As the end of the Second World War approached even the most diehard and fervent Nazis knew that the end was coming. During this critical time orders were issued which would completely baffle us. Instead of withdrawing the most experienced generals and fighters to defend the homeland the orders were instead given to send these generals to the death camps to speed up the execution of the Jews.
In other words, it was more of a priority to speed up the killing machine we have come to know as the Holocaust than it was to safeguard their own survival and futures. They sacrificed themselves so that they could kill as many Jews as possible in the time available to them. This is one of the ways we can know with certainty that the Nazi regime was demonically inspired.
Today in 2015, ISIS have killed 3027 people in Syria, including 1784 civilians, all within a matter of months. They drown people in cages, or set fire to them, filming it to show the world all its gory, sadistic details. They throw gay people off the roofs of high buildings because they’re gay; they are subjecting a generation of women to slavery in a way which the world hasn't witnessed for a thousand years.
Some women and girls are being bought for as little as a box of cigarettes.
Last month ISIS crucified 70 children simply because their parents are Christians, smashing their young hands and feet to crudely made crosses, some as young as four and all in the name of Islam.
The international outrage is non-existent.
The focus of everybody’s attention is on the recent Supreme Court decision over gay marriage. It really is a perverse juxtaposition. The Middle East is on the brink of self-destruction and the entire world wide economy is about to self-implode. Life for everybody on this earth could get drastically worse very quickly, yet the issue which occupies all the attention is gay marriage.
The real motivation in this decision is not perhaps what it seems.
The real issue here is not to win equality in marriage for gay people, as so many believe. The real agenda here, and it is a satanic one, is to marginalize Christians.
That is why this is being celebrated so widely and why, despite the plethora of other more important events and issues around the world, it occupies such a place of prominence.
The real agenda here is to put Christians in a position where they are finally, legally exposed if they follow and practice their faith.
The endgame is “to get” Christianity.
The desired outcome is not to liberalize and bring equality for gay people; the desired outcome is to put Christianity directly within the crosshairs so that its adherents can be proactively attacked and persecuted.
If you live in the United States of America and you are a Bible believing Christian you woke up this morning criminalized.
When you went to bed early last week you were a different person to the person waking up this morning. If your desire is to live your life in a way pleasing to your Savior, then hard times are ahead; you and your beliefs have been rejected by the legal system of your country.
The repercussions of this judgment will be far reaching.
People write often, men and women that I respect, about the possibilities of national repentance and the spirit being poured out once again upon us.
People better than I believe that if we would just turn our hearts back to God then even now He would forgive us as a nation.
With all my heart I wish that this were true but in reality I simply don’t believe that it is possible anymore.
There is no coming back from what has just happened.
What has taken place is an absolute affront to God. God ordained marriage as a covenant between one man and one woman, it is a picture of Jesus Christ’s relationship with His Bride.
This decision fundamentally corrupts God’s will for mankind and it mocks Him.
This decision is a very deep offense to the nature of God.
Even the rainbow colors which are the symbol of the Pride movement is purposely offensive and insulting to God. It is designed specifically to cause God offense. These are the colors which symbolize God’s deliverance of mankind from a time of evil the likes of which this earth had not seen before.
A rainbow even surrounds the holy throne of God Himself. This rainbow, a symbol of deliverance has now become corrupted and twisted, now in our time a symbol of sin and rebellion, the symbol of the Pride movement.
I am deeply troubled spiritually by what has happened.
When we look at the biblical example of Sodom and Gomorrah we need to understand that these cities were not destroyed until the leadership of these places actively mandated a homosexual lifestyle. With this decision America finds itself in an identical situation to Sodom and Gomorrah.
God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.
God loves mankind, deeply and desperately. He loves us so much that He has told us what is good for us and what is bad through His Word. He cares for us to such a huge extent that He has actually put Himself in the place of our execution. God Himself stands directly in our stead on our behalf.
God loves humanity, each and every person within it.
Yet it is because of this love that God will ultimately allow each person and nation to decide for themselves what they think is good. If a nation chooses friendship with God then He will come and make his home with that nation. If a nation chooses to walk away from God and follow its own path, God will allow it.
This decision means that America has chosen enmity with God.
There will be consequences for it.
For those of you who will hold to Jesus and His testimony, you are now marginalized, set apart.
Even though I genuinely believe that as the bride of Christ we will not see the wrath of God come upon this world, I do believe, especially in light of this decision that we will see persecution.
From this moment on we will never be as free as we once were in our faith.
We will be systemically harassed.
I believe that there will be a brief pause now, a moment of calm while people and forces take stock of what has happened and what it means.
Then will come the outright persecution. You are in the crosshairs. You have been warned.
Attend to your God and His Son and be about His work. The night is coming when it is not possible to work.
In fact, I think that dusk has already begun to settle on this fallen world.
Thursday, July 2, 2015
Monday, April 13, 2015
You dont have to feel marginalized.
How many of us have ever read the words of Christ in John ch 7 vs. 24 where we are encourage to not judge using a worldly view but to judge things in a righteous manner?
“Stop judging according to outward appearances, rather judge according to righteous judgment.” John 7:24
A simple interpretation of this could be “Don’t guess at a matter, know the truth of a matter, based on scripture.
At the 2015 White House Easter Breakfast, President Barak Obama, made the following statement,
“ I have heard some who call themselves Christians, make some very unloving statements.”
This sentence came shortly after the President named himself as a faithful Christian who at times fails to live up the high standard of Christ.
All of that seem fairly honest and innocuous until we remember all of the very godless and un Christ like things that have been promoted and allowed during the tenure of this President and of some of those before him.
Recently the Governor of the State of Indiana signed into law a bill protecting an individuals right to practice their faith based upon the principles of that particular faith……this bill was nothing new as there are 38 states who currently have similar protections in place.
After the signing of the bill in to law, seemingly many of the demons of hell revealed themselves as they pointed a bony wicked finger at aspects of the law which allows a person or business to deny services to other peoples or business as a matter of conscience.
It is the threats like those mentioned above, either veiled or actively carried out, that is causing many to take a seat outside of the battle being waged that is dividing right and wrong.
1 Peter 3:13-17 “ And who will harm you if you are deeply committed to what is good? But even if you should suffer for righteousness, you are blessed. Do not fear what they fear or be disturbed, but honor the Messiah as Lord in your hearts. Always be ready to give a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you. However, do this with gentleness and respect, keeping your conscience clear, so that when you are accused, those who denounce your Christian life will be put to shame. For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be Gods will, than for doing evil.”
Each and every person has the right to decide whom to do business with and when to do business with that person or entity, and each and every person can make that decision based on faith, it is part of the dignity of life that each of us should be offered.
“Stop judging according to outward appearances, rather judge according to righteous judgment.” John 7:24
I remember the days of “No shirt, No Shoes, No Service.
If a business posted a sign on the window or door of their particular establishment, then everyone who read that sign knew beyond a doubt that if you walk in barefoot, or bare-chested, then you will get exactly what the signage promised “NO Service”.
It was a standard measure and I believe it is still enforced today, without signage however.
“Stop judging according to outward appearances, rather judge according to righteous judgment.” John 7:24
Our Federal Government has taken the stance that a woman has the “right” to determine if she feels it appropriate to carry to term a child that she is carrying. Any woman that decides that the time is not “right” for a child, then she has the “right” to terminate that unborn child’s life thru a government sponsored abortion.
My generation has aborted some 50 million Americans, and as many as 400 million others and for the most part have not objected in the least.
If you believe that abortive murder is not sin, then you can use the following scriptures to make a judgment.
Psalm 139:13 “For it was You who created my inward parts, You knit me together in my mothers womb,”
And Jeremiah 1:5 “I chose you before I formed you in the womb; I set you apart before you were born, I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”
“Stop judging according to outward appearances, rather judge according to righteous judgment.” John 7:24
Abortion is sin, the murder of the innocent is sin, and all who participate either first hand or by the shame of silence are committing sin.
Isaiah 28:15 “ For you said, “We have cut a deal with Death, and we have made an agreement with “Shoel; when the overwhelming scourge passes through it will not touch us.”
To give your money to a group or charitable cause that promotes abortion thru one of its agencies is willful cooperation and sin
For trouble in judging if it is appropriate to support abortion you can use this scripture to decide, Amos 3:3 “Can two walk together, unless they are in agreement?”
“Stop judging according to outward appearances, rather judge according to righteous judgment.” John 7:24
A Christian who declares that homosexuality is sin, is immediately marginalized and shoved into a corner as a bigot or promoter of hatred.
To accept and promote homosexuality from the pulpit is sin, to embrace and encourage anyone who practices such an act needs to reevaluate the teachings of the Holy Spirit and repent of their foolishness.
All of those who have taken up the banner of “rights” for the Gay Lesbian Transgender movement are either committing sin by participation in the act, or in a sin by the promoting of the act.
The book of Romans addresses this one, Romans 1:32 “Although they know full well Gods just sentence--- that those who practice such things deserve to die----they not only do them, but even applaud others who practice them.”
“Stop judging according to outward appearances, rather judge according to righteous judgment.” John 7:24
For a nation to have the power to stop the persecution of Christians in the middle east, and refuse to do so, is sin.
We were called Christians first because of our love for one another.
John 13:34-35 “I give a new command: Love one another. Just as I have loved you, you must also love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
They were told to love each other, as followers of Christ.
“Stop judging according to outward appearances, rather judge according to righteous judgment.” John 7:24
For anyone to declare that the most beautiful thing that he has ever heard is the Arabic call to prayer, is questionable in the very least.
