|City on a Hill - Writings for Refuge

False doctrine doesn't come packaged with horns and a pitchfork. False doctrine comes from ignoring the main and plain and fabricating realities that blame other people for our sin. Always. Where the Bible says a lot, you should feel free to say a lot. Where the Bible says a little, it is reflected in followers of Jesus saying a little. Where the Bible says nothing, lovers of truth say nothing. The Bible says literally nothing about alien DNA. Nothing. The Bible says literally nothing about sleep relations with spiritual beings. Nothing. The Bible LITERALLY says "don't call stuff a conspiracy!" Isaiah 8:11-15 The LORD has given me a strong warning not to think like everyone else does. He said, (12) "Don't call everything a conspiracy, like they do, and don't live in dread of what frightens them. (13) Make the LORD of Heaven's Armies holy in your life. He is the One you should fear. He is the One who should make you tremble. (14) He will keep you safe....

1 Corinthians 15:54 Then, when our dying bodies have been transformed into bodies that will never die, this Scripture will be fulfilled: “Death is swallowed up in victory. 55 O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” 56 For sin is the sting that results in death, and the law gives sin its power. 5 But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ. 58 So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless. Jesus of Nazareth is "The Christ" or the anointed one. There are many anointed ones mentioned in the Bible. Saul was anointed to be king and then walked away from God, the pagan king Cyrus was anointed to assist Israel, David was anointed by God to rule in righteousness. Jesus is specifically THE Christ. His anointing was to overcome sin and death. Sin leads to death. Jesus was, and is, filled with perfect grace, ...

Dear church, Imagine this: The country"s leadership was making mistakes. The economy was hurting... Everything we worked for and believed in, as God's people, seemed in jeopardy. People were afraid. Imagine that in recent history, there was an attack that pierced our national consciousness. It breached our walls, knocked down our illusion that we were untouchable, but we had recovered. We had vowed "never again" rather than repent of our pride. Then, imagine it, a large national threat on our borders... A large army. We cried out "God save us." Yes, we had been distracted, materialistic, unfaithful to our spouses, our kids were a mess and didn't know God... Yes, murder was rampant in our culture, theft at every level. Yes, depression was so bad we self medicated with alcohol and pills. But we still believed in God. Imagine it. Then, God's answer was this "give in to the army at your border. Give up everything you are trying to protect. See that...

The joy that God provides is not circumstantial. When a person decides to follow Jesus and turn from their own leadership, Jesus provides His Spirit, called the Holy Spirit, to lead.  This is called the "seal of adoption" in Romans 8.  The leadership of the Holy Spirit is literally the evidence that you are being saved. "Saved" isn't something you arrive at by saying a prayer and asking Jesus in to your heart, although this saves a person who continues to follow Jesus.   Saved is a trajectory of following.   Salvation begins with a prayer, no doubt, it just doesn't end there.  Your salvation ends when your following of Jesus does.  The Bible is quite clear about this:  Hebrews 6:1So let us stop going over the basic teachings about Christ again and again. Let us go on instead and become mature in our understanding. Surely we don’t need to start again with the fundamental importance of repenting from evil deeds and placing our faith in God. 2Yo...

Revelation 16:8Then the fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and power was given to him to scorch men with fire. 9And men were scorched with great heat, and they blasphemed the name of God who has power over these plagues; and they did not repent and give Him glory. 10Then the fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and his kingdom became full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues because of the pain. 11They blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and did not repent of their deeds. The warnings to believers, and the testimony of the Bible, is that human nature is to respond to judgment with impatience, anger, resentment, depression, etc. These emotions are all negative. Jesus doesn't share these ^ emotions.  That is how a believer is supposed to realize they are being led into more judgment, not less. These emotions should cause us to repent. When we see the comfort of life being touched in a negative way that agrees wit...

Does your eschatology simply inform you how everyone else will fulfill the negative roles laid out in the end time Biblical narrative, or does it inform you and inspire you to fulfill the positive roles and repent of fleshly ways of thinking?  One leads to death, the other to light. Daniel 12:1“At that time Michael shall stand up, The great prince who stands watch over the sons of your people; And there shall be a time of trouble, Such as never was since there was a nation, Even to that time. And at that time your people shall be delivered, Every one who is found written in the book. 2And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, Some to everlasting life, Some to shame and everlasting contempt. 3Those who are wise shall shine Like the brightness of the firmament, And those who turn many to righteousness Like the stars forever and ever. This is how you know your eschatology is on the right track: It causes YOU to change and get ready for Jesus to return. If your ...