“Remember the day you stood before the LORD your God at Horeb, when the LORD said to me, ‘Assemble the people to Me, that I may let them hear My words so they may learn to fear Me all the days they live on the earth, and that they may teach their children.” (De 4:10 NAS)

In my book, “Ceding the High Ground”, I took the time to go through the Ten Commandments. Although the Ten Commandments have become neglected in our present time, never-the-less they remain foundational in Christianity and our relationship with our Heavenly Father. Jesus taught us that the whole of Scripture (the Law and the Prophet) rested on these two commandments: Love the Lord your God, and love your neighbor. The Ten Commandments are merely an extension of these commandments, a fundamental understanding of how we are to love God and our neighbor. The first three commandments are about loving God. The first commandment is the footing of that foundation.

“You shall have no other gods before Me.” (Ex 20:3 NAS)

The fourth commandment is that meeting place where loving God and loving your fellow man intersects. It was intended to provide a time of rest, reflection, and fellowship with God and Man. Its benefits are many as it serves to help us maintain the proper perspective. The keeping of the Sabbath  was a sign of our covenant with God.

 “Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. “Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath of the LORD your God; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you. “For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day and made it holy.” (Ex 20:8-11 NAS)

The last six commandments are about our relationships with each other. These commandment are basic guidelines that help us keep in mind that we are to love and respect our neighbor. These commands form the basis of righteous law. Violating these commands undermines the respect for those who were created in the image of God. If we neglect to follow these commands we sin against God Himself, for we were all created in His likeness and image, intended to fellowship with our Lord.

The first of these commandments is: “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be prolonged in the land which the LORD your God gives you.” (Ex 20:12 NAS)

As I was writing my book this command began to take on special meaning in my understanding. As I was presenting a case for the moral high ground in education and later the subject of our identity, I began to see this command as foundational. I began to see it as the footing of the commands that follow. Failure to fulfill this command has a crippling effect on all of our moral and spiritual life.

Parents are the first place we as children encounter authority. God’s plan was to use this as a path to lead us into a relationship with Him, our Heavenly Father. Our first duty is to acquire knowledge and our parent’s duty is to present us with true knowledge. Without the proper respect for our teacher the road ahead becomes bumpy and our lives unstable. A healthy fear is advantageous and will guard us from many sorrows in the future. The position of honor and respect is of utmost importance for parents to fulfill their duty to raise their children in the fear and admonition of the Lord.

“Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. HONOR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER (which is the first commandment with a promise), THAT IT MAY BE WELL WITH YOU, AND THAT YOU MAY LIVE LONG ON THE EARTH.” (Eph 6:1-3 NAS)

When children become old enough to understand, this commandment is directed to them. Children are to submit to their parent’s guidance and instruction willingly. It is important that they see this as instruction that has come from God himself and that it is intended for their well being. Until they are old enough to understand, it is up to the parents to exercise their authority to apply the wisdom of God in the education of their children, for oddly enough the fulfillment of this command begins with the mother and father.

Parents have been given a position of authority over their children. In recognition of the responsibility that this position holds, parents need to strive to live worthy of the respect their children are to give them. Following the example of our Heavenly Father, parents are to exercise their authority for the benefit and will-being of their children. Parents are to teach a strict adherence to the Law of God. Foremost on the top of the list is obedience to parents. Just like our relationship with our Heavenly Father it is important that we begin with obedience. Knowledge, wisdom, and understanding will follow if they are built on the foundation that begins with obedience.

“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; Fools despise wisdom and instruction.” (Pr 1:7 NAS)

A health fear is foundational. Children need to have a fear of their parents, and they will acquire a health fear if they are disciplined correctly by their parents. The sooner children understand that there are consequences to sin the easier their life will be. Disciple needs to be swift and sure. If we are to reveal to our children what it is like in the Kingdom of God we must exercise our authority with grace and justice. The world they are entering does not adhere to God’s standards and without instructions from God’s Word they will have false expectation. Judgment in this World is not always swift and not always just. When the kingdoms of this World become the kingdom of our Lord all this will change. Our job as parents is to prepare our children for this event.

As our culture drifts from the concepts of Biblical authority, most parents no longer teach their children the proper honor and respect necessary for them to fulfill their duty properly as they attempt to instill Godly moral values. As their children mature to adulthood they struggle with the Law of God because they never learned to submit to authority. Strict adherence to the commandments of God has become a rarity even amongst those raise in “Christian” families. Why? Has God gotten soft on sin? Absolutely not! Sin will be dealt with. But people have lost their fear of God and they stand in extreme danger.

