cross. Don't be discouraged if you find yourself in a state of unbelief. Like the boy in the movie and Paul in the Bible, He uses these situations to glorify the power of God ( SPIRIT) and the worst of us can become the greatest in His Kingdom. All we have to do is seek Him with all of our heart.

When you look at the picture below, imagine that it is Christ rather than santa entrusting you with your gifts. 

• 

A great article from Spurgeon regarding the works of the Spirit: 

http://www.spurgeon.org/sermons/0178.htm

Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me.

I feel the world has shifted from this old belief and most say now, that words hurt much worse than physical abuse. I used to agree. Now I believe that we were right the first time and have started believing a lie rather than the Truth. Words can only hurt us if we allow them to. The problem is that pride and self pity have grown strong in America. We used to have a strong family backing in our society because America was built with strong Christian roots in God. There is no denying this if you spend any amount of time studying the historical facts of how we became a country, and how we used to live as a society. Mind you, I do not mean the picture of a Christian that one may see today or have experienced from a so-called Christian with their own agenda. I am speaking of   heart Truly set on seeking and pleasing God, mixed with a HEALTHY/respectful fear of Him. The more we have taken God out of our core beliefs as a nation, the more our newer generations and some of the older that have fallen away from their belief in God, are losing their coping skills and feel they are unable to recover from an ill spoken word against them. People of today seem to take such offense anymore to someone even voicing a belief as I am doing now. Don't say that, it makes ME uncomfortable because it is not the way that I have been conditioned to believe (PRIDE)!  The best thing about a belief is that we do not have to hold onto something that we once believed was true, once new information has been introduced to us that we KNOW by our inner Spirit to be the REAL TRUTH.

Words can never hurt us without our approval. We place our approval on the words when we believe them in our hearts. Belief is a choice. Putting our Faith in The Truth of CHRIST,  sets us free from the bondage of any ill word that someone would choose to speak over us.

CHOOSE TRUTH!

 

His Truth Is Marching On!

On Saturday August 10th, I woke up with a strong urge to find a post on this blog that I remembered because a lot of people have been viewing it lately. It made it stick in my mind. It has to do with Psalm 18. Because it had recently been in front of me, I knew I wanted to share the words of the Psalm with my Aunt who has recently become the brunt of the family issue of greed over my Grandmother's house. I felt as if she had been worrying about what is going on and that I needed to read the words from Psalm 18 to her to comfort and encourage her.

I got up out of bed and came to my computer to search for the blog to read the words to her. My computer was still logged into Facebook and I got side-tracked looking at that instead. A video of a little girl in a car seat who was said to be singing her heart out with an Elvis song had caught my eye that a general site had posted however I passed it up and did not click on it. About 20 min later, I noticed that friend of mine had posted that same video directly to my page. This friend rarely posts anything to my wall.  I knew this was God's way of saying I want you to look at this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmWa1gKrp6Q

Make sure to watch it all the way through. There are some really cool parts.

As I began to watch the video, I got goosebumps everywhere and felt as if God were showing me how trusting we should be towards Him and how joyful to spend time with Him. The little girl must say, "hi Daddy ", 30 times in this video and every time she says it, her hands go in the air and her little face lights up. When the song starts playing, the little girl just sings her heart out and still in the middle of it finds the time to greet her Daddy over and over again. Then I listened to the words of the song, Glory Glory Hallelujah, His Truth is marching on!! It dawned on me that my Aunt who was on my heart that morning LOVES Elvis. It thought WOW what a message His Truth is marching on,  and that is what I wanted to share with her was His Words of Truth. I tried to call her but she had already gone to work. So, I called my friend that posted the video on my wall. As I was speaking to her, another friend had posted a comment on the video wow, that Emma is amazing the way she can sing so young! My Grandma's name is Emma. I thought Wow, I know this is all connected now and she needs to hear this. As I continued to discuss with my friend on the phone, it dawned on me the way that the post that I had thought about when I woke up started was as follows...

The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer PSALM 18 ... most importantly He is my Daddy!

I  found out just now searching for this video on YouTube her name is actually Ella, but you would not know that if you only listened to him say her name. It surely sounds like Emma and I will still take that as a sign that His Truth will march on in this situation and all situations to come.

Know like Ella knows, who is driving the car. Rejoice and be glad in HIS NAME! He will drive you safely home.

As I posted this tonight, I realized that today is the 13th and that was my Grandma's number. I love you Grandma!

