For Those Who Hate Israel...

Throughout the Bible and history, God has repeatedly proven that He has chosen the Jewish people, Israel, and Jerusalem, as His chosen people, and His place for them, to live and worship Him. God has done this as an example for all peoples and nations of this world, that all humanity might learn to love and worship Him in Truth. Despite all of God's repeated warnings and encouragements about how we should relate to Him and to His chosen people, there repeatedly arise people and governments that abhor or hate Abraham's offspring and the nation of Israel. Yet, every nation has fallen, that ever despised God's Word, or that went up against the children of Abraham. In the Book of Zechariah God tells the whole world what will become of anyone who goes to fight against Israel in the last earthly battle that is yet to come, wherein the Christ of God shall personally destroy all the armies of the world that rise up against Israel.


Zechariah 14:12-15¹²  And this shall be the plague wherewith the LORD will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.
¹³  And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great tumult from the LORD shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbour, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbour.
¹⁴  And Judah also shall fight at Jerusalem; and the wealth of all the heathen round about shall be gathered together, gold, and silver, and apparel, in great abundance.
¹⁵  And so shall be the plague of the horse, of the mule, of the camel, and of the ass, and of all the beasts that shall be in these tents, as this plague.


God says that there is only One Way to make peace with God; only One Way to secure to yourself God's eternal life and peace.

Thanksgiving Day 2016, 11/24/2016: What is thanksgiving without God?

We all know at least a little something about the Pilgrims’ who had that first (now famous) sit down dinner of thanks with the locals, local natives who, by God’s mercy, had graciously helped the Pilgrims to survive the New England weather for over a year. At that dinner, that assembly of souls was not watching TV or playing on cell phones, nor were they talking football, commenting on secular and commercial parade floats, rising musicians, or movie stars. Instead, that gathered company of survivors counted the mercies that God had poured out to sustain them, despite half of them having died since they first landed on the edge of this land. God and His mercy was the focus of their thanks. Will He and His mercies to us, also, be the praise of our lips throughout our meal and day?

 

In our modern world, for the most part, we silence ourselves about Jesus Christ (our Creator) and His Word, in favor of those worldly things that titillate and amuse us. We are eager to fill our mouths at God's bountiful table, but we are reluctant to let our mouths openly and unashamedly give Him the real thanks and praise that is due to Him alone. How many quick ‘thanks for the grub’ prayers will be offered, and then God forgotten, this day? How many of us will allow Him to prompt us to tell others about even a few of His merciful loving works in our lives?

 

Bless God for His Word and His Christ, by which we can and must test and prove ourselves and all things. Let all thanks and glory be unto Him to whom we shall give answer for all that we do or neglect to do.

 

This year I am grateful that God has sustained me through many trials, of all sorts. Some trials, I failed, because I neglected to do things His way. Yet, I bless the Lord Jesus Christ for His Word by which I have been able to see where I have erred, that I might repent and grow in what is good in His mind. I bless Him that He has sustained me, including through recurrences of post-shingles discomforts and war wounds acting up. I bless Him that he has helped me to keep reading His Word. I thank God that He continually reminds me to stay focused on Him instead of on earthly things. I thank Him that I’m still healing from the reflux lung damage that occurred late last winter. I bless God that He is still teaching me about His ways. I bless Him that I’m still learning fiscal and social skills and responsibility. I bless God that He helps me keep moving and reaching out to other people, despite all the aches and pains that come with this aging body, and despite the struggles of forgetfulness. I bless God for my huge family and vast number of friends and acquaintances, and that I’m still learning how to interact with people. I praise God for His mission of sharing Jesus Christ with others. I especially thank Him for His promise of eternal hope, peace, and life with Him in Christ Jesus, and that that is God's greatest gift of all to me and to all humanity. I thank God that, as the song says, “this world is not my home, I’m just passing through”, as I learn, trust, obey, repent, and put into practice what His Holy Spirit and Word would have me learn and do. This life is not about me and what I want, but about God and my relationship with Him, on His terms.

 

May God bless you and keep you in all that is good in His heart, mind, and Word. May this Thanksgiving Day 2016, be truly a day of thanks and gathering to God's glory and to His praise, in all our words and deeds.

Seasonal Giving or Seasonal Getting?

