HEAVEN HAS A NEW RESIDENT

By all accounts, he was too young to die - only just turned 36 - but Robert T. Schuder, my publisher and friend in Christ, had made it clear that he had no qualms about "going home" at any time, now that he was certain of his eternal salvation. So heaven gained a new resident this week when, after having routine surgery, Robert slipped away into the arms of his heavenly Father due to breathing problems he experienced at home.

He was certainly a friend to thank God for! He had only been a grace believer for a short time, really, but was so hungry for the word, rightly divided, that he just couldn't get enough of it! It was amazing to watch him grow in grace!

I'll miss Robert's steadfast friendship and the way he encouraged and supported me in every situation. His generosity in publishing and marketing my end times novel, COVENANT WITH MY CHOSEN, in order to spread the truth of right division and salvation by grace through faith in Christ alone is something that I'll treasure all of my days.Now that Robert is in heaven, there's even more reason to long for it myself! What a joyous reunion that will be; Our Lord, Robert, and me! Maranatha!Scroll down to read an article I wrote for my work newspaper telling the story of how Robert came into my life and what he did for me:

ALASKAN ADVENTURE

Photo of Robert & Me at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/29653994@N00/?saved=1

It all began when I finally finished writing my Christian novel about the end times and posted it on my blog on the Internet. I told a wonderful Christian lady named Rita Bauschard, who lives in Pennsylvania, and whom I had recently met on the Internet, about my novel; and she took the time to read it. She enjoyed it enough that she sent copies of it to just about everyone she knew, including Robert Schuder of Anchorage, Alaska. Robert is “like a son” to Rita; and being a fairly new believer in the grace of Jesus Christ, he found my novel to be an enjoyable and “easy” way to learn more about Bible prophecy. He called me from Anchorage soon after and asked if he could publish my book. At first, I had trouble believing that he really meant it!

In what seemed like a whirlwind of generosity, he flew me up to Anchorage first class on Northwest Airlines, put me up in the downtown Anchorage Sheraton in a huge room with a business center, and even gave me spending money “so I wouldn’t starve” when he couldn’t take me out to eat. I have a sneaking suspicion he may have even arranged for the moose I saw up close as it posed in his condo’s driveway, as well as the mild earthquake I was treated to the next day!

What I’ll never forget are all of the wonderful people I met as I traveled, on the airplanes, as well as in Anchorage. The man on the plane next to me on the trip into Alaska was a native Inuit who told me fascinating facts about Alaska's history, terrain, and wildlife. I even ran into a couple from Appleton, Wisconsin (my home town), at the Golden Corral, which had just opened its doors in Anchorage. I ate breakfast every day at the Country Kitchen across from my hotel, and developed a friendly relationship with the ladies who work there. I made sure to tell them about God' grace for today.

The weather in mid-November in Anchorage was similar to what we get in mid-January – cold and dry. The sun came up at about 9:30 a.m. and went down way too early.

Robert and I chose a new title for the novel, COVENANT WITH MY CHOSEN; and information about how to order your copy can be obtained by sending an email to: dfkuz@hotmail.com. No matter what happens, Robert's kindness and generosity to me will give me a warm feeling - even toward Alaska - for the rest of my life. THANK YOU, ROBERT!!!

Here's what Richard Jordan, President of Grace School of the Bible, Bloomingdale, IL, had to say about Robert:

PROMOTION TO GLORY!

Just to let you know that a fairly new GSB student, Bob Schuder, unexpectedly went to be with the Lord last night. He was in the hospital and just had a tonsillectomy, and apparently died during the night from complications or whatever. He was only 36 years old. I just spoke with him on the phone a couple months ago when he called so excited about receiving his first lessons.I want to quote his statement of faith from his GSB [Grace School of the Bible] application:

For years I thought I was saved through the Kingdom program of repentance and water baptism and "accepting Jesus into my heart." Then I read the manuscript of an end times novel given to me by Rita Bauschard and written by Deborah Kuzenski. I learned the truth about being saved by grace and faith alone and right division. I was so delighted, that I helped Deborah publish the book. Now my goal is to learn as much as possible from GSB and hopefully spread the message in Alaska.

In the face of "present sufferings" what a demonstration of the joy and rejocing of our hearts! And what a testimony to the importance of having a certainty of eternal life as a present possession! Maranatha!
Posted by Richard Jordan at 4:57 PM 3 comments
Friday, December 7, 2007

SAVING LIFE OF CHRIST

I found a wonderful little book at the local thrift shop: THE SAVING LIFE OF CHRIST, by Major W. Ian Thomas, Zondervan Books, 1961. Here’s a quote about the contrast and complementary nature of “in Christ,” and “Christ in you.”

“To be in Christ – that is redemption; but for Christ to be in you – that is sanctification! To be in Christ – that makes you fit for heaven; but for Christ to be in you that makes you fit for earth! To be in Christ – that changes your destination; but for Christ to be in you – that changes your destiny! The one makes heaven your home – the other makes this world His workshop.”

That certainly puts it all into perspective, doesn’t it?

YOUR FREE GIFT IS READY!

