Ray Ruppert's Blog, page 12

Lonely, Troubled, or Afflicted?

 

What to do when you are lonely, troubled, or afflicted.

 This sounds like David in Psalm 25. Listen to what he saysin verses 16 through 18

Turn to me and be gracious to me,
for I am lonely and afflicted.
The troubles of my heart are enlarged;
bring me out of my distresses.
Consider my affliction and my trouble,
and forgive all my sins.

Even the best of God’s people gets lonely at times. David wasafflicted, which means he was suffering. Perhaps he was ill or just his distressand loneliness was making him sick.

David had enemies that wanted to kill him. Not many of ushave that kind of distress but many of us have people at work or school orneighbors who are so caustic that just the mention of their name causes our stomachsto churn.

David had troubles. He had troubles with King Saul. At onepoint he was the leader of a gang of raiders who were trying to survive in the wilderness.Try to make godly decisions with that bunch of people.

We have troubles and often they are a result of our sinfuldecisions. In all of these things we need to do as David did and ask the Lord toforgive our sins.

Finally, David says in verse 20:

Oh, guard my soul, and deliver me!
Let me not be put to shame, for I take refuge in you.

If you are lonely, troubled, or afflicted, then turn toJesus. Confess your sin and trust him for your salvation. Jesus said,

“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I willgive you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle andlowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, andmy burden is light.” 

If you don'tknow Jesus, then watch my video on YouTube,"The Gospel in 3 Minutes" It will tell you how to know Jesus forsalvation and then you will be blessed according to the Bible.

 

Copyright by Ray Ruppert

Conspiracies of Christians

Too many Christians have been sucked into conspiracytheories and follow ungodly leaders. How should Christians deal withconspiracies?

John 7:1 sets the stage for dealing with them. Itsays, “After this, Jesus went around in Galilee, purposely staying away fromJudea because the Jews there were waiting to take his life.”

After many of his disciples left him, Jesus was verycautious about his exposure to the Jewish leaders who wanted to kill him. Thiswasn’t just a conspiracy theory and the irrational fears that come from that. Theywanted to kill him because he had called God his Father, which was a clearclaim to his own deity as recorded in John 5 verse 18.

When we come to conspiracies, we need to be cautious. Noteverything is a conspiracy. God made it clear in Isiah 11:11-13 thatwe need to focus on him instead of groundless fears. He said, “For the Lordspoke thus to me with his strong hand upon me, and warned me not to walk in theway of this people, saying: "Do not call conspiracy all that this peoplecalls conspiracy, and do not fear what they fear, nor be in dread. 13 But theLord of hosts, him you shall regard as holy. Let him be your fear, and let himbe your dread.”

Falling for conspiracies happens when we are not walkingwith the Lord. It happens when we follow the way of people. It only causesneedless fear. Instead of following the crowd (even when that crowd is otherChristians), we need to focus on holiness and the fear of the Lord that comeswhen we understand that we are not holy.

To put it into perspective of the current environment,conspiracies are the realm of the far right and the far left. They belong tothose with extreme positions. They ignore facts and claim that their “facts”are true even in the presence of evidence that proves the opposite. They willonly listen to those who agree with them and fulfill Paul’s prophecy in 2 Timothy 4:3-4.

“For the time will come when men will not put up with sounddoctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them agreat number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 4 Theywill turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.”

I call upon Christians who have been sucked into theseconspiracies to repent of following worldly leaders who are only out to enrichand empower themselves claiming to look out for the good of the country.Remember that God is sovereign; he raises up our leaders and brings them down accordingto Daniel 2:21. Look for godly men instead of those who claim to look outfor Christian ideals but don’t live them out themselves. 

If you don't know Jesus, then watch my video on YouTube, "The Gospel in 3Minutes" It will tell you how to know Jesus for salvation and then youwill be blessed according to the Bible.

Copyright by Ray Ruppert

Who Comes to Jesus?

Noone can come to Jesus unless God enables them. 

John 6 verse 37 says, “All that the Father gives Me willcome to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out.”

Jesus clarifies that the only people who will believe inhim are the ones that the Father has selected from eternity past. He gives themto Jesus. God is selective. He doesn’t give everyone to Jesus as is evidencedby those who have rejected him in the Gospels and in the Book of Acts as wellas people throughout history.

