Written by Laurene Wells, August 22, 2018.
I am the owner of Heaven’s Blessings Tiny Zoo, LLC. I am a Christian. I try to lead the company by Christian values. I try to tithe from the company earnings so that our company is not stealing from the Lord. I do not require that everyone who works for the company be a Christian or believe the same things I believe. But I do require that everyone respect what I believe, and support my right to believe, just as they want to be respected. Today I felt like the Lord was telling me I need to state specifically what I mean when I say I’m a Christian, because there are a lot of new definitions of Christian I’ve been hearing lately that don’t line up with the Bible that I believe. These are the values that I try to live by, these are the values that I am trying to build my company on.
I believe the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is the only true God. He is the Self-Existent One. He always was, always is, and always will be. There are no other gods.
I believe the Bible is the holy, inspired word of God, 100% accurate and 100% true. I do not believe in leaving out parts of the Bible that are uncomfortable, or that I don’t like. All scripture is useful for instruction and edification unto holiness.
I believe in a literal interpretation of Genesis. I believe the earth was created in six literal 24 hour days, exactly as the Bible describes it. I believe the fossil deposits we see around the world happened during the great flood of Genesis chapter 6 when only Noah and his family were saved. I believe science supports a literal interpretation of the Bible far better than any other hypothesis.
I believe God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit make up the Trinity. There is only one God, existing in three states, just like water can be solid, liquid, or vapor and still be water in all three, so is God still God whether He is in the form of God, Jesus, or the Holy Spirit. Unlike water, God can exist in the form of God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit all at the same time. The Bible says that Jesus was there when the earth began, and the Holy Spirit moved across the waters. Jesus was fully God and fully man at the same time. When I pray in the name of Jesus I am praying to God through the Holy Spirit that lives in me.
I believe Jesus is the only way to heaven. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life, no one comes to the Father except through Him. All paths do NOT lead to God. Only the straight and narrow path of Christ leads to God. All other paths lead people astray.
I believe satan was a created being, an archangel, that rebelled against God, desired to be like God, and was cast out of heaven along with 1/3 of the angels who followed him in rebellion. Satan and his fallen angels are evil, the Bible calls Satan the accuser of the Brethren, he is totally against God and everything God created, including humans. He is the thief that seeks to kill, steal and destroy. Jesus and satan are NOT brothers. They are NOT equals. Jesus is infinitely more powerful than any created being, angels and archangels included. Jesus won the battle for life and death on the Cross. He has all the keys to the Kingdom. Satan is crushed under Christ’s foot and has no power over Jesus at all.
I believe that a person needs only to confess their sins, and believe in Jesus to be saved. True faith in Jesus will change a person from the inside out, so that they no longer want to sin, they will want to live their life for Him, and will want to be made clean so they can be pleasing to Him in His sight. I believe that salvation is a free gift of grace from Jesus, waiting only to be accepted, just as presents are opened on Christmas. No one has to work to earn the right to open the presents, and no one has to work to earn the free gift of salvation by grace. There is nothing we can do to earn our way into heaven, because when we sin against God we create a God-sized gap in our relationship with Him. Only God can fill that gap. God is holy and can have no evil touch Him. That’s why we needed Jesus, He became the final sacrifice for our sins so that we could have a relationship with Him. He is the author and finisher of our faith. He paid the price, he ransomed us, because we couldn’t set ourselves free.
I believe in the scriptural evidence for a literal rapture of the church. The Bible says in 1 Thessalonians chapter 4, “17 After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.” I believe this, along with numerous other verses, indicates that Christians who are alive at the time of Christ’s coming will not die but be raptured, caught up, to meet the Lord Jesus in the sky to spend eternity in Heaven with Him. I don’t know what day He will come back, I don’t pretend to know. I do believe it will be very soon.
I believe there will be a literal Tribulation period of 7 years as described in the Bible, especially in the book of Revelation. I don’t understand or have all the details memorized, but I know they are there and the prophesies are being fulfilled, and the end times are upon us. I believe the battle of Armageddon and Judgment Day is coming soon. I believe the massive fires, the hurricanes of unprecedented size and frequency, the increasing violence and hatred in the world, the beheading of Christians, the events happening in Israel, the increasing anti-Christian sentiment around the world, the increasing frequency and magnitude of earthquakes, sinkholes, and volcanic activity, the strange red sun and moon we see from the massive fires, and even the increase of global awareness of news and events through the internet are all prophesies being fulfilled that signify we are in the end times. I see it so clearly and wonder how other people can be so blind and not see what is happening all around us that is stated specifically in scripture that when we see these things happening, the end is near.
