Capitalism Gone Amuck!

Posted: May 3, 2013 in Christian Living, politics, World Events
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“Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy.” (Ezek. 16:49)

Bangladesh’s Finance Minister Abul Maal Abdul Muhith downplayed the impact of last week’s factory building collapse on his country’s garment industry, saying Friday he didn’t think it was “really serious” just hours after the 500th body was pulled from the debris. The government has recently suspended the mayor there and arrested an engineer who had called for the building’s evacuation last week, but was also accused of helping the owner add three illegal floors to the eight-story structure. The building owner was arrested earlier. The official death toll from the April 24 collapse reached 512 Friday and was expected to climb, making it likely the deadliest garment-factory accident in world history.

The minimum wage for a garment worker there is only $38.00 a month! And that is only after being nearly doubled this year following violent protests by workers! According to the World Bank, the per capita income in Bangladesh was only about $64.00 a month in 2011!

According to data from Bangladesh’s commerce ministry and industry sources, Bangladesh ships about $15.6 billion of ready-made garments each year – about 80 percent of its total exports. Sixty percent of its garment exports go to Europe, the United States takes 23 percent, and Canada takes 5 percent. About 18 months before this tragedy in Bangladesh a fire killed 112 people in a textile factory in Tazreen in which locked doors prevented workers from fleeing to safety.

Shareholders at Wal-Mart Stores Inc. had the opportunity to weigh in on the safety question. By a nearly 50-to-1 margin, they rejected a proposal to require suppliers to report annually on safety issues at their factories. In arguing against the proposal, Wal-Mart’s management made its reasoning clear: “Having suppliers compile such reports could ultimately lead to higher costs for Walmart and higher prices for our customers. This would not be in the best interests of Walmart’s shareholders and customers and would place Walmart at a competitive disadvantage.”

Wal-Mart and Sears’ shares have moved higher since the Tazreen fire last November. That disaster did not appear to have any measurable impact on sales at Wal-Mart and Sears after both acknowledged their products were made there.

The larger tragedy I see is that consumers will continue to purchase products from brands like Wal-Mart’s Faded Glory and Loblaw’s Joe Fresh found in the ruins of the factory building this week. Many people justify it by saying, “I go there because it’s cheap.” Or, “I’m on a limited income and I can’t afford to shop anywhere else.”

The unemployment rate is down to 7.5 percent and we gained 16,000 non-farm jobs last month, but according to the Wall Street Journal, the Morgan Stanley report said “the current investment in U.S. manufacturing remains at depressed levels.” With the loss of 5.5 million manufacturing jobs this decade, and the residual impact (for every one manufacturing job there are five others created – truck drivers, accountants, research & development, clerical, etc.), the U.S. has seen a loss of over 30 million jobs.

While many who read this will try to blame this problem on Democrats or Republicans, this is NOT a political problem! This is a spiritual problem!

I am reminded of James 5:4-6 that says, “Look! The wages you failed to pay the workers who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty. You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter. You have condemned and murdered the innocent one, who was not opposing you.”

We have lost our moral compass and have become like Sodom–arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; refusing to help the poor and needy.

But what can we do?

Repent of our selfishness and arrogance! Then refuse to purchase goods that are sold on the backs of slave labor with the wages covered in the blood of the poor!

This has had a huge impact on not only our economy and national security but also on our very survival! Since government has not provided a solution, it is time for us to take action before it’s too late.

American Made Products Directory:  http://www.americansworking.com/

An Open Appeal for Revival- Part III of III

Posted: May 1, 2013 in Christian Living
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The last element in reviving the hearts of God’s people is the most important of all. Everything else hinges on this all important truth–Repentance!

You can be committed to the entire human race but without repentance you cannot be totally committed to God and the Messiah because his Word commands us to repent. Without repentance it is useless to pray. For God will not hear the prayers of an unrepentant heart.

But what is repentance and why is it so important?

Jesus said that he came to call sinners to repentance. (Matt. 9:13) The Greek word metanoia is used in the above verse which means the reversal of one’s decision. That same word is derived from two other Greek words. Metanoeo which means to think differently or to reconsider, and metamorpho which means to change, transfigure, or transform. This is where we get the word metamorphosis. So what Jesus was saying was that he came to call sinners (which is everyone) to reconsider their way of living, to think differently, to reverse their decision about their ungodly ways, and allow him to transform them into his image.

