In Search of Truth

It is good to be back!

2012-01-11T04:02:00.000-05:00

Well, it is good to be back and want to express I have missed being here with the news and views of the Bible and what it has to say for those who follow the MOHM ministries. For those who have been wondering where I have been, off the scene, so to speak, I have been asked to preach and teach at another church and a candidate for the office of pastor, once again. My heart and mind has been wholly centered on the church and its needs which took me down a different path for just a little while, once again. It looks like to me I would get the point that the LORD does not wish me to pursue this office of pastor, but how is one supposed to know without the heart leading one to do these things for the LORD? To quote the Bible, “This is a true saying, If a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work.” I Timothy 3:1

It is a fact that I love the church which is God’s people and try to attend to their needs. I feel the LORD does use me to get certain messages across for the right moment but then has me to move on to the next project, once again. I guess this is the life of an evangelist of sorts. In my personal life I have to admit, it is anything but glamorous, not that I am seeking such nonsense. For those who know me personally, you are aware of how the devil attacks frequently and with all intensity. Sometimes I feel that no one else can be bothered with the devil because of the time he spends tormenting me and my wife. On the other hand, I have been told that I must be doing something right because of the fiery trials that are continually presented to me and my wife of many years now. All foolishness aside, I am fully aware that my brothers and sisters in the LORD are dealt with by Satan just as I am. Satan isn’t going to just sit back and take my kicking him in the teeth every chance I get just to sit idly by. No, he is going to react to my every move for the cause of Christ and the Kingdom of God. No stopping now! I must move on to the next adventure with the LORD guiding me.

What I had in mind for today’s lesson goes right along with what I have been saying about pursuing things such as a different vocation, a better job, a better way of life. I ask this question. What was the Apostle Paul speaking of when he talked about evil concupiscence?

“Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry…”

Colossians 3:5

The Apostle Paul is saying we need to put to death these feelings of desire for things that the LORD would not have us to pursue to our detriment and destruction. You might ask, but how is desiring and pursuing a better job, or a better home, or a better way of life going to put me at odds with the LORD? We might not be aware of this fact but this thing of evil concupiscence is talking about ungodly self-interest, self-advancement, and or glory seeking. You might be saying now, but how do I do this when all I am trying to do is just for the betterment of me and my family?

I can remember the times that I was discontent with my job and surroundings. I found myself always looking for a better way, any way that I could escape from my dull life and dreary outlook on life. I had discovered the real world of self deception by longing and desiring for those things that were not meant for my life. Satan had set me upon a course, if pursued, to total annihilation. I was thinking just like everyone else was by trying to get ahead, by getting a better education, thus putting me in position for a better job, and looking forward to having the means to acquire a better place in which to live and raise my family. What is wrong with this kind of thinking? Well, for one, it wasn’t what the LORD had in store for me or my family. You might be saying, but the LORD wouldn’t hold that against us for trying to better ourselves would he? The fact is, yes He would. In other words, I was trying to get outside the realm that God had designed for me and my family with all the hard knocks that I encountered along the way.

In our society in America, people tend to look down on those who cannot do better for themselves. Whether it be because of personal shortcomings of mental health or the type of family upbringing they were exposed to. There are countless accounts of those who ‘made it’ in this life and it seems like this would be available to everyone, would it not? Not so according to the Bible. This is the reason for the Beatitudes of Christ found in the Book of Matthew chapters five, six, and seven and a very good place to start a daily Bible reading. The LORD explains in great detail the way in which is most desirable in design for the children of God. The problem arises when the society of this world is injected into the life of a born-again child of God in which has nothing to do with the Christian except do the bidding of his or her Master, the LORD JESUS Christ. Other than this purpose, we will find ourselves outside of the will of God for our lives in the instant we start thinking we can do better for ourselves than God allows for us to live a happy, joyful, and healthy Christian lifestyle. We tend to pierce ourselves through with many heartaches and disappointments when the worldly ways are pursued by the child of God. I have found it to be true, when the child of God ventures on other paths outside of God’s bidding; despair, anxiety, fretfulness, greed, and a host of other undesirable traits start to permeate the soul to its very demise. Christian or not, seeking health, wealth, and prosperity without the guidance of the LORD is the deathtrap Satan has laid as a snare to any individual. So this evil concupiscence is a real threat to the child of God and we are warned not to pursue this thing of bettering ourselves without the knowledge of God’s purpose of our lives instilled in our hearts from the outset of our personal walk with Him. You ask how can one know which way to go and not fall prey to Satan’s devilish whims? In answer to that question is quite simply, read the Bible for yourself and allow God’s Holy Spirit to guide you into all truth and grace of the Holy Scripture. Thus one can avoid the traps and enjoy the real peace of mind, heart, and soul by the LORD’s very design for His children.

Thy Kingdom Come

2011-10-16T08:47:00.000-04:00

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“Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.”
Matthew 6:10 KJV

Are you ready for a real change? I promise you it won’t be anything like what the politicians are offering us today. Have you ever wondered just what it will be like when the LORD JESUS arrives here on earth to establish His Kingdom? We can rest assured of one thing, our environment and way of living will be much different from there on out. I often tell people to be careful of what they pray for because the LORD just might answer your prayer. I say this when I hear someone ask for something out of a frivolous heart. I feel that is what most people’s prayers are, frivolous. I do not think they put their prayers to too much thought because of their off handed requests are not really expected to be heard much less answered. I say all this because of the repetitive prayer we are taught to say from time to time. The Lord’s Prayer is one of the most repeated prayers known in all of Christendom. Be very careful, the LORD hears everything we say and repetitive prayers are an absolute bore to Him. The LORD encourages us to avoid those type prayers at all possible times.

“And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, they have their reward. But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.” Matthew 6:5-7 KJV

I feel if we would just stop and for once realize that the Lord’s Prayer will someday become a reality, we would most definitely consider what we are praying for. Thy Kingdom come? Really? Do we realize our way of life will be changed forever? Our president has many times offered change to us at our request but when the LORD JESUS returns to set on King David’s throne, change will most assuredly come about, and I mean drastic changes from what we are used too. Just when are these changes going to take place? Well, the Bible gives us a clue as when this will happen.

“And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, the kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.” Revelation 11:15 KJV

The seventh trumpet is the key as to when things will begin to change for the born-again believer in the LORD JESUS Christ.

“Behold, I shew you a mystery; we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.” I Corinthians 15:51-52 KJV

As I said before, the seventh trumpet is the last trumpet and the key to these immediate changes for the child of God. Are you ready for change now? But we that know Jesus as our personal Saviour will know change, drastic change and change for the good, peaceful, and precious life that we all will experience for the very first time. “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.” This what we pray for isn’t it? Then why aren’t we ready for it?

I spend a lot of time in my studies of the Bible attempting to speculate on just how it will be when the LORD returns to establish His kingdom. Of course I refer back and forth to the Old Testament and New Testament of the Bible to ask and seek the little tidbits of clues of the Kingdom. Things like, just what kind of change are we talking about here and where is the kickoff point? First of all, I feel that all mechanization will cease because of the exhaustive war of the Beast which is defeated at the Battle of Armageddon.

“For the nation and kingdom that will not serve thee (the LORD Jesus Christ) shall perish; yea, those nations shall be utterly wasted.” Isaiah 60:12 KJV

Trust me when I tell you, he (the Beast of Revelation) will throw everything in the world that is at his disposal at the Coming Christ in all His Glory. I hope any of you are not in the military at this point because you will be numbered with the dammed. I also suspect that all industrialization will come to a grinding halt due to the exhaustion of resources such as oil and the oil refineries that have also been destroyed by the LORD’S coming in all His brightness. No more oil? How will we live? Trust me when I tell you, you won’t have a need for it anymore when the LORD is here. The bankers and the money changers won’t be around anymore to take advantage of us with their dirty little ponzey schemes that have robbed every one of us in the past of all our labours. In fact, I doubt there will be any tall building left standing to remind us of the fact of a lost civilization of the Western culture.

“For brass I will bring gold, and for iron I will bring silver, and for wood brass, and for stones iron: I will also make thy officers peace, and thine exactor’s righteousness. Violence shall no more be heard in thy land, wasting nor destruction within thy borders; but thou shalt call thy walls Salvation, and thy gates Praise. The sun shall be no more thy light by day; neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee: but the LORD shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy God thy glory. Thy sun shall no more go down; neither shall thy moon withdraw itself: for the LORD shall be thine everlasting light, and the days of thy mourning shall be ended. Thy people also shall be all righteous: they shall inherit the land for ever, the branch of my planting, the work of my hands, that I may be glorified. A little one shall become a thousand, and a small one a strong nation: I the LORD will hasten it in his time.” Isaiah 60:17-22 KJV

What is it going to be like? I suspect from just reading the Scripture and what it says about the coming Kingdom that we will revert back to the agrarian society with the priest (you and I who are born-again) will perform the LORD’s bidding as He sets on the throne of David in Jerusalem. There won’t be any more competitiveness in the production of products or food. Manufacturing of all kinds of materials will not be needed therefore will not exist. Equality will be the norm amongst all nations. I imagine I will be assigned to a city of the LORD’s choosing to be a spiritual guide (priest) and adviser to perform those duties the LORD requires of me. I do envision the family farm will once again appear across all lands and the livestock will need handlers. The cattlemen will roam the ranges of the vast openness once again. The wild horses will once again rove free for us to choose from for our transportation needs. I doubt seriously the steam locomotive will even exist. I feel the clock will be set back to the time before the locomotive was invented. There will not be any need to wander very far from the assigned places the LORD JESUS puts us to live out our eternal lives at least for the first thousand years for the glory of God. There will be no need for long journeys except for the occasional pilgrimage to Jerusalem to worship the LORD to make our presence known.

“And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him.” Daniel 7:27 KJV

“And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.” Revelation 1:6 KJV

“And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.” Revelation 5:10 KJV

The LORD desires us to enjoy our life but how can you enjoy something you can never have in this life? In this life people cannot get enough of anything. They cannot get enough money, property or real-estate, perfect health, satisfaction of the fruit of their labor, or anything else the human heart desires or lusts after. Why do you think people are greedy, jealous, hoarders, and the list of human undesirable traits continues? Let’s face the facts; we can never be satisfied as long as we are in this human body just because of the truth that only the soul was ‘saved by grace’ but not this body. This is the reason the body has to go back to the dust from whence it came. This also the very reason we struggle from day today with human emotions that tear us down into temptation. Trust me when I tell you, Satan knows our weaknesses, and he uses them against us every day we live. It is Christ in us that gives us the victory each day over this flesh. In the Kingdom you will discover that there won’t be any such cravings or lusting after the former things of this world.

“Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.” I Corinthians 15:50 KJV

The fact is we all have an appointment with the death angel.

“And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.” Hebrews 9:27-28 KJV

But that is a good thing for the child of God. It is imperative that we make the exchange of bodies so we can be physically promoted into the Kingdom of God. We are just waiting for the transformation to take place just like in God’s nature on earth, we are taught by example of the caterpillar who awaits his glorious transformation into the beautiful butterfly. As born-again Christian’s we are card carrying members of the House of God, the Kingdom of Christ, but the transition has yet to be made. The Holy Spirit that resides in your heart right now is that Seal that God has placed upon all of us that know Him. Once again, the physical transition will take place at the Second Coming of Christ Jesus (I Corinthians 15:51-52). Even So, Come LORD JESUS.

Singularity

2011-10-09T07:42:00.000-04:00

www.missionofhopeministries.com

“Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:...” Ephesians 1:9 KJV

There is a word that is floating around with increasing interest that I have discovered. The word is singularity. I looked up this word because the idea of it is used in the biochemistry industry, also Nano-technology industry, and manufacturers of prosthesis or artificial limbs. Interesting isn’t it? It simply means something that is unique, unusual, exceptional, distinctive, or remarkable. All technology today is most astounding to say the least and fits all these descriptions. In my investigation of this word I found that it has been around for quite some time but funneled through science-fiction movies and books written based upon theory and some fiction. Non-the-less, in the last ten years it has gained popularity and momentum. I feel that the rapid increase of the technology electronics and robotics manufacturing world has been gaining steadily to the point of humanizing machines. As I stated before, this isn’t anything new to the Sci-fi buffs but it is amazing and most remarkable to realize this is going to be the near future. I fully understood the 21st century was really here when I saw the Honda Robot on display and demonstrated on a stage for the world to witness. It is quite amazing to say the least. In the world of robotics, it is their underlying fantasy to bring about a merger of the two, robotics, and human tissue, thus in a word, singularity. You think this is fantasy? Have you ever wondered what stem cell technology is really all about? When I saw the ear and skin that was grown in a laboratory at a college as a biological experiment, I knew that the Third Reich of Adolf Hitler and his team of doctors and scientists dream of a master race was still on the minds of chemists, doctors, biologists, and politicians. So, it seems the age old desire of man becoming a god hasn’t faded away at all. Do you have any idea what a government could do with an army of these super-human robotic, Robocop, type people? I feel it would be the ultimate nightmare of WWII played out. Believe me, men in high places are longing for this to happen and are not wasting any time in the advancement of Robocop, I-Robot, and Bicentennial Man, in which the family robot finally achieves his goal by being declared human by a Court of Law. Along with others watching this growth of technology, I feel this will be a reality by 2020 because of the rapid advancement of technology in all fields of science. This is exactly what it is, the insatiable quest for knowledge without knowing full well what the consequences will be. I have always thought that knowledge to scientist, biologist, and all other academics is somewhat like giving a loaded gun to a child just to see what he can do with it regardless the consequences. Just because they are adults and have a value system of the dangers involved does not mean that they will avoid risks. No, even when the risk of disaster looms they will go forward anyway and give their theories a trial run without knowing the outcome. This was before my time but does anyone remember the trial tests of the Atom Bomb? Does anyone know of the maimed servicemen and women of who lives were destroyed bringing that apparatus of destruction into being? It would be in the thousands of citizens of the U.S., and nobody wants to know because of the shame and disgrace it would conjure up among citizens. And so it goes with any and all technology that mankind has a hand in because wherever mankind goes destruction and heartache follow. Mankind always justifies his evil deeds using the good he can perform after the fact of destructive acts he has already committed against humanity. Somewhat like the Vietnam tragedy. It is just our nature to be this way and nothing outside of Almighty God can change this human calamity.

“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” Jeremiah 17:9 KJV

“O LORD, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps.” Jeremiah 10:23 KJV

As I see things, the strategy of Satan from the outset of being cast out of Heaven has always been to throw the proverbial wrench into God’s master plan everywhere it would be possible. Satan has doggedly and relentlessly conjured up counterfeit people to install them in strategic places of his choosing. All these attempts of course, are allowed by Jehovah God but somehow still works along with the master plan of the ages. It is most amazing to see how God still makes things to work in His favour despite the evil setbacks Satan awards us with.

With these thoughts in mind, let us look at the plan God has for His children. The LORD God Jehovah has a plan in place for each of His children and it will culminate when the LORD Jesus Christ returns to set up His Millennial Kingdom on earth. It will all begin when the “catching up” or rapture, that the Apostle Paul describes takes place. The reason for this rapture is to consummate the Marriage of the Lamb (Jesus) with the Bride (the Church of born-again believers). This is the spiritual sense of the term, singularity. The Bride of Christ and the LORD Jesus will be together forever into eternity from this point on never to separate again. We now are spiritually one with Christ as we live out our lives on earth but not physically. Our lives will change in the moment of a twinkling of an eye as we are metamorphasized with a new and glorious body the Apostle Paul describes in I Corinthians chapter 15.

“But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the first-fruits of them that slept. For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. But every man in his own order: Christ the first-fruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming. Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him.” I Corinthians 15:20-27 KJV

“Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:...” Ephesians 2:5-6 KJV

As it stands right now we as born-again Christian’s are waiting in the wings for these things to happen. Thus we wait with hope and anxiously look forward to the return of Christ Jesus. At this juncture the Bride of Christ will be physically in the presence of the Prince of the Kingdom of God.

“And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly. Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I shew you a mystery; we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.” I Corinthians 15:49-54 KJV

"A funny thing happened on the way to Nineveh"

2011-10-02T07:29:00.002-04:00

Reference Scripture: Jonah Chapter 1 – 4

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In this Bible Study of the Prophet Jonah today I wanted to bring into light a few pointers on what not to do when God sends you to the mission field. By using the example of Jonah, we will see he was God's disgruntle missionary.

Jonah was experienced with God and no new comer to God's works. We can attest to this according to II Kings 14: 23, 24, and 25, which reads:

“In the fifteenth year of Amaziah the son of Joash king of Judah Jeroboam the son of Joash king of Israel began to reign in Samaria, and reigned forty and one years. And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD: he departed not from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin. He restored the coast (borders) of Israel from the entering of Hamath unto the sea of the plain, according to the word of the LORD God of Israel, which he spake by the hand of his servant Jonah, the son of Amittai, the prophet, which was of Gathhepher.” II Kings 14:23-25 KJV

Jonah was a sign from God to the nation of Israel. Jonah was the man God had chosen for this particular time to preach in the accepted hour. As Mathew Henry has said and I quote;

“Thus God, in the darkest and most degenerate ages of the church, raised up some to be burning and shining lights in it; to their own age, by their preaching and living, and a few by their writings, to reflect light upon us in the last times.” {Unquote.}

This prophesy came to pass by the word of God through Jonah but for Jonah other assignments came from God who decided to move Jonah out of his comfort zone. God arranged it for Jonah to deliver a message to the Assyrian city of Nineveh. This is where Jonah ran into serious trouble with himself and God. Jonah was discovered to have no compassion for the people and was discovered to be a bigot. He considered that God's grace and mercy was not fit for these people and was a big waste of time and effort. Jonah eventually showed signs of being ashamed of his calling and was rebellious to God's desires of mercy for this people.

"But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was very angry." Jonah 4:1 KJV

Cause and effect: How did Jonah end up in the belly of a great fish?

"They that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy." Jonah 2:8

I have listed some reasons for his disdain. It seems Jonah changed his mind somewhere along the way to run from God according to verse 1:3:

“But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD, and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD.” Jonah 1:3 KJV

The question is why? Maybe Jonah was afraid for his life or maybe hated these Gentile beasts, but never-the-less, returned to God's command with obedience and repentance. We can read chapter 2 verses 1-10 and see in the prayer when Jonah prayed he received sound wisdom when apprehended by God. The LORD is serious when He employs one of His children into service. Whether we like it or not is irrelevant, the job that we are assigned to has deep spiritual meaning from God and to us it is our job to gain wisdom and knowledge of the task at hand. Most certainly, when we are given an assignment from God it becomes a test of obedience and trust in the LORD to perform His will for both the sent and the receiver. In my experiences with the LORD, God’s volition most always seems to serve a dual purpose for the experience at hand in which everyone benefits.

Evidently, in Jonah's mind, he shamefully began listening and agreeing with Satan. Jonah was so hardheaded he had to be told twice as we can read in chapter 3 verses 1- 10. Jonah was found disagreeing and arguing with an authority figure, Almighty God. How many times have we been caught disagreeing with the LORD in our plight of misunderstanding of His will for our lives? What are you going to tell God, He doesn’t know what He is doing? Or maybe He doesn’t understand the circumstances? It was also evident Jonah was rebellious to sound wisdom by turn a deaf ear to the LORD. Maybe Jonah was saying to himself; these people are so pagan there is no hope for them. These people are not worth the trouble. These people are going to get what they deserve. But, with a little more time to pass he began to think; there must be a better way, pausing and searching his heart. This way of life isn't for me. Jonah no doubt was dissatisfied and contemptible with current condition.

Jonah, disgruntle and under protest;

"And Jonah began to enter into the city a day's journey, and he cried, and said, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown." Jonah 3:4 KJV

At this point Jonah was proud to deliver this message of coming destruction because he wanted the prophesy to come to pass on this wicked people.

"And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not." Jonah 3:10 KJV

God is no respecter of persons, this is a biblical fact. It would do us well if we would consider that the Grace that was offered to us is offered to all when God deems so. God's unmerited favour is a free gift and God gives it where and when He wills it. God deemed it was time to offer it to Nineveh. What we sometimes fail to see with our spiritual eyesight is that God has a purpose for all people of the earth. That purpose is to come to the saving knowledge of His Son, Jesus Christ. In Jonah’s day, the promise of the coming Messiah wasn’t known but by very few and most of the time only Jehovah God was in the forefront of being known as Almighty God. It wasn’t evident to Jonah that God had paved the way for him to enter into Nineveh. We can see this by the way the people received the Word of God from the prophet’s mouth. After Jonah was through delivering the message God gave him to deliver how did the people receive it? They didn’t throw tomatoes and cabbages at him did they? They didn’t run him out of town on a rail did they? No, it was quite the opposite. The people of Nineveh were immediately struck with the fear of God in their hearts and decided the best thing they could do to avoid this looming destruction was to too adhere to every word of the Prophet.

Let’s face the truth. Only God could do that and that was the preparation of the people for the sake of God’s GRACE towards them. Sometimes, people have to be put in the position to listen to sound reason from God. This is why it takes time and distance so God can do His works behind the scenes and away from the naked eye. Little do we understand that God is always working on our behalf and to our benefit? This is the wonderful love and grace God bestows to His children every single day we live. Then when we least expect it, we are surprised to learn just what it was that the LORD was doing for us. Just like a loving parent doing something special for their child, God sends us His personal blessings for us to see that God really does care for us and He loves us with an unconditional love, an agape love. God did the very same thing to the City of Nineveh. By sending Jonah, His handpicked prophet to them so they too could have the experience of God’s grace and love. As the story of Jonah goes on in chapter four we can see that when the people of the city turned and repented, God revealed His Grace by sparing the people and by establishing the fact that there is a God that everyone will have to face one day. The true and living God, Jehovah. False god’s can never conjure up the fear in a man’s heart the way Jehovah God can and does. And it is for a very good reason this happens this way. Jehovah God wants everyone in the world to know Him and get a reasonable understanding of Him so they can have a relationship with the living God and experience what millions of others have experienced, love and grace from the Creator, one and only God of the universe, Jehovah.

"A funny thing happened on the way to the hog lot"

2011-09-25T08:21:00.000-04:00

Scripture Reference: Luke 15: 11- 24
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In the Book of St. Luke chapter 15 we find Christ Jesus explaining to His Disciples in the form of stories of people that had lost things to the world. In this one particular story we find that one son did what was right and one son did that which was wrong and paid the price thereof. The question I would like to ask is how did one of the young men find his way into the hog lot and eating what the hogs ate? There are a lot of possible reasons for the young man’s demise and it would pay us to look closely at some of these reasons.

“And he said; a certain man had two sons: And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living. And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living. And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want. And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him. And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father's have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father; I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, and am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants. And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him. And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son. But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet: And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry: For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry. Luke 15:11-24 KJV

I believe one possible reason of separation from the boy’s family could have been youthful exuberance. Without any experiences of this world, he possibly believed he has a better idea of how things should be done- a different way of approaching things than that of his Father. This is atypical of most all young men; I am speaking from my own experiences. His arrogance and pride has proved him to be sort of bullet proof saying often around others – “hey ya'll watch this!” There was the possibility of some insubordination due to the fact that he insisted on leaving and asked to have what was coming to him handed to him as soon as possible. He was impertinent in demanding these request be filled as to get as far away from home as soon as he could. I feel he was somewhat arrogant due to social status while all along riding on his father's coat-tail. One important point was for sure the boy was his father’s son and desired to show the world what he could do. There was also the possibility of some father/ son competition being played out on the farm.

Even though the young man left with his father's blessing and consent, he was acting upon the permissive will of God instead of the perfect will of God. On one hand and as I see things, there is also a spiritual war going on in the spirit world simultaneously for this young man and us alike for his eternal soul. No doubt Satan has been working long and hard on this young man to the point of breaking someone’s heart in the process. Satan does not care in the slightest that heart he breaks as long as he gets that eternal soul he is pursuing. The dissention of God’s will for this young man’s life began with the rebellious attitude towards God’s will for his life. With God’s permissive will he left home and started the decent out of God’s will by appeasing his flesh with riotous living. In verses 13, 14, and 15, we see the quagmire the young man found himself in to the point of stopping and having to address the situation. In short, he had come to the end of the road of choices, or had he?

“And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living. And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want. And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine.” Luke 15:13-15 KJV

One point I would like to make here is that God knows how to stop us in our tracks. No doubt this is a very bad situation the young man found himself in but, it could get a lot worse if he is persistent in moving on with his own demise. Hypothetically speaking, God could start breaking bones to slow him down even further. Or, some dreaded disease would land him in the bed of sickness just so he would be forced to stare at the ceiling looking up to God. The LORD will employ all sorts of ways and means in which to get our attention and face him with questions in which he is gracious enough to answer. This is the example of the exhibit of grace that God uses to bring us into a position in which we are forced to deal with it. The situation cannot be pushed aside any longer at this point. On the other hand, the LORD God knew of the youthful stubbornness of the young man and allowed him to have the experience in his life that would bring about change of mind through worldly experiences. I found out personally that some experiences are too costly to venture into after the fact. In all of our trials and troubles in life I feel the real purpose for God's permissive will is to teach us all just what unmerited favour really means. I believe, in the end of it all, we will have experienced the wonderful Grace of God and have a good understanding of what it entails. Many of us bear the scars of sin and rebellion of years gone by but God is gracious enough to wait out our wild oats sowing days. Trust me when I say that time is on God’s side but very little time is on our side. There is a price to pay for rebellion but God desires that all that travel that path gets tired of the spiritual resistance against their wicked ways to the point of giving up out of exhaustion. In verses 17 – 24 the young man no doubt experienced what grace was all about when he found his very own father hugging him like a lost sheep that was found. There were many tears of joy and gladness shed that day because the boy, through untold hardship, had found his way back home through the providential care of God. A fact is it isn’t God’s will that any of us should perish but come to repentance. I remember that old and beautiful church hymnal song, “The Ninety and Nine”, coming into play in my mind right now. Praise the LORD for the unspeakable gift of grace!

"Enough is never enough"

2011-09-18T08:01:00.000-04:00

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Today’s Bible study will entail the teachings of King Solomon taken from the Book of Ecclesiastes chapter five starting with verse 12.

"The sleep of a labouring man is sweet, whether he eat little or much: but the abundance of the rich will not suffer him to sleep.” King Solomon Ecclesiastes 5:12 KJV

I believe if there was ever a person who could tell the absolute truth about what problems that could potentially arise from too much acuminated wealth, I feel it has to be Solomon. The better question I might ask is, how much is enough? In Solomon's day when King Solomon prospered everyone in the city and surrounding area prospered with him. God most definitely blessed the King of Israel with 40 years of prosperity and peace with their neighbors. A good question I feel is, are we as born-again Christian's blessed by God as were the Israelites? With much study and prayer for guidance of the Holy Spirit I have arrived at the answer, YES! Wonderful! You might be thinking right now, but I want you to understand there is a hitch to this health, wealth, and prosperity. It has to do with the Holy Father's will for your personal life. So many Christian's in the church today are seeking after wealth to the point that lustful feelings of greed have taken up camp in their heart. Do we think God is going to bless us continually without any accountability? For example, would you hand over the keys to your $180,000 Mercedes Benz, provided you have something of that value, to your teenage son or daughter without knowing first they could be trusted with the responsibility? Some have and that is why their lust for wealth, fame, and power seem to be insatiable and in many circumstances, to the point of destruction. This is a thought to ponder. Just where is all of Solomon's wealth today? Where did it all go? Scattered to the four winds I am afraid. Was all his efforts in vain?

Have you ever pondered the thought of just how much it would take in this world to bring about satisfaction and happiness to you as an individual? Therein lays a vicious trap that so few are even aware of.

"There is a sore evil which I have seen under the sun, namely, riches kept for the owners thereof to their hurt.” King Solomon Ecclesiastes 5:13 KJV

I am afraid that so many of us haven’t realized that the human body is always craving or longing for something it feels it has a need for. It could be food or just a craving for some particular type of food like cake, cake is good! But how much does one really need? I know this might sound silly but there are some people who cannot get enough cake in this life and are paying the drastic consequences! It isn’t only cake; it could be anything and everything sometimes to the point of being out of control. I feel that is the magic word, CONTROL! There has to be some sort or some kind of restraining in our lives or else everything would be an insatiable desire to us with no control! As we read about the life of Solomon we have discovered his weakness, and we have to admit everyone has one! Solomon's weakness was for the opposite sex, yes, women. At the end of his days he had amassed some 1000 women from different countries and with many different religious beliefs. This was his demise to say the least; he caved in to all his fleshly desires. I believe this is a case in point where God allows things to happen to certain people just the point out that God's intensions was to make that individual an example to us all. I for one do not want to be used as an example before the entire world. Would you like this to happen to you? I feel that God so richly blessed Solomon that somewhere the blessing crossed a line and became a curse to make a point in Solomon's life. The irony of it all is that he lived to write about all his experiences, good and bad. The Book of Ecclesiastes is a personal ledger of sorts that Solomon left his thoughts to ponder to his legacy. You will notice right away that Solomon was a most miserable man that had accomplished everything he ever thought about. Wealth most certainly did not make him happy. Fame and posterity most certainly did not make him happy. Just what did make Solomon Happy? I feel it was the time spent alone with God contemplating on the words of wisdom God laid on his heart to contemplate and comment on. The Word of God was his only inner peace and solitude. You can read and see it in his writings.

