Do You Really Have OCD Or Is It Something Else?

John 3:14-17, “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.”

I have received numerous emails from a handful of web visitors over the decades, who confide in me that they have Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). I always encourage such people to refrain from diagnosing themselves with such a mental disorder. I think in most cases, people who think they are suffering from OCD are really just lacking a solid grasp on what the Gospel is. I was wonderfully saved (born-again) at age 13. However, for the next several years I worried much. I cried and feared that I might not be saved. In hindsight, I did not have OCD, nor did I even know about such a disorder until I was much older.

What is OCD? It is a mental disorder that causes a person to incessantly worry that they are not saved, no matter what anyone tells them. I had a man from India years ago who wrote bizarre emails to me. At first I thought he was messing with me, mocking my ministry. He asked me if it mattered which of Jesus' hands were nailed to the cross first? Of course, it does not matter. He asked me if it mattered what material the cross was made of, wood or plastic? I replied that since plastic wasn't invented until the year 1862 by Alexander Parkes, obviously the cross couldn't have been made of plastic.

The man said that he feared while sitting in his recliner that Hell would open up and take him at any time. I was very doubtful about his sincerity at first, but then concluded that if he was willing to take the time to write lengthy emails, I ought to give him the benefit of the doubt, so I did. We exchanged 150 emails over a few months. I shared every sermon, article, video, book and resource I could think of about salvation to help the man find the peace and assurance he desperately desired. I do sincerely believe that this man has OCD, but I am not a psychologist. I finally had to kindly tell him that I simply could not help him with his issues.

However, I am convinced that most people who think they have OCD really don't. I encourage people who are struggling with doubts about God's salvation to listen to lots of Bible preaching on the subject, and to read Christian books about salvation, and most importantly to study the King James Bible. When I learned over time how salvation works, all my fears went away.

Some people refuse to trust God no matter what anyone says to convince them otherwise. God doesn't expect that you have no fears or doubts to be saved. In fact, the more doubts and fears you have, the greater will be your faith, just so long as you act on the faith and not the fear. Do you trust Jesus as your personal Savior? If so, you are saved according to John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” All God requires to get to Heaven is childlike faith (confidence) in His only begotten Son, Who died in our place on the cross, was buried and physically resurrected from the dead three days later (1st Corinthians 15:1-4). Nothing more is required or permitted by God to go to Heaven.

I feel sorry for people who refuse to trust God. Listen friend, it is okay to have fears and doubts. Don't focus on your fears and uncertainties. Instead, focus on God's promise in 1st Corinthians 1:21b, “TO SAVE THEM THAT BELIEVE.” Do you believe? I do friend. I DO! John 6:47, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.” Saving faith is not the absence of all doubt and worry. Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1). Faith is placing your trust (resting) in the finished redemptive work of Jesus Christ. Jesus paid your sin debt and mine.

2nd Corinthians 5:21, “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” What a beautiful Scripture!!! God the Father made His only begotten Son to be sin for us. That is why in our text passage from John 3:14-15, Jesus mentioned to Nicodemus Moses in the Wilderness, who was instructed by God to form some brass into the form of a serpent and lift it up for the people to see. Anyone who looked to the serpent (i.e., looked to Jesus) was spared death. John 3:14-15, “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.”

The simple and sure way of salvation has always been through faith in Christ. Isaiah 45:22, “Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.” The dear Savior Himself said in John 3:14-15 that just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the Wilderness, even so must He be lifted up on a cross, crucified, for the sins of the world. Jesus was crucified, just as He prophesied. He died and was buried, bodily resurrected three days later. The way to Heaven is to simply LOOK TO JESUS, the Author and Finisher of our faith. Hebrews 12:2, “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

If you are one of few people who thinks you might have OCD, obsessing about going to Hell and not being saved, then I encourage you dear reader to spend time listening to good Bible preaching. We are what we eat and think! People who fear and worry only do so because that is what they have chosen to dwell upon in their mind. So the way out of that pit of despair is to start listening to doctrinally sound preachers like Pastor Ralph Yankee Arnold, and Pastor Max Younce, and Pastor Jack Hyles and other fundamentalist preachers. Proverbs 13:20, “He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed.” The Bible promises that if we walk with wise men—taking heed to their good judgment, sound wisdom and fear of God—then we will be influenced by them and become more like them.