I believe a lot of our problems stem from the neglect of this one commandment. Honor needs to be instilled at a fundamental level. If it isn’t we end up right where we are today, in a lawless society where the unrighteous are respected more than the righteous. Our once godly nation is collapsing before our eyes. Evil and lawlessness are rampant all because we as a society have lost our fear of God. And it all began when we failed to teach our children proper respect for their parents.

In the days when Christ walked the earth, the religious people had become legalistic, but not law abiding, for they had lost their fear of God and had become arbiter of law. Interestingly when Jesus addressed this issue he used this commandment to illustrate his point. He said, “You have failed to Honor you Father and Mother”. This is the first commandment with a promise. This is not just a commandment for little children. Neither is it simply there to give parents power over their children. This commandment is foundational for teaching us the obedience necessary for us to enter the kingdom of Heaven.

Faith and obedience go hand in hand. Children disobey their parents because they don’t trust their parent’s wisdom. They think they know better than their parents about what is best for themselves. Likewise disobedience to God shows a lack of faith in God. The true sign of faith in God is our obedience to His instruction. Without faith it is impossible to please God.

Psychology has convinced people that teaching children strict obedience to parents is unnecessary and detrimental to their development. God knows better, and has put this commandment as head of the instructions regarding our relationships with each other. Treating people with respect begins at home. Respect for authority and law are necessary for a civil society. Honor and respect for God and Christ Jesus leads us to salvation and reconciliation with our heavenly Father.

“Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be prolonged in the land which the LORD your God gives you.” (Ex 20:12 NAS)

“Cursed is he who dishonors his father or mother.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.” (De 27:16 NAS)

Bob Gunderson

Herd immunity achieved in Brooklyn Jewish community?

The Jewish community in New York is now experiencing the benefits of herd immunity because they found the restrictive rules impossible to follow and live properly. In this picture they are opening a park for their kids to play in instead of hunkering at home.

Is it time to hunker down, or is it time to rise up? I am a strong believer in conducting our lives as Christians in a careful prayerful manner. How are we as Christians to respond in this era of COVID-19? If your answer was carefully and prayerfully, then you were correct. But after four months, if you have been in prayer, shouldn’t we have some answers? If not then maybe you have been asking God the wrong questions. The questions we don’t need answered to are about what God is going to do. The question we need answered is what are we supposed to do.

Maybe we need to ask ourselves some questions first: Such as do we fear God or do we fear people? Do we care more about man’s approval or God’s approval of our conduct and speech? Do we place man’s authority above God’s authority?

We as Americans are privileged to have a constitution that was intended to guarantee that our government could not usurp the authority of God: “Congress shall make no law …”. Now, in violation of the first amendment and the Word of God, we are being dictated to as to how, where, and when we can meet together to worship God. Should we just do the best we can under the authoritative rule of the usurpers of law, or should we rise up and do what the Scripture instructs us to do and forsake not our meetings as we see the day of His returning drawing closer?

Because of time and space and the short attention span of present day readers I will not go into all the details that reveal the foolishness of people to believe that those pushing their agendas have your best interest at heart. Trust God, not man.

Paul encouraged us to live lawfully, and he did. But that did not mean that he submitted to every demand of those rulers who usurped the authority that was higher than theirs. I guess that is why he ended up in prison so often and was beaten, stoned, and shipwrecked. The encouragement in the Scripture is to stand firm, going forth with the gospel of Christ. I cannot seem to find any place where it infers that we ought to hunker down and wait for all danger to pass.

If every church and their leaders would stand up united and stand firm in our right and duty to keep the churches open, then we would not be in our present predicament. I am afraid that when we look back on this time in history, we will recognize a lost opportunity to maintain our freedom and preserve the autonomy of Christ’s Church in America. Ironically our President is making a better defense for our churches than most of our pastors.

“You must be a person who sees the glass as half empty”, someone once told me. In other words this person was suggesting that I was a pessimist. I prefer to think of myself as a realist. If the glass is being filled, then it is half full. If the glass is being emptied then it is half empty.

