Jesus Died For All

Hello Everyone,
     My latest project has been to search the scriptures for verses that speak of Jesus dying for all. I saw the need to do this because I have been hearing more and more teaching promoting the idea that Jesus did not die for all; that the atonement for sin purchased by His death on the cross was somehow "limited" to a certain group of "elect" people. Here are the verses I have found so far:

JESUS DIED FOR ALL

Isaiah 1:18-20 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

¹⁸ “Come now, and let us reason together,”
Says the Lord,
“Though your sins are as scarlet,
They will be as white as snow;
Though they are red like crimson,
They will be like wool.
¹⁹ “If you consent and obey,
You will eat the best of the land;
²⁰ “But if you refuse and rebel,
You will be devoured by the sword.”
Truly, the mouth of the Lord has spoken.

Isaiah 45:22 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

²² “Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth;
For I am God, and there is no other.

Isaiah 53:6 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

⁶ All of us like sheep have gone astray,
Each of us has turned to his own way;
But the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him.

Isaiah 55:1 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

 “Ho! Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters;
And you who have no ^[a]money come, buy and eat.
Come, buy wine and milk
Without money and without cost.

Jeremiah 29:13 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

¹³ You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.

Psalm 145:9 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

⁹ The Lord is good to all,
And His mercies are over all His works.

Matthew 11:28 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

²⁸ “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.

Matthew 18:14 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

¹⁴ So it is not the will ^[a]of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones perish.

Luke 2:10 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

¹⁰ But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people;

John 1:29 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

²⁹ The next day he *saw Jesus coming to him and *said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!

John 3:14-15 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

¹⁴ As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; ¹⁵ so that whoever ^[a]believes will in Him have eternal life.

Numbers 21:8 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

⁸ Then the Lord said to Moses, “^[a]Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a standard; and it shall come about, that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, he will live.” (The bite of the serpent is sin. We have all been bitten!)

John 3:16-17 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

¹⁶ “For God so loved the world, that He gave His ^[a]only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. ¹⁷ For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.

John 6:51 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

“ I am the living bread that came down out of heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread also which I will give for the life of the world is My flesh.”

John 7:37 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

³⁷ Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “^[a]If anyone is thirsty, ^[b]let him come to Me and drink.

John 12:32 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

³² And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself.”

John 12:47 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

⁴⁷ If anyone hears My sayings and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world.

Romans 1:5 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

⁵ through whom we have received grace and apostleship ^[a]to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for His name’s sake,

Romans 1:16 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

¹⁶ For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

Romans 2:11 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

¹¹ For there is no partiality with God.

Romans 3:21-24 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

²¹ But now apart ^[a]from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, ²² even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those ^[b]who believe; for there is no distinction; ²³ for all ^[c]have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, ²⁴ being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus;

Romans 5:18 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

¹⁸ So then as through one transgression ^[a]there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one act of righteousness ^[b]there resulted justification of life to all men.

Romans 6:10 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

¹⁰ For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God.

Romans 10:4 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

⁴ For Christ is the ^[a]end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.

Romans 10:8-13 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

⁸ But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart”—that is, the word of faith which we are preaching, ^9 [a]that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; ¹⁰ for with the heart a person believes, ^[b]resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, ^[c]resulting in salvation. ¹¹ For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes in Him will not be ^[d]disappointed.” ¹² For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him; ¹³ for “Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

Romans 11:32 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

³² For God has shut up all in disobedience so that He may show mercy to all.

2 Corinthians 5:14-15 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

¹⁴ For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died; ¹⁵ and He died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf.

1 Timothy 2:4 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

⁴ who desires all men to be saved and to come to the ^[a]knowledge of the truth.

1 Timothy 2:6 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

⁶ who gave Himself as a ransom for all, the testimony ^[a]given at ^[b]the proper time.

1 Timothy 4:10 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

¹⁰ For it is for this we labor and strive, because we have fixed our hope on the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of believers.

Titus 2:11 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

¹¹ For the grace of God has appeared, ^[a]bringing salvation to all men,

Hebrews 2:9 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

⁹ But we do see Him who was made ^[a]for a little while lower than the angels, namely, Jesus, because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone.