Anyone who wants to know what God means by the word "give", and how important that is to Him, can find that answer in her/his Bible. Here is an online Bible's cover to cover list that includes over 1,500 words using the letters "giv", which includes give, giving, giveth, given, giver, and probably numerous other variations pertaining to the concept of giving. To be honest, though I have read the Bible through, I have not read that specific list of 1,548 words. Obviously, the concept of giving is important to God, but, do we know what giving really is?


With all the frantic buying and selling of a myriad of goods and services, is 'seasonal giving' really giving, or not? Just because we buy things and pass them along to someone else does not necessarily mean that we are giving gifts. Is the practice of developing a wishful recipient "gift list" really in the spirit of giving, or is it in the spirit of asking and expecting to receive for having asked? In Matthew 7 and Luke 11, Jesus speaks of asking, giving, and receiving, in relation to real life needs, not in terms of self-indulgence.


As potential givers, are we asking ourselves honestly what other people really need, and what is best for them? Or, as potential recipients, are we asking for things we really need, or for more stuff? Are we asking ourselves whether our superficial wants or urges might better be satisfied by directing our efforts and desires toward fulfilling the real and urgent needs of those who do not have the bounty that we have?


For many years, I have not made "Christmas" or "birthday" lists. Oh, my flesh is still my flesh, and I can think of things that I may desire, in fleshly terms, but for me to ask for those things seems vain and self-centered, especially at a time when we are supposed to be celebrating God's purest Gift to us, that Gift for which we did not ask. Therefore, I choose to leave gifting to the giver’s discretion, since Christmas and giving are not about what I want, but about what the giver wants to offer/give as a gift. It is NOT about me being worthy of a gift for I was not nor ever can be worthy of God's greatest Gift, yet He gave Himself, in Christ, for my salvation.


If something is gifted, in the modern sense, in some sort of prearranged negotiation or 'wish list', is that really a gift? I have been repeatedly drawn to that question, as a seasonal conundrum, for God, in Christ, offered himself as our Redeemer, before He ever created the world or us. I bless God for His perfect example of gifting, and His call to us to receive that which we neither asked for nor deserved, and I have to admit that I’m far from being a holy giver as He is.


Want a reality check and a test of godly character during the 'holiday seasons' or your birthday? Join me in asking yourself, Am I willing to receive as true gifts and in true gratitude (without me soliciting specific items or services), anything and everything that others might offer to give to me? If I cannot accept what others might offer to freely give me then I need to ask myself why I am not willing to receive in truth, instead of being self-ish. Self-ishness may have a list, but it doesn't need one to trouble our spirits. Let's put aside self, replace self with thanksgiving to God. Let's be truthful givers, sharing God's bounty, instead of being acquisitive. If we spent more time and effort in thankful giving we would be far less concerned with 'getting'; far more at peace with ourselves, with God, and with others. God bless you!

God Gives Us Life AND Free Will.

God gives us life:
Zechariah 12:1
¹  The burden of the word of the LORD for Israel, saith the LORD, which stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth the foundation of the earth, and formeth the spirit of man within him.


God gives us life at conception and has a plan for us:
Jeremiah 1:4-5
⁴  Then the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
⁵  Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.


God defines for us what real success is in life:
Joshua 1:8-9
⁸  This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.
⁹  Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.


God expects more of us than our self-centered lusts, entertainments, or motives:
Ecclesiastes 12:13-14
¹³  Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.
¹⁴  For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.


God has given us all those things, to every human being, and He has simplified all the eternal questions we might ask by providing One Way, and only one way, for us to have a right relationship with Him. Our choice and destination are up to us, for all eternity.

"Why Do the Heathen Rage...?"

There are a "zillion" opinions and excuses that we all have used for failing to do things God's way. Yet, He says very simply that in the end we shall all confess that His Way is the right way. Even if we don't accept or obey Him in this life; even if we don't want to accept what He says, God shall have His final righteous judgment, and assign us eternal consequences according to OUR earthly choices. We cannot blame anyone else for that which we shall have chosen for ourselves. Ignoring or rejecting what God says IS a choice, and our ignoring and rejecting what He says does prepare our eternal habitation, but ignoring and rejecting God's Way shall NOT yield for us any eternal peace, joy, or comfort.


Despite all the worldly religions and religious mush to the contrary, with which people malnourish themselves spiritually, God says that there is only His solution for our sin, and only His way out of the consequences for our sin. God wants us to succeed, and success is a word that is so important to God that He only uses it once in the whole Bible.


