myth of inevitability

One thing that the enemy would like you to believe is that his agenda is inevitable and “you might as well give in to it”.

It is true, if we do nothing, then it really is inevitable.

However, we can fight back, we can slow it down, we can stop it and even reverse it.

To do that, it is important to get informed and get involved.

In the process, let us not forget our reason for standing against the tide.

We lobby for liberty not so that we can do whatever we want, we lobby for the liberty to exercise our commission to preach the Gospel.

The enemy’s ultimate goal is to silence the Gospel and replace it with his own false gospel.

While we are here and actively resisting, the enemy’s plan is restrained from coming to full fruition.

We need to keep our lamps full, remain vigilant, and sound the shofar any time the enemy approaches the gates.

God declares the end from the beginning…

Isaiah 46:9b-10

… I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning, And from ancient times things which have not been done, Saying, ‘My purpose will be established, And I will accomplish all My good pleasure’

I’ve recently heard this misquoted twice recently and had to look it up to make sure I was remembering the verse correctly.

when you care enough to tell the truth

Giving people a helping hand is great. 

However, how helpful is it to provide temporal assistance to someone without sharing the Gospel of turning away from sin (repentance) and turning toward salvation found only in Jesus the Messiah?

So often, when we help someone it is just so that we can feel better about ourselves.

Most of us are helping others to alleviate our own sense of guilt.  That is not love.

Once the guilt is assuaged, we then pat ourselves on the back and smugly reflect on how “good” we are.

Assistance without the Gospel is is akin to giving someone icewater on thier way to hell.

Heaven forbid that we should share the truth with someone.  Telling someone the truth is more likely to alienate you and make you the target of ridicule.

The truth does not make us any friends.  If we tell someone the truth, well, it might offend them and they may not like us. 

So, for selfish reasons we hold back the truth and try to selfishly assuage our guilt by throwing money at the problem. 

Always maintain an eternal perspective.  Ask yourself, how much will this temporary circumstance really matter 10,000 years from now?

If you truly love and care about someone, then you should be VERY CONCERNED about where they will be spending ETERNITY before you concern yourself with where they will spend the night or get their next meal.

Providing food, clothing, and shelter to those in need is a great draw for getting people’s attention.

But, the assistance should not be a goal in and of itself.

It should be an avenue to the goal of sharing the Gospel.  That should always be the drive and focus.

my criteria for charitable giving

1.  Must be used toward a biblical purpose (ie: taking care of widows and orphans, feed and cloth the destitute and hungry)

2.  Sharing the Gospel of turning from sin and turning to the salvation found only in Jesus the Messiah must be the central purpose, the food and other items are just the draw.

3. Over 95% of the funds collected must verifiably go toward #1 and #2 and not to “administrative  costs” (someone’s pocket)

The Harbinger

I just completed listening to the Harbinger on audiobook.

Some have criticized Cahn’s book, but their criticism makes it clear they have not thoroughly read the book or listened to the author’s explanation of it.  I have yet to find a solid criticism, and instead have only seen circumstantial and knee jerk attacks by those who are trying to hock their wares.

I strive to be someone who is very picky about what I read and quick to point out the rampant apostasy, false prophets, and misinformation that clouds the truth.  I did not get the least impression that this book was trying convince anyone of replacement theology.

Cahn, himself a Jew and Messianic Rabbi, has stressed several times both in the book and in interviews that he does not believe in replacement theology (that America, the church, or anything else has replaced Israel) or that the Isaiah 9:10 is a prophecy written just for America or anything of the sort.

What he is uncovering is that there was a pattern in Israel’s judgement that seems to be repeating itself in actual recorded events surrounding 9/11 (and yes, they are all verifiable in news stories, pictures, and video of actual events).

While I agree that the fictional backdrop might cause confusion for some, the point was to arouse people to investigate further for themselves, repent, and turn to God — not make a “thus says the Lord” declaration.

(NOTE: I don’t receive anything for my comments on this book)

freedom and liberty

Is there a difference between freedom and liberty?

