Fear Thou Not!

Please pray for all the Christians being persecuted all around the world. God really is with them, He told us so...

How Can You be Sure the Bible is the Real Deal?

Once upon a time, I used to believe in the New Testament, but not the Old. The Old Testament to me was a collection of significant yet fictional stories. Incredible stories actually, like the one where just two people populate the entire world, or the one where a five hundred year old man builds a boat big enough to hold two of every animal and cruise the flooded Earth. For some reason I could wrap myself around the fact that God could create the world out of nothing, but not do with it what he wanted. 

This view changed with one trip to the Creation Museum in Petersburg, Kentucky. As you walk in there is a sign that says, "Prepare to Believe". Quite full of myself I shouted out, "I'm already there, baby!" I wasn't so audible walking out the same door. In several hours I had become a true believer. 

Whether you fully regard the Bible as God's Word, are in total disbelief, or fall somewhere in-between, let's look at some FACTS…

• 150 million Bibles are printed every year. To put this into perspective, the third best selling book of all time, The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien has only sold as many to date. I realize this doesn't prove the Bible's authenticity, but don't you wonder why so many people are reading it?

• Although the Bible is a collection of 66 books, written by some 40 authors, over a period of 2,000 years, it has perfect unity and consistency throughout. There is a remarkable structural and mathematical pattern throughout that could not have been by chance, or conceived by humans.

• No one has ever been able to identify a single historical mistake anywhere in the Bible.

• There have been more than 25,000 archaeological finds relating to the Bible, and not one has contradicted anything in the Scriptures. Did you know that all fossils found have been either fully ape or fully human? Evolution has more holes in it than a bone with osteoporosis, and has been disproved by the scientific community.

And last but not least..(Warning: Do not read if you do not want to believe.)

• The Bible has hundreds of detailed prophecies, of which every one of them has come true in the minutest detail. (The only ones that haven't happened yet are those that are foretelling in detail Christ's return, which looks to be right around the corner!)

A friend who obviously loves me once told me this: The Bible is the Mouth of God - just open it to hear Him speak!

The Case for Christ by Lee Strobel

Is the Bible True? by Jeffery L. Sheler

http://creationmuseum.org/

Please remember that BIBLE BAIT is written by a novice Bible study student, not a theologian.

Am I Saved? What does it mean to be Born Again? Who are we REALLY?

Are you a good beeber, or a bad beeber? This is what my daughter asked everyone when she was four. We never found out what a beeber actually was, because all anyone could do was to quickly and wholeheartedly respond to her question with, "A good beeber, of course!" 

We all want to be good. It's just so hard sometimes. Up until recently I would typically cut myself a break, because my belief was that deep down inside, I was only human. I thought that if I reached far enough outside of who I am, I could get ahold of a better me. My reach always came a bit short. 

Recently and thankfully, the Bible has brought to my attention how dead wrong I was about who we really are. We don't have to reach out to be more like Christ, but in. Better yet, we just have to 'be'. We became our better selves the moment we first believed. How precious did that Grace appear indeed! 

We were born into sin, as we were born in the image of Adam. (Adam and Eve were the only ones born in the image of God, but lost God's image in the fall; hence the need for a rebirth.) Unbelievers are blinded by the lies of satan who is the god of this world, (2 Corinthians 4:4) and lovers of darkness rather than light. (John 3:19) 

Once we are saved (believe with all our heart that God sent His Son Jesus to die on the cross for our sins, and raised Him from the dead) God indwells us with His Holy Spirit and we are born again. (John 3:3) By doing so, He opens our heart so that our eyes can see and our ears can hear the truth. (John 16:13) The truth swallows up the lies (John 1:5) and is so awesome that we want to come out into the light to see more.

As believers born again in Christ, we are God's adopted children, whom He has given the same eternal and perfect love He had for his Son Jesus. Our new identity is forever flawless! (Romans 6) No longer do we have to strive to be precious in his eyes…we already are! What we do does not make us people of God, being people of God should make us do what we do. Most unfortunately we still have our humanity with all of it's temptations and lies hanging around. Yet the truth of who we really are is ample fuel to give our human engines all the love, joy and peace we need while still here on this Earth. 

Which brings us to the best part yet…when we shed our decaying bodies at our death, and get to finally live in eternal bliss with our Lord and Savior. (1 Corinthians 2:9)

I like to think my daughter was actually a child evangelist, who would ask people if they were a good believer, or a bad believer. I know I want to be a good believer, and am very happy to have learned that it is not only within my reach, but if I truly rest in Christ, it is within me.

