B. O. Courting "Evangelicals?" Surely You Jest!

"Obama Courting Evangelicals" --- Internet news headline - July 1, 2008

DEMOCRATIC presidential candidate Barack Obama has promised a more active approach to faith-based social programs in a bid to bolster his support among evangelical and religious voters. --- opening statement of news release - July 1, 2008

Yes, Virginia, it's really happening -- B. O. is going after the "evangelicals" -- you know, that group of persons which claims to believe the Bible and at times mentions that evangelism is a mission in which all Christians are to be involved!

B. O. and "evangelicals" make for strange bedfellows, to say the least. Part of B. O.'s latest strategy is to suggest that faith-based groups ought to be involved in bringing about some degree of improvement in the condition of our republic.

Religiously speaking, B. O. has yet to be explicit in going on public record that his faith is centered in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, that he is committed to serving Jesus Christ in whatever capacity he finds himself as a politician, and that he views the holy Scriptures to be the inspired Word of God. Further, that the Scriptures are the final authority in all matters having to do with human relationships, personal and collective accountability to Almighty God, faith and the practicing of that faith in daily experiences wherever one may be.

Will "evangelicals" scramble to get on board the B. O. bandwagon as it gains momentum heading toward the presidential election in November 2008?

They might as well since they have pretty well caved in on a number of rather critical issues already.

There are signs of backing away from the central truth that Jesus Christ is exclusively the way of salvation for all human beings -- no exception whatsoever! Doing "dialog" with representatives of various world religions has helped to bring about compromise on this issue -- after all, it's not nice to be so narrow-minded in times such as these, is it? So bend a little bit on this one.

Doing "dialog" also with those who practice sexual behavior that is condemned by Almighty God is further indication that there are those in the "evangelical" camp who should have little objection to B. O.'s approach to same-gender issues. And he has gone on record as to what he intends to do about helping same-gender "couples" with their various dilemmas.

One thing is certain -- for whomever the majority of those who claim to be "evangelical" cast their votes, that presidential candidate will have a powerful asset in his quest to be the one who sits in the Oval Office in January 2009.

B. O. and "evangelical" support? No, Virginia, it may not be as far fetched as you tend to think!

Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said: "I will dwell in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they shall be My people." Therefore "Come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, and I will receive you. I will be a Father to you, and you shall be My sons and daughters, says the LORD Almighty." --- 2 Corinthians 6:14-18

Dare to Be or Reluctant to Be a Daniel, Which Will It Be?

But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king's delicacies, nor with the wine which he drank; therefore he requested of the chief of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself. Now God had brought Daniel into the favor and good will of the chief of the eunuchs. --- Daniel 1:8, 9

It has often been a theme in children's Bible school sessions. And sometimes pastors have picked up on it a bit. It's the "Dare to Be a Daniel!" challenge to people of faith of all ages.

Anyone with a measure of exposure to Bible stories has doubtless heard of Daniel, the Hebrew captive in Babylon, who refused to compromise his convictions which were rooted in his upbringing. He was keenly aware of Who the God of Israel was and he was further determined to be obedient to this God. As noted in the statement above, he would not compromise those convictions and three friends chose to join him while a bunch of others probably felt it would not make any difference by eating and drinking whatever was set before them. You also don't read anything more about those compromising Hebrews, do you?

We are clearly living in a time in which there is an embarrassing reluctance to be a Daniel within the ranks of those professing to hold to the Christian faith! This is seen in two ways:

• Conviction to stand faithfully by the standards which God has established for holy living and witness. The common word now is compromise and "don't rock the boat!" Increasing numbers are entering into the "dialog" mode -- various issues on which there is sharp disagreement are resolved through the "dialog" process -- parties with differing positions sit down at a table and discuss these with the understanding that each respects the other and the position which the other side represents. One of the greatest examples of this disaster is the "dialog" sessions taking place on the subject of the practices of sodomy and lesbianism. Those advocating such practices really don't care if you disagree with them so long as you are willing to "dialog" and eventually all work together within the established church for the good of the Kingdom! It's those few of us who are the "homophobes" who refuse to "dialog" that give the church a bad name, right?
  
