Patristics: The Early Church’s View on Salvation

Posted on 2026/08/05 by JimR, Chaplain

In the last few years, I’ve studied the Bible from the perspective of the culture and the words used to expound the Gospel. Today’s Westernized version of the Gospel is so far off base. We should not be looking at the perspective of dying so we can go to heaven and avoid hell. My first question came when I saw that hell is to be done away with.

Rev 20:14 – Then death and Hades (hell) were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death.

So there goes eternal punishment in a burning pit. Lots to explore there. What is your view of the “second death”?

I have concluded that I will pass through the veil into eternal life, but not just to go to heaven. The real reason for being saved is to restore fellowship with a loving God. I came to realize I’ve had this relationship for most of my life, but never thought of it in these terms, since I thought this was what happens with all Christians. It’s not as I had thought.

The heavenly realm is a busy place. I want my relationship/fellowship with my Father to be productive. I want to do what He wants me to do. I will have a position to fill. I sense music is the foundation of what I will be doing. Worshipping God for eternity in music. Call me crazy. That’s okay.

Heaven to some has become la la land. Change your way of thinking. Sure, you were born under the nature of sin in the first Adam, but when you accept salvation, you are translated from the kingdom of darkness into the newness of God’s realm by the grace and mercy of the act of sacrifice through our Lord Jesus Christ. Then we become blameless and no longer condemned under the blood sacrifice. That was a one-time event that reconciled all men to God. It was done.

All of mankind’s names were written into the Book of Life. Sad to say, if we live a life without acknowledging that fact, our name will be crossed off from the Book of Life when we pass from this world. We will no longer have the ability to obtain the blood covering of the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross.

The early teachings of the apostles up through that age in early Christianity gives us the true vision of what God wanted to accomplish and did. God spurred me to study the culture and words that were written in that day.

Today I read a type of study that I was not aware of. Patristics.

Patristics or patrology is the study of the early Christian writers who are designated Church Fathers. The names derive from the combined forms of Latin pater and Greek πᾰτήρ (father). The period of the Church Fathers, commonly called the Patristic era, is generally considered to run from the end of New Testament times or end of the Apostolic Age (c. AD 100) to either AD 451 (the date of the Council of Chalcedon) or to the Second Council of Nicaea in 787. (Wikipedia)

We need to get back to this type of thought process and dump the Westernized versions of “religion”. We should actually be dumping the idea of “religion” for something deeper. That, being reestablishment of relationship of the Father, through Jesus and His sacrifice that accomplished the fulfillment of the Old Testament law.

My prayer time, as well as yours, should be aimed towards foundationally establishing relationship and fellowship with our Father. That, I feel is the aim to which God wanted for us through the plan of salvation. Salvation is more than a one-time event. Yes, it has a one-time event which is the opening of the door for us to enter the Kingdom of God, but then it is ongoing as we walk into it. Our walk in the Kingdom of God in this life concluded with the final act upon our death when salvation closes the door as though a certificate that we finished the race and our salvation will be sealed for eternity.

How we end this walk determines our place in the eternal Kingdom of God. So, it behooves us to do our very best to follow God, learn our lessons in a positive manner so we can mature to the highest level in order to find placement in the Kingdom best suited for our eternal occupation. For me, I want to be a musician. What do you want to do with accomplishing your place in eternity?

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God’s Guidance in Everyday Life: A Personal Story

Posted on 2026/07/24 by JimR, Chaplain

Do you ever have one of those days where God prompts you to do something you normally don’t do? This morning I knew Libby and I were going for lunch in Swansboro. Today is our 11th wedding anniversary. We went to The Boro Restaurant. Not a bad place to eat. Even mid-afternoon, there was a steady crowd. We had an appetizer of calamari, but the waiter accidentally picked up a plate of batter-fried hot banana pepper rings that closely resembled fried calamari. We were not charged for them when he realized what happened.

Anyway, before we left, I spotted one of my books lying in the office, and God said for me to take that with me. So, I picked it up, walked it to the back door, and put it on the dining table to make sure I picked it up on the way out. Well, it went with us in the back seat, and I thought nothing else of it.