And let me say dear friend, that if indeed you do have OCD, it doesn't in any way mean that you are not saved. Just because you have doubts and fears doesn't mean that you're not trusting Jesus. It just mean that despite your faith in the dear Savior, you are a worry-wart. Please do not confuse OCD with a lack of faith. Having difficulty finding the assurance of your salvation does not in any way reflect upon your faith. I worried about going to Hell for several years after I got saved at age 13 in 1980. I was saved, but naïve about how salvation works. What kept confusing me is the non-biblical requirement to pray a prayer, that I kept reading in every religious tract I picked up. In every Baptist church I had attended, I was taught to lead people to pray a prayer to be saved, which confused me.

I am also sick and tired of hearing pastors require people to walk down an aisle to the front of a church, to learn how to go to Heaven. God Himself does not require anyone to walk down an aisle to be saved, so why do preachers? Why cannot those preachers simply tell people how to be saved right their in their pew? God Himself in the Bible doesn't tell us to pray to be saved, so why do preachers add this? In the Gospel of John we are repeatedly told to simply “believe” to be saved, with no mention of repenting, praying or getting water baptized. The man who believes has repented (changed his mind), and the man who repents (changes his mind) has believed. More people will go to Hell someday because they tried too hard to be saved, doing more than what God required, rather than simply “BELIEVE ON THE LORD JESUS CHRIST” (Acts 16:31b).

So before you conclude that you are hopelessly a victim of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), condemned to a life of unnecessary fear and worry that you aren't going to Heaven, please take the time to begin making it your hobby to study the topic of salvation. Sit at the edge of your seat with curiosity every time you hear a preacher teaching about eternal life and how to be saved. I encourage you to read my own book titled, 'SALVATION,' which is 42 chapters long and full of helpful truths. Kindest regards and God bless.

How Permanent Is Your Salvation?

John 3:3-7, “Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born? Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.”

A human baby is born once! It is impossible for a human baby, once born, to go back into its mother's womb and be born-again. That is exactly what Jesus explained to Nicodemus in our text passage above. Jesus was making it clear to Nicodemus that a man must be born for the second time, but this time spiritually instead of physically. Just as the first fleshly birth is irreversible, so also is the second spiritual birth irreversible, irrevocable and immediate.

The first birth was by water. Every child spends about nine months encased in the safety of their mother's water bag. Jesus said that which is born of water is of water, and that which is born of the Spirit (Holy Spirit) is spirit. Some errant Bible scholars (like Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Bible) misinterpret “water” in John chapter three to mean water baptism, but we know that is absolutely untrue! The repentant thief on the cross wasn't water baptized. Yet, Christ promised that they both would be in Paradise that very same day (Luke 23:43).

No one in the Old Testament was water baptized to be saved. Yet, we read in Acts 10:43 that everyone in the Old Testament got saved the same way we do today, which is by faith alone in Christ. Acts 10:43, “To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins.” Christ died on the cross to pay for me sins, so I wouldn't have to pay for them myself in the Lake of Fire (Hell). We get saved by receiving Christ's sacrifice on the cross as payment for our sins, believing that He raised up three days later from the dead for our justification (1st Corinthians 15:1-4).

Dear reader, how you choose to live your life here on earth has absolutely nothing to do with your eternal destiny. And if it did, we'd all be hopelessly doomed to be punished in Hell forever. The Holy Bible teaches that Christ came to save, not to condemn. God loves you so much friend that He would rather die than live without you, so He has already made a payment on the cross. God wants to credit (impute) that payment to your account. All He requires is childlike faith in Jesus Christ. What saith the Scripture? Romans 10:3-4, “For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.”

Since the day I trusted Christ as my personal Savior in 1980 at age 13, there's never been another sin that could put me back into debt. God's righteousness was put (imputed) to my account by faith. Christ paid for my sins so that I wouldn't have to. Since we are all unjust by nature and by choice, we cannot save ourselves (Isaiah 64:6). That is the best news in all the world. I am going to Heaven on God's righteousness, not mine. Philippians 3:9, “And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:”

Sometimes people want to figure out how much they can ADD to the Gospel, so that people will understand it better. And then there are others who want to trim off everything, so that there's not much left to tell. The truth is that the message on how to be saved should always be the same, because it doesn't change with every preacher. Although different preachers use different styles of delivering their message, and there is such a thing as semantics in grammar, the fact is that the Gospel message in the King James Bible never changes! Everyone has a right to their own opinion, but no one has a right to their own facts.

