Month: October 2012

wall of separation is a good thing

The proverbial “wall of separation” is a good thing… at least as it was described by Thomas Jefferson to the Danbury Baptists.

While most of the “christian” religions (Catholics, Reformed, etc) wanted a formal state enforced religion, the Baptists (and a handful of others) were well familiar with what being on the wrong side of a state enforced religion was like…

When we look through the un-doctored history of the church we see a pattern of true believers being persecuted and martyred by state enforced religions.  Christians were persecuted by the pagan Roman Empire, then by the Catholic Roman Empire, then by the monarchy and oligarchy governments that enforced Roman Catholic, Orthodox Catholic, and/or Reformed Catholic (Protestant) traditions by burning or beheading anyone that dared question them.

The persecution of the Anabaptists was still in recent memory of the Baptists, and was one of the driving forces behind them coming to America, not to establish a new state religion, but to have an assurance of being free to practice their beliefs without interference by the government.

The wall of separation was to be a “one way” wall, to keep the government from interfering with the practice of religion.  They felt that government was a bad influence on the practice of religion.  However, it was clear that the founders felt that religion could be a good influence on the practice of government.

Religious beliefs are yet another set of checks and balances to keep the government contained and in line.  Religion works best when it is at odds with the government, not in cahoots with it.

The role of government was to protect religious freedom (thought, belief, and practice), but should never be used to enforce a religious system or otherwise interfere with any other religions.

unleavened bread of sincerity and truth

1 Corinthians 5
It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and such sexual immorality as is not even named among the Gentiles—that a man has his father’s wife! 
 And you are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he who has done this deed might be taken away from among you. 
For I indeed, as absent in body but present in spirit, have already judged (as though I were present) him who has so done this deed. In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when you are gathered together, along with my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.
Your glorying is not good. 
Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us.
Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

I wrote to you in my epistle not to keep company with sexually immoral people.  Yet I certainly did not mean with the sexually immoral people of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world.  But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner—not even to eat with such a person.

For what have I to do with judging those also who are outside? 
Do you not judge those who are inside?  But those who are outside God judges. Therefore “put away from yourselves the evil person.”
Note the following about the Corinthian Church:
1) They were tolerating sexual sin that not even an unsaved person would tolerate.
2) They took pride (puffed up and glorying) in how “tolerant” they were.  Just like in the politically correct world that says “your arrogant if you do speak out”, God says that we are arrogant if we don’t speak out…
3) By tolerating this sin in their midst (even in the “name of love”), they were supporting and prolonging the continuation in that sin.

Making people feel more comfortable in their bondage to sin is NOT loving.

In this case, instead of toleration, the most loving thing to do was to put this person out of fellowship so that he would have a chance to realize the wrongness of what he was doing and repent.

Worst Storm in 100 Years

Maybe God is trying to tell our Nation Something…  I’ve heard people talk like electing Romney is our nation’s way of “turning back to God”.
Personally, I don’t think so — even though I would rather be wrong…

When I read the Bible, I see a pattern in how God treats nations.  
When the both the northern kingdom of Israel and then the southern kingdom of Judah turned their back on God, the same pattern revealed itself each time:
1) first the people turned their back on God and sought after other “gods”
2) God abandons the nation to allow them to engage in their wickedness to the fullest extent, so that it is obvious they deserve judgement 
3) then the people came under the rule of wicked leaders
4) then they were attacked by a foreign invader
5) then they were overthrown and their wealth and property went to foreigners  
6) those that survived were forced to live in a pagan nation under a pagan government
We only now waking up to the realize just how far along we are in the process.
Our nation has been in the process of turning its back on God for the last 100 years.  The rejection of God was popularized and formalized back in the 1960s and has continued growing.  What we are seeing now are just “tip of the iceberg” symptoms of a larger problem of the heart.
We chastise the democrats for removing God from their platform, and then putting it back under protest from the majority of their delegates.  However, has anyone thought about how God views the republican party and the way that it overrode and rewrote its own rules in order to block true Christians such as Bachman and Paul in preference of a mormon and catholic?
The fact of the matter is that we are already well into steps 5 through 6 in the process.  Our wealth and property is being stolen by international opportunists.  Our children are being sold into debt slavery to foreign nations.  
Those who live in a pagan nation should only expect to have pagan leadership.
So why should we be upset when the choice left to us is which pagan leader do we vote for?