Has this man never read the 23 Psalm or the 1st Chapter of the Book of John, the story of the Crucifixion the burial and the empty tomb, or the teachings of Paul in regards to the resurrection of the Saints?
“Stop judging according to outward appearances, rather judge according to righteous judgment.” John 7:24
To allow the openly gay Bishop of the Episcopal Church Gene Edwards to utter the closing prayer in the 2015 Whitehouse Easter Prayer Breakfast is heretical, and shamefully sinful.
Think not, then read Ephesians 5:5and 11 :For know and recognize this: Every sexually immoral or impure or greedy person, who is an idolater, does not have an inheritance in the kingdom of the Messiah and of God.” “Don’t participate in the fruitless works of darkness, instead expose them.”
“Stop judging according to outward appearances, rather judge according to righteous judgment.” John 7:24
To stir up racial strife, by bending fact, is sinful.
Judging this one is easy, Ephesians 6:9 “And Masters, treat your servants the same way, without threatening them, because you know that both their Master and yours is in heaven, and that there is no favoritism with Him.”
“Stop judging according to outward appearances, rather judge according to righteous judgment.” John 7:24
To go around the globe proclaiming that Islam is the ‘religion of peace’ is sin. How could anyone say that Islam is ‘peaceful’ when so much that is seen of Islam is violence?
The prophet doesn’t promise peace but he does promise war, rape, plunder, murder, and slavery.
The Word of God promises a true peace, you can read and judge in John 14:27 “ Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Your heart must not be troubled or fearful.”
“Stop judging according to outward appearances, rather judge according to righteous judgment.” John 7:24
To wear a ring that declares “Shahada” is sin.
“Shahada” is one part of the pillars of Islam that declares that “Allah is god”.
The Holy Scripture declares the name of God and it is can be found in Isaiah 42:8 “I am Yahweh, that is My name; I will not give My glory to another or My praise to idols.”
“Stop judging according to outward appearances, rather judge according to righteous judgment.” John 7:24
To openly declare that there are many ways to heaven is sin.
John: 14:6 " I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. No man comes to the Father except through Me."
To declare that “Allah is god, and he is too wise to share his glory with another is sin.”
Jesus said in John 10:30 “I and the Father are one.”
“Stop judging according to outward appearances, rather judge according to righteous judgment.” John 7:24
To reinterpret hate speech to include the truth of the gospel of Christ is sin.
All Christians have been called to proclaim the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to a lost and dying world.
Romans 1:16 “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is Gods power for salvation to everyone who believes, first to the Jews, and also to the Greeks. For in it Gods righteousness is revealed from faith to faith, just as it is written; the righteous will live by faith.”
“Stop judging according to outward appearances, rather judge according to righteous judgment.” John 7:24
To ignore from the pulpit the abhorrence of sexually active cohabitation is sin.
Why is the topic ignored when scripture is so clear? 1 Corinthians 6:18 “Run from sexual immorality! “Every sin a person can commits is outside the body.” On the contrary, the person who is sexually immoral sins against his own body. Don’t you know that your body is the sanctuary of the Holy Spirit who is in you, who you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bough with a price. Therefore glorify God in your body.”
“Stop judging according to outward appearances, rather judge according to righteous judgment.” John 7:24
To promote man based upon what that man or woman is willing to offer you , is sin.
Romans 1:11 “There is no favoritism with God.”
“Stop judging according to outward appearances, rather judge according to righteous judgment.” John 7:24
To twist scripture to please the ear of your followers is sin.
2 Timothy 4:3-4 “For the time will come when they will not tolerate sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, will multiply teachers for themselves because they have an itch to hear something new. They will turn away from the truth and will turn aside to myths.”
“Stop judging according to outward appearances, rather judge according to righteous judgment.” John 7:24
To teach that the Lord does not hate sin in the life of His child and that there is nothing that can be done to cause Him to look away is not at all true.
Proverbs 6:16-19 “The Lord hates six things; in fact, seven are detestable to Him: arrogant eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that plots wicked schemes, feet eager to run to evil, a lying witness who gives false testimony, and one who stirs up trouble among brothers..”
“Stop judging according to outward appearances, rather judge according to righteous judgment.” John 7:24
To make the best of friends with the unsaved is unwise at best .
Psalms 1:1 “How happy is the man who does not follow the advice of the wicked or take the path of sinners or join a group of mockers!”
To know more of current trends, fashion, sports figures, and entertainment options, is very irresponsible indeed. Contrary to what the world says about being heavenly minded, the Word says for us to “Set you minds on what is above, not on what is on the earth.” Colossians 3:2
“Stop judging according to outward appearances, rather judge according to righteous judgment.” John 7:24
To declare the truth by using the Word of God as your standard and as your defense, is the only way that the true Church will survive in these coming days.
Determine in your heart, to take a stand , use your voice and declare that there is One who is the Way, the Truth and the Life.
2 Timothy 2:15 “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who doesn’t need to be ashamed, correctly teaching the word of truth. But avoid irreverent, empty speech, for this will produce an even greater measure of godlessness.”
“Stop judging according to outward appearances, rather judge according to righteous judgment.” John 7:24
The lack of righteous judgment will bring failure and allow the wickedness that abounds to continue to gain ground in the battle for your family, and your very soul.
James 1:5-6 “Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives to all generously and without criticizing, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith without doubting.”
Matthew 16:26 “What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world yet loses his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his own soul?”
Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding; think about Him in all your ways, and He will guide you on the right paths.”
Ephesians 6:13 “This is why you must take up the full armor of God, so that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having prepared everything, to take you stand.”
“Stop judging according to outward appearances, rather judge according to righteous judgment.” John 7:24
These obviously are only a few of the things that folks are afraid to make judgment on because they haven’t been taught the whole truth of the Word.
It is our prayer that all of us will prepare ourselves with an honest knowledge of the word of God, and to be prepared to defend the defenseless, and to honor the noble by using proper judgment based solely upon the truths of Holy Scripture.
Monday, March 30, 2015
Holy to or Holy from
Is a football fan holy?
Is a married person holy?
Is a passionate gardener, stamp collector, hiker, or jogger holy?
What do you think of when you see the word holy?
If you are a Christian do you see yourself as holy? Is "holy" something that you even desire for yourself?
In our secularized Western Culture, Christians often think of holiness as something for the sainted few. Non Christians, if they think of holiness at all, may find it a concept for ridicule or even for censure.
Not too many of us think of holiness as something to be desired and sought after, but the truth is everyone is, or is becoming, holy to something or someone.
So what is holiness, really?
What does the word mean, and what does the Bible mean when, for example, God says, "Be holy, for I am holy" (Leviticus 11:44)?
Do we shy away from holiness because we don`t understand it?
If we want to know what it means to be holy, we must look at the concept of holiness in two steps. If Christians, especially, omit the first step, we will fall down on the second, and produce a mock holiness that only repels, and can never attract.
Our first step is to notice that "holy/holiness" was a common word in the ancient world of the Hebrew Biblel; it occurs in all languages related to Hebrew. In Hebrew, its basic form is quadash (ka-DAHSH). Quadash means, first and foremost, "to be separate." In the Old Testament and in documents from all of Israel`s ancient neighbors, many things were sopoken of as "holy", "separate", and "special".
In the Hebrew Bible, God often spoke of himself as holy. When describing God, holy means transcendent—distinct from the universe of space and time that we inhabit. God is separate from the universe because God existed before the universe, God made the universe, and God does not depend on the universe or anything in it for God’s continued existence.
Rather, the universe and all it contains depend on God. When the Old Testament says God is “holy,” it means God is transcendent.
Then, what does it mean for a human to be holy? It means for us, also, to be separate, but of course we are not transcendent. How, then, are we separate?
It will help to notice (if you don’t mind a little detour!) that many things in the world of ancient Israel were referred to as “holy,” or separate.
Mt. Sinai was holy; the Tabernacle of Moses and all its furniture and utensils were holy; sometimes the ground one stood on was declared holy; certain livestock, grains, and other produce were holy; the various Sabbath days were holy. In every case, this means that what was declared holy was set apart, separated, dedicated to the exclusive use of God. (The same was true of things and persons dedicated to the various gods of Israel’s pagan neighbors—they were holy to those gods.)
Humans, too, were/are set apart, dedicated, and made holy to God alone. Within ancient Israel, the priests and Levites were holy—set apart for—the service of God in God’s Tabernacle (later, the Temple of Solomon in Jerusalem). Israel as a nation was a holy people, because God chose Israel, first of all the peoples, to be separate to Him.
But, Israel did not always follow Yahweh’s call to be holy to him alone. (Yahweh—pronounced YAH-weh—is the Old Testament Hebrew name for God.) Often, Israel chose to mix the worship of Yahweh with worship of other gods, most notably Baal of the Canaanites. When that happened, Israel no longer was separated—set apart, holy—to Yahweh alone.
Why did Israel have so much difficulty, and why do modern Christians often have great difficulty, in being holy to God, totally set apart to God?
That question brings us to our second step in considering what “holy” really means. The answer, and the second step, is as simple as whether we choose a two-letter or a four-letter preposition to follow the word “holy.” Are we holy “from,” or are we holy “to”?
Too often, the ancient Israelite and modern Christian alike have chosen to be “holy from” certain things, assuming that shows they were/are holy to God. So the ancient Israelites did not eat pork, for example, and some assumed that meant they were holy to Yahweh, even if they prayed to Baal as well as to Yahweh to bring the rain to water their wheat fields and fill their cisterns.
