JESUS: A BIOGRAPHY FROM A BELIEVER

By Paul Johnson. New York: Penguin Books, 2010.

This is a concise, thought-provoking, sincere, easy read. I would highly recommend this book for both the believer and the unbeliever. Nevertheless, I have a few quibbles with some of the assertions herein which I thought I would address in no particular order.

The rich young ruler clearly didn't recognize Jesus was God. If the young man had, he wouldn't have addressed Him as “good teacher.” As C. S. Lewis said, “He hasn't left that option open to us.”

Luke 7 15 specifically says Jesus was in His hometown when he preached in the synagogue.

Johanna was actually Herod's servant's wife. (Luke 8 3)

Jesus died on a Wednesday afternoon. Christ said He would be in the grave three days and three nights as Jonah was in the whale three days and nights. You can't get three days and nights out of dying on a Friday and rising Sunday morning. By the way, don't buy the argument some people will try to come back with that the Jewish people reckoned the part of Friday afternoon and the part of Sunday morning as one whole day each because nowhere else in Scripture do we find part of a day being counted as a whole one.

The Canaanite woman with the demon possessed daughter was a believer. We can tell this by the way she addressed Jesus. Being God, Jesus knew she was one of His followers. He responded the way He did to her in order to teach the disciples that the kingdom was open to Gentiles, too.

Jesus was not tempted in Gethsemane, as he was by Satan in the wilderness. Rather, like any normal, healthy being, Jesus didn't want to die: yet He was perfectly willing to do so if the Father hadn't perhaps provided another way to accomplish the destruction of the devil's works. Wrestling with the enormity of something is not the same as being tempted by the devil to disobey God's will.

The text suggests there were two Gadarene demoniacs, living together.

I'm not comfortable with the way the author speculates about Jesus wandering around in the years before He began His ministry. The Bible doesn't say anything about this one way or the other.

As for the year of Jesus' birth, I think Lee Strobel has some information in his book "The Case for Christ" which dates Jesus birth in 2 BC, as opposed to 6-4 BC as previously thought.

THE CRUMB ON THE PLATE

For myself, not wearing a mask is not about the covid-19 virus, which we all should be mindful of, but being fearful of it only makes us more susceptible to the virus, as with any virus. My reasons are about a much bigger picture, that covid-19 is in reality only a speck of dust on the infinite picture of the truth that we face.

You see, unlike a lot of us want to believe, Jesus was not a happy-go-lucky guy spreading His love and forgiveness no matter what you've done or where you are in life. He was a deadly serious ambassador of our Creator, God's law and the result of a life lived in obedience and the gift of eternal life it leads into. By the forgiveness that was granted to us through Him, He sends the Spirit of truth to walk with all who learn to repent their old ways, to support the holy trinity of truth.

The covid-19 virus is only a leaf on a branch on one of the trees of sin in the vast forest of evil. However, it's starting to look like some of the leaves on some of the trees of sin are starting to dry up and fall into the dust of the ground as the light of truth begins to penetrate its canopy.

Acts 14 16 God allows nations to go their own way. God gave them over to their false gods. Our choices are condemning us into degrading passions and the ungodly consequences that follow the highway to darkness and torment that never satisfies. The evil lies of Satan and the lost truth just becomes more distorted.

The trinity of God is my redeemer, my protector, my mask. I would rather fear God than man's virus.

What we assume to perceive to be the new virtual reality, in reality does not exist. Any nation that is going man's way has removed itself from God's way as they walk in the way of their chosen gods.

Romans 13: How do we follow a leader whose ways indulge in evil desires? Are they not leading the blind into darkness and sin?? They are when your government punishes God's good while ignoring Satan's evils. How can we follow their authority that is not of God's way. For example, promoting sexual sin, no holes barred abortion and abuses of children in all kinds of ways. How do we respect this leader who is going the wrong way?

Religion is about following false leaders and their ungodly ways; a relationship with Jesus brings a new dimension of sight that exposes the false ways of the gods they are following and the strength and a need to open the eyes of the souls in others.

Romans 1 18: We are being led  into lawless cultures all over the world. Our hearts know to fear but our minds blindly follow as we become removed from the truth and reality of God's laws. Compliance to man's ways and false gods is cowardice.

