Some Famous Atheist (or at least used to be)

September 13, 2024August 13, 2024 / Mark Brady / Leave a comment

Founder of the Church of Satan, the famous Satanist, Anton Szandor LaVey’s last deathbed words were, “Oh my, oh my, what have I done! There’s something very wrong, there’s something very wrong, there’s something very wrong!”

Voltaire (1694–1778), an atheist, said, “I am abandoned by God and man! I shall go to hell! O Jesus Christ!”

David Hume (1711–1776), an atheist, said while dying in utter despair, “I am in the flames!”

Sir Thomas Scott (1808–1878), an atheist, said, “Until this moment I thought there was neither a God nor a hell. Now I know and feel that there is both, and I am doomed to perdition by the just judgment of the Almighty.”

The above, moments before their demise, saw a glimpse of what turned out to be real after all. All their lives, sadly, they had accepted the lies of the devil.

For the last several posts, I have keyed in on God’s judgment, eternity, heaven, and hell. I have felt an intense urgency to drive the point home that your time on Earth is extremely short, and then you will stand before God. You can believe now and start experiencing real life, or you can deny Him and continue to live as a dead man walking! Hear the words of some who found out too late! Learn from them.

Luke 16:19-31 (MSG)
^19-21“There once was a rich man, expensively dressed in the latest fashions, wasting his days in conspicuous consumption. A poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, had been dumped on his doorstep. All he lived for was to get a meal from scraps off the rich man’s table. His best friends were the dogs who came and licked his sores.

^22-24“Then he died, this poor man, and was taken up by the angels to the lap of Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried. In hell and in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham in the distance and Lazarus in his lap. He called out, ‘Father Abraham, mercy! Have mercy! Send Lazarus to dip his finger in water to cool my tongue. I’m in agony in this fire.’

^25-26“But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that in your lifetime you got the good things and Lazarus the bad things. It’s not like that here. Here he’s consoled and you’re tormented. Besides, in all these matters there is a huge chasm set between us so that no one can go from us to you even if he wanted to, nor can anyone cross over from you to us.’

^27-28“The rich man said, ‘Then let me ask you, Father: Send him to the house of my father where I have five brothers, so he can tell them the score and warn them so they won’t end up here in this place of torment.’

²⁹“Abraham answered, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets to tell them the score. Let them listen to them.’

³⁰“‘I know, Father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but they’re not listening. If someone came back to them from the dead, they would change their ways.’

³¹“Abraham replied, ‘If they won’t listen to Moses and the Prophets, they’re not going to be convinced by someone who rises from the dead.’”

I share these words of truth with you because I don’t want to see anyone perish, and neither does God. He loves you and cares about you more than you’ll ever know! Eternity is too long to be wrong!!! Be informed. Please don’t wait until it’s too late. God is real.

Nope!

September 10, 2024August 10, 2024 / Mark Brady / Leave a comment

A man once told his wife that the reason he didn’t go to church and had dismissed his belief in God is because he was abused as a little boy in a main denominational church, and he couldn’t believe a loving God would allow that to happen. I hate that it did happen. It was so wrong, but the truth is this: you will not be exempt from hell because of someone else’s moral failure! Nope! Notta!

The Bible is clear about this issue. “Everyone must die once. After a person dies, he is judged.” Heb. 9:27 (ICB) That same man will not be judged for the sins of someone else, but he will be judged for how “he” lived his life.

All people have sinned and are not good enough for God’s glory. ²⁴People are made right with God by his grace, which is a free gift. They are made right with God by being made free from sin through Jesus Christ. ²⁵God sent him to die in our place to take away our sins. We receive forgiveness through faith. And all of this is because of the blood of Jesus’ death. Rom. 3:23-25a (ICB)

Recently, a famous senior pastor, who proceeded over several campus locations and was on television, had his past sins revealed. The indiscretion took place many years ago but was disclosed. He probably thought it was hidden and would never be known publicly. This shows that scripture is true when it says, “Everything that is hidden will become clear. Every secret thing will be made known.” Luke 8:17 (ICB)

My point in bringing this up is no one can say, “See. The church is full of hypocrites, and I don’t want to be like them. I’m just as good as they are. So, I will live my life how I want to!” The church is indeed full of imperfect people, but they are forgiven if they have asked God to forgive them in the name of Jesus.

A reporter once asked President Bill Clinton, “You have committed an indiscretion in the Oval Office, yet we see you go to church and carrying a Bible.” President Clinton smirked and replied, “If anybody needed to be in church, don’t you think I should have?” Honestly, he was right.

