Free e-book available!

My theology book

Let's Get Down to Basics—

An Introduction to Christian Living"

The ebook is now available

free!

 by download to your computer as a .pdf, epub. or mobi file. If you would like to try it, go to

 http://www2.xlibris.com/bookstub

and enter the code

1230000285941

Then just follow directions. You can save it to your computer to read and share with anyone who would appreciate it or share this information so they can retrieve it for themselves.

If you like it but would prefer a real book you can buy it at  Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com or xlibris.com at  http://bookstore.xlibris.com/Products/SKU-000969874/Let'sGetDowntoBasics.aspx 

Or if you would like it as an ebook for Kindle, Nook or some other type it is available at all three of these online bookstores for less than $4 ea.

I would also appreciate it if you would go to any of these online stores and do a review of the book.

The 1991 paperback edition is still available from me for $5 postpaid. Just personal message me on Facebook on place a comment to this post. 

Thank you!

Rick

Basics now Available online

“Basics” now Available on

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

Let’s Get Down to Basics is a simple but thorough introduction to Christian theology for those who are not from a Christian background. It is written for the lay person, not as a scholarly work.

It is also a book for new Christians who want a solid beginning for a lifetime commitment to Christ, as well as for mature Christians who want to review some basic teachings of the Christian faith.

Written originally as church curriculum in a class for new Christians and for those new to the church, Let’s Get Down to Basics is recommended for that purpose.

This is a new version in larger type with105 pages. The official price is $14.49 for paperback, ebook Kindle is $3.99 and Nook is $3.49

If you would like the book at a lower price I still have the original version (in much smaller type) for $5.00 including postage. Good for SS class or small group study.

 

The Solarium

By Rick Blumenberg / @RickBlumenberg

Sin— a dark and dirty dungeon with no windows and only one door, built with the bricks and mortar of my own selfish living.

Guilt— living in that underground dungeon and knowing I built it as a place for me to live, a place where I always keep that one door tightly closed so no one who passes can see what I'm really like on the inside.

Satan— the con man who convinced me I wanted to live in such a place. He made it sound so enticing and convinced me that sunlight was somehow unnatural, unhealthy and totally unde­sirable. I believed his lies and lived in the shadows, keeping the door tightly closed against the truth.

God's love— the sunlight that constantly shines on that door, even though (because of the bricks and stones of my selfish living) the sunlight cannot reach inside to reveal the spiritual poverty in which I live.

Confession— finally admitting (first to myself and then to God) that I am living inside this dun­geon with the door tightly closed as a result of my own selfish choices.

Repentance— when I become aware of the awful sinfulness of wasting that beautiful sunlight after Jesus, the Christ, the only begotten Son of God, paid such a tremendously high price to make it available to me, and wishing with all my heart I had never built that dungeon at all.

Faith— believing the sunlight is out there even though I can’t see it.  And believing it was cre­ated for me by a loving God who wants me to live in the light and enjoy it, and believing it so much that I have the courage to open the door and allow the radiance of his Son to come in.

Forgiveness— when Jesus comes through that open door and I experience the light and healing power of God's love that radiates from his very being, surrounding me with his warmth and spilling over into dark corners of my life, driving out darkness and fear I've been living with so long.

Salvation— watching in amazement as the marvelous light of God's forgiveness burns away the impurities of guilt, fear, hurt, and loneliness that have been such a painful part of my life for so very long.

Sanctification— allowing God's Holy Spirit, the Spirit of the Father and the Son, to knock out the walls that hide my life and block the sun, and replace those ugly walls with beautiful transparent glass that changes my dungeon into a solarium, full of light and life and beauty and warmth so I can live joyfully in the precious “Son” light of God's amazing grace!

Compassion— feeling heart pain because so many wonderful people are living in dungeons of their own guilt and despair, even though God loves them, and wants them to open their doors and allow the “Son” light of his love and forgiveness to pour in.

Evangelism— finding as many ways as possible to tell those people who live now where I once lived, that the solarium where I now live is not of my own making and I take no credit for it.  It’s a miraculous work of the Lord Jesus Christ.  And if they will only trust Him, He can also transform their dungeons into houses of light and life and eternal beauty!