When the robber wants to rob you, if you comply, then you have already laid down to die because, you see, the true robber is, in truth, the ultimate enemy of God, the One whose holy greatness made us from the dirt we now depend on to live and survive. What the true robber wants to steal is your soul, your life and your hope. The holy trinity created us and gave us the ability to make the choice that we have now chosen to make. The good choices lead to good, the bad choices lead to darkness and the ugly choices become where we have ended up. Make the right choice, Jesus. (Acts 2 38)

When a nation is following a deceived leader, is it not still the responsibility of Christians to warn the Jews and the gentiles as apostle Paul does? Of course it is, except we are weakened by the fear of man's new direction and the enemies of God's way.

Wisdom, logic, knowledge and common sense demonstrates there must be a God.

Doug

THE BEAST FROM THE FLAMES

            What is a virtual reality? I'm pretty sure an accurate definition of a virtual reality would be something that does not actually exist.

 

The enemy that we need to battle together as one under God's truth feeds and weaponizes itself with the fear that we have as we become more divided and easier to manipulate into Satan's smokescreen that distorts the blinding, distracting fear into destruction.

When you all (the unsaved) put on masks you make Satan grin and grow even stronger as you fear the virus we believe someone may virtually have. (Not saying the virus doesn't exist, but the hype doesn't match the reality.)

Now it seems that the evil wants to remove the police so it will be easier to troll for your children. However, Satan's flames of hate will not overwhelm God's burning anger. All you need to do is believe. (Acts 2 38)

To wear a mask is empowering the one who feeds off our fear as evil's ring of fire circles and begins to close into peacefully engulf you all (the unsaved.)

By the same logic as mask wearing, when the robber wants to rob you, you should comply, and then if he wants to rape your child, you should not ask why. Then, if the robber wants to shoot you, you should then lie down and die as you are feeding the beast with your fear as it consumes you.

Learn to stand in the firebreak that God provided through the gift of Jesus Christ that holds the flames of fear at bay as Christ clears the soot from your eyes so that you will begin to see the truth about where you all are.

Doug

MEDIA-RELATED STUFF

    Enjoyed listening to CHVN Winnepeg the other day. They also appear to be a good source of Christian news.

Glad 91x Belleville has "Harrowsmith Radio" and "The Earshot Daily."

97.7 Moose FM Bancroft has Blue Jays baseball. Were this any other year, I'd be happy about that.

Enjoyed Sean Kelly's "Weekend Magazine" interview with former CFRA jock Ken "The General" Grant, right up until they got into talking about U.S. politics.

However, I've got nothing but good things to say, based on what I heard, about the program Sean Kelly and Greg Molton had on CJBQ playing independent musicians for the first couple months of the pandemic response.

If anyone is interested in buying a radio station 2 million dollars in debt, G-98 Toronto is for sale.

Curious Westwood One News is being shut down. You would think that would be something that could make money for Cumulus.

Have been reading some nostalgia blogs the past couple weeks, the blogs themselves being nostalgic because any present-day things to which the blogs I've been reading make reference are from around ten years ago.

I've also been downloading a lot of videos from channels dedicated to TV clips, mainly from the seventies to the 00s and somewhat the past decade. Glad there are so many folks on YouTube preserving this broadcast history.

As far as current television goes, I've watched some via U.S. TV Go the last few weeks. It's a nice, easy-to-use platform. Wish I could find a Canadian equivalent.

BAPTISM IN THE LAKE OF FIRE

    Why are people being baptised at the sight of the death of George Floyd, an unsaved man who followed his demons to his grave?

The coronavirus is killing the elderly, abortion is killing the young and fear of COVID is killing the rest of us, and the love of lust and sin is killing all of us. Satan's evil blankets the world with the smokescreen that hides the truth about God's love for us and the Christ He sent to set us free from our sin, giving us the Spirit of truth to help us see the lie that wants to destroy the creation of our Creator of everlasting life with Him. Our choice.

The cause of George Floyd's death was the choices he made that lit the Black Lives Matter dumpster fires and the chaos that follows.

These most peaceful black Democrat cities really need to start helping themselves before they can ask for help.