What must I believe to be sure and secure in God's salvation? Because whatever the Gospel is, we've got to get it right because a person's eternal destiny depends on the truth of the Gospel. In Galatians chapter two it talks about the Apostle Paul not compromising, so that the truth of the Gospel might remain with you, because there's always someone who wants to change the Gospel. So if the Gospel is the grace of God for man, then grace MUST have two things in order to truly be grace:

1. It must be free
2. It must last forever

So whatever God does, He does it permanently. God doesn't just save somebody for a day, a week, a month or a year, He saves you forever!!! You can only get saved (born again) one time. But what do we have to do to get this new birth? The Apostle Paul was a missionary church planter, starting churches all over the region and beyond. Paul would start one church and then move on to start another church elsewhere. If you are born once, you die twice; if you are born twice, you die once! Amen and amen!

But there were enemies of the early churches, tares among the wheat. These legalistic Judaizers came down from Jerusalem and messed up the Gospel, by ADDING things to the Gospel that were not the Gospel. Galatians 1:7, “Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ.” There is only one Gospel that saves. There is not a plan B, plan C, or plan D. Salvation is either by works or by grace, but it cannot be both ways. Romans 11:6, “And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work.” Paul says to be saved BY WORKS is “another gospel,” which is a false gospel which cannot produce the miraculous new birth.

There are many sincere religious people in the churches today who are confused. They have many questions, still not certain they are saved. I know because I have met plenty of them. I have met deacons who confided in me that they did not have the assurance of God's salvation. I'm talking about the Harvest Baptist Church on Guam. One of their dear deacons came to me after a Sunday morning service. He knew about my website ministry. He knew that I am a preacher. He was concerned about his salvation, not sure if he was really saved.

I gladly expounded him in the Scriptures. I could see the relief in his eyes, as I comforted his heart with the simplicity of the inspired Word of God. I'll never forget what he said to me afterwards. He said: “Why don't they teach that kind of stuff from the pulpit?” I was a gentleman and didn't criticize the church pastors, but now I can say it boldly since I am no longer attending that church. Pastor Marty Herron is an incompetent pastor! Mr. Herron has no biblical right to stand behind any pulpit anywhere!!! The Bible requires that a preacher study to shew himself APPROVED UNTO GOD (2nd Timothy 2:15). Marty Herron is a disgrace! 2nd Timothy 2:15, “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” The incompetent Bob Jones University (BJU) alumni who pastor the Harvest Baptist Church of Guam WRONGLY DIVIDE the Word of truth! Sadly, BJU is a deadly Calvinist cult today!

Galatians 1:6-8, “I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.”

He fully paid for our sins. Every one who believes the Gospel has salvation everlasting, and we are secure in Christ! Praise God for His grace, His mercy and His completed, finished work at Calvary!!!!

How Permanent Is Your Salvation?
(Pastor Ralph Yankee Arnold)

“Most people I lead to Christ, [I] never take any more than five minutes, because I strip away all the junk and give them the truth of the Gospel. ...I've got people on the mission field. I've got preachers around this country. I have seen so much come from just keeping the Gospel clear—keeping it simple so a person can understand it.” —Pastor Ralph Yankee Arnold (a beautiful quote from the sermon: "How Permanent Is Your Salvation?")

Laying Up Treasures In Heaven For Yourself

Matthew 6:19-21, “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”

The longer I live on earth the more I realize how in vain it is to lay up treasures down here. I thank God that I have spent the last 19 years laboring night and day online for Christ:

1st Corinthians 3:5-9, “Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man? I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase. Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour. For we are labourers together with God: ye are God's husbandry, ye are God's building.”

I love this passage of Scripture. 1st Corinthians 3:9 teaches that WE ARE LABOURERS TOGETHER WITH GOD!!! Wow! I love that. God desires for lost sinners to be saved more than anyone. 2nd Peter 3:9, “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” Many people want to see evildoers and career criminals burn in Hell forever. But that is not the great loving heart of our God. Certainly, God is a righteous God Who loves justice and righteousness, but He also desires to see wicked sinners repent (think differently) and come to Jesus by childlike faith for the free gift of forgiveness and eternal life.

If I understand the Bible correctly, God will reward me for every keystroke and mouse-click, because I did it lawfully, preaching a correct Gospel, using the only inspired Bible (the King James) and I did it all for Jesus my Savior (Mark 9:41). Everything that we do to further the preaching of the Gospel will be rewarded by God in eternity. But this is only true if you are a born-again believer. Unsaved people can follow and serve Christ for a lifetime, and yet still split Hell wide open when they die (Matthew 7:21-23). YE MUST BE BORN AGAIN (John 3:3).

Hebrews 6:10, "For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have shewed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister." Jesus exhorts all believers in Matthew 6:19-20 to lay up FOR YOURSELVES treasures in Heaven. Through prayer, giving to the poor, fasting, laboring and serving Jesus Christ and the Gospel, we are laying up eternal heavenly treasures which neither thief nor moth can corrupt. What a great God and Savior!!!