Too often today, conservative Christians think that if they don’t : drink alcohol; smoke or chew tobacco; play the horses or the casinos; dance; rob a bank—anything on their list of “don’ts” cab prove they are holy to God. But, all this can prove is they are moral and decent people.
Some of the things on this or any other list do not prove even that. Most human beings are generally moral, decent, kind, and good people, whether or not they worship God. Most atheists and humanists pride themselves on being morally equal, or even superior to most Christians, both in their actions and in the sophistication of their moral judgments, without the “crutch” of an irrational belief in an unprovable God.
Being separate “from” things, habits, vices, attitudes, or anything else that may be harmful, or that even only hinder one’s best efforts, is a worthy goal, ambition, and attainment. But, the worthiest, most complete separation “from” anything—or everything—says nothing, in and of itself, about our separation “to” God.
In fact, separation “from” things, in its worst form, is legalism and hypocrisy, and has been responsible for more children, raised in Christian families, rebelling and leaving the faith, than any other single cause. Some of us were/are “holy from” movies in the cinemas, but will watch anything on our cable channel or on video. Some of us can become so focused on being “holy from” the things we outlaw that we become snobs, even become vicious and hateful toward neighbors, fellow church members, or even family members, who do not share our convictions on our hot-button issues.
Holiness defined as separation from a set of external behaviors or possessions is, at best, healthy self-discipline. At its worst, it is self-delusional, relationship-destroying, deadening, and deadly legalism and hypocrisy.
But, separation “to”! Now, that’s another matter! Every sports fan knows the pleasure of being separated “to” his/her favorite team. Every hobbyist knows the elation of discovering something new, acquiring some new piece or accessory, or reaching a higher level of skill, in his/her favorite pursuit. Every newlywed knows the exquisite joy of being with the beloved new husband or wife, and the chafing impatience of the times of separation, however short.
And, that is what true holiness is with respect to God as well. Holiness is not separation “from” anything, however praiseworthy, helpful, even lifesaving, that separation may be.
True holiness is separation to God. It is entering into and progressing in a relationship with God that makes God increasingly one’s Best Friend. It is separation “from” things only because they harm or hinder one’s relationship with God and God’s people, and hinder one’s ability to demonstrate to others the awesomeness of the God who loved us enough to die for us.
Another signal of what we are holy to is the amount of time, energy, thought, and wealth we spend on the person, object, or activity to which we are holy
.
The “holy” golfer will be found on the golf course every possible moment. The “holy” collector will fuss over, add to, and brag about the collection at every opportunity—no journey is too long, no check too big, to add the last pieces that finish the collection. If you are still “holy” to your spouse, the idea of a romantic date with someone else holds no real attraction for you.
This same attitude and practice signals our holiness to God. Do we like the idea of being around God, of having God with us, of being with, worshipping with, and having fun with God’s people? Do we want to know more about God and God’s history with God’s people? Do we want to know what God wants?
If the answers are “yes,” that’s a pretty good indication that we are (or at least are becoming) holy to God.
The final thing to notice about holiness is that we come to be like that to which we are holy. The more “holy” a sports fan is to his/her team, the more clothes, pennants, books, photos, autographs and other souvenirs s/he will have, all to identify more closely with the team. The more “holy” a fan is to a favorite player, entertainment personality, or other hero, the more s/he will want to learn about, and sometimes to imitate the attitude, the talk, even the walk, of his/her idol.
Again, the same is true of the one who is holy to God. Christians are not holy because we are moral, ethical people. We are moral, ethical people because the God we love is the God of justice, righteousness, lovingkindness, mercy, grace, and truth. God’s people take on God’s moral, ethical character.
Western culture glamorizes and praises people who are “holy” to entertainment, to sports, to making money and flaunting their wealth, to a host of other human interests.
Perhaps, the church will recover influence when once again people see that Christians are holy to God, in the process of becoming like the One with whom we have fallen in love.
So what about you and me? Are we only holy “from” some pet list of sins we inherited from our religious tradition? Or, are we banked inside with the pure fire of separation to, of holiness to, of all-consuming love for, God who loved us enough to create us, and then to redeem us when we had turned away from Him?
When we are holy to God, everything else falls into its rightful place.
To be holy to God is the greatest adventure and satisfaction anyone can know. And, when Christians start being seriously holy to God, we will again be lifting up Jesus so that all will be drawn to Him. Then, and not until then, will we start to influence our culture again.
Don’t be satisfied with being separate “from” a few things, and calling it religion, or even holiness. In every area of your life—family, work, church, finances, recreation, entertainment, everything!!—start being truly, deeply, thoroughly, passionately holy to the God who loves you!
Is a married person holy?
Is a passionate gardener, stamp collector, hiker, or jogger holy?
What do you think of when you see the word holy?
If you are a Christian do you see yourself as holy? Is "holy" something that you even desire for yourself?
In our secularized Western Culture, Christians often think of holiness as something for the sainted few. Non Christians, if they think of holiness at all, may find it a concept for ridicule or even for censure.
Not too many of us think of holiness as something to be desired and sought after, but the truth is everyone is, or is becoming, holy to something or someone.
So what is holiness, really?
What does the word mean, and what does the Bible mean when, for example, God says, "Be holy, for I am holy" (Leviticus 11:44)?
Do we shy away from holiness because we don`t understand it?
If we want to know what it means to be holy, we must look at the concept of holiness in two steps. If Christians, especially, omit the first step, we will fall down on the second, and produce a mock holiness that only repels, and can never attract.
Our first step is to notice that "holy/holiness" was a common word in the ancient world of the Hebrew Biblel; it occurs in all languages related to Hebrew. In Hebrew, its basic form is quadash (ka-DAHSH). Quadash means, first and foremost, "to be separate." In the Old Testament and in documents from all of Israel`s ancient neighbors, many things were sopoken of as "holy", "separate", and "special".
In the Hebrew Bible, God often spoke of himself as holy. When describing God, holy means transcendent—distinct from the universe of space and time that we inhabit. God is separate from the universe because God existed before the universe, God made the universe, and God does not depend on the universe or anything in it for God’s continued existence.
Rather, the universe and all it contains depend on God. When the Old Testament says God is “holy,” it means God is transcendent.
Then, what does it mean for a human to be holy? It means for us, also, to be separate, but of course we are not transcendent. How, then, are we separate?
It will help to notice (if you don’t mind a little detour!) that many things in the world of ancient Israel were referred to as “holy,” or separate.
Mt. Sinai was holy; the Tabernacle of Moses and all its furniture and utensils were holy; sometimes the ground one stood on was declared holy; certain livestock, grains, and other produce were holy; the various Sabbath days were holy. In every case, this means that what was declared holy was set apart, separated, dedicated to the exclusive use of God. (The same was true of things and persons dedicated to the various gods of Israel’s pagan neighbors—they were holy to those gods.)
Humans, too, were/are set apart, dedicated, and made holy to God alone. Within ancient Israel, the priests and Levites were holy—set apart for—the service of God in God’s Tabernacle (later, the Temple of Solomon in Jerusalem). Israel as a nation was a holy people, because God chose Israel, first of all the peoples, to be separate to Him.
But, Israel did not always follow Yahweh’s call to be holy to him alone. (Yahweh—pronounced YAH-weh—is the Old Testament Hebrew name for God.) Often, Israel chose to mix the worship of Yahweh with worship of other gods, most notably Baal of the Canaanites. When that happened, Israel no longer was separated—set apart, holy—to Yahweh alone.
Why did Israel have so much difficulty, and why do modern Christians often have great difficulty, in being holy to God, totally set apart to God?
That question brings us to our second step in considering what “holy” really means. The answer, and the second step, is as simple as whether we choose a two-letter or a four-letter preposition to follow the word “holy.” Are we holy “from,” or are we holy “to”?
Too often, the ancient Israelite and modern Christian alike have chosen to be “holy from” certain things, assuming that shows they were/are holy to God. So the ancient Israelites did not eat pork, for example, and some assumed that meant they were holy to Yahweh, even if they prayed to Baal as well as to Yahweh to bring the rain to water their wheat fields and fill their cisterns.
Too often today, conservative Christians think that if they don’t : drink alcohol; smoke or chew tobacco; play the horses or the casinos; dance; rob a bank—anything on their list of “don’ts” cab prove they are holy to God. But, all this can prove is they are moral and decent people.
Some of the things on this or any other list do not prove even that. Most human beings are generally moral, decent, kind, and good people, whether or not they worship God. Most atheists and humanists pride themselves on being morally equal, or even superior to most Christians, both in their actions and in the sophistication of their moral judgments, without the “crutch” of an irrational belief in an unprovable God.
Being separate “from” things, habits, vices, attitudes, or anything else that may be harmful, or that even only hinder one’s best efforts, is a worthy goal, ambition, and attainment. But, the worthiest, most complete separation “from” anything—or everything—says nothing, in and of itself, about our separation “to” God.
In fact, separation “from” things, in its worst form, is legalism and hypocrisy, and has been responsible for more children, raised in Christian families, rebelling and leaving the faith, than any other single cause. Some of us were/are “holy from” movies in the cinemas, but will watch anything on our cable channel or on video. Some of us can become so focused on being “holy from” the things we outlaw that we become snobs, even become vicious and hateful toward neighbors, fellow church members, or even family members, who do not share our convictions on our hot-button issues.
Holiness defined as separation from a set of external behaviors or possessions is, at best, healthy self-discipline. At its worst, it is self-delusional, relationship-destroying, deadening, and deadly legalism and hypocrisy.