  
• Honest confession in prayer with unapologetic recognition that political and religious leadership erred and brought about a direction in the life of the people which led to an indescribable disaster. Daniel was thoroughly honest in his assessment as to why he was in Babylon rather than back in the kingdom of his native Judah enjoying freedom as a citizen there. Note some things he said as he prayed:
  

  
  And I prayed to the LORD my God, and made confession, and said, "O Lord, great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant and mercy with those who love Him, and with those who keep His commandments, we have sinned and committed iniquity, we have done wickedly and rebelled, even by departing from Your precepts and Your judgments. Neither have we heeded Your servants the prophets, who spoke in Your name to our kings and our princes, to our fathers and all the people of the land." --- Daniel 9:4-6
  

  
  

Later it is noted by Daniel that he confessed his sin and the sin of his people Israel. It was then that the angel Gabriel appeared to him with some rather startling news about some future happenings!

At this point in time all indications are that this thing of confessing as well as repenting of sin is something to be avoided -- dare to be a Daniel? Well, maybe up to a point -- but to do so wholeheartedly places one in a very difficult position -- it's like being the point man on a military patrol to rout out the enemy -- you're the first one in line and you are the first target of attack!

The majority trend is this -- compromise a bit here and there in order to maintain "peace" and whatever you do, don't bring this subject of sin to our attention -- people don't want to hear about that! Or to put it another way by rephrasing an approach taken by former President Bill Clinton -- "Just what do you mean by sin?"

How many are out there in the republic of the United States who will dare to be a Daniel with the conviction that obedience to God is an absolute must and the conditions under which we presently live demand total honesty in a true spirit of repentance and prayers of confession?

Look -- over there in the distance-- do you see them -- isn't that a majority I see that is holding banners with very large and bold letters saying, "We are most reluctant to be a Daniel -- in fact, we don't want to be like him!"

"Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: 'Because you have forgotten Me and cast Me behind your back, therefore you shall bear the penalty of your lewdness and your harlotry.'" The LORD also said to me: "Son of man, will you judge Oholah and Oholibah? Then declare to them their abominations. For they have committed adultery, and blood is on their hands. They have committed adultery with their idols, and even sacrificed their sons whom they bore to Me, passing them through the fire, to devour them. Moreover they have done this to Me: They have defiled My sanctuary on the same day and profaned My Sabbaths. For after they had slain their children for their idols, on the same day they came into My sanctuary to profane it; and indeed thus they have done in the midst of My house." --- Ezekiel 23:35-39

Penn State University Continues to Build on a Foundation of Notoriety!

.....The ceremony will be held March 29 at the HUB-Robeson Center. State College Mayor Bill Welch, who said he supports the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender community and its allies (LGBTA), will preside over the event. It is the first event of LGBTA's Pride Week. "I'd have no problem performing same-sex marriages, but it's not legal," Welch said.... --- from a Penn State campus news organization reporting on a scheduled commitment ceremony to be held for homosexual and lesbian couples on March 29, 2008

Penn State University continues to add to its list of accomplishments for top entry in the Notoriety Hall of Fame! In the central Pennsylvania region the news diet as it pertains to Penn State University is a steady stream of stuff that makes a cesspool smell like a rose!

Here are the kinds of things we are told as they unfold at the school which has a well known coach named Joe Paterno and a football team which has some members who have done more than their share in tarnishing the image of the school:

• Penn State football team players involved in brawls with various charges brought against them for such conduct
  
• sexual assaults
  
• underage drinking and arrests on that basis
  
• assaults, which often are connected to use of beverage alcohol -- seems the alcohol flows practically unrestricted around the university!
  

Now comes the latest blunder of blunders -- a "commitment" ceremony to be held on campus for couples who practice sodomy or lesbianism! One news release indicated there will be 3 male couples and 3 female couples. State College Mayor Bill Welch will conduct the ceremony for them at the HUB-Robeson Center. The mayor has been quoted as saying that he supports the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender community and its allies (LGBTA).