There is nothing selfish or wrong about wanting to labor here on earth to lay up treasures FOR YOURSELF in Heaven. That is exactly what Jesus said in Matthew 6:19-20. The Savior said to lay up treasures FOR YOURSELF!!! Our blessed Savior is so ethical that He even promises a REWARD to those who help a disciple who follows Christ. Matthew 10:42, “And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward.”

Many of my web visitors over the years have helped my ministry, by sharing my articles on social media. The dear Lord said that those believers who be rewarded for helping me, because I follow Jesus Christ. I am not just an adopted son of God by choice, but I am also a disciple of Jesus by choice! The choice to become a disciple of Jesus, is a completely separate decision from choosing Christ as one's personal Savior. We must NEVER mix or confuse these two things, for do to so is the heresy of “Lordship” salvation. In fact, one of the ways that we can earn rewards in Heaven is by refuting and exposing the Devil's dangerous lie of “Lordship” salvation (which is rooted in heretical Calvinism).

You can lay up treasures in Heaven by helping your local Bible-believing, separated, soul-winning church. God does not reward anyone for playing church! God does not reward anyone for doing nothing for Christ or the Gospel. God rewards LABOR (1st Corinthians 3:8). Passing out Gospel tracts is LABOR. Tithing is LABOR, because you had to go to work to earn that money. Praying and fasting is LABOR. Fasting is letting go of the physical to grasp more of the spiritual during a time of prayer. God rewards that! Giving alms (money, clothes or food) to the poor is LABOR, because someone went to work to pay for those things. God keeps tract of our good deeds, sacrifices and efforts done for Jesus' sake and the Gospel's.

The God Of All Comfort

“Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort.” —2nd Corinthians 1:3

The Apostle Paul had suffered horrible trials and tribulation while traveling through Asia, so bad in fact that he stated in 2nd Corinthians 1:8b, “we despaired even of life.”

In writing of God's sustaining grace concerning the poet William Cowper, Joseph Larson said:

“It was William Cowper on his way in a cab to the Thames River to commit suicide, who, when the driver could not find it for the dense fog, returned to his house and thanking God for the fog, wrote:

Trials can make life seem not worth living. Paul said in 2nd Corinthians 1:9, “But we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead.” In other words, Paul says, “We felt as if we were under a death sentence and all hope was gone. But we suffered so that we would stop trusting ourselves and learn to trust God, Who raises the dead.”

God moves in a mysterious way,

His wonders to perform;
He plants His footsteps on the sea,
And rides upon the storm.

Blind unbelief is sure to err,
And scan His works in vain;
God is His own interpreter,
And He will make it plain.

Judge not the Lord by feeble sense,
But trust Him for His grace;
Behind a frowning providence
He hides a smiling face.”

God will oftentimes bring a Christian to the point in life where there is no direction to look except up, to where all we have left is our faith. When all you have is God, God is all you need. God brought the Apostle Paul to the point where he even despaired life itself, so that Paul would learn to trust completely in God.

Serving God With A Broken Heart (lots of helpful resources for the hurting soul)

It Doesn't Matter How You Got There (a beautiful MP3 sermon by Pastor Jack Hyles)

Wasted Suffering | Wasted Pain (encouraging MP3 sermons by Dr. Jack Hyles, 1926-2001)

The False Religion of 'Hinduism' Exposed!

John 3:3, “Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

Hinduism is one of the Devil's religions! I say that kindly, but truthfully, because I care about you and don't want anyone to go to Hell when they die. The Holy Scriptures given through Israel have been proven accurate by historians, archaeologists, scientists, astronomers, and experts from nearly every field. Only a fool would ignore such overwhelming conclusive evidence of a divine Creator, God and Savior!

A demon's favorite activity is to make people feel comfortable in their religion, without ever being born-again by faith in Christ Jesus. And may I say, that includes every religion. No religion can take a person to Heaven. We are not saved by following a religion; but rather, by believing on the Lord Jesus Christ! According to John 3:3 (our text verse above) in the Holy Bible, God's inspired Words, a man must be born-again if he is to enter into the Kingdom of God. Clearly, as you will see, the false religion of Hinduism does NOT recognize the concept of being born-again in Christ Jesus. In fact, Hindus reject Jesus as being the Christ, the Savior of the world. Thus, Hinduism is diametrically opposed and incompatible with Bible Christianity. I say this, not to be unkind, but truthful.


