Our greatest sin and the real cause of the present depression is forgetting God. That means failure to obey God, to listen to His Word, and to bring up our children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Godlessness leads to disregard for law, corruption in politics, fraud in educational and state life, and hypocrisy in the Church.

Americans have forgotten God! Its parents, youth and citizens as a whole - these have forgotten God. Even ministers, educators and church officials have forgotten God. True, millions of Christians have not yet forgotten God, but the whole tendency in state life, school life, commercial life, and even in religious circles, is to forget God.

Though there are fifty million church members in the nation and many more Christians who are not church members, yet there are about seventy million outside the churches, living as if there were no God or hereafter.

America's history has been phenomenal. From the first there were many immigrants coming to America seeking religious liberty. In godly worship they settled our eastern shores, then moved westward, until they settled almost three million square miles of territory. They built cities, made marvelous inventions, improved everything possible, and now support approximately 124,000,000! For 157 years, God has been the God of this nation, piloting us safely through the pioneer periods, the five wars for freedom of oppressed peoples; and as a culmination, the people following the recent period of prosperity, have turned largely away from God! Then came the events which brought a general depression!

How does America and Americans forget God?  By largely banishing the Bible from schools and by misinterpreting it in universities, criticizing it in theological seminaries and colleges, and scoffing at it among the infidels and atheists of the nation. False cults numbering nearly ten million are sweeping the land with propaganda of denial, deceit and devilish doctrines. Atheists, modernists and communists have formed a deadly alliance against God, Christ, the Church, and the Bible. "But he that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh, the Lord shalt have them in derision."

Pleasure, newspapers, magazines, business and society have largely taken the pre-eminent place that God and Christian living ought to take. Crime gets the eye, not Christ! Society not salvation, business and not betterment of souls, money and not missions, earth and not Heaven is foremost in thinking. True, there are a few million Christians in America who still adore, worship and serve Him; but they are like salt in a rotting nation.

Judgment Is Coming.  Ancient Babylon, Greece, Rome, Medo-Persia, Assyria, and other empires all forgot God, and have been ruined and forgotten; but only until the judgment!

Oh, citizens of America! Will you ever learn a lesson from past history, from experienced adversity, from former judgments on the nations, that forgetting God does not pay? Can the professing Church of today continue to exist if she joins the world, praises the communists and denies God's divine rulership?

Macaulay, the English historian, writing nearly one hundred years ago, said of America, "She will be pillaged and looted in the twentieth century by vandals, and forces within her will cause her destruction." Indications prove him to be right, and unless something can be done by godly people to stem the tide of lawlessness, communism, modernism and immorality, she will go the way of the ancient nations. Will Christians, will governmental leaders, will its citizens awaken in time or too late?

What Will Cause America to Return to God?  Only a nation-wide revival of Christian teaching, the preaching of a crucified Christ, the return to the Bible, banishing communism, deposing false cult-teachings, baring worldly and sinful amusements, and all dangerous teachings in our public schools. God must find His rightful place in human hearts, the family altars must be restored, and the Church must cease pandering to worldly aspirations.

The prodigal son "came to himself," and America must come to herself. God's voice calls upon her to repent, confess her sins and return to the God of love and life. Mercy pleads with justice, grace pleads against judgment, truth opposes falsity, and wisdom foresees coming disaster, unless there is a change through national revival.

May God's faithful ones keep crying to God for a revival and "give him no rest" until He hear from Heaven with a mighty power as of old. Let us pay unceasingly.

By Evangelist Joseph T. Larsen
-- from the July 1933 Moody Bible Institute Monthly




"Wilt thou not revive us again, that thy people may rejoice in thee?" (Ps. 85:6)

The Feinstein bill will require ‘grandfathered weapons be registered’; calls for owners to be fingerprinted.

Following is a summary of the 2013 legislation:

• Bans the sale, transfer, importation, or manufacturing of:
  • 120 specifically-named firearms
  • Certain other semiautomatic rifles, handguns, shotguns that can accept a detachable magazine and have one military characteristic
  • Semiautomatic rifles and handguns with a fixed magazine that can accept more than 10 rounds
• Strengthens the 1994 Assault Weapons Ban and various state bans by:
  • Moving from a 2-characteristic test to a 1-characteristic test
  • Eliminating the easy-to-remove bayonet mounts and flash suppressors from the characteristics test
  • Banning firearms with “thumbhole stocks” and “bullet buttons” to address attempts to “work around” prior bans
• Bans large-capacity ammunition feeding devices capable of accepting more than 10 rounds.
• Protects legitimate hunters and the rights of existing gun owners by:
  • Grandfathering weapons legally possessed on the date of enactment
  • Exempting over 900 specifically-named weapons used for hunting or sporting purposes and
  • Exempting antique, manually-operated, and permanently disabled weapons
• Requires that grandfathered weapons be registered under the National Firearms Act, to include:
• Background check of owner and any transferee;
• Type and serial number of the firearm;
• Positive identification, including photograph and fingerprint;
• Certification from local law enforcement of identity and that possession would not violate State or local law; and
• Dedicated funding for ATF to implement registration

The Night of the Broken Glass (Kristallnacht)--the infamous Nazi rampage against Germany's Jews--took place in November 1938.
It was preceded by the confiscation of firearms from the Jewish 
 

victims. After invading, Nazis used pre-war lists of gun owners to confiscate firearms and many gun owners simply disappeared. Following confiscation, the Nazis were free to wreak their evil on the disarmed populace, such as on these helpless Jews from the Warsaw Ghetto.

 

Finding out which Jews [or Americans] had/have firearms was not/will not be too difficult. The liberal Weimar Republic passed a Firearm Law in 1928 or 2013 requiring extensive police records on gun owners. Hitler signed a further gun control law in early 1938.

Other European countries also had laws requiring police records to be kept on persons who possessed firearms. When the Nazis took over Czechoslovakia and Poland in 1939, it was a simple matter to identify gun owners. Many of them disappeared in the middle of the night along with political opponents.
 

In 1941, U.S. Attorney General Robert Jackson called on Congress to enact national registration of all firearms. Given events in Europe, Congress recoiled, and legislation was introduced to protect the Second Amendment. Rep. Edwin Arthur Hall explained:

"Before the advent of Hitler or Stalin, who took power from the German and Russian people, measures were thrust upon the free legislatures of those countries to deprive the people of the possession and use of firearms, so that they could not resist the encroachments of such diabolical and vitriolic state police organizations as the Gestapo, the Ogpu, and the Cheka."

Rep. John W. Patman added:

"The people have a right to keep arms; therefore, if we should have some Executive who attempted to set himself up as dictator or king, the people can organize themselves together and, with the arms and ammunition they have, they can properly protect themselves. . . ."

http://www.stephenhalbrook.com/registration_article/registration.html

December 26, 2012....