It is important to know that although God, in his infinite mercy, desires that everyone experience his love, peace, and joy, (II Peter 3:9) He cannot allow sin in his presence. (Psalms 68:2) Therefore, the only way we’re able to come into the presence of God Almighty, Creator of the universe, is through a transformation made possible only by God’s very own and unique son, Jesus, the Messiah, who was made to be sin for us so that by his bloody death on a stake we might receive life through our repentance.

Repentance means more than just being sorry

Someone once said that the road to destruction will be paved with the souls of the sorrowful. I’m sure that all of the fallen angels are sorry now that they followed Satan in his failed revolt against God. There are two types of sorrow. There is worldly sorrow; like when someone is sorry they got caught, but not for their actions. This person tends to complain about the consequences of their sin but never takes responsibility for the act itself. And there is godly sorrow; when someone is truly sorry for their actions and the nature of the act itself. They also take responsibility for the consequences of their sin. “Godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of but the sorrow of the world worketh death.” (II Cor. 7:10)

King David shows us through the Psalms how godly sorrow works repentance to salvation. Whenever he was reminded of his sin he realized that his actions separated himself from his God whom he loved very much, which led him to a true repentance of his actions. He knew that what he was doing had hurt God and he turned away from his sin and turned to God for forgiveness. (See Ps. 32 & 51)

Repentance, like everything else involving revival, is only brought about by the spirit of God. It is God’s spirit that convicts us of our sin. It is God’s spirit that breaks our heart over our sins. And it is by God’s spirit that we are brought into God’s presence through repentance and experience his mercy and forgiveness. Results of true repentance will be a new life washed clean by the spirit of God. The person repentant of sin will no longer be pleasing Self but will strive to please God and others. Those things that were once important to the flesh will no longer matter as much. Those who truly repent will work at making a better home, a better workplace, a better community, and a better world.

All of the excuses and all of the reasons why the Church today is not experiencing power and revival within and without can be answered by one word. REPENT!

We must come to God now and acknowledge our sin to Him. We are in critical condition and are in need of reviving by the spirit of God through His son Jesus, the Messiah. Call on the name of Jesus now! Surrender yourself to God and receive His forgiveness and mercy.

Until the Church repents of her sins and turn from her wickedness, we will never witness the healing of our land:

“Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters, they have forsaken the Lord, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward…Come now, let us reason together saith the Lord. Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land, but if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword. For the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.” (Isaiah 1:4, 18-20)

There is a vast difference between revival and evangelism

When we speak of revival in America we may think of churches advertising with signs that read something like : “Our revival will begin at such and such a date at a certain time and it is going to finish on a certain Sunday night at a certain time. Come experience the power of God!”  The advertising usually includes the promotion of some “Apostle” or “Prophet”. Obviously this is something which man has engineered.

You can’t predict or organize revival. Why? Because you can’t organize or predict where the wind is coming from. “The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.” (John 3:8) You can’t say the wind is going to blow this way or that way. If you say God’s going to do this or that or use this person or that one to bring blessings, very often He brings blessings through unsuspected and unknown ways. In the same way, revival often comes through unknown ways.

I don’t think the world has ever been in a greater sense of turmoil than it is in this moment. I don’t think our nation has. All the blasphemy, all the unbelief, all the dirty stories, all the lying, all the deception, all the sexual perversion, and all the drunkenness — this tremendous iniquity goes up before the sight of God. The shadow of darkness and death hovers over this generation like nothing we’ve ever experienced before. And yet, the greatest tragedy of all is this: A sick Church living among a dying world that has neither the vision nor the passion, nor even the intention of setting our house in order — to break up our fallow ground — and to prepare the way of the Lord!

Whatever we shall say about revival we have to recognize this: There has never been revival that has not been preceded by agonizing prayer. We need to pray that God will give us a vision of His view of sin. If we are really going see true revival we have to get a vision of God’s sorrow over sin. We have to get a concept of how, day by day, we offend God. As a nation and as a Church we offend God in millions of ways every day!

I originally wrote this article years ago while living in a small town in New Mexico and sent it as a letter to every church and pastor in that town. I also sent copies to several televangelists. I have never gotten any response.