While it is true that most of the time it is more enjoyable being around an optimist than a pessimist, there is danger in attempting to look at all of life through either of these lenses. As a farmer is harvesting his crops he is aware that his bin may be half full and continues to work, for he knows winter is coming. Some may view him as pessimistic because he doesn’t think half full will be enough to see him through winter. Later, when winter is nearly over he sees his bin as half empty and some people may think of him as pessimistic. But it is his realistic view of his bin that inspires him to prepare to plant a new crop, so that when his bin is empty he will have produce to fill it.

The farmer is a realist. He also has a persistent optimism that is fueled by faith and obedience. He has confidence that if he will do his part and plant his best seed, then God will cause it to grow and multiply. It is also important that he has a healthy pessimism and recognizes when the bin is half empty.

It is the same in every area of our life; realistic optimism is the product of faith and obedience. We have every reason in the world to be optimistic if we trust God and live according to His instructions. But we have every reason to be pessimistic if people choose to trust their own understandings and ignore the wisdom that comes from above. It will not end well for these people.

Our recent pandemic brings these issues to the surface. Optimists are looking toward governments and scientists for answers and direction. Optimistically they declare, “We will get through this together.” Pessimists are hiding in homes and behind masks. Some are taking their own lives. Some are neglecting tending to the necessities of life out of fear. Fear has brought many into submission to those who seek to rule. Fear has supplanted logic and reason and it seems like the whole world has fallen under the spell of the evil one.

As a realist I retain a realistic optimism, because I have faith in Jesus Christ. If I trust God and live according to His Word, then it will go well with me. I am also optimistic because of the mercy of God that is extended to those who are in ignorance of His mercy and grace. I am optimistic because God answers the prayers of His children. I am optimistic because everyone who puts their faith in God and lives according to His Word will be saved. But I also have a realistic pessimism. Unless people wake up and realize that this fear is being used as a tool to strip us of our liberty, our nation as established by our forefathers is dead. If we continue in this spirit of tyranny that has swept our country, as a country we will never recover. This is the spirit of anti-Christ.

I am a realistic optimist because of one small word that occurs over and over in the Scripture. That word is “IF”: If my people …, If you repent…, If you are willing … My faith is established in what follows these ifs, because then God will do what we cannot do.

“As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, “YOU SHALL BE HOLY, FOR I AM HOLY.”” (1Pe 1:14-16 NAS)

In response to a plea to Christians that they should live righteous lives, a person stated the following: Holiness without grace is unattainable.

What does this statement mean? Have we received grace to live holy? If we have received grace have we attained holiness? Can we become holy without grace?

Since all have sinned it would then follow that without grace holiness is unattainable. The gospel states that if we repent of our sins that He will cleanse us from all unrighteousness. This is the grace that has come to us through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. But the grace (or favor) of God does not end here for we receive God’s Holy Spirit when we are born again. As God’s children the grace of God continues to work in our lives enabling us to do as Peter instructs us, to be holy in all of our behavior.

There are two very distinct teachings as to how the grace of God works so we attain holiness. One popular version is that if we trust in God’s grace our sins will not be held against us. If we trust Jesus we can rely upon His righteousness. When God then looks at us He sees only Jesus righteousness and His atoning grace.

The other version is that God’s grace works through His Spirit to enable us to live holy or righteously. Since we begin as babes this process is an educational process just as it is when we raise our children. It will include teaching, exhorting, correcting, and various disciplines that may include rebuke, chastisement, and spanking. Our holiness then requires us to listen, learn, practice, and to be in submission to all of the disciplines of our Lord.

The first version has created a tendency for people to ignore the writings of the Old Testament, much of Paul’s writings, and the letters to the seven Churches. Instead the focus is placed upon worship and a craving for signs and wonders. Churches are filled with people seeking affirmation and an atmosphere that promises a spiritual high.

The second version requires more from us. We have to study to be filled with the knowledge of the Lord. We have to gain wisdom and experience by putting the knowledge of God to practice in our daily lives. We must seek understanding so that we have a heart like our Lord’s. And yes God’s grace is helping us in all these endeavors.

“Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily, to see whether these things were so.” (Ac 17:11 NAS)

It is easy to forget that the early Church did not have the New Testament scriptures. The Apostles teachings were accepted because when they were evaluated by the Old Testament scriptures they were found to be true. Today there are many would downplay the value of the Old Testament. For this reason many have no standard in which to gauge what is righteous and holy and are easily led astray. God and His righteousness forever remain the same. because it is written, “YOU SHALL BE HOLY, FOR I AM HOLY.”” (1Pe 1:14-16 NAS)

Bob

My new book is now available. It is available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Apple iBooks. It is available in paperback and kindle versions. In these divisive times it is important that we know where we stand and what we stand for. I have attempted to define the High Moral Ground. This is where we need to stand without compromise. If we cede the high ground as established by God we will be swept away in the vast plain of opinion and conjecture. If we stand firm we remain safe and secure and present a testimony of God grace and love before a dying world. Journey with my as we consider morality and its application in our world today.

