The Plan

What I believe....

Puppies are a pain to raise ...
lambs are cute but turn into sheep ...
weeds are impossible to control ...
beef is good to eat ...
my kubota is great ...
people make decisions very early that effects their entire life...
personal responsibility is key to happiness ...
making guitars is difficult but rewarding ...
friends are much better than wealth ...
God has a plan for us ...
if you want to hear God laugh tell him YOUR plans ...
God's plan is strategic not tactical ...
Believing this has made my current medical problems much easier to face ...

Here is what I believe it is:

All through the old testament God tried to deal with his people by letting them earn the right to go to heaven. He set up simple laws that allowed the righteous to earn their way by following the rules. Time after time man proved that he could not, on his own, live up to the challenge. I believe that even the smallest sin disqualifies us from heaven.

The new testament makes it clear that even the thought of the sin is enough. Jimmy Carter admits that he has sinned in his heart. So what are we to do? God, knowing our hearts and our inability to be sin free sent his son to live the sin free life, to be killed for being good, and to defeat death and sit by the side of God in heaven. What I believe that this means for us is: if we believe in Jesus, when we die and face the judgment, that God will see his son standing in our place and will find us faultless. There is nothing we can do, no action we can take, no life on this earth that can achieve this goal. The only way to heaven is belief in Jesus as the son of God. And this is a free guift.

I know there are Christian religions that make all kinds of demands on their members to do this or not do that in order to get to heaven. I'm not buying it! There is only one thing and that is belief in the Christ. I believe we sin every day...it's impossible not to sin. But God has taken that burden away. I think we should try to live a Christ like life, but should also understand that we WILL fall short. That problem has been taken care of for the believer.

Life is good ...
God is good ...