American Trilogy by Elvis Presley

Songwriters: NEWBURY, MICKEY

(words & music by newbury)
Oh I wish I was in the land of cotton
Old things they are not forgotten
Look away, look away, look away dixieland
Oh I wish I was in dixie, away, away
In dixieland I take my stand to live and die in dixie
Cause dixieland, that's where I was born
Early lord one frosty morning
Look away, look away, look away dixieland

Glory, glory hallelujah
Glory, glory hallelujah
Glory, glory hallelujah
His truth is marching on

So hush little baby
Don't you cry
You know your daddys bound to die
But all my trials, lord will soon be over

Hello Everyone,

If you happen by this post today, please say a prayer for my family. There are those that continue down a very evil and greedy path. Lord help us and please help them.

Thanks everyone! May God bless you and yours.

Purgatory?

In an attempt to understand why the Catholics believe in a place called purgatory and due to the recent claim of the pope that tweeting him will allow you to spend less time there, I looked online to see their explanation. I found this site and would like to take the time to give my feedback on what was said. It is long but worth reading if you would like insight into this subject.  The green and black texts are directly from the article. All of the red texts below are KJV scriptures. The purple texts are my personal opinion. If you are having trouble understanding the KJV versions of the Scriptures, the ASV and NASB are great resources to better understand in today’s language. In the search field at the top of this page, you can put the name of the book and the main chapter number of the book and either NASB or ASV behind it and it will pull that version up for you http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=john%206&version=KJV  

This is the link for the page where I found this information that I have pasted below to make the comments on: www.aboutcatholics.com/beliefs/where-is-purgatory-in-the-bible/

 

THIS IS THE PAGE AND COMMENTS:

Where is Purgatory in the Bible?

By Jon Jakoblich //

 

The Bible does not mention the exact word “purgatory,” but instead it makes reference to a place which can be understood as what is referred to as purgatory. To claim that purgatory does not exist because the exact word does not appear in Scripture is a failure to understand Scripture.

I feel it is more a refusal to understand Scripture the way that a fallible man (THE POPE) interprets and better the will to search the Scriptures yourself with a heart bent on knowing your Savior, guided by the Holy Spirit that lives inside anyone that believes that Christ is their savior. 

What exactly is Purgatory?

The Bible contains references to many Christian doctrines, but fails to call them out by name. One might as well even deny that there is something called the Bible because no such name is found in the Bible. Furthermore, one might as well deny the Trinity, Incarnation, and so forth because these exact words are not found in the Bible.

The name does not make the place; the place must exist first, then we give it a name. We call this place “purgatory” because it means “a cleansing place.” Therein souls are purged from the small stains of sin, which prevent their immediate entrance into Heaven.

What this author states is true regarding the fact that a place exists before it is named however, there is no such place described in Scripture that neither, I nor many others are able to find. The examples below that are given to support this belief are not valid examples of the place defined by the Catholic Church as, “purgatory “existing.

In the Old Testament

 

The first mention of Purgatory in the Bible is in  : “Thus he made atonement for the dead that they might be freed from sin.”

Some people do not accept Maccabees as book of the Bible. This is unfortunate since it is that their Bibles have been edited and are missing books. (Find out Why Catholic Bibles Are Different) Even if a person does not accept the book of Maccabees, it at least has historical value for we can learn what the pre-Christian community believed.

In Chapter 12 of Second Maccabees we read Scriptural proof for Purgatory and evidence that the Jews had sacrifices offered for those of their brothers who had lost their lives in battle. That the Jews prayed for the dead shows that they believed in a place where they could be helped (which we now call purgatory) and that the prayers of their living brothers and sisters could help them in that place. This is closely related to the Catholic doctrine of the communion of saints.

During the Reformation in the 15th century, when Martin Luther was deciding to remove books from the Bible, these words in the book of Maccabees had so clearly favored Catholic teaching, that the whole book was removed from the Protestant Bible. Unfortunately for Protestants, even if they feel that the book was not inspired, it still tells us of the practice of God’s chosen people.