I believe God is good. God is also just. God can not allow any evil near Him. Everything He does is to bring about His will, which is for the world to abstain from evil and be filled with good. I believe all the horrible things that happen in our world are the result of evil and sin and willful acts against God that have broken our world, and hurt people. And the more people choose sin and selfishness, rather than choosing holiness and esteeming others higher than themselves, the more the world is going to suffer because it goes against God’s good and perfect will. The Bible tells us that it is God’s will that none should perish. This is why we need to pray as Jesus instructed, “God’s will be done on earth as it is in heaven,” so that everyone will be saved.
I believe God is a personal God. He is alive. He is Creator. He wants a relationship with His people. There is are a few places in the Bible where it says obedience is better than sacrifice. God has made a way for people, sent rescuers for His people, saved people from death, disaster, and destruction numerous times in Biblical history. He wants to save people, but not against their will. He gives us a choice to have a relationship with Him, or to be separate from Him. He stacked the deck in our favor, offering us love, joy, hope, peace, prosperity, and eternity in heaven in exchange for a relationship with Him. When we accept Jesus as our personal savior, He is present with us. He comes into our life and walks with us. He talks to us. He is with us day to day, and cares about what happens to us. He loves us. His love is not like human love, it is a perfect love that is intimate, sensitive, gentle, and unending. Nothing we can do will ever make Him stop loving us. Nothing, not demons, not finances, not mistakes, not people, not rivers or mountains, not anything can ever separate us from the love of God.
I believe in a literal heaven and a literal hell. Jesus taught about hell more than He taught about heaven, but He did teach about both places as real places. Jesus taught that hell was a place that was made for the devil and demons to go for their eternal punishment, it was never meant for humans, but that people who choose to rebel against God the same way that the devil rebelled against God, will have the same fate in hell that the devil will have for eternity. People who choose to turn away from evil and live for God, and accept God’s free gift of salvation through His son Jesus will go to heaven for eternity. This is why Christians are constantly telling people to believe in Jesus and be saved, because we love you and want you to go to heaven! To simply accept that some people have different beliefs is not a viable answer for Christians, because to allow someone else to believe differently without hearing about the saving grace of faith in Jesus is to show hatred to them. To let people die in their sins without hearing the love of Jesus, is to hate them with an eternal hatred. The most loving thing we can do is to tell people about Jesus so they can go to heaven. Jesus described hell as a lake of fire and brimstone, a place of darkness, separated from God and love for all eternity. Even though we don’t know exactly what heaven is going to look like, we have some hints from the Bible where Jesus talked about heaven being like a palace full of many mansions where there is no more sorrow, no more pain, no more dying, no more tears. There is a banqueting table where the Lord has prepared a feast like a wedding banquet for us. I want everyone I know to be in heaven with me, with God, for all eternity. I don’t want anyone to be left behind in the Tribulation, and certainly don’t want them to spend eternity separated from God in torment. Hell is real. Heaven is real. Please choose heaven! Choose Jesus!
I believe that God is pouring out His Holy Spirit on all people. I believe Christians today are really having visions, and dreaming dreams that are from the Lord. Some of the visions and dreams are warning messages for people who need to repent and get right with God. Some are words of encouragement for broken people who need healing and hope. I believe God is raising up a new generation of prophets and evangelists to bring His message of love and hope and truth to a broken and dying world. It is God’s will that everyone be saved, and He is sending out workers to bring in the last harvest. I believe I myself have had visions and dreams from God. I don’t always understand the meaning but I know that the Lord is teaching me through them, and sometimes has used drawings of my visions to encourage other people. I have seen visions of angels, and I have seen a vision of the sky in heaven. I have seen a vision of the Lion of Judah. I have seen many things. The Lord is still alive and still speaking to His people. He still wants a relationship with us. He speaks through His word, the Bible, first and foremost. Nothing we see or hear from any other source will ever contradict His word in the Bible. He also speaks to us through other means, through repetitive numbers, through visions, through dreams, through messages from other people, through confirmation messages that we’ve heard in our prayer times. He is speaking. It’s very important to stay grounded in the word to make sure we are hearing Him correctly and not interjecting our own thoughts and ideas.
These are the beliefs and values that guide my decisions and my life and how I lead my company and my family. People who work for me don’t have to agree with me, but they do have to respect that this is what I believe and how the company will be run.