Remember God’s warning to His people through the prophet Isaiah:

Hear me, you heavens! Listen, earth! For the LORD has spoken: “I reared children and brought them up, but they have rebelled against me. The ox knows its master, the donkey its owner’s manger, but Israel does not know, my people do not understand.” Woe to the sinful nation, a people whose guilt is great, a brood of evildoers, children given to corruption! They have forsaken the LORD; they have spurned the Holy One of Israel and turned their backs on Him. Why should you be beaten anymore? Why do you persist in rebellion? Your whole head is injured, your whole heart afflicted. From the sole of your foot to the top of your head there is no soundness—only wounds and welts and open sores, not cleansed or bandaged or soothed with olive oil. Your country is desolate, your cities burned with fire; your fields are being stripped by foreigners right before you, laid waste as when overthrown by strangers. Daughter Zion is left like a shelter in a vineyard, like a hut in a cucumber field, like a city under siege. Unless the LORD Almighty had left us some survivors, we would have become like Sodom, we would have been like Gomorrah. Hear the word of the LORD, you rulers of Sodom; listen to the instruction of our God, you people of Gomorrah! “The multitude of your sacrifices—what are they to me?” says the LORD. “I have more than enough of burnt offerings, of rams and the fat of fattened animals; I have no pleasure in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats. When you come to appear before me, who has asked this of you, this trampling of my courts? Stop bringing meaningless offerings! Your incense is detestable to me. New Moons, Sabbaths and convocations—I cannot bear your worthless assemblies. Your New Moon feasts and your appointed festivals I hate with all my being. They have become a burden to me; I am weary of bearing them. When you spread out your hands in prayer, I hide my eyes from you; even when you offer many prayers, I am not listening. Your hands are full of blood! Wash and make yourselves clean. Take your evil deeds out of my sight; stop doing wrong. Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow. “Come now, let us settle the matter,” says the LORD. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool. If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the good things of the land; but if you resist and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword.” For the mouth of the LORD has spoken. (Isaiah 1:2-20)

An Open Appeal for Revial-Part II of III

Posted: April 30, 2013 in Christian Living
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This is part two of a three part article on how to achieve true revival. It is my prayer that God will use this to minister to His Church and encourage others to pray for revival.

Prayer
The second step in reviving God’s people is prayer. Looking back on my life I am amazed at how long it took me to understand prayer. For many years after my conversion I struggled with unanswered prayer and my inability to hear from God. My prayer life was not unlike many believers today; unaware and ignorant of the precious gift our loving Lord has given us by allowing us a way to come into the very presence of the Almighty God, Creator of the universe!

My prayers at best were shallow, selfish, self-serving, and earthly. They were almost always a one way conversation–More like giving God directions than prayers. I rarely heard God’s voice because I was too busy talking to listen to what God had to say. I’ve since learned that prayer is an intimate two way conversation between the Lord and myself.

What prayer is not

Prayer is not a giant gift shop in heaven where I simply place my order and demand the delivery of my goods by quoting a few scriptures. Nor is it a celestial complaint department, that if I whine loud and long enough, God will have no choice but to grant my request. God designed prayer as a way for us to communicate with him; and him with us–A way that we can draw closer to him and him to us.

King David: A man after God’s own heart

King David knew the importance of a two way communication with God. He was constantly in contact with God. By reading the Psalms you can see the close relationship he had with God. God considered David to be a man after his own heart. (I Sam. 13:14, Acts 13:22) Why? It was because David, through his intimate two way communion with God, was able to know what was in God’s heart. Whenever David realized his sin he repented on the spot quickly because he knew that his sin separated himself from God.

God desires that kind of intimate relationship with all of His children. And what kind of child only speaks to their father to get things that they want? A selfish, self-centered child. But a child who truly loves their father desires to just spend time with him. That is the primary reason God instituted prayer for us. That we might spend time with our heavenly Father and experience the abundant love that He has for each and every one of us. For each of us, that will involve not only talking to God and sharing with him our heart, but also being still before him and allowing him to speak to us.

But what if I don’t know how to listen to God’s voice?

How do I know for certain that it’s God’s voice that I’m hearing and not my own thoughts? How do I distinguish between God’s voice, Satan, and my own thoughts? The Bible teaches us to test all things and to hold fast to what is good. (I Thess. 5:21) Our only standard by which to test all things is God’s Holy Scriptures. By using Psalms 15, Matthew 5:3-11, and I Corinthians 13:4-8, we can understand that everything that God does will promote four absolute truths that Jesus and all the apostles preached and lived by. They are: absolute purity, absolute honesty, absolute unselfishness, and absolute love. By using these four absolutes as our standard we can know for certain if a thought is from God.