They will come to Jesus. If God has given them to Jesus,there can be no doubt that they will believe in Jesus. It is a foregoneconclusion. A decision that can’t be changed by God, by Jesus, or the personwho comes to Jesus. Once God has promised something, he can’t change it becauseit would go against his nature as Numbers 23 verse 19 says, he doesn’t lie or breakpromises. He isn’t like us.

Have you come to Jesus or are you watching this as askeptic? If you are a skeptic and conclude that you haven’t been given to Jesusbecause you are a skeptic, then I ask you just one question. Do you want tocome to Jesus? If the answer is yes, then you have been given to Jesus becauseyou wouldn’t have the desire if God hadn’t given it to you. If you say no butare still curious or want to prove some other way of salvation, then at thispoint in your life, you cannot say for sure that you haven’t been given toJesus. You may have been given to Jesus but it isn’t time for that to berevealed.

 If you don't know Jesus, then watch my video on YouTube, "The Gospel in 3 Minutes" It will tell you how to knowJesus for salvation and then you will be blessed according to the Bible.

May God Bless you!

 

Copyright by Ray Ruppert

God Remembers

Just what does God remember about our sins as time goes on?David penned these words in Psalm 25 verses 6 and 7.

Remember your mercy, O Lord, and your steadfast love,
for they have been from of old.
Remember not the sins of my youth or my transgressions;
according to your steadfast love remember me,
for the sake of your goodness, O Lord!

David asks the Lord to remember his mercy and love insteadof his sins.

Why can David make such a request? Isn’t God omniscient?That means he knows everything.

Is it possible for God to forget anything, much less oursins that have violated his holiness?

The quick answer is no. It is impossible for God to forgetour sins. Nowhere in the Bible does it say he forgets our sins.

In fact Amos 8 verse 7 says:

 The Lord has sworn bythe pride of Jacob:
“Surely I will never forget any of their deeds.”

But when we turn to Jesus Christ for forgiveness of oursins, we have promises that he will not remember our sins.

The difference is that he does not bring them up again.

Even though He can’t forget them, not remembering is achoice for him.

The Lord says in Isaiah 43 verse 25

I, I am he who blots out your transgressions for my ownsake,

and I will not remember your sins.

When we forgive someone, we should make that same choice tonot remember or bring them up again, either to the other person or to ourselves.

What a great promise we have when we confess our sins andturn to Jesus for salvation.

The Lord will never bring them up to us again.

Have you turned to Jesus and prayed like David did?

If not, watch my video on YouTube,"The Gospel." 

May God Bless you!

Copyright by Ray Ruppert

Prayer for Guidance

Psalm 25 verses 4 and 5 contains a beautiful prayer forguidance from the Lord.

Make me to know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths.
Lead me in your truth and teach me,
for you are the God of my salvation;
for you I wait all the day long.

The heart of our prayer when we wake every morning is toknow the Lord’s way.

Even before we get out of bed we should turn to the Lord. We should ask him to show us his ways so that we may know theways we are to go.

And beyond each morning, we must be teachable so that whenhe teaches us from his Word, we will listen and obey. We must firmly believe that his truth is the only truth. Again and again, we must yield to his teaching of his truth andnot seek our own truth.

The Lord is the only God and our salvation comes from himthrough Jesus Christ.We will never find any other way to God. Jesus clearly taught us in John 14 verse 6, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes tothe Father except through me."

Every day, we should be waiting expectantly for Jesus tocome back.

If you want to be taught by the Lord but haven’t turned toJesus for salvation, then watch my video on YouTube, "TheGospel." 

May God Bless you!

Whenwe ask the Lord to teach us his truth it is always revealed in Jesus.

Copyright by Ray Ruppert

Falling Away?

 

Jesus says in John 16 verse 1 “I have said all these thingsto you to keep you from falling away.”

This is a most interesting thing for Jesus to say. Hasn’the been telling us over and over that those whom he has called will never fall away?Since we can’t accuse Jesus of lying, then what is he talking about? He hasbeen talking about the Apostles being persecuted for their faith in Jesus. Hewill continue to tell them even more about this. He is warning them, and us,that if we are not prepared to suffer for our faith, we are likely to dosomething in this present age, fall away, but that will
not affect oursalvation. Now that sounds like a contradiction because Jesus clearly told usthat anyone who disowns him will be disowned by the Father. We can really digourselves in theological holes if we take verses out of context.