Psalm 2:
1 Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing?
2 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed, saying,
3 Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us.
4 He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision.
5 Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure.
6 Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion.
7 I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.
8 Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.
9 Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel.
10 Be wise now therefore, O ye kings: be instructed, ye judges of the earth.
11 Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling.
12 Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.

A Ben Franklin-ish Reminder

It is November 10th, 2016. For all practical considerations, and in virtually every locale across these United States of America, the vast majority of ballots have been tallied, the candidates have won or lost their respective races for office, and now the 2016 election season is over.

Yet, despite my peace with God Almighty, that He knows who is next in line to do their best or worst for our towns, cities, states, and nation, I feel it is necessary to remind ourselves that our work as citizens is NOT over simply because we cast our votes. This is when and where the real work does and should begin as our favored candidates or our opponents prepare to assume office.

To expand upon my own paraphrase of Ben Franklin’s famous quote, we must face and shoulder the many years of hard work that lie ahead of us and strive to overcome the last 80 to 100 years of moral, political, economic, and spiritual damage done to our nation. To successfully rebuild our nation, we must return to ALL the Principles that founded our nation, including the salvation, love, mutual respect, and godliness that are founded and grounded in what God says in the Bible, about us, Himself, and life. For surely, if we don’t hang in there, together, in godly biblical agreement and in the fight for godly righteous freedom, then we shall all surely hang separately because of our selfish interests and lack of unity against oppressors who would enslave us to their own evil purposes.

Election Win Yields No Mandate: Where Can We Find Healing?

Election 2016 results are still being counted, but, Clinton has called Trump to concede the election, AND all news services say that Trump and the Republican Party have won this 2016 election. The key concept to grasp is that there is NO CLEAR MANDATE for either political party. The mandate is to be found in the questions about what has driven the voters to elect Donald Trump despite all the promises and flattery of voters by the opposition. Now, that foundational groundswell that developed the "movement" among the citizens of this nation, that same impetus that has propelled Trump into the seat of President-elect, must now get to work in a manner that will fulfill its promises. That groundswell was founded in the social, moral, spiritual, and economic dissatisfactions among our citizens. Now, where shall the citizens of our nation choose to turn to accomplish that mission? Upon what vast resources shall our nation call to get the job done, of repairing many decades of moral and spiritual decay and failed social and financial programs?


Around 03:30 this morning, Clinton called Trump to concede the election, after which Trump gave a very gracious 'thank you, and let's get to work' speech. The election results are encouraging for some and discouraging for others (in the worldly political sense), but, the ballot numbers do NOT demonstrate a clear political mandate for anything. There is only a slim Republican majority in the House and Senate, and an almost equal split in the popular vote. Those numbers shows this blogger that the voters of these United States of America are deeply divided in our opinions about what to do and how to do "it". THAT numerical divisiveness begs the question that God raises in the Bible (Amos 3:3), "Can two walk together, except they be agreed?"


The election result numbers should be a wakeup call regarding our moral, spiritual, practical, financial, and intellectual differences. As of this writing, at 1144 hours, the day after the 2016 election, Clinton has received a scant majority of the popular vote and Trump has won the electoral vote by a relatively small margin. We could argue over whether one candidate was elected or the other repudiated, but, that is moot. That close a vote, in the electoral and popular ballot counts, clearly exposes the rift in our nation. Do we remember the old aphorism, "United we stand. Divided we fall." The world is watching and hungry for a piece of this "American Pie". The world is both fearful of and drooling over us, as they wait to see what we, now, choose to do, and whether we shall allow ourselves to reconcile as "one nation under God". The question that we must ask ourselves is, shall we choose God, or some other god?


In his early morning speech, acknowledging his win, President-elect Donald Trump graciously saluted his opponent and then called for healing and reconciliation in our nation, so that we can all begin to work together to "fix" our nation. Yes, we need to "fix" things with each other, BUT, what we desperately need, even more than reconciliation with each other, is "repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ", and THEN to put godly faith in action doing the things that God wants us to do.


Sadly, too many voters, citizens, and guests, in our nation, are looking for an earthly savior to justify themselves and protect their favorite sins. Without nationwide repentance there will only be deeper divides and further chaos. God bless you to seek God's solutions for our nation and His only hope and promise for your eternity. 