Try spending 30 to 60 minutes every day silently before God and ask him to speak to you. Write down all your thoughts on paper. At the end of your quiet time compare those thoughts with scripture and the four absolutes. If the thoughts that you have written down promote absolute purity, honesty, unselfishness, and love, then you know that those thoughts are from God. If not, then you can disregard them as your own thoughts. If they are from God, then God has just spoken to you; and if God has just spoken to you, you now have the choice of obeying him. He may ask you to do something as simple as asking forgiveness from someone you were short with. Or he may ask you to do something as difficult as moving across the country, or the world, to serve him better.

Don’t think it disrespectful or a sign of a lack of faith by asking God about something several times you feel He’s already told you to do in order to be sure it’s from God. We serve a loving and merciful God who won’t force us to do anything we’re not ready for. Each of us will know in our own hearts if we’re waiting on God or if we’re being disobedient to God’s leading. But by using God’s Holy Scriptures and His four absolute truths we can know for certain what God’s will is.

That is the ministry of the Messiah in a nutshell. He prayed, he listened to the Father, and then he obeyed. Look at the results of Jesus’s prayers: After he prayed all night, the next day not only did Jesus choose his disciples, (Luke 6:12-13) but he also healed many and then preached a sermon so filled with God’s spirit that his discourse alone probably brought multitudes to believe in him. (Luke 6:17-49)

After feeding over 5,000 people Jesus went off by himself to a mountain to pray. Later he came to his disciples walking on top of the sea! (Matt.14:22-33) Today unbelievers as well as God’s own people are familiar with the story of Peter walking on water. There are many other examples of Jesus praying, listening to God, and obeying.

His greatest prayer of all was, “Father forgive them, for they no not what they do.” (Luke 23:34) Even up to the moment of his death Jesus continued to commune with his Father through prayer when he cried, “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.” (v.4) That same spirit that allowed Jesus to perform the mighty works of God, heal the sick, raise the dead, and cast out demons, is the same spirit that works in believers today and is available to us through prayer.

But there are some requirements for answered prayer that we should be aware of:

Forgiveness – (Matt. 6:14, 18:19-20) We must come to God with a forgiving heart. If we hold unforgivingness against someone in our heart God cannot forgive us and we separate ourselves from him by our sin.

Repentance – (Luke 18:10-14) If we pray with an unrepentant heart all we do is make noise. We may impress others around us, but I guarantee that God is not the least bit impressed.

Believing – (Matt. 21:22, Mark 11:23-24) Why ask God for something if you don’t believe He’ll do what you ask? Don’t bother Him with your faithless prattle. Instead, be honest with God and tell Him that your faith is small and weak and ask Him to increase your faith and help your unbelief.

Does that mean that if I believe, God will give me a nice new car or a new home? It does if that’s God’s will for you and if you believe it will promote the four absolutes that Scripture teaches. The Bible teaches that God will supply all of our needs, but be careful to differentiate between wants and needs. I’ve known many believers who have set themselves up for failure by believing God to supply their wants rather than their needs.

In God’s will – (I John 5:14) This is where the scriptures and the four absolutes will lead you to know God’s will. The only way to know God’s will is to know God’s heart and that only comes from spending time with Him and listening to His voice.

Thanksgiving – (I Tim. 2:1-3, Phil. 4:6) Jesus taught his disciples to pray in Luke 11: 1-4 but then he gave them an example of prayer. (v.9-13) With that scripture in mind, if you being evil know how to teach your children thankfulness, how much more should you be thankful to your heavenly Father? Most of us who have children teach them from an early age to say thank-you for everything from a glass of water to an expensive birthday gift from Grandma. Should our heavenly Father expect less from us; in whom we live and breathe and have our being? The one in whom we owe our salvation, to? Yes, our very lives?

Unceasing – (I Thess. 5:17) This may seem to be a difficult task. (If not impossible) But to pray without ceasing simply means to constantly be thinking of God. If you’ve ever had a sick child you know that you can go through your day of normal routine; do work at the office, balance the check book, pay bills, etc. and still be constantly thinking of your sick child. Praying without ceasing is like that in the fact that even when going about your normal business of the day you can still constantly have your mind on God.