But, separation “to”! Now, that’s another matter! Every sports fan knows the pleasure of being separated “to” his/her favorite team. Every hobbyist knows the elation of discovering something new, acquiring some new piece or accessory, or reaching a higher level of skill, in his/her favorite pursuit. Every newlywed knows the exquisite joy of being with the beloved new husband or wife, and the chafing impatience of the times of separation, however short.
And, that is what true holiness is with respect to God as well. Holiness is not separation “from” anything, however praiseworthy, helpful, even lifesaving, that separation may be.
True holiness is separation to God. It is entering into and progressing in a relationship with God that makes God increasingly one’s Best Friend. It is separation “from” things only because they harm or hinder one’s relationship with God and God’s people, and hinder one’s ability to demonstrate to others the awesomeness of the God who loved us enough to die for us.
Another signal of what we are holy to is the amount of time, energy, thought, and wealth we spend on the person, object, or activity to which we are holy
.
The “holy” golfer will be found on the golf course every possible moment. The “holy” collector will fuss over, add to, and brag about the collection at every opportunity—no journey is too long, no check too big, to add the last pieces that finish the collection. If you are still “holy” to your spouse, the idea of a romantic date with someone else holds no real attraction for you.
This same attitude and practice signals our holiness to God. Do we like the idea of being around God, of having God with us, of being with, worshipping with, and having fun with God’s people? Do we want to know more about God and God’s history with God’s people? Do we want to know what God wants?
If the answers are “yes,” that’s a pretty good indication that we are (or at least are becoming) holy to God.
The final thing to notice about holiness is that we come to be like that to which we are holy. The more “holy” a sports fan is to his/her team, the more clothes, pennants, books, photos, autographs and other souvenirs s/he will have, all to identify more closely with the team. The more “holy” a fan is to a favorite player, entertainment personality, or other hero, the more s/he will want to learn about, and sometimes to imitate the attitude, the talk, even the walk, of his/her idol.
Again, the same is true of the one who is holy to God. Christians are not holy because we are moral, ethical people. We are moral, ethical people because the God we love is the God of justice, righteousness, lovingkindness, mercy, grace, and truth. God’s people take on God’s moral, ethical character.
Western culture glamorizes and praises people who are “holy” to entertainment, to sports, to making money and flaunting their wealth, to a host of other human interests.
Perhaps, the church will recover influence when once again people see that Christians are holy to God, in the process of becoming like the One with whom we have fallen in love.
So what about you and me? Are we only holy “from” some pet list of sins we inherited from our religious tradition? Or, are we banked inside with the pure fire of separation to, of holiness to, of all-consuming love for, God who loved us enough to create us, and then to redeem us when we had turned away from Him?
When we are holy to God, everything else falls into its rightful place.
To be holy to God is the greatest adventure and satisfaction anyone can know. And, when Christians start being seriously holy to God, we will again be lifting up Jesus so that all will be drawn to Him. Then, and not until then, will we start to influence our culture again.
Don’t be satisfied with being separate “from” a few things, and calling it religion, or even holiness. In every area of your life—family, work, church, finances, recreation, entertainment, everything!!—start being truly, deeply, thoroughly, passionately holy to the God who loves you!
Tuesday, September 17, 2013
A Noticeable Apostasy
A Noticeable Apostasy
There is a well known prophecy from a 12th Century Catholic Priest from Ireland named Malachy who was given a vision of the final line of Popes.
He saw in particular what he believed to be the last 112 men who would set in what is called the "Chair of Peter."
For simplification the final 3 would be called The Labor of the Son, The Glory of the Olive, and Peter the Roman.
While I truly believe in the reliability of Biblical Prophecy, I cannot state that I am 100% on board with all of Malachys writings, but will admit that he seems to have predicted the majority of them with a measure of accuracy.
Lets start with “De Lobore Solis” or the Labor of the Son, a man born on May 18 1920 during a near total eclipse visible over most of Europe and died on April 2 2005 during an eclipse visible over a large portion of the Americas. He is called Pope Paul.
Then there is the 111th Pope who Malachy called the Glory of the Olive or “Gloria Olivae” a man from the Benedictine Order of Priests who believes that his order will fight for the Church during the time of tribulation during the end of days. He is no longer seated on Peters Chair, yet he is tucked away in the Vatican, no longer Pope carrying the title Pope Emeritus. His name is or was Pope Benedict.
That brings us to the final vision that Malchy recorded in regards to the Papal succession.
Malachy calls this man “Petrus Romanos” or Peter the Roman.
The current Pope carries the name Pope Francis, this named was picked to honor St. Francis of Assisi .
There is some confusion in regards to the chosen name as it has nothing to do with “Peter”.
This would seem to make the prophecy of Malachy of none affect in regards to this man, yet there is more to consider. The man named Francis is of Italian descent and of the order of Jesuits. The original St. Francis was a Roman friar whose birth name is Giovanni di Pietro di Bernadone. Pietro is Peter.
Perhaps Malachy saw it correctly after all.
2 Thessalonians 2:3 Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way. For that day will not come unless the apostasy comes first and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction. (Holman Christian Standard Bible)
What is this apostasy that Paul is speaking of in his letter to the Body of Christ at Thessaloniaca?
It is normally described as a falling away from established truth or normalcy.
For the purpose of three of these examples we will look at the same line of scripture as taken from an English version of Catholic Scripture, which uses the word rebellion in place of apostasy.
2 Thessalonians 2:3 Let no one deceive you in any way; for that day will not come unless the rebellion comes first and the lawless one is revealed, the one destined for destruction.(New Revised Standard Version Catholic)
Now, that we have discussed that, let us examine a few stories that have been reported in the news lately.
On July 17 2013, "The Washing ton Post" reported that the Catholic Church was offering an “ indulgence” in the form of less time in purgatory for anyone who followed the tweets of Pope Francis.
That friend is “apostasy” or “rebellion” from the truth………..the concept of “purgatory” is heretical although the faithful of the Catholic Church have been led astray by the teaching of it for many years.
For those who don’t know “purgatory” according to some, is a place that a soul goes to pay a price in punishment to purify it before it is allowed into Heaven.
The paying of “indulgences” is even worse……..imagine a grieving loved one or family member, paying a man a set fee to lessen the time that their loved one spent in an imaginary torture chamber.
Lets get one thing straight.
Did Jesus pay it all or did He not.
Scripture tell us that on the Cross, the Savior cried out “it is finished”.
USA Today reported on July 29 2013, that in an official communique from the Vatican, that Pope Francis has stated that he will not pass a judgment in regards to ‘gay” priests, in what seem to be an attempt at reconciliation between the Catholic Church and those that have chosen a lifestyle that contradicts with the Word of God.
This man in all of his wisdom has chosen to cast off truth, and embrace and perpetuate a sin that God call an abomination.
Lets look at the condemnation that this man has chosen for himself and anyone who would follow him in this thought.
Romans 1:26-32 “For this reason God gave them up to degrading passions. Their women exchanged natural intercourse for unnatural, and in the same way also the men, giving up natural intercourse with women, were consumed with passion for one another. Men committed shameless acts with men and received in their own persons the due penalty for their error.
And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind and to things that should not be done. They were filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, covetousness, malice. Full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, craftiness, they are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, rebellious toward parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. They know God’s decree, that those who practice such things deserve to die—yet they not only do them but even applaud others who practice them.” (New Revised Standard Catholic Version)
On September 10 2013 The Independent New U.K. reported that an open letter to "The Republica" an Italian Newspaper, that Pope Francis had written that an atheist does not have to believe in God to be accepted by Him and enter His heaven.
My question to these three statements is, “Does this man, have any idea of the rebellion that he is planting into not only the Catholic Church, but into the Protestant Church as well, considering that his words are so publicly reported?
The Word of God clearly states that all men must come to terms with the fact that they are sinners worthy only of eternal punishment, unless they confess the One that God sent into the world to make payment for the sins of mankind.
John 3:16-21 “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.
Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Those who believe in him are not condemned; but those who do not believe are condemned already, because they have not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. For all who do evil hate the light and do not come to the light, so that their deeds may not be exposed. But those who do what is true come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds have been done in God.” (New Revised Standard Catholic Version)
Whom do you confess?
Will you follow The Truth, The Life and The Way, or will you follow a man who seems bent upon rebellion?
There is a well known prophecy from a 12th Century Catholic Priest from Ireland named Malachy who was given a vision of the final line of Popes.
He saw in particular what he believed to be the last 112 men who would set in what is called the "Chair of Peter."
For simplification the final 3 would be called The Labor of the Son, The Glory of the Olive, and Peter the Roman.
While I truly believe in the reliability of Biblical Prophecy, I cannot state that I am 100% on board with all of Malachys writings, but will admit that he seems to have predicted the majority of them with a measure of accuracy.
Lets start with “De Lobore Solis” or the Labor of the Son, a man born on May 18 1920 during a near total eclipse visible over most of Europe and died on April 2 2005 during an eclipse visible over a large portion of the Americas. He is called Pope Paul.
Then there is the 111th Pope who Malachy called the Glory of the Olive or “Gloria Olivae” a man from the Benedictine Order of Priests who believes that his order will fight for the Church during the time of tribulation during the end of days. He is no longer seated on Peters Chair, yet he is tucked away in the Vatican, no longer Pope carrying the title Pope Emeritus. His name is or was Pope Benedict.
That brings us to the final vision that Malchy recorded in regards to the Papal succession.
Malachy calls this man “Petrus Romanos” or Peter the Roman.