As we reflect on yesterday' festivities, relaxing after the hustle and bustle, loosen our belt a notch after eating too much and anticipate, with dread, the arrival of credit card bills - the shallowness of our lives should shame us as across the globe we are grieved to learn that Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani on Christmas Day was ordered to return to prision. The charge - he must complete the remainder of his sentence .

In September, the pastor was acquitted of apostasy, for converting from Islam to Christianity. The court maintained his three-year sentence for evangelizing Muslims. As he had already served close to three years, the pastor was freed after posting bail. The court stated that the remainder of his sentence, which equaled roughly 45 days, would be served in the form of probation.

Since Pastor Youcef' release, Mohammed Ali Dadkhah, his attorney, has been imprisoned and remains in Iran’s notoriously brutal Evin Prison where his health is rapidly deteriorating and is being denied proper dental care, according to his family. He has been incarcerated for advocating Nadarkhani’s case among other human rights cases.

Please, pray for both of these our brothers. 

... there is no distance in prayer.

Time Square - NY, NY
a picture is worth a thousand words -




For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles. Romans 1

The best Christmas gift of all...

"Wherewith shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before the high God? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves of a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?" Micah 6:6-7

The Israelites in this passage were asking a good question: "How can any human approach a holy God? How can we ever please Him and be accepted by Him? What kind of sacrifice does He want from us? Our blood, our bodies, our children?"

God's answer appears throughout the Scriptures: "I do not want your sacrifices, your good works, your promises, your moral deeds. Not one of these fleshly things is acceptable in My sight. Nothing can please or delight Me except My Son and all who are gathered in Him."

Think of the most moral, upright person you know. Even he or she is not accepted in God's presence outside of Christ. All of that person's good works, kind nature and generosity are filthy rags in God's sight.

So, how are we accepted by God? Paul writes, "He hath made us accepted in the beloved" (Ephesians 1:6). Our good works come as a result of being in Him.

If you have given your heart fully to Jesus, you have probably voiced the same questions Israel asked: "Oh, God, how can I please You? How can I be a delight to You? I've made promises and tried my best, but every time I think I'm making progress, I take two steps back. Should I read more of the Bible? Should I spend more time in prayer? Should I give more, do more?

Lord, what do You want from me?"

God answers us as He did Israel: "I don't want any of your sacrifices or good works. I recognize only the work of My Son, who delights and pleases Me. I chose you from before the foundation of the world to be wed to My Son. I wooed you, convicted you and through my Spirit I brought you into Him. I cannot hate My own flesh!"  (David Wilkerson)

...is not what we can give Him, but what He has given us.

''Every year Christmas is celebrated across the globe as one of the most important Christian festivals ~ commemorating the blessed birth of Jesus Christ in Bethlehem some two thousand years ago.

Ironically the passion for Christmas runs high without the passion for Christ.

Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem brought change in the lives of the people amongst whom He lived, walked and preached. He lived as a common man of Israel, feeding the hungry, healing the sick and proclaiming the message of love, compassion and mercy.

I wonder why the humble birth of the King of kings and LORD of lords does not prompt us to help the poor, the oppressed or the persecuted?

We tend to miss the message of Christmas and celebrate the holiday as part of a tradition rather than the message of God’s boundless love and promise to mankind. The Savoir was sent to liberate the whole of mankind from man’s original sin in the Garden of Eden.

Christmas with Christ is the beginning of a happy, transforming and everlasting/eternal life....

a Christmas without Christ....."

ShekinahToday
 http://shekinahtoday.com/2012/12/15/christmas-every-day/

Imagine my surprise when I heard an elder at our church say Santa Claus was rooted in Christianity. I wrote others with my concerns and was even more surprised when they heartily agreed - with the elder.

It seemed obvious, at least to me, that far too many had become immersed in tradition - accepting the Catholic Christ-mas and Jolly Ole St. Nick as “Christian” instead of seeing it for what it is - a tradition steeped in Catholicism, a counterfeit of the blessed hope of the coming of the LORD Jesus Christ and notice, with a grieved spirit, the elevation of ‘saints’ and myths to a place reserved only for God.

Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man sows, that shall he also reap…

Indeed, many websites share the "christian" legends of St. Nicholas, born during the third century, “Bishop Nicholas became known throughout the land for his generosity to those in need, his love for children, and his concern for sailors and ships. By his example of generosity to those in need, especially children, St. Nicholas continues to be an example for the compassionate life” [St. Nicholas Center, http://www.stnicholascenter.org]

 Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ, Who loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God…

Others paint a much different picture of Jolly Old Saint Nick.

Nearly all Santa researchers agree that some traits of the man in the red suit were borrowed from Norse [Scandinavian] mythology:

Mythologist Helene Adeline Guerber presents a very convincing case tracing Santa to the Norse god Thor. [Encyclopedia Britannica describes the role of  Nordic mythology in the life of Santa.

Sinterklaas was adopted by the country's English-speaking majority under the name Santa Claus, and his legend of a kindly old man was united with old Nordic folktales of a magician who punished naughty children and rewarded good children with presents. ("Santa Claus" Encyclopedia Britannica 99)

There is a little-known piece in the life of Santa that time and tradition has silently erased. Few people are aware that for most of his life, St. Nicholas [SinterKlass Christ-kind,] had an unusual helper or companion. This mysterious sidekick had many names or aliases. He was known as Knecht Rupprecht; Pelznickle; Ru-Klas; Swarthy; Dark One; Dark Helper; Black Peter; Hans Trapp; ; Krampus, Grampus, Zwarte Piets; Furry Nicholas; Rough Nicholas; Schimmelreiter; Klapperbock; Julebuk...

And what about these little 'helpers' of Santa’ -

Before you completely discount elves to the world of fantasy, witches, the occult and kooks, consider the research of Dr. Kurt Koch. Dr. Koch is without question the world's foremost authority on demonism and the occult. Dr. Koch, a devout Christian, has spent a life-time traveling world-wide, researching and documenting the real-world of demonism, devils and the occult. Dr. Koch has three complete pages documenting "Goblins and Elves" in his book Occult ABC. Dr. Koch writes of elves: 

"These elves often appear to children and even play with them. The moment an adult comes on the scene, the elves disappear. . . If a person wants their help, he must apply to their chief, the devil himself [Santa?]. This however, would cost a person his salvation. The idea these spirits are demonic in origin is in accordance with the Bible." [Kurt Koch, Occult ABC, p. 82, 83]He sees you when you're sleeping, He knows when you're awake
He knows if you've been bad or good, So be good for goodness sake.Santa appears to be omniscient, omnipresent and omnipotent - Santa never fails.

What are we teaching our children?