The most intimate way we can share our feelings with each other is by way of communication. We tell each other how we feel; what makes us happy, or sad, or angry. We bless and encourage with our speech, i.e.; our communication. I’ve met men who weren’t worth a nickel walk around like they owned the world because of an uplifting word from a loving wife. Our speech; our communication, is what connects us, attracts us, and deepens our relationships with others.

So it is with God too. He desires to have that deep relationship with all of His children and share His heart with us. He wants to not only reveal His will to us, but also His abundant love and mercy and grace that He’s patiently waiting to give to each and every one of us.

More to come…

An Open Appeal for Revival – Part I of III

Posted: April 29, 2013 in Christian Living
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“Behold the Lord’s hand is not shortened that it cannot save, nor his ear heavy that it cannot hear, but your sins have separated you from your God and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he will not hear.” (Isaiah 59: 1-2)

…if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn away from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven, and forgive their sins and heal their land. (II Chron. 7:14)

Anyone who reads a local newspaper or watches the evening news will have to admit to the fact that America is in deep trouble. We are no longer, “the land of the free and home of the brave”, but we have become instead, the land of deceit and home of depraved. Just as Israel of old, we too, have forgotten God and replaced Him with our own golden calf. We have bowed down to the idols of humanism, secularism, and government control, and we have reaped the rewards of our actions.

We’ve replaced the Bible and prayer in our public schools with metal detectors and police security. We’ve given up the security of family values and replaced them with immoral ideas and attitudes. We’ve traded the value honest work for enslavery to a bureaucratic government system of relief. Sanctity of life is no longer fought for, and more often is legislated against. Our children have become uncontrollable beasts who murder without conscience. Pornography has been piped into our homes for us and our children to view at the push of a button on the remote control. Those who were designed and appointed to help us and be examples for us– from the local pastor on up to the President, have fallen and have led us to the brink of destruction.

In his article “Today’s Sleeping Giant” Leonard Ravenhill writes:

“Solemnly and slowly, with his index finger extended, Napoleon Bonaparte outlined a great stretch of country on a map of the world. “There,” he growled, “is a sleeping giant. Let him sleep! If he wakes, he will shake the world.” That sleeping giant was China. Today, Bonaparte’s prophecy of some one hundred and fifty years ago makes sense.

Today Lucifer is probably surveying the church just as Bonaparte did China. One can almost behold the fear in his eyes as he thinks of the Church’s unmeasured potential and growls, “Let the Church sleep! If she wakes, she will shake the world.” Is not the Church the sleeping giant of today?

Consider Samson’s fall. He didn’t get drunk; he didn’t commit murder; he didn’t steal. Samson fell simply because he succumbed to the natural, and fell asleep. That one small act put him into captivity, made a false god popular, and scattered the forces of the true and living God.”

God has called us to arise from our slumber! To return to him! To repent of our wicked ways so that He can heal our land! As believers in God and his son, Jesus the Messiah, it is the responsibility of us who have been justified by his death and resurrection to seek God’s face, repent of our apathy and pray earnestly for revival! Revival in our own heart first– as well as for those in our homes, our community, and our nation.

America was once a great nation because it was founded on absolute principles based on God’s Word, the Bible. We, a nation that is sick, near to death, is in need of intensive spiritual attention that will only come by returning to God, our Creator. We need a spiritual awakening! A spiritual revival! More than that, we are in need of spiritual C.P.R. (Commitment, Prayer, and Repentance!)

Commitment

Commitment first and foremost to God and to Jesus, his son. This will involve a total daily surrender of your own desires, will, and selfish nature to God. Surrender to God simply means acknowledging to Him that all things you desire; personal as well as spiritual, good as well as bad, by his grace and by the power of his spirit, you agree to give up in order that He might be glorified. You also have to acknowledge that in your flesh, (that is, in your own strength) this is impossible to accomplish.

The reason is that Self is an impossible force to deal with on our own. It is the foundation of all sin and all the problems that have plagued societies and civilizations since the fall of man. Everything from lust, to murder, to war are all sins derived from Self. Wars are being waged simply because someone has something that the other wants and cannot have. Neither side will compromise, so they go to war.