Bob Gunderson

Thanksgiving to God

I had a wonderful Thanksgiving partaking of a bountiful feast and fellowship with family and friends.  Sadly this was not the case for many people this Country that was once permeated with reminders of our Christian heritage.  I viewed a video of a man on the campus of a small “Christian” college in Minnesota presenting the students with a question: Is it alright to celebrate Thanksgiving?  Unbelievably, many of them had a very poor opinion about the holiday.  Their disgust with the holiday had to do with the way in which Native Americans had been treated. I am sure that some of those events that had been presented to these students would have elicited a negative response from me too.  But coupling Thanksgiving to the negative treatment of Native Americans reveals a narrow, pointed, and very distorted view of history.  You would think that a Christian college would be more concerned with the state of many of the Native Americans today and focus students to the real solution to their dilemma that can only be found in Christ.

What does all of this have to do with Thanksgiving?   Many of those questioned mentioned the story of the Pilgrims that had been rehearsed to them in school.  The Pilgrims have been held up for many years as those who first celebrated Thanksgiving.  For many people the Pilgrims have been referred to as those who instituted our tradition of celebrating Thanksgiving.  A thorough examination of the history does show this to be somewhat true, but the simplified version that has been presented to school children can be misleading in some respects and lacking in the most important aspects.  Enter modern “scholarship” with ideological propaganda in mind.  By taking the most simplified version of the story intended for small children they are able to make the story seem almost mythical.  Then by focusing on the fact that the Pilgrims were some of the earliest settlers they load on the shoulders of the Pilgrims the responsibility of all the evil deeds that were ever done to Native Americans by people of European decent.  It doesn’t matter to these “scholars” that the Pilgrims settled on an unoccupied village site.  Nor does it matter to them that the Pilgrims lived in peace with nearby Native Americans for many many years.  What does matter to them is that they are intent upon tarnishing the reputation of those settlers who were instrumental in establishing a foundation on which our Nation was built.  That foundation was the Word of God.  The inspiration they drew from the Scripture inspired a culture respecting life and liberty for all  people.  A noble and righteous goal.

Again I ask, what does this have to do with Thanksgiving?  Absolutely nothing.  Rather it is an attempt to stir up covetousness, envy, pride and hatred.  Thanksgiving never was a celebration about Pilgrims.  Rather they were used as examples and forerunners of those who were thankful and expressed it with worship to God and sharing with their fellow man.  Thanksgiving has always been about our gratitude for the blessings that we have.  Thanksgiving has always been an acknowledgment that all of our blessings can be attributed to a loving God from which blessing flow.  For hundreds of years our Presidents, Governors, and leaders have reiterated in declarations and exhortations that we would as a people give thanks to God.  People have learned, in even the most dire circumstances, that we can find much to be thankful for.  Evil comes from the wickedness of men’s hearts, but goodness and blessing comes from God above.

Sadly many in this, the most prosperous economy the  world has ever known,  were led into a dark place of mourning.  Robbed of hope and gratitude for what they have and the grace and blessing that God wished to bestow on them, people are encouraged to grovel in self-pity and discontent.  While much of the world would have been thankful for just a biscuit and a little gravy, people in our economy are filled with hatred against people who are long dead and innocent of the charges against them.

How did we get here to a place where the young people of this country are so deluded and deceived?  I suppose we could list a thousand reasons, but the main reason is  in this simple story about the Pilgrims.  As this story was told and retold the most important element was eventually left out, and that was God.  The children of this country are being deprived of a knowledge of the God that our founders knew.  The knowledge of God is the beginning of knowledge.  Ignorance of God and His role in the story of man is detrimental for any understanding of the world in which we live.

Thanksgiving  is and has always been first and foremost about expressing our gratitude to our beneficent Father in heaven.  So sad that there are so many people in our Country that don’t know Him.  So sad that the joy of Thanksgiving that comes with recognizing our blessings is lost to so many people.  So sad that so many people don’t recognize and acknowledge those around us who have been avenues of God’s blessings to us.