Hebrews 9:12 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

¹² and not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood, He entered the holy place once for all, ^[a]having obtained eternal redemption.

Hebrews 9:26 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

²⁶ Otherwise, He would have needed to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now once at the consummation of the ages He has been manifested to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself.

Hebrews 10:10 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

¹⁰ By this will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

1 John 2:2 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

² and He Himself is the ^[a]propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.

1 John 4:15 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

¹⁵ Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.

1 John 5:1 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

 Whoever believes that Jesus is the ^[a]Christ is ^[b]born of God, and whoever loves the ^[c]Father loves the child ^[d]born of Him.

1 Peter 3:18 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

¹⁸ For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the ^[a]spirit;

2 Peter 3:9 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

⁹ The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.

Revelation 22:17 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

¹⁷ The Spirit and the bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take the water of life without cost.

HEALTH UPDATE, JANUARY, 2020

      Hi Everyone,
      It has been a few years since my last blog post. I have been busy, and life has been good! I want to give an update regarding my health. It has now been seven years since I was diagnosed with lung cancer. I can't believe that much time has gone by, but yet, it seems like eons ago; another time, another place. 
     I'll get right to the heart of my message. I am now 67 years old. I am well!!! I walk a mile almost every day. I eat healthy. I take no daily prescription meds, or over the counter for that matter other than vitamins and an occasional allergy pill. My pulmonologist released me from his care and told me I didn't need to come back to him unless I developed some symptoms, which I don't expect to happen. I praise the Lord every day for His goodness and faithfulness to me. He is the reason I still walk this earth, and I expect to be with Him someday for eternity, but, for right now, I am still here to bring glory to His name.
     For those who don't know the story of my illness and healing, you can read about it on this blog. The post just below this one will guide you to the relevant posts, but here is a quick recap. How did I get well? I give God the glory for leading me to a way to get well without surgery, chemo and/or radiation. I did a natural therapy called the Gerson Therapy, which you can Google for yourself. I did the therapy for two full years, but after only the first six months of the therapy I had a scan that showed the tumor in my left lung had shrunk to half the size and all the affected lymph nodes were back to normal. After that, it was just a matter of continuing the therapy to be sure that my immune system was fully restored, which I believe it now is. The therapy also cured many of my other ailments and complaints including my thyroid gland and acid reflux. I rarely get sick with anything these days.
     People ask me all the time what I eat now because there are so many sicknesses out there, especially cancer which has become epidemic. Everyone seems to fear the big  "C"! I don't have to fear that anymore, because I believe now that there is a cure for cancer. I have seen it and proven it in my own life. In fact, the Gerson Therapy can cure not only cancer, but many of the other degenerative diseases that we are plagued with. The therapy is a way of eating that boosts your own immune system so that the body can heal itself. God created an amazing body that is capable of miraculous things if we would just take care of it properly. I still stick pretty close to the foods that I ate while on the Gerson Therapy. I stray from it, but not very far, because the closer I stick to it, the better I feel. The therapy is for people who have cancer, which I don't have anymore, so I am not obligated to be strict about it, but I will give you a general picture of how I eat now because it could help someone AVOID cancer.
     Here is what I do to stay healthy. I eat plenty of fresh, organic fruits and vegetables, very little meat or cheese or dairy (We have way too much animal protein in our diets. Read The China Study.), some yogurt, stay away from bad oils (EVOO is good), no fried foods, a little flax seed oil on my salads, which was the only oil allowed on the therapy, as little salt and refined sugar as possible, (It's impossible to avoid it all!), weekly fresh squeezed carrot/apple juice, (this was a major part of the therapy, and I probably should drink more of it), stay away from processed foods, (If you can't pronounce the names of the ingredients you probably shouldn't eat it!),and the all important detox with coffee enemas. I know! You didn't want to hear that part. Oh well, I have to tell the whole truth. That was also a major part of the therapy.
     OK. That's quite enough. I've gone on too long. I could talk about my experience for hours. If anyone would like to have a copy of a speech I made about my experience, I can email it to you as an attachment. It has a lot more details. Just email me with your email address and request it. I delight to share good things with anyone who will listen.
     My email: susanlackerman@gmail.com
     

Summary of Blog Posts Regarding Gerson Therapy

     For those of you who just want to zero in on the blog posts regarding my experience with the Gerson Therapy, I have made a list of them for you so you can easily access them.


