God made a covenant with His creation:

With Adam, Noah, Abram [Abraham] and with David - a promise of blessings for obedience and curses for disobedience.

But the people of God rebelled against God, forgetting His loving kindness, His covenant promises…

“They kept not the covenant of God, and refused to walk in his law…” Psalm 78:10

Forfeiting His blessings they endured the crushing blows of His judgment for their disobedience…

After four hundred years of slavery in Egypt, God raised up a deliverer. Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt through the power of God - and for forty years they wandered in the wilderness due to their rebellion and disobedience before entering the land promised to Abraham. The Israelites would lose control of the land many times due to spiritual disobedience until 1967, almost 2,000 years.


“Wherefore the LORD God of Israel saith, I said indeed that thy house, and the house of thy father, should walk before me forever: but now the LORD saith, Be it far from me; for them that honor me I will honor, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed.” 1 Samuel 2:30

And still Israel does not walk before their God in holiness with honor - and for their disobedience they continue to fight for peace and possession of The Land. But, Israel was appointed to be a light to the nations. Her future is guaranteed, in spite of past failures.

“They are Israelites, and to them belong the sonship, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises; to them belong the patriarchs, and of their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ. God who is over all be blessed for ever. Amen." Romans 9

But, what about America?

Although the New Covenant is a better covenant, superseding any other covenant and making all other covenants obsolete, it still does not invalidate, negate, or annul any other covenant God has ever made with any man.

So, what about America?

Will God allow judgment to come upon His Chosen People for their disobedience and ignore the disobedience of His Bride? I have heard it said: “as the church goes so goes the nation”
　
God has promised to give Israel the New Covenant and this will happen in the future.

But, what about America?

ISLAMIC STATE CAMPAIGN CLOSES ACCESS TO WATER SOURCES TO DRIVE OUT CHRISTIANS:

The Islamic State (ISIL or ISIS) has been closing access to water supplies from the Tigris River to Christian towns in an effort to eradicate Christianity from the region. A historic Christian city of 50,000 about 19 miles southeast of Mosul, Qaraqosh is under the protection of well-armed Kurdish fighters whose autonomous region disputes the area with both ISIS and the Iraqi central government based in Baghdad. Now, in a further effort to oust Christians from land they have inhabited for two millennia, the Islamic terrorists have begun turning off a precious utility: water. Since taking Mosul on June 10, ISIL terrorists have squeezed Qaraqosh and nearby Christian villages by blocking the pipes that connect the communities with the Tigris river. The city must have water trucked in, at huge cost, from Kurdish-controlled areas just 15 miles away. The parched residents of Qaraqosh must pay about $10 every other day to fill up emergency water tanks, no small sum in this economically depressed part of Iraq. The Islamic State days ago also issued an ultimatum to the Christians in the town of Mosul, the second largest city in Iraq, ordering them to “convert to Islam, pay a religious tax or face death by the sword.” An exodus went on in Mosul throughout the following Friday, with all the Christians abandoning the town by the end of the day. “For the first time in the history of Iraq, Mosul is now empty of Christians,” said one man." A bishop in the neighboring city of Tel Keif said, “Hundreds were walking on foot.” He said many of them were bereft of all money or possessions - and that ISIS had robbed them of all of their belongings before setting off for refugee camps. (Worthy News)

Meanwhile, the UN is busy accusing Israel of human rights violations in the Gaza Strip. Instead of backing Israel’s right to respond to human rights violations by Hamas, the int'l forum in Geneva chose to side with the terrorists. Likewise, a mere 600 miles away from Gaza is Mosul, and the UN remains mostly silent about the brutal persecution of Christians in Iraq by ISIS terrorists, and utterly unmoved to do anything about it.

“And when He comes, He will reprove [convict] the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: Of sin, because they believe not on Me; Of righteousness, because I go to My father, and ye see Me no more, Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.” John 16:8-11

In prophecy, the Almighty God has condescended to take us into the secret chambers of His eternal counsels, making known to us what He has purposed to do in the future. The hundreds of prophecies spoken of in scripture are not so much prediction but revelations of what will occur – promises that will come to pass. Arthur W. Pink – The Sovereignty of God

“Known unto God are all His works from the beginning of the world.” Acts 15:18

Our all-knowing omnipotent God is never caught off guard. He does not simply respond to unanticipated human circumstances. In absolute sovereignty, He brought all things into existence. Yeshua [Jesus] will return. That fact is an absolute certainty, a revelation of what will occur. Among the purposes for His return will be to vindicate God’s holiness through the judgment of the wicked. The very character of God demands that He will one day judge sinful man and bring to an end the rebellion of those who have chosen to reject His Son. Marvin Rosenthal – The Pre-Wrath Rapture of the Church

“Be not deceived, God is not mocked, for whatever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” Galatians 6:7

Far too many see only a God of Love, failing to recognize He is also a God of Wrath, an all-consuming fire, a righteous judge Who will one day separate the wheat from the tares, the sheep from the goats, casting into hell those who rejected His Son. We refuse to acknowledge it is written ~ “Be holy for I AM Holy.” [Leviticus 11:45] Just as prophecy shows us what must, indeed will happen, so too scripture shows us what must, indeed will happen to those who reject the Son of God.