From an attitude of gratitude,

Bob

Christmas is the celebration of the most important event in all of our history.  Many of the aspects of this event are indeed extraordinary.  Encounters with angels, prophetic dreams containing instructions, an aged woman having her first child, a virgin conceiving, prophetic utterances, signs in the heavens, wise men from the east that correctly read the signs in the heavens, all these things are extraordinary in themselves.  It is also extraordinary that the details of these events were recorded hundreds of years before they transpired.

But if we consider the setting for this event it is extraordinarily ordinary.  A manger, in an animal shelter, in a small village, in hilly sheep country, at a time when the census is the talk of the town, all of this seems to be simply a plain ordinary setting.  But this is the place this incredible event took place.

If we consider the participants in this event, they don’t seem to be that impressive either: An old priest and his barren wife, a carpenter from Nazareth, a young maiden, shepherds, Magi from the east, Simeon (a devout old man), and Anna (an aged widow woman).  We don’t even know the names of the shepherds or of the Magi.  We know the names of Joseph, Mary, and the other participants in this unfolding event only because of this event.  These were for the most part just ordinary people living their ordinary lives until Heaven came down and glory filled their souls.

When we reenact this wonderful event we dress it up somewhat from what it must have been like.  We bring the clean hay and a new manger into the room, but leave the droppings where they lay.  Mary is well groomed in clean clothing, rather than showing the reality of a woman who had travel far on a donkey and had just given birth.  Joseph is tall and handsome.  The shepherds in their flowing robes don’t look like men who have just come from the fields during lambing season.  The wise men show up about one and a half years early, but it is ok because the stable is as clean as your kitchen anyway.  Even if we were able to accurately recreate this event, the setting and people would not seem as ordinary to us as it would have seemed for them.

It is in this humble setting among these ordinary people that this extraordinary event took place.  First we have the angel appearing to Zacharias as he ministers.  He is struck dumb because of his unbelief causing wonder among the people.  Then Elisabeth conceives in her old age.  An Angel appears to Mary and she accepts her role as mother of our Messiah.  Then there are the prophetic utterances by Elizabeth and Mary.  Then God communicates to Joseph in a dream instructing him to take Mary as his wife.  God used Caesar to situate Joseph in Mary in Bethlehem at the appointed time to fulfill prophesy. Place was found for Christ to be born in a stable.   God heralded the birth of His Son by angels to shepherds and directed them where to go.  Magi saw his star in the heavens and determined to go and worship Him.  Simeon and Anna were directed by the Holy Spirit to prophesy over the baby Jesus.  Extraordinary things were happening in this humble setting among ordinary people, because God had come to tabernacle among men.

I have referred to the participants in this event as ordinary people, and they were in one sense.  But in another sense they were distinguished.  The Scripture does not distinguish them by their physical traits or by special deeds that they had accomplished, or even special positions that they held.  Rather they were distinguished by their character traits.  For example: Zacharias and Elisabeth are referred to as both being righteous before I God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord, blameless.” (Lu 1:6 AV)   Likewise, all of these participants are righteous, faithful, and obedient to the leading of the Lord.  The things that distinguish these people have to do with their character.  The Scripture does not reveal any unique traits that any of these people were born with or special talents that they may have.

The character traits that distinguish the participants in this unfolding event are not the result of any special endowments.  Rather their distinguishing traits are the results of their response to the Word of God.  It is their faith and confidence in God’s Word that inspired them to live by the instruction handed down from heaven.  It was their love of God and obedience to his Word that formed the character of these people.  It was to this small group of faithful trustworthy people that God entrusted the care of His Son and to herald His coming.

It is noteworthy that the character traits of this small group of people are the traits that God wants to develop in all of His children.  Faithfulness and obedience to God’s Word should be the distinguishing traits foundational to everyone who carries the name of Christ.  It is not that God can’t use those people that seem to be endowed with features that attract people’s attention.  It is just that God seems to more often use just ordinary people who don’t have the burden of drawing attention to themselves.  Indeed anyone who is willing to walk in obedience to God following Christ will be used of God.  For the light and love of God are revealed to the World through those who live and walk in accord with the Law of God.  In a dark and sinful world these people may seem peculiar, but among those who love God they are common, common people who become participants in extraordinary events.

           Bob Gunderson

Early Edition

 What if you knew beyond a doubt what was going to happen tomorrow?  What would you do?  There are no easy answers for a guy who gets tomorrows news today.

