Where Sinners Go
Bible in a Year :
God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. —
Today's Scripture :
My friend was having a conversation with a man who didn’t have much good to say about the Christian faith. My friend knew that if he were to sound too “religious,” he would jeopardize any chance to witness. So, in the middle of their discussion, he said, “Hey, Bob, do you know where sinners go?”
“That’s easy,” he replied. “You’re going to tell me they go to hell.”
“No,” my friend responded. “They go to church.”
Bob was speechless. That wasn’t what he expected. He wasn’t ready to hear from a Christian who realized he wasn’t perfect. My friend had a chance to share that Christians understand their sinfulness and their need for continual spiritual restoration. He was able to explain grace—the unmerited favor we have with God despite our sinfulness (Rom. 5:8-9; Eph. 2:8-9).
Perhaps we don’t give those outside the church a clear picture of what’s happening inside. They may not understand that we’re there to praise our Savior for providing “redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins” (Col. 1:14).
Yes, sinners go to church. And sinners—forgiven ones—go to heaven because of God’s grace.
Reflect & Pray
For Christ is our righteousness, Lord, and our Savior;
No justification for sin can we offer,
Yet sanctified fully, we’re now His forever. —Lee
Last Sunday I attended the church where I had my zoom
bible studies. I went there to listen to
Frank Dennis, a 95 year-old retired missionary doctor who lovingly served God
for 30 years in the then undeveloped Taiwan (called Formosa then). He was on his way for a 10-day and generously accepted the church’s invitation to hear his testimony (with
Chinese translator). His “sermon” was a
series of funny and touching anecdotes on his service there, all the
obstacles God had him overcome and the ways the Lord worked to affect him and his
patients. I presumed he was going back
to visit his friends and reminise with doctors he so lovingly trained. May God bless him with good health for a job
well done.
I was hoping I could get his take on the change and development of American Christianity since his retirement back to the United States in the early 1990’s. I never got the chance during the brief after-service lunch encounter. During our conversation the good man mentioned he doesn’t trust the FDA, never took any Covid shot, infected with the virus but healthfully recovered. I told his granddaughter about the journalist Tim Alberta’s book “The Kingdom, The Power and The Glory” and his telling of an Australian missionary who said he would come to the United States to evangelize American evangelicals because, I figure, in his estimation, Trumpist Christians had so strayed from Jesus Christ that they are on the way to Hell and perdition. She never heard of Tim Alberta nor the book.
I also had the good fortune of meeting Ellen Lee Zhou, who was canvassing the neighborhood and attended this church service. She is the Republican candidate the third consecutive time for San Francisco mayor. She is a fervent evangelical Christian, Sunday school teacher, and known to be the Chinese Trump (she would never win for sure). Since she cares about the homeless problem and I do empathize with people on the street I went about to hear her takes. I proposed she could work with the homelessness organizations in San Francisco. However, she charged these non-profits are a racket and they conspired to bring homeless people into the city to get constant streams of government money. As mayor she would round up the homeless people, take their pictures and with facial recognition technologies, make sure they won’t show up in San Francisco again.
This brings me back to the attached articles on the Trump rally that bears some relationship with the above inspirational message. Evangelical Christians are to bring people to Christ and live a fulfilling life on earth because Jesus died for our sins. The good doctor who served God and the Taiwanese people so selflessly and sacrificially retired and came back home into an evangelical environment that promote strives in fighting cultural wars. During his stay as foreign missionary Dr. Dennis had not lived thru the purge of the Southern Baptist Convention leadership, afterward which Baptists joined force with anti-abortionist Catholics into the baby fights. When he came back the church environment would be very much different from when he left. The good doctor was out for the Great Commission to bring people to the love of Christ. Right now because of the culture war, evangelical Christians had become the Great De-Commission agents because Christians would have a hard time convincing people coming to Christ when they are so immersed in culture wars. So many believers and pastors' kids lost their church mooring when the parents cannot see their own bias, prejudice and institutional conformity within the evangelical cocoon to set up good examples. That is so unfortunate. But the good doctor still marches on. In the end, Jesus will prize him for his faithfulness but will reproach him for his ignorance inside what I presumed his political soundbox.