If only people could realize that by surrendering Self to God and living by principles taught through the Holy Scriptures, wars would cease, crime rates would go down and divorce would be all but non-existent. But since Self is a big part of our sin nature all of these things will continue to plague the world and will increase in its intensity over time. That’s why we must rely on God to give us the grace we need that will allow us to surrender Self to him. God promises in his Word that if we’re honest, admit that we’re powerless in our own nature to surrender, and humble ourselves before him, He’ll give us the grace we need to do it. (James 4:5-6)

After commitment to God, there is commitment to others. (Which is a result of true commitment to God) When most people think of being committed to others they may think of the obvious: Their spouse, their children, their family members, or close friends. All of these people we should be committed to, but Jesus has a gift for pointing us to the “not so obvious” as he did with the lawyer in Luke 10:25-37. This lawyer, or teacher of the Law, first tested the Messiah, (Maybe to find out how much Jesus really knew about the Law) and asked him what he should do to inherit eternal life. Jesus then asked this lawyer a question. “What is written in the Law?” The lawyer answered, (No doubt with an air of pride) “Thou shalt love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind, and love your neighbor as yourself.” (v.27) Jesus commended the lawyer and told him that if he did these things he would live. Now this prideful, arrogant lawyer wanting to puff himself up even more and justify his selfishness asked, “And who is my neighbor?” (v.29) Jesus went on to tell the parable of the Good Samaritan, which today could be called the good bag lady or the good pan handler. Isn’t it amazing that the homeless and the beggar haven’t been affected by political correctness?

But that was the main point of the Lord’s parable. Our neighbor is anyone who is in need regardless of race, religion, financial standing, intellect, or spiritual level. And….we are to think of them as better than ourselves! (Phil. 2:3) These are the ones we are to be committed to as well as our families and friends. “For if you love them which love you, what reward will you have? Don’t the tax collectors do the same?” (Matt. 5:46) The Lord commands us not only to love and be committed to those whom we love and who love us, but to those we don’t find attractive, or don’t dress the way we like, or aren’t in the proper financial, intellectual, or spiritual class as we think we are.

The Messiah commands us to love and be committed to not only to those who are unlovable by our standards, but also to those who don’t love us. In fact, to those who don’t even like us– Those we consider to be our enemies! (Matt. 5:43-45) This may seem like a hard thing to do. Believe me; it’s not hard at all– It’s completely impossible! (If you try to do it in your own strength)

Just like surrender, commitment to anyone on a consistent level will only be accomplished by God’s grace and by the power of His spirit. But it can be done! And once you commit yourself to someone by the power and grace of God you may find that those you thought were unlovable really aren’t so bad after all. Those you considered your enemies may actually be won to you by your sincere willingness to treat them better than yourself, and in the process may even win some of them to the Lord and have the opportunity to disciple them.

You see, the reason that the Church has not grown spiritually over the years is that we have become too selective in who we should associate with because of our social standing in our church, our community, among our friends, and our family. The Lord said, “It’s not the healthy person who needs a physician, but the sick.” (Matt 9:12) As long as we pick and choose those whom we think have the proper background or financial status before we “feel led” to share God’s love with them, we not only won’t grow as a Church but will actually stagnate, dwindle in power as well as in numbers, and eventually dry up and die!

Commitment to others, as defined by the Scriptures, is a positive preventative for stagnant growth which leads to apathy. As believers, we must be committed to one another in order to stay alive. Non-commitment to others is forged by the red hot coals of Self. Commitment to God and others is not self- satisfying, self- centered, or self- reliant. To be truly committed to someone you must put their needs before your own. You must put them on a higher level than yourself. That is an impossible task for anyone who is selfish. We must die to Self! Crucify it! Hang it on a cross! Drive nails through it! And leave it there to die a slow and painful death!

One of the great preachers of our time, Sam Shoemaker, once said, “What we need today more than anything else, more than victory in the war against aggression is weapons, manpower, and strategy to win the war against selfishness.”

And the only way to defeat Self is through Jesus the Messiah and by the power of God’s spirit. As we surrender ourselves to God, commit ourselves to Him, acknowledging that we can do nothing in ourselves, the Lord, in turn, will come and abide in us and take control of our lives by the power of His spirit and give us the grace we need not only to be truly committed to Him, but also to those He commands us to love and be committed to; and in so doing, fulfill the Lord’s commandment to preach the gospel to every creature (Mark 16:15) for the glory of God forever. Amen!

More to come…

Why we need to pray for revival NOW!