When we finished eating, we went to the Willis Produce Stand on Cedar Island to pick up some fresh veggies. I backed into a space and got out. I got to the back corner of the car, and a lady was toting a cantaloupe as she headed to her car. I looked at her, and she looked at me. Then she said to me, “I know you, don’t I? I’m Carolyn Amdahl, and you’re Jim Rowe, right?” I had not seen her in years. We had a small “coworker reunion”. Then God prompted me again. I got my book out of my car and told her I was to give this to someone today, and she was to be the one. She’s a Christian woman. She said she likes “light” books to read. Mine is small, so I suppose that fits the bill.

Like I’ve said so many times, I am always open to what God wants. This was one of those days. I was very happy to see her. She retired a few years ago and is enjoying life. Good for her.

If you’re interested in my book, it can be found on Amazon Books, Walmart Books or Barnes & Noble. Or contact me through this blog.

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Understanding Your Divine Purpose: Chosen Before Time

Posted on 2026/07/22 by JimR, Chaplain

I follow a minister of deeper things. His name is Doug Fortune. His question for today is Did your story really begin at birth? Or were you chosen before time?

My answer to that question comes from scripture.

According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: Eph 1:4

All of His chosen have been around since we were created in Him. We were before we were born. We existed before we walked into this physical realm. We will continue to walk in eternity in Him.

There is too much already said about us being created before time. Before time to me is saying we’ve always been. . . How we presently are is a refining and maturing time, for after this moment in growth, like a caterpillar in the chrysalis stage, we become a butterfly. Imagine our “before” versus our “after”. Think about all that goes on in the place of change. In the chrysalis, all that we were becomes something completely different, yet still holding our identity.

The awakening is simply the unfolding of our lives as we mature in the nature of who we are. So yes, we were before the foundation; now we are in the process, with yet-to-be-seen results, as we mature into an eternal state because of His divine process.

God’s eternal knowledge/intentional plan: God sees and wills your life from before birth. A widely cited verse is:

    Before I formed you in the womb I knew you… – Jeremiah 1:5

    Many times I’ve been in prayer, and I hear God say that I am chosen by Him. I got curious as to just what that means. To be chosen in Christ means to be selected by God for a special purpose, which includes the opportunity for salvation and a relationship with Him through faith. This concept emphasizes that being chosen is a gift from God, not something earned, and it calls individuals to live in obedience and service to God’s teachings.

    How does one know they are chosen? Let’s go to a starting line to where it all begins.

    For many are called, but few are chosen. – Matt 22:14

    In Bible discussion, someone can be sure they are among God’s chosen by having faith in Jesus—because the idea is that faith happens because God calls and draws people to Christ. One commonly suggested way to check is to confess that Jesus is Lord and to believe in his resurrection, since that is considered evidence that God’s Spirit is at work in you.

    When I read Matt 22:14, I ask the obvious question of “many” vs “few”. How does this occur? Then it dawned on me that God doesn’t delineate the chosen from the called. The appropriation of being chosen is up to the individual who is called. God offered the grace and mercy that comes with salvation. With our free will, we can accept or deny the gift of life He offered; hence, many are called, few are chosen by acknowledgment by the individual He called.

    If you’ve never considered acknowledging what God has offered, I would ask that you do so. Your eternity depends on your answer to that calling God has put out there for you, as stated in Matthew 22:14.

    Posted in Absolute(s), Abundant life, Biblical teaching, Christian, Christian Mission, Common Sense, Follow God, God's Calling, God's direction, God's Guidance, Ponderings, Priorities, repentance, Respect for Life, Salvation, Sobering Thoughts, Spiritual Growth | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

    Understanding the Impact of Missing Biblical Texts

    Posted on 2026/07/15 by JimR, Chaplain

    Most of the time, my posts here come from something I posted on Facebook first. Then I copy/paste it here and add on. To tell the truth, unless my soul and spirit are stirred, I don’t write. I don’t want to write just to write. I have to get my eyes examined in a week. My left eye crosses when my lenses get weak, and it makes it difficult to see what I’m writing. I see double.

    I have a lot to say. I could write about salvation and its need for this lost world. I’ve found in the last year, maybe two, a new view of what it all means. I could write about what is presently going on on the other side of the veil. There is a lot of activity there. I found this out by reading materials that were left out of the Protestant Bible. The Book of Enoch has taken me there. The Protestant Bible has tidbits that reference the Book of Enoch.

    I have studied the politics that went into forming the sixty-six-book version of the Bible. Yes. There was a good deal of politics involved. I figure there should be at least eighty-eight books. The reason it isn’t this way is that these extra books explain spiritual things that scared the elite of those early days. They knew the common people, knowing what was in those scriptures, would strip them of their power over people.