There is no getting around this matter. There are only two eternities. One is heaven, and the other is hell. God cannot allow people into heaven who are filthy and have not been washed in the blood of Jesus. Fair or not, that is the way it is and must be. For God is Holy.

It is your evil that has separated you from your God. Your sins cause him to turn away from you. And then he does not hear you. Is. 59:2 (ICB)

Each creature was calling to the others: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of heaven’s armies. His glory fills the whole earth.” Is. 6:3 (ICB)

God is light, and in him there is no darkness at all. 1 Jn. 1:5b (ICB)

Your eyes are too good to look at evil. You cannot stand to see people do wrong. So how can you put up with those evil people? How can you be quiet when wicked people defeat people who are better than they are? Hab. 1:13 (ICB)

That is why God had to turn his back on his Son, Jesus, while he was dying on the cross because Jesus took on the sins of the world. So get it through your head today: either accept God’s gift of salvation through Jesus Christ or die as a sinner and be condemned to spending eternity in hell. It’s your choice. You will not be able to blame anyone else.

Eternity in Hell?

September 6, 2024August 10, 2024 / Mark Brady / Leave a comment

Do you believe in hell? You should because it is undoubtedly real. It exists whether you acknowledge it or not. After you die, you will stand before God and give an account of how you lived your life. If you accepted Jesus Christ and asked for forgiveness, then your sins would have been covered by his blood that was poured out for you on the cross when he died. You will then enter heaven forever.

I was wondering, after you die and are judged by God and sentenced to hell, would you go there in the same state or condition you were in when you died? In other words, stay in a fallen state. My point is this: if you go to heaven, you are promised a new body and to receive the mind of Christ.

2 Corinthians 5:1-10 (NLT)

5 For we know that when this earthly tent we live in is taken down (that is, when we die and leave this earthly body), we will have a house in heaven, an eternal body made for us by God himself and not by human hands. ²We grow weary in our present bodies, and we long to put on our heavenly bodies like new clothing. ³For we will put on heavenly bodies; we will not be spirits without bodies.^[a] ⁴While we live in these earthly bodies, we groan and sigh, but it’s not that we want to die and get rid of these bodies that clothe us. Rather, we want to put on our new bodies so that these dying bodies will be swallowed up by life. ⁵God himself has prepared us for this, and as a guarantee he has given us his Holy Spirit.

⁶So we are always confident, even though we know that as long as we live in these bodies we are not at home with the Lord. ⁷For we live by believing and not by seeing. ⁸Yes, we are fully confident, and we would rather be away from these earthly bodies, for then we will be at home with the Lord. ⁹So whether we are here in this body or away from this body, our goal is to please him. ¹⁰For we must all stand before Christ to be judged. We will each receive whatever we deserve for the good or evil we have done in this earthly body.

Fun fact: Hell was never made for you! It was meant for Satan and the one-third of the angels that sided with him after rebelling against God. God had to “expand” hell to include or fit those individuals who chose of their own doing not to accept God.

So the place of the dead wants more and more people, and it opens wide its mouth.
Is. 5:14a (NCV)

I cannot imagine being in sin for eternity and suffering the conditions of hell as well. I have not seen this mentioned in the Bible, but since hell is the opposite of heaven, then it makes sense.

“He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.” Rev. 21:4 (NLT)

I could be wrong, and it’s okay if I am because the Bible does describe hell.

Utter darkness – Job 10:22: to the land of utter darkness, like the deepest darkness, and the deepest shadow and disorder, where even the light is like darkness.”

Lake of fire – Revelation 20:10: “And the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.”

There are two things that humans need: time and gravity to feel grounded. In hell, neither will exist!

Falling forever – Revelation 20:1-2: Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. ²He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years;

No time – Revelation 20:10: “And the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.”

HOW TO AVOID HELL

“This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn’t go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again. Anyone who trusts in him is acquitted; anyone who refuses to trust him has long since been under the death sentence without knowing it. And why? Because of that person’s failure to believe in the one-of-a-kind Son of God when introduced to him. John 3:16-18 (MSG)

Happy Birthday!

September 3, 2024August 10, 2024 / Mark Brady / Leave a comment

Whenever your birthday rolls around, and it seems like they appear every year, do you reflect upon your life? I tend to. I think about what I have achieved, my regrets, and where I want to go in the future. I thank God for what I have achieved, and I appreciate his grace and forgiveness, which covers my regrets. Then I pray for my future.