A couple of the males involved in the ceremony spoke of receiving strong support from the community and throughout the campus. They are both doctoral students at Penn State. One said, "We just want to show the public that we're just like any other committed couple who loves each other."

There will be a protest gathering at the same time as the ceremony is taking place. It has been organized by Gary Dull, pastor of Faith Baptist Church in Altoona.

Already a large number of petitions have been submitted in protest of the commitment ceremony. But Mayor Welch has indicated his intention to go ahead with the ceremony in spite of the protesting that is taking place.

This is but one of many unfolding events across the entire nation indicating the progress which has been made by those supporting the sodomite/lesbian agenda. With a lot of highly intelligent people, lots of financial support, effective strategic planning, masterful waging of psychological "warfare" and successful infiltration of the educational system and mass media these people are much nearer their goal of forced acceptance of their "way of life."

Those of us who still choose to believe that God's boundary lines for acceptable sexual intimacy is limited to a male and female within the covenant of marriage are finding our ranks diminishing. Perhaps in part due to an unwillingness by some to live with the negative labels of "homophobic," "mean-spirited," "unloving," "unchristian," etc. For those supporting the sodomite/lesbian agenda, this aspect of the psychological warfare is proving to be quite effective!

It is also very possible that some have capitulated and gone along with the strategy of "dialog" -- we sit down and discuss how we can agree to disagree, thus creating a "loving" environment and a "positive" attitude -- which translates into "live and let live!"

A few would agree -- probably very few -- that we are witnessing the predictions of Jesus being fulfilled before our very eyes -- He said that the human race would regress to the point that it would be like a rerun of the days in which Noah lived before the judgment of the flood and the days of Lot when he lived in a city by the name of Sodom!

And you know what? I'm not going to cite the book, chapter and verse numbers on that -- if you want to verify it, it's in the Bible SOMEWHERE! You know, that Book which gathers dust by the inch in many, many homes across this republic!

As for Penn State, will it qualify for an entry in Guinness World Records for doing more to gain notoriety than any other university has ever done?

Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!......... And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful; who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them. --- Isaiah 5:20; Romans 1:28-32

Call Me Anything You Want, But Don't Call Me An "Evangelical!"

They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us; but they went out that they might be made manifest, that none of them were of us. --- 1 John 2:19

There is a group of individuals within the ranks of professing Christianity known as “evangelicals.” They have been around for quite some time and have undergone a bit of evolution over the past few decades.

At one stage in their earlier identification “evangelicals” were considered to be quite radical in their faith and were at times the target of scorn and intense criticism by those of a more “liberal” persuasion in the profession of the Christian faith.

The group was made up of theologians, professors, pastors, and laity who occupied pews in churches of all sizes. They held to core doctrines of the Christian faith such as the divine inspiration and full authority of the Scriptures, miracles in the Scriptures taking place as reported, Jesus Christ being exclusively the way of salvation from sin, His literal bodily resurrection from the dead, His personal return to this world at some point in the future, etc.

As time passed these individuals became more popular and also recognized as a powerful voting block when it came to politics.

There was likewise an intense desire to shed the negative image of being radical and “narrow minded” on a number of issues. It became practically a goal that "evangelicals" be viewed as being “positive” and willing to sit down and discuss the issues where there were disagreements, and avoiding at all costs the appearance of being "judgmental."

Enter the process of “dialog!” And so, where we disagree with others on anything – just sit down at a table and talk about it with the understanding that all viewpoints must be respected – all have legitimate positions and a peaceful atmosphere is reached by adopting a loving “agree to disagree” approach to the issue at hand. Through this process we consent to work together for the common good of all in spite of differences that may exist. In so doing a spirit of harmony and good will are experienced and we all become “brothers and sisters in the faith” whatever that may mean! Compromise is a fundamental requirement when you travel this route! Perhaps “evangelicals” have learned from Washington DC politicians how to master this art!

After all George W. Bush, who is a high profile United Methodist and professed “evangelical” Christian, has expressed the spirit of the dialog principle on more than one occasion. He has gone on public record as saying that he believes Muslims and Christians worship the same God! George is the “poster boy” – the adorable delight of “evangelicals” who have had the privilege of meeting with him from time to time and this has resulted in glowing reports coming forth from those who have been in his presence.