    There is the Ethiopian Bible with 88 books and the Catholic Bible with 72 books. But they were hidden from the general population. Thank goodness for revelation that was given to Martin Luther and others that tore that wall down. Then Gutenberg came along with a method to put the Bible into mass production.

    Printing was a factor in the Reformation. Martin Luther‘s Ninety-five Theses were printed and circulated widely; subsequently he issued broadsheets outlining his anti-indulgences position (certificates of indulgences were one of the first items Gutenberg had printed). Due to this, Gutenberg would also be viewed as a proto-Protestant.[73] The broadsheet contributed to the development of the newspaper. (Wikipedia).

    Then there is the present-day view of heaven and hell. Both are highly mistaken for absolute truth. There will not be an eternal place of burning called Hell. It will be thrown into a Lake of Fire along with Death as stated in the Book of Revelation. So the preaching of “turn so you don’t burn” won’t work for me. It should not for you. As far as judgment for the righteous was a real eye-opener for me. God will judge the righteous, but not to determine their good or bad deeds. They will be judged to determine their place in the Kingdom of God so as to be placed in their best service to God. What we do here as Christians will determine our place there. With that thought, it behooves us to do our very best to serve God to the best of our abilities here and now.

    I have so much more to say, but I’ll let you chew on that for now. If you have a question, feel free to inquire. Reply to this post, and I will attempt to answer. God wants you to shine your brightest. There is no reason to not want to.

    Posted in Biblical teaching, Common Sense, Follow God, God's direction, God's Guidance, Maturity, Ponderings, Possibilities, Priorities, repentance, Salvation, Sobering Thoughts, Spiritual Growth, Spiritual Investment | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

    Eden to New Covenant: A Journey of Faith

    Posted on 2026/07/08 by JimR, Chaplain

    Copied from Facebook from a minister friend of mine: Lynn Hiles. If you would like further studies of his, he can be found on YouTube and several other types of media and books.

    Humanity’s first temptation was not toward immorality but toward independent morality. The tree was the knowledge of good and evil. Ever since Eden, religion has often repeated Adam’s mistake by trying to produce righteousness through the correct knowledge of right and wrong. But God has always desired something deeper. The Tree of Life comes first. In Christ, we no longer begin with the knowledge of good and evil; we begin with union. As we partake of His life, our senses are exercised, our minds are renewed, and discernment emerges as the fruit of communion rather than the product of self-determination. The mature believer does indeed know good and evil—but unlike Adam, he knows it through participation in the life of the Son, not by grasping at autonomy.

    That, to me, is one of the grand narrative arcs of Scripture: Eden, Sinai, Calvary, and the New Jerusalem all revolve around the same question—will humanity live from the Tree of Life, or from the independent knowledge of good and evil? The New Covenant announces that in Christ the Tree of Life is once again open, and from that life flows the wisdom, discernment, and love that the first Adam sought by another path

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    Living with God’s Love: A Christian Perspective

    Posted on 2026/06/27 by JimR, Chaplain

    Something occurred to me this morning. We all know God loves us unconditionally. How many of us really consider the full import of this knowledge? I see so many Christians expounding on questions concerning what we do and how God frowns (well, maybe more) on the foibles of human nature.

    He has afforded us salvation coupled with forgiveness. But Christians seem to want to find fault with any Christian’s walk. Why? Then I see a good bit of condemnation about what is found. Why? God wants us to have His mind in all situations. He set up a way to live properly, yet we want to live by the OT law. We live in the age of mercy and grace, folks.

    We should be living with God’s mind at the forefront of our thinking. What I saw was two-fold. Number one is that we are to love God unconditionally. What I mean is I hear so many people who don’t stop to consider that God is in control. But we blame God for sickness, untimely death, and numerous circumstances that we encounter in life as being negative. That is putting a condition on His love for us. We think He doesn’t know how to treat us better. That type of thinking comes from selfishness.

    Then, on the other side, we are to love all other people with the same unconditional love. That’s not to say we condone sin. We should not. I have to say, my wife was blessed with the gift of extolling unconditional love. I’m not saying she has this gift in perfection, but she practices it quite well. I’ve found that this type of love has left me in a state of surrender to my own thinking.

    The idea of unconditional love is elusive to many. Instead, we jump to judgment long before we consider God’s way of approaching his creation. What really struck me this morning was the fact that I should love God unconditionally as well.