Please remember, BIBLE BAIT is written by a novice Bible study student, not a Bible scholar. If something doesn't look quite right to you, dig into God's word. The one thing I promise you is that you won't get bored! 

Many thanks to my Bible study friends who proof-read BIBLE BAIT every week.  

What is The Rapture all about?

Warning: The poster design is the only cute thing about this post. The rest is dead serious.

THE RAPTURE

"For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words." (1 Thessalonians 4:16-18)

"In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed." (1Corinthians 15:52)

"I tell you, in that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left. Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left." (Luke 17:34-36) 

The rapture is when saved Christians are "caught out" or "carried away" by Jesus Christ out of this world. We will meet Him, and all the believers that have died and went to heaven, in the air with our new and glorified bodies. In an instant, mass amounts of people from all around the world will vanish. Although there are several different perspectives of when the Rapture takes place in correlation with the tribulation, the most literal Biblical interpretation and widely accepted view is as written in this post. The one thing all Bible believers agree on, is that it will be very soon! As always, I encourage you to dig into God's word to search for your own belief. "It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man." (Psalms 118:8, which happens to be at the actual center of the Bible!)   

THE TRIBULATION

"And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them." (Revelation 9:6)

After the Rapture, there will be a seven-year period period in which the world, now existing without true believers in Christ, will experience hardships, disasters, famine, war, pain, and suffering, which has been predicted will wipe out more than two-thirds of all life on the earth before the second coming of Jesus takes place. It is God's last call to save his beloved Jewish people as a nation."For then shall be great tribulation," Jesus tells us, "such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be." (Matthew 24:21)  God will allow people to be fooled by Satan, in the form of the Antichrist, into believing such far fetched things as an alien abduction of the Christians. The first three and a half years will appear to be quite peaceful. It is the last three and a half years, known as the Great Tribulation, that will be hell on Earth. Jesus told us that sin like that of the times of Noah and Lot will prevail, and then went on to say, "Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed." (Luke 17:30) Paul warns us in 2 Thessalonians 2:12 "That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness." 

Although the suffering will be immense and evil will abound, there is still a chance for souls to be saved, but the numbers will be few. Four accounts of the tribulation period can be found in Revelation chapters 4 through 19.

THE ANTICHRIST

“Know thy self, know thy enemy. A thousand battles, a thousand victories.” -Sun Tzu,  The Art Of War. 

It is hard to believe, but our enemy, the Antichrist, will be a welcomed vision by many. This one-world political leader will overtake peacefully, solve the problems of the world, and even form a covenant of peace with Israel, which will mark the beginning of the tribulation. (Daniel 9:27) Yet he is indeed Satan, who so covets God's power that he copies His every move. He even presents himself as an un-holy trinity, being the Dragon as the father, the Beast as the son, and the False Prophet as the unclean spirit. The False Prophet will be the one-world religious leader. The Antichrist, or Beast as the son, will preach 42 months, exactly as long as Christ preached. (Revelation 13:5)  He will have many names, but the one that you may be the most familiar with is The Son of Perdition, Judas Iscariot. (Revelation 17:8 and John 6:70 &17:12 )

Satan will be so good at mimicking Christ that people will actually think he is Christ! Jesus even warned us, "Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect." (Matthew 24:23&24) 

Things will quickly go very wrong when the Beast demands worship, and forces people to take his mark. 

THE MARK OF THE BEAST

"And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name." (Revelation 13:16&17) 

The mark of the beast is predicted to be a tiny computer chip, implanted just beneath the skin, that has all your digital information and banking on it. You will not be able to purchase your allotment of food and water without it. Some predict it may be an attractive tattoo that most people will have and flaunt. They will get great rewards for receiving it. It will be very hard to resist, and not just because it will be the only way to make purchases.  Researchers from the University of Chicago have found that even today people have a harder time resisting new gadgets than any other desire, including the urge to eat, sleep, shop, and have sex. This is apparent when you see how busy the Apple store is at 8:00 in the morning!