The one thing I don’t regret about my life is trying my best to maintain a good relationship with God. Relying on him for strength, comfort, wisdom, understanding, and guidance. I sometimes trip up and struggle to keep an appropriate attitude toward God. This means that, at times, I get angry about how life is going at the moment and even have the audacity to blame him. Knowing full well He gives us freedom to make our own choices, and if those decisions don’t work out, then it’s my fault.

Birthdays are great for reflecting and celebrating. They’re also good for making course directions in your life. You’re never too old to start over, start new, or get back on track in your walk with God.

So be very careful to act exactly as God commands you. Don’t veer off to the right or the left. Walk straight down the road God commands so that you’ll have a good life and live a long time in the land that you’re about to possess. Deu. 5:32-33 (MSG)

But he’s already made it plain how to live, what to do, what God is looking for in men and women. It’s quite simple: Do what is fair and just to your neighbor, be compassionate and loyal in your love, and don’t take yourself too seriously— take God seriously. Mic. 6:8 (MSG)

Birthdays should make you mindful of God’s grace and goodness. He has allowed you to survive another trip around the Sun. It could be to show his blessings upon your life., or it could be to give you another opportunity to accept His Son, Jesus, into your life so that your sins are forgiven and you spend eternity with him in heaven. Don’t think you will live forever because you won’t! Don’t put off another day without accepting God’s free gift, no strings attached, salvation. Your life came with an expiration date. “Best if used by: ??/??/????.

And now I have a word for you who brashly announce, “Today—at the latest, tomorrow—we’re off to such and such a city for the year. We’re going to start a business and make a lot of money.” You don’t know the first thing about tomorrow. You’re nothing but a wisp of fog, catching a brief bit of sun before disappearing. Instead, make it a habit to say, “If the Master wills it and we’re still alive, we’ll do this or that.” James 1:13-15 (MSG)

Decision 2024

August 30, 2024August 30, 2024 / Mark Brady / 2 Comments

It’s another election year. Both candidates are making promises of what they are going to do for the people, me. I have often wondered, if the incumbent has these great ideas to better our lives, then why didn’t he/she do it in his/her first term? There is a people group in America that is usually featured. They are starting to realize that the party they traditionally vote for never seems to come through on those promises! It has come to this writer’s observation that a lot of people are putting their trust in men to solve their problems and to make their lives better.

We have a lot of serious issues in America! Each candidate says they can fix them. I will certainly vote, but I’m not going to hold my breath, and I am certainly not counting on them! The portion of scripture below from Amos chapter 5, verses 5 – 15 (MSG) comes close to describing our country today and, honestly, our world.

“Seek me and live.
    Don’t fool around at those shrines of Bethel,
Don’t waste time taking trips to Gilgal,
    and don’t bother going down to Beer-sheba.
Gilgal is here today and gone tomorrow
    and Bethel is all show, no substance.”

⁶So seek God and live! You don’t want to end up
    with nothing to show for your life
But a pile of ashes, a house burned to the ground.
    For God will send just such a fire,
    and the firefighters will show up too late.

Raw Truth Is Never Popular

^7-9Woe to you who turn justice to vinegar

    and stomp righteousness into the mud.
Do you realize where you are? You’re in a cosmos
    star-flung with constellations by God,
A world God wakes up each morning
    and puts to bed each night.
God dips water from the ocean
    and gives the land a drink.
    God, God-revealed, does all this.
And he can destroy it as easily as make it.
    He can turn this vast wonder into total waste.

^10-12People hate this kind of talk.
    Raw truth is never popular.
But here it is, bluntly spoken:
    Because you run roughshod over the poor
    and take the bread right out of their mouths,
You’re never going to move into
    the luxury homes you have built.
You’re never going to drink wine
    from the expensive vineyards you’ve planted.
I know precisely the extent of your violations,
    the enormity of your sins. Appalling!
You bully right-living people,
    taking bribes right and left and kicking the poor when they’re down.

¹³Justice is a lost cause. Evil is epidemic.
Decent people throw up their hands.
Protest and rebuke are useless,
a waste of breath.

¹⁴Seek good and not evil—
    and live!
You talk about God, the God-of-the-Angel-Armies,
    being your best friend.
Well, live like it,
    and maybe it will happen.

¹⁵Hate evil and love good,
then work it out in the public square.
Maybe God, the God-of-the-Angel-Armies,
will notice your remnant and be gracious.

Do you want to make a decision in 2024? Decide on God! Accept him through his Son, Jesus Christ. Put your trust in him. You won’t regret your decision!

This Old House

August 27, 2024August 3, 2024 / Mark Brady / Leave a comment

While April and I were working on remodeling another portion of our house yesterday, I was reminded of how God remakes us. Today, I am tired and sore! Making something new again takes commitment to finish the task and a lot of hard work. But in the end, the result is worth it. With God, though, it’s not about how the outside looks but how the inside is.

