Monthly Blog: Practical Atheism

Defined as: living life without regard for the existence of God, actions and decisions that reflect a lack of belief in God, regardless of ones professed belief. 

 (Ps 14:1) “The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none who does good.” 

 When David speaks here of the “fool” he is not speaking of the ignorant or mentally deficient individuals but of those who are morally perverse. Those who are “stubbornly contradictory” or those who are “deviating from what is considered moral and right.” All their works are abominable or causing moral revulsion. “They are corrupt”. They are corrupt because they know better and reject what they see and know. Apostle Paul takes from Ps 14 & 53 and clarifies and expands what David is saying in (Rom 1:18-21 & 24-25)

 “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 

 (vs 24-25) “Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.” 

    One commentator points out that the “fool” of which David writes is not an atheist in the theoretical sense but in his action and by what he chooses to believe he is a practical atheist. Thus, David says they are corrupt in choosing to do the abominable works and there are none with this heart condition who does good. 

    This thought of “practical atheism” or behaving as if we don’t believe there is a God or that He isn’t watching or knows what we are up to caused me to pause and consider my own behavior and why. I know that there is The God and have no doubt that He and our Lord Jesus are all knowing and that one day I will have to give an account for the things I have done (Mt 12:35-37 & Rom 14:12). I understand also, that knowing and having faith in what I know about God is a process of growth. We are all given varying degrees of faith (Rom 12:3 & 6). Through our God allowed experiences, that faith should be always increasing and building up with our knowledge of God and the Lord Jesus Christ. Although, I might never be so foolish to say, “There is no God”, I am daily confronted with little things that pit the old man and that selfish way of life and the new man I am striving to be all the time. 

 (Phil 2:3) “Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself.”

   These types of opportunities come up routinely and especially now, that I am mostly retired and not pressed for time as before, when my mind is on Christ and I am “bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ,” I find time to think that other’s time is more important than my own. However, when I am pressed for time and get impatient, do I not exhibit my “practical atheism,” that I behave as though God is not there or doesn’t really care? 

   We profess ourselves to be disciples of Jesus Christ and we will not be judged by what we profess to be, but what our actions show us to be. Let our episodes of “practical atheism” large and small be ever fewer and fewer.

   Br. Bruce

Why Does God Permit Evil to Exist?

 

^“ A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;”

   Today, we like so many across this country and the world, mourn over the senseless violence and needless pain caused by disillusioned and evil human beings.

   The question is often asked, why does God permit evil to exist?

   Evil as defined by Webster is: “that which produces unhappiness: anything which either directly or remotely causes suffering of any kind.” 

   A question people will invariably ask is – Did God, the Almighty One, the One who is all wise and all powerful, – did God know that all these tragic human events would take place?

   The obvious answer is – yes. God is omniscience – He is all knowing – there is nothing in the events of human life that catch Him by surprise. As we are told in scripture, He knows the end from the beginning in all human history – even to that which is yet to be written.

   To answer the question though, we need to understand from God’s Word how God is dealing with the world and more specifically – you and I in this age.

   We know that God is perfect in every way – perfect in wisdom, perfect in love, perfect in justice – The psalmist says in psalm 5 that our “God is a God who takes no pleasure in wickedness; and no evil dwells with Him”

     God, in His infinite wisdom, has been dealing with mankind in diverse ways in the  dispensations of time. We are living in the dispensational age of grace that started when the perfect Son of God came to this earth – whom scripture says was full of grace and truth. And in this dispensational age of grace – God is not dealing with nations, with churches, with organizations or with families, no matter what people try to tell us. God is dealing with individuals – He’s calling individuals. He’s calling individuals from every nation across this globe – from every tribe and every kindred.

     Unless we understand God’s glorious plan for the redemption of all mankind, God’s glorious plan of the ages or what Paul calls God’s “eternal purpose” in Christ Jesus – unless we understand God’s dispensational dealings with man then we cannot answer the question – Why does God permit evil to exist?

     In God’s infinite wisdom, mercy and love – God created man as free moral agents, with a free will – the freedom to choose. At the moment God is dealing with you and me and all of those who have responded to the gospel call. He’s preparing a bride for His Son and He’s not doing it gratuitously – He’s not just doing it because He wants a bride for His Son – He’s doing it because He has an ultimate and glorious plan beyond that.       