And so it goes with “evangelicals” now willing to “dialog” on about anything, including the issue of sexual immorality!

The latest debacle has involved a few dozen very influential “evangelicals” signing a statement urging the formation of a separate Palestinian state in order to resolve the Israeli/Palestinian conflict over territorial rights.

These people obviously deny the reality that Muslims who take their faith seriously and the teachings of the Quran seriously do not want Israel to coexist – they want Israel obliterated from the face of this planet!

Also denied is the Abrahamic covenant which God said would be established through Isaac and his descendants, not through Ismael and his descendants. And this involves quite a piece of real estate stretching from what is identified as "the river of Egypt" on the west to the Euphrates River on the east! (Genesis 15 in which it is recorded, "And it came to pass, when the sun went down and it was dark, that behold, there was a smoking oven and a burning torch that passed between those pieces. On the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying: 'To your descendants I have given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the River Euphrates...'") Check the final chapters of the prophet Isaiah to see how this is going to play out. Other prophets have addressed this matter as well. Now if God is not going to keep this covenant, as some suggest, then will He keep any covenant, including the one made through His Son, Jesus Christ? And is the Scripture in error when we are told that God declares Himself to be One Who changes not? (Malachi 3:6). I know there is a lot of foot shuffling going on by way of so-called "interpretation" on these things, but for once could we just take God at His Word, and that He really means what He says by way of His promises?

Finally, “evangelicals” make much about the example set by Jesus and our need to “walk in His steps” as it were. OK, how about His example of doing “dialog.” For starters, check Matthew 23 as to how He did “dialog” with those who were in sharp disagreement with Him. And the persons to whom He spoke were powerful leaders of the religious establishment. It is understandable that they would not have nominated Him to be Time Magazine's "Man of the Year!"

Also, where do you see Jesus backing off from the absolute demands He placed on all human beings – for instance, that one must absolutely be born again as mentioned in John 3 -- that is, if you expect to be a future resident of His eternal Kingdom! And where do you see Him in "dialog" and expressing a willingness to back off and give space to Allah, Vishnu, Buddha or others when He said, “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”??? Well, come on, I’m waiting – or do we take the modern approach – grab a chair – sit down at the table and say, “Jesus didn’t really mean all those radical statements attributed to Him!”

Added to this, note His statement about bringing peace to the world in Matthew 10.

"Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven. Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. For I have come to 'set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.' And 'a man's foes will be those of his own household.' He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it. He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me.” --- Matthew 10:32-40

And if we claim He is Savior and Lord and that we are to be His representatives here on earth, where does that put us when it comes to how well we will get along with others who take positions that are in sharp disagreement with the clear teachings of God’s special revelation to us via the holy Scriptures?

Call me anything you want, but don’t call me an “evangelical!”

"These things I command you, that you love one another. If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you, 'A servant is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also. But all these things they will do to you for My name's sake, because they do not know Him who sent Me. --- John 15:17-21

RMS Titanic and The United Methodist Church -- An Apt Comparison?

In the upper echelons of The United Methodist Church there is the view, although it would be publicly denied, that the denomination is a kind of unique breed of sacred cow. It fact its status is almost that of a deity for some persons and it is entirely out of order to do or say anything about the UMC in negative terms. We need to be "positive" and "upbeat" about it at all times -- after all, we are headed for the "promised land" and being part of the UMC is our guarantee that we'll soon occupy it!

There are still a few of us around who have a number of questions about what has been and is now going on in United Methodist Church circles. After nearly 50 years of ministry and holding the present status of ordained elder, I can say that drastic changes have taken place over the years and not for the better. What is being taught and advocated in many churches is highly suspect and legitimately questionable.