Vote With God's Desires & Our Constitution, NOT Just For or Against a Candidate

I make this last plea, before our official Election Day, that we each should stop and ponder what God wants for our Nation.

This election is about far more than what each of us "get" out of the election, or the worldly promises that the candidates are making. This election is about far more than the verbiage of the candidates, or the lusts of the masses. This election has earthly and eternal consequences. 

The decisions that we, the voters, make in this election shall have far more impact on our lives and society than all the candidates thrown together. We, the voters, shall either begin to turn the USA back toward God and our Constitution (away from the self-destructive path that we have trod for over 80 years), OR, the results of our election year decisions shall speed our increasingly rapid decline toward an utterly pagan and selfish society that is dooming itself to repeat the governmental, spiritual, and social failures that have plagued humanity throughout all generations.

This may sound like a hopeless earthly situation, AND IT IS... IF... IF we insist on continuing to selfishly behave contrary to God’s Word, in our rebellion against the things that God loves, and in our fleshly love of the things that God hates. By our votes we shall prove what we love, godly freedom to obey God's Laws or indentured corruption to sin and our sin nature. We shall either begin a return to the Bible-based principles of our U.S. Constitution, or continue to allow the undermining and destruction of our Constitution. 

“We, the People,” of these United States of America, and the several States, hereof, CANNOT blame those in power or politics for our own personal failures to shoulder our individual and collective responsibilities to exercise our wisdom and our power as citizens. This was designed and established to be a government by, for, and of the People, as our Founders so wisely said. AND, it is up to US, the citizen voters, to hold ourselves and those we elect accountable for ALL our actions and ALL their actions.

This election can either begin a moral and political reawakening or we can help drive yet more nails into the coffin of our Nation. The choice is yours, and the choice is mine. Unfortunately, instead of "the People" selecting candidates who are strong positive influences and godly role models, this election has degenerated into forcing us to choose between candidates who may do the least amount of damage to the moral, spiritual, and constitutional fabric of our Nation.

Even in these last few hours before we cast our ballots, we must pray for greater wisdom and courage to reject the convenient, reject the vain, reject the urge to accept free handouts, reject political and social flattery and fear-mongering.

IF we want this Nation to survive and prosper, we must look to God's definition of "success". We must vote for those who look to God and His Word to lead us, to restore that which is good in the eyes of God Almighty, to whom we shall ALL answer for our actions in this election. We need citizens and leaders who emulate the lives of Joseph, Joshua, Deborah, Jael, Daniel & his comrades, and all who have stood in truth against the tyranny of evil.

Please! Do NOT vote for any candidates who have flattered us, lied to us, cheated us, swindled us, or our fellow citizens. Please! Do NOT vote for candidates who support the killing of the unborn, who have defrauded others, dissembled in their legal testimonies, equivocated over moral definitions, or sought to undermine, alter, or deny the language of our Constitution. Please! Do NOT vote for those who have tried to muzzle or to deny freedom to those who love God and His Word. 

Dead Presidents Still Speak: Our Founders Warned Us About Today's Society & Politics

Here is a starting reference, citing the following warnings from Samuel Adams and John Adams, two Founders of these United States of America, a father and a son who both served the People, as Presidents of our Nation: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/3306841/posts?page=6 


" Immorality of every kind comes in like a torrent. It is in the interest of tyrants to reduce the people to ignorance and vice. For they cannot live in any country where virtue and knowledge prevail. The religion and public liberty of a people are intimately connected; their interests are interwoven, they cannot subsist separately; and therefore they rise and fall together. For this reason, it is always observable, that those who are combined to destroy the people's liberties, practice every art to poison their morals. How greatly then does it concern us, at all events, to put a stop to the progress of tyranny.  It has advanced already by far too many strides. We are at this moment upon a precipice. The next step may be fatal to us."   Samuel Adams,  October 5, 1772


"Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself.  There never was a democracy yet that did not commit suicide."  John Adams, 1814


In spite of all the anti-Bible and anti-Christ sentiment in the world today, if you were face to face with those presidents, they would vehemently urge you to make your peace with God's Word and God's ONLY Savior, Jesus Christ.

God Says So, and THAT Makes It So...

Zechariah 4:6:
Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts.


And that is why we all need to be saved God's way... for human power, might, works, and reasoning shall fail us.


Only by His Savior.


Only by His Salvation.