"But those riches perish by evil travail: and he begetteth a son, and there is nothing in his hand. As he came forth of his mother's womb, naked shall he return to go as he came, and shall take nothing of his labour, which he may carry away in his hand. And this also is a sore evil, that in all points as he came, so shall he go: and what profit hath he that hath laboured for the wind? All his days also he eateth in darkness, and he hath much sorrow and wrath with his sickness." King Solomon Ecclesiastes 5:14-17 KJV

Solomon was writing about his father David and himself. King David was the warrior and bad guy in the story who subdues all the surrounding territories. To all those who are not spiritual all they saw was what Solomon was left to do was to pick up where his father left off and live the life of Riley with no worries of being poor or destitute. But there was a price to pay for all that wealth and prosperity. In the verse before, he was that son he spoke of and wrote about. I believe that there is a cutoff point when it comes to wealth and riches to the Christian child of God. I for one cannot believe that my Heavenly Father would bless me to the point that it would become a curse. Or, at least I hope He wouldn't. I feel that He would cut off the thing that may become a hindrance to me to preserve me in mine integrity. At least I hope and pray that He would. I do pray for my protection and the protection of my children every day I live. I cannot imagine me giving one of my children something that could potentially do them any harm. Can you? No, with wisdom and understanding, I would give those things that would be beneficial and helpful and withhold anything that could become a hindrance to them in their life. But, that is me. Some parents don't seem to care what they give their children and ends up being their death sentence. Thankfully, the LORD doesn’t work that way and it isn’t His intensions to bring about harm and disaster in His Childs life. The rebellious child is another situation and calls for drastic measures in order to bring about stability in that person’s life. In that scenario, God in all His wisdom isn’t out to destroy the person but bring them to repentance and their very Salvation.

The LORD does want us to be able to enjoy what we have without greed and anxiety taking over our lives. If you are struggling with what you have accumulated in life, you are probably out of the LORD’s will for your life. The LORD intends that we live out our lives in contentment and with a thankful heart praise Him for what we have or don't have. The LORD intends that we live without struggle and discontentment in our lives. We don't realize what we seem to lust for and crave for could lead us to our own destruction. For our own protection God will not allow very much to enter our lives that would do us in, and if He does, you can bet it is for a very good lesson to be learned in the process of misery. I believe He would want us to live out our lives content and thankful for all that we are allowed to accumulate in this life.

A very wise man once wrote out his request to God to add to his protection in life.

"Two things have I required of thee; deny me them not before I die: Remove far from me vanity and lies: give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me: Lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, who is the LORD? Or lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God in vain.” Agur, Proverbs 30:7-9 KJV

I believe like the Apostle Paul when he said, "all things in moderation", of course that excludes those things that are evil or might have the appearance of evil. The Apostle James had quite a lot to say about rich men and the dangers of Christian's getting caught in their evil schemes. James expressed this concern in the Book of James beginning with chapter two and finishing chapter five. I encourage you to read these chapters for better understanding of the evil of riches on this earth. I believe the Apostle James summed up the whole affair of the trap that Christian's fall into in this one verse.

"Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him?"
Apostle James 2:5 KJV

We as Christian's would do well to remember we are sojourners in this world and just passing through to the Kingdom of God where there will be no need for the things of this world. We will be completely outfitted for the Kingdom when we get insight of the lights of the City of God. Let's don't get sidetracked on the way to see King Jesus. Lets us stay the course with a light load to carry and head for a home of peace and life everlasting.

Note: Agur: was probably a public teacher, and Ithiel and Ucal, his pupils; and this was the Massa, or oracle, which he delivered, not by his own wisdom, but by the Holy Spirit, for the benefit of man; and which, it is probable, was added by "the men of Hezekiah."

What Do You Fear Most?

2011-06-05T07:59:00.000-04:00

Let’s face it; we are all afraid of something in this life whether or not we will be brave enough to admit it is another matter. But, I feel that the thing we all need to fear the most is the very thing that has power over our eternal soul. I will admit I am afraid of what a tornado can do and I have seen firsthand just what a hurricane can do to my home town. There are some that are most fearful of small enclosures and there are some that are afraid of bugs and snakes, something I would stay away from myself.

I heard just yesterday that a church in our town had one day of Vacation Bible School on a Saturday afternoon and the events following had been posted on Facebook by one of the participants of that church. I can remember the days that Vacation Bible School lasted for two maybe sometimes up to three weeks out of the school summer vacation. What is with that? It isn’t because there is a lack of children for that particular church has a plethora of children of all ages. I feel the lack of this group of people exhibits the loss of zeal and loss of compassion for the youth of the area. I also feel this particular church exemplifies that general consensus of the entire church community of America. Believe me when I say this, if the church as a whole cannot take the necessary time and effort to accommodate our children, then the world at large will most assuredly step in and take our children from us. To me, Vacation Bible School was the zenith of the entire year of evangelism of the community.

My number one fear is that I have taken notice of the callousness, coldness, and the cavalier attitude the church has allowed assimilating everyone including the pastor and assistant pastor of that particular church. Let it be known, God is going to ask for an account of this blatant disregard of the nation’s youth and pastors of the local assemblies with be the first to suffer at the hand of God. I look at it like this, if God is gracious enough to send a lot of children to be ministered to, it would be well with the pastor and church to put forth every effort to accommodate the youth. We have to remember one important thing when dealing with Almighty God; our works will be judged. If that alone isn’t enough to put the fear of God in our lives, then we as a church are callous and cavalier to the estate of men’s eternal souls.

“And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them.” Revelation 14:13

“And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.” Revelation 20:12

Whether or not we like it is irrelevant because it is Almighty God alone that will be the judge of our works here on earth. I fear we will have the time and leisure to look back at our opportunities and efforts and will discover they will come up wanting. God is gracious and full of mercy for right now, but take heed the day will come that all efforts and opportunities will be gone and never to return. What we have right now is a window of opportunity staring us right in the face and we are just standing there looking out that window and day dreaming about ourselves. Yes, the church as a whole has become ineffective in every community across America today. This evidence shows up everywhere one might look. For instance, are the Blue Laws still in effect that once governed the community’s activities on Sunday? Are stores and shopping centers closed on Sunday to observe that sacred day that the Church sanctioned as a HOLY DAY? Is the LORD of the SABBOTH, JESUS CHRIST going to be pleased that the entire church doesn’t even observe the Sabbath Day of Genesis 2:2? Yes, I fear we as a church will have a lot to answer for in our lifetime and we will come up wanting. Just how much of our works on earth will withstand God’s refining fire at the Judgment Seat of Christ?

Let us be honest with ourselves, we are most miserable in our sins yet refuse to repent for all of our short comings before a Holy God. Therefore, the church as a whole is rendered ineffective, cold, and indifferent to society. I am afraid I have lived to see that this is the day of the Laodicean church of Revelation.

“And unto the angel of the church of the Laodicean’s write; these things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God; I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:…” Revelation 3:14-17

Again, let us face the truth of matters. The home is in shambles as a whole. There is no fear of Almighty God as a whole. So goes the church as a whole. So goes the nation as whole. As I see it, there is only one remedy to be had as a whole. It is most imperative that all born-again Christian’s fall on their face before a Holy and Righteous God and repent and ask for forgiveness of sin that is standing in the way of the church as a whole. Yes, Christian’s today are callous, unforgiving, jaded, arrogant, and prideful in their sin before our Holy God Jehovah. It seems no one is willing to give up anything of this world and come clean before God Almighty. I have to account for one person and one person only, me. But, as an evangelist and man of God, the LORD God Almighty has charged me and expects me to be a watchman on the wall for the Church. So, I am watching and I for sure am ashamed of what I see. We will answer to our LORD for this and much more if we don’t see the need to stop where we are and turn around to face our GOD. Let’s face it, we are all in this thing together and when the entire church goes down it will take every single one of us with it. We have an opportunity right in front of us to do something about it. God has given us another chance to redeem ourselves from sin and spiritual suicide. We must see the hand writing on the wall. The extravagant storms and tornadoes wiping out entire communities cropping up all over the nation should be a wakeup call. But I fear God’s handiworks with nature is falling on blind eyes and deft ears. Be warned Church, our time is running out and God will recon with His own. We have within our grasp to turn the tide and save ourselves from an angry God Jehovah. The sins of this nation have filled the Cup of Wrath to the brim and God will in turn pour out His fury on America. Just like God did with the nation of Israel. When Israel went into captivity, everyone went including the pastors, preachers, evangelists, and prophets of their time. We are no different in our time. Remember one thing about God, he is no respecter of persons and when it comes down from Heaven in the form of hail stones the size of cars, we all will be faced with it.

I fear this warning will go unheeded and many will turn a blind eye and a deft ear to this message, but none the less, it was delivered and God will judge accordingly. My prayer is that God have mercy on us all if we do not heed His gracious and righteous opportunity that once again we have been warned of. One day God’s mercy will come to a halt and we will be wondering why we are going through these terrible times. It will pay us to remember we brought it all upon ourselves and refused to do anything about it. Be sure of one thing, it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of a Righteous God without warning. Just recently the people of Joplin, Missouri found this out to be a sure thing. It can happen anytime and anywhere without warning. Remember, God is no respecter of persons and when judgment comes and it will come, it comes on us all together.

“Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation.” I Peter 2:12

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Are we right or wrong in our beliefs?

2011-05-11T05:18:00.000-04:00

Upon the reading and contemplating of the commentary of II Thessalonians 2:3, it has come to my attention that no one denomination or religion will accept the notion that someone has to be wrong. It is absurdities that all are right in their beliefs and doctrine. Someone has to be wrong in their assessments of the Scripture and conclusion with pronounced doctrine. The Holy Bible says; "Let no man deceive you by any means...”

I fear all have been deceived with their own notions of pride and arrogance stemming from the facts presented by their perspective denominations. All have different interpretations and have come to conclusions that separate and divide the body of believers. The Church as a whole now suffers more from disbelief than belief in a common cause that instigated the Church in the beginning, Jesus Christ, the head of the Church. On the other hand, if we made an attempt to unite all religions and denominations someone will have to concede, recant, or more importantly, compromise their belief system. We will have to conclude upon this great compromise of beliefs that all are wrong to some extent or by some measurable degree. I cannot foresee anyone in the belief system of Islam admitting they might be wrong about their beliefs and even so, I cannot foresee anyone in the Protestant camp admitting they might be off base in their beliefs either.

I have come to the conclusion we are all wrong to some extent on the grounds of the fact that sin abounds in our personal lives. The proof is there in our faces by the daily presentation of our life before others. Let us face the truth of the matter. If our religion revolves and is generated and venerated by money, it cannot be right and in accordance to the Holy Bible. If our religion is dominated by worship of anyone person that has walked on the face of this earth besides Jesus Christ, we cannot be right in our beliefs either. By just my stand that Jesus Christ is the only person that is worthy to be worshipped will set me apart with many religions in this world. I cannot and will not compromise this stand for Christ Jesus just for the sake of a common cause and unity of all mankind. Many in this world will deem me an evil man because I am not willing to compromise my belief in the only Son of God, Jesus Christ. They will conclude I am wrong in my beliefs and cast me out of many places.

What if I conclude that Christian denominations are also wrong in their beliefs, will I be barred from their fellowship also? If they prescribe to the Old Testament Law of tithing I am already separated by the Law of Grace. I am not bound by the Old Testament Law because that was abolished By the Son of God at Calvary. Therefore, I am an outcast in my own Christian community. Where do others like me fit in society? In some way or to some extent, we all are outcasts because of our belief system. Someone has to be wrong, all cannot be right in their beliefs. Someone will have to concede and admit they are wrong but when will this take place? As I see it, many will go through their entire lives believing in a false hope and a false god. Including those in the Christian community of which I am a part of. The only way to set this thing right in our personal lives is to seek the truth. Many have died in their sins seeking the truth because they assumed the truth could be found anywhere in the world. From my point of view, I have found the truth to come from only one Divine source, the Holy Bible of the Christians. I consider the Holy Bible to be the living Word of Almighty God, Himself. These facts alone will separate me from many in my own community, state, and country. But I am willing to risk my life and my belief in Jesus Christ for my place in all eternity. Will any man, women, or children be willing to put at stake their beliefs in exchange for their eternal soul? Well, that is what it will come down too. Someone has to be wrong, we cannot all be right. My advice to you is to seek the truth for yourself. A good starting place is the Holy Bible. That very Bible tells the whole story of the Son of God. The Bible is our source for wisdom and knowledge of the only Saviour we will ever need in this life. I encourage you to come with me and join with me in believing in the truth of the Word of God. Believe in the LORD JESUS CHRIST and thou shalt be saved from the error and untruths of religion and denominational dogma. Almighty God commands those who follow Him to come out from among them and be separate. To follow the truth demands separation from error and untruth. Any other way leads to compromise of one’s belief, the very thing most hold dear to their heart. Jesus Christ said; “I am the way, the truth, and the light, and no man cometh unto the Father but by me.” The truth is, there is no other way but Jehovah’s way. I encourage you to seek of the Son of God and see for yourself if I am right or wrong.

If I tell you a lie, can we still be friends?

2011-03-24T19:19:00.001-04:00

Part Eight

In this series of writings we have had the luxury of covering seven of the most outstanding of false teachings in our midst today. There are many more to expose but I have been led by the LORD to continue them in a new work called “Battling the Son’s of Perdition”. I covet your prayers for our ministry as Satan constantly attempts to stall and hinder everything we do for the LORD. Our God Jehovah is a mighty God and by His wonderful grace, we will proceed onward till upward.

It is common knowledge that the demise of any city or nation is when the populace turns to extreme wickedness. We have for example Noah and the world wide flood, and Sodom and Gomorrah with fire and brimstone from heaven that was mentioned in the Scripture. We now have a more modern city to add to the list the Grecian city of Pompey smothered with hot molten volcanic ash as historical facts. There is a long list of cities of immense historical value that were overthrown by God which used invading armies mentioned in the Scripture forth-coming to accomplish the very same thing. God used the Hebrew people delivered from under bondage of Pharaoh to go through many cities and completely destroy them and sack them as punishment from God along the way to the Promised Land. I am also reminded of the fall of cities of Jerusalem, Nineveh, and Jericho.

“For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment; And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly; And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making them an ensample (example) unto those that after should live ungodly;” II Peter 2:4-6

“Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and will break his arms, the strong, and that which was broken; and I will cause the sword to fall out of his hand. And I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and will disperse them through the countries. And I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, and put my sword in his hand: but I will break Pharaoh's arms, and he shall groan before him with the groanings of a deadly wounded man. But I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, and the arms of Pharaoh shall fall down; and they shall know that I am the LORD, when I shall put my sword into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall stretch it out upon the land of Egypt.”
Ezekiel 30:22-25

When it gets to the stage that God is forced to move on a people, no doubt it is pretty bad. These people self-righteously install a system of honour amongst thieves, murderers, rapists, child molesters, homosexuals, and general debauchery of all satanic sorts. Full blown sin is revered above anything that is right. A distinctive phrase is used in Scripture; the sin of the people has filled the cup of the wrath of God.

“The LORD trieth the righteous: but the wicked and him that loveth violence his soul hateth. Upon the wicked he shall rain snares, fire and brimstone, and an horrible tempest: this shall be the portion of their cup.” Psalms 11:5-6

“For in the hand of the LORD there is a cup, and the wine is red; it is full of mixture; and he poureth out of the same: but the dregs thereof, all the wicked of the earth shall wring them out, and drink them.” Psalms 75:8

“Therefore wait ye upon me, saith the LORD, until the day that I rise up to the prey: for my determination is to gather the nations, that I may assemble the kingdoms, to pour upon them mine indignation, even all my fierce anger: for all the earth shall be devoured with the fire of my jealousy.” Zephaniah 3:8

“The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:” Revelation 14:10

“And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath.” Revelation 16:19

This scenario has played out for many centuries in the past and will be the norm of everyday living, even right here in America. This judgment is coming right at us all. I say that because it is our nature to be a wicked and sinful people at heart. On the other hand, we as born-again Christians do live amongst these depraved individuals every day. The only difference between them and us is the fact we are forgiven of all our sins and short-comings. The sinner, on the other hand, is still dead in sin and trespasses against the Most High God, Jehovah.

“Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate (feminine men), nor abusers of themselves with mankind (homosexuals), nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.”
I Corinthians 6:9-11

Hallelujah, Amen, Selah! I don’t know about you, but the Scripture we just read is good news to me. Someone or something has to be in place to account for checks and balances. As the highest form of all knowledge, God has positioned Himself in that strategy with authority on the grounds that it was He that created all living things for His divine purpose. Our Almighty God, holy and righteous, who reigns over all that is, stands in as the counter balance against evil. God’s extreme opposite is evil and its leader is the fallen angel Satan. All this is of God’s design and choosing for purposes mostly unknown to most of us. But there are answers for those who would venture into the realm of Godly wisdom and knowledge. No, this isn’t any form of Gnosticism but Godly wisdom that only comes from the LORD alone.

“To know wisdom and instruction; to perceive the words of understanding; To receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, and judgment, and equity; To give subtilty to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion. A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels: To understand a proverb, and the interpretation; the words of the wise, and their dark sayings. The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.” Proverbs 1:2-7

Despite popular opinion, America is no different from any other nation on earth aside of the fact she is considered to be the wealthiest of our time. The truth is America is one amongst many wealthy nations. It really depends on how one evaluates wealth. America’s wealth came about by the natural resources of the land that required a labor force that immigrated into her and used in a vehicle known as the age of industrialization. At one time in history, precisely in the beginning of WWII, as a nation we manufactured everything we needed along with the goods other nations needed to win that war. At that particular time, America was completely independent of other countries for anything, even oil. Since WWII, we have chosen to pick and choose our wars and unashamedly sacrifice our sons and daughters in the process. Nothing has changed very little in that respect except for those who see fit to get what we use as a nation from other nations, by force if necessary, and hoards our nation’s resources in reserve for a rainy day. I can hear the patriots asking; what is wrong with that? It seems to me that America wants it all at any cost and is willing to sacrifice their young to get at it. America is in a paradigm shift by phasing out the age of industrialization and sweeping up technology fields in biology, robotics, and electronics. We are witnessing the vehicle of industrializing being strategically moved around the world as to spread the wealth to those less fortunate, so to speak.

As with all civilizations, as they progress and prosperity becomes the norm, leisure time is more readily available. Mankind has accomplished tremendous strides of technological achievements and feels he has earned the right to extravagant vacations and time-off in abundance. We have the archives of ancient cities and nations which fell to their demise because of too much leisure time. It has been said “idol time is the devil’s time”; that is the truth in simple rhyme. As technology advances, moral standards decline simultaneously. It seems the more advanced the nation becomes the more society sinks into sin never to recover until the slate is wiped clean by cleansing the nation with some sort of divine judgment. Sometimes God uses war to cleanse a nation. Occasionally God will use natural disasters such as floods or tornados to cleanse a city or town. It is recorded in the Bible that God has used abortion of babies to judge a nation. I really don’t think we know God very well do we?

If we could visualize a chart we could see the high standards of a humble beginning by drawing a mark starting at the top right-hand corner of the page and proceeding at a downward slant. The low but escalating beginning of technology achievements beginning with a mark at the bottom of the page proceeding at an upward slant met and passed each other in the night. I feel this happened to America right in the middle of the Viet Nam war. I believe the moral state of America has surpassed the crossover point and is in steady decline as a nation of means, wealth, and moral degradation. It is just as history is repeating itself with the same old scenario of moral accolades in recession. I understand this is a pretty bleak outlook for the most powerful nation on earth but we have to consider that other civilizations boasted the same accolades and are no more.

Many in America think that America’s abortion machine of children is a new thing. But in fact, it is an ancient form of divine judgment. Abortion is one of many forms of judgment brought upon a nation because of idolatry or simply turning their back on God. We say we are a God fearing people but few repent of their sin in these days. God weighs the balance and He keeps His eye on the sin gauge, the cup of trembling. When the cup becomes full of sin, God has no choice but to pour out His wrath upon a nation. God is no respecter of persons, cities, or nations. I am convinced with all my heart America is under the curse of God and He has determined to take away the very gift that has made us as a nation great, our children.

“And I polluted them in their own gifts (children), in that they caused to pass through the fire (child sacrifice) all that openeth the womb that I might make them desolate, to the end that they might know that I am the LORD.” Ezekiel 20:26

I have studied this Scripture over and over in its context trying to understand why God would use an extreme judgment upon His very people. It seems that we as God’s people do not take Him seriously enough. We have been taught that God is love and He is love to those who obey Him. However, there are rebellious people amongst God’s elect. A rebellious people that have led the remnant away from the statutes of God; thus, we disobey God’s every word in ignorance. We do not take God at His word, the very mistake Eve made in the Garden.

It is a fact that we actually burn our children in the idols’ fire when we wage war against other countries. Let’s be serious for a moment and allow me to ask a question. Would any other country in the world be silly enough to invade the US? I feel our constant show of power at arms all over the world deters that but we have anxious people in high places that never get to use them until a war is manufactured. When a US aircraft carrier parks in some other country’s backyard, I feel they will think twice before making a foolish mistake. Some are so arrogant to do so despite the show of arms, but that is how others around the world perceive America today. We have become the world’s policeman on the beat and known by all to be just a big bully on the block. I sincerely believe all of our enemies are manufactured at one point. We are guilty of sacrificing our children to the witchcraft of government and the unwarranted wars we wage on all our nation neighbors. It would behoove us to be careful and try to see things as God would see it. We gain this wisdom and understanding from reading what has happened to the nation of Israel in the past and present. God uses torn down and overthrown nations as the example to us today. We could easily become the next torn down and overthrown nation on the trash heap of fallen empires. As we come closer to the end, we as a people of God‘s kingdom cannot afford to be evasive and ignorant to the purpose of the LORD. There will be no such thing as ignorance to the laws of God.

Many people perceive me as an alarmist or even a doom’s day prophet. I say, call it what you will, but I consider myself a watchman on the wall. I have believed all along that things as we know it to be cannot go on forever even with all our best efforts to do so. As I see it, America has had it too good to long because she is now cuddled in the arms of Mother Babylon. All is well and going according to plans for those who have sacrificed themselves to the gods of greed and aggression. I write these things because I feel the urgency to warn others of impending destruction. We as Americans have set ourselves up for the fall with our patriotism, pride, and prejudices. As a watchman on the wall I want to encourage us to remember Jehovah God sees all and knows all things. Christians today are encouraged to turn from the religion of denominations and false gods. We are to turn our eyes to the LORD JESUS and become more like him instead of the militants we are today.

As Christians we have the undeniable need to focus on the Kingdom of God and abandon the agenda of the empires of the world. Remember, we are sojourners simply passing through this land. Make no mistake, in their time, all empires will come to naught and just where will you stand then? Everything we as Christians do and say should be for the furthermost of the Kingdom of God and not necessarily for the empires of the world. The warning signs are everywhere. We as Christians are off course in our personal relationship with the LORD at this time in history. As a nation, we have forgotten the true and living God Jehovah. We are materialistic, idol-worshipers in some fashion or form. Christians heed the warning; we serve a very jealous God!

“Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? And what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial (idol worship)? Or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? For ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.” II Corinthians 6:14-18

If I tell you a lie, can we still be friends?

2011-03-19T17:06:00.002-04:00

Part Seven

In the writing of part six, I briefly mentioned the Lady in Red. Actually she is the Lady in purple and red and for good reason. It is at this juncture I feel we need to pursue this item and discover for ourselves just who is this Lady. Of course she is no lady but a whorish woman who has conquered the nations through her deceitfulness, lying tongue, empty promises of the highest grandeur, the world’s leader in false religion. Everything is at stake at this point, what we have here is Satan gambling against Almighty God. The ruse is increased on the entire world. Satan’s ultimate goal is to take his ruse to its highest level and set the infamous trap in order to arrest your very soul. The question of the Lady arises from the Scripture of the Bible.

“And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters: With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication. So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication:…”
Revelation 17:1-4

We have to keep in mind that Bible typology is used here in this particular Scripture. It is something of a code for believers who alone have the needed spiritual insight to decipher the code. We also have to consider that the Bible is the spoken Word of God to the Prophets so as to add divine ancient wisdom beyond our earthly comprehension. God explains in greater detail what He wants us to understand. So He spells it out for us, so to speak. I feel God does this on the behalf His Chosen. The Lord wants us as believers to know and possess the truth of matters. The unsaved-unbelievers will shirk this prophecy off as they have done for centuries, calling and accusing us the fools and witches teaching heresy. We are all intertwined in the eternal struggle of good versus evil. We all were set from the foundation of the earth to pick up the torch of the Kingdom of God where God injects us in His time table. Or we can reject it all and leave it to chance in which I do not believe. It is up to every individual in the end to have made all the right choices in their lives. We will be judged by God accordingly. In the past, it was unbelievers that killed the prophets and they will more than most likely get at us who hold the Word of Truth in the end. I feel it is necessary to the point of compulsory to continually warn believers everywhere of the dangers of the powers of darkness lurking in this world. The LORD is warning us through this writing and many others alike, evermore of the growing power and momentum in which the powers of darkness are culminating. Now more than ever, I am convinced the Beast of Revelation is at the door, just awaiting his introduction to the world. I am equally convinced that playtime is about to come to a halt for all those who believe in the LORD JESUS Christ.

Falsehood Number Seven

We as born-again believers have been duped by false prophets all our lives, I know for sure I have. We have been led by the proverbial nose ring through the Scripture drawing bits and pieces together to make their case seem to be the truth. These false prophets can be found in the seminaries of denominations, as well as in our so-called Christian schools. They can also be found in the public school system and in local government. They most assuredly can be found in all facets of Federal Government, being in position to insure their agenda is propagated through law making. One of the most important keys to staying in line with the truth is keeping the Scripture in context. It is a known fact that one can make the Scripture say most anything you like. Satan performed that little trick in the Garden with Eve listening to Satan. Satan performed a little surgery on the spoken Word of God and changed the truth into a lie. A little word missing here and a little word added there and the next thing you have is an untruth. All we have heard throughout our lives is partial truth. To listen and adhere to real unadulterated truth would bring about unidirectional change in each of us following the old path, the path less trodden. We have access to the unadulterated truth right in our very hands, the Bible. The falsehoods I bring to the front are propagated from church denominations along with Freemasonry; their many different interpretations of the Bible are infamous for this procedure of half-truth. Freemasonry attempts to mix and mingle Gnostic Doctrine, pagan practices, and Christianity thus blending a concoction of lethal proportions of half-truth. It would really unnerve us to find out just how many professing Christian’s are actually Freemasons. The truth is you cannot be both and withstand the brilliant, penetrating, light of the judgment of God. A born-again child of God that dabbles in Freemasonry stands to lose his or her rewards at the Judgment Bema Seat of Christ. If they are adamant to pursue this adultery with God, they stand to lose every good work they have performed in this life. This is the warning from God.

“Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire. Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are. Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness.” I Corinthians 3:13-19

No doubt the Gnostics would go to great lengths to argue that point. This is one of the reasons I have always steered clear of Freemasonry and held on to the old KJV, but only by the grace of God. While I study the KJV again I emphasize one must adhere to keeping the Scripture in its context. The Authorized King James Version is one bloody book. Saints of God have given their lives for this Bible. Having been tried and tested by God himself through famines, floods, and fire. The KJV is the Bible for me if one desires and seeks the truth. No other version of the Bible since the writings of the 1611 King James Version reprinted in 1814 in America can make that claim. I encourage you to stay with what God has tried in His purging fire.

The next Scripture is what the Bible says concerning the beginning of events of the rapture. You might be wandering at this point why it is that I inject the Second Coming of Christ. Another falsehood is addressed with the answer quite simply; there is no escaping the Beast of Revelation until Christ returns for us. There is no escape pod, there is no emergency button to press, and there will be no secret rapture of the church despite all the false prophets’ predictions and prognostications. You will notice the procedure in which events transpire beginning with the Ascension of Christ.

“But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the first-fruits of them that slept. For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive? But every man in his own order: Christ the first-fruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming. Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet {the battle of Gog and Magog}. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.” I Corinthians 15:20-26

This Scripture is a time capsule containing a long series of events beginning with the death, burial, Resurrection and Ascension of our LORD. The Scripture continues with the combined rapture of the church and the Second Coming, which is in all reality, the same event. Immediately after the Second Coming with the Saints of God, the Kingdom of God on earth is established with Christ on the Throne of David for 1000 years, better known as the beginning of the Millennial Reign.

After all these events one would tend to believe there can’t be any more to this, but it doesn’t end there as many are led to believe. There is one item we all tend to overlook and it is the fact that there will be an uprising, a rebellion amongst the nation of Israel after the 1000 year reign of Christ that will have to be put down by Christ himself. This confrontation is known as the war of Gog and Magog. We have overlooked the fact that the nation of Israel was made up of unbelievers that was not in the only original rapture of the Church. They were spared death and rescued from the hands of the Beast when Christ broke through the clouds with us as the Bride of Christ and destroyed the Beast of Revelation at the Battle of Armageddon. The truth is the remnant that was rescued but never left the earth, discovered for the first time Christ was truly the Messiah they have been expecting for generations. They never went to heaven, but stayed on earth, procreating more generations that does not believe the truth but sadly enough, only to rise up again against the LORD of Hosts. After the war with Gog and Magog is put down, the Kingdom of God culminates with the introduction of the New Jerusalem, the city and home of the Bride of Christ. At this point, there will never again be another war and there will be no more need for death because the Death Angel will be destroyed. That alone will be a blessing to us all because that means very simply, there will be no more physical separation from our loved ones or our Saviour. All these events, some past, some present, some future, was penned down by God’s righteous men, moved and motivated by the Holy Spirit of God. We have with us in our very possession the most precious truth the world has ever known. I just wish they would believe it as I do.

Of course, the reality of it all is that the rapture of the church forward is yet to happen, but as far as God is concerned, it is as good as has happened. With God there is no such thing as a time barrier. Just as an architect can foresee his works completed, God sees His work completed as if it has happened. He can be anywhere he chooses to be, past, present, future. This is the reason the prophecy seems so clear and understandable. Most all the Old Testament prophets write of these future happenings but Daniel, Joel, Ezekiel, and the Apostle John spells all this out for us giving the time table in order of events to take place in their writings, just like the prophecies have already happened. No doubt, these men of God were the support team of architects God brought together in order to be able to give us a hard copy of the Word of God. The LORD did that for us so we could have a better understanding of himself and his purposes for us all.