The mistake we make is that we look at what Jesus saidabout being disowned as a final unforgivable sin. However, falling away is notsomething permanent for a true believer in Jesus Christ. We can look ahead toPeter’s denial of Jesus and his restoration. Jesus even knew in advance thatthough Peter would “fall away” under some very minor discomfort when confrontedthat he knew Jesus, he would return.

Unfortunately, there are still some people who expresstheir faith in Jesus and fall away permanently. They never turn back and thatis because there was something wrong with their faith. Like Judas, who hadhoped that Jesus was the conquering Messiah. When he realized that his faithwas misplaced, he fell away. He didn’t understand who Jesus really is. The sameis true of many people who claim they believe in Jesus. When things go sidewaysin their lives and they don’t get what they think they should be getting out oftheir faith, then they leave. John explains in first John 2 verse 17 that whenthis happens, they didn’t really belong. “They went out from us, but they didnot really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would haveremained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us”.

This is also the reason why the Book of Hebrews waswritten. Too many of the early Jewish Christians were denying their faith inthe face of persecution. The author warns in chapter 3 verse 10 that only thosewho hold on to their faith to the end are the ones who truly are saved. “Wehave come to share in Christ if we hold firmly till the end the confidence wehad at first.” It is healthy for us to stop every once in a while and thinkabout our salvation. When we do, we should acknowledge that we are capable offalling, but we must also consider that if we truly know Jesus, then he willnever let anyone snatch us out of his hand . That is a confidence we can havethat will keep us until the end.

But if you think you may be one who isn’t save, then watch my video on YouTube, "The Gospel." 

 May God Bless you!

Copyright by Ray Ruppert

Who Chose Who?

 

Did you choose God or did God choose you?

Jesus makes it clear in John 15 verses 16 and 17. He says:

“You did not choose me, but Ichose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit — fruit that will last.

Then the Father will give youwhatever you ask in my name.

This is my command: Love each other.”

What a wonderful affirmation that salvation is not based onanything we do.

We can’t choose God until he first chooses us.

Jesus is a thoroughly Monergistic theologian.

There is nothing in his words that would indicate that wemust do something before we can be saved.

What we do after Jesus chooses us is what many people thinksaves them.

They will say things like, “I decided to follow Jesus.”

That is a very true statement but the only way a person candecide to follow Jesus is after Jesus chooses him.

Make sure you understand that not only does Jesus chooseus, but he gives us the will and desire to follow him.

It would be unthinkable for a person who has been chosen tothen say they don’t want to follow Jesus.

If they say that, then it only establishes the fact thatthey haven’t yet been chosen.

Since we are chosen, we will want to do what Jesus wants.That is part of being chosen.

Our nature is changed, and we desire to go and bear fruit.

In Chapter 2 of Ephesians, Paul goes into some detail abouthow we only had a desire to follow Satan until God makes us alive in JesusChrist.

Then he explains the fruit in verse 10,

“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus forgood works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

We don’t make a choice for Jesus until God gives us thedesire and then we start doing the things God had planned for us even before hemade us alive in Jesus.

This is the real meaning of Monergism.

God does it and we give him the glory.

Based on this, what will we ask for in Jesus’ name?

We will ask for the things that will enable us to bearfruit.

If you aren’t sure you are chosen, then watch my video on YouTube, "The Gospel." 

 

May God Bless you!

Copyright by Ray Ruppert

Accountability to God

 

Why do we say we are accountable to God?

The reason is revealed in Psalm 24 verses 1 and 2.


“The earth is the Lord's, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it; for he founded it upon the seas and established it upon the waters. “


Think about that and work backwards in the two verses.

God founded or created the world.

He is the Maker and the Maker owns what he has made.

The earth belongs to the Lord God and not only the earth but all that is in it.

Now he is talking about you and me. He made us. It gets personal.

In verse 3 David asks,


“Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? And who shall stand in his holy place?”

In other words, who can stand before our Maker?

The answer is given in verse 4

“He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false and does not swear deceitfully.”

There is the accountability for us all to live godly lives because we are made by him.

Verse 5 tells us the blessing for those who accept this accountability and seek God.


“He will receive blessing from the Lord and righteousness from the God of his salvation.”