This is the beginning dialogue of the TV program “Early Edition”.  As I was watching a re-run of this program I was reminded of the parallels we face every day.  In some ways our dilemma is a little more complicated than the TV character, Gary Hobson, had to face every episode.  The tomorrow’s news that we have been privy to usually isn’t as focused on a particular person or incident taking place at a given moment in time.  But there are some striking similarities between this TV program and real life that help me illustrate the reality of what Christians are facing in the World today.

We have been given an early edition of what is going to take place.  The Scripture gives us a good picture of what each one of us is facing in the future and it is not pretty.  We also are given a summary of the history leading up to our present time.  Because of historical accuracy of all that is written in this book we can from past history and personal experience, just like Gary, know beyond a doubt that what is predicted for the future will come to pass.

The forecast is for the future, yet we have been given this information today.  Why have we been given this information?  As Gary soon came to realize, we have been given this information because it is in our power to change the future through our actions today.

To put it in a nutshell, the information in this early edition tells us that all of us have sinned and come short of the glory of God.  And what does that mean?

“For this you know with certainty, that no immoral or impure person or covetous man, who is an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.” (Eph 5:5-6 NAS)

But this edition also tells us of the mercy of God and the provision He has provided for our salvation from the consequences of God’s wrath.

“”For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life. “For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world should be saved through Him.” (Joh 3:16-17 NAS)

So how do we take advantage of this grace that God has provided for us?  What does it mean to believe in God’s only begotten Son?  The answer to that is given to us in the Book of Acts.

“Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brethren, what shall we do?” And Peter said to them, “Repent, and let each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” (Ac 2:37-38 NAS)

I hope that you can see that the Scriptures tell us clearly tell us that because of sin our future destination is separation from God for eternity.  But God is revealing this future because He wants to change our future destination by giving us eternal life that comes through Jesus Christ.  By putting our trust in Jesus Christ we can literally change our future to be a glorious one where we dwell with God for all of eternity.

God has not given us power to change the revealed times and events.  For those are things that God has established to fulfill His purpose for mankind.  The revelations that have come through His Son Jesus Christ provide us with the opportunity to determine where we as individuals fit into these events.  Either we will be with those who share in the plan of God to live in fellowship with Him forever, or we will be recipients of the wrath of God that comes on those who are in rebellion to Him.

Paul speaks of this change in direction that alters our destiny.

“And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places, in Christ Jesus, in order that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, that no one should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” (Eph 2:1-10 NAS)

What if you knew beyond a doubt what was going to happen tomorrow?  What would you do?  There are no easy answers for a guy who gets tomorrows news today.

We need to take advantage of this early edition that God has given us.  I have revealed to you the easy answer for our personal future and how we can change our future destiny by putting our trust in Jesus.  The hard question is: How do we alter the future for other people who are destined for an eternity estranged from God?  God has provided Salvation for everyone, but every person’s salvation is contingent upon their repentance and trust in Jesus.  Although we cannot save anyone ourselves we can be instrumental in sharing the good news presented in the early edition.  The grace of God can come through us, that others may have knowledge of this salvation.  God’s Word clarifies the choice that stands before every person.  We can stand as witnesses encouraging people to choose life.  God has unfolded the events of the future before us.  We can either be on the train or be run over by it.

I must admit that at times I suffer frustration, much like Gary in the TV program.  The frustration comes in our attempts to convince others of the importance of the information that we have obtained.  But unlike the TV character, we can know peace by knowing that we have done what God has asked us to do.  The greatest part of this whole thing is experiencing joy when we witness others finding salvation as we have.

Thank God for the early edition!

                                                                                                                          Bob Gunderson

The “Me Too” movement has definitely stirred the pot and exposed a small portion of the huge problem of sexual abuse in our society.  There is a cry for justice, vengeance, and a cultural change to stop the abuse.  This is a problem that will never be solved by our courts and our media.  But there is a solution if anyone would care to address it.

It is not like we haven’t been warned that we would end up in a situation like this.  There have been many voices over the last 50 years that predicted we would end up here.  But those voices have been stifled by misinformation and disinformation.  Because I have not seen many recent voices addressing this issue, I have proposed a solution for “Me Too” victims.  Since my solution is too long to put in a simple post I leave this address for those willing to read it.  https://www.sanctifiedthrutruth.com/books-and-papers/hope-for-me-too/