At this juncture, again I want to emphasize the Biblical fact that there will be no secret rapture of the church. The LORD begins His coming in Glory, the Second Advent, and seen by all on earth; right after the Beast has proclaimed himself as god. This is the event prophesied as the abomination of desolation. The Beast will wage war on the Saints. There will not be two or three secret little raptures as some evangelists have claimed and would have you to believe. It is understandable this Second Coming of the LORD will begin in phases, first with the one and only rapture of all born-again believers of all ages and time periods, right after the war waged on the Saints. This will commence with the sounding of the Seventh Trumpet call of the Angel of God.

“And they that understand among the people shall instruct many: yet they shall fall by the sword, and by flame, by captivity, and by spoil, many days. Now when they shall fall, they shall be holpen with a little help: but many shall cleave to them with flatteries. And some of them of understanding shall fall, to try them, and to purge, and to make them white, even to the time of the end: because it is yet for a time appointed.” Daniel 11:33-35

“Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.” I Corinthians 15:51-52

“And the seven angels which had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound.”
Revelation 8:6

Immediately, the accession of the two prophets of God that were murdered and left in the streets for dead three days, beginning in Revelation 11:13 come back to life and the rapture or snatching away of the Body of Christ/ the Bride of Christ will occur.

“And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, the kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.” Revelation 11:15

“And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. But the rest of the dead (unbelievers) lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.” Revelation 20:4-6

Secondly, the Bema Seat of Judgment will take place suspended just outside of the earth’s atmosphere where we will lose or gain rewards for the LORD’s service on earth.

“And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth.” Revelation 11:18

“And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.” Revelation 22:12

Thirdly, immediately following the Bema Seat Judgments, the Marriage Supper of The Lamb will take place. In accordance with the phases of His Second Coming, we remain still suspended just above the earth’s atmosphere using the earth as a backdrop. At this point we will not be focused on this world but on the LORD. He will have our undivided attention.

“Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come and his wife hath made herself ready. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, these are the true sayings of God.” Revelation 19:7-9

Meanwhile, events continue to taking place here on earth. The Beast of Revelation has waged war on the Saints of God. But at this point, all the horrors of the Beast are history and merely a bad dream for you and me. More than likely we have suffered at the hand of the Beast and the False Prophet and faced the executioner for taking a stand for the LORD. Now is when the Beast will wage war against the Tribes of Israel because they are the last remnant that still represents Almighty God on earth. It will be the sole purpose of the Beast to eradicate any evidence of the true and living God. This must be accomplished in order for him to be in a position to proclaim himself as god. Remember that as the raptured Bride of Christ, we are with the LORD at the Marriage Supper, basking in His glory, eating with Him breaking bread and drinking of the same cup from His table just like the Disciples did at the Last Supper. In my mind I can picture all these things as if I am already there.

While we are busy with the Marriage Supper with Christ, something of majestic but catastrophic proportions takes place on earth, the destruction of the Whore of Babylon. We began this writing with the opening of the Judgment of the Whore. Here it is culminating to the end.

“And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth. And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space. And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition. And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast. These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast. These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful. And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues. And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire. For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled. And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.” Revelation 17:9-18

The Beast and his minions will tire of the Whore which is actually false religions, continually attempting to upstage the Beast. This includes Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, and most importantly of all, pseudo Christianity including all its denominations. At this stage of events everything in the name of Christianity must be destroyed along with all false religions. Do you know how many wars have been started and waged in the name of Christ? It seems it is the eternal practice for America to invade every country it can and plunder it in the name of Christianity. It will all come to an end one day but it will take Christ himself to set things straight once and for all. With this said the ten kings, which are the ten nations, will turn on this religious whore, destroying her and the great city which she built for herself, Babylon the birth place of false religion under King Nimrod. This destruction of Babylon culminates the full cycle of events evolving all false religions.

Once the Holy Marriage Supper is finished, the Bride of Christ (you and me) will mount up on horses and follow our Holy LORD to the surface of the earth in all His Glory and majesty just in time to come to the rescue of His chosen nation of Israel. This is the scene of the Battle of Armageddon. The Old Testament prophesy has need to be fulfilled and it will be fulfilled.

“And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.” Revelation 19:11-16

“And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.” Revelation 16:16

Have you ever wondered why it is that Christ will have to rule with a rod of iron? Let us look at this for just a moment. When Christ has put down the beast, false religion along with all the false prophets, there will be some who were not killed but survived this fantastic holocaust by joining the LORD in belief of the truth. As the LORD gives us, the Bride of Christ, our duties to be carried out here on earth as priests placed in strategic places around the world; there will be some resistance encountered. We have to take into consideration that Satan has not been dealt with until after the millennial reign of Christ has come to its culmination. Satan, contemplating with one more assault on God, will once again stir up the masses and instill discontent and rebellion amongst the people.

Christ will be forced to rule with a rod of iron. People who are not abiding with His agenda will view Him as another despot, just another man that demands too much from the people, unfair. Little do they realize that King JESUS can see their hearts and minds; something no other man on earth possesses the ability to do. Have you ever wondered the kind of life we would carry on in the millennial reign? I could be wrong, but I feel Christ would have the entire earth to go back to the way it was in His time on earth. I feel sure He will have us to take up the Middle East way of life, an agrarian life style, a very simple way of life, and I have good reason to say that. God desires for us to enjoy life but how can we enjoy life with added worry of not being able to perform for tyrants who demand more taxes, strain of being over worked, pressure from demanding unreachable goals, and covet from things we lust after? I feel sure these things that so easily beset us will be taken away from us when God destroyed all the armies of the world at Armageddon. All air forces will have been destroyed, all tank divisions will have been destroyed, all battle fleets in the oceans will have been destroyed, and most importantly, all standing armies, millions of men and women will have been destroyed. Mechanization as we know it will come to a grinding halt at Armageddon. There will be no more aggression of countries looking for natural wealth such as oil, coal, plutonium or anything that will harm the earth and its people. Anything that will bring harm to the earth, including governments and their leaders, will be put down once and for all. There will be perfect order on earth, thus the need and use of the rod of iron. I feel sure at this juncture we have come to realize we do not know God very well do we?

At this time I want to inject the vehicle in which the Beast of Revelation used to bring all these things about to promote his agenda. In Bible typology, anytime a woman is mentioned, usually, but not necessarily, nameless, she represents a false religion. It is sometimes difficult to know where typology is being used or is it actuality. The secret to this is found in the guidance of the Holy Spirit. I want it understood that I am not a chauvinist, bigot, or a person that looks down on women. In fact I am quite the opposite, just ask my wife. Real, genuine, godly women are a jewel to any society, but as in all time periods they are a rarity. I can say without hesitation, my dear wife is one of those precious jewels. Throughout the Scriptures one can find references to women, some God fearing and some not so.

“And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.” Revelation 17:5

In this passage of Revelation the woman clothed in purple and red mentioned in metaphor is Mystery Babylon. Babylon the Great is an actual place; the very place all civilization began and represents the utopia of false religion. This is the vehicle that the Beast and the False Prophet have devised and incorporated to run a ruse of world-wide devastation. This is nothing new to Bible historians. You might ask, but why a false religion? Cannot the Beast just take over by force like every other dictator or despotic has done? This is where we will discover the cunning of Satan. I might have mentioned this on several occasions, but one more time won’t matter. I refer to the Garden of Eden again where Satan disguised himself as the most beautiful beast in the known world at that time of the Creation. The Bible gives us reference to his beauty as unsurpassed and brilliant with color. We are in need of picturing Satan as stunning, radiant, and amazingly pleasant to all the senses of our humanity. For me, that is a very tall task considering my experience with snakes. It is an amazing thing to blend such beauty with something so lethal. We must take into consideration that at this time in the Garden of Creation there was no sin, no knowledge of sin or wrong doing, and God decreed that everything was good in His sight. The storm clouds were just out of sight, over the horizon. We need to keep in mind; we will never see Satan at his worst until the ruse has run its course and the intended victim is incarcerated in his bondage. There is never but little warning when the snake makes his lunge at the intended victim. This is the reason the Bible uses the title of whore and most of us adults are aware of what that means, to steal one’s soul. So it is with this colorful metaphor of a woman riding a beast clothed in brilliant colors of purple and red. No doubt, this false religion is exceptionally pleasant to every sense we possess as humans. It is pleasant to the lust of the eyes, it is pleasant to the lust of the flesh, and most always, it conjures up the senses of euphoric patriotism, youthful pride, and prideful lust.

“For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king.” I Samuel 15:23

The use of witchcraft, another guise of false religion, brought about the demise of King Saul. From the very outset of humanity witchcrafts, wizardry, seers, and magic spells, have always been a magnet to draw the curious and unwary into the web of a realm of fantastic realities. It is an automatic response of people to turn to the fortune teller when they cannot get any advice from the true and Living God. They will readily use demons to fill the void of silence. They go by many names such as soothsayer, clairvoyant, oracle, fortune-teller, psychic and Freemasonry, another guise of false religion. All of America possesses this lust for the fantastic and is on the way of losing its very soul to Satan.

Most all of these avenues are explored with some in great detail, and expense is accomplished through the motion picture industry with its magic wand. Most certainly it had its beginnings with the productions of Walt Disney which began in 1923, with soon after generations of my Mom and Dad, Aunts and Uncles which were born in the early 1930’s. Disney started its television productions in 1954, the year I was born. I remember seeing the Disney cartoons on TV as early as 1959 having no sound. The silent cartoons were pretty good even for an imaginative child like me. As we can attest, it was a gradual but calculated upscale of motion picture events to portray witchcraft as an important tool to assist in fighting crime and many other problems that warranted a seer’s point of view. Today Witchcraft has become an accepted and important tool in all facets of society and is widely accepted by all, including the government. Take for instance the Washington Monument; it represents the ancient worship of the Egyptian Sun god RA in all these United States of America and was established by Freemasonry. It has been said many times by arrogant Christians that America is a Christian nation. From my standpoint that statement is questionable and absurd.

The real truth is America is a pagan nation with all its satanic icons seen all over the nation. America was founded by Freemasonry from bloody England by those who wished to get out from under King George with no holds barred. The Washington Monument stands proudly for their accomplishments in America. It stands majestically and euphorically in the dead center of our government. Whether we like it or not is irrelevant, false worship of other gods, strange gods, is the very core of American belief systems from the very outset. America will be judged by Almighty God accordingly. In reality, Christianity was just a little pocket of resistance towards these idol worshipers and collected them in what is known as the Bible Belt of America. The rest of the nation practices full blown paganism.

Little by little, we as the people aid and abet the powers of darkness by allowing this cancer of witchcraft and Freemasonry to spread its root in our society. Today there are entire communities that give their all to the sorceries and spells of the demons of hell. There are countless children’s books devoted to the inoculation of wizardry and witchcraft. Casting spells on our children beginning from the time they can digest what is happening on the movie screen. We as adults take great pride in making sure our children get their fill of fantasy and wonder of the silver screen. Our generation is guilty of rearing up a generation that will be ostracized of the Living God Jehovah. They will scorn everything that is holy and pure. In time, they will reject the authority of the law of the land and will become the most lawless generation we have ever known. We are guilty of preparing the way of the Lawless One by allowing the seeds of witchcraft and Freemasonry to flourish in our society. This legacy of witchcraft will be the very demise of a God fearing people. It has already begun to dominate the landscape of America. Witchcraft and Freemasonry with its doctrine of higher knowledge will be the dominating religion of the Beast of Revelation, somewhat like the Doctrine of Nazism was the religion of the Third Reich. As Adolf Hitler had the fervor of the Nazis behind him, the Beast will have the fervor of witchcraft behind him. The church denominations and other false religions of Gnosticism such as Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and pseudo Christianity, will force all in the land to bow down before their new god, an ancient god, better known to us as Satan.

If I tell you a lie, can we still be friends?

2011-03-05T09:34:00.002-05:00

Part Six

I am amazed at the ease Satan has infiltrated the church. It is true that he has had many centuries of practice accomplishing that feat. I am also astounded at the rate the movie industry has taken over and influenced every facet of our society. I am not going to make the mistake and single out just one avenue on Satan’s list, but the movie industry ranks pretty high on his list of tools to subvert the church, the nation, and the entire world. This influence of the movie media includes what we wear, where we live, what we live in, what we use as transportation, and even the very food we eat. No one is exempt from this influence. I could go on, the list is endless. I believe that the motion picture industry is one of the most diabolical inventions Satan has ever unleashed on all of mankind. Let us think about that statement concerning motion pictures for just a moment. I ask the question, can you eat a motion picture? Can you wear a motion picture? Can you cover up with a motion picture, snuggle up to it, and keep warm through the cold nights? I know these questions are absurd but, the truth is no, you cannot do any of these things I mentioned but still, the motion pictures sphere of influence is one of the most important application of our daily lives. After 50 plus years of being subjected to all modes of the media, I am convinced this particular tool of Satan was devised to manipulate the human mind. Satan welds the power to sway one’s way of thinking to the point of disaster. The motion picture industry promotes and glorifies rebellion, extramarital sex, divorce, alternative lifestyles, war, witchcraft, and patriotism among you and our nation’s youth. This devilish persuasion from hell has changed the course of history on many occasions and led entire nations to ruin because of the propaganda it can produce. I have to be honest and admit, we didn’t always have the motion picture industry with us until the turn of the early 1900’s, but Satan was non-the –less creative. Let’s face the truth, mind control is what Satan is all about. We have with us today the legacy of WWII to prove the point. He used it in the Garden and it has been with us ever since. The human mind has always been Satan’s choice of battlefields.

Most everything has its beginning with the best of intensions. But, when mankind gets bored with his new invention, it begins to take on ulterior forms and soon follows the bread crumb trail of debauchery. This is at the core of every human being, some a lot worse than others, no doubt, but the seed of sin remains. For those of us who like to think highly of ourselves, the Bible plainly teaches that we are all born and bred in sin. We are all at the bottom of the cesspool tank upon arrival on earth. I think this can be said for all areas of the entertainment field including radio broadcasts and television broadcasts. I haven’t mentioned the use of the newspaper. It has been said, ‘so goes the newspaper, so goes the country.’ Have you ever wondered why they call it entertainment broadcasts? I feel that terminology is just a deception, a cover for something more sinister. I am reminded of the parable of the sower where sometimes the seed is sown in the wind. The seed is sown everywhere and even the unintended places where it will do no good. It is true, there are many well meaning people that do good things like Christian oriented movies and public radio broadcasts that come from the mediums, but I believe if the good verses the bad were placed in the balance, the good would come up wanting. What happens to the populace when all society is determined to unleash its wickedness as license for despicable acts? That was what the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, and more modern Pompey a Grecian city was all about. We as Christian’s, we as a nation, have become transfixed on this need as to satisfy the flesh and at any cost. There has been a paradigm shift in our society. There is something magical about all of this and the flesh is wallowing in it sensationally. We are all in this together and we are all duped by the wizardry of Satan.

I feel the real reason for all these mediums of the flow of information is for the sole purpose of the Beast of Revelation as Almighty God allows it. We are now being conditioned to accept anything that comes down the pike. But the time will come the Beast will come to power and the use of the mediums will be his main mode of reaching the masses. We are forced to use the comparison of the Holocaust of WWII to the Beast of Revelation because that is the closest portion of history we have of any magnitude that we can relate too. But, the Bible plainly states there has not been anything alike unto this event in all the history of mankind. The nearest people we have that can understand any of this is the generation of WWII. They got a firsthand view of this when they witnessed Adolf Hitler come into power and take Germany and eventually most of Europe, by his propaganda machine, Satan’s ultimate means of mind control. No doubt, it was second to none and the amazing thing about it was that they, the German people, asked for it and then demanded it at the voting polls. It is recorded that the church and known Christian’s of the time went along with Hitler and then embraced him as to embolden the people that his way was the right way. That was just a small example of what is in store for the world when the Beast comes into power. He will be welcomed with open arms by the church. It is an historical fact the Holocaust of WWII was aimed at the Jew, but what Adolf Hitler had in mind for the Jew, the Beast of Revelation has in mind on a much grandeur scale will be unleashed on the entire world.

“Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God. Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?”
II Thessalonians 2:3-5

We stand to remember and learn a few lessons from history. Let us face the truth, all that calls themselves Christian’s in America are asleep in the arms of mother Babylon and we just adore her and her many comforting ways. Fortunately it is not like this in other countries where Christian’s are a scourge. Being a scourge isn’t always a bad thing; at least we know where one stands. Many of us in America are in a state of denial as I write, but the fact remains. The Word of God still invites us to a clear warning over and over again. We will have to face the truth sooner than later for our own safety, the safety of our children, our sanity, but most importantly, our very soul.

Falsehood Number Six

It is widely accepted that Christian’s are in the everyday workings of society. Therefore, instead of taking the Gospel Message of Jesus Christ into the world, the opposite has occurred by bringing the world into the church. Christian’s today having become sensationalized to the world is desensitized to the Great Commission. The truth is that religion is easy on one hand because all you have to do is go along with it. On the other hand religion can be hard and rigorous because of the whoops they will have you to jump through. Whereas, living according to the teaching of LORD JESUS is so much more spiritual rewarding by making it harder on the whims of the flesh. Living for the LORD JESUS demands separation from the world and all it has to offer. That alone is something most Christian’s refuse to adhere too. The truth is that most Christian’s are card carrying Babylonian’s who don’t want to rock the boat, so to speak. On the other hand, there are over zealous Christian’s who bear down on others by badgering and almost to the point of harassing people to come to Christ. They are the ones that propagate the easy beliveism theory. Getting them to say the magic words and so they will have fire insurance. The truth is, following Christ means that all you really have to do is be available and willing to listen to the Holy Spirit. God will open doors of opportunity and give you the words to say when the time comes. God sees the heart of both the unsaved and the saved. He alone knows when it is time to act on opportunity. It seems the overzealous Christian goes all out to get someone saved so they can chalk up another number on the score board for Sunday morning comparisons. They propagate competition amongst Christian’s. They tend to play the numbers game attempting to be someone’s Holy Spirit and try to compete with other Christian’s which practice is forbidden in the New Testament Church.

“And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” Mat 28:18-20

Well, that’s not going to happen without a fight. So much so that the church today stands in light of teaching and preaching another Gospel, which ends up being a watered down version of the Gospel divided amongst the denominations. Be it known that the idea of church denominations is number one in Satan’s think tank of evil. It seems the church cannot be helped but doomed to fail through infiltration of false ideology, witchcraft.

History has revealed that Adolf Hitler attempted to build his Third Reich (Third Kingdom) using the foundation of sorcery, magic, and witchcraft. With the evidence of wartime artifacts, photos, and motion pictures, of that era (1926-1945)revealed that everywhere one would look, you could see the old and sometimes, ancient artifacts of witchcraft and false religions gathered from around the world. For example, the swastika on the Nazi flag was adopted from the country of India of the ancient Buddha Shrines. The Eagle was taken from Ancient Rome and placed at the head of German superiority. The Roman Eagle was placed on everything including flag standards, building fronts, stationary, napkins, silverware and fine chinaware. The first thing Hitler used to reach the masses was to write his Mien Kampf (My Life)from the prison he was in for a few months accused for a botched up bank robbery. The master plan was all spelled out as to what his plans were but they seemed so absurd because a sane man would know better that to try to pull it off. We were all wrong about Hitler. We will be all wrong about the Beast when he shows up also. The second and most important thing Hitler accomplished was to take over and revamp the motion picture industry of Germany. The schemes Hitler used were nothing new, but repackaged for a more modern people and the church endorsed him. Witchcraft will be the mainline religion of the Beast of Revelation and the church will endorse him also.

For just a moment, please allow me to clarify the term church which is the ecclesia, the called out, described in the New Testament.

“And when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch. And it came to pass, that a whole year they assembled themselves with the church, and taught much people. And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.” Book of Acts 11:26

Today the word church has taken on a different meaning from the intended Biblical use. Originally, the term church meant a body of believers congregating together in one place, believers called out of the world. The church was meant to be a sanctuary where all people assembled had only one thing in common, the LORD JESUS and away from the world, even though it was just a few minutes at a time. When I use the word church, I am referring to the visible buildings that represent all denominations. It is true; the church today has become a place where the born-again believing Christian’s are intertwined and mingled in with unbelievers. There are also many who are not born-again and going along with to take the title of Christian to gain from it somehow in their schemes of things to be accomplished. These are the ones Satan uses to steer the church and we are being taken for the ride of our life. Hitler used these same tactics on the church in Germany as he was gathering the necessary power for his stratagem.

The Apostle Paul uses the phrase, “for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first…” I am intrigued at that statement because I need a better understanding of what he is talking about. I ask the questions, falling away from what? Could he mean the church falling away from the worldly mindset? Not likely, because the day will come the Beast will use the church to gain his power just as Hitler did to gain acceptance with the people. Are the people disenchanted to the point of leaving? Not likely either, because the Beast and the False Prophet will tune up their magic and wonders to bring in a much larger crowd, thus the great deception. Remember the Beast is able to bring down fire from heaven just as God does and raise the dead. He will impose himself on the masses so strong the people will all swear that he is god, much like the Ancient Greeks. It isn’t because the church doesn’t have any power because this time it will possess all the power it has ever been known to have at its beck and call but not for the good of mankind but of the evil. Another question to ask is, have the people been jaded because of church scams and betrayals? That is somewhat possible to the point that just a few will leave, but for the most part, most will stay on to see the big lightshow at the end. Well, when the Beast gets into bed with the church, would it not be reasonable that those who are falling away are those running from persecution? Let us look closer at that Scripture once again.

“For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he {Holy Spirit} who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.” II Thessalonians 2:7-12

I believe what the Apostle Paul was referring to is that truly born-again Christian’s will be taught by the Spirit of God that the Beast and all his minions will run the biggest ruse ever known to man. Even thought the Beast of Revelation has not yet appeared the initial setup of false religions and false prophets are already in place. The Christian’s will in turn leave the religious church denominations known in the Bible as harlot churches along with the Mother of harlots, Roman Catholicism, the Lady in Red. Some will accuse me of taking the protestant point of view concerning the Catholic Churches part in Revelation. The Catholic Church views the False Prophet to come from an outside source of the Beast’s making. This could be more to the truth than we are willing to admit. I feel the Beast will bring with him the religion of witchcraft being more than capable of performing delusions that will sway one’s way of thinking. This is really nothing new to the world but this concept is just now being accepted by church denominations. With the Beast and the False Prophet in control it will be defined into a fantastic art form played out within the walls of every church denomination. There will be a paradigm shift in religion as we know it. This religion of witchcraft will be very easy to incorporate into the church because it is well known of the mysteries that already surround the Catholic Church. The Dark Ages were not called the Dark Ages for nothing. We cannot single out just the Catholics because the ground work is being laid as I write. It is reported by many news agencies that many Pentecostal churches already incorporate wizardry, magic shows, and magicians into the congregations. People eat this entertainment up like candy to a baby. Let’s face the truth of today; most all church denominations already have a sensational desire for the supernatural and openly welcome Gospel oriented magic into the congregation.

We have to remember the fact of the matter is that most all denominations sprang from the Roman Catholic Church with their beginning in the 14th century. The Catholic Church is proud of that fact boasting to be the Mother Church of the world. Most denominations are in denial of that fact, but it doesn’t matter because that fact is ever present with us today. The exodus of the denominations has already begun. The great falling away is progressing everyday as the false prophets are exposed and continually come on the scene to deceive God’s very elect. This is going according to the prophecy of the Bible and for a very good reason. God has devised a way to separate his chosen ones out of the world and out of the worldly church. We sometimes fail to realize that God’s very own Holy Spirit resides in our bodies as His temple. God’s Spirit needs no temple to reside in outside of our body. As Christian’s we have the wonderful privilege of being able to walk with God and we can talk to God with little or no effort on our part. All that the LORD requires of us who know Him is to be separate from the world. But when you cannot get away from the world when attending the local assembly where is one to go? This gigantic scheme of Satan will be the straw that breaks the proverbial camel’s back. Denominations were Satan’s way of categorizing and cattle prodding Christian’s and unbelievers together. This was a cunning devise strategy incorporated by Emperor Constantine of Rome when he married the state and the church together. Satan unveiled a plan to bring the two together, state and church as well as church denominations to diminish the Gospel of Christ rendering it seemingly ineffective in the end. The truth is that church denominations will in the end will cease to preach and teach the Gospel of Christ and so much so over the centuries. Heaven’s Angels will be sent to pick up the torch of the Gospel and carry on right through the Great Tribulation.

“Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field: But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way. But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also. So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? From whence then hath it tares? He said unto them, an enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up? But he said, nay; lest while ye gather up the tare, ye root up also the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tare, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.” Matthew 13:24-30

If I tell you a lie, can we still be friends?

2011-02-17T19:03:00.000-05:00

PART FIVE

An excerpt of my new book, ‘Battling the Son’s of Perdition’

The Advantages of Betrayal- Betrayal Motivated by Lust

The art of betrayal is not as uncommon as we would think. In fact, there are great advantages to be had from practicing this timeless art. I say that with a somewhat cynical frame of mind. The practice of betrayal was introduced in the Garden of Eden when Satan bewitches Eve and convinces Eve that God is holding out on them both. As she listens to Satan, which presented himself in the form of a serpent, Eve begins to aspire as to what they could really accomplish if, in fact, God was withholding the truth from them. It wasn’t long till Eve made her move which involved her husband, Adam. They both in turn, betrayed their very Creator which breathed the breath of life into Adam and brought life unto a woman made from a rib of man. They chose to listen and believe the father of lies, Satan, than to take Father God at His word and trust Him. God found Himself betrayed (but not by surprise) by His very own creation and to this day, Jehovah God has to continually pursue man if there is going to be any reconciliation on the part of man. The big picture here is if man had not fallen in the very beginning, we would have no need of meeting Jesus, the Saviour of the world. Almighty God desired that all men and women meet his only begotten Son, the LORD JESUS CHRIST by faith. The Apostle Paul gives this synopsis.

“Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: (For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law. Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come. But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many. And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offences unto justification. For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.) Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous. Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound: That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.” Romans 5:12-21

It seems, when an individual senses that something is being withheld that is deemed advantageous to them, it is this instigation of doubt that introduces the seed of betrayal. From that incident in the Garden of Eden until now, betrayal has become very convenient, competent, and has proved to be a very useful tool of manipulation. In reality, mankind is afraid of God for numerous reasons. And what man is afraid of or doesn’t comprehend, he cannot trust to begin with. Salvation of one’s soul is by faith.

I believe God disclosed a truth to Adam and Eve in the Garden that was hard to comprehend in their perfect environment and only to mention, their mentality, meaning their child-like innocence. The truth that was disclosed was that there is a tree in the Garden and not just any tree. But a special and unique tree that possessed properties of a spiritual nature. By divine decree a tree that could bring about applications of undesirable circumstances in enormous magnitude with eternal consequences. In fact, if they partook of the ‘Tree of Good and Evil’, they would surely die. This tree possessed all the knowledge of truth of this world, the universe and beyond. I feel this new information instilled a fear in their hearts for something that they were not familiar with, thus invoking fear and doubt. Someone once said that ‘ignorance is bliss’. It was the injection of an outsider’s point of view, a third party, if you will allow me to introduce Satan again, which reassured them that God was really attempting to pull the wool over their eyes. I’m sure they felt with the stunt of not revealing the whole truth of the matter, they were insulted and it set the stage to reject the words of truth more readily than ever. The real truth was they had never encountered this creature of Satan before in their realm of animals and reptiles. No doubt, they were well acquainted with snakes and lizards, but never one that was so eloquent with worldly wisdom. Therefore, any injection of subject matter from any source was more believable than the truth itself. Would it not be reasonable to say that truth coming from an outside source in such an unusual manner, had to be more believable than the plain ordinary display of truth from God?

“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things. Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen. For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet. And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, Without understanding, covenant breakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.”
Romans 1:18-32

As I understand this act of betrayal, there are three vantage points to be gained. One, the betrayer has in his or her power to manipulate another person with personal gain as the motivator.

Number two, is of the individual which is victim of betrayal was betrayed because it was the only recourse that could end the path of destruction they were so adamant to pursue. The fact remains that anyone that is apprehended and stopped from pursuing their debauchery, wickedness, or self-destruction, deems that they have been betrayed. The individual betrayed cannot see, being blind-sided by their out of control, lusts and desires, that being betrayed was the only act that could actually save them. This scenario is evident today just by focusing on the prison system, and mental hospitals around the country. When an individual is blinded by his or her own demon of demise, sometimes, it takes someone else to assume responsibility out of love or respect for the individual in peril. Perhaps it is a spouse, mother, father, or even their own children, that take the initiative and turn them in to certain authorities that would benefit their recovery process. One would only hope that their act of betrayal, in reality, an act of mercy, would benefit an individual and that some day that person incarcerated would come to their senses and understand that this was the only way if they were to survive.

Looking at this subject of betrayal from a different perspective, love its self, can be a motivator of betrayal. You might ask, how in the world could anyone betray someone they loved? I believe if someone you loved and cared for was in the process of breaking the law, or ignoring their responsibilities to their spouses and cheating on them with some other extra-marital relationship, I feel this type of action would warrant the act of betrayal. I know from personal experience that when faced with the possibilities of betrayal, one would hopefully think about their actions more carefully and choose a better path to pursue. To their advantage, make an about face maneuver. Sometimes, with just the threat of being betrayed, one will change course and the disastrous possibilities will be thwarted. The extreme side of this is when the threat of betrayal is ignored and one continues down the path of destruction. The other party involved has no other recourse but to follow thru with the plan of action if their intended is determined to self-destruct. They are more than willing to carry out this plan of action knowing all along the repercussions of their actions. Desperate times no doubt calls for desperate measures.