INCORRECT: Martin Luther did not remove books out of his 1532 or 1534 or any of his German translations of the Bible (Luther Bible). He translated from original Hebrew and Greek texts rather than the Latin Vulgate). There were books that he would have liked to have removed, due to his Protestant beliefs and he placed those books last in his translation for this reason. The books of the apocrypha (hidden books), were  also placed in a separate section by Luther in his translation, as there was question of their canonicity based off revelations from St. Jerome, who is best known for his first translation of the Bible into Latin (the Vulgate) version that the Catholics of that day used. After publishing this translation, Jerome later lived in Bethlehem and studied under a certain Jew, to write a new translation from Hebrew Text instead of the Greek Septuagint (used to make the Vulgate). He called this translation the Veritas Hebraica. It is interesting that St. Jerome felt the need to change the Latin translation after having spent time a Jew.  It was his insight that helped Martin Luther along with his translation.  The King James Version (based off the Bishops Bible) was printed in 1611 and still had the apocrypha and all other books in it.  It was not until 1885 that this section of books was removed from the King James Version of the Bible and that was long after Luther had passed in 1546. The King James English version of the Bible is not solely based off Luther’s translation but it was inspired by it. What upsets the Catholic Church is that he did not base his translation off the Latin Vulgate. Question:  If you based your translations from the original text rather than translation of those texts, what reason would someone have to be upset? Control?

In the New Testament

 

In Matthew 5:26 and Luke 12:59 Christ is condemning sin and speaks of liberation only after expiation. “Amen, I say to you, you will not be released until you have paid the last penny.” Now we know that no last penny needs to be paid in Heaven and from Hell there is no liberation at all; hence the reference must apply to a third place.

ex·pi·ate\'ek-spē-"āt\ vb, -at·ed -at·ing [L expiatus,pp. of expiare to atone for, fr. ex- + piare to atone for, appease, fr. pius faithful, pious]
vt(ca. 1500)
1 obs: to put an end to
2 a : to extinguish the guilt incurred by b :to make amends for ‹permission to ~ their offences by their assiduous labours —Francis Bacon›
vi: to make expiation
— ex·pi·a·ble \'ek-spē-ə-bəl\ adj
— ex·pi·a·tor \-spē-"ā-tər\ n

 

MAT 522 -26But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.23 Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee;24 Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.25 Agree with thine adversary quickly, whiles thou art in the way with him; lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison.26 Verily I say unto thee, Thou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing.

LUKE 12:57 -59Yea, and why even of yourselves judge ye not what is right?58 When thou goest with thine adversary to the magistrate, as thou art in the way, give diligence that thou mayest be delivered from him; lest he hale thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and the officer cast thee into prison.59 I tell thee, thou shalt not depart thence, till thou hast paid the very last mite.

Jesus is speaking, (in both of these verses), of paying for this in an Earthly prison, by the hands of another human person; He is clearly not  speaking of a supernatural prison in the afterlife. I feel that one cannot read the entire context of this verse and not realize this.

Matthew 12:32 says, “And whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven; but whoever speaks against the holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.” Here Jesus speaks of sin against the Holy Spirit. The implication is that some sins can be forgiven in the world to come. We know that in Hell there is no liberation and in Heaven nothing imperfect can enter it as we see in the next part. Sin is not forgiven when a soul reaches its final destination because in heaven there is no need for forgiveness of sin and in hell the choice to go there is already made.

**The verse is STATING, (not implying), that if you speak a word against the Holy Spirit, that you will not be forgiven in this world or the afterlife. If you are not forgiven, then it means you will not be forgiven period. It did not say however; you can pay or work for a pass, that will allow you to sit in this place of purification long enough to be eventually set free.  Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is the only unforgivable sin mentioned in the Bible. Knowing this implicates that all other sins are forgivable, through belief in Jesus Christ.

Revelation 21:27: “…but nothing unclean will enter it, nor anyone who does abominable things or tells lies.” The place that is to be entered (the place to which this passage refers) is heaven (read the text around it for context).

You should always examine all text of the Bible for the context purpose.  I do not see anything in the verses before or after it that support a place defined by the Catholic Church as purgatory. It is true that nothing unclean can enter into Heaven. That is why Jesus died on the Cross for us. He made the way and died for us on the Cross while we were still sinners because He knew there was NO OTHER WAY. God paved the path for us however we have to make the choice to walk His Path. The path is belief in His Son.

John 3:16-18 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:15 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

The Bible clearly implies a place for an intermediate state of purification after we die in the many passages which tell that God will reward or punish according to a person’s life.

This statement is a half-truth. There will be a place for rewards in Heaven and it seems there will be judgement of some sort, but we know that we are found innocent and pure because of the Blood of Christ. There is no place mentioned in the Bible as an intermediate state of purification and one is not needed. Christ died to make us pure through our belief his ability to make us pure by His death. God does not play favorites when it comes to His children. If the sinner next to Him on the Cross who had no time to change anything besides believing that Jesus is says He is, then we will follow suit.