The peaceful dumpster fire, the scamdemic that kills more people that don't have it than do.

All thoughts, choices and actions that deny the truth revealed by the life of Jesus Christ are the sins that condemn you to fall into the darkness of the abyss and the torments that follow.

The peaceful dumpster fire,

That hides the truth as Christ did say

That blinds us from God's promise

To free us from Satan's way

When we're following what we want

As we throw our needs away.

The results are the bottomless pits of Hell

Where even demons don't want to stay.

Doug

AND ALL THIS TIME WE THOUGHT ELLEN WAS A RIGHTEOUS HOMOSEXUAL

    For years now it has been becoming more obvious that she is just another sexually ill sodomite searching for another victim to feed on in order to satisfy their hunger for lust. Turns out I was right about her after all.

Why would a self-respecting man say no to a feminist who wants him to have sex with her? Because he knows when the abortion happens he will be guilty of being an accessory to murder. Instead, he tells her to go play with her personal satisfaction device, that way no lives will be lost to her vanity and self-righteous, ungodly behaviour.

Doug   

HOW INSANE DOES IT GET?

        We are becoming blinded to the truth by the fear that is the lie. Fear is preying on us to feed the lie that wants to devour us and the more scared and removed from God, our Creator, we are, the tastier we become: killing each other, burning buildings and Bibles is worshipping the lie that reels us into the darkness of an ungodly end.

All the baby eaters and their followers are about to be exposed. The tunnels are caving in.

Why does it seem that Google is being controlled by followers of Islamic law and the not God of the Persian Moslem following of comply by persecution and the smokescreen that hides the raging flames of hate?

The fear of this virus has become more fatal than the virus itself.    

On the contrary to this insanity, God bless Jonathan Isaac of the NBA who is choosing to stand for God and not kneel to Satan. May he continue to stand strong and be guarded by Your angels, Father. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Doug

THE HOCKEY NOMAD

Eye-opening and informative.

Rheostatics frontman Dave Bidini travels the globe to see the impact hockey has had on the world. Taking us to the UAE, Transylvania and Mongolia, Badeni keeps hockey fans and non alike glued to the screen.

Watch it here on Encore+.

BENDING TOWARDS THE BEAST

            Though I still feel the way I have for a while about the institutional church, and though these guys use a wrong name for Jesus Christ throughout, Biblical, inspired, fiery, and loving preaching like in this video is so rare these days.

 The church needs to prepare for the second wave of coronavirus, as well as for all the other plagues that will come upon the world in the next few years. Let’s see if we can’t come up with better solutions than bowing to the antichrist governments of the world, meeting exclusively online or having faux meetings in our cars in the parking lot.

Here are some further thoughts from beloved Alex Horton Blog contributor Doug.

It seems like time to open the churches and leave the virus wherever it is. The fear out in the street should not be brought into the church by the wearing of masks and self-distancing.

We need to stand tall and tightly together in strength with an open door to all, not hide apart in weakness because our demented leaders lead us into darkness and fear.

Justin Trudeau has done nothing his entire life that commands respect and following. How do we follow a leader who follows his demons.

Keeping the churches closed only causes people to look for a stronger church leader before they fall back into their old ways. Falling back into your sins is comparable to a recovering alcoholic taking his first drink which soon becomes a thousand drinks as he falls into the hopelessness of ever recovering again.

Keeping a personal prayer life and praying with and for other believers becomes a way of life that needs all the help it can get.

May God our Lord and revealer of truth help all the drunks and other sinners who need His light, His love and His vision of reality.

Going to church on Sunday does not mean you are not also worshiping your own idols of the demons you know, the sins that linger because you have not let them go.

We need to gather together physically as one to stay strong against the demons who only lurk in the shadows waiting for us to show the weakness that causes us to take their bait. Our strength together is the weapon that keeps the growing evil at bay.

AH: Also, before the second wave and the other plagues come, let's have the churches actually get together to create a plan of action for how we are actually going to be the light and minister to those who need ministering to during lockdown, going to see them in person, even giving them the physical affection they need if necessary and consensual, realizing that to live is Christ and to die is gain, and that no child of God will die before they have accomplished everything the Lord wills them to do, and that he who seeks to save his life will lose it.