   But now, He sits back and allows man to make his own decisions, to create his own dilemmas, to seek to formulate his own solutions, to fail and to experience misery and pain. The evil conditions of the world today are not God’s doing. They are the result of the work of sin and degradation working in the hearts and minds of mankind for 6000 years.

    Why does God permit evil to exist? Sometimes it is the only way crucial lessons in life can be learned.

   In life, it is painful for parents to see their child go thru the school of hard knocks and learn a lesson the hard way – thru trial and error. I believe, it is infinitely more difficult for God, who is perfect – perfect in wisdom, perfect in justice, and perfect in love – to stand back and let man do despicable and contemptable deeds against his fellow man.

   At the end of this age God will ultimately offer mankind the choice – which world would you like to live in? – today’s world of evil, violence and constant conflict? Or a world where there will be perfect peace and harmony amongst humanity. A place where true and purposeful love can be experienced. A place where swords and weapons of warfare will be hammered into plowshares and pruning hooks, and war to never be learned again. The choice seems simple.

   God’s kingdom is coming. Our Lord Jesus taught His disciples to pray “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is done in heaven – and that prayer has been prayed for 2000 years and it’s going to be fulfilled – God’s kingdom is coming upon this earth. God’s kingdom of righteousness is going to replace Satan’s kingdom of unrighteousness, and you and I will play a crucial role in bringing about that transition.

   In the age to come God will use Christ and the Church to bring healing and blessings to all the families of the earth. This is what humanity is waiting for:   

⁸ I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. ¹⁹ For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. … ²¹ that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.     Romans 8

   Everyone who has died from Adam to the last person before Jesus’ return will be coming back in the resurrection – from those 23 beautiful children who died in the Texas flood to all who have died due to the atrocities of evil men, from last week’s horror in Utah to the numberless acts of deadly human violence down through the centuries. All are coming back,– because God’s Word says they are, and His Word never returns to Him void.

   Ultimately, men’s hearts will not change from the evil intents that consume them until they allow the Prince of peace and the Lord of love into that heart.

To that end - We say marantha! – come Lord Jesus come! – that this evil and adulteress generation will end and your love, mercy and justice will reign supreme to the glory of Almighty God. And all God’s people said – amen!        

                                                                                       Br. D. Gorham     

WHAT BATTLE ARE YOU FIGHTING?

 

Matthew 16:24

 

“If anyone wishes to follow after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.”

 

   We as Christians must learn to do this daily, as we walk this pilgrimage walk of faith. During this journey there will be times where God will permit things to be taken away from us, and there are also times when a service that we have been blessed to do, we are no longer able to do.

   Let us not think we are being punished or disciplined but simply it is because our physical sinful flesh is slowing down and breaking down, not allowing us to continue in that specific service anymore.  This can be very hard to accept.   So, how should we accept and carry oneself when we are going through the refiners’ fire as one who follows and serves the Lord Jesus during this trying transition?

 The first thing we should always do is pray and ask for the Lord’s peace and leading.

 Also pray that we carry ourselves humbly and for the holy spirit’s leading on how to accept this, and to be an example to all when this becomes a reality.  Let us always dive into the Lord’s word for Guidance and encouragement.

 Apostle Paul reminds us in the book of Romans 12: 1-2

·       “Therefore, I urge you brethren by the mercies of God, present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.  And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”  

 2^nd Corinthians 12: 7-10

·        “Because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me -to keep me from exalting myself! Concerning this, I implored the Lord three times so that it might leave me. “And he has said to me, my grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.”   Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, that that the power of Christ may dwell in me.  Therefore, I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christs sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.”

 Job 13:15

·       “Though he slays me I will hope in him.  Nevertheless, I will argue my ways before him.”

   We can only be successful in this only one way and that is by faith in the Lord Jesus and by the holy spirit, and here is the important part and may even be the most crucial , we have to put action behind our prayer, for all of us need to be growing, learning, and putting into practice that which we are being taught by these trials and just as we are being taught we need also to be growing  in our faith walk and maturing and increasing in our spiritual growth to be a pleasing aroma to our heavenly father and a positive example to our brethren and all who watch us.

So let us never grow weary in doing good, and in what we can do.

 GALATIONS 6:9-10   “Let us not become weary in doing good for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity let us do good to all people Especially to those who belong to the Household of Faith.”

 

                                                                May Lord Jesus bless you all.