If you don't worship the beast and receive his mark, you will either be beheaded or slowly starve to death. "…I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark…" (Revelation 20:4) 

If you get the mark of the beast, God’s complete wrath will be poured out on you. “…If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone…” Revelation 14:9,10

HOW TO SURVIVE THE TRIBULATION

If you are caught in the tribulation, (and I pray you are not!) you will have to decide whether you want the wrath of Satan, or the wrath of God. Satan's wrath will cause you to lose your food, or your head. God's will cause you to lose your eternity.  Therefore, surviving in the tribulation will basically consist of allowing yourself to die. Remember at this point we are talking about the survival of your soul. Surely if you have heard of all these detailed predictions of terror from your Christian friends, and come to live them, you will also have come to believe in the one who saved your Christian friends from them - God! A note of WARNING - Many Bible scholars believe that if you have heard the gospel and rejected it that your soul will not survive the trib. Here is the Bible reference: "And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness." (2 Thessalonians 2:10-12)

You must NOT take the mark of the beast!!! This is an irreversible damnation to Hell and the most horrible Lake of Fire, where for an eternity you wish you could just die, but cannot. 

You must NOT deny Jesus!!! Know that the greatest and most honored reward from our Savior is the Crown of Life. "Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life." (Revelation 2:10)

Reach for a Bible, preferable the Authorized, not the revised, King James Version.  Many of the new Bible versions are set up to confuse people in these end times. (See earlier post "How to Choose a Bible") While food, water and guns would be nice to have during the tribulation, the only effective survival tool will be the Word, also referred to as the Sword of God. Read in Ephesians 6:10-17 about the armor of God and put it on!  

HOW TO AVOID THE TRIBULATION

If religion doesn't 'take' with you, as one friend put it, consider this - Ask God to help you to believe. I know, asking someone you don't even think exists any question is a stretch, but just try it. You really have nothing to lose. After you ask, very closely examine your feelings. Are you being tugged at to learn more about God, whether you believe in Him or not? Have you always longed for something 'more'? I beg you not to ignore this invitation.

When you are ready, which hopefully will be soon if you want to avoid the tribulation, you must articulate your belief. "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." (Romans 10:9&10)  Believe in your heart, and proclaim aloud, "Jesus, thank you for dying on the cross, and rising from the dead as full and complete payment for my sins. Then rest in the assurance of your salvation! 

The Holy Spirit will open your eyes and shed light on oh so many truths. Like many others who believe, you will not only no longer fear living in this God-forsaken world, but be more than ready to exit it. "Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him." (1 Corinthians 2:9) The next time someone mentions the Rapture, you might just reply, "Bring It On!"

Please remember, BIBLE BAIT is written by a novice Bible study student, not a Bible scholar. If something doesn't look quite right to you, dig into God's word. The one thing I promise you is that you won't get bored! Many thanks to my Bible study friends who proofread for me every week.

God's Not Dead Review

Born again Christians will love this movie because it is filled with the truth; atheists will hate it for the same reason.

With mendacious movies like Noah in theaters it is of great delight that we have biblical truth in God's Not Dead. There is no clouding of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in this film. This is always offensive to those who have not accepted God's gift of salvation yet, and clearly displayed in the multitude of hateful reviews online. In my believer-biased opinion, I think both sides of the argument are represented, and am grateful for the apologetics review. The acting in this movie is commendable, as is the production quality, which is usually the first thing ridiculed in Christian films. I highly recommend every Christian buy a ticket and support this filmmaker's effort before it departs from the theaters. In return not only will your heart be lifted, but your spirit will be renewed to reach unbelievers. I'm afraid for them it is not long until they become very much aware that God is indeed alive. 

The Book of Mormon

In case any of you were on the fence about whether to see The Book of Mormon or not, I have an excerpt from a review that will make any born-again Christian's blood curdle. Please read the last paragraph, as I don't even want to repeat what it reveals.

Excerpt from Lauren Yarger's review, New York theater critic...

If you are a Mormon and your religion and its history are important to you, stay home—there isn’t any part of it that isn’t mocked. Protestants aren’t immune either, even if this is the Book of Mormon. Jesus has a cameo. He calls one of the missionaries a derogatory name, and the crucifixion is depicted in a song as an example of “manning up.”
Probably the most difficult part of the show for me was a song called “Nasa Diga Eebowai,” in which the villagers express their philosophy of life. Translated, it means “F*** You, God,” and the rest of the lyrics are even worse. It wasn’t funny to me, and I did feel offended as the actors repeatedly sang the chorus while gesturing to the heavens with their middle fingers to the utter delight of an audience that roared with laughter.