Falsehood Number Five

My wife and I have the privilege to minister to many people from many walks of life. There is not a day that goes by that one of us, if not both of us are in a position to counsel and console individuals that come to us via the internet e-mail, phone call, mail, or in person. One day my wife received an e-mail from another preacher’s wife who opened up to us with the disturbing news that her husband was preoccupied with internet porn to the extent that it was incurring tremendous debt. This distraught woman was desperate enough to divulge her feelings of despair to us and pleaded for prayer and Godly wisdom. We both shared in her pain and anguish when we discovered that this problem had been going on for years. Now it was to the point that this desperate wife was looking at the possibility of leaving this husband/ preacher but was strapped financially and didn’t seem to have any option but to weather this storm. She disclosed that she had already left him once before but reconciled their marriage only to be faced again with this attack from the devil. All along this husband, this pastor, is in a state of denial and attempts to play mind games with her. It is evident this man is a chronic covenant breaker. He makes her out to be the unstable one of the family leaving his wife wallowing in guilt. In light of his past, he had to leave another pastorate in a different state due to the fact that his church assembly picked up on his promiscuous ways of living. As I mentioned afore, this distraught wife had already left him at one time before after discovering an extramarital affair. This unscrupulous pastor pursued courting his wife once again into coming back and he would make things better for them both. Now they have acquired another home in another state and he has presumed with his charade of pasturing a flock that doesn’t have a clue to his past escapades. This debauchery is covered up by his domineering power and outlandish salary while controlling the finances and restraining them from the wife. This unscrupulous behavior has left the wife with little or no options and is trying to raise two sons all along the way thru this muck and mire of one man’s sin. My wife and I have made this situation a matter of prayer and our hearts are engrossed with concern for this vulnerable family. My wife asked me the other night as to what I thought this preacher’s wife should do under these circumstances. As I contemplated on these revealed events, I questioned as to how this distraught wife was praying. There is no doubt this husband/ pastor, doesn’t have a clue about prayer as he demonstrates his ability to pursue his lustful desires. I have gathered thru his wicked life style that he is self-centered, arrogant in his sin, and in a state of denial. I discovered she was asking the Lord how she could come up with a way to leave her husband and still support the children and herself. The Holy Spirit started revealing to me other means that would have a better outcome for them. I simply stated that this wife needed to change the request of her prayers towards God. The truth of it is that man’s ways are not always God’s way of dealing with matters of life. We have to look for wisdom that only comes from God in these times of distress and duress. As I have stated before, ‘desperate times call for desperate measures.’ In making the decision to go about prayer in another direction, we can broaden the playing field and give God more liberty to act for the betterment of all involved. In reality, we are not giving God more choices in which to choose from by trying to attempt to put God into a little box of our making, but disclosing to God through prayer that we have a greater understanding of how and why He works in mysterious ways. When we are too close to the flame, our mind is not aware of all our surroundings but focused on the intense emotional strain we are encountering at the moment. When we loose our focus, we do not have the ability to pray correctly and according to the perfect will of God. It is times like these we need help from another source.

26 “Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. 27And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.” Romans 8:26, 27

I encouraged my wife to pass along my thoughts and concerns as to how to respond in prayer. I also encouraged my wife to pass along that I would have this pastor’s wife to praise God for His continuing mercy and make sure she has all her sins confessed before a righteous and holy God. She doesn’t want to have anything in the way that would hinder her heart’s desire before the God of the universe. Ask God for wisdom and grace first of all so our eyes will be opened by the Spirit of God to see the whole picture and just not the small place in which we are standing. The Lord just might have us go through this trial of faith a long ways before He intervenes on our behalf. Sometimes, God desires to purge us with fire and cleanse us, way before He moves on the intended. Remember, we are the one that has presented ourselves to the Throne of God, not the enemy we are coming there for. I encouraged her that we must be prepared to make this painful journey with strength, courage, and trust that God knows what He is doing. The Scriptures encourage us to pray for our enemies as to heap coals of fire upon their heads. At this point, this selfish husband/ pastor, is the enemy in the camp. This soul searching will bring about a repentant heart for the one that is praying for wisdom and proves to God that we do not have a vindictive spirit about us.

Trust me when I say, God will search the heart and will know were we truly stand in His light. Instead of asking God to show her the way to escape and bring about shame and disgrace to the church assembly and only to mention the children and herself; I would have this distraught wife to pray and ask God, if it be His will as to remove this backward husband from the scene of life and restore this congregation and family with dignity and tranquility once again. By now you are asking, are you asking God to kill him? Earlier on, it was disclosed to me that it is a reality that this man has suffered a heart-attack some years back and that he still suffers from ill health. Believe me, as I see it, this man is playing with dynamite in attempting to tempt God with this debauchery. It is like he his flaunting insubordination in God’s face and saying, catch me if you can. If, in fact this husband/ pastor truly is a child of God, being taken off the scene is not deemed as unreasonable, for this request would transform him into the presence of Father God and his only regret of not serving God as a good steward. Remember, we have to see things as God sees things thru the big picture and events that transpire thru His providential care of us. We forget that God is on both sides of life and life eternal. The term and state of death has an entirely different meaning to God and it isn’t one that we would so readily understand. Let me put it this way, how can we stand in front of God and be dead as we know it? Understandably, death is a transition from one state of being to another. To be brief, I feel God’s definition of death is an eternal separation from Himself and His Son who is the entire embodiment of all that we can conceive of life. Death equals separation in any instance.

“Verily, verily, I say unto you, if a man keep my saying, he shall never see death.” John 8:51

I look at this situation like this, on one hand, if the wife in despair asks God to make a way of escape for her and the children, it is they that will take the blunt end of criticism of society and become a scandal from the church’s point of view with her being the one who left their poor and unknowing pastor and will be forced to live on the system of welfare while waiting for the alimony checks to arrive in the mail. Only to mention the children, who will know that their father still lives and only sees him from time to time with the opportunity to tell the children dirty little secrets about their Mom and try to sway their allegiance. As I have said in the past, this is no way for a child of God to live out the rest of their days in shame and reproach. Presumably, this man started out with good intensions and would never have compromised, but it happened none-the less. Probably because he listened to Satan and allowed himself to be lead down the breadcrumb trail of deceit telling him-self all along the way, I can stop this anytime I get ready. He allowed himself to be taken as the Old Testament prophet Balaam; he became a man of God for hire. Many have fallen to that old trick of Satan, and many more will soon follow.

If the distraught wife asks God to have His way in the matter and deems to take this man off the scene, the family and the universal church will have been saved from shame, disgrace, and social indignation. Let us take a closer look at the advantages, if you will. First of all, the widow of the husband/pastor will be comforted by the church assembly and full compensation will be awarded to her and the children for the rest of their lives, presumably if they stay in good standing with God and this particular church assembly.

Second, the scandalous escapades of the husband/ pastor will be stopped and with his demise, the rumors and potential shame forthcoming will be thwarted for the Church not to endure. For all involved, peace and tranquility will resume once again and these good people can resume their lives, as God would have it to be.

There is one thing we have to examine before we can close this chapter and it is the perfect will of God. What if, God sees fit not to take this husband/pastor off the scene but bring about a work in this man’s life that all can witness too. As we can see, it is easy to ask God for the things we might consider best for us, and what is best for others. But, just what if this is not the intended will of God. We seem to look for the easiest way out of a situation and the path of least resistance. From the scriptures, we can attest that it is the will of God that “all men come to repentance.” Yes, this also includes the saved as well as the un-saved. I, for one, believe prayer changes things and prayer from a contrite spirit will motivate God faster than anything else in the world. God wants to hear from His children and sometimes we can really get to know Him better only through the pains of trial and hardships. God never promised we would have it easy here on earth, but He did promise He would never leave us or forsake us, no matter what. That means He goes with us into the fire and comes with us out of the fire only to be purged, purified, and fit for the Masters ultimate gain. How are we to console others and understand their feelings if we have no experience in the matter? We live and experience for the consolation of others. In time, your turn will come and you will need someone to share your trial of faith too. As for this husband/ pastor and his wife, if she truly trusts God for what is best for her, her home, her children, and the Church, she will ask God for more Grace and wisdom and persevere as a good soldier of the cross. Her rewards will be waiting for her on the other side of Glory with the Father and the Son of God.

I would like to bring this thought to our attention; God is in the business of reconciliation or bringing about change. He has the ability and power to change our minds, our hearts, and our eternal spirit. It is within His realm of power and majesty to turn undesirable situations around for the Glory of God. Remember, Christ Jesus was betrayed and He as a professional can console you if this comes your way. God is in the miracle business and He can make things happen that no doctor or medicine can. Doctor Jesus is always in the office of interceding for you and in time, your prescription will be ready to be administered to you with results in which Father God will be pleased for His Honor and His Glory.

If I tell you a lie, can we still be friends?

2011-02-13T10:06:00.000-05:00

Part Four

Falsehood Number Four

Once again it has come to my attention that the church seems confused with just what the qualifications of a pastor really are by Biblical standards. I had a young lady write me lately with grave concerns that her local assembly wasn’t going to follow the Bible on choosing the right man of God. Her church had just lost their pastor who was looking for greener pastures. I believe she had enough insight to see what lay ahead and she was deeply concerned with what she saw. I don’t know what it means looking for greener pastures, considering that I believed God calls or matches the man for the flock that is in need. I cannot understand how it is that a so called man of God can just pull-up and move out when he went through arduous times of just getting where he is. Just getting the education that the denomination requires today is enough to push any man to the brink of mindless tedium and burnout. He hasn’t even started his career when he is pushed and prodded into the mold of the denomination, no matter which one. It is irrelevant considering they all believe they are the only one that wields the truth. Being indoctrinated by the denomination is just the first phase of many. After jumping through all the whoops to obtain proper credentials, then appears the mirage of being placed where the denomination desires. Just what he was called to do, I wonder. It seems to me that after seminary, the calling is lost to grandiose speculation of what the ministry should be by other than the man of God himself. How does the denomination assume it knows better than the LORD JESUS about whether or not the man is qualified? Much less, where it is he is supposed to go. How can a seminary better equip a man that has unction from Almighty God? I fear what the denominational seminary has done for the man of God is to teach him to question God. The man of God is trained not to trust in his LORD but trust the denomination instead.

According to this enlightenment, I am sorry to report that the Disciples and Apostles that the LORD JESUS called would not be qualified today to perform the ministry today’s congregations are in need of. Through further investigation, it seems that the Apostle Paul was the only one qualified by today’s denominational standards. Paul had high marks from his teachers which had very high aspirations of Paul and his future influence of Judaism. No doubt, Paul had a sure grip on the Mosaic Law. In today’s church I feel sure that he would have been rejected though on the grounds that it was God alone that gave Paul his ‘insider’s information’ and the direction in which he should lead the new found Church which Judaism didn’t have a clue was in the making. The mark against Paul now, is that he was pulled aside from the influence of religious dogma and was re-programmed by the Holy Spirit on the backside of the Arabian Desert for three years. Equipped by the Holy Spirit, Paul had in his arsenal of gifts the gift of tongues. Paul was known to speak fluent in seven different languages, capable of reaching far into countries which had never heard the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Paul was sent into the mission field with orders straight from Almighty God to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ, organize these new converts into a local assembly, and branch out from where they started into the entire world.

It was a well planned and organized task that God gave Paul until religion and its denominations gained the upper hand and revamped the commission from God. Today, the man of God must be loyal to the denomination rather than be loyal to the LORD JESUS. It seems that if the man of God does not adhere to the regiment of the denomination, he stands to lose all the privileges they offer. For the man of God, fear of losing the pulpit alone would make him stop and think before he does what God would have him to do. There is a lot at stake for the man of God which hangs in the balance. I dare say to speculate a little, there are many missions or journeys that God desires for His army of called men. Missions of God and His Kingdom are wanting and in need of fulfillment. The LORD JESUS is searching for men who will sell out to Him and Him alone.

“Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” Matthew 16:24-26

From my perspective, it seems that many denominations and their local assemblies do not possess the ability, much less the spiritual insight, to choose the man God wants for that particular congregation. I ask another question. Who is it that is doing the screening for the LORD JESUS? Who are these so called qualified men and just what do they look for in a man of God? Who are these people to assume they know better than God himself? God alone knows the intensions of a man’s heart.

I have come to the conclusion the reason many local assemblies do not have a pastor is because these usurpers’ enjoy their new found power of guiding the flock. They have bypassed the pastor/ shepherd and intend on running the church like a business. I mean after all, it does generate a lot of money and acquires many landholdings. Let us face the truth, these men and women are business minded people. Unfortunately, they have adopted the Human Resources ideology of the world’s corporations. On the other hand, the local assemblies which have been manned by the denomination appointed and approved man or woman, orchestrates the local assembly as a corporation would do and uses the same criteria to govern the man or woman for the job. I fear that Holy Ghost conviction and spiritual insight has been thrown out the window. I wonder do they realize that they will be held accountable to God alone? Would you really want that responsibility to rest upon your shoulders to be accountable to answer to God for the welfare of His people when in fact, God has a man handpicked instead to do His bidding? I am convinced they have no understanding of just what the calling from God entails for the called out man. There again, they assume they know and that is why some local assemblies flounder for years in search for their man. As I see it, no one fears Almighty God Jehovah anymore.

“Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the Kingdom of his dear Son: In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins: Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence. For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell; And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.” Colossians 1:12-20

I guess by now you can tell by this writing, I do not follow the drum beat of any denomination. But like the Apostle John, a humble nobody, follow rather the heartbeat of my LORD and SAVIOUR, JESUS the CHRIST, the SON of GOD.

If I tell you a lie,can we still be friends?

2011-02-10T19:25:00.000-05:00

Part 3

As we continue pursuing the untruths propagated from denominational pulpits today, we will be encouraged to take a closer look at church finances and the practices in which the flock is coerced into giving of the wealth and finances. I have always felt we live in a day and age where the Gospel of Jesus Christ is for sale and everyone who is talented enough makes a living at selling out the Kingdom of God. But it just didn’t start on my watch or in my lifetime. This selling out of the Kingdom of God started back in the Apostles time. So, this practice of fleecing isn’t really anything new just polished to perfection by all denominations, here and around the world.

“Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call. And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, save yourselves from this untoward generation. Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls. And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers. And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles. And all that believed were together, and had all things common; and sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need. And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.” Book of Act 2:38-47

“And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness. And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common. And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all. Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold, And laid them down at the apostles' feet: and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need. And Joses, who by the apostles was surnamed Barnabas, (which is, being interpreted, The son of consolation,) a Levite, and of the country of Cyprus, Having land, sold it, and brought the money, and laid it at the apostles' feet.” Book of Acts 4:31-37

Falsehood Number Three

In the above Scripture reading we have eyewitness accounts of what happens when the Holy Spirit of God is poured out on people who were in other ways before, sinners, selfish, full of debauchery and wickedness. At this particular time, Religion hasn’t had an opportunity to unveil itself until disgruntle religious sects become jealous of the Christian’s winning over new converts. Religious sects then and now demand death to anyone who proselytizes. Try to convert a Muslim and see what happens. But the Gospel of the LORD JESUS took hold in their hearts and that is where everything changed for those who partook of God’s Holy Ghost. Yes, I know for a fact, when you receive Christ as LORD and SAVIOUR your heart becomes so enlarged with love for others it is most overwhelming, to say the least. I was just like these new converts as they were enjoying their new found freedom in Christ Jesus.

“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” II Corinthians 5:17

This Scripture gives us a full explanation of how a person can be transformed into someone alien to the world and its ways. From the outset, we who are born-again have a completely different way of thinking, a different vocabulary, and a different walk in this world. It is like we have a different culture that is unknown to the world. For a truly born-again child of Almighty God, we can never fit in and will have a terrible time conforming to the ways of the world. According to Scripture, the fighting of this world isn’t our fight for we are just sojourners, passing thru. We soon find out that the closer we get to the LORD JESUS the further we get from the world and its gravitational field of influence. The world perceives us a weird and unmanageable people. But unfortunately for the Kingdom of God, old Satan discovered a way to gain the upper hand on Christian assemblies. Danger was looming on the horizon. Satan isn’t going to just sit back and do nothing. This warrants an all out attack from hell. Satan planted subversives in our midst going along with and taking advantage of our big bleeding hearts for the poor and destitute, our deeds of forgiveness, and our love for our enemies. This became very lucrative for those who have ulterior motives of the Kingdom of God.

“And God wrought special miracles by the hands of Paul: So that from his body were brought unto the sick handkerchiefs or aprons, and the diseases departed from them, and the evil spirits went out of them. Then certain of the vagabond Jews, exorcists, took upon them to call over them which had evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, we adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth. And there were seven sons of one Sceva, a Jew, and chief of the priests, which did so. And the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye? And the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, and overcame them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. And this was known to all the Jews and Greeks also dwelling at Ephesus; and fear fell on them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified.” Book of Acts 19:11-17

Pretenders might flourish for a while, but sooner than later, they begin to expose their intensions by their evil deeds being carried forth through the flock of God.

“But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.” II Peter 2:1-3

I have witnessed pastor’s stand in the pulpit Sunday after Sunday preaching and teaching law and grace mixed. I discovered for myself that if anyone wanted to know the truth, all they had to do was follow them in the Scripture and the truth will be revealed to them. These men that take charge of the flock of God preach that tithing is mandatory for all Christian’s if you want and desire the full blessing of Almighty God in your lives. Anyone who reads their Bible for themselves will know this is not the case. The Apostle Paul gives
the Body of Christ the guide lines for giving and it is recorded for all of us to study and have the Holy Spirit to show us the truth.

“But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work: (As it is written, He hath dispersed abroad; he hath given to the poor: his righteousness remaineth for ever. Now he that ministereth seed to the sower both minister bread for your food, and multiply your seed sown, and increase the fruits of your righteousness;) Being enriched in every thing to all bountifulness, which causeth through us thanksgiving to God. For the administration of this service not only supplieth the want of the saints, but is abundant also by many thanksgivings unto God; Whiles by the experiment of this ministration they glorify God for your professed subjection unto the gospel of Christ, and for your liberal distribution unto them, and unto all men;…” II Corinthians 9:6-13

Paul is saying that graceful giving with no strings attached is better before God than having ulterior motives. Being an expert of the Mosaic Law, Paul would never succumb to mixing the two. Paul was also enjoying his freedom in Christ. To teach Old Testament tithing would be mixing law and grace. Paul certainly steered clear of that spiritual trap. It is simply like this. If we give of our personal resources, which means our time, money, or our personal property out of necessity or grudgingly, we give in vain because it is bound by law and not of grace. On the other hand, if we give of all we have because we love others and are motivated by their plight in life, the Holy Spirit moves us to action and performs the doing of it. It doesn’t have to be wrung out of us as the preachers believe. Believe me; God has a way to motivate me when the time comes. Christian’s should know in their heart that all they are and all they have in possessions are the LORD’s and we are just stewards of what God has blessed us with in ways of our talents, which is being able to some things better than others.

I have asked the question, will the Kingdom of God suffer because I fail to give properly? The answer is NO. If in fact I do fail to give when God tells me to, I stand to lose. The Kingdom never loses to anything according to God’s perfect will. Here is one explanation. There are some children of God that are very talented in making clothes. Some are very talented in building structures. Some are very talented in making beautiful music to sing before the congregation and before the LORD. And there are some more gifted in banking, financing, and money exchange, than most are able to do. By the power of the Holy Ghost within the body of Christ, the Body of Christ has its needs met by these gifted people. If there is a need within the Church would not Almighty God already have known about it? The fact is the need, whatever it may be, will be met by able children of God and not by children who don’t have a clue to how to begin to meet the need. God isn’t going to ask something of you without first supplying the talent, materiel, and a Holy Ghost conviction to lead you to obedience. In short, a truly born-again person doesn’t need a pastor to lead them to perform the right thing. I am so weary with these pastors who try their best to be my Holy Spirit. That is the Holy Spirits job to move me and motivate me to perform whatever is within my realm of ability. My LORD will not ask me to perform something I cannot do because He knows my ability and resources within my sphere of living. Would you ask someone to pilot an airplane if they were not qualified? Would you ask someone to teach Sunday school if they were not qualified? Or would you ask someone to give when they were in need themselves? You see, we do not have the ability to see the heart much less, what that heart is in need of. The truth is all the pastor was called to do was to be obedient in preaching the WORD of GOD in season and out of season, when it’s popular and when it isn’t popular. That pastor cannot see my heart, much less, my need, but my LORD can and does. In short, my LORD sees the need, supplies the need, and gives me the ability to share what I have with others. But first, the need of the individual has to be met by the LORD. I would venture that there are more needy people within the church walls that really have needs that are not being met by the church. I have seen this with my own eyes.

“Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time. They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us. But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things. I have not written unto you because ye know not the truth, but because ye know it, and that no lie is of the truth.” I John 2:18-21

Yes, a born-again child of God will know the truth and has no need that any men teach him if the individual would stay in the Bible and discover truth for themselves.

“These things have I written unto you concerning them that seduce you. But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him. And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming. If ye know that he is righteous, ye know that every one that doeth righteousness is born of him.” I John 2:26-29

That’s right Christian, you need no one to teach you when you can read it and study it for yourself. The LORD has blessed you and me with a sound mind and the Holy Spirit to guide us. The LORD intends for us to think for ourselves and read for ourselves what it is that God would require of us. In our day of false preachers and teachers it would pay great dividends to read your Bible for yourself and get your understanding straight from the Holy Spirit which lives within you. God’s Holy Spirit will not lie to you but a man will, who is motivated by the desire of his flesh.

“Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for He dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.” John 14:17

If I tell you a lie, can we still be friends?

2011-02-02T20:34:00.000-05:00

Part 2

As we continue this message on the false teaching of our time, let us consider for a moment those who stand by the truth of the written Word of God. Standing by the truth has proven to be above all things, costly. There are a few who will adhere to the truth, but for the most part, most people won’t because it means giving up worldly possessions, social status, and sometimes, your lively hood and your home is at stake. It costs because you choose to stand for what is right and what is right isn’t always popular. In fact, the popularity contests are out the window when the decision is made not to compromise a Christian individual’s Holy Ghost convictions. In most cases it starts persecution, unrest, and segregation amongst so- called friends. In some extreme instances, I have had to separate myself from professing Christian’s because of their worldliness and cavalier life style. The Christian doesn’t have to do anything but follow the LORD Jesus and eventually they will discover that they cannot walk the same road as the world. The LORD Jesus demands separation.

“And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? For ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.” II Corinthians 6:16-18

I do want to be careful as not to cast stones around a lot of windows. But, I cannot apologize for the Word of God because it would be foolish on my part to apologize for something I didn’t do or say. I am just quoting the LORD because He is the final authority. Only a fool would begin to deny the authority of the living God. Not everyone in the Kingdom of God has wicked intensions as these false prophets, preachers, pastors, and evangelists of our time. I am convinced like this, while reading this message the Holy Spirit of God will identify those who are in error. I don’t have to resort to call a name, which is the Holy Spirit’s prerogative. As the Apostle Paul says;

“God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, that thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged.” Romans 3:4

Almighty God is more than capable to identify those who are false and those who are true to God. So, let us continue with the exposure of the deceits of the false prophets. The main purpose of this writing is to expose the deeds or works of fraud, deceit, and falsehoods; you can decide just who the individual is. Remember this verse of Scripture so it will guide you in your search.

“Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit.” Matthew 12:33

Falsehood Number Two

There are many denominations that preach and teach that a born again Christian can lose their salvation. I was associated with one of them in my early years as a new Christian. The Bible is very clear on this basis of security of salvation. There are many who will contend with this doctrine of eternal security. Their main stance against it is the idea that eternal security gives license to the believer to commit sin with no repercussions. Well, we know that is not true because of the Scripture to back it up.

“Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.” Galatians 6:7-9

Yes, when a born-again Christian fails in their daily walk with the LORD Jesus, there are repercussions. The first one is cutting off the communication with God until the proper confession with humility is made to restore communication properly. I have always felt that these people are attempting to become my judge and rule my life with the law. The main problem, as I have mentioned earlier, stems from people making false professions, therefore, when the heat of persecution is turned up, and it will be turned up by the LORD, many fall by the wayside. The health, wealth, and prosperity propagators have proven to be the biggest attraction and instigator by getting people to profess Christ as LORD by peer pressure and emotional hype. For the record, the born-again Christian stands to lose their rewards in heaven if they ensue the sin in their lives. This scenario is dealt with in Scripture.

“Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.” I Corinthians 3:12-15

On the other hand, people who make false a profession of faith or play church, stand to lose their eternal soul in a devil’s hell. I believe that unconfessed sin is the number one cause of Christians failing in their personal relationship with their LORD and Saviour, Jesus Christ. According to the Gospel of John, a truly born-again child of God cannot lose their salvation. There is ample Scripture to back up this claim.

“The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” John 10:10

Let’s look at what the Apostle John had to say from God concerning the believer’s security in their daily walk with the LORD.

“And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. But I said unto you, that ye also have seen me, and believe not. All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.” John 6:35-37

“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand. I and my Father are one.” John 10:27-30

“Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you. Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you. These things I command you, that ye love one another. If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. Remember the word that I said unto you, the servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also.” John 15:15-20

The reality of the truth is this; if in fact a person falls from grace and dies in their sins, just whom of the living is going to know where they go in eternity. Unfortunately, those are presumptuous, who place themselves on a platform and pretend to be the judge. We are all alike in this case where we tend to be the judge, jury, and the executioner, without knowing the full extent of the truth, and without having access to an individual’s heart. In short, we are not qualified to judge anyone but ourselves, standing in light of being judged also. I am encouraged to judge myself on the basis that it is I and the LORD that sees the intensions of my heart. Anyone else, I don’t have anything to go on but the fruit they bear out in the open for all to see. The Lord encourages us to become fruit inspectors, not judges.

The Apostle John knew what it would cost him to stand for the truth. He was persecuted and placed in isolation on a prison island. In one of his writings, the Book of I John, he describes just what it is to be a born-again child of God. John describes the attributes of a true Christian and how to identify the false ones.

“And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full. This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.” I John 1:4-10

In short, true Christian’s seek the truth and the light, they shun evil and falsehoods. On the flip side, false Christian’s seek their own glory, weave deceit, and manipulate people for their personal gain. You might know of these people personally because they have infiltrated every assembly, many stand in the pulpit. I have always said that Satan is the most faithful of the church goers because he has so many he manipulates in the congregations. They seek to slate their lusts using the church as their cover. Their love for each other is limited and when it is convenient. They harbor militant tendencies that can lead to war at home, on the job, with neighbors, and even with other countries, when suitable.

Apostle John continues to distinguish between the true Christian and the false individual. I say individual because they don’t’ possess Christian tendencies but instead possess traits of selfishness and high-mindedness. These selfish individuals will not adhere to the commandments of the LORD because that means they will have to give up something in which most are not willing. On the other hand, a true, born-again Christian will surrender all to serve their master, their LORD, their personal Saviour. You can know a Christian by their acts and works motivated by love for others, including their enemies.

“And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him. He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked. Brethren, I write no new commandment unto you, but an old commandment which ye had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which ye have heard from the beginning. Again, a new commandment I write unto you, which thing is true in him and in you: because the darkness is past, and the true light now shineth. He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now. He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him. But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes.” I John 2:3-11

By now you are probably asking what being different means concerning security of one’s Salvation. I’ll say it like this, if you don’t understand the difference between the true Christian and the false individual, you are most likely to be of the false individuals because there is no distinguishing traits in which to gauge by, not judge by, mind you. A true born-again Christian will possess traits of his LORD Jesus and of his God Jehovah, gracious, forgiving, and above all, showing love towards all. The unsaved, unregenerate soul will be empty of all these and searching desperately to fill the vast void within themselves which makes them outwardly and inwardly very selfish beings. The unregenerate soul that professes to be a Christian will strive with the Brethren to be popular, to be first, and to be noticed in public places, to compete with other Christian’s in the music, in the teacher’s spotlight, and also contend with the pastor. These are not very hard to spot in the congregation if you know what fruit to look for. Would you know the difference between a fig and a palm date? You might have to take a second look but you will be able to see the difference and taste the difference when you partake of their presence.

“Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.” I John 2:15-17

If I tell you a lie, can we still be friends?