    I love Him because He is my creator. That is a fact in spite of whatever circumstance I encounter. Why? Because, like the title of that old family sitcom from decades ago explains it. “Father Knows Best”.

    Posted in Abundant life, Christian, Follow God, God's direction, God's Guidance, Love, Ponderings | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

    Understanding the Spirit vs. Worldly Thoughts

    Posted on 2026/06/20 by JimR, Chaplain

    1 Corinthians 2:12 – Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.

    To those who lived by the natural world, this creates a conundrum. The “world” that we live in is governed by an entirely different method. On a side note, let me give you something to think about.

    “World” – The world is the totality of entities (governments), the whole of reality, or everything that exists. This doesn’t have anything to do with “the earth.” “World” refers to the governance of the Earth. They come and go over time, such as changes in rules among groups of people.

    “Earth” is the third planet from the sun. It is a place, as opposed to the world. It is governed only by its own set of rules from the nature of the universe. It cannot be ruled by man.

    The spirit of the world is not in congruence with God. It is governed by the fallen nature. Once we are saved, we find a thought process used in the term “flesh”. We no longer live in the flesh. We now live by the Spirit of God. We cannot know God without this change of thought process.

    The worldly thought process cannot know God. Once we are saved, we need to put aside this thought process. This is why so many people misunderstand the Bible. They read it with worldly eyes.

    Once we change to the process of thinking like God, we will begin to gain knowledge of our creator. This kind of thinking will revolutionize our lives. As opposed to the “flesh”, we start thinking with the “mind of Christ”. This revelational thinking will expose us to the nature of eternal life. This place is a place without time. This is a place of freedom. It is a place without worry. It is the place of true victory.

    Posted in Abundant life, Biblical teaching, Christian, Christian Mission, Common Sense, Follow God, God's direction, God's Guidance, Maturity, Mental Health, Ponderings, Possibilities, Spiritual Growth, Spiritual Investment | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

    Listening to God: How to Hear His Voice in Daily Life

    Posted on 2026/06/11 by JimR, Chaplain

    Whatever your concept of God is, you will not find me disagreeing with you. That’s your world. From the standpoint of denominations alone, you will find so many facets of what is thought about who God is. If you don’t believe in God, I have to wait for the moment you realize you can’t live in the void the mind has. All the evidence of science indicates there is a creator. I’ve studied all these different approaches to philosophical thoughts on life. Everything around us in this life is too precise to not have some design for it by an unseen hand. As I have aged, I’ve come to realize that if I express my thoughts, I find someone who will try to sway me with their opinion. I am a man of my own experience. I believe in God, my Father, my Creator, and yes, I might add my own approach to God as my Dad. If you don’t understand how I can refer to Him as such take note of this.

    “Abba, Father” is an intimate, Aramaic-Greek term Jesus used to address God, combining “Abba” (Aramaic for “father” or an affectionate “dad”) with the Greek formal title “Father.” It appears in the New Testament in passages expressing close, personal trust in God (e.g., Mark 14:36; Romans 8:15; Galatians 4:6). The phrase emphasizes both intimacy and reverence — a childlike closeness to God together with recognition of His authority.

    This term is how close I feel to God. My experiences with Him developed this closeness. It makes Him huggable to me. Someone I can run to, wrap my arms around, and trust totally. He’s real to me. He’s not some philosophical thought. Not some invisible entity. He is as real as someone sitting in the room with me. Each morning in prayer, I have my time of petition, but at some point, I stop and yield the room to Him to speak to me. He has spoken to me so many times in my life, I can tell you, He can converse with me anytime. I concede my spirit to hear Him anytime, anywhere. He will speak to me. He can speak to you.

    Libby, my wife, to those who may not know her, asked me way back when if God really does speak to me. I said of course He does. I told her all she had to do was take time to be quiet and listen. A few days later she came back. She told me did what I said and He spoke to her. I asked her what He said and she said it was a quest for her. He said, “Find the key.” This became a conundrum to her for the better part of a year if not more. She kept asking God about that key. Then one day at a funeral, the minister was extolling the life of the deceased uncle when he said “Jesus is the key”. I turned to look at her as she turned to look at me. The light in her head came on. That was her answer. She was amazed that she now knew and didn’t need to search anymore.

    If you’ve read this far, just know God does speak. I don’t care about your beliefs. I don’t care about your denomination; I don’t care anything about what your opinion of what I’ve said. God has spoken so many times to me I can’t count. You’ll never convince me otherwise. I could tell story after story.