Whither shall I go from Thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from Thy presence?  If I ascend up into heaven, Thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, Thou art there… Psalm 139:7-8

The eyes of the LORD are in every place, beholding the evil and the good. Proverbs 15:3

He's making a list, He's checking it twice, He's gonna find out who's naughty or nice...

Then they that feared the LORD spake often one to another: and the LORD hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the LORD, and that thought upon his name. Malachi 3:16

And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne a book written within and on the backside, sealed with seven seals. Revelation 5:1

And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. Revelation 20:12-15

“For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north, I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High…” Isaiah 14

Our children, our grandchildren, know more about Santa than they do the LORD.

Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world...Matthew 28

What are we teaching our children?

From a sermon preached by Charles H. Spurgeon
December 24, 1871:

"We have no superstitious regard for times and seasons. Certainly we do not believe in the present ecclesiastical arrangement called Christmas. First, because we do not believe in the mass at all, but abhor it, whether it be sung in Latin or in English. Secondly, because we find no Scriptural warrant whatever for observing any day as the birthday of the Savior; and consequently, its observance is a superstition, because not of divine authority. 'Superstition' has fixed most positively the day of our Savior's birth, although there is no possibility of discovering when it occurred. ... It was not till the middle of the third century that any part of the Church celebrated the nativity of our Lord; and it was not till very long after the Western Church had set the example, that the Eastern adopted it. ... Probably the fact is that the "holy" days were arranged to fit in with the heathen festivals. We venture to assert, that if there be any day in the year, of which we may be pretty sure that it was not the day on which the Savior was born, it is the 25th of December. ...

Regarding not the day, let us, nevertheless, give God thanks for the gift of His dear Son".

In October many celebrated National Coming Out Day and Halloween. November brought us the election, Thanksgiving and Black Friday. December will be filled with the hustle and bustle of  Christmas - Santa Claus, Rudolph, Gnome nativity sets, Christmas trees and jingle bells.

Christmas, the Mass of Christ.

Perhaps it is time to take a hard look at Christ-mas, X-mas to some. Does Christmas REALLY celebrate the birthday of Christ? Was Jesus born on December 25th? Did the original apostles, who knew Jesus personally and were taught by Him, celebrate His birthday on December 25th? Did they celebrate it AT ALL?

If Christmas is the biggest Christian holiday of the year  [or is the "biggest Christian" holiday Easter complete with bunnies and colored eggs] ~ then WHY do so many non-Christians observe it?  Why do people exchange presents with family members, friends and relatives at Christmas time? Was it because the wise men presented gifts to the Christ-child? [Remember, the wisemen did not exchange gifts among themselves, but "they presented unto HIM gifts." They gave their gifts to Christ, not to their friends, relatives, or to one another].

Nowhere in scripture are we instructed to celebrate the birth of Christ. Christmas came to the world from the Roman Catholic Church, and has no authority but that of the Roman Catholic Church. It was not instituted by Christ or the apostles, or by Bible authority. Holly wreaths, mistletoe, gift exchange, Christmas trees and yule logs all have their origins in pagan worship.

Christmas has become a commercial season. It's sponsored and kept alive by the heaviest retail advertising campaigns of the year. You see a Santa  in every store with elves at his side while Rudolph waits at the North Pole for the big night to arrive. Ads keep us deluded and deceived about the "Christmas spirit." A gullible people has become so inoculated, many take offense when told the truth. But the "Christmas spirit" is created each year, not to honor Christ, but to sell merchandise. Like all Satan's delusions, it appears as an "angel of light" made to appear good. Just check out the colored lights throughout neighborhoods across America - count the chreche, then count the Santa's, reindeer... Billions of dollars are spent in this merchandising spree every year, while the cause of Christ and the work of the LORD suffer.

We profess to be a Christian nation, but we dwell in Babylon and we don't even know it.

As we see the end of 2012 and the beginning of 2013 approaching, remember:

 On Sunday March 21, 2010 the Senate Healthcare bill HR3200 was passed and signed into law the following Tuesday.

'Obamacare'  requires an RFID chip be implanted in all of us “Not later than 36 months after the date of the enactment” ~~

March 23rd 2013.

This chip will not only be link to our bank accounts but will have our personal records plus tracking capability built into it.

http://polidics.com/news/another-hidden-secret-in-obamacare-rfid-chip-implants.html

http://beforeitsnews.com/alternative/2011/05/hidden-obamacare-secret-rfid-chip-implants-mandatory-for-all-by-march-23-2013-665502.html

RFID Chip Implant For All Americans? - Rumor or Fact.??.

http://www.prophecynewswatch.com/2012/August08/082a.html

"And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads..." Revelation 13:16

On September 13, 2012, the Dept of Homeland Security graduated its first class of FEMA Corps youth, aka the Homeland Youth.

The federal government calls them FEMA Corps. But they conjure up memories of the Hitler Youth of 1930’s Germany. Kids, aged 18-24 and recruited from the President’s AmeriCorp volunteers, they represent the first wave of DHS’s “Youth Corps”, designed specifically to create a full time, paid, standing army of FEMA Youth across the country! 

 
"Stay alert! be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour." I Peter 5:8

Dave Harris writes ~

“But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.” Matthew 24:37-39

People are accepting the status quo—whatever it is at the moment. They don’t seem able to grasp the need to separate themselves from societies that are descending into the mire and from which God warns us to come out!

When you notice the evil, do you sigh and cry, or have you become so inured to the sin all around us that you just accept it as the inevitable way of the world?

We must not grow complacent with ungodliness—rather, we are to continue to be on guard, watching and even warning others of the impending punishment that evil-doing will suffer in God’s righteous judgment!

“Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma. But fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not even be named among you, as is fitting for saints; neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks. For this you know, that no fornicator, unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not be partakers with them.” Ephesians 5:1-7

"The loneliness of the Christian results from his walk with God in an ungodly world, a walk that must often take him away from the fellowship of good Christians as well as from that of the unregenerate world. His God-given instincts cry out for companionship with others of his kind, others who can understand his longings, his aspirations, his absorption in the love of Christ; and because within his circle of friends there are so few who share his inner experiences he is forced to walk alone. The unsatisfied longings of the prophets for human understanding caused them to cry out in their complaint, and even our Lord Himself suffered in the same way.

The man who has passed on into the divine Presence in actual inner experience will not find many who understand him. He finds few who care to talk about that which is the supreme object of his interest, so he is often silent and preoccupied in the midst of noisy religious shoptalk. For this he earns the reputation of being dull and over-serious, so he is avoided and the gulf between him and society widens. He searches for friends upon whose garments he can detect the smell of myrrh and aloes and cassia out of the ivory palaces, and finding few or none he, like Mary of old, keeps these things in his heart.

It is this very loneliness that throws him back upon God. His inability to find human companionship drives him to seek in God what he can find nowhere else".