The current Pope carries the name Pope Francis, this named was picked to honor St. Francis of Assisi .
There is some confusion in regards to the chosen name as it has nothing to do with “Peter”.
This would seem to make the prophecy of Malachy of none affect in regards to this man, yet there is more to consider. The man named Francis is of Italian descent and of the order of Jesuits. The original St. Francis was a Roman friar whose birth name is Giovanni di Pietro di Bernadone. Pietro is Peter.
Perhaps Malachy saw it correctly after all.
2 Thessalonians 2:3 Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way. For that day will not come unless the apostasy comes first and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction. (Holman Christian Standard Bible)
What is this apostasy that Paul is speaking of in his letter to the Body of Christ at Thessaloniaca?
It is normally described as a falling away from established truth or normalcy.
For the purpose of three of these examples we will look at the same line of scripture as taken from an English version of Catholic Scripture, which uses the word rebellion in place of apostasy.
2 Thessalonians 2:3 Let no one deceive you in any way; for that day will not come unless the rebellion comes first and the lawless one is revealed, the one destined for destruction.(New Revised Standard Version Catholic)
Now, that we have discussed that, let us examine a few stories that have been reported in the news lately.
On July 17 2013, "The Washing ton Post" reported that the Catholic Church was offering an “ indulgence” in the form of less time in purgatory for anyone who followed the tweets of Pope Francis.
That friend is “apostasy” or “rebellion” from the truth………..the concept of “purgatory” is heretical although the faithful of the Catholic Church have been led astray by the teaching of it for many years.
For those who don’t know “purgatory” according to some, is a place that a soul goes to pay a price in punishment to purify it before it is allowed into Heaven.
The paying of “indulgences” is even worse……..imagine a grieving loved one or family member, paying a man a set fee to lessen the time that their loved one spent in an imaginary torture chamber.
Lets get one thing straight.
Did Jesus pay it all or did He not.
Scripture tell us that on the Cross, the Savior cried out “it is finished”.
USA Today reported on July 29 2013, that in an official communique from the Vatican, that Pope Francis has stated that he will not pass a judgment in regards to ‘gay” priests, in what seem to be an attempt at reconciliation between the Catholic Church and those that have chosen a lifestyle that contradicts with the Word of God.
This man in all of his wisdom has chosen to cast off truth, and embrace and perpetuate a sin that God call an abomination.
Lets look at the condemnation that this man has chosen for himself and anyone who would follow him in this thought.
Romans 1:26-32 “For this reason God gave them up to degrading passions. Their women exchanged natural intercourse for unnatural, and in the same way also the men, giving up natural intercourse with women, were consumed with passion for one another. Men committed shameless acts with men and received in their own persons the due penalty for their error.
And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind and to things that should not be done. They were filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, covetousness, malice. Full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, craftiness, they are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, rebellious toward parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. They know God’s decree, that those who practice such things deserve to die—yet they not only do them but even applaud others who practice them.” (New Revised Standard Catholic Version)
On September 10 2013 The Independent New U.K. reported that an open letter to "The Republica" an Italian Newspaper, that Pope Francis had written that an atheist does not have to believe in God to be accepted by Him and enter His heaven.
My question to these three statements is, “Does this man, have any idea of the rebellion that he is planting into not only the Catholic Church, but into the Protestant Church as well, considering that his words are so publicly reported?
The Word of God clearly states that all men must come to terms with the fact that they are sinners worthy only of eternal punishment, unless they confess the One that God sent into the world to make payment for the sins of mankind.
John 3:16-21 “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.
Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Those who believe in him are not condemned; but those who do not believe are condemned already, because they have not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. For all who do evil hate the light and do not come to the light, so that their deeds may not be exposed. But those who do what is true come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds have been done in God.” (New Revised Standard Catholic Version)
Whom do you confess?
Will you follow The Truth, The Life and The Way, or will you follow a man who seems bent upon rebellion?
Monday, September 9, 2013
Defense for Decency
What are you thoughts on the culture war that is going on around us each and every day?
We see humanity changing its standards in regards to family, faith, and morality, and changing even the intent of good and bad.
There is not a day that passes that someone that I meet, (and am certain that it applies to many of you as well), does not intentionally interject into a conversation the rapidly changing palate of societal norms.
One of the issues that I am bombarded with is the standard of morality that deals with homosexuality and the acceptance of that lifestyle by an ever increasing number of Governance, States, Individuals, and Churches.
The same arguments are floated in most of these conversations, the idea that God made the homosexual to be what he is, the misguided idea that God accepts all no matter what the chosen sin, and the idea that the God of the Old Testament changed His mind about man laying with man in sexual relationship so as that in the New Testament age it is an acceptable practice.
The thoughts of many began to change around 20 years ago as we began to be bombarded by the medias acceptance of homosexuality in the name of entertainment and prurient interest. Shortly thereafter crass, vulgar humor began to soften both men and women in their ideas about the ugliness of such an act.
A rule of psychology is that if you can laugh about a matter then you will begin to accept the thing that you laugh about as harmless.
An individual changing his mind and beginning to accept the idea that homosexuality is not such a bad thing as long as it does not directly affect them is understandable, as far too many individuals have decided that it is easier to just go along with whatever is in vogue, than to actually drive a stake and make a stand for what is right no matter the cost.
A Governance changing course is no surprise, as those in government will accept anything or anyone who may be able to cast a vote that would allow them to hang on to the position that they so covet.
A Church or entire denomination changing its opinion of the act of homosexuality, and changing its mission statements to embrace that blatant sin, is however another matter.
Any Church or person who names the name of Christ should revisit the Holy Word of God and find out just how abhorrent this act is in the eyes of a God and Savior who is Holy.
I have visited with folks who claim to be a member of this Church or that Church who unflinchingly will tell anyone there is no mention of homosexuality in the pages of the New Testament.
If that is what they truly believe, then shame upon that Pastor who stands in the pulpit and fails to call out to his congregants, any sin and the punishment that God has prescribed on a day of His choosing.
There are several places in Scripture that without question condemn the act of homosexuality.
Old Testament scriptures---Genesis 19:1-13 (is a discussion between Lot and the angels that came to deliver Lot and his family before the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah) Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13 (is Gods word concerning the act of homosexuality).
New Testament scriptures---Romans 1:26-27 (covers both male and female homosexuality) 1Corinthians 6:9 (tells of some including abusers of themselves with mankind, effeminate males and others, who will not enter the kingdom of God) Romans 1:1-27 ( is a scathing expose of all of those who deny the truth of God and makes themselves wise in their own eyes in regards to what is and what is not sin).
God has never created a person with homosexual desires.
The God of the Bible is wise enough to put a mans spirit in a male body and a female spirit in a females body.
The Bible teach that people choose homosexuality because of sin (Romans 1:24-27) and ultimately because of their own choice.
The Bible does not describe the sin of homosexuality as greater or lesser than any other sin.
All sin is offensive to a Holy God.
When Christ was ministering to His disciples and to the many who followed Him to hear His teachings, He made mention of the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah and the resultant destruction of those cities and surrounding areas.
Matthew 10:15 and Mark 6:11 are carefully recorded words of the same event.
In Peters letter to Christians in the approximate year 66A.D. 2 Peter 2:6 ( the description of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah are given along with the fact that their destruction was done not only out of the righteous wrath of God, but for an example for any other group of people who would embrace that lifestyle)
Jude 1:7 ( once again the reason for destruction and the example for others who would do the same).
With this small amount of evidence, and there is much more, why would anyone or any entity embrace a lifestyle that is so obviously rejected by our God and Savior?
There is good news however for any one who would examine the truth, and that being that ALL sin will be forgiven any individual, who would only humble themselves and submit to the truth of God as found in
John 3:16-20 “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son, that whoever believes in Him would not perish but have everlasting life. For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believes in Him is not condemned: but he that believes not is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that light has come into the world, and men loved darkness more than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hates the light, neither comes into the light, because their deeds are evil. But he that doeth truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.
We see humanity changing its standards in regards to family, faith, and morality, and changing even the intent of good and bad.
There is not a day that passes that someone that I meet, (and am certain that it applies to many of you as well), does not intentionally interject into a conversation the rapidly changing palate of societal norms.
One of the issues that I am bombarded with is the standard of morality that deals with homosexuality and the acceptance of that lifestyle by an ever increasing number of Governance, States, Individuals, and Churches.
The same arguments are floated in most of these conversations, the idea that God made the homosexual to be what he is, the misguided idea that God accepts all no matter what the chosen sin, and the idea that the God of the Old Testament changed His mind about man laying with man in sexual relationship so as that in the New Testament age it is an acceptable practice.
The thoughts of many began to change around 20 years ago as we began to be bombarded by the medias acceptance of homosexuality in the name of entertainment and prurient interest. Shortly thereafter crass, vulgar humor began to soften both men and women in their ideas about the ugliness of such an act.
A rule of psychology is that if you can laugh about a matter then you will begin to accept the thing that you laugh about as harmless.
An individual changing his mind and beginning to accept the idea that homosexuality is not such a bad thing as long as it does not directly affect them is understandable, as far too many individuals have decided that it is easier to just go along with whatever is in vogue, than to actually drive a stake and make a stand for what is right no matter the cost.
A Governance changing course is no surprise, as those in government will accept anything or anyone who may be able to cast a vote that would allow them to hang on to the position that they so covet.
A Church or entire denomination changing its opinion of the act of homosexuality, and changing its mission statements to embrace that blatant sin, is however another matter.