Like a house, God starts with our foundation. We must be built on solid ground.

^24-25“These words I speak to you are not incidental additions to your life, homeowner improvements to your standard of living. They are foundational words, words to build a life on. If you work these words into your life, you are like a smart carpenter who built his house on solid rock. Rain poured down, the river flooded, a tornado hit—but nothing moved that house. It was fixed to the rock.

^26-27“But if you just use my words in Bible studies and don’t work them into your life, you are like a stupid carpenter who built his house on the sandy beach. When a storm rolled in and the waves came up, it collapsed like a house of cards.” Mat. 7:24-27 (MSG)

Then He addresses the condition of the walls, the doors, and the windows of our soul. He straightens walls, fortifies doors, and replaces broken or worn-out windows. Why? Because He wants us to walk straight, upright. The door, because He is concerned about what or who, we are allowing in our lives and the influence they may have upon us. The windows, because He is aware of what we see and how much it affects us. Our eyes are the channel that makes an impression of what we think.

^22-23“Your eyes are windows into your body. If you open your eyes wide in wonder and belief, your body fills up with light. If you live squinty-eyed in greed and distrust, your body is a musty cellar. If you pull the blinds on your windows, what a dark life you will have! Mat. 6:22-23 (MSG)

And let’s not forget the roof. God wants to be our covering. Providing safe shelter in the stormy times of our lives. A place where we can rest and sleep instead of being up all night worrying. A place where there is an atmosphere of the Fruit of the Spirit of God. Love, joy, peace, etc.

Our house is getting closer to being completed. But there is one room that still has the old color of paint. I called it beige, but April corrected me and said it was camel or tope. That room is the garage, and it still has a popcorn ceiling. It’s ugly! I will address it, too, someday. Some people will always leave a portion of their old life intact. As if they are afraid to totally let go of the “old man” or the way they used to be. Perhaps they like to look back, like Lot’s wife. I can recall fine where I came from and what I used to be like before God started His remodeling project of my life.

I hope you will be willing to allow God to remodel you. The good part is the project won’t cost you a thing. It is already paid for by His Son, Jesus Christ. When Jesus died on the cross, it not only provided you the forgiveness of your sins but also a relationship with the Master Contractor, God. And Jesus knows a thing or two about being a carpenter.

The Practice of the Holy

August 23, 2024July 20, 2024 / Mark Brady / Leave a comment

The title of this blog post came to me, and I’m not sure why or where it came from. I thought it was the title of a book. After searching, I realized it wasn’t. So, what does it mean to practice the Holy?

Practice means: to perform or work at repeatedly so as to become proficient to train by repeated exercises.

Do you ever get a sense God is calling you to a life of holiness? This means that in everything you do and say, there is no darkness. If so, it’s because this world needs pure light. Pure truth. Nothing dimmed or tainted by our filters or perceptions but unadulterated Truth from God, his Son, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, and his word, the Bible. Practicing the Holy is an everyday exercise to the best of our ability so that we may become proficient at it.

People around the world are getting mixed messages—diluted truth. They need so much to see the absolute Truth! For example, when people encountered Jesus, they knew they had met an honest, pure, and loving man. They didn’t lie, make excuses, or work hard to redirect the attention off of them. They didn’t blame others, either. At that moment, they knew with all conviction that they needed Jesus in their lives. May it be the same when people encounter us.

“Being holy refers to something or someone set apart or consecrated for a specific purpose. In a religious context, striving for holiness means having a relationship with God defined by obedience to His will and being shaped to have His character. It makes the believer set apart from the evils of the world and useful for His kingdom.”
Christiananity.com

Holiness is not visible on the outside but an attitude of the heart. It’s not a uniform! It also is not a set of rules. What does not eating something on a particular day of the week have to do with God? Yes, in the Old Testament, God gave the Jewish people instructions not to eat certain animals, but I am convinced that was to keep them safe. Today, we know how to process animals so we do not get sick or die from eating them. Having a particular dress style or a list of rules is nothing but “religion,” and it has nothing to do with loving God, having a “relationship” with Him, loving others, or getting into heaven!

So roll up your sleeves, get your head in the game, be totally ready to receive the gift that’s coming when Jesus arrives. Don’t lazily slip back into those old grooves of evil, doing just what you feel like doing. You didn’t know any better then; you do now. As obedient children, let yourselves be pulled into a way of life shaped by God’s life, a life energetic and blazing with holiness. God said, “I am holy; you be holy.” 1 Pt. 1:13-16 (MSG)

If You Want to Live Well

August 20, 2024July 15, 2024 / Mark Brady / Leave a comment

Hosea 14 – The Message

Come Back! Return to Your God!