Posted: April 12, 2013 in World Events
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Many still mistakenly think that the sin of Sodom was homosexuality, but Ezekiel 16:49-50 states: “Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy. They were haughty and did detestable things before me. Therefore I did away with them as you have seen.” (Emphasis mine)

We have become like Sodom!

But in case you need more convincing, read some of the articles below… and then pray for revival.

http://news.yahoo.com/why-dr-kermit-gosnells-trial-major-news-story-104719415–politics.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/02/steven-smith-death-sentence_n_2996518.html

 

 

Is America condemned to repeat the mistakes of the Roman Empire?

Posted: April 7, 2013 in Christian Living
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On his HotBedInfo blog Kyle Trottier wrote that he believes that America may be on the same path of destruction as the doomed Roman Empire. He is not alone in his assessment. There are many voices sounding the same alarm…And they may be right.
According to research, eight specific patterns of behavior have signaled the downward spiral and imminent demise of every culture:
• Marriage lost its sacredness; it was frequently broken by divorce.
• Traditional meaning of the marriage ceremony was lost. Alternate forms and definitions of marriage arose, and traditional marriage vows were replaced by individual marriage contracts.
• Feminist movements appeared, and women lost interest in child bearing and mothering, preferring to pursue power and influence.
• Public disrespect for parents and authority in general increased.
• Juvenile delinquency, promiscuity, and rebellion accelerated
• People with traditional marriages refused to accept family responsibilities.
• Desire for and acceptance of adultery grew.
• Increased tolerance for sexual perversions of all kinds, particularly homosexuality, with a resultant increase in sex-related crimes.

Sound familiar? If this research data is taken seriously, one can only conclude that America is a civilization in rapid decline—a nation in serious, imminent danger.

You would think that this data must have been generated by some radical, far-right religious organization with a serious political agenda. So who was it that released this startling indictment? Focus on the Family? Promise Keepers? Alex Jones? It may surprise you that the author has no religious affiliation or conservative political perspective. The author was noted Sociologist and Historian Dr. Carle Zimmerman. His book, “Family and Civilization,” is a scholarly work of pure history, sociology and science. Far from being current rhetoric from the religious right, the book was published in 1947.

Regardless of their credentials, when a conservative person of faith speaks out for family values in today’s troubled society, their statements are quickly discounted by some as right wing religious propaganda. But how do these people respond to the almost prophetic writings of this respected man whose work predates the beginning of many of today’s problems?

That America is a nation in decline is undeniable. So is it too late to reverse that decline? I don’t think so. But such reversal will require men and women of God who are willing to stand tall and strong for the moral and ethical values laid out in God’s Holy Scriptures. It will require us to be willing to place God above everything else in our lives: Integrity before personal gain, families before career and job promotions, and children before personal entertainment. It will require all of God’s people to humble themselves before God, seek His face, and turn from their wicked ways.

“At times I might shut up the heavens so that no rain falls, or command grasshoppers to devour your crops, or send plagues among you. Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land.” (2 Chron. 7:14-15 NIV)

Many Christians today look at what’s happening in our world and may feel that the end is so near that they think, “Why bother to try to change things? Why not just wait for the eminent return of our Lord Jesus?” But remember that Jesus himself said,“You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come.” (Matt. 24:6)

Change will not be easy, but it is possible—if we truly take our future, and the future of our children and grandchildren, seriously. Do you?

Easter or Passover?

Posted: March 20, 2013 in Christian Living, Music & Videos
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Easter is one of the most important observances of the Christian calendar. And once again churches across the country will be filled with well-dressed people taking in the sights and sounds of Easter Pageants and Passion Plays. Later, city parks and backyards will be filled with the gleeful screams of children as they discover their hidden treasures of Easter eggs and candy treats.

I have no problem with people celebrating their own holidays at certain times of the year. However, the term Easter is not a biblical Christian holiday. The religious holiday that we call Easter, along with the 40-day Lent period, were directly borrowed from the Babylonian goddess-Astarte. (Also pronounced Ishtar/ Easter) In the pagan tradition, Lent was an essential precursor to the festival to honor the death and resurrection of Tammuz. In order to appease the pagans, the Church integrated the pagan festival into a Christian celebration in order to counterfeit and replace the Passover season. Amazingly, the prophet Ezekiel was shown that this would happen through a vision from God. “He [God] said also unto me, Turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater abominations that they do. Then He brought me to the door of the gate of the LORD’S house which was toward the north; and, behold, there sat women weeping for Tammuz.” (Ezekiel 8:13-14)

Christianity originated in the Roman province of Judea, a predominantly Jewish society, with biblical philosophies distinct from the Greek thought which was dominant in the Roman Empire at the time. The Apostle Paul discussed the conflict between these two modes of thought with some of the Greek philosophers in Acts 17:18-33. He also warned us against deceptive philosophy that would draw us away from God’s truth in Colossians 2:8. I find it interesting that the Church today encourages its members to observe many holidays with origins in pagan religions and yet ignore and sometimes discourage observing God’s feasts outlined in Scripture.