A.W. Tozer
1897-1963

'Gang fight' at Black Friday sale…

Man Punched in Face Pulls Gun On Line-Cutting Shopper…

Shots fired outside WALMART…

Shoppers smash through door at URBAN OUTFITTERS…

Customers run over in parking lot…

As God is removed more and more from our public life, incidents such as this Black Friday violence will be the price we pay.

"...know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal...." 2 Timothy 3

"There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. People will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken. At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory." Luke 21:25-27 

"God articulates, history confirms. Our LORD speaks - debates cease. His Word is immutable fact, and history is the record of how He executed His Word."  Elwood McQuaid

"Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: May they prosper who love you."
- Psalm 122:6

We are in very good hands.

May each of us remember, not only this week but day by day, to count our blessings, giving thanks to our Heavenly Father for our great Salvation through His Son. Thank Him for all He has given us, and for all those things He has not allowed to overtake us.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO YOU ALL.

"Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song. For the LORD is the great God, the great King above all gods." Psalm 95:2-3

"Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever." I Chronicles 16:34

"Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name." Psalm 100:4

"And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him." Colossians 3:17

On the Day of Prayer for the Church in China, Benedict XVI asks the “Mother of China and all Asia” to support the faithful, that “they never be afraid to speak of Jesus to the world, and of the world to Jesus”, and “always be credible witnesses to this love, ever clinging to the rock of Peter”


Our Lady of China - ready to deceive millions.


The image of the Blessed Virgin in the royal robes of the pagan Empress Tzi-Hsi with the Christ Child on her knees. A vivid expression of Chinese tradition.

"Watch out that you are not deceived. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am he,’ and, ‘The time is near.’ Do not follow them." Luke 21:8

"The Lord said . . . the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah [or America, UK, Germany...] is great, and . . . their sin is very grievous" (Genesis 18:20). We all love to hear about God's mercy, grace and longsuffering. But we do not want to face the fact that someday soon He will come against everything that is of Sodom.

God revealed His nature to Moses this way: "The Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin" (Exodus 34:6-7). Yet in the very next phrase, God added: "[I] will by no means clear the guilty" (verse 7).

The Lord was saying, "I will not wink at sin! Yes, I am merciful and longsuffering, but the time is coming when my patience with your sin will end. And that is when Sodom [or America, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia...] will burn!"

Two angels came to Lot and warned, "Arise, take thy wife, and thy two daughters which are here; lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city" (Genesis 19:15).

Apparently Lot did not take this warning seriously because he slept in the next morning and the angels had to rouse him. His sons-in-law must have thought, "If he really believed the warning, he'd be on his way out of here right now. He doesn't believe it, so why should we?" This should be a lesson to us all. We need to live as if Christ is about to return so that others will listen to our witness.

I believe in what are called "divine ultimatums"—times when the Holy Spirit knows your sin is about to bring you to ruin. The Lord comes to you and says, "I am the God of grace, and I want to deliver you out of this. Now, turn from your sin. Obey My Word!"

These ultimatums are found throughout the Bible. For instance, Acts tells us
Ananias and Sapphira were warned not to grieve the Holy Ghost by lying to Him. But they disobeyed and lied—and instantly dropped dead (see Acts 5).

It does not matter how much you pray or fast, or how faithful you are in doing God's work; if you do not believe God will deal seriously with your sin, you are deceived!

David Wilkerson

"Error, indeed, is never set forth in its naked deformity, lest, being thus exposed, it should at once be detected. But it is craftily decked out in an attractive dress, so as, by its outward form, to make it appear to the inexperienced more true than the truth itself."

Irenaeus: Against Heresies, Book 1

"Like a roaring lion or a charging bear is a wicked man ruling over a helpless people." Proverbs 28:15

"Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour." I Peter 5:8

---

And now - we move on.

God determines our future, our times are in His hands.

What lies ahead, speculation at best.  But one thing is certain,  we must be about our Father' business.  

"Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." Matthew 28:16-20

Instead of praying as Daniel, Daniel 9 or King David, Psalm 51 [please take the time to read these for yourself and act accordingly]- we prayed in arrogance and pride a prayer void of repentance, a prayer lacking in the acknowledgment or accountability of our own part in bringing down America.

 

I received this prayer earlier today. Would things have turned out differently if we had cried out for forgiveness, acknowledged our sins, humbled ourselves, sought His face and turned from our wicked ways [2 Chronicles 7:14]? I would like to think so. The Word is filled with instances where the people repented and God relented. This sadly is not one of those times.

Dear Beloved God in Heaven

Please give us a president who loves this country and everything it stands for.

Please give us a president who respects you as the one true God.

Please give us a president who will, with your help, restore this nation to its former glory, the way you created her.

Please help us to respect what you have given to us and not take anything for granted ever again.

Please God weaken the evil and strengthen the good both without and within.

May our eyes be opened.

In Jesus’ name,

Amen

God Bless America

 

I am saddened, I am grieved, BUT I am not surprised.

As November 6, 2012 approaches - remember: 

Psalm 75:7 “But God is the judge: he putteth down one, and setteth up another.”
 

Daniel 4:35 “And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou?”
 

Daniel 2:21 “And he changeth the times and the seasons: he removeth kings, and setteth up kings:…”
 

Let us remember also those persecuted for their faith across the world...

http://crossroad.to/News/Persecution/index.html

and look to America, land of plenty - land of the free, home of the brave. A once proud land, now drowning in pornography, moral decay, homosexuality, the murder of the innocent and ask ourselves if we are a blessed nation or a cursed nation.

Has God abandoned this nation and we never even noticed?

"He who has ears to hear, let him hear!" (Luke 14:35)

I’m writing this as the great catastrophic hurricane claws its way up the coast, with my home state squarely in its path. Just in case, I’d better get this column finished fast. Maybe by the time you read it, everything will be all right. Or maybe it won’t....

While I still have electric power, I pay a short visit to the internet. Voila! This enormous killer storm is caused by… [trumpet fanfare] Global Warming! And how do we know that? Why, Bette Midler says so!

...In one of those old disaster movies from the 1970s, there was a line, “Earthquakes bring out the worst in people.” It seems hurricanes do, too. [...and it might bring out the best in some other people]

A lot of the folks on the barrier islands, for instance, didn’t want to evacuate. They were afraid their homes and shops would be looted before they could return. And there was the usual contingent of idiots who saw in the disaster an occasion for merriment: break out the surfboards and the video-cams, this is gonna be great!

The governor and umpteen dozen local mayors hit the airwaves to plead with people not to use the roads until the storm was over. ... Do you think that kept people off the roads? Think again! What the heck—if you want a sack of donuts or a really nice latte, don’t let a little thing like an official State of Emergency cramp your style....

This just in: gangs in the New York area are using Twitter to organize looting expeditions. Better living through technology! ...