They themselves will be enslaved by many nations and great kings; I will repay them according to their deeds and the work of their hands – Jeremiah 25:14

Strangers devour your land in your presence; And it is desolate, as overthrown by strangers. – Isaiah 1:7

Worst Storm in 100 Years Seen for Northeast U.S.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-10-25/u-s-east-from-washington-to-nyc-at-risk-from-hurricane-sandy.html

Obama fundraiser in Miami shut down after power knocked out by Hurricane Sandy

http://miamiherald.typepad.com/nakedpolitics/2012/10/obama-fundraiser-in-miami-shut-down-after-power-knocked-out-by-hurricane-sandy.html



AccuWeather.com Election Coverage: Sandy May Pose Threat to East Coast Voters

AccuWeather.com Election Coverage: Sandy May Pose Threat to East Coast Voters

Read more here: http://miamiherald.typepad.com/nakedpolitics/2012/10/obama-fundraiser-in-miami-shut-down-after-power-knocked-out-by-hurricane-sandy.html#storylink=cpy

Maybe God is trying to tell our Nation Something… I’ve heard people talk like electing Romney is our nation’s way of turning back to God. Personally, I don’t think so. When I read the Bible, I see a pattern in how God treats nations.
When the both the northern kingdom of Israel and then the southern kingdom of Judah turned their back on God, the same pattern revealed itself each time:
1) first the people turned their back on God and sought after other Gods
2) then they came under the rule of wicked leaders
3) then they were attacked by a foreign invader
4) then they were overthrown and their wealth and property went to foreigners
5) those that survived were forced to live in a pagan nation under a pagan government
We only now waking up to the realize just how far along we are in the process.
Our nation has been in the process of turning its back on God for the last 100 years. The rejection of God was popularized and formalized back in the 1960s and has continued growing. What we are seeing now are just “top of the iceberg” symptoms of a larger problem of the heart. We chastise the democrats for removing God from their platform, and then putting it back under protest from the majority of their delegates. However, has anyone thought about how God views the republican party and the way that it overrode and rewrote its own rules in order to block true Christians such as Bachman and Paul in preference of a mormon and catholic?
The fact of the matter is that we are already well into steps 4 and 5 in the process. Our wealth and property is being stolen by international opportunists. Our children are being sold into debt slavery to foreign nations.
Those who live in a pagan nation should only expect to have pagan leadership.
So why should we be upset when the choice left to us is which pagan leader do we vote for?

one world

Satan has been working to bring about a one world government since the beginning.

The world before the flood had been corrupted to the point that only Noah was perfect in his generations, and it (along with Sodom and Gomorrah) gives us a glimpse of what a satanically saturated culture would be like.

Nimrod and his city along with Babel’s Tower was the first glimpse of what the anti-christ and a one world government would look like.

God purposefully confused the languages to prevent this from happening before the time set aside for it in the “last days”.

Because of computer technology, mankind is once again uniting behind a single language as well as a single world economic, governmental, and religious system.

evidence

when you go to court, who do you present the evidence to?

the judge…

when you present evidence of God’s existence to unbelievers you elevate them to the position of judge and put God on trial…

according to scripture, the unbeliever already knows in their heart that God exists, they are just suppressing the truth in unrighteousness. (Romans 1:18-20)

our job in defending the faith is to not to join them in their folly (by arguing evidence according to their rules), but instead to demonstrate the foolishness of their folly (Proverbs 26:4-5, 23:9, 29:9; Matthew 7:6 )

the place for evidence is to give evidence to believers to help them build their trust of scripture

seeker sensitive?

As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:

There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.

They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.

Romans 3:10-12

The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good.

The Lord looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God.

They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one.

Psalm 14:1-3