Christians became the acolytes of Donald Trump. Just like Ellen Lee Zhou the Republican mayoral candidate, our evangelical religion went MAGA and Donald Trump is our exemplar. As Hulk Hogan fulminated during the Republican National Convention, we are all Trumpites (Moabites anyone?). Jesus Christ is our Heavenly King and Donald Trump our Dear Leader on earth. As the Chinese saying goes, heaven is high and the emperor far away. The teaching of Christ is too woke with all those talk of love and making peace. He'll forgive our sins no matter what after we die so following Donald Trump is just fine because Dear Leader so fully nourish our spiritual and mental appetites here in this world. He got us feeling strong and patriotic. It's so simple and straightforward to round-up those "homeless trash" and immigrants who eat our pets (Christians like me as well). The Bible has verses on gay and lesbians. It's perfectly fine when Trump talked playground to the woman protestor as describe in the bebelow article. We love it when Trump said he is for us and we'll worry about Jesus later when we have the time. Afterall, we can always quote specific verses to God.
May the Lord have mercy on us!!
Trump slammed over response to female heckler at California rally
Donald Trump addressed a heckler who interrupted his rally in Coachella, California on Saturday by saying she would get the “hell knocked out of her” by her own mother – despite saying he would be a “protector” of women in Pennsylvania last month.
Trump, who also appointed three Supreme Court justices who voted to overturn the landmark abortion ruling Roe v Wade, said on 23 September that the “great women of our country” are “poorer”, “less healthy” and “less safe on the streets” now compared to when he was in the White House four years ago.
He added: “I will fix all of that, and fast, and at long last this nation, and national nightmare, will end. It will end, because I am your protector. I want to be your protector. As president, I have to be your protector.
“I hope you don’t make too much of it. I hope the fake news doesn’t go, ‘Oh he wants to be their protector.’ Well, I am. As president, I have to be your protector.”
His Democrat opponent, Kamala Harris, went on to slam the claims on the Call Her Daddy podcast, pointing out the aforementioned overturning of Roe v Wade which led to abortion bans in 20 states, and that Trump is “the same guy who said that women should be punished for having abortions”.
“This is the same guy who uses the kind of language he does to describe women. So yeah, there you go,” she concluded.
Language like the infamous “grab them by the p****” remarks from 2005, for example. He was also found liable for the sexual abuse of writer E Jean Carroll last year.
If these facts alone weren’t enough to undermine his “protector” comments, then people only needed to wait a few more weeks for the former Apprentice star to say something which also called such a claim into question.
While the identity of the heckler or her comments are not widely known yet, video footage shared online shows Trump turning around to look at the heckler as she is booed by the Republican’s supporters.
He then goes on to say: “Back home to mommy, she goes back home to mommy.
“’Was that you, darling’, and then she gets the hell knocked out of her.
“Her mother’s a big fan of ours.”
Trump has since received widespread condemnation for “fantasizing about violence against a woman”:
Harris, meanwhile, took to Twitter/X on Saturday to once again encourage people to watch her opponent’s rallies and “be the decision-maker on his acuity”.
Donald Trump Warns Of 'Radical Left' Election Backlash, Suggests Military Response
Donald Trump thinks the military should handle his political opponents if there is unrest after the November election results come in.
During an interview on Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures,” host Maria Bartiromo asked the former president about reports the government had thwarted a potential election-related terror attack and if the public should be worried about a violent response from immigrants come November.
Last week, the FBI arrested an Afghan man who was allegedly part of a plot to launch suicide attacks on large crowds on Election Day. Officials said the man had obtained AK-47 assault rifles, bought one-way plane tickets for his family to go to Afghanistan, and liquidated their assets while attempting to carry out his plans.
Rather than focus on real threats from foreign militants, Trump told Bartiromo that he was far more concerned with left-wing Americans in regard to Election Day.
“I think the bigger problem is the enemy from within, not even the people who are destroying our country ... I don’t think they’re the problem in terms of Election Day,” the Republican presidential nominee said. “I think the bigger problem are the people from within. We have some very bad people, we have some sick people, radical left lunatics.”
“And it should be easily handled by, if necessary, by National Guard, or if really necessary, by the military,” he continued. “Because they can’t let that happen.”
He also said that he doesn’t foresee any political tumult coming from his own supporters on Election Day, telling Bartiromo, “No, I don’t think so. Not from the side that votes for Trump.”
Though Trump warned about a left-wing backlash toward election results, it is his own supporters who have a history of causing post-election chaos.
Following President Joe Biden’s 2020 win, throngs of right-wing agitators stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, delaying Congress’ certification of election results.
Biden has already raised concerns about Trump supporters becoming violent if the election does not go their way.
During a White House briefing earlier this month, he told reporters he’s “confident” the election “will be free and fair,” but still unsure “whether it’ll be peaceful.”
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