    If you’re wondering, He can and will speak to you. If you want clarity in your life all that is required is to sit quietly and open your spirit and surrender yourself to hear. Then listen. It won’t be a loud sound perhaps. It may be nothing more than a whisper. I’ve known someone that God spoke to audibly. This person could not be contained when I saw them. It was late at night. They had every light in the house turned on and could not stop talking about it. That has not been my case. If only. . . But it’s not necessary.

    Believe how you wish. I can’t change you. But God can.

    Posted in Follow God, Growing up, Maturity, Mental Health, More of God, Old Age, Ponderings, Possibilities, Prayer, Priorities, Sobering Thoughts | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

    A Vision for The People

    Posted on 2026/05/17 by JimR, Chaplain

    The thing that is at the forefront of my dislike of old age is my eyesight. Since I’ve had my cataract surgery, I’m finding it difficult to read, and it gets no better, no matter which strength reading glasses I use. I wear contacts now for astigmatism. I never had it before the surgery. For overall vision, I’m good. It’s just my ability to read. It hinders my writing. It reminds me of when I was in school. I was a voracious reader through the fourth grade. I read every Hardy Boys mysteries and started on Nancy Drew mysteries. Then my vision went downhill, and I lost interest in reading because of my frustration with trying to focus on reading my books. I unhooked from school lessons as well, since I could not see the text. I went from an A student to failing. My teachers told my parents I needed my eyes examined, but that didn’t happen until I was between my sixth and seventh grade years. I felt really good about being able to see again, but had already developed a bad habit of not caring about school. My grades suffered throughout high school, and I had to go to summer school after my second year as a sophomore. I would go to my junior year, but I would not graduate with my original class without summer school. That was my wakeup call.

    I applied myself and finished my senior year with two A’s and two B’s, and a C. I wasn’t dumb. I had lived in a world of disinterest because of those two or three years of not being able to see. It took longer to get past what my vision had done to me. Now, as I’m older, my vision is once again challenging me. I refuse to fall for it this time. I know what it can do if allowed. I still have so much to learn from my studies.

    I’m presently putting together a class lesson on First Principles for Christian Living. There are six presented to us in Hebrews 6. I’m down to the fourth principle, and I’m determined to complete this. I know where this can be taught, but when and where is open to whatever God wants me to do. There are a lot of Christians not knowing these simple principles. Lately, I’ve had two specific instances where people that became newborn Christians ask the question, “What do I do now?” My vision should not hinder me from putting together instructions on what they need to know.

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    My Mom

    Posted on 2026/05/10 by JimR, Chaplain

    My mom passed away @ 18 December 1999, the same day my youngest son graduated from UNCW. We spent the whole day in Wilmington on campus for this event. We got home late. I had gone to bed. I was dogged tired. The older son was home on leave. He was sitting up with his mom, talking, when the phone rang. It was my brother Mike calling from New Bern to tell me that mom had been transported to the hospital there, but she had died in transit. I got my clothes on. Then my son and I went to New Bern. Mike was outside when we walked up. He said her body had already been taken to a reefer out back. I insisted on seeing her body. A hospital aide took my son and me to the back. When I came back, I was inches away from collapse. After talking with family, I decided to go back home, but I could not drive. My son had to drive.

    Another sad note is that a year earlier, my best friend, whom I considered the sister I never had, died on the same day. I performed part of her memorial service.

    I guess I’m saying this to say something to someone who needs to read this. Never let a day go by without giving appreciation to those who mean so much to us. When I met Libby, she and her mom were on the outs. I told her she needed to make amends, and she did. Her mom, long gone now as well, and she kept up conversations from that time till she, too, passed. Now, like me, she wishes we could pick up the phone or go over and visit for a spell. It’s better to have a conversation with our loved ones than to weep over a casket. We can meter our visits, if necessary, but keep communications open. I miss my mom. She’s been gone 26 years, but I can still hear her voice at times. Her laugh was contagious; her wit was sharp. She did have a serious side, especially the night I gave my heart to the Lord. She looked me in the face when we got home and told me how proud she was of me for surrendering my life. She was far from perfect, but how many of us are? She was my mom.

    My mom and her dad
    Posted in Death, Family, Growing up, Home, Love, Memories, Ponderings, Salvation, Sobering Thoughts | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment