These are my personal beliefs and convictions. The following is not meant to be exhaustive explanations of each topic, but a brief synopsis.
I believe in the one true God. (Deut. 6:4-5) He is the creator of the heavens, earth, and all things. (Gen. 1:1). God is a god of love, mercy, and judgment. His desire is that all mankind would recognize him for who He is and have a personal relationship with Him.
Jesus Christ was the only Son of God. He was all God and all man. Being God he was without sin, yet as a man, he knew pain, sorrow, grief, joy, laughter, and more. During his life on earth, he raised people from the dead, healed the sick, and did many miracles to minister to the hurting and poor of his day. He was tried, convicted, and crucified for being a traitor by the Roman authorities of that day. After three days, Jesus arose from the grave, was seen of his followers and others, and ascended back into heaven to the right hand of the throne of God. Through his death and resurrection, the price for sin (death) was paid and a door was opened for mankind to have an intimate and personal relationship with God through Jesus.
The Holy Bible is the divinely inspired word of God. (2 Tim. 3:16) It was inspired and accumulated by men of God many years ago into the versions seen today. It is the infallible word of God. Some argue over the Bible's inerrancy or infallibility. Since most of the original autographs (versions) in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek are lost now, it is natural that there are varying interpretations of certain words and phrases in the older manuscripts still available. This does not take away from the infallibility of the Bible as God's true word to mankind. Whatever translation or version you may read or not read, trust that it is God's word, and allow God to speak to you through it.
Christians see the world's future events in many different ways. Most of this comes from varying interpretations of the Bibles passages about the future. I believe there are some things we aren't meant to know. As far as terminology, I am a pre-tribulation pre-millenialist. That means I believe the following order of events.
Rapture of All True Blievers(Christians)(1 Thess. 4:16)
Tribulation Period (7 years: satan's kingdom; God's judgment poured out; few saved by sheer determination)
Battle of Armagedon (Final world war, set in Valley of Armagedon (Meggido) in Northern Israel)
Second Coming of Jesus to earth (Jesus with his saints return and intervein in battle of Armagedon; Jesus' feet will stand on Mt. of Olives Zech. 14:1; Will set up His kingdom)
1000 Year Reign of Jesus on earth (Jesus reigns as King over the earth)
Final Judgment; eternity begins (Final judgment for all those throughout history who had opportunity but never believed and trusted Jesus and his teaching; Rev. 20:11; New heavens and New earth Rev. 21-22)
After careful study of Scripture, I believe this order to be true, although I realize many disagree with this order of future events. I leave it in God's hands to work it all out.
Only two verses in the Scriptures actually talk about heaven, Isaiah 64:4; 1 Corinthians 2:9. Both say we can't really imagine what heaven (paradise) will be like. I do believe it is reserved only for those who have had a personal encounter with God through Jesus Christ, little children unable to understand, mentally ill who can not understand, and those who have not had any opportunity to hear the gospel will be given special grace.
My idea of heaven: Heaven would be a place a great peace and joy. Music and singing can be heard in many places, but there will be also places of peace and quiet. Heaven (now, to) will be getting away from the joy and singing around God's throne and hiking up into the mountains with just a pair of cutoff blue jeans on; sitting by a pure clear mountain stream and dangling my bare feet in the water; leaning against a rock and feeling the warm sun (God's glory) on my bare shoulders; listening to the birds an the wind blow through the tops of the trees.
Everyone will be a family, and Jesus will be with us in everything we do. There will be lots of work and play, but the work will be easy, not grueling work. It will be more than streets of gold and gates of pearl.(Rev. 21) That's just the Holy City, where God's throne will be placed here on earth and from where we, as believers, will reign from with Christ. In eternity, we'll have access to the entire universe. I plan to snowboard the highest peaks with my friends, having perfect sight, with the most pristene snow. There is no worry of death or getting hurt. It will be the perfect conditions and the perfect snow. I also look forward to being able to run or ride my bike by myself, without fear of running into anything or falling because I couldn't see an obstacle. I have a friend who wants to spend a lot of time fishing. In heaven, you'll always be able to get the best fish. No worry of sunburn from being on the water all day. It will be an eternity of joy, peace, and adventure with God. Look around at the different types of people, plants, stars, etc. God's not boring. Do you think eternity (heavn) is going to be boring? This is my hope in Jesus.
The bible says we have all sinned and come short of God's expectations,(Rom 3:23) and the wages of sin is death.(Rom. 6:23). The Greek word for sin is "hamartia", which means missing the mark or walking off the path. Other Hebrew words translated sin such as transgression and iniquity mean willful violation of the law and unrighteousness or wickedness, respectively. It is a part of all of us even Christians. Only through the confession and the forgiveness of God can we truly begin to put sin out of our lives and seek to be what we were intended to be as human beings. We still may make mistakes (sin), but if we confess and forsake the sin, God's forgiveness is there.(Prov. 28:13)
Evangelism is the duty of every Christian (believer).(2 Tim. 4:5) It is not merely attending a "mission" or "revival". The word, "evangelism" comes from the Greek, "euangellion: good news" or "euangelizomai: to proclaim good news". Evangelism in it's simplest form is just sharing good news. In the Christian sense, this is sharing the good news of Jesus Christ and what Jesus did to bring us in to a relationship with God, Our Creator.(Mt. 28:19-20) This is done in many ways such as websites, handing out pamphlets, traditional preaching, and personal contact. When I am not in a leadership role, I prefer personal, friendship and servant evangelism. I enjoy sharing my faith and beliefs, but I would rather people see something in me that would make them seek a deeper relationship with God. This may be a joy and zeal in life, a determination to overcome anything that seeks to defeat me, or a stability when life becomes difficult. I would like my epitaph to say: "Here lies an evangelist. He love God, lived life fully, and people were changed for the better."
Life is a gift from God It is something to be honored and treasured from birth until death. Yes, life can have its ups and downs, joys, and sorrow, and good times and bad times. The key is how we deal with all that life gives us as individuals. Life is meant to be lived to its fullest, work and play, but not without regard to and respect of family, friends, and our fellow man. It is more than just me or I. It is me and I, you and us, and we together with God.
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