Hence the title question about comparing the RMS Titanic and The United Methodist Church. Spiritual "icebergs" with which the denomination has collided throughout recent decades are:

• Unadulterated Unbelief
  
  

• Disgusting Diversity
  
  

• Cancerous Complexity
  
  

• Damnable Dialog
  
  

• Tragic Toleration
  
  

• Lopsided Lamentation
  

Yes, there will likely be a chorus of voices crying, "Foul!" And, yes, a few of us dare to touch the sacred cow and once having done that, don our helmets and flak jackets, waiting for the return salvos to be lobbed in!

For the full details on each of those "icebergs," go to RMS Titanic and The United Methodist Church -- An Apt Comparison??? -- a link at the bottom of that area will bring you back to this place.

And feel free to vent a bit when you return.

Always Be Positive in Thinking, Speaking and All You Do Otherwise!

"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness. Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Because you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, and say, 'If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.' Therefore you are witnesses against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers' guilt. Serpents, brood of vipers! How can you escape the condemnation of hell? Therefore, indeed, I send you prophets, wise men, and scribes: some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute from city to city......" --- words spoken by Jesus Christ in Matthew 23:27-34

Books have been written on the subject -- seminars have been held -- therapy sessions get into it -- talk show hosts/hostesses will hammer on the subject -- and psychologists/psychiatrists have a field day with it as they underscore the need for a healthy sense of "self esteem" -- church leaders really take this ball and run with it and sometimes it appears that United Methodist bishops try to corner the market on the issue!

And just what is the issue? Why it's this thing of always being positive -- be positive in your attitude and thinking -- and when you speak (and presumably when you preach, so far as church leaders are concerned) always be positive. Don't be negative or critical of anyone or anything! And by all means, back up your positive attitude, thinking and speech with the way you act. Seems that some are convinced (or deluded, you pick out which) that if this positive thing goes far enough and spreads among the population like a measles epidemic, then we will have ushered in a paradise on earth! Yea, I already know -- someone is going to say I have a negative and sarcastic attitude about this thing!

But hang on for a bit longer -- a question or two -- is there no place for negatives in our country and in our world at all? I remember an irate email received one time from a news anchor person at a TV station. I had written in about an issue, and yes, I had been negative in some statements I made. In his reply he made reference to the fact that I was quite negative in what I had said. So I replied in a few statements and reminded him that it is necessary to have some negatives in this world -- "...try starting your car with only a positive post on your battery and see how far you get!" was my parting statement.

It is an extremely rare occasion if a church leader or pastor makes reference to certain actions and statements on the part of Jesus. Or they may just bypass that section of Scripture altogether because it isn't something very soothing to sleep on at night! A brief quote from Jesus is mentioned above. Did you notice the "labels" He used and the persons to whom those labels were applied? If He were being considered for the position of pastor of a large suburban church and the committee responsible for determining the hiring (and firing) of a pastor knew Jesus had said the above things to very religious people, do you think He would get the job? Or in an episcopal system such as the United Methodist Church, do you think a bishop would appoint Jesus to serve a church when it was known that He was so critical and labeled persons in such negative terms? Or maybe Jesus would be put on probation on the condition that He undergo psychiatric counseling for an extended period in order to get this negative stuff out of His system!

If you chopped all the "negatives" out of the Bible and shredded them, you would have a rather thin book left -- or maybe it would more be like a booklet. You would have to eliminate major portions of the Old Testament prophets and once you got done with John the Baptist, there wouldn't be much information remaining about him either.

But why those negatives in the Bible anyway? Everything would have been positive if sin had not invaded the human race. Then came God's revelation as to what He expected by way of human performance and human relationships. Since humans are born with an inclination toward self-centered motives, defiance and rebellion so far as God is concerned, then the negatives come into play. It just isn't sufficient to say, "Now boys and girls, God is good, and we ought to listen to God and mind Him all the time." For a good example as to how the positives and the negatives are spelled out, read Deuteronomy 28, which was referred to in an earlier post here. God spells out the positives -- the blessings which will come for total obedience to Him. But then He takes nearly 4 times as much space (or statements) to spell out the negatives -- the cursings and calamities which will come upon the people for disobedience to His laws and standards!