Often the words freedom and liberty are used interchangably.  From time to time, they may carry with them different connotations or distictive definitions based on an author’s intent.

Typically, if a distinction is drawn, freedom is typically tied to a person’s belief or feeling about their circumstances.

In contrast, liberty is typically tied to a person’s ability to perform certain actions.

Some progressives might say that “We want to protect freedom to worship”.

This may sound good, but a freedom to believe something or worship is something is quite different than the liberty to act on those beliefs.

For example, you may have the freedom to believe that “Jesus is the only way”.

However, as currently exists in many countries, you do not have the liberty to share that belief with others.

essentials

I have heard it said: “Let us unite on the essentials and have grace on the non-essentials”

I agree with that. But, then the discussion turns to the question of “What are the essentials that we are supposed to unite on?”

The Bible may not tell us everything there is to know, but it does tell us everything we NEED to know.

My observation thus far has been that there are many things in the Bible that are crystal clear.

There are also some things that require time, study, and spiritual discernment to understand. These things best understood by “getting to know” God and His nature.

Additionally, there are some things that are prophetic and “sealed” (their meaning is not clear) right now, but will become clearer as we approach the in the time for which they were written.

The more essential it is, the clearer it is stated and the easier it is to understand. Since we are to recieve the kingdom of God as a little child (Luke 18:17, Mark 10:15), then the essentials should be simple enough for a child to understand.

If you have to really do some hard core gymnastics to stretch it beyond its obvious meaning, your doing it wrong. We get into trouble when we put our own pet theories, traditions of men, and doctrines of devils ahead of the simplicity of God’s Word.

We must unite around the truth, even if the truth is sometimes hard to take.  The key is for us to submit ourselves to the truth as reavealed in the Bible.

Why the Government Fears Veterans

It has been a recurring theme in history that a government uses the youth of a generation as tools to further its own agendas and protect the wealth of the elite. Once the veteran is no longer useful, the government is quick to break its promises of pensions, health care, and benefits to those who have given so much.

http://www.historyplace.com/unitedstates/revolution/revwar-77.htm

March 15, 1783 – General Washington gathers his officers and talks them out of a rebellion against the authority of Congress, and in effect preserves the American democracy.

June 24, 1783 – To avoid protests from angry and unpaid war veterans, Congress leaves Philadelphia and relocates to Princeton, New Jersey.

1894 – Coxey’s Army was a protest march that included disgruntled Civil War veterans who marched on Washington to claim benefits. It was the second year of a four-year economic depression that was the worst in United States history to that time. It was the first significant popular protest march on Washington and the expression “Enough food to feed Coxey’s Army” originates from this march. Named after Jacob Coxey, a Civil War veteran.

1922 – Mussolini, a former socialist coalesced the Fascist party around a cadre of disgruntled war veterans and nationalists, organized into paramilitary gangs, known as squadri fascisti, who fought in the streets with communists and socialists and protested against the peace treaties and the weakness of the parliamentary government.

German Workers Party (DAP) was made up primarily of disgruntled World War I veterans. The DAP would later evolve into the National Workers Socialist Party (Nazi) and would recruit former World War I soldiers, to whom Hitler as a decorated frontline veteran could particularly appeal.

1932 March of the Bonus Army – a group of disgruntled World War I veterans marched on Washington, D.C., to demand a “bonus” promised to them for their military service, few could have foreseen the turbulence that lay ahead. Determined to ensure that the military would make good in delivering the funds promised, the 45,000 war veterans set up camp and refused to budge. When two tense months had passed and Congress refused to immediately pay the bonus, general Douglas MacArthur and officers Dwight D. Eisenhower and George S. Patton Jr. led the U.S. Army in driving the veterans from Washington with tear gas, tanks, and saber-wielding cavalrymen before burning the protestors’ camp to the ground. Though the bonus would be paid off four years later to the benefit of some four million veterans, the historical march on Washington, D.C., laid the groundwork that would eventually influence the WWII GI Bill, cement the rights of citizens to assemble, and petition the government, and serve as one of the first occurrences of large-scale integration in a time where racial relations were an extremely sensitive issue.