God instituted His own feasts and Sabbaths during the Exodus of the Hebrews from Egypt and were to be a sign to us that the Lord has sanctified us.  Contrary to what the Church teaches, the Exodus was NOT just Jews. The multitude that left Egypt also included a mixed multitude i.e.; non-Israelites. (Exodus 12:37-38) And speaking of the non-Israelites in Exodus 12: 49 God says, “The same law applies both to the native-born AND to the foreigner residing among you.” And in Numbers 15:29 we read: “One and the same law applies to everyone who sins unintentionally, whether a native-born Israelite or a foreigner residing among you.”

So how long does God want us to keep His Feast Days? Leviticus 23:14, 21, 31, and 41 teach us that the Holy Days are a “statute forever.” So by this we have a witness that the Holy Days were established by God Himself for the Jew and non-Jew alike for all generations forever! In the Psalms we see that God’s covenant was commanded to a thousand generations! (Psalms 105:5-8, 10)

But didn’t Jesus change all that?
Jesus, all the apostles, as well as the early Church observed all of God’s feasts outlined in Scripture. Early writers even admit that the celebration of Easter began as a custom, not by any command from Christ or the apostles. Conveniently, the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus occurred during this same time of year. But the question people fail to ask is: Do we follow God and observe His biblical feasts as Jesus and all the apostles did or do we follow the traditions of men? Notice what the apostles wrote:

Matthew 15:3 – He answered them, “And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition?”

Colossians 2:8 – See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.

Rom 12:2 - And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what [is] that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

Mark 7:13 – Thus making void the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And many such things you do.

I Cor. 5:7-8 – Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us: Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened [bread] of sincerity and truth.

In Zechariah 14, we learn that after Jesus returns to Earth the survivors from all the nations that have attacked Jerusalem will go up year after year to worship the King, the LORD Almighty, and to celebrate the “Feast of Tabernacles”! (v.16)

These ‘traditions’ handed down by the Church have done much harm to young believers. I remember years ago how my daughter became upset with me to the point of tears because I refused to buy my one year old granddaughter an Easter basket. I asked her, “Why are you getting so upset about something your daughter knows nothing about?” She soon realized how silly it was to get so upset over a tradition that her young daughter had no knowledge of and all was well.

Traditions have done harm to many mature Christians as well. Mark Burnett and Roma Downey are responsible for showcasing many of these traditions when they produced ‘The Bible Miniseries’ for the History Channel. Even though Burnett and Downey gathered some 40 religious leaders, academics and theologians of all denominations as consultants, many of the stories portrayed in the series substitute Church tradition for biblical truth.

The series has snagged endorsements from heavyweights in the televangelist community like Pastor Rick Warren, TV preacher Joel Osteen and evangelist T.D. Jakes. Poet Maya Angelou, self-help guru Tony Robbins and conservative group Focus on the Family have also publicly supported the show.

We live in a day that resembles ancient Israel. They had seen the out-pourings of God’s grace, and miracles each step of the way from Egypt to the Promised Land. They had seen great victories over enemies mightier than themselves. But then, “There arose another generation after them, which knew not the LORD, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel.” (Judges 2:10) They probably heard about the great things God had done for their forefathers, but they related that to history and myth. They had head knowledge of Bible facts but did not know God personally. Because they knew nothing of a close relationship with the Lord, “Every man did that which was right in his own eyes.” (Judges 17:6) They had no room for God. No doubt they mocked those who believed in the Almighty and His love, mercy and goodness as they paraded their sin on the streets. They had forgotten Him because they had laid aside His word. They lived as though God did not exist. Sound familiar?

God has commanded us to follow Him and observe ALL that He has commanded us. We need to remember the words of Joshua: “But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.” (Joshua 24:15)

“Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live!” – Deuteronomy 30:19 -

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