Hindus Worship Cows, Even Eating and Bathing in Cow Urine and Dung

My friend, Satan loves to inspire people to do unthinkable things. Take for example Hindus infatuation with drinking cow urine! That's right, carbonated, flavored, anyway you want it... COW PISS!!! (YouTube video). I'm not making this up! But that's not all, adherents bath and sprinkle their faces with fresh cow urine, and the women perfume their bodies with cow urine. And yes, Hindus even smear cow dung and urine around their home in hope of receiving a blessing from their plethora of demonic gods. A common food that is eaten in India (by cow-worshipping Hindus) is made from cow's milk, urine, dung and saliva.

Truly, Satan is the god of this wicked world! The popular excuse of using cow urine is that it is healthy, which has yet to be proven. Perfuming yourself with stinking cow urine has no health benefits. Certainly, smearing cattle fecal matter around your living room is not healthy for humans (but it's good for fertilizing plants as manure). Hinduism has some extremely unsanitary practices, which all originate from the insane worship of cows. Literally, if there is a cow blocking the road, Hindus will sit and wait for hours if they cannot go around it.

The strange fact of the matter is that Hindus in India worship their cows as gods:

Millions of Hindus worship and revere cows. It is one of the animals which is considered sacred in Hinduism. From the Mother to the Goddess, a cow is very auspicious and holds a special significance in Hinduism. It is the sacred animal which provides the life sustaining milk. Cows are held in a superior position in Hinduism as it is one of the animals which has been mentioned in Puranas and mythological stories as well. We cannot forget the white cow that stood behind Lord Krishna. Lord Krishna was a cow herder so cows are considered very holy in the Hindu religion. However, even the cow dung is considered holy and auspicious in Hinduism. In Hinduism, cow dung has a special spiritual significance. It is said that the cow doesn't eat non-vegetarian items and only eats grass or grains which makes cow dung holy and acceptable. In a lot of pujas, both dried and fresh cow dung is used. From Govardhan Puja to havans, cow dung is used during pujas.

SOURCE: Significance Of Cow Dung In Hinduism - Boldsky

Biblical Christianity has no such insane practices. In Christianity we eat cows for dinner, giving thanks to God in Heaven. Cows blocking the road are either turned into road-kill, dinner or forced off the roadways (or all three). Cows are mere animals. It is a sin to worship anything or anyone other than God in Heaven (Isaiah 42:8), Who has manifest Himself to the world through the incarnation of the Son of God, Jesus Christ (Exodus 20:4-5; John 1:1-3,14; 1st Timothy 3:16)!

Here is a quote concerning what Hinduism errantly teaches:

Hinduism cannot answer the essential philosophic questions that always arise wherever and whenever the human intellect matures. It has been weighed in the scales of truth and have been found lacking.

Even more importantly, Hinduism has no concept of a Creator God, the Creation, the Fall of man into sin and guilt, a Day of Judgment, atonement or forgiveness, or a Savior who redeems us from our sins by the sacrifice of Himself in our place.

It did not produce democracy, science or equality among different races and racks of mankind. Instead it produced great social evils which afflict the Indian people to this day. As a religion and a philosophy, Hinduism is a complete failure and cannot provide a basis for meaning, significance, justice, morals, truth and beauty.

SOURCE: Hinduism Exposed - Faith Defenders.com

Biblically, Hindus are idolaters, because they worship a host of gods other than the true and living God of Israel (not the present-day Illuminati-controlled state of Israel, but true Old Testament Israel and Jehovah). As you will discover in the following information from the New World Encyclopedia, Hindus worship umpteen different gods, none of them of which died on the cross for their sins as did Jesus Christ . . .

Around 300 B.C.E., the great epics known as the Puranas, which include the Ramayana and the Mahabharata were “remembered” (smriti). These stories are more familiar to the vast majority of Hindus than the contents of the Vedic and Vedantic literature. The Mahabharata is also a story of origins, a sacred history of India. The strand of religious practice represented by the Puranas is devotion, devotion to a “personal God” chosen by each individual, who, in return for worship and service, will aid the individual in their quest for moksha. This is known as the bhakti tradition, or way (marga). 

By the time that the Puranas were written, the main deities of the Vedas had been supplanted in popular devotion by a pantheon of three: Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva, respectively creator, preserver, and destroyer (then a new cycle of existence begins). The image of the Trimurti (three forms of God) is very popular in India, which represents the unity of the three aspects of God. Each has a consort: Saraswati (associated with education and speech); Lakshmi (prosperity); and Parvati (creativity, the arts). The qualities of fame, fortune, memory, speech, intelligence, and resolve are all listed as feminine (Gita, 10:34).