2011-01-30T10:40:00.000-05:00

Part 1

This question became the jest of what the prophets of Jeremiah’s time would suggest to the people of Israel. This is the question that I present to you today in light of the truth of matters of our time. The problem of Jeremiah’s time was that the self proclaimed prophets of Israel had taken upon themselves to be the spokesman for Jehovah God. Well, it turns out that their great God Jehovah had indeed not given any such sayings to them to give to the people but instead, claimed that all they said had come from the LORD and this was the “burden of the LORD”. The LORD was angered at their preposterous audacity in assuming they could speak for Almighty God without permission. Instead, Jehovah God motivated His Man, Jeremiah, and had him to speak out against the lying prophets of Israel.
Turn with me in your Bible’s to the Book of Jeremiah, chapter 23 and starting with verse 9. At this point I want to encourage you as you read, to read slowly and pay special attention to what the LORD is saying here. I have to admit, this is no light reading, and it is very intense. This is very important that we don’t misunderstand the point. The Sword of Truth from the Prophet Jeremiah reads:

“Mine heart within me is broken because of the prophets; all my bones shake; I am like a drunken man, and like a man whom wine hath overcome, because of the LORD, and because of the words of his holiness. For the land is full of adulterers; for because of swearing the land mourneth; the pleasant places of the wilderness are dried up, and their course is evil, and their force is not right. For both prophet and priest are profane; yea, in my house have I found their wickedness, saith the LORD. Wherefore their way shall be unto them as slippery ways in the darkness: they shall be driven on, and fall therein: for I will bring evil upon them, even the year of their visitation, saith the LORD. And I have seen folly in the prophets of Samaria; they prophesied in Baal, and caused my people Israel to err. I have seen also in the prophets of Jerusalem a horrible thing: they commit adultery, and walk in lies: they strengthen also the hands of evildoers, that none doth return from his wickedness: they are all of them unto me as Sodom, and the inhabitants thereof as Gomorrah. Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts concerning the prophets; Behold, I will feed them with wormwood, and make them drink the water of gall: for from the prophets of Jerusalem is profaneness gone forth into all the land. Thus saith the LORD of hosts, Hearken not unto the words of the prophets that prophesy unto you: they make you vain: they speak a vision of their own heart, and not out of the mouth of the LORD. They say still unto them that despise me, The LORD hath said, Ye shall have peace; and they say unto every one that walketh after the imagination of his own heart, No evil shall come upon you. For who hath stood in the counsel of the LORD, and hath perceived and heard his word? Who hath marked his word, and heard it? Behold, a whirlwind of the LORD is gone forth in fury, even a grievous whirlwind: it shall fall grievously upon the head of the wicked. The anger of the LORD shall not return, until he have executed, and till he have performed the thoughts of his heart: in the latter days ye shall consider it perfectly. I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran: I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied. But if they had stood in my counsel, and had caused my people to hear my words, then they should have turned them from their evil way, and from the evil of their doings. Am I a God at hand, saith the LORD, and not a God afar off? Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? Saith the LORD. Do not I fill heaven and earth? Saith the LORD. I have heard what the prophets said, that prophesy lies in my name, saying, I have dreamed, I have dreamed. How long shall this be in the heart of the prophets that prophesy lies? Yea, they are prophets of the deceit of their own heart; which think to cause my people to forget my name by their dreams which they tell every man to his neighbour, as their fathers have forgotten my name for Baal. The prophet that hath a dream, let him tell a dream; and he that hath my word, let him speak my word faithfully. What is the chaff to the wheat? Saith the LORD. Is not my word like as a fire? Saith the LORD; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces? Therefore, behold, I am against the prophets, saith the LORD, that steal my words every one from his neighbour. Behold, I am against the prophets, saith the LORD, that use their tongues, and say, He saith. Behold, I am against them that prophesy false dreams, saith the LORD, and do tell them, and cause my people to err by their lies, and by their lightness; yet I sent them not, nor commanded them: therefore they shall not profit this people at all, saith the LORD. And when this people, or the prophet, or a priest, shall ask thee, saying, what is the burden of the LORD? Thou shalt then say unto them, what burden? I will even forsake you, saith the LORD. And as for the prophet, and the priest, and the people that shall say, the burden of the LORD, I will even punish that man and his house. Thus shall ye say every one to his neighbour, and every one to his brother, what hath the LORD answered? And, what hath the LORD spoken? And the burden of the LORD shall ye mention no more: for every man's word shall be his burden; for ye have perverted the words of the living God, of the LORD of hosts our God. Thus shalt thou say to the prophet, what hath the LORD answered thee? And, what hath the LORD spoken? But since ye say, The burden of the LORD; therefore thus saith the LORD; Because ye say this word, The burden of the LORD, and I have sent unto you, saying, Ye shall not say, The burden of the LORD; Therefore, behold, I, even I, will utterly forget you, and I will forsake you, and the city that I gave you and your fathers, and cast you out of my presence: And I will bring an everlasting reproach upon you, and a perpetual shame, which shall not be forgotten.” Jeremiah 23:9-40

As we can see in the Scripture, these lying prophets, preachers, and scribes, really crossed the line and angered the LORD JEHOVAH to the point that any word that came from their mouths was considered profane. These prophets were not capable of telling the truth and God warned every one of them if they continued, Jehovah God would utterly destroy them, and their house, and their city. As we can see, these accusations were very serious and carried with them the upmost catastrophic set of circumstances anyone could imagine. The real problem is that no one really knows just what Almighty God is capable of doing. Let’s face it, when God turns loose a whirlwind on a town, people just cannot believe that God had anything to do with it even when God warns us He will in fact perform it! But let’s face the truth, who really takes God at His WORD?

For quite some time now, the LORD has been dealing with my heart as I have been studying the Book of Jeremiah in the Old Testament. To give somewhat of an explanation of this message, the prophet Jeremiah was chosen to go to all Israel and warn of the coming judgment and captivity of the nation in the public places, especially the King’s Palace. Jeremiah warned that if they did not turn from worshiping idols, which in fact were placed in the Temple along with Jehovah God, the true and living God of Israel, Jehovah would become angry and destroy all they had and were and sending the residue into captivity of the enemy at that time. No doubt, this mind boggling message was a drastic measure and Jeremiah was chosen by God to carry the brunt of it to the public. I believe the importance of the message is brought in the light by the intensity of the punishment to be incurred if it is not adhered too, promptly. As I look at this situation with Jeremiah and his people and wonder, if God in His wisdom deals with His people in this manner, who are we in this day to go about our business taking a nonchalant attitude towards God the Father and His Son, Jesus, the Church (not the buildings but the born-again people of God), his work, and most important of all, our daily walk with Him? We just don’t realize the dangerous ground upon which we walk each day. In fact, we don’t understand who we are really dealing with until we see how God dealt with His chosen of the Old Testament times. I know in my heart God is love, and merciful, but this isn’t always the way He reveals himself to us. The problem lies in our very own hearts. The Lord enlightens us to the reality if we stray and ignore the warnings that are sent, there is nothing left to do but carry the brunt of chastisement. This warning is brought forth in the twelfth chapter of the Book of Hebrews.

“And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons. Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness. Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.” Hebrews 12:5-11

But, they didn’t take heed and God sent His messenger as a gracious move towards His people by sending Jeremiah unto them as a token of love and carefulness dealing with a stiff-necked and rebellious people.

Today, I feel led by the Holy Spirit of God to come forward and proclaim that God will visit us if we don’t forsake this world and the lusts that is in it. But, the message isn’t only directed towards the flock, but also the pastors and priests of our time. By this I mean that God is sending a warning for those that pervert the Gospel and blatantly lie to the church (flock) as to make merchandise of them. Yes, I am accusing them of lying to the flock of God to gain an advantage of them and exploit them to protect their personal interests, such as their livelihood and social standing. We have in our presence the old ways of false prophets of Jeremiah’s time right here with us today. Many pastors of today are not saved by grace but are presenting themselves as angels of light, messengers of God, and preach another Gospel; weaving their web of deception of health, wealth, and prosperity gospel, to the flock. At this juncture, I am going to take the liberty and list some of the most common of deceptions perpetrated from the pulpit today. If you recognize any of these and know personally of whom is preaching or teaching this strange doctrine, mark them and run from them as to save yourselves when God’s judgment comes upon them and their kind.

Falsehood number One:

There is a favorite verse of Scripture that is misquoted on many occasions and it goes like this:

“For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Romans 10:13

Yes, this verse is one of many misquoted verses in the Bible and it is used in such a manner as to make one believe anyone and everyone can be saved just by saying the magic word, LORD SAVE ME. This false doctrine is known as “easy believeism”, without a doubt, a fundamentalist scam. There is no doubt this is Scripture, but in reality, Scripture taken out of context. Satan used this same old trick in the Garden with Eve. In fact, God will save you, but there has to be some dynamics to have occurred previously in order for this verse to have any power. First of all, God’s very own Holy Spirit has to be present and wooing the prospective converts. The long and short of it all is that, if God isn’t in the witnessing, teaching, praying, and preaching, it is all in vain. It is called “religion and denomination dogma” and here is the proof. From a personal perspective, I know this to be true because I was taught this from a very early age.

“And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. But I said unto you, that ye also have seen me, and believe not. All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.” John 6:35-40

“Jesus therefore answered and said unto them, Murmur not among yourselves. No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the prophets, and they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me. Not that any man hath seen the Father, save he which is of God, he hath seen the Father. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life. I am that bread of life.” John 6:43-48

“It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life. But there are some of you that believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray him. And he said, therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father. From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.” John 6:63-66

“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” John 14:6

As we read and perceive what the Scripture is really saying, we can attain that there is a prerequisite to salvation, the presence of the Holy Spirit of God. In reality, the Gospel of John comes before the Book of Romans and there is a reason for that order. Quite precisely, the prerequisite of salvation is first gaining an understanding of just who it is that is calling. The entire Gospel of John deals with the LORD JESUS, God’s Christ, and just who he is. If someone was continually calling you and you could not identify that person, would it not be in vain? In essence, God in His wisdom sends His Holy Spirit to do His bidding and begins to woo and work in the hearts and minds of those that receive the truth of the WORD of GOD. The truth is that if anyone who really wants to know who it is that is calling on their heart, you need not look any further than the Gospel of John.

Pastors, preachers, evangelists, and even lay people, of our time are guilty of misquoting this Scripture and ignore the possibility that the Holy Spirit of God is not even in the room, let alone the thought of dealing with a sinner that is unrepentant, prideful, and stiff-necked, in their wicked ways. These so called pastors, teachers, and evangelists, are getting the proverbial horse before the cart, so to speak. They are guilty of preaching another gospel which leads to false professions of faith. Many times I have witnessed people coming forward to confess they were just playing the part of a Christian and until now was never saved. God is merciful! This false teaching produces false Christians and therefore religious worship that Satan can control from the inside out. Such is the product of “easy believeism”.

Is It OK To Be Gay and Christian?

2010-11-23T19:14:00.000-05:00

Charismatic pastor Jim Swilley’s announcement that he is gay
opened the door wider for a subtle delusion. Don’t believe it.

Many people were shell-shocked last week when Atlanta pastor
Jim Swilley stood in front of his congregation, Church in the Now in
Conyers, Ga., and announced that he is gay. The 52-year-old
minister was abruptly removed from his position in the International
Communion of Charismatic Churches—a network in which he
served as an overseer. Some of Swilley’s members left his church,
others stayed, and countless others are now scratching their heads.

We Americans are lost in a moral fog. Two major Protestant
denominations (the Episcopal Church USA and the Evangelical
Lutheran Church in America) have voted to ordain gay clergy.
Meanwhile, gayness is celebrated in our media, and anyone who
refuses to bow to this idol is painted as intolerant and homophobic.

Christians who still believe homosexuality is incompatible with
biblical faith feel painted into a corner. If we defend Christian
morality, and even if we speak with compassion to those who may
struggle with same-sex attraction, we are accused of hate speech
or branded as judgmental. So we tiptoe through the minefield of
political correctness—and keep our mouths shut.

Sorry, but timidity on this issue is not acceptable. The sins we
avoid addressing from the pulpit are the sins that will thrive
unchallenged in our culture. We must develop some backbone
and speak the truth in love. Here are four truths that should factor
into any discussion on this topic:

1. Everyone is born with issues. King David wrote: “Behold, I was
brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me”
(Psalm 51:5, NASB). David acknowledged that he had an inborn
sin nature. This is true for all of us!

Many “gay Christian” advocates insist that some people are born
homosexuals and therefore they have no hope of altering their
orientation. But this is a lame argument since we all are born with
a propensity toward certain sins. This is the human condition: “For
all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23). Just
because you are born with an inclination toward adultery,
alcoholism, shoplifting or pride doesn’t mean you have to stay that way.

2. Christ offers forgiveness and sexual healing. The more strident
voices in the gay community hate when Christians speak about
homosexuals being healed or reformed. They insist that if you are
gay, you must stay that way. They choose to ignore the fact that
thousands of people have left homosexuality after coming to faith in Christ.

My friend Alan Chambers, president of Exodus International, came
out of the gay lifestyle many years ago and now has a great
marriage with his wife, Leslie, plus two beautiful children. The
ministry he leads has helped countless people—including many
Christian “strugglers”—find emotional freedom. Some of them
experienced same-sex feelings from childhood; others developed
these feelings because they were sexually molested or because
of dysfunction in their families.

Whatever the cause of sexual brokenness, the gospel has always
provided the solution. It was true for people in the Corinthian
church, to whom Paul wrote: “Do not be deceived; neither
fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor
homosexuals … will inherit the kingdom of God. Such were some
of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you
were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit
of our God” (1 Cor. 6:9-11, emphasis added).

3. Discipleship requires self-denial. In his announcement to his
church last week, Jim Swilley said he decided to come out as gay
because he was tired of pretending. I’ve talked with others who
told me they felt they were being “dishonest” by ignoring their gay
feelings. They said they felt free when they accepted “who they
really are” and got involved in gay relationships.

For a Christian, that’s a cop out. The essence of our walk with
Christ involves denial. Jesus said: “If anyone wishes to come after
Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me”
(Matt. 16:24). Jesus was not asking us to pretend we don’t have
problems—He calls us to bring all of those problems into His light
through repentance. But the Holy Spirit gives us the power to
deny sinful desires. That quality of self-control is a fruit of the
Spirit (see Gal. 6:22-23).

4. Homosexuality is not a protected category of sin. Many “gay
Christian” advocates insist that if you are gay, then it’s fine to go
out and have all the sex you want. They ignore biblical
commandments against homosexuality (usually by saying that
Old Testament law doesn’t apply today); meanwhile they advocate
gay marriage even though most gay men are rarely monogamous.
The message is clear: If you have same-sex desires, just go
ahead and indulge because that’s how you were created.

This is what the Bible calls licentiousness—which means “lacking
legal or moral restraints, especially sexual restraints; disregarding
rules.” Actually, the Bible lumps homosexuality in with every other
form of sexual sin—and says God will punish those who engage in
it...

Regardless of how loudly the world trumpets its hedonistic agenda—
and no matter how many backslidden preachers dance to the tune—
God has the final say on this matter.

J.Lee Grady

Competing Against Other Christian’s is it Wise?

2010-11-20T06:58:00.000-05:00

In our world today, competition is the standard by all are measured and assessed by. Competition is as old as time and goes full force in every generation past and present. Some will argue if it wasn’t for competition we would suffer from aggression and be overrun by tyrants, hustlers, and thieves. Some will say that by competition we have fair prices on commodities such as grains, cotton, and tobacco products. Some say it keeps the auto dealers, grocery markets, and shopping malls honest and affordable. All these reasons might be true, but how does in come into play when dealing with Christian’s? The Apostle Paul has somewhat to say about this.

“And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able. For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?” 1Corinthians 3:1-3 KJV

Yes, for a Christian to compete with anyone is a carnal, worldly nature that brings out the primitive needs to be better than someone else. Sometimes, the competitive edge gets so sharp the other person, business corporations, church functions, and or charitable organizations, gets a black eye and a bloody nose! Truthfully, competition encourages aggression, pride, loftiness, superiority over others and numerous other selfish and sinful traits that are a disgrace to the Christian. It is like this. When we are saved by the grace of God, we are set apart from this world and God condemns when we continue to act like this world. It is the LORD’s command that we act like God would act and conduct ourselves as a Holy and peculiar people, set apart from this world.

“Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance: But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy. And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man's work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear: Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you, Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God. Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently: Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.” 1Peter 1:13-23KJV

So, now the Christian is in a dilemma, a catch twenty-two sort of dilemma. Just who is the Christian going to serve now, the one who saved him or her by grace, or the lusts of the world? Are they going to serve God or mammon, mammon being wealth, power, or fame? If there is one thing I have come to dislike, it is this notion to compete against other Christian’s. It doesn’t matter if it is at home, work or in the church, competition doesn’t belong anywhere in a Christian’s life. Let me ask these questions; how can you compete against another that is so different from you? Wouldn’t you have to be classed? Aren’t we all different in some way, fashion, or form? Would it be really be fair to others to compete against them? Would you be willing to lose to another Christian? I have read and talked too many will tell you a little competition is a good thing but how so? Are we out to demoralize our opponent? Are we out to crush our peer and make them feel inferior? Would you try to compete with a person who might be disabled? What if that disabled person had a great mind but a weak body, would you compete with them on an intellectual basis? Would you really run the risk of injuring the stability of another just to gain advantage of them? The point I’m trying to make is that this thing of competition is of the world and of the flesh. The whole point of competition, no matter how friendly and cordial, is to gain an upper hand against anyone who might be a potential contender. Pastors contented with other pastors trying to see who can build up the larger church, but to what end? The results are that the message is lost and the flesh gets glorified.

The verse of Scripture that the proponents of competition use is one of the Apostle Paul.

“Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in anything ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you. Nevertheless, whereto we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us mind the same thing. Brethren, be followers together of me, and mark them which walk so as ye have us for an ensample. Philippians 3:12-17 KJV

What Christian’s miss in this Scripture and don’t understand is that we are to measure ourselves against God not other Christian’s. If we measure ourselves against each other we become high-minded, arrogant, prideful and hurtful to others. But if we measure ourselves against our LORD Jesus, we see ourselves impotent, weak, needy, and thankful of His blessings.

I am reminded of my early school days when we as young boys where taught by all our elders of the home, church, and school, to be the best at what you do and make sure you do it better than anyone else. They encouraged it and sometimes demanded it on the ball field, in the classroom, at the lunch table, or anywhere we are, to always put your best into what you do. Anything less is unacceptable. The teachers would put us against each other in spelling-bees, solving arithmetic problems, and writing skills. The coaches would then take us all and pit us against each other on the ball fields to work off our aggression and anger we had built up competing in the classroom. We soon found ourselves in competition against everyone I knew! I grew up as a week little boy who was competing with stronger and wiser boys of my age. I found out that I spent most of my life trying to be better than my peers and would do things to gain the upper edge on them. I found myself in such hot competition that one day, a person who I considered my best friend, walked off the field and never looked at me again. As I stood there alone I knew I had gone too far and I was the loser of a good friend. I live with that regret to this very day. From that day forward I have cursed all competition and abhor it so much that I find it detestable when I see in it in the local church assembly. Today, we witness the best singers, the best piano players, the best preachers, the best choir performances and the best bus captains packing in all those little children to gain an edge on their rivals. Yes, the church is a stark reminder of the corporate world and acts just like any corporation would act in competition! Competitive people have encouraged competitiveness in the church by advancing those who will compete. Boys are encouraged to be better that other boys in the ball games in the church schools and girls are encouraged to be better than other girls when it comes to choosing their future mate by doing what they have to do to get the strongest boys interest. In short, the church has become engulfed with the competition of the world. In fact, the church is competing with world corporations such as the Red Cross for donations and sanctions of monetary value such as tax deferments.

It is evident that the church and Christian’s have lost their zeal to fashion themselves like Christ Jesus, and humble themselves before God and others. The stumbling block to the Christian is to humble ourselves, would mean that we are weak and would be perceived as inferior to the world. I have actually heard Christian’s say that they are proud to be called a Christian, humble and proud of it. Doesn’t this send a signal to the world that we are going to compete? Nobody here wants to present themselves as inferior and weak, do they? Lest we forget, Christian’s are looking at this world with blinders on and have lost sight of the world to come where if we don’t learn to humble ourselves to each other we will be faced with reprimand from God until we adhere to His will for our lives.

“Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.” 1Peter 5:5KJV

It is a very hard thing for a Christian to remember they are not of this world but of the world to come, the Kingdom of God within us. I suggest that we keep our eyes on the LORD Jesus Christ and fashion ourselves as He would. If we follow our leader I believe we will find there is no room for competition amongst the brethren.

“Let not then your good be evil spoken of: For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost. For he that in these things serveth Christ is acceptable to God, and approved of men. Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another.” Romans 14:16-19KJV

Solomon Remembers the Terrible Years

2010-09-26T06:48:00.000-04:00

Lesson Four
Study Reference Ecclesiastes Chapter Four

“So I returned, and considered all the oppressions that are done under the sun: and behold the tears of such as were oppressed, and they had no comforter; and on the side of their oppressors there was power; but they had no comforter. Wherefore I praised the dead which are already dead more than the living which are yet alive. Yea, better is he than both they, which hath not yet been, who hath not seen the evil work that is done under the sun.” Ecclesiastes 4:1-3

I cannot ever remember a time when there was not a war going on somewhere in this world. I was born in a time when everyone just knew we could never afford another war like WWII. This had to be the end of all war. But it wasn’t. Solomon remembered the years of war his father fought and was brought up in terrible times also. Like myself, Solomon never was called to bare the sword, nevertheless, the ripple effect found its way into Solomon’s life, and my life. I have come to the realization that there will always be someone who oppresses the innocents and weak. They are the ones with an alter ego or an idealist with radical views always trying to push their agenda on the unaware to the extent that it becomes a matter of life and death. History is repeating itself again and again and so it is today.

I was surprised to read Solomon praising the dead. I thought that to be an odd thing to do, but I began to understand its meaning.

To quote Stanley Baldwin; “War would end if the dead could return.”

Or, to quote my favorite, Plato; “It is only the dead who have seen the end of war”.

Although I enjoy quoting Plato, I would have to agree more readily with Stanley Baldwin.
My wife and I spend some of our leisure time walking through graveyards collecting names and dates from the headstones for our ongoing genealogy research. I have always known a secret in my heart as I wonder around grave after grave that I will tell you now. I have realized that the dead are time capsules of hidden knowledge, wisdom, and have secrets hidden away and the answers of life we only guess at. I have found myself wondering as I stand over a grave, what was it that this person took with them that could have helped others know the truth about things in their life? People take a lot of things to the grave, things that should have been known, things that could have possibly changed history. Solomon knew this to be true also because this is what he was saying. But Solomon goes one step further.

Solomon begins to praise those who have not been born yet. He praises them because they know no heartache, they know no pain, they know not what it is like to worry and fret over things that threaten change to our lives. Yes, it is the absence of sweet bliss, not knowing about anything, that upsets us. Only that person that is taken before they live life dies in peace. Maybe, this is why God allows abortion to prevail in our society today? He could put an end to it, but doesn’t. God will put an end to war, which is a fact.

I can say assuredly, I love the life that I have and enjoy its simple pleasures. I do have feelings of sadness for the dead and for those who have never lived a life here. But, in the end, the truth will all come out and be known amongst all living things. Almighty God will see to that. But those who die without Jehovah God and Lord Jesus in their lives are those who will fare worse off than all the rest. To have lived life without Jehovah God is the worst possible thing that could have ever happened to them according to God’s Word.

For example, the unborn and aborted children will be right back where they came from God in an instant. Can you imagine with me for an instant what it would be like to have a precious gift thrown back at your face? It happens to God everyday with the aborted children that are run through the social killing program. That is a truth from God’s own word. But, for those who live life knowing and experiencing God, live joyful and happy lives despite the hardships and pain. The reality of it is, their bodies go back to the earth from whence it came, and their soul, bought and paid for by the sacrifice of Christ Jesus, is ushered into Glory, their eternal home with Jesus. From now on, where Jesus goes, they follow.

For those who live life and experience it without Christ Jesus and the Holy Father, Jehovah God, it would have been better if they had never been born. As Solomon would have to agree, this is also vanity and vexation of the spirit.

Solomon's Analysis of Time Management

2010-09-18T05:43:00.004-04:00

Lesson Three
Study Reference Ecclesiastes Chapter Three

“To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.” Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

I believe that this Scripture is one of the most quoted passages of the Bible in the world today. It introduces thought that is provoking but comprehensive, almost to the point of futility. Solomon injects the idea that life could be useless because of mankind’s finite nature. He also suggests that life has a cycle to which we are all bound by. I look forward to the cooler months of the year and can remember the ones were there was an abundance of snow and ice. My wife and I love walking down the beach in October and November with the cool salt mist in the air. I enjoy tasting the salt on my lips and the wind whipping up the foam from the incoming waves. But the thing I enjoy the most about winter is how the color of the sea changes from light aqua colored blue-green in the summer when the warmer waters of the gulf stream has moved inshore, to the colder waters, deep dark greenish black of the winter. When I observe the greenish black sea I can imagine the recesses of our minds to things we hardly ever observe about the passing of time in relation to ourselves.

An example of this can be found in the story of the Bible concerning the woman with the issue of blood that plagued her for 12 years of her life.

“And a woman having an issue of blood twelve years, which had spent all her living upon physicians, neither could be healed of any, came behind him, and touched the border of his garment: and immediately her issue of blood stanched. And Jesus said, who touched me? When all denied, Peter and they that were with him said, Master, the multitude throng thee and press thee, and sayest thou, who touched me? And Jesus said, somebody hath touched me: for I perceive that virtue is gone out of me. And when the woman saw that she was not hid, she came trembling, and falling down before him, she declared unto him before all the people for what cause she had touched him, and how she was healed immediately. And he said unto her, Daughter, be of good comfort: thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace.” Luke 8:43-48

As Solomon has declared, there is a time,and a season, but most importantly, a reason for everything under the Sun. It is hard to comprehend with us that certain things just take time and have to run their course in life. We live in the day of instant gratification where almost everything is produced in microwave speed. When we are dealing with God and His time table in which Solomon is referring too, we are thrown into granny gear and frustrated beyond belief. I think the only time we enjoy God’s time table is when we are planning to go on vacation. Then we complain about how fast the time went by! God’s time table is something to reckon with and many people have to have many thing added to their lives to help them pass the time more quickly. This is one of the reasons people are so busy in their daily lives. They add busy work to themselves so the time will seem to pass more easily.

I feel that the woman with the issue of blood wished probably prayed many times for the remedy to come along just to get passed this unanswered health problem. Many times we are impatient and desire to cut the chase with a cure all medicine or surgery that doctors most often prescribe. But have we ever asked God what is the real purpose for the illness to begin with? Is our illness just a fluke? Is it just by unfortunate circumstances that we have this incurable disease? Can my illness serve a real purpose for others? As Solomon has pointed out, there is a reason for everything but in our unreasonable condition we tend to leave out or ignore all together the Creator of all living things.

Rest assured, God had a real and intended purpose for this woman’s illness despite the suffering and anguish incurred along that twelve year span. First thing I would like to point out is that I feel God intended for her to exhaust all her resources. The numerous doctors’ visits had to be exhausted then the barrage of specialist’s consultations, and only to mention the expensive medicines that each and everyone prescribed. How long did it take her to do this? The Bible says, twelve years. There is one thing that God wants us to learn from this passage of Scripture and that is that everything is either by design (creation) or allowed, including good and evil. We can get a better understanding of this by studying the Book of Job. We must realize, God has designated everything to a specific purpose, regardless whether we understand it or not. This is a hard thing to comprehend for some of us, especially those of us who are sick and infirmed. How can we tell someone suffering that this is the way God intends it to be? People have a tendency to begin to direct their feelings of hate and disapprovement of how God is handling their case. Some people hold a grudge against God all their lives without talking to Him to see His reasons or intensions to get a better understanding for our lives. We ask how God can be so distant and uncaring. How can God be so cruel and callous? There are many questions to ask about the intensions of God’s purpose, but have we taken the time it takes to inquire of God His reasons for this dilemma? It is like questioning the doctor’s decisions or specialist’s practices without first consulting with either to be able to come to an understanding of some sort. But why won’t we consult the one who allows the situations of sickness and illness?

I feel the real reason for all illnesses and sickness is for the opportunity for God to inject His divine power, wisdom, and knowledge of the situation into our lives. God allows a lot of things to happen on this earth without our permission or much less, our understanding. God encourages us to inquire of Him and ask Him, what is going on? Sometimes, God uses or allows a plethora of illnesses to get our attention just so we can be introduced to Him. Would we seek Him if we deemed we really didn’t need Him? Why seek out a doctor if we have no need of one? This particular woman that had the issue of blood didn’t know of Jesus and would have never been introduced to him if it had not been for her relentless quest for healing and restoration of her life. I feel that she was at the end off her rope when she finally decided she had to do something or face death. After her money was gone and had been turned away from everyone that knew of her condition, this woman’s last resort was to come to the one who allowed the disease to come into her life. The reason for her sickness was for God to show her who He really was, Jehovah GOD, and all that entails. All her friends and all her neighbors had heard her story over and over and over for twelve long years and still no results. But finally, one day when Jesus passed by, by faith she made her way through the hot dust and throngs of people in the way and just by faith, she touched the hem of His garment and it was all over for her illness. Unquestionably, this was the intended purpose for her life, to see and experience what faith in Jesus Christ can do for her and her situation. For twelve long years she bent the ears and brows of her friends and neighbors with her sad story. No doubt, they hated to see her coming their way just to be bothered by that sick woman. But now, everything is different, things have changed! She now has the opportunity to go back to those very ones and give praise and adoration to God for this miracle of healing! I feel this miracle of God was really for the purpose of those skeptics and doubters of God that in no other case would even give God the time of day. God chose to use this little woman with her issue of blood to work her way into lives of people that in no other way could be touched. She influenced her friends (if she had any left) and neighbors with love for her new found friend, healer of her illnesses, her LORD and Saviour, Jesus.

Undoubtedly, Solomon was telling the truth after all. Our personal experiences prove this fact of life every day we live. The truth of the matter is that it does take time for all things to culminate. Whether for good or for evil, we need to remember, it is Jehovah God who has the last say so in all things in Heaven and in Earth.

“Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:26-28

Solomon's Fustrations'

2010-09-05T07:45:00.002-04:00

Lesson Two
Study Reference Ecclesiastes Chapter Two

As we begin chapter two, we can see a close resemblance of the previous chapter as it comes to an end. Solomon continues to go down this road of benign negligence in the name of wisdom. In other words, he is determined to find out what drinking, carousing, and pleasures, some possibly sinful such as lustful desires, can produce or not. What seems to be a shameful waste of time, Solomon is out to gain experience of something that could be detrimental to ones soul. Anyone who practices this kind of careless lifestyle can begin to like and appreciate this sought after pleasure. It is a well known fact of life that there is pleasure in sin for a season. Some are even consumed with it. Solomon deems this necessary to know for sure so he can relate better with his fellow man. What is it like to get drunk? What is it like to dance with other men or women that are intoxicated with lustful desires? Did this type of mentality account for Solomon’s 900 or so wives? Did Solomon accumulate wives as to study them and their idolatrous ways so he could make a clinical case study of his findings? Solomon claims he was determined to know the truth of the matter so he can make better decisions and come to better conclusions of the matter. From my way of thinking this in itself is not a show of wisdom, but of folly and foolishness. No good can possibly come out of such acts of character assignation. This mentality makes me wonder what kind of wisdom Solomon possessed. Ungodly and sensual seems to better explain Solomon’s actions and reasoning. In the reality of situations to be experienced, giving oneself over to licentiousness is in itself act of disregard to one’s mind, body, and spirit. To stain one’s mind of perverse and wickedness is only to witness something that isn’t a good practice, detrimental to one’s character. Solomon is about to see for himself how things can get out of hand though thought to be innocent and fun. These scenarios can get embarrassing to a man and his family that witnesses a falling down drunk at a birthday party or music event in which lewdness transpires. Even though, there are many that do practice these things because they feel after all the hard work they have performed, they are due time to let their hair down and have a good time, even if it is just for a short time. I have heard it said many times, “I deserve it!” We will begin to see as we proceed that this is a demonstration of futility and immaturity, to say the least. But, there are those that are determined to plan ahead for extended events for pleasurable, sometimes irresponsible, indulgences, possibly, even to the point of bankrupts by maxing out credit cards. One would think that just by watching others partake in this debauchery would be all the experience they would need to deduce the inexcusable behavior they portray. But as lust and covetousness creeps into the mind, the heart of man conjures up a way to give into it wishes and desires. While laying aside all reason and prudence one might have had in reserve. I feel after all was said and done, Solomon could have gotten a degree with his clinical case study of folly and foolishness. On this subject alone, he was the expert.

“I said in mine heart, Go to now, I will prove thee with mirth, therefore enjoy pleasure: and, behold, this also is vanity. I said of laughter, It is mad: and of mirth, what doeth it? I sought in mine heart to give myself unto wine, yet acquainting mine heart with wisdom; and to lay hold on folly, till I might see what was that good for the sons of men, which they should do under the heaven all the days of their life.” Ecclesiastes 2:1-3

It seems that the next thing to do on Solomon’s agenda is to begin extensive building projects. He commissions great works such as the building of the Temple that his father, David had sought for much of his life. This was to be Solomon’s greatest achievement, but was it? It seems as history reveals that after the events of building the great Temple to Jehovah God was out of the way, Solomon had full reign to build the things he desired and sought pleasure by spending enormous amounts of capitol to please his many idolatrous wives.

“I made me great works; I builded me houses; I planted me vineyards: I made me gardens and orchards, and I planted trees in them of all kind of fruits: I made me pools of water, to water therewith the wood that bringeth forth trees: I got me servants and maidens, and had servants born in my house; also I had great possessions of great and small cattle above all that were in Jerusalem before me: I gathered me also silver and gold, and the peculiar treasure of kings and of the provinces: I gat me men singers and women singers, and the delights of the sons of men, as musical instruments, and that of all sorts. So I was great, and increased more than all that were before me in Jerusalem: also my wisdom remained with me. And whatsoever mine eyes desired I kept not from them, I withheld not my heart from any joy; for my heart rejoiced in all my labour: and this was my portion of all my labour.” Ecclesiastes 2:4-10

Solomon makes claim to have done all this himself but in reality, it was all commissioned to others to perform. The point is, sure Solomon financed all this work, but he himself was hardly ever involved with the work outside of the planning department. Isn’t it a fact that the architects, engineers, and financiers, always take the credit from the little man? It is a fact that he commissioned building projects, but I cannot see Solomon mastering the hammer and chisel only to see his talent being portrayed in his skill. He also commissioned great cattle yards, but I cannot see Solomon herding the beasts out of the ranges and into the stockyards standing with the men of low stature covered in the hot and dirty dust. Of course Solomon had others to wait on him and his wives, enough people that eventually started to raise their own families under the same roof as King Solomon. Then there was the problem of boredom on those long hot summer nights in which arose the question, what to do for entertainment? In order to head off the sundry blues, Solomon commissioned an arts, dance, and music guild for their entertainment and pleasure.

I get the jest from reading Solomon’s writings that the joy and pleasure of accomplish was somewhat robbed of Solomon when he stood back and observed his finished projects. No doubt, these works of such grandeur probably could have never been carried out without Solomon’s wealth, but Solomon ended up wanting for more with an insatiable desire for bigger and more extravagant ventures. I feel Solomon missed the whole point of the joys of meaningful labor of the individual God given talents. To see what your hands can do and produce with little resources can bring such joy and satisfy the soul into knowing this work is honest and most likely helpful to others. Such rewards cannot be shared by those who write out the checks except they in turn take all the credit for the finished project. I suppose this gives them bragging rights even though their hands were never sullied.

“Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on the labour that I had laboured to do: and, behold, all was vanity and vexation of spirit, and there was no profit under the sun. And I turned myself to behold wisdom, and madness, and folly: for what can the man do that cometh after the king? Even that which hath been already done. Then I saw that wisdom excelleth folly, as far as light excelleth darkness.” Ecclesiastes 2:11-13

As Solomon’s heart swelled with pride as he gazed upon the grandiose projects of renowned, sadly enough Solomon’s soul and spirit came up short and wanting. This feeling of emptiness comes across when Solomon exclaims, “all was vanity and vexation of spirit”. We might wander by now, what is the matter with this man? Can he not see for the nose on his face? Can enough ever be enough? Well, you would think so if we were dealing with the average Joe, but we are dealing with a young man that was raised with a silver spoon in his mouth, so to speak. In short, I feel Solomon was somewhat of a spoiled brat, always expecting some surprise at the end of each day. It is almost like his boyish whims fell short in his projects and became mundane in his enthusiasm for his accomplishments.

“The wise man's eyes are in his head; but the fool walketh in darkness: and I myself perceived also that one event happeneth to them all. Then said I in my heart, as it happeneth to the fool, so it happeneth even to me; and why was I then more wise? Then I said in my heart, that this also is vanity. For there is no remembrance of the wise more than of the fool for ever; seeing that which now is in the days to come shall all be forgotten. And how dieth the wise man? As the fool. Therefore I hated life; because the work that is wrought under the sun is grievous unto me: for all is vanity and vexation of spirit. Yea, I hated all my labour which I had taken under the sun: because I should leave it unto the man that shall be after me.” Ecclesiastes 2:14-18

Solomon’s main concern here is that there will be no one as he is to leave the works he accomplished to. His feelings expose the vanity that resided in Solomon’s heart. Solomon feels that anyone that comes after him will not be competent to continue as he has done. In short, the future of the Israelites looks bleak at best and this fact alone has burdened Solomon’s demeanor. It is a pretty rough statement to say that “I hated life”, as Solomon did. But what else could come from a man of this stature? I doubt seriously Solomon ever had to wrestle with a wheelchair everyday of his life, or, was cumbered by prosthesis due to injuries. Yes, I am afraid that Solomon was guilty of ‘looking the gift horse in the mouth’ when it concerned his outlook on life.

We still have to give Solomon credit for his accomplishments no matter how he perceived them. We had to admit, they were pretty stupendous and magnificent to behold. But there is one question I am forced to ask, where are those works of grandeur today? The Egyptian pyramids are still here, Nebuchadnezzar’s old city of Babylon is still with us today and only to mention the Roman Empire influences seen around the world. But what can be said of Solomon’s achievements? The Temple of Solomon is gone and all of Solomon’s treasures with it. In fact, very little of Solomon’s Kingdom of Jerusalem is with us today. Therefore, it becomes laborious to envision just what Solomon was talking about when he had all this work produced. I feel if it wasn’t for recorded history we would never know how grand the works of Solomon ever was.

To look at Solomon from a different angle for a moment, I believe Solomon might have had a vision of the future. It is easy to imagine him standing on his veranda one beautiful sunrise, while overseeing this breath taking panorama. Suddenly and without warning, Solomon felt his heart pierced thru with reality, thus Solomon’s distasteful conclusion that life itself is perdition. God might have given him the vision of the invading armies waiting on Solomon to die. This could have been the warning God used to provoke Solomon to forsake those idols and temples of Idol worship and turn and repent of the evil Solomon had reintroduced by having licentiousness propagated from his many pagan wives.

“For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect with the LORD his God, as was the heart of David his father. For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. And Solomon did evil in the sight of the LORD, and went not fully after the LORD, as did David his father. Then did Solomon build an high place for Chemosh, the abomination of Moab, in the hill that is before Jerusalem, and for Molech, the abomination of the children of Ammon. And likewise did he for all his strange wives, which burnt incense and sacrificed unto their gods. And the LORD was angry with Solomon, because his heart was turned from the LORD God of Israel, which had appeared unto him twice, and had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods: but he kept not that which the LORD commanded.” 1Kings 11:4-10

Have you ever experienced the moment when it dawned in your mind that what you were doing was futile? Well, if you have as I have, we can understand somewhat of what was going on in Solomon’s mind and heart. Maybe it is a good thing for us not to know the future? If we did know, we might not accomplish what we have and find no reason to continue on. On the other hand, insight to what our personal behavior breeds could be all it takes to steer us back into righteousness and uprightness of heart and character. In my experience, there is nothing quite as radical as an honest reality check.

“And who knoweth whether he shall be a wise man or a fool? Yet shall he have rule over all my labour wherein I have laboured, and wherein I have shewed myself wise under the sun. This is also vanity. Therefore I went about to cause my heart to despair of all the labour which I took under the sun. For there is a man whose labour is in wisdom, and in knowledge, and in equity; yet to a man that hath not laboured therein shall he leave it for his portion. This also is vanity and a great evil. For what hath man of all his labour, and of the vexation of his heart, wherein he hath laboured under the sun? For all his days are sorrows, and his travail grief; yea, his heart taketh not rest in the night. This is also vanity. There is nothing better for a man, than that he should eat and drink, and that he should make his soul enjoy good in his labour. This also I saw, that it was from the hand of God. For who can eat, or who else can hasten hereunto, more than I? For God giveth to a man that is good in his sight wisdom, and knowledge, and joy: but to the sinner he giveth travail, to gather and to heap up, that he may give to him that is good before God. This also is vanity and vexation of spirit.” Ecclesiastes 2:19-26

I am inclined to reason that if Solomon had a real fear and reverence of Almighty God, he probably would have never performed these idolatrous practices. This idolatry is proof enough for me to see that Solomon really didn’t fear God even though he has proclaimed this as a fact. Real fear of God produces actions laced with caution and wariness. To be truthful, if Solomon had displayed genuine wisdom from God, he would have steered clear of the folly and foolishness. Anyone with any real wisdom knows that foolishness and folly is wasteful with one’s resources that were not easy to obtain to begin with. It proves that a worldly education and wisdom with Godly fear, are two completely different things to possess. Who in their right mind would squander what it took so long and hard to bring into existence and add to their character. Unless, they are careless with their resources that really belong to others who have invested in your ventures and believe in you? We have to remember, Solomon’s wealth and stature didn’t come from his own works, but the hard work of others. Every man and woman in Israel had invested in the promotion of their King. So, Solomon looking for answers to silly questions, he really could not afford to know, actually squandered his treasury by seeking out pleasure at the expense of his constituents. Much like our own government today, nothing really ever changes in this old world. Why should Solomon be any different from any other man who has an over abundance of resources at hand and too much time lounging, looking for ways to spend it? It seems his many wives with their idolatrous practices would have gladly taken care of that area.

In conclusion, Solomon’s soul is not as innocent as he would like to think of himself and harbors sin. He cannot capitalize on the greatness of God but only of the greatness of himself. An innocent heart thrives on love and simplicity, but a guilty heart is motivated by a plethora of human emotions that without restraint can ruin a man and render him void of discernment. As for that man who has an education of the highest degree but is void of experience, so is that man who possesses so called wisdom that is void of the fear of God. Both are shallow in spirit and wells without water.

Solomon on the Couch

2010-08-29T10:56:00.002-04:00

Lesson One
Study Reference Ecclesiastes Chapter One

Most like everyone else, when the name of Solomon is aired, the human mind takes a whirlwind ride through the individual’s ranks of fantasy. I am intrigued by the life of King Solomon, but for some dark and uncommon reasons. For the most part, people seem to be drawn to the life and style of Solomon because of his wealth, his grandeur, or his wisdom of life. To this very day Solomon is celebrated among all peoples and nations. Solomon is seen as powerful, mysterious, and precocious. As we will begin to study Solomon, we will soon discover the inner workings of a well meaning but troubled young man with a lot of time on his hands. We might find attempting to walk in his father’s footsteps was part of his undoing. Solomon’s life has intrigued more people than myself. Many have written volumes on him and many have I read but, for the most part, seem to be eluded by Solomon’s seemly wealth and vivaciousness. Apart from the blessings of Almighty God, it seems Solomon’s amiability led a life of boyish desires coupled with a young man’s virility.

“The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.” Ecclesiastes 1:1

At the beginning of the first chapter, Solomon directs his readers to the authority given to him from God. The words of the title of Preacher have a spiritual connotation of gravity and driven concern for the welfare of others. Solomon has aspired himself to be a preacher, but why? It seems when one becomes incapacitated with insult and injury one begins to convey to others around to please listen to reason. In part this seems to be the motive because of the terrible price to be paid by ignoring the facts and the number one rule of the universe, “what goes around comes around”.

“Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity.”
Ecclesiastes 1:2

It is disconcerting that with this authority he begins with a note of pessimisms, despair, concluding with the bizarre negative equation, “All is vanity”. The real question is why? What happened to this aspiring young King to turn him to ponder the dark side of life? Let’s face the truth, Solomon had it made beyond compare. He was the ‘golden boy’ of all Israel. His father, King David, had set the stage of life for his beloved son. All Solomon had to do was but follow thru to be successful with God and man. This all is recorded in the Book of I Kings beginning with chapter one and verse 28.

By the end of his life Solomon had all the wealth a man could muster in his life. We have all heard of the notorious mines that produced untold wealth. Over a period of time Solomon had all the beautiful women a man could gather in order to keep the alliances of close neighbors and a territory to rule that God himself handed to him on a silver platter. Let’s face it; Solomon didn’t draw a sword for forty years. Wow, that in itself is amazing! It seems that America cannot go without some kind of war scenario for more than ten years at a time. But something seriously had backfired in Solomon’s life.

“What profit hath a man of all his labour which he taketh under the sun?”
Ecclesiastes 1:3

Solomon began writing with serious doubt of his own existence. What’s the use he exclaimed! It is a waste of time and energy he continues to bog himself down with self pity and a sense of unworthiness. But why is this? Why is he so discouraged and bitter about life?

“One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh: but the earth abideth forever. The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to his place where he arose. The wind goeth toward the south, and turneth about unto the north; it whirleth about continually, and the wind returneth again according to his circuits. All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full; unto the place from whence the rivers come, thither they return again. All things are full of labour; man cannot utter it: the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing. The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun. Is there anything whereof it may be said, See, this is new? It hath been already of old time, which was before us. There is no remembrance of former things; neither shall there be any remembrance of things that are to come with those that shall come after. Ecclesiastes 1:4-11

To give further reasons to be discouraged with his life, Solomon goes into detail about how the inner workings of the cycles of the earth are compared to a man’s life. Yes, there is no doubt Solomon obtains carnal wisdom of the workings of science, math, and astrology, but there are places that those things tend to be left behind. I feel if one would look a little closer at Solomon, the consensus would conclude that Solomon had obtained a worldly or carnal edification of matters instead of spiritual insight. This is evident by just looking at Solomon’s achievements. Solomon seemly had focused on the temporal, while in contrast; his father David had acquired a Godly fear and reverence for matters of spiritual content. David’s reverential fear of God came by hardship and dry seasons of the soul without answers that could only come from the Creator himself. This seems to be the line drawn in the sand, the point of departure between Solomon and his father. With this writing, Solomon was expressing a season of spiritual drought that had crept upon him that was beginning to takes its toll.

After a while and given a little time, Solomon exclaims that even a man can be predictable as the seasons! To a certain degree, and given the license, mankind is predictable but, this can all be changed with the proper instruction from a higher and more reliable source than what we have here on earth. God encourages all of us to obtain wisdom and the only way to do this is to fear God in the very beginning. There are those who never experience the fear of God in their lives, but blessed are those who have! Maybe this is what Solomon is lacking in his life? As we read and discover for ourselves, Solomon does not possess the fear of God that his father had concluded with as King David exclaimed in the Psalms.

“I the Preacher was king over Israel in Jerusalem. And I gave my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all things that are done under heaven: this sore travail hath God given to the sons of man to be exercised therewith. I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and, behold, all is vanity and vexation of spirit. That which is crooked cannot be made straight: and that which is wanting cannot be numbered. I communed with mine own heart, saying, Lo, I am come to great estate, and have gotten more wisdom than all they that have been before me in Jerusalem: yea, my heart had great experience of wisdom and knowledge. Ecclesiastes 1:12-16

In these next verses we can see what Solomon has attested to be fact by discovering the calculation of toil and labor with disciplined observance. Solomon claims to have obtained wisdom but complains of complications adjoining the conclusion of matters. He seems to give into exhaustion by admitting there is no sound reason to continue on. How can a man of his stature become so anesthetized and claim to have wisdom that cannot see beyond dismal circumstances? One would think with Solomon’s unfathomable resources that much could be accomplished resulting in a resounding joy of accomplishments. While the nation of Israel reveled in their King’s deeds, Solomon on the other hand neglected to celebrate along with them as having accomplished something of grandeur together. Sure, the country as a whole celebrated the building of the Temple as a national accomplishment. But, I feel Solomon didn’t share his father’s dream about his father’s personal goals being accomplished by the Golden Boy. This is the deluge that was flooding uncontrollably in Solomon’s mind. I perceive that after the fact of the Temple’s completion, Solomon began to waiver and flounder with no other direction but from his pagan wives with the insatiable whims of their pagan gods.

“And I gave my heart to know wisdom, and to know madness and folly: I perceived that this also is vexation of spirit. For in much wisdom is much grief: and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow.” Ecclesiastes 1:17-18

At this juncture, I perceive Solomon divulges the secret of his demise. He admits offhandedly, he made an irresponsible decision. He takes the wrong turn at the juncture of wisdom and madness, hand in hand with folly. Those are two roads, separate and different roads to travel. To leave wisdom is to follow madness and folly, but it is impossible to travel the two together. He was precise about one thing; it is vexation of spirit to depart from wisdom to experience folly. On the other hand, to leave the road of folly and place one upon the road of wisdom is to experience sheer joy and exuberant delight, the path of righteousness. From a man of considerable stature, Solomon mixed a lethal concoction of strong drink, foolishness, and a burlesque attitude towards the complex matters of state. When he gave himself to strong drink mixed with matters only to be attended by sobriety and wisdom, the tragic train wreck resulted in Solomon’s mind and heart. Thus, the summation of futility and foolhardiness to proceed any further was the only conclusion to be announced.

I have come to a conclusion of my own choosing that Solomon was writing without consideration of the magnitude and majesty of Almighty God. It seems to me if Solomon had ever once realized how great God really is and how small man is, this writing would have never taken place to begin with. Solomon was overwhelmed because he had unconsciously placed himself on the same plateau as God. Wealth and prosperity possesses the tendency to intoxicate a man past the point of self sufficiency. Yes, he was a great man beyond compare, but, nevertheless, Solomon was just a man, a natural man wallowing in self pity. No doubt, now it is foreseeable to understand Solomon had blinders on to prevent him from seeing the whole picture, the big picture that includes one being able to understand Almighty God, Jehovah, is the most important being in the universe. It would pay us well to take note that anything that takes our eyes off or away from God, His Son, Jesus, and His magnificence, has in itself become the curse that leads to our very demise. Therefore, Solomon became intoxicated with unnerving license and maneuverability, but completely unable to control his fear of disappointing his constituants, further accompanied by the pressures of too many wives and their false gods. Little did Solomon realize, that the wisdom that he attained wasn’t the same as what God endues to a man or woman with the precept of reverence and fear. Yes, God did answer his prayer to be able to know right from wrong, but that prayer fell short without Solomon obtaining the fear of the LORD that accompanies wisdom. This is the ingredient that makes wisdom so precious and sought after by mortal man. In short, what wisdom Solomon attained was perverted with whims of fleshly desires and thereby squandered by a foolish young man.

Expendable Children?

2010-08-22T06:42:00.003-04:00

It was Friday after 4:00 PM and on my way home from work when I decided to turn down a side street when I came up upon a little girl playing with her bicycle. The closer I got to her the more I noticed how small and petite she was. I was amazed that she would be playing in the street by herself. I began thinking to myself that there is no way possible I would allow my little girl playing street like that. I began to think how devastating it would be to lose a child just by simple negligence. The more I thought about it the more downcast my heart became. I began to think of my children, my daughter and son, and my three grandsons; all are so precious to me. I cannot begin to imagine what it would be like to lose one of them. That is one experience I hope and pray never happens to me.

I began to think upon the Scriptures in the book of Genesis were Adam and Eve had lost a son, his name was Able. I contemplated how hard it must have been on Eve, the mother of all living. She had lost her eldest son by the hand of another son who had gotten mad and jealous of him. Adam and Eve both had to deal with a death for the very first time. After losing Able, they tried to comfort themselves by having another son, his name was Seth. I'm sure there was no comfort to be found no matter how many children they decided to have. They would always have empty place in their heart for their son Able and as long as they lived they would be reminded because there would always be the empty chair at the supper table.

When Able was born into this world he was an individual and could never be replaced. In our society today we don't realize the importance of a child's individuality. The truth is we are all unique. We all are irreplaceable no matter how we look at it. Yes, someone can step up to your place, but they cannot replace you. The world will have you to believe that you can be replaced and I have heard it said by parents that they could replace their children if they wanted to. If we really think about that statement, we will realize it is just a lie to smooth over the guilt and hurt.

Psalms of David describe his existence and his birth in this manner.

To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David “O LORD, thou hast searched me, and known me. Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off. Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O LORD, thou knowest it altogether. Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it. Whither shall I go from thy spirit? Or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me. If I say, surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me. Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee. For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother's womb. I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well. My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them. How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! How great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand: when I awake, I am still with thee.” Psalms 139:1-18

As we read this Scripture we can attest how important the individual really is. David exclaims that he is fearfully and wonderfully made. But not only that, God has made him conscious of his own individuality. When we study the Bible we will come to realize how important every individual and every soul is in this world. God doesn't make people just to be making people. He brings people into this world by divine purpose even though we might not be able to see at the time. To us, some children might look like an accident; even so, God doesn't make mistakes. We make the mistakes and God alone can take our mistakes and makes something wonderful from it. Children are a gift of God no matter how they come into this world. When that same child leaves this world, his mark is indelible, never to be repeated again, irreplaceable.

“Lo, children are a heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward. As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth. Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate.” Psalms 127:3-5

What Ever Happened to the Sabbath Saturday Day of Rest?

2010-08-08T06:19:00.004-04:00

As far back as I can remember I am brought to mind that my family and I have always observed Sunday as the Lord’s Day. I was brought up to believe that Sunday was the Sabbath and it was to be revered as the holiest day of the week by observing it in church somewhere. I find myself writing about this subject on Sunday morning at 4:00 am. It wasn’t until about eight years ago the Holy Spirit of God began to move in my heart and mind about the truth of the matter. I have discovered that if you keep asking God for the truth, sooner than later it will be revealed thru diligent study and prayer over the Bible.

I just knew in my heart that something was amiss because I kept reading for myself the account of the Bible in the Book of Genesis.

“Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.” Genesis 2:1-3

You might be saying to yourself, but this is Law and we are not under the Law, we are under grace. No doubt, you would be correct in part of this assumption. First of all, it is God’s Law of Creation. We cannot null and void what God has placed in motion such as the Moon and the Sun and the planets in orbit, no more can you and me null and void the command of God to observe the holiest day of the week, the creation day Sabbath, the seventh day of the week. The Word of God was given to Adam and Eve and was passed down through the generations. Secondly, there is no other day of the week that was sanctified or set aside and blessed by the creator to be a Holy Day. This command of Almighty God has been in place thousands of years before the Ten Commandments were handed down to Moses on Mt. Sinai. This Holy command has never been annulled by Jehovah God, nor I doubt, will ever be.

You might be thinking just now, if this be true, who changed this Sabbath Day from Saturday to Sunday? This is a very good question to answer. It is my practice to refrain from pointing fingers, but in this circumstance of revealing the truth of matters, I will have to leave what I practice for a few moments. The truth of the matter is that the creation day command of keeping the seventh day of the week, the Holy Sabbath Day, was changed by Pope Pius V. Yes, the Roman Catholic Pope took it upon himself to be Vicar and change the Holy Command of Jehovah God. This next statement is from the Roman Catholic Counsel.

2175 Sunday is expressly distinguished from the Sabbath which it follows chronologically every week; for Christians its ceremonial observance replaces that of the Sabbath. In Christ's Passover, Sunday fulfills the spiritual truth of the Jewish Sabbath and announces man's eternal rest in God. For worship under the Law prepared for the mystery of Christ, and what was done there prefigured some aspects of Christ: 107 Those who lived according to the old order of things have come to a new hope, no longer keeping the Sabbath, but the Lord's Day, in which our life is blessed by him and by his death.108
...
2177 The Sunday celebration of the Lord's Day and his Eucharist is at the heart of the Church's life. "Sunday is the day on which the paschal mystery is celebrated in light of the apostolic tradition and is to be observed as the foremost holy day of obligation in the universal Church."110
{Source: Catechism of the Catholic Church published by Liguori Publications, English translation copyright 1994 by the United States Catholic Conference Inc.}

So we see that the Roman Catholic Church took it upon themselves to change the times and Laws of the Creator to fit their wishes and whims. Who then are we to follow, the traditions of men, or the commands of God?

“And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.” Daniel 7:25

"If every Lord's Day is to be observed joyfully by the Christians on account of the resurrection, then every Sabbath on account of the burial is detestably Jewish. In fact all the disciples of the Lord lamented on the Sabbath, bewailing the buried Lord, and the Jews exulted. But sadness reigned for the fasting apostles. In like manner we are sad, saddened by the burial of the Lord, and rejoice with them in the Lord’s resurrection. Neither in fact is it proper to feast [on the Sabbath] as the Jewish custom observed by the Jews." {Source: Cardinal Humbert quoting Pope Sylvester I (A.D. 314-335)}

The Catholics are adamant only to mention this was a tradition of the Apostles which is correct. But, upon careful study of the Book of Acts, we can surmise for ourselves that the Apostles would never break the Sabbath Day to accommodate anyone, but rather added another day, the first day of the week to the Sabbath Day of rest. We have to remember that these Apostles where Jews themselves and brought up by their families to honor and revere the Holy Sabbath Day. I am convenience that none of these men would dare go against the command of God, much less the old Law of Moses. But they found a way to proceed with the work of our Saviour with the guidance of the Holy Spirit by adding the first day of the week to commence the works of our Lord. If we would take careful notice, we could see that the Apostles always observed the Sabbath Day by teaching and preaching in the Synagogues.

“And Paul after this tarried there yet a good while, and then took his leave of the brethren, and sailed thence into Syria, and with him Priscilla and Aquila; having shorn his head in Cenchrea: for he had a vow. And he came to Ephesus, and left them there: but he himself entered into the synagogue, and reasoned with the Jews. When they desired him to tarry longer time with them, he consented not; but bade them farewell, saying, I must by all means keep this feast that cometh in Jerusalem: but I will return again unto you, if God will. And he sailed from Ephesus.” Acts 18:18-21

Upon careful study we can see that the Sabbath was always observed by the Apostles and commenced to extend the Holy Day by coming together to collect alms and offerings for the poor of other locations.

“And we sailed away from Philippi after the days of unleavened bread, and came unto them to Troas in five days; where we abode seven days. And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight.” Acts 20:6-7

“Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given order to the churches of Galatia, even so do ye. Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come. And when I come, whomsoever ye shall approve by your letters, them will I send to bring your liberality (alms and offerings) unto Jerusalem.” 1Corinthians 16:1-3

Thought the Apostles kept the Sabbath Day, the first day of the week, Sunday, was never said or expounded as a Holy Day of rest. In fact, the Apostle Paul used Sunday to commence the work of the Lord by carrying the monies collected from other fellowships which would be in violation of the Holy Sabbath Day of rest. We can also see through the help of the Scripture that the Apostles would never start out on a journey on the Holy Sabbath Day.

This excuse of the Roman Catholic Church to use the assumed approval of the Sunday as being the Lord’s Day is a violation of the Holy Command of Jehovah God. No one or no church has the authority to change the Creation Law set aside, sanctified by Almighty God. Unfortunately, this has happened and there will be judgment forth coming.

Finally, we have the example of our LORD to remember.

“For the Son of man is Lord even of the Sabbath day. And when he was departed thence, he went into their synagogue:” Matthew 12:8-9

I encourage Christian’s everywhere to read the Scripture for yourselves and allow the Holy Spirit of God to guide you into all truth. The truth can set you free!

The Church Divided

2010-05-30T06:39:00.003-04:00

“Then was brought unto him one possessed with a devil, blind, and dumb: and he healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw. And all the people were amazed, and said, Is not this the son of David? But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, this fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils. And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them,

Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand: And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom stand? And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your children cast them out? Therefore they shall be your judges. But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you. Or else how can one enter into a strong man's house, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man? And then he will spoil his house. He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad.” Matthew 12: 22 - 30

It has come to my attention over the years that the Church is suffering and reeling from within its very own congregations, who are being led into liberal assumptions of Bible scripture. The subject of whether or not to accept the gay community into the Church has become so controversial that it is most likely to bring disaster to every church organization and that, by design.

The Scripture stated above gives us insight to what Christ Jesus would tell an unbelieving people about the consequences of lack of discernment. These people (religious unbelievers known in Christ’s time as Pharisees), were trying to accuse Jesus of casting out demons by the power of the devil. Of course, our Lord can see the dark, demented hearts of these false accusers and gives the spoken word of wisdom. The dumb and blind possessed by devils were not the only ones guided by Satan. Later on, in this passage of scripture, Christ warned them of the consequences of blaspheming the Holy Ghost when His works were attributed to the dark works of Satan. This is exactly what the Church is guilty of today. Church denominations have made the grave error of attributing the works of Satan as the work of our Lord Jesus Christ. This is accomplished by Satan strategically placing his Pharisees within the local churches with the gay agenda on the planning board.