There is no middle of the road for those who will choose to follow the Son of God.

John Bunyan wrote in his ‘Sighs from Hell; “They that do continue to reject and slight the Word of God are such, as are ordained to be damned.”

“God hath made man upright, but they have sought out many inventions.”
Ecclesiastes 7:29

There is a price to pay for all who reject the Son of God; for those who choose to walk the way of the world, instead of the way of the Cross. Today, man is not in the condition in which he left the Hand of his Creator; an awful catastrophe has happened and now man is a desolate ruin, in total darkness, separated from his Creator by ‘the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life. Man is not from the Father, but of the world.’ [I John 2:16]

You can have this world and the things of this world, OR you can have Jesus. BUT, you cannot have both.

Choose wisely.

Bishop Tony Palmer, a South African Bishop with the Communion of Evangelical Episcopal Churches has passed away following a motorcycle accident.

Palmer gained worldwide media attention in January after Pope Francis sent a special envoy to a Charismatic Evangelical Leadership Conference Kenneth Copeland hosted.

Palmer presented a video message from the pope that went massively viral at the Copeland-hosted conference. The message centered on unity among Catholics and Protestants. Copeland prayed for the pope and sent a message of his own back to Francis.

Coincidence, correlation, synchronism, poetic justice, the hand of God, or just an accident?

I have absolutely NO idea, but found this most interesting.

The news from Israel is troubling. Grief and mourning on both sides. Wars and rumors of wars. An unprovoked attack by militant extremist in the Ukraine has caused the death of almost three hundred people. How many were believers… how many were not? Diseased illegal children are flooding into America in record numbers while BHO promises members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus that he will be as “generous and broad” as he can to “stop the deportation of ‘their’ people each and every day.”  ISIS issues a statement in Iraq's Nineveh province calling for a meeting with Christian leaders to give them the choice between converting to Islam or pay a dhimmi –- a tax imposed on non-Muslims. If Christians rejected both options, the only choice left is “the use of the sword”…. Islam welcomed in the churches “chrislam”- abortion on demand, numbers of homosexual weddings and homosexual clergy on the increase in the name of tolerance and diversification. Governments determined to destroy Judeo-Christianity, encouraging Christians to embrace the differences ‘within the body’...

Where is the outcry from Christians around the world? Where are the pastors and congregational leaders? Where are the calls for prayer and fasting by those who call themselves ‘christians’?

Where is His church and why is she silent?

“First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out--
Because I was not a Socialist.

Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out--
Because I was not a Trade Unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out--
Because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me--and there was no one left to speak for me.”
Martin Niemöller

“Then Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentiles; and he did eat and drink, and rose up, and went his way: thus Esau despised his birthright.” Genesis 25:34

“Esau despised his birthright.”

That which had been promised to him by God, he despised. To satisfy the here and now, for “his best life now” Esau gave up the very best God could offer for what? One could rightly fault Jacob for his deception and trickery, but had Esau cherished what God had promised, this interaction between brothers would never have happened.

But what about today - does this apply in our here and now?

What about those who walk among us, lost, separated from God. Rejecting God’ best [eternal life through His Son] they too have despised their birthright? How many tens of thousands have traded the very best God could ever offer mankind, turning their back on the promptings of the Holy Spirit, ignoring the teachings of The Word, walking away from God for bread and pottage of lentiles? Esau’ pottage of lentiles, his idol, comes in various ideas, shapes and forms in the twenty-first century. Climbing the corporate ladder, keeping up with the “Jones,” getting our kids into the most prestigious colleges and universities, living in the best house, driving the best car, going on expensive vacations. Time, there is no time for the things of God, just too busy to read His Word and much too tired to go to church on Sunday !

Could a “Christian” make the same choice as Esau?

Idols - anything that is adored or worshipped more than we adore or worship God.

Idols.!?!.

"Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God." 1 Corinthians 6:9-11

Pope Francis has revealed that “reliable data” collected by the Vatican suggests that one in every 50 members of the Catholic clergy is a pedophile.

Speaking in an interview with La Repubblica, the Pope said his advisers had tried to “reassure” him that paedophilia within the Church was “at the level of two per cent.”  He pledged that he would drive away the “leprosy” of child abuse that was infecting the “house” of Catholicism.

“I find this state of affairs intolerable,” he said. [sources -The Independent, UK, wn.com, Belfast Telegraph,NewsthatMatters]

Intolerable? Why not sickening, reprehensible, criminal, condemnable, wretched?  And why would any parent continue to send their children to Catholic schools, Sunday schools..... to be taught by such as these?

The odds are not in their favor.!!.

Is it true, as Tertullian observed, that the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church?

Christianity spread throughout the Middle East and eventually around the world after the death of Jesus our LORD, His apostles and hundreds of faithful followers.