Each of the three has their own Puranas, and in these texts there is a tendency to regard the subject as the most important deity, assuming the functions of all three. In popular Hinduism, Brahma is less important that Vishnu and Shiva. As preserver, Vishnu manifests or appears in human form whenever humanity is in peril. These manifestations, or Avatars include Ram and Krishna, whose stories are told in the Ramayana and Mahabharata respectively.

SOURCE: Hinduism - New World Encyclopedia

In sharp contrast to what Hinduism falsely teaches, the Holy Bible tells us that there is only One God, and He is the Savior. According to the Holy King James Bible:

Isaiah 43:11, “I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no saviour.”

And again we read in Isaiah 44:6, “Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God.”

Isaiah 44:8, “Fear ye not, neither be afraid: have not I told thee from that time, and have declared it? ye are even my witnesses. Is there a God beside me? yea, there is no God; I know not any.”

Isaiah 45:5, “I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me: That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the LORD, and there is none else.”

Isaiah 45:21-22, “Tell ye, and bring them near; yea, let them take counsel together: who hath declared this from ancient time? who hath told it from that time? have not I the LORD? and there is no God else beside me; a just God and a Saviour; there is none beside me. Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.”

Hinduism is Satanic, because Satan uses such false religions to blind the minds of men (2nd Corinthians 4:4), to hinder them from seeing the simplicity that is in Christ (2nd Corinthians 11:3-4), so that they might be saved (Romans 1:16).

My intent is not to be unkind, but the reality is that the entire culture of India has gone down a path of apostasy and false religion. Instead of worshipping the God of Israel Who spoke the universe into existence by His omnipotent power, wisdom and words, they succumb to worshipping four-footed beasts. Here is one of my favorite Bible verses from Leviticus 11:3, “Whatsoever parteth the hoof, and is clovenfooted, and cheweth the cud, among the beasts, that shall ye eat.” I like my steaks medium-rare! Amen! If Hindus want to stick a straw up Bessie the cow's genitalia for a refreshing summer's drink, knock yourself out; but I'm having ribeye steak and a Coca-Cola for dinner! Needless to say, I won't be converting to Hinduism. Kindly, if you're involved in that satanic mess in Hinduism, please repent and believe the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ before it's too late. Life is short, eternity is forever!

'The Gospel' is The Power Of God Unto Salvation

Romans 1:16-17, “So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also. For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.”

It is one's faith in the Gospel (Hebrews 4:2; Galatians 3:26) that causes God to work the miracle of salvation (John 1:12-13). Salvation is a supernatural miracle of God in response to one's faith in the Gospel. Calvinists fail to see getting saved as a one-time NEW BIRTH. Instead, they view salvation as an ongoing process in which you must live a certain way (i.e., faithfully running the race, persevering in holiness, continually turning away from sin) to get to Heaven.

The NEW BIRTH is instantaneous, meaning that a believer CAN KNOW 100% that we are saved now, confidently and forever. I think we don't hear enough about "the new birth" and "being born again" nowadays from pulpits. I've noticed that Calvinists avoid terms like "gift" and the "imputed righteousness of God" and the need to be "born again," because it doesn't fit their false doctrinal agenda.

Eternal life is a gift that we receive! Once we accept it by faith alone, it is ours forever to claim and rejoice in. We couldn't "rejoice" that our name is written in Heaven, as Jesus commanded us to do in Luke 10:20, unless we could KNOW 100% that we are saved presently. Calvinists teach that we cannot know until we get to Heaven, since we must do good works to prove that our faith is genuine. That is a counterfeit gospel. Luke 10:20, “Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.” The ONLY way that anyone could REJOICE that their name is written in Heaven is to 100% KNOW NOW (this very moment) that you are saved.

Don't Worry, Pray

Philippians 4:6-9, “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.”

With the economic crisis in our country right now, I honestly do find myself beginning to worrying sometimes. Will I have an income next year? What if? What if? We never know what a day may bring forth (Proverbs 27:1). I never take anything for granted. I receive disability for my neck injury. I have much difficulty getting through each day, due to agonizing constant toothache-like pain in the bony area of my neck. The entire right side of my body feels half-asleep 24/7.

I feel intermittent sharp razorblade-like radiating pain down both arms and legs, mostly the right side. I feel burning throughout my entire nervous system, which feels like spasms at times, which is caused by nerve damage in my spinal cord from the second neck surgery I underwent in 2010 which made me 100% worse. I feel constant pressure in my neck, which feels like a small balloon filled with air inside my neck. These discomforts make it difficult for me to sit through a church service, carry on a normal conversation and cope with everyday life.

