This is only for people who believe the Bible to be God's word.
Some people just don't know when to quit. They can be told "no" over and over and they still won't quit. These people seem to think that by persistence they can make another person do what they wish. Of course this will sometimes work, but still man is a free-moral agent capable of making his own decisions, and man should be able to do so without giving in to pesky behavior from other people (Judges 16:16–18). In 2 Samuel 2:17–32, we read of a battle in which two men, Abner and Asahel fought. Abner was on the losing side, and he and a few men began to retreat. Now Asahel wanted to be a hero and took it upon himself to chase after Abner in order to capture or kill him. Abner repeatedly told Asahel that the fighting was over and that he should just go home, but Asahel wouldn't listen. Being tired from the battle and irritated at Asahel's pesky behavior, Abner took his spear and plunged it into Asahel—running him clean through and killing him on the spot. Asahel should have listened and turned back. Let us all be reminded that we cannot make people do anything, and if they tell us to leave them alone, it is probably best to do so. Hope to hear from you or see you at the services. This is only for people who believe the Bible to be God's word.
According to the word of God, all prophets have departed from the earth, therefore no man can say what is on the mind of God, other than by what he can read in the Bible (Zachariah 13:1-6; Ephesians 4:11-15, 1 Corinthians 13:8; John 5:39, John 8:31-32). Now it is true that God has destroyed cities in olden times and it certainly wouldn't be a problem for him to do so today (Genesis 19:24-29; Luke 1:37). But the question is, "By what means do these preachers of today know that the storm of last week was sent especially to destroy the Gulf region?" The answer is no one knows, so let us just consider it a natural disaster and don't read anything else into it because natural disasters can happen at any time. Now is a very good time for all to step up to the plate and figure out what can be done to help the people of the region and leave the announcements of doom to God. Hope to hear from you or see you at the services. This is only for people who believe the Bible to be God's word.
A warning is a message given in order for people to hear and take action because the message is grave (Ezekiel 3:16–21; Eze. 33:1–9; Acts 20:31; Matthew 2:12, 22). However, people have the habit of hearing warnings but taking no action, so consider this: "You've got to get out of this town because a storm is coming and it is a big storm!" "No, I'm not leaving. I will sit the storm out on my boat or in my house!" or "You've got to leave from here because this place isn't fit to live in—it is unsanitary. "No, I will not leave from here—this is my house and I'll stay right here. or "You need to repent of your sins because you will burn in hell if you don't!" "No, I love my sins and I will live my life as I want to live it!" or "The Bible has proven that your church is wrong—you've got to get out of that church!" "No, I will never leave my church!" Man needs to give more honest heed to the warnings he hears (Hebrews 2:1–4). Hope to hear from you or see you at the services. |