Christians in China, the Sudan, North Korea, North Viet Nam, India, Pakistan, Uganda, Iran, Iraq… the list is endless die daily for their faith. Refusing to bow the knee to a false religion, they stand faithful to Jesus their LORD, without compromise as their churches are burned to the ground, many times with believers locked inside. Often they are made to stand and watch helplessly as their children are murdered, wives raped and husbands butchered before their eyes. And yet they stand. Saints continuing to stand strong, the gospel continuing to save in spite of fierce demonic opposition.

But there is no persecution within the churches of the USA and the UK? Should we raise our voices in great Hallelujahs? Are we to Praise the LORD? Perhaps we could point a finger at these churches wondering what they are doing wrong and smile assuming we are doing all things well?

Churches in America have swallowed and followed the lie - “compromise, tolerance, unity, oneness” No longer is The Word enough, we need extra biblical teaching from liberal thinkers who care more for the glory than the gospel. Unlearned sheep, refusing to read His Words, their ears wide open and minds empty sit, soaking in the latest heretical teachings offered by the 'gospel stars' of TBN, GLC and DAYSTAR. Sheep without discernment, they drift further and further away from The Truth and more and more into the world’ way of thinking and “doing“ church.

Attendance in churches within the UK continues to fall, as the percentage of those with little interest in the things of God continues to rise. Apathy reigns while cults, Islam and the occult are rapidly on the rise. Christianity in the UK has entered into drastic decline and churches are closing, sometime even being converted into mosques and bars.

“We must be prepared to suffer. We must be prepared for the fact that we may be arrested. Before I was sent to prison, I already prepared a bag with some clothes, shoes and a toothbrush. When I had to go to the police station, I could just pick it up. I was ready. People are still being arrested. You don’t know what will happen tomorrow. Today the authorities are not bothering us, but tomorrow things may be different. I pray that we will receive the strength to stand firm.” Pastor Samuel Lamb/Christian Leader in China

Statistics have shown that more people died for their faith in the Twentieth Century than in all of the previous centuries combined. “During that century alone, there are documented cases in excess of 26 million martyrs.

Persecution will not come to either church until the church falls on its face in repentance for its idolatry. God will not be mocked, what we have sown, we are now reaping. Homosexuality within the church, same sex marriages within the church, legalized abortion, legalized drugs, illegal aliens, corrupt government and government officials from the top to the bottom, ungodly church leaders and false teachers, [feel free to add to the list].

Persecution coming to the churches within the USA and the UK? Doubt it!

Why would satan bother - he already has what he wants.

“The Church’s one foundation is Jesus Christ her LORD. She is His new creation by water and the Word. From heaven He came and sought her to be His holy bride; with His own blood He bought her and for her life He died.”

“I believe that one reason why the church of God at this present moment has so little influence over the world is because the world has so much influence over the church.” Charles Spurgeon

“Your first desire will be that all men may obtain the same knowledge of divine grace. Hence your love will not be restrained from serving all to the fullest extent, preaching and proclaiming the divine truth wherever possible, and rejecting all doctrine and life not in harmony with this teaching. But take note, the devil and the world, unwilling that their devices be rejected, cannot endure the knowledge of what you do. They will oppose you with everything great, learned, wealthy and powerful, and represent you as a heretic and insane.

Mark you, you will be brought to the cross for the sake of the truth, as was Christ your LORD.” Martin Luther

You MUST be or you are not His disciple.

Few would argue the brutality of terrorism - Islamic, Muslim extremist they are called, but are they?

“And kill them wherever you find them, and turn them out from where they have turned you out…” Quran 2:191

"Fighting is prescribed for you, and ye dislike it. But it is possible that ye dislike a thing which is good for you, and that ye love a thing which is bad for you. But Allah knoweth, and ye know not." Quran 2:216

“Allah said, ‘A prophet must slaughter before collecting captives. A slaughtered enemy is driven from the land. Muhammad, you craved the desires of this world, its goods and the ransom captives would bring. But Allah desires killing them to manifest the religion.’”
Ibn Ishaq/Hisham 484

Tens of thousands are dying for the cause of Allah. But……

Hosea tells us - “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge…”

Westboro Baptist Church, an anti-Semitic hate group regularly stages protests around the country, picketing institutions and individuals they think support homosexuality or otherwise subvert what they believe is God’s law - extremist?

The RCC has for hundreds of years taught heresy - yet billions have joined themselves to this false religion, and as the Charismatic Evangelicals join in solidarity with this apostate church, how many more will die praying to Mary - extremist?

LDS and Jehovah Witness profess Christianity, faithfully witnessing door to door. But the “gospel” they preach is far from that found in scripture - extremist?

Presbyterians stand against Israel. The Episcopal church ordains homosexuals, the Word of Faith, Joel Osteen, Benny Hinn, Ken Copeland types preach and teach a false gospel - extremist?

Muslims murder and maim, false religions such as these and others deceive and delude.

Sadly, I see little difference - Both end in death.