In this day and time, Church denominations across the country are forced to deal with the growing appreciation of gays and lesbians that yearn to be accepted by all society, including the local Church. I have to be blunt and admit, Satan has a winner this time, or does he? It has always been my assumption that when an individual decides to come into an organization with intentions of joining that institution, the individual is questioned about his or her intensions and is encouraged to meet the criteria of that particular institution. As an example, I visualize an individual attending a Mason or Shrine organization with the intensions of proselytizing them into another agenda. Of course, I say this in jest because we all know that this would never take place. I have all ideas, that individual will find themselves standing on the outside street sidewalk with broken dreams of joining that organization. This demonstration attests that this organization firmly believes in adhering to the program previously accepted, unlike the local Church today. When it comes to Church, we are supposed to accept any persons without question of moral character? If this be the case, we will have to consciously make an effort to apologize to the drunkard, the prostitute, and the pedophile that attends the local assembly and in some cases, hold offices within the Church. I do not believe that Christ Jesus will be so gracious as to accept a person on the grounds that the individual has in his or her possession an unrepentant heart of their sins. This is the very reason for the Church to begin with. It is designed by God to be a beacon of morality, justice, and social order. This is an institution ordained by Jesus Christ and along with it to guide it was given the Holy Bible.

Yes, the Church is under attack, no doubt, and Satan seems to think that he will surely win this battle. This might seem to be the consensus of those on looking. There comes to mind one very important verse of scripture that refutes this analogy, Matthew 16: 18; “….and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” This verse assures us that no matter what Satan throws at the Church, it will survive because, and within every denomination there is that faithful remnant that refuses to give into the pressures of this world. This very well could be the fiery test God allows every now and then to purge His Church from worldly corruption. God seems to have an uncanny way to expose the Pharisees that inundate and plague the Church in every generation.

Responding to God's Call

2010-05-22T08:19:00.003-04:00

Have you ever heard God speak to your heart? According to Scripture, God calls on our hearts before we call on Him. Not the other way around.

“No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the prophets, and they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me.” John 6:44-45

It is taught today by many preachers, evangelists, and Sunday school teachers, that if anyone calls upon the name of the LORD, He will save you. The Scripture does say that and He will save you, if He is the first in making an attempt to speak the truth to your heart. The problem with this way of teaching is taking the process of salvation out of text and creating a false atmosphere of putting the sinner in charge of the salvation process. The truth of the matter is, that if you seek God before He seeks you, you could be putting the cart before the horse. This in turn, creates a vacuum within the individual, empty without God, because it wasn’t the Holy Spirit of God that instigated the calling process. This type of Salvation is instigated by emotions caused by loud music and loud shouting resulting only in head knowledge. In reality, it had nothing to do with the heart. God only deals with the heart. Satan deals with emotions and can persuade people into believing they are saved. It is very hard for me to understand why a sinner would call to God when he or she doesn’t know what God can do for them to begin with. The reasoning just isn’t there. This practice of an individual asking God to save them just by saying the magic word or reciting the sinner’s prayer is known as the error of “easy believeism”.

Pastors, evangelists, and all sorts of church people use this form of evangelism to get masses moved and motivated to accept Christ as their Saviour on false ground right in the beginning. God is not in this and is nowhere to be found. When an individual is calling for God to save them on their terms, they will continue to search for answers every Sunday morning; they are wells without water, clouds with no rain. Satan devised this practice to dupe many people into believing they are saved when in reality, God was never calling on them to repent. They are still unsaved and dying in their sin. There was no repentance to be witnessed and individuals are not sorry for their sinful ways because they will turn right around and go back to the sin they say they turned away from.

“These are wells without water, clouds that are carried with a tempest; to whom the mist of darkness is reserved for ever. For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error. While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage. For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them. But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, the dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.” 2Peter 2:17-22

I remember the time when I was a sinner and without God in my life. I figured I didn’t need God or anything He had to offer me. I enjoyed my sin and didn’t want anything to disrupt my agenda. Needless to say, I now see I was wrong. However, one day God’s Holy Spirit started dealing with my heart with that small still voice. I was scared because I didn’t understand how God works and I started to run for my life. I didn’t understand God was calling me from a life of sin and eternal death. But by His mercy and grace, I surrendered one day, yes surrendered to God and His Son, Jesus Christ and accepted Christ as my LORD and Saviour. My life has never been the same since. But, He sought after me! Not the other way around. I never had to get saved again in all my life because it ‘took’ the first time God saved me. I have witnessed countless people go to the altar at the front of the church every service trying to get saved. This is a very disturbing sight, to say the least.

Pastors today keep preaching that anyone can be saved and all you do is just come to the front of the church and ask God to save you. Well, it doesn’t work that way. On more than one occasion I have witnessed certain individuals coming to the front of the church to get saved again. They stated in their own words that they had been playing church all along and thought they were saved only to discover they never were. But by the grace of God it was revealed to them to call upon the LORD with a repentant heart and turn from their wicked ways once and for all times. All I can say about these incidents is that I hope and trust they truly were saved. Because if they continue to perform this practice of going to the altar on different occasions, especially during revivals where the emotions soar, they send the message that you cannot really know for sure that you are saved. This is the trap of Satan. He wants people to be in doubt of their salvation thus robbing them of the joy of being one of God’s very own. And not only that, but, they will never understand that God has to do the calling. We cannot call ourselves to Salvation.

“As it is written, there is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.” Romans 3:10-12

This is the way salvation of God works. First, an individual must recognize the fact that they are a sinner lost and without God in their lives. Only God can reveal this fact to the person. Second, a lost man will naturally and repeatedly reject God trying to go around God without having to face Him. This is called being under conviction, proof positive that the Holy Spirit of God is dealing with the individual as a sinner. For a fact, man will do anything to try to get out of dealing with a Holy and righteous God. Jehovah God is a living God and demands that we turn from our sin and repent to Him that we accept Him and His Son Jesus because it was Jesus that was crucified for our sin debt that we could never pay for ourselves. In short, we unconditionally surrender to the LORD of HOSTS by accepting Jesus as LORD. Jesus loved me and died in my place to give me the gift from God, His Salvation and eternal life with Him. This is how I was saved from a life of sin and damnation. I accepted God and His Son, Jesus on His terms. There is no other way.

“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” John 14:6

According to Scripture, it is impossible to come to God and His son on our own. The process of Salvation requires someone who knows us personally. Christ is that person to bridge the span from God to me and you with a personal invitation. I eventually accepted the invitation and came to God willingly and with a thankful heart that He thought enough about me and loved me to give me eternal life. I had achieved or done nothing to deserve this gift and am forever in His debt.

The Seventh Trumpet

2010-05-16T09:29:00.005-04:00

Have you ever wondered when the Rapture of the Church would take place? I have, even though Christ told His Disciples that no man can know the day or the hour of the LORD’S return, but we can discern the seasons. Christ instructs us to watch and pray. Even though the time of the Second coming is secret with God the Father, Christ divulged the seasons with them and gave many clues as to what would be happening when the clouds rolled back and revealed Christ in all His glory. This is where we have to use our heads and think like a detective and sniff out the clues for ourselves. As we read the passages, we can determine what has already happened, what is happening, and what is yet to take place. Be sure to read over this very carefully as to not miss any clue. Christ and the Apostle Paul explicitly warn us to not let any man deceive us but to look to the Scripture for ourselves for the truth of matters.

“And as he sat upon the Mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying; tell us, when shall these things be? And what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world? And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in diver’s places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake. And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come. When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand :) Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains: Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take anything out of his house: Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes. And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days! But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the Sabbath day: For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened.” Matthew 24:3-22

The Apostle Paul wrote to the Church of Thessalonica and comforted the Saints with this letter because someone had started a rumor that Christ had already come back and they had missed the Rapture of the Church. Paul told them it was not so because there were certain events that had to take place first.

“Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God. Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?” 2Thessolonians 2:1-5

So Paul gives us three clues on top of what Christ gave His early Disciples. First, there will be a falling away. But just what does Paul mean with this statement? As Christ described the coming events to His Disciples He told them that they would be hated and sought after like criminals, even though they had done nothing wrong. This persecution will make many decide if they really want to follow after somebody that will get them and their family killed. In the last days, when the Beast of Revelation appears, and we will see him and know him, Christians will be hunted down and killed just because of their belief and faith in Christ Jesus. Men and women will turn against us, even our neighbors will tell the authorities where you and I are hiding. This sounds a little like the Holocaust of WWII doesn’t it? According to Christ, there has never been a time like this and will never be again once it has passed.

“And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven. And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations. And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. If any man have an ear, let him hear. He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.” Revelation 13:6-10

So we can read for ourselves that the Beast will appear right on time according to God’s time table and make war with the Saint’s that are still living at the time. Not only will the Beast make war against all Christianity but everyone will be forced to take the mark, possibly a tattoo of some sort again like the ones issued to the Jews of the Holocaust.

“And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.” Revelation 13:16-18

You might be saying at this point and time, but to be sure the Rapture of the Church has taken place by now! Nope, not right yet. That is right; the Rapture of the Church is not in the beginning of the Great Tribulation as many preachers, evangelists’ and Sunday school teachers have been teaching for many years now. They are probably unaware that they are teaching false doctrine or at the very least, error. You might ask, but why won’t they tell the truth and warn us? To be honest and tell it like it really is, most of the preachers, teachers, and evangelists, have gone the way of Balaam, you know, the prophet for hire? That’s right, they have been bought off by the masses with the money to tickle their ears and have forbid them to teach anything that will send the sheeple (the flock of God) into disarray of the establishment. Didn’t Christ and the Apostle Paul warn us of false teachers and those that would deceive us? Well, for the most part, we have been deceived all these years and this is the reason I am warning you now!

No, there will be no Rapture of the Church before the Beast of Revelation appears and yes, we will be persecuted like the Apostles and Saint’s before us were during the reign of the ten wicked Emperors of Rome. You might be asking at this time, but who will make it through this horror? My answer is the Elect of God. God know His own and will protect them no matter come what may, just as He protected so many during the Blitz of England in WWII, and all the bombings of Nazi Germany. Not everyone was a Nazi despite what we have been told. And God protected so many in all of Europe during both WWI and WWII that proclaimed Christ as their Saviour. Why cannot God protect you and me when the Beast comes on the scene? And just what if God wants us to die for Him, would you count that an honor?

“Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus. And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me; Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them.” Revelation 14:12-13

It could be the will of God for us to give our life for Him as to prove our loyalty to our LORD and Saviour just as it was required of the Saint’s that was put to death in the Roman coliseums as sport for the masses. We have to remember, God is no respecter of persons and what was required of those Saint’s in the past is no different for us who are alive today. God treats all His children the same and we can rest assured, He has reasons for what He allows, whether or not we as human beings understand.

You might be asking, but where does the Rapture of the Church take place? Well, we have some very good clues as to where it might take place. As Christ has told us before, no man knows exactly when and where it will happen. Let’s look to the Scriptures for the clues.

The Apostle Paul gives a clue when he described the process in which we will be raptured (caught away) at Christ’s appearing.

“Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.” 1Corinthians 15:51-52

Do you see what I see? Paul says “at the last trump.” The last trumpet sounding is the clue we need to determine the time of the Rapture. But just how many trumps are there? Well according to the Revelation, there are seven.

“And the seven angels which had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound.” Revelation 8:6

But, we need to keep in mind that the sounding of the trumpet is just not a single event. Do you remember the story in the Old Testament about how the children of Israel marched around the walls of Jericho for seven days blowing the trumpet once every time thay circled the city walls? Well, this blowing of the seventh trumpet is somewhat like that performed at Jericho.

“But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets.” Revelation 10:7

Do you see what I see? “In the days of the voice of the seventh angel”, is what the Apostle John says. So, we can see that this sounding is over a period of time. The time it takes for Christ to gather His own, the Bride, in Rapture, to be with him forever and right in the middle of the Great Tribulation.

This will take place where the two prophets of God are killed by the Beast and where God brings them back to life. This is the Rapture of the Church according to John.

“And after three days and an half the Spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them. And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them. And the same hour was there a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell, and in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand: and the remnant were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven.” Revelation 11:11-13

This is where the Seventh Angel sounds the trumpet for days to come and we who are born-again Christians will see Christ Jesus and receive our glorified body.

“And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, the kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.” Revelation 11:15

When the world finds out what is happened, it is really going to get bad. But we as God’s Elect will be with Him and protected from any more harm from the world.

“And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth.” Revelation 11:18

You might be asking, but just who of us came out of the Great Tribulation? The Scripture is very clear on this matter.

“And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. But the rest of the dead (unsaved) lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.” Revelation 20:4-6

Do you see what I see? Yes, the Scripture says there is only one resurrection for the Righteous Saints. “This is the first resurrection.” I cannot understand why so many people will not accept this Scripture. I have heard many different versions of the proceedings of the resurrection and Rapture all my life. But when I read this for myself, it was settled that God knows what is best for His Church and what happens is just what happens. Either way, we are all winners who take a stand for God and His Son, Christ Jesus. Come what may, we are the over comers who side with the King of Glory.

Has God left you alone?

2010-04-04T08:03:00.002-04:00

The hardest experience I think I have ever known was when I was in a fiery trial of my faith. Waiting on God and wondering if He was even around was an excruciating and nerve straining experience for me. When I was much younger, patience wasn’t a virtue and it didn’t come easy. Like most of American’s in the rural South, I wanted to grow up in a hurry, and wanted everything I saw. We learn very early what instant gratification is and use it as a weapon of strategy. Little did I know, I was in store to be revamped or reprogrammed, thus the fiery trials lie ahead. As a new child of God, just born into the family of God, I had this preconceived notion that I knew just what God wanted me to do in this life. All I had to do was just look around at the others in my camp and surmise what God was doing in their lives. To be sure, it couldn’t be that much different for me? As time would tell, I was in for a big surprise. For many years to come, I failed at everything I did or touched. I was constantly met with disappointment and sometimes despair, all because of this preconceived notion that I just knew for sure what God wanted me to do. I even had others, even preachers and Sunday school teachers, to tell me what God wanted me to do. I jumped through everybody’s hoop just to meet disappointment. When I didn’t perform well, others were disappointed in me as well. I’ll tell you now; I have disappointed many people in my life just because of that preconceived idea what God has in store me and my life. At times, I felt that God has abandoned me also.

“Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you…” 1Peter 4:12

Whether we are right or wrong, God has a tendency to go into His stealth mode and observe us from a short distance. If the truth were known, God has always been so close to us, He could put His hand on my shoulder at any given time. The problem is we just don’t know it.

When we enter into a test, God will become anonymous and become the observer of our actions and what we say about the situation. In short, it is God that devises tests and grades us upon our decisions, whether they are right or wrong. We can learn a great deal from reading about the experience Job had with his friends, God, and the devil. Yes, God set the stage of events along with all the key players just for Job’s test of faith. The million dollar question is, will we pass or fail the test. That is entirely up to you and me. I have said this many times and I will say it again, bad things happen to good people. But, I want to reiterate, it is for a very good reason despite the fact we might not ever know the reason.

“Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him. Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man…” James 1:12-13

The whole point of testing is to develop character, faith, patience, and most of all, love and adoration of the Father, Jehovah God. We can see this as we study every character in the Bible. In short, it is about growing up, spiritually. God, just like your parent, wants and desires us to grow, but not with without stress and strain. For the most part, we all seek the path of least resistance, the easy road. But God in His wonderful wisdom, will place road blocks in our path and deviate us into the unknown and scary. Who is it that knows the path that God will choose for you? That’s just it, nobody knows what God wants you to do, where you are to go, and where you are to spend most of your time, nobody knows. It’s all just, best guess isn’t it?

How desperate Job must have been when his very friends accused him of every conceivable sin he might have committed to bring this fiery trial upon himself, his wife, and children. But it wasn’t what Job had done or not done that mattered, it was what God had chosen for Job. Yes, it was what God desired for Job to strengthen him, to refine him, and polish him, so God could see himself better than before, in Job’s life. So, I guess what I am going through and what you might be going through is just to refine us and bring us to the point that God doesn’t see himself in us as He would like to right now.

Over the many years I have traveled with God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, I have learned one thing that I would like to share with you. I feel that if I am going to be tested over and over and over, the best thing I can do is to get determined to pass every test. That’s right, get determined to pass every single test, no matter how intense, no matter how hot, no matter how cold, no matter if it takes my life. If we look at the lives of all the others recorded long before we came into the light, we will see plainly that they went through things that we will probably never be faced with. But by the Grace of God, they persevered by their faith and love for God. God will get you and me through the fire, but if He doesn’t, well, it gets better, let’s go home to be with Him. So as I see it, we can’t lose. We are a winner either way! If God brings us through the fire, it is because He isn’t through with us and we need to go on, plain and simple. On the other hand, if God deems for us to die for the cause, as His Apostles did, as I see it, our time was up anyway, no matter the circumstances. Sooner than later, we must realize we are not on this earth to pursue our fancy. God brought us here to perform that He wills for us and that is our sole purpose for being here. It isn’t for us to like it or not to like it; it is our lot in life that God chooses for us. Complaining about it will get us nowhere with God but just a shorter life on earth. God wants us to trust Him, that’s all. If we don’t ever learn at some point in our lives to trust God, what have we learned? This scenario was played out on the back side of the desert in Arabia when the children of Israel were led out of Egypt by Moses. If they didn’t learn and learn quickly to trust God, well, they died a premature death. That is how it works with God. Do we really know Him like we think we do? I doubt it seriously. The only way we will really get to know Him is to experience Him in the trials of our faith. If we would look close at the Children of Israel, we notice that God was never too far away that He could not respond to them. That’s it! He is never too far away to respond to your call for help in time of need. I’ll guess right now, He is so close to you, He could put His hand on your shoulder, but you just don’t realize it. I feel His presence, don’t you?

“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.” Hebrews 13:5

This is God’s promise to all His children, no matter where you are or what the circumstances. He is right there with you. Acknowledge his presence and He will confirm it with your heart and soul. Jesus lives in our hearts and gives each of us His love and peace of mind, heart, and soul. If something is missing, ask yourself, do you really know Him?

The Perverted Church

2010-04-02T08:44:00.004-04:00

As far back as I can remember I have always been associated with the Church. I grew up in the Church and was married in the Church. Then one day back in 1974 God called on me to preach the Gospel of Christ for the Church. As I get older and deeper in the Church and its inner workings, I cannot recall when I began to see the Church so enamored with the world and corrupt from within. I’m not looking at just one denomination but all denominations in Christendom. All you have to do is just follow the headlines in the news to see just a small portion of the sin and wickedness being perpetrated behind closed doors. I have never seen the time when so called pastors and evangelists are so filled with lust of power, the lust of fame, and the lust of wealth. They are having a field day with the innocent and unwary souls of the Church. But what can I expect; the Bible says that the last days would produce more and more atrocities committed by the Church. The Book of Revelation has a name for this Church age. It is called the Laodicean Church. It is the last stage the Church will go through on this earth. In Revelation, the Apostle John is given seven letters from Christ Jesus, the Head of the Church, to publish. Starting in chapter two it discloses the timely situations of each church. Each one is commended and rebuked by the LORD, but when it comes down to the last church, Christ has nothing to commend it for but only offers a remedy for its demise. The last thing God will perform for the church is to pull its candle after the Rapture has taken place.

“And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God; I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: I counsel thee to buy of me gold (wisdom) tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.” Revelation 3:14-19

“And the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee: for thy merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived. And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth.” Revelation 18:23-24

We might be thinking right now, but how did this happen, how did this come about? Well, for one thing that I can see, there is no repenting to be had from any denomination or from any pastor, preacher, or evangelist. In short, nobody is wrong in their own eyes and they are all right according to their pride and arrogance. I have been associated with many pastors, preachers, and evangelists, across the years and to this day, I have not found one that teaches and preaches the absolute truth of the Holy Scripture. I know in my heart there must be a man of God out there somewhere that does what is right in the eyes of God. However, you could probably count them on one hand. In some way or other, they will deviate here or there to suit their personal agenda to accommodate worldliness only to add to the numbers racket they play on the Church. By numbers racket I am referring to the gimmicks they employ to draw people into the congregation. They will stoop to any level of beguiling, but claim it is for the cause of Christ that motivates them. The truth of the matter is, in these economic times the church is feeling the pains of recession and the coffers are not what they used to be in much better times. It seems to me that every denomination has succumbed to the power of money. The pastors, preachers, and evangelists of today are like the prophet Balaam, a prophet for hire, sold out to his own gain. It is a sad thing to witness in these days when no preacher can talk without mentioning money in some fashion or form. As I see it, the man of God is already on the road to destruction when he says he has to make a living at preaching. He forgot that the Gospel message is free to one and all and demands no payment, dowry, or indulgences. The Apostle Paul explicitly stated he wanted no part in the collection plates of any of the Churches he established along his journey. Paul foresaw that money could be used of Satan to persuade his message. No doubt, this is a sad day for the Church and the picture it paints to the masses. It is no wonder God fearing people have such a hard time in the world today. We are all classed and stereotyped by the action of the marauders of the Church.

In II Peter chapter two, the Apostle Peter writes about the Laodicean church and its role in the world during the last days.

“But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.” 2Peter 2:1-3

That’s right, false prophets, false preachers, false teachers, that pervert the Gospel of Christ into a health, wealth, and prosperity gospel. The Apostle Paul warned us about anyone that taught a different gospel and what would happen to them.

“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.” Galatians 1:6-8

These men and women fulfill their lusts and ambitions when they are in front of congregations. Yes, they are handsome and pretty to look at, but on the inside, they are dead. The truth of the matter is that they do not know God nor do they fear Him. If they really did fear God, they could not perform for the Church in the manner they perform. They will say and do anything to promote them and make more money in the process.

“Having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin; beguiling unstable souls: an heart they have exercised with covetous practices; cursed children: Which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness;…” 2Peter 2:14-15

They are very easy to spot. They dress themselves very expensively, they drive very expensive cars, they live in expensive homes, and some even have their own jet. You have to be careful; they come in all shapes and sizes and are at different levels of entry of the Church. The buildings they build are lavish and they will lock everyone that ventures into the congregation into financial bondage. I call them the ‘taskmasters of the pulpit.’

“These are wells without water, clouds that are carried with a tempest; to whom the mist of darkness is reserved for ever. For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error. While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage. For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them. But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.” 2Peter 2:17-22

I know of a man here in this area that claims that he has just answered the call to preach the Gospel of Christ. I feel sorry for him because he is green and innocent and doesn’t know what he is in store for. Little does he realize if he is truly called by the Holy Spirit of God to preach, he will be in store for extreme testings of fire, some to the point of despair and discouragement. I am speaking from experience, God tests everything by fire, especially His chosen men. If you don’t believe me, just ask my wife. She has witnessed everything and has been right there with me in the fire just like the three Hebrew children in the King’s furnace.

If you hold great aspirations of being a preacher, as I see it, you have a choice, either become like the prophet Balaam or run for your life from the pulpit. I know from my own personal experience. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. If God truly wants you to carry the Gospel Message exclusively for Him, look no further than the Old Testament prophets. Examine their lives and then tell me it looks promising to be a preacher, pastor, or evangelist. Just remember what happened to all the Apostles of Christ. They gave their lives for Christ and His Gospel Message. No less will be asked for anyone who takes up the cross and follows Christ. Martyrdom is expected and rewarded by Christ Himself. He set the example and expects no less from anyone who claims to be His child or servant.

For myself, I want to say that I am honored to be counted worthy to carry the Gospel Message for Christ, no matter what the others do or say, my calling is from God and His Son, my LORD. I have learned over the years that it costs dearly to be counted worthy of Christ, but it isn’t over yet. Temptations abound for every man of God and it is only by His Grace that I make through each day.

Will we as Christian's go through the Great Tribulation?

2010-03-28T11:03:00.002-04:00

In all the years of my studies of the Bible, I feel this question is one of the most sought after of Christian’s today. I also feel that the church as a whole is in denial about this subject of the Great Tribulation, hereby referred to as GT in this writing. There are quite a few references to the GT by the OT prophets and of course, the Revelation of John. The Revelation of the Apostle John is an open book of the coming apocalypse that the LORD Jesus commented on frequently. The Gospel of Matthew chapter 24 and 25 is most interesting to me because it reveals and discloses mysteries that the Apostle John did not expound upon. All the prophetic writing welcomes each other in unison and appreciation of the other. In short, the GT was revealed to us as orchestrated by God’s own Holy Spirit. As for the answer to the proposed question, the answer is no, but, there is substantial scriptural evidence that Christian’s will go into the beginning or the first three years of the GT and will know the Beast of Revelation. The appearing of the Beast is the bench mark of the beginning of the GT lasting seven years.

I was taught from the outset that Christian’s would be ‘caught up’ in‘Rapture’ before the Beast of Revelation shows up and we would not witness the horror to come as God’s chosen. Over the years of my study of the Bible on my own, I have been amazed to discover this teaching is quite an error of most preachers and evangelists today. I want you to know up front that not all preachers hold this view because I have run across a few that teach the truth. It comes down to picking and choosing by the leadership of the Holy Spirit, after the fact of listening to them over time. I am not a date setter nor do I believe that we can know for sure when Christ Jesus is coming back, but, Christ did tell His Disciples to watch and pray. We will be able to discern the times and seasons.

“Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.” Matthew 25:13

For me, I believe the most intriguing place to start in the Scripture is Revelation chapter 20 and verses 4-6. It seems to cut to the chase about just who is going to see and be affected by the Beast and the difficulties he imposes on the very Elect of God.

“And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.” Revelation 20:4-6

Do you see with me what the Apostle John has stated? Verse 4 states, “…and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.” When I read this over and over for myself, I was amazed to discover and realized that the “Rapture of the Church” had not yet happened when the Beast arrived on the scene. If you will notice with me in the Scripture, the Bible clearly states that the first resurrection took place after the fact of the disclosure of the Beast, his mark, and his rage poured out upon those who would not take his mark, somewhere along the three or three and a half year mark. Let’s read it again. In verse 4 it states;

“And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. The second sentence of verse 5 states; “…This is the first resurrection.”

Wow! What a discovery! This isn’t the only Scripture that gives us a clue to the timing of the Rapture and Second Coming of Christ for the Church. You only have to look at what the Apostle Paul wrote to the Church of Thessalonica.

“Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God. Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things? And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he (Holy Spirit) who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.” 2Thessalonians 2:1-7

This Scripture has a truck load of clues in itself. First, look with me at the statement of Paul in verse 3. “Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition…” Just what does Paul mean when he says there will be a falling away first? This implies that many professing Christians today will be deceived by the false prophets and teachers of our day. I have never witnessed a time where so call Christians live such a loose and sinful life in front of others. The licentiousness of so called Christians today is appalling. One great example is to look at the Mardi-Gras in New Orleans each year and where one witnesses that Christianity is suffering blight by wickedness and lewdness in the name of the Church. Let’s face the truth; the Church is losing its influence and power every day that goes by. One good bench mark is by watching the laws of the land being changed or done away with each passing year. It most definitely shows we are in the last days of the Laodicean Church age mentioned in Revelation chapter 3.

“And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God; I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: I counsel thee to buy of me gold(wisdom)tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.” Revelation 3:14-19

Secondly, Paul says in last part of verse 3; “…and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition…” Who is Paul talking about? The Beast himself, yes a man that is coming at us embodying all the power of Satan. This ‘man of sin’ is going to stalk anyone who does not take his mark to buy, sell, or trade.
“And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.” Revelation 13:7

We might be asking right now, but why would God let this happen to His people? There are many reasons I can think of and there is one verse that sticks out in my mind.

“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls: Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it.” Matthew 13:45-46

Little do we realize that right now, God is culturing His ‘Pearl of Great Price’, i.e., the Elect of God, the Church. Many people, especially of the church, have a real problem with pain and suffering. Let me ask you, do you really think that God would exempt any of us from pain and suffering when He sent His only Son to die for you and me at Calvary?

“For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ.” 2Cointhians 1:5

“And whether we be afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation, which is effectual in the enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer: or whether we be comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation.” 2Corinthians 1:6

“And our hope of you is stedfast, knowing, that as ye are partakers of the sufferings, so shall ye be also of the consolation.” 2Corinthians 1:7

I have always understood that our God is just, righteous, and most holy. He is fair as fair can be when it comes to the treatment of His much chosen Elect. All we have to do is look around in the Scripture and see for ourselves that if one of God’s Elect suffers anything in this life, many others will suffer also. God is NO respecter of persons!

“Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons…” Acts 10:34
So, we can attest that we are just waiting and watching to see when the Beast of the Revelation will appear on the scene and start taking action with all those who resist his mark and his decrees of lawlessness across the world. As I see it, the true believers in Christ Jesus will go through a time of refinement by being tested of their faith no matter how little or much. I can look back in the annals of history and see for myself the anguish, pain, and suffering of the afflicted believers who brought us the written Word of God. Many died as martyrs to propagate the Gospel of Christ and His written Word. Why should we be any different? We must think very highly of ourselves to think that this cannot happen to us in our day. The naked truth about the whole matter is that Christians today have become so enamored with the world that they have the mindset that if they act and look like the world, they won’t be bothered by the world. Well, that way of thinking isn’t going to float with God.

“Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? And what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? Or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? For ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.” 2Corinthians 6:14-18

The Scripture states that those who endure to the end will have joy and everlasting life. We will be tried and tested as going through the refiner’s fire only to be proven by fire. God tests everything by fire.

“These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” John 16:33

“For what if some did not believe? Shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect? God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, that thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged.” Romans 3:3-4

“He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.” Revelation 21:7-8

Is there really life after death?