March, 2013 "A Bump in the Road on My Journey"
                   "Does God Test Us?"
                   "My People Perish"

June, 2013   "Fifteen Weeks on the Gerson Therapy"

October 8, 2013  "There is a Natural Cure for Cancer"

June 5, 2014    "Fourteen Months on the Gerson Therapy"

January 20, 2015  "Gerson Therapy Success"

March 29, 2015   "Of What or Whom Shall I Be Afraid?"

September 26, 2015  "Healed on the Gerson Therapy"

     I hope that hearing my story will be encouraging to you or help you or your loved one in some way. I want to be a blessing to someone. God has blessed me so much!

Healed on the Gerson Therapy

     In my last post regarding the Gerson Therapy I gave you a recap of my progress through December, 2014. I have now had another CT scan and the results are very satisfactory! There is still no change in the nodule in my lower left lung, so it has remained basically the same size for two years now, a little less than one centimeter. My pulmonologist says he doesn't need to see me again for a year, so I feel this is very good news indeed.
     So, what are my plans now, everyone is asking? I plan to eat healthy, as close to nature as possible. I will still be eating a lot of the same foods, what I call "Gerson foods," lots of fresh, organic fruits and vegetables. I will severely limit fats, salt and sugar intake and still be drinking at least two or three carrot/apple juices a day. I will continue to detox as needed. I WILL EAT OUT!! I have already treated myself to a couple of pasta dinners at Olive Garden! Yum!!  The only thing that bothered me was the amount of salt they put on the bread! Yuck! I feel more free to venture out a little with my diet now, but not too far!
     I have received many side benefits from this therapy besides healing of my cancer. My thyroid gland, which was messed up, is now healed. Thyroid levels are testing normal with no thyroid meds. I used to have terrible acid reflux. That is gone, and I expect it to stay gone as long as I behave myself with my food intake. I have lots of energy! To sum it all up, I am feeling great!! I wish everyone could experience what I have, even though it was very difficult to go through. I wouldn't take anything for the experience and what I have learned through it all. Also, my wonderful husband, Bob, deserves a whole lot of credit for all his hard work, patience, understanding and grocery shopping! I believe he has purchased more carrots than anyone else in Hart County.
     Last, but not least, I give thanks, praise, and honor to my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, who has faithfully led me through a very dark valley. Thank you, Jesus! You are so faithful!
    

Of What or Whom Shall I Be Afraid?

     I have been thinking about my most recent test results and the fact that there is still a small nodule or tumor that just refuses to go away. I know that God could have caused that thing to just disappear the first time I asked Him to heal me, but that is not what He has chosen to do.
    So, I think about the Apostle Paul and his famous "thorn in the flesh." We don't really know what that "thorn" was, but we know that Paul, who had such a close relationship with the Lord that he was able to write most of the New Testament, prayed to God three times requesting that He remove it. God's response was, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness." (II Cor. 12:7-9)
     I have been asking the Lord if this health problem could be something I need in order to remind me that my life is in His hands, and that life on this Earth is brief, and I must make the most of the time I do have here. I am reminded that in comparison to eternity my life here is just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. James 4:14
     Now, you may be wondering why I titled this post as I did. In my circumstances it would be easy for me to succumb to fear; fear of cancer, fear of death, fear of my circumstances, etc., but what is of fear cannot be of faith. See Hebrews 11:1. The two states of mind cannot continue to coexist, for one will eventually win out over the other.
     I choose to fear the Lord, and have faith in Him. My life is in His hands. He knows me and the plans that He has for my life, and if I am trusting and believing in Him, then I will be walking by faith and not succumb to fear. I am reminded of Psalm 90:12 "So teach us to number our days, that we may present to You a heart of wisdom." I thank the Lord for every day that He gives me here so that I can prepare for the wonderful day when I see Him face to face.