Christians— my brothers and sisters. Ex-dungeon dwellers all who now live in the "Son" light. People called of God to take the Good News of His marvelous love to other people who still perish without Him in dungeons of their own de­spair. Never can we forget the dungeon from which we came, and never can we cease to praise Jesus, who transformed our own personal dungeons into the beauty of His Presence.

I'm Rick Blumenberg . . . and that's My View from Tanner Creek.

   

The Second Step

"...We implore you on Christ's behalf: be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." —II Corinthians 5:20b, 21(NIV)

The Righteousness of God means God's type of righteousness (based on love not legalism); a God-provided righteousness (rather than human self-righteousness); a self-chosen righteousness (God doesn't force it); and a self-imposed righteousness (no one can impose it on anyone else). And, when God's righteousness is in human flesh, except with Jesus, it is always a righteousness in process.

The work Christ did on the cross was an act of God we benefit from when we accept it by faith. However, the work Christ continually does through His Spirit brings us in line with the character of God so that "in him we might become the righteousness of God."

The Holy Spirit helps us attain the Christ-like life in a two-step process some of us call sanctification. We say "I must sanctify myself" (alluding to consecration). Or, we say "I must be sanctified" (alluding to purification). Both are correct uses of the word and statements of what happens in sanctification.

To sanctify is to "consecrate" or set aside for a holy purpose (as in Leviticus 11:44a). In consecration we surrender completely to God for His Holy purposes—living all of life under the Lordship of Christ and under the leadership of His Holy Spirit. To sanctify also means to "purify" or make pure or holy, as in John 17:17 when Jesus prayed for his disciples, saying, "Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth."
In this purifying part of Sanctification we depend totally on God to work in our lives and restore us to His image because it is a work we cannot do ourselves. We merely surrender ourselves to him and ask him to do it in us and for us. So the first part of sanctification—consecration, is a work, or surrender, we must do before God's Spirit can fill us, because the power of God's Spirit cannot be released into a life not surrendered to God. The second part of sanctification—purification, is a work God does through his Spirit when he is allowed to fully enter our lives.

This purifying work is also both an action and a process. The action takes place when we crucify our selfish unholy spirit (a work only we can do) and ask God to fill us with His Holy Spirit and give us a new nature (a work only He can do). Most failures in Christian living come when we try to do the Spirit's work—we surrender to God then proceed to reclaim the life we gave Him and try to make it good by our own methods, causing severe discouragement in Christian living. However much we try, we always fail because we can never become good enough by our own efforts. Salvation and the infilling of the Holy Spirit begins the process so God’s Spirit has freedom to do what will require a lifetime to fully accomplish.

The Holy Spirit's work of leading us "into all truth" is part of the sanctifying process. Jesus also said, "Your word is truth" so we can see by this that the Holy Spirit uses Scripture in the sanctifying process, not only teaching us what we should do but helping us do it. You can rest assured God's Spirit never does anything in us or to us without our willing permission, however, those who learn to trust God, know the best way to live is to give Him absolute freedom in all of life.

I'm Rick Blumenberg . . .and that's My View from Tanner Creek.

Letter to a Prisoner. .

Previously published Saturday, March 7, 2009, in the
Herald-Palladium newspaper column: Insights, at:
http://www.heraldpalladium.com/articles/2009/03/07/features/295090.txt

Dear Friend,

I compliment you on the interesting letter you wrote and your honesty about your life situation. All of us make mistakes, so you are not alone. I can’t imagine how difficult prison must be, but I rejoice in your desire to improve.

The fact you made mistakes and have sin in your life doesn’t mean you are not acceptable to God. It means you need God’s help. And God wants so much to help that he sent his son Jesus, to die for us. You said you’re trying to improve your life. I believe the best way to improve our situation is to accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, then experience God’s love as His beloved children!

Two Bible versed in John’s Gospel (3:16-17) make this clear. These verses show God loves us and Jesus did not come to condemn, but to save. We all have things in our lives that deserve condemnation, but that is not what Jesus is about. He is about forgiveness. He came to save the world, but he also came to save you. Every one of us could read these verses like this:
16"For God so loved me that he gave his one and only Son, that if I believe in him I will not perish but have eternal life. 17For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn me, but to save me through him.”