There's a free gift ready and waiting for you. What's in it? All the wonders of the entire universe and more! Everything necessary has already been done to insure that when you simply believe that this free gift is yours, you will immediately become a joint-heir with the Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, Himself! Everything He is and has will instantly become yours the moment you trust that He paid the price for your sins with His own blood on Calvary's Cross and rose from the dead to assure you of delivery.

How can I be so sure? I'm certain of it because the King James Bible is the absolute, preserved word of God; and in 2 Corinthians 5:19, His inspired word tells me that “God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them, and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.” This means that God asks only one thing of us today: Accept the fact that He has now reconciled the whole world unto Himself in Christ. It's done. There is nothing more to do. No sinner's prayer to pray. No promises to make about cleaning up your act. No church rituals to perform. God is reconciled to you; now you need to be reconciled to Him by agreeing with Him that “he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” (2 Cor. 5:21). That's all that's necessary!

When you accept the fact that the Lord Jesus Christ has done it all, the Holy Spirit of God supernaturally baptizes you into Christ where you are sealed by Him eternally. The Holy Spirit seal keeps you so securely in Christ that you couldn't get out even if you wanted! (2 Tim. 2:13). There is nothing you must do, and nothing you must not do, in your future walk in Christ, to keep you safely there. Glorious fruits of righteousness will naturally spring forth according to the measure of your yielding to the Spirit that indwells you. (Eph. 2:10). With or without your obedience or fruit, after accepting God's gift, your salvation is sure because the Lord Jesus Christ has purchased you with a price. (Eph. 1:14).

So what are you waiting for? Thank God for His unspeakable gift and accept yours today! (2 Cor. 9:15). Then read the Scriptures regularly, paying special attention to the doctrines of Grace that God gave exclusively to the Apostle of the Gentiles, Paul, in order to form the Body of Christ today. (2 Tim. 2:15).

ARE WE ETERNALLY SECURE IN CHRIST?

The issue of eternal security of the believer in Christ is one that has been hotly debated for many years. There are verses in the Bible that say believers can lose their salvation and there are verses that are equally clear that believers cannot. The letter to the Hebrews, for example, has a couple of troubling passages: "For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins." [Heb. 10:26]. And this one: "For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, and have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, if they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame." [Heb. 6:4-6]. Add to this Jesus’ warning in John 15 that those who do not abide in him would be cast into the fire as a branch, and you have something to worry about!

When you turn to the writings of Paul, the apostle of the Gentiles, you receive some reassurance with passages such as, "And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption." [Eph. 4:30] Ephesians 1:14 speaks of believers as being a "purchased possession;" and Romans 8:38-39 comforts believers with Paul’s assurance that there is nothing that can separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

So, which passages should we believe? Can they all be correct? Yes, they can; and their plain meaning can be accepted without having to twist or spiritualize them in order to reconcile them with each other! Here’s the question we must always ask ourselves when we read a passage of Scripture: to whom is it written? The gospel of John, like the other three gospels, contains the words of our Lord Jesus Christ spoken "only unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel." [Matt. 10:6; 15:24] Similarly, the letter to the Hebrews contains truth for Israel both at the time of its writing and for the future day of the Lord. Paul wrote his letters to the body of Christ, in which Jew and Gentile are on equal ground [1 Cor. 12:13]; so a letter to just one group or the other would not be in keeping with that great truth. Paul’s gospel of grace has been forming the body of Christ since his conversion, which made him its very first member. [1 Tim. 1:16]. So, Paul’s letters contain the truth for us, the body of Christ, today; and one of our greatest blessings is that of being eternally secure in Christ. Israel had the assurance of salvation if they remained faithful to the end of their lives [Matt. 24:13]; we have eternal life as a present possession the moment we place our faith in Jesus Christ, his death, burial, and resurrection. [1 Cor. 15:1-4].

Still not convinced? Here is the simple, yet glorious reason why we are secure for all eternity when we believe the gospel that Paul preached: The moment we believe, the Holy Spirit baptizes us into Christ. [1 Cor. 12:13]. Not a drop of water is involved; the action is a supernatural one. We are now in Christ, a member of his very own body, so tightly sealed into him that we cannot be unsealed even if we wanted to be! [2 Tim. 2:13]. Now that we’re in him, we are saved not by our own feeble and wavering faith, but by the faith of Christ! [Romans 3:22; Gal. 2:16] His righteousness is imputed to us [Rom. 3:22; Php. 3:9]; and his perfect obedience to God’s requirements of circumcision, water baptism, and keeping the Law become ours simply because we are now in him [2 Cor. 5:21]. We are totally "accepted in the beloved" [Eph. 1:6] because he is the beloved and we are in him! The Father no longer sees us as separate, sinful individuals...he sees us in him, his beloved Son, in whom he is well pleased!

Now that we’re in him, seated with him in the heavenlies at this very moment [Eph. 2:6], how then can we fail to have the eternal life he possesses, as well as all of the riches to which he is heir, as we are now "fellowheirs" in him? [Eph. 3:6]. We now walk "in the Spirit," because he walks in the Spirit, with the result being that there is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus. [Rom. 8:1].