Any Church or person who names the name of Christ should revisit the Holy Word of God and find out just how abhorrent this act is in the eyes of a God and Savior who is Holy.
I have visited with folks who claim to be a member of this Church or that Church who unflinchingly will tell anyone there is no mention of homosexuality in the pages of the New Testament.
If that is what they truly believe, then shame upon that Pastor who stands in the pulpit and fails to call out to his congregants, any sin and the punishment that God has prescribed on a day of His choosing.
There are several places in Scripture that without question condemn the act of homosexuality.
Old Testament scriptures---Genesis 19:1-13 (is a discussion between Lot and the angels that came to deliver Lot and his family before the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah) Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13 (is Gods word concerning the act of homosexuality).
New Testament scriptures---Romans 1:26-27 (covers both male and female homosexuality) 1Corinthians 6:9 (tells of some including abusers of themselves with mankind, effeminate males and others, who will not enter the kingdom of God) Romans 1:1-27 ( is a scathing expose of all of those who deny the truth of God and makes themselves wise in their own eyes in regards to what is and what is not sin).
God has never created a person with homosexual desires.
The God of the Bible is wise enough to put a mans spirit in a male body and a female spirit in a females body.
The Bible teach that people choose homosexuality because of sin (Romans 1:24-27) and ultimately because of their own choice.
The Bible does not describe the sin of homosexuality as greater or lesser than any other sin.
All sin is offensive to a Holy God.
When Christ was ministering to His disciples and to the many who followed Him to hear His teachings, He made mention of the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah and the resultant destruction of those cities and surrounding areas.
Matthew 10:15 and Mark 6:11 are carefully recorded words of the same event.
In Peters letter to Christians in the approximate year 66A.D. 2 Peter 2:6 ( the description of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah are given along with the fact that their destruction was done not only out of the righteous wrath of God, but for an example for any other group of people who would embrace that lifestyle)
Jude 1:7 ( once again the reason for destruction and the example for others who would do the same).
With this small amount of evidence, and there is much more, why would anyone or any entity embrace a lifestyle that is so obviously rejected by our God and Savior?
There is good news however for any one who would examine the truth, and that being that ALL sin will be forgiven any individual, who would only humble themselves and submit to the truth of God as found in
John 3:16-20 “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son, that whoever believes in Him would not perish but have everlasting life. For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believes in Him is not condemned: but he that believes not is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that light has come into the world, and men loved darkness more than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hates the light, neither comes into the light, because their deeds are evil. But he that doeth truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.
Thursday, August 22, 2013
Jesus said in John 14:1 “ Let not your heart be troubled.”
We have discovered that Gods answer for troubled nations, troubled churches and troubled believers is found in John 14:6 “ I am the way, the truth, and the life, no man cometh unto the Father but by Me.”
It is also Gods answer for troubled sinners--those who do not know Jesus Christ as their Savior.
If you are not a believer in Jesus Christ, you ought to be troubled--troubled about your destiny and about the fact that you are missing so much that God has for you in this life.
You ought to be troubled about your future apart from God.
So, if you do not know Jesus Christ as your Savior, then please, pay close attention to John 14:6.
This verse is illustrated in Luke 15, Jesus told a parable about a father and his two boys--an older brother and a younger. In this parable of the prodigal son, (by the way, the word prodigal means “wasteful”), the younger brother wasted all that he was given in riotous living.
As you read this account, notice the condition of this boy: he was lost (vs.24); he was also ignorant- verse 17 says, “when he came to himself;” and he was dead--”For this my son was dead” (v.24).
These are all characteristics of unsaved people, lost, ignorant, and spiritually dead.
People like to measure themselves by themselves.
Many lost people will argue, “I’m as good as the people at the church! In fact I am probably better!”
But God does not measure one sinner or one sin against another sinner or sin.
God measures us by His own unchangeable standard of holiness.
If, and when you and I can say that we are like Jesus Christ, then God will accept us on our own merit.
So lets stop comparing ourselves with each other, and admit that every unsaved person is like this boy.
First, he was lost.
What then does it mean to be lost?
It means being in a place of extreme danger.
It means being at a place of distance from the God whom we ought to love and serve.
In Luke 15, there are actually three parables: the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost son.
The lost sheep was in a place of danger and could not find his way home.
The lost coin was useless. You cant spend a coin that is lost!
And the lost son, was away from the joy and the fellowship that he could have had at home.
If you have never received Jesus Christ, you are lost…..not geographically, but spiritually.
You are in a far country if you are even one step away from God and His will for you.
Second, this young man was ignorant.
Luke 15:17 says, “when he came to himself”.
Up to that point this young man had been beside himself, blinded by sin, blinded by the world, and the flesh.
He thought that he could find joy and satisfaction out in the far country, but everything that he lived on ran out. The circumstances that he had chosen became unbearable.
Anyone who knew him would have said “That boy is really stupid. At home he would have protection and provision, he would have fellowship and love, yet here in this far country, he is starving and alone.
The pigs are better off than he is, because they have someone to take care of them, but no one is caring for this child.”
Third, he was dead.
Not physically dead, otherwise there would be no hope of reconciliation with his father.
He was spiritually dead.
He was away from his fathers life, love, and blessings.
If you don’t know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, then this is your condition as well.
You may be moral, you may be religious, and you may be kind: but if you have never trusted Christ, you are lost……you are away from the Fathers home…….you are ignorant……you are away from the Fathers blessings and truth………and you are dead….you are away from the Fathers life.
What did the prodigal son have to do to change all of this?
He had to make a decision.
He said, “I will arise.”
Salvation involves the whole person, the mind, the emotions, and the will.
With his mind he said, “How many hired servants of my fathers have bread enough and to spare?” (v.17).
With his emotions he said, “I perish with hunger” (v.17).
And with his will he said, “I will arise” (v.18).
Salvation requires all three.
You can know the truth, and you can feel the need for Jesus, but until you say “I will arise and go to my Father!” God cannot save you.
Salvation is wholly of grace, but it is not forced upon anyone.
The lost sheep did not find his way home--the shepherd went out looking for the sheep.
The lost coin didn’t come rolling our from its hiding place, the women looked for it.
Salvation begins with Gods love for the lost sinner.
But in the third parable of Luke 15 the father did not go out to look for the son.
The father waited for the son to say “I will.”
In the three examples we see the two aspects to salvation.
We see Gods part---God seeks the lost sinner. “The Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10)
This is Gods work of grace.
We are required to respond personally to this grace. “I will arise and go”.
No one fully understands this.
This is one of the mysteries that we don’t fathom yet; but we know that it is true.
Jesus appeals to the will when he says, “Come.”
This boy said, “I will arise and go to my father”
The only other place in the New Testament that speaks of going to the Father is found in John 14:6.
Look at the verse beside Luke 15 and see the parallel.
This boy was lost, and Jesus said “I am the way.” The boy was ignorant and Jesus said “I am the truth.” The boy was dead and Jesus said, “I am the life.”
How do you come to the Father?
Through Jesus Christ!
You may be thinking, “Yes I agree with that….I am lost, I’m wandering, I’m in that far country. I’ve run out of satisfaction and sustenance, and I’m ready to quit.
Do you mean that Jesus Christ is the way to the Father?”
Yes, Jesus Christ is the way, he is the only way.
You may say to yourself, “Yes I may have been ignorant. I thought that I could live in sin and get away with it. I thought I could go out into the world and enjoy life; but I am realizing that true satisfaction is not found in sin. I’ve been stupid !”
Jesus says, “I am the truth.” I will take you to the Father.
If you say, “Yes, I’m dead in sin, I realize this,--I am lost, I am ignorant, and I am dead.”
Jesus answers, “I am the life”, I will take you to the Father.
For Jesus Christ to be the Way , the Truth, and the Life, to take us to the Father, he had to suffer and die on the cross. It is interesting that in the Gospel of John, Jesus used the phrase lifted up three times.
By “lifted up” he doesn’t mean exalted: he doesn’t mean being put high on a pedestal. By “lifted up” he means crucified.
In John 12:32, Jesus said, “And I, if I am lifted up from the earth (crucifixion), will draw all peoples to Myself.”
Not everyone without exception, but everyone without distinction.--Jews, Gentiles, rich and poor, wise and unwise.
He had to be lifted up to draw people to God.
He is the way.
He had to die that He might open the true and living way.
Then Jesus said to them, “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He” (John 8:28).
He was lifted up that he might draw people in the way, and he was lifted up that he might reveal to people the truth. “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.”
He was lifted up so that people might have the way, know the truth, and receive the life.
Are ever troubled by the thought of your sin?
I hope that you are!
I hope you realize how foolish a thing it is to live in sin, If you are troubled by your sin and by the thought of someday facing God, listen to Jesus words in John 14:6. If you want to come to the Father, simply open your heart to Jesus Christ; for he is the only One who can save you and take you to the Father.
Jesus Christ is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
He is Gods perfect, and only remedy for troubled nations, troubled churches, troubled hearts, and troubled sinners.
“Let not your heart be troubled.”
Friday, July 26, 2013
Will the real Ekklesia please stand up
"Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? It is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men. Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid” (Matthew 5:13-14).
In recent polls, it is reported that the modern church comprised over 75% of the population who call themselves Christians. Of those 75% the poll shows that 43% of those people attend a church somewhere, every weekend. But if you look at the societal conditions of the current century, they are the most impotent, insignificant, and irrelevant group of people to influence the direction of this society in all our history.