 

                                                                                                                         Br. Steve Hoffner

 

 

Christian Believers Fellowship 100 Year Celebration

Live stream link - Channel dashboard - YouTube Studio 

    We have many dear brethren who are planning on attending this once in a lifetime event. Special guests include:

Friday Night - 6:00pm: vocalist & guitarist, Don Smith - A brother who has served us with hymns and spiritual songs for the last 30+ years 

Saturday Afternoon - 3-5pm: A Worship service led by the husband & wife team of Kris and Jamie Klein. Jamie attended CBF for the first 7 years of her life before the family moved to Buffalo.

Sunday Morning - 10:30am: Guest Speaker - Wayne Urbaniak from Minneapolis, Minnesota. Wayne and wife, Kathy, have visited and served at CBF for over 40 years.

Besides all that, there will be plenty of worship, testimonies and tons of fellowship with brethren we have known down through the years. 

Let us know if you are coming - we have reserved some rooms at one of the nearby hotels if needed. And as always, there will be plenty of food, conversation and memories to go around.  

Until then, The bless you and keep you.

Hopes and Fears of all the Years

 

As I sat and enjoyed our special Christmas celebration and remembrance of the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ my attention became fixed upon the lyrics of a Christmas carol that I have been singing since grade school but had never stopped to really contemplate the significance of the message found in the last line of the first verse of “O Little Town of Bethlehem”: “The hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight.”

         Since Adam opened the door to sin in Paradise and thus was expelled from Paradise and access to the Tree of Life, mankind has lived on the cursed earth as enemies of their Creator. Instead of an eternity of bliss they would live but a short time, long enough to experience and learn the sinfulness of sin and the sorrow and unfairness of a world run by Satan and man. With the wages of sin being death, all mankind has lived in dread of the process of dying and the fear of the unknown, of the state of the dead. The one thing man knew about death was that no one escaped it: the rich and the poor, the kings and peasants were all equal when the “breath of life” was taken away. (Heb 2:14-15) ^“Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil,  and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.” Fear has been the primary tool of Satan’s dominance over mankind and his ultimate weapon has been the fear of death. Be it fear of the always present, potential danger of that “out of nowhere” strike that fells men daily or the slow disintegration of strength and mind on the steady march to the grave, the fear of death has been the scourge of men, and the great weapon Satan has used to dominate them. 

         Since man is made in God’s image and God has put eternity in the heart and desire of all men (Eccl 3:11), man lives simultaneously in hope, wishes and fear. The Old Testament speaks of a time to come when a people will be led by the Messiah into a time of peace, plenty, and perfection but who will those people be? God told Daniel (Dan 12:2,3)

“And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, Some to everlasting life, Some to shame and everlasting contempt.  Those who are wise shall shine Like the brightness of the firmament, And those who turn many to righteousness Like the stars forever and ever” ,

and Job declared that he knows his redeemer lives and in his own flesh he would see God (Job 19: 25-27) but how? (Isa 53:1) “Who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?” All the hopes and dreams of mankind could never approach the reality of the good things God has in store for His beloved creation: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him. But God has revealed them to us through His spirit.” (1Cor2:9,10) Blessed are your eyes and ears for you see, hear and comprehend the Gospel of the kingdom.

         All the promises and Messianic prophesies of God found in the Holy Scriptures, the hopes and fears of all mankind lying dormant in death and waiting, meet in the manger in Bethlehem with the long-promised birth of the Messiah to a virgin, and the angels proclaimed “I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” In this babe begins the fulfilment of all the Messianic prophecies of the Holy Scriptures.  Thirty-three years later we read “The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, By the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles:  The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death Light has dawned.” (Mt 4:15-16) Indeed “the hopes and fears of all the years” now more than 6,000 years’ worth come together for answer in Jesus Christ. “Who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?”

         In the Millennial Age, when all who are in the grave hear the voice of the Son of Man and come forth to the resurrection of judgment, will give an account for the lives they have lived and they will see all their hopes and fears come together in the great “Light of the World” as God restores Paradise and there is a new heaven and new earth where righteousness reigns forever as God always intended it to be.

         The great Light has come and shined upon you in the knowledge of Jesus Christ. There is no need to fear anyone or anything and all our hopes will be exceeded beyond our wildest dreams as the prophecies of God march on to completion. (Rev 22:20-21) ^“He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming quickly.” Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus! The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.”