All of these aforementioned discomforts and pain frustrate me. I get irritated easily and have little patience, because the pain is in my neck right next to my head, afflicting me. I survive from day to day in a form of hell on earth. I have endured this misery for the past 17 years since 2004. I never assume anything. I used to worry all the time around 2010 to 2013, but it became so emotionally difficult for me that I couldn't do it anymore. I came to the place where I didn't care anymore if I lost my disability, it wasn't worth the emotional trauma and fear. I decided to trust God no matter what!

I recently moved from Guam to Florida and started to worry if it will change my disability status. Laws change from place to place, involving many legalities. It is next to impossible to gather all the information a person needs, about everything that may affect us. I simply cannot live a life of fear. So I am trusting God. I don't know what will happen over the next year or two. I can think of dozens of “What ifs?,” worrying myself. But that is not how God wants me to live as His child. I am not a self-made millionaire. I am not “financially set for life.” I honestly do not know what I would do if I lost my income tomorrow, I would end up homeless.

I am being transparent with you dear reader, to help relate to your own worries and burdens. We all have them! Hebrews 13:5, “Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” I cherish this Bible verse! And yet I read about poor people in Africa who are barely surviving in utter poverty. I see poor people in the Philippines who survive on $30 per month income. I feel guilty for worrying when I read in the news about people whose homes burn down, and those who have unfortunately lost their jobs, and others who are terribly disabled and suffering. Yet I see those hurting people smiling and praising God!

When I start to feel sorry for myself and worry, I am reminded quickly of dear people like Katie Stubblefield, who took her brother's shotgun to commit suicide. Some mean girls at school were bullying her (I know what being bullied hurts like). Katie didn't know how to process those hurtful emotions and decided to take her own life. She was a beautiful teenage girl in appearance. She failed at killing herself and instead blew her face off. Katie is blind today, but has renewed her faith in God and has a purpose in life now! She is an encouragement to millions of people, including me. I think about Katie often and use her tragedy to always REMIND ME that I have absolutely NOTHING to worry, complain or feel bad about. ...

The Wonderful Story Of Katie Stubblefield

One of the reasons why I have thousands of web visitors who love and follow me faithfully with interest is because I have suffered MUCH over the decades, yet I keep going by God's grace strong in my faith. I give God ALL the credit and praise for anything good ever accomplished in me. Without Jesus we can do nothing (John 15:5).

My beloved wife divorced me in 2006. We lost our paid home as a consequence. I've been renting ever since. I got hit by a church bus in 1992 which permanently misaligned my neck, leading to Cervical Degenerative Disk Disease. I had a serious accident in 2004 which worsened my neck injury, leaving me with radiating pain in my limbs. I flew 6,000 miles from Guam to California twice in 2009 and 2010 to undergo two major neck surgeries. I was by myself and had no one by my side. I wanted to die for loneliness. But I knew God was with me. When I recovered from my first surgery, awakening out of anesthesia, I exclaimed in the Emergency Room: “God saw me through!,” and He did. I love Jesus!!!

“A test of a Christian’s character is what he does after he comes to the blockade in the road and what his attitude is after everything has left him except Jesus.” —Brother Lester Roloff

I could tell you many more hardships that I have endured, some that I choose not to share with others because they are too painful. Faith is like film, it develops in the dark! Unshakable faith come from having your faith shaken! Sadly, the biggest obstacle to my Christian faith has been other professed Christians who are phony, ungodly and indifferent about truth. Namely, the ungodly Bob Jones University camp have utterly discouraged me from serving God. If it weren't for my faith being strong and mature in the Lord, having been a born-again believer for 41 years since age 13 in 1980, I would have quit and never gone back to church again because of shameful Pastors' Marty Herron, Joe Hansen, Jared Baldwin and Gary Walton on Guam! I forgive those wicked men, but God must avenge me of their evil toward me and my family, and all the seven years that I had no church to attend because they banned me.

One thing that I have painfully learned is to JUST PRAY about everything, and then claim God's peace in all things. I love the following Bible passage from the Old Testament book of Daniel. King Nebuchadnezzar was a vain king, demanding that all men worship HIM. The young Christian lads, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, respectfully REFUSED! They told the king that their God of Israel would deliver them from the deadly fiery furnace, and I love what they said next... “BUT IF NOT”!!! Whew that is precious, BUT IF NOT...

Daniel 3:15-18, “Now if ye be ready that at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of musick, ye fall down and worship the image which I have made; well: but if ye worship not, ye shall be cast the same hour into the midst of a burning fiery furnace; and who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands? Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.”

