Saved In the Nick of Time! :: By Lynda Janzen

Published on: by RR10 Category:General Articles

My prayer over this article is for someone to find and read it who thinks he or she is the worst sinner, ever.  Someone who is searching for a way through a life of darkness and pain.  Someone who could never imagine being loved just because he or she exists.

“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).

“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23).

“But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).

                “I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance” (Luke 5:32).

“God so (SOOOOO) loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).

Dear Reader:  You may have wandered onto this website out of curiosity, not knowing what “Rapture” means, let alone “Rapture Ready.” You may have looked at the roster of articles and found the titles intriguing, and may even have read some others before opening this one. You could not know ahead of time that I had prayed today for you to find Rapture Ready and this article.

The short verses from the Books of Romans, Luke and John point to a fact that is little known in secular circles: that the world has a big sin problem. The Good News is that God sent His Son to remedy this problem for us, His beloved creatures.

Each of us is created in God’s own image. Yet, there is one way we human beings are completely ungodlike – our proclivity to sin. And we ALL do it. The story of our fallen-ness can be found in the first book of the Bible, Genesis, so I am not going to replicate it here. I am praying that you will read it one day soon, for yourself.  The only thing you need to know right now is that you are, and I am, and every human on earth is, a sinner. God cannot abide sin, but neither can He abide letting His beloved creation die in our sin.

So, 2000+ years ago, the LORD God sent His only begotten Son into the world, not to shame us, but to save us. While many think of God as an angry Being, constantly playing games of “gotcha!” He is, instead, our Heavenly Father, Who loves us so very much that He wants all of us to lose our sin problem and come to live with Him in heaven, for ever and ever.

Now, there is so very much I could write about what God’s Word calls our “glorious future,” but, again, it is all there in the Word of God, His Story.  And I hope one day soon you will pick up a Bible and read about what your Creator God has in store for you. You cannot imagine the future He has planned for all of us, but it’s something to look forward to, I can tell you that.

So, meanwhile, how do you take care of the sin problem? It’s actually as easy as ABC. The very first step is to …

A:  Acknowledge that you are a sinner, ask God for forgiveness, and repent or turn away from that sin. As Apostle Paul wrote in the Book of Romans, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” The only person who walked on this earth Who never sinned was the God-Man Jesus Christ. Jesus came to Earth in a human body to shed His blood for the forgiveness of all sin, for all time. How this is so can be found, yep, you guessed it, in the Book we call the Bible.  So, the next step toward salvation is,

B:  Believe that Jesus Christ died on a Roman cross, shedding His Divine blood as a propitiation for all sin, for all time. Believe that He died on that cross, was buried, and on the third day rose up from the grave in an immortal body. He ascended into heaven and is waiting for the Father’s Word to come back and gather all those who believe in Him. And the last step is a double one …

C:  Commit and Confess – Commit your life to the One Who loves you more than you can possibly know or imagine and Who has paid the whole debt of your sin. “For the wages of sin is death, but the Gift of God Is eternal life in Christ Jesus our LORD.” And then confess with your mouth that Jesus is LORD of your life, telling anyone who will listen what real life is all about – real, eternal life, lived in full forgiveness.

These are the initial steps of salvation. After this, you will want to find a Bible-believing congregation to worship with and with whom to learn more about discipleship in the Way, the Truth, and the Life of Jesus Christ. Committed Christians keep growing in faith, in character, and in their walk with the LORD.

Time is short, my friend. We never know when Jesus will come, either in the Rapture or individually, to take us home. I prayed that you would find your way here. And more. I also prayed that we would meet one day in the not-so-distant future to celebrate with the greatest joy we will have ever known, together with our Redeemer Saviour and all the brothers and sisters who have found faith in God’s Christ, Jesus. See you soon!

Your sister in Christ,

Lynda Janzen

Wiccans, Pagans, Halloween: Every Christian Should Know :: By Geri Ungurean

Published on: by RR10 Category:General Articles, Geri Ungurean

[WICCANS, PAGANS and HALLOWEEN: What Every Christian Should Know]

So, here we are again.

That dreaded holiday to born-again believers – Halloween.  Should we, or should we not participate?

First, let’s look at the origins of Halloween:

Wiccans love Halloween. So, I thought I would go to a Wiccan website to get the real scoop on Halloween, or as the Wiccans call it – Samhain.

FROM PAGANWICCAN.ABOUT.COM  (Please don’t go to this website. It is so satanic. Just read what is posted in this article to be informed about Halloween and Wicca.)