In our folly, we have in our minds separated God from His creation. We think “nature” is autonomous. It runs itself, it does what it does, while God dozes....

Because we no longer believe that the earth is the Lord’s, we cannot see, we cannot hear. If the next storm were to be ten times as terrible as this one, still we would be deaf to God’s voice. We only hear “scientific explanations” of the storm—those of us who aren’t captivated by the man-made hurricane theory.

But a scientific explanation, while true, only describes what a hurricane does. It doesn’t tell us what a hurricane is.

We grope our way into the future, blind and deaf and with our hearts closed to understanding.

We can hear Bette Midler, but we can’t hear God.

#### article by Lou Duigon

Hurricane Sandy left death and devastation in its wake. As post-storm reports flow in, there are incredible pictures of the damage this storm did a week before the US elections. Many people just want to count it as an act of nature. Some want to say it is the result of man-made global warming. Others understand the great power of these storms and believe their source is the highest power. Whatever to which people want to credit the source of such devastation, these disasters bring out the best and the worst in people. There are many acts of selflessness and heroism. There are many acts of self centeredness and violence. It is true that we cannot know the heart, only YHVH knows.

A storm the size of Sandy should call us all to self examination, introspect, even repentance. It used to be that in insurance documents such storms were considered an "Act of God." Nowadays, people like to explain these things away. My personal opinion is that YHVH uses these types of phenomena to get our attention. This hit a week before the election. It is considered one of the largest storms in the history of our nation. Is there anything symbolic that we can take away from this? To me, the answer is quite simple. Sandy is no where near as devastating as what we as a nation face in the future if we continue our ways of turning our backs on the one true God, YHVH.

Homosexual marriage, alliances with Islam, fiscal irresponsibility, a lack of accountability, acceptance of lies, changing the nature of the Messiah in the way He is worshipped and the meaning of his example and teachings, being readily deceived by leaders and preachers--this is just a small list of the ingredients of the spiritual storm we shall face as a nation unless we repent from our wicked ways.

 

1 Peter 4:17-18 says, "For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of YHVH: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of YHVH? And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?"

Additionally, Yeshua says in Matthew 5:45 the Father "makes his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust." We have seen the physical storm come upon both the just and the unjust. We need to pray for those whose lives were devastated by this storm, that they might know YHVH and see his righteousness and blessings. As in Matthew 8 when Yeshua was asleep during the great storm and waves were coming over the ship. "He arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm." Last night, the winds were roaring and the rain blasting, but we were comforted. It is always good to be in the same boat with Yeshua when the storm comes.

 

Bill Wilson, The Daily Jot

Untested faith may be true faith, but it is sure to be small faith, and it is likely to remain little as long as it is without trials. Faith never prospers so well as when all things are against her: Tempests are her trainers, and bolts of lightning are her illuminators.

You could not have believed your own weakness if you had not been compelled to pass through the rivers; and you would never have known God’s strength if you had not been supported in the flood. Faith increases in quality, assurance, and intensity the more it is exercised with tribulation. Faith is precious, and its trial is precious too.  Pastor Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834-1892)

"In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ." 1 Peter1:6-7

 

Like our secular guides, today’s postmodern, purpose-driven church guides keep sounding the call for continual change. And their restless audience — dulled by decades of ‘progressive education’ and corrupt entertainment — are fast falling in line behind the most popular pied pipers. There’s little to hold them back from the tempting snares that tug at their hearts.

The greatest obstacle to deception has always been God’s unchanging Word.  But that wall of resistance is crumbling fast.

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it." John 1:1-5

"...the light has come into the world, and [but] men [continue to love] loved [love] darkness rather than light..." John 3:19

 

Christmas trees, secret Santa's, Easter Egg hunts, sunrise services, Halloween uh, excuse me fall festivals - all with pagan origins yet observed, condoned, overlooked or allowed in the church -

when is enough enough.?.

Have we become so desensetized that we sprinkle a little holy water around the holiday, perhaps give it a new name or a Christian spin, wash things up a bit and continue to practice the things that are detestable to God?

"The Christianization of Pagan holidays began about the fourth century A.D. when the Roman Emperor Constantine, became (or feigned becoming) a Christian. In order to consolidate his rule, he incorporated the Pagan holidays and festivals into the church ritual - attracting the Pagans, but he gave the holidays and festivals new "Christian" names and identities - thus appeasing the Christians. Over the centuries, this practice has continued until the present time where we find the two systems, Paganism and Christianity, almost indistinguishable.

This is the Adversary's clever deception - paganism dressed in Christian clothes - nothing more - nothing less, yet Christian churches have wholeheartedly embraced the deception."

[Credit to Lorraine Day, MD for these invaluable comments]

"And you shall be holy to Me, for I the Lord am holy, and have separated you from the peoples, that you should be Mine." Leviticus 20:26

“Take heed to yourself, lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land where you are going, lest it be a snare in your midst. But you shall destroy their altars, break their sacred pillars, and cut down their wooden images (for you shall worship no other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God)." Exodus 34:12-13

"What fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? ...come out from among them and be separate." 2 Cor. 6:12-18

"Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your deeds complete in the sight of my God." Revelation 3:2

As October 31, American's [both children and adult] celebration of occultism - a symptom of the spiritual battle that rages throughout the year, approaches remember:

" …although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools… and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator…. Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness… to vile passions…. [and finally] to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit...."  Romans 1:21-32

Most people follow the masses, and the masses follow the media -- especially when it promotes thrills and adventures that feed the lust for forbidden thrills. The occult has always focused on gory images of violence, death and destruction. We see it in today's media, music, and movies. As people become desensitized to occult violence and horror, the images in popular entertainment grow increasingly and indescribably more evil.

And Santa is waiting - just around the corner.!!.

"... have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them. For it is shameful even to speak of those things which are done by them in secret." Ephesians 5:9-14

As I walked up Broadway during rush hour and looked into the faces of the passing crowds, a thought struck my soul like a thunderclap: “Almost every person passing by is going to hell.”

I realize this may come across as harsh or presumptuous. You might think, “Surely some of those passersby know the Lord. Certainly many in that massive crowd had seen or experienced religion of some kind.”

With every block I walked, I was hit again and again with the thought “They’re lost. They’re going to spend eternity without Jesus!” Finally, I tried comforting myself with the thought, “But our church has seen thousands of people converted. Times Square Church is one of the largest congregations in New York City.”

Still, something nagged at my soul. I had to acknowledge before the Lord, “Oh, Father, I don’t have the burden I once had. I don’t weep the way I did when I first came to New York City!”

In 1958, Gwen and I were living in Philipsburg, Pennsylvania, a town of around 1,500. In those days, I would walk into the woods near our home and weep for hours over the souls in New York. I owned a little green Chevrolet, and each week as I drove to the city to minister, I wept during the entire three-hour drive.