Luke 23: 42And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.43 And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise.

What if purgatory really doesn’t exist?

 

Ponder the following example. Imagine a Christian man, justified by the Lord, loses his temper and yells at his next door neighbors for letting their dog dig a hole in his yard. We can see that the man treated his neighbors rudely, albeit the neighbor’s behavior was also reprehensible. His actions would be considered a light sin (called venial sins by the Catholic Church). It’s not of the same moral weight as theft or murder, but it’s still a sin.

After shouting at the neighbors, with all the anger and stress in his body the man walks into his house, has a heart attack, and dies having just committed a small sin in the final moments of his life. Remember, this man is Christian and justified by the Lord, yet has committed a sin. Does he go to heaven or does he go to hell? Are all sins created equal? No, all sins are not equal and even justified men of the Lord can make mistakes and sin.

If purgatory didn’t exist, the man would go to hell for his small sin. God’s mercy is so great and our God is a just God that it seems unfathomable that he would condemn a justified man to hell for a small, yet unrepented sin. The man’s soul is dirty. His actions have defiled his soul, but not the point where he has cut himself off from God. Only mortal sins cut off a person from God’s grace. So, the man, having been justified by the Lord, is destined for heaven, yet his soul is defiled by his sin (Matthew 12:36, 15:18). His soul is in need of cleansing because nothing defiled can enter heaven. This is the purpose of purgatory. Out of mercy and love God sends the man through purgatory on his way to heaven so that his soul can be purified to be able to join God in heaven.

Please note that the author of this article states, we are justified by the Lord. If by the Lord then it is no longer of us. Out of Mercy and Love, GOD SENT JESUS (JOHN 3:16)! There are not different levels of sins mentioned in the Bible. This is another tradition of the Catholic Church.  They state that the situation above with the man angry with his neighbor:It’s not of the same moral weight as theft or murder, but it’s still a sin.

1 JOHN 3:15 Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.

MAT 5:22 But I say unto you, that whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire. 1 JOHN 3:15 Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.

 After reading these verses and many other verses in the Bible, how can one come to the conclusion that the situation defined above is a small sin? SIN IS SIN except blasphemy of the Holy Spirit!!

Remember, purgatory is not a second chance for conversion; the man is already justified. If there is no place of intermediate state of purification, the man would be damned to hell! Who would be saved? Those who teach against purgatory teach an unreasonable doctrine. Will Catholics go to heaven?  

Jesus came to purify us! There is no need for an intermediate state of purification. This is why one does not exist. If you do not believe this, you do not believe Him and that is what your salvation depends on. Once you are justified, you are not later considered guilty. It is no different in our court system today. You are justified by your belief in Jesus. It’s truly that simple.

Romans 5:6-11

King James Version (KJV)6 For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die.8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.9 Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.11 And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.

 

ISA 1:18 18 Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.

I encourage you to read all of Hebrews however here is a part of it.

HEB 9:11 But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building;12 Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.13 For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh:14 How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?15 And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament (10 COMMANDMENTS), they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.16 For where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator.17 For a testament is of force after men are dead: otherwise it is of no strength at all while the testator liveth.18 Whereupon neither the first testament was dedicated without blood.19 For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and of goats, with water, and scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book, and all the people,20 Saying, This is the blood of the testament which God hath enjoined unto you.21 Moreover he sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle, and all the vessels of the ministry.22 And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.23 It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.24 For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us:25 Nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holy place every year with blood of others;26 For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:28 So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.

So, why do non-Catholics reject a teaching so full of consolation? My guess is that they want to believe that the merits of Christ applied to the sinner who trusts in Him, will remove all sin past, present, and future abdicating all responsibility for sin after justification. Yet this is also unreasonable. Only Jesus’ death on the cross makes us worthy before God the Father. We cannot stand before him on our own merits. We need Jesus Christ. Yet we also have personal responsibility in our justification before the Lord.

This teaching is anything but of consolation or Truth. How could we ever rest knowing that our sinful nature cannot stand in His presence and that we have to continually work for our salvation? The message of purgatory is contradictory to the message of resting in Him for your salvation.  Grace is unmerited favor. It is something that a person does not deserve. This gift is given not of obligation, but of love.  It is the love that God has for each one of us that enables us to live within the bounds of that love with others. It is His love that transforms us and compels us to change. It is His love that saves us John 3:16.

ROMANS 13:8 Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.9 For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.10 Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.