Remember this, that the enemy hath reproached, O LORD, and that the foolish people have blasphemed thy name. -Psalms 74:18

The Book Of Mormon Review continues...

It has been brought to my attention that my criticism of the blasphemy in The Book of Mormon was out of context. Apparently the people in the play saying and gesturing to our Creator the most blatant rejection imaginable were Ugandan natives sought out by Mormon missionaries. My response was that it was wrong in ANY context where people are being that incredibly blasphemous among onlookers roaring with laughter. You wouldn't catch me at this show to save my life.  

Here is where it gets even worse…the person correcting me said that he came out of the show with a good message: That it doesn't matter what religion you are in as long as you are a good person and live a good life. YIKES! The show is even worse than I thought. I wish it would have left off as just a blatant rejection to God's saving grace. Instead it had to sneak in the greatest lie ever told - that being good gets you to heaven.

It is not our good works but the one great work of Jesus that sets us free. If it were not true, he would not have told us so!

For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. -Ephesians 2:8-9

Lastly I would like to point out that I by no means mean to judge any one of you who have chosen or will choose to go see the play. I am just warning those who may be offended if they go. Apparently, even though "God's favorite musical" (NOT!) has been out for several years, there is such a high ticket demand for it that it will be running through September! 

There's an Ocean Deep Inside the Earth - Is this News?

Every once in a while you run into a piece of news that just makes you smile. This article put out just over two weeks ago did just that for me. They have found a diamond that looks to prove that there is a large body of water under the earth. I’m afraid these scientists are ‘at sea’, and have yet to read Exodus 20:4. In another article (http://your-story.org/new-found-water-deep-beneath-earths-surface-mean-future-water-supplies-412884/)  Graham Pearson commented on the look of the gem and said that “It’s a fairly ugly diamond. It looks like it’s been to hell and back.” That’s probably because it has! And their last comment amuses as well… "And now we can imagine oceans beneath the oceans, where fantasy beings could exist.” As for me, in obedience to Exodus 20:5, I will leave these fantasy beings alone!

God Bless all of us!

Tamara

"Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;" -Exodus 20:4&5

THERE'S AN OCEAN DEEP INSIDE THE EARTH

This story came from Motherboard, our tech website. Read more at Motherboard.tv. Ringwoodite was found within this tiny brown diamond. Image: Richard Siemens/University of Alberta

In what sounds like a chapter from Journey to the Center of the Earth, the chemical makeup of a tiny, extremely rare gemstone has made researchers think there's a massive water reservoir hundreds of miles under the earth.

The gemstone in question is called ringwoodite, which is created when olivine, a material that is extremely common in the mantle, is highly pressurized; when it’s exposed to less pressurized environments, it reverts into olivine. It has previously been seen in meteorites and created in a laboratory, but until now it had never been found in a sample of the earth’s mantle. 

Diamond expert Graham Pearson of the University of Alberta came across a seemingly worthless, three-millimeter piece of brown diamond that had been found in Mato Grosso, Brazil, while he was researching another type of mineral. Within that diamond, he and his team found ringwoodite—and they found that roughly 1.5 percent of the ringwoodite’s weight was made up of trapped water. The findings are published in Nature.

That water had to get in there somehow, and using analyses of its depth and its water makeup, Pearson suggests that there's water deep under the earth's surface—a lot of it. 

The finding “confirms predictions from high-pressure laboratory experiments that a water reservoir comparable in size to all the oceans combined is hidden deep in Earth’s mantle,” according to an analysis of Pearson’s findings by Hans Keppler of the University of Bayreuth in Germany. 

The earth’s crust, including the deepest parts of the oceans, reach depths of roughly 100 kilometers. From there, the upper mantle takes up about another 300 kilometers. Between there and the lower mantle is where this piece of ringwoodite was originally from—an area between 410 and 660 kilometers beneath the earth’s surface known as the “transition zone.” 

Scientists have long been divided about what, exactly, is in the transition zone. We’ve known that much of the upper mantle is made up of olivine, and as Keppler said, scientists have long thought that Earth contained reservoirs of water deep beneath the crust. But they weren’t sure whether the water existed as low as the transition zone—the area between the upper and lower mantles. While some say that much of the oceans’ water may have originated there, others have said it is likely completely dry.

Image via University of Alberta

Pearson’s finding changes that. In the paper, he says that there are two possible explanations for water within the ringwoodite.