     "The Lord is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the defense of my life; Whom shall I dread?" Psalm 27:1

 I choose to walk by faith and fear the Lord.

Gerson Therapy Success

     Ok, folks! My experiment with the Gerson Therapy is turning out pretty well. I have now been on the therapy for almost two years, and I have gone for fifteen months with no change. I know that doesn't sound very exciting, but let me explain.

     Here is a little recap of the events of my healing so far:

     January, 2013 - PET scan and CT scan shows a 1.3 cm nodule in the lower left lung, and numerous lymph nodes  enlarged and "lighting up" on the PET scan.
     September, 2013 - CT scan shows nodule shrunk to 0.8 x 0.5 cm. All lymph nodes appear normal and no remaining evidence of metastasis.
     May, 2014 - CT scan shows no change. All that remains is the small nodule.
     December, 2014 - CT scan again shows no change.

     To sum up, there has been no change since September of 2013. The pulmonologist says if there is no change for two years the nodule that is left will be considered "benign." I like the sound of that word!
     Here is my plan now. I will slowly wean myself off the therapy for the next month or so. The end of February I will have been on it for two years, which is the minimum amount of time that Gerson recommends. I will, of course, continue to eat healthy foods and drink some juices. Then, I will have another scan in September and hope that all will be the same or better.
     I have checked with the Gerson people about my latest scan and my future plans. They say that sometimes a tumor will wall itself off, making it difficult for the body to break it down, but as long as my blood work is good, and I am feeling well they are not too concerned about it. I have also read that when a tumor dies it does not always totally disappear. It would take major surgery to remove it, and I am not willing to risk that. The other option would be to go back on the therapy full force to see if the nodule can be broken down, but I am not willing to do that either at this time. If the scan in September shows a change for the worse, then of course I would get back on the therapy right away. I am not expecting that to happen now that I know how to eat right and take care of my body. I feel great and am probably healthier than I have ever been.
     I have trusted God thus far, and He has been faithful to lead me in the right path. I have no reason to believe that it will be any different from here on. I trust Him with my life. He is my Creator, my Savior, and my Lord. He will guide me. He has never let me down. God is good! PTL!

The "Selfie" Society

     I have heard it said, "You must learn to love yourself before you can love others." I have even heard this taught in Christian circles. I think it is one of the most illogical things I have ever heard. In my own experience, the more someone loves himself, the less they seem to care about others.
     Where did this lie come from? I'll give you one guess. Where do all lies originate? They begin with the father of lies, Satan himself. The vehicles he used to establish this lie were the propagators of what we now know of as psychology, none other than Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung. Both men had a long history of fascination with occult things and Carl Jung even admitted to having a spirit guide named Philemon from whom he received many of his ideas. Should the church be borrowing ideas from sources such as these?
     So, what do the scriptures have to say about self-love. Paul warned in II Timothy 3:1-5 that in the last days, difficult times would come for men would be "lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy..." and the list goes on and on. Notice that "lovers of self" is part of a long list of many other undesirable traits. Did Paul believe self-love was a good and necessary quality to have? Certainly, not.
     What about Jesus, did He teach us to love ourselves? In Matthew 22:39 Jesus gave us the command, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." Some try to twist the meaning of this to prove that Jesus taught us to love ourselves, but Jesus knew that we already love ourselves too much, so He was commanding us to love others as much as we already love ourselves. He also taught that we should deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow Him. This is just the opposite of what we are being taught today in our society and even in some churches.
     We hear all about self-fulfillment, self-esteem, self-respect, self-worth, self-love, self-confidence, etc.  It is no wonder that we have turned into a selfish society, and we have never been further from the example given to us by Jesus when He left His throne in heaven to come to Earth and die on a cross for us. We would do well to listen to what Paul told the Philippian church.

     "Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but  emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross." Philippians 2:3-8