Likewise, my attitude is that I am going to just do what the Bible says and PRAY ABOUT EVERYTHING. God will answer my prayers if it is within His will. BUT IF NOT, then I am still going to obey God to pray, so it can never be said down the road in eternity that I failed to pray. God does not expect me and you to do HIS PART, God only expects us to do OUR PART.

That is why so many preachers have gone haywire on the Gospel, because they are trying to force sinners to do GOD'S PART. OUR PART in salvation is to simply get out of the way, ceasing from our own works, and to simply REST in the Good News of Jesus Christ crucified, buried and risen from the dead (John 19-20; 1st Corinthians 15:1-4; Hebrews 4:10-11). In every case of someone preaching a false plan of salvation, it is always because they are confusing OUR PART with GOD'S PART.

“More people will die and burn in Hell, because they're trusting too much!” —Pastor Jack Hyles, “Yea, Yea, And Nay, Nay!”

“Everything that's hard and complicated about salvation is God's side of it!” —Pastor Jack Hyles, “Yea, Yea, And Nay, Nay!”

Dear reader, I struggle with praying about everything just as you do. I seriously doubt if 99% of believers are faithful to pray about everything. One thing I learned many years ago from Matthew 6:7-8 is that God doesn't expect us to spend lengthy hours in prayer to see results. Too many Christians, I think, approach prayer with a superstitious mindset. Let's be real here! God wants to help us, but the Bible says if we are proud, then God will avoid us (James 4:6). Hebrews 4:14-16 says that as God's redeemed children we have a legal right to come before the throne of grace, to ask God for mercy to give us grace to help in our time of need.

God wants us to pray (1st Thessalonians 5:17). God wants us to ask Him for things (Philippians 4:6-7). 1st John 5:14-15, “And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.” I have often felt that God was ignoring me, not answering my prayers. But dear friend, that is where our faith comes into play. Praying in itself is an act of faith. But when God doesn't answer (or seems not to answer) and we keep on praying, that requires a greater faith, which according to Hebrews 11:6 PLEASES GOD. We find confirmation of this truth in Luke 18:1-8 in the story of the widow and the unjust judge. Luke 18:1, “And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;”

We all have different thinks that we could worry about Pastor Danny Castle says:

“He was God when you thought your whole world caved in on you, and you didn't know where you was gonna turn to!!!” —Pastor Danny Castle, a beautiful quote from the life-changing sermon, “GOD” (MP3) | Video

I love this quote too by Pastor Danny Castle, one of my favorite preachers:

“There's two days you should never worry about—yesterday and tomorrow! You can't change them. Fight today's battles today! Worry is the end of faith and faith is the end of worry! The second I start trusting the Lord, I quit worrying; and the second I start worrying, I quit trusting the Lord. Worry is not trusting God. I just feel like, some of you may be just worrying yourself sick, over stuff that you can't change it a bit. You know what you need to do—put it into God's hands! Don't be guilty of the sin that most Christians commit." —Pastor Danny Castle, a quote from the sermon titled: "The Sin That Most Christians Commit"

And here is a helpful quote from Pastor Ralph Yankee Arnold:

“See, you have peace 'with God' when you trusted Christ as your Savior; but the peace 'of God' is what God gives to you on a daily basis, when you rely upon Him and you trust Him.” —Pastor Ralph Yankee Arnold, a helpful quote from the excellent MP3 sermon, “The War On Worry.”

Wow, I love that quote! We have peace WITH God when we get saved, but we have the peace OF God on a daily basis as we TRUST IN GOD...

Trust and obey, 

for there's no other way

To be happy in Jesus, 

but to trust and obey.

Dear child of God, don't allow the Devil to cause you to worry. You know as well as I do that worrying doesn't help anything. It is true! When we worry, all we do is punish ourselves and wish we could die and make the pain go away. I know I feel that way when I choose to worry. I know it is hard not to worry sometimes, especially when we are facing something really bad or serious in life; but what you need to do is take the first step, which is to go do something else to get your mind off of whatever you're worrying about.

I usually go write blogs or work on my website ministry when I worry, redirecting that negative energy into something positive that will cause me to reap more heavenly rewards. When the Devil kicks you in the rear, you kick him in the front! Witnessing the Gospel is a perfect way to overcome worry. God bless you dear reader and THANK YOU for taking the time to read my ministry blogs. It does mean very much to me. You are a blessing to me, whoever you may be. You'll never go wrong by praying. And if you do worry, go ahead and pray anyway while you're worrying. Always get God involved. When we pray, we are putting the ball into God's hands.

1st Corinthians 1:9, “God is faithful, by whom ye were
called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.”