“In one, water within the ringwoodite reflects inheritance from a hydrous, diamond-forming fluid, from which the inclusion grew as a syngenetic phase. In this model, the hydrous fluid must originate locally, from the transition zone, because there is no evidence that the lower mantle contains a significant amount of water,” he wrote. Essentially, the extreme pressure and chemical makeup at those depths spontaneously creates water. 

“Alternatively, the ringwoodite is ‘protogenetic,’ that is, it was present before encapsulation by the diamond and its water content reflects that of the ambient transition zone," Pearson wrote. In that model, the water and the ringwoodite are already there, and the ringwoodite absorbs some of the water. Either way you slice it, there is a lot of water in the transition zone: “Both models implicate a transition zone that is at least locally water-rich,” he wrote.

So how does a piece of ringwoodite that’s from at least 410 miles beneath the surface get up to a riverbed in Brazil? According to Keppler—and the fact that Pearson was looking for volcanic rocks—suggests that something, probably a volcanic eruption, quickly pushed it up to the surface. It was just a coincidence that Pearson was able to analyze it before the ringwoodite turned back into its non pressurized form. 

“It was a piece of luck, this discovery, as are many scientific discoveries,” Pearson said. 

And now we can imagine oceans beneath the oceans, where fantasy beings could exist.

How Do I Secure a Pass to Heaven?

The Gospel of Saint John

Among the diverse jobs I have been blessed to have held over the years was being a sketch artist at Cedar Point, the 'Best Amusement Park in the World'. Frequently, customers would ask the cashier to draw their caricature. Her response was always, "I'm just Joni, the cashier". Joni became endearingly known to us as "Just Joni". Ironically, she was one of the most creative of all of us. I would bet that her caricatures would have illustrated more insight into who people really were than any of our artist's renditions did. 

There is a Christian song that plays on the radio that has in it the lyrics, I'll give you the Gospel of St. John. Hits me like a wake up bomb. My initial thought when I heard it was, "Just John? What's the deal with his Gospel? I thought Paul was our guy, not to mention Jesus! " As God would have it, our Bible study recently announced that it was moving on to the inspired writing of John. I couldn't wait until the study to read it, so I didn't. 

Apparently, John knew a few things about opening statements…his grabs you by the collar and pulls you right in! He writes in John 1:1, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The word was God…that takes my breath away! This makes sense. How many times has a verse that previously meant nothing to us suddenly make perfect sense? What about when we stumble instantly upon a verse we weren't even sure we were looking for, yet it answers a question we didn't even ask yet desperately needed to?  And isn't it breathtaking when we can quote a verse and name it when we cannot even remember such things as the name of our favorite song?

After reading just John's first verse, I had to find out more about the author. John, one of the first apostles chosen, was the only apostle who was at the cross with Jesus. He was a loyal friend who Jesus loved, and entrusted to care for His beloved mother. When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son! (John  19:26) John was the last apostle to die and the only one that was not murdered. 

So many of the verses that believers and unbelievers alike are most familiar with are from our Apostle John. Here are a few of them…

Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. (John 14:6) 

Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. (John 8:12)

I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. (John 10:11) 

This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. (John 15:12-13)

And then there is this verse, if you are in your lifetime to read only one… For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:16)

What a blessing God's vessel John was to us. He preached the Gospel again and again into his nineties with so much vigor that the Roman emperor exiled him to an island called Patmos to quiet him. But God was not finished with him yet. This is where He gave John the great prophecy mystery, what is now the last book of the New Testament. The Revelation of Jesus Christ…Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy…And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. (Revelation) 

It is by no means my recommendation to read only a portion of the Bible. In fact, not only should we read it in it's entirety, but study it in depth. Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. (2 Timothy 2:15) In fact we are even encouraged to become addicted! I beseech you, brethren, (ye know the house of Stephanas, that it is the firstfruits of Achaia, and that they have addicted themselves to the ministry of the saints) (1 Corinthians 16:15) In any event, if you are one of many who do not have the patience or time to spend reading God's word (or are simply too bullheaded to fit it in, like I was) just John will give you the gist.

Please remember, BIBLE BAIT is written by a novice Bible study student, not a Bible scholar. If something doesn't look quite right to you, dig into God's word. The one thing I promise you is that you won't get bored! Many thanks to my friend Renee Driscoll, who helps me keep Bible Bait Biblically correct.