2010-03-27T07:39:00.002-04:00

Just how many of us really believe in life after death or eternal life? Well, to be a child of God that concept is a must for anyone to go to Heaven, the ultimate eternal goal of almost everyone. Not everyone believes in eternal life but some entertain the idea of reincarnation. To be Born- Again means the individual believes in the saving, keeping, and cleansing power of the blood of Christ which also guarantees eternal life. Little do people really know it is God that calls us to Him and not the other way around? For the unsaved, skeptics, and atheists, this is just a pipe dream and a fantasy of sorts with a religious backdrop. You know, the kind of stuff Hollywood looks for to demonize Christians. Searching for truth? We have to go back to the Bible for the truth. The Bible is the only source of truth to be had on this sin ridden planet.

“But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light: Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.” 1Peter 2:9-10

The Scripture gives the Born-Again, the Elect of God, a promise of an afterlife with Christ in their eternal presence. Because Jesus lives, we shall have life and life more abundantly. The Holy Trinity is eternal and so are we His people. The Word of God even gives us a clue to what we will be doing after Christ comes back and establishes His Kingdom on earth. We have all heard of the Kingdom of Heaven and this is where it culminates into tangible reality. The mystery is that the Kingdom of Heaven resides in our hearts as a child of God and is already here in spirit. The Bible is full of clues as to what the Kingdom of Heaven is and how it operates. I have always been intrigued as to how the Kingdom of God operates and its economy.

“Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.” Revelation 20:6

The Kingdom of God, as I have discovered thru research and study of the Bible, is somewhat the opposite of life here on earth. To get an understanding of this concept we have to look no further than the Beatitudes in the Gospel of Matthew, even though most all the Old Testament Prophets wrote about Christ’s Millennial Kingdom. Here we get the ground work of rules and the Law of Christ, or laws of the land, so to speak. In this teaching of the Beatitudes, Christ is trying to convey the different aspects of the Kingdom. Christ is trying to get us to see there will be a need for change and is giving all of us the sneak preview of what is coming at us in the future. In fact, the Holy Spirit of God is constantly making changes in my life as to acclimate to His new Kingdom. All of us who claim Christ Jesus as LORD and Saviour are a work in progress that culminates at His Second Coming. It is going to take some getting used to after we leave this old world for a little while at the ‘Rapture of the Church’. In short, Christ along with us, comes back to defeat the enemies of Israel at Armageddon, and reclaim the ancient City of Jerusalem and His nation of Israel for a thousand years with Christ, as the Prince on David’s throne in Jerusalem. By the way, the name Jeru-salem actually means ‘pursuit of peace’. This vision might be a little fuzzy for some to see and understand, but don’t worry any, Christ will make sure His Elect get there and we all get a copy of the program.

I have always been intrigued as to just what my role will be in the Kingdom of God. Another Scripture clue is given in Revelation chapters 1 verse 5&6 and Revelation chapter 5 and verses 9&10.

“And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, and hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.” Rev. 1:5-6

“And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.” Revelation 5:9-10

So we get another clue here that there are some of us who will discharge the duties of a king and others, priests of Christ’s appointment. Let’s don’t get our hopes up just yet. Little do we know just what qualifies a child of God for these duties? This where it gets tricky for a lot of us, because the Scripture plainly states:

“Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:19

In this Scripture we get another clue as to what qualifies the individual, obedience to Christ here in this life. Not very many pass that test.

And then there is the clincher of all times, our works here on earth.

“And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them.” Revelation 14:13

Yes, we read it right; our works performed here on earth determines our new found status in the Kingdom of God. We know from the previous Scripture of 1 Peter 2:9 that “we are a chosen priesthood”, so for the most part, we will assume we will perform the roll of priests in the presence of Christ on earth. But who then is qualified to rule for Christ in the Kingdom? We will be surprised to know it probably will not be any preacher, or TV Evangelists, or anybody that is famous or notable in this life. We can get a clue to how God chooses His man or woman for special duty from the Bible.

We can glean the answers to a lot of questions of how God operates from a simple prayer from an obscure woman named Hanna. Hanna and her husband was almost desperate to bear a child and begged God to allow her to have a baby. Well in time and according to the will of God, her prayer was answered and as a token of appreciation and adoration of God, Hanna gave the child back to God in His service of priest of the Temple. Hanna, in her humble wisdom of God discloses the wonders and operations of God and His Kingdom. This sincere woman held more truths about God than many men of God I know of today.

“And Hannah prayed, and said, My heart rejoiceth in the LORD, mine horn is exalted in the LORD: my mouth is enlarged over mine enemies; because I rejoice in thy salvation. There is none holy as the LORD: for there is none beside thee: neither is there any rock like our God. Talk no more so exceeding proudly; let not arrogancy come out of your mouth: for the LORD is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed. The bows of the mighty men are broken, and they that stumbled are girded with strength. They that were full have hired out themselves for bread; and they that were hungry ceased: so that the barren hath born seven; and she that hath many children is waxed feeble. The LORD killeth, and maketh alive: he bringeth down to the grave, and bringeth up. The LORD maketh poor, and maketh rich: he bringeth low, and lifteth up. He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill, to set them among princes, and to make them inherit the throne of glory: for the pillars of the earth are the LORD'S, and he hath set the world upon them. He will keep the feet of his saints, and the wicked shall be silent in darkness; for by strength shall no man prevail. The adversaries of the LORD shall be broken to pieces; out of heaven shall he thunder upon them: the LORD shall judge the ends of the earth; and he shall give strength unto his king, and exalt the horn of his anointed. 1Samuel 2:1-10

So we can see through Hanna’s prayer what it is that motivates God to choose from amongst His people to anoint to positions of grace and responsibility and answer to God alone. In this next verse we can recognize those newly appointed kings and those martyrs who overcame the beast reigning with the LORD forever in the Kingdom of Heaven on earth.

“And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.” Revelation 20:4

We have to keep in mind for our sakes and our futures sake, that what we do and say here on earth really counts for something and our actions here will have weight on the appointment for duty in the Kingdom. We have at our disposal all the necessary tools and equipment to prepare us for the future with Christ. His name is the Holy Spirit. But, the secret to success with Christ is to be obedient here and now and we accomplish that by His power and His Spirit. If we seek fame or fortune, wealth and riches, here and now, don’t expect to make it big in the Kingdom of God. God is looking for men and women who count themselves as dung and humble themselves in His presence, continually. They have no name in this life and are obscure to the world. The Apostle John discovered for himself and told the secret of success with Christ and His Kingdom.

“He (Christ) must increase, but I must decrease. John 3:30

My prayer for you is that LORD Jesus will bless you as you grow in grace for the Kingdom of God and all His glory.

No Fear of God?

2010-03-21T07:41:00.005-04:00

“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.” Proverbs 1:7

I have heard many Christian’s proclaim that they don’t really fear God because they know that God is a God of love and mercy. I guess what they say is because of their spiritual understanding of God and attribute their attitude to their limited knowledge of God. It is a misunderstanding on our part that God actually desires each of us to fear Him and love him at the same time. The correct understanding of the term of fear is important and is most often overlooked. This is accounted for the misunderstanding of the different cultures, both East and West.

When I was a little boy, I grew up in the love of my parents because they nurtured me and took great pains to see me grow up into adulthood with the proper attitude and demeanor. No doubt there were times I spread my little wings to test the waters, so to speak, just to find out that my parents had authority and above all, power over me. This power was demonstrated when I got out of line in front of them. Usually, it was because I didn’t get my way about something or, just for the sake of pride and arrogance. I praise God today that I didn’t come from an abusive home like so many of us my age did.

In Biblical terms, fear means reverence of or a reverential fear of God. This term doesn’t imply a cowering; face covering, vertical posture, in His presence as most would like to think. It simply means, we have an understanding of who God really is and this can only be acquired by reading of the many Old Testament writings handed down to us. In this respect, this is why the Old Testament is so important to us. In the writings we gain knowledge about God and soon discover His many wonderful attributes. He can be anything He wants to be depending on how we approach Him. It really depends on us and our attitude about Him.

For instance, if I so choose to approach Him out of arrogance and pride such as demonstrated by cursing and taking His name in vain, or totally ignore His presence every day, one would expect God to reprimand me severely and bring instant judgment upon me. But just because God doesn’t act upon my arrogance immediately, one would get the feeling that he or she is in control of their lives and continues to produce this insubordination. Then as time passes by and the event that caused the insubordination is forgotten, Almighty God decides to move against the individual and judgment is administered with great bewilderment. We might ask ourselves, why did God do that to me? Or why has God turned against me? The truth is, God always sees us in any light and fashion. We cannot hide from His all knowing presence. Thus, sometimes our reaping is delayed to the most opportune time as to increase our understanding of God and His infinite wisdom. We don’t understand God; let’s admit it now and forever. His ways are so much higher than our ways He is almost untouchable as is portrayed in the Old Testament. If He seems untouchable, there is a very good reason for His action, despite our misunderstanding on His part.

“For the wicked boasteth of his heart's desire, and blesseth the covetous, whom the LORD abhorreth. The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts. His ways are always grievous; thy judgments are far above out of his sight: as for all his enemies, he puffeth at them. He hath said in his heart, I shall not be moved: for I shall never be in adversity. His mouth is full of cursing and deceit and fraud: under his tongue is mischief and vanity.” Psalms 10:3-7

Then there is the opposite side of the coin to where God administers problems, setbacks, and sometimes outright misery upon His children. This scenario presents a real problem for a lot of people. It has caused many a person to turn their back on God and walk right out of His presence forever, or so they imagine. The entire Book of Job reveals a lot of this and how Job dealt with His maker and vice versa. Little do we know, God wants a personal relationship with each of us and thus the many different approaches and events that take place in our lives? Forgive me if it seems I’m trying to explain away the reality of pain, heartache, and most often misery. But it is only because I have experienced these things for myself. It is a fact that bad things happen to good people and in the case of Job, a righteous man of God. But why, we ask? Why does God resort to such drastic measures when all he had to do was just let us know what He wanted from us in the first place?

“And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.” Job 28:28

Well, for a fact, Almighty God tried that a long time ago back in the Garden of Eden. If there were ever a couple of people who really had it made, it was definitely Adam and Eve. We all know the story and how they fell from GRACE only to be subject to LAW. This is our entire story in a nutshell. We have all been born with the fallen nature of Adam and Eve and under the LAW when we enter this world and that is the reason God approaches us the way He does. The problem is that we have this preconceived idea that we are innocent and haven’t done anything wrong against God. But little do we know and understand that just being born in this world we are automatically an enemy of God much to our ignorance of this situation. In short, we have to be taught that we are against God, our very maker, at the outset of our lives. Therefore, we learn to fear God first. That is the Law of God.

“Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought?” Job 1:9

There is HOPE and there is a remedy for all this anguish. The remedy is Christ Jesus at Calvary. God sent His Son Jesus to rescue each of us out from under the LAW by giving Himself a ransom for us all. King David expresses his gratitude towards God and His mercy while looking towards Calvary by writing this Psalm.

“Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.” Psalms 2:11-12

“The secret of the LORD is with them that fear him; and he will shew them his covenant.” Psalms 25:14

That covenant is Jesus and His saving grace that we all are in need of. There are many, many verses in the Bible that substantiate the fact that we must fear God in our lives for our sake and for the sake of others. Yes, for others also. Our belief of fear and trust in the living Jehovah God is transpired to everyone who comes in contact with us. This is so important to understand that many lives and souls depend on just how much we fear and believe God is who He says He is. If we don’t believe, if we don’t fear, how can we expect others to believe what we have in our possession? Our perception of God is very important and will have eternal repercussions upon our lives.

“Come, ye children, hearken unto me: I will teach you the fear of the LORD.”
Psalms 34:11

“Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God.” Proverbs 2:5

Does Free-will really exist? Conclusion

2010-03-14T09:14:00.002-04:00

King Josiah no doubt had his task cut out before him because of the past wickedness of his father’s (kings and leaders of the nation). But during Josiah’s reign the entire nation of Israel experienced a revival unprecedented in their history.

“And there was no Passover like to that kept in Israel from the days of Samuel the prophet; neither did all the kings of Israel keep such a Passover as Josiah kept, and the priests, and the Levites, and all Judah and Israel that were present, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.” 2Ch 35:18

We would think that God would be pleased with all that Josiah did and performed magnificently for Jehovah God. God did promote a time of blessing and prosperity and the people came back to God, but there was some unfinished business that God had to take care of. Little do we know about the Law of Sowing and Reaping, or The Law of Cause and Effect but, it was an established law that is conveniently overlooked every day we live.

“Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.” Galatians 6:7-10

Who is it that keeps score on our past, present, and future? Is it Allah? Is it Buddha? No, it is our very creator, Jehovah God. And just because a person doesn’t believe this law doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. Nobody wants to keep the score on every human being because they don’t pertain to us on someone on the other side of the world, I for one wouldn’t. We just brush it aside and say, I don’t need some else’s problems, I have enough of my own. But, guess what, Jehovah God does. Little do we know that what others do, no matter their geographical location, has some effect on you and I. We are all interlocked together on this globe and we feel the effects of others from the past and present which in turn has grave effects on our future. For example, just look at our judicial system alone. Many of those laws where integrated and adapted from antiquity from Grecian law, Roman law, and Germania law. In short, what the past ages produced is being projected into our lives as we live each day. Whether we like it or not is irrelevant, there are consequences for our actions and we will affect somebody somewhere along the way, it guaranteed by the Word of God.

“Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.” Galatians 6:1-2

This one of the reasons we need to study the Word of God because we can learn from the mistakes of others. There are great Biblical truths to be discovered when we read the Bible and it does have an effect on our lives in this day.

Back to the subject of Josiah, I feel that most of his motivation was to right the wrongs of the past. But just how would one go about setting things right? Sacrificing a million lambs should suffice, shouldn’t it? It is well recorded that he spent every waking hour re-establishing the worship system for Jehovah God that was well neglected by his father’s. This should work shouldn’t it? Let us reason for a moment.

As I mentioned before, Josiah’s father’s committed horrible, abominable, hideous, sins of Idolatry, infanticide, and sexual perversion with no remorse or regret. It sounds a little like today, doesn’t it? Who do we think God will hold accountable for those actions. Well, the individual of course, we might say. But God goes further with this reasoning, much further than we realize and are comfortable with. God also will look to the congregation, or nation of which collectively took part in the debauchery. In short, everyone involved partook of the same sin cup without doing anything about it. It is sin by association and sin by omission.

Josiah and his generation partook of some very good times and walked in the light of God, but God in His infinite wisdom soon decided it was time to take Josiah out of the way to pave the way of justice and righteousness of the land itself. We have forgotten about the little ones, the innocents, the babies, sacrificed to pagan gods. God hears there screams and cries of anguish coming up from their horrendous deaths. The land itself was reeking of the blood of innocents and God was going to do something about it and is going to do something about it.

“Thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will bring evil upon this place, and upon the inhabitants thereof, even all the curses that are written in the book which they have read before the king of Judah: Because they have forsaken me, and have burned incense unto other gods, that they might provoke me to anger with all the works of their hands; therefore my wrath shall be poured out upon this place, and shall not be quenched.”
2Ch 34:24-25

Yes, the day of God’s judgment and restitution was nigh. And to bring it on, God had to remove his righteous man to do it. We don’t see or much less understand God’s time table or the big picture of all eternity past and present, but God sees all and knows all and therefore acts accordingly to the very laws He established so very long ago, long before you and I arrived to see the damage already done.

“After all this, when Josiah had prepared the temple, Necho king of Egypt came up to fight against Carchemish by Euphrates: and Josiah went out against him.” 2Ch 35:20

“And Jeremiah lamented for Josiah: and all the singing men and the singing women spake of Josiah in their lamentations to this day, and made them an ordinance in Israel: and, behold, they are written in the lamentations. Now the rest of the acts of Josiah, and his goodness, according to that which was written in the law of the LORD, And his deeds, first and last, behold, they are written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah.” 2Ch 35:25-27

Can we learn something about this? Can we see the impact Josiah had on his people and the land itself? Can we see that there are repercussions for our actions or our apathy and complacency? Can we see that despite what we think or believe, we will reap what we sow whether our actions are good or bad? Can our president and leaders invoke God's wrath upon our nation? Is there really such a thing as Free-will, or is it the God given privilege of making the right choices? It is for each of us to decide and be ready to live by it, in light of being judged by it, one day soon.

“Free-will carried many a soul to Hell, but never a soul to Heaven” Charles Spurgeon

Does Free-will really exist? Part 2

2010-03-13T06:02:00.002-05:00

For the next point I would like to mention that despite all the efforts and good works that Josiah performed, there was still the problem of past sins committed by their fathers or past kings.

For instance there was King Ahaz and his poor performance record.

“Ahaz was twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem: but he did not that which was right in the sight of the LORD, like David his father: For he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel, and made also molten images for Baalim. Moreover he burnt incense in the valley of the son of Hinnom, and burnt his children in the fire, after the abominations of the heathen whom the LORD had cast out before the children of Israel. He sacrificed also and burnt incense in the high places, and on the hills, and under every green tree.” 2Ch 28:1-4

And there was Manasseh and his poor performance record.

“Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty and five years in Jerusalem: But did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, like unto the abominations of the heathen, whom the LORD had cast out before the children of Israel. For he built again the high places which Hezekiah his father had broken down, and he reared up altars for Baalim, and made groves, and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served them. And he caused his children to pass through the fire in the valley of the son of Hinnom: also he observed times, and used enchantments, and used witchcraft, and dealt with a familiar spirit, and with wizards: he wrought much evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger.” 2Ch 33:1-3, 6

And there was King Amon and the record of his poor performance.

“Amon was two and twenty years old when he began to reign, and reigned two years in Jerusalem. But he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, as did Manasseh his father: for Amon sacrificed unto all the carved images which Manasseh his father had made, and served them; And humbled not himself before the LORD, as Manasseh his father had humbled himself; but Amon trespassed more and more. And his servants conspired against him, and slew him in his own house. But the people of the land slew all them that had conspired against king Amon; and the people of the land made Josiah his son king in his stead.” 2Ch 33:21-25

There are numerous more that sinned against Jehovah God and there those who did it right in the sight of the LORD. It is all recorded and in many places throughout the Scriptures. My point to all this is to bring out the choices that all of these men were presented with. Did they really act upon Free-will or were they motivated by Satan and his demons to perform these atrocious acts of child sacrifice and Idol worship?

I feel at this time we tend to get the terms a little confused and don’t realize what we say and what we really mean by it. For instance, I had a young lady to remark to me she didn’t believe that we did not have and exercise a free will and rejected any idea that we respond to the whims and wishes of the supernatural spirit world. Of course, with no success, I tried to explain to her that, yes, we have and are presented with a plethora of choices all the daylong but, just who is it that is presenting the choices?

The long and short of it is that we are maneuvered all day, every day by forces unbeknownst to us most of the time. There are those who do recognized and expound upon the fact that there are demonic spirit forces driving us to perform their desires for us, such as the accepted witches of our day and those who are spiritually wise by the way of wisdom from God. Some spirits are very powerful and some, not so powerful as to give us a choices in the matter. Any way we look at it, if it appeases the flesh, we will perform magnificently for the demonic spirit world, but on the other hand, if we are to perform for the Holy God of the universe, performance requires His power to perform those things He desires of each of us. Whether we accept it or not, the truth is, we are at war over our very souls, every day we live. God’s power and Holy Angel’s battle over us every day and Satan has proved to be a most worthy opponent in this battle.

“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.”
Ephesians 6:12-13

Does Free-will really exist?

2010-03-11T18:32:00.002-05:00

I have been studying in the book of II Chronicle’s chapters 34 and 35 of lately and have discovered some most astounding Bible truths. This is the recording of the installation of a new king named Josiah. King Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign and reined for thirty-one years. I was quite amazed when it dawned on me that this lad and his life was recorded for posterities’ sake so you and I could go back to it and glean the truths of Scripture. It wasn’t enough to say that just his most noble deeds were recorded while he was alive, but goes even deeper and further to record the integrity in which he carried out his deeds. It speaks volumes about an individual when the details are carefully integrated throughout the writings for example verse 2 which states:

“And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, and walked in the ways of David his father, and declined neither to the right hand, nor to the left.” 2Ch 34:2

It is concise no doubt, but for the Word of God to have on record the moral stamina, integrity, and internal fortitude portrayed on just a few short sentences is most amazing. This scripture is examining Josiah’s entire life span in one sentence, astounding! I often wonder how it will be recorded of my life when I have passed off the earth. Could someone examine my life and record it in one sentence? Well, all I know is that God will have all the records on hand when I stand in front of Him at the Bema Seat of Judgment. My turn will most certainly come one day.

I feel that King Josiah was highly motivated to perform the right thing at all times, but where did this motivation come from? Verse 3 and 19 gives us a clue.

“For in the eighth year of his reign, while he was yet young, he began to seek after the God of David his father: and in the twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem from the high places, and the groves, and the carved images, and the molten images.” 2Ch 34:3

“And it came to pass, when the king had heard the words of the law, that he rent his clothes.” 2Ch 34:19

You might be thinking by now, but Josiah sought God and therefore was motivated to do the right thing in his life. It just might seem that way but we have to compare precept upon precept to get to the truth. The fact is that no one seeks the LORD without first having been sought by God. There is ample Scripture to prove this point and this amazing verse adds it all up.

“As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.” Romans 3:10-11

So we can see clearly that it really wasn’t Josiah seeking after God but highly motivated by God to seek Him.

My firm belief is that the idea of Free-will and the omniscient, omnipresent, sovereign Jehovah God cannot co-exist.

Arguing With the LORD

2010-03-09T18:03:00.001-05:00

Today was not a fun day for my wife. It turned out to be her turn for jury duty. She asked me to get her up this morning when I got up around 5:00 am. Needless to say, she was not a happy camper. I didn’t know it until later, but she had been up all night with some kind of stomach bug and didn’t get in bed till around 3:00 this morning. I got up, got dressed and had my coffee with my morning devotions and prayed real hard for Sue because I knew she was going to be one ill puppy this day. As it turned out, I saw her in the bathroom light and it didn’t look good. She had already started gripping and complaining about how to get out of jury duty somehow some way. There just had to be a way.

I really felt sorry for her knowing how bad she really felt but, down deep in my heart I knew that if the LORD didn’t want her to go, He would have made a way for her to avoid it altogether. This wasn’t the case. As it came closer to time to leave, I gave her a big hug and a kiss and said that there was a definite reason for the LORD wanting her to be there in that courtroom today. I could hear her dropping things in the bathroom and slamming drawers in the bedroom. It was going to be a rough day.

I went on to work and wanted to call and check on her but I knew she would have her cell phone turned off, so I just prayed for her all day. A little after lunch time I got the call I was looking for. She was just amazed at the way the LORD had orchestrated her day and come to find out when it came time to either swear in or by affirmation, she was the only one in the court room to affirm to tell the truth and avoid swearing on the Holy Bible. As soon as she stood up, others in the room soon followed her lead and started popping up all over that court room. When she told me all about it, it brought tears to my eyes and I praised the LORD for an opportunity for Sue to stand up for her LORD.

During the day at the court house she was still feeling poorly, but you know the LORD walked with her all day long and introduced her to new Christians who very soon became her new friends. Sue told me she even had an opportunity to do some grief counseling with one of her new acquaintances that was struggling with having to put her mother in a rest home just to watch her pass away soon. The guilt was tremendous on that lady and Sue had just the right words straight from the LORD. God is so good to us and even when we feel bad and gripe and complain, the LORD knows just what will be the right medicine we need. He always knows what’s best for His child.

Starting Challenging Things

2010-03-07T11:43:00.001-05:00

I received an email from my friend and Sister in the LORD, Debbie, suggesting that I begin blogging with the subject of starting new things and the challenges it presents. Such as, this new blog I started today.

I have been wrestling with this idea for quite some time now and had tried to keep up with the flow of things on Face Book. That didn’t work for me and I got discouraged from posting on it. But today was different. I found myself tugged on by the LORD to start this blogging on my terms and not someone else’s.
When I want to or have the heart felt need to start something new, I have to remember that it pays to start off small and grow with it, no matter what the ‘it’ may be. I am reminded that I was not born hardwired for anything but will have the daily challenge of learning and adapting to change. WOW, we don’t like change do we?

I remember that time in my new Christian life that I didn’t know very much about the LORD, the church, or anything about my responsibilities of being a child of God. I was just a babe in Christ and soon learned I needed help with this new challenge. I was instructed by the guidance and love of other Christian’s to read my Bible as often as I could, pray to the LORD, and be sure to attend church somewhere close by. I soon realized that was very good advice and it sure worked for me. God loves us all and His desire is to see His children grow up naturally and healthy under His all knowing and all seeing watchful eye. We might not ever be masters at what we do, but we sure have a better understanding of the subject as we grow older day after day.

Separation of Church and State

2010-03-07T11:08:00.000-05:00

On the question of how do I feel about the separation of the church and state from my Brother Keith, I will respond in this manner.

I never have quite held a favorable opinion of a state run church and that is one of the things I love about America. In recorded history, many countries have used the church, and the operative word here is “used”, to acquire control of the people within those countries. Personally, I believe this way of doing things leads the church into headlong corruption and government tampering with spiritual matters. Such as, is it right for a Christian to bear arms against his fellow man? The state would have the church to say yes, it the rightful duty of every citizen including Christian’s to bear arms against his fellow man as it did in the case of Henry the Eighth of England and every other European country on the planet.

On the other hand, our LORD, stated in the Bible, “... Then saith he unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's; and unto God the things that are God's.” (Matthew 22:21)

So, I feel that everyone owes to the state that which is required of him or her, but not on a volunteer basis. We have to remember, we are the children of the LORD and we are here to propagate the Kingdom of God and not the government and its belief system. We as Christians in America get all too caught up in patriotism to be of any good for the cause of Christ and His Gospel. You will find out that you cannot serve two masters, for you will love one and hate the other. I have always felt that if a Christian tried to straddle the fence on the state and church, they would soon weary of the tedium of balance. The truth is, there is no balance between the state and the church and there never will be. Sooner than later, one will over ride the other and a compromise will ensue. It is a hard lesson to learn that God doesn’t care a thing about compromise, in fact, He abhors it. This is the lesson most Christians will fail with God in their walk with the LORD.
What is your opinion?

Personal Testimony

2010-03-07T10:03:00.000-05:00

Well, I have received two emails from friends who are happy that I have begun a new work, blogging. My good friend and Brother in Christ known as Tom, has asked me to share a little of my testimony to start things off.

Most all my friends know that I was born and raised in Carteret County, Morehead City to be exact. In 1964, I was introduced to the Gospel of Christ by a visiting preacher. That summer in July, my parents and I were visiting a little country church in the small southern town of Newport, NC. I was saved that night as a result of the truth of God’s Word. The truth was, I learned for the very first time that I was sinner and on my way to a devil’s hell. I was just 10 years old. I was thinking, now I am just ten and what could I have done that would be so bad to qualify me to go to hell? When the preacher read the Scripture, “All have sinned and come short of the glory of God”, something happened to my hearing and my heart at the same time. I felt I was having a heart attack. I had never felt like this before and later on found out that it was the working of God’s Holy Spirit dealing with me sitting in that church pew. Before the night was over in that revival meeting, I thought I was going to burst if I didn’t get to the altar and talk to God. It was God wanting to talk to me, I found out. He sought me out and revealed to me the wretched condition my heart was in and I wasn’t even aware of it. I gladly received the LORD into my life and my life has been an adventure all these years. It was the best move I had or ever will have made in all my life. I never knew why or how much God really loved me until I surrendered my all to him as a little boy. He is the LORD of my life and I am so happy to be His child and a member of the family of Jehovah God.

How did you come to know the LORD? I would love to read about it. Please share it with me so we can be a blessing to all that come to this site.

To begin with:

2010-03-07T06:45:00.000-05:00

Hello everyone, my name is Albert. I would like to introduce myself before I get started on a subject. I would like to state that I am a born-again Christian because you will understand better just where I am coming from in my remarks and posts. That classification has today taken on a different meaning than it used to. By that I mean that we who are born-again have been stereo typed into feigns, crazies, and witch hunters of sorts. I want people to hear and see for themselves that everyone who claims to be born-again are not always on the same page. I mean, everyone of us have different points of view, backgrounds, and beliefs, but still claim to be born-again. I feel that all that I am asking is for people to get to know me before they stereotype me and become my judge over my life. I feel that I have an open mind of sorts because I enjoy conversation and understanding of what has become truth in my life and in the lives of others. Truth to you could very well mean something entirely different to you than it does to me. We will have to explore that idea on down the road.

I want you to know that personally I have come to the final conclusion to all my questions and answers, so far, based on the Bible. I consider it to be the final authority because it is God's Holy Word that I can find comfort and answers to life's most difficult questions. The Bible has proven over and over to be my source of truth because of the outcomes of events that have changed my life forever. I have to admit, I haven't found all that I am looking for yet and thus the reason for this blog. I need input and I need fellowship from others who are willing to open up and venture out in search of truth. I understand that there are those that do not adhere to the Bible, but to other sources such as the Koran, the Book of Mormon and etc. For me that is OK for now because I know if God really wants you, He has the ability and power to overcome any obstacle in the way. He knows His Elect and will remove anything that gets in the way to move them towards Him.

Just for the record, I want you to know that I study continuously in all areas of thought, sometimes, because of curiosity, but for that most part, because I know of someone that is consumed, hurting, or just floundering in life. I have had to study subjects that turn my stomach just so I could gain knowledge of what that individual is associating with. Sometimes, it isn't pretty, but sometimes it can be very rewarding.

I am extending an open invitation to join me and converse with me with what ever is on your mind. I will prayerfully try to do my best with whatever is presented. I want you to know that no matter what is bothering me and you, God has the answers and we will seek the truth of the matter.

Your Friend

Albert