Today I preach in one of the most beautiful theaters in the world, the historic Mark Hellinger Theatre. Yet, I wonder how many in our congregation and how many reading this feel the way I felt walking up Broadway. I had to stop and ask myself: “How long has it been since you wept for the lost? Do you still have the Lord’s burden to reach them with the gospel?”

Are you able to work alongside your colleagues, greet your neighbors, talk to your unsaved family members and never once be concerned for their souls? Is your mind occupied with simply surviving — providing for your family? Are you no longer burdened, witnessing, reaching out to the lost and dying world?

David Wilkerson
former pastor of
Time Square Church, NYC

“They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing His sheaves with him” (Psalms 126:5-6).

As the pope kisses the Qu'ran we must ask ourselves ~ WHY.??.

Either the Qu'ran is truth or the Bible is truth -  but both cannot be The Truth.

Millions are being deceived by false teachings and doctrines of devils, giving heed to seducing spirits... but

"Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to sin! Such things must come, but woe to the man through whom they come! Matthew 18:7

America is in decline - some are unaware or unaffected, others are burdened, still others admit they are discouraged.

But God' Word is clear, speaking Truth to all who will take the time to read and study - this world is NOT our home - we are strangers in this strange and foreign land, exiles awaiting our home going to our Promise Land.

As we see all that is going on around us we should not be discouraged, burdened or unaffected, but rejoice that first, our names are written in His Book of Life and second, we were told that these things must come to pass before the great and terrible day of the LORD. We have been chosen for such a time as this. Just as Hadassah [Queen Esther] we too have a mission, not to save America, nor to become involved in the political system, but to save lost souls, rescue the perishing, family, friends, neighbors, bound in sin, wrapped in grave clothes of this world' glitz and glamor, chained by the lies of the enemy.

E.M. Bounds spent hours daily on his knees in prayer - praying for the lost, praying for the church, praying for his own walk with the LORD. How much of our day is given to prayer.?.

We must seek the LORD for the lost among us. We must pray, we must read and study His word, we must be ready to give an account of the hope that is within each of us.

Time is short for all of us. We have already spent years doing our own thing; building a career, raising children, saving for retirement, traveling..... NOW it is time to be about our Father' business.

"Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our LORD Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord."
1 Corinthians 15:56

The church, His church, bound in chains of darkness,  imprisoned by tolerance, foolish desires, false teachings, lies, deception and hidden sins. 

Called to be salt and light yet so much like the world.

Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your deeds complete in the sight of my God.

....you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead. Revelation 3

The three most common words heard among Christians in times of crisis are: "LORD, do something!"

It is against our nature to stand still and do nothing when we face perplexing trials. In fact, waiting patiently for God to act is probably the most difficult thing about the Christian walk. Even devoted believers panic when the LORD does not move according to their timetable.

We constantly give God deadlines and time limits. We cry, "LORD, when are You going to do something about this? If You don't act now, it will be too late!" But God is never too late. He always acts according to His schedule, not ours.

Our God is always searching the earth for those who will trust Him in every crisis, trial and hopeless situation. Indeed, He often leads us into situations that are critical and difficult in order to test us.He wants to see if we are willing to stand still and wait for Him to bring supernatural deliverance.

The Bible states very clearly: "The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way" (Psalm 37:23). The Hebrew word for ordered here means "prearranged, step by step, fixed, ordained by God."
This means it is God, not the devil, who leads us into difficult places. We may cry, "LORD, why are You allowing my crisis to continue?" But the truth is, not only does He allow our trial, but He does so deliberately - for a purpose. And that is hard for us to accept.

God allows these hard things in our lives in order to produce faith in us. He is shaping us into godly examples of faith, to be His testimony to a faithless, ungodly age. I firmly believe every step I take is ordained by our heavenly Father and He would never lead me to the brink of a difficult situation only to abandon me. He would not say, "Okay, I've directed you up to this point. Now you're on your own."

No! God is absolutely faithful to His children, in every crisis. He is always asking us, "Will you be one I've been searching for, one who will not panic, who will not charge Me with forsaking, abandoning and hurting My children?
 
Will you stand still in your crisis and trust Me to see you through?"

David Wilkerson

"And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment, that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ, being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God." Philippians 1:9-11

 

We must be as the Bereans, checking to see if those things we hear and see are TRUTH.!!.

Counterfeit Christianity

... offers you God along with glitz and glamour, easy belief-ism but not eternal salvation, prosperity and pleasure without prayer and petition. One can have fellowship without obligation and salvation without devotion or surrender to the One True and Living Creator God.

Robert Burnell insists that there are two revivals now in progress.

'One is the revival of the Spirit of God by which dead men and women are freed from their sins by the Blood of the Lamb, raised to a life which bears God's Nature and manifests His Mercy. The other is a revival of religious flesh, a revival so appealing its gathering multitudes, wielding its power in the world as it offers all the comfort of religion while allowing the 'believer' to keep one's own set of principles, remain tolerant and accepting of all religions as brothers and retain all rights to one's self.

To be involved in the second,  you flee from the first.

You must escape from Christendom.'

How easy it is to cast blame.

Our nation appears to be in free fall, we see little hope of recovery so we look for someone to blame. The Democrats blame the Republicans the Republicans blame the Democrats. We have our hopes on the next election, vote this one in, vote that one out.

We see abortions topping sixty million and look to the government for help. Homosexuals are accepted in the military we shake our heads in disbelief. In state after state same sex marriages are legalized. What can we do? We sit by and watch in horror as our freedoms are slowly eroding and wonder: How could this have happened?

Turn on ‘christian’television and learn how Jesus and His disciples were rich, how God wants you to be rich and happy. Visit your local bookstore and read how you can have your best life ever, or how to help yourself be more successful in your everyday life. Want to relax and be invigorated - try ‘christian’yoga.

The problems we are facing in America are not the result of the wrong administration. They are not the result of voting Democratic and not Republican or Republican and not Democratic. The problems we face will not be solved with new legislation or a different president.

Time and time again, throughout history God warned us yet we continued to be disobedient, to reject His truth.

And now:

“.. God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the degrading of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator…” Romans 1

“Now is the time for us to humble ourselves; to stop putting our faith in government, in education, in democracy, in capitalism, in the economy, in our retirement plans, and turn to the one who is LORD of all… The LORD Jesus Christ. Let us earnestly, sincerely, and humbly get on our knees, repent and turn, and beg for God’s mercy – to give us the leaders that we need and not the ones we deserve.”

"Christians are facing rising hostility" writes my friend Berit Kjos. "Today's America -- a nation accustomed to peace and prosperity may soon face unthinkable turmoil, lawlessness and scarcity. Some news reports even suggest the imminence of a third world war.

We are surrounded by moral corruption, our freedoms are fading fast." But those of us who have put our faith, our hope our trust in God stand on an unshakable foundation - Jesus Christ our LORD; and He who has promised is faithful.