You wrote you feel “almost lost”. Really, all of us are lost when we don’t know Christ as Savior. The only solution is this spiritual birth, in which every other Christian on earth becomes your brother or sister in Christ. You find both yourself and a new family.

This spiritual birth comes when we admit our sin to God, are sorry for that sin and ask God to forgive us. In Romans (3:22-24), the Bible says:
"22God treats everyone alike. He accepts people only because they have faith in Jesus Christ. 23All of us have sinned and fallen short of God's glory. 24But God treats us much better than we deserve, and because of Christ Jesus, he freely accepts us and sets us free from our sins." (Contemporary English Version)

You asked about joining a church. I believe there is only one church—God’s church. Local churches and church groups have many different names, but if they teach salvation by faith in Christ, they are part of God’s one true church. We all become members in this universal church by that spiritual birth called faith in Jesus Christ. Then you find a local church in which to worship and serve.

Jesus tells us in John 3:3 “No one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.” Here is a prayer you can pray to be sure you have experienced this spiritual birth. God is with you and he understands the language of the heart, so when you pray in sincere faith, He will hear. If you are ready to make this decision, pray this prayer (either silently or aloud):

Heavenly Father, I am a sinner. I have done much wrong, and am truly sorry. I want to reject sin and be saved by faith in your son Jesus Christ.
Lord Jesus, I believe it is only by faith in you I can be saved. You are God’s Son and Savior of the world. Please come into my heart and cleanse me of all sin. I accept you as my Savior and with your help I’ll do my best to serve you all my remaining life. Amen.

If you prayed sincerely and believe Christ is not only Savior of the world, but your personal Savior, you are born spiritually as a child of God and are a member of his universal church. Welcome! Find another Christian and tell them you’re in the family too.

Or, find someone who is not yet a Christian and invite them into the family!

I'm Rick Blumenberg . . .
and that's My View from Tanner Creek.

New Book: Beginning the Journey

Beginning the Journey: First Steps in Your Walk with God, by Rick Blumenberg and Brenda Shepard, is my latest venture into the world of publishing. This one is an “In House” publication of First Church of God in St. Joseph, Michigan, where I serve as Associate Pastor for Missions, Life Group, and Prayer Ministries. Based on my previous book Let’s Get Down to Basics: An Introduction to Christian Living, it has been greatly improved by my co-author and friend, Brenda Shepard. Brenda wrote one of the chapters entirely, re-worked and edited all of them and wrote Appendix A and B to help the readers with Bible study.

“Journey” is designed as a workbook instead of a regular book with too small type, (like the first one). The book was inspired by Sandy Mason, our Women’s Ministries Director, who wanted something for new Christians and those new to the Church of God. Brenda first taught the class to an all women group, but it would work just as well for men or for a mixed group. Teresa LaPlante is our Director of Communications at First Church and she did a great job with the design and published it for us with our own equipment. Cristi Wright did proof-reading and offered invaluable editing insights.

The first six chapters deal with disciplines for living the Christian life. These chapters include,
1) Beginning the Journey
2) The Bible: Light for the Journey
3) Prayer: Talking with God
4) Quiet Time: Rest for the Journey
5) Fellowship: Companions on the Journey
6) Stewardship: Managing God’s Resources
7) Exploring Spiritual Gifts
8) Overcoming Temptation
9) Discovering God’s Will
10) Inviting Others on the Journey.

Appendix A: Understanding the Bible and Appendix B: Bible Study Guides are extremely helpful, especially to the new Believer who wants to establish good Bible study habits.

We live in an amazing time when print publishing is really “on demand” and we can do as few copies as we want. Even easier is electronic publishing, such as this blog, where we can write it and have it out to the public in a matter of minutes! While there is a lot of junk and garbage on the World Wide Web, it is also being used widely to give access to valuable information and to share the good news of the Gospel.

While I’m thanking people I should say thanks to Associate Pastor for High School Ministries, Randy Bennett. It is only with his help that this blog is up and running.

I'm Rick Blumenberg . . .
and that's my view, from Tanner Creek.