Think about it. We are talking of upwards of 159 million people who attend church in this country. That is a significant bloc of people that would make the ACLU or the AFL-CIO unions envious of their numbers and would give them untold power to control the social structure of this country. Each of these aforementioned groups is a minority of individual members that comprise only about 11% for all unions and about half-million members of the ACLU. Then why is the American society and our country going to the proverbial “hell in a hand basket” when we have a lop-side majority?
There is no mistaking that prior, during and after the American Revolution that the church of God fearing men and women had a vast amount of influence over the direction of this country. But in the last half of the 20th Century (since WW II) that influence grew silent. How can we see it any other way when God was kicked out of our schools, and we stood silent? What did we do when abortion laws of Roe v Wade was enacted and passed into law during the 1970s?
Did men and women, pastors and clergymen stand up and voice their opposition? Do we stand unified in our opposition to homosexual unions of marriage and gay lobby agenda that God calls an abomination or have we stood silent? Do we stand for the backbone of our country, the family of one man, one woman united to produce godly children?
You know the answer to those questions, as we would not be in the societal mess we are in today if they were not true in the negative.
The modern churches have been whipped into submission and have become irrelevant.Now the church continues to stand silent, deaf and mute when the police state threatens to turn this country into a godless socialist state. When compared to our beginnings of a republic founded on the Ten Commandments and godly principles what influence does the church have today? Again zip, nada, zilch, nothing is all that can be stated with any truth to it.
We had resurgence, in the 1980s for a short period of time where the religious right, the moral majority stood up, or whatever you want to call it, were in the political arena, but where are they today? I would tell you there are comatose, beyond comatose, as they are clinically dead. Further our churches today are spiritually dead. Our Christian universities are dead. Our Sunday schools to teach our children are dead. Denominations of every stripe are dead.
They have become entertainment centers, social clubs, and employ pastors that wish not to offend. They build bigger and better churches, larger gymnasiums, coffee shops and shopping malls so in their minds they can draw the masses for a “feel good time” while giving messages of self improvement, purpose driven lives, entertainment and ignore hell fire and brimstone messages of judgment, repentance and salvation through our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Oh, no, that would offend.
"For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables” (2 Timothy 4:3-4).
America’s pastors, these wolves in sheep’s clothing, have fleeced the flock, and they have become irrelevant to address the societal concerns of our days. In America, we are talking about a nation in which citizens (including Christians) are able to lobby, redress government, protest, rally, organize opposition, speak, vote, form PACs, march, petition, etc. Christians are as free to influence their societies and governments as are any other group of people in the United States. It is not like we have no voice, but it’s like we have become complacent, deaf, dumb and mute.
And who is to blame? I tell you, it’s the pastors of these churches who teach a “feel good gospel.” Paul warned that if they preach anything but the gospel of Christ that was once delivered to the saints of the church of Galatia (Galatians 1:8-9), “Let them be accursed.”
Do they speak the truth?
Do they stand for righteousness?
Do they stand in the gap when government enacts laws contrary to the Word of God?
I tell you they do not.
They have been whipped into silence by the govenment that gies them tax breaks or they wish to not
offend their congregation, so they speak soft words that do not offend anyone about their sinful condition, or their need to stand for righteousness in a nation that is going to the dogs.
I have warned of teachers of the “Word of Faith,” the “name and claim it” crowd who preach a prosperity gospel who look for a kingdom on earth that will get better and better, richer and richer, but they are only a subset of the cancer that grows in our modern church pulpits that must bear the brunt of the blame for the failure to influence society in Jesus’ Name. The symptoms are wide and they are perverse.
ARE WE IN FOR A RUDE AWAKENING?
In other lands, the “true church” is growing underground. They have restrictions over influencing society or politics by a government that is persecuting them in Communist China, or Russia and they prevent any uprising or revolution by eliminated their ability to mount a revolt by removing the ability to bear arms. They have removed all individual right to ownership of guns. Does this sound familiar?
Christians in persecuted lands are not enamored with entertainment, recreation, and irrelevant Bible exposition. You don’t have to bring in some big name rock band to entice them to fellowship. You don’t have to give their teenagers mentioned big gymnasiums for activities. You don’t have to give those young adults coffee shops and espresso machines. You don’t have to shy away from criticisms of tyrannical government. And you certainly are not going to score any points with your fallacious “obey-the-government-no-matter-what” interpretation of Romans 13.
Unfortunately, sometimes the church must be oppressed to return to the teachings of the Bible, much like these citizens of Communist countries have been oppressed and persecuted, so I pray for the USA and its citizens to wake-up, as the Nazi like atmosphere could come to this land, as it did in Germany.
LET US RETURN BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE
We must return to the mindset of the 19th Century when Charles Finney said these words:
Christians must vote for honest men and take consistent ground in politics .God cannot sustain this free and blessed country, which we love and pray for, unless the church will take right ground. Politics are a part of a religion in such a country as this, and Christians (and citizens) must do their duty to the country as a part of their duty to God. It seems sometimes as if the foundations of the nation are becoming rotten, and Christians seem to act as if the think God does not see what they do in politics.
Finney also said:
If there is a decay of conscience, the pulpit is responsible for it. If the public presslacks moral discernment, the pulpit is responsible for it. If the church is degenerate and worldly, the pulpit is responsible for it. If the world loses its interest in Christianity, the pulpit is responsible for it. If Satan rules in our halls of legislation, the pulpit is responsible for it. If our politics become so corrupt that the very foundations of our government are ready to fall away, the pulpit is responsible for it.
Let me ask you something. If you preach and teach the stories of the Bible concerning Daniel and the lions den, or the three Hebrew children and the fiery furnace, or say, the life and example of Jesus Christ and not apply it to your everyday life around you, what good is it?
They just become stories that have no effect on your life, or your society at large.
What good does it do to preach expository messages on the Bible if one does not make those messages relevant to the times and circumstances in which we live?
Yet, “ear tickling” entertainment, and irrelevant exposition seem to be what the modern church in America excels in. The result is: Ineffective, impotent, weak, unprepared, and sheepish Christians.
That’s what we have become: Irrelevant.
If you look around at your church members, you see businessman who would steal from their grandmothers. There is no difference in them from those in the secular world. Deacons and church officers caught in lies and cowardly deeds that are the same in the unbelieving world, so- called Christians chasing the neighbor’s wife or lusting after the latest luxury.
How can you expect the world to change when the so-called “church” does the same?
What good has it done with all the youth groups, prophecy forums, and expositions on eschatology that argue its nuances to ad nauseum, while we play, party, prance, dance, debate philosophy and pontificate while a fire has been burning down the foundations of this country? And we lift not a finger to fetch a bail of water to put the fire out.
ARE WE IN THE RUN UP TO THE TRIBULATION?
There is coming a time and it may have already started, when “the rain will fall on the just and the unjust” (Matthew 5:45)
When the ship of state crashes on the rocks of tyranny, Christian and non-Christian will be affected equally.
When our economy crashes and goes down in flames because of society that has grown evil and the church stays silent, then Christian and non-Christian will be equally affected.
Truly did the Lord Jesus say, “Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? It is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men” (Matthew 5:13).
In ancient times and even during the beginnings of this country, salt was used to preserve, to prevent spoilage, and to retard rot and ruin. But when Christians loose their saltiness they open themselves to oppression and tyranny. They are good for nothing, except to “be trodden under the foot of men.”
Unfortunately, pastors of this nation have become “good for nothing” by a large majority as the pastors are suppose to protect the saltiness of the saints to preserve the nation.
We have all but become rotten in our core beliefs of this nation and I tell you, judgment is coming.
We have been warned for many years now, as the prophets of old to the likes of Jeremiah, Isaiah, and Ezekiel warned Israel, we have BEEN WARNED.
There is an event that all of us long for, and I believe it is coming soon. An event when the true believing church will be removed from this earth. Then those who have filled the walls of big modern churches will look around and see people missing. They will hear news flashes from all over the world that a cataclysmic event has happened. What I pray for is that an army of God before that day happens will arise and speak God’s truth. Much like Gideon, God whittled down his army of 30 thousand down to 300 of God fearing men who took the fight to the enemy and defeated them.
That’s what I pray for that, God will use whatever means to bring godly men to the forefront to speak to the truth of our times, to boldly go where others fear to tread. An army of black robed regiment of pastors who fear no one but: God. I wish they would be like the 144,000 from the 12 tribes of Israel who will finally speak the truth without fear. Too late for America is what I expect, but I can pray God’s mercy to reach even some of those asleep at the present in this country.
The great Christian patriot and “Father of the American Revolution,” Sam Adams said:
“It does not require a majority to prevail, but rather an irate, tireless minority keen to set brush fires in the people’s minds.”
That is what we need.
We need brush fires, before this nation is destroyed.
Will you who read this and take that charge?
Pastor, will you take the mantle and wear that black robe and become part of the regiment to spread the truth of God’s Word?
Have you been tickling the ears of your congregation?
If you have, take an oath from this day forward that you will speak only God’s truth no matter: who it may offend.
Are you Christian in heart, but not in deeds?
Take a pledge that you will NOT continue in your La-La land of ear itching, feel good messages, but will find a church, a pastor, a Bible believing group of like-minded Christians in a church or in a living room, “So help you God.”
Will you vote in any remaining elections for only God-fearing men, and throw the other bums out?
If not, I speak to you both, may God have mercy on you, and this country. You’re going to need it.
In recent polls, it is reported that the modern church comprised over 75% of the population who call themselves Christians. Of those 75% the poll shows that 43% of those people attend a church somewhere, every weekend. But if you look at the societal conditions of the current century, they are the most impotent, insignificant, and irrelevant group of people to influence the direction of this society in all our history.