God never promised Israel the kind of blessings that we have in Christ, whose faith now saves us when we place our trust in him. God’s chosen nation will have a wonderful role to play in the "ages to come," but we have Christ as a present possession in the "but now." [Eph. 2:13; Rom. 3:21].

WHY I WOULD NEVER PRAY THE LORD'S PRAYER

I hope that you will give me a chance to explain to you why I would never pray this prayer and would not advise any fellow members of the church which is Christ's body to pray it either. When the Lord Jesus taught this prayer to his disciples, he was in the process of announcing the coming of the promised kingdom on earth to Israel upon their accepting him as their prophesied messiah.  He planned to send the Holy Spirit upon them after his death, resurrection, and ascension to empower them to make a bona fide offer of the kingdom to Israel (as they then did at Pentecost and shortly thereafter). If Israel as a nation had accepted the offer, the 70th week of Daniel would have shortly begun; and Peter declared that Joel's prophecy was already beginning to be fulfilled. (Acts 2).  So, Jesus knew that his followers would need to know how to pray and ask for his Father’s help during the terrible persecution to come.  They were going to have to depend upon him even for their daily bread when the antichrist restricted the food supply to only those who worshiped him.  They would also depend on God for protection from the evil one ("lead us not into temptation [to break down and worship the beast], but deliver us from evil"). We know from the epistles of Peter, James, Jude, and John, and the book of Revelation, as well as the letter to the Hebrews, that failure to endure and abide through that time of trial would cost them their eternal salvation.  But the most important reason why I would never pray the Lord’s Prayer or anything similar to it, is the part that says, “And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.”

Immediately after teaching them this prayer, Jesus explains this statement by saying that “if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” This makes it crystal clear that under Israel’s program, their forgiveness depended on them extending forgiveness to others.  Is that the case for us, the "one new man," today?

Thanks be to God, we live by the doctrine the risen Lord gave to the apostle of the Gentiles that Israel’s program has been temporarily set-aside.  Paul tells us that we are to forgive others because the Lord has already forgiven us. (Eph. 4:32; Col. 1:14). There is nothing we can do or not do that will cost us our salvation. To ask God to go back to Israel’s law program to deal with us today is the height of folly! And it clearly shows to him our disregard and ignorance of his written word! The professing church of today must realize that not everything in the ‘New Testament’ is directed to us, the church which is his body; and we must stop greedily appropriating everything that appeals to us and indiscriminately throwing out the rest. Do we sell all that we have and give alms? Do we carry neither scrip nor purse? Do we totally rely on God’s providence like the lilies of the field? The kingdom believers did and will again during the tribulation; but we’re told by Paul to provide for our own and  (1 Timothy 5:8).  

Our prayer should be for strength and wisdom to witness for him in this evil world until he appears in glory and we see him face to face.   We are not looking for a kingdom to come on earth; ours is a heavenly hope.   God intends to redeem the heavens from Satan with the one new man, and the earth from Satan with the nation of Israel.  Then, and only then, will his will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

ARE YOU ONE OF THESE?

Have you ever willingly looked at pornography? Have you ever been addicted to alcohol or drugs? Have you ever participated in an adulterous or homosexual lifestyle? Have you ever taken something that didn't belong to you? Have you ever told a lie? Ever wished someone would have bad luck? Ever deliberately hurt someone's feelings?

If you answered yes to one or more of the questions above, I have good news for you: Jesus Christ came to save sinners just like you and...me!

“This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief [first].” [Paul, writing to Timothy, in 1 Timothy 1:15].

In fact, God knew all along that the world would be FULL of sinners and that’s WHY He sent His Son to pay for our sins! “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” [Paul to the Romans in Romans 5:8].

Denominational churches, and even fundamentalist evangelical churches, in a sincere but misguided zeal to encourage good behavior, have given people the idea that before they can even ask God to save them through the Lord Jesus Christ, they must turn from their sins and “clean up their act.” At the very least, they must earnestly promise to make every effort to stop committing certain sins. By allowing people to believe this, these religious systems are perverting the gospel of Jesus Christ for today!

“But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.” [Paul to the Romans, 4:5].

There is absolutely NOTHING that a sinner must do before – or after - he accepts the free gift of eternal life that God is holding out to any who will believe in the cross work of His Son, Jesus Christ. EVERYTHING that needed to be done in order for God to make this astounding offer has already been accomplished by Jesus Christ’s sacrifice on Calvary’s cross, His burial, and resurrection from the dead the third day. [1 Corinthians 15:1-4]. When we sinners believe that fact, all of our sins – past, present, and future -- are forgiven and we become instantly sealed into the Body of Christ by a supernatural baptism by the Holy Spirit who now indwells us until the day of redemption. We are now so completely identified with Christ that it is His life living in us that God sees when He looks at us: “Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” [Paul to the Romans, 3:22, 23]. Sin is sin, no matter which sins we struggle with personally. Without Christ, we are powerless to overcome the power of sin; but with Christ dwelling in us, we can now have the victory! SINNERS, come as you are, and you will find peace with God in Christ. (See Romans 5:1).

If you're "one of these" like I am, you'll love the good news of the gospel presented by FreedomMountain here on his YouTube page.