If you want a godly life but haven’t turned to Jesus for salvation, then watch my video on YouTube, "The Gospel."

May God Bless you!

Copyright by Ray Ruppert

Search, Test, Lead Me

 

Psalm 139 verses 23 and 24 cause me to do some soul searching. It says:

Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.



Can we honestly ask the Lord to search our heart?

He already knows it, but do we want him to reveal to us what is in our hearts?

That can be pretty scary because out of our hearts come all sorts of evils according to Jesus in Matthew 15 verse 19.

Do we want to have the Lord test us and show us that our thoughts are anxious when we are tested instead of trusting him?

Do we pray during our testing and let the peace that passes understanding calm us and take us through the trials?

Or do we panic and trust anyone or anything other than the Lord?

Then do we really want to ask the Lord to see if there is any offensive way in us?

The truth is that there are many offensive ways in us.

But the good news is that he will lead us in the way everlasting.

If you want that but haven’t turned to Jesus for salvation then watch my pinned message on my profile page, "The Gospel."

May God Bless you!

Copyright by Ray Ruppert

Did Jesus Christ have a twin?

 

Did Jesus Christ have a twin?  

Let’ssee what the Bible has to say. 

24 Now Thomas, called the Twin,one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 The other disciplestherefore said to him, "We have seen the Lord."

So he said to them, "Unless I see in His hands the print ofthe nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand intoHis side, I will not believe."

    Why is Thomas called the Twin? This is the second of threetimes that Thomas is called the Twin (John 11:16, 20:24, and 21:2). Severaltranslations use the word Didymus instead of Twin. The explanation is verysimple. Thomas is the Aramaic form of the word twin. The Greek word for twin isdidumos. So, the translations that use Didymus are using atransliteration of twin. You will notice that every time Didymus or Twin isused, it is capitalized. Since the verses say he was “called” Twin or Didymus,it is used as his nickname or epithet. Eusebius states that Thomas’ name wasJudas and they called him Twin to distinguish between the other two apostlesnamed Judas.

    In the third century, an apocryphal book, the Acts ofThomas, was published by the Gnostics. In this book, Thomas is called ThomasJudas or Judas Thomas. In two passages he is called the twin of Jesus by aserpent then by a donkey (Act 3:31 and Act 4:39),hardly reliable witnesses. From this heretical book, all sorts of speculationsdeveloped trying to persuade early Christians that Jesus actually had a twin. Itis simply a fabrication of those who wanted to hijack Christianity for theirown purposes. Even today, there are those who use this to cast doubts upon thedeity of Jesus. And this passage is really all about Jesus’ deity.

    Thomas is better known to us today as “Doubting Thomas”because he didn’t believe that the other disciples had seen Jesus. Perhaps theGnostics seized upon this passage about Thomas as a foil in their writingshoping that his moment of doubt would encourage others to doubt the veracity ofJesus’ resurrection. Gnostics completely reject Jesus’ resurrection becausethey believe the body is like a prison and their goal is to shed the body. Sohaving Jesus die and then regain his body is unthinkable for them. When Thomasasks to be able to put even put his finger in to the print of the nails, theGnostics seize on this and twist it to show that it is unbelievable for Jesusto have a physical resurrected body. But Jesus will soon show his resurrectedbody to Thomas disproving the Gnostics forever.

    One of the big objections to Christianity today is thecurrent scientific thinking that it is impossible for someone to come back tolife. Gnostics may believe in the supernatural but have it all wrong. Today’sculture has even eliminated the supernatural and therefore dismissed theresurrection out of hand. Jesus has only one thing to say to Gnostics andanyone else who denies his resurrection. He said it in the story of Lazarus andthe rich man. “If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they beconvinced if someone should rise from the dead” (Luke 16:31). In other words,people who reject the Bible and anything supernatural are not going to believeJesus was raised from the dead. However, believing that Jesus is raisedphysically is crucial to the Christian faith.

If you want to know more about salvation through Jesus, watch my video on YouTube, "The Gospel."

“Thomas,” James Hastings, John Lambert, and Shailer Mathews, eds., David Smithin Hastings’ Dictionary of the Bible, One-Volume Edition (New Your, NY:Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1909).

M R James, trans., “The Acts of Thomas,” The Gnostic Society Library, 1994,http://gnosis.org/library/actthom.htm. 

Copyright by Ray Ruppert