"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?... Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. " Romans 8:35-39

Be careful faithful Christian - be careful.

"...forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments

...Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil.

... despise not the chastening of the LORD; neither be weary of his correction; For whom the LORD loveth He correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.

Be not afraid of sudden fear, neither of the desolation of the wicked, when it cometh. For the LORD shall be thy confidence, and shall keep thy foot from being taken.

The wise shall inherit glory: but shame shall be the promotion of fools."

The Book of Proverbs, Chapter 3

Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD and against his anointed saying; Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us.

He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the LORD shall have them in derision. Psalm 2:1-4

Revival is born through humility, faith, prayer and the power of
the Holy Spirit.

If revival is being withheld from us it is because some idols still remain, still enthroned; because we still insist in placing our reliance in human schemes; because we still refuse to face the unchangeable truth that

"It is not by might, but by My Spirit."

Jonathan Goforth, Missionary to China

Bill Wilson, the Daily Jot writes:

"By denying a meeting with Israel and by opining appeasement to Islamists, the US leadership is risking putting Americans here at home and abroad in harm's way.

An Islamist gunmen in Libya attacked the US Embassy killing the US Ambassador and three staff members beginning with a rocket attack on their car; ending with the Ambassador being suffocated and the three aides shot. The US Embassy in Egypt also was attacked as Islamists burned the American flag and tried to raise the Muslim Black Flag with the words, "There is no God, but Allah, and Mohammad is his messenger."

The US is a lot like Babylon in Jeremiah. The nation is failing morally, economically, and spiritually as it supports the enemies of our God and King.

The prophetic implications are enormous from types and shadows of Ezekiel and Revelation to very specific ones like that of Jeremiah 51:14:

"I will fill you with men like locusts; they will raise a battle cry against you."

Be watchful, pray for God' mercy, draw closer to God and rest in His promises:

"For in the day of trouble He will keep me safe in His dwelling; He will hide me in the shelter of His tabernacle and set me high upon a rock." Psalm 27:5

Remember ~

"It is the LORD who goes before you. He will be with you; He will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed." Deuteronomy 31:8

Since there is only one “god,” the God of the Jew first, then the nations, and since there is only one Jerusalem ~ the capital of Israel;

then this can only mean that this "god," tossed about with such disdain, is the one and only, the Alpha and the Omega, The I AM, The True and Living God ~ The Sovereign God of the Bible ~ The Creator of the Universe, and He said:

"Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows." Galatians 6:7

What is a "man after God' own heart"?

What will he look like, how will he live his life?

In the Book of Acts we read:

"After removing Saul, he made David their king. He testified concerning him: 'I have found David son of Jesse a man after My own heart; he will do everything I want him to do."

But David committed adultery, murder; David was a man of war.What was there in David that God would call him "a man after My own heart?"

David loved The Word ---"O how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day." Psalm 119:97

David loved to pray --- "I love the LORD, because he hath heard my voice and my supplications." Psalm 116:1

David loved to praise --- "Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song. For the Lord is the great God, the great King above all gods. In his hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to him. The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land. Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker; for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care." Psalm 95:1-7

 

But, most importantly to God, David "will do everything I want him to do."

Will we be a David, or will we be a Saul?

Sun Myung Moon -- founder of the Unification Church died early Monday in South Korea. 

A message on the Unification Church website read:

"Our True Father passed into the spiritual world at 1:54 AM Monday, September 3rd, Korea time. Father, who is responsible to save the world, pushed himself way beyond his limits,"

The Unification Church believes Jesus was divine but that he is not God.

Followers regarded Moon as the messiah.

"For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he has done, whether it be good or bad." 2 Corinthains 5:10

"It is appointed to men once to die, but after this the judgment"
Hebrews 9:27

"One of the great causes why God cannot bless His Church is the lack of love.

When the body is divided, there cannot be strength.

In the time of their great religious wars, when Holland stood out so nobly against Spain, one of their mottoes was: "Unity gives strength." It is only when God's people stand as one body, one before God in the fellowship of love, one toward another in deep affection, one before the world in a love that the world can see-it is only then that they will have power to secure the blessing which they ask of God. Remember that if a vessel that ought to be one whole is cracked into many pieces, it cannot be filled. You can take one part of the vessel and dip out a little water into that, but if you want the vessel full, the vessel must be whole. That is literally true of Christ's Church. And if there is one thing we must pray for still, it is this-Lord, melt us together into one by the power of the Holy Spirit. Let the Holy Spirit, who at Pentecost made them all of one heart and one soul, do His blessed work among us.

Praise God, we can love each other in a divine love, for "the fruit of the Spirit is love." Give yourselves up to love, and the Holy Spirit will come; receive the Spirit, and He will teach you to love more."

Andrew Murray
Absolute Surrender

Lance Armstrong is one of the most remarkable people of our generation. Diagnosed with cancer at the age of 25 and given only a 40 percent chance of survival, he went on to win seven Tour de France titles. But then came years of doping accusations. Lance Armstrong has decided to stop fighting these allegations. In response, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency banned Armstrong from professional cycling for life and vacated his Tour de France titles. The cyclist says that his most important race goes on: promoting cancer awareness and research. The cancer survivor has raised nearly $500 million since the Lance Armstrong Foundation started in 1997. [As the parent of a cancer patient], I sincerely hope he continues to raise money and awareness about this horrific disease. At the same time, it's hard not to be shocked at the way his amazing cycling career has ended.

Another Armstrong made the weekend news as well: Neil Armstrong died Saturday at the age of 82. When he set foot on the moon on July 20, 1969, he made the statement heard around the world: "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." The Apollo 11 moon mission was his last space flight. He left NASA a year later to become a professor of engineering at the University of Cincinnati.

Armstrong refused all offers to use his fame for personal advancement. Life magazine described his legacy well: he "was one of those rare, genuine heroes whose legend grew larger with passing years not because he nurtured the myths that attached to him as the first human to walk on the moon, but because he quietly, resolutely refused to play the role of the publicly lauded Great American." His humility was both genuine and remarkable.

One Armstrong finished well; the other may yet forge a great legacy but today lives in the shadow of scandal. Their stories prove the truth of the old adage: it's not where you begin the race that matters, but where you end.

The same is true for us. Jacob stole his brother's birthright; Moses killed a man and fled as a felon; David was a murdering adulterer; Peter three times denied knowing his Lord; Paul persecuted Christians to the death. But try writing the story of human history and redemption without them. Their common secret: they learned to define success by faithfulness. Our culture defines it by fame and fortune, popularity and possessions, but God knows better. If we live every moment of this day in God's will for his glory, when our days are done we will say with Paul, "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith" (2 Timothy 4:7).

Whose race are you running today?