Paganism/Wicca Expert

What is Samhain?:

Samhain is known by most folks as Halloween, but for many modern Pagans, it’s considered a Sabbat to honor the ancestors who came before us, marking the dark time of the year. It’s a good time to contact the spirit world with a séance because it’s the time when the veil between this world and the next is at its thinnest.

So, the veil is thinnest between our world and the next? I guess that means that demonic activity is at its highest. 

Pagan Wheel of the Year

Religious scholars agree that the word Samhain (pronounced “sow-en”) comes from the Gaelic “Samhuin,” but they’re divided on whether it means the end or beginning of summer. After all, when summer is ending here on earth, it’s just beginning in the Underworld. Samhain actually refers to the daylight portion of the holiday, on November 1st.

 “After all, when summer is ending here on earth, it’s just beginning in the Underworld.”  That sounds demonic, doesn’t it?

Around the eighth century or so, the Catholic Church decided to use November 1st as All Saints Day. This was actually a pretty smart move on their part – the local pagans were already celebrating that day anyway, so it made sense to use it as a church holiday.

Oh, did it make sense for the Catholic Church to adopt this pagan holiday?  I suppose so, if the Catholic Church leaders are pagans.

All Saints’ became the festival to honor any saint who didn’t already have a day of his or her own. The mass which was said on All Saints’ was called Allhallowmas – the mass of all those who are hallowed. The night before naturally became known as All Hallows Eve, and eventually morphed into what we call Halloween.

Wouldn’t it be incredible if the Catholic leaders actually picked up a BIBLE and read it?

Honoring the Ancestors:

For some of us, Samhain is when we honor our ancestors who came before us. If you’ve ever done genealogy research, or if you’ve had a loved one die in the past year, this is the perfect night to celebrate their memory.

If we’re fortunate, they will return to communicate with us from beyond the veil and offer advice, protection and guidance for the upcoming year.

“Regard not them that have familiar spirits, neither seek after wizards, to be defiled by them: I am the Lord your God” (Leviticus 19:31).

Samhain Rituals:

Try one — or all — of these rituals to celebrate Samhain and welcome the new year. (DO NOT TRY THEM!!!)

Celebrating the End of the Harvest
Samhain Ritual for Animals
Honoring the Ancestors
Hold a Seance at Samhain
Host a Dumb Supper
Honor the God and Goddess at Samhain
Celebrating the Cycle of Life and Death
Ancestor Meditation

Oh, by the way, Halloween is the witches’ “New Year.”  And a Dumb Supper is one where they invite the dead to dine with them.

I think that most of us know that the little children going door to door, trick-or-treating, have absolutely no idea about the origins of this holiday. I would say that most of their parents probably do not know about the evils they are actually celebrating. But those of us who are born-again believers in Jesus Christ, and read our Bibles, SHOULD know that Halloween is the most evil day of the year.

We should not be afraid of Halloween, nor fear the evil spirits that are most likely roaming about in droves upon the earth. But should we give in to our secular culture and actually celebrate it? What does that say to our children about our beliefs? What does it say to our neighbors who know that we are Christians?

“I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world” (John 17:14-16).

What then should we do on Halloween? I can only tell you what my husband and I have done. We carve a large Cross into a pumpkin with a candle inside. When the children approach our doorstep, they immediately see the Cross. We have candy for them, but we also have Christian tracts for children. The kids have come to expect them!

Here is a great source for the children’s tracts:

Living Waters store

For the older children (teenagers), we hand out Kristin Tracts. See them here:

KRISTIN TRACTS

Last year, a younger sibling of a teenager got hold of a Kristin tract. He came back to us (we sit outside). First, he said that he liked our Cross in our pumpkin. Then he showed me the Kristin tract that his sister had given to him. He said to me, “She died.” I was able to tell this little guy that Kristin did die, but that she loved the Lord Jesus Christ with all of her heart – and that when she died, Jesus took her right to heaven to be with Him forever. A HUGE smile came over the little boy’s face.

We are in this world, but certainly we are not of it.  We are here to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ. What an opportunity to share with people who come right up to your door!

For the past few years, Tim and I have kept the lights off in our home and have not given out candy and tracts on Halloween. We are very conflicted about this. We are praying that the Lord would show us what to do. I truly miss giving out the tracts. I wonder how many children and teens were impacted by the tracts when we did give them out.

I pray that the Lord would show us clearly what to do!

Here is another piece by Dale Vernon on this subject:

Dale Vernon expands on HALLOWEEN:

Blessings in Jesus

HOW TO BE SAVED

MARANATHA!

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