Must a Christian be always positive -- all the time every day of every week of every month of every year? Think on this -- must your doctor be always positive? Suppose he finds some cancer growing inside you and you ask him what he is going to do. He says he will do nothing -- he is being positive and the cancer cells have as much right to live in the body as those considered to be "normal" and they should be treated with the same respect as the "normal" cells! Would you accept that, or would you insist that those cancer cells must be destroyed -- cut the body open and cut out every cancer cell because if it isn't done, you will die! But that is being a bit negative on your part, isn't it?

A parting question -- if you are a Christian, what are you attempting to do about the spiritual and moral cancer that has invaded the church and those who are infected, including church leaders? What do you think ought to be done about a church leader who says we ought not to send missionaries to foreign countries to convert people to Jesus Christ -- those people over there have their own religion and we ought not to disrupt that? Come on now, let's hear it in this day and age when we are pressured to sit down to the table and "dialog" with those of other religious expessions, put Jesus Christ on the shelf, and say in so many words, "Your religion is just as good as mine -- there are many paths to the top of the mountain, and I am committed to being absolutely positive about all religions in today's world!"

And He found in the temple those who sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the moneychangers doing business. When He had made a whip of cords, He drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen, and poured out the changers' money and overturned the tables. And He said to those who sold doves, "Take these things away! Do not make My Father's house a house of merchandise!" --- Jesus performing in John 2:14-16

A 'Born Again' Christian --- It's the Only Kind You Can Really Be!

"About 30 years ago, I became a born-again Christian. I think my evangelical work was foreshadowed when Cecil B. DeMille chose me for The Ten Commandments and said, 'I feel the hand of God has been on you.'" -- Debra Paget in response to inquiry from Parade Magazine, Feb. 25, 2007

It seems as we have launched into the 21st Century that if someone states that he/she is a 'born-again' Christian, it is akin to confessing you have a serious contagious disease or worse, a critical mental health problem!

Actually, in spite of the tendency to use the label, Christian, very carelessly in times such as these, and with the claim many persons make as to being a 'Christian,' only those few who testify without hesitation to having been "born again" are the real thing -- even more so than Coca-Cola which staked out a claim to being the "real thing" in ads somewhere in the past!

Jesus Christ, Who is the absolute Authority on all things having to do human beings and their existence in this present world, clearly revealed 4 demands which we humans must meet if we expect to be citizens of the future Kingdom over which Jesus will unquestionably rule forever. One of these involves an experience of being born again. Here is how He said it:

"Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." -- John 3:3

He leaves nothing to the imagination on this, does He? There is no offer to sit down and "dialog" if you find the statement offensive or too radical and the need to find some common ground of agreement. No, it's very plain -- either you meet the demand in order to see the Kingdom, or you do not, and consequently suffer the biggest loss it is possible for a person to experience -- both in time and for an endless eternity!

Those who have had the experience of being "born again" know without doubt that it has happened to them -- it is nothing short of a miracle of a work which God has done through His Holy Spirit to literally transform the believer's entire life. Indeed the person is new from the inside out, having a desire to know his/her Lord better, to seek God's will and fulfill the plan mapped out for that believer's life!

Those other demands, which tie into the one mentioned above, are found at Matthew 18:2,3; Luke 13:3; and John 6:53-63.

There are those in professing Christian circles who make absurd statements such as saying that we cannot be really sure as to our destiny -- or all we can do is hope for the best when we cross over to the other side -- that it is best not to get into the issue of what being "born again" means, since it just causes confusion! Even some pastors have expressed bewilderment and dismay when the subject of being "born again" comes up! Sometimes it's like that moment when you kick over a dead log in the woods and all those creepy crawly things underneath that log start running for their holes -- they can't stand the light which has just hit them -- they much prefer to get back into the darkness where they are much more comfortable!

Here's a little something to sleep on tonight -- if you have been born again by the grace and mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, you will once more, as you have done many times in the past, give thanks for all He has done for you and have a good night's sleep without pills! But if you haven't, it's going to be a very long and uneasy night!

Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. -- Romans 5:1,2

For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, "Abba, Father." The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs; heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together. -- Romans 8:15-17

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. -- 2 Corinthians 5:17

So, how is it with you -- have you been born again, or not?