Think about it. We are talking of upwards of 159 million people who attend church in this country. That is a significant bloc of people that would make the ACLU or the AFL-CIO unions envious of their numbers and would give them untold power to control the social structure of this country. Each of these aforementioned groups is a minority of individual members that comprise only about 11% for all unions and about half-million members of the ACLU. Then why is the American society and our country going to the proverbial “hell in a hand basket” when we have a lop-side majority?
There is no mistaking that prior, during and after the American Revolution that the church of God fearing men and women had a vast amount of influence over the direction of this country. But in the last half of the 20th Century (since WW II) that influence grew silent. How can we see it any other way when God was kicked out of our schools, and we stood silent? What did we do when abortion laws of Roe v Wade was enacted and passed into law during the 1970s?
Did men and women, pastors and clergymen stand up and voice their opposition? Do we stand unified in our opposition to homosexual unions of marriage and gay lobby agenda that God calls an abomination or have we stood silent? Do we stand for the backbone of our country, the family of one man, one woman united to produce godly children?
You know the answer to those questions, as we would not be in the societal mess we are in today if they were not true in the negative.
The modern churches have been whipped into submission and have become irrelevant.Now the church continues to stand silent, deaf and mute when the police state threatens to turn this country into a godless socialist state. When compared to our beginnings of a republic founded on the Ten Commandments and godly principles what influence does the church have today? Again zip, nada, zilch, nothing is all that can be stated with any truth to it.
We had resurgence, in the 1980s for a short period of time where the religious right, the moral majority stood up, or whatever you want to call it, were in the political arena, but where are they today? I would tell you there are comatose, beyond comatose, as they are clinically dead. Further our churches today are spiritually dead. Our Christian universities are dead. Our Sunday schools to teach our children are dead. Denominations of every stripe are dead.
They have become entertainment centers, social clubs, and employ pastors that wish not to offend. They build bigger and better churches, larger gymnasiums, coffee shops and shopping malls so in their minds they can draw the masses for a “feel good time” while giving messages of self improvement, purpose driven lives, entertainment and ignore hell fire and brimstone messages of judgment, repentance and salvation through our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Oh, no, that would offend.
"For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables” (2 Timothy 4:3-4).
America’s pastors, these wolves in sheep’s clothing, have fleeced the flock, and they have become irrelevant to address the societal concerns of our days. In America, we are talking about a nation in which citizens (including Christians) are able to lobby, redress government, protest, rally, organize opposition, speak, vote, form PACs, march, petition, etc. Christians are as free to influence their societies and governments as are any other group of people in the United States. It is not like we have no voice, but it’s like we have become complacent, deaf, dumb and mute.
And who is to blame? I tell you, it’s the pastors of these churches who teach a “feel good gospel.” Paul warned that if they preach anything but the gospel of Christ that was once delivered to the saints of the church of Galatia (Galatians 1:8-9), “Let them be accursed.”
Do they speak the truth?
Do they stand for righteousness?
Do they stand in the gap when government enacts laws contrary to the Word of God?
I tell you they do not.
They have been whipped into silence by the govenment that gies them tax breaks or they wish to not
offend their congregation, so they speak soft words that do not offend anyone about their sinful condition, or their need to stand for righteousness in a nation that is going to the dogs.
I have warned of teachers of the “Word of Faith,” the “name and claim it” crowd who preach a prosperity gospel who look for a kingdom on earth that will get better and better, richer and richer, but they are only a subset of the cancer that grows in our modern church pulpits that must bear the brunt of the blame for the failure to influence society in Jesus’ Name. The symptoms are wide and they are perverse.
ARE WE IN FOR A RUDE AWAKENING?
In other lands, the “true church” is growing underground. They have restrictions over influencing society or politics by a government that is persecuting them in Communist China, or Russia and they prevent any uprising or revolution by eliminated their ability to mount a revolt by removing the ability to bear arms. They have removed all individual right to ownership of guns. Does this sound familiar?
Christians in persecuted lands are not enamored with entertainment, recreation, and irrelevant Bible exposition. You don’t have to bring in some big name rock band to entice them to fellowship. You don’t have to give their teenagers mentioned big gymnasiums for activities. You don’t have to give those young adults coffee shops and espresso machines. You don’t have to shy away from criticisms of tyrannical government. And you certainly are not going to score any points with your fallacious “obey-the-government-no-matter-what” interpretation of Romans 13.
Unfortunately, sometimes the church must be oppressed to return to the teachings of the Bible, much like these citizens of Communist countries have been oppressed and persecuted, so I pray for the USA and its citizens to wake-up, as the Nazi like atmosphere could come to this land, as it did in Germany.
LET US RETURN BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE
We must return to the mindset of the 19th Century when Charles Finney said these words:
Christians must vote for honest men and take consistent ground in politics .God cannot sustain this free and blessed country, which we love and pray for, unless the church will take right ground. Politics are a part of a religion in such a country as this, and Christians (and citizens) must do their duty to the country as a part of their duty to God. It seems sometimes as if the foundations of the nation are becoming rotten, and Christians seem to act as if the think God does not see what they do in politics.
Finney also said:
If there is a decay of conscience, the pulpit is responsible for it. If the public presslacks moral discernment, the pulpit is responsible for it. If the church is degenerate and worldly, the pulpit is responsible for it. If the world loses its interest in Christianity, the pulpit is responsible for it. If Satan rules in our halls of legislation, the pulpit is responsible for it. If our politics become so corrupt that the very foundations of our government are ready to fall away, the pulpit is responsible for it.
Let me ask you something. If you preach and teach the stories of the Bible concerning Daniel and the lions den, or the three Hebrew children and the fiery furnace, or say, the life and example of Jesus Christ and not apply it to your everyday life around you, what good is it?
They just become stories that have no effect on your life, or your society at large.
What good does it do to preach expository messages on the Bible if one does not make those messages relevant to the times and circumstances in which we live?
Yet, “ear tickling” entertainment, and irrelevant exposition seem to be what the modern church in America excels in. The result is: Ineffective, impotent, weak, unprepared, and sheepish Christians.
That’s what we have become: Irrelevant.
If you look around at your church members, you see businessman who would steal from their grandmothers. There is no difference in them from those in the secular world. Deacons and church officers caught in lies and cowardly deeds that are the same in the unbelieving world, so- called Christians chasing the neighbor’s wife or lusting after the latest luxury.
How can you expect the world to change when the so-called “church” does the same?
What good has it done with all the youth groups, prophecy forums, and expositions on eschatology that argue its nuances to ad nauseum, while we play, party, prance, dance, debate philosophy and pontificate while a fire has been burning down the foundations of this country? And we lift not a finger to fetch a bail of water to put the fire out.
ARE WE IN THE RUN UP TO THE TRIBULATION?
There is coming a time and it may have already started, when “the rain will fall on the just and the unjust” (Matthew 5:45)
When the ship of state crashes on the rocks of tyranny, Christian and non-Christian will be affected equally.
When our economy crashes and goes down in flames because of society that has grown evil and the church stays silent, then Christian and non-Christian will be equally affected.
Truly did the Lord Jesus say, “Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? It is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men” (Matthew 5:13).
In ancient times and even during the beginnings of this country, salt was used to preserve, to prevent spoilage, and to retard rot and ruin. But when Christians loose their saltiness they open themselves to oppression and tyranny. They are good for nothing, except to “be trodden under the foot of men.”
Unfortunately, pastors of this nation have become “good for nothing” by a large majority as the pastors are suppose to protect the saltiness of the saints to preserve the nation.
We have all but become rotten in our core beliefs of this nation and I tell you, judgment is coming.
We have been warned for many years now, as the prophets of old to the likes of Jeremiah, Isaiah, and Ezekiel warned Israel, we have BEEN WARNED.
There is an event that all of us long for, and I believe it is coming soon. An event when the true believing church will be removed from this earth. Then those who have filled the walls of big modern churches will look around and see people missing. They will hear news flashes from all over the world that a cataclysmic event has happened. What I pray for is that an army of God before that day happens will arise and speak God’s truth. Much like Gideon, God whittled down his army of 30 thousand down to 300 of God fearing men who took the fight to the enemy and defeated them.
That’s what I pray for that, God will use whatever means to bring godly men to the forefront to speak to the truth of our times, to boldly go where others fear to tread. An army of black robed regiment of pastors who fear no one but: God. I wish they would be like the 144,000 from the 12 tribes of Israel who will finally speak the truth without fear. Too late for America is what I expect, but I can pray God’s mercy to reach even some of those asleep at the present in this country.
The great Christian patriot and “Father of the American Revolution,” Sam Adams said:
“It does not require a majority to prevail, but rather an irate, tireless minority keen to set brush fires in the people’s minds.”
That is what we need.
We need brush fires, before this nation is destroyed.
Will you who read this and take that charge?
Pastor, will you take the mantle and wear that black robe and become part of the regiment to spread the truth of God’s Word?
Have you been tickling the ears of your congregation?
If you have, take an oath from this day forward that you will speak only God’s truth no matter: who it may offend.
Are you Christian in heart, but not in deeds?
Take a pledge that you will NOT continue in your La-La land of ear itching, feel good messages, but will find a church, a pastor, a Bible believing group of like-minded Christians in a church or in a living room, “So help you God.”
Will you vote in any remaining elections for only God-fearing men, and throw the other bums out?
If not, I speak to you both, may God have mercy on you, and this country. You’re going to need it.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)