Luke 12:48:

Much will be required of the person entrusted with much, and still more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more.

If we accept Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, confess him as Lord, yet commit bad actions, God judges accordingly.

Once you accept/receive/believe in salvation through Jesus Cross on the Cross, you are sealed with the Holy Spirit. Just as a King of this world would not revoke a promise once he sealed it with his signet ring, so too our heavenly Father will not revoke His promise of salvation for those who truly BELIEVE HIS PROMISE.

 EPH1:13 In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,

However because of our carnal nature, there will be times that we will sin and we must stand firm in His promise that we are forgiven and are still saved.  See Romans 8 and 9 for Paul’s take on his ongoing sinful deeds.. Receiving the Love that God has for us and Loving God with all of our hearts will surely lead us to love others freely and not out of obligation which will fulfill the law of the Ten Commandments.

Matthew 12:37:

By your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.

If you read all of Matthew 12, you will see that he is talking to the Pharisees that did not believe in Him and continually tried to steer people away from Him with their traditions.

Our acceptance of the sacrifice of Christ on the cross does not abdicate our responsibility live the Gospel. Salvation is not assured. Salvation is not by faith alone for the Bible says that we will be held accountable by our words and that much will be entrusted to us! Nowhere in the Bible does it say salvation is by faith alone. This teaching is un-Scriptural. Rather the Scriptures say that faith without works is dead (James 2:26).

Gospel means good news. It is definately our responsiblity to live the GOOD NEWS. What is the Good News? That Jesus died on the Cross to give ETERNAL SALVATION for those that believe in HIM.

Nowhere in the Bible does it say that salvation is through works! It says that salvation is ASSURED through your belief in what JESUS DID for you and the promise that he has made to you for eternal life, if you believe in His promise!! It does in fact say that salvation is by Faith. Only the book of James speaks of works however you must read the verse in context. James is not saying that you will not sin when you believe or that your salvation hinges upon your works. I assure you that you will still sin when you are a believer and you will never get into Heaven based on your works. He is saying that if Abraham did not truly believe the promise that God had made to him, (his descendants will be as numerous as the stars in the sky) and this would be through Issac, he would not have taken him to the altar as a sacrifice as God had instructed. Fear that God is not telling us the truth will compel us to be disobedient when we hear the instructions He has given us and choose not to do it. Pride will also cause us to stumble. I know you said this God, but I think I know better.  He trusted in God’s plan and he informed Sarah that he and Isaac would be returning to her at the end of the day. He believed God so much that he raised a knife to his sons chest knowing that God would make good on his promise regarding Isaac. At the moment that he was going to strike, an angel stopped him and a ram appeared in place of Isaac. This was symbolic also of the new covenant to come, Jesus the perfect lamb, slain so that we did not have to be and could live. 

James2:21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar?22 Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect?23 And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.24 Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.25 Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way?26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.

 Eph2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.

JOHN 6:27 Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed.28 Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?29 Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.

While Jesus can be the only acceptable sacrifice to God for our sins, it doesn’t give us a license to sin. Nor does justification by the Lord preserve us from sin. Even a justified man can commit a sin. Therefore, even though Christ’s blood on the cross makes us right before God, God still requires much from us in return. He requires us to die to ourselves each day and to choose him in everything we do. It simply doesn’t fit with God’s justice for a person to be off the hook simply because at some point in the past they became justified. We have a duty to God to obey him for if we do not obey God we will be punished according to his justice. Purgatory is part of God’s justice.

What the author states above is true however; your heart will naturally transform once you truly believe and you will no longer feel you are off the hook to commit any type of sin. You will be strongly convicted when you sin by the Holy Spirit. Though you will still sin, you will be truly sorry and try to do better. God knows our hearts.  

MAT 7:21 21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.

John 6:40 And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.

Read The Truth about Faith Alone, Works, and Salvation.

Read Explaining Purgatory.

Ponder: If there was a place called purgatory that we could do anything or pay something to enter in for cleansing, why did God send His Son to die a horrible death on the Cross? If there were any other way for us to get to Heaven, why did He choose to do this?  

The message of purgatory contradicts salvation. It moves your Faith in Christ to the faith in the Catholic Church like many of their teachings. If you believe in a place called purgatory, then you do not believe that Christ died in your place so that you would not have to, as well as many more things that He has promised you in the Bible. If you do not believe in Him, you are not saved.

May God have mercy on the souls of those that keep His Children from the TRUE Kingdom of Heaven. May your eyes be open today to the Love of God, rather than the rules of men.