14 ^1-3O Israel, come back! Return to your God!
    You’re down but you’re not out.
Prepare your confession
    and come back to God.
Pray to him, “Take away our sin,
    accept our confession.
Receive as restitution
    our repentant prayers.
Assyria won’t save us;
    horses won’t get us where we want to go.
We’ll never again say ‘our god’
    to something we’ve made or made up.
You’re our last hope. Is it not true
    that in you the orphan finds mercy?”

* * *

^4-8“I will heal their waywardness.
    I will love them lavishly. My anger is played out.
I will make a fresh start with Israel.
    He’ll burst into bloom like a crocus in the spring.
He’ll put down deep oak tree roots,
    he’ll become a forest of oaks!
He’ll become splendid—like a giant sequoia,
    his fragrance like a grove of cedars!
Those who live near him will be blessed by him,
    be blessed and prosper like golden grain.
Everyone will be talking about them,
    spreading their fame as the vintage children of God.
Ephraim is finished with gods that are no-gods.
    From now on I’m the one who answers and satisfies him.
I am like a luxuriant fruit tree.
    Everything you need is to be found in me.”

* * *

⁹If you want to live well,
    make sure you understand all of this.
If you know what’s good for you,
    you’ll learn this inside and out.
God’s paths get you where you want to go.
    Right-living people walk them easily;
    wrong-living people are always tripping and stumbling.

“Just Lucky, I Guess”

August 16, 2024July 15, 2024 / Mark Brady / Leave a comment

“By luck or by God, many people are saying it’s by God I’m still here,” the former president said while addressing the shooting at his Pennsylvania campaign rally on July 13. _{[Source: People]}

I’m writing this post the Monday after the assignation attempt on former President, Donald Trump. A lot of people believe in luck. I don’t, but I do believe in the mighty hand of God. Many times, God will intervene in one’s life journey for his purpose. In President Trump’s case, God is not finished using him for America and or the world!

I met a man a couple of years ago. I don’t recall how the conversation was steered to this, but he begins telling me how he had survived falling off of three roofs, driving off the road and landing his truck up in trees, and not getting electrocuted after hitting an electrical line while digging a hole. He said, “I was just lucky, I guess.”

At first, I was shocked. I said, “Wow! God had his hand on you.” He said he didn’t believe in God. I replied, “Well, God certainly believes in you!” Later, I shared God’s plan of salvation with the man and how much God loved him. I told him, “It wasn’t luck. It was God giving you time and opportunity to accept him because He doesn’t want to see anyone perish.” Sadly, he listened but refused to accept God’s love for him.

It takes more faith to believe in “luck” than it does God!

What have you been through? What have you survived? Do you contribute it to “being lucky?” Are you sure? Isn’t there the slightest chance that God intervened? Is He giving you more time to accept him? Or He has a purpose for your life? I suggest you think about it. Or better yet, talk to God about it.

The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord. Prov. 16:33 (ESV)

The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps. Prov. 16:9 (ESV)

In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, EPH. 1:11 (ESV)

The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. 2 Pt. 3:9 (NIV)

Salt and Pepper to Taste

August 13, 2024July 13, 2024 / Mark Brady / Leave a comment

If you look at recipes much, you will find the instructions, “salt and pepper to taste.” As you can figure out, it means to add the amount of those spices to please your pallet. To make it happy, to please yourself.

When I saw this phrase the other day, it reminded me of how people prepare their relationship with God. They add just enough “religion” to make them feel safe. Safe from winding up in hell, they hope! Others want to see their god, so they build idols or allow things of this world to become their idol. Life is so much easier when done God’s way. Some try so hard to do things their way and yet get nowhere. No true happiness, no true life!

Hosea 13:1-3 (MSG)
Religion Customized to Taste

13 ^1-3God once let loose against Ephraim
    a terrifying sentence against Israel:
Caught and convicted
    in the lewd sex-worship of Baal—they died!
And now they’re back in the sin business again,
    manufacturing god-images they can use,
Religion customized to taste. Professionals see to it:
    Anything you want in a god you can get.
Can you believe it? They sacrifice live babies to these dead gods—
    kill living babies and kiss golden calves!
And now there’s nothing left to these people:
    hollow men, desiccated women,
Like scraps of paper blown down the street,
    like smoke in a gusty wind.