Dr. Jim Denison
Denison Forum

Pascal wrote:

"There is a God-shaped vacuum in the heart of every man which cannot be filled by any created thing, but only by God, the Creator, made known through Jesus."

Yet man, in his sinful. depraved state continues to try.

This was posted on Facebook by a young man who seems to be searching and thinks he has found the answers to his questions - filling the void in his heart. Pray that the Holy Spirit will reveal truth to this young man:

"I now worship the sun. Its been there for me since before I was born. Giver of life it rises and sets with beauty and poise. I aspire to be like the sun. Always radiant and warming the world with its love. It tirelessly gives and asks for nothing in return. It does not pass judgement, it does not demand my prayers or good works, it simply leads by example every day. I love you sun, you have done more for me than anyone or anything else. Without you the world would be a dark cold and desolate place. Thank you sun for bringing me the day."

A Christian's response:

I now worship the SON. He's been there for me since before I was knit together in my mother's womb. The Giver/Creator of life, He never slumbers or sleeps and walks in beauty ~ the Giver of Grace and Love. I aspire to be like the SON, always radiant and warming the world with His Love. He tirelessly gives to us, asking only to be recognized for Who He is and honored in return. He is the Righteous Judge who has, in love, taken the punishment His Justice demands upon Himself on my behalf. He does not demand my prayers but longs for communication with me which I am invited to have with Him through prayer. Any good works I can do in thanksgiving to Him, gives me a reason for the gift of Life He has given. He came from His royal abode as God to be born as a babe into the world He created and grew up to show me He understands my difficulties, my temptations, my heartbreak and my pain. Then, He took the penalty I deserved for ignoring Him, living a disobedient life and died a torturous humiliating death in my place, bringing Life into His body once again three days later to show me that this life is not all there is. I love You, SON! You have done more for me than anyone [or anyting] else! Without You the world would be a dark and desolate place.

Thank You, SON, for giving me this day. Help me use it wisely to honor You and help others.  Help me to worship the Creator, not the creation.

They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service. And these things will they do unto you, because they have not known the Father, nor me.(John 16:2-3)

Evidently Bouazizi's frustration with the corruption and daily humiliation was shared by many of his countrymen, for the demonstrations which followed led to the collapse of the Tunisian government, and which spilled out over the borders into Libya, Morocco, Yemen, Egypt, Jordan, and Syria.

The uprising against basically corrupt, secular and accomodationist Arab governments, has come to be known as the Arab Spring.

Hailed by many in the West as the dawning of a new democratic middle east, The Arab Spring was considered to be an Obama foreign policy success, a direct outcome of president Obama's unprecedented address to the Muslim world in 2009 at Al Azar University in Cairo.

The drama of the Egyptian protests in particular captured the world's imagination. When protesting Muslims gathered for prayers in Tahrir square, they were protected from the brutality of Mubarak's police by a human shield of Coptic Christians. The image was one of solidarity and shared suffering, and it captured the imagination of the world.

But the illusion was soon shattered for within days of the fall of Mubarak, the Egyptian Army was deployed in tanks and armored personnel carriers to fire upon at Coptic monasteries, killing monks as they sang the Kyrie Eliason,(Lord Have Mercy).Other Copts were attacked by enraged mobs for peaceably protesting the kidnapping of young Christian girls to be "converted" and married to Muslims.

In the elections that followed the fall of Mubarak, Mohammed Morsi, the Muslim brotherhood candidate prevailed handily, and has since been consolidating his power.

Shariah, the Islamic legal code is being implemented and now troubling reports are coming out of Egypt that Coptic Christians, and other perceived enemies of the Egyptian state, are being subjected to crucifixion.

You read it right...Crucifixion! The following is from a Raymond Ibrahim article,

A Sky News Arabic correspondent in Cairo confirmed that protestors belonging to the Muslim Brotherhood crucified those opposing Egyptian President Muhammad Morsi naked on trees in front of the presidential palace while abusing others. Likewise, Muslim Brotherhood supporters locked the doors of the media production facilities of 6-October [a major media region in Cairo], where they proceeded to attack several popular journalists.

Muslim Brotherhood Crucifies Opponants

Evidently Crucifixion is one of the Koranically proscribed punishments according to the same article,

Moreover, those alleged to have been crucified in Egypt certainly fit the Koran's description of who deserves to be crucified. According to Allah, "The punishment of those who wage war against Allah and His messenger and strive to make mischief in the land is only this: that they should be murdered or crucified or their hands and their feet should be cut off…" (Koran 5:33).

As if crucifixion isn't cruel and a horrible enough punishment, notice the injunction to "cut off the opposing hand and foot" of certain "mischief-makers".

• This was explained to me as a particularly vicious way to cripple and degrade a person for life. The left hand and the right foot are removed. Why? Because in the pre-modern world that Islam seems to thrive in the left hand is used for sanitation.The feet are essential for bodily relief as there are no toilets.

This punishment not only cripples, but humiliates and degrades as well. Further proof that there is nothing holy about the Koran.

Such cruelty is hard to fathom but it is becoming commonplace in the Muslim world these days.Two Christian brothers were crucified by Muslims on the Ivory coast recently. Christian children in Iraq were crucified by Muslims to intimidate the remaining Chaldean population into fleeing.

What we are seeing in countless places such as Egypt, Iraq, Indonesia and Nigeria, is Islam in practice.

The Shahs, Mubaraks, Saddam Husseins, and Gadaffis have all paid dearly for trusting and working with our western leaders, only to be undermined, and thrown to the baying Muslim "street" mobs, their nations consigned to the nightmare of "Shariah".

In their reign, they were brutal indeed, but were holding back and suppressing something even worse, the open expression of the hatred and brutality that is Islam. Now the Genie is out of the bottle.

The "gods" of the nations are not mere constructs. Any other "god" than the Infinite, personal, Triune God of the Bible, is demonic . Punishments like these seem to underscore that the god of Islam is the devil.

When Christians have revivals and repent and return to the faith of their Lord and Saviour and to the scriptures, good things happen, schools are built, as are hospitals, compassion and mercy are written into laws, the poor are relieved, people are salvaged, and others sacrifice comforts to reach the unreached.

But when Muslims go back to their religion, crucifixion and maimings abound, terror spreads, pressure is put upon peaceable societies to accommodate an increasing list of demands to placate Muslim sensibilities, and security costs spiral. In short, when there is an Islamic revival, people get hurt and even killed.

We must pray for the Muslim people, that they might be saved by believing in Jesus. Jesus died for them also, that they might escape the coming wrath.If we love the ones among us, perhaps we can reach them.

Our only comfort is the sure knowledge that God is in control, and that these things have to happen to bring about the long prophesied world situation leading to the coming of the Son of Man.Jesus is coming soon! Maranatha!

Bill Randles/Believers in Grace